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- Humuhumu can ride a bicycle! Before lockdown we struggled with getting her to even attempt it, and she would spend most of her time shouting at Daddy either to help, or stop helping. Lockdown rules meant she had a long break from it. When we finally did manage to extract her bicycle from the shed post-house renovation, she hopped on it and rode down the road with a jaw-dropping level of nonchalance.
- Keiki can also ride a bicycle without stabilisers, with only minimal assistance from Daddy. He’s not far off being able to do it on his own, but probably isn’t quite ready to cycle to school just yet.
- Last weekend they had their first swimming lessons in months. We were quite worried about how this would go. Humuhumu didn’t swim without a float in one hand, but two things were very encouraging: she can now time her breathing with her arm strokes in front crawl, and she stayed entirely off the wall and in a middle lane. Once Keiki started paying attention to his teacher (always his main issue), he also did very well, doing star floats, kicking with a float and simultaneously blowing bubbles without being prompted.
- Side note: The swim teachers can no longer be in the water with the Stage 1 children, which must be extraordinarily challenging. There were five children in Keiki’s class, and there was a stark difference between the three children who had been doing lessons for months before lockdown (including him) and the two who had joined only a few weeks prior. The former children were able to follow the instructions given verbally and with partial visual demonstration by the teacher from the poolside. The latter were almost completely lost, even when watching the other children do as instructed. It’ll be interesting to see how things develop in the coming weeks. I don’t think this is a sustainable way to teach children who are total beginners.
- Granddad has been doing almost-daily morning lessons with the children. He sings with them, reads them a story, plays maths games, and drills Humuhumu on her times tables. He started this in person while we were staying in Norfolk during the house renovation (once "bubbles" were allowed) and has kept it up since. It has been tremendously helpful. Go Granddad.
- Finally, we have been watching The Mandalorian as a family. Keiki, who has become completely obsessed by Lego and building spaceships and tanks and weaponry, was told about Star Wars by an older cousin, and demanded to be allowed to watch it. We duly procured a copy of The Mandalorian, having been told that it was (a) family friendly and (b) good, which cannot be said of all the Star Wars oeuvre. We’ve got through four episodes. It’s not a passive viewing experience by any means. We’re peppered with questions continuously and there are cuddles needed during the scary bits. Still, everyone is enjoying it immensely. With popcorn.
Poll #20449 Swimming lessons
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 82
I know how to swim.
Yes
78 (95.1%)
No.
4 (4.9%)
I had swimming lessons
As a child.
64 (78.0%)
As an adult.
4 (4.9%)
Never.
16 (19.5%)
[Optional] I never had swimming lessons because
( Context )
Today we went to Cheltenham and tried out the beautiful lido. There are three pools: a splashy toddler pool, a children's pool and the full-length swimming pool. We spent three hours at the children's pool and had a ball. Humuhumu found her inner mermaid, spending all her time diving down to the bottom and teaching herself to flip and roll. Keiki discovered jumping in from the side unaided and shrieking with glee.
Humuhumu playing the introductory game in Oculus Rift. Keiki and bloke look on.
Then we went over to their cousins' house and had a special treat: we got to try Oculus Rift. I was surprised to find I loved it. I made myself stop after 10 minutes so Humuhumu could have a go. She was as enamoured of it as I was, and found it even more intuitive despite the equipment being a bit big for her.
Humuhumu playing the introductory game in Oculus Rift. Keiki and bloke look on.
Then we went over to their cousins' house and had a special treat: we got to try Oculus Rift. I was surprised to find I loved it. I made myself stop after 10 minutes so Humuhumu could have a go. She was as enamoured of it as I was, and found it even more intuitive despite the equipment being a bit big for her.
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I’ve restrained myself from talking about this previously for the following reasons:
Unfortunately it happens to be the only exercise regimen I can demonstrably stick to for longer than a few weeks. The times in my life I have paid for a gym membership, I have gone religiously at least three times a week for between one and three years.
(Parenthetical interjection: I would request that this not be taken as a cue for people to suggest that there are types of exercise that aren’t boring, and have I tried X, this amazing thing that you enjoy? Yes, yes, I have tried many things, including running outdoors, cycling outdoors, rock climbing, etc. The problem with them is that I do them briefly and then I stop because of weather or lack of gumption. I also do not do team sports.* The gym, on the other hand, I build into my day, and because I’m paying for a membership, I count down the ratio of times I’ve been in v. monthly fee and feel a warm glow of satisfaction as the cost per visit gets smaller.)
I joined a gym in early November, and have been using it as regularly as stated above. Thus I have once again proved to myself that this is the probably only way I am ever going to get enough exercise, and I shall probably be doing this for the rest of my life. I have difficulty accepting that this is not something I can or should eventually stop. It’s not like there’s an end goal, like a degree or an award. Or rather, the goal is “stay fit and healthy”, and to do that, I have to keep going to the gym. Forever. Sigh. It is boring and tedious, but it also makes me feel 9000 times better physically and emotionally than when I don’t. I also sleep very soundly, which is quite helpful when one is perpetually short on sleep.
Now to the really boring bit, in which I witter in detail about my exercise regimen. I have placed this behind ( a merciful cut. )
I do the above 2-3 times a week, and then at the weekends, we go to the gym as a family and use the rather nice swimming pool together. The children love it because they can bring their floats, and the whole pool is only 1.2 metres deep although it’s 25 metres long. The bloke and I take turns to sneak into the sauna for 10-15 minutes each as well. It’s great fun, good exercise for the kids, and it makes me remember that the gym can be enjoyable when used in this way although it won’t get me much in the way of exercise until the children can swim independently.
* Don’t get me started on the “if you don’t like team sports you must be bad at cooperation” argument. I don’t like team sports because I don’t like being jostled around or shouted at whilst I’m exercising. I am fully capable of cooperation in many other contexts, including whilst at work, tyvm.
- Talking about one’s exercise regimen is mostly boring to other people.
- Talking about exercising in a gym is boring, full stop.
- Exercising in a gym is boring.
Unfortunately it happens to be the only exercise regimen I can demonstrably stick to for longer than a few weeks. The times in my life I have paid for a gym membership, I have gone religiously at least three times a week for between one and three years.
(Parenthetical interjection: I would request that this not be taken as a cue for people to suggest that there are types of exercise that aren’t boring, and have I tried X, this amazing thing that you enjoy? Yes, yes, I have tried many things, including running outdoors, cycling outdoors, rock climbing, etc. The problem with them is that I do them briefly and then I stop because of weather or lack of gumption. I also do not do team sports.* The gym, on the other hand, I build into my day, and because I’m paying for a membership, I count down the ratio of times I’ve been in v. monthly fee and feel a warm glow of satisfaction as the cost per visit gets smaller.)
I joined a gym in early November, and have been using it as regularly as stated above. Thus I have once again proved to myself that this is the probably only way I am ever going to get enough exercise, and I shall probably be doing this for the rest of my life. I have difficulty accepting that this is not something I can or should eventually stop. It’s not like there’s an end goal, like a degree or an award. Or rather, the goal is “stay fit and healthy”, and to do that, I have to keep going to the gym. Forever. Sigh. It is boring and tedious, but it also makes me feel 9000 times better physically and emotionally than when I don’t. I also sleep very soundly, which is quite helpful when one is perpetually short on sleep.
Now to the really boring bit, in which I witter in detail about my exercise regimen. I have placed this behind ( a merciful cut. )
I do the above 2-3 times a week, and then at the weekends, we go to the gym as a family and use the rather nice swimming pool together. The children love it because they can bring their floats, and the whole pool is only 1.2 metres deep although it’s 25 metres long. The bloke and I take turns to sneak into the sauna for 10-15 minutes each as well. It’s great fun, good exercise for the kids, and it makes me remember that the gym can be enjoyable when used in this way although it won’t get me much in the way of exercise until the children can swim independently.
* Don’t get me started on the “if you don’t like team sports you must be bad at cooperation” argument. I don’t like team sports because I don’t like being jostled around or shouted at whilst I’m exercising. I am fully capable of cooperation in many other contexts, including whilst at work, tyvm.
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