Swimming with Kecil

It's been a very tiring couple of days for Mama around here, thanks to this Little One pictured above. I guess I can quite understand. With the soaring temperature that we have these past few weeks, the lure of the pool must have been too much to resist.

In addition, however, there are a few techniques that she is still in the process of perfecting....

The technique of jumping on Mama? Ha!

Well... not quite, actually. Although in the above pic she sure seemed like she was trying really hard to grab the camera.
You see, a few days back, the first time we swam after Kecil's last bout of flu, Mama hit upon what she thought of as a brilliant idea. Still remember the trampoline? Well, Kecil learned to do 'cannon ball' on the trampoline, so I suggested that she tried it in the pool as well.

.... let's just say after 5 consecutive days of going to the pool everyday, the idea is beginning to seem less than brilliant. Still... it was 5 consecutive of intense training for the Little One, at the end of which, Mama was confident enough to do her stuff without immediately catching the Little Pink Cannon Ball.

Getting ready...

Jump 1

Jump 2 

Jump 11

Jump 11? Uh yeah. Totally.
Did I mention she does this on daily basis? She's enthusiastic, all right.
And before you mention that the camera seems a wee bit far from her landing spot in the water...
Let me just say that it's because .... KECIL HAS LEARNED HOW TO SWIM!!!!

Mm... well... it's a bit awkward still to catch her swimming on camera, but you see the hair? She swam underwater, and when she emerged, her hair became totally slick.

So... it's been a few tiring days, but I guess it's quite worth it, with Kecil gaining confidence and some real skill in water. I am one proud Mama (as you can probably tell from the number of pics in this post).

Summer is still on-going. So... I guess I'm looking at many more days of swimming daily with this Little One. I can only shudder to think about the effect that kind of schedule will have on my hair. Already our walkie/dinner routine is affected. Hmm.... but I will enjoy it as much as I can.

Any tips on what else I can teach her in terms of water skills? I am hoping to teach her water-trapping next. Cheers!

Mama-Coach & the new Little Swimmer

Summer Skool stories: Star Chef

Summer Skool is still on-going, just in case you are wondering, and just the other day, the kids were making a mystery item while I was there to play 'photographer of the day'. I wonder what they were all painting...

I'd say! They were making some chef hats! Apparently there were some big plans for the day. Good thing Mama dropped in today!

We started with washing hands first. And then, since we have many students, they all had to take turn. Kecil waited at the playroom for her group's turn. Aren't these girls cute?

Well, soon enough it was Kecil's turn at the cooking table.

And ah, yes. I see now, they were going to make Pizza!

With some help from the teachers, soon we have a few pizzas for each kids to devour.

Everybody got their share, and everyone seemed very proud with their own creation.

Some of our proud chefs.

Whoops... as everybody finished with their turn, one little chef managed to sneak in a BIG bite of cheese straight from the bowl! Good thing everybody was done. I think he thinks nobody was looking. Little did he know this Mama's camera caught him red handed.

Soon enough all the pizzas were made, and all that was left were the empty bowls (and the full stomach). This Mama felt really lucky. It so happened that that morning Kecil was not amicable to being fed breakfast. I was really worried that she was going to get hungry and cranky in school. Then they made the pizzas. Ha!

We are all very happy with all the Skool activities so far. It's been a great summer, and we are still looking for many good weeks ahead. Cheers!

Summer ...

... is for wearing cool, orange summer dresses, with matching socks to go to summer school.

... is for taking the public transport, with the windows wide open, hair wildly flying, and head slightly out, to look for a sign of your beloved horses riding by.

... is for eating creamy ice cream during midday break. Lots and lots of them!

And yes, even your nose needs a dab of ice cream to keep it cool!

... is for playing outside, collecting stuff while watching a new neighbor moves in.

... is for sitting on a tree branch, posing, while waiting for Mama to take your picture.

... is for trying out new trick, such as balancing on tree roots, just to see if you can do it better this time.

We've been having a great summer so far. How about you?

Here's wishing you weather that you can work on, no matter where you are. Cheers!

Trampoline Stories

Just after wondering about Ami's disappearance from this space, came a story from Ami's backyard.
A few weeks back, Ami got herself a huge trampoline on her backyard, and Kecil was invited along to play in it. There was Kecil, Ami, Ami's classmate and Ami's elder brother that afternoon, all having great fun.

Being the photographer, this Mama got persuaded to play the part of circling shark outside the trampoline pen, eliciting numerous hysterical screams from the girls.

As usual, Kecil was her inquisitive, energetic, fearless self. She might be the youngest in the bunch, but that did not stop her from jumping the most and trying out new tricks.
Such as floating on air in sitting down position.
(She tried lying down position as well! Then she tried to return the favor to Ami's brother, unfortunately the laws of physics were against her. She was lighter than Ami's brother!)

Later on, even the Dog was attracted by all the noise and went over, barking wildly.
Well, dogs are not allowed on the trampoline, but both the kids and the Dog had some fun 'nosing' each other through the trampoline.

And when they got tired of jumping? The girls went on a full, mass attack on the only boy in the pen!

Finally they all got tired of playing in the trampoline, and one by one, they made their way out of the pen.

It was a great, fun afternoon for Kecil. We look forward to more jumping games (and photo ops for Mama!) Until then!

Summer School

It's been a while since Kecil saw her Skool friends, the last occasion being when we went to Skool to pick up her report card. (She did very well, just in case you are wondering).
But perhaps you noticed some increase in the posting frequency?
Well... let's just say that's because .... Summer School has started!
And no one was happier than the Little One.

Oh well... this Mama came a very close second. I can post more often now!

Just like last year, Summer School is attended both by the regular students as well as some new students. Some from other schools, while some used the chance to try out the Skool. But for whatever reason, Kecil gets to make new friends while still meeting some (not all) of her old friends from last term.

Something new for this year, given that Kecil is going to be in Nursery next term, we decided to go with the additional subject apart from the Arts & Craft/Music/Dance/Culinary morning program.

Yes, she's learning a bit of writing! Ain't that cool?
(Photos were taken from outside the classroom, through the window. Hence the slight blur.)

Kecil proudly showing her 'handywork'

Disclaimer: well.. OK, so she did not quite write that. That was Mama 'photoshopping'. Just so we are clear.


The first week of summer school is already over, and I can confidently say that Kecil enjoys her activities very much. I am a bit behind with the Skool stories, but hopefully we can catch up real soon.
In the meantime, here's hoping for more good summer Kecil stories!