(2006/06) June 2006 MTB

[poohy]

vivi,

most music schools offer suzuki violin classes. So far, I found the youngest baby suzuki violin class is at mandeville under Ms Yap Shu Mei. I wanted S to learn from Ms Sylvia Khoo but her class started at 3 years old. So I let S goes to Ms Yap's class instead lor and reassess when he is 3 years old whether wanna stay with mandeville or go to macmusicschool. He is vv interested in learning the violin and had been asking me to bring him to learn violin everyday that's why I am anxious to start the class for him the moment he reach 2.5 years old. See below... everyday he practises his violin lol... but I dunno how to teach him...

 

[poohy]

MTDT,

www.lornawhiston.com.sg u can check out their preschool playgroup under alexandra/winchester road.

 

[poohy]

MTDT,

www.lornawhiston.com.sg u can check out their preschool playgroup under alexandra/winchester road.

haha i can only access my company email during office hours

if u r looking for me just pm me... I will reply at night or early morning at home

 

[Viviling]

poohy,

oic...

Tot theres a suzuki violin school in sg so it is taught at those music school.

Mandeville is far... Hmmm my bro is interested to let his son try out suzuki violin...

Thanks!

 

[poohy]

vivi,

ohh .... suzuki violin is actually more work for parents.... they need parents to buy a violin too so that we can teach our children by example

 

[pawprint]

peng,
*pat pat* u must have been too tired to have given him wrong dosage, dun beat urself up over it. my elder girl also kanna UTI, I've been coaxing her to drink cranberry juice (buy the concentrate from supermkt, not the fancy cranberry-pomegranate type of sweet drinks). Cranberry juice helps flush out the bacteria infection in the urinary tract. I give as much as she will drink. Perhaps u want to reduce solids, give more milk, in diluted form- this wil intro more fluids to flush the bacteria outta the system. Hope both our kids get well soon!

Extra info for anyone else interested: UTI quite easy to occur in young kids cos their urinary tract is shorter. Plus usage of diaper/ not changing out of soiled undergarments, incorrect hygiene practices (wipe from front to back only!), too much sugar in diet possible reason (sugar more likelihood of bacteria), holding the bladder (likely to occur in toilet-trained lil ones who'd rather hold bladder to play more than go pee), baths instead of showers (baths have possibility of introducing bacteria into the genitals).
Symptoms: fever (sometimes doesn't occur), pain during pee (see facial expression), cloudy pee. Doc will ask for pee sample to check blood count- too much white blood count is UTI.

 

[Viviling]

ya lor...

hmmm is the violin ex?

consider gotta buy 2. 1 for child n 1 for parent

 

[toto]

poohy, the AD awards is this Sunday at 10.30 am. Think you better arrive earlier. Ya lor, i saw you at AD last week, but you were late, tot you joining the 9.30 class.

re JG - even though J enjoys class, i felt there is nothing new. i was quite disappointed when i found out that they only intro 10 story books for the whole 10 weeks. imagine you attend 3 xs a week, you will be doing the same book at least twice or three times. so sian... also, the art and craft are repeating too...

even with SM - they do not change their SRM, which i am also quite upset about. at least, they have different activities every session, but flash cards, SRM, Sawako are repeated every lesson. frankly speaking, i am so bored of SM. i prefer GD's teaching of new materials everytime... i am worried that repetition will bore J.

these few days, i took out my old GD cards and showed J the mandarin and english cards, and in all cases, he can still recall them when i do PS with him, not to mention he only saw those cards at most 15 times per card.

it is also my intention to stop SM once J reaches 4 terms. For JG, i will go for one more term, then switch to MMI. Intend to do billingual play club on weekends. Also wanna consider LW - there is one at Forum. Heard it is as good as JG, though not as commercialised. Let me know what you think of LW.

 

[mspiggy]

<font face="tahoma">poohy,
S looks like a pro in the pic... so cute!

RE: wall papers/borders
Anyone knows where I can get nice wall papers/borders?? Need to get some to do up Wes's room. </font>

 

[toto]

poohy, what don't you like about JG and SM? for me, i really don't like the idea of repetition - we being FTWM, can produce better materials than JG and SM if we have the time they have on their hands. i also dun like the repetition in JG's M&M, plus the outdoor play at JG is getting boring too...

in fact, i felt J concentrates and absorbs more with home practice - flash cards, SRM, even art and craft, he does not like to do art and craft at JG, but is more open to doing it at home with me and hb. for story telling, i think i can do a better job than JG, just that i only have J as my audience (and his stuff toys too).

think of the amount of money we can save at JG and SM, and how much more we can achieve via home practise and buying them more educational toys and books... ha ha... any ideas to share?

but on a brighter note, i did learn a lot from JG and SM re home practise... ha ha... and J had fun learning new things too... just that i think i should switch before his learning curve and interest decline...

 

[famela]

hi panda! hi happymum

thanks for the welcome!
yup! just like wat spicegal said... my son's birthday is on 8th June so i'm a june mommy as well....

am on mc today cos got bad sore throat but sick oso must do work... bah! just sent my son over to my mom's so i can set prelim papers properly. hate it la

poohy,
your son takes violin lessons? wow! am impressed! hey, that name sylvia khoo sounds v familiar.. is she kinda short? ermm.. with short short hair? i had a music teacher called ms sylvia khoo once. hehe

can i interest anyone with a picture of my son...?

 

[Viviling]

toto,

see if u are interested:
http://www.sistic.com.sg/cms/events/index.html?content=1125

 

[mspiggy]

<font face="tahoma">famela,
your boy is so handsome!

</font>

 

[slee75]

Hi famela,
Welcome! your charming prince too!

poohy,
Wow S looked so serious with his violin practice.

toto,
Hmm, JG boring ah? Repeating? But it is just the beginning yah. Kids needs repetition to get familiar yah? At BJG, certain things, they also repeat but so far, i find it ok.

 

[slee75]

vivi,
chasing sammi's concert again huh?

 

[mtdt]

SM - actually i also quite sian of the repetition. on the 3rd lesson, I ask the teacher... why always the same stories... then she says they only change once a mth.

BJG - repetitions only 2 times... change every alt weeks.

I can sense tat Zav is bored by the repetition... as he will fidget when it's the repeat materials... then eyes glue to it again when it's new stuff.

 

[toto]

vivi - thanks for the link. dun think will watch her concert in Sing. hee hee.. most likely all in mandarin anyway.

famela - welcome to the thread!

serene - to a certain extent, repetition is good, but an overdose on reinforcement can be quite boring. this is what i observed of J so far. he gets bored and uninterested when shown the same materials too frequently. at BJG - maybe once a week ok. imagine JG - 3 times a week.

paula - i recalled you mentioned you are interested in Little People DVD? you can get them via Amazon.com.

J loves them!

 

[mtdt]

Little pple hv DVD?

toto - can give the link here?

 

[designfactory]

deleted

 

[toto]

MTDT - disclaimer - ha ha... i am not tempting you to shop ha...

1. Little People: Storytime Collection
http://www.amazon.com/Little-People-Storytime-Collection/dp/B0002DB568/ref=sr_1_8/105-4035654-0956415?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1185867097&sr=1-8

2. Little People - Friendship Collection
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001FGC0Q/sr/ref=pd_cp_m_1/105-4035654-0956415?ie=UTF8&qid=1185867097&sr=1-8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_r=05HGPR22SE782ATH765A&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=252362301&pf_rd_i=B0002DB568

3. Little People: Fun to Learn Collection
http://www.amazon.com/Little-People-Fun-Learn-Collection/dp/B0002DB59A/ref=pd_sim_d_1_img/105-4035654-0956415?ie=UTF8&qid=1185867097&sr=1-8

4. Little People - Creativity Collection
http://www.amazon.com/Little-People-Creativity-Collection/dp/B0001FGC2E/ref=pd_sim_d_1_img/105-4035654-0956415?ie=UTF8&qid=1185867097&sr=1-8

Note that the above is eligible for the 4-for-3 promotion. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free.

 

[designfactory]

deleted

 

[slee75]

toto,
My gf just called me, she just signed up JG playnest on every tue & thurs. I will check what's her experience. Why don't you feed back to the teacher?

 

[mtdt]

toto - hha... why must put disclaimer!
It is all "puppets"?? so it's story by story?

I have one little pple story book and Zav loves it. he can ask me to repeat like 10times!!! (talk abt being bored with repetitions... now i think maybe depends on his mood and likings!! haha)

 

[toto]

serene, aiyo.. when you tell the teachers this - they will say... repetition is good... that's what SM said as well. to be frank - i think they are trying to cut down on their teaching prep.

but this is just my view... considering they made it complusory for students to sign up for at least 3 times a week, they only changed their policy recently, possibly due to competition...

 

[toto]

MTDT - it's like play dough characters in the shows. 1 DVD has about 10 shows, lasting about 5 mins each. I had the sampler DVD from my LP toy, and J loves it. I am ordering the 4 titles uploaded here. But seemed like the reviews were quite positive - the snippets were bite sized and kids will not get bored. One thing - there might be some overlapping stories, though not exactly the same, so you might wanna start with getting 1 - 2 titles. also, i read that some critics mentioned about discrimination - but i think at this age, our kids will not pick these issues up la... just watch for fun lor...

 

[mtdt]

btw - easy to order stuff from amazon?

toto - do u hv any foreign lang stuff for Jake?

 

[toto]

MTDT - join the BP better - there is one going on which I am in. in the past, i ordered some books online direct, but BP seemed to be more cost effective. if you want, you can add your LP order to mine, ha ha... then cheaper base charge...

Foreign lang CDs - yes... German, Jap, Hebrew, Spanish, Mandarin, etc. we can also play Sawako CDs (6 languages). DVDs... I have some cartoons in Cantonese which I love, though if I do travel overseas, I wanna buy some Jap and Cantonese DVDs for J... ha ha... if I have time, will do some research via Amazon.com....

Foreign lang books - Jap board books... J loves it. what about you?

 

[mtdt]

i only hv a "sound beginning" cd right now.

Jap - i hv some anime... but yet to let zav watch.

Canto - drama can? haha Jacky Cheung songs can?

Wat foreign lang CDs u hv?
I looking ard for more... u now where can get "teach me series"

 

[mtdt]

saw the BP... but dun think can "Squeeze" in... she only looking at USD50 more.

 

[toto]

MTDT - ah... maybe we can organise our own BP if mummies are keen? only DVDs and CDs though...

Canto pop? Ha ha.... Sammi Cheng like Vivi? Mine is cartoon... about this little gal and her family... teaches very good family values...

what is teach me series? any links?

 

[mtdt]

http://www.teachmetapes.com/

but only audio... abit boring.

 

[toto]

MTDT - quite interesting! maybe we can each buy one CD plus book at US$15.95 and swop around? we can arrange for shipping via VpostUSA, though i have not tried, am sure some mummies here will know how to go about with this.

interested?

 

[mtdt]

Sharing of resources definately WELCOME!!!!!

I was thinking my wallet sure BIG HOLE if i get all of them! haha

BTW I found a local supplier... but not sure wat's the markup after the shipping charges.
http://www.geniusexplorer.com/index.htm

ooh.. i love to get the DVDs...

 

[soh1dful]

Hi Toto
may i know where to get the sawako cds? from tensai?

 

[spicegalklsl]

Poohy, S looks so serious when he plays the violin, very cute!

MTDT & Toto, pretend never see..keke

Peng, aiyoh. You must have been sick until blur blur. Take good care yah?

 

[spicegalklsl]

 

[wwsk06]

famela
Welcome! handsome boy you have got there.

poohy
S poses well for violin! Would be nice to read about his progress. Got your invitation to your blog but I don't know how to login. Anyone can help me?

Shichida
Just attended 3 lessons and quite a bit of repetition especially flash cards. Don't tell me they are gonna use the same thing for the whole term. hmm.... We are gonna have 2 lessons conducted by replacement teacher...keeping fingers crossed that it is not 'training' for new teacher...hmm...

spicegal
Jerica so guai. My G won't sit on the float. We have got a similar one too...now dont even know chuck where already.

 

[wwsk06]

flashcards
Anyone seen any new materials anywhere lately? I need new ones...too tired to create them.

 

[poohy]

toto,

for JG, S had attended since jan this year... so its his 3rd term. I used to like it quite a lot... and not that I hate it now.... just that the recent changes in teachers (both his main english and maindarin teachers at the same time) does not go down well with S. He is a shy boy and does not open up readily to strangers. But after 3 terms there, he still never speak one word to the teachers ever! I am ok about that... but I find some of the teachers are simply just lacking in the passion for the child. They can relates to those who open up readily to them but not to a quiet boy like S. For example, when they bring a word card around to ask the tods to repeat after them before they give a sticker, for some kids they will try a few time.... but I notice that maybe they had given up trying to coax or encourage S into speaking out.... and the teacher will come around saying "S, repeat with me.... " and almost immediately when he kept quiet, they just pass him a sticker and move on. S is not those boys who will go around hugging people readily. I had a hard time coaxing him to go hug or say bye to his teachers and when he goes and after waiting patiently for them to finish their chat with other kids or parents, they will say bye to him and almost before they can finish saying, their attention are turned to someone else or something else. Put it simply, I cant sense their genuine concern and care for my boy. He is vv conversant and can speak in complete english or maindarin sentences at home or to my relatives. But with them, he had never opened up even once. I guess its meaningless to continue cos they had not live up to my expectation of helping me bring out the social confidence in my boy. Maybe at this age, his so called ESP is strong and can sense what is genuine care and wat happened only on the surface. Many times, I feel so heart pain for him .... and get so worried about him... that he will be bullied etc... when he found something he likes during class and summon enough courage to move in front ...trying to touch it at the teacher's.... he will be so easily push aside by all the other more agressive children. Some parents encouraged their kids to just stand around during story time and dun even care whether they are blocking or not... my poor boy will be there guai guai sitting and trying real hard to see past them.

What I am trying to say is... I am not asking for some special treatment or wat... its just that the boy had been in the same class for almost 7-8 months already... the teachers should see his weakness and lack of confidence and do some work in that area. Its meaningless for me to coax him on my side only.... and only for him to be discouraged by teachers.

ok... for SM, even though I had long feel that what they do I can do easily at home.... but the amazing thing is... S will actually talk in class! And he will even call his teacher. I dun understand why leh.... but that's why I continued. But will also stop next term for the time being... till the next milestone. They changed their material and activities based on mile stones...

More on them tomorrow if I can find some time

Anyway I decided to place S in LW preschool which very expensive (since I always gotta multiply all the expenses by 2 to be fair to J)... cos I am hoping that they will cultivate the love in reading in him like they advocate. And the teachers looks friendly but not overly zealous and dramatic... so seems more sincere. I really hope the genuine love of the teachers can bring out the social confidence in my boy.

 

[poohy]

re: violin

he is just posing lah.... but i know he really wanna learn.... hope that interest does sustain

re: sharing of material

no problem at all.... I am vv busy though ... at work... so joelle's home learning had slackened a lot now...

 

[dor]

mtdt , toto

i bought the Wheel on the bus VCD for mandy. There are 6 series in total. So far she is attentive to the disc. Involve animated stories n music. I only bought the 1st series to let her try out. Hv bought a few others like mothergoose ABC, Counting Songs by Richard Scary and Pocoyo.. Hv not let her see those yet as she is still interested in the Wheel on the Bus. Gonna to intro one by one.

Maybe we shld swop ard...

 

[poohy]

mtdt,

the SM teacher in our class... hmm seemed a little inexperienced. The way she flashed the flashcards... not very fast and clear I feel. Even my hb think so. I wont contine next term... feel waste time hehee

I do continue here and there for S only becos I wanna know what else to do for his age group. Like now, S is doing a lot of writing...

And so I also give him that practise at home...

 

[mtdt]

ooh.. i like the idea of "creating a Jun library" to swop materials!!

Poohy - ya, she gabara a few times when flashing rite. but speed wise, ok lah.. at least faster than me bah haha

actually true for ur case... S class can be a learning ground for u to apply to J.

SM allows us to "break" every alt term one huh? actually can consider tat.

 

[kiss13]

RE: JUNE Babies Playgroup
Who's interested?
Tentative venue: Happysunflower's function room, North
Tentative Dates: 11 Aug or 18 August
Time: Afternoon

1. Mspiggy (ok with both dates)
2. Sunflower (prefer 18th afternoon)
3. Wen
4. Serene
5. rodeo (TBC)
6. Tinklebell
7. Happysunflower
8. Dor (prefer 18th afternoon)
9. Happymum123 (prefer 18th afternoon)
10. Spicegal
11. Vivi
12. Pawprint
13. Okipoki (TBC but prefer 18th afternoon)
14. snail
15. kissbb (prefer 18th afternoon)


wow, 18th Aug, AnB very busy, morning Heartspring Walk, afternoon lyn house, night see fireworks... what a meaningful day!!

Ticklebell,
Gongxi gongxi, can be become taitai for the next 1.5weeks

Peng,
Do take care!

mtdt,
I also interested in little people DVD, any lobang let me know
Just bought the “little Einstein” DVD last week, and AnB loves them. Brayden can even imitated the cartoon character “Pat, Pat, Pat, blastoff” after 1 viewing.

Toto,
Wow, u really do a lot of homework regarding how to teach J, must learn a lot from u.

Poohy,
S looks very professional!! Sorry to hear abt yr experience with JG.. so far the playnest teachers are ok.. I’m thinking is it that are there too many kids in the playclub (since it is so popular) and the teachers have to complete all the teaching within the 2 hrs, therefore they are rushing things…

LW, good school also… pls share with us yr experience..

Wen,
U visit http://www.mylittleones.com.sg/ before? They sell customized flashcard at 30cents each. I’m getting the whole set (sharing with my brother)

 

[famela]

thanks for the warm welcome y'all

wow.. so much talk about classes for the kids yah? i really am impressed by the things you do for all your babies la... me? other than buying lots of books and encouraging my son to read, plus that sign-up with mygym which has also ended, i really haf not done much

dono whether i'm short-changing my boy or not

 

[mum2b]

I woke up w/ severe back pain today

every move is so excruciatingly painful..
went to see chinese physician n got some meds but still v v v [ainful.. anyone has same experience before? dunno what i should do if this continues till tomorrow..

Deborah,
sorry for the late reply. i add yoghurt to whatever porridge or mashed postato i gave to F. i only use brown rice, n always add min 1 type of greens n another type of veggie, plus protein in every meal.
sweet corn i only tried baby corn, i add into porridge in slow cooker for the taste. then the corn itself i feed just like that if she wants.

happymum,
i use vita brown rice, from USA.

shoes,
guess what i just bought one pair from mothercare but after letting my girl wear it, just realize that it's a pre-walker shoes, written there: not for walking babies. sigh.. anyway so strange shoes for what if not for walking?

famela,
ur boy is handsome

dun worry u r not short changing ur boy. at least for my standard hehe.. coz i don't even sign up for any gym yet. everytime i bring my girl for trial, she'd be sleepy or hungry so end up cranky n like koala baby, stuck on me however she likes free play at the playground. save money for me also hehe..

SM:
wow.. i plan to enroll my bb on oct term, but some babies here are bored w/ it already. is it still a good idea to enroll now?

Poohy,
sorry to hear abt ur JG experience. do share more abt SM since i'm going to enroll my bb there. btw can u grant access to ur blog pls? i've been learning alot from u. my email: [email protected]

kissbb,
sorry haven't got time to email the video

 

[cherisw]

hi mummies

i would love to join in the playgroup too...

RE: JUNE Babies Playgroup
Who's interested?
Tentative venue: Happysunflower's function room, North
Tentative Dates: 11 Aug or 18 August
Time: Afternoon

1. Mspiggy (ok with both dates)
2. Sunflower (prefer 18th afternoon)
3. Wen
4. Serene
5. rodeo (TBC)
6. Tinklebell
7. Happysunflower
8. Dor (prefer 18th afternoon)
9. Happymum123 (prefer 18th afternoon)
10. Spicegal
11. Vivi
12. Pawprint
13. Okipoki (TBC but prefer 18th afternoon)
14. snail
15. kissbb (prefer 18th afternoon)
16. cheri (prefer 11th)

 

[cherisw]

re educational dvds/cds

I love these under Mommy & Me...all the fave children's songs in playgroup settings...a fren recommended them to me months ago n my girl loves watching them n following the actions to the songs...not selling in sg so can order from amazon.
1) Mommy & Me playgroup favourites (DVD)
http://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Me-Playgroup-Favorites/dp/B0000V4762/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/102-0163419-0800956?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1185893531&sr=8-2

2)Mommy & Me playgroup favourites (CD)
http://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Playgroup-Favorites-Various-Artists/dp/B00012QMU4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/102-0163419-0800956?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1185893531&sr=8-4

3)Mommy & Me - More playgroup favourites (DVD)
http://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Me-More-Playgroup-Favorites/dp/B0000V476C/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0163419-0800956?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1185893531&sr=8-1

4)Mommy & Me - More playgroup favourites (CD)
http://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Me-More-Playgroup-Favorites/dp/B00012QMUE/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-0163419-0800956?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1185893531&sr=8-3

 

[happymum123]

kissb,
I bought some cards from mylittleones too, but haven't really got to flashing them. Now doing English, Chinese & Math dots with my girl.

famela,
Yr boy is very handsome! are you a teacher? what level you teach? Me teacher too. Ya, don't worry about short-changing, last time I get very gan chiong when I read about mummies doing this and that. But now, I decide that I should not compare xin en to other bb, nor should I compare myself to other mummies. All of us are different, and our bb learn differently too. Now, I just do what I can and enjoy every moment I spend with my girl be it flashcards or free play or just lazing around with her. Incidental learning is very impt too. Not to say I'm not gan chiong anymore, but I try lah.

Elephant brand brown rice
Today I chiong to Sheng shiong to buy the rice. And on the shelf, there are so many packets of the rice, 2kg 1kg, red grain, white grain. All the elephants on the package looking and laughig at me, I feel so stupid, search high search low, they are so near! After I lug 3kg home, called my mum to discover that she found out where to buy and specially went to buy 2kg for me! ai yo, feel so apologetic.

Mum2B,
vita rice easy to cook? where to buy?

 

[cherisw]

toto - i've yet to introduce anything on Little People to my ger...wat is it about hehe? sorry for sounding a bit suaku here cos if it's nice, would not mind buying.

anyone able to organise a spree for amazon here?