Yesterday at 3rd-4th grade recess, a boy ran up to me and said his frisbee was stuck in a tree. I had no idea how we were going to get a frisbee out of a tree but I was the authority (the one with the whistle around her neck--a Fox 40 no less) so I had to try. From the other side of the playground, a girl ran up and fell in step with me. The 3rd grade equivalent of an ambulance chaser.
I contemplated the frisbee, surrounded by about 20 students. "We need something to throw up there," I decided.
A little girl ran toward a pile of big rocks near the fence. "How about a rock?" she asked.
"No, no," I said.
"How about a water bottle?" another girl wondered.
"That may work," I said. She showed me her water bottle. It was empty and completely flattened. She was just carrying it around. Like you do?
"No," I said, "it's not heavy enough."
There were three boys nearby playing basketball. I went over and asked them if we could use their ball. They agreed and followed me over to the tree. A few of the kids haphazardly threw the ball up, getting nowhere near the frisbee. "Let's let a basketball player try," I suggested.
It was a good move. I mean, if you got athletic kids around, you might as well utilize them. A boy hit the frisbee and it fell to a lower limb. Another boy hit the frisbee and it fell to a still lower limb. It was still out of reach. One of the boys, the biggest 4th grader and also one of the basketball players, tried to jump up and reach it but to no avail.
I eyed the students and picked the smallest girl. "Come here," I said. I lifted her up as high as I could and she batted at the frisbee and it fell to the ground.
There was much rejoicing.
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