That was one of my summer goals for the girls. I've had dreams of signing the girls up for a myriad of activities but my working hours and the challenge of 2 tots-to-1 adult ratio severely limited my options. With that, I was excited to see that I could actually sign the girls up for Pedalheads Cycling Course.
We bought the bikes, got helmets, TwinDad and I made arrangements to leave work early and we were pumped for the first class. Ah ha! Missed the part where the class actually involves a young instructor getting a bunch of 2-3 year olds to follow instructions while on their bikes. That so did not happen! The girls did everything but follow the instructions. At the end of the day, the instructor(s) were frazzled and so was I.
Next day, the girls were sorta napping and I decided to "skip" the cycling class. And the day after. And the day after that too. In the end, our one week of cycling classes ended up being one day of twin-parenting experience-to-remember for mama.
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| Biker Tot practicing at home |
Here's what I learnt from that
- 3 is the magic number. A lot of the classes I had looked at had 3 as the minimum age and I thought they were being unfair. Now I get it. I think when it comes to group activities, there's a world of difference between two and a half and three year olds. I'm going to wait until the girls are well beyond 3 years old before even thinking of swimming or dance classes
- Divide and conquer: I think we would have got more out of the classes if we split the girls up and only one of them attended at a time. The lure of having their perpetual playmate with them was too irresistible. It was easy for the two of them to dream up mischief and dare each other to do things. Next time I sign them up for a class, I'll consider having just one of them in the class at any point in time
- Practice makes perfect: I realised I could have prepared the girls for what was going to happen by practicing with them at home and explaining the process in a way they could understand. We practiced wearing the helmets so that they were comfortable with them and knew to keep them on. Shoulda riding under instruction as well. It was a bit naive of me to expect that they would be in a new situation and just know how to fall in line.
And with those lessons learnt, I crossed another item off the summer list. If you've ever had classes with 2+ year old twins, any nuggets of wisdom to share with me for next time we try this?
The Summer Fun List!
- Visit the Calgary zoo
- Find ducks to feed in Calgary
- Visit Spruce Meadows and look at horses
- Have weekly after-work/school dates with the girls - Ongoing
- Go to Calgary Stampede grounds
- Visit a water-park type place (anywhere the girls can wear swimsuits and have a splash)
- Go to the top of the Calgary Tower
- Watch a live show with the girls
Have family outdoor photo shoot- Have a barbecue on our patio
- Go on a family roadtrip and vacation
- Visit or have a playdate with someone new
Attend cycling classes and ride bicycles outsideGo for gym or dance class for tots- Eat ALL the veggies we get from our CSA (ok I'm totally dreading this one)
