Children still manage to surprise me!

I (thought) I had no music that children these days would like. I found an OSHC Playlist on Spotify and after a few days, I’m sick of it!

The good thing is ..... that it doesn’t matter! 

Yesterday, a child asked me to play Elton John. Today I had Elvis Presley and Mc Hammer requests! 

Needless to say, I just play anything clean and they’re happy to hear it!  

Phew, that takes off the stress of me being a DJ!

Check out the little rippers from today :)  The weather was grey and miserable so we cranked the tunes and played inside!

Smashing stereotypes!

Humans come in all different shapes, sizes and quirks. The child in the following picture has a superpower, and it is autism . He may have been too scared to go alone, but the smiles shon through as we sped around the room together. What a legend ..... and for the record, he even stood up on the board and had fun doing it!

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Why stand when you can sit!

I’ve spent many years working with children who have different abilities; physically and mentally. Society loves to pigeon hole people and I love to see people break stereotypes!

Yesterday I had a gorgeous brave soul with Cerebral Palsy. Today I had kids from all over the spectrum. Some, I got told wouldn’t last half an hour - after an hour they were still focussed and having fun! Others cried and worked their way through their frustrations but I can honestly say that no one gave up! 

Sure, we all handle things differently and some things are harder for some than others, but things can be modified and simplified for those who want or need this - and everyone can have a great day :)

How fortunate am I, to be able to work with little legends daily!

Spring has sprung

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How good was the weather today?! The sun was shining and the kids were keen to get out and play. 

Two schools and about 80 kids got up and riding today and I n true school holiday fashion, the comments started to make me smile!

There’s the funny ones,

“Trust the stick? The stick doesn’t trust me either!”

The courageous and brave ones,

(Gets down, gets back up) ”I’m ok, can you please show me again how to turn again”

And then there’s the pure greatness - kids can literally go from “I am scared, I don’t want to do this”, to “I am doing it”, to “this was the best day ever” in a time span of 15 minutes (sometimes less!)

Fun times all round today, and great staff as well. It’s always a fun day when the staff get involved :)

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Absolutely blown away...

OCTOBER School Holidays are booked out! 

We’re absolutely blown away by the response. Bookings for January are coming in faster than ever imagined! 

Bookings are open for sessions between the 7th and 25th of January 2019. Out of those dates, only 7 mornings sessions are left available.

A common comment we have heard here at Street SUP Adelaide, is that bookings increase on the days we are booked. This is great news for everyone involved, so Get Onboard! 

A day in the life of Street SUP Adelaide during school holidays, involves a morning and an afternoon session. Sessions vary from 2 to 3 hours in length and times are somewhat flexible. 

Let’s be honest, we live in Australia. Weather can be unpredictable. It might be raining one day and 40’ the next. These sessions can be run indoors, so if you have a decent sized gym, it can be turned in to a Street SUP Skating rink during the school holidays.

Hit us up to see if we can run a session at your vacation care ..... The kids will love you for it!

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So grateful!

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I am seriously so grateful to play a part in seeing kids overcome their fears. Hesitation and fear is the first thing that comes to mind for a lot of kids when they see Street SUP Adelaide all set up and ready to roll. 

There’s always a few who tell me they don’t want to try. Some cautiously put on the safety gear with watery eyes and tell me they can’t do this before they step foot on the board. Other brave souls put on the safety gear and follow my instructions even though they are as stiff as a board and scared for their lives!

When asked why they are scared, they tell me they’ve never done it before, or that they might fall off. After some reassurance and guidance, they are onboard and rolling around with their friends. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again ‘Smiles don’t lie!’

Why do so many humans immediately assume that things are too hard, or set themselves up for failure before even giving it a go? Imagine if we decided that walking was too hard when we were learning. Imagine if babies tried to stand once, and then when they fell they just gave up! What kind of world would we live in?!

Well today I am grateful that all the kids gave it a go, and those who were initially frightened pushed past their limiting beliefs and had fun with the rest of us.

The few kids who didn’t have the courage to try, ran alongside their friends and encouraged them, caught their runaway boards as they rolled away and pushed them along as helpers! We all need a good support team and supportive mates, the kids today were great.

What a beautiful site to see :) 

The secret is out...

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It’s true. You don’t need a Kahuna Bigstick to ride a longboard. You also don’t need a trampoline to learn to jump, or shoes to learn to walk!

The Kahuna Bigstick gives an extra point of contact on the ground and also adds an extra element of fun. The fact that you don’t have to balance on one foot and push the board adds stability and it also gets people cruising around in no time at all.

Today I worked with 50 great kids, a few were hesitant at first but we all know that smiles don’t lie, and the smiles were huge! 

Having taught regularly at their school, it was a bit weird hearing ‘Miss Rachael’ when they wanted some help, but it was great fun answering their questions about how come I have so many longboards and why I run a business!

A huge thanks to the parents who allowed me to take some photos, we had a great day.

We’ve come up with Friday Fun Day, although I’m not sure I could bring the boards to school on a normal school day, even if it would be fun! 

We’re on a roll!

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Today I was lucky enough to head to the Clare Valley to run a clinic for a bunch of awesome kids on school holidays!

This boy told me “This was the best day of my life...... except for maybe tomorrow when I go see mini chickens with my Dad!”

This boy told me “This was the best day of my life...... except for maybe tomorrow when I go see mini chickens with my Dad!”

The children absolutely nailed it. We created a course around the yard, which included a tiny downhill that got hearts pumping! Some children decided to go downhill on their bum for fun and to get their courage up!

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It wasn’t always easy to lean to the side and turn the board!!!

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It wasn’t long before the kids were cruising around the school! Even as it started raining there was a group of children who weren’t ready for the session to end!

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I’m on a roll with amazing OSHC Staff these holidays. The staff were great, the kids were great, if only Mother Nature had held the rain off for an hour or so!

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Create Independence Not Codependence...

Through all the work I do and places I go, I find humans fascinating. Some parents and teachers strive to bring up independent  children, others create a codependency. I’m not judging, but as all children will be adults some day, surely we want them to learn certain life skills and attitudes early on. 

 “Many hands equal less work”, they say. During our sessions, children need to wear protective gear (helmets, knee pads and elbow pads). It’s always a great day when children are happy to (at least) try and put everything on by themselves. And then to have staff (and other children) help those who need it is awesome! I only have two hands, having great staff and children willing to help made today run super smoothly. 

Here at street SUP Adelaide, we like to reflect on our business model. Today, with the help of great independent kids and supportive staff, we ran 30 minute sessions. Yep, almost 60 kids in 3 hours and it ran as smooth as the kids paddles around the yard!

Thanks Edwardstown OSHC, for great staff and independent kids.

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Rolling families...

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OK, so this gorgeous family spend a lot of their time on the ocean. Their toddler is getting fast on his scooter and so Mum decided she needs a way to keep up!

Such a beautiful morning watching them roll along the coast together. Smiles all round! 

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"It was a lot easier and more stable than I thought it would be, I'm getting one"

(And yes, she did!)

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"It's OK, I don't want a turn, I'm happy to walk", he said .....

School holidays

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What a great start to the April school holidays it has been!

Week 1 is complete and we have worked in conjunction with both the City of Onkaparinga and Tea Tree Gully council. 

The kids embraced learning something new and had fun doing it. Watching their faces change from fear or anticipation to pure joy is why I run Street SUP Adelaide.  

These kids were awesome and I am grateful to their parents for allowing me to get some happy snaps of the sessions! 

We can run sessions inside and outside, smallest space we can use is a basketball court. We are insanely adaptable and flexible. Find us a flat spot and let’s get rolling!