Did you know that going skating is a super kindergarten readiness activity? Any kind: ice skating, roller skating, roller blading, etc. I don’t just mean the way kids get exercise and have fun, or strengthen their muscles and coordination. I mean the falling down part. That’s right, the falling down.
With lots of protection on so they don’t get hurt, what do kids usually do after they fall down? They get up. Fall down, get up; fall, down, get up. When learning, kids sometimes spend more time in the down position than the up. Adults help them and they learn to do it by themselves. And that’s the lesson: we fall down and after falling, we do something to get up. Getting up might mean changing position, asking a friend, or crawling over to the fence but falling down doesn’t mean staying down.
That goes for kids and grownups. Here’s a quote from six-time National Gold Medalist Forest Fisher: ” Success is getting up more times than you fall down.” Your family may have time over the weekend for some skating of one sort or the other. What are your thoughts on the fall down/get up learning and thinking strategy?