Why We Jump Rope: Some of the Many Benefits

Students of all ages at Cedarwood participate in jump rope activities regularly, sometimes even daily.

Many classes gather each morning — regardless of whether the weather is conducive to running and jumping — because these activities have an intrinsic value beyond the obvious health benefits. In my years of orchestrating and observing these simple activities with my students, I’ve found them to be even revolutionary.

The turning of the jump rope is a kind of weaving activity, one that involves a blending and mixing of the space. Think of stirring and mixing the batter for a cake that is to be baked.

An experienced baker knows that there is more to the mixing of ingredients than meets the eye; air is entering, as well as the thoughts, hopes, and intentions of the baker. Blend all these together — the seen and unseen — then add heat, and something wonderful can result.

And so it is with the jump rope game.

Through the blending and turning of the space, facilitated by the rhythmical turning of the ropes, a golden opportunity is created for a social mixing and blending of a group of students.

They come together, each in their own way and time, some from across town by carpool or urban transit, others by walking through the neighborhood streets. Some may have eaten breakfast, some not; some may have slept well, others not. They come together as a disparate group, out of sorts and not well harmonized. They need to find social harmony in order to function well together through the many activities that their school day will present.

There will be many transitions, different teachers, and a range of expectations that each student will need to navigate together with their peers. If they can begin their day with activities that rouse them, get the blood circulating, stimulate deep breathing, while also harmonizing with their peer group, then their chances for the successful navigation of their day will vastly improve.

If any of this rings true, then just how might jump rope activities facilitate the harmonizing of the group? On the surface it sometimes seems to do the opposite! But the harmonizing process takes time.

When a student first arrives in the jump rope line they are likely to be at odds with their peers. They might need to argue over a dress code violation or a basketball score — and so it begins.

They start working out their differences right there in the line, facilitated by the attentive teacher who may or may not need to intervene, all while turning the rope and keeping everyone moving forward. This sorting out and resolving work is necessary; it either happens here, or later in the classroom in front of a teacher who is trying to teach a lesson to students who may not be completely ready to focus.

Jump rope is an inherently rhythmical activity. As the students begin the jumping, they experience rhythm; their heartbeat, breathing, and movement all begin to harmonize rhythmically, first individually, then together with other members of the group. This is especially true when the jumping progresses to group jumping: two, three, or four at a time, and again when they pick up the pace and make their way quickly through the line several times, one jump at a time.

Variations of complexity serve to deepen the harmonizing — if they are well-facilitated. The experienced teacher will know when the conspiracy process (“breathing together”) is complete and the group has been sufficiently harmonized. A well-harmonized group will transition together efficiently and with relative ease. Subject teachers will be able to maximize their lesson time with a group that has been thus prepared. Conversely, students who arrive late will not experience the benefits of these activities.

There are additional therapeutic aspects and benefits for those who participate in jump rope activities: consider that when one is on the cusp of entering the circular turning of the rope this wakeful moment requires the student to project themselves into the three-dimensional space beforehand!

This is no easy undertaking! It requires the student to activate their spatial awareness in three primary dimensions: the above-below, the forward-backward, and the left-right. Picture three planes intersecting at right angles, circumscribed by the turning rope. The student must jump right into the middle of the space! Once inside, they must either continue to jump rhythmically within this mysterious space or jump out of it again! The whole time that they are within this space envelope their spatial awareness is activated; they need to be subtly aware of it in order to remain within, until the moment when they choose to leave it again. If their spatial awareness is not sufficiently strong, the rope will inform them of this weakness. Their work is to awaken and strengthen this subtle sense with each next effort.

Developing facility with these spatial planes and spheres of movement activity has far-reaching and tangible pedagogical benefits for students.

I recently discovered even deeper aspects of jump roping as it relates to the ones turning the rope. Their task is to turn the rope in such a way that the others can jump in unencumbered, and continue to jump until they exit the circle. Again, this is not as easy as it may appear, especially for those who have little or no prior experience turning the rope.

The rope turner needs to develop and maintain a steady, even rhythm and a nicely formed swinging arc, and they need to be able to make subtle changes to this approach for each jumper. This is a synergistic endeavor: the two turners and the jumper all need to harmonize their rhythms constantly.

The challenges of this activity are doubled when two ropes are turned simultaneously. Spatial and rhythmical awareness of a different kind are schooled for the rope turners. It is ideal to get the students involved in the turning activities, as well, as soon as they can reasonably manage it. A social harmonizing aspect enters in when students are asked to serve their peers by turning the rope in such a way that each can jump successfully, without bias.

These are just a few of the benefits and insights that have been revealed to me regarding this simple and profound activity, and I’m confident that there are many more just waiting to be discovered. The intrinsic value of it will likely keep my students and I engaged in jump roping for many years to come.

Peter Hayes received his BS from Evergreen State College, and then traveled to Sussex, England, to study biodynamic agriculture and eurythmy at Emerson College and the London School of Eurythmy. Peter next moved to Germany, where his three children were born. He eventually decided to pursue his calling as a Waldorf teacher, and he soon enrolled in Waldorf teacher training in Stuttgart, Germany. Upon completion of this course of study, he moved his young family to Washington state, where he began his teaching career at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School. Peter taught and guided a class from first through eighth grade there, and in 2006 he moved to Portland to take up his work at Cedarwood. Peter is currently guiding his third class in their journey through the grades (now in grade 2).