Growing up in a world of adventure.
May is National Water Safety month, so in partnership with the British Swim School, where Bergen (4 years) and Georgia (16 months) have been enrolled in lessons for the past month, I’m excited to be bringing you 5 reasons why we feel that swim lessons are not only important, but a necessary life skill!
For more information on our experience at British Swim School, and a few tips about how to keep your kids safe, be sure to reference our previous two posts in this 3-part series on water safety:
As you may have heard in my recent Spring Bucket List post or from our instagram and facebook updates, WE HAVE A NEW BIKE RIDER in the family! Yes, in just a matter of a couple of weeks Bergen (our 4-year old) has mastered pedal bike riding, and is now riding his bike to school, riding on our daily afternoon walks (up to 3.5 miles), and just generally having fun tooling around the neighborhood!
Now that we are on the other side of it, I will say that the transition from balance bike to pedal bike is fairly quick and easy. But at the same time, I want everyone to understand that the transition for our child did not happen overnight, and it didn’t happen without a lot of hard work and practice, and unfortunately a few tears.
Now that the real spring weather has returned to Seattle, and we are back to mild temperatures after a bout of hot weather, it’s time for us to get cracking on our spring bucket list! If you aren’t familiar with our seasonal bucket lists, here’s the scoop: Each season, we create a list of about 10 fun adventures or projects that are specific to the season.
We dig through our favorite nature books, think about our favorite happenings of that particular season, and look at our calendars as a way of being more intentional with our time and to take advantage of the best things that nature has for us. To learn more, check out our summer, fall & winter bucket lists.
As I mentioned in my first post about the British Swim School 2 weeks ago, Bergen (4.5 years) and Georgia (16 months) are enrolled in lessons at one of their franchises here in the Seattle area. The company offers lessons starting with babies (must be at least 3 months of age), and all the way up into adulthood. Classes for children are divided by skill level with certain criteria allowing them to move on to the next program.
Bergen is working on working on introductory skills and learning basic survival techniques as a “Minnow”, and Georgia is just getting started and introduced to water in the parent-child “Tadpole” class. While it took Georgia a couple of lessons to warm-up to having fun in the pool, I’m happy to say that they are both now thoroughly enjoying their swim lesson experience.
As a parent (and participant with Georgia), I’ve been so impressed with the format of the lessons and the skill and dedication of the teachers. I took some time to reflect on exactly what I love most about the British Swim School, and I’m sharing here in hopes that it might help you learn more about the organization in case you’re looking for lessons for your own kids!
Last month we finally got to spend some time in our state’s capital city of Olympia, Washington. For years I’d been hoping explore this small city that’s just a little over an hour away from our home in Seattle. As cities in Washington go, Olympia is on the small side, but it’s full of fun (and educational!) opportunities for families and so much natural beauty that shined through even though the weather (typical early spring in Western Washington) was less than ideal.
Based on our recent weekend experience and in collaboration with the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Visitor and Convention Bureau, I put together a weekend itinerary + photo tour for families to get oriented with a quick snapshot of our capital city. Stay tuned as I dive deeper into some of our favorites in the coming weeks!
We just returned from a beautiful weekend in Lewis County, Washington, about 2 hours south of Seattle. Ike Kinswa State Park, where we stayed, is a little over 450-acres with most of it’s focus on camping. To the east is the Cowlitz River, to the west is the Tilton River, and at the confluence is Mayfield Lake. Mayfield Lake was created by the Mayfield Dam located in the nearby town of Mossyrock.
Along with camping, visitors also enjoy recreational boating, fresh water fishing, and swimming and water skiing in the warmer summer months. We were just happy to enjoy some solitude and time away from the city with plenty of opportunity to hike and explore nature as a family.
Based on our experience at Ike Kinswa, along with our adventure at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in California, and all the fun that we had camping when Bergen was a baby, I wanted to share a few quick tips! As you’ll see we took some “short-cuts” here, and some might even dare to say that we weren’t actually camping, but for our purposes (vacationing and enjoying the outdoors in a park as a family), I think we did just fine!
There’s a lot of work involved in setting up camp even for just a few nights, and we appreciate taking the tent assembly out of the equation. Also, when the weather is hard to predict (and planning far in advance is necessary), we appreciate a guaranteed warm and dry shelter! We’ve stayed in numerous state park cabins and yurts over the years, and find them so delightfully cozy, comfortable, and affordable.
We get the best of both worlds. We still get to be immersed in nature, but also get those comforts of home such as heat, electricity, and a bed to sleep on.
3 Things We Love about British Swim School
Learning the Importance of Water Safety with British Swim School
Fun at the Lake with Toddlers: Safer and Easier Swimming
Kicking Back at Paradise Valley, Montana’s Chico Hot Springs
Bike Riding Gear for Families: Kulie Bike Bags
Balance Bike to Pedal Bike: Round 2 with Woom 2
Biking with Kids: 6 Tips for Helping Kids Learn to Change Gears
Woom 3 Bike Review: Helping the Transition from Balance Bike to Pedal Bike
Be Kind+News & Inspiration//16
Savoring the Season with Spring Bucketlist: 2019 Edition
Savoring the Season with a SPRING Bucket List: 2018 Edition
Spring Visit to Mount Rainier with Kids: Where to Eat, Play & Stay
5 Reasons Why Kids Need Swim Lessons
Mount Rainier National Park with Kids: Staying at Paradise Inn (+Video)
Washington State Travel: 5 Destinations for Families
Olympia, WA’s Hands-on Children’s Museum: 4 Things We Love +Visitor Tips
Visiting Olympia’s Nisqually Wildlife Refuge with Kids
Red Lodge, Montana Adventures: Beartooth Highway
Family Getaway in Kauai: Moanakai Beach Cottage in Kapa’a
How to Get More Creative with Family Camping Meals: Chef Corso’s MONTyBOCA
Camping with Kids at Washington’s Scenic Beach State Park
Travel Planning: 6 Tips for Making Camping Reservations
Car Camping Packing List for Families with Babies and Young Children