(2009/10) October 2009 MTBs

[nlimm]

Ting:
U not the most ks aldy. I was in other thread reading n some mums kids of our yr checking out pri sch then I also go upon check out the sch behind my plc n end up discover tt even if I do pv I might not get in still need ballot haha so most likely go hb's pri sch Liao. Ur Hb Fr which pri sch?
Rem to check out the cc if they teach hanyu pinyin usually in k2 to prepare for pri1
Abacus errmm interesting I was thinking if I shd, still trying to test m if he's gd in math, if like me ok if like Hb then I need to be his tutor Liao
Where is ur new plc? Punggol too?

 

[astro_pro]

Nlimn: word recogition is way too early.. seriously.. not cognitive ready.. dun rush

get them to like the language by constant exposure.. speak to them so that they hear you pronounce the words.. they can't sound yet, not at this age.. typically 4 - 5.. if really put in a lot of effort .. maybe 3 years old..
for Bao.. i didn't do much except send him to GUG.. and montessori. coz he likes manipulating small objects.. then coz his temperment is v focused and quiet.. he picks up on letter awareness very early.. this bally is different from his brother.. gross motor all over the place.. but linguistics wise.. he ain't as quick as his elder bro. but i think temperment wise. he is more confident.. so there is a nice balance there..

as for speaking to M.. be consistent.. which is ur comfy lang? for me. i process my thoughts, and write in english. but i am acutally ok to speak in mandarin.. so it is a bit of serendipity. ididn't set out this way. but out of my natural orientation.. i was consistent with bao.. and my helper.. and then my mum (can't speak english) and miser (darn strong in chinese).. so bao just picked it up..

the kids wun get confused.. they are lang genuises at that age.. it is us who will get confused.. and even if they speak some words in english.. some in chinese. .it is also okay.. as long as they can converse in that language for a long period of time when they grow older.. all okay..

for GUG.. the phonics is adapted from zoophonics wor

and abacus.. might contradict pri 1 maths. i read from kiasu parents forum

Ting: i was pretty intrigued by schichida sometime back.. but for the wrong reasons ., i was intrigued at their marketing..

as for potty trianing.. i believe .. wait for the kids to be physically ready. then we talk.. else it is more of potty training the adults than the kids.. i feel.. and no offence to the parents here who have started.. i have a case to share.. my other thread. one lady toilet train her girl early.. or rather her girl toilet train herself v early. end up go outside.. dunwant to use toilet.. hold the urine till come back.. coz dun want diapers also. big headache for her.. so for #2.. she is not going to start that early..

bao is alsmost like KD.. focused and observant kind.. he is his teacher's pet.. coz everything all follow instructions . hahaha..
gross motor he is that kind confident then do.. even confident also wun do sometimes! so he stays on Little Gym.. so that he gets to be an environment which will provide impetutus for him to try things which he naturally will not.. totally opposite from bally who has no fear and gross motor good. so for bally. i am puttin ghim out of little gym and start on gug to train up his focus..

for me it is not enrichment strictly.. but of complementing and enticing the child to do what his environment might lack in.. when kids bigger. then i start them on their interest.. for bao. music and piano.. bally i dunno yet..maybe karate?! hahaha..

good and bad Bao's kind of temperment but being focused is def an advantage.. and my observation is this.. gross motor not that strong.. linguistics quite good.. but of course.. there are always exception to the rule too..
jrrt: depend on u liao.. if u dun want to wean her.. it will continue

 

[oricule]

Nlimm: hehehe I think every parent is trying their best to be a good parent in their own way. And that way most likely influenced by their own upbringing.

Astro: impressed by everything u said! Experienced mommy! now I know y u said kd reminds u of bao. In a way, I find them alike! both are charming suave just need to smile can Liao. Oh ya! Kd is already a favorite pet in the IC and now even the teachers in PG already came over and eye him.. He is the kind morning walk in kept saying bu Yao bu Yao and cry... Then the teacher said don't pretend ok, carry him and his head lying on her shoulder so sweet already. Because kd can sit and focus, that's y I tot not waste it and let him absorb nuisance (like tv, or kikoos or just waste time idling away) my thoughts were since he can sit and concentrate so
Let's do something that will benefit him that way. Hahaha. Physically I tot every child will eventually grow to walk, stand, run etc. It's only natural? Nv been to gym classes before.. Maybe I shld let kd try.

 

[lydiagal]

astro : i think E is like bally's temperament. gross motor good. linguistic..nope. when you mentioned u enrolled bao to montessori it is a playgroup?

i recently went to a montessori CC and a non-montessori CC. based on the curriculum its almost the same. so..hrmm..? thinking maybe i should go visit during a lesson to see what is the diff? how different is it?

potty:
my nanny started potty training my boy since 5mo. he just refuse to sit on a potty to poo. so far nanny was successfully 4-5 times. i only had success 1.5 times. he has a blue potty, a yellow potty with music, a ikea potty (hole too big for butt). refuse to sit for both. which is why few mths ago i moved to child seat (manage to get 1 success only). i read potty book to him as well. googled to find out what other ways..and one of which is to show him the poo poo should go into the potty. however..it didn't work the way i had hoped.

think i should go back to reading potty book to him.

my concern of not potty training him now (at least the poo part) is childcare. he poo if nobody notices, his butt is gg to have major rash.

so in the meantime will continue to enforce the concept and hope one day..he will decide to poo in potty.

ting / nlimm : hehe. yeah amazing what they observe and catch on

 

[xoxolight]

good morning....*yawn* the thread is super happening! i am dizzy just reading the amount of posts here!

gal > i won't start potty training until i hear Dre telling me "mummy, i think i wanna poo."

ting > KD is really good! glad that IC worked out for you.

nlimm > get low shelves so that it's easy for them to retrieve whatever they like. i'd try building the schedule up slowly. for now, 3hrly PG is enough for us and Dre. we still want to have her with us and we consider ourselves, her first teachers. there's plenty of learning and activities that u can do at home and free places - like the park for example.

astro > I am sure Teng would love the safari. It's called Fuji Safari. Hmm…you can spend one whole day there. there's a petting zoo there that is simply amazing. they had lion cubs when we were there and yr kid (above 3) can go and carry/pet/play with the cubs. But I think you'd need to drive…so hopefully Miser drives. It's rather far from Tokyo…eh, u wanna engage me to do itinerary planning for u in Japan? i played the wordy game u did with teng with Dre using fridge magnets. i'd these magnetic words that u can re-arrange into weird poetry - actually i really liked these back in my uni days…anyway, she surprised us by knowing a few, able to search for and pick out specific words when asked…so maybe our kids are able to recognize things like that already…now she is voracious about this, everyday bringing us different words from all over and demanding to know what they are, think this had sparked her interest in words. at first fun to do, but now getting tedious..goes to show how much patience i do not have! hmm.. i am sure Teng would be fine at p1…u are remedying the situation rather well. think MOE should just issue advisory notes to parents at the hospital when they give birth on jan 1…

jRRt > i join you in our "bad habit"! here are some reading material that says why we should continue this habit… http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/jack_newman3.html and http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/priscilla_colletto.html. LLL is also excellent and helps give ways to respond to criticism or advice on weaning when both mother and child aren't ready. http://www.llli.org/NB/NBextended.html. and yes, i did say that long bean thing. early in the morning this grandma got me on the wrong side of bed. so..my bad. i came home and used the measuring tape that u use for furniture and what not, it says 76cm, not 78cm. hehe…so i think i should buy 4D 7678..

Tien > hang in there..u would be un-zombified in time to come..so just have that mental image of familial bliss! June..nah, missed. I'd be back there in two weeks time..then it's in July. Enjoy your trip and I think, get a really convenient hotel. The last thing u want with your entourage is to keep transferring train lines etc.

hippo > just a thought, at this rate, we might need to send our kids for yoga to destress. are u setting up yr swim school still btw..?

learning journey > something to share. Dre pushed me out of the classroom repeatedly ytd so I left. Felt really lost, tearful…mixed feelings. Haiz, don't know how to describe. And I don't know if she's enjoying her classes. The teachers told me, she refused to join in any of the activities. She doesn't fuss, cry etc, but is content with observing everyone. To solicit her participation, the teacher actually needed to let her have her own table/space - all by herself. Could this mean that she had too much solitary time that she cannot embrace her peers? One other thing also, Dre is very upset when this particular teacher sings in class. She would yell repeatedly at the teacher and bring her hands to her ears, but is fine with other teachers' singing. That teacher now has a phobia in singing in front of Dre.

I did ask Dre if she likes school and she said yes. But when I asked her, so what did u do in class…she shrugs her shoulders and gives a wu nai sort of look. So..i am observing her for another week or so. My idea of learning for her is that she is genuinely happy and excited abt that place. Hopefully lah, otherwise, square one....but I think this PG thing saps her energy somewhat. She did not nap at all ytd but she went straight to bed at 7.30pm which...rarely happens. not complaining though!

alrighty..too long a post. time for me to start the day..going to take Dre to catch the sunrise today as promised. wahahaha, i am so going to love wringing her out of her comfy sheets. *evil mom*.

 

[pinkiemie]

ting>> wow sounds like you have a genius in the making! kindermusik is gg to make KD ah gua? then i tink all musicians must be men already.. hahaha!!! i think basically those of us who enrolled our kids for kindermusik, it is mainly more for the enjoyment of the class, our kids enjoy the classes and they get to roam ard the whole class and dance to the music.. even though its kinda boring to be doing repeats every week, but our kids learn through repeatitive learning and belle's daddy is the one paying for the classes and attending with her, so i aint complaining! bwahahahahaa

belle is attending GUG with elgin (and soon with Bally!), she walks ard the class the whole 1.5hrs and doesnt pay attn at all, but to me it is not an issue coz whether she sits still or walks ard coz i believe she is absorbing just that she prefers to explore the classroom, touch n feel the cards, the door stopper (gasp!), climb up and down the chairs, look at the mirror and eat her biscuits and sometimes lets out one or two screams (oops).

i was initially very turned off about GUG after attending the trial lesson at mountbatten with astro and jaz... (i bet astro still rmb's the horror on my face when the teacher took out the 'special mat') i also do not like belle to get herself messy and dirty. but why we decided to sign her up for GUG is coz I am a lazy parent, i dun think i can be as hardworking as you to still do the shicida "homework"! haha..

anyway we decided on GUG coz JG has no weekend classes and we weren't ready to do homework, so GUG it was. and we needed something to occupy her weekends and also partly for me to have an excuse not to go back to my MIL's place (so mean hor).. hahahaha

belle is in her 3rd GUG semester now, and she is STILL walking ard, i am seriously very envious of the mummies/daddies whose kids sit down and listen to classes coz its really tiring to be bending down and walking or kneel-walking throughout the 1.5hrs..

did i mention that belle hates her art classes? she refuses to get her hands dirty now.. she wun touch the cornflour, she wun use her fingers to touch the pain.. it may sound like a good thing to some mummies, but no, it rings an alarm to me coz i do think it is impt for our kids to explore these textures and understand how each object have their own characteristics.

phew, a long post.. got to get back to work!

 

[dejected]

xoxolight
I agree much with u on "we still want to have her with us and we consider ourselves, her first teachers. there's plenty of learning and activities that u can do at home and free places - like the park for example." We take the boys down for walks at least 2x a day.Before they take lift, they water their towgay (yes still growing)
My weekend is packed not with classes, but with basic stuff like outings to places like supermarket,kite flying,grandparents house, picnic at botanic,libr,etc.I feel each place itself is a place for learning if we know how to tap it.Eg.at supermarket,taking things from shelf and putting back, saying hi to strangers, sitting ontrolleyand balancing on it,giving things to cashier and saying thank you(my kids say it andsound like 'damn it' and'tank ku' attimes).for older kids, check out the expirydates of food..nutrition label, do math calculation e.gestimation of purchase, change received from cashier..etc.For english, practice oral with kids. Ask them to describe a scene at the supermarket...then no need to cram and gancheong when oral exam draws near.or send to crash course.
I have also registered my boys for JG beginnign of the year, and nursery too...all on waiting list..see how it goes.

 

[nlimm]

Astro:
prob is both of us aldy tired talking mon to fri at work n I been the not so chatty one aldy force myself to talk haha or rather errmm I love to talk to m just tt can't meet what he want, m is too hyper. Tts y I do up the charts etc just for him to see the words slowly by n1 he be more or less ready . I find my own English not so perfect with grammatical errors at times , Hb much better or rather very gd verbally but u know tt men or rather for him get 'sick' easily of m always push him to me. Another gd exposure of perfect eng be my fil n we go over fortnightly n m dun like my fil

always distance Fr him no idea y n stick to my mil whose English worse then mine( not complaining here haha) partly y I signed him up for class.
Ya gug phonic is Fr zoophonic but only the sound n storytelling part leh din incorporate song n art tt link to it which to be though I'm trying hard to make m listen to the story but guessed his age n his Hyperness he like movement n visual to link better , partly y I din choose gug plus haha tt Cher during the trial( Hb can't stand her accent)

Xoxo:
Thxthx shall try n c if he picks books more. He does like the vtech book tt I managed to exchange for him, auto read to him tt give me some time to myself.
As for park wise, all outdoor activities he's very gd in even for the playgd downstairs he will climb up the stairs n down the slide etc. Class wise is more of socializing n exposure to supposely Cher tt we graded who can speak more perfect eng then us

I guessed I need to talk to m more, partly maybe he's fast in almost all except his speech errmmmm

Mie:
Wah u gd life leh, Hb pays Hb do the work, envy envy

haha jg I switch to wkend partly so tt Hb canbe involved.

76:
Ya I have been doing what u mentioned too those r daily tasks

eemmm u on waiting list w jg or chitern? Nursery shd go chitern, jg very ex wo

Dre learning journey:
Errmmm interesting, she dun wan u be ard yet not participating. I guessed she's checking out the place n the ppls? Give her 1 more wk maybe she will join in the fun soon

 

[dejected]

nlimm
yes, u arergt..i am on waitinglist to jg and chiltern. jg ex? Chiltern more ex..1k per chld per mth for half day..i need to sell backside at night liao.

 

[nlimm]

76:
U refering to those daily mon to fri nursery right? Jg 's is 2.5 hrs a day,2k+ a term. Chitern is 4hrly if I rem correct n after sub is930/mth if I rem correctly. Usually ppl fun go jg for nursery, the staff will recommend them to go chiltern coz curriculum more all-rounded. I din really check more in-depth though just surface info. U shd enroll ur boi just for a term w jg playclub then ur chance to chiltern will increase alot. My Sis Frd's son of our yr on waiting list to chitern since last yr, din ask further coz chiltern abit too far Fr my mum plc n I can't chauffeur him all days

 

[dejected]

nlimm
JG is once a weekend for me..abt 500+ per term (10 sessions)for me, hubby and i get to sit in and bond with them. As for chiltern, its daily 4 hours AM kind.Recently, they statedin papers is 1k per mth, notsure before/after subsidies...coz when i registered this Jan,it is already 900+..cantt be bothered lah..anyway, just5min walk from my place.so Iam ok.

 

[nlimm]

76:
Icc. Jg is$520/term u opt for which slot? Mine sat, tien's sun.
Chiltern is $1080/mth after subsidy$930/mth. But u said u on waiting list n they asked u to pay aldy? If paid meaning is secured (congrat

)

 

[dejected]

nlimm
i was given 2choices, cantremember...but one is1130 at Forum..the other is 430 at evan..coz of their sleeping times...so i want to work around their naptimes..difficult to plan..
As for chiltern, i am #7 and 8 on wait list (before taking JG into consideration)..and the lady said shld be ok...payment not yet,theywill only inform in apr

 

[caesarsalad]

hi hi. wow... all u mummies sending ur kids to expensive playgroup. Jg is julia gabriel issit? chiltern is a child care center right? i didn't know all so expensive...

 

[caesarsalad]

this thread really very active now and i can't seem to finsih reading everything.

may i know what is HPB? i didn't know got so cheap dental care. where issit? any website for me to take a look?

thx

 

[crystallized]

xoxolight
thks 4 the informative articles!

enjoyed reading them. And yes, I think i'll stop when either one of us is ready... more like i am waiting for RN to self-wean. I rem when I had to wean RB off, i was so sad and cant let go.
Even if dre is 76cm, she's not too far off lah.
Perhaps Dre juz needs more time to get used to a class environment. I am sure she will, in time to come. Meanwhile gd tt she's happy to juz observe the env.

Tien
I think its a v gd move to go to ur mum's plc with ur 2 Ks. This ensures sanity and that u hv someone to talk to and get to spend time wif big K. I told u this was my move after my CL left rite? I would rather be swarmed with 4 kids and help at my mum's than left home alone wif 1 crying baby! But hang in there, all these will pass!

Mie
I agree tt we all enrol the bubs in KM more juz for them to mix ard n hv fun. My RN worse than belle can? She hardly sits (at least belle can) and always wanna go touch touch here and there.

nlimm
u hv gone back to work full-time? I think u r cramping too many activities for M. seriously juz by reading ur posts on the things u planned for M, i get a headache! LOL!
U hv done so much research on CC tt u rem their fees alrdy ah? heee!

caesarsalad
Health Promotion Board. juz go to www.hpb.gov.sg and look for dental services...

 

[pinkiemie]

nlimm>> GUG i attend with belle, Kinder is for daddy to bond with his girl.. so both of us gets to spend time with her, and the daddy sucks at GUG songs! he cant rmb them for nuts and doesnt engage her.. kindermusick is more physical work, so in he goes.. this is our arrangment la.. not that he's paying and doing all the work.. we've got it planned and arranged..

seriously you have researched on a lot of things for matthias, i feel rather ashamed of myself. i only went to 3 childcares, all within the vicinity and to me its more on the enviroment and whether the kids are happy than the branding of the schools.. afterall i feel they should enjoy childhood more than stressing both kids and parents up. not that im not ks at all, which is why belle is on weekend GUG classes, but we dun intend to increase anymore than that..

and you are really v conscientious by doing all the train / body parts charts for Matthias.. even engaging him in doing up a rainbow and xmas tree previously.. kudos to you!

 

[yeet7]

Wow! This place is happening. I'm just reading through and getting a bit of information overloading while little colicky K lie on my chest. Shed is definitely the reason why I'm not 'shopping' much for big K's education.

Astro: I got your drift. Yours is probably more on exposure to the languages but KS me am thinking of mastery. We want both Ks to master Chinese and so we don't want to fear it esp it's characters. Think English can be mastered a bit later (becos I did that), so, we are thinking at an almost 100% Chinese speaking environment.

Xoxo: spoken too early. Tokyo trip is a question mark again! Things are out of my control. Honestly! When can I fly?

Anyway, I think dre is at the stage of observing the class. She's a thinker lah. Give her another week n I'm sure you will be able to make the decision.

Nlimm: agree with mie! Your education plan for m is the mist comprehensive one! I sure am guilty of being 有心力不足。

Hippo: I'm bringing big K to learning vision for a visit soon. Really looking at options n hopefully she likes the school then min n Kay can be classmates. I figure I can start her around June so I can be her chauffeur instead of my mum who can help me with small k.

Jrrt: indeed! I'm slowly finding my sanity but I figure I need another month or so feel good abt myself.

Ok! Moo duty call again!!! Sigh... Honestly I don't miss that. Will pop in again soon.

 

[nlimm]

76:
For playclub, recommended chers r Adrain, vino n siti but their classes r full on waiting list, just found out last wk n trying to squeeze into sat am class

Jrrt/mie:
Jrrt,I on Parttime basis tts y have more time then u ladies. Gotta do more to make my sacrifice worthwhile ma haiz by right initially zoophonic on wkend but shift to wkday more worthwhile. Pm playgp is just for him to learn independence n discipline in class without us ard, din expect him to learn much n very cheap a HR only$4 so if mon n thur he tired can dun go haha. Mie , thxthx for ur compliment.prob is m is happy with alot of centers we visited

I started with those near my mum plc but haiz either curriculum not gd or the only1 i like the cc dun take m( coz I only wan him there for lesson at least for next yr not for him to be there whole day n I paying in full n tt p tiao qi lai mai

)wanted kindy but all kindies in Bt Panjang is pcf

another kindy I quite like but ex 800+/mth kindy wo not cc so further n further I go haiz n even so the kindy I wan might not have plc for m, c how next tue ma

 

[dejected]

nlimm
hw do u try squeezing into sat class? Anytips?Physically barge in ?or subtlely underthe table..hehehhe/..share 'tipsee' leh

 

[crystallized]

Tien
jia you! Soon baby K will outgrow this phase and she will hv a routine... and u will enjoy seeing the 2 sisters playing! How is big K taking to her meimei? Right now, my 2 kids enjoy playing with each other as well as fighting and screaming too! hahaha! most of the time, its actually RN that goes around irritating the hell outta her brother!~ LOL
I've also heard that it shld not be difficult for our kids to master English later as they are definitely gonna be exposed to this language later in school. For now, its mainly a chinese speaking environment for the kids at home too. I have tried to ask my mum & MIL to speak dialects to them but they kept drifting back to Mandarin. Last time it was worse... they kept speaking broken english until I asked them to stop... Right now RB speaks to grandparents in Mandarin and the rest of us in English. he enjoys singing chinese songs too so I am hoping he will grow up to like Chinese like I do.

nlimm
I am impressed with the paper train alphabets and the body parts charts that u created for M!

 

[ilovemaxmax]

<font color="0000ff"><font color="ff0000">Xoxo</font>
hhmm... i just have to share with u my experience abt my #1 at JG. Like Dre, my #1 half the time will be looking outside at the cars or crawling / walking around. But he surprised me as he grew older. He could sing and do all the actions that were taught in class. To think he only attended about 2 terms of JG.

In fact, even now, though he's in childcare, he still can remember them. So dun worry k, no doubt dre is all over the place, she's still absorbing. I like schools with teachers who do not restrict the students. Not sure abt GUG, but JG has some teachers who will restrict. LIke if ur child is all over the place, they will tell mummies to go get ur kids back. I'm like... wat!!!

<font color="ff0000">nlimm</font>
Teacher Adrian is good! Very very engaging. Remember Max was in Mandarin playclub for 2 terms? Got makeup class so i opted for Eng playclub in Teacher Adrian's class. V engaging but i think Max was too used to his Mandarin teachers already

</font>

 

[nlimm]

Tien:
u have 2 k to take care wo n a full-time job if I have a full-time job dun think can do much too.it's like a halt to my career path totally wo guessed difficult to have best in both world.

Jrrt: thxthx nOt sure if it will work n benefit him. It's more of for n1 just a headstart for him to link the word to the bodyparts.mandarin at mum plc during wkday , eng at my plc during wkend.haven't add the colour name to the rainbow, m not very keen but at least once per wkend he will go over n see. Any suggestion what can I add in?

Tien/ jrrt:
Y both of u or rather quite a few of mummies wan their kids to attend solely mandarin class? Those mummies I know gig to let their kids into nanyang kindy for the 100% mandarin curriculum coz at home noone can speak mandarin. Tien, u can consider this kindy if u wan fully 100% mandarin

76/ilmm:
No tips wo just tt pirority is given to all current students prior of new students. As usual the admin said will try but m's current cher write recommendation for m to go in &amp; start b4 18 mths based on his playnest performance.I dun know Joyce, actually quite like Adrian but his class is fri pm. Mis-typed shd be rino not vino, I dun know abt this Cher but since is recommended by another Cher errmm worth a try. Ilmm, how's Malcolm progress so far. Next term he be attending which day?u know abt rino?adrain n rino r recommended by the Cher u recommended last term( can't say who here)

 

[sweetzinc]

Hello! I'm back. heard from others that this thread is alive! and talking abt enrichment classes and even primary 1 - secondary school!! O.O"""

wahhh!! u all make me so stress leh lol! and so long posts. i just selective read ~
there's forum
www.kiasuparents.com maybe u all wanna take a look

I'm a laid back mom.. only decided her playgroud class at shekinah montessori few weeks ago. and it was a trial session.. need to access her before she can be confirmed. coz the min age is 2 yrs old.

 

[yeet7]

nlimm: Prefer a mandarin environment for her because apparently, it's more difficult to master and exposure must start from young. Because of my job, somehow, everytime when I meet a parent, one of the complaints is always, 'mr so-and-so, your child is very weak in his/her chinese'. So, don't want to get complain in the future ahahahaha...wil be especially embarassing to get complained cos our family members speak in mandarin. But then again, that will be home environment, ie, the language we use with her. At school level, will still very much prefer English based because that will be where she picks up the language.

Yes I have heard of Nanyang Kindergarden. There's actually one abt 15 mins drive away from me. But it's ex I heard and the queue?? Gosh..check this out http://edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/photos/531464/Parents_queue_overnight_for_place_in_kindergarten.html

 

[yeet7]

Btw, honestly, what's the difference between pre-nursery and childcare? I find that many of the schools no longer differentiate them!

 

[nlimm]

Py:
welcome back. It's gd tt C's playgp have trial, our side sun have. Haha we din talk abt sec tts abit far but then when I check out preN for m tts what's I was told to consider for pri sch I was asking ting her hb's pri sch coz she mentioned putting kd there.

Tien: u teaching chi in sch?ya tts a pretty astonishing new at m's class,2-3of them reg last yr , thought they r old boi old ger to play safe they join alumni just to get into their prenursery. M has priority too but I don't like mandarin curriculum .another reason been I dun wan to chauffeur him for 10 yrs instead of6 yrs actually not very ex compared to Eton, patsch n chitern its1.7k a term

Cc incorporated playgp till k2 level, have half day or full day some 3 hrly flexi. According to those at my area halfday is 7 to 1230pm if eg k is there, they will start w assembly bf then music n movement then lesson then outdoor/ manipulative play then time to go off( but of coz some cc their halfday prog not fantastic coz some lessons r slot in pm).have Govt subsidy. Prenursery in kindergarten is mostly 3 hrly or 4 hrly.usually 830-1130 plus minus solely there for lessons of coz w snack break in btw.no Govt subsidy.

 

[dejected]

Hi all
wondering for mummies wif maid,waat doesshe do for babies duty? Eg make milk, play,,bathe bb, make bb sleep,prepare bb food etc...Or she purely does housework?

 

[yeet7]

nlimm: No lah I don't teach Chinese. I taught English for a few years and now mainly humanities.

Btw thanks for the info on pre-nursery and cc. But I think there are a few that incorporated pre-nursery with cc too. Sigh I am really not in the mood to find out more...super tired. Think will just drop her at the school next to my mum hahha...

 

[ilovemaxmax]

<font color="0000ff"><font color="ff0000">nlimm</font>
haha... i forgot which teacher I recommended to u le. So far, i've only been to Adrian's class. Haven't heard of Rino, so can't comment

Malcolm is enjoying class, but i havent spoken to his teacher abt promoting to playclub. I've checked with counter, as usual, they say cannot.

I'm not sure if I wanna ask his teacher, or should just let him continue with playnest, coz I find that this term, his teacher not v friendly. Would prefer the teacher we went for trial with (*she still remembers us, u noe!!!!). but too bad, she's only teacher 9am and 3pm class, if i'm not wrong.</font>

 

[funzee]

Hi all, I am dizzy from reading all the posts on schools and such! Sigh, now I wish my babe could just be a babe and remain carefree. I think I am the last to start on the schools. Have not identified any for A. Took her to a playgroup at Wee Care on Sat and she enjoyed it. But did not sign her up as we are not sure if we will want her to do her preschool there as it's terribly expensive. I would prefer somewhere near our house so that it is more convenient (and much cheaper). So tomorrow, we are gg to walk around and check in on the schools.

Thanks nlimm on the diff between CC and pre-N. So kindy got subsidy or not? I am so confused. As for your schedule for M, I personally feel that it is quite packed. Even though I am now working part time, I spend my off days with her mostly at home. I think we get to bond more when we are just doing simple things at home, like playing, reading (if she will settle down), and singing to her. But ultimately, you are the mum and you know best what your child likes.

And as for classes, well I guess I am yet another laid back mum. A only has Little Gym and I am still continuing with that. Even though she can walk, run, and climb decently, I think no harm allowing her to continue building up her physical skills. Maybe cos I have poor coordination myself. I look forward to the day that she will do a forward roll all by herself!

76: I have a helper. Yes, do all that you described plus housework. Now that I am PT, the days I am home I do most of the baby caring, then she gets to do other housework like ironing which she doesn't get to do on the days that I work. And I do agree with you that simple activities are also learning oppys. A so enjoyed seeing the butterflies flying downstairs - sure beats only looking at pictures of them.

Ting: so good that KD can focus. I guess all our babes have their own strengths. I know mine has no focus - just like me. She is all over the place and has v little perseverance. All these come from me, hahahaha! Yes, I do find that sometimes, the babies just explode with their knowledge. It's pretty amazing when that happens huh? Wah, the homework sounds challenging leh. A can't even hold a pen properly yet. How to draw circles and lines?

Potty training: I am with xoxo on this one. Except I won't expect A to say it in a full sentence lah. Maybe Dre can (hee!). If she can tell me "poo poo" consistently before she poos, I take it as a sign that she is ready to be potty trained. My helper did put A on the potty last time before she turned one and she used to poo every morning. But now, absolutely refuses to go on the potty. So I leave her be. I read a book that a child is ready to be potty trained if he/she is able to signal to you after s/he has pooed.

 

[crystallized]

nlimm
i din say i wan RN to solely attend mandarin classes. I am NOT sending RN to any classes yet. I will only start her next yr, when she's in Pre-N level. I am v fuss-free, no need to search or visit. She goes straight to the one that my son is attending now. Reason being, its the nearest to my mum's and the most convenient. That is a church playgroup which is bilingual.
Nanyang Kindy got crazy long queues! and its exp!

PY
the school tt u r sending charlotte to is not cheap either. *sweat*

Tien
To me CC provides more comprehensive curriculum most of the time as the kids get to spend longer hours there while Pre-N is mostly just 2-3 hours affair. There will be optional enrichment classes after the school hours for parents to send the kids to.

 

[glass]

funzee: Can you give me update on the schools you are going to? My FIL is interested in the church kindergarten nearby.

 

[lydiagal]

found interesting activity website:
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/toddler_station07/tissue_paper_feb07.shtml

 

[glass]

CRUMBLING AND TOSSING
Cut out 6” squares of tissue paper for your child.
Show your child how to crumble these squares into balls.
Set out a laundry basket and encourage your child to toss the paper balls into the basket.

My son likes to play that.
The tissue paper is not the kleenex type. it's more like tracing paper, the ones we find when they wrap clothes

 

[funzee]

glass: I am looking thru the list of CC at the MCYS website. I am just gg to cross out all those which only offer English and then visit them. See how tom. If I see smth not bad, I tell you k? Which one is it? Is it the church next to Kuo Chuan? I am not aware of the kindy there.

Glass: can Elgin throw? I can't seem to teach Amelie to throw. Nice idea. So far A only takes balls and gives to people or drops it through the kiddy basketball hoop. No tossing.

 

[famela]

Woah! One week of being away (marking common test papers = boring) and the thread's ALIVE!!!

N all this talk abt schools too! You all on the fast track huh?

funzee: you're not the last one looking for a school.. Cos I've not started my search n i don't intend to enrol my dotter into one for as long as I can keep her at home either with me or my parents. I didn't send big A to school til he was almost 4 n even when I did, it was not by choice. Didn't feel nice imposing 2 kids on my mom when #2 came along so off to CC big A went. If I had a choice, he'd be at home w me til it was time to enter k2! Or k1 lar earliest. And I'm not joking. But then that's me.

Ok, gtg. Hubby just came back. Will be reading!

 

[dejected]

Thanks Funzee for the sharing.As for ball throwing, my boys can throw overhead..but cant do from under yet...another milestoneto be achieved..(cantremember whatage)

 

[linda_teo]

Hi! I'm so glad this thread is active again! I can have my bedtime read....

I'm another laid back mum... I've decided to put Reagan through I Can Read, phonics after he turns 4. N a half an hour Chinese Tution once or twice weekly when he's in k1. Will b putting him in childcare end of the year but haven't really decided on one yet. So from now till 4. It's just cc n play with us.

Speaking through experience, those mummies who have their eye set on SAP schools, do start on mandrain n hypi early. Though moe don't recommend teaching of hypi in k2, but they r expected to know the basis in p1! A fault I would say, in current edu.

Potty, I'm with xoxo too in this. That's what happen to my elder son. After a tiring outing n he's fussing to change his diper, we decided to let him go without till he's in deep sleep. Then we will put on for him. Who knows all of us fell asleep n got woken up by a shout " I wanna pee!" so my hubby quickly carried him to the toilet. From then on, he went without diaper. No training is done on our side. So we strongly believe in letting the child lead us in this aspect. He was 2.5 years old then.

Right, going to sleep...... Good night mummies!

 

[lydiagal]

potty : thanks all mummies for sharing your experience and thoughts. i agree ultimately it depends on the child.

and yea to the thread being active again!

funzee: amelie is so guai. my boy throws pretty much everything. drive us nuts. all my hello kitty figurine...sigh.....

glass : ah. thanks for the tip!

anyone taught their kids to tear paper yet? If yes, how do you prevent him/her from tearing... books/magazines/etc?

 

[nlimm]

76:
Maid: can't help much our families anti - maid

ilmm:
Errmmm c if u can start Malcolm cc earlier, if not y not just continue w the class to keep him occupy?

Jrrt:
Hehe yup I know coz u commented on tien's 100% mandarin part so I add in u as well

it's gd for r to follow her bro, easier too

Funzee:
Coz m is w my mom mon to fri. We don't bring him home. My mum not a outdoor person thus my outdoor activities w m always wkend. Then I'm not a stay home person n m always like to go downstair every am n pm for a walk so I meanswhile give him tt playgp , din expect him to learn much just interaction , adapting classroom teaching n of coz I'm looking forward tt he can sit halfway or totally thru a story telling session. Very weird errmmm so far only m's jg Cher said it won't be tiring for m... Errmmm need convince Hb n mum errmmm shall try psycho the playgp Cher for trial for m 1st

Gal:
I like tt errmmm shd I so tt snake activity w him haha but I'm thinking bring m to explore tennis court maybe both on sat haha

Glass/ funzee:
R u refering to the one opp yck met station? The one in tt church is a kindy.

Sotong mum:
Yalor need hypy before p1 ridiculous right we were learning tt in pri 4 if not wrong. Most kindy have tt in k2 aldy but of coz no idea of how deep they covering.

Glass:
Thxthx errmm shall try at my mum plc haha coz hoop overthere. Instead of dropping ball into hoop, he went below the hoop n pop his head thru the hoop lor haha

Gal:
Not for me , not gog to teach m that.I assume u do tt to train e's fine motor development? I find m a bit girlish with his fingers at times. When he eat potato slices n bread, he held it with 2 fingers( right hand) n use the other 2 fingers(left hand) Fr tear into bits n eat. So worry he become niang niang qiang, can't stand tt act of his.

 

[glass]

re throwing
elgin has super ball sense. He's kicking real soccer balls around the house, throwing them, and my FIL got him to throw paper ball into the dustbin. We have a basketball hoop and he would put balls in through the hoop. He doesn't know how to throw into the hoop yet.

My fear is he wants to grow up to be a soccer player and then mai tak chek.

That's why we are encouraging him to play basketball instead. At least there is a chance for him to grow taller. He's only 75cm I think.

 

[glass]

gal: I don't teach him to tear paper. He already tore my magazines and the books I got for him.

funzee: ok, that's great. yup. beside kuo chuan. my FIL heard there is a playgroup, but caregiver has to accompany.

nlimm: nope, not in yck.

 

[lydiagal]

1. Takashimaya Baby Fair 2011
Dates: 9 to 28 March 2011
Time: unavailable (last year’s fair: 10a.m. to 9.30p.m.)
Venue: Takashimaya Singapore

2. Baby Care Festival 2011
Dates: 18 to 20 March 2011
Time: 11a.m. to 8p.m.
Venue: Singapore Expo Hall 6B
Organiser: Mother &amp; Baby Singapore

3. Baby Expo
Dates: 22 to 24 Apr 2011
Time: (Fri &amp; Sat) 11a.m. to 9p.m., (Sun) 11a.m. to 8p.m.
Venue: Singapore Expo Hall 6A
Organiser: Vivacious Media Pte Ltd

4. Motherhood Exhibition 2011
Dates: 02 to 05 June 2011
Time: 11.00am to 9.00pm
Venue: Hall 6B Singapore Expo
Free Admission

 

[lydiagal]

glass : eek. then how?

 

[glass]

gal: paste back lor. those with pull out tabs are spoilt. some normal paper picture book still ok. he likes to read them.

for magazines, read and throw away.

he once grabbed my red pen and drew a few lines before i snatched my students' papers away. jia lat.

 

[dejected]

glass
i hope i wun experience that when i go back sch...oops..hehhee

 

[lydiagal]

glass : ya. i tot the pull out tabs book shouldn't spoil coz its so tough. can't pull nicely anymore and don't know how to fix it.

hahaha. lucky you saw it. else the student will be ?????? ehhehehehe.

 

[oricule]

tear paper:

i didnt teach him to tear paper, but the IC did. and when at home, sometimes when he reading the paperback book, he will be so excited and keep repeating "book" and tear it accidentally (too rough). so i will "scold" him and tell him no..... he is suppose to love and must treat the books well with respect. i think every time he does something that is not right, we just have to keep telling them until they know? anyway, i will give him a tissue paper, or most of the time he himself when he manage to get hold of my tissue pack or box, will shed everything into pieces... (millions).. when i saw that, i will ask him why so "an zang" (dirty)? and he will point and repeat "an zang" and then i ask him to pick up and pass to mommy to throw away, he will take up one by one which by maybe 6 or 7 pieces will get tired of it.

i also just scotch tape back the pages or the cover.. so i dont think i can bring him to library.haha

 

[glass]

gal: i was there, just too slow to grab the pen back from him. marking halfway, then he wanted to sit with me, so i carried him up and put him on my lap. Within a few seconds, he grabbed the pen and drew a few strokes!

76: i told my student about his antics, she actually laughed. Fortunately not super serious lines. Teachers got excuse not to return homework immediately. e.g. my kid threw up on it. my kid drew on it. hope no 'my kid ate it'.