Walking by the elementary school on my way back from the gym this morning, I noticed a bunch of kids out on the pavement at the back entrance jumping rope. Or rather trying to jump rope. They all had bright white ropes, obviously brand new, and both boys and girls were having equal amounts of trouble actually twisting the ropes and jumping at the same time. What's happened to jumping rope anyway? It used to be that every girl could jump rope fast and long, with few misses, though the boys didn't usually participate. All across the playground you could hear the clicking sound as the rope hit the blacktop and the voices chanting 'All in together girls, never mind the weather girls', the words being the obvious reason I suppose for why the boys didn't participate. It was good to see the boys taking part today, but sad that it appeared to be a brand new skill for everyone. Kudos to the teacher who had them all out there trying it. I hope it's just that I haven't noticed and not that jumping rope has become a lost art around here.