Thursday, December 30, 2010

Preparing for Primary One: A Little Panicking

Alright, just a little. 

I finally got my act together and found my boy a Transformers wallet of the right size, a Transformers water bottle and a Transformers pencil case. Phew! 

And there is a big relief too when I finally got confirmation from the school bus driver on the pick up and drop off time, which gave good reasons for cheer! 

My slow eater will have 25 min more time than expected to nibble his super-duper nutritious breakfast that I have every intention to prepare EVERY morning. Just as importantly, I don't have to shoulder the added responsibility of walking him to school. 

Actually, I quite like the idea of walking with him every morning, since it can be a good way for me to factor in some exercise. The only problem is there are a few challenges that I can foresee straightaway. 

Hmm... do I really want to put myself in a daily situation when I have to cheer him on after every few steps on our way to school, even if I am the one carrying his heavy school bag?

And on days when E is away for business trips, I will also have to bring along my 4-year-old in a stroller since there is no way he will be cooperative at 7am.

Also, what if it rains? The thought of trying to hail a cab with two kids in the rain on the main road is enough to put me off. Besides, the taxi will not be able to bring us all the way to school, so there will still be another few hundred metres of walking in the rain with both grumpy boys, a big school bag and most likely a stroller. Won't be pleasant at all! 

Thankfully, these are all moot issues now. All I have to do every morning is to kiss my boy good bye and nudge him towards the school bus.  :> 

What's left to do?

I will still need to pack his books and stationery into his brand new school bag and start some form of labelling. Yikes! 

Now that we are inching closer to Day ONE, there are still two issues that need some decisions. 

1. Recess. I'm planning to pack two snacks for him, one for his recess and another for a break after recess. In the last few months, I have been experimenting different quick-to-prepare and nutritious snacks for the boys' after school snacks. Maybe I will create a 2 weeks menu to take away the need for daily planning. More about this in later post. 

2. Pocket money. Though M said he prefers to bring his own snacks instead of queueing to buy food from the tuckshop, we will still give him some loose change. Just in case, he decides to join his friends. But I wonder how much is the right amount. 



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

School Holidays 2010: Out and About


When the school term came to an end in November, I kept up with the few hours a week of Chinese home-learning with M and reading/lapbooking activities with N. Nothing hectic, though not aimless either.

By the first week of December, I decided we have done a fair bit this year and the boys and I deserve a good break. 

So it was officially declared in the household ... 




... for the rest of the month.

Just like our previous school holidays, the boys were not enrolled in any holiday programme. 

They spent all their time pursuing hobbies and indulged in nothing except playing and eating.




Fishing at East Coast. We caught two big fish and 5 prawns! Not bad for an hour's work.



Every other day, they would watch a DVD or some TV programmes if they felt like it. But usually they would run away from the TV after an hour or so, preferring more challenging activities such as wrestling each other or quarreling over Lego pieces. 

We were out and about quite a fair bit too, mostly for activities that allowed the kids to expend their abundance of energy. 

Our recent haunt on weekday afternoon is the Go Go Bambini. A great place for a cuppa with girlfriends while the boys sweat it out for a couple of hours. After three visits in 6 weeks, the kids are still itching for more. We will head there again in a few weeks' time once we are more settled in our new routine.

The beach is always one of our favourite destinations. But in addition to our usual beach activities, we tried the Sentosa Luge and Skyride for the first time which was such a thrill for the kids. 

No photos for the adventure because we set off together. N was with E who went on the Dragon trail and M sat with me for the Jungle trail. The boys love the Luge so much that N wanted to go 'for another 8 times'. But we had to dissuade them from another go to avoid the meandering queue in the midday sun, with the promise of returning soon. 


Love this picture of M posing by his gigantic Chasm of Death. I am so amused by his choice of name. 

In the last week of Dec, we spent an afternoon at the Rainforest KidzWorld to please N who requested repeatedly for a return visit. We have not been there for almost a year, maybe longer, because of the boys' annoying behaviour in the last visit. They refused to enter the water play area despite being the ones who insisted on going to the zoo and were super grumpy when we suggested animal watching. Basically, when we reached there, they didn't want to do anything, except to sulk. The whole outing was just a mega dread. 

But this time round, they had an incredible amount of fun at the water play, dashing about like the rest of the children instead of walking slowly. The whole time, I was watching from the side, murmuring to myself 'be careful boys... watch your steps.... floor is slippery... Oh no! Get up!...' 

It was so heartwarming to watch them holding hands and looking after each other. :> Every now and again, Chipsy would lose sight of Marcus, especially after the slides. It's kind of cute to see him walking around shouting 'Marcus! Marcus! Marcus!'. Minutes later, his big brother would find him and I could see the obvious relief and sheer joy that swept across his face, as they resumed their adventure together. 





There are still a few more places that we planned to visit but didn't manage to, though we have the tickets already. Must get to them soon. 


Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas 2010: When Wishes Come True

After a few years of busying ourselves with Christmas crafts, this year, we did nothing more than a handmade card for the grannies in London. 

Actually only one boy was involved. My 6-year-old was in charge of the design and production process, though he did use a little suggestions from me in the end on the layout. 


The younger boy wasn't keen at first to create anything, so I just let him be. But on the day when we were going to post our Christmas parcel, he changed his mind. In the end, he made a really simple card to be included in the package.




(scanned photos courtesy of grandpa)

As always, my Christmas shopping list is very short and once again, I left the whole task to the last minute. Duh. 

It didn't help that I barely had time to shop in December since the boys are stuck with me during the school holidays and I will avoid any form of shopping with boys in tow if I can. 

It annoys me though that as organized as I can be with other responsibilities, I can't seem to do better with this one. Urgh.

I do love window shopping for ideas, buying something lovely for someone I love, and even the whole dressing up of presents process is loads of fun to me. But early shopping doesn't work for me because

1. I can't make myself shop months ahead of Christmas and keep the presents 'safe' from the recipients. 
2. I will keep wondering if I will come across better presents closer to Christmas and end up shopping a second round closer to Christmas time. 
3. I will worry that the recipients, especially E, may buy the same things before I have a chance to give it to them. 

Anyway... the shopping got done eventually and there was something for everyone. :>

To the boys, this is a bumper year for each received an average of 14 presents! 

Though E always said that it is not the quantity but quality that counts, he seemed to outdo himself every year, spoiling the kids with more parcels than ever. 

What I found surprising though, is the present which the boys considered as their favourite this year. Without a moment of hesitation, they ranked their Ty Beanie Summit Snowy Owl (for M) and Ty Beanie Sniffs Pig (for Chip) above everything else. :> 

The boys wrote to Father Christmas a few weeks ago asking for a pig and an owl. At first, they meant the real animals! But of course they are happy to receive stuffed ones too. 

It was such an awesome feeling to witness M's expression when he caught sight of the snowy owl peeking through after he ripped off a piece of the wrapping paper. He was so pleasantly surprised! And as usual, Chip is extremely delighted to add another swine to his collection, as long as it is pink. 

All the kids' wishes to Santa were met, except for one of M's that got stuck in Europe due to the horrendous weather over the holidays. The boy was informed that the parcel was delayed because one of Santa's reindeers got hurt in the bad weather and it will arrive after Christmas. He was disappointed but sympathetic enough to get over it quickly. :> After all, there were plenty of new toys and books to distract him. 

No wonder Christmas is a magical time that little kids look forward to. 

And for as long as E can, he will want to keep the magic alive for the boys, the way Christmas was to him when he was a little boy. 



Friday, December 24, 2010

Twosome





Moments like these are to be cherished.

The 6-year-old has been reading to his little brother regularly now. Really sweet to see them sitting side by side and chuckling at a funny story together.

Always together. Whatever they do. 

They are next to each other when they play Lego or draw.

They laugh at jokes together. 

They are the best partners at the imaginative games they invent. When they are not cooperatively fighting off enemies such as monsters or dinosaurs, they would be supporting each other in the creation of their peace place. Almost everyday, one of them can be heard saying '..... we are a team..... '. 

These four words are such music to my ears.

And almost everyday, they work as a team to fend off Mummy when she wants them to do things that interfere with their wishes, such as taking a shower or eating dinner. :> 

Even at dinner table, they tease each other under the table. With tickling toes and creepy fingers.

Growing up together. The most precious memories of childhood. 



Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Map

One afternoon, I found my 4-year-old surrounded by a messy display of drawings on the floor.

Upon closer examination, he had created a ridiculous number of mazes and maps. Maybe something like 12 in one sitting! 

Seeing my obvious interest, he delightedly went into narration mode and gave me an introduction to one of the maps that he had produced.



This is a map. 

Here is the house. There is a train next to the house. You must walk on the top of the train. 

Reach the end and then you will get to the Holloray Ocean. 

Swim through the ocean and then get past the Maoi (mao-ee) rainforest.

You will reach the Monster Place. There are two monsters and you have to fight them. They can fly and they want to eat you up. 

When you win the fight, you will have to go through the tunnel and see a yellow door. 

Go through the door and you will meet another monster. 

The Scarlasuarus is the scariest monster of all. It has only skeleton on its body. You fight it.

When it is dead, you can walk past it to the last tunnel and you will see Grandpa and Grandma.

THE END.  

:> 

(all names of places were spelt according to the way he pronounced them)

Here is a game involving monsters and enemies which one must destroy before claiming victory. 

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the following maze that resembles a brain, though I really didn't want to try cracking it. 





Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Just Chatting


Last weekend, E brought the two boys along to a BBQ party for some burnt meat and boys' talk.

After some warming up at the place, my innocent and fearless 4 years old was heard speaking his mind with the host (who was E's immediate superior)....

Why are you making my papa work so much? 

Where are all your toys? 

Why is there so much hair on your legs but none on your head? 


Oops...  I hope uncle M has some good sense of humour!  :P 

~~~


A few days ago, after about 5-10 min of polite chat with the cabby (something I often do if they initiate conversations), the humourous guy started showing off his fortune-telling prowess....

You are married.

Your husband is a foreigner. 

You have two children. Both boys. Tell me, am I correct? 


Our conversation prior to these statements was of a different topic, so whatever clues he picked up couldn't be from what I said. He wouldn't tell me what made him guess so, except that it had something to do with the way I speak and respond to questions. Hmm.. whatever that means! Hah! 

The last line surely must be a wild guess. 



Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Nourishment for the Mind

After I finished the Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell last December, I did my best to keep up with the reading, which is one of my resolutions for 2010. 

I think I didn't do too bad on this one. The year is almost up and here is the tally.









I have seen this book in the stores umpteen times before giving in to curiosity a few months ago. Even before I picked up the book, I have read reviews on Amazon and several other blogs which raved non-stop about how brilliant the book is. But I beg to differ. 

While the book provides a few great ideas, I think it is highly overrated. It clearly is a book aimed at the mass market, trying to please as many parents and educators as possible. Most of the stuff mentioned in the book is plain common sense and it is obvious that the book targets readers who are seeking assurances from these so-called experts/gurus that it is fine if parents are not doing "much" with their preschoolers. 

The authors' arguments on the 'critical period' theory is a little too weak for my liking and throughout the book, there are many examples of confusing stances. If parents are not sculptors of their children's brains (this must offer much relief to those who feel guilty), and critical period is a myth so there is no need to agonize over what inputs to provide because it will not make much difference and that the millions of years of evolution have taken care of brain development for us and pretty much coded the results, then what is left for parents? Hmm... we better pray hard that our descendants have some good genes, AND be content no matter how our kids turned out in future!

I also wonder where the authors gathered some of their assumptions from. Who in the right mind will assume that 'all has to be learned in the first 3 years'? How many parents truly act on the extreme and untrue beliefs that 'a child's learning ability is crippled after 3' or that 'if parents fail to provide the best possible start, they will forever damage their children's intellectual growth'? All these assumptions of 'the other parents' are so extreme. Anyway... enough said. 


Flowers for Algernon 


As I mentioned recently, this book has a tremendous effect on me. This, I would highly recommend. 




This book is interesting and offers a lot of insights on the various aspects of emotional intelligence though the use of the term EQ is dubious. 

What is also worth noting is, unlike the authors of Einstein Never Used Flash Cards who come across as typical American parents whom Shapiro refers to as too indulgent and accommodating, Shapiro advocates a much stricter parenting style to raise a child with high EQ. Some of his recommendations may even be considered as a little harsh and absurd to the modern and well-read parents, such as using shame and guilt to teach moral values. 




Lastly, I am halfway through this one, which I am trying to finish by today. This topic has been on my mind in the past year, so it is a timely read especially since M will enter Primary school next month. I don't want to be an overly protective parent, nor do I want my boys to simply react to bullying situations when they arise. So I am on the lookout for advices that empowers me and my kids, providing us with strategies to pre-empt and deal with the bullying situations when they arise in effective ways that take into consideration my kids' emotions.  More about this later.





Sunday, December 19, 2010

Lost and Found


A few years ago, I jumped on the bandwagon of Facebook upon the urgings of my girlfriends. 

I checked it out but soon after the novelty wore out, I lost interest. In fact, I couldn't stand many features of Facebook, which to me, are just plain annoying, intrusive and silly. 

Well, the truth is, I am real bad at keeping in touch with people. Generally, that is. Once someone is out of my life, and out of sight, it becomes real hard to stay in touch. And I have a favourite excuse for that -  life is too busy on daily basis to leave any time to think of people whom I have not seen/spoken to/interacted with in the last few months....  

As a result, I only have a handful of very close friends who have decades of history with me and hundreds of acquaintances whom I have not talked to for years.

Soon after I was on Facebook, out of a sudden, I started receiving all these requests from people whom I had not been in touch with for years, wanting to be friends. Some were ex-colleagues, others were former schoolmates and childhood friends. 

I added them as friends in the beginning, thinking that it must be rude not to. And besides, it was kind of nice when someone searched for me and reached out, wanting to be friends again. 

But we still don't keep in touch!! 

What totally floored me is why these people would even bother to search for me on Facebook and once we are 'friends' AGAIN, they don't even say 'Hi! How's it going?' or any similar form of relatively painless greetings! I just don't get it. (Ok, later I learnt that some people 'collect' Facebook friends just to appear more popular.)

I don't want an e-beer or e-hug or a plot of land that I need to spend time online cultivating! Send me a SMS or drop me a one-liner on Facebook, would you? I would appreciate that more. 

Anyway, as a result, I was mostly inactive for a long time. Then one day,  out of the blue, I thought of someone. A friend from the States whom I have lost touch with for 9 years. I decided to try searching for him on Facebook, with a sneaky feeling that his name would probably call up at least 500 accounts and if that happened, I knew I would give up within ten seconds. 

But it didn't! There was only ONE person with that name! How odd is that?! For many years, I couldn't even remember how to spell his last name, then one day, it just came to me in a split second! 

When I looked at the profile photo, I couldn't even be sure that it was him and had to send him a brief message to confirm. As it turned out, it is him!  We swiftly updated each other of whatever that we have been up to. It is interesting to learn of the changes that life has brought him and how he is finally happily settled down and busy with a young one too. 

The feeling of finding something or someone after such a long time is real nice. But after a few brief rounds of cordial correspondences, there doesn't seem much left to ask. Ask more and it seems a little too intrusive and personal. After all, we haven't been in touch for almost a decade. The familiar awkwardness returns. 

So while I was thrilled to have found him after such a long time, I think his profile will just stay on my Friends list, much like a decoration, without us interacting much. 

I am definitely very contented to remain on more traditional means of communication and staying in touch, be it a phone call, email or just short text messages, if face time is impossible. No doubt I'm old-fashioned in this respect, but the technology laggard in me just can't be hurried. 


A little sidenote: While I ponder over the privacy issues, I'm back to considering privatizing the blog and restricting access. 





 

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Walking With Dinosaurs



A few weeks ago, M asked me in a very sweet and polite manner if he could watch the dinosaur show. He was referring to the Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular

I showed him the brochure a while back, but he didn't express much interest at first. So I didn't pursue. But when he initiated it this time (after passing by some place with a big poster advertisement), I suggested he asked daddy later that night in the sweetest manner. I knew E would not have the heart to say no. :>  

So in late Nov, E bought the Category A tickets. Second row from the stage @ $148/pax! 

I am so glad I didn't protest much when he announced his intention to buy the best seats available (his view was either be up close or don't bother going), though I did gasp at the prices. 

As usual, my hubby is always right! Haha!

It was a totally awesome experience for us all, though Chipsy was disappointed when his favourite Diplodocus didn't show up that night. I am sure the boys will remember this experience of being so close to these life-size dino for a long time. 

Found this link with photos and videos to remind the boys of the show later.



Monday, December 13, 2010

When Boys Rule

Back in 2005, at my niece's full-month celebration, I joined a bunch of silly gals who were squealing with excitement over some "predictions". 

I have heard them all before and was quick to dismiss them as old wives' tales. Tempting as it may be, I generally dislike fortune-telling activities because I believe in self-fulfilling prophecy. Expect is and you will get it - it is as simple as that!

But this time round, I decided to give it a try, perhaps because everyone looked like they were having so much fun. 

There was a little ritual involved. First, tie a red thread to a wedding ring. Second, have a married woman hold the red thread and dangle the ring just above my right palm. Third, watch for any swinging or spinning movements of the thread/ring. 

Every woman in the room, married or single, with child or childless, tried this little ritual. The person who performed this little ritual that day didn't know everyone, so she couldn't have known the facts to begin with. 

Yet, the oddest thing was, all the mothers in the room were impressed with their sets of "predictions", citing them to be incredibly accurate! Be it the number of children they have/will have or even details like the kids' gender in the correct order.

Now, that got me more interested than I would admit. 

I have always wanted 3 kids. At that time, my first born was only a few months old. I was sure my ring would spin/swing 3 times since I have never once questioned my fertility. My curiosity was piqued by the hype and excitement in the room, so though I didn't really care about the gender of the kids, I figured participating in a little superstitious silliness would be harmless anyway.  

The first time the ring moved, it indicated "a boy". (I can't remember which movement should symbolize a boy). 

I thought, hmm... that was probably easy. She (the lady performing the ritual) may have seen me with my baby boy. 

The second round, it was "a boy" again. I remember thinking "wow... two boys! How cool! I shall be the queen in the house, adored by my three boys till my #3 comes along".

Then I was all eager for the third round and hoping secretly that it would predict "a girl". Over 8 pairs of eyes watched the ring and after about a full minute, it was still nothing. Neither the ring nor the thread made the slightest movement!

I was surprised. Actually that was an understatement. Perhaps the words "shocked" and "dumbfounded" would be more appropriate. 

There must be a mistake somewhere. I have always wanted 3 kids. So where is the third one? 

I was told there would only be two boys. 

My mum, sister and best friend quickly took me to one side and consoled me with the most gentle words. They started saying things like "don't trust all this rubbish" and "it's only a for fun".... etc.... They were being kind, but it was ironic too, for they were the ones who were such believers at first. 

The following year, I had my second boy. After a tough labour and a battle with postpartum depression, I decided even before Chipsy turned one that I didn't want to ever return to a delivery ward. 

It has been a few years of living in a household where boys rule. 



Wrestling. Monkeying around. Rough play. Anything but quiet. 

But there were lots of sweet and lovely moments too. 




My boys are beautiful and wonderful and can be such a delight. 

But for a while now, there is a part in me that has been yearning for a little more balance. Some ying to balance the overpowering yang

Some days, I feel contented with just my two boys. A little voice would say 'they will be enough. I can shower them with all my love and give them my very best'. 

But there are also days when I would chance upon the most charming little angels in parks or malls and I found myself daydreaming thoughts like "... maybe if I had a little girl, she would look like this....or behave like this... and maybe she will be so close to me when she grew up ... I will teach her this and show her that...  " etc etc...

Perhaps the other reason for wanting a girl is to cast a safety net for myself. 

After all, if I had a girl, it is of higher likelihood that she would be on my side when the boys "gang" up with daddy, like how Marcus put it across a few days ago when he said "Nicholas and I are on daddy's side and Mummy is alone". Ok, I am taking that statement out of context now, but it struck me hard when he uttered it, albeit innocently.

Such is life, I know. We can't have everything we want. And like what sensible adults should do, I count my blessings and try not to lament what is lacking. 

But this is the season for making wishes, isn't it? Maybe I should write to Father Christmas like what my 3 boys have done and see what the old Santa can bring. :>





Thursday, December 9, 2010

More Than a Good Read




I like to read, but in the last few years, I ended up spending most of my reading time on non-fiction.

A few months ago, for a change, I read Flowers for Algernon, a gift from my sister-in-law who has a knack for picking out some fabulous books. This one has won numerous awards and was made into a film in the 1960s too.

When she gave it to me for Christmas last year, she said something like 'I think you will enjoy this book since you are so keen on children and issues related to the intelligence of the minds...'. My curiosity was indeed piqued!

The whole book was written in a form of journal entries kept by Charlie, the protagonist. So it was all about his views, feelings and observations of his life from before the experiment to how the experiment had changed his life.

It was mind boggling and totally inspiring. It moved me deeply and appealed to the maternalistic side of me. There were times when I found myself deeply disturbed by what was affecting and hurting Charlie. I couldn't stop reflecting on human being's vulnerabilities and our capabilities to be mean and insensitive to the truly needy like Charlie.

The whole story also reminded me of Forrest Gump, though in my opinion, Gump had a much better life. A major difference was Gump had the undying love of his mum. Perhaps better luck played a big role too.

Because of this book, I have a stronger urge than ever to do more for the less fortunate, especially the ones who are intellectually challenged, like the Charlie character. So I was drawn to MINDS, a NGO catering to the intellectually disabled in Singapore.
 
I used to tell myself that one day, when I am retired and kids are grown up, when I have more time in my hands, I shall channel all my energy and time to doing voluntary work. 

But come to think of it, why wait till then? There is no better time than now. As long as I can fit in a few hours when the kids are in school or when E is around to watch the kids, it may be possible to volunteer a few hours of my time a week. 

It is all about making conscious effort to find time in our schedule to make things happen. However small the effort may be at first, it is the first step that I must take. So I have taken the first step by signing up to be a MYG volunteer.

Lastly, I came across this video "In my language" which I have watched several times and I like to share. It contains a powerful message. 



Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Phase of the Transformers

When M was 4 years old, every boy we knew then had watched the Transformers movie and were all play fighting and pretending to be one of the Transformers. 

M didn't know any of those and didn't care about them too. I had resisted the temptation back then to introduce it to him. At that time, I was a lot stricter about movies with fighting scenes. 

Two months ago, E brought back the Transformers DVD and the boys watched the movie for the first time. Come to think of it, we are applying double standards here because N is 4 years old now. 

M is crazy about robotics and would talk non-stop about all kinds of robots right now, thanks to his mega birthday present. So E felt it is timely to introduce the movie. 

Right after watching it, M was inspired enough to begin drawing the Transformers!


The Optimus Prime. 

The BumbleBee.



Above two: Inspired by other characters in Transformers.

Above: Even little Chip got all inspired and starting drawing his own robots!


E also bought Marcus The Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Discovery Book around the same time and ever since, the boy has been focusing on creating models after models. He's really good at it, considering the complexities involved and that he is only 6! 






It certainly helps that he can read independently and follow the complex steps to create the models. He managed to conquer the challenges and constructed the advanced models like Strider, Compact Chimney Climber, Snatcher and Hybrid Brick Sorter all by himself. 

The only part which he needs help right now is the programming, which he often waits patiently for E to do. 


Whenever I go to the library, he would ask for books on robots. There is a fabulous collection in the branch I have been going to and I have brought back a wide range so far, which he devoured in no time.




In the last 3 months, the boy has set his mind on becoming the most brilliant robotic engineer. Ahem, no more Captain of the aircraft carrier

This is certainly a fantastic hobby to introduce, though I have to admit that now I am trying hard to balance up his week with more outdoor pursuits. It is getting harder to lure him out of the house these days. 


Friday, December 3, 2010

Parenting Thoughts: Facing and Overcoming Failures

Earlier this week, my 6 years old asked, "Mummy, what is the most important thing that you think we must learn in our lives?" 

I gave it a serious consideration for a minute or two and had to admit to him that I can think of many things that are important, but to name any particular one as the most important thing to learn is really hard for me at that point in time. 

So I promised I will give it more thoughts and let him know really soon. 

When I try to take an objective view of how I parent my boys, there are many areas which I feel I can do better. Almost everyday, when I reflect on the day(s) that just passed, I can instantly see areas with room for improvement. Mind you, I'm referring to areas that I can do better. When I recognise my own areas of failures or faced with setbacks, I realize (in recent years) that it is my perseverance and resilience that enable me to make progress. 

The more I think about Marcus' question, the more I feel that perhaps the most important thing that one should learn, and I certainly hope that my boys will, is learning to face and overcome failures. 

Life is never a bed of roses. Failures don't only exist in our academic and professional careers. We can't escape failures or setbacks, regardless of age. To a certain extent, experience and maturity help us avoid some failures but there are others which are simply unavoidable. 

A child must learn to tolerate disturbing emotions such as anxiety, sadness, frustration and even anger that are produced by failures in order to achieve success. 

A child cannot learn persistence unless he comes to accept failure. 

In order for the child to experience mastery of any skills, it is necessary for him to fail, to feel bad, and to try again repeatedly until success occurs. None of these steps can be circumvented. 

Failure and feeling bad are necessary building blocks for ultimate success and feeling good about oneself. 

So this, I think, is my answer to my boy's question. I shall give it a little more thought before I explain it to him tomorrow. 





 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Their Weekend Haven and Christopher Robin

Every weekend, the boys follow their daddy around to run a few errands, go swimming, attend birthday parties or head to the factory for a few hours of indoor fun. 

At the factory, they usually occupy themselves by drawing, playing Lego or watching a DVD of their choice. Sometimes they fool around in the cube house which E brought along or rearrange the empty boxes that they find lying around into tunnels and caves etc..  

Once in a while, they also helped daddy out by doing little odd jobs. Just like last weekend when M helped to put together a 100 packs of something, for which he was paid $0.01 per pack. Umm... the boy was not too impressed that he earned only $1 after the 100 packs. So the next time, he shall ask for a minimum wage of $0.05 per pack! Hee hee... 

I'm grateful and relieved that E has managed to work out the perfect babysitting arrangement while I teach for a few hours in the weekend. By creating this little haven for the boys, he also get to spend time on his 'project'. Simply brilliant!  

Here is a gorgeous piece which my 4 years old spent close to an hour on at daddy's factory last weekend. 



They had brought along the DVD to watch that day. According to E, while M was busy 'working' on the assigned job, N set his mind on reproducing the picture of Christopher Robin. He didn't tell anyone there, but just sat quietly focusing on his self-initiated task.

The finished product is awesome! Ok, C.R. looks a little deformed but the drawing is still awesome to us. :D  Parents are entitled to be biased and I will be quick to admit that we are being biased here.  

What we feel is even more commendable is the effort he has put in and the tenacity he displayed to try his best at drawing and colouring it. 

Marvellous job, little boy! 





Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Plain Geekish

I must confess that I am an information junkie.

There is always so much that I want to find out about and I usually have more questions than time to seek answers. 

So when I am not careful enough, like two nights ago, I found myself glued to the laptop for endless hours surfing the Net, attempting to satisfy my curiosity. 

Just like how it always was, one article led to another and here I found myself fascinated by a rather useless piece of information - the longest word in English. 

Nevertheless, it is very interesting! 

Try to say the word 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'. Now say it FAST :> 

I suppose it can be quite a smashing ice-breaker when I need to use one. Hah!

This clip is lots of fun to watch. Chipsy is hooked to it and now my boys are trying to pronounce the word after hearing me repeating it throughout breakfast. Hee hee...

I fear I have gradually turned myself into a geek and I shall be quick to blame the geekish influence at home. 

:D 

Ok, I meant it only in an endearing manner. 




LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...