Pool Boy

Kids around us are super busy with many different clubs, classes and activities.  Comparatively we live a rather tame life.  Zilla's one "extra curricular" activity over the past year has been swimming lessons at a local pool.  To me, swimming lessons are great for many reasons but the most important is learning the life skill of swimming.
It is expensive (in my view of money...) to take swim lessons here and there are many times where Zilla has tried to talk me out of going... and it is a half hour walk to the pool each way - which we don't mind usually but when it is hot/cold/rainy/snowy we find it to be bothersome.
Anyway, as we are busy during the next few months we're taking an official absence from the pool.  In the past 14 months Zilla has gained much confidence and skill but at the same time he still hasn't learned to shut his mouth when he's in the water! :-) (<-- like me...)


Zilla is the kid in the dark blue swim cap


Here is a jumping in exercise that has taken him a while to get comfortable doing

The pool Zilla goes to doesn't have an open swim or family swim time so I'm hoping over the summer break we can find some pools to go to as a family.  Mega is a real trooper every week coming along to watch her brother swim and I know she'd love to get into the water with him!

Of Balance Bikes and Trikes

Zilla is 4 yrs. old

Mega is 18 mo. old

If the weather is nice (not raining or snowing) Mega and Zilla love to spend some time each day on their bikes. Meg is on her 2nd hand-me-down trike as the first one is pretty much worn out.  It went through 4 very active boys before becoming hers.  The trike in this picture is her "new bike" (her words/signs).

Both kids are on the tall side for Japan so they actually run into problems with trike size.  Zilla never really learned to pedal because his legs were too long by the time he reached the age where he would be able to pedal!

A year ago we knew Zilla needed to move to a bigger bike.  He spent the summer mastering the balance bike / strider.  This is basically a little bike (his has a hand break) with no pedals.  The idea is that if the kids can learn to balance first, then, after they have mastered the balancing act, learn to ride with pedals.  

Since Mega and Zilla are just about 3 years apart in age we opted to get a balance bike which will be passed on to Mega when Zilla is ready to move up to a bigger, pedal bike.  There are balance bikes which can be converted to regular bikes but since the ones sold in Japan are small we are pretty sure Zilla would outgrown it in no time!

As you can see Zilla can pick up some speed on his bike so normally he wears a helmet... especially if he is going farther than down this side street.  While we've been accident free so far I know the day will come when he tries to do tricks!

Kid-o-KID キドキド Part 2

When summer gets hot (or winter gets cold) there are some indoor places we go to when the kids are bursting with energy.  One of them is Kid-o-Kid.  I wrote about it before here.  This visit we went with 2 kids, a three year old and an almost 1 year old.  The variety in activities was once again a good fit.  Also, with the day passport we were able to play for a while, go out for lunch and return from some more play time before heading home at nap time.

The boys worked hard to create a car.

 

The ball pit and climbing implement is where we spent most of our time.  

Zilla had some fun rolling around.

Mega enjoyed the baby space but she really prefers to play near/with her big brother.

The roll play and fine work corner

Racing and jumping on the huge air mat - Mega actually moved about the easiest. We figure it is a combo of being light weight and generally used to be off balance.

Ideas and instructions on how to use the equipment.

This is the house that Zilla built. 

Baby Race

We don't have a backyard in the traditional sense of the word.  The space outside our house is more like a parking space with a built-in planter on one end.  This space is also where 3 (very small by American standards) cars are parked on Sundays as this is the church parking lot.  Sometimes cars park there during the week too so we can't really set thigns up and leave them out...

but...

We have figured out how to use sidewalk chalk to make the most of the space we have.  

This is what Zilla calls a "baby race".  Each person is to carry a baby as they race around the track.  The track also doubles as a biking course, BBQ pit, hopscotch grid and a swirly maze.  One thing we love about this not being painted on is that after each rain we can come up with a new plan.  Since it is rainy season right now that means a new plan is created on each sunny day.
Kids really don't mind running in circles so even when space is limited you can still get some good exercise!

Screamer to Swimmer

We signed the Zilla (Little Guy) up for a 2-day swimming class last week.  He was "that kid". The one who didn't want to go into the building, started screaming when it was time to get ready, fought the teacher when he was carried off to the pool, didn't want to participate in the lesson (but did stop crying after the first 15 min) and would only do things that he wanted, if the teacher was holding him.  
However, at the end when he came to me he gave his sister a big kiss, told me he had fun and asked to go back to the pool.  WHAT THE HECK!!!! Oh, and he said he was mad because the teacher wouldn't listen to him.  
Anyway, I must enjoy torture because we are still took him to class the next morning.  I feel so bad for the teacher though.  I always dreaded teaching new class of 3 yr olds because there is always one of "those kids" in the group... and I promised myself years ago that my kids wouldn't be like that.

Zilla refused to go for a ride so the teacher had to carry him.

At the very end the teacher finally was able to take him for a turn in the water.

One thing I know very well is that Zilla needs time to warm up to new things.  He will sit back and observe a situation before joining in.  However, once he does join in you have to watch out because he will go at it full force once he's decided to do something!

Day 2 - jumping right in

Not only willing to go for a little boat ride, he's now trying to be the captian

Finally, the smiles I knew would come...

And the open mouth taking in water all the time!  (hmm, I have the same problem...)

The lifeguard and swim teacher were both a bit impressed by the turn-around which was made in just two lessons.  Before the 1st lesson we actually took some time to visit the pool, watch what was going on from the observation area and talk about the lessons.  All of this helped, I'm sure.  However, Zilla's objection was that I would not be swimming too. It wasn't that he couldn't leave me but more that he wanted me not to miss out.  I appreciate the consideration!

At the end of the 2nd class another group was using a little slide to enter the water.  Zilla went and lined right up with the class.  From what the parents were saying it sounds like kids int he very beginner class usually don't use the slide.  Obviously there is no fear of the water here! 

Since we ended on such a good note we signed Zilla up for 2 more lessons next week, during the vacation.  Hopefully those will go as well as the last one!



8 Month Climber

For the past month or so we've been really busy.  Yes, there was the earthquake/tsunami and related issues but the bigger challenge for me personally has been keeping up with Little Miss Mega's climbing.  With the aftershocks, power outages, packing up relief goods, etc. our house has been much messier than normal.  However, through the eyes of this 8 month old, it appears the fun challenges have multiplied!

Big brother had stacked up some milk carton blocks and arranged an office on his table (I guess my messy office approach is rubbing off on him...) but once he vacated the seat his little sister climbed right up to take over the office duties.

We also are having an issue with our stairs. Miss Mega figured out how to climb them about a month ago (on the Sun. AM of course...) but it took until this past week for her to love climbing them.  Now, wherever she has the chance to scoots right up to the top.  Again, it was a Sunday morning, while we were getting ready for church, that she discovered the love of climbing.  

While I do let her climb whenever possible, we do everything we can to stop the unsupervised expeditions!

Thankfully Amazon.co.jp and other online places are getting back to normal with their delivery services because I had to order another child safety (mother's sanity) gate much sooner than I was expecting!

Exercise Time

The Little Guy is 3 years and 3 months old

We are running into a problem with the Little Guy having too much energy.  Part of it is the amount of time being spent indoors due to cold weather and baby sister.  The other part is that he is in a time of testing his body.  He wants to climb, jump, balance... try anything I'll let him!

The curbs on the street make great balance beams.

The (fake) sledding hill in a local park is a great place.  It is free and fun.  Plus, the climbing up to the top starts to wear him out.

This time of learning about physical movement is so important.  I once had a boy in class who, at 4/5 years old, still had to get down on all fours to climb anything higher than a step.  He was a little big for his age and a bit awkward with his body.  It turned out that since he lived in a small apartment with a mom and older sister who were busy he spent most of his time at home, sitting around.  After a few months of "freedom" to run and play there was a huge improvement but I sometimes wonder if he will ever regain some of the physical dexterity that usually develops during the end of toddler years.

 If you're kid is driving you crazy with trying to make roller skates out of legos and skis from anything he can stand on, just remember that important learning is going on!

Biker Boy

Little Guy is 3 years and 2 months old

We have a biker boy!
I've been wondering when this day would come... the trike has been one of the most loved toys at our home but until yesterday the peddles were always neglected.

Learning to ride a bike is one of those things I tried to be patient about.  I knew the Little Guy would figure it out when the time was right.

I think we will need to get a bigger bike come spring as the Little Guy has rather long legs!

Living Room Soccer

It was too hot to play outside and once it cooled off it was too rainy!  We've resorted to indoor sports to burn off a bit of energy.

This is soccer in the living room.  The ball, from Ikea, is soft enough that I don't need to worry about it in the house.  Another great aspect of the gave is that we can play after supper, when it's dark out and Daddy is home to join in!

KID-O-KID キドキド

There is a place near our house called KID-O-KID　キドキド. Ok, so it isn't exactly near, it's near the next train station, but comparatively that is close!

Ball pit
Train set - with dress-up are in the background
A marble rolling build-it-yourself thingy area
Tubes that roll
Mr. Handy Manny wanna-be

As you can see, we had fun.

The enterance charge was a bit much for my liking but if you got the day pass it would be a nice place to go when the weather is bad or to celebrate something special. Might also work as a place to play when Daddy is out of town and the blues have settled over the house.

The other thing I like is that any age kid is welcome so siblings or cousins can play together. However, I bet this place is super crowded on holidays and weekends!!!

Climbing

I've noticed 3 types of climbing going on recently.

The first is the climbing out of necessity - climbing on a chair to get into the fridge, climbing on a bench to reach the light switch, etc.

The 2nd is climbing to test my limits. The Littel Guy knows of to get on my nerves so when he's headed to the top of the couch I know it's because he wants attention... or to annoy me!

And the 3rd is the climbing to see if he can do it. We found a neighborhood park last week with this rather interesting climbing implement.

He asked me "what is it?" and you know what? I really wasn't sure! A tree? A spider? A stump? I appreciate that it isn't bright colored and plastic and I do think they were going to a treehouse design... but through the eyes of a 2 yr old it wasn't very clear!
As you can see it wasn't really built for toddlers but that didn't stop the little guy from giving it a go (with me spotting him). He really does enjoy having a chance to challenge hi body through climbing and balance activities!

Batting Practice

One of the first things we did after moving was make a space for the ourdoor toys. The Little Guy loves to play outside and will stay out until after dark if he is allowed. In spite the the strange weather over the past couple of weeks we've been able to squeeze in some play time.

Until recently the bat has been used more as a golf club. It's a lot tougher for to hit a flying ball but that doesn't make it any less fun!

Gym Class

One of the thigns I looked forward to doing with my kids long before I had a kid was playing "Gym Class" with them!

When weather permits it is fun to step outside for a half hour or so. Today I got out the cones (Target - 4 of 1$), balls and hula hoop. The Little Guy kept trying to knock the cones over as if they were bowling pins.

The best part of gym class though was hide-n-seek --> 2 yr old style!

One person covers their eyes with their hands and counts to 5 while the other person "hides". In the mind of a 2 year old it doesn't matter if you can see the body as long as the face is hidden! A very helpful thing indeed considering that we have so few places to hide.

The other important point is that you both scream and laugh when the seeker "finds" the hide-er!
How simple life can be when you're two!