Giving Kids Artistic Freedom – Even With Their Helmets!
August 2011
Recently, the kids and I went on a bike ride. They considered it a BIG one because the plan was to ride all the way to the park – a whole 1.2 miles away from our house. We packed up with snacks readily available (My daughter Skye gets a little antsy about longer distances and having munchies on hand are key), and were off!
The kids were super stoked until we were two houses down the street where our neighbors sat smiling at my daughter. Skye interpreted this as, “Your helmet is silly.” Tears, a sad face and a mini tantrum ensued. I didn’t want my daughter to think her behavior was in any way okay, so we talked it over. We took a time out, headed back to the house and decided to decorate her helmet to give Skye a little boost of confidence.
Skye decided that she wanted to cover up a few things on her helmet so I cut out some giant hearts from some fun glitter sticker paper I had purchased last month. In our family, craft supplies come in handy pretty often! Skye was thrilled and we were rockin’ and rollin’. After three puffy hearts and tons of star stickers were in place, we were ready to embark on our journey to the park again.
The kids peddled their hearts out on the way and were so proud of themselves once we finally made it. While at the park, we enjoyed our snacks, and packed up once again and headed home. On our way, my little lady turned to me with a huge smile on her face and said, “That was so fun, Mommy! When can we do it again?”
Since this ride, the kids and I have decided that they’ll get a star for every BIG ride we do together – a little incentive showing that they can do it. Oh, how I wish summer lasted all year long!
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