This week in gymnastics, Year 4 built on their previous learning of basic body shapes and developed their skills by working together to create partner balances. We began by revisiting familiar shapes, including the star, tuck, pike, straddle, dish, arch, front support and back support. We focused on creating clear, controlled shapes by keeping our arms and legs straight where needed, pointing our toes and holding our bodies still for a five-second duration.

Once we had practiced and remembered these shapes, we explored how we could use them to create interesting balances with a partner. We experimented with different ways of balancing together, thinking carefully about how we could use our bodies to create strong, stable shapes. We started with simpler partner balances before progressing to more challenging combinations, focusing on teamwork, communication and trust.

Keeping ourselves safe was very important throughout our learning. Before attempting a balance, both partners made sure they understood their roles and agreed on what they were going to do. We worked with partners of a similar size and made sure we had a strong base of support. When holding onto our partners, we used a 'C' cupped wrist grip where appropriate.

By the end of the lesson, the children were excited to demonstrate their work with others. It was wonderful to see the children's passion and flexibility in this lesson.