after the rain

theatre again

As my three year old daughter becomes more cultural than her parents are, and when we suggested for her to go shopping with us she screamed back 'No! No shopping! I want to go theatre!!'  There was little else we could do but book another ballet show. This time we went to see 'Little Princess' - a nostalgia trip for me, as I still remember my mum reading this book to me when I was little girl.


The play was was very charming, Odessa loved it especially that this time it was children doing the dancing. And as if that wasn't perfect enough, her very much loved friend Lelia was sitting next to her. 


Below; some images taken after the show in front of Peacock Theatre in Archway - central London. 

hello kittens!

Odessa with two of five kittens born in my bedroom a few days ago. They are all ginger, healthy and brought lot's of happiness to our home. 
Odessa's names suggestions for them are: "Tiger", "Bear", "Four" (yes as in number 4!), "Leila's cat" and "Kitten"! 

  

I spy with my little eye ...Art!

'Picasso likes triangles' - said my three year old daughter to me this morning. And my heart sang!

And it is all thanks to those books.

Odessa is a logical thinker with a surreal sense of humour - she is not big fan of mixing paints and getting her hands dirty. The favourite thing she likes to draw is number '9' - because its 'a  circle with a leg'. She also likes "ssssss" (for snake) and "mmmm" (for mama). I decided to follow her recent number and letters obsession as well as introduce art to her from different perspective (at least that was the theory). 'I spy (...) in art' is perfect for it.

It's a series of books with famous paintings (representing different styles and periods) and interactive tasks like finding a word starting with a letter (for example, 'A' in Rene Magritte's 'Son of Man', or B for ball in in Henri Rousseau's 'Football players').  

 In the 'numbers' edition you need find particular amounts of an  object (like one fly, for example).

Reading them with your children is also great opportunity to introduce some of the biggest names in art and different styles. It might sound a bit heavy for a three year old, but it seems their brain at that stage can really process a lot of information Also, what I have learnt being a mum is that it's more important how you do things not what you do.

So use simple words like Picasso likes shapes or Chagall likes countryside and weddings - point out things they are familiar with and gradually introduce new elements. 

It has been an amazing experience looking at all those masterpieces through a little  child's eyes - it really allows  you to analyse them. And now I'm not sure who has learnt more - me or Odessa.

just before the rain

Ballet

And I finally did it! I bought Odessa her first ballet outfit. And now every single time I close my eyes I see pink - a very nasty side-effect :) 

Odessa has been doing ballet for a while now and they don't need to have a "full" outfit yet (only shoes), so I enjoyed dressing her in flowery tunics or long hippy skirts. Last Wednesday though she had her first little show and I thought would be sad if she was the only one without a ballerina look (I also noticed during classes her admiration of others girls' costumes).

So... the pink skirted leotard and the ballet shoes you see in the photos I bought from Sugarplum dancewear - a very pleasant online shop - fast delivery too.
The best thing about the shoes is the rabbit print inside them (of course)! It was just just meant to be...


It is actually her second pair of ballet shoes. I had to buy them again as I was crazy enough to let Odessa ride on her mini micro scooter wearing the first pair. Very bad idea - the shoes were ruined within five minutes. She did look damn cute on the yellow scooter wearing pink ballet shoes though (her Daddy is not impressed however)!


I would also like to explain why I send my daughter to ballet, and the reason is very simple - Odessa goes to ballet because she wants to. It makes her smile - neither of us is very serious about it. After all, she is only three years old.


Ballet is great for girls but there are 100 other things they can do instead if ballet is not what they want to do. I would really recommend not forcing your children into any activities.
At this early stage of development especially, their attitude towards learning is more important than than what they can actually do.
Trust your children and follow them rather than following the latest trends.


Odessa did very well at her first show... I can't really say what  they did (there was a lot spining and jumping around) but I very clearly remember how happy our daughter was.

it's all in the detail

'My necklace jumper' - it's how my daughter describes her favourite sweater (above).


I bought it a couple months ago from River Island and she has worn it regularly ever since. She wears it with jeans or skirts,  it goes together with just about everything, including her ballet outfit.


I love it myself it combines everything I like about children's fashion: simple design, gentle colour and beautiful detail.

River Island is not my usual choice for children's clothes (I discovered their kid's collection quite recently), but they are definitely worth checking out if, like me, you are bored with Next.    


  

Charley Harper Memory Game

My charity shop find of the month! A Charley Harper Memory Game for three pounds (I would pay more trust me). It's so beautiful and it puts huge smile on my face every single time I see it. It contains 36 pairs, which are far to many for Odessa's age group, but it doesn't matter - you can just chose few elements to play with your toddler and with time increase the number. I also play the memory game in other ways with my daughter: I put all the pieces showing the pictures and tell her to find the pair, and while she is looking and comparing I ask her lots of questions about the similarities and differences between them (and try to improve her vocabulary).  

 Charley Harper is (or rather was, as he sadly passed away) an  American artist fascinated with nature, particularly birds. His work is very simple and original I particularly like the way he is using colours. There are a few lovely children's products with his illustrations on the market available on Amazon.  

nostalgic

Science Museum - one more time

Kensington - walk to the Museum...Tim and Odessa, my two favourite people in the whole world.