Learning Ladder Get-Together

Had my first Learning Ladder get-together with Steph Davy today.

We had FUN!

The kids helped set up the display...



Steph played games with the kids, and soon, they were playing Zingo and Mousetrap on their own while she chatted with us about the different offerings suitable for our kids and answered our questions.




Afterwards, we all had lunch. On the menu: potato salad, chicken nuggets, sausages, spag bol, donuts and fruit. Sharon washed up and my aunt restored the dining area to its original state (thank you!).

Beth, Triston and Emmanuel got together to play Monopoly (Aussie Edition), with some parental intervention required because of "financial" disputes involving millions of dollars. :-p

Wees and Poos

I must say I am impressed by how quickly J is picking up on the finer details of potty training.

90% of the time, she is accurate and timely.

When I place her on the potty and she does a pee, we celebrate with a high five.

This evening, she made us all laugh when she suddenly announced that she needed to poo, and as I picked her up, she exclaimed, "You have to run!"

We were too late for the poo (thank goodness she had pull-up pants on) but were in time for the wee, so that was good.

She is making incredible progress for an under-3, and I am looking forward to the savings on diapers.

Living With A Temperamental Child

Hubby just commented this week how much more "stable" and "easy to manage" Beth has been lately.

Lest this makes my firstborn sound as if she were an out-of-control brat, let me hasten to add that she just happens to be a highly sensitive child with a strong artistic streak. She lives a rich life in her mind. She loves books, she loves drawing, she loves making things. She just doesn't necessarily want to share it with other people, so she can sometimes appear unsociable.

When she's not in the mood for company, she refuses to say hello or look people in the eye.

For an Asian parent accustomed to showing respect to one's elders, this can be particularly mortifying. I feel as if I have to constantly defend and apologize for her erratic behavior.

But Beth has her good days when she responds well to encouragement, hugs, and space. On Sunday, she shone at our church Give It A Go community concert, when she sang a solo for our family item.

I am learning to accept that she is the way she is, to go along with those things she responds positively to, and not to blame her or my parenting skills for every seeming departure from behavioral norms.

Raising Your Child's Financial IQ

I am listening to the audio CD of Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter's 'Raising Your Child's Financial IQ', which came in the package with the Cashflow for Kids board game that I bought recently.

I agree with most of what they say.

Our kids aren't learning an important life skill that they need to master before they leave school: financial literacy.

That's why I bought the game, so CA, I and the girls can learn basic financial concepts in a fun way that also promotes family bonding.

I was brought up in a Poor Dad environment ("Study hard, get a good job, work hard for the rest of your life..") and I am aware of the limitations I am potentially placing on my children's future if I do not take up the challenge of acquiring financial literacy - and teach them to do so.

I have to:

• get away from "I can't afford it" thinking,
• teach my girls about income, expenses, assets and liabilities,
• teach my girls the Cashflow Quadrant and the implications of being in each quadrant,
• impress on my girls the difference between rich and poor people (the rich make money first and buy luxuries last),
• get away from the dependence on job security and earned income,
• learn the different ways of making money: earned income, passive income, portfolio income and why we shouldn't stop at earned income,
  
• help my children understand that IQ is not the only life skill that matters in life. There are many other intelligences (at least 8, according to the CD) and one of the most important ones to cultivate is Financial IQ, because when you have learnt to master money and make it work for you, it frees you to have more choices. This includes giving to charitable causes and working in a low-paying job because you love what you do and aren't depending on it for your income.
  

Vocab Leaps

Jordanne is astounding us with her rapidly expanding use of words and her ability to appreciate context and humour.

She can reply to questions by prefacing with 'Because' and qualifying what she says with 'Actually'.

She is also speaking in complete sentences more often. I would say 60-70% of the time.

Playing by hearing, not by sight

This morning, Beth tinkled out Waltzing Matilda on the keyboard.

Very shakily, and with a bit of solfege help from Mom.

But by golly, SHE DID IT! :-)