BonnerSprings.com

Elvyn J. Jones — Edwardsville Elementary School students got a jump on their health last week. On Friday P.E. teacher Corrin Weaver held a Jump Rope for Heart day in the gymnasium, with activities centered around jump rope for each grade level throughout the day.

The event was part of a national educational fundraising program sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

The activities in the Edwardsville gym included "Jump the River," in which two students on either end of two jump ropes moved the ropes back and forth to the side so their shapes resembled a constantly shifting stream, over which other students would jump.

Another activity, which didn't involved a jump rope, but was still one of the more popular one, was the high jump. The bar worked the same and was set up the same as the track-and-field event, except that wrestling mats were piled as high as the bar, which was adjust for the average height of the students in each grade level.

The students also raised some money for the American Heart Association through the event, by taking packets that explained the mission of the organization. Money raised goes to heart and stroke research and education, Weaver said.

As for the activities she organized, Weaver said the students "all got into it. They love it."

When the second-graders took their turn in the gymnasium, they whispered and grabbed each other in excitement as Weaver explained the activity at each of the 12 stations.

Second-grader Sherice Singleton said she liked best the ball hop, in which students sat and hopped on large balls with handles down a short course of pylons.

Judging from their shrieks and giggles, it was the favorite of her classmates as well.

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