more on sena

the other day, while in the car, sena asked me: mama, do dogs have gas?
i said, yes, they do, just like people.
then she was thoughtful, and after a moment she said: does it come out of their butt or their tail?
it was sweet and funny, and it made perfect sense to me how she came to her question....

on a different topic:
yesterday, sena got her graduating certificate from her first swimming class (water adjustment). she is very excited about it, and keeps looking at it.
she loved the class, but her approach to it was different than the other kids, and quite interesting. it was also misleading, mainly for the teacher.

at first, she wanted nothing to do w the teacher, or the class in general. she stood outside the pool the whole time, while the other kids were in the water following the teacher's instructions (there were 6 kids in the class). the teacher called out to her repeatedly, but each time, sena turned away, or at best acknowledged her by saying no. so she seemed uninterested and uncooperative.

ed and i knew that sena does not follow instructions from a person, unless she's very comfortable and trusts that person. we also knew that although she seemed to be learning nothing, she was taking it all in.

after 3 classes of standing outside the pool, seemingly disinterested, one evening after class, she submerged herself under the water and started to swim. she needed ed or i to be there to help her come out when she ran out of air, but other than that, she was doing it on her own. ed and i encouraged her a lot, and her teacher, who happened to pass by the pool was amazed. after that, she basically took off, and became almost fearless in the water. she also became very different in class, always sitting herself right in front of the teacher, and wanting to be first to do whatever the teacher wanted them to practice.

to me, this is not surprising bc i know that it's sena's way of learning. she needs time to observe and become comfortable in the situation at hand, but when she's ready, watch out. i think that it's important to honor each person's individual style of learning; unfortunately, a lot of people expect kids to confirm to a model of learning they consider "normal"; the substitute teacher, for example, who led sena's class one time, said to sena "you're not going to learn anything", frustrated that she could not get her to follow her instructions. i think she meant well, but was a bit misguided as to how different kids can be in learning something new.

so sena' s really comfortable in the water now, and she's so proud of her "diploma", and can't wait to go swimming again. aiyana's following suite, becoming more and more comfortable in the water and trying her own moves.

peace