Can you make someone smile when they're very mad?

Can you make someone smile when they're very mad? Right after they yelled at you? Don't you just feel like yelling back? And you certainly won't feel like smiling, would you?

However children have an uncanny way of doing this. Right after I'm finished yelling at them, they would come to me, shove their little faces right in front of mine, give me a big grin and say "Mummy, happy? Mummy, happy" and if my face remained stern, they'd continue "Mummy, happy?" "Hmmmm?" "Hmmmmm?" all the while still grinning and shoving their faces right in front of mine. Its so comical that sometimes I can't help but burst out laughing!

Occassionally when they see me very upset or angry with them they would cry and try to hug me. So angry though I may be, I will try my best to give them a reassuring hug even though I'm mad! Afterall, I'm glad that they run to me instead of cry and run away sulking, pouting or throwing further tantrums.

I guess we adults have a lot to learn from the little ones when we're fighting. When I'm mad at my spouse or when he's mad at me, I certainly do not feel like smiling at him or hugging him! Hahaha. I should try to learn from the kids but it takes all the control in the world to do that which comes so naturally to them. Hahaha.

Do you read labels when you shop?

Do you read labels when you shop? You're supposed to read labels to know the nutrition levels of the food products you buy but hey you know what? Labels can lie!

"It has been a staple for generations of children. But two schoolgirls have shown Ribena is not all it claims to be. Its makers, GlaxoSmithKline, were fined nearly £80,000 in a New Zealand court yesterday after admitting making misleading claims about the amount of Vitamin C in the drink there and in Australia."

Above excerpt from telegraph.co.uk: Girls expose Ribena's false vitamin claim

What about Malaysia then?

"As reported in the press, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare in New Zealand (GSK-CH) has accepted charges brought by the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) and has given undertakings to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with regards to potentially misleading advertising statements and low levels of Vitamin C in some Ribena Ready-to-Drink products manufactured for the Australia and New Zealand markets.

GSK Malaysia has conducted thorough laboratory testing of Vitamin C levels in Ribena. This testing has confirmed that Ribena in Malaysia contain the stated levels of Vitamin C, as described on product labels. GSK would like to reassure its consumers in Malaysia that the issues discussed with the ACCC and NZCC only affects certain Ribena products in Australia and New Zealand. "

Above excerpt from Amir Mahmood Razak's blog: GSK Malaysia has given assurance on the Vitamin C Levels in Ribena.

Hmmm...... I guess its time to wipe the dust off the juicer and make more fresh juices for the kids.

Cane wielding teachers

Its true. Its not a myth. Chinese school teachers do walk around with cane in hand.

KPC 1: Eh you know ar, are you sure you want to send your dotter to Chinese school? The teachers walk around with a cane wan yunno?

KPC 2: Yah. Yah. And if ever your dotter is unable to finish her homework for example......... WHACK! Really kesian one you know?

MG: Really ah?

Well, its no hearsay and not a myth. I saw with my own eyes. Hahaha. When I went to register my girl at a Chinese School, I saw the teachers walking around with canes in one hand and books in the other. One teacher even had two rotan canes in her hands.

I also chanced to see 3 adults (I'm not sure if one of them included a parent) admonishing a child. They were all bearing down at her. (Just imagine 3 tall giants looking down at you and one of them pointing her finger at you accusingly) and the little girl was crying "No, I didn't lie. No, I didn't lie."

Well, I dunno if the little girl was in the wrong but wah... I oso sked man. The adults looked quite intimidating itelu!

What does everyone think of an education system with this sort of disciplinary action? I really wonder if I am doing the right thing registering my girl for a Chinese school. Sigh. I just came from reading Anak Merdeka's post Breeding excellence via a culture of fear and I'm filled with even more doubts now.

Poof! Disappeared!

This just happened:

1. I type my blog post *clickety clack clickety clack*
2. I hit the publish post button
3. I check my blog post
4. Several paragraphs are missing!
5. I retype my blog post from memory
6. Repeat Steps 1 to 6

Aaargggh! This blogger. Has anyone ever encountered the problem where you write a lengthy post, they you hit publish and when you check your blog post, several paragraphs are missing! It just happened to me and its happened a few times before this too. Really annoying and a waste of time. Probably I should do what most people do, type in word then copy and paste before publishing. This way at least my blog post won't disappear into thin air.

Getting my girl ready for preschool

A kindergarden operator told me that the kids who understand the concept of school will fare much better when they start preschool for the very first time.

Having heard that, I started preparing my girl for preschool months ago even though I had no intention of sending her too early. I tried to create a school environment for her. Study table and chair, white board and all and we try to sit at there for her lessons in maths, science, malays, plus arts and crafts. She totally enjoys those lessons with me and constantly asks for them because she gets my undivided attention during those lessons. (Children just like it that you spend quality time with them. Teaching them and reading to them is a good way of spending quality time and they love it!)

She has a few videos about schooling and going to school and sometimes we play pretend school. Her brother is usually involved too in these plays as the other student. To further prepare her, I gave her the impression that going to school or kindergarden is a special privelege that only older children like her (and not her brother) can enjoy.

She is prepared now, I believe. (after being brainwashed by me. lol!) When we visited a kindergarden recently she attended a trial class for an hour. She was very good. Although normally shy and clingy she did not protest when the teacher took her hand and led her upstairs to the classroom away from me. She did not say "No, I don't want to go" or "I want to go home". When I went to peep at her after half an hour later I saw that she was seated in the back row. She wasn't paying attention to what the teacher was saying but she was looking around the room curiously. Hahaha.

The teacher later gave me the feedback that she does not like to talk and doesn't want to talk to those around her. I think she just needs a little time. Afterall, she is new whereas the others are not. They have started one whole term together and are familiar to the school by now.

Later she told me that the teacher did not teach her, only the others. And when they brought her down for a snack with the other kids she said she didn't want to eat, she only wanted a drink. I do hope she can quickly adjust herself and make new friends and enjoy kindy soon. I'm planning to enrol her in one soon since she is ready now.

Drop in Adsense Earnings after Switching to new Blogger

This site experience a major drop in adsense earnings recently and became lower ranked in search engine results. I have several blogs but this one is my main adsense earnings blog. This site has also always enjoyed good search engine results landing on top pages for certain keywords. (Because search engine loves blogs there is no denying that). I don't do any SEO techinques. I just write. And this is good enough to get me on top of the search engines.

However recently when I checked my stats, I found that there were almost no search engine visitors to this blog and my adsense dropped correspondingly. (I started earning in a week or more what I used to earn in a day). I couldn't understand why.

Then I got rejected for a paid post I did for Blogsvertising and was informed to remove the nofollow tag that was in my blog template after I switched to the new Blogger. They gave me this link on how to do it: New Blogger, nofollow and wordpress import. I did as suggested in the post. My blog post was approved, my page started appearing in search engines again and my adsense earnings is back on track. Phew!

Now, this did not happen for my other blogs which were also hosted on Blogger and switched to the new blogger. I believe it only happened because this blog required me to key in a word verification before I publish or save a blog post. (I have since requested for the need to key in word verification for blog posts which is required for spam blogs! I have no idea how this blog got identified as a spam blog.) You can view my request below (highlighted in italics):

Your blog requires word verification

Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.

We received your unlock request on March 20, 2007. On behalf of the robots, we apologize for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam.

Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.

I do not know for sure if this was the actual reason for the drop in my adsense earnings but the timing suggests to me that it is. My adsense earnings dropped after I switched to the new blogger and came back on track after I removed the nofollow attribute from my blog template. If this has happened to you ie you have experienced a drop in adsense earnings after switching to the new blogger, perhaps you could try it and see if it works for you.

Too Young for Kindy?

What is the best age to send a child for nursery, playschool or kindergarden? I suppose it depends on each child and their stages of development. However I am totally against sending them too young when they are not ready for it.

While I was shopping for kindergardens recently, I saw this 3 year old little boy who looked so traumatised and lost. He was running around looking totally lost and confused and bawling away. He ran to a table and tried to grab his little bag, then he ran to look for the door but couldn't find it and the person in charge simply said "See you cry some more, now you can't get out."

He looked totally pitiful. It was his first day apparently. I wonder where are his parents. I wonder why they have sent him to kindergarden at such a young age. My boy who is 3 is constantly having separation anxieties from me even when we are in the house and I am out of sight. What more when they are left in a strange environment without beloved mummy or daddy. I wonder, I wonder, I wonder and I feel really sorry for the little boy.

Shopping for Kindergardens - The mad pursuit for academic excellence

Parents have now taken the mad pursuit for academic excellence to a new level ie starting from pre-school or nursery. I went shopping for kindergardens for my 5 year old recently and sadly I found this to be true, in one of them that is.

This is a very established, well known franchised kindergarden with a name. I visited it because I had received a lot of recommendations and good feedback about it. However I do not find this to be true personally.

At the door I was greeted by a kindergarden teacher who asked how old my daughter was. When I said "5" she expressed shock to know that she has never attended any nursery or play school. "Oh No. These days you MUST sent for at least 2 years." Hmmmm....

Soon I was speaking to the principal who showed me their syllabus while she proudly proclaimed that the syllabus was equivalent to the Standard One syllabus in public school. This way the kids will automatically be streamed into the better classes when they start school I was told. Hmmmmm again. What for? So that you can claim that kids "graduating" from your school turn out smarter than the rest and are ahead of the pact?

I spoke to a teacher who like the principal kept on mentioning the word "homework". Hmmmm aren't kids of that age too young to be subjected to lots of homework? What about time for play. My kids learn so much from playing.

Needless to say, I didn't like that established kindy and won't be back.

I'm opting for a newer, less established, less formal kindergarden where the classes are smaller and the teachers more approachable. Thats it.

Related posts: Kindergarden 101

Shopping for Schools Cont..

This post is the continuation to my earlier post: Shopping for Schools

Over the weekend I continued to visit some schools (Chinese, Kebangsaan and private) to get the feel and better perspective of things as well as to make a comparison. I would recommend an actual physical visit to several possible schools in your area before deciding as it reallly gives a better perspective and a helpful aid in the difficult decision making process.

Visiting the school premise gives me the chance to visualise whether I would be happy sending my child to the school. I walked around the classrooms, school halls, canteen etc to picture my kid being there. I tried to imagine myself sending and picking up my child from the school.

These field trips are necessary for me to pick the right school. Some of the schools were very run down and badly in need of a paint job! Some were fully aircond with many facilities. Some were very small with no proper school hall and sharing facilities with another school etc. I would say the visits were fruitful and has given me a better understanding and feel of which school would be suitable.

After shopping for schools, I am now shopping for kindergardens. Albeit a little late since my child is 5 now and most kids her age are now entering their second term in the year. I did my shopping for schools first BEFORE a kindergarden because I think they are interelated. Picking the school will help me decide on the right kindergarden for my child. The visit to the kindergardens were interesting and I shall probably talk about it in subsequent posts when I have more time.

When you have two or more

I have two kids and they drive me crazy with their endless fights. However at the same time its fun to watch them play together and interact. For example, they were having their baths and I let them take their teapots and cups into the bath to play. (It helps wash up those toys at the same time!). They were laughing and giggling away as they poured water into the cups and teacups and yelled "YUMMM SENG" (Cheers!) as they had just attended a Chinese Wedding Dinner recently and found out what the word meant.

After their bath, they played with their cars on the toy playmat. "Are you going to the snowy place?" asked the elder one as they "drove" their cars around and around. Then they talked about ice creams "I want the pink ice cream" said the girl "I want the blue one" said the boy.

Now, if only I could I would like to have a third one so that I can see how they interact with the third. I think they would probably gang up into teams and "side" with one when they feel like it and drive me nuts! Hahaha. (But it will be fun to watch and they will learn some new interaction and social skills among themselves).

My older posts on a related subject:
How to make sure your firstborn child accept the new baby
Finger Pointing
Birth Order Dynamics

Shopping for Schools

My sister tells me that it is important to visit a few schools near my housing area before deciding on which school to register. With that in mind, I went to visit two schools yesterday a Chinese primary school and a Kebangsaan primary school.

The Chinese school had quite good facilities. It looked established. I saw some students having brass band practise. They had a nice big field with a basketball court, a big school hall which housed 8 badminton courts and a nice airy canteen. Very nice. The school hours is from 7.25am till 1.25pm and the school offers optional after school tuition up to 3.30pm. (I am told by everyone that after school tuition is necessary if sending to Chinese school especially if you don't speak Mandarin at home). I was also told by those parents who sent their kids to Chinese school that they pushed their kids really, really hard for the first six years. There are pros and cons I suppose. The child would probably benefit from a disciplined environment and being pushed to become more competitive so they would learn some survical skills but is it really that necessary at such a young age?

The Kebangsaan school didn't have as nice a premise as the Chinese school one but at least it didn't give me the shock that the first school I visited did. (where the children had to sit on the floor to eat during recess because there weren't enough seats at the canteen). In the first one there was no school hall or field. This one did.

According to the Malay Standard One school teacher, this school offers compulsory Chinese lessons as part of its syllabus and daily subjects. Its supposed to be a pioneer project (starting this year) and if successful will be offered in Std 2 subsequently. At the moment its only being offered to Std 1 pupils and from Std 2 onwards you'd have to take it as an extra POL subject which is being offered once a week on Fridays.

This is an interesting development. I think its a good thing that may encourage some Chinese parents to return to the Kebangsaan schools.

I still haven't made up my mind yet but I feel that it has been a fruitful visit and I am quite pleased with both schools I visited compared to the first one which made me lose confidence in Kebangsaan school.

I would like my kid to pick up a third language but at the same time I am worried that I cannot converse with the teachers and work closely with them or help and support my child when she needs help with schoolwork. My sister also warned me that I would be worried about their deteriorating level of English and whether they would be able to catch up in their Bahasa Malaysia by the time they move to secondary school as she did with her children.

I am really torn. I have heard from many quarters that the style of learning at Chinese schools is very memory orientated and one teacher of 17 years said she is fed up of checking the essays of those with the Chinese School background because they lack creativity. I am also worried about the timing. Is it necessary for a young child to learn and do so much homework from 7.25am till 3.30pm daily including Fridays (At the Kebangsaan school they are let off earlier on Fridays). By the time they get home from school, they will have time for little else accept a meal, a rest, more homework and sleep. What about their other areas of development. Where would they have time to take up some gym or music or other things for example?

Decisions. Decisions. Worry. Worry. Some might say that its only primary school. Why worry so much? However primary school though it may be, its the foundation that you are going to set for your child so worry you should and try to make the right decision.

Related posts:
Shopping for Schools Cont.
Chinese School, Kebangsaan School or Private School

Chinese School, Kebangsaan School or Private School?

Its that time of the year again to register school going children for primary school and parents are faced with the same dilemma again. Wanna know what the dilemma is? Go and read the following links.

From Parenting Times: Chinese School or National School?
From Double Happiness: Chinese School or National School? and School, Which, What School?
From Khong Family: Education Costings , Education Worries Pt 1 and Education Worries Pt 2
From Montesorri Mum: Education Worries and Education
From Weaving Linguine: In Favour of Childhood
From MarshaMaung.com: Do my homework for me, Mom!
From Family Place's Education and Learning Link: Dilemma, Please Help!
From United Subang Jaya Web Forum: Non-Chinese in Chinese Schools

Note: If you have written a blog post about this and would like to be linked here, please send me your link. Thank you.

I thought I had it all thought out. At first I wanted to send my kids to Chinese school to learn a third language but many warned me about how tough it was going to be. These were some of the comments that deterred me.

"You're going to regret it and feel extremely stressed if your child cannot cope and comes to you for help but you can't help them." (because I don't know Chinese)

"The teachers and heads of Chinese schools are very tyranical. You either take it or leave it and you just do as you are told. There is no discussion."

"Their way of discipline is walking around with a cane."

"There will be a tremendous amount of homework and your child will not have any free time for anything else."

"The classes are overflowing. There are 15 Standard One classes at my child's school. Your child won't get the attention unless they are in the top few classes. There is overpopulation in the Chinese schools."

"You must send your kids for at least 2 years preschool to prepare for Chinese schooling or you can forget it. Your child will be lost and miserable." (Because we don't know and don't speak Mandarin at home)

"Your child is brought up in such an angmoh style she will find it hard to survive in the Chinese School environment."

Blah blah blah blah. There's lots more but I won't put it all here. I think you know the drift. So I decided to send my kid to kebangsaan school but I was disappointed when I went to register my kid for Primary One at the nearest school. The school premise was small. No school field or proper hall. Just an open canteen with a stage at the end to pass off as an assembly place. When the bell rang for recess, I was surprised to see the kids sitting on the floor to have their meal because there weren't enough chairs and tables. And nearby this school is a spanking new school building, big and beautiful BUT it is abandoned because I heard it is unsafe for occupation and about to be torn down. I feel angry and sad whenever I pass by the new unoccupied school. Its such a waste of public funds. I did not register my child that day. Now, I am disillusioned and worried. Have I made the right decision?

There are only one or two small primary schools nearby with a small population of students, probably only 2-4 Standard One classes but there are several secondary schools in the area. So where do parents send their kids? To Chinese Schools and private schools (if you can afford it and prepared to travel the distance if its not in your housing estate). Many of my friends and relatives have chosen these options. Chinese primary school followed by Private School or further Chinese Secondary school. It would seem that no one wants to attend kebangsaan school anymore, not even for secondary education. Whats happening? Is it so different now compared to our times? I was from Kebangsaan school all the way and I didn't think it was so bad.

The private schools are expensive and far but those parents who can afford to send their kids seem happy with their choice because of the facilities and opportunities that their kids are being given. However, will this create a spoilt brat syndrome, I am worried but of course that is the least of my worries. Cost and travel is on top of the list so thats out and the choice is between Chinese and Kebangsaan.

My child who is 5 this year is still not attending any kindergarden yet. Is it too late to send her for Chinese school? I only have a few more weeks to decide as registration is only till the end of the month. So what do I do now? I am really at a loss? Sigh! Any comments appreciated.

The following are past comments from my old post which were lost in Haloscan Fortunately I saved them in my Gmail so I shall post them here for easier reference.


Previous Comments

There are pro and cons for both type of schools. Anyway, if I were you, I would send my children to Chinese school, as the teachers are able to discipline my children better than me. They learn self discipline and its very important for my kids not to be banana. Besides, studying in Chinese school has higher probability of learning a minimum of 3 languages - Chinese, Malay and English. Then when comes to secondary school, can send my kids to SMK, then my kids can socialize with different culture, especially the Malays and Tamils. But still, they have the basic roots of being a Chinese and yet experiencing the multi racial society. However, it depends on your living place too. My hometown basically has nearly like 70% above Chinese population, so......
Jason Homepage 03.11.05 - 12:52 pm #

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to begin with, i was being sent to a national school since primary and my chinese are all self learned. but that is not the point. the point is, there are indeed pros and cons in attending either of the school system. however, please take note, Malaysia is the only country outside CHINA(excluding Taiwan I suppose) with a proper chinese education system from primary till secondary and high school... so you can judge how well our chinese education is actually doing...
Mossie`Ol Chin Homepage 03.11.05 - 1:46 pm #

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I went to a National School but I took Chinese classes at night. Willingly.

The Chinese language is now more and more important because you now only use it within to country. You also converse in this language outside Malaysia as well.

It's also an advantage when applying for a job. No point being a banana while working in an IT firm full of mandarin speaking people. Especially your boss. If don't even know how to ask for bonus, lagi chun. Wahaha.
JxT2J Homepage 03.11.05 - 1:52 pm #

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Mrs B and I are planning to send our kids to chinese school, at least for primary level. Both of us are also "banana" people, hence don't want our kids to loose out, especially with china opening up.
buaya69 Homepage 03.11.05 - 3:47 pm #

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it's noteworthy to mention that a child risks becoming semilingual (instead of multilingual) if he doesn't a have strong foundation in at least one of the languages he knows. it's always best to evaluate the child's command of language before enrolling him to a primary school which uses a language unfamiliar to him (but easy to take up).

if the child is already fluent in english by the time of kindergarten, i think it's good to send him to an SJK(C). otherwise, better not because the child will end up speaking rojak with his mind all messed up with different languages.
MunKit Homepage 03.11.05 - 5:07 pm #

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I think Chinese school better choice loh, or else the kids will don't know how to speak chinese.

Some of my fren feel very "pai se", cause they don't know how to write and read chinese.
mrkiasu Homepage 03.11.05 - 5:12 pm #

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my father is a banana while my mother was chinese educated. my hometown consist of more than 80% of malays (there's a SK and SMK near my house. only 10 minutes walking distance). but my mother insisted of sending her two children to chinese school because she believe that a chinese should know his/her mother tongue.

chinese school as known, always have classes packed with about 50 or more each. hence, student don't get much attention. So, it all depends on how the child discipline his/herself.

homeworks as usual, a lot. but personally, i always managed to finish them and go to bed before 10:30 pm. maybe by telling your child to try and finish as much h/w as he can at school can help. my mother once complained to the form teacher of my sister when she was in standard 1 that the teacher was giving them too much h/w until my sister need to do them until the wee hours. but it turned out that my sister was chatting with her classmates when they were given time to do their h/w.

not that i want to be prejudice, but it seems that children attending chinese school gets better result for Math compared to those attending national school.

and about what Jason mentioned about multi racial society, there's lots of malays and indians in chinese school now. so, not to worry.
torpor Homepage 03.11.05 - 5:16 pm #

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I'm from the National stream but my mum forced me into taking private mandaring lessons for 10 years so I'm not left out with my Chinese. I know of some of my mum's friends who sent their kids to Chinese school. Their kids can't cope because the crazy amount of homework. So, they end up pulling them out from SRJK(C) to a private school where the homework is less and the quality of education is supposedly to be better.
But I think National school is good enough together with some private mandarin lessons just like I did. But then again..a little warning. Some kids just can't take mandarin lessons especially if their parents don't speak it all at home. I am fortunate because my mum was from Chinese school so she could converse with me in mandarin and helped me with my mandarin homework.
GOod luck in choosing the right schools. A school decides what kinda person your child turns out to be.
p.s. i also blogged somethng about education yesterday..hehe
Cherry Homepage 03.11.05 - 5:15 pm #

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Simon said...

u know what, i facing the same problem! but i'm more inclined to send them to chinese school...since no tamil schools in my area :)

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i am software provider for both chinese(CS) and national school(NS). Frankly speaking, i think that the HM for chinese school all very money minded. Here in JB if you want your kid to study in good CS you have to pay enterance fees ie RM1000 and above. They ask you pay this pay that aka donation. Teacher are also the same all try to finish the syllabus, always rush the students. Poor kids. NS HM all don't care attitude, teacher always busy with thier own things. Our malaysia education system very bad. Our MOE also blur like sotong!
monstor 03.11.05 - 5:24 pm #

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My parents are "bananas" so my Daddy wanted so much to put me into Chinese school so that I could read the Chinese newspapers and explain it to him. Mummy was very worried, because she wouldn't be able to teach me if I couldn't cope. She actually registered me in two schools, one National, one Chinese. I was in the National school for a week(Primary 1) before I transfered to Chinese school because I wasn't used to it as my kindergarten..was also a Chinese kindergarten.

I'm still grateful that my parents send me to Chinese school. It really does make a difference..like how you can read, write..listening to Chinese songs and you would be able to appreciate Chinese history better. It is always an added advantage to learn more languages.

So...send your little darlings to Chinese school!
Grace Homepage 03.11.05 - 6:43 pm #

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ohhhhhh.. *sakit kepala* i've a fren in primary sch (from sheffield uk) who didnt even understand basic mandrain but now could speak rather fluently.

MunKit Homepage 03.11.05 - 7:27 pm #

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I was sent to National School since primary cos my dad is a banana althou my mum is chinese-educated.
But,i do know how to speak mandarin fluently althou dunno how to read all those chinese characters.Able to read chinese is definitely better especially when eating in hawker centers as they always write their menu in chinese.So,whenever i go to hawker centers,my mum or my cousins have to tell me what's sold there & order for me.
Who says students from Chinese school cannot cope with Malay Language in National Secondary school?!I have a few friends from chinese school but they did well too,not only in Malay Language but also other subjects.Some even do better than us,who r from National School.Sigh..
One life example around us is MunKit.
*MK,i know u r reading this,go & kembang lah.Don't say i bully u again,ok?I praise u leh*
But if u really send ur children to National School,make sure they go for extra chinese classes too(like JxT2J).Last time,my mum forced me to go for chin
tEo 03.11.05 - 8:44 pm #

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Last time,my mum forced me to go for chinese classes at night but i refused.Sigh..now only i regret.
tEo 03.11.05 - 8:47 pm #

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Well, my wife and I are banana but we managed to sent both our kids to CS Primary. Both are doing very well especially the eldest boy who is now in Chung Ling High School and my daughter is in secondary Malay medium.( she was not too excellent in Mandarin) What matter most is at least they can speak an extra language not like me who cannot speak Mandarin. Its a big handicap in the working and business world.Let them struggle young and by secondary they will be OK.I wished my parents would sent me to CS but again I don't know wheather I can Make it.LOL.
thquah Homepage 03.11.05 - 8:56 pm #

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I was in CS and very thank you to my mom that send me to CS. I know my english not so good but better then no nothing. I atlest got learn extra language, and i know now a day many company need chinese edu ppl so if got chinese edu was an advantage to get a job.

I got some friend which in Natinal school dunno chinese, but they want to sing chinese song need us to translate to them. When go karaoke, too bad.. mostly we can sing the popular chinese song they cant do that.

My hubby already make arrangement that our kids will go CS next time, we can teach them h/w and we talk to them in english so they can learn more. I think they speck english at home can help them improve their english then they can speck manderin with their friend and my ILs.
1+2mom Homepage 03.12.05 - 12:00 am #

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My parents sent me to CS and I remember me crying in school because I couldn't understand a single word everyone was saying. I was a banana until 6 years old. I'm glad that my parents sent me to CS. I know an extra language and managed to pick up a few dialects too.

Life in CS is busier than Malay school. Teachers gave us extra tuition classes in the afternoon months before UPSR. I thought it was very nice of them.

With regards to donations, CS are not 100% government funded. To have a better environment, the school has to raise funds. So that explains the donations.
Eileen Homepage 03.12.05 - 1:07 am #

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" With regards to donations, CS are not 100% government funded. To have a better environment, the school has to raise funds. So that explains the donations." -Eileen

I agree with eileen about this but do you know how much does the HM earn beside thier salary. Books are 40% per set,canteen food are free and computer software $ 1.20 per student into HM pocket. Just imagine a normal CS would be a least 1000 student and above. In jb there are almost 100K CS student in johor. I am not saying all but i have seen some.
monstor 03.12.05 - 8:38 am #
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i'm from a chinese primary sch.. and i'm glad that i have attended it. since MG is english-speaking it would be good for the child as they get exposure to both languages.

i think english is far more important; but being able to speak and read chinese in an advantage.
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I regretted very much not sending my kids to Chinese school jus bcoz I was afraid tht I can't help them with their homework. Stupid, coz now they will miss out on learning Mandarin unless I send them for Mandarin classes. Mandarin is almost as widely used as English in the international scene. For your child's future, well, I'll say go for it!

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Hi mumsgather,
It has been a while but I just wanted you to know that I am still following your blog. I enjoy reading about your family and it is so refreshing to read about your culture. As I was reading your latest posting it occured to me that here in America we would never have to make that choice. Our choices would be based on simply public or private school. As a mom to my crew I believe I would go with the one that is 'kid friendly' as they only have one childhood to cherish.
Not political just a mommy thing

These are a few of my favourite things...

Allthingspurple called me the Mystery Woman in her tag. Lol! Ok, I'll humour her and unravel some of the mystery by revealing my favourite things here.

• Nice relaxing, soothing music or songs. Nothing loud please, thank Q very much. I have enough people shouting in my ears all day long.
• Good food. I'm a glutton didn't you know?
• A walk on the beach on a cool moonlit night. I'm a hopeless romantic.
• Watching the babies sleep. And that includes the big baby. In sleep, suddenly all the little monsters look like angels. Hahaha.
• Writing, reading and posting on my blogs. I'm a blogaholic but thats nothing new. Most of you know that by now. Lol!
• Shopping with my sisters preferably all day long, leisurely with a few meal breaks in between to rest our weary feet. I wish I could do this a little bit more often. Hehe.

I could go on and on. These are just a few of my favourite things. There's lots more but I won't bore you, my readers. ;) I'm late doing this so I think everyone else has been tagged by now. Hmmm.. I'm not sure but would you like to do this.....

• Pablobpabla
• Julian
• Little Lukeskywalker
• Zara's Mama (make that Zara and Zaria's mama)
• Montessori Mum

?????

The Extra Mile

Do you do the extra mile for your spouse? Take for example you decided to be a good husband and told your wife "Go out with your girlfriends. Go and have fun. I will look after the kids for you." and thats exactly what you do. But when your wife gets home, the kids are still wide awake and jumping on the bed, the milk bottles are left on the sink unwashed. Sometimes the kids need to be bathed because they are sweating so much from playing etc.

Sure your wife appreciates your watching the kids while she goes out for some much needed personal time but wouldn't it be nice if she came home to see a sparkling house, the kids fed, bathed and asleep and you reading a book or asleep yourself? Ok. Ok. You might say that "Hey! I've done so much. What more do you want?" or "Isn't that asking for a bit too much?" No. If you had taken that extra mile it would make your efforts shine!!! And your spouse will be very, very thankful. Believe me.

This is just one example I can think of from personal experience. I love it when hubby watches the kids for me but sometimes it means more work for me when I get home. Hahaha. Sometimes I wish he would go the extra mile. Sometimes he does, but not all the time. Hehe.

This post is a bit one-sided, so now I need to go and sit down and think about how I can go the extra mile for my spouse. He has been neglected lately because I'm just too tired. Sometimes he raises his arm or feet at me in a broad hint for a massage but I playfully "pretend not to see" in front of him. Hehe.

What about you. Do you go the extra mile for your spouse?

About the birds and the bees

I had this funny conversation with my girl recently....

My Girl: Mummy, why did you marry daddy?

MG: Because I love him.

My Girl: Mummy, you must not run run run. You must be careful. Afterwards fall down.

MG: Why?

My Girl: Because got me and baby inside your stomach.

MG: Haha. No, I did not run around. I walked carefully when I had you.

My Girl: Did you wear high heels?

MG: No, I didn't. I made sure I walked around carefully but there was one time when I fell down but it was ok. See, there's still a mark. *points to my knee*

My Girl: Ok

Lol! She knows that people get married and have babies but I'll leave it till later to explain to her how babies are made. Hahaha.

A quiet Chap Goh Meh

We went to the mall with the kids to walk around leisurely without purpose. Usually we are rushing about going to specific places. The mall was rather quiet. I guess everyone must have been either at restaurants having dinner or attending open houses for the last day of the Chinese New Year.

For dinner, we stuffed ourselves with nasi lemak, (fragrant rice) fish and chips, ais kacang (a shaved ice dessert) and ice cream. Yummy yummy says my tummy but bye bye to my diet. Hahaha. Thats it! A very quiet Chap Goh Meh (15th day of Chinese New Year) but we had a nice time nevertheless.

Toilet stops on the highway when you travel with two kids under five

As I mentioned in my previous post on Car Journey with the kids - Part II, we had to wake the kids up for a toilet stop soon after they fell asleep. How I wished that we didn't have to stop so that they could stay asleep and we could travel peacefully. However, the car and the driver needed a break and so.........

We stopped for a drink and then I took my girl to the packed public toilet while hubby watched baby for me. After that it was hubby's turn to go to the toilet while I watched baby and the girl. Right after he came out, my girl wanted to go again for a poo. Aiyoh! And so in we went again to the packed toilet.

After that, we trudged back all the way to the car. The toilet was rather far away from our car. I decided to change baby's diapers in the car but then he decided to have a poo. Aiyoh! I changed him in the car anyway and washed my hands with some spare water we carried in the car for emergencies because we didn't want to walk all the way back to the toilet again. It was starting to rain and the cars and traffic were building up so we had to leave the stopover quickly.

An hour later, my girl wanted to have a pee again but this time there were no stops so I put on a spare diaper for her and asked her to pee in the diaper. When you can't find a toilet, the diaper acts as a useful disposable "toilet" when you need it :P

Well, this is just one of the things you have to go through during a long car journey with the kids if you are travelling with two young kids under 5 years old. Very tiring but thats part of the fun of having kids yes? Lol!

Car Journey with the kids - Part II

We started our journey home at 2.00pm and not during the early hours of the morning because I was kiausu and wanted to make the most of the hotel check out time at 1.00pm. So we took the kids for another round of playing sand on the beach. After that we had lunch with my aunties.

Just before the lunch both kids were extremely sleepy but we did not allow them to sleep. We thought that it would be just nice if they slept during the journey after lunch. So we kept them awake for and throughout lunch. After that we bid farewell to my aunties and started our journey home.

However, the kids didn't sleep for the first two hours of the journey. They were extremely restless but they didn't sleep as we expected. Eventually they fell asleep but soon it was time to wake them up for a toilet stop and break. They couldn't go back to sleep after that so it was more restlessness from both of them till we arrived home about 6 hours later at 8pm. The journey took 6 hours instead of 4 1/2 hours due to the heavier traffic because of the later hour we chose to travel. Everyone was hot and sweaty too unlike the earlier car journey with the kids. Compared to that, this journey was a lot tougher and longer too, and not just in terms of the longer number of hours.

The moral of the story? When you travel with kids for a long journey in the car, its best to start your journey in the wee hours of the morning.