Showing posts with label Playground. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Playground. Show all posts

24 February 2012

The Observer

I'm sitting here tonight on one corner of the "Oasis", a water playground for kids. And I'm just here observing, watching over Jakjak as he makes himself, well, wet.


It wasn't that long ago when Jakjak was first let off a water feature from a mall back home. That was at Market Market. He would be running around in his diapers until it got so wet and heavy that it falls off on it's own. That was some four years ago. All through the years after that, he still loves the water. Whether swimming, wading, splashing or even just misting.

His love for water aside, I am also observing how far he has grown. He is taller, albeit still not as plump as we would want him to be. It's not a bad thing though, in fact, it's good that his metabolism is better than expected. He burns energy as quickly as he stores it. He has the efficiency of a well oiled machine.


Being a well oiled machine though, he seems to be prone to accidents. Perhaps he has excess oils that contribute to his carelessness. We are not without giving him warning every time. He is just ... forgetful and un-mindful of the things going on around him. Carelessness aside though, he is  a very active little bugger. He runs, skips, jumps, climbs, crawls and contorts every which way. He is definitely no slouch and neither is he a sloth. He may be good enough to be in a circus to be honest.

The way he thinks is not what we expected. He is quite good at remembering things. Whether it is something he saw or something he heard, he would be able to recall it and even put up an argument if we were the ones who forgot. Speaking of arguments, he is one who uses logic and reason. Coupled with his memory, it's nearly impossible to bend the "rules", let alone change it completely. At least he knows right from wrong, and even with an argument, respect and understanding always manages to keep his world in order (and ours too). Thankfully, all this looks to be the making of a lawyer or a philospher. Hopefully. Maybe.


The most important thing for us however, is the way he expresses his emotions. He's not afraid to speak out and let us know what's happening inside him. There are reservations at times, and he don't always say it out loud, but he confides a lot of things with mum, which is good. And at the end of the day, a good conversation with Jakjak over a cup of milk is sure to be insightful at the least. Of course, conversations with Jakjak usually last for hours as he never seems to run out of things to say.

07 February 2012

The Sand Park | 2012

We had some free time last Sunday (finally). I was free from being sick (albeit only slightly). Jakjak was free from school. And mum was free from Jakjak and me. We packed up a dorky looking recycling bag, filled it up with toys, a water bottle and snacks (goodness, we packed cookies and cake!). And then we hiked to the nearby park, just Jakjak and me.




The "sand park" is really just a big sand box. It's got an activity area with steps, stairs, hangers and slides. It's also got some other weird stuff like balance platforms, tilt rollers and friend shakers. I don't really know their actual names, but when you see them, that's how you would describe them.


Among other things, the area is also meant to cater to other activities. It has a basketball court, bike lanes, jogging lanes, and even a woodball court (I have no idea what that is at the moment, but I'm guessing it has something to do with a wooden ball).


We do try to go to the park every chance we get. It's just that sometimes, Jakjak changes his mind in the blink of an eye. His bike, unfortunately at this time is flat and I broke our air pump. So we had to resort to playing in the sand. We brought shovels, rakes and a dump truck. Aside from digging up "fossils", we also mindlessly wandered about in the playground. We climbed stairs and slid down the slide and we made mudballs. We had some snacks (well, I did, Jakjak simply drank his water) and had a good time.



You can't really tell how much fun you can have with simple toys and a big open space. You also realize that you have been thinking of doing these things with your child for a long time, but have not found the time to do it. As a secondment to my previous post, you can't always find the time, but you can make time. I have lost track of things like these, the simple things, because I wanted to do so many things in so little time. It's better, in fact, to sometimes just step back and slow down a bit. Thinking slowly has made me come to better decisions lately than a planned but rushed calendar entry. If you are feeling rushed and out of time, try it for yourself. You just might find the focus you are looking for.


(Dad 7/2/2012)
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