Weekend Reflections

A reflection of things that have happened during the week.

Weekend Reflections: Cycling with Bike School Singapore

Learning to cycle

Learning to cycle

Last Sunday Doggie boy went for his first riding lesson. He had been riding with trainer wheels for quite awhile and it was his first time riding without them attached to the bike.

Doggie boy the eager student

Doggie boy the eager student

He has been watching his elder brother Monkey boy ride his bike without trainer wheels and couldn’t wait to upgrade to a normal bike for a while. He was really excited when we told him that Singapore Bike School had offered to sponsor him bike lessons and he will be taught how to ride a bike properly.

Doggie boy getting ready to start

Doggie boy getting ready to start.

After being introduced to instructor K, Doggie boy was given a helmet to wear.  He was also given a height appropriate bike without wheels.

Lesson 1: Learning how to balance

Balance is very important in learning how to write a bike.  If one is unable to balance on the bike there will be a higher chance that he may fall off or lose control of the bike if it was going to fast or round the bend.

Doggie boy was taught how to remain seated on the bike when it was in motion and turn properly by leaning to the right or left depending on which direction he was going.

Once he could balance the bike , move a distance and turn left and right with it it was time to move on to Lesson 2.

Lesson 2: Learning how to start off properly, stop and brake

Learning where to put his feet before starting off.

Learning where to put his feet before starting off.

The pedals of the bike were placed back before this lesson started. Doggie boy learned how to positing both feet before he starts of cycling. He had to put his dominant feet on the pedal and use both feet to kick off.

Coming to a stop he had to  gently squeezing the brakes. If he were to suddenly squeeze on the brake there will be a high chance that he may get thrown off the bicycle when it suddenly jerks.  The instructor commented that most of the time kids use their feet to brake when they want to stop. They are not used to using the brakes and have to be constantly reminded. I agreed as they feel almost by  instinct to use their feet instead of the brake.

 

Lesson 3 :Tackling the obstacle course

Now that Doggie boy could handle the bicycle quite confidently he was given the task of trying to ride through the obstacle course set by the instructor.

I manage to take a video of him riding the bicycle.

Doggie boy attempting to ride on the road.

Doggie boy attempting to ride on the road.

Before long he was riding on the road within the road safety park. He wasn’t that stable and kept bumping into the curb. I guess it will take a while for him to be more seasoned with riding a bicycle.

 

It was a great achievement to go learn how to ride a bicycle within 1 lesson and we were extremely proud of him. Now is the time to get him a new bicycle.

Disclaimer: We were offered two consecutive free lessons from Singapore Bike School however we only managed to have one as the instructor is away for the month of March and we are only free on weekends.
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Weekend Reflections:Healthy Eating

Photo by Photoxpress.com

Photo by Photoxpress.com

This week I have been hearing  and reading about the different toxins in foods and “so called” healthy food which in fact was not really healthy.   I read an article which stated that TOFU is not good and other Soy products that have not been fermented may cause breast cancer and brain shrinkage among other things.  I also read up on fake oils, butter vs margarine and other processed foods.

It got me thinking about what types of food should I be serving the kids and to moderate out their intake of Soy.  The kids really love eating TOFU and do occasionally indulge in chicken nuggets and other processed foods.  We do eat out very often  but I cook their meals for them during the weekdays.  We have also been limiting their intake of junk food and visits to fast food restaurants during the weekends.

Recently I have received quite a few cook books and  have been doing more meal planning as I’m introducing new dishes to the kids. So far I am  doing a new bake and a new dish every month and trying to add in more whole foods to our diet.  I’m slowly introducing the kids to the various different cuisines that is available here in Singapore. I’m also looking for more efficient ways of healthy cooking so that the kids and I get all the proper nutrition which we need.

Are you into Healthy Eating too?
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