I substitute taught for the PE teacher of a Homeschool Enrichment Center. If you're new to the concept, it's a small, low-key school that homeschooled children attend one day per week to enjoy things like art, music, PE and other subjects that are either tricky or just more fun to do in a group, while their parents get a break to run errands or binge-watch shows on Netflix.
In case you have been living under a rock, kickball is baseball except instead of hitting a small ball with a bat, you kick a large bouncing ball that someone rolls to you. I haven't played in years. I was never a big fan as a kid because I am extremely uncoordinated.
Today, I discovered that third and fourth graders are the best age for kickball. They all played, enthusiastically, and they could pitch their own balls, kick well, and run to all the bases. To be fair, I personally feel that third and fourth graders are some of the finest examples of humans. I love age 10. It's the age I would choose to teach if I had my own classroom. Ten-year-olds have mastered enough skills like reading and tying their shoes to be independent and have developed a sense of humor that make them fun to talk to, but are not quite the sassy know-it-alls that teens tend to be. It's a sweet spot. Wooo, fourth grade!
Fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders were the next best age for this game. They could play well, for the most part. Almost everyone participated. They actually had some ability. I told them we were going to play kickball and they set up the cones to mark the bases, kept track of the outs and the hits, and ran the game without any help from me. There were a few girls that didn't do anything in the outfield because it was boring, but when it was their turn to kick, they did so skillfully. One kid though. He refused to play altogether and sat in the shade complaining the entire time. He actually asked if I knew his mom's number because he was really tired of being there. This group was small and based on previous experiences with this age group, I feel that had there been more kids, I'd probably have encountered a few more that refused to play. It's frustrating.
The first and second graders...were okay. Some of them got it. Kick the ball and run. Some of them did not get it. Some of them did not kick the ball. Some of them kicked the ball and did not run. Some of them sat in the grass and played with leaves while the ball went sailing past them. Some of them sat out on the sides because they were tired or felt like it. They could not pitch, so I pitched it to all of them. I did a pretty consistent job, but some of them could not kick the ball, even when it was stopped. For the most part though, these kids tried, and I appreciated that.
Kindergartners though. They are lacking in the kickball department. Majorly.
Actually, I hate to say it, but I have to make this distinction. Kindergarten girls are terrible at kickball. I thought maybe it was just a kindergarten thing in general, but after watching both genders play...well...
There was a marked difference between the girls and the boys at this age, as much as I hate to admit it. I did not see that difference in ability between genders in the other age groups. The boys tended to be the ones keeping track of the score, but ability-wise, they were pretty evenly matched.
Except in kindergarten. The girls were up to "bat" first and their lack of skills was quickly apparent. The kindergarten girls could not kick the ball while it was moving. Even those that did manage kick it, did not kick it hard enough or far enough for any of the other children to retrieve. The boys in the outfield chased the ball down and attempted to tag the girls out with it. I don't think any girl made it past second base.
Then the boys were up to "bat". And they could all kick the ball. Far enough that it sailed over the heads of the girls sitting in the outfield paying absolutely no attention to the game. Some of the girls congregated around second base and talked while the game went on without them.
It was frustrating. And surprising.
I'm no athlete. I don't really care about sports in general. I was definitely the kid who let all the others cut me in line so I didn't have to kick the ball because I was afraid I'd mess up. I would find the least likely place for the ball to go in the outfield and stand there so that no one would depend on me for anything. So I was surprised with how frustrated I got with this experience. Part of the problem was developmental, I'm sure. And that's fine. But It did truly feel like some of the kids weren't listening, or even trying.
Kick the ball. Try again. Kick it. KICK IT. Good kick! Now run. RUN! RUN TO THE BASE! THE BASE! THAT CONE! Never mind. You're out.
I'd not had the experience of seeing the skills of different age groups in succession like this before. It was interesting to see how skills develop over time. I guess in a couple of years, those sweet, incapable kindergartners will be kicking and running like little pros. They'll pay attention, develop some coordination, and kick with purpose. Then they'll be agreeable ten-year-olds with some skills. And all too soon, they will become middle-schoolers. Maybe they will become the kind of middle-schoolers that jump in and do their best. Hopefully.
But some of them will probably be sitting in the shade. Refusing to play.
Asking to call their moms.
But then...
Maybe some little kindergartners don't receive the gift of coordination as they get bigger. Maybe they become agreeable ten-year-olds, but they never get the hang of kicking the ball and running the bases the way the other kids do. Perhaps not all middle-schoolers know how to play second base, or any position in the outfield beyond just standing there, picking at the grass.
Perhaps that's why there was a middle-schooler sitting in the shade, complaining the entire time. Refusing to play kickball.
And maybe, just maybe, that's why he was asking to call his mom.
In case you have been living under a rock, kickball is baseball except instead of hitting a small ball with a bat, you kick a large bouncing ball that someone rolls to you. I haven't played in years. I was never a big fan as a kid because I am extremely uncoordinated.
Today, I discovered that third and fourth graders are the best age for kickball. They all played, enthusiastically, and they could pitch their own balls, kick well, and run to all the bases. To be fair, I personally feel that third and fourth graders are some of the finest examples of humans. I love age 10. It's the age I would choose to teach if I had my own classroom. Ten-year-olds have mastered enough skills like reading and tying their shoes to be independent and have developed a sense of humor that make them fun to talk to, but are not quite the sassy know-it-alls that teens tend to be. It's a sweet spot. Wooo, fourth grade!
Fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders were the next best age for this game. They could play well, for the most part. Almost everyone participated. They actually had some ability. I told them we were going to play kickball and they set up the cones to mark the bases, kept track of the outs and the hits, and ran the game without any help from me. There were a few girls that didn't do anything in the outfield because it was boring, but when it was their turn to kick, they did so skillfully. One kid though. He refused to play altogether and sat in the shade complaining the entire time. He actually asked if I knew his mom's number because he was really tired of being there. This group was small and based on previous experiences with this age group, I feel that had there been more kids, I'd probably have encountered a few more that refused to play. It's frustrating.
The first and second graders...were okay. Some of them got it. Kick the ball and run. Some of them did not get it. Some of them did not kick the ball. Some of them kicked the ball and did not run. Some of them sat in the grass and played with leaves while the ball went sailing past them. Some of them sat out on the sides because they were tired or felt like it. They could not pitch, so I pitched it to all of them. I did a pretty consistent job, but some of them could not kick the ball, even when it was stopped. For the most part though, these kids tried, and I appreciated that.
Kindergartners though. They are lacking in the kickball department. Majorly.
Actually, I hate to say it, but I have to make this distinction. Kindergarten girls are terrible at kickball. I thought maybe it was just a kindergarten thing in general, but after watching both genders play...well...
There was a marked difference between the girls and the boys at this age, as much as I hate to admit it. I did not see that difference in ability between genders in the other age groups. The boys tended to be the ones keeping track of the score, but ability-wise, they were pretty evenly matched.
Except in kindergarten. The girls were up to "bat" first and their lack of skills was quickly apparent. The kindergarten girls could not kick the ball while it was moving. Even those that did manage kick it, did not kick it hard enough or far enough for any of the other children to retrieve. The boys in the outfield chased the ball down and attempted to tag the girls out with it. I don't think any girl made it past second base.
Then the boys were up to "bat". And they could all kick the ball. Far enough that it sailed over the heads of the girls sitting in the outfield paying absolutely no attention to the game. Some of the girls congregated around second base and talked while the game went on without them.
It was frustrating. And surprising.
I'm no athlete. I don't really care about sports in general. I was definitely the kid who let all the others cut me in line so I didn't have to kick the ball because I was afraid I'd mess up. I would find the least likely place for the ball to go in the outfield and stand there so that no one would depend on me for anything. So I was surprised with how frustrated I got with this experience. Part of the problem was developmental, I'm sure. And that's fine. But It did truly feel like some of the kids weren't listening, or even trying.
Kick the ball. Try again. Kick it. KICK IT. Good kick! Now run. RUN! RUN TO THE BASE! THE BASE! THAT CONE! Never mind. You're out.
I'd not had the experience of seeing the skills of different age groups in succession like this before. It was interesting to see how skills develop over time. I guess in a couple of years, those sweet, incapable kindergartners will be kicking and running like little pros. They'll pay attention, develop some coordination, and kick with purpose. Then they'll be agreeable ten-year-olds with some skills. And all too soon, they will become middle-schoolers. Maybe they will become the kind of middle-schoolers that jump in and do their best. Hopefully.
But some of them will probably be sitting in the shade. Refusing to play.
Asking to call their moms.
But then...
Maybe some little kindergartners don't receive the gift of coordination as they get bigger. Maybe they become agreeable ten-year-olds, but they never get the hang of kicking the ball and running the bases the way the other kids do. Perhaps not all middle-schoolers know how to play second base, or any position in the outfield beyond just standing there, picking at the grass.
Perhaps that's why there was a middle-schooler sitting in the shade, complaining the entire time. Refusing to play kickball.
And maybe, just maybe, that's why he was asking to call his mom.
I feel like Lydia may end up being the kid who doesn't play kickball. It may not be girly enough for her and she might decide she is too cool for something like that, or that she doesn't want to get messy and ruin her dress. But then again she has been very competitive lately and she did wear jeans and a t-shirt to the pumpkin patch. Maybe she will surprise me.
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