Today was the boys' first evening of ice skating class. Although I brought some grading to work on, I got little of it done as I watched their antics. Considering that this was only their second time on the ice, they were making good progress.
By far, the most entertaining to watch was Rowen. Initially, he had refused to let us sign him up for classes, but yesterday he was talking as though he planned on joining them. When we told him that there might not be space for him since he didn't sign up earlier, he was quite confident that it would turn out in his favor (which it did).
It took a little while for the instructors to coax Rowen away from the wall, and when they did, he spend much of his time lying on the ice or picking himself back up. Somehow, he turned all of his initial stumbles into full-out body slides. He gained a bit of confidence when they gave him a type of railing to push around, but he kept trying to use it to escape the little kids' area and join his brothers in the middle of the ice.
I couldn't hear what anyone said, but based on their gestures, the little kids weren't to go past the first blue line, a rule that he kept breaking as he tried to follow the bigger kids. Based on her arm motions, it was clear to me that one instructor said something to the effect of "you can't take the railing if you go over there." In response, Rowen shoved the railing away and tried making it over to the big kids on his own. Multiple falls later, he was actually getting better about staying up, but obviously decided he wasn't ready to do what his brothers were trying (gliding short distances on one leg) and returned to his group.
By the end of the session, Rowen was making it from one side to the other with few falls, Trevor was looking more comfortable (if not quite proficient), and Connor was practicing spin-like maneuvers ... literally skating in circles around his brothers. Connor did, however, say that he might not want to play hockey after one player (a student of mine) wiped out hard during one of the drills they were doing just before the boys' class.
Connor was talking about speed skating in the Olympics, though.
By far, the most entertaining to watch was Rowen. Initially, he had refused to let us sign him up for classes, but yesterday he was talking as though he planned on joining them. When we told him that there might not be space for him since he didn't sign up earlier, he was quite confident that it would turn out in his favor (which it did).
It took a little while for the instructors to coax Rowen away from the wall, and when they did, he spend much of his time lying on the ice or picking himself back up. Somehow, he turned all of his initial stumbles into full-out body slides. He gained a bit of confidence when they gave him a type of railing to push around, but he kept trying to use it to escape the little kids' area and join his brothers in the middle of the ice.
I couldn't hear what anyone said, but based on their gestures, the little kids weren't to go past the first blue line, a rule that he kept breaking as he tried to follow the bigger kids. Based on her arm motions, it was clear to me that one instructor said something to the effect of "you can't take the railing if you go over there." In response, Rowen shoved the railing away and tried making it over to the big kids on his own. Multiple falls later, he was actually getting better about staying up, but obviously decided he wasn't ready to do what his brothers were trying (gliding short distances on one leg) and returned to his group.
By the end of the session, Rowen was making it from one side to the other with few falls, Trevor was looking more comfortable (if not quite proficient), and Connor was practicing spin-like maneuvers ... literally skating in circles around his brothers. Connor did, however, say that he might not want to play hockey after one player (a student of mine) wiped out hard during one of the drills they were doing just before the boys' class.
Connor was talking about speed skating in the Olympics, though.
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