the lasso

This afternoon a boy walked into class with this round fabric bag with handles and set it down on the reading chair in the back.

I asked, "Is that your drum?"
The boy stared at me then said, "Nah, it's my rope."

He proceeded to unzip the bag and get out a blue rope and demonstrate that it was not only a rope but a lasso. I told him he'd have to put it up until Show & Tell. Of course, my slower kids looked around asking, "We have Show & Tell?" So at the end of a long 90 minute class (they lost their break), I told the kid he could show me his lassoing skills after bus riders were dismissed if he could find a willing participant.

I teach 7th grade, so it wasn't hard for him to find a guinea pig or, in this case, a bull. So, from 3:10 to 3:30 he practiced throwing his rope without a human target in the back of the room. He kept muttering, "It ain't coiling right."

Finally the announcement was made: "All remaining bus riders please report to the cafeteria." Four boys and I headed out to the grass outside my classroom. Lasso Boy instructed the other boys on the proper way they should run so he could lasso them.

They ran, and he critiqued,"Pick up your feet more." Or "A little slower."

And, I asked the boys running, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
They nodded their heads.

I asked the lasso boy, "You're not going to make them fall, are you?"
He responded, "I'll try not to."

There were about ten failed attempts before he successfully lassoed a kid's left foot. I told him, "I was losing faith, but now I believe you." He smiled, "It weren't coiling right."