Lara is about to start school. I like to think that Lara's local council-run, church-supported primary school is a little different from many others in that they really encourage use of their outdoor space and a LOT of their everyday learning is done outside in the grounds of the school where possible.
To me, this is a wonderful opportunity for Lara. Lara is a very bright girl and will quite happily sit and read, write or draw for hours but she does take a bit of encouraging when it comes to getting active. The silly thing is that if you can tempt her out of the house, away from the television or the dining room table (where she does lots of her crafting and writing) then she absolutely loves it!
Mind you, she will moan. While we were away on holiday in Cornwall recently we did try to get out and about in the fresh air every day. One day we walked with both girls to the top of Carn Brea, the most westerley hill in England (with some truely stunning views of Lands End, the Isles of Scilly and the whole of the Penwith penninsula). Lara more or less ran all the way to the top of the hill. She enjoyed the invigorating climb and the wind rushing through her hair but when we reached the top, the first thing she asked was when she could go back to the cottage! Sigh.
Thankfully Lara did spend much of her time at the cottage playing tennis with her Auntie and Uncle! I think she just needs a little encouragement to get active and I'm hoping that her new school will inspire her.
A year on from the incredible Olympics 2012, SportsShoes are trying to find out whether Britain's success in the Olympics is still inspiring our younger generation. Back then, the government promised to support the Olympic legacy and invest £100 million into primary school sports. While I think that Lara's school are good at encouraging getting outdoors, I've not heard much about their PE lessons. The school received a payment from the government this summer so I'm really looking forward to seeing how they spend it on encouraging the children to get physically active.
One of my new year's resolutions (you may remember?) was to get out and about with the girls at least once a week. In general, I think we've kept this promise for all but two weeks of the year. As a special treat for her start at school, SportsShoes sent Lara this pair of adidas junior response running shoes from their junior sports shoes range to give her that added incentive.
Lara loves them and I think she got the message - at our local park she ran pretty much 1000m the full length of the park and back again on the first day that she had the trainers. SportShoes sell proper sports kit for children rather than just mildly sporty stuff with characters on it! These are Lara's first real sports shoes (and also her first lace up shoes... eek) and I think she has taken them quite seriously! So there, one way to encourage your children to get active is to get them a pair of shoes for the job and the excitement will inspire them!
To me, this is a wonderful opportunity for Lara. Lara is a very bright girl and will quite happily sit and read, write or draw for hours but she does take a bit of encouraging when it comes to getting active. The silly thing is that if you can tempt her out of the house, away from the television or the dining room table (where she does lots of her crafting and writing) then she absolutely loves it!
Mind you, she will moan. While we were away on holiday in Cornwall recently we did try to get out and about in the fresh air every day. One day we walked with both girls to the top of Carn Brea, the most westerley hill in England (with some truely stunning views of Lands End, the Isles of Scilly and the whole of the Penwith penninsula). Lara more or less ran all the way to the top of the hill. She enjoyed the invigorating climb and the wind rushing through her hair but when we reached the top, the first thing she asked was when she could go back to the cottage! Sigh.
Thankfully Lara did spend much of her time at the cottage playing tennis with her Auntie and Uncle! I think she just needs a little encouragement to get active and I'm hoping that her new school will inspire her.
A year on from the incredible Olympics 2012, SportsShoes are trying to find out whether Britain's success in the Olympics is still inspiring our younger generation. Back then, the government promised to support the Olympic legacy and invest £100 million into primary school sports. While I think that Lara's school are good at encouraging getting outdoors, I've not heard much about their PE lessons. The school received a payment from the government this summer so I'm really looking forward to seeing how they spend it on encouraging the children to get physically active.
One of my new year's resolutions (you may remember?) was to get out and about with the girls at least once a week. In general, I think we've kept this promise for all but two weeks of the year. As a special treat for her start at school, SportsShoes sent Lara this pair of adidas junior response running shoes from their junior sports shoes range to give her that added incentive.
Lara loves them and I think she got the message - at our local park she ran pretty much 1000m the full length of the park and back again on the first day that she had the trainers. SportShoes sell proper sports kit for children rather than just mildly sporty stuff with characters on it! These are Lara's first real sports shoes (and also her first lace up shoes... eek) and I think she has taken them quite seriously! So there, one way to encourage your children to get active is to get them a pair of shoes for the job and the excitement will inspire them!
