“Jump rope is not just for girls; boys jump rope too.” said Kathy.
“Jump rope is sissy. It’s just for girls,” said Hector. “Not true,” said Teacher Pat.
The class was discussing things to do at recess when the weather gets nicer and it was possible to play in the school yard. Teacher Pat called on Kathy to talk about jump rope since that is her favorite thing to do, and she is very good at it. “Kathy, please tell the class about the history of jump rope and who jumps rope,” asked Miss Pat.
Kathy answered, “I’d be glad to Miss Pat. According to the Jump Rope Institute, jumping rope dates back to 1600 B.C. It began in Egypt.
Grown ups jump rope for exercise and to get fit. Fighters and wrestlers are just a few of the adults who use jump rope to prepare for a match. Some women use jump rope to lose weight and get in shape. Most grown ups do single jumping with one person holding the handles of the rope, swinging it over his or her head and jumping over the rope before it touches the ground. With that, Kathy shows the class how it is done.
When you see the girls jumping in the school yard, we jump rope one of two ways. First, two girls hold the rope at each end and turn it and one girl jumps in. She jumps until she misses or gets tired, whatever comes first. The second way, and it is harder, is to jump Double Dutch. To play Double Dutch you need two ropes and two girls, one at each end of the ropes that are strong enough to turn the ropes, each in the opposite direction, while one girl jumps rope. Sometimes it’s fun to sing rhyming songs while we jump.
That’s all I know about jump rope,” said Kathy. “Thank you, Kathy,” said Miss Pat. The class clapped and then Maria raised her hand and waited for Miss Pat to call on her. When she did, Maria challenged the boys to a jump rope match against the girls during recess in the gym. What could they say? They had to accept now that they knew that jump rope was for everybody, not just girls.
