On holiday in Italy again this year there are loads of kids going around the campsite on 'wobble boards'.
Hard to describe I guess, it's like a skateboard but only has one wheel at the front and one at the back with a bar in the middle where both ends detach from each other. You stand on top and move your legs up and down and the board wobbles and moves forward. It's a lesson in coordination.
We have seen them at the Italy park for about the past three years and my kids always look at them but we've never bought them one. This year we decided on day one to bite the bullet and Rosie and Callum shared a wobble board.
Initially it is impossible to get to grips with; you have to hold the kids by both arms and pull them along the road while they try to get the action of their feet right, trying to balance on a two wheel skateboard and try to propel it by moving their legs back and forwards to wobble to board. Very quickly they start to get it - they get their balance and start to get the action of 'wobbling' and as the holiday goes on they get very good at it and in fact can do amazing things on it that you never thought possible.
It takes the whole week to practice, getting up in the morning and getting on the board, doing it in the evening on the way to dinner. Then you come home and you can ride a wobble board and the kids at home are amazed by the skill and will say things like "Rosie's amazing at balance, she's always been good at stuff like this"
Of course the real secret is, it's nothing to do with that, it's just the time you had to practice on holiday. It's being prepared to take some of your time on holiday to practice a new skill to bring it home when you come back.
I remember 10 years or more ago loving The View and the song 'Same jeans'. There is an amazing line in that which say's "You'd be amazed at what you can achieve in a year".
It didn't take a year for a wobble board, it only took a week.
A lesson to be applied through life I think.
Blog Post Number: 1040
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