An Afternoon at the Park

I am not a mom who spends a lot of time at parks and playgrounds with her kids. This is for several reasons.

1) I have to drive to any park and we all know packing up everyone in the car takes a bit of extra effort

2) Joash doesn't have a really good relationship with playground equipment yet. In the past, he has never wanted to go and explore a playground structure on his own, he didn't really like to swing and he didn't really like slides. So, that kind of limits the amount of fun one can have at a play ground. Why would I drive somewhere to have my kid pretty much want to just sit on my lap the whole time. We can do that at home.

3) Joash doesn't do well when there are too many unfamiliar kids around. Yeah, he is a bit shy and timid. So, he doesn't really like to go on anything that another kid is using. And if he is on something and another kid comes over, he gets off right away and runs to me.

But, a new year has come and I thought we should try out the parks again. The last two days have been just wonderfully sunny and spring like, so we went to two parks this week. The two parks that are closest to our house are pretty small and for the most part not used all that much, which fits Joash pretty well.

Mataya tried out the swing and surprised no one by loving it (since she pretty much likes everything her brother does not like).

Joash tried out the swings to and surprise - he really like them. Until another kids came to swing...

Joash did run and climb on the play structure a bit more this year on his own, so that was nice. He is still not a fan of slides though. He would only go down if he could hold on to my arm the whole time. So, we will have to keep working on that one.

So, I think parks and playgrounds are growing on Joash. His favourite thing still was to play with the stones and dirt around the play structure, but I think all kids are like that to an extent. Mataya loved it, so we will have to visit these a few more times throughout the summer.

Comments

A Perspective

I have already mentioned my "Word of the Day" screen saver that I have on my laptop that is hooked up to the projector in my room. I am learning that the words go in cycles a bit, so the same word will pop up in several classes during the day. Today's popular word was "entitlement." A fantastic word to share with teenagers who often think they are entitled to a whole lot of stuff. In fact, we as humans often think we are entitled to a whole lot of stuff when really we are fallen people who deserve nothing but death. We so often miss how wonderful and blessed our life really is and we get caught up on the little things. This video sort of puts that in perspective in a rather humorous way. I am by no means promoting this comedian, but if you take what he says to heart, it is so true. We live in an amazing world, created by an amazing God. We really should be happy with the blessing we have been given.

The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck

Twenty years ago, the summer of '77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde's life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow--the Four Seasons--had big plans. But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, "Nowhere," Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures. Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It's a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love's voice. This was an enjoyable book to r

This Is Where It Ends by Cindy K. Sproles

When Minerva Jane Jenkins was just fourteen years old, she married a man who moved her to the mountains. He carried with him a small box, which he told her held gold. And when he died fifty years later, he made her promise to tell no one about the box or the treasure it contained. Now at ninety-four, Minerva is nearing the end of what has sometimes been a lonely life. But she's kept her promise. Even so, rumors of hidden gold have a way of spreading, and Minerva is visited by a reporter, Del Rankin, who wants to know more of her story. As an unlikely friendship develops, Minerva is tempted to reveal her secret to Del. But the truth of what's really buried in the box may be hidden even from her. I really enjoyed this book. It is quality historical fiction with a strong narrative voice. I really liked the characters and it was interesting to see how all of the secrets they carried with them affected them. I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and how the setting was

The Talens' Tales

Search This Blog