Archives for September 2011

I want to a sportsman when I grow up

With a father that loves golf, and a granddad that enjoys tennis, it seems rather natural that an active and energetic child like Kyle will have a natural inclination towards sports.

I have toyed with the idea of sending him to speech and drama, since he is quite a drama king. And even art classes, as he has been asking for it. However, we have a limited enrichment budget and since I don't plan to over-schedule activities in a week for him, hb and I have decided on swimming and golf lessons. It seems quite common to send a child for formalised lessons as young as 2, but I have delayed lessons till this year, as I think that it is important that he shows interest, has the attention span and is able to follow instructions.

He enjoys swimming tremendously, and he is doing well in lessons with group instruction. He just had his first test from the swimming school, and despite the crowd of children having the tests the same day, he was game to go through it.

 

As for golf, we have justed started lessons last week and he is having loads of fun. He was able to tell me that his teacher taught him 'putting' and 'chipping' and even loudly exclaimed during his lessons to his coach, "Why I am only learning half swing?", when the rest of his other two classmates who joined earlier were doing full swings. No rush, my dear boy…one step at a time!

 

I have read this article that claims that it is too soon to think of sports for a 4 year old. I will agree with some of the points that the article mentioned, but I think physical and mental skills development required to learn a sport varies from child to child. Also since most sports require learning or playing in a group, the child needs to be ready to 'perform' in front of people. Looking at how outgoing and 'showy' Kyle can be at times, facing that pressure to 'perform' in a group/crowd does not seem to be a problem, in fact I always find that he needs to be reminded often to tone down his boisterousness.

Learning sports have been advantageous for us so far, as it has been effective to wear out his energy. Often he is like this 'energiser bunny' with the energy that never seems to tire out. On top of that, his appetite seems to have improved, and mealtimes are less of a chore :)

 

These days, he tells me that he wants to be a sportsman when he grows up, "To be a sportsman, I don't need to go to school and study right?"

Nice try, my little sporty guy.

Share it:

Related posts:

Tea on Thursdays

Iced green tea. Violet red baby Carnations and Carums

 

It's been terribly hot the last couple of days, or is it just me? Nothing beats having a refreshing iced green tea on a hot, hot day.

I am into the 3rd week in this new abode and this is the 3rd bunch of flowers that I have bought for the home thus far. And I have to conclude that this florist that I have been buying from has a limited range of flowers, I guess having $10-14 budget a week will not give me much variety to start with. I guess I am just a cheap fresh flowers lover and will go with colour stories, rather than variety of flowers. Wish flowers were more affordable locally though…

I am sure some of you prefer to go with fake flowers for the home, as fresh flowers can't survive for long. However, if you want to start buying fresh flowers for your home on a weekly basis, do try these tips which have helped my fresh flowers survive at least for 7-8 days; 

1. Cut all the stems of the flowers in a 45 degree sharp cut, that makes them soak up water much better.

2. Remove the leaves that will be under water in the arrangement, but do not remove thorns from roses as it tends to shorten their life.

3. Use plain, lukewarm water for most cut flowers, Change water in the vase every 2 days.

4. Keep cut flowers away from fruit, which releases a gas that causes flowers to age faster.

Usually 7-8 days is good enough for me, as I prefer to refresh the fresh flowers in the living area on a weekly basis. Here are 8 more ways to help your flowers last longer. I have yet to to try these methods, so do share your experience if you have tried any of these methods that has worked for you.

Felt Citrus Coasters

 

Just completed this hand-made for the home; Citrus Coasters. Love this for a home with a neutral palette, as it will certainly brighten up the dining/coffee table. I was rather conflicted when I completed this handmade, could not decide if I should keep it for myself or give it to a friend for her house-warming. I finally gave in and decided that my home needed them more then hers at this point ;P

You can get the pattern and the instructions to make this coasters here.

We are finally into the September school holidays starting today! Need to start planning what to do to keep the little man busy for the coming week.

Share it:

Related posts: