2013 Jun 01\u00a0 (Sat)<\/p>\n
Getting their energy out<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n I have been forewarned by the volunteers that the bunch of kids who need afterschool tutorial on their homework are all hyperactive.\u00a0 \u00a0Imagine\u2026a ratio of 1 (volunteer coach) to 4 (Grade-2 kids) is way too much for the coach to handle.\u00a0\u00a0 I was told it\u2019s more of a challenge to keep these kids sit still than to teach them homework.<\/p>\n \u201cOK\u2026\u201d, I registered the words in my memory.<\/p>\n Day 1\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cChildren, pull your desks to the corner\u201d, I told my kids as soon as I stepped into the classroom which was shared with all the other kids and coaches.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t come and disturb my students!\u201d I told the other boys who came to stir up attention or feign fights with my kids off.<\/p>\n \u201cYou do your homework.\u00a0 Today, I am your tutor.\u201d \u2026.authoritative, loud, clear, assertive\u2026.no non-sense\u2026.my spill to my three kid-dles!<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you finish this (subject), you can go out and jump\u201d, I told them.\u00a0 Their faces lit up.\u00a0 There they went\u2026.studiously on Subject One.<\/p>\n \u201cSo\u2026jump\u2026.ten times!\u201d\u00a0 These boys couldn\u2019t wait but started jumping as soon as they were out of the classroom.\u00a0 However, I held them back because I hadn\u2019t given my \u201cone, two, three, ready\u201d signal yet.<\/p>\n Other teachers passed by.\u00a0 But they were transparent to me.\u00a0 It\u2019s good they said nothing. \u00a0Even if they did, I wouldn\u2019t give them a hoot\u2026.this time, this hour, I was in charge!<\/p>\n \u201cCould we go for more?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n Back to the classroom\u2026.<\/p>\n \u201cOK, if you finish Subject Two, we will go out and jump again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHorray!\u201d<\/p>\n That day, I gave them three windows to do their jumping\u2026.incrementing the number of times they jumped each time.<\/p>\n \u201cWho is number one?\u201d they asked when the lesson was over.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, nobody is number one today.\u00a0 In run #1, he is.\u00a0 In run #2, he (another boy) is.\u00a0 You (the third one) are the weakest.\u00a0 You have to jump taller!\u201d<\/p>\n Day 1 over\u2026.all three kids happy\u2026.much energy expended\u2026.all completed their homework before the end of lesson.\u00a0 I gave them all a \u201cSuper-duper\u201d in the day\u2019s report.<\/p>\n Day 2\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cCan we do another activity and not jump?\u201d\u00a0 These boys had their eyes on the playground below where other older students were playing basketball.\u00a0 \u201cCan we run?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, you can\u2019t.\u00a0 You may knock people down if you run in this corridor.\u201d\u00a0 So, I made them jump again.<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t think of any other activity at that moment to expend their energy.<\/p>\n But now sitting here quietly at home\u2026.a number of other activities came to mind<\/p>\n How about squat and jump, holding their ears and bunny-jump, sitting on invisible chairs for a count of 50, balancing on single leg while holding the raised leg against the buttock, lift and stretch that raised leg on the back while stretching the other hand to the front\u2026a yoga posture\u2026all 50 times in the minimum, some kicking training exercises which strengthen the waist, some kicking training exercises\u00a0for Taichi\u00a0?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mix and match\u2026a combo of them plus jumping (with a given minimum height to be reached).\u00a0 Wooow, fun and games!<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t wait for the next school year to start!<\/p>\n If you have any\u00a0suggestions on activities,\u00a0you are welcome to send them in!<\/p>\n END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2013 Jun 01\u00a0 (Sat) Getting their energy out I have been forewarned by the volunteers that the bunch of kids who need afterschool tutorial on their homework are all hyperactive.\u00a0 \u00a0Imagine\u2026a ratio of 1 (volunteer coach) to 4 (Grade-2 kids) … Continue reading