WEST SPRINGFIELD - Pupils of the Fausey Elementary School are climbing the wall, literally - and their teachers are pleased about it.

The school's Parent-Teacher Organization raised $13,000 to build a climbing wall in the gymnasium.

It is a horizontal wall that stretches 64 feet along one of the gymnasium walls. Its design allows children in Grades 1-5 to climb, using hand-holds and foot-holds, from one end of the wall to the other.

The wall looks like a grey stone wall with large blobs of clay thrown randomly at it. The blobs are what the children cling to in order to traverse the structure.

Physical education teacher Michele M. Feeley said this week, "This has been the biggest treat for them that they've had in a long while."

She said the different-colored blobs provide different paths to follow, each with its own challenges.

"Some kids are already challenging themselves, trying to use just one color" to get across, Feeley noted.

Safety is paramount. Large mats, which are locked in to block off the wall when it is not in use, cushion the floor when children are climbing. No foot-hold is higher than 3 feet off the ground.

A squiggly red line marks the spot where the foot-holds end and the hand-holds begin. All holds are bolted in, but they can be switched to vary the course.

The course came pre-set. Feeley left it the way it was for several days to see if children got stuck at any point, and then made adjustments. One adjustment was merely to turn one of the holds around so that hands could grip it more securely.

All ages use the wall, and special-needs children particularly benefit.

"It has been a godsend to the special population," Feeley said.

The children love the wall because it is fun.

Teachers value it because it can be used to teach and reinforce more than just physical fitness.

"You can hit every physical, cognitive, social, emotional standard there is," Feeley said.

The children learn short-term and long-term goals. They build trust and cooperation, and learn to ask for help in a positive way, she said.

There is additional gear - including letters, numbers, and dry-erase boards - that can be affixed to foot-holds and hand-holds. Children learning about the parts of speech, for example, can be asked to follow a path of holds that shows only nouns or verbs.

Fausey pupils give the wall rave reviews.

For Timothy Congo, 8, climbing the Fausey wall was his first try at serious climbing.

"I thought it was awesome," he said. The height did not frighten him "because of the mats."

Courtney Harlow, 8, said she climbed on a wall at the Eastern States Exposition, but found this one more fun.

"You can pick your own color," she said.

Aswa Sabir, 9, looks forward to wall-time.

"It's challenging going across," she said.

Feeley said the children helped to raise money to purchase and erect the wall last year by getting sponsors for a walk-a-thon. They raised $5,200.

Even fifth-graders, who are now sixth-graders at the Middle School, helped out. In fact, the former fifth-grade students, who do not benefit from the wall, raised the most money of any of the classes.

"What a legacy to leave," Feeley added.