* One of E2's masterpieces
When we gifted the kids with the sketchbooks, we already knew that E3 wasn't too interested in drawing or coloring but we wanted her to have a chance to draw as well if she wanted to. She drew in her book a few times and haven't touched it since. E2 has drawn more in her sketchbook and her book is about half way filled so far. As for E1, his sketchbook was filled within a few weeks and he has gone on to fill up 2 other notebooks that we have given him. I am totally loving this new interest of his and has even started giving him little drawing lessons to help foster it.
*One of E1's masterpieces
One of the lessons I learned last summer during a parenting seminar was that we should not overlook the importance of giving our children a vision and inspiring them to greatness! The director of Children's Ministry at the church that I attend talked about how she once told her granddaughter that she displayed great leadership skills and could grow up to be a great leader one day. And her granddaughter really took it to heart and remembered her words even though she was only 3 or 4. Also during one of our recent Sunday sermons the pastor was giving an illustration about a man that was quite the trouble maker as a child and one of his teachers actually said in his end of the year reviews that he would most likely end up in prison when he grew up. But when he went on to his new grade and met his new teacher, his teacher said something very profound to him, she said, "I have heard a lot about you and I don't believe a word of it!" And that line totally changed him around and he went on to be a great mentor and inspired other great men.
With that lesson in mind, I have been more intentional with some of my conversations with the kids to make sure I inspire them. I have been telling E1 I love all his drawings and with lots of practice and patience I truly believe he could be a great artist one day. And I totally love how his face lights up when I tell him these things. I have also been encouraging E2 to draw more since I can tell she shows interest as well.
We have been trying to figure out where E3's interests lie and we think it is more in singing and dancing. So we might consider signing her up for a dance class to see if that is where things go.
Though I am totally excited with the fact that some of my children share in my interest in art, I also need to remind myself that this might change when they get older and I should be just as supportive of their new interests even if it is not something I enjoy. Not sure if it is Asian parents or just parents in general but many parents can impose their own unfulfilled dreams on their kids even if it means it is not what their kids are interested in. Or they steer their kids toward interests that they think will be beneficial for them (ie. being a doctor, lawyer) even if it is not what their children are truly interested in. My parents were a little like that when I was younger but I'm glad that they eventually came around and was able to fully support my interest in art.
What do you do to inspire your kids?
How did your parents support your interests?
Zi
I try to encourage my kids to do all kinds of things, but ultimately I let them decide which activities they want to do. It can be disappointing when they decide to quit ballet or gymnastics, but I'm glad that they still want to play piano and learn Chinese. :)
ReplyDeleteWe need to start thinking about piano lessons and maybe ballet or gymastics. How early did you start those classes with your kids?
DeleteWait, how old are they? The sketches are so recognizable! That's awesome that all the sketches are all together in a nice notebook!!!! What a great idea! And wow, E1 moving on to 2nd and 3rd notebooks already!!!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that they share the same interests as you, and are receptive to little lessons. I think it's great that you are encouraging them and instilling in them that they can achieve great things with more and more practice. I also think it's great that you are letting E3 discover what she's interested in and then encouraging her in that.
My parents didn't discourage me from any of my interests, but then again, I wasn't really "into" anything. And since they didn't grow up here, we weren't enrolled in little league or whatever as kids either. We were just allowed to be kids and I'm thankful of that. The one thing my parents always encouraged me to attend were youth events. I'm so thankful that I got to go Fri night meetings and retreats.
E1 is turning 5 and E2 will be turning 4 later in the year.
DeleteIt's great that your parents encouraged you to attend youth events, we will definitely be doing that as well when we the kids get older =)
I think exposing and encouraging kids to learn any type of artistic things is very beneficial to them. As we all know, the left brain is more logical thinking and the right is more creative/imaginative. Regular excercise on the right brain helps doctors, lawyers to be innovative and think outside the box.
ReplyDeletePutting statistics aside. I always feel that having an artistic skill really help people of all age to have another channel to express their emotions and feeling. I really wish that when I was younger I was exposed more to other types of muscial instrumenta(not just violin and piano) and have more options in other things like drawing...
We really haven't explore anything with our son yet, but hopefully we can be more proactive in these things. Great read thanks for sharing!
I knew about the whole left brain and right brain thing but didn't know about how doctors and lawyers could use it to help them think outside the box. Learning something new every day.
DeleteIt's so hard to find a good balance between what lessons to sign our kids up for but I definitely hope we will be exposing them to all sorts of things so they can get a chance to figure out if that is where their interests lie
As always Alan, it is good to hear from you!
To praise or not to praise, that is the question. Studies have shown that children who receive less praise from adults actually can do better academically after a certain point than those who do receive praise (because they want to "prove they can do it" or something like that - it made sense at the time and now I forget). When our toddler answers something correctly, I tend to tell him "that's right" rather than "that's really good" or "you're so smart." Who knows whether it makes a difference or not. We try to expose Gavin to all sorts of things - active/sports-minded things, artistic/music things and so on ... and we take his lead. Some things he loves (music class, tumbling) and other things he hated (soccer class). While we definitely influence him (we're the ones choosing and paying for classes), his response to those classes provides input for whether we decide to sign up again or take a pass until he's a bit older (or never at all).
ReplyDeleteI think there is a difference between not praising and giving a child negative feedback all the time that they grow to believe it to be true. I have found that some of my kids, tend to take negative feedback much more harshly then we intended them, so we have been much more careful in the words that we use and also ask them to tell us in their own words why we may have punished them or gave them negative feedback. It helps clear up misunderstandings on their part. But we don't want to praise them for every little thing they do right either, there are definitely plenty of kids nowadays that feel so entitled and full of themselves from a little too much praise in their lives.
DeleteWhat great masterpieces! Nice work! I can't really tell what Baby C is into because she changes her mind every two seconds. But I do know she loves books! I played softball growing up and my parents always supported me by showing up to my games and my step-dad even became an assistant coach. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteBaby C is still young, things will probably become more evident when she gets older. Supportive parents are awesome!
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