Learning the Alphabet

My family has Sri Lankan roots and we are deeply proud of our native language and traditions. Living away from Sri Lanka, we make an extra effort to follow customs and traditions. Our son will soon be turning three and traditionally the letters of the alphabet are introduced to a child before his third birthday, on a time auspicious to him. I have been looking forward to this ceremonious occasion – to add this special memory to our son’s life.

Like most of his peers, our son lives in a world of Wiggles and Sesame Street, so letters and numbers are already a part of his life. But I feel happy that there is a conscious and deliberate effort made to mark this special stage of his life where he will begin the life long journey of education. This day will be talked about many times in the years to come, like our parents have done with us.

As an international development worker, I reflect much on the fact that how privileged we are to routinely be offered an education when so many others around the world are either denied or have to struggle for it. As we get ready for this special day of our son, it gives me pause to appreciate the struggles of parents around the world who wish and work hard to educate their children.

I will share more about the ceremony in the coming days.

I would love to hear how you introduced the alphabet to your children and whether there was tradition that was followed.