Swimming for charity



Last weekend, my daughters and I took part in a 24 hour swimathon to raise money for MS.  The event was held at their school, and our team was captained by their swimming teacher.  It was the first sponsored event for charity that our daughters had taken part in.  Our elder daughter was a full team member and so had her own sponsorship webpage - the link for which she emailed to family and friends who very kindly sponsored her. In all she raised $150 for MS.

There are so many charities out there all of whom are vying for our attention and money.  We are constantly asked to donate - through phone calls, door knockers, letters, and events.  We were watching Celebrity Apprentice on TV last week, where the contestants complete challenges with the aim of raising money for charity.  The chairman on the show, Mark Bouris, told the contestants that it is extremely hard nowadays to raise money for charity.  This is so true.  Nobody can or wants to give to every charity that asks for money. So how do people choose who or what to donate to?

In our case this weekend, it was the event and location that was the motivation behind our participation.  Our elder daughter was excited about swimming in the middle of the night!  She loves swimming, and to have the opportunity to swim so much, with her friends and to stay in a tent right next to the pool was more than enough incentive! Our younger daughter was excited too about taking part in the relay swim events that our team organised so the younger kids could also participate.
So far as the raising money goes. Our older daughter sent her webpage link to family and friends herself, and those who did sponsor her - I believe did so because it was she who asked and was participating, not because of what the particular charity was. I know I would do the same for family and friends if they asked the same of me.

The charity fundraising was not the focus of the weekend for many who took part. There were teams of swimmers who were aiming to beat records of the distance they could swim in the 24 hours and there were those kids excited about camping out and staying up overnight.  But to join in the event, everyone had to pay a fee or 'donation', and that together with sponsorship money did raise a sizeable amount of money.  I think this is definitely the way to raise money for charities - giving people an opportunity to get something out of their donation - whether it be a fun weekend event, or a free t-shirt.  You have to be creative these days to get people to part with their money. Finding a way to raise money for charity that is fun is essential, and I think this event definitely counted as lots of fun!

In terms of what our daughters got out of the weekend.  A lot of fun, great exercise and an amazing experience. But it was also a way to introduce them to charities and raising money for those less fortunate.  To have a sporting event to raise money I think is an excellent way to remind us how lucky we are.  We are physically able to join in a 24 hour swimathon; although we may be exhausted at the end - we can still do it. Many of the people we are raising money for by participating in these events do not have the opportunity or the ability to do such a thing.  I think that this kind of event serves as a reminder to us of what we're capable of doing, and to not take things for granted.

We try to teach our daughters to be the best people that they can be, to do things to the best of their abilities.  By taking part in the swimathon this weekend - they really made the most of their swimming talents and physical ability. And thanks to their own personal efforts, and donations, they have helped in a small way to allow someone with MS to live their life to the full too, though therapy sessions, medication and support.

This swimathon is an annual event now at our school, and I'm sure we will now become regular participants, and so regular donators to the MS cause.

Are there any events you or your kids have participated in to raise money for charity?  What do you think these events can teach our kids?


Messages in movies - Mary Poppins


These days kids movies are slick, fast paced, full of impressive special effects and amazing animation.  But can kids still appreciate the older style movies?    Today our girls have been watching Mary Poppins.  The interest came about after a discussion I had with our elder daughter yesterday about finding the fun in chores and homework to make them more appealing and less of, well - a chore!  In other words, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."

I have always tried to find the fun in things.  I believe in a positive approach to life. A good attitude is so important to teach our children.  We all have the ability to chose whether or not to enjoy things or not.  When our girls don't want to do something that they have to, I tell them that they can choose to be grumpy and miserable or they can choose to be happy and enjoy the experience.

I love the movie Mary Poppins, as it really promotes this positive outlook on life.  There is magic and fun in it, but also discipline and respect.   It may be set over 100 years ago, and made nearly 50 years ago, but it is still a very watchable and enjoyable movie.

The setting of London in 1910 also brought up an interesting talking point. At the beginning of the movie, the children's mother is wearing sash that says, "vote for women" .  We recently had local elections here in Cairns, and explained a little about voting to our girls.  This was a great opportunity to explain that it was only just over 100 years ago that women couldn't vote at all!

Another part of the movie that made me stop and think, was the part when the traditional banker father takes his children to see his work one day.  His son has taken tuppence from his money box with him, and asks along the way if he can use his money to feed the birds.  His father point blank refuses and then takes his children into the bank and tries to persuade his son to put his tuppence into the bank to do the sensible thing and  invest for the future.   The boy does not want to be persuaded - it's his money and he wants to feed the birds!

It made me think of the times I've been out with our girls and they see something they want to buy with their own money, but I try to dissuade them because I think it's a waste of money.
Seeing something like this shown in black and white terms on a movie, does make me feel bad for not just letting the girls enjoy the pleasure of spending their own money on what they want to.  My idea of what is a waste of money is not necessarily the same as what could bring pleasure to little kids!

The girls really enjoyed watching this movie - even though it doesn't have any slick, modern special effects.  It has a great story, magic and lots of songs and dancing too. I must say that I enjoyed seeing it again too and watching it with my daughters!

Are there any older movies that your kids have enjoyed watching?  or do they just prefer modern slick ones?
And what messages do you think movies have taught your kids?
 Do you think kids are aware of the messages there?


Time management


As our girls get older and start to become more involved with school activities, sports, get more homework and want to try more new things;  we start to see how important time management skills are even at an early age.

This term, our daughters' interest and enthusiasm for swimming has increased, and with that the number of days they want to go to training lessons after school.

The better they are getting in their swimming, the longer the training sessions are.  Now they go 3 or 4 times a week. By the time we get home afterwards, there's time for showers, dinner, a little relaxing family time and a little reading before sleeping.  Homework is being done at the weekend where possible.

Next term, they want to add one day of gymnastics to the mix.  Now we're all for trying new things - sports are great, a good healthy thing to be spending their time doing.  However, the girls are going to have to learn to manage their time to be able to fit in everything they want to do.   Until now, we have limited the number of after school activity days they could have, but now have decided to let them try more and see what they can manage.

We've started with the homework - trying to get them to just sit down and do it instead of getting distracted, going to and from it, doing a bit here and there, and it ending up taking all of Saturday, or alternatively spread over the whole week.  Getting them to sit in separate rooms is helping.  Although they share a bedroom, we have set them up a desk each in separate rooms so they have their own place to focus and concentrate on things.   They are beginning to see that their homework can be done in a relatively short time, when they knuckle down and just do it.

When I was a kid, I did a lot of gymnastics, spending several days a week training.  I remember having limited time to do my homework in - between school and training sessions, but I always got it done, and it was never a big deal.   After I stopped gymnastics, that is when I remember my homework taking a LONG time.  Simply because I had nothing else to fill my time. I do believe that:

'Work expands to fill the time available'

Or in other words - if you have just 1 hour to do your homework in, then it will take 1 hour.  If you have 5 hours, it will take 5 hours!

As our girls are so focussed on swimming just now, we look at those kids at school who are the next level up, and see how much more training they are doing.  We also know that the homework load is also going to increase as they get older too.

So many students manage to fit in sports, activities and homework.  We want our kids to be able to fit everything in that they want to do.  They need to learn the skills themselves, and judge when something becomes too much or when they can or can't add in extra activities.

How do you help your kids manage their time? Do you do it for them, and limit the after school activities they do?  Do you give them set times to sit down and do their homework? At what age do you think they are capable of figuring this out for themselves and making their own schedule or routine?
I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.