I admit it. I’m an addict. Addicted to complaining.
It took me a long time to realize it, but, yes, I admit it and feel so much freer!
So, what do I complain about?
From the weather, to the diapers, to my inability to be perfect, to my childhood, to my education, you name it!
My newest hot topic for complaining, blaming and accusing is the Israeli school system. Did you know that the school day ends at 1pm in girls’ schools?
And my children’s school does not offer extracurricular activities. The kids come home and hang out till they go to sleep at 8 or 9 pm!
Then it hit me- if I want them to go to extracurricular activities and develop their talents, maybe I should do something about it (instead of complaining!)
Like, perhaps I should open a ‘chug’ (an activity group) that my children could participate in. Perhaps I should even try being the instructor!
I slept on the idea and came up with the following list of questions:
1- What are my children’s talents?
2- Which talents/subjects would I like them to develop this year?
Basically, my answers to the questions above went something like:
1- Acting, dancing, singing, directing, fine motor skills
2- Piano, swimming, English, arts & crafts, baking, science & nature
Now that I have some answers, I can take action! I do not necessarily have to be the teacher/supervisor/instructor of each and every activity group for each talent I’d like my
children to develop. Professionals can be hired.
It’s important to recall that most of my neighbors live on extremely tight budgets and do not have the means to invest more than $10-$30 on their children’s activities each month!
So whatever ‘chug’ I would decide to open would have to be highly subsidized (probably by yours truly!)
What do you think of this idea- making an “English Second Language Art & Crafts & Baking Chug” for children aged 5-7? I’ll give it a try and let you know how it goes. Some activity ideas I have in mind are:
1- Decorating a diaper cake. This is a wonderful activity for many reasons, namely, every family here has lots of babies, lots of diapers, and would appreciate receiving a diaper cake stuffed with lots of diapers for their lots of babies!New English words learned: Alphabet, letter, number, A,B,C, 1,2,3
3- Body Tracing & Writing Nice Messages in Each “Body”. I recall body tracing on butcher paper at Maimonides Day Camp as a young girl. What fun! I have not seen Israeli children do such things. New English words learned: Body, soul, nice, talented, friendly, honest, orderly
4- Baking soda Volcanos. This was also one of my favorites in Nature class as a young girl. The children will definitely be surprised to see the ‘lava’ coming out of the ‘volcano’!
New English words learned: Volcano, nature, lava, red, earth.
That’s just a brief list of ideas for a little weekly afternoon chug. Regarding the piano & swimming lessons- I could teach them, but it might be best to just find a private teacher!
What I’ve learned though through this shift from “I’m annoyed” to “I will be the change I want to see in the world” is that I feel more positive and energized in the process. You may just want to try it too!
