Monday, March 14, 2005

birthday cake
Clara had her birthday party this weekend. She had seen a very creative cake on the PBS show Zoom, and decided to have it for her birthday. I supervised her, but she basically made it by herself. Lots of people commented on the cake as I took it into the local movie theater's party room.


posted by Tom 10:12 AM

swim season wrap-up
Yesterday, the swim team had their end-of-season party (pizza, ice cream and trophies). We also got a spreadsheet report of their times for the season. Clara shaved 5+ seconds off her 50-yard freestyle over the course of the season, and she also got "legal" in butterfly and breaststroke (much harder than I realized)! She got to be closer to two friends from Sunday School who were more experienced swimmers. It is hard to start the team when you are 9, but next year she will be a year older, but still in the same age bracket.

Ellie joined the team unexpectedly, as the coach needed 6-year-olds, and could tell Ellie was ready. Her improvement was really dramatic: 7 seconds off her 25-yard freestyle, and 13 seconds off her 25-yard backstroke! She was an alternate for the States meet (by virtue of being third in her age group), but was not needed. She is getting much better at butterfly and breaststroke, and will master those by next season.

Mallary and I were thrilled with the swim team experience. The kids are much better swimmers, much fitter, and I believe they feel better about themselves. The coaching was exemplary: they pushed the kids to improve, but were very compassionate as well. They set the tone for a team full of kids that urged each other on to do their best, and comforted each other when things didn't go well. Sign us up for next season now!
posted by Tom 9:58 AM