The baby dairies above 10 years

10 yr 10 months (May 2018): Freya really loves exams (NOT!). We have to often sign solemn treaties before she starts any online practice tests.

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10 yr 10 months (May 2018): Freya hates animal cruelty. She hates it when animals are harmed on screen, e.g. we recently watched the movie "Sholay", in which lots of baddies fall off horses when shot (and the horses fall too) - she kept on asking if the horses would have gotten hurt. And then this piece on silkworms.

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11 yr 3 months (Oct 2018): Freya has started to watch episodes of Hindi tele-series "Crime Patrol Dastak", which deals with how the Criminal Investigation Department cracks down on crime on the streets of Mumbai. Her question around the name Das-tak - "Is this because this serial finishes at 10 o'clock?"
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11 yr 4 months (Nov 2018): Ok, so we are speaking with Tanu masi to try and arrange for dates for when she can visit us in Melbourne. We suggest Labour Day long weekend in March 2019, so that we can spend time with Tanu. Around other news - it is election season in Victoria (24-Nov), with Labour, Greens and Liberals - all prominently in the news. So hearing about the Labour Day weekend, Freya is really concerned and says - But what if Labour party does not win in the election; if they do not, then won't the Labour Day holiday be cancelled?
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12 yr 1 month (Aug 2019). Here is a reproduction of an email from Freya (The 'I' in the text below is referring to Freya):

So I took this survey because the teaches in wellbeing told us to. It tells you all of your strengths, there are 24 so it tells you what is first and what is last. They say “Your lower strengths (those near the bottom of your profile) are not weaknesses. Instead, they are strengths that come less naturally to you and require more effort to use.” I completely DO NOT agree with that. There are some things on the list that there ABSOLUTELY should NOT be there. But enough introduction, here it is. Next to them I will include the definition that is written on the website. In red are my comments on them.

  1. Leadership - Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done and at the same time maintain good relations within the group; organizing group activities and seeing that they happen. I agree with this. How about you?
  2. Perspective - Being able to provide wise counsel to others; having ways of looking at the world that make sense to oneself/others.
  3. Social Intelligence - Being aware of the motives/feelings of others and oneself; knowing what to do to fit into different social situations; knowing what makes other people tick.
  4. Perseverance - Finishing what one starts; persevering in a course of action in spite of obstacles; “getting it out the door”; taking pleasure in completing tasks. In school or homework from school, yes. At home, no.
  5. Honesty - Speaking the truth but more broadly presenting oneself in a genuine way and acting in a sincere way; being without pretence; taking responsibility for one's feelings and actions.
  6. Bravery - Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain; speaking up for what’s right even if there’s opposition; acting on convictions even if unpopular; includes physical bravery but is not limited to it. I don’t know about this one.
  7. Humour - Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes.
  8. Teamwork - Working well as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the group; doing one's share. Yeah, I guess.
  9. Humility - Letting one's accomplishments speak for themselves; not regarding oneself as more special than one is.
  10. Kindness - Doing favours and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them. This is completely wrong and NOT true. I am not kind.
  11. Curiosity - Taking an interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; finding subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and discovering. Definitely not. Except the million questions I have every day.
  12. Forgiveness - Forgiving those who have done wrong; accepting others’ shortcomings; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful. Not a chance
  13. Love - Valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing & caring are reciprocated; being close to people. Not a chance either.
  14. Appreciation of beauty and excellence - Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in various domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience. Not a chance either either
  15. Hope - Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about. Sometimes…but only for chips or MacD
  16. Gratitude - Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks. Not a chance either either either
  17. Fairness - Treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice; not letting feelings bias decisions about others; giving everyone a fair chance. I don’t think I’m fair
  18. Prudence - Being careful about one's choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted.
  19. Judgement - Thinking things through and examining them from all sides; not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one's mind in light of evidence; weighing all evidence fairly.
  20. Zest - Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or half-heartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated. Lol…not doing things halfway or half-heartedly…that’s what you say to me every single day papa and I still don’t listen.
  21. Spirituality - Having coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe; knowing where one fits within the larger scheme; having beliefs about the meaning of life that shape conduct and provide comfort. Oooookaaay…?
  22. Creativity - Thinking of novel and productive ways to conceptualize and do things; includes artistic achievement but is not limited to it. Not a chance either either either either
  23. Self-regulation - Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling one's appetites and emotions. Definitely not controlling my appetite!
  24. Love of learning - Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one's own or formally; related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows. Haha I love how this is last because it is so so so true!! Lol
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14 yr 10 months (May 2022): Arrrggghhh. Hindi is so confusing! 
So Freya is currently finishing grade 6 Hindi through her Indian text books. She nails it with similar sounds words (not really!). The English words below is what Freya thinks the words to the left mean. (The words in brackets is what she is confusing them with!)      
परीक्षा - wait (प्रतीक्षा)
गेरुआ - Tortoise (कछुआ)
शरद - bet (शर्त )
स्वार्थ - tasty (स्वाद))
संदेह - order (आदेश )
ढोंग - तरीका (ढंग )
व्यग्र - tree (वृक्ष)
अन्तर - inside (अंदर)
अनुशासन - throne (सिंहासन)
सार - everything (सारा )
भवन - future (भविष्य )
वायु - age (आयु )
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