BEEyond the Hive: Adventures in Ice Skating

Lesson from Motherhood 101: Take your three-year-old ice skating for his first time. This is the best way to toughen up good ole mom early on in her adventures of mothering.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Last evening I took Hayden to his first ice skating lesson--a parent/tot class at our local rec center. I practically grew up on roller and ice skates and was eager to introduce ice skating to him. But when I signed up for the class, I didn't give much thought to the fact I haven't ice skated in nearly 20 years.

Renting skates from the facility was a comical scene. The teenager at the desk requested our shoe sizes and asked for our shoes. I stared at him for a moment, perplexed at the reasons why he needed our shoes. Isn't the shoe size enough? Does he need a shoe from each of us to make sure the size was correct? I bent down and took a shoe off my foot and then one off of Hayden's and placed them on the counter. The teenager stared at me dumbfounded, and said, "Ma'am, I need both shoes from each of you."

Still, in my mind I was wondering why he needed our shoes, but I bent down once again to retrieve the other shoes. The teenager collected them and returned with two pairs of ice skates for us, but no shoes. It was at that moment a light bulb went on in my head. Ah-ha . . . he needed our shoes as collateral, I thought. I giggled as I walked away from the counter, realizing the teenager probably thought I was ditsy (and I am, sometimes :-)).

After pulling on our ice skates and lacing them up, we joined the instructor and class participants and entered the rink. We lined up, and each parent and child stepped onto the ice. When it was our turn, I almost fell as I stepped on the ice. Did I mention I haven't skated in 20 years? I felt unstable and wobbly as I glided on the ice. I giggled and mumbled under my breath, "Maybe I also need lessons." Fortunately, for the first lesson we barely moved on the ice.

The instructor taught the kids how to march on the ice, get back up on their skates after a fall, and fall without injuring themselves. I must admit, it was tough watching my little guy fall so many times. And the instructor was adamant that parents not help their kids up or allow them to hold onto the parents' hands or legs. After Hayden's first fall, he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said, "Mommy, the ice is slippery."

As a mom, my natural instinct is to leap forward and help my son up when he falls. It took much restraint on my part not to do this every time he fell on the hard ice. As the lesson progressed, he began to figure out how to balance himself on the ice and pull himself up after a fall. I was amazed at how persistent he was in getting up after each fall.

The lesson was only 30 minutes long, which was plenty of time for preschoolers. At the end of the lesson, Hayden fell hard on the ice and began crying. Then another boy did the same thing. The instructor announced the class was over. I picked up my little guy, wiped away his tears, and told him what a great job he did.

As we walked out to the car, I asked Hayden if he enjoyed ice skating. I wasn't sure how he would respond after his many falls. He nodded and said he liked it, which is good because we have seven more lessons.

BEEing A Mom: Write Me A Story

Over the weekend, Hayden and I discovered a new educational activity. Saturday afternoon we visited our local toy and teacher supply store. As I browsed through the books and activities for sale at the store, I found a stack of tablets called "Write Me A Story." Three different themes were available: a circus adventure, a fairy tale, and a robot story. After reading the instructions and studying the tablets' contents, I decided to purchase the circus-themed one. I could hardly wait for Hayden to begin creating stories.

Over the last few days, we have written two tales wrought with conflict and featuring scary dinosaurs. Just so you know, none of the 96 stickers in the tablet had dinosaurs. But Hayden LOVES dinosaurs and a story is not complete until a hungry T-Rex enters the adventure.

I'd love to share one of his stories with you. But first, let me tell you a little about the tablets and how they work. Each tablet includes 50 lined pages and 96 theme-based stickers, and they are appropriate for children ages three and older. Because Hayden is three and cannot write words yet, I wrote the story on the lined paper for him, but he created the story. To begin, he selected a sticker and placed it at the top of the page. For the story I've included below, the first sticker he chose was of two monkey trapezists. I then asked him what was happening in the picture, and that is how our story began. Occasionally, he picked out a new sticker and we added it to the page. Both of the stories he created were about four pages long.

I truly enjoyed this activity for a number of reasons. First, it is fun and interactive. Our storytelling experience was filled with goofiness and giggles. Second, I believe it is a valuable tool in introducing literacy to young children. As described in the tablet's instructions, this activity teaches language and communication in a variety of forms - speaking, listening, reading, and writing. For a child who cannot read yet, this activity shows the child how the letters and words are written as the story is being told. And for a child beginning to write words, this activity provides a great opportunity to practice this new skill. Third, it sparks and encourages a child's imagination as well as the parent's. And finally, it introduces children to the basic elements of creating a good story.

As an alternative to these tablets, you could purchase lined paper or an easel-sized tablet of paper and an assortment of stickers to begin your own story writing experience with your kids.

And now, I'd like to share one of the stories my three-year-old son, Hayden, created. I hope you enjoy! :-)

Hayden's Story About Monkeys,
Dinosaurs, Clowns, and a Lion

Once upon a time, a monkey was upside down. A T-Rex came along and ate the two monkeys. The T-Rex joined four other T-Rexes and they went inside a cave. The T-Rexes chased the people in the cave. The people screamed and ran. One T-Rex found a triceratops in the cave. Hayden and Mommy were in the cave, and they began to run out of the cave, but they realized they needed to help Daddy escape. With Daddy in tow, they ran home.

They found "scary" clowns outside their house. Hayden, Mommy, and Daddy hopped in the back of the car with the clowns. The clowns and Hayden and Mommy and Daddy chased the dinosaurs back to their cave. The clowns took Hayden, Mommy, and Daddy home. The clowns then drove to the clown house. They played with some toys and lived happily ever after. Or so we thought! The clowns met a lion who liked to garden. THE END :-)

BEEing A Mom: Rainy Days

My family and I awoke this morning to a cold and rainy day. What should Hayden and I do today? I wondered as I peered outside. It was too frigid and wet for outdoor activities. Hayden watched a few cartoons on PBS this morning, but I did not want us to sit in front of the TV all day. So together we discovered five simple activities perfect for a rainy (or snowy) day.

#1: Drinking Hot Cocoa



As I sat at my desk working earlier this morning, I heard Hayden enter my office. I glanced up at him and laughed at the sight before me. In his mismatched pajamas, he stood in front of me wearing his red Lightning McQueen baseball cap and Batman clogs, twirling an open umbrella above his head.

"I wanna go outside in the rain," he said under the canopy of the umbrella.

Grinning, I led him to the back door and allowed him to stand out on the deck with his umbrella for a few moments. I listened as the rain pitter-pattered on his umbrella and our wooden deck, then shivered from a cold breeze pushing through the open door into my living room where I stood. Seconds later, Hayden cried, "I'm cold. I wanna go in."

I reached out onto the deck to retrieve his umbrella and then guided him into the living room and closed the door.

"How about some hot cocoa?" I asked.

He nodded. Minutes later, he sipped on a cup of hot chocolate with a big smile on his face. It's amazing how hot cocoa on chilly day can solve almost any problem!

#2: Making A Mailbox

Remember when I mentioned in an earlier post that I am not a "crafty" mama? I must admit I had so much fun with last week's craft I decided to try another. Today we made a custom mailbox for Hayden.

Using a shoebox, I helped Hayden decorate it with an assortment of scrapbooking paper. We cut a long rectangular hole on top to insert mail and added a flag with a giraffe on the side. Placing my hand over his, we spelled his name and "mailbox" on a piece of paper and glued it to the front. I hope to fill his mailbox at least once a week with something special, like stickers and a letter to him.
#3: Baking Cookies

After lunch, we mixed batter for oatmeal cookies. Hayden enjoyed dumping the ingredients in the mixing bowl, turning the mixer on and off, sampling the cookie dough, and dropping the cookies on the baking sheet. Ten minutes later, I served him one of his specially made cookies with a cup of cold milk. Life is good! :-)



#4: Reading Books

On any day, reading a stack of books with Hayden is such a joy. And today was no different. We sat in our reading chair in our den, and I read a few books to him.

Each summer we participate in our library's reading program. If we read for at least eight hours, Hayden receives a free book of his choice from the library. I decided I would like to continue recording our reading habits, and for every eight hours we read, I thought it would be a treat to go to the bookstore and select a book to add to our own home library. So today I created a "pirate" themed recording sheet and attached it to the bulletin board. I anticipate we will be visiting the bookstore soon to select our first book.

#5: Taking A Nap

After a morning and afternoon filled with activities, Hayden and I lay down for a nap. Oh how cozy it was to curl up with him and a blanket for a snooze on a cold and wet day. Hayden slept for about three hours.

I have come to love a rainy day every so often because it allows me to slow down and spend some quality one-on-one time with my little boy. And by doing this, I'm truly savoring the sweetness of life!

BEEing A Mom: Bumblebee Rocks

I have a confession: I'm not a "crafty" mama. I wish I were. I admire the creative and cute crafts I find on websites and in books and magazines. But often I read the craft's directions and either don't understand how to complete them or think they will require more effort than I'm willing to devote to them. I usually opt to take Hayden to the zoo or a museum rather than work on a craft. This is where Hayden's preschool teacher, Miss Ashlee, has been a blessing. Each day Miss Ashlee coordinates a craft for the kids in the class. So I'm reassured I'm not depriving Hayden of opportunities to explore his artistic abilities.

But every once and a while, I have a moment when I desire to tackle a craft. This morning I had one of those moments.

After breakfast, I thumbed through a couple of my preschool books until I finally found instructions on a craft I thought I could complete with Hayden. The craft: making bumblebees out of rocks. I quickly perused the directions and thought, "I can do this."

Minutes later, we embarked on an adventure behind our house to find flat rocks to be used as the bumblebees' bodies. After collecting several rocks, we laid them out on the patio table. As I reread the craft's directions, I struggled to understand what to do after cleaning and drying the rocks. The book did not include any pictures, and as I much I tried, I could not comprehend what to do next.

So in a rare moment for me, I decided we would abandon the book and make the bumblebee rocks using our own creativity and the supplies we had on hand. For the next hour, Hayden and I shared a delightful time together painting rocks and putting the finishing touches on them.


And even though our masterpieces may not be worthy of being included in a book or magazine, we were thrilled about how they turned out.


Throughout the afternoon, Hayden discovered many creative ways to play with the bumblebee rocks. My favorite was a new twist to the game of "tag." In our living room, we took turns being the tagger with the bee. My son made the sound of a bee buzzing as he chased me around the coffee table until he finally caught up with me and rather than "tagging" me, he used the bee to "sting" me.

Perhaps I will try to be a "crafty" mama a little more often now!