The competent child...

Yesterday we went to a park that has a play contraption that is simply too high for the children to get on themselves... they had to be lifted on.

After a while I turned to Ellen and said.... let's do an experiment...
and the experiment was that the children had to work together to help each other up and down... we were no longer going to help them...

The children looked at us as if we were mad... they looked at how high the seats were and felt a little defeated...
So I gave the children a tool... I curled in a ball in the sand... and asked "if you do this are you strong enough to be s step for your freinds?"

They all tried it out...

It was not easy. They needed several attempts to get the angle right, the shape of the ball right so that it did not hurt as feet were put on their backs and so that their friends could reach.... another child had to hold the play swing still so that it did not escape the mounter's grasp.

They managed... with great excitement... I cried out "children power" in my excitement and the children danced with joy... they helped each other - big children helping the small children up, small children helping the big children up... and then they helped to push...

The experiment not only worked... it was a great fun too. The children learned that collaboration is an important and fun skill... that alone we will not always succeed... but our chances of success are better TOGETHER!!