Pressure or Excellence?

Supergirl: 5-year-old, Queens, N.Y. prodigy can speak seven languages, play six instruments


BY Erica Pearson; DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER - Sunday, May 15, 2011


Seven languages. Six musical instruments. Two types of dance and two sports. It all adds up to one busy little Queens girl.

Five-year-old Mabou Loiseau's parents spend $1,500 a week on tutors and lessons - and she spends seven hours a day in some type of instruction, with Sundays off.

She grew up speaking French, Creole and English, but her immigrant parents didn't want to stop there. She's also learning Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic and Russian.

"Russian is my most favorite. I just hear something, and if I don't understand I say, 'What does that mean?' and they'll tell me," said Mabou, whose Laurelton house is plastered with flashcards in different languages.

She can sing her ABCs in Spanish, count in Mandarin, read fairytales in Russian, and already has an ambitious list of career goals.

"I want to be a firefighter, and I want to be a doctor, and I want to be a dancer, and I want to be a princess," Mabou said with a smile, sitting shyly on her mom's lap. "And I want to be an actor, and I want to be a musician, and I want to be a singer, and I want to be a veterinarian, and I want to be a mom."

Mabou has her own dance studio with a mirrored wall where she learns tap and ballet. Her mom recently got rid of the kitchen table to make room for a full-size drum set. She's also learning to play the harp, clarinet, violin, guitar and piano. When she's not taking ice-skating or swimming lessons.

"All the sacrifices in the world for her," said her mom, Esther Loiseau, a piano teacher who taught French at an American school before leaving Haiti for Queens 15 years ago. "Furniture is not important. Education is."

Loiseau, 47, said friends and neighbors were initially shocked that she was starting Mabou on such a regimen so early - instead of just letting her be a kid. "But I make sure I leave enough time for her to play," Loiseau said. "All she knows is learning. What becomes fun for someone is what they know."

Loiseau tells the tutors to play with Mabou, speaking in their native language, for half of the lesson. They spend the other half reading, writing and practicing vocabulary.

She said a sure way to make the opinionated only child behave is to threaten to cancel one of her lessons - especially Russian.

"It's a great experience for me, honestly. A lot of even adult people can't understand what she does," said Rogneda Elagina, 24, Mabou's Russian tutor. "We like to read together ... we started with the alphabet and connecting letters, and now she can read real folklore."

Mabou's dad works 16 hours a day as a parking attendant in Manhattan to pay for everything, and the Loiseaus have also started hosting other students for classes at their house.

The proud parents homeschool Mabou but found out last week that she scored in the 99th percentile on the city test for gifted and talented schools.

"Honestly, I just want to open doors for my daughter," said Loiseau. "She is really my princess."

******************************

What do you think ladies? 

What are your limitations?

There is nothing more frustrating to me like seeing a Christian that is not living out their full potential in God. This is one of the reasons I believe, why the Christian experience for some is boring, old and stale. What is it for some Christians that hold them back from being who they are TRULY supposed to be? And doing what they are created to do? There is totally more to you than just who you see! Fear: Some of us are just afraid of making the step. We know what we are supposed to do but we simply lack the faith to carry out the course of action. Maybe we fear that we will lose other things that we have already started, or lose other things that we do have control over. Self-Consumption: Some of us get so tied up in ourselves that we lack the freedom to be released into our God-given ministry. We get so consumed with our relationships, our economic status, our single living, our titles at work, our marital status, our different responsibilities, our roles in our families etc. that we fail to see anything else beyond those very moments we are in. Perfection: Some of us are waiting for the perfect day to step out of our caves a.k.a. comfort zones. We will not make a move until everything on our to-do list is fulfilled: we cannot afford to make a mistake, so we spend a long time anticipating the day of perfection. Or maybe we have all the plans set out: all our ducks are in one row; our mission statements & visions are written out, bound and framed; and all we need is the perfect day to start! Luke 19:13 - Occupy till I come If we are not doing what we need to be doing, then the scripture above will be in vain. The bible clearly tells us what to do until the Lord comes again. But somehow we feel that His return is in the far future, when on the contrary, it’s nearer than ever! Wherever you are right now, although it is a good place, is merely a stepping stone to a greater place in God. The higher we get in God, the closer we are in completing our walk with God. It’s like a ladder of continuous progression. My only prayer for us is that we are always going up, and not the other way around! It’ll be sad to die today, go to heaven (hopefully, for us all), and discover that you hadn’t finished your duty on earth. We need to come out of our shells, snap out of the moment, and get to work! Consider after getting that promotion at work, and then neglecting the very job that promoted you. Or after getting married, and then neglecting the work of the very God that gave you the married life. Or after buying that dream house, and then all you do is live in it (day in, day out) and never do anything with the house that God gave you. No one else will do your job but you! It’s time to wake up ladies! The word of God in Luke 19:13 requires of us to be busy with ourselves, to get into business, to do the things that really matter, to work with practice, to accomplish tasks, to collect dues, to commit to work, to carry out deeds, to do exactly what we need to do, to occupy and occupy repeatedly and regularly. AMEN!