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Balancing Act

7:45 a.m., Wednesday, Leola, Pennsylvania

It's a full half hour before the morning bell rings, and a crowd of about 50 fourth- and fifth-graders are clamoring for phys-ed teacher Rick Periandi to let them into the Leola Elementary School gym. He does, and soon kids are darting everywhere on unicycles, riding them backward, with one foot, practicing bunny hops, balancing in idle, helping newcomers learn to mount and dismount. The 15-year-old program was first introduced by Periandi's predecessor as part of a curriculum to teach kids balance and the laws of gravity. It was so popular that the school now owns 30 unicycles, some 7 feet tall. "The kids move for 30 minutes nonstop, but they're grinning at the same time, and they can't wait until their next chance to ride," says Periandi.

For more info: Go to unicycling.org/usa for some basic unicycling tips.