happykiddo

Love = making fun

Happyfamily portrait
Originally uploaded by happykatie.

Jenny the Bloggess posted a request for treasured portraits that aren't your typical 'look how happy, put-together and non-wacky looking we are' portraits.

I hate those. That's why we don't go to Sears for photo shoots.

This particular photo is a favorite of mine for several reasons:
1. You can see the gap in my eyelashes quite clearly (yes, that gap known as Gappy)
2. We are perfectly emulating the newborn Ella's pursed lip / googly wide-eyed look that we laughed at non-stop for about 3 months of her early life (yes, we realize her psychiatrist bills will be enormous)
3. I adore the fact that Ella is wearing this onesie I took a photo of so long ago - I couldn't even imagine how a person could be so tiny and here she is in it :) And now... she's GINORMOUS!!!

So you're going where now?

Seriously?
Originally uploaded by happykatie.

The concept of Object Permanence is a teensy bit of an issue at our house.

Don't get the wrong idea now -- I'm completely not one of those 'Mommy is going to take 20 minutes to say goodbye to make sure you'll really miss me and be as absolutely upset as you can be' kind of Moms.  We keep things short and sweet - 'love you, smooches, be a sweet Bunn, see you later today'. Done and out the door.

But The Ella is still a wee one and at times even walking remotely even close to a doorway is enough to send her into fits of weeping and longing arm reaching. It completely and totally crushes my very soul. How dare I walk in the general vicinity of somewhere that is not right next to her?

So anyway, this is definitely the topic of some research - how to work on the old separation anxiety. Dr. Greene says (although I'm not digging the transitional item idea for some reason):

As kids learn about returns, separation anxiety decreases. So, once children have learned about leaving, you want them to learn about returning. Separation/return games and short practice separations are quite helpful. The classic separation/return games are peek-a-boo and "Where's the baby?" Also, transitional objects such as blankets or stuffed animals are a healthy way to minimize separation anxiety.

Edumakation - does your kid learn what a rich kid knows?

I think a lot about Ella's education - where she'll go to school, what subjects she'll like the most, what college she'll attend...  it's obviously a major issue that I've never really had to think about before.

Chris Penn recently wrote an interesting Blog post about 'A Chat With a Rich Kid' to discuss the differences between typical public school education and what the children of the 'elite' / uber-rich are learning.

Here’s what she’s been studying as a sophomore in high school:

• Calculus
• Greek
• Latin
• Debate
• Rhetoric
• Classical English literature
• Phyiscs
• Logic
• Geography

This, in short, is a pre-20th century curriculum focused on academic rigor with the intent of giving a child the mental toolkit to be a leader, to have at their fingertips a knowledge of the world and the mind. Most important, she moves at her own (rapid) academic pace because her tutor is integrated with her private school, moving her along academically as quickly as possible to increasingly complex subjects.

I don't know exactly where Ella will be when she hits backpack, chocolate (soy) milk and notebook paper time, but I'm leaning towards a private education - probably Catholic.  However, this doesn't mean that the education is going to be amazingly stellar.  Most of that still has to come from home. 

What and how are you teaching your kids at home to carry themselves into the Real World?  How do you open the doors of opportunity and the world to a small person who's mind is an open book?