Monday, November 30, 2009

7 kids!

M is always fascinated when we chat about old age, mortality and the future etc..  Normally, it is hardly a topic that I would initiate out of the blue. He was always the one who raised the issue with his never-ending questions. 

So we had a little chat one day, a few months ago. 

Today, while we were out and about, he suddenly announced that when he grows up, he shall have seven kids! Wah! I couldn't stop laughing! 

Wah! So you want to be someone else's daddy when you grow up! Why 7 kids? (Before, he said he didn't want to grow up and definitely doesn't want to have kids.)

Ignoring my question, he continued... 

I want to take them all to my rocket and spaceship and I will not tell them where I am taking them. They will not know that they are going to explore Outerspace with me. We will go visit Satarnten! 

That sounds like fun! (And I was still laughing)

But first, I have to find a lovely girl to marry!  (He remembered what I said a few months ago, that when he grows up, he will first have to meet a really nice girl whom he will love very much. And when they get married, they will have kids. Just like daddy and mummy.)

I had to stop walking and give him a quick cuddle and plenty kisses for being so super adorable! 



 
(both photos taken in London '09)

He's only 5 now. Just looking at this face, it's hard to imagine that one day, my little boy will grow up, fall in love, get married and have his own children. Ideally in this order, but who knows what will happen in future!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

One Minute Vocabulary Chat

At breakfast.

The 5 y.o. asked if 'awesome' is the same as 'nice'.

What followed was a brief brainstorming session of other adjectives synonymous to 'nice' and we arrived at the list 'magnificent', 'splendid', 'excellent', 'outstanding', 'impressive', 'amazing' etc ... 

After a minute or so, my 3 y.o. who was drinking milk while we were talking, popped his head up from the sofa and added nonchalantly... 

Mama, we can also say something is 'great' and 'wonderful'! 

Then off he went humming a little tune as he marched into his roomful of toys. Obviously satisfied with his contribution. 

Ha ha! 

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Teach Me. Only Me.

My little baby has been very possessive lately.

On days when I have classes, he always says, 'Don't teach other children. Just teach me. I want Mama School. I want mama to teach me only'.

When we do have Mama School (as we call it at home), he always runs towards me and is all ready to join in on any activities that I introduce. 

I can't be any happier on his enthusiasm to learn. 

My sessions with Chipsy are getting longer these days. Very often, when I want to conclude after an hour, he would insist 'MORE PLEASE'. Though I thought we have done plenty for the day, he obviously still haven't had enough. So we would continue till he gives the cue. 

Except for art/craft time, most of the other activities that Chipsy is doing with me now require me to be physically with him. Every session is very interactive and he is getting very good at listening to and following my instructions, even complex ones. Especially during lapbooking which requires him to apply what he learns from our discussions. I hardly repeat explanations these days, as he seems to understand and remember them after my first attempt. Yippee!! 

Some days I would coach Chipsy on his lapbooking activities while concurrently guiding M on his Chinese activities. The boys sit at different parts of the living room floor or tables and I just move from one to the other. For an hour. 

Sometimes, they would each be working on their own lapbooks with VERY different themes (boys are now making lapbooks based on different literature, so the themes and types of activities differ greatly). 

Hmm.. it isn't easy. But the hard work is always rewarded. From that satisfying smile from Chipsy when he learns something, to the twinkle in M's eyes when he understands something complex.... the results are all there.. 

So YES, it is worth it. 

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Pat On The Back at Work

As a stay-home mum, we have to depend on intrinsic rewards to keep us focused and motivated at our 'work'.

A word of encouragement and a pat on the back, or a kiss from the kids to say thank you is always welcome and appreciated. I have been fortunate, to say the least, to have wonderfully supportive hubby, friends and relatives who appreciate what I do and have done. My kids are as appreciative as a typical 5 and 3 years old can be too, so no grumbles there.

On challenging days, I always remind myself that 'The days are long, but the years are short.'

Ever since I started The Tots University, I have another form of encouragement and affirmations of my work. And in generous portions from parents of my students. 

Here is an extract taken from K's blog. She is a friend and also parent of one of my students who has been attending my lapbooking class since April. She blogged last week about a recent lapbook her gal E has made in my class. Her younger gal will also be joining us next year.

...... Of course the activities were fun and engaging, not to forget enriching. Like every of her lapbooking lesson, she has learnt so much. It’s not about the amount of facts that she has acquired in class, but rather on how she learns to process the knowledge. It’s more about pro-active learning. I’m glad to find out about her strengths and weaknesses ever since she started her lapbooking class, in which I can follow up and work on at home. I’m learning as a parent and truly thankful that I have a wonderful friend who has given me valuable insight into this area....


Thank you, K. :> 

Monday, November 23, 2009

Art, Imagination and Possibilities!

A lovely thing about kids' imagination is their ability to think of the weirdest and oddest stuff! Having some innocence helps since they don't immediately question the viability of their ideas. 

Anyway...  here are a few examples which I just found after going through my photo backlog.

Snacksaurus: A dinosaur that produces snacks!  His concept - this dinosaur eats an assortment of snacks, stores them in his tummy and when we want it, he spits it out for us. Works like a vending machine. Yikes!  But he insisted the food will be really clean. 


Robot spider that works in space.


He decided that the surface of Satarnten is not smooth but full of depressions and peaks. Hence, this illustration of Valleys and Mountains. Satarnten is the planet in the new galaxy called Tenway which he discovered (details in one of his previous book that he wrote).  

He has been quite obsessed with zeppelins ever since he watched the movie Up. We have over 30 drawings in the living room and another big stack in a storage box. Some are simply gorgeous with details. 

A spaceship that attacks monsters. Making space travel safe for explorers.

There is a Swensens restaurant for the habitants on Satarnten! Hee hee.. so that is what their food looks like. 

Thursday, November 19, 2009

When I Grow Up... Says the 5 y.o.

....  I want to be a musician, scientist or astronaut. But I haven't decided which one yet. 

That was what M said a few nights ago when we were chatting about something related. He decided he doesn't want to be a professional artist but he will still love to draw when he is an adult. 

I told him about his dreams when he was smaller. He didn't believe me and burst out laughing. Haha!! It is certainly a notch up from being a garbage truck or bus driver. *.*

It will be interesting to note how this will change as he grows. 

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Parenting Thoughts: Teach A Child To Question


When a pre-schooler takes a look at a picture, say of a polar bear, he will most likely say/think 'Oh it's a polar bear! It is white'. This is it. 

How many kids will ask himself more? How many will wonder 'Why is the polar bear white? To camouflage? Why? Is it related to other bears? Is it a mammal? Where does it live? What does it eat? How does it catch its food? Can it survive elsewhere? Does it live alone? Why and why not?' etc etc.... 

Leave a child with minimal nurturing and the child will develop in many areas 'when the time is right'. All kids (without developmental problems) will reach his developmental milestones at some point in life anyway. Some may take longer to gain proficiency on his own, hence losing the opportunity to gain some headstart advantage, especially in the precious first six years when brain grows at the most amazing rate.

However, there is one area, amongst a few others, which I view as MOST important to lend some support to - developing Thinking and Questioning Skills. 

With the exception of the minority cohort of exceptionally gifted kids, most kids will NOT develop far in this department on his own without some help. Of course, one learns with age. The question is always at what rate. Is it good enough to wait till the child is 12 years old to wonder more about the polar bear (or anything, for that matter)? Will it make a difference in this same child's learning process if he started wondering MORE when he was only 4 years old? 

To me, teaching my boys to think and enquire is one of the MOST important goals. It is never about just learning content. It is ALWAYS about teaching them to become lateral and vertical thinkers and encouraging inquisitiveness. 

Give a child a question and he enquires for a day. 
Teach a child how to question, and he enquires for a lifetime.

Take the example I mentioned about polar bear. Marcus is definitely thinking more like this now.

When he comes across an unfamiliar creature or subject matter while reading on his own, his curiosity lies beyond what he sees in the picture. He doesn't always ask all his questions straightaway anymore, like how he used to. He is beginning to process the questions a lot more, thinking more about his own questions (the process of thinking about thinking). He reflects on current knowledge before producing calculated guesses to the questions he has. And when he has no answers, he seeks them.

My 3 y.o. doesn't think quite like this yet, but there is the age difference to consider. However, he is associating information in a fascinating manner, which is neat progress towards the goal.

Recently, when we were talking about carnivorous animals that live near or in the sea, he volunteered, entirely without any prompting from me or Marcus, 

'.... just like polar bears, you know... they hunt for seals and walruses. Brown bears are very good swimmers. They go fishing for salmon. But brown bears don't live near polar bears. Polar bears live at the North Pole. Very cold there! But polar bears have thick fur to protect him. So he stays warm.'

I must admit I was really thrilled to hear his little speech there. Just as excited and encouraged by how my son is progressing in the 'thinking' department. 

There is still much to be done with both, but I always get a great adrenalin rush to see improvements. 

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Cut Paper Collage: City



My 5 years old has been very zealous about collages lately. This was TOTALLY his idea. I just gave him a bag of papers and a pair of scissors. 

1.5 hours later, he produced this. :)  I am most delighted about the tree and the airplane! 

Sunday, November 15, 2009

How Gunsaurus Was Made

My 5 yr old has been working hard writing amateurish screenplays. 

Every few days he will come to me with his pile and instruct me to take them to the film makers, so they can read his stories and make them into movies for children in other parts of the world to watch. :)

Here's an unedited version. 




First of all the rubcleaners and the gigantic moles work under the ground finding bones to flatten. Then they take it to the bone flattening collection. Then when it is enough bones. Some men will take them and put them into a bone plane and goes to space into dragon station. And is made into gunsaurus. 

Of course, after hundreds of drawings of the omnipotent Gunsaurus and stories about this super-duper amazing creature that lives in Satarten, we NOW need to know his origins! Hence, this version of 'The Gunsaurus Maker' (it's indicated on the drawing). 

It makes me laugh (as I swelled with pride too) reading this. It is funny that he actually thought of its origins too. That's my little boy! :> 

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Lego Robot

The 5 yr old made this last week, as a surprise for Mama. He can really be the sweetest kid!







Took him the whole afternoon as he fiddled with the designs. No manual, no instructions, no designs to copy.

Just a BIG idea in his head. And PLENTY of patience and love.

It did make me laugh when I first saw it. The arms could move up and down and the head turns 360 degrees. 

Friday, November 13, 2009

Just a Little Artist


My baby has been drawing fervently in the last month. 

This little drawing machine busied himself the moment he wakes with free flow of papers, pencils and markers. The productivity has been so high that it stresses me out a bit. 

There are papers EVERYWHERE! On the floor, in every room, on every table and chairs! It is just not funny when I am the one going around the house picking them up. Okay, I admit there are many times when I ran out of steam and patience after umpteen times of 'Please pick up the papers! They should not be on the floor!'. 

Here is a selection from the gallery. All drawn on his own WITHOUT input from us. 

Jupiter from memory! Haha... 


Double-decker bus. 

Wild mushroom. 

Fish. I think this piece is exciting. Since he has never drawn a fish before, I am very surprised that he added fins and also stripes for the fins.  

Amazing rocket bursting into space!! Look at the vertical lines at the lower part of paper to show the fire from the booster engines! :> 

A church!! Haha.... He remembered to add a cross! :) 

Side view of a scary monster that has a beak. Round head is as big as the squarish body, with many tentacle-like legs attached. 

Another monster. This one has many teeth (on right of picture) and a head bigger than the body.

Even bigger head and eye and much smaller jellyfish-looking body with a bell and tentacles. 
Giant mouth with rock-like teeth (on the right of picture).


A different looking monster with sharp teeth and big jaw.


A scary monster with an eye that grows next to the mouth(ful) of teeth, a wattle out of his chin and it has a hammer attached to its chin, ready to hammer anyone it sees! 

A new Stegosaurus with only a few plates on the body and a tiny head. He wrote 'ST'. :> 


This was one of the early pieces in October. A plate with blueberry on it. Later, he decided to add a hot air balloon on it. Not sure why though as he wouldn't say more. 

These two colored ones were his inventions of the expanded Thunderbird fleet which I mentioned before. He called them the Thunderbird 5 and 7.  In the Thunderbird series, there were only Thunderbird 1 to 6. 

What I LOVE the MOST is the fact that he is drawing a wide range of subjects. 

We would be talking about something and he gets all excited, jumps up and announces 'I will go draw you a boat now. You wait here!' A few minutes later, he comes back with his drawing of 'a boat'. Just like that! 


The marathon has started! 

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Flying Fish Wannabe

The boys started their weekly swimming lesson last month and are loving every moment of it.

With plenty of 'aqua-aerobics' and stunts to look forward to, every session is never dull. 






After the first lesson, both boys can't wait to jump into water and swim like a fish. 

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Not The Ubiquitous Fish Burger



I always love the fish in M's burger. I am not sure what Indian bun is and he doesn't even like oranges! 

One thing is for sure -crumpets have a special place in the heart of my 5 y.o ever since doting grandma pampered the boys with loads of these 'breads with holes' for breakfast in London. 

Nowadays, I would buy him a small pack whenever I swing by Marks & Spencer and serve them for afternoon tea. It is always funny to watch him savour each toasted crumpet with a nostalgia of his days in London. 

Monday, November 9, 2009

On TV and Raising An Imaginative Child

As the great genius, Albert Einstein, once said 'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.'

We are all born with the precious gift of a great imagination; how we use it is another matter. 

Like many gifts and talents our little ones may possess, the wonderful imagination of a young mind needs to be nurtured for its glory and magic to work wonders. 

If it is not encouraged and appreciated over time, chances are, our children will turn less to their imagination for entertainment and enjoyment and instead, rely on more passive means of discovery such as the television, DVDs and computer games.

I didn't have any views on this until M was a few months old and my sister gave us a stack of VCDs as present. I stashed those away quietly and pondered. After some research and reflecting on the way I want to raise my kids, I formed some pretty strong views which have persisted over the years. 

I don't introduce my kids to computer games, podcasts or any 'educational' games on DVDs etc. I don't believe in teaching them through an online game or get them to watch TV to learn new words. There are so many better ways to learn about the world and the worldly ways than sitting in front of a handheld device or electronic box of any kind. 

When I want to teach them something, I find the materials and sit with them to teach. 

When I want to keep them occupied while I am busy with something, I still prefer they go play on their own or together, read, draw or do a craft. 

So because of this strong stance I have on the matter, my kids are not familiar with the TV schedules or regular programmes. We don't subscribe to any kids channels either. 

They do not switch on the TV or put on a DVD (we do own some!) whenever they like. They have learnt to ask for permission. When none is given, they protest like normal children, but they learn to understand and accept our reasons and that 'we don't always get what we want this very minute we want it'.

Over time, they have become very good at finding ways to entertain themselves throughout the day when I wasn't doing anything with them. 

Do they feel deprived? Definitely not my 3 year old who doesn't miss TV at all. In fact, the longer the break he takes from watching TV, the longer his tolerance. My 5 year old may grumble at times that he hasn't watched TV for many days. But that protest usually comes when it is close to bedtime and he tries to delay going to bed. If we offer to read to him, that 'desire to watch TV' just vanishes!  

Does this mean that No TV = Imaginative Kids? Not necessarily either. 

I think how we communicate with them and our coaching style makes a key difference in whether they will turn out to be mildly imaginative (can pretend play which most kids can do) or wildly imaginative.  

But it sure means that my kids are not relying on passive means and more on their own imagination to entertain themselves. They learn to be very resourceful in the process. 

Since there are two of them, they ended up communicating with each other a lot more too as they discover, create, problem-solve and play together. They make up silly games to amuse themselves like their 'hunt for witches' or 'hide from witches' games, and hiding in their imaginative tunnels, caves, tents etc made with their beddings......  


One of their cheeky games - Chipsy pretending to be the 'hamburger' and asking M to eat him. They take turns to be the hamburger patty and the other will pretend to chomp it down. Always plenty of squealing and giggles. 


His idea to do a collage when I suggested craft instead of TV. Kept him happily occupied for 1.5 hr. 

Even if their playtime turns into conflict, they learn plenty in the process. 

Occasionally, we do watch certain quality programmes (if I chance upon them) or just enjoy a family movie together. For these special moments of family entertainment time, I like to sit between them, cuddle up and share a laugh together. 

I prefer my boys to view such occasions as special leisure time to look forward to, and not take them for granted as part of a daily routine. The former must bring more pleasure when savoured. 

Saturday, November 7, 2009

To Die For




I have a REAL weakness for heels. If I have my way, I will have an entire room filled with the most babelicious heels! 

From the sexiest stilettos to the classiest 3". Of all the sugar candy colors and metallic shades. Of shimmery materials and velvety fabrics. Of princess cuts and hot chick designs. Just daydreaming about them brings such pleasure!

I am convinced I just need to walk into that room if I ever need a little mood lift and the sheer beauty of what I see will do the trick instantly! 

Ahhh.... one fine day, my dream shall come true....  

Friday, November 6, 2009

Passion is KEY

Both boys are churning out more drawings than ever. A whopping 66 pieces between them in a week! 

Shall blog about Chipsy's very exciting development on the artistic front next week. 

A brilliant invention of a Carrot Planter that plants the carrot seeds, waters them and also works as a harvester. 
 
Inspiration from the Incredibles. We love the omnidroid and the Incredibles 3 book. M said this is a scene from the Part 3 installment of the movie. He is definitely attempting lots of 3D drawings now. 

A city explosion. Look at the size of people. 

Fire dinosaurs with fire extinguisher (the blue thingy). These are dinosaurs that fight fire! Haha!


Beautiful space launchers to Jupiter. 

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Are You Happy With Me?




I used to think only girls will pose like this. Alas! My boy does it too. 

I wonder who he learns this from. Certainly not from me! 

Whenever M is told off for doing something wrong, I would hear Chipsy ask in the sweetest voice 'Are you happy with me, mummy? I am a very good boy.' It is almost always accompanied by this coy look and a cutesy pose. Hmm... 

If he was the one who has done something wrong, before I could even scold him, he would lash out loudly 'I didn't do ANYTHING! I am a good boy, mummy!'.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The WORST Part of the Day

These days, M has a daily grouse. 

"Oh! I hate sleeping! Sleeping is so boring and waste of time. I don't need to sleep. I want to stay awake the whole day and night. I hate night time. Why must the Sun go to sleep? Why must I go to sleep? I am NOT Tired! Do you hear me? N-O-T tired at all! ...... "

And it can go on and on ..... 

He would rather draw or read or play Lego. Or do all three! Anything, except sleeping. He calls it the worst time of his day. 

He is still crazily in love with Lego, so constructing with Lego is never boring.  He announced recently that his hands are very special and he has plenty of special ideas in his brain to build and build all the most extraordinary machinery and structures. 

His exact words. 

He is still building something amazing everyday. Every construction is very different and he doesn't read manuals. He just creates from scratch with such concentration and attention to details. 

Undeniably, the sense of achievement is immense and his confidence greatly soars when he successfully designed and assembled a challenging contraption.

I asked him if that is something he would like to do when he grows up. "Urm... I don't know! I don't want to grow up! I want to be small forever, be just a 4 year old forever."

But tonight when we were reading about fossils, he announced with such conviction that he wants to be the cleverest paleontologist on Earth! 

Hmm.... obviously, something has changed in my 5 yr old in the last week, since up till a week ago, it was still 'I want to be the cleverest scientist and discoverer who can find lost cities and underwater world'.  

And before that, it was .... 'I want to be the best scientist and astronaut who discovers the new galaxies'.

Ahh... kids have the best dreams!  Ahem.. my first dream when I was a child was to be a teacher. :> 


Monday, November 2, 2009

Be Inspiring. Be Inspired.


“The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.”

William Arthur Ward

I have come across this beautiful quote a dozen times in the last decade. 

I remember my mentor cum ex-CEO in my last job sat down with me on my first day of work, looked me in the eye and recited this. Part of my job then was to lead a department of 100 staff. I was inspired. I wanted to inspire. 

When I first became mum, I came across this quote again while reading up on parenting books. I made a note to work on being inspiring to my kids. 

To inspire them would be a greater gift than just providing knowledge. 

Always my daily reminder. 

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