10 Ways Monopoly teaches Life Skills

Monopoly

We have always struggled with board games. Little Miss was not a good game player, and melt-downs used to be her go-to reaction when the game did not go in her favour. We understand it better now while she is busy learning life skills.

There are more than enough articles about the the positive impact of board games, and we will definitely incorporate it more in our lives.We've got two Monopoly sets, a Scrabble and a Rummikub at home. We gifted Miss the Rummikub in December, but we've only tried playing it once. Because, melt-downs...

Turns out the meltdowns have an underlying base

Miss with dog

I feel so sad today. We have always struggled with the meltdowns, but we thought it would fizzle out! It's not so bad!


But after one particular blow-up about a muffin one morning, I phoned the school psychologist, and she has been seeing Miss at school.


We had our first feedback last night. She did the Rochard Psychology Test. What is underneath is much worse than we though. Obviously I am not going to share much about the details, as this is not my story.

This is 51

What I wanted!

At the age of 51 we can poke fun at ourselves. I am constantly amazed at the number, because I don't feel it at all! I am supposed to be wise and have all the answers... Most of the times I think I do have all the answers! But I know for a fact that the more I think I do know all the answers, is that I don't! Life shows it to me in so many ways! Ha! Life! You are so funny!

Most of the times I ignore my own wisdom in any case. For example: Who wants to drink water, when you can drink wine? Or: Who wants to hike at Kloofendal, when you can stay in pajamas until 10 on a Saturday? Me, of course! Life is short! Ha!

I wanted to be in Mauritius last year on my 50th birthday, and this year we are doing the wedding! The engagement has come and now it is the preparations. It is also exciting, and we are looking forward to it.

When you make a pitstop, but you want to linger...

Bru'House and Diner

We went to fetch Miss who was away on a camp this weekend. The camp was not that far, and it is welcome road trip out of the city. We were worried about her being sick, but she was fine when we fetched her. She did not get sicker and she listened to her mom who told her not to swim. Phew!

Fetching Miss at camp

LIfe is a choice, not an excuse

Study course notes

We signed up for a study course, and this past weekend was the weekend that we could fit it in. Grade 4 is a culture shock! More for the parents than the kids, it seems! :-) The extra subjects, tests, exams and projects are a lot more than the previous grades. The parents need to help manage, AND time manage, AND help the kids to learn.

We are so glad we signed up for this! We got a couple of telephone numbers to phone from the Grade 3 teachers last year, and the lady who phoned me back is from a Tina Cowley Reading Centre. The course was from a Friday afternoon, followed up by the Saturday afternoon. It was more than a good six hours of learning how to learn.

Grade 4 is a culture shock, but mostly for the Mom

Grade four is a total different ball game here! The children start changing between classes and they start writing tests and exams. The pace is also much faster than the previous grades. Miss Fine has been taking it all in her stride, but we (the parents) feel a little bit overwhelmed.

We have to make sure that we are abreast of her calendar and her homework, A standard request each day is to immediately take out her homework book so that we could check if there is something new. I am writing this down for future reference. We feel like we are doing grade four for the first time, but our grade four, way back when, surely did not involve as much as this? Even 15 years ago with the eldest it was not so tough!

Wordless Wednesday #346 - Pekinese cuddles

Colour and learning - STABILO BOSS PASTELS are perfect!

STABILO BOSS Original Pastel notes

The new STABILO BOSS ORIGINAL Pastels on review. What can be more exciting than new stationery? NO-THING!

I know that colours have a huge impact on my own learning. I have never tested it, but that's one of the major ways I learn and take note. We have signed up Miss Fine for a study course. Grade 4 is THE year they are starting with tests. The study course promises to find her best ways to study. (I hope!) Fortunately the parents will be able to sit in as well. I will let you know if such a course is worth it. And if colours have such an impact as I think it do? (Google says it does)

Miss Fine

New school year and new friends

I think we worry too much! The anxiousness got penned down two weeks back in How to cope with the first day back at school? Miss was expressing some worries about being able to cope with Grade 4. The parents' meeting last year did not help to ease our worries, but exacerbated it! (Yikes! We already signed up to a study course for the family and the online Studiemeester is on the budget). The thoughts were around Miss and her being young for her grade...

Wordless Wednesday #345 - Gardening

Wordless Wednesday #344 - First day in Grade 4

How to cope with the first day back at school?

Holiday memories

This has been the longest school holidays ever! We did not do all the Johannesburg Staycation Wish-list things we wanted to, but it was awesome taking a break. The children are only going back to school tomorrow. It's already past the half-way mark of January.

We will miss the relaxed days of holidays, and not sticking to a fixed routine. Miss loves going to bed later, and sleeping until the sun is in the 9th hour quadrant already! We also love sleeping later (at least 30 minutes later), and not having to dodge the early morning traffic. Tomorrow it's a thing of the past! "Sigh!"

But, sticking to my "positive" word of the year, I have to grab this year by it's Grade 4 horns. Miss is apprehensive about this year, and after a school meeting with the prospective Grade 4 parents, we are also worried aware of the challenges! (Help!?)

Miss is 9 years old

Birthday Girl

We have a girl in our house that turned 9 yesterday! Miss is big. Very big! It's sad that's she's not the Little Miss any more, but we love the interesting dialogues we have with her now! She questions the world, and she's got some of her own answers! She has been living the 9 years old life for a year! (What happens when you only turn your age at the end of a year!) By all accounts this year went very well! We are very happy with her report card!

Questions to the nearly 9 year old

Miss faces

It's been a year, and it's always good to sneak in a few questions to our daughter. There's some "Ah-hah" and some "Really?".

She's been with me at work for the first day of school holidays, and she's managed to use up 4G of my 5G dongle before lunch. Now she is tasked in making me a picture for my office, and I try not to look at the mess... (This is going to be a long 6 weeks!)

Exams and missing times

We are not seeing The Student that much these days, as she is busy with exams, and she could not join us for the most recent holiday in Umdloti.

Little Missy cries and complains almost every day about missing her sister.
"Dit vat té lank!" (It takes too long!)

She has been drawing pictures for her sister, and taken a shell and other paraphernalia as gifts to her  to put in her room.

We miss her too...

Each time we do something as a family; we think of her and we know that she would have enjoyed being there as well.

Last night on the phone I heard her voice was near tears.
The exams are tough, and there is not much a Mom can do!
Only sympathies and suggestions of how to tackle a huge workload!

I hope it goes well with the exams!


This year has been much better without initiation demands at university, and she has much more freedom with going out. We can see that she is enjoying it!

We love it that she enjoying her young life!


Vasbyt!

Best wishes to all the Moms students doing exams!

Working Mother's Monday Blues

Miss the Little Miss today...
We had a whole weekend with her, and I always MISS her during the week!

We went to Skoobs, the ultimate bookish pleasure, at Montecasino yesterday. Dad spent some time with her in the children's book section.
We then all sat down with our books, and she paged through hers as well. Fetching new ones when she was finished with one...
She is a big girl already!

And today I miss her!

Luckily I have these questions to keep me occupied :-)
"Must we dance in the train?" (1-5-2013)
"Why do women have handbags and men don't? (1-5-2013)

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