I’m a mum to four now-adult children and a nan to nine grandchildren. My babies literally have babies! Weird to say out aloud!
One thing I’ve learned — and I’m sure you have, too (especially if you have more than one child) — is that babies are not born a blank state. The fact children can share the same genetics, same parenting, often the same environment, yet still be so different can knock us off our feet, right?
Most of our little lovelies have taken amazingly well to remote learning, some have needed a little nudge. That can be challenging as a parent – which is okay to say — I hope what we cover today helps.
A couple of years ago, I did what’s called a Multiple Intelligence Test, which assesses nine intelligence areas. I tested ‘0’. Yes, a big fat ‘Zero’, in the area of Spatial Intelligence. This was not a surprise to me; an Allen key and I have never gotten along. Flat packs are a mystery to me. Some of you can see the end result in your mind, great! Even with the Ikea picture and instructions, I cannot see it all!
I can’t or don’t enjoy gardening. I have ideas of how I want it to look, then I say to my very understanding husband, ‘Make it so!’ He loves it! He’s from good dairy farming stock. But I do love cooking, and modesty aside. I get quite good results from my cooking. I love to cook and I love to share it.
Your kids, our students, are like that, too. Different! Maybe you love to build, or garden, or cook. This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate and love those differences. Either share your ability with your family or learn a new skill together. Cue YouTube!
Measuring ingredients, reading instructions, are all ways to learn differently but still cover numeracy, literacy and the great skills of teamwork.
The best thing we can do is talk about differences, and their benefits, with our children. To help get that conversation started, one of our Pastoral Care team members, Mr. Baird, has made a story-time video of ‘The Duck Who Flew Backwards’. This may help you to check in with your family on how we manage being different. You can find both on our Heathdale Parents page. So make sure you join that group for regular 'Checking In' videos every Monday and more Story Times on Wednesdays.
If you have an area you would like us to cover, send us an email at chaplains@heathdale.vic.edu.au, we’d love to hear from you.