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An original Christmas present Give a memory and a thank you
We received a “patron”, a “gift”. It was in the summer during a family trip with the kids. Our children, just like all the others, got a secret “patron”, who sent them a thank you note for something every single day. Every evening, before we went to sleep,…
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Bob the Builder or Thomas the tank engine? Give your kids a choice and it will be your way.
Kryštof (2,5 year old) would prefer to run around naked or at least without socks. In the summer, this doesn’t matter, but in the winter it’s not very suitable even at home… He will put on a shirt, underwear even pants without a problem, but we have discussions ab…
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A good game Unconditional self-acceptance
There was an air of concentrated silence while they were playing chess. After every three moves they turned the chess board around to make the game more balanced and they did this over and over again. The player on one side was the father and on the other side his small …
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The symphony of the wheat field When we listen to children.
It was August and the sun was shining down on our backs. The gentle air was blowing into our hair. We were coming back home from a trip and there was only two of us. Me and Kryštof. It was a rare moment when we were enjoying each other, all the others either in front of…
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Power of emotion. Let us share our feelings with them.
It was a strong blow. The impact thrust them away from each other onto the ground, followed by crying which was audible across the entire cafeteria. Classic. They run like mad and then they really do run into each other. Both of them ran to their mothers and poured out t…
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(Un)sure-step boots natural consequences of behavior
It was seven in the morning on Wednesday and the temperature in Ostrava was 23 degrees Celsius (74 Fahrenheit) in the shade. Eliška, my five year old daughter, decided that she would go to preschool in winter boots with a thick pelt. At first I had a monologue about how…
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What is just, doesn’t always have to be right To each according to his needs
I am standing in the kitchen cooking and suddenly I hear in a piercing voice from the table: “But you have more crayons than me! That’s unfair; I want to have just as many.” I glance over and see a struggle beginning over crayons. Kryštof is attempting to capture …
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Leaving of Václav Havel Kryštof says his goodbyes
On 18 December 2012, the first Czech president Václav Havel, former dissident, passed away. We silently contemplated the emptiness this left in our hearts. Even though our kids were crawling around, I turned on the funeral broadcast. I wanted to watch the conveyance…
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An Auntie from Neverland a real present
We were awaiting the arrival of our auntie. The kids were impatiently listening to anything audible and were alert, prepared to open the door and jump into their auntie’s arms. The door bell rang, the door opened and the auntie was assailed by cries: “Surprise!”, …
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No two wheels are alike let us describe what we see, let's do not judge and praise
Kryštof was about two years old. He came to me to show me his newly drawn picture, in which were two wheels of different sizes and some strange curve. It was a car. I wanted to support Kryštof, compliment his picture so I told him: “That’s a nice car, you did well.…