(2008/07) July 2008

i am now just reading what cellow posted on meritocracy!

and i echo what Mich wrote, mine can't write, can't take off his shirt for that matter, even though he may be able to do other things. so it's really what the child has been exposed to. I am trying to instil patience and discipline and its an uphill battle.
 


youpi,
why take out pen and paper is bcz thanks to LSH's KPIs, C1 is now wary of pen and paper and is actively resisting my efforts to get him to write. pen and paper writing = failure / not as good as his classmates = C1 says out loud to me "Mama, tis too difficult" = damaged his self concept as a capable boy.

mich,
yep C1 can go to any fan or electronic device and work out the devices in record time
happy.gif

i too am starting to get fed up of KPIs for childhood.

doggiebb,
that piece has a lot of valid points.... now to think what to do to help C1 and C2 navigate this flawed system.

chin up to myself, Mich and all of us facing uphill battles! in NS-speak, chiong sua ah!!!! charge!
... hmm, can i charge when i m less tired, please.... bwahahhhha
 
bbp,
i AM the wicked stepmother.
best is ILs can tell me stories of their friends who have driven their children acad, and then driven their children crazy.
... and what precisely is their point.....??
methinks i havent even started yet to drive C1 and C2 to anything even remotely acad related.
 
Cellow,
How about those big mahjong paper and crayons? I used to sit down on the floor and just doodle with Dec and it was really fun just drawing nonsense. Try doodling as part of alphabet praticing like drawing snakes for S, drawing ears for C, drawing cups for U, etc. That's all my brain can think up of the moment. Or you draw part of the cup and ask him to complete your cup by drawing in the U portion?
 
Cellow
Echo Bbp's suggestion of big mahjong paper and crayons. We used these too. And brown paper, with paint. On the floor, or paste the paper on the wall and let them paint as if it's an easel. Or just paint in the shower on the shower tiles. Easy to wash off! Don't want to get these, then just use a big-ish paintbrush and a small pail of water. Let them 'paint' with water, on the walls and in the bathroom, or the area outside your house. Doing with even less: water and a hot corridor/cement pavement. Let them 'draw' with fingers and see if they can complete the drawing before it dries up and fades away... these are the things that we did/do... L can't perform academically, but he can button and unbutton
happy.gif
 
cellow
i think just let him color and doodle. it builds fine motor skills too. they need to be able to color and control then be able to write well. jx hates writing too so i just let her color and color and now she writes ok but of cos a bit out of control still haha.... jh definitely writes much better than her. it also depends a lot on who they are exposed to. jh has frens who write really well so he wanted to be like them and kept practicing in sch. jx has no such motivation and i dun think she cares.... haha

mich
i m also curious abotu the kumon worksheet. can email me?

eboy is very independent! very good! i m also trying to tell the kids to be more independent. but jh is so resistant. jx is doing better. they have to unpack their own bags everyday when come back from sch, after change put away their clothes for washing etc. i will stop the helper from picking up after them or packing for them. pros and cons. now my helper damn lazy also...haha
 
Um excuse me but why is poppy's name brought up on the topic of clothe removal?!

I realised she could button her clothes on the first day of school. It was like she was trying to show me "I can do it mama". But she is also big time dilly dally sally. I'm runnin around like mad chicken saying "we have to go in 5 minutes!" (and then of course the little one chooses to poop then) and poppy can walk to the couch and lie face down.

Bbp
I don't think she sings any phonics songs... But I realise that her school is teaching A-Z. Whereas in her old cc they taught the jolly phobics way. I wonder if there's a standard guideline for kindys to follow. Guess not.

Anyway my belief is that school can teach but I also try to supplement at home

Mich- Smiggle also brought up an assessment that Kayden went for and got penalised for not recognising the picture of a wheelchair or something? But he's never seen one so how would he know? These darn KPIs are too stringent la

Moving out of Sg? Um part of me wants to. ESP when I realise we cannot afford bigger homes here. But a big big part of me really appreciates the safety level here. Cos if we leave it would make sense to go to where blue bunny is from and I do not want that. Sigh.
 
PB,
Cos Poppy can mah. So it came up lor.
Talking about mad chicken running around, do you feel like you're the only person rushing in the morning and everyone else is just taking their own sweet time (yes, hubbies included!)?
And nope, there's no standard guideline cos at the end of the day, the sounds are the same. Some kindys use jolly phonics, some use letterland, some use zoophonics.

Moving out of SG:
I would love to, but I don't think we can cos my parents are here and his parents are here. Plus we're the eldest of both families. Plus he's the eldest son. SO....
And yes, SG's the only place where you can leave your kid to guard the hawker center table and not worry about someone snatching him up. Wait. I do worry. But you all know what I mean la.
 
yes! the moment i'm out of the room, i'm working working working and barking orders at everyone. it's the same routine every morning so i don't understand why i still need to say the same things. brush your teeth, put on your uniform, socks and shoes NOW. do i have time to comb my hair before going down to school bus stop? NO.
 
lol..i can just imagine all the frantic mummies rushing around the house every morning. now with two going to school, I seem to be "barking" even more..really like xiao char bo! i am practically feeding the kids their bread while they are still sitting on the potty doing small/big business :p. gives new meaning to the word "multi-tasking"
 
I think the not-coming-hair phenomenon is a SAHM thing. My friend says the same, I'm the same, and now PB too.

Oh and this morning, and I just did a "Wear your socks and shoes Now! Don't dream!" to my...... hubby.
 
and the barking doesn't stop even at night!

the min i get home i am barking orders "eat your dinner now!" "Any homework tonight?" "GET THAT book out of your bag NOW!" so that i can quickly get them to eat their dinner, so jiejie can quickly do her hw and I try to get didi off her back by engaging him to do something else, and then get them to glup down their milk, quickly shower and hopefully she is in bed by 8.30pm!!!

then i must lie in the dark for at least 30 mins (sometimes an hr) so that they will not be up to any mischief and quickly fall asleep!
 
Uh-hum, so I'm very proud to say I don't need to bark at anyone at all!

Uh-hum, plus, eboy is so independent that when it's time to sleep, he puts on his own socks, take his last pee, nite nite to us and head to his bed-all by himself!
 
wah...
i deliberately stop comin in this thread for so long..
cos i dun wanna see the posts on studyin and comparing....

All u mummies makin me very stressed..
Yet i have not made up my mind abt what to do.....

So Kayden is still playin with his AB.
And he just progressed into Lego..

And Kasper is progressin too fast for me to catch up..

Haiz..
I gave up on barking...
Just "sniff"....
 
*wonders how in year 2030, at a tender age of 22, perhaps still in university, perhaps out of school and contributing in economy, or perhaps representing Singapore playing tennis at Wimbledon, whatever he may be doing, how is he and where can he find peace and quiet on a 6.9Million populated small red dot?!?*

I worry for the next generation if they will ever be able to afford to stay in this country....

*woke with a very stiff neck and a terrible headache, only to be stuck in horrible jams everywhere*

*i'm in a bad mood*
 
Pls give your opinion.

Eboy is mild mannered, shy and very nervous when smongst strangers, or when all eyes on him. He is not very confident due to his lack of language skills. Under such situation, do you think a Chinese based, conservative primary school (in which he will probably fit in better but could potentially perpetuate his shyness and unwillingness to express himself, thus hide in his own shell), or an English based school which focus on openness, encourages all to speak up and be very vocal? As such, the first few years will be tough for him, but if it doesn't break him, will make him more confident.

Which should I go for? The former, I don't need to do anything to get into the school. For the latter, I need to volunteer.

Would love to hear your views...
 
Mich,
Just thinking out loud, Eboy may just be a mild mannered and shy boy at heart and may not be due to his lack of language skills. Cos I was thinking of Declan and he's the same in front of strangers even though his language skills are ok.
I think... no matter which school we place our children in, they will find a way to cope based on their own personality.
My 2-cents worth.
 
Oh man... Thought I was the only mom here who still has to lie in the dark with my 'BABY' to get him to fall asleep! Thanks Doggiebb! Haha G sure knows how to manipulate me!

Heck care the KPI's la... All I know is that G loves going to school and I love seeing how happy he is
happy.gif
 
Mich
Personally I feel the Chinese school you are referring to is going to be way more stressful for E. maybe being in a more vocal environment can help him open up more.

Don't forget! Play dates are great in helping kids learn lots. Poppy learnt about peeling in potty when Declan and sophie visited and flaunted their potty skills!

As to where our kids will be in 2020, I hope they will be old enough to make good choices or learn to live with the consequences of their choices, whatever the choices may be.

Smuggle
What is AB?

Hey did I tell you girls? I bought a black board sticker for Poppy's room and we're having so much fun with it!
 
PB, not the Chinese school near mine and cellow's house. I for sure will not put eboy there.

I'm referring to another chinese school that is not a branded chinese school.

Another consideration is the Chinese school do not offer tennis as CCA but the English school emphasizes tennis. So? Decisions decisions!!
 
PB
AB-Angry Birds
Cant stand him talkin to the birds with his ang moh slang... Though im glad that it has helped improve his speech.

Mic
Tough one..
i will look at the teachers and i will look at the students..
see which is a happier place
 
Doggiebb, Dd,
I end up sleeping with both boys, most days after I lie down in the dark for an hour, I m dozing off myself.

Mich,
Most impt to Eboy is tennis. You said so yourself b4, I just remind you only. Start the volunteering already......!

snippet of Tao Nan
so Mr C and I took the boys out to the library last night, and for dessert after that. We met another dad Caleb alone with his 7yo who is in Ngee Ann. Caleb has 3 sons aged 7, 4 and 1. They live in the next block. So naturally we asked Caleb, why not Tao Nan? Turns out the prev owner of their apmt had a P4 son in Tao Nan, who came back one day and asked his dad... why are we not rich? why can't we go to disneyland for holidays instead of driving up to Malaysia?
Not as bad as dustee's story, but bad enough.... and reinforces my decision NOT to send the boys there.
I seriously think that school has something wrong with its culture. Materialistic to the max!

this is not C1 but C2... a true face palm and what-am-i-doing-as-mom-of-boys-moment. cosmic joke la when I grew up with only girls.
http://hisabundantblessingss.blogspot.sg/2013/02/proud-of-himself.html

C2 will be half proud, half embarassed of his mama's blog posts when he grows up. *grin*
 
Mich,
I echo dd and smiggle on the happiness factor!

Cellow,
Aiyoh, why the school like that? Or is it only the horror stories that end up being passed around?

Any horror stories anybody has heard about Henry Park? I heard it's also super stressful and competitive, but I'm hoping it's just urban legend cos Declan really has nowhere else to go.
sad.gif
 
Sleeping with kids
*raise hand* me too...

Mich
I would swing towards the tennis as that's what Eboy loves. But do keep an open mind and be prepared as doing PV can be very tiring and stressful. Some schools guarantee a place if you do PV. Others, not guaranteed. Eboy is v good natured, think he will be fine either way. And from reading what you write, can tell that you will be there to guide him, soothe him, and support him no matter what happens.
 
So I am also not the only one who has to lie down in the dark to let the kids sleep.

Michelle,
If I were you I would probably choose the one with tennis. With this CCA he will really enjoy it and if he is really good at tennis in school, praises from teachers and peers will boost his confidence.

May be it won't be hard for him after all, you just need to see how he progresses and be there when he needs help and encouragement. Sometimes I worry too much for Emma for certain activities I thought she's lacking, but turns out she is doing better than expected.

Wow so now we're talking about P1 already!!! *gulps* Emma has only 1 choice next door. Hope she can get in.
 
PS: grassroots volunteering, not PV! The English school does not accept PV and I have to change my address too. My heart wants to let eboy go there, but my head tells me to stay the easiest route which is the Chinese school which no ballot nothing and it's like 2.5km from where I stay....
 
Cellow,
I was just talking to Mr bbp on the Tao Nan snippet you shared and I just realised... actually on face value, it can also be taken as an innocent question. When we came back from Perth, Declan asked when we could go back and why we can't go there so often and all the 101 whys. I guess it's how the question was phrased. And also the age of the kid does make a difference. Ok, I'm starting to sound incoherent. Time for me to go to bed.
 
I don't have to shift house, I need to change my residential address to my bro's house which is across the street to English school. It's the volunteering that I dread, not sure if I can commit, and once I commit, where to find time cos for grassroots, all my weekends will be burnt, yet now is the time eboy needs me around... Sooooo you see my predicament?
 
Mich
Once you change addresses, you will be just opposite the school and within 2km. No need to do any volunteering anymore.
 
On to happier topics... CNY!

Anybody going to River Hongbao this year? Did anyone attend last year? How was the crowd? I think my kid is finally old enough to enjoy carnivals so.... am thinking about it. Plus there's a groupon deal $18 for $30 worth of tokens, snacks and gifts.
And fireworks at 8pm this Friday. http://www.riverhongbao.sg/en/programme.html
 
mich

i think shld PV to get 2 chances of the ballot. try 2b first. no go, at least one more chance at 2c balloting.

i have read that moe is going to get tougher on pple using address to get into popular schools. exactly how they are going to do it and whether they have resources or not, its another story. but you would prolly let eboy go back to bro's place before picking him right, that should be safer than getting him onto a sch bus that takes him straight home. becos the sch would have access on the address that is given to the school bus company. anyway, i researched all these before i did my shift! that's why i got so much to say! wahahah!

my take is the "tennis school" is a much better choice for eboy too.

*group hug to the mummies who lie in the dark wasting their life away*
 
Mummies with 2 kids..
Are you lettin them sleep together??
I love to.. but i doubt sleep is on their mind...
they prob play till midnite..
Im thinking of puttin the boys together yet, not sure how they can get to sleep..
 
that is the reason why i lie in the dark because i let them sleep together now. i think eventually mine will sleep in their rooms when perhaps T1 is 10. so these few years, would like them to sleep together. i think this may promote closeness between them.
 
re sleeping together
both my kids are sleeping together and i manage to get out of the room since last year! they do talk but i will go in and hush them up. usually works after a few warnings... haha

re barking
i do that everyday! non stop from morn to night! n now that jh is older he asked me to stop repeating! but yet he is not doing. driving me up the wall totally!

mich
u shd go for a sch that is strong in tennis. i m trying to find whether jh has a talent in sports so that he has a backup haha....

hmm i also heard a lot about jh's sch before going in but i guess at the end of the day kids must learn to be grateful and appreciative of how much they have. bbp may be right also that it is an innocent question when they ask such things. i think comparisons are inevitable but we just try our best to ground them....
 
SY
Poppy also says "don't need to repeat so many times" so I tell her "then you answer me the first time I say it" gosh that conversation was so me and my mum 30 years ago!

I think for us, poppy will simply go to the closest convent school. Easier like that. Jo, classmates with gwyn?
happy.gif


Sleeping in same room
I also wonder how and when to transfer baby over to big girl room. Maybe when she sleeps thru then I think about it. Speaking of sleep thru. Argh. Poppy slept thru at 6 weeks. With calla I am still waking up 3 times a night. I am exhausted!
 
Happy snake year!! Water snake indeed, rain rain rain!

Help!! Started to find dark spots on my face. I never apply anything on my face before, is it too late to start? What is tried and tested for dark spots?
 
"Like!" youpi's comment on mich.

side note, I remember when I was growing up (ahem) some moons ago, there are plastic things to attach to pencils or pens to correct children's finger positions for writing? does anyone still see them around?
 


cellow

i have those! and i am using for T2. he holds the pencil like mao bi!

i bought it from one tuition place in bishan and now that i am no longer in bishan. not sure where else you can buy these!
 
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