Eagle Cove Students Jump for Heart Health

Communicating the importance of preventing heart disease to elementary students can be difficult. To them, heart disease only concerns elderly people. But a second-grader at discovered how real heart disease can be for some people, thanks to Jump Rope for Heart.

The student went door to door around her neighborhood taking donations for the school's Jump Rope for Heart event. In her quest for donations, she met a man who had recently undergone a heart transplant.

“She came in all excited and said her neighbor ‘got a completely new heart,’” said Eagle Cove physical education teacher Dawn Bathras. “It really made her realize how important having a healthy heart can be.”

Students at Eagle Cove School wrapped up their Jump Rope for Heart event Thursday. The students have spent the past three days jumping rope and raising money for the American Heart Association.

Bathras, known as "Coach B" to the kids, talked about the many ways she tries to educate the students on the importance of being heart healthy.

“When we talk about heart disease most of the kids are under the assumption that you have to be dead or old to have heart disease,” said Bathras. “So we talk about how the heart works and how diet and lack of exercise can affect the heart.”

Some schools do Jump Rope for Heart as an after-school activity but at Eagle Cove, it is part of the students physical education class. The kids spend between 30-45 minutes jumping rope during the day.

Bathras, along with science teacher Tim Decker, jump with the kids and help make sure they get a good cardiovascular workout.

“Jumping rope is one of the best exercises you can do to increase your heart rate and stay fit,” said Bathras.

While the kids do enjoy jumping rope, one of their favorite parts of the event is the snack time they get at the end of the gym class. Bathras has a table of heart-healthy snacks for the students to pick from including a variety of vegetables, which grow in Eagle Cove’s own green house.

“The kids love the whole event,” said Bathras. “It is a little less structured than a regular class and I don’t usually have food so they get excited for the snacks. And I love it because they are just crazy jumping.”