Gymnastics Skills

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Gymnastics involves moving the body in many different ways, either with or without equipment, and sometimes with others. Children can learn how to jump, roll, balance, dance and swing, while developing their strength, agility, coordination and flexibility.

Teaching cues

Pencil Roll

  • Stretch your arms and legs out 'like a tall pencil'.
  • Squeeze your body tight to stay straight.
  • Roll slowly while keeping your body strong and straight.
  • Pretend you're a pencil rolling across the floor

Forward Roll

  • Start in a standing position with arms planted firmly on the mat/wedge in front of you. 
  • Tuck your chin into your chest to protect your neck. 
  • Roll onto your shoulders, not the top of your head. 
  • Keep your body rounded like a rock throughout the roll. 
  • Push from your feet as you move into the roll. 
  • Stand up without using your hands at the end of the roll.

Motorbike Landing 

  • Arms out in front of you like you're holding onto bike handles. 
  • Land softly with knees slightly bent, feet flat and your body angled forward (like riding a bike).
  • Look straight ahead where you're landing.
  • Stand tall and keep your back straight. 
  • Try to land without making a noise, like a ninja!

Front Support 

  • Shoulders directly above the hands.
  • Arms straight. 
  • Tighten your core to help with balance.
  • Hips lifted and straight, back flat. 
  • Legs straight and feet together.
  • Keep your head in line with your back.

Rear Support 

  • Lift your hips high: Imagine you’re trying to make a straight line from your head to your toes.
  • Hands under shoulders, flat on the floor. 
  • Stretch your legs out straight and point your toes. 
  • Keep your body straight. 'Stay tall and strong like a bridge, with no bending'
Teaching strategies

Circle Stretches 

Warm-up with some static and dynamic movements in a group stretching circle, such as: 

  • Arm circles (forwards, backwards, opposite arms)
  • Standing toe touch 
  • Frog squat (squat down as low as you can without letting your feet come off the ground)
  • Straddle sit (legs straight and wide apart) 
  • Seal pose 
  • Angry cat (rounded back)
  • Happy cat (arched back)
  • Disco cat (wiggling hips from side-to-side)
  • Superman/Superwoman (lie on your front with arms and legs stretched out, arching back like you're 'flying')
  • Dish (lie on your back with legs and arms extended squeezing ears, creating a dish shape)
  • L-Sit (sit tall, arms and legs straight, and turn your body into an L shape)
  • V-Sit (turn your body into an V shape)
  • Tuck sit (turn your body into a tight rock position) 
  • Rock & Roll (rocking and rolling back and forth in a tuck sit position)

Obstacle Course

  • Create a gymnastics themed Obstacle Course with the equipment you have available. 
  • Incorporate jumping, climbing, balancing, animal walks and other locomotor movements. 
  • Have children create their own gymnastics obstacle course. 

Strength Challenges 

  • Educator to call any position and children to move quickly between the positions, keeping their core muscles tight and not 'turning into spaghetti':

    V-Sit → L-Sit → Tuck Sit 

    Superman/Superwoman → Dish → Tuck Sit → Rock & Roll 

  • Can you walk your hands and feet forwards, backwards and sideways in a front support or rear support position? 
  • Can you Rock & Roll into a standing position, without letting your hands touch the ground? 
  • Can you Caterpillar Walk your hands forward into a front support, then back to your toes? 
  • Can you balance in Crow Pose?

    - Place your hands flat on the floor, fingers spread wide. 

    - Keep your arms strong, with elbows pointing straight back.

    - Bring your knees close to your elbows and squeeze them tight. 

    - Slowly tip forward, toes come together, like you're 'floating' off the ground. 

  • Introduce the concept of a handstand by starting with feet up on a wall. Then progress to a 3/4 handstand. Children will build arm strength, spacial awareness and body tension through these supported skills that can lead into a full handstand. 

Feet Up (Handstand Progression)

  1. Stand with back against the wall. 
  2. Place hands flat on the ground.
  3. Walk feet up to 45° on the wall
  4. Hold, then walk feet back down safely. 

3⁄4 Handstand 

  1. Start in a standing position. 
  2. Pass through a lunge position. 
  3. Kick legs to join at a 45° angle to the ground.

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