(2003) Calling all 2003 babies

KRIS: my boy used to like playdoh, but hardly play with any now. he does hv prob playing with playdoh as tend to get rashes aft that.

SUNFLOWER: ds will not play with others at playground. basically he's not the sociable type. in playgroup, he'll play with those he like too, not with everyone. teacher juz feedback that he likes to play on his own.

SERENADE: do not know whether its true that kids are good only in one aspect. so far that's what PD told me, when i expressed my concerns over ds motorskills. It seems true for ds, as he's very vocal (starts talking at around 11 mths) but his motorskills is terrible.

re pretend play - he likes to use bolsters as doors and he'll cook for everyone at home

re writing - he can scribble A-H, but noticed he got prob with curves or circles and he prefers capital letters.

re colors - he can identify colors and will do good coloring (as in within all black lines) when he's in good mood. recently pick up the mixing of colors from TV (think its disney channel).

Juz subscribe Preschool Disney channel recently, noticed he picked up a lot of things from there. His vocab increased, and he actually tried to follow the exercise done in "Jo-Jo circus" but do afraid he's spending too much time on TV.
 


worry mum,
i've been doing flashcards with him since 6mths ago... but no progress...
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he also got stranger anxiety, everytime we go into lift, if there's other people, he will hide behind me, sometimes he will even squat down, facing the walls! :p
jump.... hmmmmm, he always doing jumping, not from the floor, but from the bed down to the floor.... *LOL*
 
mummies,

for flash cards ... how did u do it with your kids?
sorry for asking, feeling rather dumb ... actually bot some flash cards from popular, but at a loss how to do it. juz show n tell?

saw my sis playing the flash cards with ds last nite ... she wants him to display A - Z in a row, then make him take the picture to match agst the alphabets, correct? or shld be the other way round?
 
Karen, what type of flashcards you have been flashing? Make it as a game to him ..eg, write the lyrics on the cards and flash, flash picture cards, play mix and match, etc.

aa, am not expert in flashcards, but my method is.. sit face to face, Flashcards made with writing the words front(big) and back(small), flash from the last piece to the front, while you flash, u read the "small" words from the back of the cards.. then said out loud while flash..flash in 1-2 second per card. The method your sis do also can, just as a game to him..
 
Hi Karen,

What I did with my ds was to point out colors everywhere, the colors of the shirts he/we wearing, color of hair, color of shoes etc... then one fine day, he simply said, "mommy is wearing pink sweater". I have a hell time trying to "teach" him by sitting down, showing him and asking him the colors. Like some of your kids, he would reply the right color one minute and give a wrong answer the next. Think we have got to be creative when "teaching" kids... haiz. Er... must list down all the skills? think mine's only average, maybe slightly above ...

re reading skills: know all the letter names & sounds by 18 mths. can read simple words at around 20 mths. now reading books like "Little Bear" series on his own. Hopefully can advance to next stage soon. But still prefers me to read to him, always uses "But I can't read, mommy read" to get me do it... Learning mode - phonics with sight words. Haven't introduced spelling yet.

re maths skills: numerically, can read 1-20. words, 1-10. now learning 11-20 in words, think he does know them but never really "test" him yet. can count 1-20, i.e 1 to 1 counting

so far, have no problems in completing nursery level workbooks from Popular. Mommies, any idea where I can get workbooks besides Popular? This mommy is anti-flash card believer. So, no flash cards for both my kids.
 
Karen,

Though I don't recommend flashcards, you can try reading up on Glenn Doman. It teaches how to use flashcards.
 
serenade: We make hamburgers and all kinds of shapes with the play-doh and she enjoys making things.
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As for colouring, there is no need to correct them when they colour the sky pruple or green.
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It is a normal part of development. Kids at this age are not interested in reality so their sky can be any colour they like and a cat may be green, pink and brown at the same time! hahaha..

re: pretend play - I allow my girl to take out real bowls and ladles and pretend to cook. I also take orders from her like I want noodles, fried rice etc..
 
thanks to all mummies,
will try out the ways u all have suggest.
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seems like my boy is the slowest progress over here, 37mths liao, cannot color in line, cannot remember colors, cannot point out 26alphabet(can only recite), cannot point out 1~10(can only recite).
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hi

i'm a SAHM wif a 32 mths old and a 5 weeks old bb. both are gals. my 32 mths toddler have been attending shichida method since 11 mths old. She is veri chatty and super friendly type..
 
Rammy,aa, thanks for the advice. I read somewhere too not to correct their drawings or colourings. Allow them to be creative...

Hi Karen, no need to fret. It doesn't mean your 3 years old is anything less than smart. In fact, childhood experts recommend more on learning through play. Just that there are more kiasu mothers around nowadays. For kids, the earlier you expose them, the earlier they pick up.

But I think the Singapore education system is getting scary. My sis's 41 mths old dd (attending N2 cos year end baby) has justed started school this year. The teacher has been giving her some negative feedbacks - i.e cannot draw/color, poor letter and chinese character recognition skills. In the end, my sis has to send her dd for extra drawing and phonics lessons. Karen, might be good if you were to send your son to Nursery 1 or some enrichment classes like phonics classes.
 
Sorry all mommies,
really have no time to reply recently. My 2 rascals are down with cough again. So headache. Just bought Lifestream cordecep for her to try today. So don't know the result yet. Any mommies here try it on your kids?

Serenade,
Wow! I'm so impressed with boy. Are you using montessori method? You start with the phonics first right? My elder girl can recognise colours & shapes since 18mths by pointing at it but only know how to tell us much later. She can tell us A - Z but I'm trying to teach her the sound of it.

Sunflower,
Regarding the Terrific Toddler. I think is no longer selling outside. What I have is only a photocopy one. If you really want I can lend it to you next time.

As for New mommies,
u don't have to thank me. As what Sunflower said. This is a free forum. & the reason for me to start is becos there is no thread that seems appropriate for this topic.
 
that's v true, serenade. 2day's education system requires children 2b able to read when they enter p1. imagine having to solve problem sums in p1. and some schs even have challenging qtns. children wil b at a disadvantage if they don attend any classes b4 p1.
 
think not only stressful on kids, but stressful being parents too
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during my school days (way, way back) ... dun remember need to learn so many things before P1. Just remember playing my way thru ... during those kampong days.

at times really wonder is there such a need to send kids to enrichment?
being a 'kiasu' parent (eg, me), will juz send as long as ds enjoys and within my financial means ...
 
Hi Gen, hope your gals are doing better. Er..thks... but still think I haven't done enough... so tough to be parents nowadays... Are you montessori trained? Montessori does have a great influence on me. Your gal is doing very well too. For me, I introduce my kids everything since young, i.e letter names & sounds, big and small caps...

rammy, u were a former teacher? So, are you still working or a SAHM now? For English, can share what the pri sch teaches? I taught two months in a neighbourhood sec sch and found their English standard horrible. Do they teach grammars in pri sch?

aa, agrees with you totally. Before I have kids, I used to wonder why parents are so stressed over their primary school kids. Now, haiz, I understand...

re enrichment classes: actually wonder if it's better for kids to attend nursery or enrichment classes. Looking at my sis's dd, don't know if it's better for the gal to just attend enrichment classes alone...
 
Btw, have any of you tried Logico with your kids? Any comments on it?

re discipline: Have anybody tried the Supernanny methods?
 
my son is attendig a montessori playgrp too. his tchrs said that he's ahead of his friends of his age. i agree that montessori is gd but it's very hands-on, not much writing & reading skills taught. intend to send him to nursery in another sch next yr. don wan him to tink that sch is juz play, cos that's wat he says evrytime he comes home from sch.

re teaching grammar in pri sch: yes, grammar is taught from p1. but the way teachers teach now is very different from the way we were taught. teachers now teach grammar thru inflection, not injection. that means students juz learn thru speaking, reading and writing proper sentences. well, that was wat i was taught to teach when i was in nie. in our time, we were taught by rote learning. everyday we had to recite...he is, she is, we are, they are...eat-ate, go-went...

re enrichment classes: i guess some kids wil perform better in smaller grps aka enrichment classes.

re discipline: yup, tried even b4 the show as i hd watched some documentary prog relating to discipline when i was in the us in 2002. when my son was younger, i made him stand in the corner, facing the wall. now it's the thinking chair. it works 4 me as my son is able to tell me wat he has done wrong after spending some time in the chair. and if he tries to do the same mistake again, he'll b reminded of the "chair".
 
serenade: got the chinese set; think it is quite useful but my gal still not playing much on it yet cos she get frustrated in pushing the button out and to link the butttons with the shapes..

think minimally the child must know colours so that it is easier to start...
 
Serenade,
my son is in childcare fullday, he's in N1 now....
as for phonics class, i've tried searching for 1, mostly requires kids to be 4yrs and above...
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serenade,
Thx alot. The pd think that they are are allegeric to something. Not very sure is allergic to what yet. No. I'm no Montessori trained but have just enrolled my girl in a montessori school. So I'm kinda interested in the way they teach.

MH,
Do you know where can I view the demo for Logico both english & chinese set? I've heard so much on this but never get to see the product.
 
karen,
as my son is in the tcs class, i'm paying $396 for 12 lessons. of course u pay more when u register. the good thing is, there is a make-up lesson if u not able to come for any lesson.
 
Karen,
my sis's 41 mth gal is with Mrs Sam's Phonics. She's attending twice a week with another 2 students. Can't remember how much she is paying ...

gen,
since u know the letter sounds, why not introduce ur gal some simple blendings, eg. c-a-t says cat? once the kid knows the letter sounds, can proceed to blending letters and reading simple words...

rammy, i'm still not sure what or where to send my son next year. but definitely got to send him to chinese enrichment classes
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pple have been advising me to send ds to PAP (I heard they are no longer called PAP, right?) preschools... But I prefer the JG or LW teaching styles...

MH, how's the quality like? I heard the Chinese set is in spiral format. Can withstand rough usage and handling? Got two kids...

re icanread : I read in some forums that once they removed the phonetic codes, the kid may not read with ease. true?
 
Hi, can i know if any one of your kids got problem pronoucing C, F, S, X?
My boy is now 39mths. He can recognised all the 26 alpha, but he just can't seem to get the 'ssss" out of his mouth...
Will sending him to Phonics classes help?
 
May - mine has prob with P, L, C, F. Has been wondering if it is normal. Will their pronuniciation improve as they grow older?
 
May n Sunflower: Dun worry. Pronunciation is a matter of oral muscle development. Many kids will have problems with some consonant sounds and some kids will not be able to pronounce their /r/ (/r/ is the hardest sound to pronounce) till abt 8 yrs old. this is all part of normal development.

Are your kids unable to say the letter C or unable to pronounce the sound /k/ etc? If kid can't pronounce /f/ can he say the letter F? Or are they sometimes able to make the sounds when in 2nd or later syllabus? If there is some discrepency in sometimes able to make the sound and most times unable to esp as the first sound of the word then there is no cause for concern. Some kids may also appear to lisp at a young age but as their oral (tongue and jaw) muscles develop they will be able to pronounce the sounds more accurately. It's too early now to decide if a child has speech problems unless it is very clear and the child at 3 yrs cannot be understood more than 50% of the time.

I hope I've shed some light on children's speech development!
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aa - have not tried zoo phonics, wanted to ..but always time not suitable. BTW, they have trial available.

Serenade, PAP.. now PCF, if you intend to send for next year N2, must call them up .. most centre registration already close..
 
hi Kris

Thanks. You sure make me feel better
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My boy will sound like 'mall' when he is saying 'small', but he can say 'swimming' like 'swimming', so.... hahaha....

He's better with chinese so when he speaks english, I just can't help but laugh
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May - ha ha, at least your ds sounds ok in Chinese. My mom says my ds sounds like a "chow ang moh' when he speaks mandarin, and he sounds like a china boy when he speaks English. hee! coz both buay chun. :p
no offence meant! no pun intended!
 
Serenade,

Know is one thing but to teach is another. Furthermore, nowsaday I have problem getting her to sit down.

Kris,
Yah. Thx alot for the explanation. I do have the same concern too.
 
Toddlers often have trouble with pronunciation and difficulties putting sentences together. A child between the ages of 18 months and 3 years will generally mispronounce many words. It's perfectly normal to have to play a guessing game to figure out what your child is saying, and at times you may have absolutely no clue what she's getting at. That's okay!

Many toddlers substitute an "f" or "d" sound for "th" ("I'm taking a baf") or a "w" sound for an "l" or "r" ("The wion wawed" = "The lion roared"). Consonant blends, where two consonants are right next to each other, are typically difficult ("Soppit!" for "Stop it"), and toddlers often mix up multi-syllabic words or simply reduce them to shorter words ("Gimme dat amal" = "Give me that animal"). All of these mispronunciations are common even up until age 6. What you want to watch for is that your toddler's speech is improving over time by age 3, most of what your child says should be pretty understandable.

-from Babycenter.com
 
In general, I read that kids can talk clearly only when they are about 4 years old... i.e clear enough for any strangers to understand them perfectly. But parents should be able to understand most of their kids' speech at 3 years old, 50% at 2.5 years old.
 
Seems like most of your kids are at least bilingual...Mine can only speak & understand English. Will be sending him to attend Chinese enrichment classes. Can anybody recommend some Chinese enrichment classes? Are Abacus classes still popular?
 
Serenade: chinese set ok lar....but they are made of paper, so of course cannot withstand tearing, but normal usuage is ok...My gal used to speak and udnerstand English too, maybe u can try exposing him to chinese VCDS or give him the equivalent of English words at the same time?

gen: I am trying to get in contact with a supplier of Logico English. If I manage to get hold a set from him, maybe u would like to pop over at my house to take a look at the Chinese and English set? if not, maybe you want to take a look at the Logico Chinese Set at Great World City. Heard that there is stall there until this Tuesday.

Sunflower: my gal says chinese like ang moh too..her English is better...
 
This is great, joining in too.

My dd is 33 months and starting N1 next week, very excited (and anxious) now, anyone with kids in school already?

Serenade, MH, my dd is also a little angmo, very amusing, she understands basic but won;t reply in Chinese. Hopefully she will pick up some chinese in school
 
MH: Hi hi, your gal must be coping well by now, is she enjoying school? Are u a FTWM?

Hey mummies, are your kids picky with food? Mine is super fussy, i have to hide the veg in her food and she always insists on self feeding and eating only what she likes on the plate. I have to hide her favourite food and serve it last.

Any recipes to share? I usu do soups and serve with rice or pasta, simple stuff, guess she's bored with my cooking.
 
Hi Lena, MH,

Yup... I'm trying to teach him chinese too. But progress very slow. will try harder.

My ds will be attending nursery this Sept. He's has been in a "protected" environment since young, i.e he seldom mixes with other children. I'm rather worried that he might be bullied with his gentle nature. How do you teach your kids to tackle bullies in school? What if the bully takes away their things, push them etc?

Lena, I'm blessed with kids who are aren't picky with their food, well, at least not at this stage. My menu is rather fixed; lunch - porridge with brocolli & fish, dinner - prorridge with brocolli, meat & scallop. Sometimes I do offer other veggies like carrot, potato, chai xin... My ds used to join us for dinner. But since I'm cooking for my gal, I have let him take porridge with his sister. But he does take adult food for dinner twice a week.
 
Lena: she is doing ok, can see that she likes her teachers a lot. She was not clingy to us when we celebrate her birthday yesterday at the childcare..
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I am a FTWM

as for food, she is quite ok except for some veg and fruits like carrots, tofu, papaya and watermelon...she also like to eat the good things first...then she will eat the rice...have to sometimes tempt her to eat more by giving bah hoo at the last
 
Hi Lena
My boy is 39 mths and in N2 (Full-day childcare) now. I'm comtempleting whether to put him in PAP Nursery next yr. I'm worried that he will be bored at home cause PAP is only a 3 hrs class each day.

As for food, my boy is not fussy but he have mood for certain things sometimes. Like he would feel like fish today, but tmr he will say no to fish, cause he ate yesterday liao ... funny right... guess I gave him too much freedom to choose, haha...
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Serenade, your son is like my daughter, she hardly protests when her toys get snatched, unless it's her fav cat. She will just let them take it and move on to play something else. Not possessive, agressive or anything of this sort, but would like her to be assertive! Well, i guess they will learn and adapt when put into a classroom environment with different kids of different temperament. I understand what u mean by bullies cos i have a friend whose daughter is the aggressive type, so i see a stark contrast between her n my dd. Did u choose a school with a small student teacher ratio? That might help to check naughty behavior.

May, if you son is happy at the childcare, maybe it's better to let him stay on? About food, i think kids who attend chidcare r less fussy cos' there's peer influence to eat together and whatever that's being served?
 
I am so glad to find this forum and be able to chat w other mommies w 2003 todds. I have a 32mo dd who's attending halfday cc.

Currently she's doing word building and counting quantity (up to 10) together w even n odd numbers in school. At home I am teaching her some simple reading. Am trying to brush up her chinese though.
 
Hi Alison,

Can you share how you teach your dd? or rather get her interested or sit down? she knows Ants on the apple song already but really got prob in getting her to sit down to do the sandpaper tracing.
 
I'll get her to trace it while the ants on the apple song is playing on the cd player. No need to sit down n be formal abt it. ;)
 
Lena: Have you tried steaming eggs with carrot bits and minced meat? Can also make pasta with shitakae and button mushrooms, braised chicken (use the gravy for the rice).
 

Hi mummies
I am a FTWM with two kids.
my gal- going three in August (11kg)
my boy- going one in August (9kg)
The elder one is in Childcare and younger one looking after by MIL. I have no helper so weekend is the most tiring. Everynight will need to travel to Punggol to see my little one cos MIL stays there.
How to toilet trains at night?
 
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