Throwback Thursday #51 – Learning New Skills

It’s my turn at bat. I’ve been pulling my hair out trying to think of something Maggie and I have not done before. I know we’ve talked about learning to drive, learning to cook, and learning to swim. I am going to follow that path and ask about your childhood approach to learning new skills.. As kids we are exposed to a huge variety of learning experiences. We can never succeed unless we  are willing to make a commitment to the process.

If you care to join us, it’s easy.

• Write your own post sharing your memories and leave a pingback to this post in the comments.
• You can use the photo above in your post to make it easier to find.
• Tag it with #TBTMemory or #IRememberWhen.
• If you do not wish to write your own post, feel free to tell your story in the comments below.

This week’s prompt is: Learning New Skills

You can either free write using these questions as inspiration or answer the question as they are. If you prefer you can pick and choose the questions that apply to you. Have fun.

1. When did you learn to ride a bike? Were you self-taught or did someone teach you? Any major injuries on the way? Did you master the skill? Do you still ride? If applicable, did you teach your kids?

2. Did you learn to play a musical instrument? At what age? Who taught you? How often did you practice?   Were you in band at school? How good were you? Do you still play? If applicable, did you encourage your kids to play?

3. Did you sing in a choir in church or at school? At what age? How often did you practice? Did you enjoy it? How good were you? Do you still sing with others?

4. Did you have formal instructions on speaking a second language? Were you fortunate enough to be raised in a house with two or more languages? Did you learn a second language in school? Are you fluent in more than one language?

5. Did you to play on a sports team or learn martial arts? At what age did you start? Did a parent become a coach? Did you practice at home? Do you still play sports? If applicable, did you encourage your children to play on a team?

6. Did you ever take dance, tap, ballet, baton, cheerleading, etc. lessons? When did you start? How long did you take lessons? Did you practice on your own in addition to the lessons? How skilled did you become? Did you encourage your children to do the same?

7. Did you learn to roller skate or ice skate? Did someone teach you or did you take lessons? At what age did you learn? Did you become skilled  quickly? Can you still skate? Did you teach your children.

My post follows.
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I learned to ride a bike at about age five. It was a hand me down from a neighbor. I was thrilled to ride a “big bike.” I was always falling and getting bruise and bumps on my legs. I honestly don’t remember who taught me. I have memories of standing at the curb and starting off on my ride. I felt like I was learning all over again when I got a ten-speed bike. I taught my daughters to ride as soon as they could reach the ground and pedals safely. I haven’t ridden in years. I live where there are mostly hills and I can’t afford a fall at this stage of the game.

I took the clarinet in 5^th grade. I was awful. I never mastered the instrument. Much to the chagrin to my family, I practiced at home almost daily. I was in the band at school. As I recall, we were all pretty bad. My older daughter played the flute. She became very good at it. I tried the choir in elementary school, but I was even worse at singing.  My younger daughter was in choir through school. She was very talented. Thank goodness, neither of my kids took after me.

I took Spanish in 6^th grade, 7^th grade, 8^th grade, 9^th grade, 10^th grade, 11^th grade and two years in college. I can’t speak the language more than basic terms. I understand more than I can speak. I wish I was fluent. I envy those that can speak multiple languages.

I played sports with my brothers. Nothing formal of course. Back then, girls couldn’t play on boys’ teams. In PE we played all types of sports. Softball was the cause of numerous injuries for me. I enjoyed the game, but it wasn’t anything I really mastered. I never learned any style of martial arts. My daughters played softball as 3^rd and 4^th graders, and they took karate for a short time.

I never took any type of girlie lessons. I was a tomboy all the way. Luckily, my town offered free lessons for tap, ballet, and baton so my daughters took all of them. I had roller skates with a key as a kid. My shoes were often abused by the skates. I had real roller skates as a teen. Roller skating was a fun “date” activity. I ice skated a couple of times, but not well. I had my daughters take roller skating and ice skating long enough to be safe. Again, I wouldn’t dare do it now.

 

 

 

 

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