Street SUP Adelaide is taking a break

After an amazing 8 years running Street SUP Adelaide, I am taking a break.

The July school holidays will be the final availability until further notice.

It is a definite WATCH THIS SPACE moment, as there could very well be an Australian Tour on the cards. But for now, I’ll just encourage you to all get onboard and get in quick for the July 2022 Holidays so you don’t miss out.

If I do a little bit of very vague maths, here are some very vague stats for anyone playing along at home!

  • 10 weeks a year (8 years, that’s 80 weeks of Street SUP Vacation care)

  • Approximately 500 sessions held

  • Between 20 and 60 kids per session (let’s just say, I’ve had approximately 20, 000 kids and staff on these boards!)

What a ride it’s been.

I’ve seen kids (and adults) throw themselves out of their comfort zones and push through their fears, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

What an absolute blast it has been.

I am not writing off the business forever, but I’m off around Australia. I have been contacted by people around Australia to run the business in their areas, so this could happen in the future. But for now, I am taking a much-needed reset.

Thanks to everyone, every school, every OSHC director, every staff member and everyone who got me out to their schools and events.

The Pandemic and Street SUP!

It’s been a bit bumpy ride for Street SUP during Covid!

I know, I know, it’s been a bumpy ride for everyone! Some schools started opting out of excursions and rushing for Incursions. Other school opted out of any outside contact at all. It seems as though everyone is just taking one step at a time and doing the best they can :)

What has that meant for Street SUP? There haven’t been huge changes to how I run it, Safety Gear is still washed daily and the kids are still loving learning new skills. There have been more reschedules this year than ever, so I’m getting really good at those!

As a teacher, I have watched kids lose resilience and gain a lot of fear over the past two years. It’s understandable, yet it also doesn’t need to happen. There’s enough going on in the world at the moment, and the kids don’t need to absorb our fears and anxieties, it’s too much for them. I strongly believe, that our job, as adults, is to remain calm and let them enjoy their childhood in the best way we know how :)

So, I love still being able to go to schools and spend time with the kids, watching them smile and laugh and get out of their comfort zones in a safe yet some what crazy world right now.

Maybe you even got to spend more quality time with your kids this year - See, there is a light in all of this ;)

Enjoy them. they’re only young once!

Play with them, read to them, laugh with them and cuddle them as much as you can. The world will return to some kind of normal soon and you may not get all this tie back :)

Maybe you can even make them a homemade Street SUP Land Paddle and ride with them :) (Please send pics if this happens, I know a few families have done this and it’s so great!)

From scared to brave ...

I had a conversation with a little boy today. He was 6. He was standing by his board, all safety geared up with tears down his face. I asked him what was wrong. He told me he was scared. I knelt down and let him know that the first step to being brave, is being scared. I asked him if he wanted me to walk by his side and help him be brave. He said yes. It only took a few minutes, and he was off and riding on his own. His smile said it all :)

THIS is why I love my job!

Check out the pics and see how we roll here at Street SUP Adelaide!

 

FullSizeRender.jpg
IMG_6753.JPG
IMAGE.JPG

Free Range Kids

IMG_6690.JPG

“You should get traffic lights and make a track for us to ride around”, to which I replied “There’s enough rules already!”

Children need to learn to navigate life safely, so we provide safe places for them to do so. Riding around courts in all different directions, being aware or their space and those around them IS A LEARNT SKILL!

Falling down and getting back up again, IS A LEARNT SKILL.

Stopping or turning to avoid an accident (or conflict) IS A LEARNT SKILL!

Putting on their own safety gear (or at least having a go) instead of waiting for an adult to come and save them (and do it all for them while they stand like scarecrows) IS A LEARNT SKILL!

The kids learn so much by navigating their way around a court on the edge of complete fear or fearlessness, and it is a beautiful thing.

Such a great bunch of kids so far these holidays, quite literally they rose from fearful to fearless in five minutes! 

Summertime in Adelaide

This week has been pretty hot, especially the further inland you go. By the beach however, has been beautiful with a fresh seabreeze. 

I know that some people may disagree with my thoughts and thinkings from this week, but I am just speaking from my experiences!

With central temperature control and air conditioning all throughout the country, many people move from their air conditioned houses to their air conditioned cars, into their air conditioned workplace and visa versa at the end of the day. 

Too many people can no longer handle the heat! We live in Australia, and so many people can’t figure out how to deal with the weather. In schools, if it’s spitting rain, he children get brought indoors, if it’s too hot, they get brought inside. What ever happened to running through a sprinkler in the heat or putting on rubber boots and a raincoat in the rain? Surely adapting to weather is a life skill?!

It’s no secret, I love weather. I love all seasons, storms and everything that comes with it. There is point in not loving it. I can’t change it and I don’t want to stop my life because of the extremities. I get up earlier in the day to exercise and I try to rearrange my day to be outdoors at sunset and sunrise when it’s beautiful and cool. 

I need to admit, that I find air conditioning too cold in many cases and I’d rather be outside. But, I feel like the problem is deeper than air conditioning. 

External factors (as in outside of your body) can make things more comfortable, sure. But if your internal dialogue is constantly trying to fight something you can’t change, then you’ll never be happy!

Unless indoors, we’ve been mainly running early sessions this summer so that the kids can get outdoors and be active. I’m definitely not saying that they should be rolling around outdoors at 2pm with sweltering heat! But no matter what time of year it is, there is always a time of day where being outdoors and active can be done.

 

 

 

 

Let’s talk about screen time….

As an educator and the owner operator of Street SUP Adelaide, I have noticed screen time addiction on the rise.

It has its place and I am not knocking it, but the addiction is real.

During the many clinics I’ve run through the school holidays, I can honestly say that the kids who have limited screen time at OSHC have a higher rate of participation. When children have the option to go back on a computer, iPad or gaming, they’ll often have a short go, give up and go back to their screens which is something they always have access to.

I love to leave my phone at home and get away and out of range. I am fortunate to have grown up without screen time (except for commercial television) and love getting outdoors and into nature. It’s sad that this needs to be encouraged or a special occasion these days, but it is still as important.

So put down the screens, have dinner together, look in to each other’s eyes, go ride a bike, go camping, play board games. Actually enjoy BEing with your friends and family, one day they’ll be gone. Nothing is permanent.

You are only a spectator in the world of social media, but you’re a player and participant in life, so get on with it!

Have fun!

And learn to ride a board someday, there’s plenty to choose from!

Gender Stereotypes

In a world where all humans ‘should’ be treated equally, there is still a long way to go when it comes to gender stereotypes. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest which ‘gender’ people want to associate with, but I feel educators, coaches, parents and adults have a duty to offer the same thing to all children (free from judgement and with an open heart).

I completely understand that some boys might want to ride scooters and some girls may want to play with dolls, but isn’t the opposite just as true? Yep, some girls like pink, but some hate it. This whole “pink is for girls and blue is for boys” or “skateboards are for boys and fairy wings are for girls” crap is outdated.

There have always been, and will continue to be children who break the mould. Encourage that! If their passion is not ‘the norm’, who cares?!!! And if it is, then embrace that too! If they’re happy and not hurting anyone, does it really matter if your son wants to learn to dance or your daughter wants to ride a skateboard?

I was at a school the other day for ‘wheels day’. All of the boys had their scooters and helmets and the girls had nothing. Im not judging this particular group of kids as they were awesome and the girls jumped at the chance to skate around all day with the Kahuna boards and big sticks and had an absolute ball doing it. They were such great kids! It just made me realise how much further we still have to come with this.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that “you wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you, if you actually realised how seldom they do” . I love this quote, wish I’d heard (and really understood it) earlier in life.

Encourage your kids in ALL areas! Inspire them to move, draw, dance, build, paint or play music. Motivate them to love learning and risk taking. Life is what we make it and every child deserves every opportunity to grow and find their own passion, even if it’s not ‘the norm’.

What even is ‘the norm’ anyway?!  

How about you do you and I’ll do me. Just be yourself and follow your heart, have fun and give everything a crack. You never know what exciting things life may have in store for you or your children.

IMAGE.JPG

Independent children

Bringing up your child with independence is a great thing. Let them try and put in their own clothes and don’t spoon feed them all the time. If they miss their mouth or put their shirt on inside out, that’s fine. It’s all part of learning!

Went on a beautiful drive to the country today. Down the freeway, past the sheep and through the hay fields.

I arrived and set up. NOT ONE child sat there holding their safety gear ‘waiting for an adult to come and do it for them’ :)

Sadly, this is not often the case. I understand that sometimes it’s easier or quicker to do things for your children or students but it’s not helping them (or you in the long run!)

Let them make mistakes! A productive struggle is ok, they are not going to hate you for it and they’ll be proud when they achieve their new skills!

They’re cleverer than you think! But if you continue to do things for them, they’ll let you. And let’s be honest, no one wants to tie up a teenagers shoe laces! We’ve all got better things to do and it’s not going to help their self esteem.

There was a bit of hesitation once on the boards today by some. The ground had a slight incline/decline. It just made one way easier than the other!

Fun day had by all!

Thanks Kapunda KOSHC!

IMG_3959.jpeg

Wrap Up of 2018!

Summer is here!

The school holidays are when we ramp up the sessions here at street SUP Adelaide and the first week have not disappointed. About 250 kids have already learned to ride over this past week and they’ve been absolutely nailing it!  

As we come in to the Silly Season, I just want to say Thank U to all the schools, councils and humans I’ve worked with throughout the year. I hope that longboards, skateboards, surfboards (or another type of boards or wheels) are filling Christmas Stockings or being ridden over the break!

Stay safe, have fun and enjoy every moment that’s the Universe throws your way this summer! 

Seeya in 2019!

 

Kingston South East

I love a good road trip.  I’m actually considering touring Oz with Street SUP. Everyone is loving it, it’s such a great feeling seeing people have so much fun!

So, my dog and I brought Street SUP to the South East this morning and it was definitely worth the drive :)

Thanks Kingston District Council....

 

The first group absolutely smashed it!

The second group were cruising around in no time!

And the littlies were impressive, so brave and happy!