Skip to main content

At the park

After the snow and the slush, it was finally nice enough for the kids to go to the park today. Eleanor hosted a "Y princess" meeting, so it was just Amanda and Luke.

I could not convince them to put on their jackets, but it was 40 degrees, sunny, and not very windy so they were comfortable. They dug in the sand, swung, and played on the equipment (favorite game: Mama sits at the bottom of the slide and children run into her). The biggest excitement, though, was when a young teenager started practicing his skateboarding tricks. Amanda ran over first and tried to talk to him. Then Luke ran over and tried to run in front of him as he was skating---not a good idea. I put him and Amanda on top of the climbing rock so they had a good view and couldn't get down to get in the skateboarder's way.

Amanda watched for a while, very interested when he tried to jump up on the bench and slide along it. Luke was fascinated, watching the whole time. The kid protested that he was just practicing, but that made it even more interesting since he fell occasionally and made noises (no words were audible =). When we went home I asked Luke what he thought. He said (approximately, and over and over), "I will go home and use my skateboard, and when I jump I will say 'ugh!'" I pointed out that he didn't have a skateboard, and he suggested that I buy him one.

Amanda thought that a skateboard might be easier than a bike. Well, maybe. I don't think I'll get one for the kids any time soon.
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
she can borrow Anders' skateboard when you visit ;)
February 14, 2010 at 1:16 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My hero, Helen Parr

Otherwise known as Elastigirl , a.k.a Mrs. Incredible. She is a stay at home mom ( SAHM ), she clearly feels that what she is doing is important and is willing to give up a lot to do it (remember her comment in the intro: "I'm at the top of my game! Leave saving the world to the guys? I don't think so.") But she is finding fulfillment in leading her family from day to day, in doing a hard job well. She also knows that she is very talented, and that knowledge helps her see beyond the repetitive drudgery of staying home. My favorite scene is from the deleted introduction, where she talks with a "career woman" who is of the opinion that staying home is fine for people who can't do anything else. She responds that taking care of her kid is at least as hard as saving the world, and is valuable contribution to society. The point for me is that someone has to do the job that I'm doing, and it's not something that you could pay someone to do. I see...
8 comments
Read more

Kindergarten Fashions

I was informed the other day that Eleanor wants to get a new thermos. She lost the o-ring from her purple Tinkerbell thermos, and I have so far resisted buying another one for her, on the theory that you shouldn't just replace things that are broken since it doesn't encourage being careful with one's things. I have been sending her with the sippee cups that she has been using since she was a year old, which she has resisted giving up to the point of becoming partly dehydrated when I don't let her use them at home. Here's how the conversation went. Eleanor: Anna and Jane said today at lunch, " Kindergartners don't drink from sippee cups!" Me: That's very interesting. Eleanor: They are supposed to drink from thermoses. Me: Eleanor, would you like a new thermos? Eleanor: Yes! Get the purple one, please. If there is a crayon one, that's the one I want.... Who knew that peer pressure started in kindergarten? The sippee cups are perfectly f...
4 comments
Read more

Why you should study the history of math

  Why you should study the history of math In the mid 1300s a fad made its way around Italy. Mathematicians would challenge each other to “mathematical duels”. They would post problems for their opponents to solve, sometimes along with their solutions in coded poetry. The winners would get support and funding from rich patrons, the losers would descend into obscurity. One such contest, between Fiore and Tartaglia, involved a new method for solving the cubic. In order to win, Tartaglia worked day and night to find Fiore’s method---unfortunately, Fiore did not do the same and only knew his own method and no others. (*Recall that the formula for solutions to quadratic equations of the form use the quadratic formula, Giorlamo Cardano---physician, philosopher, astrologer and mathematician---convinced Tartaglia to share his method and promised never to reveal it. Then Cardano figured out a more general method, and wanted to share it, but was blocked by his promises. Fortunately (for Ca...
Post a Comment
Read more