TEACHING KIDS DELIGHTFUL WAY TO LEARN ABOUT LIFE Copyright 2004 The Charlotte Observer All Rights Reserved Charlotte Observer (North Carolina) June 1, 2004 By SCOTT FOWLER, Staff Writer All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten P.E. class. Do you remember the book called "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," by Robert Fulghum? It dominated the best-seller lists in the late 1980s. Fulghum's title essay was so popular it was made into a poster (remember, this was pre-Internet for most people). The essay included many kindergarten basics that apply to adult life, including "Share everything," "Play fair" and "Clean up your own mess." I thought of that essay several times during the just-completed school year - after I volunteered to teach physical education to my oldest son's kindergarten class. The school my son goes to is a small, wonderful charter school. But it doesn't have a P.E. teacher. Or a gym, for that matter. So various parents got to improvise, teaching P.E. in a vacant section of the school parking lot or on a nearby grassy field. For about six months, on most Mondays and Fridays from 10:30 to 11 a.m., I tried to teach 19 kindergarteners the finer points of freeze tag, basketball dribbling and grasshopper-catching. Mostly, it was a joy. Sometimes, it was a challenge. With a bow to Fulghum, here are 20 things I learned from teaching kindergarten P.E., courtesy of the exuberantly marvelous kindergarten class of Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Greene: 1. Everyone must always get a turn. 2. Grasshoppers don't do well after being stepped on. 3. Kids inherently like to run. Not coincidentally, you hardly ever see a fat kindergartener. 4. It makes a really, really big difference who goes first. 5. Any game with more than three rules is a lost cause. 6. Soccer is the easiest sport in the world to explain. 7. Puddles are irresistible. 8. A hug makes everyone feel better. 9. When you're talking to someone smaller than you are, kneel down. 10. Applause is an under-utilized motivational tool. Hardly anyone can stop smiling while being applauded. Clap for your teammates. 11. Girls in kindergarten run just as fast as boys. Or faster. 12. If something isn't working, change the plan. Quickly. 13. If all else fails, take a bunch of balls of different sizes into the middle of a field, throw them up in the air and say, "Go!" 14. Most kids are curious. Encourage that. 15. Some kids like to pick up rocks and throw them to see what will happen. Discourage that. 16. If you ever need a good laugh, ask 19 kindergarteners to do jumping jacks. 17. If five 50-pound kindergarteners jump on your back while you are leaning over trying to tie another kid's shoe, it's important that you use kindergarten-approved words to make them get off. 18. If the P.E. teacher is competing for attention with a ladybug, the ladybug always wins. 19. Mud is magnetic. 20. Kids are wonderful. I wish all of them - and all of you - a safe and happy summer break.