As I mentioned in one of the more recent posts, we’ve decided to add a little structure to Sophia’s days via … well… art. It is a bit ironic in that art can’t be forced and usually isn’t structured, but a free expression of one’s perception of their surroundings. Here is Sophia embracing her inner artist with some crayons. We’ve also been working on colors, although I must say that everything is “red” to her. 🙂
I have learned that I am naturally a laid back parent — despite my STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) background. In fact, I even surprised myself thinking that I would read baby books one after another figuring out how to stimulate Sophia and not miss a beat in maximizing her development. That was all BS (before Sophia) and the reality is that I have hardly had the time to open a book to read up on important child-development topics much less fiction for myself.
Believe it or not, child development skills are not something everyone is born with and not something that dawns on you when you have your baby. Luckily for me, my mother in law is an early child educator and runs her own nursery school. She has been instrumental in showing me how to introduce Sophia to new experiences and sharing what milestones most kids reach at various ages. Her school’s motto is that a child’s work is play and I couldn’t agree more.
Sophia is becoming much more mobile and independent—okay, she won’t be driving herself anywhere tomorrow… not until she learns how to master the stairs on her own! I realized that I ought to capitalize on her newly found independence and excitement by trying to structure both her play and time in general. The first step towards this is by introducing and promoting tangible creativity. In other words, we now are drawing… or in Sophia’s case more like stabbing paper with little crayons. Her first work of art was featured here.
This post is the first a series talking about how hubby and I attempt (and sometimes fail) the process of structured education early.