Tough Lessons in Sports

We are a sports-minded family.  Both my husband and I love to watch and follow our favorite teams, therefore, our kids are exposed to many different sports.  One of our favorite teams is the Chicago Cubs.  Yes, they may be the lovable losers, but we love them...a lot!  Our oldest son has been interested in them it seems since birth.  He has sat through many, many games and plays baseball daily.  Our younger two are learning from him and at times you can see them all playing their own little game together in the backyard.  Thanks to big brother's modeling, everyone can also sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "The National Anthem."  


This morning we awoke to the news that his favorite player, Geovany Soto, had been traded.  We knew this would be a sad day for him and it was for us, too.  You may think that just because he's only five he'll forget about it and move on, but his love of Soto runs deep.  When he was three and four, he insisted that he be called Geovany Soto by his sister and us.  One day at preschool, a mom who was volunteering in the classroom was helping him write his name.  She began to write his name and was quickly informed that his name was Geovany Soto.  We still laugh about it today.


When it comes time for his backyard baseball game, he dons his Soto jersey with pride and takes the field.  "Geo" is always the center of the game and we get updates regularly about what wonderful (or sometimes bad!) plays he has done that day.  If there is a hero in the game, it is Soto.  Since he is a catcher, the necessary catching gear was requested for Christmas and his birthday.  He now has a chest protector and catcher's helmet that he wears in his games.  He's also improvised and turned his scooter pads into shin guards.  The kids loves this guy.  And now he's gone!  Unfortunately, he went to a team whose games are rarely televised here, but maybe he can catch and few games at his grandparent's house, because they get all of the them.  He may just move in!


It is a good lesson, though.  He'll have to adapt and find a new Cubs player to idolize.  I'm sure that  player will eventually move on as well.  This is the second player he's chosen to love that has been traded from the Cubs.  Derrek Lee was his first love and imaginary friend.  He still talks about him periodically, so I'm sure we'll be hearing about Soto for years to come.  He's learning the rules of the game early on in life!


On another note, we have been letting the kids watch the Olympics throughout the day.  They are quite into some of the sports and our little princess has already declared that she wants to be on tv someday doing gymnastics.  She's been doing her best impersonations of their moves and loves to show them off for us!  Since it has become quite the popular viewing choice around here, I thought we'd do an activity today that related to the Olympics.  I decided on having the kids create the rings with some construction paper and glue.  They thought it was fun and we got a little fine motor and color work in this morning.

Working hard!

The finished product for the princess

Even the little guy had fun!

You could also create the rings by using toilet paper or paper towel rolls, dipping them in paint, and stamping the colors in the right order.  Patterning the colors would also be a great mathematical activity.  Perhaps we'll have our own "competition" one of these days complete with some medals and a ceremony.  They would love it!