Sunday 13 October 2019

Mulan, swim teacher

School holidays are almost at an end.  (Even though we homeschool, most of our activities follow the school term.)

During the first week of the holidays, Mulan was up early each weekday morning to catch the bus to work.  (I didn't go with her, thinking it better for her to do it herself.)

We'd arranged with our swim teacher, Jean from Swim Lovers' Swim School, for Mulan to start learning how to teach swimming.  So, Mulan was in the pool from 9 am to 11:45 am each day, observing alongside Jean and helping out.

It's early days yet, and Mulan still has several steps to take before she is independently teaching in the pool, but it was a great first time and we'll probably gradually ease into this over the next few years.

The thought is that eventually Mulan will be able to teach the preschoolers during the day in term-time.  And since Mulan is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Jean is keen to expand the business and have some swim classes taught in Chinese.

The main thing for Mulan to work on now is her communication.  Or to put this more precisely, at home Mulan is very good at communicating, loudly and dominantly.  But when she is out with others she is often very quiet.  (I was/am exactly like this, too.)

To be a successful teacher Mulan has got to get into the habit of thinking of teaching as a form of acting, where she presents herself to her students in a way that is not entirely her natural personality.  She has got to verbalise more, as well as smile and show excitement on her face.  (Internally she is enjoying herself, but sometimes she doesn't show it.)  This takes time, and it's a bit scary for those of us who are not naturally this way.  But I'm sure she will get there in the end.

In addition to the swim teaching, Mulan is also continuing to teach Mandarin Chinese here in our home to paying students.  For a few of Mama's preschool students, both Mulan and Miya work in our classroom as paid assistants.  Again, they are both gradually learning the teaching business and are steadily taking over leading the activities in the classroom, as well as lesson-planning beforehand.

Who knows if Mulan will become a professional teacher, but learning to teach now is all good.  It is a great skill to have, and is part of our homeschooler "socialisation" (!!).

(Miya also went with Mulan each day to the pool.  She had a 45 min lesson, and while out of the pool she had fun entertaining Jean's new dog.)