Rustics Jungle Gyms supplies outdoor play equipment designed and manufactured for the South African environment |
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Welcome to our October Newsletter. This month we discuss the impact of low core strength on school performance. We also share tests to determine the strength of your child's core. According to one of our recent customers, purchasing a jungle gym from Rustics is "fast, efficient and great value for money" - read their story below. Happy Reading! |
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Building core strength is a key element of improved classroom performance |
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The foundational strength children (and adults) need is core strength. It is the platform upon which all other strengths are built. Sadly, children’s core strength is declining as they spend less time on outdoor play. Physical activity takes practice. Children who don’t build strength through physical play will lose confidence and sit out while their peers play and grow stronger, causing a bigger gap between the active and sedentary child. When the core is weak, it is hard to sit still; a child will wriggle and change positions often to get comfortable. All this movement makes it hard to listen to the teacher or complete a task. Often a child who is fidgeting and distracted is simply not strong enough to sit at a desk. A strong core means smooth movement and controlled appendages, affecting both gross motor play skills and fine motor classroom skills.
On the playground, core strength allows the arms and legs to move freely for running, jumping, climbing, and skipping. |
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In the classroom, core strength allows children to support their torsos, freeing their hands to work on cutting, writing, colouring, and building. Core strength means children can hold their heads still to read a book or write. They also need core strength to sit comfortably at a desk and attend to a task. |
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Assessing core strength and stability in sitting |
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When sitting, the neck and back muscles need to work to keep the head and trunk steady. These muscles make it possible to sit still and quietly for extended periods of time. These muscles are called on to work even harder when one or both arms are moved for instance, when holding a book, writing or completing other desk tasks. Try these exercises to assess a child’s core strength and control and hence their ability to take part in, and absorb, what is being taught in the classroom. Exercise 1 - Ask the child to sit erect on a stool with the hips and knees flexed to 90 degrees.
- Count to 60 slowly.
Top Tip: count with the child, vary your tone and pull faces to keep the child interested and alert. |
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Exercise 2 - Ask the child to sit erect on a stool with the hips and knees flexed to 90 degrees.
- Ask the child to lift the arms forwards to level with the shoulders, and to stay in this position.
- Count to 30 slowly.
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How to address the lack of core strength in our children |
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We need to provide opportunities for big body physical play and there is nowhere better than an outdoor playground which provides opportunities to - swing
- climb
- cross the monkey bars
- go up the slide
- crawl through a tunnel
- and jump on, off, and over something.
By building core strength, we will help build a child’s confidence in their physicality, leading to a continued desire to move, and breaking the cycle of inactivity. Increased activity and gross motor movement lead to an improved ability to attend, focus and LEARN, helping children gain confidence on the playground, in the classroom, and in life. |
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"Our kids love their new jungle gym" |
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Janine in Queenstown wanted a jungle gym for her children, aged 4 and 2 years, and from the time of her enquiry to the final installation a week later, she was impressed by the speed, efficiency and flexibility of Toni and her team. “I was impressed by the very quick and efficient responses and design work from Toni. She was so flexible in meeting all the needs we had in terms of what our children wanted. The team on site were not at all phased when we asked them to change the height of the monkey bars to make it more age appropriate. Nothing was too much trouble for them. “Our children absolutely love it! They say it’s the best present ever and they spend every spare moment on it - it is their 'castle', treehouse - and anything they imagine it to be. “Money well spent for sure!!” |
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" I would highly recommend Rustics for fast turnaround, efficient assistance, flexibility and value for money." Janine, Queenstown |
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Whatever your playground requirements, we can help At Rustics Jungle Gyms we have been designing, manufacturing and installing wooden and metal jungle gyms since 2006. Our success is based on: - safety - our outdoor play equipment is built to South African National Standard by-laws
- delivering a quality product at a fair price
- building equipment that will last - our quality and built-in resilience to the harsh South African environment give a longer life span
- honesty, integrity and our willingness to go the extra mile to give you what you want
Don't take our word for it.... read our reviews |
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