Sunday 28 April 2013

Seven





Jaelyn turned seven this weekend.  For me, seven is right up there with all the other momentous ages one can attain.  For me, seven is when they are no longer babes, as evidenced by their graduation from the 0 - 6x section of the department store.  Seven is when style starts to be a wee bit more important, their minds start picking up more abstract ideas, and they are firmly growing roots into their own person.

In my little seven-year-old, I see sweet innocence and kindness, as well as a healthy dose of fearlessness and competitive spirit.  I see a girl growing strong in her beliefs and convictions, and a little one decidedly content to dance to her own drummer.  I see a girl with a playful glint in her eye, a quick wide smile, and compassion in her loving heart.  I've been blessed to have an intimate seat in watching her grow this past year.  She is exploring, experimenting and grabbing knowledge with gusto and enthusiasm.  She is a joy.

And how did my growing girl celebrate her birthday?  She spent time with family and with friends, playing games and enjoying her favorite foods.  She requested a fairy tale party with her friends, so we played a bit of dress-up, made crowns and read her favorite fairy tale (The Tinderbox, in The Oxford Treasury of Fairy Tales).  Not to miss out on the lovely sun shining down on us this day, we moved outside to enjoy a scavenger hunt for items found in fairy tales - everything from the Queen of Hearts to one of the three little pigs.  The children then chose which craft they would like to do - we offered making paint stick swords or making a bubble mixture and pipecleaner bubble wands (we used the National Wildlife Federation recipe found here - it worked fabulous).  Top it off with some cake, juice, and play time, and we had a very happy seven-year-old.

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