Christmas is all around!

Do you think our Christmas tree beautiful? I love the time when we spray water on the leaves, the aroma from pine tree is so divine!!

Melting heart

After the bedtime story, my baby boys said, 'I love you so much because you have a beautiful heart.' My heart officially melted....

Marilyn

Had read 'My Week with Marilyn' last week, followed by the movie last evening.  A beautiful story.  It seems it is a fantasy of Colin Clake instead of a real story to me.  But... does it matter?

No actress could replicate Marilyn Monroe in this era.  Not a single one.  But again.... why should they?

Sorry, I didn't mean Michelle Williams didn't bring Marilyn alive in the screen, instead,  this is the opposite.  Her performance was perfect.  I mean we can't expect to have the second Marilyn Monroe in our time.  She belonged to her era, she shaped and was shaped by the world at that time, which had just experienced two World Wars, a world without internet, globalisation in a much more slow way....

Share joys with other children

It's November, Christmas seems far but it's actually around the corner.

Yesterday, Linus bought home a note about Box of Hope charity,((http://www.boxofhope.org/Box_Of_Hope/Introduction.html).  His kindergarten is coming to participate to its annual campaign - donar would pack a boxful of christmas gift for underprivileged kids in Hong Kong or Asia.

You can also join it.  Just decorate a shoebox and stuff in some educational toys and stationaries and send to designated collecting points.

Let's make the world a bit more beautiful!

學鋼琴

今年年初，哥哥開始學鋼琴。我會陪他練琴。

慢慢，我對鋼琴的興趣越見濃厚，常常拿著哥哥的琴譜，敲起琴鍵來。

衡量過自己能否持之以恆地上堂，以及有否熱情去練習之後，我也學起鋼琴來。

現在已學了四個月，熱情絕對沒有退卻，而且越學越喜歡。

向來喜愛classical東西的我，順理成章學傳統經典的琴譜。老師買了Grade 2的書給我，她說對我來說可能難一點，不過她會教慢一點，讓我有時間練多些。揭到第7頁， wow, 是Bach 的Menuet! 我有機會彈Bach的歌了！！很高興！

現在，弟弟也學起琴來，是他要求的。希望好快，妙曼的樂韻每天也在我們家縈繞著。

Four Little Flowers

Here are four of us.  The 'Four Little Flowers'.

The baby boy there is my younger son.  Okay, he is no longer a baby, he is a young man.

Anyway, this blog is dedicated to the 'Four Little Flowers'.

We are cousins and sisters, we grow up together.  We meet several times a year for family gatherings or festival celebrations.

We are in similar age (well, I admit there is 8 year difference between the eldest one, that's me, and the youngest one, my younger cousin.)

We have diversified personalities, we walk on different life paths. Each of us have our own stories, our joys and sadness.  When I look at this picture, I see a lovely novel, an interesting movie.  I praise the difference we have and the harmony between us.

There is no single formula to thrive a life, to pursue your dream, to love what you have, to be brave and open-minded in front of hurdles, then, we all four little flowers can be in blossom beautifully!!

I love you all!

The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child

Finally I have finished reading 'The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child', by Marti Olsen Lancy. I would like to recommend to parents who have an introvert child. It gave me solid knowledge of 'temperament' -- a person who tends to eit

her side of introversion or extroversion does not relate to his/her personality, but how the neurological system works. To make it short, it is hardwired and cannot be changed.

We had encountered many difficulties when my elder boy attended kindergarten, since he was an extreme introvert. Introverts are always misunderstood especially in schools because we live in an extroverted society. For example, kids around four to five should go through round and round of interviews if their parents want to send them to private schools. Children are also encouraged to attend interest class after class to beef up their 'portfolio'. If a child is shy and laid-back, they are labelled as incompetent, dreamy, etc. Obviously, such environment is not favourable to introvert children.

The middle part of the book tells readers the gifts an introvert would have. They are considerate, they love to learn things in-depth, they may not have many friends, but they treasure each of them. It also advises parents how to nurture guide an introvert kid to make them flourish.

We should celebrate the differences of each child instead of forcing them to conform to the shape of a mould.