Is Stella Ready for Chess?

This week, Stella’s dad asked me again if she was ready to start playing chess. He had gone back to the game shop Stella and he visited to look at a simple chess set during his lunch break. Clueless, I had to admit to him that I had never learnt to play chess and know very little about the game. I have heard from someone that the way children play chess is very different from the way adults play. I have seen (exceptional) children around Stella’s age play chess but just with anything, I told him not to rush if she was not interested. I suggested introducing the chess pieces to her slowly to see if she was interested. Stella loves to learn about the names of things and their functions. I told him about a picture book I had seen sometime ago that tells stories of the chess pieces and how each one moves. Because I couldn’t remember the title of the book, he said he might look it up on the internet. I also told him how some people play modified games on the board to encourage the child to move the pieces properly before playing the complete game. He might be able to find more information on the internet before introducing this great game to his little girl.

Knowing Stella, she may become impatient with explanations if the whole set of chess (including its board) is placed immediately in front of her. She will be itching to have a go ASAP. She likes to learn hands on and understands complicated rules very quickly. Come to think of it, it might be a good idea to introduce individual chess pieces away from the rest of the set so she will not be distracted by the others on the board. She is such a pleasure to work with. Her energy and enthusiasm drives me to work harder to come up with activities for us to do. I love looking up and making activities for young children. The fact that I am not overloaded with other extra chores has made it possible for me to implement these activities more so than ever before. Stella and increasingly Bree are my latest guinea pigs. LOL. This doesn’t mean that I make the girls ‘work’ all day without play. Best of all, the parents totally appreciate the activities I offer them. In fact, Bree’s parents are beginning to look forward to their little girl doing the same things that Stella has been offered.

Now, I started off talking about the possibility of introducing Chess to Stella and how did I ended up talking about what a dedicated nanny I am to my little charges? LOL. This nanny can be quite a show off!

Hooked On Uno

On the Saturday after the fight at Kindergarten, Stella went shopping with her dad in the city. He took her to a neat little game shop inside this old shopping arcade. He thought that maybe the two of them would enjoy putting a puzzle together. The two couldn’t agree on which puzzle and ended up buying a deck of Uno cards. She wanted the game because she had seen it at another friend’s house. Stella’s dad was sceptical of Stella’s readiness for such a game. The pack stated that it was for people age 7 and up. He bought it in the hope of teaching her himself. He had taught her to play draughts and was hoping to introduce chess soon.
As soon as the two came home, the father and daughter tried out the new game while waiting for mum to come up with dinner. Stella’s dad told me that he tried to explain the rules to her but she was just impatient and couldn’t wait to start playing. He even tried to test her numeral reading and colour recognition skills. LOL. Both mother and daughter kept reminding him that she already knew how to read the numbers and ‘affirmative’, Stella knows the four basic colours. Duh! He told me that he just wanted to be sure to ensure success. Eventually he gave up explaining and gave in to Stella’s pleas. The two started the game and mum hovered around a bit to assist Stella. Apparently it took less than 10 minutes for Stella to get the hang of it and became addicted. That night, Stella didn’t want a story read. Instead the pair played Uno from her bed. On the following Wednesday when I was looking after Stella, her dad came home before mum. He almost immediately asked Stella if she showed me the game. In fact, she introduced the game to me right after her nap. For a few minutes I pretended to be new to the game and listened to her explanations. LOL. After listening to her dad, I realised that she was obviously trying to copy him with the explanations. He laughed when I told her what she did. Although he sounded a tad suspicious when he asked me if I had taught Stella the game previously (which I didn’t), I can see that this dad is very proud of his little girl and is truly happy to have found another interest the two can spend time playing together.

Free to Blog Again!

Hooray! The study unit that I was doing has come to an end. I have completed my assignments and surprisingly, I did very well for both. Now that the exam is also out of the way, I have time to blog again. There are a few things I want to change and improve.

Next week will be my final week looking after the girls. I will be on holidays after that. Between now and next Thursday, I will be helping Stella to decorate a mini Christmas tree, to be placed in her bedroom. One of her mum’s friends gave her this used table top Christmas tree. It is a little bent but we are going to decorate it as best as we could. As for Bree, we will be doing more finger-painting, learning to clean her own table and enjoying the great outdoors. The warmer weather allows the girls more outdoor play. I practice “Hat + Sunscreen = Outdoor Play”. This does not mean that I let the girls bake for hours outdoors.

The year seems to be ending on a happy note. The election is over. The candidate I preferred is now the new Prime Minister of Australia. Hopefully Kevin Rudd will be a Prime Minister for all Australians. It is timely to give everyone a fair go and to re-educate all on how great practising this human (or like some would like to say, Australian) value is. Hopefully this government will not exploit minority groups in a bad light to win the hearts of some idiots. I do not wish to see Australians playing dirty tactics against other Australians for a while, if not forever. The news about those political/religious fliers last week was just plain ugly. Some say that my wish is just wishful thinking but no one can stop me from dreaming and wishing for a more peaceful world.

Christina, Daniel & Stella – The Aftermath

This is an update on what I wrote recently about the fight at Stella’s Kindergarten. I heard most of it from Stella’s mum.

Daniel: He returned to the Kindergarten on Monday. He was his usual boisterous self. He was asked to join the 3 yr old group when Christina popped in for an hour or so on Wednesday morning.

Christina: She was taken to the hospital for a thorough check-up. They at first feared that she had a broken nose but she was fine, other than some severe bruising on her face. Stella’s mum finally got to chat with Christina’s mum last weekend. She learned that Christina’s dad was furious about what had happened. He is one of those blokes with a loud voice and a bad temper. He actually feared that she might have sustained some form of neck injuries. Immediately after the incident, Christina told the teachers that both Daniel and Stella kicked or hit her. Stella’s mum was told by Christina’s mum that when retelling what happened to her grand-parents, Daniel was the only one involved in kicking her. The children in her group (including Daniel and Stella) made her a big Get Well Soon card. Christina and her mum dropped by the Kindergarten for about an hour on Wednesday to thank the children. Stella told me that her face was bruised. She is likely to return to the Kindergarten on Monday. I am not sure what plans they have for Daniel when she returns.

Stella: She was very down on the Thursday when this happened. According to her mum, she started off slow on Friday as well. She just wanted to be read to and drew some pictures. After her nap on Friday, her mum managed to play some ‘reading’ games that she used to like a few months ago. To her mum’s surprise, that actually led to a fresh interest in reading again. I will blog about Stella’s literacy journey in December. Mother and daughter completed a few pages of a workbook that day and did more on Sunday. On Saturday, Stella’s dad stepped in to do his part in cheering her up. Father and daughter went shopping and found a new interest. I will blog about this soon. This week at Kindergarten, Stella spent most of her time playing by herself. The teacher’s assistant told Stella’s mum that she wasn’t too interested in the group project or other group play on Tuesday. Towards the end of the week, she started to play side by side with other children in the sand-pit. Her teachers said that she was less chatty this week. I asked her if she spoke to Daniel and she said that he said, “Hello.” I don’t think that she is bothered by him. Before I left on Thursday, she reminded me that she will be going to her new school soon. I hope that she is not thinking that she can escape from such situations by looking forward to going to a new school. With many years of schooling ahead of her, Stella is likely to face more of such situations.

Santa Picked Up! (Myer’s Christmas Parade 2007)

We walked down to the city for brunch on Saturday morning and walked right into the Myer Christmas Parade. Since we couldn’t walk across Bourke Street, we hung around to watch the parade. Unfortunately we didn’t bring our camera. While I do try to limit my fondness for licensed characters, I did find myself smiling to characters like Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Captain Feathersword, Dorothy, Wags, Henry the Octopus, Storm Troopers, Thomas the Tank Engine and those cheeky flowerpots (sorry, can’t recall their names). I learned about these characters when I used to look after Alexandra & co. The TV was on practically all day in those two households. Santa came last on a float that blew bubbles. I found it absolutely hilarious that the bubbles floating in the air confused the flies that had been bothering everyone. Why do we get so many flies? It looked like Santa picked up a beautiful lady to join him for the parade. Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins sat next to Santa. She looked just as stunning as usual despite the heat. (Do you agree that she looks like Disney’s Tinkerbell?)

Where we were, the crowds were almost 10 deep. With children sitting on their parents’ shoulders, it was almost impossible for this nanny to watch the parade. I wished that the floats were higher off the ground for everyone down the back to have a better view. After the parade, Kate Ceberano belted out a few Christmas Songs, backed up by a girls’ choir. I think they were The Australian Girls Choir but I am not too sure. We decided to not follow the crowds to check out the Myer’s Christmas windows. I was told that they were unveiled on Friday. They will be there until around the first week of January. We will come back on a weekday evening to enjoy the windows when there will be fewer people around. Wagamama is open for business again. We went there for lunch. This nanny is always in for something ever so slightly Japanese.

Gifts for Bonnie’s Baby

I went to Bonnie’s Baby Shower a few weeks ago. We all asked her for gift ideas. Most people didn’t want to buy her things that she might not find useful. She did eventually email us a wish-list. She didn’t want to do it at first because she didn’t want to look greedy and fussy. To me and another friend (who is a practising Kindergarten teacher), she told us privately that she is going to use cloth nappies. She said that she will give it a go and asked that we get her more nappies. I think she felt that she can trust the two of us with this decision even though some of the others who were invited are mothers themselves. Bonnie warned me not to go overboard because I have a tendency to buy the best. She was right. The ones that crossed my mind can cost as much as aud$30 each! Bonnie wanted simple fitted nappies made out of flannelette. She already bought quite a big supply of a variety of cloth nappies from EBay. So, our friend and I bought her half a dozen of the ones she preferred and topped them up with two packs of 3 muslin baby wraps. The nappies we bought are for use in the first few months. I think they must be the most basic version of fitted cloth nappies available. A few people were wondering why we bought old-fashioned nappies. Bonnie’s mother-in-law couldn’t see what was so wrong with using disposable nappies. That sent everyone debating about the great nappy issue for at least 15 minutes. My partner in crime and I kept pretty quiet. We saw little point in trying to change the minds of people who were so set in their ways. Even Bonnie gave up defending her choice after a little while. Other than that little hiccough, that afternoon was a pleasant one. I loved the cake and Pavlovas, washed down with cups of tea. I can be such a little piggy.

Two Smocks & a Picture Book

Those are the things I gave Bree for her 2nd Birthday. I think she will enjoy each and everyone of them.

I sewed the two smocks. The one with long sleeves is made with a combination of two types of fabrics. The body is made with red/white gingham fabric while the raglan sleeves are made with white, 100% cotton Quilters Homespun. I originally had wanted to make the whole smock out of calico only. I read this very old book on art for young children more than a decade ago. According to the book, colourful or patterned fabrics (especially around the sleeves) can affect or confuse the little artist’s development in colour discrimination through painting. Today, most smocks for young children are multicoloured. The colours I chose for the first smock was a bit of a compromise between what I believe in and what people have come to expect in the 21st century. The second smock is more like a pop-over apron without sleeves. Instead of ties, the tabs are designed to fasten to the front with Velcro. This will encourage Bree to help herself. This one is made using white Ripstop Nylon and is lined at the front with white, 100% cotton Quilters Homespun. This one will be suitable for messy art like finger-painting.

The picture book I chose for Bree this time is called “Where’s My Teddy?” It is written by Jez Alborough. This book is very popular with many of my charges (past and present). I am aware that the content may still be a little too advance for Bree but I am hoping that she will grow to like it. I love reading to children. It doesn’t matter if they are 10 months old or 10 years old, children enjoy being read to. Sometimes, 5-7 year olds like to show you what they have learned from school. Instead of listening attentively, they want to do the reading instead. LOL.

Watching & Learning? – I Hope Not!

Tuesday was a pleasant day. It wasn’t too hot. With the workmen working in the backyard, I decided to take Bree with me to have lunch in the village. Her day time sleep pattern is changing again. She is now able to stay up longer and is therefore able to have lunch at a decent time like everyone else. She now naps approximately between 12:45 and 2:45. (She sometimes sleeps longer.) I packed a little vegemite sandwich and a drink in her new lunch box and a water bottle to take with us. Someone gave her the lunch box and bottle for her birthday.
The workmen were putting together outdoor play equipment that Bree’s parents had ordered for her birthday. I was instructed to try my best at shielding it from Bree until her parents came home at the end of the day. She saw the arrival of the workmen and was pretty intrigued. I spoke to them briefly to let them know that we were going out and then lowered all the blinds of the windows looking out to the backyard. I lied to Bree telling her that the gardeners were working on the flowers. (The gardener that comes around doesn’t look one bit like the workmen.)

It was only 11:00 am but my tummy was rumbling. As soon as I found Bree’s hat, we were off. (Yes! I did remember to apply sunscreen.) Bree and her parents do not live in a country town but for some posh people living in certain places in Melbourne, the shops nearby are known as the village. I decided to sit outside this popular cafe since it was such a lovely day. I parked Bree next to me. The waiter took my order and added, “And a slice of mud cake?” I was so embarrassed. He obviously recognised me and remembered what I usually asked for. For some funny reason, Bree started to laugh at me on cue!

Bree likes her vegemite sandwich all chopped up into little cubes. At her age, she is still not very good at eating sandwiches with multiple fillings. So, her cheese was also served in little pieces as well. She sat maturely next to me on a booster seat offered by the waiter. This particular café is very popular among young families living nearby. While I chomped on my huge grilled foccacia (if that is how to spell this type of Italian bread) with chicken, avocado, spinach and cheese, I tried to have our usual lunch time conversation. At this stage our conversation is still mostly one way. Being outside, we got to talk about the things we could see. Pretty soon, something happening nearby caught her attention. A boy who looked like he was about 4 was reluctant to get back into the car and his mother was shouting at him. He wanted to get on this coin operated ride-on toy outside the grocery store. Instead of getting into the car as was told, he decided to throw a tantrum right in front of us. The other diners, Bree and I became his audience. He dropped to the ground and thrashed about like an angry walrus. Bree watched his every move. Her facial expression was priceless. LOL. I tried to distract her but his loud cries demanded her total attention. Eventually, his mum gave up pleading and came over to pick him up to physically put him into the car. She apologised to everyone before driving off. One elderly gentleman sitting at the table next to us leaned over and cheekily said to Bree, “I hope you are not getting any new ideas.” Bree laughed. She probably did this because he had some sauce on his beard. LOL.

I do not allow my charges to share my food partly because I am greedy and partly because I hate cross-contamination. Since she had been behaving well and ate her lunch, I decided to buy her a mini banana muffin. (Yes! Bree is allowed to have those. Her parents take her to this café almost weekly.) Once she started tucking into the muffin, I tucked into my heavenly delicious slice of mud cake. Our enjoyment was rudely interrupted by the arrival of another family that just parked at the spot vacated by the mother and son. The cries were heard loud and clear before the children even stepped out of the Toorak Taxi. The mum carried the crying tot into the bakery. The dad was telling what looked like the eldest child off and she was sobbing quietly. The little girl that looked like the middle child was crying full scale. Only the middle child was in school uniform and she walked past our table wailing with one hand stuck in her mouth. Bree watched with total fascination. Minutes later, the crying stop and the family emerged from the bakery. Bree watched the girls as they ran to the grocery store. There was nothing I could do to distract her. I didn’t want to leave until I have a chance to clean her up after she had finished her muffin. Several minutes later, I spotted that the family was heading back to the car. The crying started again. Bree observed the family until their car pulled away. She decided to wave bye-bye at them for some reason. LOL.

As I was wiping her hands and face, Bree decided to pop her hand into her mouth and hummed loudly. The elderly gentleman turned around to have a look. His wife smiled. I coaxed her to say goodbye to them and she obliged. I reckon her attempt was a little too enthusiastic because the lady couldn’t resist but come over to speak to her whilst I paid for our food. As I walked past the couple, Bree sat in her buggy with a hand in her mouth squealing. I wasn’t the only one who recognised what she was trying to do. The elderly gentleman winked and said to me, “She did learn something new today.” I hope Bree was not taking mental notes from her observations of that day. Her mum is quite worried that Bree might turn into a bad tempered little girl now that she has turned two.

From Cot To Bed

Bree is moving from sleeping in a cot to a bed soon. Until the new bed arrives, she sleeps in her cot with one side removed by her dad. There has been no problem so far. She has not fallen off her bed. In fact she has been enjoying the freedom of getting out of bed on her own in the morning. To prevent Bree from getting into mischief (like eating toothpaste in the bathroom), her parents have installed a safety gate across her bedroom doorway to keep her within her own bedroom if she gets up earlier than her parents. Instead of being trapped behind bars in the cot crying to be lifted out, Bree is now able to move around to play with her toys or read books in the room.

Before installing the safety gate, Bree used to wander out of her room. There is another safety gate at the top of the stairs to prevent her from falling down the stairs. One afternoon, she got up from her nap and ended up crying in the bathroom. We believed that she had wanted to do wee but had somehow gotten disoriented. With the installation of the safety gate, Bree is now unable to access her potty when she needs to. Since she is now nappy-free for her afternoon naps, we place her potty chair on a bathmat (with rubber backing) in the same corner of her bedroom. The potty stays in her room only during her afternoon naps. It is in her bathroom the rest of the time. At night, Bree is still going to bed wearing a nappy. I think she might be doing that for a while yet. Her mum has been wondering if the potty should be placed in her bedroom every night as well. I told her to start doing it if Bree starts to take off her nappy when she gets up in the morning. Some toddlers find the nappy tabs irresistible. They pull them and before they realise their actions, the nappy is off. From there, some may dabble in a little bit of ‘Poo Art’.

Bree has been sleeping in the cot with one side removed for a couple of months or more now. Her mum did try to order a bed from IKEA a while ago but it was out of stock. She also tried to order another bed from a bedroom specialist store but they never got back to her for some reason. She said that she is happy that they never call back because she changed her mind soon after calling them. Bree’s parents agreed that they are not going to buy a junior bed, preferring to buy a single sized bed that Bree could use for years. Bree’s dad prefers a bed that is quite low to the ground, fearing that his little girl might hurt herself if she falls out of the bed. Bree’s mum prefers a high bed like the one she had as a child. Lately, the parents have been making changes and introducing new things around the house to accommodate the growing toddler. They have begun to talk about getting a bed for Bree again. If it all goes smoothly, Bree could be sleeping in a ‘big bed’ around Christmas time.

Judo for Stella?

I was eating strawberries and petit meringues for breakfast on the balcony before heading to work on Thursday. Okay, that’s not exactly a nutritious breakfast option but for some reason I felt like Pavlova that morning and what I had was close enough. The phone rang and it was Stella’s mum on the other end speaking to me very softly. She said that she can’t leave her meeting and requested that I go and pick up Stella ASAP. She added that she would pay for the taxi fares and that she would be home to see Stella. I asked her if something had happened and she told me that Stella had hit another child. I refused to believe it. I got ready as quickly as I could and left to pick up the alleged fighter in a taxi.

The door to the Kindergarten building was still locked because it was only 11:15 am. From the door, I can see the back of an adult sitting in the office talking to the head teacher of Stella’s class. I waved at her hoping that she would let me in. She didn’t seem to notice me. So, I pressed the buzzer. A helper from the 3 year old class came to let me in. She flashed me a nervous smile. As I walked past the office, I waved again at her teacher. At the same time, I noticed the other woman sitting in the office. She is the mother of Daniel and she looked pretty angry. The teacher’s assistant saw me as I reached the classroom and she pointed at the wooden pyramid (sorry, I don’t know the exact name of this piece of furniture). It is a wooden cubby for up to two children to play in and it has mirror walls. I bent down and saw through the entrance a tired looking Stella lying down on the floor of the cubby with a book. I greeted her and she came out quickly to give me a big hug. She said, “I just want to go home, @#*-@#*.” I told her that we are going home. The teacher’s assistant came over to tell me that Stella’s mum had agreed for Stella to be taken home early for the day. The specialist music teacher was obviously standing in while the head teacher was in the office with Daniel’s mum. She came over to inform me that they will be speaking to Stella’s parents about what happened. I was a little annoyed that I wasn’t told what happened but I am not the child’s parent and it is just not a good idea to discuss the child’s behaviour or matters like this in front of a roomful of little children. I then invited Stella to help me gather her things at her locker. The teacher’s assistant tried to be friendly by reminding me that Stella’s buggy is down the hallway. Uh-duh! As I sorted through her things, I quickly looked around to see if Daniel was in the classroom and noticed that he was outside with a group of children from the 3 yr old programme. Was he isolated from his own group? I had a feeling that he has something to do with what happened. He has always been pretty physical with the other children. That reminded me of Alexandra. From the lockers, I could see the action happening in the 3 yr old class. The head teacher of that group flashed me a nervous smile as well. I then said goodbye to everyone, trying hard to appear not bothered. Stella is usually very friendly and will greet or say goodbye without prompting but that day she managed to only say goodbye to the teacher’s assistant. I didn’t want to force her. I could see that the little girl just wanted to leave. Something happened and this is not the time to start demanding excellent manners.

After I signed the log book, we went to get her buggy and as usual we had trouble retrieving hers among the rest of the other buggies. To get the buggy, I had to manoeuvre the other buggies like the game called Rush Hour – Traffic Jam Puzzle. While doing that, I noticed that the blinds in the office had been lowered. Once she was strapped in, I wheeled her out. I didn’t need to ask for help to open the security door this time. It just happened that the helper that let us in was entering from outside and she held the door open for us. We were leaving the carpark when a familiar looking car drove in. Before I said anything, Stella was calling out, “Mummy!”

Once the car was parked, she came over to us. I was sitting on a nice garden bench and Stella was still strapped into her Mountain Buggy. She greeted me with a smile but I could see that she was a little stressed. She asked Stella in a gentle voice, inquiring about what happened in the morning. Stella told her mum that she was talking to Christina when Daniel kicked her friend in the face. I imagined Daniel’s high kick aiming at Christina’s face. Stella’s mum asked if she hit anyone and Stella confessed that she pushed Daniel over and he fell backwards. Her mum told her to never hit someone no matter what happened. Stella then said, “I pushed him because he laughed at Christina.”

Stella’s mum asked us to wait in the car while she spoke to the teacher. She gave me her keys so I could place the buggy in the boot. After strapping Stella into her car seat I sat next to her. No, Stella didn’t suffer a heatstroke. This nanny did leave the door nearest to herself opened and it wasn’t a warm day. After nearly half an hour, Stella’s mum emerged from the building. Stepping out with her were Daniel and his mum, and Stella’s teacher. They said goodbye to each other and the teacher waved at us. We waved back. I could see that Daniel was trying to break free from his mum. He dashed past Stella’s mum, who was heading towards the car, to say goodbye to Stella. His mum was yelling after him. Stella’s mum held his hand until his mum caught up to walk him back to their car. As we were getting out of the carpark, Stella said, “What Daniel did is dangerous, mum.”

The trip home was only short but Stella was already sound asleep when we arrived. Her mum got her out of the car and went straight up to her bedroom. I got the buggy out of the car and then put the kettle on. Stella’s mum came to join me and told me what she believed to have happened earlier.

When the children were playing outside in the morning, Stella decided at some stage that she wanted to have a go ‘painting’ with shaving cream at the transparent easel. As she was putting on her smock, Christina came over demanding to have a go first. Stella refused to let the girl jump queue but Christina carried on until the teacher’s assistant came over suggesting that Stella call out for Christina when she had finished ‘painting’. Christina went on to ride a scooter. Minutes later, Stella called out for Christina. At the same time, Daniel was calling out for someone to help him with his laces and Christina came to his aid. As Christina was tying Daniel’s laces, Stella came over to let Christina know that it was her turn. For reasons that only Daniel would know, he gave Christina an almighty kick in the face. On seeing that, Stella pushed Daniel over and he fell backwards. The adults didn’t see Daniel’s kick but they saw Stella pushing Daniel over while Christina clutched her own face, screaming hysterically. Her nose was bloody and she accused both Daniel and Stella of hitting her. Daniel and Stella were ordered to wait in the classroom with the helper while first aid was offered to Christina in the office. Not knowing the extent of the injuries, an ambulance was called and Christina’s parents were informed. Another teacher, who is also a family friend, went with her. The version that was relayed to me was what Stella’s mum was told. The information was gathered from the children and the adults present at the time. None of the adults witnessed Daniel kicking Christina in the face but he admitted to it. He apparently found it quite amusing! The adults did however see Stella pushing Daniel over.
Before going back to her work, Stella’s mum did try to contact Christina’s mum at their house but was told that they were still at the doctor’s. Stella was rather down for the rest of the day. She didn’t want to go to the park to see Lachlan and I had to cancel the play-date. Even yoghurt with blueberries didn’t cheer her up. All she wanted was for me to read her picture books. I think I read 15! After that, she did some drawing until her father came home early. She told him how Christina had to be taken to the hospital because Daniel kicked her in the face. I will post an update to this incident after I hear more about it. I won’t be looking after Stella again until next Wednesday.

Busy Nanny

This nanny will be extremely busy until the end of the month. I have an assignment due in the middle of November and then I have to sit for an exam at the end of the month. This means that I will be spending less time blogging. I will continue to write sponsored posts to make some pocket money. Because I have to have an interim post in between two sponsored posts, I may blog a little here and there. I am still planning to make a few changes to this blog but this will have to wait till around December. There are already quite a few things I want to blog about. Rather than just thinking up topics of interest to blog about and then forgetting about them soon after, I now make little notes to remind me of what to blog when I have the time.

Thank goodness for Ettie too. This means that I will be having both Monday and Tuesday off to give me extra time to write up my assignment. I will be seeing her a little bit next Monday but it won’t be a day spent shopping with Bree in tow. Ettie is flying back to Sydney on that day.

To Melbournians visiting this blog, enjoy the rest of your Melbourne Cup Day. I hope you win some money.

New Nanny Sharing Challenges for 2008

I was invited to go to Bree’s house on Friday for a ‘meeting’ to discuss plans for next year. I had been expecting this to happen soon. I thought they would certainly call for one before I took off for my annual holidays. And with the decision made to send Stella to school next year, I had been wondering if I would continue to look after her in 2008 at all. I was also a little worried that the parents might plan without consulting me. Nanny sharing can be quite tricky when circumstances change for the families involved. It can be quite disastrous for the nanny if the parents involved are not considering her needs in their plans. This nanny learned this the hard way a few years ago when working for two other families from hell. When I planned to work for these two families at the beginning of 2006, I made it clear to the parents that I would like to be involved in their nanny sharing plans and did not wish to be left without proper choices or to be given little time to consider any options. I made it very clear that ‘take it or leave’ is not a proper option, especially if I was not given enough time to consider other employment opportunities.

I turned up at Bree’s house expecting the worse even though I have been happy working for the two families and have been treated fairly since I started. I guess I lost some of my ability to trust the families I work for since my lousy experience with the previous two families. When I got there, Stella and her mum weren’t there. They called shortly after my arrival to inform us that they were running a little late. Bree’s mum offered me a drink and started without Stella’s mum. She thanked me for looking after Bree so well. She said that Bree’s approaching birthday not only reminded her of the little miracle but also of how the journey so far was made heaps easier by having such a caring nanny. Bree played on the floor between the two of us. I can’t stand compliments. I must have been blushing because Bree came over to poke at my face. Bree’s mum continued the conversation, telling me that they will be some changes in 2008 and asked if I would be happy to look after Bree for another year. Of course I am happy to look after Bree. I love working with toddlers and she is just so easy to look after.

The doorbell rang and Bree ran up the hallway to greet the guests. It was Stella and her mum. Uh-duh! Stella needed no prompting to greet everyone. She gave me a big hug and that prompted Bree to do the same. Bree’s mum invited everyone to the family room. I sat on the sofa wondering what sort of changes to expect while the girls played with Bree’s blocks. It was quite awkward for me to have both the parents here. Just as I was imagining horns growing on the heads of the two mothers, Bree’s mum suggested to Stella’s mum that we use the (formal) living room for the mother and nanny chat. Even though Stella knew that I also looked after Bree, she insisted on showing me the way to that room. LOL. Did she not realise that I knew my way around this big house? LOL. Seeing that we were heading to the front of the house again, Bree hurried to follow. She requested that I carry her. Her mum tried to explain that I was going for a little chat with Stella’s mum and she could play with Stella. Stella flatly refused, choosing to stay with her mum. Bree hung on to me and wouldn’t let go, preferring to stay with me. I placed her on the floor and she took off, running into the living room with Stella. As Stella’s mum and I got comfy on the couch, Bree’s mum picked up her cheeky little girl to leave the room. Bree was saying ‘no’ repetitively. She wasn’t throwing a tantrum. She was just saying it to get attention. As they walked down the hallway, we heard the little cheeky one saying, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Stella shut the door and told me why they were late today. She informed me that her mum drove past her school. That is quite a detour! Stella’s house is pretty close to Bree’s house. The school is a couple of suburbs away. Stella’s parents finally picked the school and she has been asking to visit ever since. She said she can now remember going there for a meeting a long time ago. Like Bree’s mum, Stella’s mum praised me for my work and both mum & dad think that they are blessed to have found a nanny sharing their parenting style. She also said that Stella’s dad is delighted with the ways in which I encourage Stella to become a mini mathematician. Apparently, Stella repeats some of the activities we do when I am not there. She would explain to her dad how to solve some problems. This mother and nanny chat went on a little longer because we kept getting interrupted by an excited Stella who just couldn’t stop talking about going to school. She talked about going to school after Christmas. I told her that school will start after Australia Day and that is weeks after Christmas. For a child, that is a long time after Christmas.

Cheeky Bree also couldn’t resist running down the hallway to knock on the living room door every now and then. She was attempting to knock on the door again when we emerged from the room. She saw us and ran, laughing down the hallway with Stella chasing her from behind.

With the two ‘mother and nanny’ chats all wrapped up, this nanny was heading to the ‘mothers and nanny’ chat next. I wondered how long they were planning to keep me in suspense. Despite the compliments, I was still expecting the worse. They didn’t want to take up most of my Friday and so as soon as the girls were playing together, the mothers filled me in with the changes.

Here is what they are asking me to do next year:
· Look after Bree from Monday – Thursday + up to 2 Fridays per month.
· Look after Bree from 8:45 am to 3:00 pm at Bree’s house.
· Take Bree to Stella’s house after 3:00 pm (arriving at no later than 3:40 pm) to look after both Bree and Stella till 6:00 pm.
· Bree will be picked up between 5:30 – 5:45 pm by either mum or dad while Stella’s mum will arrive home by around 6:00 pm.
· This nanny will be relieved of dinner duties but may still be requested to prepare and refrigerate parts of Bree’s dinner on most days.
· School Holidays: Look after both girls from Monday – Thursday, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm alternating at either girl’s homes on a weekly basis.

Both mothers requested that I think about what they outlined over this long weekend. They reassured me that nothing is final without my input. Bree’s mum asked if I could cope with the different schedules and locations. One of the first things I told them was that I liked the idea of the two girls being looked after together. I told the mothers that I will have to think about these changes carefully. Some questions are already forming in my head as I type along right now. I suggested to them that we may have to talk again about this and they agreed to schedule for it as soon as I am ready.

Bree’s mum had to wait for the cleaners to arrive. They are giving the house a big clean up before Ettie’s (Bree’s grandma) arrival on Saturday for Melbourne Cup as well as for the precious little girl’s 2nd Birthday. Stella’s mum offered to drive me home. They were heading to the city to see Stella’s dad for lunch and mother & daughter were planning to shop for Bree’s birthday gift after that. I felt like I was walking on air for a while. I love compliments but am just not good at receiving them. The happiness didn’t last long though. I just can’t stop thinking that I will be in for a huge nasty surprise later on or that I must have misunderstood what they laid out. I guess I probably never fully recover from my nasty experiences of working for the two previous families from hell.

Off To School Stella Goes

It is now definite that Stella will not be returning for a 3rd year of Kindergarten, aka Pre-prep. She is definitely going straight to Prep. Other than her mum, no one (me included) ever expected Stella to stay for another year. She is absolutely more than ready despite her age. Born in April and being the youngest in her group, her mum was worried that she might not be able to cope socially by going to primary school next year. In recent years, I saw quite a few parents of children born between late December and late April freaking out and surrendering their child for an extra year at Kindergarten. As her nanny, I have not seen Stella struggling socially. What does a nanny know? Okay, her teachers reported that she fitted in very well in her group as well. Both her mum and I have been told by the teachers that Stella is a natural leader, capable of initiating group play and contributing ideas for group projects. She can focus for long periods when working independently and loves the company of others as well. Unlike Alexandra (a girl I used to look after), the teachers are not requesting Stella stay for another year, but they will support her mum’s choice if she insists.

No concrete decisions were made as to what will happen to Stella next year until recently. After the first week of returning to Term 4, her mum finally decided that Stella was definitely going to primary school next year. Stella is way ahead of her peers academically. To hold her back so that she can work on her phantom social problems is likely to also hold her back on things that she is extremely good at. Stella’s dad is not confident that the Kindergarten can offer a tailored programme to suit just Stella. He thinks that since she is already so far ahead of her peers now, the gap would be even wider next year. He told me the other day that Stella can’t possibly be the youngest child in Victoria to enter Prep. I reassured him by telling him of a boy (who is now a teenager) that I used to babysit occasionally. The boy’s birthday was right on the cut-off date. I don’t think he displayed Stella’s maturity at around that age. In fact, he was quite shy. Today, he is a confident guy doing well academically as well as in swimming and cricket.

Now that they have made the decision to move forward, they are looking at the list of schools that have offered their daughter a spot again. Stella has been going through the enrolment merry-go-round since she was barely one. Enrolling for the Kindergarten was easy because her parents only tried 3 facilities. Enrolling for primary school was a whole different ball game because they were keen to get her into popular schools that they believe will cater to her needs. For some schools Stella didn’t even get to the interview stage. Her name was placed on the waiting lists instead. For the schools that they successfully gained a spot, her parents have responded to a handful. They accepted before making their final decision. LOL. Their favourite is a famous girls’ school in Melbourne. If she goes there next year, Stella will be there till she finishes Year 12. Apparently, 2 other girls from Stella’s group are also heading to that school next year. Her parents are keen to place her in the boarding facilities from Year 7 so Stella can mingle with her peers on weekdays. Two of the other four schools offer an alternative education that appeal to Stella’s mum but her dad is not very keen. The last two options are also traditional private schools but they are located further away. One of these two is slightly alternative and both offer education up to Yr 12 but only one offers boarding facilities for older children.

Stella has since been told that she is going to primary school next year. On hearing the news, Stella couldn’t stop asking questions. She wants to go right away. She wants to visit. The majority of the children in her group at Kindergarten are going to two private schools nearby. Two trips have been organised for the children to visit the two schools. Stella already knew that she was going to neither of them and requested for a similar visit to ‘her’ school. The thing is that her parents have not made a final decision on which school as yet. I told her to enjoy visiting those schools. I asked her to check out the classroom and tell me about the teacher. Later, if her parents take her to visit the school they have chosen, I will ask her to see if the classrooms are similar to the ones she saw when she visited the other schools. I am pretty sure that her parents will have to decide on a school very soon. There are usually things to be done to prepare the little rookies and their parents for the first day of school life.

Sometimes parents choose to hold their children back for reasons that I do not agree. I have heard that boys have been held back because of their size. There is this ‘better be a bully than to be bullied’ mentality. If children are held back for an extra year, they will then be among the ‘oldest’ bunch in the playground when they enter Prep. The chance to be selected for sports like footy is also greatly enhanced for these boys in later years. However, I believe that this move may back fire later on because being older means that many issues that usually arise between Yr 7 and Yr 9 may be brought forward into the final year of primary school. I am not entirely against the idea because for some children, the option to delay is absolutely essential but decisions should not be made without careful considerations. Zoom out a little and look at the bigger picture. Avoid focussing on just the age of entry. Think also about the other end and the stages in the middle.

Note: At the time of posting this, Stella’s parents have finally picked a school. To protect the family’s privacy, the school’s identity will not be revealed here on this blog. It will be known simply as Stella’s school.

Bonnie’s Garage

I went over to Bonnie’s house this afternoon for the baby shower celebration. They have moved to this house only recently. Her type of house is the reason why I sometimes wish that I lived in a house. I like the fact that they have a garage. If I had a garage I could turn it into another room for extra storage. I don’t like renting a storage unit away from home. Imagine storing many of the things stuck in the spare room in the garage. It is impossible to do that for now because I live in an apartment complex. The car sits in the allocated spot in the garage shared by 20 other households. Bonnie’s husband carefully planned the space available inside their garage. He added some cabinets and shelves. He also made full use of the walls by adding two bike racks to hold their bikes and tool hangers for garden tools and household cleaning equipment. Everything is neatly stored. Bonnie actually wanted deeper shelves but if her husband went along with her wishes, she may have found it impossible to get out of the car once it was in the garage. She needs better access more than ever now that they are about to start transporting a little baby.

garage cabinets

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Laguna: Asian Grocery Store Hiding @ QV

My neighbour Winnie recommended Laguna to me. It is an Asian grocery store ‘secretly tucked away’ at the back of QV. I have been shopping for groceries at QV since Safeway opened its doors back in 2003. Until Winnie told me about Laguna, I used to go to an Asian grocery store on Russell Street in Chinatown whenever I felt adventurous enough to cook a Japanese meal. Yes, this nanny loves Japanese food. If there really is such a thing as reincarnation, I was probably Japanese in the past. LOL

It is kinda hard to explain online where Laguna is. It is located towards one of the Russell Street entrances to QV. From that entrance, one will have to walk up a flight of stairs. From the Swanston Street entrance (referring to the one next to the AFL), one should ride the escalators located next to Wagamama to the next level and then walk towards Russell Street. Take the ramp next to the lane leading to Russell Street to get to the shop. It is at the end of the ramp. To make matters worse, there is some kind of construction going on around there. The scaffolds further obstruct the view of the shop’s existence. If you get lost along the way, just ask one of the many Asian students. Winnie’s directions were confusing. I ended up asking an Asian guy who was heading there at the time.

Laguna is not a grocery store specializing in Japanese groceries only. From what I noticed, it sells groceries from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan and Thailand. It is interesting to see food items we don’t normally see at Safeway or Coles. Among the wide range of drinks is a drink in a can called Kickapoo. I always wondered who named it. LOL. There is also a big range of instant noodles. While I do not recommend them for daily consumption, I am in the process of trying all the different varieties on offer. I think I have tried more than 15 varieties so far and the truth is that I can’t remember which one is tastiest. I did find out however that the Maggi noodles from Malaysia taste different from the Aussie Maggi noodles! Winnie told me about this first but I didn’t take her word for it until I tried them for myself. Another item that I always buy from Laguna is the BBQ Pork buns. These are one of the many types of white buns served mostly in Yum Cha (Chinese) restaurants. The white buns I like are the ones stuffed with BBQ pork. They come in a pack of four and sometimes they are only around $5 for two packs. I don’t think you can eat straight from the pack. I never did. We steam them on the stove.

To those who enjoy cheap Asian migrant labour and their contribution but hate their cultural impact on the average Joe’s daily lifestyle, this grocery store is unlike those in Chinatown. There is nothing written in foreign languages externally to offend fussy people who walk by. In fact, most people walking by may not notice it because it is hiding. LOL. Believe it or not, there are actually people out there who complain about shopfronts with non-English displays. I just don’t understand how foreign languages can be offensive or unpatriotic. There is so much to find out. These people have heaps to show us. If you ever shop at Laguna, do pay attention to the music playing in the store too. No, they don’t play stereotypical classical music from Asia. They probably do but I have never heard it when I was there. They instead play pop music from many parts of Asia and this is probably because most of their customers are young university students. I even heard a rap-style song. LOL.

Laguna Shopping Tip #1: After selecting an item, always read the item’s price ticket that is usually stuck on the edge of the shelf to see if the price is lower if you buy multiple quantities of the same item.

NOTE: This nanny is not linked in anyway to Laguna. I wrote about them positively because I enjoyed shopping there. It is fun to write about places and things that I love.