No Jacket – No Boat Ride!

Summer arrived early this year and kids are having a grand time playing near, in or on the water.  Minnesota, being a land of (at least) 10,000 lakes and a fair number of rivers, offers plenty of places to enjoy boat rides.

Hopefully all those boat rides include the wearing of life jackets!

"No Jacket – No Boat Ride!" gives young readers a slightly different view of the wearing of life jackets. It was an inspired bit of verse that resulted from seeing a photo of a puppy behind the steering wheel of a fishing boat.* The pup was decked out in a life jacket.

I hadn't known life jackets came in doggie size.

But what I did know was a universal truth about kids (especially those who are fearless around the water). In their exuberance, they can forget basic water safety rules. And they will certainly argue about the wearing of a life jacket if adults don't wear them as well.

So after seeing the photo, the first few lines of rhyme popped into my head and all of a sudden, I had a short rhyming story! The timing for that inspiration was perfect as I was creating a new activity packet for an elementary school visit.

What was the theme of the packet?

"Fishing".

This summer, if a young child gives you any arguments about wearing a life jacket, simply say this...

"If it's good for a dog to wear a life jacket, it's good for you. And for me, too."

And should you get any further arguments from that child?

Enjoy reading a book together as you sit on the dock or beach.

Stay safe this summer.

Fondly,

-Great Auntie, a whale of a small tale teller- 

* The photo that inspired the rhyme was featured on the Minnesota Bound website. While it's been several years since "No Life Jacket – No Boat Ride!" was penned, I still grin when I think of that little pup in life jacket.