My Pathway to Motherhood

A bit early for Perfect Monday.. Oh well, I'll do the linking later on. Actually wanted to write this post last week, but I was so damn tired! (and trying to catch up on blog reading. almost there :-) )

I Capture
Perfect Moments

I think it was towards the end of last year when my sister asked if I would teach her son English (which is what I do for a living..). Well, of course, I would love to! The kid said yes, and we tried setting an example lesson so he gets an idea, except every time we tried, he wasn't willing to. So we let go.

Then this year me and my mother pick him up from kindergarten, and what a change! This is a boy who was very dependent on his mother and really didn't like to be far from her. Let alone come over to us.

A little detour for an explanation.. I live in a separate unit in my mum's house (though I probably spend too much time at her place..), and my sister's house is right next door. One goes out of sister's back door and into my mother's garden - very easy and safe to go from one house to the other.

So he would come to us a lot with his mother (who comes a lot), but never on his own, and never stays if she has to go. And this year we do the picking up and bringing him home to the nanny (end of kindergarten is usually baby sister's nap time..), and it is so wonderful and amazing to see the change. Yes, maybe he is growing a bit older, but I'm sure it's a lot to do with this new bonding we have with him. He now comes over freely to my mother's house whenever he feels like it, stays and all. One day, as I was still in the street, I heard him calling out my name again and again and again, wanting to come in.. too funny!

And then he came up to me and asked me to teach him English! Don't think his mother talked to him about it, I definitely dropped the subject, so it was kind of out of the blue. His mother does speak (or tries to speak) in English to his little sister, and he does have a game of some kind teaching En, and we do speak it with our mother, so it's not a strange concept for him, but still..

So last week we had our first lesson. Was so funny how he straightened his back when the lesson began, looking so serious! I'm keeping the lessons short, so as not to overwhelm him, with a plan of gradually increasing (not something I can do with my regular pupils :-) ). Anyway, later that day, he came up to me with a few books - some kind of sticker-workbook which he said he'll teach me; a workbook in Hebrew (doing letters) which he asked me to teach him (no! I rather not confuse English and Hebrew lessons. That is something you can do with your nanny or mother..); and a nursery rhyme book he wanted me to use for the lesson (which at first I said no, but you know what, if it gives him pleasure, I can read a rhyme he choose every lesson, and give him the general idea [but boy, trying to translate them is not easy!]). Like he discovered this new world of me.. And just a few minutes ago he came up to me, proudly telling me that he knows some words in English (cow, dog and cat, if you must..), so I don't need to teach him those words. That was so funny!

And now, please go over to Lori's blog to see other perfect moments!