March 2021 – Xiaojia Blog

Before Isabel was three years old, a poster of “A Lady Writing a Letter” was hung up in our living room. Every time I pointed to the painting and told her that the painter was Vermeer. And I taught her to identify Vermeer’s most distinctive color yellow.

At that time, a poster of Klimt was hung on the wall of the dinning area. I pointed often to this painting and told her that the painter is Klimt. I watched Klimt’s album with her together to make her aware of the difference between gold and yellow. After she became acquainted with many colors, she made it clear for the first time that one of her favorite colors was gold.

Before the age of seven, I took her to the Mauritius Huis Museum in The Hague three times and saw the original “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. When she saw this painting for the first time, I let her guess whether the painter was Vermeer or Klimt. She chose Vermeer without hesitation and confirmed it three times. She also explained that Klimt likes to use gold. It seems that the aesthetic education that Isabel received before the age of three has paid off.

In my another article “A Story Triggered by A Few Silk Scarves” wrote that Isabel liked to use silk scarves to make her own design works when she was three. Sometimes she could play with these scarves for hours. When she was 7 years old, one day she was focused on her painting. I suddenly discovered that her outfit was full of style. I quietly picked up the camera and whispered to her. She looked back with a calm and peaceful expression. I pressed the shutter without hesitation, and then I couldn’t help but laugh. This independent design image is truly amazing! She is combining the essence of Vermeer’s different paintings. It is estimated that her creative inspiration comes from her early memories.

It takes time and effort to cultivate the recognition and taste of beauty. In the process of training, we often do not see obvious large-scale. Unknowingly infiltration is a long-term operation, in anytime and anywhere. I also mentioned infiltration education in my other “Teddy Bear Hospital”. The important thing is that you need to have a pair of eyes that are good at observing. Otherwise you will miss a lot of subtle and random behaviours and works. Never expect short-term effects. Be patient and diligent. The final results are often surprising.

Today, I went to the pharmacy to fetch the medicine. When I was waiting, I saw the children’s cough drops on the shelf. And suddenly I remembered the first time Isabel took medicine. When she was two years old, we took her to Beijing to visit my family. That was the third time she went to China. She started coughing when we was about to return to Europe. The doctor gave her a bottle of cough-relieving medicine. The task to persuade her to take medicine was handed over to my father (her grandpa). For to eat and to drink has never been a difficult task since Isabel was born. But she seems to realize that taking medicine is a different challenge.

Grandpa was more than patient like always: “Isabel, shall we take the medicine?”
Isabel: “Maybe not?”
Grandpa: “You will feel better after taking the medicine.”
Isabel: “Maybe not!”
Grandpa: “Take three spoons, then you can eat a fruit candy.”
Isabel: “Two spoons!”
Grandpa: “You need to take three spoons.”
Isabel: “One!”
Grandpa: “Only three spoons.”
Isabel: “Fruit candy first.”
Grandpa: “Take the medicine first, then the fruit candy.”
Isabel: “One spoon!”
Grandpa: “Three spoons.”
Isabel: “Two spoons?”
Grandpa: “Three spoons, you will finish quickly.”
Isabel: “Eat fruit candy first, right?”
Grandpa: “You will be happier if you take the medicine first and then take the fruit candy”
Isabel: “The fruit candy is delicious.”
Grandpa: “…”
Isabel: “…”

On the other side of the living room, I listened to their soft-conversation and slow bargaining. Surprisingly the endless circles made me not irritable, but fascinated me. They talked back and forth gently for more than ten minutes. Finally they happily completed the task.

Looking back on it, I still can’t stop laughing. The patience of an adult can definitely affect a child’s reaction. In fact, for the impact on adults is the same. Later, every time Isabel needed take her medicine, we replayed the discussion between her and grandpa. Of course she couldn’t stop laughing too.