Last Tweedlewink class for L

Next week will be L's last lesson at Tweedlewink. She loves going to Tweedlewink although daddy insisted that she's bored and has not been paying attention. "No need to go anymore lah, I can see she's bored already. Let her go to edudrama!"

I'm not sure if L is bored or daddy's bored... haha. I think it's more like daddy's bored since he's the one who's been assigned to take L to class every Sat morning. Oh well, nevermind. We'll find some other activities for L. She's been wanting to do ballet (not sure how she got the idea). Whenever I ask her what class would she like to go for, she'll immediately (without hesitation) say ballet. Daddy does not agree to L doing ballet - "what for" he says. He wants her to do edudrama just like what H did when he turned 3. The problem is the centre H went to does not now have any classes for 3 year olds. So how? What's wrong with ballet anyway? It's not like she'll be doing real ballet. For kids this young, it's more stories and play acting through simple dance steps so it's pretty similar to going to drama classes anyway.

I'm going to check out this ballet school I was recommended to later today irregardless... hehehe... L can go for a trial lesson and see if she really likes it. Maybe daddy can go along so he knows what baby ballet is all about.

Tennis is the best first sport

H's first encounter with tennis was when we took him to a trial lesson at Monster Tennis. He was still very clingy then and refused to participate although I could sense that he longed to play those games they did. But he simply refused to get onto the court. Oh well, we never went back since I did not want to waste my money if he wasn't going to participate.

Fast forward to now, H is enjoying his tennis lessons. Why tennis? I read that tennis is a great first sport for kids. It helps develop the greatest number of skills required for the greatest number of other sports and activities (see chart below). So hopefully with a good grounding in these skills, he'll grow to love and enjoy an array of sporting activities!



A little description on how tennis develops the above skills:

1. Throwing. The service and overhead motion in tennis is identical to baseball and football
2. Catching. The soft-hand skills required for volleying, as well as dropshots, lobs, and other touch shots in tennis are terrific catching skill-builders for other sports
3. Striking. Anyone who has played tennis knows how much easier tennis makes learning all other racquet sports. Studies have proven significant carry-overs from one racquet sport to others, as well as to other striking activities like baseball and hockey
4. Running & Striking. This very specific skill is one of the most challenging features of tennis, and one of the most valuable skill-builders a developing athlete can master
5. Movement Rhythm. Sports educators are now broadly beginning to emphasize the importance of rhythm in sports, although dance teachers have long expounded its benefits. Because tennis is a continuous rhythm activity, it offers many timing and rhythm benefits not available from many other sports
6. 3-Step Movement Pattern. Almost all baseline movement can be covered in three steps
7. Aerobic. Although tennis is accepted as more anaerobic than aerobic, the aerobic benefits of playing tennis are very high as compared to other sports such as baseball or golf
8. Anaerobic. Competitive and moderate tennis scored near the top of the list when comparing calories burned by different activities over a 3-hour period. This makes tennis a wonderful first sport to build both stamina and strength in children
9. Team-building. Most junior tennis classes are organised in a group learning environment, encouraging a team atmosphere within an individual sport

Kids Tennis

H has been attending tennis lessons for a while now. Initially we got him a coach for one-to-one lessons at our clubhouse. Although he seemed to enjoy his tennis lessons, we found it a little monotonous. For 1/2 hour each lesson, the coach just fed him balls to hit. Not much of coaching there I'd say, and the lessons weren't cheap.

Earlier this year, we (my sis and I) saw this Groupon deal for 8 tennis lessons by Gee Tennis Academy and jumped on it. So far, H and my niece C have been attending the lessons under coach Gee and they are having fun! The lessons are more interactive, and since it's a group lesson, the kids will also get to make new friends (hopefully).

I must say coach Gee is pretty good with kids. I mean, if H is happy to go for lessons it means the coach is doing something right cos he's not easy to please. The only qualm I have is the timing of the public group sessions. For H's age group, weekday sessions are at 6pm which won't work for us cos it's dinner time plus we'll be stuck in traffic trying to get home after the lesson, but location wise it's better (TTDI Community Complex).  Weekend sessions are held in Subang (3K Sports Complex) which is not an ideal location for us. The morning sessions at 9am can also be very very hot as the court is on the roof top - so the kids don't just get tired from the workout, but from the intense heat.

We'd really like for H to continue his lessons with coach Gee after our Groupon sessions end next month. I wonder if I can get enough kids to form a private group at our clubhouse. That way, we can pick a convenient time and also don't have to travel :-)

School Holiday Activities: Outdoor Pursuit

I 'stole' the October issue of goingplaces on my flight back from Penang. It's the perfect family issue featuring back-to-nature organic farm visits around Malaysia and picnic spots around the Klang Valley. Just perfect for the upcoming year end school holidays. I always believe that kids should spend more time outdoors rather than at home in front of the TV or iPad. Very unhealthy! Here's the list of places featured so that you can plan out your kids' holiday activities too :-)

Home on the Grange

1. Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm (Koref). Located in the small town of Kahang in Johor, it is the only organic rice farm in Malaysia and houses a small resort. Activities include helping to plant rice seedlings or harvest the crop (depending on season), bamboo rod fishing, swimming in the creek, bamboo rafting, camping, feeding the cows, etc.
2. Titi Eco Farm Resort. Located in Negeri Sembilan, it is a commercial organic farm, also produces organic food products such as enzyme drinks, sesame sprout powder and fruit jams in an on-site factory. Activities include bread making, foot fumigation bath, educational tour to learn about healing herbs, ostrich and rabbit farms, etc.
3. Permaculture Perak. Located in Lenggong Valley in Perak, it is a set up by a husband and wife team to lead a self-sustaining life - farming, planting, breeding and rearing everything they need. Activities include helping out around the farm like watering and fertilising the plants and trees, feeding the animals and relaxing in the pool in the creek.  

 Let's Picnic

1. Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM). Located near the township of Kepong, FRIM oversees Malaysia's largest secondary forest. Activities include nature trails, bike rides, canopy walk and camping. There's a picnic area near Sungai Kroh with a few shelters and restrooms, as well as a hidden waterfall a short walk into the jungle across the main road.
2. KLCC Park. Needless to say it's located in KLCC. There's a children's playground and paddling pool free to all.
3. Kanching Recreational Forest. About 30 to 45-minute drive from KL (head towards Rawang), the park is on your right 1km after Templer Country Club. There are cascading waterfalls with clear pools and bouldered streams at the second and third levels (most popular spots). Picnic gazebos, changing rooms and toilets are available. Weekends can be very crowded.
4. Taman Botani Perdana (or more commonly known as Lake Gardens). Well manicured lawns and beautiful gardens. There's also a children's playground and boats for rowing on the man-made lake. Gazebos and picnic tables are available.    
5. Sungai Sendat Waterfall. 30-minute drive from Batu Caves (follow the raod to Ulu Yam). There's a three tier waterfall cascading among the lush greenery of the Sungai Sendat Recreational Forest. Can have strong undercurrents so swimming should only be done at the bottom level. Toilets and changing areas available.
6. Commonwealth Forest Park. Located in the vicinity of the Kanching Recreational Forest. There is a small stream surrounded by big, shady tropical trees. If you prefer nice landscaped gardens, go further uphill to a secluded valley where the original Commonwealth grounds are found. Activities include horse riding, mountain biking and jungle trekking.
7. Sungai Pisang. Located on the 12th mile, Jalan Gombak. This is for the more adventurous as you need to hike for an hour along a jungle trail to reach the waterfall.

We've personally not checked out any of the above places so cannot really give comments. For a start, we will definitely make day trips to the not so challenging places, i.e. FRIM, KLCC Park and Lake Gardens,  this coming school holidays :-)

Activities for preschoolers

Hubs and I have decided to take H out of preschool next year. We haven't actually told the school yet, but I think we're pretty much convinced that this will do H good. There's nothing wrong with H's current preschool but we feel that since H is already quite advanced academically (we don't want him to learn the same stuff over and over again), he should spend more time just PLAYING!

This must sound so wrong... hehehe. To be honest, a part of me (my kiasu bit) was initially quite hesitant about the idea of taking him out of school. I mean, although H already knows most of the stuff that are taught in school, he must be still learning something new. Besides, the whole idea of sending him to school is to teach him how to socialise and gain independence. But I have since come to terms with the decision. Although H will not be going to school next year, there are 3 things that we must find other ways for him to achieve:

1. Making friends and socialising
2. Building confidence  
3. Learning Mandarin 

So I guess I have until end of the year to find activities and enrichment programmes for H next year. He can spend 1-2 hours a day in organised activities, and the rest of his day indulging in free play.

Here are some of the potential activities on top of my head:

1. Sports - H went for his first tennis trial lesson last Saturday and he loved it. Maybe we can include other sports activities like learning how to swim, taekwando, etc.
2. Mandarin class - maybe 2-3 times a week. I'm still uncertain if I should put him back in Bao Bei or let him try something different. At 5 years old next year, should the focus be on character recognition/reading or speaking/listening?
3. EduDrama - we will continue his weekly edudrama class. He seems to like it a lot although the teacher says he wouldn't participate during drama time.
4. Fastrackids - I haven't really checked it out but I like what I read about the programme. They cover a wide range of topics such as biology, technology, natural science, astronomy, earth science, economics, etc. This will be fantastic for H since he is very inquisitive and have shown keen interest in knowing about the world and how things work. For example, during the Olympics season, he was so obsessed with the games that he chose to watch the Olympics over his cartoons. He learnt about the different games and their rules as well as flags of the different countries. Then last weekend, he saw a youtube clip of the 2004 Tsunami in Phuket (don't ask me why daddy was watching it), and the whole weekend we were bombarded with why why and more whys. We had to explain to him what causes Tsunami, about earthquakes, about what causes earthquakes, and the list goes on.

Any ideas of what other activities/programmes I should explore for H?