Jump Roping ("Fun"damental)

We had a class dedicated to jumping roping, pretty spectacular! At the start of class our instructor gave us some unstructured time to jump rope to get back in the "swing" of things. This was followed up with various instructional variations such as: finding a new way to jump rope, jump rope while traveling distance, keeping your body as low to the ground while jump roping. It's was impressive to see how creative the class was (typical of children). These activities all lead up to the Jump Roping Extravaganza, in which we were give time to work in groups to create a jump roping routine that we would perform in succession with music. As each team completed  their routine they joined the TA's as they lead a dance in the corner to keep everyone active while in waiting.  It was simple yet great theme for a class and I had a lot of fun. At the end of the activity we re-grouped back in the classroom and talked a bit about developing lesson plans that meet specific goals. That being said these jump roping activities supported a number of health-related fitness goals and skill-related fitness goals. Clearly cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and coordination are high on the list. As a teacher it is important to be able to determine what your goal is for your students and how best to achieve that goal. PE can't just be "playtime" as we are trying to teach and promote the physical benefits of life-long activities and longevity.