Suzi has been enthusiastically drawing rainbows lately. She loves to use markers and draw all the colors in the proper order. The other day she was sitting at her desk, singing a little song and drawing. Then she held up a bluish-greenish marker and asked "Mom, is this followby?" I wasn't sure what she was talking about, so she went on to explain. "You know, like in the song! Red, orange, yellow, then green, followby, blue! Indigo and violet, that's a rainbow soooong for you!"It's a song she learned from The Cat in the Hat on TV. I explained that it was actually followed by. I think followby should be a color, though. It would be beautiful.
We haven't been doing much homeschooling lately. It just felt like time for a summer break, probably because that's what I always had. I went to public school, and when school let out each day at 2:30 I went to after school care because my parents weren't done with work for another hour or two. But the lucky thing is that my mom was a teacher, so every summer we got to spend lots of time together!
I also got to spend lots of time alone. During the summer I had oodles of time to do whatever I wanted. I loved playing in my room with my dolls. Organizing my extensive troll collection into "families." Playing old records on my Fisher-Price record player and dancing to them. Going out in the yard and using the red mud for clay. Running through the sprinkler. Catching lightning bugs in a jar. Watching TV. Yes, I loved watching TV. But mostly I just ran around playing silly little games I couldn't possibly describe now. Some of my best childhood memories are of this free time, and that's what my girls are having a lot of right now. I don't know exactly when we'll pick up a normal schedule again.
Jordan just cut our grass, so this week will be a good one for running around in the yard playing and looking for bugs. They love to jump some energy out on the trampoline. When they play at my parents' house, my mom gives them each a bucket of water and a paintbrush and lets them "paint" their large concrete walks and patio. It dries right up and they paint it again. They love putting their bathing suits on and playing with the hose, too. Grandma's house is fun!
A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to introduce some unique opportunities for exercise to the girls, so that they can hopefully find something they love to do and grow up developing that. A couple of weeks ago Jordan, my mom, and I took the girls skating and had a good time. Suzi didn't want to go on the big floor, but she had fun on the carpet. Now Suzi has asked for skates of her own. After we went skating, I decided to try out roller derby with a friend--and loved it. So it looks like rollerskating might be an activity that we enjoy together for a while! I'm glad. I love it because it's not only affordable fun exercise, it's also a stress-reliever. Feels like flying. I'd totally forgotten how much I loved it and I hope my girls will come to love it too.
A while back there were some children's yoga sessions at the library, but unfortunately we missed them. Today we turned on a yoga for kids YouTube video for the girls and they had a good time following along. I think yoga could be good, especially for Suzi, since she frequently needs a calming activity. This might become something we do several times a week, especially during those difficult times of day when we all need a little relaxation.
I've been wanting to let Suzi try running, too. It's so hot now, but hopefully soon I can take her out early in the morning and see what she thinks of a short jog. In November I really want to take her to the Color Run. Since it's a fun run and there's no rush to finish, we'll probably take the whole family. Can you just imagine my little followby girl at the Color Run? It's perfect for her!
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