As planned, we went to Clemyjontri Park yesterday. There was mud, which was expected.
There was still a lot of snow, which was unexpected.
But overall, it was great fun and everyone was happy to be outside. Some friends even joined us which made the day all the more special.
Today was preschool concert day. I stepped back at one point and thought how very strange preschool concert day must seem to a non-parent. All the day really consists of is each class standing up and singing three very simple songs (like "This Little Light of Mine" or "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands"). But how do we parents respond to this simple singing. At our school, we organize a huge potluck lunch, moms and dads take off work, and even a few relatives from out-of-town show up. As the kids sing, every parent is standing up or leaning over so they can get an unobstructed photo or video. (As Meg's teacher joked, "There's more cameras here than at a presidential press conference.")
Why make such a big deal about it? Because it is important to our kids that we do. They are proud of what they do at school. They want to show off and they want us to be proud of them. Clare (our shy daughter!) wanted to make sure we would take pictures. Meg picked out her outfit last night and rushed to get dressed this morning. It's a big deal.
Sure, there's always a chance that we'll overdo it. There's the chance that they'll believe they deserve applause for every thing they do. But our fear of overdoing it can't keep us from encouraging our children in the endeavors that are important to them. Along those lines, I spotted an announcement at our local library branch for an Edible Book Contest next Saturday. One simply makes a cake to honor their favorite book. I knew my little cake-making book lovers would want to enter this contest. When I asked Meg what book she wanted to honor, she said, "My book. I want to make a fairy cake." As I wrote about in an earlier post, Meg aspires to be an author and illustrator and has recently been working on her book, Fairies of the Sweetness Flowers. I thought about trying to refocus her on a published children's book, but then I realized that the librarians would, of course, encourage her in her aspirations and we should definitely do a fairy cake. We probably won't win the contest, but we'll have fun and it will be a big deal to Meg.
Today was preschool concert day. I stepped back at one point and thought how very strange preschool concert day must seem to a non-parent. All the day really consists of is each class standing up and singing three very simple songs (like "This Little Light of Mine" or "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands"). But how do we parents respond to this simple singing. At our school, we organize a huge potluck lunch, moms and dads take off work, and even a few relatives from out-of-town show up. As the kids sing, every parent is standing up or leaning over so they can get an unobstructed photo or video. (As Meg's teacher joked, "There's more cameras here than at a presidential press conference.")
Why make such a big deal about it? Because it is important to our kids that we do. They are proud of what they do at school. They want to show off and they want us to be proud of them. Clare (our shy daughter!) wanted to make sure we would take pictures. Meg picked out her outfit last night and rushed to get dressed this morning. It's a big deal.
Sure, there's always a chance that we'll overdo it. There's the chance that they'll believe they deserve applause for every thing they do. But our fear of overdoing it can't keep us from encouraging our children in the endeavors that are important to them. Along those lines, I spotted an announcement at our local library branch for an Edible Book Contest next Saturday. One simply makes a cake to honor their favorite book. I knew my little cake-making book lovers would want to enter this contest. When I asked Meg what book she wanted to honor, she said, "My book. I want to make a fairy cake." As I wrote about in an earlier post, Meg aspires to be an author and illustrator and has recently been working on her book, Fairies of the Sweetness Flowers. I thought about trying to refocus her on a published children's book, but then I realized that the librarians would, of course, encourage her in her aspirations and we should definitely do a fairy cake. We probably won't win the contest, but we'll have fun and it will be a big deal to Meg.
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