Robinia Climbing
Calling all young mountaineers
Perhaps it is something in our deep past, but the desire to climb is instinctive. Very instinctive, because it is an important part of developing the proprioceptive system – the neurons that flash signals to give you a sense of movement and body position. It’s a sort of inbuilt gyro system that keeps us from falling over. Through climbing the limbs are telling the brain what they are capable of so that any future activity, even if it is unrelated to clambering up a rope net, like lifting and carrying a bucket of sand, is assessed. This cross-coordination skill helps the child learn to read.
The desire to climb starts even before a child can walk, but it only reaches effective proficiency by the time the child starts school. Show six-year olds a tree with low-hanging branches and you have to hold them back. There is no need to restrain them with the Robinia climbing structures. Here they get the same rewards, the sense of achievement and a growing self-esteem.