Juggling in Mr Horsfall and Mr Letcher’s class
The effects of sustained practice are often hard to measure and see, especially for young learners. This is why in our class we learn to juggle as a way to teach students that learning new skills and hopefully acquiring a level of mastery at something takes time, effort and learning from failure.
So, at the start of this year each student was given a set of juggling balls that they were able to keep for the year. Students were given the background as to what we were going to do and why. Then each Tuesday we learn from an expert (on YouTube) the different steps to being able to juggle 3 balls correctly and successfully.
Students are then given two to three 15 minute sessions a week to work on their skills in the yard, encouraging and working with each other, with the goal of being able to juggle 3 balls continuously for a small amount of time.
At this point we have students that have already progressed at different rates, with nearly all students able to recognise that the continuity of practice is what is helping them to get better. Students that are highly motivated have even been taking their juggling balls home and been practicing in their spare time.
The end goal of this small program is not just to learn a physical skill that promotes co-ordination, outdoor play and motor skills, but to hopefully give students a sense of accomplishment when they have practised and honed a skill over a period of time. And of course, applying this same understanding throughout all the learning that they undertake in their lives.
For anyone that would like to learn how to juggle at home simply watch the video below:
