(2003) Calling all 2003 babies

hi Serenade
You're most welcome. I was very excitied but was after a few back breaking sessions. DH said he was too old for that and he had helped J years ago. So it was my turn.

Just wondering when is the best age for the kid to be graded. R's piano teacher asked me late last year whether I was keen. I was worried that R wld be bored playing the same old pieces so I turned her down. I am hoping when she is old enough (??), to skip a few grades (save $$ at the same time).


hi Tricia
I work part-time too but this year both kids are in the morning and now I at home sitting in front of the PC. Not quite right abt the schedule!!!

Talking abt Mandarin, sherlyn has done a great job! JA speaks both English and Mandarin very well for his age. Sherlyn is on the right path, we shld avocate for more Mandarin at the home and the children will pick up English in school.
 


Serenade, no, we don't use JMC textbook. It's copyrighted and they can't use it outside Yamaha, so the textbooks we use are different. Your B's 1 term behind my B right? But I think somehow they are doing the same activities. I think Ben could do more if we switch to 1-to-1 lesson, but right now, I'm thinking of exposing him to other activities and take it easy with music. Recently, a father just told me that if possible, do let the kids try out variety of activities but u need to know when to pull the kids out; he's not the first one that tells me that. Anyone heard of Swimfast? His 10-yr girl completed the course and just stopped lesson but his 8-yr old is doing well in competitive swimming.

Tricia, u only have 1 girl? Can't comment much abt Appletree coz never go find any info on it. I've got positive reviews on Wharton Jnr esp on good teacher commitment n open communication. Chinese ... I find getting a good teacher and working hand-in-hand works for me. I'm questioning if I should re-send him back Chinese lessons as I've been trying to do it with him at home with mixed success. I used to send him to a fren's house early last yr to be taught by a teacher, but timing clashed and we dropped out. The 3 kids in the class now has a K2 standard (as quoted by the teacher), and I've seen the materials to say the words that they can recognize is quite difficult (for their level). Would u want to consider going for the prog? She's opening a class on Wed 1pm at Bukit Batok.

.ky.
 
hi ky

J went to swimfast by David Lim when he was 4 going 5. He wasn't ready then. A year later, he joined APS by Ang PS. It depends very much on the indi teacher. Not all will incorporate playing with learning. J did not enjoy all the levels.
 
hi jan
thanks for sharing, getting her to write on lines had been very challenging and i am now happy if she writes her name legible enough for teachers haha.

hi jpooh
how was your road trip? any interesting stops?
 
Hi Ky,

I am interested in learning my own so that I can mimic what the teacher do in class (like playing the songs like the teacher for him to sing songs) so as to practice with him.

JA also only learn DO to SO (isnt this call C major? so what is actually C major *sigh*) and now starting to learn how to play the "F clef" set of keys C to E (if you know what I mean).

my printer does not have compatible cheap ink, so I cant even use cheap ink. ok, so will look into buying more activity books to fill up some of his time.

TQ.
 
hi Moshi2

The trip was good. Total 12 days.

2 nites in Malacca - Loved the place
Cheng Ho Museum - very good.
Netwon Cultural food court - clean, cheap & good

3 nites in KL as cameron's accommodation was fully booked, we took a day trip to Genting. Very cheap. RM26/pax for return bus, skyway & outdoor theme park. BTW, UOB card has 10% discount for Cosmo World at Time Square.

2 nites in Pangkor Island and took a taxi (RM280)as we missed the bus to Penang.
Beach filled with little crabs...
Pte town tour - RM70.00

3 nites in Penang. Rented a car but was always lost!!!!
Took a trishaw ride with guided tour - RM30 for whole family. Poor old man....

Flew back to JB
1 nite in JB and did most of our shopping there.
Took a Sing taxi all the way home for S$35.00
 
Hi Serenade, thanks for offering the popular card. I would love to buy from popular, but I hv another bookshop which is a stone throw away, so may get from there. I will not be able to tell what are good activity books and what are not, since most of them are really similar to me.

Maybe what we print from the internet is not colorful, so they not enticed to do. I see that some activity books in color and it is not too expensive too. Anyway like KY said, books are not as messy. Are preschool activity books term assessment books ?

when will popular hv the 20% promotion?
 
hehe Jpooh, my kids speak both languages but not that well lah. Both parents cant speak good english, so we can only speak mandarin most of the time and leave the english education to TV and teachers. :)

Do you mean piano grading can be skipped?
 
hi moshi

booked my malacca's hotel thru wofit at Rm102/nite + RM10 service fee for standard room with breakast. Outside the hotel were banners quoting RM85++ (RM98 nett) for Superior rm with breakfast. Going direct seemed to be cheaper. Most of my bookings for this trip were direct dealings with hotel.
 
Hi Sherlyn,
Is the bookshop which is one stone away the BIG Bookshop ? There is one in Clementi which I supposed you are near there. Their books are quite cheap. There is one in Tampines and I recently bot some for my son.
 
hi jpooh
sounds like lotsa fun!
crabs on pangkor reminds me of christmas island.
where exactly is pangkor? would u recommend the place? beach resort?
your day trip to genting's a real good deal.
so which place did u enjoy most and would want to revisit?
 
sherlyn
get kumon workbooks if you are looking for addition/subtraction worksheets. the eng rhymes workbook is pretty good for spelling.
kumon works on the basics, nothing fanciful, but good enough to help our kids build the foundation.
or have a look at the P1 textbooks, try out the games in the math books, most of which our kids can manage.
 
Hi Tricia, welcome! We speak mainly english at home too and had a hard time 'converting' the kids to mandarin. Thanks to their Chinese teachers who are from China and school literacy program, they should be ok for now. Beautiful pronunciation and excellent songs (er ge), reciting poems (lang shi) that the kids can teach me.
 
hi tricia,
my girl speaks chinese with ang mo accent cos we didnt speak much mandarin to her till now (mistake, mistake). anyway, after attending jg & berries, she's much better now. you can consider
happy.gif


hi jpooh,
your trip certainly sounds very well organised!

hi moshi,
i saw a stall near my office selling kumon workbooks, but quite exp right?
how did you teach mel add & sub?
 
Hi tricia,

My kids should fare the worst in Chinese among all here. They have no exposure to the Chinese language until last June. My son is attending Berriesworld now and there has been tremendous improvement. He may not be able to speak Mandarin fluently yet, but he is certainly picking up the language fast. If any consolation, his Han Yu Pin Yin skill is pretty good despite no training yet. As my girl, we are taking it easy. But I do hope to enrol her for Berriesworld soon.

Like chloe, I would recommend both JG Chinese Edudrama and Berriesworld.

Age of our kids - Year 2003 kids
Age of mommies - b/w late twenties to late thirties. (Hope I'm right on this, ladies
happy.gif
)
 
Hi sherlyn,

If I'm not wrong, the Popular promotion is held half yearly in June and December. As for selecting assessment books/workbooks, it depends on your objective. There are the all-in-one types and those that specialise in certain areas such as phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, addition, subtraction, measures, science etc...
 
Hi ky,

Brandon has since stopped "writing" in his journal. Nowadays, he's drawing more frequently.

Besides his daily work that requires writing, I'm trying copywork too. As for Chinese, he's practising new characters every other night.
 
hi ladies ... have your kids start to talk back to you with his/her own set of reasons? I find B's doing that ever since school re-opens. I do not know if it's bcos we keep telling him that he's bigger now, since he's going to be 5 yr old soon. But wow, the way he talks back to us is really different now. Not shouting but a number of things which I'm teaching him is being replied with his own set of reasons... is this growing up?

.ky.
 
Hi ... spoken to someone who was doing a basic pottery workshop at yishun yesterday. 2 sessions of 60 mins each (for 1 finished item; 1st session to mould, then he'll fire it. then 2nd session is to colour it, and then another round of fire). Promotional price $30. I asked if he has a blog and he said no. He just called and said yes ... http://clayoracle.blogspot.com/ (ie he just did one up!) ... I thot he's pretty responsive so helping to spread the news a bit. btw, I'm going to try it out with B, probably on a selected weekday afternoon, a week apart.

.ky.
 
Hi ky, my kids went for pottery during the holidays. They enjoy the sessions and very thrilled with their 'masterpieces', especially me! They eat from the bowls and drink from the cups they had made but I find them so precious...
 
Yes yes Apricot, i live near the BIG bookshop. Pity I am with kids, else I would be popping into the bookshop very often. Used to want to start a bookshop so that I can just keep browsing books and magazines and not buying them. haha
 
Moshi .. will working on the kumon books help without attending the classes ? My kids love to play more then anything, so I think i need some fanciful, colorful worksheets to help them get going. P1 books .. oh mine, don't scare me.
 
ky, they pottery workshop sounds like a good deal. A pity its too far. I have a friend who sign up Claycove's holiday program and she say her daughter enjoys it. This is good, just 2 session, do not need long time commitment.

Regarding talking back, JA has been like this for quite sometime. He will either use the reasons that I once used on him, or give his own reasons which of cos at times is not logical. I just take it that he is growing up, and picking up different things from TV and the school.
 
I bought a packet of multiflavour straw (they sell individual flavour too) from Giant in M'sia. Its similar to what K's mom has bought back from Germany. Not sure if singapore Giant carries thou. Its quite costly. abt SG25 cent per straw and the caramel and banana flavour taste quite bad. The chocolate flavour still falls far behind of what K's mom has bought back.

For your information.
 
Sher
kumon lesssons basically =worksheets drilling. there's minimal teaching as instructors advocate independent learning and self checking. worksheets are designed to complement this. even if ur child attends the lessons, teaching methods differ from instructor to instructor, there's no 'kumon method', the prog is all abt the worksheets and goal settings by instructor.

helen,
the worksbooks u see are fr canada and cost abt $10 per book, they are similar to the worksheets distributed in kumon centers here but not exactly the same.
i am trying to use lego blocks to teach addition, eg. get the child to break 6 pieces of blocks into two parts, 3 and 3, 4 and 2 and 1 and 5. then tell the child that 3 and 3 make 6 and so on. u can bring it further by having her write down the addition sentence 3+3=6.
try it, it's fun.

mommies, pl share the fun things u do to teach math;)
 
Hi Ladies, thanks for the adv. Will probably send her to Wharton......and may consider Berriesworld thereafter.
My daughter dislikes Chinese so bad that she tells me she is English and turns her back on her LV Chinese teacher during lessons. sigh.

ky, 1pm chinese class a little tough - considering I am working and my helper is with her. Guess I have to go back to chinese scholl 1st. btw, my daughter has started to reason with us rather strongly now. catches us whenever we make verbal mistakes.....or actions.
 
Worry mum,

sorry abit slow here ... you are talking abt u do not hv CDA account .. but all our first kids dun hv CDA account rite?
 
Thank moshi, for the clarification. I will take a look at the kumon workbooks as well.

You hv a great way to teach math. I do not teach my kids at home, so nothing much to share. However, they love watching the leapfrog DVD on maths where it teaches addition and subtraction, thou my boy know 3 + 3 is 6, I think he may hv memorised it from the DVD.
 
hi,I saw the multiflavour straws in Yew Tee NTUC this afternoon.In 3 flavours: strawberry, chocolate, cookies n cream.

For your information.
 
Hi Mommies,

Back to work after 2days MC which was a good break off work and I am recovering from flu.

mummies with DS/DH attending K1 @ PCF. I am surprised of the daily homework assigned for Z @ K1 level. Does yr kid brings back homework daily? Fyi, Z is attending pcf @ kolam ayer pcf. And i was surprised to learn of the sch fees difference between punggol and kolam ayer.. $62.90 vs $128 per mth.
 
Hi moo87,
Yes, all PCF fees are charged and operates differently. My DS one is from $72 jump up to $140, as enhanced program on Science, English and Chinese are incorporated into their lesson time.
 
Hi sherlyn, my kids went to Claycove too during term breaks. They did the basic earlier so continued with the intermediate in Dec, consists of 6 sessions of 1.5 hrs each. Ya, I won't be able to find my way to yishun!
 
Hi kristan ... tx for sharing on the flavour straws .... didn't know the little Yew Tee NTUC has such wonderful things.

Sherlyn, did u pay RM$4.90 for 10 pieces? btw, there's some mummies in a forum buying at $0.40/pc ... hubby too said ex. the brand's the same as what K's mom bought. btw, she's still on hol?

Pottery, Jan, I can't afford Claycove. I'm just looking at those with affordable fees. Sherlyn, not that difficult to get to Yishun, just a MRT ride, then change bus, and anyway, it's going t be 2 times. Serena, it's a 1-off thing, but the guy is a freelacer, so I'd think he can plan something if u r keen on an on-going basis.

.ky.
 
Hi tricia, that's the usual response if the child is not conversant in mandarin. There was a new girl in ds class who had a malay teacher in her previous nursery, said she HATES the chinese teacher because doesn't understand what she's talking about. On the other hand, amazed that the malay and indian children are as comfortable with mandarin as the rest.

Mummies, what about dialects? Do your kids understand any dialect? Mine know the most minimum as seldom speak. Can't learn that in school so afraid it may be totally lost for the next generation.
 
Hi ky, claycove not that ex if you average out as it's 1.5hrs each session though this yishun promo is good deal. Have fun!
 
hi moo,
the pcf that chloe goes to doesn't have homework. monthly fees is about $90, inclusive of computer lessons. this year they're also implementing a reading program.
 
Aiya, then i m paying $100 without the enhancement on science and others ? I think i prefer the enhancement rather then the computer. I just asked boy's teacher that day, and she told me, the kids use the PC to play games, like fix puzzle, make cards, tan-"something"-gram etc .. I think waste time leh.
 
Hi Chloe,

DS hates to have homework assignment at this stage. He is constantly reminding us tt his N2 teacher is better.. cos nvr give homework.. He even commented he hates the k1 teacher. I am wondering whether should I speak with the principal?

DH even suggested K1 teachers are lazy cos they do not need to coach students. And want parents to do the job. I can guide him after my work.. but mentally felt that its tough on k1 level for daily assignment.
 
Hi ky,I am not sure if the brand selling in NTUC is the same as the one K's mom bought there, but the one I buy in msia giant is the same as the one selling in NTUC here. You can check the picture of the packaging from an advertisement on www.todayonline.com.sg. However the flavour is different, so who knows both supermarket import from different places.

In msia, 5 pc of individual straws of same flavour is gog at RM2.99, and a packet of 10 straws of multiflavour is gog at RM5.99 (not sure if it is a promo price then).

If you want I can get it from msia for u, but got to wait till i go bak for CNY. They only hv chocolate , strawberry, caramel, and banana flavour there.
 
my boy's pcf also do not hv homework .. if there is, i think i will die from asking him to complete them.

okie got to go pick kids.
 
Hi ladies!

Happy New Year! Hope you all and the kids have had a great start into 2008!

We came back from NYC yesterday morning. Suitcases are still standing in my hallway, unpacked. Very tired, kids are suffering from jet lag, thus so are the parents and grandparents.

Hi Serenade!
Thanks for asking. We're good, just extremely exhausted. So any form of update will come slowly... Haven't got time to catch up on reading the archives yet.

NYC is so exciting and fun... 18 days were far too short. I wish we lived there. The first thing Bryan commented was, "Daddy, everyone here speaks English!"
 
Hi ky, the basic is $120 for 4 sessions and they did 3 figurines + 3 small bowls with pinching. In Dec, completed the intermediate $170 for 6 sessions. More interesting pieces of cup, bowl, 2 boxes and pencil holder with coiling and hollowing. Can check out the website http://www.claycove.com/
 
Hi, mummies
Hope you don't mind I join this thread. I've 2 kids - 6 and 5 yo. I used to be SAHM for 2.5 yrs and just went back to work. Saw your discussion on PCF. My kids juz switch from church kindergtn to PCF. Heard someone mention about bottletree. May I know what is that? Sounds interesting?
 


Hellooooo .. am pretty upset this evening, after knowing that my boy is being sent for time out. Teacher say she has given him many chances and he is still hitting his classmates. Surprisingly, boy still did not realise his mistake when i ask y is he "punished" with time out. Teacher also said that he likes to punish other classmates by pinching them. She quoted an example that he pinch and pulled a girl back in line when she is not queueing properly to go bak indoor after an outdoor session.

I am not doubting the teacher, and I knew my boy is a little mischevious. However, I feel sometimes my boy's actions maybe mistaken. My dh question him on why he pull the girl bak into line, he simply answer cos she is out of line, without any look of guilt on his face. Usually when he did smthg wrong, he will hv a kind of look. If he doesnt have that look, does it means that he din realise he did wrong? Maybe to him, he is doing a service to the teacher by getting the girl back in line.

Anyway, today at the playground, he is playing catching with 2 other kids. One kid push him to the ground (with hands), no injury, very slight abrasion on the knee cap but he cried. He told me the boy push him. I saw it, but am not very sure if the boy push him in purpose or he did not brake in time (cos my boy stop running while he still rushes forward).

I told my boy, its like that .. playing catching and running carry the risk of falling down. On one hand, I try to discipline him to b a good boy, no pushing, no beating etc, but on the other hand, other kids are doing the same things on him or other children. *sigh*

Thanks for listening .. I'm just fed up and want to talk.
 
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