Skip to main content

Playground Competancy

We went to the park yesterday.  It was a beautiful day, surprisingly breezy for August but with plenty of sun in the sky.  I pushed the boys on the swing set for about half an hour.  Soren begged me to push harder and higher; Carl giggled with surprise at even the slightest bump.

Another boy sat on the swing next to Soren for a few minutes, then ran off to play on the playground.  Intrigued, Soren didn't throw his usual tantrum when I helped him down and encouraged him to follow.  He ran to the equipment and didn't look back.

I gathered up Carl and we sat on a bench in the shade, watching Soren play.  I was surprised by how energetically and competently Soren approached the unfamiliar environment.  I realised, watching him master it, that he is still growing stronger and more able every day.  Even though I have long stopped tracking his gross motor developments, he is still developing.  He is learning to use his body and his energy and he is getting good at it.

I found out today that Soren can:
* run up stairs
* climb ladders
* push himself down the slide
* quickly cross uneven or moving surfaces
* use the roundabout
* push other children on the swing set
* get past slow-pokes, even in close quarters

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Surrounded by Love

One of my greatest worries about having four children was that I would not be able to welcome and love my new baby as well as I had the others.  Now that he is here, I feel that he is perhaps the most welcomed and best loved of all my sons.  More on that in a moment. I struggled to bond with Leif in utero, in part because pregnancy was old hat to me and in part because life was busy with too many other things.  The new miracle  growing inside of me was the most normal thing about my life.  There were a few good moments that helped me prepare mentally: doing guided meditations during Christmas vacation, my blessingway on January 6th, and a really good conversation I had with Scott about my hopes and worries.  But mostly, my mind was elsewhere. And then there was the birth.  I should have known that it would be a totally unique experience and that it would prepare me for this totally unique child. Needless to say, I'm crazy about the little guy. ...

What Works for Us: Room Time

I've decided to do a new series of posts on how I make parenting work for us. Every parent does it differently--which is great!--but I have a hard time keeping my discoveries to myself. The things I do may not work for anyone else but I want to record them and remember them. Hopefully, it will also help me vent my soap-box-y-ness so that I'm not always imposing my ideas on other people. That will be what "What-Works-for-Us Posts" are about. One of the things that we have always done, but has made a HUGE difference in the move from one to two children, is Room Time . When Soren was 6 months old, I started having him play alone (in a safe place) every day for a few minutes. At first it was only five minutes in the port-a-crib but we quickly worked up to fifteen, then thirty. At that time, I used those precious minutes to do housework or relax on the couch. When I was pregnant with Carl, Soren would play alone for about an hour in his room and I would usually tak...

Favorites

1. I have enjoyed the sunshine this week.  It has been perfect autumn weather.  Our kindergarten walks have been very pleasant.  I love to see the brown and yellow leaves falling all around me.  I told the kids that when they caught a falling leaf, they caught a wish in their hand.  It's harder than it sounds!  Today, one fell right on my head!  I decided to count that. 2. Monday was my brother Timothy's last P-day of his mission!  We chatted on gmail for about an hour that morning.  I am really excited for him to come home! 3. I made an apple pie for FHE.  It was amazing. 4. Scott went on a father-son date with Soren on Wednesday night.  They went to the U of U parking lot and wrote down all the license plates they saw.  When they got home, Soren was very excited to tell me about the snazzy sports car they saw as well as the license plate from England. 5. I gave myself permission to take a nap every day this week. ...