Olevern
10-28-2011, 02:22 PM
Been teaching two little ones to ride dirtbike.
First lesson was a bust, the six year old grabbed a handfull of throttle and pulled away from me (I was holding onto the bike) and flipped over the handlebars, doing a faceplant. Of course, I had him in a chest protecter and helment, so he didn't get hurt, just scared. Five year old brother didn't want any parts of it after seeing his older bro. lying on the ground and crying.
Gave it three weeks and waited until the older one called me and wanted to try again, this time switched from a ktm 50 without training wheels to a Suzuki JR50 with training wheels. Older bro. did pretty good, but only went for a short while before he had enough. Joel is ADHD with a very short attention span, so this is how he will learn, a bit at a time.
Then the little guy wanted to try, so I put him in the seat, went over the controls with him and walked along with him as I did his brother, keeping a hand on the handlebars and one ready to cut the throttle if he got a little happy with it. He did great.
Will probably have to postpone lessons until spring as we had snow all day yesterday (melted off by late morning) but it's a start. And I got Joel interested in learning to sing with me to give us something to do over the winter (I do vocal work in local church venues on a regular basis, so I have the pro audio equipment which intrieges Joel) He wants to sing in church with a mic.
Here is Jack (five year old) posing on the JR50
http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac56/Olevern/bikes/Jack10282011.jpg
Joel playing on one of the other toys while I worked with Jack
http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac56/Olevern/bikes/Joel10282011.jpg
I enjoy working with kids with disabilities in my retirement, took on Joel because of the extremity of his ADHD and extremly limited attention span, his younger brother kinda goes with the package, can't offer one time and attention leave his brother out, even 'though Jack has no disability.
I give a great deal of my time to the kids in my community who have been given so much more to overcome than most of us, but I find that they give back so much more to me than I ever could give to them...the reward of a smile from a kid who feels like a complete failure in school and even with most of his relationships, who finds that there is something he can do well. The welcome hug and a big smile when I show up at their homes are all the incentive and reward I could ever want. Then there is the gratitude of the parents who are frequently frustrated with dealing with a special needs child and welcome the suggestions in child management I provide.
Working with two twelve year olds, a nine year old, two six year olds, a five year old and a four year old (the four year old is going blind so he can't ride dirtbikes or four wheelers, but am working with him on manipulating learning devices for the blind)
If you want to really feel good about yourself, I highly recommend voluntary community service: find a need you feel qualified to meet, then set about meeting it.
There's nothing like it in this world.
First lesson was a bust, the six year old grabbed a handfull of throttle and pulled away from me (I was holding onto the bike) and flipped over the handlebars, doing a faceplant. Of course, I had him in a chest protecter and helment, so he didn't get hurt, just scared. Five year old brother didn't want any parts of it after seeing his older bro. lying on the ground and crying.
Gave it three weeks and waited until the older one called me and wanted to try again, this time switched from a ktm 50 without training wheels to a Suzuki JR50 with training wheels. Older bro. did pretty good, but only went for a short while before he had enough. Joel is ADHD with a very short attention span, so this is how he will learn, a bit at a time.
Then the little guy wanted to try, so I put him in the seat, went over the controls with him and walked along with him as I did his brother, keeping a hand on the handlebars and one ready to cut the throttle if he got a little happy with it. He did great.
Will probably have to postpone lessons until spring as we had snow all day yesterday (melted off by late morning) but it's a start. And I got Joel interested in learning to sing with me to give us something to do over the winter (I do vocal work in local church venues on a regular basis, so I have the pro audio equipment which intrieges Joel) He wants to sing in church with a mic.
Here is Jack (five year old) posing on the JR50
http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac56/Olevern/bikes/Jack10282011.jpg
Joel playing on one of the other toys while I worked with Jack
http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/ac56/Olevern/bikes/Joel10282011.jpg
I enjoy working with kids with disabilities in my retirement, took on Joel because of the extremity of his ADHD and extremly limited attention span, his younger brother kinda goes with the package, can't offer one time and attention leave his brother out, even 'though Jack has no disability.
I give a great deal of my time to the kids in my community who have been given so much more to overcome than most of us, but I find that they give back so much more to me than I ever could give to them...the reward of a smile from a kid who feels like a complete failure in school and even with most of his relationships, who finds that there is something he can do well. The welcome hug and a big smile when I show up at their homes are all the incentive and reward I could ever want. Then there is the gratitude of the parents who are frequently frustrated with dealing with a special needs child and welcome the suggestions in child management I provide.
Working with two twelve year olds, a nine year old, two six year olds, a five year old and a four year old (the four year old is going blind so he can't ride dirtbikes or four wheelers, but am working with him on manipulating learning devices for the blind)
If you want to really feel good about yourself, I highly recommend voluntary community service: find a need you feel qualified to meet, then set about meeting it.
There's nothing like it in this world.