Building Your Physical Education Toolkit

Summer is in full swing with lots of opportunities to be outdoors and get physical. We know how important staying active is to leading a healthy life, and that physical fitness looks a little different for everyone, so we’ve put together this toolkit highlighting a variety of P.E. resources for your student.

• Walk/Run for Fitness Kit includes a personal guidewire system that can be set up in your backyard, a school, or a park. If running or walking with a human guide, you can use the kit’s adjustable tether, which is long enough to accommodate wheelchair users.
• Jump Rope to Fitness Kit: Improve your cardiovascular health: 10 minutes of jumping rope can be as effective as 30 minutes of jogging! The APH Jump Rope to Fitness Kit provides individuals with visual impairment the tools to jump rope independently, learn specific skills, and set goals. The kit includes three different styles of jump ropes and a mat for shock absorption that defines a safe space in which to jump.

• 30-Love Tennis Kit helps students who are blind or visually impaired get out on the court with peers, compete, and develop a new interest. Whether practicing against a wall, playing singles against an opponent, or participating in a round of doubles, tennis helps your aerobic fitness by burning fat, improving your cardiovascular fitness, and maintaining higher energy levels. It helps your anaerobic fitness by offering short, intense bursts of activity during a point followed by rest, which helps muscles use oxygen efficiently.

• Sound Table Tennis Balls (3 Pack): APH sells sound-adapted table tennis balls for quick and easy repair if a tennis ball gets stepped on and smashed. Of course, one can also play table tennis/ping pong with these balls. Slightly smaller than a Showdown ball, this ball can be used as a substitute.
• APH Sound Balls: In Techno Beat (Red) and Boing Boing (Yellow), APH Sound Balls help young children gain skills (such as throwing, catching, kicking, and jumping over a ball) necessary to successfully participate in physical activities/sports when they become teens and adults. Designed to roll straight and true, the APH Sound Balls provide 2 distinct sounds (“boing boing” and techno beat) to accommodate individuals who wear hearing aids and who may have difficulty hearing higher-pitched sounds. Dual speakers with dual volume control guarantee that one speaker will always be exposed, making the ball easy to locate during gameplay, whether close or distant.

• Jacob’s Rib-It-Balls are latex-free inflatable balls that have been designed in two-color combinations, making them easier for visual coordination. Crinkly fabric in the ribs adds an auditory component. They are available in three sizes: 14 inch (red/yellow), 18 inch (blue/yellow), and 30 inch (black/yellow). The 30 inch ball is sold with a foot pump.
• Portable Sound Source: Create audio tones that provide directional cues for orientation and mobility, sound localization training, or for playground games and sports. The lightweight Portable SoundSource comes with a programmable remote control and carrying strap. The carrying strap can be used as a belt for hiking or a game of Follow the Leader. Example uses include identifying home base, a safety zone, or a basketball goal.
  
• The Draftsman Tactile Drawing Board is used in combination with special film and a stylus to create instant raised-line drawings. Use the Draftsman before and during lessons or practices to draw the boundaries of a field or court. With these drawings, teachers can help improve students’ spatial recognition skills and demonstrate game strategies.
• Everybody Plays! How Kids With Visual Impairments Play Sports is a fun storybook written by Cindy Lou Aillaud and Lauren Lieberman that follows an elementary school-age child to a sports camp for children who have visual impairment, blindness, or deafblindness. Written at a 4th grade reading level, readers learn about sports and recreational physical activities that are enjoyed universally and about specific sports designed for persons with visual impairment and blindness.
• Gross Motor Development Curriculum provides a solid foundation for an active lifestyle! Watch this video to see children work around instructional barriers using whole-part-whole instruction, verbal instruction, task analysis, modeling, and demonstration.
• Going Places: Transition Guidelines for Community-based Physical Activities for Students who Have Visual Impairments, Blindness, or Deafblindness is a resource guide for teens and young adults that promotes independent physical activity. It outlines a step-by-step process for choosing and participating in sports and other physical activities outside of the school arena.

Keep the summer fun going and get a workout in the process with any of these physical education tools. Learn about other products and resources in our shop or on our physical education webpage.