Baby Steps- Bike Riding

Today was a lovely calm Sunday.
The sun was shining through the window and the children were being very well behaved.

Daddy: Let's take the kids for a walk around the woods this afternoon.

Me: sounds good.

Kids: we want to take our new bikes!!

Me: OK!

All started well. We got the bikes from the shed and I then realised that we didn't have the correct size spanner to fix the 5 year olds stabilisers on..

5yr old: don't worry Mummy, I want to learn to ride without them.

Now, this is very brave for her as she really is the worlds woosiest kid. After assuring me that she was ready to try going it alone, we set off.

The six of us started up the road, Drew holding on to the back of the 5 year olds bike, me pushing the Dude in his buggy and holding onto the Terrorists hand and the 6year old bringing up the rear on her bike.

(The 6 year old has stabilisers on her bike.
We gave them the option of bikes or scooters last summer and they both opted for the scooters hence still having stabilisers!)

To our total amazement it was the 6year old having the most trouble! Don't get me wrong, the 5 year old didn't manage to ride unaided today, but she was really giving it her best shot and wasn't crying with every pedal, like we had envisioned!

The 6 year old on the other hand, whinged and whined
that she wasn't strong enough to push the pedals, that she felt as if she was going to fall off, despite the stabilisers, and insisted that she couldn't possibly push the pedals round full circle, preferring instead to push them half way the turn them back again :(

We decided to take the bikes back before continuing our walk, much to the 6year olds dismay (yeah, I couldn't figure that one out either!)

I made up a little scavenger hunt for them to keep them entertained, and to convince the 6 year old that taking her bike home really wasn't the end of the world.

As we continued down the little track, I gave them a list of 5 things they had to find..
A daisy, a fallen leaf, a wish (a dandelion to you and me) some red berries and a wiggly tree.

All 3 girls had great fun finding the items on the list and helped each other along the way. The Dude seemed quite intrigued by his older sisters excitable squeals!

On the way home we stopped off at a bench at the top of a grassy hill and had great fun rolling down it, giggling all the way and seeing who was quickest!

It just goes to show that the most basic and impromptu plans can be some of the best days you spend with your children, and it didn't cost a penny to watch four gorgeous, happy, smiling faces!