Hitting the tennis ball

Marian is hitting the tennis ball very well. Although it is a tennis ball on a string. It is quite remarkable how the ball flies off the racket. She is better than me at transferring her body weight into the ball. I have this awful habit of relying on the strength of my arm whereas with Marian, she has a proper back swing and follow through. All the more remarkable when she has only seen me hit the ball. How on earth could she have picked up this swing?

Climbing up the slide

Marian has been trying to climb up the slide for a very long time and she has finally conquered it two days ago. I am not often very proud of Marian but on achieving this, I was pretty proud. I could see how much skill was involved. The way she moved her feet and hands at the right time. The way she judged the lack of friction on her feet, adjusted her position and waited for the right moment to move her hands up. This is not something I taught. Children pick up these things so easily.

There was an older boy who (just about did it) had not seen Marian do it and was announcing that she is too young to do it. I had to say that she can.

Recognising the planets

Marian can point to the correct planet when I mention the name from the diagram in the atlas. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. I have tried it in a random order as well. In the same book, there are some pictures of galaxies which she has also taken an interest. I should show her some more detailed pictures.

"I don't need this"

Marian scratched me on my face and I showed her I was in pain. She did not come forward so I said you should say sorry. She looked away and said sorry. I said she should look at me when saying sorry. Then she muttered "I don't need this". I don't think she meant anything bad by it. She is learning about constructing sentences.

Dictionary and maps

Marian likes to read dictionaries and maps. With the dictionaries, she is only learning the letters. With the map, I tell her where Abeonim and Omeonim live, and where Ojisan lives. She is also taking an interest in astronomy. When she saw the solar system, she wanted to know the names of the planets.

Fussy

Marian can be very fussy. An example is with some curtains. When I close the curtains, if there is even a slight gap, she has made it a habit to notify me. Another example would be food on the plate. If a certain food is placed on a certain part of the plate is about to be replenished, she would like it in the same place.

Gochisousama

When Marian was eating a meal, she did not particularly fancy finishing the meal. So she said gochisousama (the usual thing to say at the end of a meal like jalmogosumnida in Korean). I am sure every time Marian has heard this phrase, it is when all the food has been eaten up. She has used the phrase to prevent any more food being put into her mouth.

Warning of impending wetness

The other day, I was in the playground with Marian. She wanted to slide down the big slide but it was too wet and I did not have anything to wipe it dry. She was playing nearby and saw another child about to slide down. She warned the child that the slide is wet.