The children at RisingOaks Early Learning | John Sweeney in School-age 3 have been enjoying jumping rope during our outside time. Educator Christine brought in some of her jump ropes from home after noticing a few children trying to use the long ropes we had on the cart. We practised doing solo ropes and trying a few different types of ropes. We started with some PVC ropes and enjoyed trying to skip backwards and forwards. Christine brought in some different beaded ropes and asked a few of the children who had been skipping most days which they prefer to use. Most of the children preferred the beaded ropes because they felt they were easier to control and they were a bit longer.
The children have also been enjoying using the longer ropes. They tie one end to the fence and one friend turns the rope at the other end. This way a few friends can jump in the middle. This technique helps the children build on their team work skills and coordination. They have to coordinate their moves with their peers' moves which requires a lot of focus and consideration. It was great to see how well the children could work together and take turns turning the rope.
Throughout the school year we have been reflecting a lot on our wellness and wellbeing. Jumping rope is an easy and fun way to get the children to work their cardio system in an age appropriate way. “The benefits of jumping rope extend far beyond its physical aspects. This versatile and enjoyable activity has a significant impact on children's mental health, promoting resilience, focus, and emotional balance. By incorporating jump roping into their daily routines, parents, educators, and caregivers can provide children with a holistic approach to well-being.” (Grow-minds.com, 2023). After reading a few articles online Julia and Christine learned that there are more benefits of jumping rope than we knew. To connect the wellness of jump rope with the wellness of our daily journals, we printed out some photos of friends skipping together so they could paste the photos in their journals and write about it.
We look forward to more jump rope as we wrap up the school year. Maybe there will be some tricks to show off when the school year starts back up in September. Christine and Julia hope all our friends in school age 3 have a wonderful, fun and safe summer!
