martinzoo

We’re done with our third grade curriculum! **stands and applauds**

Today we did the CAT (California Achievement Test). It took us until 3:30 in the afternoon, which is a long day for us. I, of course, don’t have the scores yet. But it looked like he was very confident with his answers. So, I’m hoping for a good score. He isn’t bothered by the “big” test at all. In fact, he seems to actually enjoy it. He likes bubbling in his answers and he says it’s really easy because they actually give you the answer; which is true. It’s a multiple choice format.
I, on the other hand, view this test as a test of my homeschool teaching skills. If he doesn’t do well, then I must have screwed up his education for the year. So, for me it will be a kind of validation….. I hope. Next year we have to get into the bigger tests. I’m not sure how I’m going to proceed. Since we haven’t actually gotten involved in a particular homeschooling group, I don’t really have a group of kids he could take the Stanford Test with. And I believe you have to test more than one child at a time. I’ll have to check into that.

We are also in the midst of a swim clinic down at the YMCA. GB’s swim team finished about a month ago, and Summer swimming doesn’t start until the end of May. But he has enjoyed swimming so much and this is such a big year for him. In our league, once you turn nine, you are no longer swimming 25 meters per event. Now he’ll be swimming 50 meters, just like the big kids. But it’s hard for little kids like him. It takes a lot of stamina and more importantly, you have to do a flip turn. He still hasn’t gotten the flip turn. So we decided to put him in this clinic because they will work on key aspects of each of the strokes to help smooth along his transition.

I like the fact that they use unusual methods for training. He does, too. They use kick boards, dumb-bells, and pool noodles to emphasise key portions of the stroke. His other coaches have used these unusual devices with regularity. They have used the kick board, but not in this manner. And they usually use swim fins for strength and form.

Here are some of the drills he’s attempting:

This one works on just his back stroke kick, and keeping his bottom “up.”

This one shows him how to alternate his arm stroke while using a proper breathing technique. His head needs to be flatter to the water in the next picture, but you can see the follow-through on the drill. He is holding the kick board straight out in front of him.

In this next picture, he is using the kick board to keep him afloat while he works on maintaining a kick-from-the-hips back stroke kick.

This was one of his favorite props: the dumb-bell. He’d never gotten to try these before and he quite enjoyed it. Once again, it is to reinforce the proper breathing technique.

I don’t have a picture of him using the pool noodle, but that was used to show the kids how to align yourself while doing a proper flip turn. He was quite awkward with this drill, but I’m hoping he improves before the course is over. I honestly can’t wait for Summer swimming to start!