The Rookery

This amazingly beautiful fall has given us the opportunity to get outside a lot for PE.  I try to do a single activity for a week so that students get a chance to set progressive goals for themselves.  Recently, we had a series of tree climbing lessons.  We are so lucky to have a woods at our backdoor.  Scrambling up a trunk and feeling the breeze in you hair from a perch in the crook of a tree is a great way to engage with nature. (It's also great upper body exercise, strategic thinking and responsible risk taking.)

There are some ground rules (no pun intended).  Students must have three points of contact with the tree (not including the head.)  Students must keep their heads above their feet.  They cannot climb higher than I can spot them.  Many kids will call me over because they feel stuck when they are trying to get down.  We talk through different strategies of how they could move their bodies to make it easier to get down.  This kind of motor planning is new to some and key to "getting better" at any physical activity.  You had to know where your body is in order to be able to get it to do what you want it to.  I won't support a student's weight getting out a tree but I will spot him or her – usually it's just enough of a safety net to allow students to take the responsible risk of giving their strategies a try.

Each student finds his or her own level of challenge.  Some try a tree with lots of low branches.  Others try to shimmy up a tree with branches well above their heads.  Many start with one tree then watch others and set themselves new challenges.  We all have a wonderful time seeing the world from a slightly different perspective.