<font color="119911">for autum only, the rest of mummies, please skip. paisei for being so long winded</font>
autum
based on:
1. "i am thinking of Kindermusik or music-related because those are stuff that we don't teach at home or in school. but having said that, I don't want serious music lesson because I don't think he can follow the musical theory or notes etc.. so I am thinking if music is good lor. "
2. Also, EJ is quite active now. He not really shy liao. so I guess I am also looking for something more 'action' type. but then, now all kids-enrichment classes are action-type right.
here's my personal opinion. u take for reference as edit as suited.
a. i think kindermusik fits the fun part v well. they start the class by warm-ups, so the teacher will distribute balls and the kids will play with them/one another. now that they are older, they are able to play together.
b. kindermusik sounds more fun to me as a parent (and i try to see as a kid's perspective too). cos i'm not the kind who will be able to memorise music theories or notes. those beansprouts scare the hell out of me
c. they play and sing all kinds of songs (depending on the theme of that semester), things which kids can associate with in their daily lives. for instance, when we are driving and say YE sees a dog, she used to sing songs that start with "bow wow wow, whose dog are thou?" etc. very obvious dog related. then as she progressed, she can sing "blah blah blah.... DOG... blah blah blah" she can sing for half a day then we figure out the connection to the dog! very fun for us all. i see the return on investment cos that's what i want her to get out of lessons and schools. to have an active mind and be on the lookout for things. i'm very si2 ban3 (dead), so i'm glad YE is not like me
d. her repertoire of songs is very wide for her age. she can connect anything and start singing, instead of just the standard songs which kids know. very fun
e. it's one of those learning environment which i find not stressful. cos of the fun element, she learns and she's happy to go. very easy for me cos i always use that as a bribe. hee hee... for instance, when it's sat, she's v cooperative cos she knows the faster she gets things done, the sooner she can get out of the house and goes for music
f. they have story telling time. initially YE refused to sit. damn embarassing for me. now, the moment she sees the story telling mat, she will sit down and guai guai listen to the story. and recognise and count the objects. this is not as elementary as her usual CC, which i like. she's also v keen in books now. in fact, i've never bought any toy for her. i go broke due to books. she will guai guai finish her activities for the day cos she knows it's story telling time at night too
and a lot more la. so as not to bore you. i'm v biased cos i like kindermusik alot. we've been with them since she was 6 mths, and i find music impt to soothe a kid. when she fuss, i sing her a song and she will get distracted and calm down. when my nephew/niece fuss, i sing for them and they cry louder. so the whole household will go into "shouting" fit to get them to cool down. i buay tahan.
also, YE has had 3 teachers so far and i'm v pleased with the quality.
enuf hor?