Middle School Transition

The morale & confidence booster by Papa

Middle School is such a change from Lower School – as if by magic, Kat has matured in the last month or so. Doing all her work systematically, putting reminders in calendars, packing her own bag, making sure everything is in order for the next day – all these have become part of her daily routine. The ‘grown up’ bit is overflowing to the other areas at home too – having a tidy room, making sure phone is charged after school AND is placed in the backpack in the morning, putting dishes away properly, clearing up the table after dinner, leaving the bathroom neater and not cluttered with dirty clothes after a shower...and of course, going to the school bus stop all by herself (it’s only across the road though)...all these are BIGchanges for Kat but she is learning them well and is taking it all in her stride as she grows. Of course, she needs to be reminded every now and then but that’s OK.  READ MORE>>

No eating on the bus

It happened with Kat and now its happening with Kit...whilst sending them off in the school bus is a great bonus for me, the downside is the food issue that I had to deal with Kat and now with Kit.

Kit Kat go to the same school (different divisions and different buses) and although Kat’s is much further away than Kit’s (for a couple of years at least), that does not stop Kit from complaining that she gets hungry on the way back...the school has a "No Food" policy on the bus and I have always stuck to that. Now here comes the problem – I am one of the many mums who will comply with what the school says but when your kid comes across a happily munching kid on the bus, you are in for some serious conversations!

While Kat (now of an age where she understands right and wrong...well, I hope!), I am often faced with heart breaking questions from Kit. READ MORE>>

Go Nemo Go!

I have always wanted to be a good swimmer – forget about good, I could have been an “okayish” swimmer but even that has not worked out :( Learning how to swim at 30+ years is never easy (there is SO much to fear!) but I somehow (surprising to me too) overcame that barrier and once I have my fins (or mermaid feet as Kit calls them) I can actually swim! Getting there...VERY slowly.

Maybe it is this lack of swimming instincts from my end (Papa does great!) but both of us are...er...very pushy parents when it comes to swimming for Kit Kat. This is one sport that is not taken lightly at our house (oh yes!). Kat has been a great swimmer and was in the swim team for some time but then she started ‘fearing’ the instructor (he was very very strict) and her twice a week lessons became a major challenge for us. Kat promised that she would swim in the pool downstairs as many times of the week as she could manage but she could no longer swim in THAT place with THAT instructor – she did stick to her promise for a long time but now with Middle School, even walking with the backpack on is a challenge (the new gym routine made her so achy in the first week – where has all the calcium and energy gone? – one can only wonder at the 3 months long summer vacation which has thrown everything and everyone out of sync) READ MORE>>

Lifeguard on Duty

OK - August has been very eventful for us. 2 weeks driving down the West Coast from San Francisco to LA (around 1500 miles in all). An earthquake last week and then Irene (a hurricane and then a tropical storm) – all these combined with several migraine attacks! We’ve been busy...

It has been a never ending round of packing and unpacking suitcases this month (latest being the one we packed few days ago in case we had to rush downstairs when Irene struck)...all is getting back to normal now (sort of!)

Kat was actually sad to get out of the rental car (aka our mobile home) because she felt that it had been her home for the last 2 weeks (I don’t blame her – with all the snacking we did on the road, it did seem like ‘Mom’s kitchen’!) READ MORE>>

A major feat...accomplished!

Playing piano with both hands!!

Just 10 days ago, I wrote about Kit’s musical first – her first piano lesson. Since then, every time she passes by the piano, she will practice her ‘Old MacDonald... going up to E-I-E-I-O. I am so proud to hear her and see her little fingers playing on the piano (it’s a nice change from thumb sucking too!

Of course, the minute Kat touches the piano for her practice, Kit will magically appear from somewhere and this will be the beginning of a heated argument dominated with “I want to practice my piano” from both sides. In the end (always), Kit can be seen sitting (with a victorious grin) on the piano stool playing some music and singing something totally impromptu...(after all, how much MacDonald can one practice?)

So, this is what happened last week…

After much fighting when Kat had resigned to the rocking chair with her Taylor Swift Speak Now lyrics and piano music, Kit first walks up to her “I want that book” – even before she finishes the sentence, she tries to snatch it from Kat, who has now become an expert at dodging Kit (it’s a survival trick!) quickly hides it behind her.  READ MORE>>

The Musical FIRST!

Kit's Piano Book

Old MacDonald had a farm....E-I-E-I-O – every one of us with any kind of baby exposure will know that THIS song is what all parents learn quite early on in their parenthood. It never fails to work – at a birthday party, in the car or even to impress grandparents, friends and family!

Ditto at our home. Although Kit sings the Sparks Fly, Mean or It’s Magic, you know by Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez very animatedly (notes and lyrics perfect), she also happens to enjoy the good ol MacDonald in a big way. Still...to hear her sing the same song while playing the piano herself was a very emotional moment for me.

YES, Kit had her first piano lesson yesterday. Those little fingers actually played the keys and after a 45 min (originally intended for 30 min) lesson I was overwhelmed, to say the least. For someone who has been trying to get her to focus and at least remember the middle C on the piano, it was a magical moment for me. READ MORE>>

You've got mail!

Every morning, Kit comes out of her room and looks at her mailbox placed right by her door...

“What? No mail? Again!” she says and then turns to Kat, Papa or me “why didn’t you write me a message?” 

After a (God) promise of doing it tonight , all is fine and a major situation averted. Phew!

Kit's mailbox

So this is the reason each one of us can be seen writing little notes for Kit at night – to ensure that she has mail every morning. READ MORE>>