At Clover Hill Elementary School, third-graders with a really strong arm can throw a ball all the way to France.

That's about 25 feet high on a world map in the school gym, where Academic Exercise incorporates state Standards of Learning into physical-education class.

Children learn about pulleys by pulling themselves up a wall on a rope swing. They learn about fulcrums by balancing with a buddy on a mini see-saw. They learn about electricity by playing circuit relay, racing to see which group can complete a circuit first.

Gym teacher Cindy Jones came up with the idea of combining physical activity with mental tasks when she took a class on using engineering in the classroom. Then she won a county MCD Award, giving her nearly $3,500 to make her ideas real.

"I thought, 'How would I like to learn this?'" she said. "This is visual, kinesthetic learning that I think the kids have truly enjoyed."

Parents were introduced to the equipment Tuesday at the Chesterfield County school's annual Family Fitness Night. Children have been enjoying it all week.

The 30-foot by 20-foot wall map teaches social studies. Children stand at a blue line with two yarn balls, and then throw them at whatever target Jones suggests.

"Throw it at the three ships," she said. Drawn high on the Atlantic Ocean, they represent Christopher Columbus' ships discovering the New World. "What were the names of the ships?" she asked.

It took a few tries, but they came up with Ni?a, Pinta and Santa Maria.

"See if you can hit where Christopher Columbus went," she said. San Salvador was an easier target, because it was closer to the equator.

A few more tosses headed toward Quebec, Florida, Africa, Europe, Australia and South America.

Sylvia Castle, a third-grade teacher, was impressed with what her students were learning about science. She watched them race to assemble mini see-saws and said, "It's amazing. All the simple machines they've had, they get to come in here and use. They understand it in a way like never before."

They especially liked the lessons on pulleys. They had a choice of sitting on a flat scooter or sitting in a swing, and then using a pulley to roll across the floor or lift themselves up in the air.

Using a lever and fulcrum, in this case a little see-saw, the children now know instinctively that a longer distance from the fulcrum means less force has to be used, because they've felt it happen when they've balanced with a larger or smaller classmate.

An inclined plane proved its worth when two students tried to lift a classmate onto a foam block. Lifting him straight up was hard. Rolling him up the incline was much easier.

Electricity has never been as exciting as in a circuit relay. Two teams learned how to create an electrical circuit by attaching a series of wires with alligator clips -- one wire per child so everyone was involved. While music played, each team walked around the other team's equipment. When the music stopped, they raced to their own equipment to see who could complete the circuit first.

When the girls won the second round, they squealed with delight.

"Motivation and enthusiasm is the big thing," Castle said. "They all want to do it."
Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or kcalos@timesdispatch.com.