It’s been an interesting extended year week with nearly a half and half mix of outgoing 4/5’s and incoming 3/4’s. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such sustained interest in the older children by the younger children as the week went on…
The outgoing 4/5’s have definitely outgrown our playspace, traveling across the A frame monkey bars hand over hand with such speed and competency. They came in with much of this competence last fall, and Lili and Celia are ready to take their places, already proficient gymnasts in crossing from one end to the other, swinging from upper to lower bars with agility and ease. The 4/5’s have outgrown the big climber and so fling themselves from the top of the curvy slide or hang from the outside of the railings and travel from one end to the other as if clinging to the windowsills of a skyscraper, Spideys in action traversing the length of the climber with speed and dexterity. Must feel very dangerous and challenging and of course, we all want to try it. But we all can’t do it.
But the 3’s and 4’s have been content with going up the down slides and learning the new rule of checking first to make sure no one is coming down, and delighting that, once they reach the top, they can come back down and play bumper cars with the back of whatever cooping adult is willing to mark themselves as target for this gotta-do- it-again-and-again game.
As Nicky or Miles or Declan or Jacob repeatedly asked (after first reporting that the big kids were on the roof of the little playhouse and finding out that was OK with me) to get on the roof of the little playhouse, I told them my one (OK, there are 2) simple rule—you must be able to get up there and down from there on your own steam. If you need help, then it’s not for you…yet. The second rule is only 4 kids at a time.
So all week, the big kids sat perched like Kings and Queens of the Hill and the younger set watched with fascination and envy. Yesterday Nicky gave it a try, but try as he might (and he tried mightily) he could not get himself up there. He asked for help, and was bamboozled when I did not give him the same help in climbing *up* to the playhouse roof that I so readily offered when he needed assistance *down* from the top of the A frame climber.
Hmmm…but today I watched as he again traversed the top of the monkey bars, quick as a monkey, only this time when he reached the end where his goal was to lower himself down to one of the crossbars from the top, he did it himself. No help! This feat was applauded by me and he beamed with pride. With that, he marched down to the playhouse, where Lucas sat on top like Simba surveying Africa’s vastness. Nicky tried once. And then he tried again. Only this time he scrambled to the top and his pride was so big it filled the entire playground. Along came Miles. He tried, couldn’t do it. He looked at me. I reminded him of the rule. Gotta get up there yourself. Miles tried again. He stood in the window and tried to hoist his right leg up. At this point the grade of the roof rises from left to right. Miles tried with his left leg and managed to shimmy to the top. His pride overflowed. But uh-oh. Lucas jumped off. Nicky scrambled down. Miles, still full of the satisfaction of getting to the top, was not sure he wanted to attempt descent. I watched. He considered his options. Maybe he was content to stay there overnight. I suggested he consider lowering himself onto a shutter on the side of the playhouse and this he accomplished easily. And what did he do once his feet hit the ground?
He climbed right back up. Because he could!
__._,_.___
__,_._,___
No comments:
Post a Comment