We Walked on Stilts!!

Bonnie Performing in part of her eagle costume!

Rhiannon

Our Learning Community has a few parents organize workshops, throughout the year, and this January we were blessed with the super dancing stilt-skill-sharing of Bonnie. We actually got two workshops with her, a week apart, which gave the kids (and some parents!) the opportunity to try out the stilts twice, giving the opportunity to experience body-memory, and to build on the balance skills they learned the first week. Yes, I tried the stilts, too! It's really a wonderful feeling to overcome the fear of first standing on them, and find oneself walking around, beginning to find balance!

Ryan

Look at the pride on Ryan's face! I hadn't realized until some of us mothers were getting up on the stilts, how terrifying and also how totally rewarding it is to walk on stilts. I think especially for us adults, who have been at a particular level and on a particular equilibrium for such a very long time, that this was dancing out of our skins a bit. Really good to have some hurdles to leap, and this, being something that's not an expected lifeskill, is a nice way to step out of the norm for a few minutes, and feel good about stretching our boundaries.

Markus and I tried to build some shorter, more primary-friendly stilts at home, but, since we didn't actually get any direction, our attempts were a little off the mark. Nothing that can't be adjusted at home with a couple of chunks of wood moved, though. There's actually so much enthusiasm from various kids in the program that they may organize a stilt-making workshop! How exciting! Thank you to Tanya and Bonnie for this excellent and rewarding opportunity!

Both Taliesin and Nina (not pictured) managed to walk for a while, hands-free. Pretty wonderful achievements, indeed!

Taliesin