Connections to Wednesdays' Gagas swimming camp

 


9/29/2021 This first video was a disaster.  It took for ever to load.  It had too much adult talking.  The children waited patiently, but lost interest and my husband contributed to the negativity by stating the obvious.  It was boring.  We went to the pool and had a good time playing with the noodles.  

The lifeguard at the pool surprised us when he got in the pool and gave a 5 minute lesson to each one of my grandchildren.  His style of teaching was a little too harsh for me.  My husband thought it was fine as the lifeguard was not as protective as we are of the kids.  He expected the children to swim or sink with the noodles and both of the children swam.

The problems with the blog were:
a. Searching for the post
b. Uploading the video took for ever
c. Quality of the video was not what was needed for the short attention span I was given

Solutions for next Wednesday.  
Before they arrive
1. Have clothing, snacks, and dinner ready.  There will not be time in between, if we want peaceful transitions.  Cook something they are going to like.  Make sure there is plenty of fruit, vegetables, and a protein as well as something good to drink and for dessert (fruit-do not break the no sweets law)

Before swimming
a. Take a shower when they arrive to change into swim suits.  It is too hard to get them to rinse at the pool bathroom
b. Place clothes in the washer to wash
c. Have children clean their lunch boxes and place them in their backpacks
d. Feed then snack with a video of what we will be learning at the pool
e. Take two towels and bathrobes to dry and change them
f. Go to the pool.  Wear pool shoes.  Bring house slippers for after the pool. 
g. Swim for 45 minutes.  
h. Dry them and have them wear their bathrobes and house slippers
i. Take a shower at the apartment.  (Asked mom to bring shampoo and conditioner).  Wear PJ's
j.  Eat dinner
k. Spanish reading time - Alphabet with Yoga songs. Craft activity until parents arrive






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zoom Connection to Biden's MLK Day of Service 2021

Image
As a service-learning facilitator for a community service requirement for graduation at a private school in Oklahoma City, I have been involved with MLK Day Presidential Service Day for years.  MLK Day National Day of Service 2021 was different as I was keeping safe at home.  I have been retired for almost three years, and I did not have a group of young people to connect their spark to make a difference to a real community need in person.  For the first time, I was away from my grandchildren, I was not frantically learning how to use my sewing machine and making masks for family, friends, and workers in my neighborhood.  I was on my own.  The virus had a new variation that helped spread Covid-19 more rapidly. The vaccine distribution in my state was not optimal.  The political landscape was toxic.  We had domestic terrorism inside the US Congress.  I was at home learning how to play the guitar and how to teach online.   I felt, I needed to do something, no matter how small to honor th
Read more

Connecting sounds to energizing times

Image
I love dancing, but I have not been listening to music for a long time. This morning when my grandson called on Alexa to share a song with me, I got re-energized with the songs we listened to and danced together. 1. What was the power of these songs to enter not only my body but also my soul? 2. Why do I feel like the lethargic stage I entered in the last month came to an end after listening to these songs and dancing with my grandchild? 3. What questions will continue to develop as I move with creative movement in my relationship with my grandchildren? 1. Hammer Time  was the first song I suggested first.  Loved to see his dad and him dancing as we were communicating during our almost daily FaceTime minutes.  FaceTime requested by my grandchild as part of his breakfast routine which enables him to wake us up and be with us as when we are with him at his home.  We might want to sleep a little bit more some days as there is an hour difference, but seeing their lovely faces and focusing
Read more

My CAP 2020-2022 and CAS 2023 Journey

Image
CLIMATE ACTION PROJECT 2020 CAP 2020 We started our CAP (Climate Action Project) journey via FaceTime as a way to have engaging communication between grandparents living in Oklahoma and grandchildren starting preschool in Massachusetts during Covid-19 times.  In our first-six weeks of participation, we worked virtually on the difference between weather and climate. My grandchildren's preschool teacher had a maple tree farm and we connected global warming and climate change to what was happening to the production of my grandchildren's favorite topping for pancakes, maple syrup.   CAP also empowered us to communicate with a preschool teacher from California who shared her CAP plans for her classes and validated my (the grandmother) inexperienced early childhood educator efforts.  We followed Ivette’s suggestions during CAP 2020 and 2021. Our first CAP climate action was simply watching a memorial Japanese maple tree planting at the children's backyard.  We also started making
Read more