Wow, wow have we been busy this summer. I was so excited for the kids to do outdoor, socially distanced activities, I signed them up for everything and then some.
Leo goes to Temple Emanuel Camp in the morning, 4 days a week. We have been beyond excited for him to start seeing other kids again - it had been over a year since he's really played with kids (besides his cousins and an occasional friend). Beyond that, here are the activities we've been doing this summer:
Swimming lessons: Leo - he has started taking swimming lessons with a great college student, once a week. He used to be able to swim but since it's been more than a year since he was in a pool, Leo needed a refresher. He has made great strides in a couple of months!
Swimming lessons: Gavi - she loves the pool and so desperately wants to be independent and swim on her own. It's literally the only time she doesn't want me to hold her, is when we're in the pool and I don't want her to drown. She took a couple of lessons and screamed the entire time. The first two times I was in the water with her, passing her back and forth with the teacher, which she hated. The third time, I tried having her on her own with the teacher, which she REALLY hated. Overall, swim lessons were a flop. We'll try again next year. But when I hold Gavi and tell her to kick, she kicks and does a silly little wrist rotation and says "i swimming!"
Dance: Gavi - Hold me closer, tiny daaanceeer. No, literally, Gavi would not let me not hold her during dance. But look how amazing she looks in her little dance outfit! So I held her, and we tapped our toes and went down the slide.
But Gavi did pose herself for this very instagrammable moment outside of the studio:
Gymnastics: Gavi - Gavi is a gymnast!!! She has absolutely loved her Mini Gym class! She is a tad more independent here, although she won't let the instructor get near her. But she just loves running around and exploring all of the different areas! The bars, the balance beams, trampolines, ladders, blocks - she is so athletic and has so much fun! I'm definitely going to sign her up for gymnastics in the fall. This was absolutely Gavi's winning summer activity.
Ninja Camp: Leo - at the same gymnastics studio, Leo did Ninja Camp! We aren't allowed in the building but we can watch on Zoom. Here are a few screenshots of Leo doing Ninja Camp! They swing, they bounce, they climb - and he loves it all.
Soccer: Leo - we started the summer with Leo's first activity, soccer! He played with a local Mt. Lebanon group with his friend Mara Gael, and her dad was the coach, so he had a lot of fun with that. It was his first time really interacting with kids in a very, very long time. It was super informal; basically just a bunch of 4 year olds running around, chasing a ball.
Gavi had fun playing with Mara Gael too when she wasn't activly playing in the games!
He enjoyed soccer so much that we signed him up for another, more formal class, Soccer Shots! He actually learned how to play soccer here. They did drills, learned techniques, and had fun.
Soccer: Gavi - now Gavi saw Leo playing soccer so she wanted to play too! Yes, they do have soccer classes for 2 year olds. Every Saturday morning did I think to myself "why in the world do they have soccer classes for 2 year olds?" Yes, yes I did. It doesn't make any sense. Some of the kids refused to move, some ran around like banshees, one took the whole class to eat a quarter of a bagel while playing - it's crazy. Gavi? She sat on my lap, of course. The first couple classes she wouldn't do anything, but then she warmed up and started doing the activities, as long as she was holding my hand. So we would "run" down the field kicking the ball and score (together).
Tennis: Leo - he was so excited to play tennis this summer. Mt. Lebanon doesn't offer tennis until kids turn 5 but Leo really wanted to play (just like Dad does), so we found that USC, the next town over where Erin lives, offers classes starting at 3. So we added another activity to our chaotic summer schedule, and Leo started playing tennis! At first there was a little mixup so he was in a class with the older kids for about half the season (there was confusion because he's so tall for his age), but then we got him in the right class and it was so much better. He liked tennis and we'll definitely continue with it, as long as he's with the correct age group.
And here are the places we've gotten memberships that we've been frequenting:
Zoo:
Carnegie Museum:
Children's Museum:
Botanic Gardens:
And here are some of our other favorite activities we do to fill our summer days:
Go for long walks:
Ride scooters (and do "cool tricks"):
Ride bikes:
Go for ice cream:
or it comes to us!
Go to playgrounds (lots and lots of playgrounds):
Go to the pool:
Garden and farm:
Order books from the library, and more recently (since it's opened), go inside the library and browse, and actually choose books off the shelves!:
Go for hikes:
Play on the swing set:
Play in the baby pool:
(and use a tiny plastic bin as a pool, if you're Gavi)
And last but not least, take unexpected summer naps:
This summer as been completely exhausting, but filled with so many fun adventures and activities. I think we'll limit their activities in the future, especially now that we know which ones they really like.
Right now we're on our big summer East Coast Road Trip, so I'll update again after that. Then we'll have 2 weeks of Camp Stamm, then school will start for Leo ("full" day), and for Gavi too (mornings only)!
But for now, we're going to relax and enjoy the rest of the summer. We'll go to the zoo, and the botanic gardens, and ride our bikes, and go for walks to the ice cream shop - and do all of the fun summer things.
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