Calvin will be turning 6 very soon. Sometimes I just can’t believe he has grown so much. He is rather tall for his age and is already up to my chest level. He always tell me “mum, I am going to be taller than you soon!”. I think he is right.
Besides going to school everyday for the last 2.5 terms of school, Calvin has also been attending gym and soccer classes weekly for this term. Where’s swimming? Well, we thought we’d give him a break from it since his school has swimming lessons this term for 2 weeks, and it also gives him a chance to learn something new. Soccer was his obvious choice, mainly because he loves kicking ball and running. The soccer class involves a lot of running – about an hour of it — and the boy simply loves it! He really tries his best to run fast. As fast as he can. He does have the speed, but he doesn’t look where he is going! 🙂 Two of his classmates are also in the same class and that’s added bonus for him to want to join. And so, I have become one of the so-called “soccer-mums”. 🙂 Basically, I stand in the field, holding his drink bottle and wait for his drink break. 🙂 That’s all I do unless Athan comes along. When Athan is with me, I end up running around the field with the boy which is quite good exercise for me, I have to say. I hope Calvin will keep up with his interest and learn to play a team sport when young. I believe it will do him some good as he is very competitive and cannot accept defeat. As for gym, it is mainly because I think it will help Calvin with his coordination and confidence. He seems to like it so far.
Calvin is a thinker, sometimes. The other day, we had this conversation with him out of the blue:
Calvin: Mama, how can God be in the centre?
Me: What do you mean?
Calvin: Um…How can God be everywhere at the same time? Is he here now? Is he in the room?
Athan: Is he in the aeroplane?
Calvin: Is God at the airport and in Singapore?
Me: Yes, God is everywhere, in the room, here and aeroplane, airport and Singapore.
Calvin: How?
Me: Do you remember how we read that God is invisible because he is a spirit?
Calvin: Yes, but how can he everywhere?
Robin: Because God is powerful, remember?
Calvin: Who gave God the power?
Me: Ask papa! *At this point, I really am not sure how to answer the boy!*
Robin: No one gave God the power, Calvin. God has the power all the time.
Calvin: But how? Did God give the Son power and then who gave God power?
Me: Calvin, remember how God has no beginning and no end? God has the power with him all the time. No one gave him.
Robin: You have asked very difficult questions, Calvin. Maybe you are not ready to understand the answer, but remember that God has always been there and will always be. Hopefully when you grow up, you will understand better.
Calvin: OK.
It is good that he is asking such questions as it shows that he is thinking. However, I also find it hard to give him answers that he can understand. May God give us the wisdom.
Calvin has also recently received a “Honour Certificate” at school! He received his certificate from the principal at their fornightly assembly. He was so proud and so were we. 🙂 And, next week, he is “star of the week” in his class! The children each take turn to be the “star” when they have shown good behaviour and manners e.g, being friendly, taking turns, sharing and helping each other. I have to say I am happy for my little boy.
We managed to pursuade the father to have a roster turn to help out in the class! Robin had his turn to help in the class not too long ago. He was quite hesitant at first, but at the end of the day he felt the time spent worthwhile. He had the opportunity to help the kids to work on a craft and more importantly see how Calvin behave in class. He also had an opportunity to talk to the teacher about Calvin, in particular on how the boy is faring academically. Apparently, Calvin has become more confident this term. He has shown confidence in his speech as well as making friends. He is also getting better with his writing and drawing. There is still lots of room for improvement, but at least he has shown more interest as compared to the beginning of the year. Thank God.
Calvin responds a lot better to positive encouragement. And so, I have to make it a point to be kind with my words when coaching him with his school work. One thing that has helped him improve his writing skills is writing letters to his cousin in Singapore. At my sister’s suggestion, Calvin and his cousin have been writing letters to each other since beginning of the year. Calvin’s first letter to the cousin was a short few sentences and as time passed by, the letters have become 2-page long! He looks forward to receiving letter and replying. I should help him keep that going. 🙂
The other day, Athan and his dad found a dragonfly sitting on the wall at our backyard. Being the curious boy that he is, Mr A asked the father a series of questions about the insect. The father tried his best to answer the boy and they decided to take some pictures to show me and Calvin — how thoughtful! 
