It has always been very important to me to teach Georgia to say “Please” when she wants something and “Thank you” when she’s gotten hold of it.
I didn’t realise how strongly the message had been getting through until yesterday….after doing a half-decent job trimming her fringe (it was getting in to her eyes), she turned to me in all seriousness and said,
When we decided to name our then unborn child Georgia, the only reason for it was that it was the only name we could agree upon based on the long list of parameters, such as ‘not too popular’, ‘sounds nice’, ‘not too girly’… and yes, we do know of the Georgie-porgie nursery rhyme.
Still it is such a pleasant surprise to find so many lovely songs dedicated to Georgia
The current favourite is the Seekers – Hey there Georgie-girl. Lyrics not so nice but lovely rhythm and melody.
On this fab video, Georgia can now correctly identify the guitars and the double bass and bops along very nicely to the singing.
We went for Georgia’s two year assessment this morning and it all went really well….except for the bit (now burned in my mind) that the Health Visitor commented that Georgia would probably benefit from some group interaction to ‘learn to fight her own corner’.
Why would my sweet two year old child need to learn to fight her own corner?!
She’s a perfectly confident little Miss, and is quite happy to assert herself when she needs to but beyond that, she doesn’t like pushing and shoving around and is happy to wait until everyone has had their turn.
So how can learning to fight her own corner then be associated with ‘learning to be confident’? This is what the HV decided to turn it in to when I protested that as ‘Asians’ (Orientals in British terms) we do NOT fight. Perhaps it didn’t come across right, I certainly don’t mean we are ‘walk-overs’ but I have found that typically we tend to ‘let things lie’ to avoid confrontation unless really necessary.
Still this doesn’t mean that Georgia is lacking in confidence…granted she is placid and quiet but she doesn’t sit by and get bullied. She quite happily fights back for her own toys if they are snatched from her.
Still I can’t see how going to play group is going to, in the words of the HV, encourage her to put up her hand in class to say “I know the answer”.
After all, from what I gather, the typical attitude in UK schools is based on….it’s NOT cool to be clever!
Now THAT’S significantly more worrying!
Sometimes when we’re in the musical mood, Georgia and I play the piano together. We bang away making up tunes…and sometimes I play bits of her favourite songs.
Tomorrow from Annie (The Musical) is an all-time favourite, and as I played the melody from the show, Georgia tried to lift up the piano keys. Turning to me with a very serious look and a nod of her head she says, “Annie in there!”
Our most enlightening (well, enlightening for me at least!) conversations often occur in the car on the way home after dropping Daddy off at the train station at 6.55 in the morning.
This conversation started like most others with Georgia asking a question
G: “Who’s that?”
Me: “A man” [A man walking along the side of the road]
G: “Whose man is that?”
Me: “Do all men belong to somebody?”
G: “Yes!”
Me: “Oh so you mean like Daddy belongs to Georgia and Mummy?”
is teaching 2 year old Georgia how to sing Puff the Magic Dragon.
I remember learning to sing it at ISB – one of my all-time favourites….finding it again – on You Tube- The Seekers version — was just brilliant!
Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff, oh
Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
Together they would travel on boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff’s gigantic tail
Noble kings and princes would bow whene’er they came
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name, oh
CHORUS
A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giants’s rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave
So, Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave, oh
Every morning, when we brush teeth before bath-time, we say
“Left, left left, Centre centre, centre, right right right.”
Lab (glasses) – (mummy’s) lap
When she found my laboratory safety spectacles, Georgia asked what they were, upon being told that they were lab glasses, she patted my lap and sit on mummy’s lap.
Conversations, Parenting, Random 
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