Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Juggling

One follower, asked me to blog about the skills involved in juggling. And, while not many of us will ever need to juggle balls, pins, poi or fire, there is a lot we can learn from juggling.





I think the biggest caveats (aside from the obvious: greater eye-hand coordination) we can get from learning to juggle are:
  • sharpening attention skills
  • sharpening metacognition
  • gaining greater self concept/confidence
In other words, studying and practicing juggling teaches us to focus sharply and not be distracted, and to be keenly aware of what we are doing and how we are doing it.  [Granted once we become proficient jugglers, we no longer have to think about what we are doing, but while learning the skill, it most definitely sharpens our metacognition.] It also helps us focus and gain greater confidence in ourselves, and is an after-school project to consider seriously for our kids.



From chumpysclipart.com
Skills Needed for - and Gained From - Juggling:
  • Attention - the juggler is always focusing on the ball or pin in the air and NOTHING else is interfering with that focus;
  • eye-hand coordination - the juggler knows at all times which ball or pin he has released and where he will catch it; 
  • cognition - knowing HOW and WHERE to throw the object so that it WILL land where expected;
  • intrinsic awareness of weight and gravity - understanding the weight of the object about to be thrown, how hard to throw it and where to catch it - which can be learned with practice
  • sensory integration - learning how to hold, touch and catch the objects;
  • an awareness of timing, sequencing and patterns (patterns of throwing and catching, primarily) - which is learned and sharpened with practice
  • patience and practice 
Juggling balls and pins can even teach you how to juggle life and its responsibilities. As the following video (by Jason Garfield professional juggler) demonstrates, there is more we can gain from learning to juggle than just throwing balls in the air:



Life Lessons Learned from Juggling:
  1. "Break down learning to juggle into the most basic skills" -  do this with other looming projects.  Anything overwhelming can be broken into manageable parts.
  2. "If you make a bad throw, don't continue.  Stop, regroup, gain good form. " Isn't that true with leaning just about anything?  Memory - muscle memory - any memory is important to gaining expertise.  You don't want that memory to be bad form.
  3. When leaning to juggle, "stop, think about what you did, and do it again."  Another great learning technique.  In educational terms this would be called "metacognition"  being aware of your thinking and actions.  Very important to learning - anything.
  4. "Just do it already, don't let the third ball control you"  Boy if I don't need that recorded in my head all the time.  So often juggling (projects, chores, responsibilities) seems so overwhelming.  The key, again is break it down into basic parts and don't let it control you!

While I have never really picked juggling up, one of my daughters did.  Aside from sharpening her attention to detail, she gained greater poise (as she had to stand and throw straighter) and greater self confidence. She found a peace-of-mind as she juggled and every so often she still juggles as an adult.

I recommend juggling as a tool and hobby to help build all sorts of important life skills.  What's your feeling/experience?

37 comments:

  1. As an educator, I'd be interested in your response to my Caliban post...

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  2. I love this analogy and how it relates to life. Excellent idea for J-day!

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  3. I'm able to juggle balls against a wall but not into the air. My cats get very excited watching, and race to catch the balls when they fall.
    Jane x

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  4. This makes me think of all the times I've watched teen-aged boys playing with hacky sacks. I always thought it was mindless play, but perhaps I was wrong and they were learning many of the skills you describe about juggling. Have a joyous day, Meryl.

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  5. I''m really bad at juggling, hacky sack, collating, anything with that type of repetition. Not just not interested, but really lousy.

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  6. A good J post! "Play" is one of the best learning tools.

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  7. What a wonderful idea. I have juggled other things — I think they now call it multi-tasking — and all the kids in the neighborhood tried to juggle ping pong balls and tennis balls when I was young, but I never succeeded.
    Thanks for this post. I can now see juggling as a way to achieve a meditative state (as your daughter can do). Very interesting.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  8. I was taught juggling at our company's team building away-day, everybody could do it at the end, even me with iffy hand eye coordination.

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  9. I have to admit I have never really tried to juggle but my daughter is quite good at it. :))

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  10. what a great post this is - loved reading it, watching it. :)

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  11. I've never been very good at juggling balls although juggling the aspects of life more or less works for me. Great post for today.

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  12. My eye-hand coordination is lousy. I never could be a juggler. But I can multi-task.

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  13. I can juggle lots of things during a day, but not balls, alas..

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  14. Juggling? Hmmm I do it with tasks, money and friends but not balls....yet! Thanks so much
    Denise
    ABC Team

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  15. It's fun to juggle though I've never managed more than three balls - perhaps I haven't practised enough.

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  16. Can't do it, too much for me to keep up with. Good write up and steps, thanks.

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  17. I have never juggled, but it has always seemed a very zen-like activity - focused and attention-sharpening. What a fun post!

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  18. I always wanted to learn to juggle, and I love the connection you made to life. Awesome post!

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  19. I can't even juggle two. in fact I struggle with one.

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  20. I can't juggle. I tried when i was a kid. The cartoon is funny!
    Come follow me back please!
    Hugs
    Frenchy
    http://lechateaudesfleurs.blogspot.com/

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  21. Love it! Wonderful post :)

    http://carabossesbedchamber.blogspot.com/2011/09/abc-wednesday-challenge.html

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  22. Brand new follower here from the Wed. Blog Hop, http://babyfeetandpuppybreath.blogspot.com/
    Hope you will follow back, thanks.

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  23. Juggling looks very difficult to me. One of my daughters was good at it. Now she stopped doing this.
    Thanks for your visit and kind comment. I appreciate that.

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  24. This is great! Juggling (the entertainment variety) is just something I never gave much thought to, but I can see how it is perfect for developing all the useful skills you list. Like all busy working Moms, however I have juggled my responsibilities, and have definitely needed sharp attention skills for that.

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  25. I feel like I am doing a mad juggling act everyday! I think I'll resist the urge to learn how to do the real thing though...

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  26. I must send this link to my son who is always spinning plates, bowls, and silverware. I told him he needs a set of hacky sacks, but perhaps he could invest in fine china instead.

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  27. I you like juggling and you like Shakespeare, you should check out the Flying Karamazov Brothers version of The Comedy of Errors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIHoj33T7I

    P. S. I got here by way of ABC Wednesdays.

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  28. I have ALWAYS wanted to learn how to juggle... I'll have to try it! :)
    New follower from the Thirsty Thursday blog hop! Please follow back. Thanks! :)
    http://tigereyes2001reviews.blogspot.com/

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  29. Thank you for your encouraging words on my blog. I don't know what to say about juggling, since my eye hand coordination has never been good and I also have a problem with depth perception. However, I wonder if some one had started training me in these areas when I was quite young, whether I might not have had so much trouble. It's a bit late to start now!

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  30. This is a great lesson in parenthood where one stops thinking about themselves and starts having to juggle all the responsibilities of family life. Love this post and its comparisons!

    Heather From and Mommy Only Has 2 Hands!

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  31. I don't see a way to contact you, but I wanted to let you know that your blog will be featured blog on the hump day hop that starts tomorrow evening. You linked up last week and your blog was chosen thru random draw to be spotlighted. I loved this post. It was a good read! :)

    Heather From and Mommy Only Has 2 Hands!

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  32. LOVE it ... and just as juggling life in general has me stumped and all ;)

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  33. I've tried to juggle, but don't have the hand-eye coordination. I love the life lessons you posted, especially rule 2. I have a tendency to do just the opposite, and it never works out well. Thinking about it in juggling terms makes it so clear as to why I shouldn't do that. Thank you!

    Came over from SheWrites. Love the orange background. Whoooohoooo! Purty!

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