Scripture Memory Song

Here's a Scripture memory song based on Ephesians 2:10.

¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Poised For Term 2

Mondays are going to be busy once Term 2 begins in late April.

I have just enrolled Beth for recreational beginners gymnastics with the Hoppers Crossing Gymnastics Club.

We went for the 'try out' session this afternoon in a unit in a factory building where you walk past a delivery bay area to a blink-and-you'll-miss it glass door with the name of the club on an A4-sized sheet stuck at eye level.

The 4-6 pm class has 7 girls of around Beth's age. I hung around to watch and to give support, but once she starts classes properly, I won't be doing that as "PARENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SPECTATE WHILE TRAINING IS IN PROGRESS", according to the newsletter.

I like that the club is a satellite club of the VIC High Performance Society in Prahran (whatever that means) and that it is the only club in the Western suburbs that is a member of the VIC Institute of Sport. The founder is an ex-Olympics gymnast.

It was interesting to observe Beth figure things out. She was the new kid on the block and I guess she felt she had something to prove. Luckily for her, the first exercise they did was the split, which she does amazingly well. In fact, she was the only one who did it perfectly, and the coach commended her. I felt so proud of my little girl, especially when one of the girls went: "She's good!"

She's not as strong in things that require strength and endurance, and her coordination and balance are not the best. But that's exactly why she's in gymnastics, so she can work on those areas.

It's a 2-hour commitment each week, which means less time for afternoon tea, rest and homework.

It's past 8 pm as I write this and Beth is next to me working on her literacy homework. We'll have to refine our schedule as we go along, until we find the one that works best for everyone. But if she enjoys the exercise and gains in self-confidence and athletic prowess, it'll be worth it.

Disciplining The Girls

The girls are continuing to push their boundaries.

CA had to send J to the corner just last week, whereupon she had a meltdown and started to wail in that pitiful way. Every morning, she resists getting dressed, and I have to come up with new and creative ways to distract her or put her in a sufficiently happy state so she will not fight me.

Beth tests me every other day too.

Can't get up in the morning. Won't go to bed on time. Has no sense of urgency. Won't put down her book for ANYTHING. Daydreams when she's supposed to do her homework or her daily ablutions. She goes to the bathroom and stares into the mirror (when she's supposed to brush her teeth etc) until I come along to see what's going on.

Whereupon I promptly explode and start to nag, threaten and do all those things that come instinctively from my own childhood experiences and which I'd promised myself never to inflict on my own children....

The Beginning of Articulation

J is putting simple sentences together.

She can even respond appropriately, as our pastor discovered this morning.

J came up to me as I was grabbing a quick bite before service.

Pointing at my bread, she demanded, "Sandwich." (Not "bread"!)

"Where's my sandwich?" asked Pastor.

"Daddy got it," was her reply, without missing a beat!

Her latest - and most endearing - achievement is "I love you Mommy", which she first said on 7 March.

The "love" is quite mangled, but to quibble over a 2 y.o.'s enunciation would be being fussy, no? :)

Never Be Ashamed To Be A Baby

I love this forum post on why you shouldn't feel shy about taking baby steps when you're starting something new. (To log in to the forum, enter "career-change-confidence.com" as the ID and password.)

Early learning isn't only for kids. Sometimes we forget that we're made to keep learning and growing, and that being at the cutting edge isn't only for teens, geeks or scientists.

J Begins Her Reading Journey

I was at the clinic with J this afternoon when she pointed excitedly to the back of my book.

"T!" she shouted.

It turned out she was pointing to a capital "I" on the blurb, but my word! My 2 y.o. is trying to read!

Last night was even better.

She was sitting on the bed after her bath, and picked up LOTR which Beth had been reading, and started flipping the pages and "talking" to herself.

"J is reading - " I announced as I entered the bathroom - “LOTR!"

I loved the astonishment and glee CA and I shared in that moment as it sank in: our baby is growing real quick!

Highly Sensitive People

I'm reading Elaine Aron's book The Highly Sensitive Child, which I picked up at the library because the title intrigued me.

I've always suspected that Beth is different from other children, but I couldn't put a finger on it. Now I know. She's highly sensitive.

Just like me.

That makes two HS persons under one roof. Golly.

It explains a lot though.

Like why she gets upset by changes.

And throws tantrums.

And withdraws into a shell when she feels overwhelmed, especially on meeting strangers and people she knows but hasn't seen in a while.

It explains some of the really mature and insightful things she says.

And her non-response to scoldings and punishments and threats. If we use humour or a story or some other indirect method, it seems to work much better.

It also explains why I sometimes feel so completely powerless when I have to deal with her erratic behaviour.

I'm a highly sensitive adult brought up in a non-sensitive, non-nurturing environment, where my feelings were not considered worthy and I was not encouraged to speak out. Until I read the book, I didn't even know there was a name for my type of personality. I thought I was just dysfunctional, a bit of a social misfit, the one who needed extra time to fit in in a group. I also thought there might be some deep personal loss to explain why I cry so easily when I read a sad story or watch a doco about other people's suffering. It seems I'm just highly sensitive and feel more empathy, that's all.

Now I am a parent to a HSC. I have to tread very carefully.

To respect my child and let her lead. How's that for someone who always did as she was told?

To accept my child as she is and not label her or allow others to pigeonhole her with unthinking comments like "She's shy" or "She's fussy".

I do not want to repeat the mistakes that were part of my childhood. I would not want to inflict such emotional pain on her.

I want to be a responsive parent and help my child grow into a confident individual with healthy self-esteem.

Most people here have been very understanding. They just say "She's the way she is" or "That's Beth" and that's that.

It's something I have to believe and practise, and to educate my relatives back home about.

Tree Fall Down

I looked at J the other day and saw her in a new light.

She seemed taller and less like a toddler, less babyish.

Even the way she talks has changed.

She can find the right words to describe an object or a situation.

She demonstrates empathy for people and things and remembers conversations we've had.

There is this clump of trees in the grounds of Heathdale Christian College that we pass on our way to the car park.

One time, J pointed at a particular tree and said "Tree fall down."

It was a tree that was bent really low with its branches almost touching the ground.

On impulse, I said the tree was crying and needed a hug.

Since then, every time we pass that tree, J stops to point and say the tree has fallen down, the tree is crying and the tree needs a hug.

Amazing.