Prepositions With Piggy For Our Preschooler

by Justine C. Tajonera

If her Yaya were to judge, she'd say I was playing favorites by always talking about Badger. So, this time, I'll talk about Clea. We're not formally homeschooling her yet because both Vier and I believe that preschool is all about play. We're not at all worried because at two years and six months she's already speaking in sentences. When Badger was her age, he was just babbling without making any sense. We enrolled him in occupational therapy and later on speech therapy but apparently, we didn't have to worry because he was just a late bloomer (and now we can't stop him for talking and talking and talking...). Clea talked early and I love that she shows great interest in books. 

Prepositions With Piggy

Now, given all of that, it's still fun to make up some games for Clea because she's so cooperative. So, we had a fun session that revolved around prepositions. We have these little monoblock chairs and they sparked an idea for me. I put the blue one on a low table and I grabbed one of her favorite stuffed toys, a little pink pig. "Clea, can you do something for me?" She nods excitedly. "Can you put piggy under the chair?" She excitedly gets piggy and puts her under the chair. We do this for "on top" and "beside." She got a little confused with "beside" but she quickly picked it up. "On the right side" and "on the left side" also needed some repetition. But all in all, a lot of high fives were going around. 

Counting Candies

At the end of our prepositions with piggy, we had a round of counting candy. I put a small dish on the table and we did a modified counting Jelly Belly beans but this time we used Gingerbon candies. I asked her to put one, two, three, four or five candies in the dish and found out that Clea can understand the concept of up to two but needs prompting for three, four and five. It's either one, two, or all for her. Very interesting. Not rushing her but it's good to know where she's at. The best part? A candy treat after breakfast. She could actually take the spiciness! 

Having fun and discovering something new is not as easy as it looks. However, it's the most natural way for kids to actually learn. So, I'm glad to get some playtime with Clea and I'm so blessed to have such a sweet daughter. But don't let the sweetness fool you. Between Badger and Clea, it's Clea who's the bossy one. Haha! She loves giving orders to other people, even to an imaginary audience. It's also been fun discovering Clea and all her interests (ranging from fashionista issues--she does multiple outfit changes in a day--and keeping the Yakult away from her (she's addicted) and Hello Kitty (her current favorite character)...and cleaning up after her pencil masterpieces directly drawn on the floor. I'm looking forward to more adventures with her. 

Bringing Up Our Little Gymnast

by Justine C. Tajonera

Badger with his bronze medal and trophy during the International School Manila Friendship Meet last March 24, 2013.

Apart from homeschooling Badger, we've enrolled him in gymnastics class. We feel that it's a sport that will develop him in all aspects as well as foster self-discipline. Lately, I've been seeing some articles online that made me think twice about Badger's participation in gymnastics. One article talks about stunted growth for developing children. Another article talks about this sport having one of the highest injury rates. It's enough to make a parent worry.

However, last Saturday, I attended a parent orientation from our gymnastics class provider, Club Gymnastica, and I was relieved to see a flyer they gave out that talked about the 10 rules of parenting a gymnast. This is not in the exact wording and order but this is how I remembered it:

1. It should be fun. When gymnastics ceases to be fun for your child, let him stop. 
2. Let your child have his own goals for gymnastics. These are not your goals and your ambitions. Let your child find out for himself what he wants out of it. 
3. Don't coach your child. That's what his coach is there for. Let his coach take care of the coaching. Your job is to love and support your child. 
4. During competitions...your job is to cheer him on. Only have positive things to say. 
5. Don't undermine the judges during competitions. Let them do their jobs. Don't criticize them in front of your child. 
6. Don't expect your child to be an Olympian. Even Olympians say that the best things they got out of the sport were the intangibles like discipline, teamwork, building their self-esteem...not the medals. 
7. Acknowledge your child's fears. Don't pretend that there's nothing to be nervous about. Reassure him. 
8. Just be supportive. Whether your child wins or loses, just be there for him. 
9. Have other goals apart from winning. Winning isn't everything. As they say...it's the journey, not the destination that builds character. 
10. Don't jump from club to club. It's disruptive for your child. Try out one or two and stick with just one. 
~

Here's a link to the ten commandments for parents of gymnasts online. 

I think injury and stunted growth are all effects of overdoing gymnastics training. These are addressed by rule number 1: it should be fun. V and I always ask Badger if he is still having fun. We wouldn't think twice about pulling him out of the class if he didn't want to go anymore. But the thing is...he loves it. He loves cartwheeling and doing back tacks and back hand springs. He loves being able to do new things with his body. He also likes being with the other boys who are in the gymnastics class. They're his good friends. 

Gymnastics can be character-building if the rules above are followed. Overdoing the training can be avoided by not pushing a child beyond his limits. With Badger, I'm not worried. I think it's just a matter of constantly checking in on how he feels about his sport and supporting him with his goals. Yes, he does have goals! Doing better than his last performance is definitely part of it.