Curious Academy

There's this new enrichment centre in town, the Curious Academy, that is running the Glenn Doman programme. I've been wanting to let L try out the session and finally managed to do so a couple of weeks back. Yah this is a delayed post. Anyway, the reason I was attracted to Curious Academy wasn't so much the Glenn Doman programme, it's more the child friendly setup and the other 'side' programmes they have, i.e. cooking, music, dance, art, swimming, etc. It would have been the perfect one-stop centre for all the non-academic extra curricular activities, and they have 2 very nice playgrounds (one indoor, one outdoor) that will keep the kids occupied for hours. The only problem is that you need to join their core programme, i.e. the Glenn Doman programme, to be able to join the other programmes. Darn!!

How was the Glenn Doman programme? There's actually 2 parts to the programme, the physical component (think Little Gym, Flykidz) and the flash card component. For the physical component, the kids go through a little obstacle course, e.g. roll down the ramp, get onto the monkey bar, jump on the trampoline, swing on the hang bar and go back to where they started (something like that). 3 different physical circuits were introduced during the lesson, and in between each circuit, flashcards were introduced. So the session went something like this:

• Free play
• Clean up toys
• Sing hello song
• Physical circuit #1
• Storytime + flashcards (words from the story)
• Physical circuit #2
• Flashcards (same words for reinforcement)
• Physical circuit #3
• Flashcards (facts). For the session we attended, they were shown pictures of primates and given some facts about the species shown
• Good bye song

I think L enjoyed the class (well she enjoys every class she's ever been to) although she refused to go into the class and was screaming at the top of her lungs when I took her in (that was because she wanted to stay and play with H in the indoor playground). When she finally stopped wailing, she started participating. I think the physical activities will do her good - she did most of them but not all; some she was actually afraid to try like swinging on the trapeze. But the glenn doman bit (i.e. the flashcards), I'm not sure I'm at all convinced. It's not that I don't believe in the effectiveness of flashcards, I just don't think it's the right way to teach a kid to read. I still believe in giving the kids solid grounding in phonics. Besides, I don't really need L to know how to read at this age. Learning how to read is not my main objective. But I must say I'm pretty impressed with L's memory. One thing for sure, my little L's concentration is amazing. When the teacher was flashing the word cards, she was the only one concentrating. After flashing the cards once, the teacher actually tested the kids by holding up 2 cards and asking the kids which card showed the word she said (e.g. she held out the words "winter" and "snow" and asked which one is "winter"). Both times she tested L, L got both words correct. I'm not sure if she just fluked it, but the teacher was pretty amazed.

I'm actually quite torn with my decision - on the one hand I like the place, I like the physical component of the class and I would love to get L into the other non-glenn doman programmes they have; on the other hand it's pretty expensive (and crazy) to pay a premium for glenn doman when all I wanted was the physical / gym component. I could easily join the Little Gym or Flykidz for half the price.

So I guess I'll have to give this a miss.

i dun wanna go to school

My little girl has always loved school. She's never resisted going to school from the very first day. But after the long extended weekend, she's been resisting school three mornings in a row this week. When Po-Po came to pick her up on Tuesday & Wednesday, she cried and insisted she wanted to stay at home and watch TV. Has the Nanny been indulging her whilst we were away? Why is L suddenly such a TV addict?

This morning Hubs sent H to school, so I stayed home till Po-Po came over to take L to school. Maybe cos I was home, L didn't ask to watch TV, instead she said she wanted me to read her Clifford the Dog. We read 2 books, one of which was about Emily Elizabeth camping in the yard. Me and my great idea, I asked if she wanted me to 'build' her a tent. L was excited. We went to the bedroom to grab a blanket, and draped it over the dining chair and sofa. Ta-dah... her very own tent. When Po-Po came over, L didn't want to get out of her tent and whined, "I don't want to go to chinese class! I want to stay at home!"

Finally I had to bribe her with chocolates. Still she was reluctant to get into the car but we made her go anyway. Now I'm beginning to wonder - should I just allow her to stay home and play? She's only 2.5 years old, if she doesn't want to go to school she shouldn't have to. I have no issue with L just playing at home. At her age, she should be playing. My only issue is that since I'm not home to monitor her activities, I'd rather her play in school. At least I can be sure that she's engaged in constructive play and not put in front of the TV all day. You can never be sure that your instructions are duly followed since L can be quite a tyrant. She will scream and yell until she gets what she wants, and the Nanny normally gives in quite easily to her whims.

melbourne getaway & home

It was a nice short getaway, managed to meet up with friends and family. Most importantly though, we achieved what we set out to do. It's amazing how a short weekend trip like this can be so productive - although we only spent 3 full days in Melbourne, I must say it felt longer than that.

Food was so good in Melbourne. Weather was not too bad - except that you'd think it'd be warmer since it's summer but we still needed our jackets. Flight was bad though, the seats on Air Asia X sucked real bad! I remembered it to be ok but this time round, it was just extremely uncomfortable! And we couldn't really sleep on the plane. On the way there, we were seated in front of a group of Cambodians who couldn't stopped yakking on the top of their voices despite it being a late night flight. On the way back, we were seated behind a couple of Australian teenage backpackers who couldn't stop talking and laughing non-stop despite it being an early morning (i.e. 1 am) flight. Hubs was really irritated. Now I can understand how others feel when our kids were on the plane cos they must be just as noisy.

Missed the kids so much. When we got back, L was clingier than ever. She wouldn't let me out of her sight. As soon as I stepped away, within split seconds, she'll be crying "mommy mommy where are you? I want mommy...". And she wouldn't nap for fear that we'd go out and leave her at home. Her brother on the other hand was perfectly fine. I guess he's old enough to understand that mommy and daddy will always come home to them, and probably also used to us going away without taking them along. Are we such bad parents? We know of many parents, in fact most of our friends with family, they would and have never left their kids behind - everywhere they go, they'd lug their kids along. We always get 2 very distinct of responses whenever we tell our friends that we went on holiday without the kids - one is of disbelief and disapproval (how can you do that?!!), one is of envy (how we wish we can do that too!).

Would you do that, i.e. leave your kids at home while you go out or go holidaying? We used to sneak out without informing the kids, but as soon as they realise you're gone, they would start screaming and yelling. I guess it also builds 'distrust'. These days we find it better to just tell them that we'll be going out. Prep them beforehand. Tell them exactly where you'll be going and what you'll be doing (i.e. something boring that only adults would want to do and that they're better off staying at home) and bribe them (i.e. tell mommy what you want mommy will get it for you). It's easy to bribe kids this age, or at least mine aren't that demanding. It's usually the food they are crazy over at that point in time. E.g. when we went to London last year, H asked for donuts. This time round, L asked for yoghurt :-)

mummy & daddy's weekend away

We made a last minute decision to go to Melbourne over the coming long weekend. Feeling a tinge of guilt for having to leave the kids at home. We initially had plans to take take kids out and spend some quality time with them but something cropped up and we had to take the trip.

I can't believe all the full service airlines are fully booked for the next 2 weeks. Initially I thought it was only MAS and that perhaps they didn't have enough flights to Melbourne, but I checked all othe major airlines like SQ, Emirates, etc. and they're all fully booked! Darn, and we thought we could redeem free flights from MAS using our Enrich points. Oh well, so it's Air Asia X then. We took Air Asia X to Perth last November, it wasn't that bad - but then we had seats with the extra leg room. This time round, all the hot seats were fully booked, and we weren't exactly keen to spend more to upgrade to Premium class. As it is, we're already paying RM6k+ for the 2 return tickets.

So, to make up for our absence, we'll have to think of something to indulge the kids tomorrow... hmmm...

swimming lessons

Despite my early 'training', H is still crying during his weekly swimming lessons. So far he's had 3 lessons. The first 2 lessons, he said he cried but he still went into the pool. I told him it's ok to cry but he has to be brave. In no time he will be able to swim like a fish and we can challenge daddy in the pool. He said ok he will.

After his third lesson, I asked him how was his swimming class.

H: I cried.
Me: Did you go into the pool?
H: No.
Me: Why not?
H: I told the teacher what you said.
Me: That it's ok to cry but you will be brave?
H: No, I said you said I cannot go into the pool cos I have running nose.

What?!!!

Me: I didn't say that! I said you have to be brave...
H: I forgot what you said... <with a cheeky grin on his face>

Man! How did my little boy learn how to twist his words? Must give him a lesson about honesty!

screen time ruling

I often get questioned when I tell people that I limit my kids' screen time, i.e. time spent in front of the tv, computer or ipad.

Why so strict? They're kids mah, just let them enjoy!

It's sometimes hard to explain why I'm being so anal about this. I normally am quite relaxed when it comes to governing my kids, but when it comes to screen time, there's really no compromising. It's not that I don't allow them to watch tv or play video games, they do, but I try to limit their screen time. The problem with kids these days is that they get bored easily. Why? Cos they don't know how to entertain themselves. They're so used to being entertained by tv programmes, video games, etc. No doubt there are good educational programmes and games out there but I'm a traditionist. I still believe in the old fashion way of learning, i.e. through hands on exploration.

Less screen time = more active and creative play!

A case example. On our journey back to Johor last weekend, hubs decided to bring along the ipad in case the kids make noise, then we can hand them the ipad to keep them quiet. Bad move. Since we only have one ipad, they started quarrelling over it. When they aren't quarrelling, they aren't talking to each other since one of them was completely engrossed in the game. After I took away the ipad, H started complaining he was bored. He has never complained of being bored on road trips (we've never given them the ipad). He would always come up with games to play in the car. So I said "think of a game then, you're very good in thinking up games". H then came up with a game. We played for a bit then both of them started another game of silly joke making which made them giggled and laughed non-stop. Wasn't that more enjoyable? Since we hardly have time to spend with the kids, we should use such moments for family bonding by sharing laughters, etc!

There are so many things kids can do away from the screen, like playing outdoors, engaging in pretend play, reading or in my kids' case, being read to, etc. These are what H and L do everyday after school. They just love engaging in pretend play.

Less screen time = less social, mental and health problems!

H's previous preschool teacher told me once that after every school holiday, the kids would come back zombified. She said you can tell from their eyes that they've spent the entire holiday in front of the screen. TV, game console, ipad, etc are great babysitters, but use them with caution. A growing body of research links excessive television viewing to attention and learning difficulties. The reason? Most television programming, even some of the educational variety, features quick edits, flashing images and rapid sequences, as opposed to the slower pace of "real life". After prolonged exposure to tv, which conditions the mind to expect rapid-fire stimulation, kids may have difficulty staying focused  when they turn their attention to something slower, like reading a book.

Then of course there are the gadget inflicted health problems such as "ipad elbow", stiff neck, eye strain, etc. Adults may be able to take preventive measures to avoid any painful experience but the same can't be said for kids. I just can't count the number of times I have to tell the kids to lean back, don't put your face so close to the ipad, etc.

I'm not saying don't let your kids watch tv or play video games, just use your common sense and practice moderation!

Balik kampung

We went back to Johor over the weekend to visit the kids' grandparents. It's been a long overdue trip. We've been so busy towards the end of last year that we've been postponing our trip back . H adores going back as it means he can play with his cousins. Despite them only meeting a couple of times a year, there is this closeness about them, which begs us to think "How is it that H sticks to his cousins like bees to honey and not to any of his school friends despite them spending the whole year together, everyday?" It's true! H never once mentioned or asked about his teachers or friends from his preschool, ever since the day he left.

Now that H is older, he knows how to complain. On our journey there...
"Why is ah mah's house so far?"
"Why aren't we there yet?"
"I don't want to stay 1 night, I want to stay 2 nights."

On the way back, it was L's turn...
"I don't want to go this way, I want to turn around that way!" <so that we can head back to Johor>
"I don't want to go home I want to go to ah mah's house!"

So we promised the kids they can go again during the school holidays. "I want to stay for one week!" Sure, then daddy and mommy can go on a holiday :-)

L in school

I write a lot about H in school but not about L cos she doesn't give us any cause for concern. This year, L is attending mandarin preschool twice a week, and another 2 days at her yiyi's school. Her mandarin enrichment teacher is now taking the preschool class so we thought it'd be good for her to stay with the same teacher, hence the transfer. I must say I appreciate the flexibility given by the mandarin centre to allow her to attend only twice a week.

After her first mandarin preschool session, the principal called me. She said L was really good, very independent. It was her first unaccompanied class at the centre and she blended right in with the other children. Not only did she not cry or look for her nanny, she participated actively in all the activities. Mommy's good little girl!

We always knew that L is an independent child. She loves going to school, she loves participating in activities and she wants to do everything on her own. She can also be very bossy. Since her nanny still accompanies her to yiyi's school, I sometimes get feedback from her on L in school. Apparently my bossy little girl will not allow her nanny to join her and the other kids during circle time. "Aunty cannot sing, only I can sing!" She wouldn't even allow her nanny to sit with them "You go sit there!" pointing to some faraway corner.

But Nanny is always full of praises for L. She claims that L is the smartest, the most independent, the most outspoken in class, etc. but of course Nanny can be biased. It's all good if she's everything that Nanny claims she is, but one thing for sure, my little girl do need some lessons on good manners.

Communicating with your child's school

I believe it is extremely important for 2-way communications, between parents and teachers and vice versa. I must admit, however, that I'm not very good at doing so since we're pretty much 'outsourcers'. We've never really spoken to H's previous teachers in his preschool apart from the bi-annual progress report day (ok maybe another 1-2 times in addition over the course of one year). His previous preschool was extremely good at keeping parents informed about the kids, i.e. what they did in school, etc. So where am I heading?

In the last week or so since the start of H's new school, I find that parents-teachers communication is somewhat lacking. Although I'm not one for micromanaging, I must say I feel a little out of touch with the school. This is despite the fact that they have this changgih virtual learning environment in which all parents can log in to find out about everything related to the school and their children (but I find it more a public announcement platform than anything else for now).

Here are my big and not so big grouses:

1. We've not been introduced to his teachers. I mean I know who his class teachers are (there are 2 dedicated class teachers for each reception class), but I have no clue who his other subject teachers are. In H's previous preschool, we were introduced to all the teachers taking his class by means of a short introduction in the welcome letter.
2. We have no clue what the kids are being fed. In most preschools (or the better ones at least), parents are given a weekly menu so that we can be assured that the kids are fed wholesome food. I wasn't too bothered about getting the menu until I found out from H that they are given syrup as drinks and some purple jelly as dessert. This is really not acceptable since we're paying good money. The least the school can do is to ensure the kids get properly fed.
3. We're not kept informed about what the kids are doing in (and outside) class. In H's previous preschool, we get a weekly update on the kids' activities. It is not that I really read them, but it's good to know that the teachers did do their work. Also helps parents to communicate with their child cos with H, whenever we ask him what he did in school, his answer is a definite I don't know. 

As much as I dislike to micromanage, I wrote a nice email to the school to raise my concerns about the school food. The principal called me back almost immediately to assure me that they do take the food matters seriously and will monitor what is being served. Apparently the canteen operator is new and they are still observing him. According to her, the approved menu has no sugary drinks, only milk and juices. It's good that the school take on feedback positively, but I shall still monitor on the side.

First week of school

I must say mommy's really proud. H settled in rather well, and he seems happy going to school. Here's an account of how the week went.

Monday 31/1: This was Orientation Day. The kids were asked to go to school in their uniform and they had to bring along all their books (for safekeeping in the classroom). There was no lesson, the session was meant to introduce the kids to their class, teachers and friends, as well as to familiarise them to the school environment, i.e. where the toilets are located, the canteen, etc. I felt that the session was rather badly conducted (i.e. not very organised), in fact, I think H's previous preschool did a better job at running orientation. We also left feeling a wee bit concern over H's class teachers. But perhaps it was too early to judge, so we shall give it some time. H did cry a little during the orientation, and stuck to me during the morning tea break. So I had to give him lots of pep talk. Towards the end of the session, he was ok but I continued to pep talk him even into the next day.

Tuesday 1/1: Holiday, yay!!

Wednesday 2/1: First day of school. H was pretty good. I took him to class, he took out his stuff, put them into his desk drawer, placed his bag in the allocated area in the room, and took his seat (he already knows the routine). He also gave the teacher a hug. Since we were early I took him to the canteen for breakfast. Then came the poo-poo incident which reminded me I have to toilet train him. When we got back to class, I gave him a hug and told him mommy has to go to work. He said ok, and went into the class and took his seat without any fuss. Good boy!

Thursday 2/1: Second day of school. Again we were early so I took H to the canteen for breakfast. After that, I took him back to his class and said goodbye. Met a few other moms in the next class and we stood outside talking. When I was on my way out, I looked into H's class and noticed that they have rearranged the seating arrangement. H was seating all by himself. I thought to myself, this is no good since H is a shy kid and I was afraid that if he sits on his own, he may not make friends as quickly or easily. Must have a word with the teacher the next morning (since the class has already started I did not want to interrupt). So being a kiasu mom, I listed down all the things I wanted to discuss with the teacher... haha. Tomorrow is the last day parents are allowed in the school grounds so I'd better make sure I make full use of it. Hey, have to make sure we get our money worth right, since we're paying such hefty fees :-p

I wanted to know how H was in class, i.e. is he participating? Is he eating during the breakfast and lunch breaks? Is he socialising with the other kids? etc. etc. I also wanted to highlight to the teachers what we felt were important, e.g. to encourage him to participate and speak up, to help build his confidence, etc., as well as to highlight to them what H's strengths and weaknesses, etc. so they can understand and deal with him appropriately.

Friday 3/1: Today we left a little later so we were not quite as early (so no breakfast in the school canteen). H went about his usual routine of 'setting himself up' while I spoke to the class teacher. I was glad to hear that H does participate in class, and he's interacting with his classmates. And I was wrong, H is not sitting alone, he's seated with another boy Eugene who's a very active and talkative little boy. Good! That will help H get out of his shy shell. Sometimes all it takes is a little 'motivation' from someone else. The teacher also commented that they do notice that H is a very smart boy, but shy.

Saturday 4/1:  Crash course on toilet training (since I didn't manage to do it on Thurs and Fri) and swimming. Luckily Friday's swimming lesson was postponed, will only start this coming Friday so I had time to get H's fear of the big pool out of him. Took H and L to the pool. L as usual refused to go into the baby pool while H refused to get into the big pool. After some coercion, he finally came to the big pool. I must say this is indeed a really big step for him to finally agreed to go into the big pool. He was grabbing on to me so tightly there was no way I could teach him how to use his hands and legs to paddle and kick. The saving grace was the ring floatie we got. Half way through the session, we remembered we bought a ring floatie and told kakak to go get it. H initially refused to use it, still holding on to be really tightly, so we gave it to L. She was a natural. H saw her swimming so effortlessly with the floatie that he decided he also wanted to try. And that was it, he finally let go and was really happy that he didn't need us to hold him.  He was proud to be able to swim on his own, and we were happy that at least he's gotten the fear of the big pool out of him.

Sunday 5/1: I registered H in a Sunday school - Dhamma for Kids. Classes are held every alternate Sundays (twice a month). I thought it would be good for him to start learning about Buddhism or at least learn about good behaviour and values. It'll also be good for him to learn how to be more independent and confident. So how was the first class? The class was really good, but H, sigh, very disappointing. He refused to participate! Must pep talk him again. That evening, H wanted to go swimming again in the big pool. At least one of my crash courses worked, the toilet training bit still need some work :-)

toilet training masterclass

I'm not referring to toilet trainning L although it's about time she gets toilet trained. This is about toilet training H. Now that he's in a big school, I doubt the teachers help kids clean up after they use the loo the way they do in kindy. Small business he's fine as long as he can pull down his pants, but when it comes to big business I doubt H knows how to clean himself.

This morning we arrived early in school again so I sat down with H to have breakfast in the canteen. Great mommy-son bonding to have breakfast together. Anyway, right after breakfast when it was almost time to go back to the classroom, H said Mommy I want to poo poo. Gosh! I knew I had to teach him how to go poo poo on his own but have been procrastinating since he usually does it in the evening or at night. But thank god his urge came when I was still around so I took him to the toilet. Problem is the school does not have dedicated toilets for the reception kids. The boys toilet is for all boys, young and old. Oops, no choice, mommy had to go in. Luckily there weren't any other boys in the toilet else it'd be embarassing for everyone.

I must remind myself to teach him how to wipe his a** tonight. It'll be a toilet training masterclass!

H's first day in school

H is finally in a big school. I'm still not sure if we made the right decision, he's still such a baby and we're putting him through the stress of a big school.

Woke him up at 6:30am to beat the morning traffic. Left the house at 7am. The traffic was clear, not sure if this is normal or everyone's still having their break. Will try leaving a little later tomorrow. Since the traffic was clear, we arrived at 7:30am. H was the first one to arrive in class. As we walked towards the school from the parking area, I made it a point to show him where he'll be dropped off (mommy can't be walking him into class every morning, he has to learn his way), where he'll be picked up (you need to wait for po-po here after class, don't run around everywhere), and how to get to his classroom from the drop off area (remember yah this is the way to your classroom).

Amidst his calm appearance, I could sense that he was still a little terrified of being in the big school. I could almost sense him holding back tears although he didn't cry. As soon as one of his other classmates arrived, I told him I'll be waiting around in the canteen (oh here's your friend, mommy will be waiting in the canteen, you stay here and play with your friend ok). He seemed fine with the idea. Sat with another parent in the canteen till about 8am, then I went to check on him. He was doing colouring while waiting for his other friends to arrive. I went in and told him I had to go and that po-po will take him from school later. I then gave him a hug and left.

I hope he's coping ok. Unfortunately I have a lunch meeting today so can't pop by to check on him during lunch. Hopefully once the lessons start, he'll feel much better since he loves learning. It must be hard for him to be in class and not knowing anyone especially since he's not the proactive type in making friends. My poor little boy is forced to grow up. There's so much (living skills) he needs to learn, like eating and going to the toilet by himself, changing, etc. During orientation on Monday, he did not go to the toilet cos he didn't know how to take off his pants. He's so used to wearing pants with elastic band which he can just pull up and down that he doesn't know how to unbuckle his pants. Poor thing. I had to give him a crash course on buckling and unbuckling his pants. Then of course there's PE and swimming lessons, so he'll also need to know how to change into and out of his PE shirt/pants and swimsuit. Sigh... I guess we'll just have to take it one step at a time.