Plans, Bikes and Vultures

The morning board said something like: unpack and clean rooms; work on costumes; read together...Eliza had a different idea from the moment she woke up. Biking. It took a large cup of coffee to shift my gears while she got things ready.

And we were off. She has only just gotten comfortable riding without me jogging beside her, but this morning she said, you walk with Ani, and I'll be fine riding up ahead. She was more than fine.

There is such joy seeing your child doing something they feel so good about, knowing they are feeling confident about a new skill or some newly-found independence. (I'm talking mostly about Eliza, as Ani took to riding her little bike quickly and with no lack of confidence, but I have mostly photos of Ani, since Eliza left us in the dust!)

We rode all the way down past the community gardens (above, in the background), around the bend near the river, and to the playground. They were so proud! And well rewarded - we saw dozens of vultures in the trees by the river - Eliza called to wish them a good morning and wondered if they were her friend Pickering's family. She also spotted a fawn who ducked into the bushes by the path with its mama, and I watched a flock of titmice (titmouses?) fly from sycamore to sycamore along the river. It was a wonderful way to start our day; I'm so glad she thought of it. We of course got to all the rest in good time, though as I somewhat reluctantly left the house I said to Dan, "whose idea was this child-led learning thing??" It stretches my limits of flexibility some days. I am realizing that it is I who needs some structure and shape to our days, and it can be exhausting to put the effort into that, only to have it disregarded for the more immediate interest. The tangible excitement that is present when they are so happily engaged is not to be missed, though, and tells me when we have made the right choices.

Are they waiting for the bikers to drop??