Boys, Noise, and Jumping Jacks

Yesterday.
Two boys sitting behind Math workbooks (IF you can call standing on one leg with the other perched up on the chair, sitting)

Noise. And LOTS of it. Something about boys. They just NEED to make noise.
All the time.
I am learning to be flexible. To let them wiggle and even make noise if it helps the to learn.
But... after a spell, I could tell there was very little little learning going on for the amount of noise and I had a brainstorm: jumping jacks.

"Come here boys! I want you to do twenty jumping jacks while I count out loud."

Hilarity followed.
Why?
I discovered that my children can't "jumping jack"
Arms and legs everywhere, and no coordinated movement whatsoever. I was laughing so hard and so were they! I decided to give them a "lesson" in how to do a jumping jack, and actually had to break the thing into four pieces ie. "this is what you do with your feet: out, together, out together..."

I had to demonstrate for them a few times, and that caused it's own fun. Only imagine...

In my minds eye I saw my eight-year-old at fifteen being told to execute jumping jacks and doing what I currently witness. YIKES! That would be embarrassing!!
So commenced the exercise (no pun intended).

"Out, together, out, together..."
"We're going to learn how to DO this children!!

There are important things to learn in life.
Doing your Math homework without a lot of noise is good, but you just haven't lived if you can't do jumping jacks!