April 7 - Buddies

The last time our class went to Cambridge, we taught the first graders how to throw underhand. During that class, I had some difficulties trying to get my buddy to step with the opposite leg than the hand he was using to throw. I noticed that he got more confident as I encouraged and complimented him. However, with his new found confidence, he also wanted to show off how far he is able to throw the tennis ball... This lead to him throwing overhand (baseball style), and that made it hard for me to make him practice his underhand throws. After a while, he listened and threw properly, and it was great. While we played the game where he would throw into the circle, he had a hard time not throwing as hard and aim for the ball. I noticed that he was frustrated as all his friends were able to move onto the levels before him. I tried to have a small conversation with him and tell him that he was very close to making it into the circle and if he threw a little lighter, he can totally do it. Eventually, he was able to get it inside the circle, and he was so excited and we sprinted to the next level. It was a lot of fun seeing him focused and happy at the end of class!