My Favorite Athlete: Snowplow Level 2

Our Girl finished her second session of ice skating lessons this past week. She passed Snowplow Level 2 just fine but it seems she has lost interest in further lessons. I think a few issues are at play here. First, it made for a long day for her on Wednesdays. We'd get home afterward with barely enough time to feed her some dinner and get her to bed. Secondly, while she passed the requirements for the level, I don't think she was progressing as much as she herself would have liked. She expressed frustration one day that she can't go very fast, for instance, and gets nervous when asked to skate on just one foot. Finally, as she noted on the last day, she didn't have any friends in the class this time. Last year, she made a friend. That didn't work out so well this time.

Oh well. At least she has the basics now. She can get out on the ice, move around and not fall down. There's no point in continuing with lessons if she doesn't enjoy them. As a parent, I will only insist on a few things where activities are concerned. She has to do her homework. She has to take swim lessons in the summer. When the time for school band and orchestra comes in the fifth grade, she has to TRY playing an instrument but she doesn't have to stick with it if she doesn't like it. I owe my profession that much. If she takes lessons on the instrument, she has to practice. Beyond those things, everything else is up for discussion, as far as I'm concerned.

I do believe in winter hobbies. I think they help to keep people sane in the Great White North. My Wife and I would have to get better on the ice ourselves for skating to become a family endeavor. Snowshoeing is probably a better bet. We've got plenty of snow and we're getting more as I write. Perhaps we'll get out on the trails sometime this weekend.