Swinging

Crossing midlines and full-body integration. I mentioned before that the Lark has trouble integrating movements on the top half of his body with movements on the bottom half. Swinging on a swing has always been very challenging for him, because when we swing we use our arms, our legs, and our core muscles in a way that has to be timed just right. Last year (fourth grade) in the Gray School, we worked a lot on swinging, not just because it's a fun thing to be able to do, but because integrating all those movements helps us integrate activity in different parts of our brain. Well, the Lark did eventually learn to swing last year. He learned to do it, but he didn't reall get it. I knew he wasn't getting it because I could see that he never really enjoyed it.

Well, we didn't really work on it this year, but apparently he's been working on it on his own. Because now he really gets it. He goes out on his own and swings his little heart out. He swings as high as he can go, then he leans straight back and flies through the air like a missle. Then he sits up and pumps some more.

I take a couple things from this. First, it's never too late. If fifth grade is the Lark's years for discovering the fun of swinging, that's a lot better than never discovering it. Second, teaching is a kind of planting. You can't make seeds grow. You can't train them to grow. You can't open them up and pull out the plant. You can only plant them and nurture them. They have do the work of growing all on their own.