11 Things To Do With Your Little Girl (part 2)

A few weeks ago I posted Part 1 of this post. In the meantime, Fall Break happened, swimming lessons started, Ivy turned 3, and I had a dance camp for 25 kids... so with all that said and done, I can finally do Part 2 of 

"11 Things To Do With Your Little Girl."

 (To read Part 1, click here.)

To catch you up on the basis of this post, here's a bit of what I wrote in my intro for Part 1:

As a new parent, it takes a little motivation to figure out what to do in your new role in life. You visit parenting websites, read books, and maybe even join a mom's group. Eventually you get a routine going and see what you like to do, but more importantly, what your child likes to do. 

That's where we are now. And as Ivy transitions from toddler-age to pre-school-age, I feel like it's getting more and more fun each and every day!

Here we go with #5, 6 & 7!

I know the rest of the country is getting out their sweaters and scarves, but here in Hawaii, it's 85 degrees F pretty much year-round. We live 2 minutes from the community pool, so we go quite a bit. It's fun to cool off, see other moms/dads and kids, and watch Ivy learn how to be comfortable in the water. I have no tips if your child is 3 years old and already afraid of the water... but if you have an infant, get them in the water ASAP! We started dunking Ivy under water (fully dipping her head/face under) at 3 months old. Blow on their face first, then immediately drop them in and then lift them out. The blowing causes them to hold their breath for a split second. My husband and I have also been surfing with Ivy since she learned to walk (at 9 months old, she rides on our boards with us), so getting her to learn to swim is pretty important to us. I know that sounds a little backwards- surf first, swim second, but hey, we wanted her to be comfortable on a board before she could tell us "NO!" 

Here's all 3 of us in action:

After diligently trying for a year to teach her to swim myself, I finally enrolled her in private swim classes that are done out of a lady's home. (If you live in the area and are interested, click here to go to her web site.)  She did 4 lessons last week, and is doing 4 more this week (can you tell how important this is to us?!) and the progress has been amazing! We're a water family, can you tell?

Most kids in pre-school get the privilege of visiting the fire station with their class. Well, since we're not enrolling Ivy in pre-school yet, (see our reasoning for that, here) I was so excited to hear that our local library (which is right next door to the fire station) was offering a free field trip to the fire station! There were about 30 kids, many of them we knew. The fire men and woman gave a speech, let the kids climb all over the fire truck and shoot the hose! 

One of the most valuable things about this experience was that the fireman got dressed in his full gear, with the scary oxygen mask on, and asked the kids to come give him a hi-five so that if he were fighting a fire in our home, a child would not be afraid of him and hide, but she would know he is there to help get her to safety! And of course, "Stop, Drop & Roll" is priceless.

Sometimes you just have to get outside. Do you ever feel that way? I know the weather can prevent this from happening in certain parts of the world, but that is rarely an issue here in Hawaii. Between cleaning up breakfast, and making beds, and doing laundry, and paying bills, and checking FB (did I really just write that?), it takes some effort to GET OUT! 

I think gardening is the epitome of getting outside and doing something. Right up there with "going on a hike." We have a great garden, which Kit has set up. We've got cucumbers, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs... and now flowers! Last month I asked Kit to plant some flowers in this old washtub (see the full post here). He immediately got Ivy involved, and I think she's destined to have the green thumb, just like her dad. :) She shoveled out the dirt, put it in the pots, then put the flowers in it. Then it all went in the washtub. 

  I found this information in an article by Tony Isaacs: 

"A study conducted for Britain's Royal Horticultural Society has found that encouraging children to learn gardening boosts their development by helping them become happier, more confident, and more resilient. In addition, gardening also helps teach children patience and the benefits of a healthy diet and lifestyle."

And that's how we fill our days. Stay tuned for the final installment of "11 Things To Do with Your Little Girl." Hopefully Ivy won't have another birthday by the time I get around to it. :)

Aloha,

Rebecca

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