Many times as we leave the YMCA, Noah will ask if we can go to the “YMCA Park”, a large park located about a half block away. We’re usually already coming from an activity and in a hurry to get somewhere else, so we’ve never been.
After basketball Monday night, Noah wanted to go for a ride with me. I asked him where he wanted to go, and he told me this park. I hesitated, it being so close to his bedtime, but decided "Why not?" After playing on the playground for a while, we walked over to a white-walled structure I’d always wondered about and discovered an outdoor skating rink, complete with two netted goals.
Noah received a pair of inline skates from his great grandparents for Christmas, but we had yet to give it a try. Since we now had a convenient place, Mandy and I decided to take the boys up there the following night and try teaching him to skate.
The beauty of this rink was two-fold: nobody else was using it, and it was completely enclosed, with locks on the outside of the rink where E couldn’t reach. We brought his bike for him to practice riding, and Noah’s too just in case the skating thing didn’t work.
Noah’s capacity for frustration – or any 4-year-old’s for that matter – is limited, and I tried to set both our expectations low. As we both strapped on our skates, I told him that he would fall a lot, that it would take many visits to learn how to do it, and that he should just keep getting up without getting mad. I fully expected it to last about five minutes, especially after the first shaky attempt gave Mandy and me the feeling that perhaps 4 was just too young to get it.
Much to our surprise, he stuck with it and really seemed to enjoy it. He did fall, a lot, but there was very little frustration and he kept making progress. By the end he was able to move slowly on his own and even get up on his own when he fell, refusing all offers of help. We were both relieved, and proud of his determination. When we finally had to go home and put them to bed, he wanted to stay longer.
Meanwhile Elliot alternated between tooling around on his bike and asking me to give him a “ride” on my skates. Poor kid didn’t realize what a risk he was taking, as I haven't been on skates in a long time – maybe 15 years? This rink was a perfect place for him to ride – flat, smooth and way wider than a sidewalk. Unlike Noah, who we started on training wheels before we knew what a bad approach that was, Elliot got started “riding” his bike last fall. His rides then consisted mainly of walking around with the bike between his legs, which is normal. But he really seems to be getting the hang of it now, and I’m sure it won’t be long before he’s gliding down hills by the church, a year or so earlier than Noah did.
A couple days later, I took both back to the rink at Noah’s request, even though it was considerably colder out. There were three 9-year old girls playing around after their soccer game who immediately swarmed Noah and Elliot and decided they needed some shepherding around, and some “lessons”. They were sweet, and Noah let them help him – something he wouldn’t let me do very often.
Both boys did even better this time around, Noah on his skates, and E on his bike. I brought a soccer ball too, and I played soccer with them for awhile (with me on skates, which came in handy). Both of them kept taking turns pushing me around on my skates. I was even able to talk Elliot into pushing me after Noah in a game of tag. Afterward, we played on the gym in the park until it got too cold to stay.
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| We had a few of these... |
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| But he took most of them in stride. |
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| Playing goalie |
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| One of the few times he let me help |
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| Determined, or angry? |
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| Noah's helpers |
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| Elliot actually started picking up his feet and gliding |
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| Whoa! |
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| Now shadowing Elliot |
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| Back at the playground |
