A father reflects on his daughter’s year of momentous growth

 

 

I think she has made rapid progress. She has become much more independent since enrolling at Wellington. She can even read by herself. Now she always says, “I want to do this by myself.” Before she joined the Early Years Centre, she always asked for help: “Can you do this for me? Can you do that for me?” But last year, we observed her behaviour every day. She is so happy and courageous. She is not afraid to try new things she is not familiar with. She is not afraid to join other people's conversations.

Last year, the Early Years Centre celebrated Chinese New Year, and the children did a group performance. There was singing and dancing, and we could see on her face that she was really enjoying it. She did all these moves very smoothly and confidently. And I was thinking, "Hey! Yeah, you are kind of a big girl?” It was really an emotional moment for us.

Every child is a gift to the family, and I think everybody has a kind of talent. And now, will sometimes sing by herself. Not in front of us. Even if we encourage her to sing. She won’t do that. But she will sing solo when she doesn’t think we’re around. And when she hears a song or sees somebody dancing, she can follow it. I think this is her hidden potential.

Yes! Having a strong network of friends is important, and we have this in the Early Years Centre. We talk about what is going on with our children, what they are learning, how they are growing. We celebrate their achievements together. We share reading recommendations. It has become a very important part of our life!