Kids swimming
I look at this icon and...WOW, their hair is darker this summer!
Ben is obssessively playing Plants vs. Zombies ("There's a zombie on your lawn") as many minutes of the day as he can manage ("Brains are quite rich in cholesterol"). He's really quite skilled at the video games and has an excellent instinctive grasp of them. He is the one usually chosen to help any other kid not doing as well. HE plays Elf's zombie game, and Neighbor-M's, most of the time. What fascinates me most about this is that, although HE has done 95% of the playing and decision-making, he entirely considers it THEIR game and will call Elf over and say, "Look what you've got!" and the like. That he's not at all proprietary is fascinating to me.
Meanwhile, Elf is playing with friends in the neighborhood (mostly M) EVERY minute she possibly can. She's riding a 2-wheeler (and leaving it somewhere it doesn't belong at least once a week). One of our neighbors commented that she NEVER sees Elf walk. She RUNS everywhere she goes. She is strong and muscular and tanned and amazing.
Elf continues to be Little Fish. She takes instruction TERRIBLY, doesn't listen well, strikes off on her own quickly instead of letting me demonstrate the technique, doesn't PRACTICE technique...it's very frustrating. However, she had a lovely flipper kick on her front and back. She has a very nice back crawl (though, agin, more technique needed). She can do a bloody dolphin kick (though she does it mermaid-style with her ankles crossed), which I could NEVER manage at ALL. She can do a scissor kick that has her VERY close to a side stroke (again, arm technique not there yet). She can do almost-proper strokes for a front crawl, and is beginning to be able to breathe every few strokes by looking sideways. She can dog-paddle the ENTIRE length of our neighborhood (smallish) pool--and that's MEGA energy. Last week her doggie-paddling got her one day of permission to be in the deep end and she FEARLESSLY hopped right off the blocks into 10-foot water and giggled and LOVED every second of it. She can float on her back, tread water, rotate in the water like a crocodile in a death roll...she's amazing. Swimming lessons are helping her (because she does take some instruction from the teachers) and she works VERY hard at them and does extra practice.
Ben is trying SO hard but is SO scared. He doesn't like water to splash in his face. He doesn't like it to get in his eyes. He doesn't want to let go of us and feel the buoyancy of the water, even when we're holding him steadily, because he's so afraid he'll sink and he doesn't like that free-fall just like he wouldn't be on a swing for ANYTHING just a year and change ago. To be fair, he's SO SKINNY that he WILL sink unless he is putting lots of energy into MOVING, and I remember that feeling. He is, however, very good at a frog kick, which I taught him. He's got some power in that one. His flipper kick is pathetic and half-hearted, and then he complains that it doesn't make him move...you think? He's still too afraid to use the kickboard without someone also holding onto him, poor kid. He has been SO brave. He HATES having his face in the water, but keeps trying it, only to FLING his face up and start wiping the water out of his eyes. But he keeps trying. I don't think this is going to be the summer he learns to swim, but I think he's more comfortable with the water, and he DOES try when I make him and when I promise PROMISE not to let go (which I NEVER do) and he does enjoy being in the water with us holding him safely tight against us. It doesn't help that the water is chilly (perfect for me) and his poor little lips are turning purple.
Ben is obssessively playing Plants vs. Zombies ("There's a zombie on your lawn") as many minutes of the day as he can manage ("Brains are quite rich in cholesterol"). He's really quite skilled at the video games and has an excellent instinctive grasp of them. He is the one usually chosen to help any other kid not doing as well. HE plays Elf's zombie game, and Neighbor-M's, most of the time. What fascinates me most about this is that, although HE has done 95% of the playing and decision-making, he entirely considers it THEIR game and will call Elf over and say, "Look what you've got!" and the like. That he's not at all proprietary is fascinating to me.
Meanwhile, Elf is playing with friends in the neighborhood (mostly M) EVERY minute she possibly can. She's riding a 2-wheeler (and leaving it somewhere it doesn't belong at least once a week). One of our neighbors commented that she NEVER sees Elf walk. She RUNS everywhere she goes. She is strong and muscular and tanned and amazing.
Elf continues to be Little Fish. She takes instruction TERRIBLY, doesn't listen well, strikes off on her own quickly instead of letting me demonstrate the technique, doesn't PRACTICE technique...it's very frustrating. However, she had a lovely flipper kick on her front and back. She has a very nice back crawl (though, agin, more technique needed). She can do a bloody dolphin kick (though she does it mermaid-style with her ankles crossed), which I could NEVER manage at ALL. She can do a scissor kick that has her VERY close to a side stroke (again, arm technique not there yet). She can do almost-proper strokes for a front crawl, and is beginning to be able to breathe every few strokes by looking sideways. She can dog-paddle the ENTIRE length of our neighborhood (smallish) pool--and that's MEGA energy. Last week her doggie-paddling got her one day of permission to be in the deep end and she FEARLESSLY hopped right off the blocks into 10-foot water and giggled and LOVED every second of it. She can float on her back, tread water, rotate in the water like a crocodile in a death roll...she's amazing. Swimming lessons are helping her (because she does take some instruction from the teachers) and she works VERY hard at them and does extra practice.
Ben is trying SO hard but is SO scared. He doesn't like water to splash in his face. He doesn't like it to get in his eyes. He doesn't want to let go of us and feel the buoyancy of the water, even when we're holding him steadily, because he's so afraid he'll sink and he doesn't like that free-fall just like he wouldn't be on a swing for ANYTHING just a year and change ago. To be fair, he's SO SKINNY that he WILL sink unless he is putting lots of energy into MOVING, and I remember that feeling. He is, however, very good at a frog kick, which I taught him. He's got some power in that one. His flipper kick is pathetic and half-hearted, and then he complains that it doesn't make him move...you think? He's still too afraid to use the kickboard without someone also holding onto him, poor kid. He has been SO brave. He HATES having his face in the water, but keeps trying it, only to FLING his face up and start wiping the water out of his eyes. But he keeps trying. I don't think this is going to be the summer he learns to swim, but I think he's more comfortable with the water, and he DOES try when I make him and when I promise PROMISE not to let go (which I NEVER do) and he does enjoy being in the water with us holding him safely tight against us. It doesn't help that the water is chilly (perfect for me) and his poor little lips are turning purple.