My assistant Victor and I through the eyes of a KG student

G2 Gymnastics: Pathways

Children have previously identified simple pathways and travelled along them using feet or hands and feet in a variety of ways, so the intention of this unit is to widen their experience and make them more critical and selective in the types of movement they select for particular pathways. For example, children will need to recognise that to turn a sharp corner they must slow down before they reach it and then over-balance into the new direction and understand that the sharper the angle, the greater the need to slow down. Equally, they will find that a turning jump to land on two feet could help them turn a sharp corner and lead them into the next direction. Following a curving or curricular pathway requires children to lean their body weight into the curve and choose movements which allow them to maintain control e.g. small running steps or turning leaps are more suitable than a series of large leaps. A short, straight, direct pathway lends itself to a wide variety of travelling movements, but equally it is an ideal pathway for demonstrating an accelerating run into a jump.

The meaning of flexible (or indirect) and direct pathways should be thoroughly understood. Direct pathways are those which involve travelling in a straight line and are more functional in nature (e.g. run and jump, forward roll etc.) Flexible (or indirect) pathways are generally longer and more interesting (e.g. circles, squares, triangles arcs etc.) and can be artistic and very individual (e.g. spirals, heart shapes, clover leaf, daisy head, letters of the alphabet etc.) and some may have a common starting place and destination and others may have different starting places and destinations.

Generally children will be able to select compatible pathways and activities and create sequences which demonstrate an understanding of speeds and levels.

KG Obstacle Course, Teamwork & Problem Solving

This proved to be a lot of fun...

At this moment in time my two KG classes are both having issues with pushing, shoving, who goes first etc. without them really knowing why they want to go first...

After a little time working on an obstacle course, with the concept that the floor is quicksand (their decision) they had to travel as a class safely from point A to point B. I was interested in noting that the majority of the class would think nothing of pushing their fellow peers into the quicksand just to be the first to get up a ladder or be the first to jump a ravine etc...

In order to address this issue I placed an expanse of quicksand between the starting point and the rest of the obstacle course. I designed it in such a way that it would force the class to come up with a plan and work as a team. It also gave a couple of them the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership skills.

Their first attempt witnessed the class abandoning 5 class members to the quicksand as they rushed to safety! The second attempt proved a bit more successful with all students making it to the end of the obstacle course.