Exploring Our Children’s Potentials


 

Here is one sad truth about Indonesia’s literacy level:

Indonesia is the second worst among the world’€™s 61 most literate nations, only higher than Botswana, according to a new study conducted by Central Connecticut State University in the US. 

(Extracted from an article in the Jakarta Post, March 2016)
 

Good reading habits need to be nurtured and encouraged, since young
In addition to the above, I also read, somewhere, that Indonesians’ overall ‘reading habit’ (read: Love for reading) is very low. Like, Indonesians read an average of just one book per year?

I don’t know the ‘authenticity’ of the statistics, but anyway the message was clear: love for reading is not high amongst Indonesians. And we need to do something about it where we can.

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Good reading habits need to be nurtured and encouraged, since young.

But. We can’t expect young children to be literate and to love reading and learning, if good books are not available, if habits are not nurtured, and if positive examples are not given.

Let’s start with our own family, and ourselves.

Food for thought.

[Appreciation and politeness to be shown to others, at all times]

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As parents, we want our children to study well. We teach them the importance of their education.

We remind them about completing their homework and preparing well for their exams.

Having the heart for others who are less able than themAt the same time, do we also teach our children the importance of good manners and ‘simple matters’ like, queuing up?

Do we remind them about the importance of speaking in a positive tone, and showing appreciation and kindness to others?

Do we also instill in them the importance of TREATING other people well (regardless of their social or economic level), and having the heart for others who are less able than them?

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Let’s do some quiet introspection and ask ourselves: what kind of daily questions or reminders do we give our children?

Have you done your homework?

What did you get for your English test today?

When is your next ‘Show and Tell’ session?

Stand over here please and queue up properly.

Did you say thanks to the security guard who opened the door for you?

Do you thank the school’s canteen lady by name?

Speak a little louder and make sure the man heard you when you said sorry for accidentally stepping on his shoes.

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It is somewhat HARDER to put ‘appreciation, care and empathy’ into action (especially if we live in a big, busy city)The reality is, the majority of us tend to emphasise the importance of knowledge, so much more than we emphasise the importance of having a heart for others.

And, it is somewhat HARDER to put ‘appreciation, care and empathy’ into action (especially if we live in a big, busy city)

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CONCLUSION:
IF our children (and ourselves) find it harder to naturally show some appreciation and empathy for others, then it is really OUR JOB as the parents to emphasise even MORE the importance of the heart, every day.

We need more of it in this world.

(And if  you’re a person of the faith like me, then it’s our calling to be light and a blessing to others, through our words and action)

Food for thought.

Brother and sister

5 years apart.

I feel blessed that there is more than one child in our family because it means they get to ‘sharpen each other’ (yes, through bickering, disagreements, too) and learn from one another.

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Family values we always instill in them include: 
Just because you are bigger and stronger, it doesn’t mean you can look down and not help the younger / weaker one. And, just because you are younger, it doesn’t mean you are a little princess who gets whatever you want, whenever you want. 

Love and care for one another because family is a gift from God.

Thank God for these children.

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Vai: 10 years, 1 month
Brie: 5 years, 4 months

Saturday noon.

We actually searched for this place to see some aquarium fish.

We were told that we could find sellers there, by the roadside, along the railway track (Gunung Sahari).

And yes, we did find some aquarium fish.

But we saw MORE animals than we expected!

These are PROTECTED species, aren’t they?

My heart ached as I walked along this road.

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After some googling, I found these links, and I’ve sent my report and photos to them.

If you do spot some suspicious illegal trading of protected animals (even when you’re not too sure if the animals are protected kinds or not), I recommend that you DO SOMETHING about it.

Make. A. Report.

That’s the least that we can do.

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>> PROFAUNA Indonesia
Facebook: PROFAUNA Indonesia
Email your report to: pengaduan@profauna.net

>> WWF Indonesia

>> Read this ARTICLE (in Indonesian) on how and why we should stop illegal trading and report what we’ve spotted.

One of the things that Anya has been exploring recently is calligraphy.

Scribbling and creating her own ‘fonts’.

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Some people asked us:

Did you get her those ‘calligraphy pens’?

No, we said. Because she should just experiment and try things out using whatever things she has.

Did you send her to lessons or something?

No, we said. But we did search and let her watch a ‘how to create your own font’ clip on Youtube. And, we showed calligraphy works done by others, including those by our friends.

We hope to see her explore, learn and discover. On her own. For now.

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Anya: 12.5yo

Someone is finally done with her art project!

Task: Create and design any room, using recyclables.

Materials used include:

– Cereal boxes (as backings of paintings, etc)

– Shoe boxes (as the base, the middle wall, and ‘backings’ of furniture)

– Magazine pages (for ‘paintings’)

– Used transparent plastic sheet (to create mirror / glass panel effect)

– Used satin cloth (as bean bag covers =)
 

She originally wanted to create her ‘dream toilet’!

A big toilet with many books, TV, DVD player, etc.

Then she realised, the toilet is so huge, and the TV is so far away from the toilet bowl. Haha.

And so it’s split into two rooms.

Still, it’s a toilet with a cupboard full of books!
 
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Anyway.

Look closer. Can you spot a girl?
 

Mom’s comment?

The girl is thinking of which book to read before doing her big business. Haha.
 
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Anya: 12.5 yo

Many may not care, but when animals are hit or treated like they are worthless non-living things, I can’t help but feel disturbed.

Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, I know humans tend to not care about animals. Especially if they live in the city, where positive interactions with animals are minimal.

Still, I strongly feel ‘awareness to treat animals with basic care’ must start with us.
 

Do we let our children pull the wings of a butterfly or crush ladybugs with their fingers just because they want to see how they’d die?

Do we let them kick cats / dogs as they walk past them?

Do we let them rattle animal cages or knock on aquariums because they feel like it?

Children need to learn to have a ‘heart’ for animals, if it’s not yet naturally ‘in them’.
 

We can’t stop the world from mistreating animals, but when we see anyone treating animals recklessly, I feel we need to say or do something to stop and educate them, ESP. If they are our own children.

I’ve seen parents who saw their children mistreat animals (eg. Shake their cage every now and then, or scream at an animal in a cage), and they don’t do or say anything.

Others who do say something, may say something like, ‘Don’t lah … leave it alone’, but then that’s it. The child continued to mistreat the animal =(

..

When we see anyone treating animals recklessly, I feel we need to say or do something to stop and educate them, ESP. If they are our own childrenSome of the things that I’ve done to teach my children about the need to be kind to animals:

– Talk about animals positively (eg. When seeing them on TV, magazines or books)

– Regularly instill the need to be kind to animals and to never abuse them

– Be a living example

– Share some stories (of people abusing animals) that we’ve come across (age appropriate) and tell them why it’s wrong to be mean towards animals

– Whenever I spot my children not treating animals kindly, I’d immediately and firmly tell them to stop. If they continue (so far never happens), I’d personally come and physically take them away from the animals, and firmly tell them off.
 
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We are after all tasked to look after this world and God’s creation big and small, yes?

I am not a vegetarian.

I don’t love ‘all’ animals, because some are ‘pests’, like rats or roaches. Nevertheless, getting rid of them/killing them should not be equal to torturing them just for fun.

Food for thought.