Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar

In my adult life, there are 2 areas I suddenly find myself very ill-equipped and lacking knowledge in - dealing with pregnancy and parenting. During my first pregnancy, both husband and I were desperately browsing book shops, surfing the net, reading up and faithfully following "Super Nanny" on TV. My husband even bought 2 DVDs by Dr Harvey Karp - "The Happiest Baby" and "Happiest Toddler on the Block"; the latter was quite a favourite with toddler Peanut who enjoyed watching his contemporaries.

Now, there are a few precisous lessons which I learn and find very useful from "Super Nanny":

1. Be firm and consistent when setting boundaries

2. Spend dedicated time with each child - it makes him feel special and if I may add, do wonders in avoiding unnecessary attention-seeking mischief.

3. A rewards chart - a tool to achieve pre-set goals, will tell you more in another blog entry.

Am particularly religious with the 2nd lesson as Peanut is a sensitive kid. Every evening, or almost every evening, I'd spend individual time with each kid. And once a few months, we would have our special outings with Peanut alone - holiday trip to Hong Kong, dining out and recently attending a concert. I enjoy these outings as much as Peanut, especially the last.

It was a puppet show by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia from Canada, comprising of 3 stories illustrated by Eric Carle - The Little Cloud, The Mixed Up Chameleon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, especially for young kids. It had all the right elements - brightly coloured props and settings, lots of enthusiastic kids (who kept asking, "where's the caterpillar" throughout the 1st 2 acts, named every shape the clouds form and every animal that the Chameleon met at the zoo), engaging narration, interesting stories. They even had a Q&A at the end to explain how they work the puppets - so thoughtful; otherwise poor parents, like me, will be struggling to explain the intricacies of the art and trying to answer all the 'whys'!

Peanut enjoyed the performance so much that he kept asking to watch again. It was a huge improvement from his first concert attendance. Here are some photos from the Q&A. I was so engaged that I forgot to take photos of the earlier part on the caterpillar - alamak.

23 November

Someday ... in my twilight years, I hope to attend musicals and dance performances in the arms of a young man who not only do it because I ask him to, but because he truly enjoys the experience.