Sempi and I read bedtime books together and discuss the story before he goes to sleep. The story we read had a mention of illegal drugs. Apparently he didn’t know what drugs were. So we discussed what drugs were and how some bad guys can sell drugs to victims and why it is illegal. Suddenly Sempi drops this nugget of wisdom. People are always born to be strong and good. No one is born to be weak or evil....
Sempi (my 6yo son) and I have this tradition of sharing our problems and asking each other’s opinion on how to solve it. We do this while we walk to his school. We’ve been doing this since he was 3. Here’s an example from Portland. Me: When I bike to work, I have to wait a long time for the elevator. Sempi (3yo): You should just build a ramp to your 28th floor, so you can just bike all the way up....
Some nights I read a book about Gandhi to Sempi for bedtime. There is an incident in Gandhi’s life when he’s thrown out of a first-class coach in South Africa because he is not white. I told Sempi that it was an injustice and it doesn’t happen anymore. He listened intently and nodded approvingly. The next night I’m reading a comic about superheros and he asks me, “How come everyone in Justice League is white?...
This happened a few weeks ago. The kids are having a funtime playing with their mom. I enter the room, which usually sets off the anxiety for Vian. Vian: I don’t need you, appa. Yoshi: That’s not very nice. Vian: Go away, appa. Yoshi: Can you say something nice to appa? Vian: Appa, can you pleeease go away? Me: Thank you! That’s much better.
Vian is still having trouble pronouncing the sound ‘ka’. He uses the sound ‘ta’ when he tries to say ‘ka’. See previous post for some examples. We’re reading a picture book on the couch. Vian: What is this? Me: That is a farm. Vian: Farm!? Vian: What is this? Me: That’s a chicken. Vian: A Tciten? Me: Yeah a chicken. I noticed that his pronunciation of “Tciten” is suspiciously close to how he would pronounce “Kitchen”....