Friday 16 August 2013
Consolation?
Sometimes I wonder if I should console myself that at least the only complaints I have with Matty’s schoolwork are his illegible handwriting and carelessness… or worry that he can’t even get basics like these right.
Thursday 18 July 2013
Good Luck
A funny conversation that ensued after going through the spelling list in preparation for Elaina’s spelling quiz the next day…
Me: Good luck for your spelling tomorrow.
Elaina: Thanks. Good luck to you too.
Me: Why are you wishing me “good luck”? I don’t have spelling quiz.
Elaina: I hope you won’t get fired from your job….
Me: Good luck for your spelling tomorrow.
Elaina: Thanks. Good luck to you too.
Me: Why are you wishing me “good luck”? I don’t have spelling quiz.
Elaina: I hope you won’t get fired from your job….
Monday 6 May 2013
It Has Been a While Yet Again
It really felt like forever since I wrote about the development of Matty and Elaina. Probably because hitting a milestone comes far and few at this age. But ironically time passes quickly. With too many other matters which we need to attend to, everything else just takes precedence. I sometimes think (or simply finding an excuse for myself) that it is similar to why we have very few videos and photos when on a trip, to an outing, for a special occasion – we are so absorbed with the moment and enjoying while in the midst of it that putting the memories on physical record seemed less important. Of course I think either way it will leave behind some form of regret in the future. We just can’t win it all.
For the last one over year, we had shared many moments of fun – a beach vacation in Danang, stay-cation at Sentosa, couple of performances, visits to the Science Centre, Gardens By the Bay, museums, aquariums, exhibitions, mini-golfing, movies, biking and the list goes on like most people. Needless to say the children displayed evidences of growth both physical and emotionally as well - from the dropping of milk teeth, outgrowing their shoes and clothes, juggling between the need to prepare for spellings and completing the schoolwork as opposed to having fun, adding another candle to their birthday cake (a party thrown in for Elaina’s 6th birthday even), to putting up a stage performance.
While I have my grouses about the children because they make me breathless each time I need to repeat myself countless times just to get their butts moving, I need to admit that it is a relief when the teachers in school haven’t found any compelling reason to call me up to lodge a complaint. I take it in a positive light when the teachers do not have much to say about Matty or Elaina at the parent-teacher meeting and we always take half of the allotted time to complete the session.
Actually if I ever need to keep a record, it should really be on the many quirky stuff that gets spewed out of their mouth on an almost daily basis.
For the last one over year, we had shared many moments of fun – a beach vacation in Danang, stay-cation at Sentosa, couple of performances, visits to the Science Centre, Gardens By the Bay, museums, aquariums, exhibitions, mini-golfing, movies, biking and the list goes on like most people. Needless to say the children displayed evidences of growth both physical and emotionally as well - from the dropping of milk teeth, outgrowing their shoes and clothes, juggling between the need to prepare for spellings and completing the schoolwork as opposed to having fun, adding another candle to their birthday cake (a party thrown in for Elaina’s 6th birthday even), to putting up a stage performance.
While I have my grouses about the children because they make me breathless each time I need to repeat myself countless times just to get their butts moving, I need to admit that it is a relief when the teachers in school haven’t found any compelling reason to call me up to lodge a complaint. I take it in a positive light when the teachers do not have much to say about Matty or Elaina at the parent-teacher meeting and we always take half of the allotted time to complete the session.
Actually if I ever need to keep a record, it should really be on the many quirky stuff that gets spewed out of their mouth on an almost daily basis.
Saturday 21 January 2012
Whoosh.....
"Whoosh"... that's how I would describe the period since I last updated this blog. Christmas came and gone, Matty's first day at formal school and now Chinese New Year is lurking around the corner with just about 48 hours away.
All I can remember is the fuzzy madness in trying to pull everything together, and in the midst burning a hole in my pocket. Once again, life is starting to get into a routine... which is good in my opinion. I don't fancy too many changes or events all happening one after another. I like my boring and predictable days. No surprises equate to less stress.
For once, I worry more about Matty than Elaina. Elaina is back to a new school year with her same set of friends and familiar environment. The only thing that has changed is the teachers. The first day was school was simply a "drop-and-go" for her. Matty's situation is quite the reverse - I worry if he will be able to find his way, if he remembers to make his visit to the loo, whether he will lose his belongings and if he behaves in the class.
It really got to me within the first week of school that Matty simply doesn't remember what he needs to get done. Homework and reminders weren't jotted down in his handbook and I had to pull everything out from his bag to run through with him. The beauty is that he didn't seemed as stressed as me and even told me that the deadline imposed by the teacher was "whenever it gets done". I wondered about how I was going to survive the next 10 to 15 years with his kind of attitude. I worried about my school work more than 2 decades ago and it dreads me to no end that I had to go through the process yet again.
2 weeks on, the situation did improved, just not sure if it is because he is getting a hang of how things should work or me growing immune. Whatever it is, I am looking forward to the long weekend of 4 days not needing to worry about homework and checking the school bags!
All I can remember is the fuzzy madness in trying to pull everything together, and in the midst burning a hole in my pocket. Once again, life is starting to get into a routine... which is good in my opinion. I don't fancy too many changes or events all happening one after another. I like my boring and predictable days. No surprises equate to less stress.
For once, I worry more about Matty than Elaina. Elaina is back to a new school year with her same set of friends and familiar environment. The only thing that has changed is the teachers. The first day was school was simply a "drop-and-go" for her. Matty's situation is quite the reverse - I worry if he will be able to find his way, if he remembers to make his visit to the loo, whether he will lose his belongings and if he behaves in the class.
It really got to me within the first week of school that Matty simply doesn't remember what he needs to get done. Homework and reminders weren't jotted down in his handbook and I had to pull everything out from his bag to run through with him. The beauty is that he didn't seemed as stressed as me and even told me that the deadline imposed by the teacher was "whenever it gets done". I wondered about how I was going to survive the next 10 to 15 years with his kind of attitude. I worried about my school work more than 2 decades ago and it dreads me to no end that I had to go through the process yet again.
2 weeks on, the situation did improved, just not sure if it is because he is getting a hang of how things should work or me growing immune. Whatever it is, I am looking forward to the long weekend of 4 days not needing to worry about homework and checking the school bags!
Saturday 5 November 2011
Emphasis on Attitude
Elaina has been acting up at school lately, specifically when she is having her English class.
It started about 2 weeks ago when she was told to write down a couple of words ending with “at” in an attempt by her teacher to make the kids learn to spell using their phonics skill. Despite that she could spell the words when working in a big group, she ended up brawling when told to go back to the desk and have the words written down. Being the drama queen she is, we promptly reasoned it as another episode of her trying to drum it up and get some attention. We further concluded that we were right because she could write the same set of words at home without any help.
Early this week, there was another spat of saga when told to copy down several lines word for word. In the midst of her rolling tears, she managed to jot every single word down. The teacher was baffled with her emotions and so were we, until last night after much coaxing and probing, she let out to me that at the point when she was doing the exercise she wasn’t sure if she would get it right and therefore the tears.
In my short span of motherhood, I have concluded (at least to me) that the important aspect of raising a school-going child is not whether he or she is getting the work right. It is not about whether he or she is getting ahead. It is definitely not about whether he or she attends any enrichment program, or if he or she is supposedly more intelligent than the peers (I noticed a lot of fellow parents enjoy being complimented that they have an intelligent kid… frankly these days, the children are definitely more smarter for whatever reason and we can no longer measure them by the yardstick we measure ourselves. They are mostly smart by our yardstick and so nothing strange). The hardest and most important part is instilling in them the right attitude towards learning and everything in life.
Matty and Elaina both had at some point slipped in this area in different regards and to a varying degree. It has been a challenge to me as a parent and I foresee it will continue to be so. I am somewhat consoled to learn that other parents have similar if not the same issue, just a matter of whether the parent recognizes it or not. Short attention span and preferring to doing something more interesting, some will shut down and refuse to try because they deem it too difficult, some have simply no confidence they will get it right, and of course a handful of whom are simply bored doing one exercise repeatedly because they fail to appreciate the meaning of practice makes perfect or simply because in life everyone will be expected to perform certain tasks even though it may be less palatable. I am sure the list does not end here and a child’s poor attitude can come in different form, shape, size and magnitude.
I can only hope for the ability to recognize potential problems and help Matty and Elaina by instilling in them the right attitude. I still firmly believe that is the way to raise my children well – to nip the problem at its root. Everything else will then follow.
It started about 2 weeks ago when she was told to write down a couple of words ending with “at” in an attempt by her teacher to make the kids learn to spell using their phonics skill. Despite that she could spell the words when working in a big group, she ended up brawling when told to go back to the desk and have the words written down. Being the drama queen she is, we promptly reasoned it as another episode of her trying to drum it up and get some attention. We further concluded that we were right because she could write the same set of words at home without any help.
Early this week, there was another spat of saga when told to copy down several lines word for word. In the midst of her rolling tears, she managed to jot every single word down. The teacher was baffled with her emotions and so were we, until last night after much coaxing and probing, she let out to me that at the point when she was doing the exercise she wasn’t sure if she would get it right and therefore the tears.
In my short span of motherhood, I have concluded (at least to me) that the important aspect of raising a school-going child is not whether he or she is getting the work right. It is not about whether he or she is getting ahead. It is definitely not about whether he or she attends any enrichment program, or if he or she is supposedly more intelligent than the peers (I noticed a lot of fellow parents enjoy being complimented that they have an intelligent kid… frankly these days, the children are definitely more smarter for whatever reason and we can no longer measure them by the yardstick we measure ourselves. They are mostly smart by our yardstick and so nothing strange). The hardest and most important part is instilling in them the right attitude towards learning and everything in life.
Matty and Elaina both had at some point slipped in this area in different regards and to a varying degree. It has been a challenge to me as a parent and I foresee it will continue to be so. I am somewhat consoled to learn that other parents have similar if not the same issue, just a matter of whether the parent recognizes it or not. Short attention span and preferring to doing something more interesting, some will shut down and refuse to try because they deem it too difficult, some have simply no confidence they will get it right, and of course a handful of whom are simply bored doing one exercise repeatedly because they fail to appreciate the meaning of practice makes perfect or simply because in life everyone will be expected to perform certain tasks even though it may be less palatable. I am sure the list does not end here and a child’s poor attitude can come in different form, shape, size and magnitude.
I can only hope for the ability to recognize potential problems and help Matty and Elaina by instilling in them the right attitude. I still firmly believe that is the way to raise my children well – to nip the problem at its root. Everything else will then follow.
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Where has all the time gone to?
Updating of my blogs seemed to have dropped off my radar big time for a while. Not sure why each time something comes to mind to be written down, it never quite made it to print.
Life has been pretty much of a routine and I am seriously enjoying it, because come next year we will need to start making adjustments in a big way with Matty starting formal school, piano classes and swimming lessons for both of them. I am starting to sound like some kiasu mother trying to cramp everything into one. It wasn’t intentional but just happened to be the way it is. Matty has been talking about learning piano for more than 6 months now but each time I would just brush it aside thinking that he said it on impulse. Somehow he was very persistent and it came to a point that he had to question why I hadn’t done anything despite him asking me repeatedly to enrol him for one. And so there… I finally decided that he was serious about it and got my act together. Needless to say, learning how to swim is something I ruled as compulsory for the kids to get done at some point in time and since Elaina requested for it , I quickly jumped on the opportunity to drag Matty along too. Two years ago, we pulled Matty out from swimming because he refused to go for any more classess after drinking some pool water at the third lesson. It is probably high time for him to get back to it.
After registering him for Primary 1 back in July, the fact that Matty is not going to be a pre-schooler any much longer and that he is hitting a major milestone in his life made me gasp at time flying too quickly by. I admit that it is only now that I truly appreciate what people meant by “children grow very quickly”. It was not that long ago when we were worrying about his teething, sleeping pattern, milk feed and if he was eating well and sleeping well. I used to wish he grow up faster during those dreadful nights when he refused to sleep, now I just wish he could grow a little slower. Such is the irony of life.
Life has been pretty much of a routine and I am seriously enjoying it, because come next year we will need to start making adjustments in a big way with Matty starting formal school, piano classes and swimming lessons for both of them. I am starting to sound like some kiasu mother trying to cramp everything into one. It wasn’t intentional but just happened to be the way it is. Matty has been talking about learning piano for more than 6 months now but each time I would just brush it aside thinking that he said it on impulse. Somehow he was very persistent and it came to a point that he had to question why I hadn’t done anything despite him asking me repeatedly to enrol him for one. And so there… I finally decided that he was serious about it and got my act together. Needless to say, learning how to swim is something I ruled as compulsory for the kids to get done at some point in time and since Elaina requested for it , I quickly jumped on the opportunity to drag Matty along too. Two years ago, we pulled Matty out from swimming because he refused to go for any more classess after drinking some pool water at the third lesson. It is probably high time for him to get back to it.
After registering him for Primary 1 back in July, the fact that Matty is not going to be a pre-schooler any much longer and that he is hitting a major milestone in his life made me gasp at time flying too quickly by. I admit that it is only now that I truly appreciate what people meant by “children grow very quickly”. It was not that long ago when we were worrying about his teething, sleeping pattern, milk feed and if he was eating well and sleeping well. I used to wish he grow up faster during those dreadful nights when he refused to sleep, now I just wish he could grow a little slower. Such is the irony of life.
Thursday 22 September 2011
Australia Once More (26 August ~ 10 September)
We planned for months and months, and in a jiffy, the holiday just whizzed by. It is so true that time flies when having fun.
That said, the holiday did start on the wrong footing. First our backpack zipper came off just when the plane was about to leave Singapore for Melbourne, then I had a spat with a particular stewardess (our stars were probably off alignment). Next, our connecting flight to Gold Coast got delayed by an hour, and to top it off Gold Coast decided to pour like mad while we were up in the air and the airport had to shut down causing the plane needing to divert to Brisbane instead. The ordeal dragged on for another 4 hours due to the diversion - we waited around the Brisbane airport for more than an hour for a coach to bring everyone back to Gold Coast Airport, followed by a 2-hour coach ride. The situation at Gold Coast airport was equally challenging with a beeline of stranded folks waiting for cabs to bring them home since they are not going to be able to catch their flight. The journey extended by an extra 6 hours leaving everyone's spirit dampen, cold, tired and hungry.
Not sure if it is a blessing in disguise. The heavy rain brought us a whole week of sunshine while we were in Gold Coast. We were bracing ourselves for occasional showers based on the 7-day weather forecast. It was certainly the best surprise to wake up the next morning to a bright blue sky and scorching sun. It's as if the rain came in one fell swop the day before. It was warm to the degree (pun intended!) that we were overdressed seeing the locals in tees, shorts and flip flops. We weren't quite packed for such warm weather. No complains though, because we could do our rounds through all the theme parks without worry that plans will be dampened.
Elaina and Matty were particularly fond of Seaworld that they requested for a second visit. Since it was a holiday for them, the adults obliged. I can't say the same about the factory outlet shopping that followed though. They obviously think it was "boring". But at least it meant that I could contain the amount of possible damage to my pocket.
To sum it up, Gold Coast was lots of good food (particularly Mario's that served up authentic italian without needing to break the piggy bank), lots of theme park, lots of popcorn, lots of sun and lots of fun. Not forgetting the best rented ride of the entire trip and that the kids are getting more gutsy when it comes to trying new rides.
Hobart sent us into a different kind of weather - wind chills with drizzles that comes and go, and a different environment. For a first time, the children got to experience a 1000 metre high mountain, nature reserves, hiking through a forest, rolling hills everywhere we go and running around a playground for hours without a single drop of sweat. Unfortunately due to age, Elaina and Matty are still unable to appreciate the rich history that envelopes Hobart. We pretty much ran out of things to do by the time we got to the last day in Hobart. The rain didn't help with the situation. One thing that never seem to bore the kids were the seafood. They gladly rotated between fish, scallops and shrimps.
We headed back to Melbourne on 7 September and drove for 2 odd hours towards Philip Island. The drive was definitely worthwhile. Despite the cold, tiredness and hunger, catching the penguins do their nightly parade seemed to do justice to us being on the road since early morning. And it was definitely wise choice that we decided to stay on the island for the night instead of rushing back to Melbourne after the parade. I don't think the children will be able to survive the trip back to city without turning cranky. Not only that, it gave us the chance to visit the Nobbies the next morning. Didn't manage to sight any seals but the crashing waves and blowhole was an experience for a bunch of city dwellers like us. On our way out, we stopped by this place known as Amaze'N Things. It was pretty entertaining to go through the various bits that tricked the eyes and mind, creating false illusion - like the photo that had the adults looking much smaller than the children and a chair that slides "upwards" and defying gravity.
By the time we got back to Melbourne, it was also marked the fact that vacation was almost over. And since we only had 1 day we could only pick and choose what would be the most interesting and requires the least traveling time. I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the Melbourne Aquarium from the huge viewing area and how exhibits were logically grouped together and in an interesting way. Scienceworks delivered science facts in a truly entertaining way. Rather than just putting facts across in mere words, the visuals and simple explanations that made it digestible for children. There was nothing like rocket science or on stuff there were too abstract for kids to understand. It dwells on day-to-day technologies like how the dryer works, how the toilet bowl flushes and how we get sounds out from a radio. Not sure if our own science centre here has evolved to be just as good. If not, I would suggest that we send a team of people there to learn the tricks.
There's still so much to write, but like every holiday it is just not possible to jot every single detail down. Which is just as well... gives us a reason to revisit these places in the not so distant future!
That said, the holiday did start on the wrong footing. First our backpack zipper came off just when the plane was about to leave Singapore for Melbourne, then I had a spat with a particular stewardess (our stars were probably off alignment). Next, our connecting flight to Gold Coast got delayed by an hour, and to top it off Gold Coast decided to pour like mad while we were up in the air and the airport had to shut down causing the plane needing to divert to Brisbane instead. The ordeal dragged on for another 4 hours due to the diversion - we waited around the Brisbane airport for more than an hour for a coach to bring everyone back to Gold Coast Airport, followed by a 2-hour coach ride. The situation at Gold Coast airport was equally challenging with a beeline of stranded folks waiting for cabs to bring them home since they are not going to be able to catch their flight. The journey extended by an extra 6 hours leaving everyone's spirit dampen, cold, tired and hungry.
Not sure if it is a blessing in disguise. The heavy rain brought us a whole week of sunshine while we were in Gold Coast. We were bracing ourselves for occasional showers based on the 7-day weather forecast. It was certainly the best surprise to wake up the next morning to a bright blue sky and scorching sun. It's as if the rain came in one fell swop the day before. It was warm to the degree (pun intended!) that we were overdressed seeing the locals in tees, shorts and flip flops. We weren't quite packed for such warm weather. No complains though, because we could do our rounds through all the theme parks without worry that plans will be dampened.
Elaina and Matty were particularly fond of Seaworld that they requested for a second visit. Since it was a holiday for them, the adults obliged. I can't say the same about the factory outlet shopping that followed though. They obviously think it was "boring". But at least it meant that I could contain the amount of possible damage to my pocket.
To sum it up, Gold Coast was lots of good food (particularly Mario's that served up authentic italian without needing to break the piggy bank), lots of theme park, lots of popcorn, lots of sun and lots of fun. Not forgetting the best rented ride of the entire trip and that the kids are getting more gutsy when it comes to trying new rides.
Hobart sent us into a different kind of weather - wind chills with drizzles that comes and go, and a different environment. For a first time, the children got to experience a 1000 metre high mountain, nature reserves, hiking through a forest, rolling hills everywhere we go and running around a playground for hours without a single drop of sweat. Unfortunately due to age, Elaina and Matty are still unable to appreciate the rich history that envelopes Hobart. We pretty much ran out of things to do by the time we got to the last day in Hobart. The rain didn't help with the situation. One thing that never seem to bore the kids were the seafood. They gladly rotated between fish, scallops and shrimps.
We headed back to Melbourne on 7 September and drove for 2 odd hours towards Philip Island. The drive was definitely worthwhile. Despite the cold, tiredness and hunger, catching the penguins do their nightly parade seemed to do justice to us being on the road since early morning. And it was definitely wise choice that we decided to stay on the island for the night instead of rushing back to Melbourne after the parade. I don't think the children will be able to survive the trip back to city without turning cranky. Not only that, it gave us the chance to visit the Nobbies the next morning. Didn't manage to sight any seals but the crashing waves and blowhole was an experience for a bunch of city dwellers like us. On our way out, we stopped by this place known as Amaze'N Things. It was pretty entertaining to go through the various bits that tricked the eyes and mind, creating false illusion - like the photo that had the adults looking much smaller than the children and a chair that slides "upwards" and defying gravity.
By the time we got back to Melbourne, it was also marked the fact that vacation was almost over. And since we only had 1 day we could only pick and choose what would be the most interesting and requires the least traveling time. I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the Melbourne Aquarium from the huge viewing area and how exhibits were logically grouped together and in an interesting way. Scienceworks delivered science facts in a truly entertaining way. Rather than just putting facts across in mere words, the visuals and simple explanations that made it digestible for children. There was nothing like rocket science or on stuff there were too abstract for kids to understand. It dwells on day-to-day technologies like how the dryer works, how the toilet bowl flushes and how we get sounds out from a radio. Not sure if our own science centre here has evolved to be just as good. If not, I would suggest that we send a team of people there to learn the tricks.
There's still so much to write, but like every holiday it is just not possible to jot every single detail down. Which is just as well... gives us a reason to revisit these places in the not so distant future!
