Mama's Musings

The Power of the Imagination

Preschoolers Today interviewed me for a piece on imaginary friends. We've fostered our kids' minds by encouraging make-believe. As a result, we've got two children with the most fertile imaginations we know!

Our daughter just finished taping a TV show in which she danced, sang, and acted. It was a proud moment to see her on the sound stage with complete composure. Where did she learn that? I asked myself. Maybe it was her imaginary friend that lead the way.

Struggle

Sometimes we parents wonder why our children struggle, even as we give them what we think will equip them for life.

I don't know about you, but I take this personally.

My children have been struggling against the heat, overtired and overwhelmed. The heat wave in Germany almost tops the summer of 2003. Today was the last day of school, and the pressure cooker of both temperature and school have been released.

My daughter whistled to herself, laughing all the way home as she realized she would be carrying her backpack for the last time this year. September 16th, her first day back to school, is a long way off.

It was a bad moment to bring up extracurriculars.

"Do you want to continue with ballet or the TV show?" I tenuously asked my kid. She rolled her eyes in the back of her head and said, "I don't want to do anything!" I realized the timing wasn't right.

The TV show taping is this weekend. Yet another time commitment on my child's calendar. I realize she's been stretched time-wise. We're all ready for a break, for a vacation without have-to's, for days filled with homemade lemonade and sprinkler dances.

We are ready to give up 'struggle' for the weeks ahead. Equipping kids for life also means giving them the down time they crave. I'm ready. How about you?

Schliersee Camping

This weekend my old desire to run a marathon was rattled awake again. On Saturday morning from our campground, we witnessed the beginning of a triathlon. The men and women strut around the Schliersee with their buff bodies and water bottles. It made me want to run up the mountain at top speed. Only I couldn't. I had my two kids with me. But by golly, they hiked like champs, complaining only when it got so steep I had to carry my four-year-old on my back.

"What's an extra 20 kilograms?" I reasoned, panting willfully up the hill. The trail was shaded, but uneven. Luckily, we made it to our destination in time for lunch. We wolfed down the small portion of chicken drowned in cream sauce, then headed down the mountain via bodsled. Sophia laughed encouragingly as I pulled the brake around the curves.

When we got back to camp, we took the inflatable boat out on the lake for a few minutes, but our legs told us it was time to rest. We fell onto our air mattresses with a grin on our smudged faces. The next morning we broke camp, then drove to another lake atop the mountain (Sittringsee or some such -- home to Bruno the Bear that got shot after attacking several domestic animals).

"See that house?" I pointed to a dot on the mountain. The kids squinted into the sun. "That's where the ice cream is," I suggested, pulling our progeny along. We could still feel the 6 KM hike in our bones from the day before. But ice cream has a magical draw, and after an hour and one-half, we made it to the speck in the sky for a spot of food. Going back down was much more enjoyable, and the kids even found enough energy left to race Mama down (they won).

This time the prospect of sitting in their carseats listening to Grandpa J stories for an hour motivated them to keep going. Gratefully, Andreas dropped me off at a nearby parking lot where we had left his car for the weekend. Diana Krall accompanied me home.

Camping isn't as bad as I remember it, especially when you adjust yourself to the level of hygiene most fellow campers maintain.

"I think I last washed my hair on Thursday," I admited to Andreas as I pulled my hat snuggly over my wanton hair on Sunday. Peering at the car window reflection, I looked like Wayne from Wayne's World. My shower at home never felt so good!

In Search of the Heart-Soul

How hard it is for the heart-soul to recognize that when people are angry, it is not about you! Perhaps it stems from an innate need as a child to please. If Mommy is angry, it must be my fault. We carry this with us into adulthood.

It is not so.

Children carry their heart-souls directly under their skin. We parents tell them they have to toughen up.

“You need a thicker skin,” a well-meaning teacher once advised me. But isn’t that fragility the very thing that connects us to our Creator? To the One who manages this whole universe?

I wonder.

If unleashing creativity keeps me soft and accessible, why not nurture it? All children start off soft, warm, and enormously open. It is through years of repeated admonishing that this malleability diminishes.

How do we teach our children to maintain their heart-souls in the face of such cruelty?

Equip them with a belief in their inner navigational system. Help them stay attuned to what their inner voice keeps saying to them. Celebrate their wonder. Cherish its beauty. You may find your heart-soul awakens in the process, too.

Teach Your Child English in Munich

Emmy Horstkamp is running an English language camp this summer for Munich-area children ages 3-6 years old. Here's the skinny:

I wanted to let you know that I will be teaching an English camp for two/three
weeks in August.  I am going to advertise looking for four to five children
for each week.  I will be using the product line that I distribute which is
http://www.hocus-lotus.edu/

Each week will have a theme and we will have field trips that correlate with
the vocabulary that the children will be learning.  Week one will be animals
and we will take a trip to the Zoo.  The theme for week two will be Art and
we will be going to the Modern Museum of Art. The third week's theme will be
Travel.  We will pretend to be explorers and learn about travel... trains,
buses, planes etc. and we will take a trip to the Deutsche
Museum.

The cost for the class will be 160 euros per child per week.   The class
will run from 9 til 1pm  and the cost includes learning materials  (workbook
and Audio CD) and entrance fees to the Museums and Zoo.   If children need
to be left longer b/c parents are working, the cost will be 260 euros from 8
to 5pm for the week.

If you know anyone who might be interested, please forward them this
information and have them contact me at this email address.

The tentative dates are July 31st to August 4. - Animals with trip to zoo
                                   August 7 to August 11 - Art with trip to Modern Museum of Art
                                   August 14 to August 18th - Travel with trip to Deutsche Museum

I appreciate your help getting this information out.


Emmy

Sofia Verlag

Kidlerstr.4

81371 Munich

www.sofiaverlag.com

World Cup News: Germany in the semi-finals

My kids are sports fans. At least, right now they are. Germany won a tough game against Argentina. After two overtimes, they hit one more free shot than the Argentinian team. That's fate, folks. My heart went out to the Argentinian players who wept in defeat. It's not easy losing after coming so far. Germany's next game will be on Tuesday. Hopefully, we won't be the ones shedding a tear on the field.