Borrowing Boys

So, Your own bigger boys are at school, and it's not raining, and there's a perfectly good rope swing down in the woods that isn't getting used on its own, so what to do?

Borrow your home schooling friends boys of course!

Jacob, the eldest, was a little unsure at first but soon got the hang of it. By the time we left he was throwing the rope out and jumping after it. I love watching children when you allow them to set their own boundaries. I really believe that by saying 'not so fast' or 'not too high'  we override their own survival instincts to some extent.

Jacob was cautious at first, then daring by the end, but I neither encouraged nor discouraged what he wanted to do. His own survival instincts told him how far he could push it. These are children who are used to this level of autonomy though. I'm sure if this had been a group of boys who were used to having an adult dictate their safe boundaries at every turn then they wouldn't have been as in tune with their own capabilities.

Harry, at 5, had his safe boundaries all worked out and had a healthy fear of heights. He watched at first, but then curiosity got the better of him and by the end he was asking me to swing him higher than anyone else had ever gone! 

Even little Peter had a go, grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole time!