The kids had left.
The hallways were empty.
I walked alone.
I felt happy.
I skipped.
Once.
Then twice.
And I stopped.
I looked around and behind myself.
No one saw me.
So I did it again.
And again.
And then I stopped.
I walked back to my room.
A smile on my face.
***
Confession: Teachers skip in the hallways when students aren’t there. We also yell, wave our arms and jump. Teachers even dance in the hallways when school is out. Oh you knew it all along!
But I think skipping in particular is totally undervalued as a form of exercise. I also believe that sometimes our bodies propel us into moments of physical joy like me skipping at school yesterday. I let kids move around when they are in line in the hallways (well, we also don’t have recess, but that’s another story). They can move a little while I still maintain order.
When I do see the (rare) kids skipping in the hallway, it just makes me smile. I love to skip and I think kids need to be skipping WAY more than they currently do.
So for fun I proclaim the Friday May 28th: National Skipping Day for children and adults.
Here’s why:
1) Skipping is free
2) Skipping is fun
3) Skipping is a form of physical exercise
4) Skipping makes you feel good
5) Skipping releases pent-up energy
Skipping is something you shouldn’t forget how to do. So I challenge children and adults to skip on Friday just once, twice, or even around the block if you are able to physically. Let’s enjoy ourselves one hopping step at a time!
Just the other day I was watching the little kids at recess and thought to myself "when do we stop skipping?" 🙂
I remember when I used to run with abandonment and never tire. Play jumprope and skip for fun, I NEVER once thought it tough or difficult.
What happens to us when we age? I'm going skipping today….:)
Friday is our last day of school and it is a half-day. I will be skipping around school Friday afternoon!!!
I'm in! 🙂
I remember in middle school, every once in a while we'd have a gym class where we had to "move" a mile on the track – we didn't have to run, we just had to travel that much distance (it was usually towards the end of the year, after we had completed our timed mile). A lot of us would get a little cheeky and try skipping – we could never make it the whole way because it became so tiring!
You're absolutely right – skipping is a great form of exercise!
I don't know about you guys but I still skip once in a while. Although not as high as I could before. ^_^
Love it! In South Louisiana, where I used to teach, our last day of school (no kids) for teachers was often water balloon and water gun day. We used confiscated material from students and cooled our heels. And our bodies, psyche, etc.
Being around youth is what keeps us young and the way they do things with reckless abandonment is so fun to be a part of. Skipping is one of things that laughs in the face of computers/cell phones and says HA, I'm still loved! You CANNOT virtually skip! 🙂
Good idea!
Cute post. 🙂
You have come full circle. You are what you eat. Now you are a kid again!!!:)
You forgot to mention one thing about skipping: It is absolutely impossible to skip and not smile. Skipping brings a smile to your face, every single time! It's true–give it a try!
I love to do cartwheels in hallways when there's no one around. Maybe I'll try it on a night when there's no one in the School of Music to stop me… 🙂
Woo hoo! Friday's my anniversary… definitely going to make my husband skip with me!
I'm usually just a lurker but I couldn't resist posting my first comment here. My "Stroll in the Park" workout class last Saturday morning incorporated skipping in part of the cardio segment. It was SO fun! I couldn't remember the last time I had skipped. It was a fantastic workout and the skipping part got all of us ladies giggling like kids. Definitely a great way to start your day.
Love the blog, keep up the good fight Mrs. Q. I'm a new mother and this has sparked a fire in me.
I'm usually just a lurker but I couldn't resist posting my first comment here. My "Stroll in the Park" workout class last Saturday morning incorporated skipping in part of the cardio segment. It was SO fun! I couldn't remember the last time I had skipped. It was a fantastic workout and the skipping part got all of us ladies giggling like kids. Definitely a great way to start your day.
Love the blog, keep up the good fight Mrs. Q. I'm a new mother and this has sparked a fire in me.
My 8-year-old daughter loves to skip. She skips into school, she skips out the school building, she skips from the car to our house. You get the picture.
I think happy kids skip. She's certainly a happy little gitl!
I was skipping through the library yesterday, and I got yelled at. 🙁
Also, if you call it "skipping day", some of the middle school and almost all of the high school will skip school.
I think I'm going to try to teach my LG to skip today. He's mastered running and climbing. Is 2 too young to learn? We'll see.
I work in a school and skipping is my preferred method of locomotion at all times, and the kids love it. If nothing else, it totally makes their day to see an adult casually skipping around.
Just a correction: the phrase is "reckless abandon" or "run with "abandon," NOT "abandonment."
I just discovered this blog a few days ago, but this post really brought back an interesting memory and put a whole new spin on it. When I was in the 4th grade, I would skip in the hallways whenever the halls were empty (like during class, being sent on an errand). One day, this teacher appeared in the hall pretty far away and started skipping too. I thought she was mocking me, but now I'm thinking maybe she was just happy to see a student skip 🙂
My daughter (who is 5 years old) asked me the other day "Mommy, can you still skip?" I replied "Of course!" and we've been skipping in all sorts of venues since then. 🙂
i will skip friday…right after i get done taking my last final. 🙂 thank goodness its almost summer!
No recess? I can't get past that one. I teach 8th grade, and even our kids (at a big public middle school) get 10 minutes after lunch on days with nice weather. Don't we all crave some unstructured time in our days?
When I was a child, I used to skip so much that my entire family called me Skippy. That was my nickname for most of my childhood. I used to love to skip.
i read the title and thought you meant skipping work not literal skipping! too funny! 🙂