Elementary ESA Initiative, Fingerboarding!

By Gr. 5 Dean and Tanner

It all started when we sent our very first email from our school computers to ask Mr. Tananone if we could run our own ESA. We were nervous but excited to reach out, and to our surprise, he was very intrigued by our idea and asked to meet with us. He said that if we had an adult supervising us, then it could definitely work! With that encouragement, we felt ready to move forward with our plan.

For the first time in our school’s 100 year history, we decided to organize our own ESA—and it turned out to be an amazing experience! We wanted to create something special for our friends, so after brainstorming together, we came up with a fun idea that we thought everyone would enjoy.

We both love playing games and wanted to share our passion for fingerboarding with others. So, we decided to teach some tricks and bring that excitement to our friends. At first, we were both nervous and excited, but we quickly got to work, planning our lessons and gathering plenty of fingerboards and materials for everyone to use. We couldn’t wait for the kids to arrive.

When the students walked in, we greeted them and explained how the ESA would work. Some of them had never tried fingerboarding before, but everyone was eager to jump in and give it a go. It was so rewarding to watch everyone laughing, having fun, and learning new things together. We taught a new trick each lesson, and it was incredible to see how well the students listened, helped each other, and improved over time.

Of course, there were a few challenges along the way. Some students struggled to stay focused, others forgot to show up, and a few were distracted while we were explaining. Despite these moments, we truly loved being in charge of the lessons and deciding what to teach. It felt so special to watch our friends enjoy themselves and work together. Plus, it was really rewarding knowing that we had planned everything ourselves.

Through this experience, we learned so much about organizing, leading, and sharing our ideas with others. We’re proud of how everything turned out and are already excited for the next session. It was a creative and fun adventure, and we can’t wait to do it again!

After interviewing some of the students, here’s what they had to say about the activity:
"My favorite part of the ESA was learning tricks, especially building with cardboard and creating things. I loved playing the games, making fingerboards from sticks, and learning how to do the Ollie and the Kickflip. The activity was exciting, and I looked forward to it every week. The only downside was having it at the hub, because the space was too spread out. Sometimes, longer lessons would have been helpful, but overall, I learned a lot and had so much fun!"