Skill mastery and innovative play

Once children have mastered a skill by repetitive play, they want to innovate and push the limits of their newfound skill. Watch a child learning to climb up the top of a slide and go down. Initially the child will repeat the process over and over again. Then, extending the limits of what he has learned, the child may try climbing up the slide rather than the stairs; some children try going down on their stomachs. Once children feel confident walking, they want to run and to jump. In the same way, an older child who has learned to ride a bike will then experiment riding without hands, going on one wheel, and so on. Adults too, when they have mastered a skill, want to push the limits. That's when skiers are likely to break a leg. From The Power of Play; David Elkind, Ph.D. Doesn't this resonate? Doesn't this ring a bell? How many playgrounds or groups of kids have you seen where this has occurred? How many times did you do this yourself as you grew up? Do you still do this now? If you have achieved mastery, do you push to the limit? This is NOT a bad thing. It is a natural thing. Let's look to take advantage of it.