Playing on the oval

It’s a pretty big step up in the world when you have the option of playing on the oval.

It was day one of year one for James yesterday so when I got home I made sure that I got all the details. As a Kindy kid and again in Pre-Primary the oval was out of bounds at play times, but now as a year one, James can play on the oval. He can even borrow sports equipment from the sports shed but the person who gets the item out must also make sure that it’s put away. (Or at least that’s what James tells me.) James chose to play with a soccer ball.

Everything about Year One seems to be a big adventure at the moment. A new room, a new teacher, his own desk. I’m also informed that on his first day he learned that you shouldn’t leave rubbish lying around because animals could die if you do.

I only hope that his teacher is ready for the kinds of questions that James will no doubt be asking. He likes to know how things work, why things work, and what would happen if … and he wants all the details.

I don’t know how he’ll do academically (though I suspect he’ll do very well) but he certainly has a real desire to learn. I just love seeing his thirst for knowledge in action.

Posted by Rodney Olsen



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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4 Comments

  • I’m enjoying translating things from “Australian” to “American.” Pre-primary = preschool. “Year one” = “first grade.” But how do we translate “oval” in elementary playground terms? Four-square? Dodgeball?

    By the way, congratulations on such a great start in Year one, James. May you continue to enjoy a lifetime of learning!

    Suzi

    PS I tried posting a few days ago, but the computer I was on wouldn’t let me go down to the “OK” button to post!

  • The oval is simply a large grassed area for playing sports. It’s named after the ‘football oval’ which is the oval shaped ground that is used to play Australian Rules Football.

    Thanks for your comments. I’ll pass your congratulations on to James.

  • Thanks for clearing that up for me. Now if only I could easily translate metric into “English”–so I appreciate whenever you do that for us (all I can remember is that 2.5 cm is about an inch and 0 degrees C is 32 degrees F, and -40 is the same in celsius and farenheit……..

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