Things change quickly with a little one. They change frequently, too. We’re coming out of a tough few months, where we were called to help a close family member and had to give up a lot of our own structure and routine. We just had seven consecutive days in our own home, which hasn’t happened since the beginning of November, and soon I think we might even just get a couple weeks in their entirety. I can’t wait.
What’s been going on with us during that time?
Bella’s gotten free access to water. We set up a water dispenser which drips onto an ice cream tub with holes punctured into it. This has worked remarkably well for us. She loves washing her hands, getting a glass of water, washing her toys, etc. It’s lovely. Yes, there’s some extra water on the floor these days, but that’s life.
After the water success, I decided to go the full Montessori and moved some of her art supplies in reach as well. This did backfire on me, when I walked into my kitchen to find crayon on the walls, but you learn. Particularly, you learn that WD-40 removes crayons from painted walls. I hope that Bella has learnt that we draw on paper, not walls. We’ll see how well that lesson has sunk in. However, I’ve been delighted at how often she reaches for her watercolour paints now that they’re in sight. She loves to dip her brush in the water in between each colour. She also received an easel for Christmas, so she can draw with chalks on the chalkboard whenever she fancies.
We’ve massively stepped up our efforts to be bilingual. I have been trying incredibly hard to speak more and more Bengali to Bella. Bengali is my parent’s language. I understand it fluently, but unfortunately my parents always prioritised English and so I never spoke it beyond the age of 3. I never learnt to read or write it. Bella and I have had a few great mornings where I think I’m hitting 95% of my speech being in Bengali (the 5% being words I don’t know). I’ve got a tutor that I see once a week, and I’m learning to read it too. Every morning, Bella hops into my bed and I read her some Bengali nursery rhymes before we get up. It’s a lovely way to start the day. We also watch occasional Bengali YouTube videos. We’re generally screen-free, but this is my one exception. I think it’s really important that Bella understands that Bengali isn’t just about me, but all these other people that speak it too. I’m still working on getting the grandparents to speak it more to her!
Whew! So there’s been a lot going on, despite not being at home! In my next blog I’ll talk about what’s coming up next for us.