The Week Ahead……this week, I’ve a story to tell…… I remember the deal that I made with myself when I discovered I was pregnant with my first child: I was going to be the very best parent that I could be, and possibly better than anyone else who had ever been a parent before me. I had experienced success in my career, I was the youngest lecturer that Durham School of Podiatric Medicine had employed for one……how hard could this be? Armed with just about every parenting book in print by mid 2006 and with access to an abundance of information on the internet plus a variety of antenatal classes, my self-assuredness grew. I was on track to be supermum, I had it all planned down to the very last detail. Fast forward to early 2007 and my blessed child arrived – admittedly not quite in the way that I had planned, but hey, you can’t control everything right? Named after my father and one of the better known biblical angels, he was an absolute cherub and was doted upon by all who encountered him. Life was good, being a mum was something that came naturally to me and I enjoyed every moment of it; the midnight feeds, the cute splashy baths, meeting my husband on the sofa at 04:30 for tea and biscuits whilst we doted on our son, snuggling him close in a papoose whilst out and about – it was all good. Going back to work was hard but, as supermum, I juggled my work and my family. My son went to a lovely nursery from nine months of age and he was cared for by wonderful people, whom I trusted implicitly. He was very social (for a baby) and had friends – even though they couldn’t talk to eachother, I knew that he was popular due to the facial expressions and gurgling that took place. This was a clear sign that I was doing the right thing as a parent, surely.
Fastforward to the summer of 2008 and my second child arrived. Not exactly planned, but these things happen, right? Being supermum, I was out of hospital the same day and back home with my family and in the garden with the angel. Life was more hectic however, once again, I juggled work, life and family. I took my second child to work with me at ten days old to present a programme I had designed to a University validation panel. I was supermum afterall – this was what it looked like, I could feel it. My youngest son joined his brother at nursery and enjoyed being just as popular; popularity being measured by gurgles and smiles (did you know that wind also causes smiles and gurgles in a baby? I must have missed that in the books somehow). Life was perfect, my children were perfect and all was fine and dandy until one day when I went to collect my boys and the news was delivered to me…… “YOUR CHILD HAS BEEN BITTEN BY ANOTHER CHILD” What was this vicious attack against my two year old child? Had this other child sought him out? Was this an incident of pure bullying? Where were the staff? Was my child not being supervised? How could such a tragedy happen to my sweet, innocent and angelic……well, angel? Immediately, to my mind, this was clearly a consequence of poor parenting – had the parents of this tyrannical toddler read any books on parenting? Had they ever read any books? Were they encouraging such behaviour? Or was this a genetic predisposition to violent behaviour? Then came the moment of devastating clarity which, for me was a complete parenting game (and later career) changer…… “YOUR CHILD HIT THEM FIRST” What? How could this possibly be? The books……I had read all of the books……I was a good parent……I invested an enormous amount of time, effort, energy and love in to these little human beings who were my whole life. Is this how I’m repaid? By biting another poor, sweet, innocent child? This was NEVER part of the plan. Fast forward nine years and my son, now eleven, remains best friends with the biter and his mum remains one of my dearest and closest friends. That incident helped me to realise that all the books in the world cannot prepare you fully for parenthood, but having an understanding group of friends around you can certainly helps to cushion the blows. Knowing that others go through similar events is reassuring and whilst it doesn’t necessarily ease the sting completely, it certainly helps. You learn as a parent, and as a human being that whilst it is easy to judge others, it is not the right thing to do. The right thing to do is to take time to understand, appreciate and value the other side of the story, situation, opinion – whatever it may be. Children are learning every day about the world around them; they test boundaries in pursuit of security, of discovering right, wrong and consequences of actions. They repeat things that they have heard yet don’t understand. They react to situations without control because the constructs in their brain aren’t there yet. They can be completely irrational for the very same reason. Most importantly, they are learning how to behave, how to be, by modelling themselves on the adults around them. How they react to a situation will be a reflection of how we, as adults, react. The moral of my story? Don’t judge a child on his actions. Teach him a more appropriate way. Lead him in a different direction. Provide him with the right words to use. Don’t judge a parent on the actions of their child. Instead, offer support, a listening ear, a kind word, reassurance that it happens to the best of us (even those who once upon a time thought they were supermum). Always bear in mind that one day, it might be happening to you. How would you feel? Have we had your RSVP? Don’t forget to let us know if you will be joining us on Saturday 23rd for our Farewell Celebration. Come along and make some memories! Classroom News for week beginning Monday 18th June 2018 EY1 – Erica Ni writes about the theme The Very Busy Bee Next week, EY1 children will explore the ocean life and review some concepts we learned before. Children will have opportunities to make ocean creatures such as jelly fish, star fish, shark with recycle material. Teachers will provide some recycle boxes for children to paint to make small aquarium. Children are also going to enjoy mixing flour and water to make dough by themselves. We are reading: 《彩虹色的鱼》 《绵羊面包店》 《海底世界》 Rainbow fish We are singing: 《美丽的蝴蝶》 《粉刷匠》 《三只熊》 Row row row your boat Special date: 20th of June: end of year performance Special note: 22nd of June will be the last day of this term, parents can pick up child(ren) at 12:00. EY2 – Vivian He writes about the theme Rainbow fish It is hard to believe how fast time flies! Next week, as way to reflect and celebrate our final four and a half days in EY2, we will review all previously learned concepts such as symmetry and marine life which are from our theme story: The Rainbow Fish. In addition, we will have our EY2 musical performance and will do a final practice of the songs in preparation for the performance. Finally, in order to help the children transition to EY3, we will have activities to help children become familiar with EY3 classroom routines, activities and expectations. We are reading: Rainbow Fish Ship Shapes 彩虹鱼 救命，海盗来了 海底的声音 We are singing: You’re my sunshine Rain Rain Go Away There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea 海底有个蓝洞洞（儿歌） 小小猪 老母鸡 Special date: 21st June is the EY2 Musical Performance, 9:30-10:00AM Special note: 22nd June is a half day! EY3 – Nicole writes about the theme Adventures under the Sea “Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language”. – Henry James This week the children will be working hard preparing for their spectacular End of Year Performance titled Ocean Adventure. We have several rehearsal’s scheduled and have already begun making our costumes with the t-shirts you kindly donated to our cause. Children are very excited to share what they have been learning and we hope you are able to join us for this wonderful celebration of their talent and skill. We are reading: 《我们是一家》 Shark in the Dark We are singing: 《登鹳雀楼》 Baby Beluga Special date: Monday June 18th is Dragon Boat Festival Thursday 21st June – End of Year Performance Friday 22nd June – End of term Special note: The setting will be closed on Monday 18th June for the Dragon Boat Festival. EY3’s ‘Ocean Adventure’ End of Year Performance takes place on Thursday 21st June from 2.30pm. Please join us in the MMR room to celebrate your children’s learning. The setting will close for the summer holiday on Friday 22nd June. This day will be an early finish for the children. Please arrange to collect your child at 1:00pm and I wish you all a wonderful summer! EY4 – Emily Gu writes about the theme Imagine That EY4 children are busy practising the end of year performance, which is the last performance in the setting. For the performance, we would like all the EY4 children to wear a white shirt, jean pants/skirt with black shoes. Please prepare the clothes during weekend and hand the clothes to the class including (a white T shirt, Jeans and black shoes on Tuesday) EY4 children are very excited about going to the new school but they also expressed that they will miss the setting very much! So each of children will do a piece of painting for them to take home remember the setting. Each of class will create a canvas for the new building. We are reading: 《我上一年级啦》 David Goes to School We are singing: Performance songs Music and Movement – PeiHua and Sarah write about life in the music space Save the date! Our end of the year performances are just around the corner. The children are working hard to create some special performances to share with everyone! Please join us for a musical celebration of your child’s learning. EY 1 Garden Party - Wednesday June 20th 9:30 – 10:00 am EY 2 Down on the Farm! – Thursday June 21st 9:30 – 10:00 am EY 3 Ocean Adventure – Thursday June 21st 2:30 – 3:15 pm EY 4 Guardians of the Earth - Wednesday June 20th 2:30 – 3:15 pm
