Parenting Times

Happy Water Dragon Year 2012

2012-01-20T08:16:00.002+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year to all the visitors of this blog. The kids will be off for a week and daddy will be off for two so mummy will be too busy to blog. So looks like mummy will be having a blog vacation too by default. Will be back soon!

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Cliques and Ostracism in School

2012-01-18T10:52:00.001+08:00

My girl is 10 years old. Yesterday she told me that she was shown a “set of rules” by a classmate. You must follow these rules or I won’t be your friend. The rules include…

must have facebook account
must be Chinese

My Goodness! What sort of rules are those! They are outright horrible. I told my girl that these were very bad rules and she does not have to follow them.

At the moment, the situation is not serious as she is not really being ostracised but the thought did cross my mind that it may be a potential problem because my girl is rather timid and straight.

What would you say to my girl if you were me?

Communicating with Children

2012-01-16T08:52:00.001+08:00

Kids, especially young kids communicated differently from us adults. Sometimes they find it hard to verbalize how they feel. In this case, you have to find other ways to try to understand on they feel. For a younger child, perhaps you could give them a piece of paper and tell them to …

“Draw me a picture of how you feel today”

For an older child, you could give them a piece of paper and ask them to…

“Write down how you feel today”

You may be surprised or amused to see the results.

I remember, how quickly time has passed. Last year, my boy was sick and hospitalized for a week after Chinese New Year. When he was discharged and came home, he was so happy but he didn’t say (verbally in words) that he was happy. He made little cards, stuffed them into angpow papers and gave one each to all the family members. In it, he drew pictures of the sun shining and birds flying in the sky and he wrote….

“I am happy today. The sun is out. It is a nice day.”

For my son, it is very easy to communicate with him because his love language is touch. All I need to do is give him a cuddle and he is happy.

For my daughter, her love language is quality time. To communicate effectively with her, I have to really listen to her with no distractions. Then she feels loved and contented.

I think we have to understand our children, listen and talk to them in the manner in which they are most comfortable in, in order to communicate effectively with them.

Popular Chinese New Year Songs

2012-01-13T09:42:00.001+08:00

Since Chinese New Year is just round the corner, here are a few Popular Chinese New Year Songs to get everyone in the mood. These were listed on YouTube as Chinese New Year Songs 2012 but they are actually evergreen and very popular Chinese New Year songs that most Chinese are familiar with. The kids will surely love to hear this. Here is the song list and links to the pinyin version in case you don't know Chinese like me but still feel like singing along. ;)

1. 贺新年 (New Year Wishes) by Timi Zhuo/Zhuo Yi Ting - He Xin Nian PinYin Lyrics

2, 恭喜发财 (Congratulate You With Prosperity) - Gong Xi Fa Cai Pinyin Lyrics (or the Dong Dong Dong Chiang song as I call it) :P

3. 新年歌儿大家唱 (Everyone Sing New Year Songs) - Can't seem to find the lyrics to this Xin Nian Ge Er Da Chia Chang Song but the Chinese lyrics in the video is easy enough to follow if you can read some kindergarten Chinese. ;)

4. 大地回春 (The Return of Spring) - Huan Ying Da Di Hui Chun Pinyin Lyrics

Lastly, for those who can read Chinese, there is this lovely printable Chinese New Year Songbook. The pinyin in it does not seem quite correct, that is why I am not recommending it for English readers but kids in Chinese schools should like this one.

One other thing, I love this list of most famous Chinese New Year Songs. Great list.

2012 is Year of the Dragon. Check out my Squidoo Lens for all things dragon.

Threaded Commenting is now available for Blogger Blogs

2012-01-12T11:41:00.001+08:00

Threaded Commenting is now available for Blogger Blogs and my blog has a new look because of that. Yes, I'm crazy like that. Changed my look just to get threaded commenting up and running.

I was still using the old Blogger because I did not want to go through the hassle of moving and updating all my old customization. It is such a lot of work. Another reason is because this is my ‘best performing’ blog under Adsense for some reason which I don’t know so I did not want to do anything to change that! The other blogs earns almost nothing from Adsense.

However, its 2012. I can’t put it off any longer. More and more goodies are now available to Blogger users. I had all the while been sitting back in the side lines looking on unable to enjoy the updates. So finally, I have gotten round to doing it.

Now I can enjoy threaded commenting, turn on my blog for mobile view and a host of other things I could not do before. Adding scripts and other stuff is so easy now. However, I am glad that I started blogging before they made things so user friendly. That way, I learned many things. I learned some html and how to change my template and layout directly. It was a good thing, really.

In case you are interested, here is how to turn on threaded commenting for Blogger. While, you're at it, you might just want to turn on the mobile template for your Blogger Blogs. My blog looks great on the mobile phone now. Have a look at it from your mobile and check out the look.

Now all I have to do is keep my fingers crossed that my Adsense earnings will not be affected. In with the new and out with the old. Did a little spring cleaning for my blog while I was at it. Happy 2012 and Happy Chinese New Year to Parenting Times and to all readers of this blog. Thanks for your support. It's been a blast and still is. I enjoy blogging now as much as I did when I started in 2004.

Dealing with a preteen or tween

2012-01-10T07:42:00.001+08:00

My preteen or tween as they call it, the ages before turning into a full fledged teenager or teen has been driving me crazy.

Kids these days do grow up really fast. My preteen at home is showing signs of growing into a teen fast! Dealing with a preteen or tween is becoming rather challenging.

At the moment she is on a confessing spree. After confessing to me about how she had stolen my small change recently. She has gone on to confess about more ‘crimes’ she has done. Worse still, she picks the most inappropriate times for her confession.

I may be absorbed in doing something else when all of a sudden she will go “mummy, I………… last year.” Yes, the crimes she confess to did not happen an hour ago or not even yesterday or last week. Most of them happened a year or two ago!

So far she has confessed to rubbing off her brother’s homework, copying a friend’s spelling, checking the answers in her workbook when doing work, looking at answers in the reference book during spelling, stepping on a classmates artwork……

I find it really challenging to deal with this. It makes me fume up. When she does this, I can feel my stress level shoot up, not to mention my temper and frustration. Help!

Standard 4 workload

2012-01-06T07:57:00.001+08:00

My girl is in Standard 4 this year. She’s got a brand new school bag to carry her books to and from school. She used her old one for three years. Not bad considering the weight it had to carry and the way she dragged it up and down the stairs. Bumpity. Bump. Bump!

My girl is fond of taking her books to and from school. She does not like to leave her books in her desk like most other kids do because she is afraid she may forget to bring work home.

She has 10 sometimes 11 periods of lessons in a day. Some of the lessons are double lessons i.e. back to back periods for a subject. She may have up to 6 textbooks and workbooks to carry for 1 subject. Then there are the exercise books. Each subject may have 3 or more exercise books. Some teachers tell them which books to bring on which day. For those which don’t, she will bring all of her books in a given day.

In standard 3, she had to study the three languages, Chinese, Malay and English plus Maths and Science and Moral besides Art and Physical Education. This year she has 3 new subjects. They are Kajian Tempatan, Kemahiran Hidup and Pendidikan Sivik dan Kewarganegaraan. She tells me she has to carry 6 more books for these 3 subjects.

Then there is the Maths and Science in English books. Last year she was handed the books, then told to return them and later was given the books again. Altogether, another 6 books. She will now learn Maths and Science in English AND Chinese for a while longer. Her class teacher will teach her Maths and Science in English ‘when she has the time’.

That’s it then. Good luck school bag. I hope you can withstand the extra weight and burden this year. Good Luck dear girl. I hope you can take the extra lessons in stride. Good Luck teacher, I hope you will not be too stressed up and take it on the kids. Good Luck Parents, I hope you won’t have more white hair guiding your kids.

Back to School

2012-01-05T07:24:00.000+08:00

The kids go back to school yesterday. Lots of back to school dramas. The girl suddenly remembered her school crime last year when she saw her wallet. She remembered that she had stolen mummy’s small change from mummy’s coin box and bought some forbidden drinks with it at school (not less than 5 times! according to her) and confessed in fear and tears.

Naturally she got disciplined for it. Stealing is a No-No! It also makes us wonder where we went wrong. Were we too strict with her? too lenient? We questioned ourselves. Then we went through the other worry stages that a parent goes through.

Anyway, that's been resolved, I hope. She knows its wrong. She won’t do it again. She was honest enough to confess. She got punished for it but at the end of the day, she knows that we are very unhappy with her but we still love her despite our unhappiness. Hopefully, we got all the right messages though to her.

As for the boy, he said “Mummy, I’ve got a lot of naughty friends in school but I won’t become naughty if I mix with them. I will teach them not to be naughty when they are doing bad things.” When the girl asked him how he will teach them, he said “When they are doing bad things, I will say “HEY…..”

On the first day of school, the girl discovered that she had the same strict teacher from last year and the boy cannot remember his new teacher’s name.

The school came up with all sorts of parking and picking up kids rules and regulations.

The kids received more new books and their new time table. So on the second day, their bags are back to the weight of a tonne of stones again. They got a notice about Chinese New Year holidays and the girl has homework on the first day of school.

Yup! Back to school… Back to drama.

Kids Craft - How to Make Your Own Mini Kite

2011-12-06T16:38:00.001+08:00

My girl loves kites. She can't get enough of it. We bought her a plastic kite, however we don't always have the time to take her to the park to fly it. The park is always packed and the kite sometimes gets in the way of joggers and other people at the park who gets annoyed. Once the kite strings got in the way of a jogger and you should have seen the killer look she gave my girl. I know it was our fault but still, she's only a little girl.

My girl resorted to 'flying' her kite in our tiny porch. Of course it couldn't fly but she was happy enough to run round and round with it, imagining that it was taking flight at great heights. I was afraid that the kite would destroy my neighbour's flowers which were hanging over our adjoining wall, so for a school holiday project, we made a mini kite for her to fly around in the comfort of our own home. She can even 'fly' it indoors.

Here's what you need to make your own mini kite for kids.

1. Paper - Preferably light enough to 'fly' but solid enough to hold up
2. Straws
3. Double Sided Tape
4. String
5. Scissors

Here's how to make your own mini kite for kids:

1. Cut 2 triangles. One for the kite. Another smaller one for the rudder. Cut one more tiny rectangular piece of paper for securing the kite down onto the rudder.
2. Tape two drinking straws in a cross.
3. Tape the bigger triangle over the cross
4. Tape the smaller triangle on the front of the bigger triangle with double sided tape to form a rudder (Please note that the double sided tape I had in my picture is not suitable as it was too thick. Fortunately, we have the very thin double sided tape which was also more sticky at home. Use those.)

How to make your own mini kite for kids - Further instructions:

5. Decorate the tail by sticking colored strips of paper on the kite with double sided tape
6. Tape the string of the kite onto the rudder with double sided tape. Place the string on the rudder, then tape it down with double sided tape, one side facing the string and secure it with another side of the double sided tape facing a small rectangular piece of paper in the same color.

That's it. You have crafted a small mini kite. Don't expect this kite to withstand rough handling. You can use them as decorations instead if you like. They will 'fly' nicely above the tops of children's rooms as part of a child's room decor. Make them in several colors for decoration. They look great.

The above is our completed Mini Kite Craft Picture. The kids were so eager to make the kites, I did not manage to take step by step photos. Hopefully the instructions are clear enough. If not, just improvise.

This is another fun craft you can do with your kids this school holidays. Most kids love kites so they will love this Mini Kite Craft.

How To Make Popsicle Stick People

2011-12-05T17:08:00.001+08:00

My girl has been saving her ice-cream sticks to play with as well as to make some crafts. We decided to make Popsicle Stick People or Ice-Cream Sticks People because they are very easy to do and fun!

Here is what you will need to make Popsicle Stick People:

Popsicle Sticks or Ice-Cream sticks. You don't have to buy them specially. Just save some after having enjoyed your ice-creams, wash them and keep them aside for crafts when they are dry.
Googly Eyes. You can get these from any craft stores or some stationery or book shops may have them.
Pen to draw in the smiley mouth for the Popsicle Stick People.
Glue and Scissors and Tape
Pipe Cleaners for hands or legs if you like (Ours don't have legs)
Lots of left over materials like ribbons, flowers from old hairpins or clothing or shoes. We keep all of these for crafts and marker pens.

Here are our finished Popsicle Stick People. Tadaa....

This Popsicle Stick Rapunzel is made by my girl. Don't you think she looks glamorous with her furry scarf? Her hair, scarf and hands are made from pipe-cleaners. Her blouse and skirt are made from ribbons. The flower from her hair came from an old hair accessory. This Popsicle Stick Girl photo was taken by my girl too.

This Ice-Cream Stick Girl is made by me. She spots a red hat and a shiny red tutu. Her red tutu is made from an old Christmas Hamper ribbon. As for her hat, well, it was made from one of the petals from the flowers which also came from an old hamper, not a Christmas Hamper but a Chinese New Year one. It is useful to save this little bits and pieces for crafts. Popsicle Stick Girl's hair is made from my Cross Stitch Yarn. Err.... I think my girl's Popsicle stick girl looks nicer than mine.

The Popsicle Stick Man in the first picture is my son's. He has an afro hair style and looks like a hippy from the seventies. The boy didn't have the patience to finish his, so I had to finish his for him. I colored in the Popsicle Man's Trousers with Marker Pen to make him look more masculine instead of using cloth or ribbons.

He ended up playing with the pipe cleaners and made some specs out of them instead.

Mother and Daugther Popsicle Stick People!

So, next time you have ice-cream, remember to save the ice-cream sticks for fun crafts like this.

I will post up a homemade mini kite which we made during this school holidays next (when I can find the time).

The Voice of Conscience

2011-12-02T10:03:00.001+08:00

Last night the girl asked me....

"Mummy, can I don't tell you something?"

At first it was that but it later led to a confession by her and her little brother that they had both been throwing erasers at the ceiling fan.

.... which led to a confession that they cannot sleep for days and would continuously think about the bad thing they had done and feel bad if they don't confess it. Even if they were scolded for it, they would feel better if they owned up. (especially the girl who is very straight and honest, I am not so sure about the boy....)

Naturally I scolded them for throwing erasers at the ceiling fan because if was a dangerous thing to do. What if the eraser bounced back and hit the eye.

However, I praised them for being honest and taught them a new word.

"CONSCIENCE"

I told them that they were good little people for feeling bad about something bad that they had done and that the feeling was called conscience.

They were happy to learn a new word and to know that they were good people who had conscience. Hopefully, they will learn to confess more wrong doings in the future because as my girl puts it....

After telling you, I feel....aahhhh...

Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer Lyrics and Music

2011-11-30T17:06:00.001+08:00

I can't quite seem to remember the Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer Lyrics. I especially cannot remember the names of the reindeers. So I had better post this down before I forget again because I want to teach it to the kids. There are basically two versions to the Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer lyrics. I prefer the version with the Reindeer names as follows:

Lyrics for Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,

Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.,

But do you recall?

The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Had a very shiny nose,

And if you ever saw it,

You would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer

Used to laugh and call him names;

They never let poor Rudolph

Join in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,

Santa came to say,

Rudolph with your nose so bright,

Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then how the reindeer loved him

As they shouted out with glee,

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,

You'll go down in history.

Of course the lyrics are not complete without the video of Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer. So here it is, the Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer story video and song.

Click on the link for more Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer Online Stories, Games, Crafts and more.

Last Minute Teacher Appreciation Card

2011-11-30T14:41:00.001+08:00

Just a quick belated post here about how we made a last minute Teacher Appreciation Card. It was the second last day of school. Suddenly, we realised that we had not planned to give teacher any Teacher Appreciation Gifts or Cards. As usual, we opted for a homemade card.

We decided to do a last minute pop-up card for teacher. This is the front of our card. It is easy enough. We used foam stickers and the girl wrote "Thank you, Teahcer" using her colorful glitter pens.

This is the inside part of our card. We decided to make a pop-up garden for teacher. The girl cleverly suggested green as the base. Since it was really last minute, we didn't cut out the flowers. Instead, we used her flowers, bees and butterfly stickers.

Then she wrote a Thank you, Teacher message on the card and decorated it some more with more flower stickers and a fun smiley sun sticker.

Finally, here is are the instructions on how we made our last minute teacher appreciation card. We followed the instructions on How to Make a Pop-Up Flower Garden Card from Enchanted Learning. It is very easy to follow and make.

My children tell me that their friends often bring gifts for teacher during festivities or when they come back from overseas holidays with their families. For us, we may give teacher a small gift on teacher's day but usually we will give homemade cards like this. I think they are more meaningful.

Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys

2011-11-25T14:41:00.001+08:00

Last in my series of Top Christmas Gift Recomendations is this Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys. I do not have any Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Men because I can't think of one. I will have to get my husband to write that one but if he ever writes one, I will probably win the lottery. He is not into blogging very much. Here aer some of my ...

Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys

1. Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys Age 7

My boy is 7 so naturally I had to make a gift lens on Squidoo just for him. Even if I can't get the items on my wishlish for him, it is still nice to dream of getting them and imagining his delight when receiving the gifts. This Gift Idea lens is specially for boys age 7. You can browse through it to get some idea for what to buy for a boy age 7 for Christmas.

2. Christmas Book Ideas for Boys

Here are some Christmas Book Ideas for Kids. They make great holiday reading as they are all about Christmas and the Holidays. Some of them are from kids Popular Book Series too. Series Books are great for encouraging children to read. Why not start with one or two this Christmas. Fill that reluctant boy's stocking with a Popular Series or Chapter Book to start him off on a lifelong love for reading. It will be a Christmas present he won't forget.

3. Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys based on certain Cartoon Characters that they like

I have got some Squidoo lenses for boys based on certain famous boys cartoon characters. You can visit these lenses for Christmas Gift Ideas for....

a) Thomas the Tank Engine Gift Ideas for fans
b) Bob the Builder Gift Ideas for fans
c) Barney and Friends Gift Ideas for fans

Besides Christmas gift ideas, you can also find other valuable information in these lenses on online sites and activities for these famous boys cartoon characters.

Related Articles:

Top Christmas Gift Ideas For Girls for Christmas 2011
Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Women for Christmas 2011

Top Christmas Gift Ideas For Girls for Christmas 2011

2011-11-25T13:42:00.001+08:00

As I mentioned, I am doing a Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Girls for this Christmas 2011. These are based on my recommendations on Squidoo. The recommendations here are general. Visit my Squidoo lenses for the specific recommendations on each separate category. So here it is, my.....

Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Girls For Christmas 2011

Dear Santa, What can I get for a girl this Christmas 2011?
Ho, HO, HO! Plenty. Plenty. Here are some Christmas Gift Ideas for you...

1. Dolls make nice stocking fillers for girls

First, check out my Gift Guide For Buying Dolls For The Holidays and Christmas. Its got dolls for girls of every age. Dolls are the perfect stocking fillers for Christmas. Here are some of the very latest dolls for the holidays. Check out the Lalaloopsy Dolls for Girls this Christmas. They're the later, cuter version of the traditional rag doll. However, if it is the traditional rag doll you want, you will find it too in my Gift Guide For Buying Dolls For Girls.

2. Books are everygreen and great as a gift at Christmas or at any other time

Books make great gifts for both girls and boys. Here are some Christmas Book Ideas for kids. Check the list out if you want books about Christmas and the Holidays. However, if it is regular books or Popular Kids Book Series you want, you can go to the second link for some great Christmas Gift Ideas as well.

3. Crafts are enjoyed by most girls who will love to receive craft sets as gifts

Girls who love crafting and sewing will surely love this receiving this Cross Stitch Bookmark Kit as a Christmas Gift. There are more gift ideas like this in my Simple Cross Stitch Projects for Kids lens on Squidoo. Many of the cross stitch craft sets are fantastic to fill the stocking of girls who love crafts.

4. Cute Stationery and School Supplies

You can't go wrong with this Christmas Gift Idea. Besides, they're not just adorable to look at, these Cute Stationery and School Supplies are useful and practical items that can be used.

5. Activity Ideas - Why not get a girl a Cooking Book or Set this Christmas?

Girls love to imitate their mothers. If mother is busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen for Thanksgiving and Christmas, why not get a Children's Cookbook, Apron or Cooking Set as a Christmas Gift this year? Here are some Cooking with Kids Cookbooks and Cooking Sets to get you started.

6. Barbie Dolls for Girls for Christmas 2011

I know I had dolls under number 1 in my list but I can't help it. I love Barbie Dolls. So here are the latest Barbie Dolls 2011. Check it out for Barbie Doll 2011 Christmas Gift Ideas for Girls. Barbie Dolls make nice Christmas Tree Ornaments too.

7. Top Christmas Gift for Girls Aged 9 (Just because my girl is 9)

Finally, just because my girl is age 9, I have Christmas Gift Recommendations for Girls age 9. This is my girl's private wishlist but feel free to go through them to get some Christmas Gift Ideas for girls who are nine or a pre-teen or tween girl.

Tip: Visit the links on each category for more Christmas Gift Ideas for Girls in that category.

Coming next... My Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys
Also check out my Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Women for Christmas 2011

Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Women for Christmas 2011

2011-11-25T12:04:00.001+08:00

Christmas is almost upon us. It is amazing how time flies. I have written quite a few Squidoo lenses for Christmas Gift Ideas for Women as well as for Girls and Boys. So if you are looking for Christmas Gift Ideas for 2011, you can hop over to my Squidoo lenses and check these gift ideas out. This blog post highlights .....

Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Women

What can you get for the women in your life? Here are some great Christmas Gift Ideas for 2011 which I have compiled for you. Fragrance never fails. While men are visual creatures, women have a better olfactory system. That is why they will love these Mini Perfume Sets for Women for this Christmas 2011. They will make a great stocking filler for a woman.

Another nice stocking filler for women for this Christmas 2011, are Charm Bracelets with Themes. Get Charm Bracelets with a Holiday theme if you like but if you really know your women, mum, sister, girlfriend, wife, friend, spouse, etc, you can easily get one in a theme that you know she likes.

I also have a lens for Top 10 Gifts for Women in their 40s. I wrote it for women in their 40s because I am in my 40s. However, I believe that most women starting from ages 20 to 50 will appreciate and love most of the gifts highlighted. You can check it out for more ideas on what to get for a woman this Christmas, 2011.

That is not all. You can also check out One Shoulder Dresses and consider making them a Christmas Gift for a woman this year, 2011. They are great for that year-end party!

For the active woman who cares about health and fitness, Salsacise Aerobics Dance tapes and books will make a nice stocking filler for Christmas 2011.

Women who love crafts, particularly Cross Stitch, will simply love receiving some books or Cross Stitch Sets to make their own Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments this Christmas, 2011. This Christmas Gift will last for years and years as the Cross Stitch Ornaments can be used over and over again.

Last but certainly not least, you can give these adorable Barbie Dolls 2011 to a woman. Perhaps you never thought about this as a Christmas Gift Idea for a woman before. For a little girl yes but a woman? Let me tell you that most women love dolls. In every woman, there is a little girl lurking in there. Besides, the Barbie collector dolls make great decorative items in the house. I would surely love to receive one of those collector Barbie Dolls for Christmas or at any time of the year. The Grace Kelly Doll is so beautiful and the 80's inspired Alexis and Krystel Doll from Dynasty are totally adorable!

Visit each of the links for more Great Christmas Ideas for Women in each of the categories.

I will be writing gift recommendations for girls and boys soon. Not for men though, I never know what to get a man!

Updated are my articles below:

Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys
Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Girls for Christmas 2011

Kiasu Parent

2011-11-14T08:02:00.001+08:00

I have never believed in tuition and allowing the kids to study during holidays. Holidays are meant to be holidays so that means full time play. After all, the kids don't get to do much of that at all during school days. Surely I can't allow them to have no childhood or a childhood filled with only studies and little play?

However, after a few years in the school system, I find that I am changing. Help! Guess what I did in preparation for this coming school holidays? I went to buy the kids books for next year! Then I went to research and visit a few tuition centers to enquire about their school holiday programs. That is what I did. I still do not believe in tuition very much, at least not the kind where the kids will have to attend 5 days a week (some daily till 10pm!) for all subjects. However, one tuition for one weak subject is ok, I think.

Anyway, so there I was buying books for next year and to my surprise, the bookshop was quite packed with parents buying workbooks for next year! The tuition centers I visited were filled with kids studying for next year! The teacher in my girl's class had started to teach them Mathematics for next year. When she mentioned a new subject which she was going to teach, the kids exclaimed "Ah...we know already!"

That leaves me no choice but to teach them myself in preparation for next year. Not because I want them to be ahead of the pack but because I don't want them to be lost and left behind. It is an awful feeling to be lost and not following what is being taught. I don't want them to feel the stress of being far behind in studies so I have to get them to study during the school holidays, something that I had always been against. Kind of stupid isn't it? I don't want the kids to feel stressed next year so I work them this year.

I also plan to teach them during the school holidays because that is the only time when we have the time to go through the subjects at a decent pace with lots of discussion and fun instead of working like a horse during the school year. During school term, they have so much homework, I never have the time to teach them. I don't even have the time to help them do their homework properly. It is a pressure just to complete the homework. I am constantly rushing them to make sure they finish their school work. Sometimes it is such a rush, I am not sure they are learning anything at all!

Anyway, although I will be teaching them this school holidays, it won't be all work of course. It will be work and a decent pace with lots and lots of play and crafting time. They don't mind doing "mummy's work" because they know that I always make time for them to play afterwards. I guess that is the difference.

As for tuition, it would be nice if I could find a Chinese tutor to help them in areas where they have trouble in because my help is limited .... to the usage of an e-dictionary. Otherwise, I will just rely on my dictionary. It is still ok with my Year 2 Boy but not for the Year 4 girl who has to write Chinese essays. I can't help her with that.

Geronimo Stilton

2011-11-04T11:11:00.000+08:00

Geronimo Stilton Video Clip on YouTube

Both my kids are great fans of Geronimo Stilton. They are 7 and 9 years old. They can read the book in one sitting. While reading their own Geronimo Stilton books, they also request that I read another Geronimo Stilton Book to them at the same time each night. So, quite often we would be reading 3 Geronimo Stilton Books at bedtime. You can imagine how many we have in our collection.

The Geronimo Stilton Books by Scholastic are really enjoyable because of its illustration and cute fonts. Sometimes they include little nuggets of information in them too. Like having a mini encyclopedia within a storybook. However, sometimes, I find the concept rather adult like written from an adult's point of view rather than from a child's view. Still, my kids enjoy them tremendously.

Besides the Geronimo Stilton books, Geronimo Stilton also comes in comics or a full-color Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novel by Papercutz. My kids prefer the books though. I prefer the books too. Maybe the comics are too small for my old eyes.

That was my simple Geronimo Stilton Parent Review. The rest of this post is for all Geronimo Stilton fans and parents of Geronimo Stilton fans. It contains useful links to all things Geronimo Stilton including Geronimo Stilton Games, videos, and many other useful links.

Who is Geronimo Stilton?

You'll get plenty information about who is Geronimo Stilton on the Geronimo Stilton Wiki. This gives you many interesting facts about Geronimo Stilton that you probably didn't know about. Plus, it has a Geronimo Stilton Book List so you won't miss any of the Geronimo Titles. Frequently featured in his books are his sister Thea Stilton (who has her own series), Trap and his favorite nephew Benjamin. Check them all out in the wiki.

Where to Play Geronimo Stilton Games Online?

This is easy. Just go to Geronimo Stilton's Official Website. You will find plenty of Geronimo Stilton Games there. Not only that, you can also Listen and Sing with Geronimo Stilton, Draw, Read and even Write an Article for the Rodent's Gazette, the newspaper that Geronimo Stilton runs.

Which is better? Geronimo Stilton Books or Geronimo Stilton Comics?

You will have to see for yourself then don't you?

Here is a sample of a Geronimo Stilton Book and how it looks like.
You can also read and excerpt of a Geronimo Stilton book here.
Here is a sample of a Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novel.

Where can I get the latest inside scoop from Geronimo Stilton's Rodent's Gazette?

You can find The Rodent's Gazette at Scholastics. Here you can meet the Staff of the Rodent's Gazette and receive breaking news about Geronimo Stilton plus you can get free printables, activities as well as listen to audio clips of some of your favourite Geronimo Stilton books for example: The Temple of the Ruby of Fire (Audio Clip). Parents, Teachers and Educators can get a Geronimo Teaching Guide too.

There are so many books in the Geronimo Stilton Series. Where do I start?

The Geronimo Stilton book is a chapter series book. This is great to encourage reading because the child is encouraged to read on. There are basically two types of series books. The first is where each book is the continuation of the previous. Something like the Harry Potter series. The Geronimo Stilton series on the other hand falls in the second category where the story does not continue but the characters are the same. So each new book has a new story using the same familiar characters.

What this means is you can start anywhere. You don't have to read from the beginning. However, reading the first book is always a good introduction to the characters and the entire series. This is what I recommend.

The Geronimo Stilton Box Set Vol 1-3 (As an introduction to the series)

The Geronimo Stilton Christmas Box Set (Just nice for the Holidays)

The Geronimo Stilton Box Set Books 1-41 (If you can afford it and don't have any in your collection yet)

Geronimo Stilton Book No 49 - The Way of the Samurai (Latest in the series at the time of writing)

Geronimo Stilton DVD Volume 1

Geronimo Stilton DVD Volume 2

These are my recommendations, but if you don't like my selection, you can always choose your own Geronimo Stilton Books here. They will make great Christmas Gifts for a boy or girl this year. I find that the Geronimo Stilton Books are not gender specific as they are enjoyed by both boys and girls.

I am sure that Geronimo Stilton and his fabumouse family are on the wishlist of many fans this Christmas Holiday Season.

Shoes with Laces

2011-10-31T11:19:00.000+08:00

Recently my boy went on a school day trip. This dunce of a mummy let him wear shoes with laces on them. He can do his own laces but sometimes he is a bit slow. So, I tied up his shoelaces extra tight and sent him on his way with a new cap bought just the night before for his trip because he had outgrown his old cap.

We had a good time choosing his cap and boy, this little one was fussy. He wanted the navy one which made him look 'handsome' and no other even though his parents advised him that he may be hot because of the thick material of the cap.

Anyway, back to his shoes. What I didn't expect was he had to remove his shoes! I vow never to let him wear shoes with laces again for a day trip. Silly me.

I had thought that he would have been happy and excited to tell us about his trip. Instead he appeared dejected. So we had to question him and this was the reply...

Mummy, it was so hot, I was sweating like mad! And the Cap made me sweat even more. (See, I told you son?)
Mummy, it was hot outside but so cold in the bus. Hot Cold Hot Cold
Mummy, I was scolded because I was slow in eating
Mummy, the vegetables we ate for lunch was worse than the ones you make at home
Mummy, I wanted to buy something but I didn't have enough money because I only saw it later. I got these. Here's the change. You can keep it. I don't want to waste money.
Mummy, I went to the toilet. I had to walk down steps to go to the toilet and there were other big boys in there who were not in the trip and they disturbed me. They were noisy and threw things at each other. The toilet was soooo dirty!
Mummy, I had to remove my shoes and it took me some time to tie my shoelaces back.

We told him that it was a good thing he went for the trip and he learned some important lessons in life. That outside, sometimes, you have to fight for yourself and it isn't always so comfortable as at home or as safe the way mummy and daddy try to make sure whenever he goes out with us.

Halloween Gift Baskets for Kids

2011-10-25T10:41:00.000+08:00

Halloween Gift Baskets make the perfect Halloween Gift. Here are a few great Halloween Gift Baskets filled with treats for little ones. The decorative items used to create the Halloween Gift Baskets can be saved up and used for your Halloween Decorations or Halloween Crafts. Here are some of my top picks for Halloween Gift Baskets for Kids for 2011.

Bat Theme Halloween Gift Basket
This Bat Theme Halloween Gift Basket is filled with yummy treats and snacks for little ones

Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Gift Basket
This Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Gift Basket is filled with chocolate for chocolate lovers! It has been named Choc-O-Lantern! You can use the cute O-Lantern Bucket for future Halloween Decorations. Great as a party favor. Just place one or two of these in a several parts of your house for your guests to help themselves during your Halloween House Party.

Halloween Treats and Activities Gift Basket
This Halloween Gift Basket is perfect for Kids during a Kids Halloween Party. Not only does it have Halloween treats and snacks, it includes Halloween Theme Games and Activities

Too Cute To Spook Halloween Gift Basket
This Halloween Gift Basket is as its name suggest meant for little cuties! Scary stuff are meant for older kids, little kids need just the right touch of spook with lots of treats of course.

Happy Halloween Jack O Lantern with Teddy Bear Gift Basket
This Halloween Gift Basket is just right for kids who love teddy bears ... and adults too!

Halloween Gift Basket for Tween Girl
This Halloween Gift Basket is suitable for a tween girl. It has sweet, treats and little novelties for the tween girl including Halloween Charm Bracelet, Halloween Tattoos and Halloween Nail Art!

Witches Theme Halloween Gift Basket
The Witches Theme Halloween Tote Bag can be used as a Halloween Treat Bag year after year in this Halloween Witches Theme Gift Basket.

Happy Halloween!

Adorable Halloween Costumes For Infants and Toddlers

2011-10-24T08:40:00.000+08:00

It is really fun to dress up sweet infants and adorable little Toddlers. So when an occasion like Halloween is celebrated, you can go right ahead and dress your cute little infant and toddlers up in various styles made just for Infants and Toddlers. Here are some Super Cute and Adorable Halloween Costumes for Toddlers and Infants.

Baby Infant Monster Costume
Toddler, Baby or Infant will look extremely adorable in this too Cute Monster Costume.

Add caption

Paper Magic Angry Birds Infant Costume
"I want to be Angry Bird, Mama". This one is more suitable for babies and infants. However older kids who wish to dress up as Angry Birds can choose from any of these Angry Bird Costume for Kids. Red bird, Yellow Bird, Blue, Green or Black Bird. Dress up the entire body or just wear the Angry Bird Hat. The Angry Bird Costumes are extremely cute for this Halloween.

This INFANT Too Cute To Spook Vampire Costume will adore everyone. No one will mind meeting this vampire. In fact, they just might want to hug and kiss this vampire.

You will want to take lots of pictures of your little one in this Infant Pumpkin Cutie Pie Costume. This Pumpkin Costume yells out Halloween more than any other costume for toddlers.

You will want to cuddle this soft and warm baby in the Baby Girls Lamb Costume for sure. This infant costume is so warm, sweet and adorable.

Most kids can identify with cute character based costumes. I am sure most kids will recognize this Toy Story Infant Alien Classic Costume. It is really cute too.

The little ones, they grow up so fast. I didn't take the opportunity to dress up my little ones in cute costumes like these when I had the chance. Now, I wish I had plus taken lots and lots of photos for keepsakes too! Kids are only this age once. In no time, they'll be all grown and there won't be another chance to dress up your child in adorable costumes like these. Happy Halloween!

Exams are Over

2011-10-21T08:41:00.000+08:00

Finally, the kids final exams are over. Yahoo! No more exams till next year. What a relief.

Keeping them physically well enough to sit for the final exams was a worry. The girl had a fever and was vomiting on Friday. She was to sit for her first few papers on Monday. So she had to go to the doctor's on Saturday. Fortunately she recovered in time and did not pass it to her younger brother. Phew!

Her brother said that there was a boy sitting near him who vomited twice on exam day. Poor boy! Even if they were sick, the kids have to sit for the exams. The teachers will arrange for them to sit for the tests but they have to do so in the teachers' room all by themselves.

So the greatest pressure for us during exams is making sure the kids are healthy and get enough sleep! What about you? What is your greatest exam pressure. I'm directing this question to the parents, not the kids. Funnily, somehow the kids always look so relaxed. It is the parents who look more stressed that the kids.

Online Animated Diwali Stories For Kids

2011-10-20T07:47:00.000+08:00

Here are a couple of Diwali Stories for Kids which you can find online.

1. From Learn English Kids a British Council site - an excellent Online Diwali Story for Kids. I love the interactive fireworks game at the end of the story. It will get anyone in the festive mood for sure!

2. Here is another Animated Diwali Story For Kids from the National Grid For Learning. It includes an interactive part where kids can rearrange the story.

3. The Story of Diwali For Kids can be found on the website of Snaith Primary School.

4. Finally, you can enjoy this Diwali Song for Kids on YouTube

HAPPY DIWALI!

Kids don't always tell us everything

2011-10-18T07:56:00.001+08:00

I am at home with the kids and see my kids a lot so we have plenty of opportunities to chat about anything at all including their school day. Typically, we would chat about their school day over lunch and dinner and during bedtime.

However, I still missed the fact, that my boy's food had been stolen from him for the past 3 Fridays. At his school, we have a choice to cater the food or allow the children to buy on their own. We catered the food for him for several reasons.

Usually the school canteen serves food like fried rice and noodles. On Friday, they would serve nuggets and fries. His nugget and fries were not at his usual place for the past 3 weeks. Fortunately, his sister was smart enough to bring him to the counter to request for a new plate of food.

I didn't know about this for 3 whole weeks... because I never asked! Usually, I would ask them about their day whether anything special, funny or sad happened. "How was school today?" is too general. I have to ask them specific questions to get a better idea about what is happening at school. I had forgotten about food. Normally, I would only ask them about what they ate when they are sick or have stomach troubles.

Naturally, I went to inform the canteen. While I was there, another mother was there to pay for the food. The canteen operator told her that her child had not been taking the catered food for the past 2 months! She looked very surprised and said that she had given him money to buy whatever he liked in addition to the catered food. Again, this is the case of not asking and the children not telling.

My boy also has a friend who buys nothing accept packets of junk food for recess as well as for lunch when he has to stay back in school. I think it is important to query your child to find out what they have been buying in school and teach them to buy appropriate food if they are given the money and choice to decide what to eat.

I think it is very important for us parents to talk to the children by asking especially when they are very young. Otherwise we may miss out on some important matters because by the time they are home, they are happy and sometimes all they want to do is play but when they are back at school, they are faced with the same unresolved issues if they don't talk to us about it.... and if we don't ask.

Float or Sink Science for Kids

2011-10-17T09:06:00.002+08:00

I've been helping my 7 year old study for his Science Test. This year his syllabus is different from that of his sister two years ago. At the time, his sister had to know what floats and what sinks and that is all.

However, much to my frustration, this year's Science Syllabus requires him to know what will make an object that sink, float and what will make a sinking object float. It is a real headache! Even I couldn't figure it out some of the time.

So much to his delight, we have to tie objects together and run to the sink to experiment. We had to first test out whether the object sink or float individually, then tie them up together and see what happens. The results weren't always the same and it was confusing for him because sometimes what sinks or floats also depends on the size, shape etc of the object and not only on the object material. I don't think he understands the object density and buoyancy at this age. Why can't they keep it simple? Arrggh!

Anyway, here is something simple and easy to understand for kids just learning about Float and Sink Science. Check it out. It is a cute animated story from BBC Schools, my favourite Educational Site for Kids. Nash's Adventures is suitable for kids age 5-7.

Check out my Squidoo Lens for more Science Games and Activities for Kids.

Game for Teaching Kids to Tell the Time

2011-10-13T11:20:00.001+08:00

Today, I made a Squidoo Lens on Teaching Kids to Tell Time. I've included lots of resources in it for teaching kids to tell time. While I was researching which resource is best for teaching kids to tell time, I came across this delightful game for teaching kids to tell time. It is from BBC- KS1 Bitesize Games.

I love all the BBC Kids sites. They are absolutely marvelous for teaching kids and they are free! Anyway, here is the telling time game for kids. It is called Clockworks. Kids are supposed to help the two characters in the game, Max and Molly fix the tower clock by telling the time. This telling time game has three levels, medium, hard and very hard.

I created the Teaching Kids to Tell Time lens for my 7 year old who is still struggling with his ability to tell the time. He knows how to tell the time but sometimes he gets mixed up so he just needs more practice, that is all. However, he does struggle with learning the time syllabus in Chinese while his parents try to teach him in English.

However, I must say that the Clockworks game to help children tell time is more suitable for my 9 year old because it requires the player to calculate the time forwards. It is more suitable for advance learners rather than for learners who are just learning to tell the time.

Top Ten Tips for Helping Your Child With Revision and Tests

2011-10-12T12:08:00.000+08:00

Here are my Top Ten Tips for Helping your Child with Revision and Tests

Establish good habits early. As soon as they start formal schooling, you should start teaching them good habits of revising and studying for tests.
Teach your child to be organised. Go through the syllabus with them so they know what to study.
Set a time with no disruptions. If another child is distracting, separate them.
Provide time for rest and snacks in between. Studying should not be seen as a chore.
During the early years, sit with them if you can so that they know how to study or revise. I sat and studied with my 7 year old girl. Now at 9 she can revise on her own independently. She even chooses her own workbooks, goes through them on her own and marks them herself.
Make sure your child gets enough rest and sleep.
Teach them exam techniques. This can make a big difference. A child who is 7 is not too young to learn exam techniques. He or she should be taught about the importance of time keeping and checking through their work. This is one of the good habits mentioned in Tip No. 1 above.
Do a mock test at home so they know what to expect.
No last minute studying. The night before the exam is a time for relaxation. We often go to the park and run about. Remind them that they have worked hard for the tests and they need not worry.
Most importantly, remind your child that no matter what marks they bring home, it does not matter and you will not love them any less. Tell them that what matters is not the marks but the effort.

Do you have any revision tips to share? Please leave your test taking tips in the comment box. Thank you.

Diwali Crafts for Kids to Decorate your Homes this Diwali

2011-10-11T10:37:00.000+08:00

Last weekend I saw some beautiful Rangoli laid out on the floor of some places we visited reminding me that Diwali or Deepavali is just around the corner.

Diwali is a good time for kids to get crafting with its symbols of candles, lights, flowers and Rangoli. Rangoli known as Kolam in Tamil is a decorative coloured rice art used to decorate the courtyard of homes. Here are some simple Rangoli Craft for Kids. They are simple enough for kids to make and they will be pleased to be able to contribute to decorating their houses and feel the festive joy.

The Rangoli Craft for Kids is from Activity Village, which also has many nice ideas for other Diwali Crafts for Kids.

Those who enjoy doing Origami can also check out these lovely Origami Diwali Flower Garlands. These paper flower garlands make a beautiful decoration for houses this Diwali. The instructions include a video on How to Make the Paper flowers which you can string up into a garland for Diwali. These simple crafts make lovely decoration for the Diwali celebrations.

To all my Indian friends, Happy Diwali or Happy Deepavali to you!

Teaching Kids English Sentence Making the Fun Way

2011-10-11T10:10:00.001+08:00

One of the positive things about writing a lot on my blog and on Squidoo is the fact that I constantly find new and interesting websites, books, toys etc for my kids. For example when updating my Kids Learning English Online Squidoo Lens today, I discovered this wonderful game to help kids learn to make Sentences in English.

BBC KS2 Bitesize is a wonderful resource for kids learning English. I love this CBBC Shows Trapped Making Sentences Game to help kids in making sentences in English starting from Simple, then Compound and Complex Sentences. I bet my girl will enjoy this game when I introduce it to her.

This English Sentence Making Game is a fun way for kids to learn how to make English Sentences. Much more fun than all those boring English workbooks that the kids have to work on. Quite often my kids have to learn how to rearrange sentences into the correct format in boring workbooks. In this game, they can learn to do that in a fun way.

Halloween Stories for Kids

2011-10-07T17:11:00.003+08:00

Reading is the best way to teach children about culture and holidays. Here are a few Halloween Stories for Kids. You can talk to kids about Halloween through stories.

The Halloween Kid

The Halloween Kid is by Rhode Montijo. This Halloween Storybook is about a masked superhero who saves Halloween from ruthless toilet paper–tossing mummies and pumpkin-sucking vampires. Suitable for kindergarten kids.

I Love You, Little Pumpkin! (Snuggle-Me Stories)
I Love You, Little Pumpkin! is by Sandra Magsamen. This Halloween Kids Book is a lift the flap book with heartfelt messages for Halloween. Suitable for very young children.

All Hallows Eve: The Story of the Halloween Fairy

All Hallows Eve: The Story of the Halloween Fairy is by Lisa Sferlazza Johnson. This kids Halloween Story is a story for all fairy lovers. It tells the story of Halloween minus the spooks, ghouls and monsters which sometimes children aren't ready for. Suitable for girls who love fairies.

It's Halloween, You 'Fraidy Mouse! (Geronimo Stilton, No. 11)

It's Halloween, You 'Fraidy Mouse! by Geronimo Stilton is naturally for all Geronimo Stilton fans as he takes you into yet another adventure of his, this time you can find out how he survived the year's scariest holiday, Halloween! This Halloween Kids Series Book is suitable for independent readers and followers of the Geronimo Stilton series.

The Best Halloween Ever

The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson is a humorous and fast paced book about school life and Halloween activities in school. This Halloween Story is suitable for Grades 3-5 school going kids who will be able to relate to the school activities described within the story.

Go here for more Halloween Stories for Children.

Check out my Squidoo Lens for a nice list of other Online Stories for Children. If you are celebrating Halloween, you can check out my Halloween Trick or Treat Bag Templates Squidoo Lens.

Helping Your Child With Revision

2011-10-07T07:47:00.004+08:00

Image Link: Child's Slanted Top Desk and Chair
If you have a house with limited space, this desk is perfect for a child's study area.

I'm really hopeless at helping my child with revision. I didn't even realise that till now. That was because my first child was a good learner. She absorbed everything like a sponge and she has a good memory. So when she did well with my help in revision I thought I was good at it. ;)

Fast forward 2-3 years, I am helping my second child with revision. The first child knows the ropes by now and can do most revision on her own. My second child is different. He is very playful compared to his sister. He has trouble remembering some of the things that he is revising. It is quite frustrating to find that he has forgotten something that you emphasized and repeated to him the very next day.

As a result I feel overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do with him. It does not help that the spouse jumps in to say that I am not systematic and suggests all sorts of manners to help ME improve! Hmm.... I am not the one sitting for the tests! Anyway, he is right to some extent. I have no system for teaching. We jump from subject to subject and when we return to an old subject he has forgotten. I don't know how to make him remember and I am not sure how to help him cover the syllabus.

I guess I am not a good teacher after all. Teaching is hard!

Anyway, here is a really good slideshare on Parent Revision Guide (on SlideShare). You may find it useful if you are helping your child with exams (this BBC schools site is useful too).

Banning the Kids from PC Games

2011-10-05T12:07:00.000+08:00

The kids have been banned from PC Games until after their year end examinations with much protest especially the boy who loves to play his Plants vs Zombies games. His sister doesn't mind because she prefers to type her novel. She is still working on her Chinese Novel. She is on page 3 at the moment. I don't even know what she is writing about!

Speaking of Plants vs Zombies, the other day I saw the cutest Gargantuar Zombie at the mall. That inspired me to write my Plants vs Zombies collectibles lens on Squidoo. Well, well, surprise, surprise, that lens has been getting a lot of search visitors recently, all searching for Plants vs Zombies decorations for Halloween.

Ok, I digressed... as usual. Back to kids and PC games, its only 2 to 3 weeks more to their year end exams, so they have been banned from playing games till after their exams though sometimes we break the rules and allow them when we see their pitiful faces after working hard all day. Hmmm... we are rather inconsistent with our rules... hence the endless bargaining.

Do you ban your kids from playing PC Games during exam season?

Cheng Yu Gu Shi (Chinese Idiom Stories)

2011-10-04T11:01:00.003+08:00

This Cheng Yu Gu Shi or Chinese Idiom Story

狐假虎威（hu jia hu wei）

is about relying on another's power to bully or frighten others.

My girl who is in Primary 3 this year is starting to learn Cheng Yu Gu Shi or Chinese Idiom Stories. Her teacher tells her to incorporate as many of these Chinese Idioms or Cheng Yu that she has learned into her Chinese Essays.

So I am really happy to have found this YouTube user and Channel who has uploaded about 40 Chinese Idioms Stories Videos with cute animation like the one above. Though I do not understand some of them, I think my girl will find them useful.

Learning Chinese Mandarin for Kids can be fun.

Planting and Nature Activities for Kids

2011-09-27T07:35:00.000+08:00

Image link: Basic Sprouting Starter Kit w/Seeds

The kids love to plant flowers, vegetables and fruits. Planting is a really fun activity to do with kids. It also teaches them about nature and science. It is the best science experiment. Kids learn by watching the seeds grow into seedlings and plants. What better way to learn than to watch the plants grow each day before your very eyes.

Sometimes when we are at a hardware store with a section that sells plants, soils and fertilizers, the kids would request to buy seeds. The enjoy picking the seeds and imagining what sorts of plants will grow from those seeds.

We have tried to plant various flowers, fruits and vegetables. It is a joy when our first flower started flowering. The kids really enjoy planting. Sometimes we are successful, sometimes we are not. We only had one tomato from our previous time trying to plant a tomato.

Our current planting project is planting broccoli and asparagus picked out by the kids. The kids selected the seeds themselves. We planted them into little pots. The broccoli seeds sprouted after just a day or two. Amazing! It was so fast!

We are still waiting for the asparagus seedlings to sprout. It has been more than a week now. Perhaps my girl burried them a little too far into the soil so it is taking more time. My boy merely sprinkled the broccoli seeds onto the soil whereas my girl placed her seeds inside the soil. She said that is the way it is supposed to be. That is what is called planting. You have to put the seeds inside the soil not on top of it. Well, now she knows that there is more than one way to plant a vegetable. ;)

Parenting is a delicate Balancing Act

2011-09-26T09:45:00.002+08:00

Image link = Large Scale Play Set Balancing Scale

Parenting is a delicate Balancing Act. First of all, you have to balance between family and work. Then there are all other sorts of balancing acts you have to do. You have to balance between...

holding on and letting go
balancing your time between work and play
scheduling your children's time between work and play
being firm and being indulgent (as in discipline vs love)

These are some of the big balancing act a parent has to do. Then there are the little parenting balancing acts like:

how much junk food to allow vs vegetables and fruits
how much sleep should a child get vs waking hours
allowing freedom of expression vs rudeness and talking back
spreading time out between your kids so that each gets enough individual attention
allowing more freedom to go out vs I'm your mum thats why!
time for yourself vs time for your children

Sometimes, it can get rather tiring. Since the kids final exams are approaching, I am currently trying to tip the scale to more work and less play. However, recently, I received this remark....

"Mummy, I'm going to get 100% for you." (Horror of horrors! Surely I have not made her think that getting 100 is all that important in my effort to balance the work play scales? My reply: Get 100 for yourself not for me! Its the effort that counts not the marks)

"Mummy, I'm going to finish all my homework and do workbooks and do them very fast. Please remind me. I want to do this so that I have time to continue typing my novel." (The girl is 'working' on her Chinese novel in all seriousness and all she wants is time to sit and type out her story. So she wants to rush through all her work just so she can continue typing her story. The boy on the other hand wants to rush through his work so that he can play pc games.)

While mummy here is getting a serious headache on how to balance the work play scales. That is my current parenting balancing act. Which act are you balancing now?

Building Self Esteem in Kids

2011-09-23T07:53:00.000+08:00

One of the ways to teach build self esteem in kids is to teach them to be proud of their own achievements. Recently, the kids piano teacher said that she had checked their ABRSM Piano test results online. She does not have the full details of the marks yet but according to her, the boy has a distinction for his Grade 1 while the girl has a merit in her Grade 3 Piano Exam.

Previously the girl had a distinction in her ABRSM Piano Grade 1 exam and daddy framed up her certificate and hung it on the certificate wall along with mummy's and daddy's certificates.When the boy learned that he had scored a distinction he was very happy because he had been promised a place on the certificate wall.

"Yay! Mummy,can I choose my own frame? I want gold!"

He was very proud of his achievement and we will definitely make it a big thing to take him to the shop to get his certificate framed up and later we will let him choose a spot on the wall and hang it up. With every success, there is an opportunity to build self esteem which should not be missed.

Of course, one should not overdo the praise as well for children must learn that chasing papers and certificates are not whats important. Getting the certificate itself is not the important part, it is the effort put behind it that is important. We constantly try to remind our kids this.

Transition Back To School

2011-09-21T07:41:00.013+08:00

The kids had to go back to school recently after a break. However, they know the routine by now. Each time before they go back to school, I would sit with them and go through their school stuff together with them. We would decide what needs to be thrown out of their school bags, then we would pack it together. We would also pack their pencil cases and sharpen all their colour pencils and pencils and make sure they have all the school stationery they need. This packing and going through school things really helps in the transition back to school.

It puts them back in the school going mode. It is a bonding activity too for me and them. I would buy a few new things for them to make going back to school more exciting. However, sitting down and sharpening their old pencils teaches them to value used items.

Then we would go through their school work to make sure that they had completed any assignments that needs to be done so that they don't feel any anxiety or worry. It is also important to make sure that they start following the school routine bedtime hours so that their body gets used to the transition back to school as well.

In this manner, we're all set to go back to school, mentally and physically.

Read more tips about going back to school on my squidoo lenses:

1. How to Make Going Back to School Fun
2. Cute Back to School Supplies

Simple Baking Project For Kids

2011-09-20T09:03:00.001+08:00

I can't bake even though I attended home science classes years ago. However, my children wanted to bake. So I had to find a simple baking project for kids so that I can have some fun bonding baking time with my kids. Finally I found a simple baking project for kids in one of their kids activity books.

So, this mom who can't bake, baked some cookies with her kids.

Cooking Ingredients for Kids Baking Project - Shaped Cookies

100g butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg
200 g plain flour

Recipe for Kids Baking Project - Shaped Cookies

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
Mix Butter and Sugar in a bowl
Add in the egg
Add in the flour through a sieve
Knead mixture into smooth dough and refrigerate for 15 minutes
Roll out the dough onto floured surface with rolling pin
Cut into shapes and place onto greased or buttered baking tray
Bake for 10 minutes till golden brown

I think I can do that. It sounds simple enough. So, we set upon our baking adventure.

Baking Project for kids equipment and ingredients

Mix Butter with Sugar (We have no whisk we mix the mixture by hand using a plastic or wooden spoon the way my mum used to do)

Add the egg (Stirring by hand again)

Knead mixture into a smooth dough (Err we have two here because I have two little helpers)

Our floured surface for rolling the dough and the greased baking tray (Oops! I forgot to take a picture of the cutting process as I was too busy having fun cutting. Slaps Forehead)

Baked Cookies all ready to be decorated with pink and white royal icing

I see with my little eye a ginger bread man, two stars, cars and scary bats cookies

Here are some leaves, flowers, pineapples and heart shaped cookies

Simple Recipe for Royal Icing:

1 egg white
100g icing sugar
Food Colouring (Optional)

How to make Royal Icing:

Beat egg white in a bowl with a fork. Add sugar and beat till icing thickens. Separate and put in food colouring of choice for different colours

What went wrong:

It did not matter that we did not have some baking equipment like a mixer or whisk or an icing syringe. We just used spoons like they do in the old days. However, what mattered was we did not have measuring equipment. Everything was by estimation. I over estimated the ratio of flour over other things and our cookies turned out rock hard! Our icing turned out a little runny and did not harden till the next day!

What went right:

The kids had a rocking good time. They enjoyed themselves tremendously and loved the cookies despite them being hard as rocks. They enjoyed kneading the dough and had pride in cutting and decorating the cookies. We cut out some of them ourselves and used our cookie cutters for the rest.

Though this baking project is for no experienced bakers, it is simple enough for children and a mom who can't bake. You can use the same recipe to bake bat cookies for halloween. Just cut them out into bat shapes and add evil eyes and lips.

Physical Activities For Kids

2011-09-19T12:07:00.002+08:00

All Kids Love Physical Activities

All kids love physical activities. Most kids love to run, play, jump, kick a ball and do many other physical activities. Kids don't "hate" exercise.They naturally love physical activities. So if you make exercise time fun for kids, you will be able to get your kid out of that couch in front of the tv or off the seat in front of the computer in no time!

My child has epilepsy so I have been asked by her neurologist to include as much physical activities as I can for her. This is no easy task because she attends a school in a system which focuses on homework and school work rather than physical play. We can hardly find the time but we have to!

How to Get Your Child Off the Couch and Moving

The very first thing I did was to inform the kids that we will factor some time for fun and games in their routine. They whooped for joy! Next, we drew up a time-table. Their schedule is rather tight with after school tuition, piano lessons and other activities so we actually had to squeeze in some time, factor that time in and draw up a time-table to commit ourselves.

The kids were delighted. They sat down with me and we planned their "gym time" or "sports time" together. It would be ideal for us to include sports activities daily but it simply isn't possible for us so we made Mondays and Fridays "Sports Time". They really look forward to Mondays and Fridays now.

Ideas for Outdoor Physical Actvities for Kids

After drawing up and making the time commitment for physical activities, we had to come up with some physical activities and games. This is very simple for young kids. They naturally love to run and jump. Here are some ideas for physical games and activities for kids and they are all very simple and cost next to nothing.

Outdoor Activities Ideas for Kids

Take them to the playground. This is the easiest way out. Kids love the playground. They love the swings, the monkey bars, the see-saws and slides. You can just let them play whatever they fancy here. They outdoors will do you good too.
Organise a family jog. Jogging together as a family and you will have a chance to improve your fitness levels as well. You can jog around the neighbourhood, at the park or even around your house from room to room and up and down stairs if it rains.
Get a ball. A ball is great for kicking, throwing, balancing. All of which encourages physical activities. Bring your ball to the park or play it in your own garden or porch.
Introduce a racquet game. Tennis or badminton are good games which will improve coordination and make your child run and sweat. It is also more fun than just running if your child prefers a challenge.
Play hopscotch in your porch. All you need is a box or chalk. Get your child to draw and design their own hopscotch and jump along according to their personalised self designed hopscotch. Once my kids drew up to 40 boxes of various sizes and shapes and jumped in and out of them according to the numbers they assigned to each box.
Get a skipping rope. Have the kids skip or play jump rope. They can play high jump with two other family members holding each end of the rope or long jump by using the rope as a benchmark.
Teach them to ride a bike. A bicycle is perfect for riding around the park or neighbourhood and is sure to work up some sweat but always make sure your child rides in a safe place away from traffic.
Swimming is perfect for an all around body workout for your child and you too!
Play catching or hide and seek with your child. This is sure to generate some laughs plus it gets you running around and sweating too! (And definitely more fun than a computer game). You child will love the attention she gets from you when you play with her and that is more important to her than any cartoon on tv or the most addictive pc game. Try it! You can play this indoors too!
Get a hula hoop or two. Challenge your kid to see who can hula hoop for longer. That ought to keep your heart rate up too!

Indoor Activities Ideas for Kids

What happens when it rains? Do you stop all physical activities and stay home drawing, coloring, playing board games, doing puzzles or watching tv instead? Of course not! Why should you. If you have included physical activities in your child's routine, you can stick to it by being innovative.

Indoor Activities Ideas for Kids

Play with balloons. Blow up as many balloons as possible then throw them up in the air. Ask your kids to keep them afloat in the air. The challenge is not to let any balloon drop to the floor. This will get everyone running about excitedly. Join in the game to improve your fitness levels.
Dance, dance, dance! One of the things my kids love to do is dance. We would often put on a instrumental cd then have everyone interpret the music in a dance. It is funny to watch the dances they come up with. Some music makes them march around the room. Some make them wiggle like a snake. I often join them and sometimes we march around like a train. This gets me panting and sweating too.
Set up an obstacle course. Use anything you can think off. We used the children's pop up tunnel, the hula hoop, some chairs and stools and set up an obstacle course. Then we timed the kids to see who could go back and forth the obstacle course in the fastest time.
Bean bags are fun and cheap! You can sew your own bean bag. Cut a cloth into two squares. Sew them together. Stuff in some beans and close up the bag by sewing in the ends. Then get the kids to balance them on their heads or hands and run around without dropping the bean bag. Or you can throw the bean bag to one another. Or throw them up in the air, turn a full circle and catch the bean bag before it drops. Or throw two bean bags to each other and making sure you catch each other's bean bag without dropping.
Hula Hoop, Catching, Hide and Seek and other games can be played indoors too.
Aerobics fun. We take turns becoming "gym instructor" where one child will become the gym instructor while the rest follow his moves. Mum can take turns becoming "gym instructor" or join in as a participant too. This is a great warm up or cool down method. After warming up the neck, hands and legs and entire body, you can speed things up by doing jumping jacks or running on the spot. This will certainly turn up the heat and your heart rate too!

Physical Fitness is cheap

Most of the activities we have at home are cheap. We do not need to send the kids to expensive gym classes or yoga classes. You can do them in the comfort of your home with a few simple home-made tools.
Physical fitness is good for developing minds. Make time for it. Then the next step is to make sure the kids have proper nutrition and lots of rest and good sleep.

Hope you have fun trying out these activities with your kids. They will love you for it and you will enjoy yourself too. However, you do have to make a commitment to set aside some time for it. Like everything else in life, no pain, no gain. First, you must commit yourself to it, otherwise how can you convince your child that physical activities is more fun than the latest computer game, Ben 10 or Barbie Cartoon?

Stopping Tuition

2011-09-06T10:27:00.002+08:00

The girl's grades in Chinese have dropped in the last test but instead of increasing tuition, we are dropping out. That is the latest crazy thing we are doing. Sometimes it is tough to believe there is already tuition for classes, andthis is before children are pursuing online universitydegrees. They are just kids.

I had wanted to pull her out of the tuition class for some time now. However, I hesitated because I was afraid she would have no one to guide her since I don't know Chinese myself. She attends after school tuition for Chinese subject for two hours once a week. Apart from that she does not attend any other tuition.

Even with once a week tuition, I find that her schedule is too tight. On tuition day, she has to rush to finish her work after returning late from school. Rush to dinner. Rush to sleep. It is a mad situation. So we are dropping out.

Lets see how this turns out. Hopefully, she will have more time to complete her homework and can get more rest. We'll do our own workbook at home on tuition day. After all, that is all they do at tuition. Do extra work from a workbook. Might as well do it ourselves in our own time, in the comfort of our own home.

Hari Raya Crafts for Kids

2011-08-24T09:18:00.007+08:00

I love how you can teach kids about culture and the different cultural celebrations through crafting. Here are some Hari Raya Crafts for our muslim friends. Living in a multi-racial society, not only muslim friends will enjoy these crafts, most kids will and it is a good way to teach them about other cultures.

Hari Raya Crafts:

Make a ketupat, Make a Hari Raya Card, Make a Ramadan Lamp Craft and more can be found at Kiddyhouse.com. I love the crafts from this site the best. In addition, it is a great site for teaching kids about the Muslim culture and Hari Raya celebrations with Ramadan activities, Ramadan Songs, and other Ramadan information. There are also external links to Animated Hari Raya e-Cards, Stories and coloring pages for Muslim kids.

Prayer Rug Greeting Cards and Ramadan Windsock from Yemen Links - You can find printable step by step instructions with pictures here. Lovely.

Ramadan Mobile, Gratitude Tree, Kids Crafts and more can be found at Ramdan Joy Crafts

Ramadan at Sundown crafts from Crayola Holiday Crafts. There are 4 crafts here. Curving Calligraphy, High-Ceiling Mosaic, Personal Rug Patterns and Spirals on Paper Plates. You can also find Hari Raya or Ramadan e-cards, coloring pages and lesson plans for Muslim kids.

Ramadan Mosaic Sun Catcher from Highlightkids.com

Do check these sites out. They are all great in fun and creative factor!

Happy Ramadan or as they say here in Malaysia Selamat Hari Raya!

Here is another way you can decorate your house this Hari Raya. Decorate your wall with this cool peel off Ramadan Wall Decal or Sticker.

'Greeting Card For Holy Month Of Ramadan Kareem' Wall Decal - 24"W x 23"H Removable Graphic

Resources for Kids to Learn and Play Online

2011-08-18T16:40:00.003+08:00

Kids these days are exposed to computers from a very young age. It is inevitable. We are living in a digital age. Computers and new technology is all around us. Tablet computers with its many new apps aimed at kids is a good example of how kids can use technology like the computer to learn and play.

When it comes time for your little ones to attend high school and startthinking about college, accredited onlinecolleges is a helpful resource. It is never too early to startlearning.

ARE COMPUTERS BAD FOR CHILDREN?

Computers are not bad for children. It is the use of computers without proper guidance from adults that is bad.

However technology can be good or bad. It is all up to us, the parents and guardians to make sure that we make use of the computer as the useful tool that it can be to teach our kids. We should limit use for addictive games, while teaching kids to make use of the computer to learn from interactive learning sites. Learning can be just as fun as playing games.

Here are my top 3 things you can teach kids online:

Use computer to teach kids languages. Language learning sites for kids must be colorful, fun and interactive to catch the attention as well as hold the attention of the learner. Kids can learn English, Kids can Learn Chinese and many other languages online. These are widely available on the internet.
Kids can learn Maths Online. There are many fun and interactive Math Games for Kids online. Learning numbers need not be boring with these cool math games online.
Kids can learn Science Online. If you want to do a home science experiment with your child but can't remember how? Don't worry. You can surf the net for all sort of fun and exciting science experiments you can do at home. These Science Games and Activities for kids are great for a rainy day at home.

Besides, Languages, Maths and Sciences, there are many more Educational Sites for kids. Kids can also learn music online. This learning music theory online resource is great for kids and adults too!
You can also use the computer to find crafts to do with children. Here are some good crafts for kids resources:

Easy Crafts for Young Children - The collection of crafts here are very easy to do for young kids. Younger children may need adult supervision but older ones can try on their own.
Paper Crafts for Children - Paper is one of the best medium for crafts. It is both creative and cheap. Here are some paper crafts you can do at home including homemade cards, homemade bookmarks etc.
Origami For Children - Origami is another form of creativity using paper. You can make boxes, rabbits, paper stars, origami paper fortune teller and more.
Holiday Crafts for Children - Holiday crafts are a great way of teaching kids about different cultures and traditions while getting creative. Here is a site with some great holiday crafts.
Simple Cross Stitch Projects for Kids - Cross stitch can help a child develop their fine motor skills. Here are some interesting tips for teaching kids how to do cross stitch and some other cross stitch for kids resources.

Kids love to play. I am all for kids using the computer to play but parents or guardians MUST limit and control the playing. Educational Games are fine but mindless repetitive games that are addictive MUST be limited. Here are some mom approved game sites for kids

Online Games for Boys - has mostly cartoon character games that boys love including Disney Mini Games, Disney Pixar Cars Games, Marvel Comic Character games and more
Online Games for Girls Only - Hello Kitty Games, Strawberry Shortcake Games, Dora the Explorer games etc can be found here.
Online Games for Toddlers - has game resources for very young children just learning to play with the computer.
Ben 10 vs Ben 10 Alien Force Games - has games for all Ben 10 fans.
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends - is a resource for Thomas and Friends songs and wikis and all things Thomas and Friends
Barney and Friends Online - is just right for fans of Barney the purple dinosaur and BJ and Baby Bop and Riff too.
Captain America Games - are for Captain America fans.

You can also use the computer to teach kids to read online and to learn many children songs with lyrics. Here are two great resources for kids on the computer.

Online Stories for Children - Fairy tales, moral tales, English stories and all other interactive online stories resources can be found here. It is very comprehensive.
Children Songs Lyrics and Music - Funny songs, Classic Children songs that you have forgotten the lyrics to, Animal Songs, and many other children songs lyrics and music resource can be found here.

There are plenty of online resources for children. You just have to know where to find them. Computers need not be bad for kids. In fact computers are very good for kids to learn and play. You just have to guide them along to the right places. You also have to draw up some rules on computer time.

Parental Guidance is very important to make the computer a friend and not a foe in your household.

Keeping a Diary

2011-08-18T08:37:00.001+08:00

My little boy has taken to keeping a diary. I found his diary in his bag yesterday while I was helping him pack his back. Usually he packs his own school bag but yesterday I packed it for him because his hands are full of rashes and it was bothering him, itchy and painful.

When I was packing, I took the opportunity to look around the bag. Boy! It was messy! He does not keep books nicely in his bag. He stuffs them in. His timetable was all torn. He had been asking me to make him a new one but I keep putting it off.

I had a look at his ejaan book and saw that he received 3 out of 8 for the previous ejaan. Hmm… I must look at this more often. I don’t even know when he has ejaan so I had not been helping him.

Anyway, I had a look at his ‘diary’, a little notebook. He had written on two pages. On one page he wrote ‘Happy Days’ and drew two smileys around the words. On another page was ‘Sad Days’ with two sad faces next to the words.

Then he listed down all his happy and sad days. He listed the dates down. I saw that almost the whole week was a happy day and there was only one day listed as ‘Sad Day’. That was 11.8.2011. When I asked him why 11th August was a Sad Day, he said he could not remember. lol. I had a good laugh.

I finally made him a new timetable. He was so happy with it. The next day, he told me “Mummy! I forgot to show my friends my new timetable. It is so brand new. It is so lovely.” And all I did was write it down on a blue cardboard paper. I should have done it much earlier for him. It only takes such a small thing to make him happy. No wonder the entries to his little ’diary’ were mostly ‘Happy Days’.

After School Tuition

2011-08-16T08:03:00.001+08:00

My girl attends the after school tuition for Chinese at her school. It is for 2 hours and it covers Chinese Understanding and Chinese Writing. To me, staying back till 4pm on a school day is very tiring for a young child. However, I let her attend after school tuition in school for Chinese subject because that is one area in which I cannot help her. She does not attend any other tuition, only Chinese. Sometimes it starts seeming comparable to the tuition for anonline degree program. Tuition can be a fact of life.

Many times, she feels frustrated because of my inability to help her. When she comes to me with a question, I cannot answer her. Instead, I have to ask her to check it out herself, look for the dictionary or check a pre-printed answer in a workbook. I feel bad for not being able to help her. So I let her attend after school tuition despite my misgivings for it in the hopes that she will be able to get some extra help in the area which I cannot provide help.

However, I've noticed that most of the time she appears to be playing instead of learning. Sometimes, I see her come back with her own drawings on exercise books. Sometimes she tells me about playing with friends at her tuition class. She tells me that the tuition is not really useful, that they are merely doing extra work from a given workbook. I asked her whether it will help in her Chinese Essay writing but she tells me that they don't do Chinese Essay writing in the tuition class. They do fill in the blanks type of work. She wants to drop out of tuition class.

I'm seriously thinking of allowing her to drop out of tuition class now especially if it is not helpful. Every school week during the tuition day, I see her struggling with her homework because they still have a lot of homework to complete after the tuition. She studies from 7.45am to 1.35pm.Then tuition is from 2pm - 4pm. After that she still has to do homework from 5pm-7pm. The hours are too long even if it is just for once a week.

The only problem is her little brother attends after school curriculum on the same day as her tuition day to match her timing so they can both come home at the same time. So if she drops out, then we are back to the timing problem. Unlike her, he seems to be benefiting from the after school curriculum so I can't pull him out too.

I used to think that wiping baby poo and pee off floors and getting sleepless nights looking after newborns was the hardest part of parenting. How wrong I was!

Sibling Fights

2011-08-12T15:14:00.001+08:00

Sibling Fights include fights over what movie to watch on our Family Movie Night.

"I want to watch Harry Potter 2"

"No, I want to watch Silver Surfer."

At times the fights may be so bad that you will wonder if you are going toneed an online social workdegree to solve their problems. Who knows. It can be quite a journeybeing a parent.How does one end this sibling fight? Mummy steps in and says...

"I'll decide what to watch or we won't watch anything!"

Now, if I were to really have my say, we'd probably be watching Moulin Rouge or some other soppy love or romance movie which mummy never ever gets to watch. Usually it is either some cartoon that the kids want to watch or some action movie that the man wants to watch. Mummy never gets to watch any of her type of movies, ever! So, how do you raise kids without losing yourself?

ABRSM Exam Tips and Resources

2011-08-10T09:11:00.000+08:00

ABRSM Exam Video for Grade 1

Phew! I can breathe an air of relief now that both my kids ABRSM exams as well as school term tests are over. It was really tough to have both of the exams falling around the same dates. I had to prepare both kids for both exams at the same time.

I found the ABRSM website especially the Students section really useful to help me prepare the kids. The exam tips and resources for ABRSM students was very useful. They had Top Tips for Exam Preparation, Advice for the Exam Day, Mini Guide to Exams and Exam Videos like the one you see above which is for children taking the Grade 1 ABRSM exam. There was another video posted on that page for the Grade 5 ABRSM exam.

I read the Top Ten Tips for Practical ABRSM Exam Success to my kids. I especially like the part which reminded students that the examiner is on their side and read it to my kids. Hopefully that allayed some of their jitters. I also showed them the ABRSM exam videos to give them an idea of what to expect.

With that and with all their months of preparation including a trial exam and a candidate's concert by their music school, I think they walked into the examination room yesterday knowing fully what to expect. I think that really helps during exams. Tips on the exam day is always useful for children so that they don't get so nervous on exam day that all the months of preparation and effort goes down the drain.

Teaching Kids about Outer Space

2011-08-04T11:38:00.005+08:00

Kids have a vague concept about outer space and the world beyond our world. It is not easy to teach kids about outer space. I think the closest they have got to outer space is playing with a Talking Buzz Lightyear. To infinity and beyond!

That probably sparked their interest for all things celestial, like the moon and planets. My son started to draw space rockets and space ships and astronauts soon after.

Recently, my husband bought a Star Trek motion pictures box set and we have been watching them all. I must say I enjoyed them tremendously too. My girl and boy are running around shouting "Warp Speed!" after watching the movie.

Since we are currently going To Infinity and Beyond on Warp Speed, I think it is time to teach the kids about outer space. This Astronomy For Kids website is just perfect for doing that. I think I will do a little exploration with the kids after their term tests soon. Its time to teach them some real astronomy. Sometimes, they can't differentiate between real life and fiction.

"Mummy is there such thing as Vulcan?"
"Mummy is there such thing as Pluto?"

Check out my Squidoo Lens on Science Games and Activities for kids for more Science Activities you can do with your kids during the school holidays.

Studying for Tests

2011-08-02T07:47:00.002+08:00

The kids are studying for their term tests. The boy is studying Chinese Mandarin. He makes a sentence and writes…

“Father Likes me to Work”

When I asked him what he meant, he said…

“Daddy always say you must study hard so that you can get a good job. Daddy likes me to go to work!”

The girl is studying English. There is a picture of a family at the zoo. She is required to make sentences to describe the picture. Her final sentence was….

“Father takes a photo for Mother’s Blog.”

I laughed aloud when I read it. I wonder whether her teacher will know what a blog is. Previously the boy said

“Teacher asked us to think about all the things we would like to have for our birthday. Somebody said angry bird and everyone put up their hands. Teacher said she does not know what is angry bird.”

This is why it is important to expose kids to as many experiences as possible. It helps in their studies too. When making sentences, sometimes they will think about these experiences and try to put them into words. No amount of teaching will be able to replace practical experiences.

Things to Make and Do for Girls and Boys

2011-08-01T08:36:00.001+08:00

Over the weekend I was very pleased to buy the following craft books for my kids. I bought them at MPH sale at 50% off. So I get two books for the price of one. I think it is very worth it. It is hard cover on a ring binder and has many craft suggestions within.

Some of the crafts (not all) come with templates, stickers and stencils.

The boy's book of crafts has projects like mini kite, jet-propelled bottle car, periscope, pinhole viewer, erupting volcano etc.

The girl's book of crafts has projects like decorated hairband, heads and stars stationery, gift wrap, fuzzy flower, nail art, applique notebook etc.

Both of the books contain simple recipes and practical jokes.

The kids love their books too and despite a busy weekend of revision and studying for school tests, they manage to steal looks at their new books and even made a simple craft or two each.

Things to Make and Do for Boys

Inside the Things to Make and Do for Boy's book

Things to Make and do for Girls

Inside the Things to Make and Do For Girl's Book

Here are other Things to Make and Do for Girls and Boys books.

Kids - Kids Sites, Kids Games, Kids Stories, Kids Crafts, Kids Learning Online

2011-07-28T09:21:00.004+08:00

If you are looking for good websites for kids, you will find lots of goodies on my Squidoo lenses. Check it out at this link. You may click either the text or the picture.

Kids

Chain Paper Dolls of Boys by Mumsgather

You will not be disappointed. I have compiled a lot of good websites for kids. I won't link them all here because there are too many. Just visit the link above and you will see the list of my lenses, most of which are for kids related things to do and kids sites to visit for children to learn and play online.

These sites for kids are suitable for toddlers, preschoolers and grade school up because those are the stages my children went through.

At the moment, I've got the following up:

Online Stories for Children
Learning Chinese Mandarin Online For Kids
Learning Music Theory Online
Children Songs Lyrics and Music
Online Games for Boys
Online Games for Girls Only
Ben 10 vs Ben 10 Alien Force
Captain America Games
Barney and Friends Online
Educational Sites for Children
Online Games for Toddlers
Math Games and Activities for Kids
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Online
Origami for Children
Easy Crafts for Young Children
Paper Crafts for Children
Holiday Crafts for Children

I will be making more lenses for kids. If you have any request, go ahead and put them in my comment box. If I have the time, I will try to find and recommend more useful sites for kids. Do check out my squidoo profile above. I promise that you won't be disappointed as there are many useful sites for kids that I have used myself. I have also spent a significant amount of time to search, write and recomment useful resources for kids.

They also serve as a good bookmark for my kids to surf online safely. If my boy wants to play games, I just open up one of my games for boys online pages for him to navigate around as he wishes. I know it is safe because I put them up myself. :) You can bookmark them too for your own use. I have done the hard work for you!

I would rather have put them all on this blog but it is much easier and less time consuming to create visually attractive sites on Squidoo.

After school tuition hours

2011-07-26T08:01:00.001+08:00

Yesterday, I received a call from one of the tuition centres that my daughter’s classmate attends. Her friend had given my telephone number to the tuition centre because she wants my daughter to attend the same tuition class as her very much.

Anyway, just out of interest, I asked her about the tuition hours. I forgot to ask her about the tuition fees as it would be interesting to find out.

She told me that she was the teacher for the Std 3 tuition and they had 3 sessions. They were:

5.30pm to 7pm
7pm to 8.30pm
8.30pm to 10pm

Gosh! These hours are rather late for a child (unless they are attending afternoon session school). They should really be having dinner and preparing for bed by then, not attending tuition!

Studying for Exams

2011-07-25T09:00:00.000+08:00

The kids will be having their exams soon. School exams as well as piano exams and mommy is having exam fever again. Yes, mommy and not the kids. If they could, they would like to read storybooks all day and watch movies all night. And not forgetting computer games too but not mommy.

Mommy is looking at all the books and all the syllabus yet to cover and how much the little one still does not know. The problem is the school will give the syllabus as well as the books to read up. However, these books not only consist of the subject text book and activity book. It usually includes exercise books as well as several workbooks. How do you read up everything for every subject. That is a lot!

Worse still, when I look at the English book for example, it is extremely simple. However the workbooks and the exercises they have been doing are not the same as what is in the textbook. I guess I will just ignore the textbook.

The trick is what to study? Sometimes passing exams isn't about knowing everything but rather it is about studying the right thing. :P

Heavy School Bag

2011-07-22T08:30:00.000+08:00

My boy is in Primary One this year. I’ve noticed a difference in terms of work load and bag load. He does not have so much homework as his sister did. He also does not have as many books as his sister did. Most of his workbooks are left in the cupboard at school and the teacher monitors it. She only gives it to them if there is homework.
I think that is great. In the beginning of the year, when he packs his school bag, all he needs to do is switch one or two books for the next day and that was what he did. His school bag was not heavy at all.

Now, he has devised a new method for “packing” his school bag. He does not pack it at all! He has decided to bring all of his books everyday so that he does not need to take out any books and replace them with what is required the next day.

Today, I found his heavy bag of crayons and afternoon activity book for one of the days he has to stay back. When I wanted to remove them he said, no leave them there because he is too lazy to remember them.
This lazy boy of mine. I wonder whether I should take them out and insist that he packs his bag or just leave it since it does make sense not to have to pack. However, if he does not take his school books out, then he may accidentally forget to do some homework, which he hasn’t done so far.

Whatever it is, I am glad that his work load and bag load is lighter now this year as compared to his sister before him. At Primary 3, her work load and school bag is heavier than ever!

Young Kids Should be Banned From

2011-07-20T12:12:00.001+08:00

Thank you, Lian for thinking of me for this meme. Well, I think that young kids should be banned from...

1. Treating household maids or helpers as their personal slave

2. Shouting and other rude behaviour

3. All handheld gadgets

4. Watching mobile dvds while everyone else is having a meal

5. Any form of bullying in school and anywhere else for that matter

6. Being disrespectful towards their elders

7. Being couch potatoes. Kids are meant to be active

8. Letting their parents finish their leftovers

9. Eating sweets and other junk foods as their meal!

10. Uttering swear words that they don't even know the meaning off

Having said that, my kids are guilty of item 2, 6 and 8. What about yours? Anyone can go ahead and tag yourself but I'd really like to hear the views of the bloggers from the blogs listed below.

1. Caring is not only Sharing

2. Reese Mathew's Secret Isle

3. All About Your Child

4. Little Chumsy's Blog

5. Stories of Ace

6. Contented Mom

7. Bold Talk

Piano Trial Exam and Piano Concert

2011-07-19T11:07:00.000+08:00

The kids will be sitting for their Piano Exam next month. The girl will be taking her Grade 3 exam while this is the first time for the boy who is taking the Grade 1 ABRSM Piano practical exam.

Recently they sat for their piano trial exam as well as played their exam pieces in a mini concert for exam candidates. They did reasonably well.

The boy was a bit nervous since it was his first time. He rushed through all his songs, playing them very quickly. He did not pause from his second to third song and later asked me...

"Mummy, why didn't anyone clap for my second song?"

He played it so fast without any gap between the second and third song, that is why. :)

Daddy had been making them practise their exam pieces a few times a day prior to the concert. Not long practises, just playing the songs once or twice but broken up into many sessions so they won't be bored.

"Yes, yes, think about it when you play, press every key, don't just guess." he would say. I had a good laugh and told him that this is the first time I have seen someone without musical background trying to teach piano. He even sings off key, that man but it is very sweet of him to encourage the kids. :)

Sweet Gift for a Friend

2011-07-18T07:18:00.000+08:00

The other day, I saw my girl making these sweets. When I asked them what they were for, she said they were for her friend. Each sweet had a writing on it. On some she had written "Happy", some "Sad" etc. She said they were for her friend to open on different occasions.

She had drawn little cartoons and written some jokes on small pieces of paper, then folded them up before wrapping them with another colored paper in the form of a sweet. She said she got the idea to make this gift for her friend after she read it in a Chinese Storybook she had been reading.

I pretended to pout and asked why didn't have any. So she made me these.... Mine is written in English because I don't read Chinese. I wonder what's in them. I am saving them up for a special occasion to read. I think it is a wonderful idea for a gift to a friend, young or old. :)

Best Friends Forever

2011-07-13T10:05:00.001+08:00

BFF is an acronym for Best Friends Forever. Well, my girl has found a best friend, a girl who sits beside her. Since my girl is only 9, I am not sure about the "Forever" part but I am glad she has found a good friend.

A good friend is .....

someone who waits for you to finish your meal in the school canteen
someone who goes to the toilet and the school bookshop with you
someone who helps you carry your heavy school bag up and down the stairs when you hurt your foot
someone who insists you try her curry rice just because she likes curry too
someone who laughs at your jokes
someone who tells you jokes
someone who lends you books and borrows yours
someone to giggle with

I am glad that my girl finally has a special friend to do all these things with. :)

Helping your child with test taking

2011-07-11T09:33:00.002+08:00

Click to expand
Source: Accredited-Online-Colleges.org

"Are you taking the test or is your child taking the test?"

Silly though this question may seem, it is frequently asked and some of the time there is some truth in it.

This thing is on my mind recently because the tests are coming again. It would sometimes seem as though we live from test to test!

I know there are many help your child with test taking articles on the internet but this one is not going to be one of them. This is a just a general discussion.

I believe that more help or "spoon-feeding" methods is required at an earlier stage so that the child will know what is required for later years.

During the early years of education, I believe it is necessary to sit with your child and guide them through their revision. After they have become used to this, then when you tell them "Go and revise your work" they will know what to do. You can't expect a young child to know exactly what to do just by saying "Go and study for your tests."

No, I am not afraid that by spoon-feeding my child now, he or she will become less independant later on. In fact, I think that going through the motions with them now will help them in later years.

However each child is different so how much help you give to each child may vary depending on your child. For example, my boy has never required me to help him to pack his school bags. He was independant right from the start. However, his sister who is older, still requires me to sit with her and help her from time to time. This is because their temperament and personality is very different.

I used to guide my girl step-by-step in her studies but now I can tell her, "Go and study for your test". I may remind her which chapters she should study and what she should emphasize on, but by now she is independant enough whereas the boy who just started taking formal tests in school this year requires more help. He is also more playful and his attention span is shorter, so for studying sessions, I will either have to sit with him or check on him reqularly.

Lastly, no matter how prepared in terms of revision, the child must also be taught some exam tips. No, I do not think that it is too young to teach a child test taking tips. It is better to inculcate a good habit and learn the right things from a young age.

Looking at the college dropout rates from the picture above, 9% of students dropout of college due to lack of family support. I think support also comes in the form of teaching children to have the right attitude towards studies starting from a young age.

So what are your two cents about this subject: Helping your child with test taking. Care to share?

Teaching kids to write - From Sentences to Essay Writing

2011-07-05T08:25:00.000+08:00

My other blog post Learning Different Languages was supposed to be on this blog but the other day blogger was giving me some problems so I posted it on my other blog. Bother!

Anyway, in that post I had listed out what I thought was the building blocks required for a child to progress from alphabets to words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and finally essay writing. It is the same whatever language you are learning with slight differences in sentence construction and structure of course but you can use the same building blocks and thought processes.

Therefore I was very happy to find books to help me teach my child in this step-by-step manner. Annie? You hear? This one's for you again. :)

This book is from EPH Publishing (M) Sdn Bhd. It retails for RM6.90 each and is available for the step-by-step study of 3 languages, English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese. The malay title at the top of the book states "Siri Praktis Menulis Progresif Tahap 1 SJK(C)." Translated it means "Progresive Writing Level 1 for SJK(C) students. I was delighted to find it because it has all the steps which I had outlined in my building blocks for Learning Different Languages.

The 1.2.3 you see on the cover indicates that it is suitable for Std 1 to Std 3. Indeed, the earlier part of the book is easier and more suitable for the lower levels whereas the second half of the book is more suitable for my girl in learning how to compose essays and karangan. Since I also have a Std 1 boy, the book is just right for me!

The first half of the book has sentence construction practise whereas the second part guides the child towards more independant essay writing.

Teaching English at home

2011-07-04T07:49:00.000+08:00

This one's for you Annie. You've asked me to do some primary school workbooks reviews. So here's one for starters. :)

I find that my girl's English is not as good as it should be coming from a home where both parents speak only English and a smattering of Chinese dialects. In school she is taught Chinese and Malay and English, in that order.

Jazz Up Writing

English is like the last resort of sorts and placed in the back burner of the classroom. As a result, I can see that her English is getting poorer compared to her preschool days.

I am not going to send her to English tuition to make up for it. So, I have to teach her myself.

Creative Writing Practise

Sometime ago, I found these books at the bookshop hidden somewhere in an obscure corner. It would seem that even English workbooks are placed at the back burner as other workbooks are placed in easily visible racks.

A little about the books. They are RM6.90 each and by the publishers SAP Publications (M) Sdn Bhd. There is another called Jazz Up Grammar but I did not get that one. I especially like the one on Jazz Up Writing because it has many creative writing exercises within. Some of the exercises include writing a movie review, writing a menu, pretend to be an ant for a day, what kind of parent you will be etc. My girl enjoys these guided exercises. They are very interesting.

Jazz Up Vocabulary

Well, she also enjoys copying out Chinese essays which her teacher says she must do, in order to master the Chinese Characters. However, although rote learning may be necessary for Chinese which has many Characters to learn, where constant practise is useful, copying kills creativity. So I got her this creative writing English book to supplement her learning.

The only problems I have with these books are not the book themselves but the time to do them! Sigh. Oh yes, I forget. The book also provides access code to free online activities from Smartyisland.com

Plaster Fridge Magnet Craft

2011-07-01T10:31:00.001+08:00

This is a belated post. We did this during the school holidays. The girl had chosen to buy this Mould&Paint CupCake Craft for her birthday. We didn't have time to work on it, not till the school holidays. Remember her rant... "Mummy, why is it everytime I ask you when we will do this, you say, wait till the school holidays." Anyway, we managed to get it done eventually.

Contents in the box include a mould of 6 different designs, plaster powder, magnet, pins, paint strip of 5 colours, paint brush and detailed instructions. The contents are just enough for making 6 pieces of cupcakes which look good enough to eat!

The plaster is in powder form. First we have to mix the plaster powder with water in a container (container not provided). Then quickly (quickly because the plaster dries up very fast) pour them into the moulds.

Wait a while, then we pop them out of their moulds and then we paint them. Easy peasy.

I helped my girl with the mixing and pouring and she painted the cupcakes all by herself including mixing colours to get new colours etc. Here are our end results. Ok, they don't look as nice as illustrated on the box but the girl enjoyed doing them and there is always the satisfaction when you DIY.

Apart from this edible looking cupcakes, there are fairies, cars and other stuff to mould and paint.
I find that after starting primary school we haven't had that much time to do our own crafts so we have to settle for this store bought one. I'm glad I took the time to do crafting with my children when they were younger. Otherwise we would have missed out an opportunity to get creative. Now, they have so little time.....

Parent Teacher's Conference

2011-06-27T08:10:00.000+08:00

This year, I was more prepared during my children's Parent Teacher's Conference Day, the day where parents get together with teachers to collect their child's report card and talk about the child.

Yes, talk about the child and not about any other things because the time allocated for each child is short. Short is sweet because if it were long, it may mean that your child has some issues the teacher may want to bring up. If there is no issue, the teacher will probably want to just hand over the report card to you and get you out of the room ASAP, much the same way as some specialist consultants do. You wait for a long time, only to see this "specialist" for 10 minutes.

Knowing this, I went more prepared this year. I organised my thoughts by writing them down on a piece of paper. I listed down the questions I would like to ask teacher and an objective I would like to achieve. One objective was good enough because there isn't much time. Then I waited for the teacher to finish speaking to hear her thoughts before presenting my questions.

Eventually, I think it turned out well and my objective was achieved. For the boy, it was to remind teacher that we do not speak Mandarin at home and as a result sometimes, he does not quite understand what she says at times. She admitted that she "lost her temper and control" when she hit him because "he was just standing there not saying a thing and the rest of the class was waiting." That is exactly it. He was standing there because he had not understood the situation. I wanted to know whether she thought he needed extra help but she merely said, "you can if you want to" and did not stress the need because his results were ok. So I guess we will plod on ourselves first and see how it goes.

As for the girl, the objective was to let the teacher know that she was timid and though she likes teacher she is very afraid and this is affecting her sleep and stress level. Her homework is also overwhelming her. Teacher says that she gives time for them to do their homework in the classroom so that they won't have that much to bring home and we suggested to teacher to remind the kids about this because it will be a great help.

Teacher says that she is aware that this girl is timid although she is a good girl. She told us to tell the girl that we have spoken to teacher and she need not be afraid that teacher will scold her for occassionally forgetting her work. Teacher says to tell her that she is free to go to teacher at any time to talk to her but she should do so in the teacher's office, not in class unless it is lesson related. Teacher says that she will also speak to the girl personally and she circled her name in the list to remind herself to do this. Lets see if she follows through.

The boy was within top 15% in class and top 10% in the standard whereas the girl was within top 20% in class and top 3.5% in the standard. I suppose it is because this year's Std 1 paper was easy so every 1/2 or 1 mark made a big difference. Although the boy did quite well in some of the Chinese papers, it was due to practise and hard work rather than an understanding of the language. You can get away with this in Std 1 but not later on. So my job is to get him up to par in his Chinese Understanding.

As for the girl, the teacher told her that she has to depend on herself because her parents do not speak Mandarin. The teacher advised her to read up a lot of Chinese Essays and copy them. Teacher said that reading a lot will not be good enough, she has to copy them out. By reading a lot, she may be able to recognise the characters, but she will not be able to write them out so she has to familiarize herself by doing a lot of reading and copy work for a start.

One mother told me that the standard from Primary 4 onwards really take a big jump because of the Chinese Essay writing and BM Karangan requirements. I used to shake my head on how Chinese Students learn by memorizing essays but after speaking to the teacher, I now understand that learning the Chinese language is slightly different from other languages. There are just so many Chinese Characters to learn, you can't know them all. The only way is with constant practise, hence the need to copy passages.

If I have the time, I will share some Chinese, English and Malay Essay learning "jewels" I found at the bookstore not long ago. I know I was supposed to share some of the useful Primary School workbooks but I have been lazy....

First Punishment

2011-06-23T08:45:00.002+08:00

My girl is in Std 3 and so far she has not been hit by teacher before. Most of her teachers carry a rotan or ruler but most of the time it is only to threaten, she says. However, some naughty boys may be punished with the cane.

My boy is in Std 1. Yesterday, after school he showed me his arm. It was red. I had to ask 101 questions before I could find out why he was hit by teacher. Either because he did not know how to explain it to me in words or because he didn't quite understand what happened. I suspect it is both.

Finally, I was able to figure it out after questioning him. It was because of his Chinese Writing work. Now, usually exercise books will be handed out if you get the writing all correct. Those who make mistakes will have to go to teacher to collect the books. The boy made a mistake. He forgot to include a stroke in one of the Chinese Characters. So his book was not returned to him.

However, he did not realise that. He was still searching for his book when teacher called him to the front. "Why didn't you come to collect your book? You waiting to be called?" *Smack* Hit by ruler. She must have hit rather hard too because his arm was red till evening.

I asked him whether anyone else got hit. He said, yes, one other boy because he made a lot of mistakes.

Well, that is his first punishment for something really minor I would say ie forgetting to collect the book back from teacher.

I really feel very bad for him. It is my fault for not preparing him well enough with his spoken Chinese Language. That is why he sometimes gets into situations like these... because he simply does not understand what is going on. He also has less friends because he can't interact with some of the other children who speaks Mandarin well.

So far he has not attended any Chinese tuition but I am wondering whether he needs it. It is still ok at Std 1 but what about later. Will he have trouble because his basic foundation is not good? I know his Math is very good but when I see how he does it, I know that he gets away by not reading the questions in Chinese. He merely picks up a few keywords and tries to do but he does not fully understand the questions in Chinese. I think he can get away with this in Std 1 but later on it will be hard for him.

I feel frustrated sometimes not being able to coach or guide the kids in Chinese. Sometimes I go like this....

"Ok.. so and so has 3 sets of don't know what book. His friend , don't know what name, never mind, don't worry about the name. When you compare him with his friend, he has 2 sets of this type of book less than his friend. How many books does his friend have?"

With a teacher like that, no wonder he ends up just picking keywords and not fully understanding the question. *Shakes head*

Negotiation

2011-06-21T09:46:00.000+08:00

"Mummy, can I play computer games?"

No.

"Mummy, what if I finish my homework by 4 o'clock?"

No.

"What if I finish it by 3 o'clock?"

No.

"Mummy, please.... please....mummy?"

No.

You may play computer games on Thursdays AFTER you have finished your homework. Only Thursdays. I don't want to hear anything about computer games on any other day.

To end negotiation in the house, I have to be firm and consistent. The minute I give in or give up and say "Oklah, Oklah" either because I am too busy, distracted, annoyed or just simply want to stop all that pleading and negotiation, well, that is the end of it. That opens the door to more negotiation in the future, you can be sure about that.

So, its no playing computer games accept on Thursdays. No bringing storybooks to school. etc etc.

My mantra for the day: I must be firm. I must be firm. I must be consistent. I must be consistent.

Thank you

2011-06-20T08:29:00.000+08:00

I just wanted to thank mom2kiddos for giving this pretty sunshine award to paste on my blog.

Thank you mom2kiddos for bringing a little bit of sunshine to my day and to my blog. :) I just want you to know that even though at times I may not reply to your comment, I still appreciate them very much. At the same time, sometimes I read your blog posts silently on my reader without leaving a comment but I'm there reading. :)

Trip to Port Dickson with young kids in tow

2011-06-16T11:01:00.002+08:00

I haven't been to Port Dickson in more than 10 years, maybe even closer to 20 years, I cannot remember. Anyway during the school holidays we decided to bring the kids to PD for an overnight stay since they have not been there before.

My impressions and memory of PD was lousy, dirty, crowded beaches with murky waters and ....nothing to do. I was pleasantly surprised that it did not turn out that way. Maybe because my expectations were so low.

Firstly, looking for a place to stay in PD is not easy, not because of the lack of places. On the contrary, there are too many places so if you don't know it is hard to decide. PD is like a bigger version of Batu Ferringghi in Penang, I think. With stretches of hotels and beaches. Only, there is much more space, so there are many more beaches and many more accommodations. However, it is either very expensive and beyond my means or within budget but poorly maintained.

Eventually we settled for Avillion Admiral Cove which is the sister hotel of Avillion. It is half the price of the original Avillion and therefore more affordable for us. I thought the Legend International Water Homes looked exciting for the kids with a private pool in each room but of course it is way above our budget.

Back to Avillion Admiral Cove, if you are looking for a nice place to relax with beaches right outside your hotel, then you'd probably be disappointed. We were looking for a place to stay overnight that was affordable so it was ok for us. We got a very lovely view and a clean beach that we could walk to nearby.

View from our room at Avillion Admiral Cove

The beach is not in front of the hotel but beside it so you have to walk a little, just a little. :) It was clean and not crowded even during the school holidays. When wading in the beach, we could still see our feet. That is clean enough for me, plus I spotted a tiny crab swimming about. If it is very dirty, you won't see those. Surprisingly, the beach was cleaner that Batu Feringghi beach. The water was much calmer too. Very nice for the kids to splash about in. The hotel pool was a tad small, crowded and not very clean. It is the peak season during the school holidays so I guess you could expect that. The room was big enough but the bed linens were a bit stained and the glasses and cups were a bit dirty. Food is nothing to shout about. That is my only complaint.

As for activities, we took the kids to the Army Museum. I had expected a few miserable army tanks and that was it. Again, I was nicely surprised. The museum had a good collection of army vehicles, trains, tanks, helicopters and planes. It even had an underground tunnel to explore. Not bad.

The Army Museum

Secret meeting in the underground tunnel

We also went to the Lighthouse located at the Forest Reserve at Tanjung Tuan which is right next to the PNB Ilham Resort. To get to the lighthouse, you have to walk up 1 km of deserted road in the forest. You can hear birds and monkeys and my son insisted he heard a lion. :) The monkeys gave us a scare but we made it to the top and even managed to climb up the stairs that lead to the lighthouse. We were rewarded with a nice sunset. The place closes at 7pm. We went about 6pm.

Hutan Rekreasi Tanjung Tuan

The Cape Rachado Light House

Sunset viewed from outside the Lighthouse

Finally, we also did some bicycling, not on ordinary bicycles but on something called a KMX. It is a fusion of a go-Kart, BMX and mountain bike. It is low on the ground with a go-kart kind of seat but has three wheels and you peddle it like you would a bike. It is available for rent at the hotel. We paid RM10 for half an hour on an adult bike and RM8 for a child bike. There is a small road with a little roundabout for you to ride your bikes there. They also rent out a Segway, which has two large wheels where you stand upright and hold on to a handle and move along on the beach. We also saw a couple riding on a two seat bicycle while their child ran beside them. Cute.

We're not very good at hunting for places to eat so we just ate at some restaurants we found along the way for our meals. Funnily, PD looked like a sleepy place with many shops closed even on a Thursday. (Maybe we weren't in the town itself but in the slight outskirts). That gave us the impression that it was a Sunday and the fact that we were on a holiday made us forget about parking tickets. We failed to buy and display a parking ticket and received a RM30 summons for it. Luckily, it was easily settled because PD is not very big. We managed to find the Majlis Perbandaran PD and promptly paid it. It was RM10 if paid within 7 days, probably the same amount a booklet of parking ticket would have cost. :)

Or you could try Thistle previously called Guoman, Port Dickson. Perhaps I can try there next time. I haven't been there but from what I see online, it is only slightly more expensive then Avillion Admiral Cove but the beach, pool and rooms look much bigger and more comfortable. Anyone who has been there that would like to share their experience, please feel free or if you have written about your trip on your blog, please leave me your link in the comments. Thank you.

I left out many details but if you have anything to ask because you wish to bring your young kids there, just leave me a comment or email me. I will try my best to answer you. Better still, if you have been there with young kids, why not share your experience? I would most certainly like to go back there so I need as much info as I can. :).

Not all carbohydrates are sugars

2011-06-03T11:51:00.000+08:00

I am a breastfeeding mum of two. However my breastfeeding journey has been anything but easy. I tried very hard and eventually I breastfed my babies for 1 ½ years and 3 years. When the times were tough though, especially for the first child, I supplemented my breast milk with a growing up milk that I had known about for years. My husband ran out and got a can of milk powder which was well known to us.

At the time, we just ran out and got our children a can of time tested brand of milk powder, the very first thing that came to our minds. As inexperienced first time parents with little help, we were too busy looking after our baby, we didn’t have time to study the labels then. My nephews, who are not breastfed, grew up on the same milk and they are fine looking, strong and intelligent young men.

My children are 7 and 9 now. They are not obese children. However, as a parent I'm still concerned when I read some advertisements recently about the high level of sugar content in some infant milk powders. Naturally I became worried especially since there was a website where you could calculate the sugar content which may give results of up to 13 teaspoons of sugars for some infant milk powders. However, a quick check on another site allayed my fears when I learned that not all carbohydrates are sugars.

There was also news on TV2 the other night where a professor from a university mentioned that there is no direct link with child obesity and consuming growing up milk formulas. He also mentioned that growing up milk formulas in the market meet the necessary standards.

A paediatrician said that consuming 13 teaspoons of sugars does not have a significant impact on a child’s health as long as they are active and exercise. They can burn it off easily. Children are mostly active anyway and it is our job as parents to make sure that they don’t turn into couch potatoes.

The mothers featured in the news look at labels before buying as I do. Apart from sugars, there are many other components that I look for, example vitamins, proteins, and other mineral content to meet their nutritional needs. I hope that I have made the right choice for my children by providing them with a good foundation for growth.

I think that we have to be careful when making choices for our children. Reading labels is one thing, we also have to do our own research and be careful about what we read. We should not rely on information from only one source. The internet is a good place to do research. There are a lot of information out there, some good and some false. It is up to us to read them all and make our own conclusions.

Movie Nights

2011-05-24T18:13:00.000+08:00

We have movie nights at our house every Friday. The kids love it. They will bring down their pillows to "book" the very first class seats in the house. Usually we will have a half way intermission too where we will make a hot drink and have a snack. We will prepare the snacks, then carry on with the movie while munching our snacks.

Sometimes the children are so engrossed in the movie, I have to remind them to eat! Movie nights are fun. I really enjoy them. I get to sit back and relax too. I don't have to entertain the kids with all sorts of ideas for play, physical activities and crafting. However, I have to entertain 101 questions though, usually from the girl. The boy is happy enough to sit quietly and watch.

I've been thinking of buying the Tangled dvd as I missed it. My dad was in the hospital at the time. So my husband did the easiest thing to do while he was watching the kids. He took them to the movie theatre to watch a show. I am sure the kids won't mind watching the movie again. They love to watch movies again and again enjoying every part of the show many times over. :)

From Hello Kitty to Power Puff

2011-05-23T10:53:00.001+08:00

My girl's birthday is coming soon so we brought her to the bakery to choose a cake for herself. She looked through all the books and then she pointed to the Power Puff Girls and said "I think I want this one".

Daddy was trying to get her to choose a Kunfu Panda image for her cake. He said so in a rather loud voice at the shop "Choose Kungfu Panda! Kungfu Panda is nice!" and she said "Shhhh daddy, not so loud!"

I showed her some Hello Kitty pictures which she used to like. "I had this one before" she said as she pointed to a Hello Kitty sitting in a car.

She just turned 9 but we are celebrating her birthday later because she is having exams and can't enjoy herself fully so we decided to postpone the celebration. She has even drawn up a birthday itenary in anticipation of the big day. :)

My girl is growing up fast. (I think daddy wants her to remain his baby. Don't worry daddy, she will always be your baby). The girl at the cake shop says she can't fit in all the Power Puff Girls on our 1kg cake. So eventually (after a great deal of leg shuffling and hard thinking!) the girl chose the Pink Power Puff girl aptly named "Blossom" Yup! She is blossoming into a little lady now. One that must make her own choices (Mummy suggested the other Power Puff Girl with the golden pony tails at first) although after we got out of the shop, she kept on asking "Mummy, how ar, I like the other Power Puff Girl too. They're both nice."

"Well, if they're both nice, then it doesn't matter which one you choose does it?" She smiled and seemed satisfied with that reply. Happy 9th birthday sweetheart. Time flies. It seems like just yesterday, you were a baby.

Are girls smarter than boys?

2011-05-18T08:53:00.002+08:00

I have to coach my girl and my boy for their school tests. It made me wonder. Are girls really smarter than boys? ;) Or just more hardworking and diligent.

It is hard for me to tell because my boy and girl have different personalities that may make it appear as though one is smarter than the other. My girl is the intellectual, inquisitive type. She does not like to play with dolls and such. When I gave her a doll to play with, even when she was younger, she would ask "what does this do? It doesn't do anything." then she would toss it aside. Pity mummy here who thought that finally, with a daughter she could play with all those Barbie dolls and their pretty little clothes and accessories that she never had. Too bad. Barbie did not move my girl. She prefers books, writing stories and making cards. She is one who thinks that writing an essay is "play".

As for the boy, well, he is naturally playful, a little joker who can make anyone laugh, he can make up stories on the go (by that I don't mean fibs but real stories like those you read from a book). It is funny to listen to him. If he can get away with something, he would. He is a sore loser and must win in any game. He is very physical and loves to jump on people and hug them. He can do his work very quickly but it is often messy.

The girl is a joy to teach. She has an excellent, almost photographic memory. She remembers her lessons easily. She is hardworking and diligent. She is in the good class which has a majority of girls in it. Last year, the top 7 students in the std were all girls. Are girls smarter?

As for the boy, he is good in Math and can do mental calculations easily. Unfortunately he is not very good in his languages especially Chinese which can make him misinterpret an entire section of work and get zero because he misunderstood or did not understand the question. He is careless in his work often mixing up his capital letters and small letters. He can't copy a passage without making mistakes. Quite often, he will copy LiKe ThIS or Li keTh is. Mixing up his letters or leaving a gap in between words at the inappropriate places or putting them close together at the wrong places. "Laut" becomes "luat" etc. He is carefree and happy go lucky. Are boys less smart or just lazy?

I guess boys develop slower that is all but they will catch up with us girls, eventually. ;)

Little Boy with a Big Heart

2011-05-10T14:48:00.000+08:00

Yesterday the boy called out to me "Mummy, come quick. Cheh cheh (sister)'s leg is very pain."

The girl had kicked her toe against the door frame.

When I arrived at the "scene", I saw that the boy had wrapped his sister's leg with a good morning towel. He had his arm around her and he was asking her "Are you all right?"

Later on she said that it was painful when her foot touched the floor, he said "wait, wait" then he quickly got two cushions and put them on her chair. Then he asked her to sit on those so that she would be higher up and her legs would dangle above the floor.

When she wanted to speak to me, he pushed her about on the roller chair to come to see me.

When she wanted to go to the toilet, she hopped on one foot while he held the other.

When she came out of the toilet, he took out his bath towel and laid it on the floor for her to step gently on.

Then he put some water on her foot and said "Mummy, I know what to do already."

When she wanted to take her specs from her school bag, he went to get it for her.

That is my boy. Affectionate, has a soft spot for people in pain, whether its physical pain or when someone looks unhappy, he would comfort them. He loves me, his sister, his dad (I think in this order. Hehe.) and he is able to show his love unreservedly. Now wouldn't it be just wonderful if he could grow into a man who can express his love so well?

Living Skills

2011-05-09T10:21:00.001+08:00

I am very ashamed to admit that I am not teaching my kids enough living skills. You see, the demands on their time do not allow for it. How terrible that must sound but that is the truth.

They are both attending Chinese School. On certain days, their days starts at 6am to start preparing for school and end at 8.30pm when they go to bed. In between there may be school hours from 7.45am to 3.30pm or 4pm. After 4pm there is more homework to be completed before dinner and bedtime.

She reads this...........

For growing up children, my priority for them is sleep. I must make sure that they get enough sleep. That is my number one priority. Next, I have no choice but to make sure that they complete their homework. Then of course, we must factor in some physical exercises and playtime too.

What does that leave us? No time for any living skills. I am ashamed to say that they have never washed their own pair of school shoes, nor paint the shoe whitening liquid over their school shoes, not even once! Each time I think about it, which is often, I say I must make the time to let them do this as well as to help me wash vegetables, cook rice, do the laundry, help around the house with simple chores but we never find the time. As it is, we can hardly even find enough time for them to get the proper rest and sleep that they need especially my girl who is taking antiseisure medicine. The importance of sleep to lower the seizure treshold cannot be taken lightly.

and this........

My girl now enjoys both English and Chinese story books. She is quite good in Malay too. A child of 9 who is not only bilingual but trilingual. It certainly takes a lot of effort but at what price...............

but she can't wash this :(

Having said this, it is not really my choice for my children to be trilingual but I feel that the education system here gives me no other choice. Apart from the mad workload, my children's school is really very good. It has very good facilities, the teachers are hardworking and dedicated etc. However, I do wish that we have a better balance in living and educational skills.

The picture in my mind

2011-05-06T10:19:00.000+08:00

This is the my current picture in my mind of us. My boy is about this size now, the girl a little taller but yes, this is how I see us, my two lovelies, my babies.

You will always be my babies. You are both too heavy for me to lift and cradle in my arms now. So in my mind's eye, I see me stooping down and giving you both a loving cuddle like this.

9 & 7. I can't believe it. I started this blog when you were both under 3. I described myself as a mother to two under three then. The picture in my mind was different then. My life was very different then too. I didn't even have time to go to the toilet for a proper bath! Now, I can even read a magazine. :)

I wonder how it will be like another few years down the road. If I am still blogging, I will post a picture to freeze this memory in time.

Impatience

2011-05-04T08:00:00.000+08:00

Impatience runs in the family, it would seem.

This morning the boy spoke impatiently to me. "You must not speak that way to mummy, understand? It is very rude." I told him. "You are beginning to be rude like your cheh cheh." muttering under breath. Yeah. yeah. One shouldn't make verbal comparisons like that in front of your kids, I know, I know. Because if you do, you will get this....

"I learnt it from you, mummy." said cheh cheh innocently.

Hmmm.... come to think of it, the man often speaks impatiently to me. I must have learnt it from him then.....

Double Standards

2011-04-29T07:24:00.000+08:00

Girl: How come you can stay up and I have to go to sleep?

Mum: Because children need more sleep than adults.

Boy: How come you don't have to drink milk but I have to?
Dad: Because children need milk to grow healthy and strong.

Girl: How come daddy can play game and eat at the same time?
Boy: Because he is big.

Girl: How come mummy can finish the game (levels) so fast?
Boy: Because she doesn't have homework.

There is a lot of double standards going on in my house. What about yours?

The Magic of being a child

2011-04-27T08:38:00.000+08:00

The "crystal maker" and the "crystals"

My girl has a funny little mechanical pencil lead box. It has a small rectangular concave hole all along the whole box. My girl would use a high lighter to colour the hole. Then she would pour glue into it to set. After a day, she would peel off the dried glue and she would have a coloured piece of something which she calls crystals. She calls this process "making crystals". Sometimes she uses different coloured high lighter to create multi coloured "cyrstals".

Her younger brother had been watching her with envy. So for his birthday, she asked for permission to go to her school bookshop to buy the same mechanical lead box for him. I said it was ok and gave her a dollar and some wrapping paper to wrap up her present.

The boy was very happy with this present. Yesterday he tried this "crystal making" process for himself. He made a green "cyrstal". I was in another room when he peeled off his "crystal" for the first time. However, he came running to show me and the look on his face was priceless.

It was a look of wonder, excitement and joy all mixed up together. It was a look of magic that only a child can possess. It made me laugh out loud just looking at him. Isn't it wonderful to be a child? Isn't it wonderful to be around a child?

The Beano

2011-04-26T08:45:00.003+08:00

Daddy has been buying the kids The Beano comics to read. The Beano is a British Children's comic which started in 1938. We used to read them as a kid.

My kids like Numskulls the best. Then there is Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger, Billy Whiz. They love all those.

The also like Robbie Rebel, Fred's Bed and Ivy the Terrible which does not quite ring a bell with me. I think those are newer additions.

I find that the magazine has moved along with the times! I was flipping through one or two last night. I saw the Bash Street Kids talking to their teacher about iPod and Minnie the Minx was trying to teach her dad about Facebook and how to use the computer. Cute.

I think daddy buys the comics for the kids because he likes to read them himself. ;)

His kind of birthday

2011-04-25T08:14:00.001+08:00

We celebrated the boy's birthday yesterday. He had his kind of birthday. Stay in, play games, went out for meals, sang birthday song, open presents, play game again. lol.

Last year was his last year in kindy. We decided to have a party for him at the kindy. Usually we celebrate our birthdays on a very small scale, just the four of us. Last year, we invited Chicky from KFC fame to come along though. Haha. Chicky was very skinny and sweaty and his fur was a bit black.

This year since he is in primary school, it is much harder to organise a party so it is back to just four of us. It didn't make any difference to his happiness level though. I think he was perfectly happy doing all the things that he wanted to do.

I finally got him the full version of "plants vs zombies" as a surprise. He had wanted it so much. He also got his Humungousaur (Ben 10 alien) cake, wore his Ben 10 party hat and he ate the omnitrix (Ben 10 watch) as his first bite from the cake.

No homework for him all day long. I think that is the part he enjoyed the most of all!

Pssst... PVZ fans can check out my Plants Vs Zombies Collectibles Lens on Squidoo.

My birthday timetable

2011-04-22T09:36:00.002+08:00

My girl has drawn up her birthday itenary even though her birthday is a month away.Its a very detailed itenary too! I took a picture of it but it is too blur to put up. So I shall just replicate it here to tease her about it when she grows up. Hehe.

My birthday timetable

7:30 - Wake up

7:45 - Brush teeth

7:50 - Dress up

8:00 - Eat breakfast

8:30 - Play a bit

9:30 - Practise piano especially oral

9:45 - Leave house and go to mall

11:00 - Come home

12:15 - Lunch

1:15 - Rest

2:00 - Open Present

2:15 - Play with present

3:45 - Play with art paper and do creative things

4:30 - Get ready to go to park and fly kite

5:00 - Reach park

5:10 - Start flying kite

6:15 - Go home

6:25 - Bathe

7:15 - Eat Dinner

8:00 - Finish Dinner

8:15 - Play a bit more

8:30 - Brush teeth

8:35 - Read book

9:00 - Sleep

A rather tight itenary I must say. :) She even created a logo for her timetable and said that it is her birthday logo.

She did this in school on a rough piece of paper and later copied it down on a pink art paper. I was amused to see that her original "3.45 Practise piano especially oral" had been replaced with "Play with art paper and do creative things." Mummy says: Thats ok sweetie. You don't have to practise piano twice on the same day on your birthday. In fact, you don't have to practise at all. :)

Well, sweetie pie, mummy and daddy will try our best to make your birthday timetable come true.

As for the boy, his idea of a perfect birthday is to do nothing all day accept play computer games! So I guess that is what he will be doing this weekend. Although his birthday was yesterday, we have not celebrated it yet because he had school and piano class and homework in the afternoon so that leaves little chance to play computer games all day. He requested that we celebrate it during the weekend. Smart boy.

Kids. They're so innocent and sweet.

My Boy

2011-04-21T07:53:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, his front tooth was loose. He couldn't eat lunch. He cried. At dinner, I told him to pull it out himself (because I was too chicken to do so). He did. It was really loose so it came off easily. He was so happy!

He is 7 today. Time flies. He has grown tall and lost his baby fat. However he still has that adorable little boy face with all its expression of wonder at the world. I still marvel at how small his hands and feet are sometimes.

He is a good boy. I hope that he will grow into a good man. He is most affectionate. I get my daily fix of hugs from him most of all. He likes to crack jokes and talk and sing at the top of his voice. He likes to jump on people and hug them. He amuses us all with his antics. He surely knows how to bring a smile to everyone's faces.

I love him dearly. He is my boy.

Std 1 vs Std 3

2011-04-19T09:42:00.000+08:00

Before the kids went to Chinese School, I heard people saying that Std 1 is the "honeymoon year" and Std 3 is when it starts to heat up. Now I have a child in Std 1 and another in Std 3 so I can make direct comparisons.
It does appeart to be so... especially more so now. This year, my boy has a new syllabus and I can see the difference. He does have less homework compared to the time when his sister was in Std 1. Even his bag load is lighter. Most days he hardly has any homework at all. The Std 1 children this year has 3 periods less in lesson hours. However, due to some logistics problems, they are kept in school... to do homework. That is why they have less homework to bring home. Most days it is just one or two pages or none.

They also have their workbooks and exercise books kept in school by their teacher. The teacher will only pass the books for them to bring home when necessary. They only bring one textbook and one activity book for each subject. That makes a whole lot of difference to their bag loads.

As for my Std 3 girl, the contrast is huge. Each day she has 7-8 homework each at least 3 pages or more. Sometimes she has 5 pages of essay to copy. She has to carry her textbook and activity book and in addition to that numerous exercise books and workbooks for each subject. One day I should take a picture of how many books there is to one subject. It can make up an entire bag of books. She also has little minor tests, spelling, ejaan and ting seah almost every other day to memorise.

On certain days, her school day starts at 7.45am and ends at 4pm with a 15 minute break for recess and a 25 minute break for lunch. This is worse than an adults 9am-5pm with a one hour lunch break working hours. Then right after she gets home from this, she can't rest, she still has to do her 7-8 homework plus study for her ting seah etc. This system makes our little ones into little robots with no time to play not to mention time to rest and eat!

So is Std 1 the "honeymoon year"? Is Std 3 the year when things start to get really heavy? Yes, I would say so. I am worried for my boy because his Std 1 this year is even more "honeymoon" as compared to his sister. In fact, his Std 1 year is much more relaxed then his kindergarden year! They syllabus this year is really easy. In Std 1 he is drawing mostly squiggly lines and alphabets big and small. His ejaan, spelling and ting seah usually has only 5 words each time. The words are very simple. In kindergarten he had to do at least 12 words and usually they are compound words so in actual fact it may be more than 20 words to learn each time. It is the same for Chinese characters, Malay or English words. They are very hard words compared to now.

Now that his Std 1 is so simple, I should be happy right? However, I know that things will change drastically later on. Will he be able to make the transition? I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

5 minute kids craft - Making art from boxes

2011-04-14T09:11:00.000+08:00

Here is an easy peasy craft you can do with kids in 5 minutes. All you need are some old cereal boxes, toothpaste box or whatever box you can think of and a little imagination. Oh, and you will probably need some scissors, coloured paper, pencil and tape too. :P

First wrap the box up in coloured paper. Then ask your child to use his or her imagination to make a robot, a train, a bus, anything goes. Just give them a pencil to draw and decorate the box. I guess picture speaks louder than words, so here are some of our before and after pictures of this quick and easy craft for kids.

Before: A mini cereal box

After: A robot with on/off buttons including a "fly" button (according to the boy). He even threw in some stuff into the boxes before wrapping so that his robot will rattle when he shakes it.

The back of the robot includes a batter holder and a battery (so says the boy)

After: A girl robot with long hair. It has start/stop buttons and buttons to sing, dance and walk

Before: A toothpaste box

After: A bus with a smiley face

After: Another bus with wheels (before decorations were added)

After: After decorations. A girl bus. It even has a "pintu kecemasan" (emergency door)

Making Art from Boxes: Two robots on buses going to town

Anything is possible with a little imagination. The kids are having a fine time playing with their robots and buses. They are flying, rolling, turning them over and over, dancing, admiring, fighting etc with their new toy.

Seeing Stars!

2011-04-13T10:33:00.000+08:00

The kids love to get stars as rewards. It is extremely motivational to them. They would do anything to collect those stars. "Can we do mummy's homework?" can be frequently heard. However, I ran out of ideas what to do once they have a number of stars. I used to give them little rewards after they reach a certain number of stars. We did all sorts of silly things. I would buy small stationaries or stickers then hold a lucky draw sessionfor them etc.

It is my own fault. With so much excitement, naturally they want to work for those stars. Daddy put a stop to it because he said it was becoming too much. They were starting to do things just for the sake of those stars. They even started giving me stars! "Mummy you have 10 stars because you are so nice to us today" or "Bad mommy, no more stars for you." So we stopped for a while because the star reward system had started to backfire.

However they did not forget the stars. Every now and then they would ask about them. Recently they did some work and when I marked them, I gave them some stars for good work. They recorded the stars and said they would like to start the star reward system again. So I told them ok since they were so enthusiastic about it but I said I would not be buying them anything new as rewards.

They agreed. They came up with a new idea. They said they would use the stars to "buy" things around the house that they like, usually extra stationaries and knick knacks that I keep in the cupboard. So now everyday, its "How many stars does this pencil cost, mummy?" etc while mummy would say "If you don't behave, I will take away your stars." which usually will get this reaction "Oh, no! I must make sure no stars get cancelled!" Bad mommy. ;)

Learn how to make Origami Stars. They are fun and easy to do plus these lucky stars or 3D stars have special meaning.

1 Star stands for love
2 Stars means love you very much
3 Stars means missing loved one
10 Stars represents need or want love
16 Stars means love to remember always or cannot forget
99 Stars stands for infinite Love
730 Stars means love only you
999 Stars represents Success

Motivation to Learn

2011-04-08T07:57:00.000+08:00

My girl has always hated computer lessons. She has computer classes once a week in school. She always complains about the lessons and how afraid she is of it. She has been complaining since last year. I thought that it was because of the teacher but this year she continued to complain even with a new and different teacher. The night before computer lessons she would complain that computer lessons will ruin her day etc etc.

Then yesterday she came home with a sheet of paper which said "Your child has been selected blah blah blah" to attend some computer course and exam. Enrollment fee or exam fee is RM40. I thought nothing of it. A lot of times, she comes home with brochures like this. "Your child has been selected....." Fees = ..........."

I told her that everyone probably got a brochure and she is not attending because she has no time for extra classes. Besides the exam is supposed to be in July and that may clash with her piano exam. So we will not pay any extra money to do something which we have no time for.

She was very disappointed. "But mummy, I was chosen. Only 5 of us were chosen." I called the teacher to get more information. The teacher said that the "course" will be done during computer lesson periods in school and she does not have to go anywhere to sit for the "exam". It will also be held during school computer lessons and if cannot complete can carry forward to the next week. Teacher said she selected her because she is one of the few who can usually manage to complete given work in class.

Since no extra time is required, we agreed to let her join. She was very happy. Last night she took out her computer book and read it as a bedtime story! This morning she was reading the book at breakfast. She brought the book to read after wearing shoes and waiting for daddy to get ready. Then she brought the book to school to read in between lessons when she has free time.

I think it is a rip off but hopefully the RM40 will make her overcome her fear and negative feelings towards computer classes.

Her Art

2011-04-07T09:01:00.004+08:00

I keep most of the pictures and craft done by the kids. I love all of them because each one brings me back to a moment in time. Each one tells a different story. I store them in big folders and that reminds me, I should get some clear holders to keep some of the smaller ones.I also keep little things that they make and fold for me, little cards and messages. (Now you know where my little Ms Hoarder got her habit from). My girl is a hoarder. She keeps most things that she likes, stickers, little notebooks, etc etc. I have to get her to clear her drawers and files every now and then.

Here are a couple of drawings from Little Miss Hoarder. :)

The story behind this one: "Mummy, I saw my friend drawing the girl's eyes closed like this. It looks very nice, so I copied. Does this mean I can't be an artist because an artist has to be original?"

The story behind this one: This is her first black and white picture (because it hasn't been completed, not coloured in yet but I like it this way.) She sat and drew what she saw for this one. "Mummy, this is my first real scene drawing. Do you like my trees mummy, do you like my trees?"

Each drawing has its own special moment for us. I can't bear to throw any of them away. For the record, both of these were drawn at age 8+. I am sure I will not remember if I don't record this down. A brilliant idea just came to me. Next time, I will write the date and age behind each drawing and craft that I keep so that I can remember it and show it to them when they grow up.

The kids do not attend any art class because of lack of time and money resource. To make up for it, I try to do crafts with them whenever I can. I also encourage them to draw and send in their drawings for contests. When reading books and looking at pictures, I would point out to them how others colour, the shading, the shadows, the perspective and lo and behold, they do pay attention and would try to do it on their own when they draw and colour. "Look mummy, I did shading/shadows for this!" Sometimes I also show them YouTube videos on how to use oil pastels etc. That is the cheapest art lesson of all. Observation, Imagination and Exploration.

Linus Test for Standard 1 Students

2011-04-06T09:25:00.000+08:00

Yesterday my boy sat for his Linus test under the Program Linus (Program Literasi dan Numerasi). Well, at least that is what I presume.

"Mummy, I had test today. Chinese and Malay test. My friends from other classes had two tests too."

His friends said it was Maths and Malay test. When I asked him about it, he said....

"No lah it is Chinese test."

When I pressed him about it, saying that it should be Maths test, he said.

"Oklah. Oklah. Its Maths and Malay test lah!"

Gulp! He doesn't even know what test he sat for. Lets hope he passes it.

I first learned about the Linus test when I went to the school to get his birth certificate stamped by the school. I was given 2 pages for my kid yet to enter school kid to study to sit for a test in February. February came and went and nothing happened.

My boy was quite sick and missed school for the whole of February. When I asked the teacher about it she said soon because they are attending a meeting about it. Later on, I received a notice from the school with some dates on it. I didn't quite understand it.

In it was written Saringan 1, 2 blah blah, Kohort 1, 2 whatever.. and some start and end dates. It looks something like this but less detailed. So now, he has sat for the test and I didn't even know about it and neither did he. I have been teaching him some Maths and BM on and off. Maths is not a problem. It is the Malay I am worried about. I have no idea what the syllabus is so how to prepare for it? I only heard some horrible tales about how hard it is for SJKC students etc.

With hindsight I was able to check the internet and discovered that the written examination for the Linus 2011 for Standard 1 is sometime from 1 April to 8 April whereas the oral test is around 28 Feb to 31 Mac. However when I asked my son whether he had to read to teacher, he has no idea.

Anyway, its over now. Lets see how he fares.

I am the leader, you are the follower

2011-04-05T07:46:00.000+08:00

My girl being the older of the two is always telling my boy what to do and the boy will follow along happily. Quite often when she suggests something while they are playing or drawing, he will follow along quite happily.

On the other hand, if he suggests something, usually she will start to complain to me that he is asking her to do something that she does not want to do. I guess it is also because of their age. She is interested in different things whereas he is keen to follow in her footsteps.

Anyway, the other day, she drew this........

and then she suggested that he draw this........

Sometimes I wonder if the first child make better leaders?

Of time tables and routines

2011-04-01T09:22:00.000+08:00

The little one loves to play computer games. Each day he would pester me to let him play. The other day, tired of his pestering, I drew up a time table. In it, I listed down all the activities we had to do for the day, including meal times with a time for playing computer games clearly written down.

He was very pleased with his time table indeed. He did all the work that was required according to the time allocated on the time table. Next day, he requested for the time table again... just so he could see the time allotted for playing games. Haha.

I showed him the entire week's time table. Playing computer games is slotted for Thursdays. So he won't pester me every day. lol.

Here is the self portrait of the little boy who likes to play computer games. :) For the record, this picture is drawn on 30th March 2011, one month short of his 7th birthday. It was drawn 5 minutes before bedtime. :)

He wants to make a lot of money

2011-03-25T08:12:00.000+08:00

Last night we were reading a story about a famous artist in China... about how he observed nature and practised very hard and eventually managed to paint and sell many beautiful lifelike paintings.

"Mummy, I don't think I want to become an artist. It is too hard. I don't think I can do it. I like to play computer games too much. I think I want to become a computerler.

Daddy, who makes more money, a pilot or a builder? A builder? Oh, in that case I want to be a builder. I will build the tallest buildings in the world and make a lot of money!

I don't think I want to become a diamond person (miner) anymore. I want to make a lot of money from diamonds but this is too hard. I have to go through adventures and the caves are scary."

Sounds like I have a boy who wants to make a lot of money but does not want to work very hard for it. Haha.

Explaining Earthquakes and Tsunami to Kids

2011-03-24T09:46:00.003+08:00

Yesterday the little one asked "Mummy, what is an earthquake?"

The older one said. "I know. I know. Teacher showed it to us at school. Teacher showed us a video of the Japan Earthquake. We all said Wuaaah Wuaaaah!" her mouth and eyes opened wide in amazement.

I had to find out what they heard, what they learned, what they saw and what they understood. Then I tried to fill in the gaps and explain it to them in the most simple terms without frightening them too much for the images and videos are scary.

I found some videos on YouTube to explain to them about a tsunami. I wanted to find videos and explanations on what is an earthquake and a tsunami but I could not find those. What I found was videos on what to do in case of an earthquake or a tsunami. However the videos are simple enough for young kids to understand. Here they are...

Tsunami Video 1

Tsunami Video 2

Earthquake Video

Careless Mistakes during test

2011-03-22T07:58:00.000+08:00

My girl often makes careless mistakes during tests as most kids her age do I suppose. However, yesterday she brought back her Maths paper and I saw that she had lost over 10 marks due to carelessness. Oops!

It was the first time she had to do an objective paper by marking on a separate paper. She had gotten the answers right on the question paper itself but when transferring the answers onto the objective answer sheet, she somehow put in the wrong answers. She did so for 5 questions. Thats 5 marks. She also forgot to transfer an answer. Thats another 1 mark. 6 correct answers but marked wrongly.

She miscalculated a very easy sum. 1 mark. She got tricked because she did not read the question carefully enough. 1 mark. (These 2 marks lost are excusable and not as bad as the above. Anyone can make those sorts of mistakes. Still it is not because she does not know it. She knows the answers when I asked her to look at them again and straight away she spotted her mistake.)

Finally, she got 3 marks deducted because she forgot to put in some maths equation or answers even though she had done the workings and got all the answers correct. Again, all answers were correct but marks deducted because incomplete.

When I spoke to her, I saw that she was going to get defensive and start arguing "But mummy, I checked. I used the ruler and checked line by line when transferring the answers." I told her that obviously there was something wrong with the manner in which she had checked because she made 6 wrong markings but she was adamant that she had checked correctly and carefully and she does not know how to make it better.

Instead of scolding her, I suggested to her that in future, instead of checking in that manner using a ruler, she should try to look at the numbers carefully before marking the answer sheet. "Isn't it such a waste that you are smart and studied so hard but then you lost so many marks due to not being careful enough?" She lost her defensiveness and agreed that it was indeed a waste. Hopefully she will not make so many careless mistakes in the future.

Though this is her first time doing answers on an objective answer sheet, her father had reminded her to check carefully before marking the answers. No matter how often we remind her, she still makes careless mistakes every time (which is acceptable for which kid does not make careless mistakes?) but this time, more than 10 marks lost due to carelessness is certainly a waste. She had studied so hard.

How to make an origami ball

2011-03-21T09:00:00.003+08:00

The kids love origami. They are quite adept at it having had quite a lot of practise. They can easily follow simple origami instructions from origami books or better still YouTube videos. We keep some origami paper at home ready for when the mood strikes us. Sometimes they even come up with their own amazing origami designs. The boy folded a space craft while the girl made a 3-D ice-cream cone with strawberry and vanilla flavour. :)

Recently we tried this fun paper project ie how to make a ball with a piece of paper. It is really easy. The part that the kids love the most is blowing up the ball.

Here is the video we found on YouTube on How to Make an Origami Ball or a ball using a piece of paper. You should try it. I am sure the kids will find it fun and easy.

Siblings

2011-03-11T09:05:00.000+08:00

Yesterday the boy did not know how to do his school work. His sister came to help him. He gave her a hug in return. She hugged him back and they both smiled. Perfect sibling behaviour.

Now, if only this would go on daily instead of the .....

"Mummy she ate 4 prawn crackers. I only had 3"

"Mummy, he pushed my hand away."

"Mummy, she hit me."

"Mummy, he is too noisy!"

Blah blah blah.....

I wonder how will they be like when they grow up.

I hope they grow up loving each other and always keeping an eye out for each other.

First half school term break

2011-03-09T07:57:00.000+08:00

The first school holidays is almost upon us. This week is easy on us as it is exam week. No after school classes or activities and no homework. We are much less rushed this way. All that is required is a little bit of revision in the afternoon.

The holidays are too short. Its just 5 days if you don't count the weekends. Their father may take two days off to spend time with them, they have two days of replacement piano classes to catch up from the time they were sick and they have been invited to their aunty's house for a pot luck lunch on another day. Thats it. All 5 days taken up. It will go by in no time at all.

However, they have grand plans for the holidays. They want to do all sorts and manners of crafts, and science experiments and play with their toys which they have no time for during school days, and play pc games and ........... "Mummy, we must do this if we have the time. Can we? Can we? If we have the time?" Looks like mummy will be as busy as ever, school holidays or no school holidays.

Before and After Photos

2011-03-07T07:23:00.000+08:00

With my boy falling sick at the tail end of Chinese New Year, I had no mood nor time to post up any post about Chinese New Year. Now, this is all the energy I have left to post before it becomes end of the year. :P

We went to Kek Lok Si in Penang at dusk. Watching the fairy lights being switched on was magical, simply magical. We climbed the Pagoda, something I've done many times before but not with the kids. I was tired but the hubby and the kids were excited so I managed to find some reserve energy to climb.

At the top, the boy said.. "Mummy, look! I can see the whole town! So lovely!" His excited look and happy expression when he said that, made the tiring climb worthwhile. :)

This year we also went to Gurney Drive to play fireworks and let go some wishing lanterns. That was magical too.

We had a wonderful time at the beggining of Chinese New Year though not at the end but things are back to normal now.

Homework "Guidance"

2011-03-02T07:44:00.000+08:00

Boy: Mummy, mummy, must do this homework or not?

Mum: No need. No need. Just do today's homework. The rest leave for later, slowly do.

Mum: Eh? What for you colour so nice for. This is not an art lesson. Cincai colour enough. Don't waste time.

Girl: My class teacher say exactly the same thing as you because she is always in a rush too but my music teacher say must colour nicely or else she will scold.

Mum to boy: What have you been doing while I was gone? Why nothing done? Playing with stationaries again ah!

Mum to girl: What have you been doing while I was gone? Why nothing done? Reading book again ah! Put away that story book!

Are 7 year olds smart enough to choose what to have for lunch?

2011-03-01T14:48:00.000+08:00

Are 7 year olds smart enough to choose what to have for lunch? Will they choose a balanced diet, with fruit, vegetables and water? I don't think so. I don't think 7 year olds should be given pocket money to buy lunch on their own and decide what they should eat. I think it is ok during a short break or recess in the morning but not for lunch.

At school, I saw some kids who had catered food from the canteen for lunch. Some had lunch catered from outside. Some had lunch brought by parents. Some were flanked by maids. Some had very balanced meals, fried chicken, vegetables, rice. Some had warm porridge brought in a container. Some older kids who were perhaps more hungry could buy rice or noodles for themselves.

Then I saw this 7 year old, who ran to the canteen counter, bought himself two packets of junk (usually with names like tam tam or miao miao or something ridiculous like that) and he sat and enjoyed his two packets of junk for lunch.

I think not allowing pocket money and just allowing him to eat a cold sandwich prepared in the morning would have been much better.

I know that kid. He is in my son's class. He will have more junk food for tea. Then he has to wait for the older kids to come out later in the day before going off in a bus... not home but to another daycare centre.

I don't think that 7 year olds in my time had such a schedule but it seems to be getting more common now. :(

Back to School

2011-02-28T08:54:00.000+08:00

The kids are back at school today. The boy is back after almost a month off school! He is anxious. "Mummy, so long already..." he said. I accompanied him to class although parents are not allowed in. I asked for permission. So that he won't feel so lost. When we got there, the children were busy sweeping the floor. One boy said to him in mandarin "Put up your bag! Put up your bag!" My poor boy could not understand him. Sigh. It is my fault, sending him to Chinese school but not preparing him enough in conversational Chinese.

His class has a few mat salley and Malays and Indians. About 10% of his class are non-Chinese. The thing is, these non-Chinese parents planned a long time ago to send their kids to Chinese school. So they compensated for it and prepared the kids by sending them for 2-3 years to a Chinese kindergarden. As a result these kids are fully prepared.

Whereas me, who did not believe in a lot of homework at a young age, allowed my son to be in a relaxed kindy and now as a result he is lost. I thought that he should be able to catch up once he is in an all Chinese environment. Unfortunately, he only attended 1 month of school and missed the entire 2nd month so now he is even more lost. Poor boy. Oh well, I shall just have to coach him harder myself with my just learned Chinese from teaching his sister before him. I shall rope his sister in to help once her tests are over because now her Mandarin is much better than mine.

I find that for Std 1 and Std 2, I am able to teach myself ahead of the kids and coach them myself even without knowing Mandarin myself but Std 3 is quite beyond me unless I "study" harder myself.

As for the girl, she missed about 6 days of school this month. Today she is back at school but she is having diarheaa. She went to toilet just before going out of the house and rushed to toilet again as soon as she reached the school. Poor girl. Perhaps we have to bring her to the doc again this evening. Sigh.

Enjoy the times when they are young

2011-02-24T10:52:00.000+08:00

I have often said this and I have often said how time flies. They grow up so quickly. I can't stress this enough.

How simple life is when they are young. You can take off and go for a holiday whenever you want. You can sleep in or sleep late or sleep whenever you want.

Once they are in school, things are so different. There are so many new challenges. I feel it now, even more so. This month, my boy has only been to school for 1 day due to his falling sick. The girl missed 6 days of school. There is a lot of catching up work to do. Teachers to call.

Now that they are in school, I have to deal with school bullying, fears of school, fears of teachers, homework, waking up early, getting enough sleepy, juggling precious time, the list goes on. It is a whole different ball game.

So enjoy the times when they are young, when life is so simple and all you have to worry about is whether they are sleeping well, eating well and pooping well.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2011-01-31T09:22:00.000+08:00

Myspace Graphics
Today is the start of the children's school holidays. They go back to school on the 5th day of Chinese New Year. We will be back from hometown on the 4th day. It will be a long and tiring journey as everyone rushes back. I prefer if the holidays starts later and ends later. For some, like my neighbour, they have gone back to their hometowns earlier.

The other day, on the last day of school, the kids had a Chinese New Year party in school. They were given angpows, mandarin oranges. Prizes were given for the best caligraphy. All the teachers were dressed in beautiful Cheongsams in bright orange and red. The men were dressed in red too. It was grand. There was even a lion dance in the hall and the kids were chasing the lion around excitedly just to touch it.

I was happy to witness the scene. When I sent my child to Chinese school, the only reason I did it was because I thought it was the lesser of two bad choices. However, despite the long hours and heavy workload, I am glad to see the kids playing and the teachers relaxing on this day and I am glad to see this celebration of culture at the school.

Gong Xi Fa Cai. Xin Nian Kua Le. Kong Hei Fatt Choi,

Kiong Hee Huat Chai, Happy New Year!

Enjoy yourself now because when the kids get back to school, the pressure builds as the first term tests is just around the corner! I won't be back till then.