(2003) Calling all 2003 babies


Hi Kristins_mom,

My kids sleep with us in the same room since birth. there will certainly be some playing, fighting etc but i will scold them lor. after some scolding, like what jess says, they will settle down to go sleep.

so far for middle of night cases when my boy wakes up to pee, my gal would still be sleeping (touch wood). Only in the morning when my boy wakes up for school then she gets woken too at times (not if she is too tired).

Now we are planning to move them to a separate room all together, but has the concerns such as
"what happen if they wakes up middle of the night, or in the morning before us"
 
Hi dear mommies,

Can I ask if anyone has any recommendation of enrichment classes on dance/music/singing that i can attend together with my 2 kids (in the same class I mean) who are 2.5 yrs old and 4 yrs old.

Not even sure if there are such classes that can accomodate such wide age gap.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Sherlyn,
Why do you want to attend the lessons together with the kids? Wouldn't it be nice to break free even for that 30-45mins? Don't think there are programs for that age group. How about drawing class?

Yes, 15mins break, probably after 30mins show time.
 
Sherlyn,

Maybe you can put a baby monitor in their room initially. If you have been training them to go to the toilet on their own, you can put a night light there for them in case they wake up to pee at night.

For classes, there is a Positive Preschoolers program which is quite fun for 2.5 - 4 yrs. My older boy attended a 2 half day program during the school holidays. You can read more on their website at http://www.positivefocus.com.sg/preschoolers.htm
 
Hi K's mom

Art piece achival ... I've sort of kept everything as compact as I can by month. This is from the school. For home, I'll get Ben to draw in a drawing book if he can and if not, the big pieces are being scrolled up. I've not archived them digitally though I've taken some photos of some which I think he's make an advancement in.

Sherlyn
Most of these enrichment programmes are in town. I thot you are not comfortable with travelling with 2 kids? I once attended "Rhythm in Me" with Ben when he's almost 2 years old. Wanted to expose him to lessons before going to childcare... on hindthot, we mummies can always do this on our own rather than spending money on this.

I've been speaking with Ben's teacher a lot recently and she's sharing her views with me more on a mother-to-mother level .... she too feels that rather than going around for paid enrichments, mummies should host this ... ya, but the trouble always is getting a committed group together

.ky.
 
jesschan:thanks for the recommendation, seems like fun...

moshi2: love to join u all, but no one to look after the kids

ky: yes, I agree that the things can be done at home...but must have someone to set up the curriculum/music. For my case, I have already so little time as WOHM with two kids and without maid...it's already a struggle to keep sane and order
 
Hi MH

relax .... just get a CD with good children music ... get some ribbons, scarfs, shakers ... and boogie away. jump with it, do simple rhythm (eg clap clap clap) ... or make noises with the mouth (ti ti ti). and build up more interesting ones along the way. I remembered when I was working, I'd choose to lunch-in and just surf the internet or take a short nap. Or you can plan something on the way to work and back. I'm usually armed with a lot of reading materials if I travel on my own.

There are quite a few WOHM whom are managing very well .... know one who has 1 kid only and has devoted her energy 101% on her. another one with 2 without maid (and yet is hosting a weekly playgroup at her place) and another one who's grooming her older dd (she has 2) by explosing her to numerous excursions. It's all a matter of time management.... first and forthmost, don't expect don't much and do everything one step at a time.

But being WOHM, you can engaged more readily a commercial school on enrichment as you are short of time.

.ky.
 
Hi mommies who homeschool here!

Have you used www.abcteach.com before?
What do you think of it and what do you usually use it for? What are the resources you like most?

Just stumbled upon this site. It's got pretty interesting readers.

Sarah,
maybe we can stop writing sentences out for Hannah and Bryan already.

Btw, mommies who have been teaching their children to write their names or to write anything at all:
Do you get them to write every word in the upper case first?

Have been doing writing these few days with Bryan. Just realised that B and R are pretty difficult to begin will. I think if I'd ever have another son, he'd be called MAX. Coz it's mainly straight strokes!

Hey apricot! Remember to think of easy names to write too.
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Thanks Jess and Sherlyn for sharing on how the kids sleep.

My dh and I think that it's a luxury - more for the parents' sake - that the children are sleeping in separate rooms. And really, it's pretty good sleep without them in our room too and that they don't disturb each other. You see, Daddy and Mommy LOVE to SLEEP!

Jess,
do you have problems with night visits from your boys?
Bryan's been waking up each night to visit his daddy. Mainly for dad... I wonder if dad isn't spending enough time with him. At first we thought it was nightmares - could have been for the first few times - but it's got so regular that we usually expect his visit at 3 or 4 am in the morning. DO you have any tips to encourage children to go back to sleep? like after they've gone to the loo or asked for water or whatever.
 
I am thinking of names for my 2nd ones. Wanted to name them starting with C and E. Any recommendations ?

Soon, we will be training Aston to sleep on his own and he demanded a bed like a car and I think Little Tikes has it. But we are not that prepared to get him this kind of bed cos we think he will outgrow very fast.
 
Hi Sarah,

I probably have the separation anxiety problem hehe. Another reason for that is so that I know what is being taught in class, since my boy thou old enough, is not able to tell me (sometimes he doesnt want to tell me) what is being taught. Also, I thot that most enrichment classes are all parent and child class for age 4 and below.

My boy doesnt like drawing, but both of them like to dance (they dance together with hi 5) .. so I thot that is the only type of enrichment class I can sign both of them together.

Thanks Sarah for answering my question.
 
Hi Jess,

I have thot abt baby monitor .. but if i sleep so late, i am afraid i will not be able to detect the sounds from the monitor. My boy is not really trained to pee on his own at those times of the day .. usually he call for me if he wakes up.

Thanks for the info .. will chk it out after i finish answering this forum.
 
Hi ky,

Ya i m afraid to bring them out on my own, but it is only for lessons, so getting up and down a cab would not be too much a problem. Furthermore, it is only for a short time and there isnt a requirement of big bag of barang barang. The most headache part now is the timing since one school in the morning and another requires nap in the afternoon.

I totally agree that we mothers can host these music and dance classes but i m not as creative, so what i do at most is let them watch hi 5, or little einstein, then i dance with them. I do not know much of nursery rhymes either. Furthermore, my kids lack the social aspect since they are home all the time so considering signing them up for the same lesson.

I am at home all the time, but i see that most of the mothers here do not stay west, or near me .. else maybe i can host playdates or playgroups so that my kids have more friends. Though i m worried on their academic aspect, but i think they enjoy music and dance. Any1 interested to form a group just for music and dance? hehe
 
Hi Kristin

My younger boy used to wake up at night to look for me when he was about 2-3 yrs old. We keep telling him that he has to sleep till the sun rise before he wakes up unless he needs to pee. I also tell him that I need to have a good sleep at night so that I have energy to play with him the next day.

Now he hardly wakes up at night to look for me unless he is not feeling well like having a nose block. He also doesn't wake up at night to pee as I don't let him take much fluid after 9pm and he has to clear his bladder before going to sleep at about 9.30 - 10pm.
 
Hi Sherlyn. Positive Focus was the company that conducted the yoga session I brought JK to at Bishan library during the Mar hols. He enjoyed it very much. Actually I started him with baby yoga by the same company when he was about 1 and it was a total waste of money then. But this time, he could follow instructions and it's a good way to get the kids to focus on observing and listening as well as to slow down when asked to. I'm considering enrolling him into a regular course if it's not too expensive.
 
Guess some of you are enjoying the night out now. Wonder when or how I will ever get to have some time out. Looks like I may not even be able to continue with the part-time work. On day 1, JK and JC cried so badly I could still hear them on the way to the carpark downstairs. JK was screaming "Mama, I love you!" as if I was going to abandon him! It was really heart-breaking...

Today is day 2. JK told me this morning he's not going to cry and he didn't. But when I reached home, my dad told me JK broke a few things and my heart sank. And he did not take his nap despite my mum trying the whole afternoon. I know JK is not easy to handle and it is clear that my parents cannot manage him. For eg, today he twisted my mum's spectacles - how could that happen? I'm sure if it's me or hubby or my sis or even my mother-in-law, he wouldn't even have a chance to touch our things. But he climbs all over my parents' heads and all they do is to give in and give in and give in. My mum rushed home after dinner to get a new pair of specs and called us upon reaching home to remind us not to scold JK!

I am really disappointed that my parents are the only ones available and willing to help, yet the least effective. Now I feel even more strongly that my decision to become a SAHM is the right and timely move. JC is still managable but I just don't feel at ease leaving JK to my parents anymore and maybe I just have to pass up this part-time work opportunity after all.
 
Ok, now that I have vented out the unhappy stuff, like to share an amusing remark from my friend's kids. My friend used to have her 2 kids sleep in the same room and decided to move them out when they were 5 and 4. Instead she was told, "No, YOU move out because this is OUR room!"

My cousin also had problems moving her 3 kids out of her room so she took the opportunity to do so when they moved house. She made name plates for them to put on the door and made them feel very proud abt having their own room. It helps that the 3 of them have one another for company.

As for my 2 kids, they have always been sleeping in their own room, since day 1. But the problem is they are the type who move around a lot when they sleep so there have been many incidents when we found JC outside the mattress with JK overtaking her territory. But it's very heartwarming seeing them sleeping soundly side by side on normal days though trying to make them sleep can be exasperating as the one who can't sleep will always try to disturb the other.
 
6 Apr outing, I'm keen and will start the ball rolling. If it's going to be picnic, I would like to suggest some other parks than Botanic Gardens such as Lower Pierce Reservoir and Changi Beach.

6 Apr morning picnic:
Meilan (2A 2C)
 
Hi MH,

you working full time mah .. usually me is weekday very sian at home, weekend bring kids out with dh ... so ... tell me when u decide to be a sahm
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Hi Meilan ..

Have not tried yoga proper with my kids, only once with a yoga book from the library kids section and he is able to do those pose, probably cos they are cute (cat, butterfly etc) but to commit him into a 45 minutes yoga, I not sure if he is willing to be "stuck" at that spot .. but will consider :)
 
Meilan,

hear kids cry heartbreaking hor .. my both kids also attached to me like crazy .. everywhere i go they also want to go .. no way tempting them with TV or tidbits ...so usually i sneak out when they are napping.

Anyway i think JK will come to understand that when u work, u get more $$ then can get him more books (or whatever he likes, maybe accept toys haha) ..

aiya, separating from our kids ... still easier said then done lah.
 
hi mommies,

previously we were talking about kids reflecting ourself and that we should not be shouting etc etc.. I totally agree .. but if lets say you are preparing dinner, cutting fresh meat or fish and the kids are jumping up and down on the sofa or fighting .. what would you all be doing ? shout at them to stop jumping on sofa ? if not shout, then probably by the time you finish washing your hand ready to go infront of them to tell them off, something already happened?
 
Hi K'mom,

Aston writes his name in Cap A and rest in small letter. He does recognises A-Z so it shld be easy to get him write other words. He writes better with tracing lines. Once without the lines, the words do not look that nice but it's still acceptable by me. I like abcteach cos it allows you to print simple worksheets.
 
Sherlyn, U interested for a getaway to 3D2N at Genting/KL/Malacca Package Tour at $158, includes 8 meals, from 6-8 April?

K's Mom, Benjamin starts writing his name with CAPS, then switch to CAP B + small letter. He knows the difference.

Meilan, ops. So sorry to hear that..Think this is the passing stage, and they already "SuperGlue" to you previously. My opinion is .. try for few more days or weeks.. U will see great difference from them.
 
Hi Kristins_mom,
Remember u mentioned that Bryan could recite the San Zi Jing at 27 mths old? That's impressive! I have been teaching Brandon Chuang Zian Ming Yue Kuang, but... I'll be more than happy if he can recite after me with clearer enunciation.

Revisited abcteach after you brought it all. Printed a couple of worksheets for Brandon to try, esp those follows up for books. For me, I seldom rely on the websites. Find it's not comprehensive enough or doesn't target the area we are covering. But I do reseach the websites for extra info and ideas on relevant topics.

For handwriting, try http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/multi-word_handwriting_worksheet_maker.html . It allows you to custom your own writing worksheets. Actually, I started Brandon on occasional writing practices after he showed interest in writing letters on his own. How about getting Bryan to write in the air? Just got Brandon to trace the sentence - My name is Brandon, cos recently he expresses interest in smaller writing. Perhaps, I should just let him do freehand. But my hubby wants him to practice writing on lines. Still unsure which is the best way to progress. For handwriting, I feel it's important that the kid has developed the motor skill to do it. Even without handwriting practices, I can see that Brandon's writing is improving over time.
 
Hi Kristins_mom,
Brandon doesn't have much artwork to boast about:p. What I have are his work that he has completed since young - mazes, writing, doodling etc. Might either scan/photograph and archive them.

Hi moshimoshi,
The clothesline idea is execellent! I shall try that when we get to back to Sg. Really hard up for space in Sg...
 
Hi Sheryln,
I think quite a number of mommies here stay in the west too. Moi is one of them
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I don't mind travelling to your place when I am more mobile. Currently, I doubt I'll be comfortable taking public transport with 2 kids. Saw some video clips on music & mvmt classes. I feel all of us can do a better job than the teacher... So it's a great idea if we can just gather our kids together and have some fun time!

On shouting, I think it's impossible for me not to raise my voice. For me, raising voice to warn them is not a crime. But usually, I'll just tell them the cane is waiting for them if they misbehave. And that does the trick. How abt getting them to do some activities or Tv while you are busy?
 
Hey mommies!

Thanks for sharing on the writing.

I was just wondering if the upper case is a lot easier than the lower case. But I guess it also depends on whether the name requires any curvy/wavy strokes for the letters. Bryan does recognise the difference between the upper and the lower case, except for the confusion of lower case "L" and upper case "I". Coz sometimes they just look like one straight line to him.

I've been trying to break up B now in strokes... like he writes one (as in like the one striaight line down) and then 3 and then I get him to write P and B... haha... like Chinese writing!

But the writing has sessions has stopped for a couple of days coz of playdates and baking session. Hope it's not too late to pick up again next week which will be rather short since Easter holiday is coming up.
 
Hi Apricot!

Hmmm... names for your little princes:

How about CIAN and ETHAN for the twins??? Look the same... but don't sound the same ;) So unmistaken when you need to call out for them...

heehee, you see I have this thing for names ending with -AN.
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You see, I married a man with name ending with -AN and my son's name also ends with -AN... heehee!

CIAN - you can read more about the name here:
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/search.php?s=cian&g=1&t=1

ETHAN - http://www.thinkbabynames.com/search.php?g=1&t=1&s=ethan

Both names are easy to write too!
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I was told on selecting a name for a child by my pastor once... always a two syllables name. Easy to call out the name was the simple reason he named. Imagine when you are all heated up and you have go like... Alexander, get off the sofa at once!!! What a breathe... haha!

I'm sure you'll choose names you and your husband will be most comfortable with.

Initially, I almost wanted to name Kristin "Kyra". Then dh and I thought it might be problematic when people in Sg don't know how to pronounce her name...

so it's important to think of how others will know how to pronounce the name or if the name has any funny suggestion when it's combined with the surname and the dialect name... e.g. a couple wanted to name her daughter Jessica. Their surname is Chua. Then another friend went... Oh no, that will mean Jes-si-ca-chua as in Jes the dead cockroach... so our friends changed their mind about naming their daughter Jessica.

Hmmm.... come to think about it... CIAN is quite an unusual name to the Sg tongue.
 
Hi Serenade!

San ZI Jing now for Bryan is very remote. He speaks Mandarin terribly. You'll know when you meet him.

Playmobil Park is on for us for the Easter weekend. We are still doing the logistics for the Labour Day hols. novotel Atria Marne La Vallen seems to be booked out on the 27th already. Have been trying to call the hotel but they refuse to take any reservation, claiming that their manager isn't around. Quite strange, really. We are looking at the possibility of putting up at Novotel Collegium for one night and then join up with your family for the next three nights at Marne Le Vallee. But we are still hoping to check with the reservation manager...

Will get back to you soon on the outcome...
 
Hi Sherlyn
I stay in the west. but trying not to go out too much on weekday these days. Trying to maintain a routine for both boys and actually I'm quite tired with the running around.

Hi Meilan
Take it easy ok? You need time to see effect. Any changes means discomfort to an adult not to mention anxiety to a young child. Perhaps have your parents come over when you are at home and be more hands-off with JK/JC and try to let them spend more time with the grannies ... hey, take it easy.... it's never easy trying to do too many things. Take it one step a time.

I just read a book on right brain training and certain short paragraphs left impressions on me. One of it says that "memorization and reciting help to open up the right brain and young kids can do these without having to understand much of it." So just kept repeating the tang shi or san zi jing and get the child to repeat after u. It's ok if he/she doesn't pronounce correctly; correct as you go along.

For handwriting, Ben is starting to write his name. But I'm conscious on pushing to write too much. I feel we should focus on various pre-writing exercises, eg. tracing straight/curvy lines, colouring and cutting. I see Ben's able to colouring much better now and his pencil holding gripe is very strong. The chinese teacher whom I've recently signed Ben up for enrichment shared with me a lot of these. One useful tip she shared is to file all the paperwork together and you can see the improvement over time ....

.ky.
 
My older one develop a phobia for writing when my MIL pushed him to hard when he was just 3 - 4 years old. Luckily he managed to overcome it at the age of 5 years when he had a very patient teacher in the childcare centre.

For my younger one, he personally requested his teacher to teach him how to write when he about 3 years old. Initially, he also couldn't hold his pencil properly but his teacher was very patient with him. Now he can grip the pencil properly and trace lines better. But we are very conscious not to push him too hard in case he develop a phobia like his brother...
 
hi serenade
the writing wizard is wonderful! thanks heaps! only problem is the letter 'a' which is not the 'a' for handwriting.

still working on my food theme, found this song and thought it would go well with the topic on cows n milk. make a cow mask then sing:

... to the tune of BINGO

Verse 1:
There is a drink that's good for us, and milk is its name -O.
Chorus:
M-I (Clap) L-K
M-I (Clap) L-K
M-I (Clap) L-K
Verse 2:
Milk helps us make other good foods like ice cream, cheese and yogurt.
Repeat Chorus
Verse 3:
We need to drink a lot of milk - 3 servings a day-O.

mommies, if ur kid is not hot abt milk like mine, try the song ;)
 
POLL:
besides writing their name, kids often have to write the date too on the worksheets.

what's ur preferred way to write dates?

A. 1-4-2007
B. 1-4-07
B. 1 Apr 2007
C. 1 April 2007
OR??
 
Hi moshimoshi,

For dates, I alternate between the following:

A) 1-04-2007
D) 1 April 2007
and 1st April 2007.

Am holding back the theme teaching until we return to Singapore. The teachersthemepark is really interesting, think I'll be spending a bomb just getting the "relevant" stuffs for my theme teaching :p



Hi Kristins_mom,

Brandon has a long way to go in learning chinese. He has no idea what's "yao" or "bu yao". My greatest relief is that he doesn't reject Chinese. Just yesterday, he was calling his dad "papa" and told his father his chinese name. And now he's interested in learning san zi jing. Personally, I don't feel stressed just b'cos he doesn't know Chinese at this age. In due time, he will master Chinese, no doubt about it
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Hi Jess and ky!

Thanks for the word of caution on pushing with regards to handwriting.

Well, my son here is a lazy bum. He needs to be coaxed into doing some work. He doesn't like worksheets... sigh! So the printing from the Internet doesn't help me. (Thanks Serenade for the site, anyway. Maybe I will have better luck with Kristin.) Nowadays, he's shown some interest - you see, I got these nice exercise books from the stationery shop. And I allow him to use chuncky markers from Faber Castell... So he's willing to give it a try. Yap... must certainly watch the grip closely coz once he starts it on the wrong foot, it will be stuck for the rest of his life... or it'll be even harder to re-learn.
 
Hi Serenade!

Have you read Julia Donaldson's Gruffalo to Brandon and Cheryl before?
Bryan enjoys it immensely! We read it at the bookstore again yesterday. Yeah, the stores were open!!! Can you believe it? For Easter shopping. I was gonna grad a copy home, but daddy just gave me this stare like "Must you buy every single book your kids enjoy from the bookstore?" Familiar? Don't you get that alot from you dh too???

Was mentioning about Cheryl to Bryan the other day. And Bryan was telling his dad: It's "share-share- Cheryl!"
 


Hi moshi2!

Wow! Like your song!!! Will sing it to the kids
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I find the tune of Brother John so catchy... you can basically use it for anything too. e.g. today while we were waiting for the bus...
Where is our bus? Where is the bus?
Where is it? Where is it?
When is the bus coming? When is the bus coming?
Here it comes! Here it comes!

Otherwise, it will be our favourite walking song.
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