Franklin Elementary School Physical Education.

For five weeks this December and January Franklin students have had the opportunity to climb, jump, swing and balance in Physical Education class. We have had the Districts "large gymnastics equipment" which rotates throughout the district to every school. Lets take a close look at how this equipment was used at Franklin...

By setting up the equipment in various configurations students get the opportunity to climb up, over, around, under, through and along the different pieces of equipment. For example, we get bars, ladders, cargo nets, climbing frames, rings, trapeze bars, balance beams etc. Following are a few photos to help you see what you missed.

Notice how the orange "bridge" has been changed in the next photo to provide a different climbing experience.

In the final week of the unit, the same bridge was raised up onto the tallest A-frames so that the students were almost 10 feet above the ground... very scary for some!

Here are photo's of the two types of cargo nets that come with the rotation. The top one is "tight" and can be supported at different heights and angles while the one below if the more traditional vertical, climbing cargo net.

Balance is an important part of gymnastics. We used the numerous balance beams in several different ways the give the students the opportunity to improve their balance. In the photo above, the student is demonstrating a 'one-point balance' on the beam. In the next photo we can see a squat, a kneel, another standing balance and a scale close to the windows.

Later in the unit, the beams were added to the gymnastics equipment so that students could choose to practice their skills with a little bit of height.

Jumping and landing safely is another important aspect of gymnastics. We used the large trapezoid mats and appropriate landing mats or thick 'crash pads' to create safe jumping stations. The emphasis was landing on your feet and bend your legs. Try to "stick" the landing. Here's a couple of great photo's of kids jumping or vaulting...

Still rings were added to the equipment this year and many kids really enjoyed these.

Some kids got to try climbing the climbing rope. This is not easy to do... but this boy was able to get fairly high up the rope.