Forward roll with support
Ready when: Rolls: pencil, egg, teddy bear (b3) done.
What you are learning
The forward roll, rolling over the back of the head and the shoulders (never the top of the head), on a gentle downhill mat with an adult beside. The bottom goes high, the chin tucks, and a push from the feet rolls the child up to standing.
Words on this card Shapes, Squat, Forward roll, Base
- Shapes
- Body shapes. Tuck: knees hugged to the chest. Pike: legs straight, folded at the hips. Straddle: legs straight and wide apart. Star: arms and legs spread wide. Straight: the body long and tight.
- Squat
- Crouching with the knees bent and the bottom near the heels.
- Forward roll
- Rolling head over heels forward, or backward, with the chin tucked.
- Base
- In a partner balance, the base holds the weight and the top is supported.
Set up
A soft mat, with a folded mat under one end as a gentle downhill.
Weather: any weather indoors
Show it first for the one teaching
- Squat at the top of the downhill, hands flat on the mat a shoulder-width apart, fingers forward.
- Lift the bottom high and tuck the chin to the chest so you look at your belly.
- Push gently with the feet and roll over the back of the head and shoulders.
- Stay tucked and roll up onto the feet to stand.
Your part while they practise
Kneel beside the mat; guide the hips over only if needed, never push the head; reduce the help as the child improves.
Step by step
- Hold a tuck; rock back and forth.
- From a squat on the downhill: hands flat, fingers forward.
- Bottom high, chin tucked.
- Roll over the back of the head and shoulders, never the top of the head.
- Push with the feet and roll like a ball to standing.
How much: 5 rolls, 3 rounds 8 min a session 3 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Hoop reach
Roll to standing and reach for a hoop the adult holds at the end of the mat.
Who plays: the child against their own best; you hold the hoop.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Hold a hoop upright at the end of the mat, at the child's chest height
- The child rolls forward to standing
- Without stepping, they reach both arms through the hoop
- 5 rolls
- Fair play
- A younger child may take one step before reaching.
- Points
- 2 points for a roll up to standing without help; 1 point for reaching through the hoop.
- Fouls
- The roll scores nothing, and the next one is with your help
- The top of the head touches the mat
- The hands push off with the fingers backward
- Stopping halfway and falling sideways
- Winning
- Beat your best from 5 rolls.
- 5 points for 1 star
- 10 points for 2 stars
- 15 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
A steeper downhill.
A flat mat, finishing feet together.
What you will see, and what to say
- the head lands on the mat
Chin to chest
Look at your belly button. - the roll stops half way
Push from your feet
A little push starts the roll.
Self-check
3 forward rolls to standing without support.
Stop and get a coach when
The child complains of neck pain; stop and see a coach.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains the forward roll.
awiseathlete.com/sports/gymnastics/gymnastics-b4