Dear parents, families and friends of Angsana Education,
Good bye 2021. We will all look back in wonder at this year.
Wonder may be defined as a feeling of amazement and admiration, something extraordinary, beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar. I think it is amazement that we are all still managing our lives in a pandemic, admiration at the resilience of our children, extraordinary and remarkable that we have changed our lives to respond to the conditions, beautiful that we have appreciated, seen and done things that we may have overlooked in our pre – pandemic lives and unfamiliar? …….I think we all know the drill now.
When I wrote last year’s December 2020 article I did not think we would still be talking about the Covid19 Pandemic in December 2021.
Indeed we, along with our children, families, communities and schools have endured more.
A recent UNICEF international study research paper reports that during the pandemic
- 1 in 5 young people aged 15-24 said they have been affected by depression.
- 1 in 7 was directly affected by lockdowns.
- 1.6 billion children suffered some loss of education.
Last year I posed a series of questions to ask your children about their year and how they and you managed a disruptive year.
So as we now look back in wonder, reflect on how our children may have coped /not coped, let’s review the following questions to ask your child in a quiet moment. Try to pick a time when you both feel relaxed, can breathe and reconnect. I find that a car trip is sometimes a good time. There are no right or wrong answers. Maybe you can both contribute and compare your answers? Maybe you could do it as a family?
Here we go ……..
- What were the best things about 2021? List as many as you can.
- What were the worst things about 2021?
- What did you do really well? (positive thinking)
- What did you not do well? How did you feel about this?
- What did you achieve? (positive thinking)
- What did you learn?
- What do you need to work on?
- What do you want to do next year?
Finally, look back in wonder but also look forward and celebrate our children knowing that they have strength and ability to thrive.
My best wishes to all parents, children and families. 2021 has been another unusual year of wonder but one that has taught us all much.
References
COVID 19 and Children – UNICEF data
https://data.unicef.org/covid-19-and-children/
I like this exercise from an article called Positive thinking and positive thoughts from the raising children website – read and see if it helps you.
and if you find the time to read ….last year I read a book by Australian author Geraldine Brooks “Year of Wonders” and was amazed at the parallels of life and times inspired by the true story of the plague in the village of Eyam in the England in 1666.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_Wonders
Mary Digges *
MDR Education
Early Childhood Consultant for Angsana Education.
* Mary Digges is an early childhood teacher, lecturer, trainer, assessor and consultant in education and has long promoted bilingual and multilingual education. Mary has worked in Australia, Singapore and China.
