A little celebration

"I can go by 5.15pm today, dear; wait for me, okay?" Yen told me that day.  "Sure," I replied, not thinking too much of it.  These days, I'll wait for her to fetch her back if the children can stay until five-plus in the evening and if she does not need to stay too long after work on days that I do not need to work at nights.

I called her to inform her that I had reached the play-school and picked the children up that Friday.  "Meet you in five minutes at block 4?  I'm going to pick something up," she suggested.  I had no reason to say 'no' to her request, and dutifully picked her up five minutes later.  Wait.  She had a box in a plastic bag.  One that resembled a box of a cake.  Oh yes, how can I be so muddle-headed to forget that my thirty-third birthday was the next week?

I did not ask her about the box and continued on our journey home.  She revealed that we had to be home soon and change the children out of their uniforms, so that we could go to Jurong Point for dinner with the children's uncle and aunt - Eddie and Hui Jun.  It is all shaping up now - they have not forgotten my birthday, whilst I have totally disregarded its existence!  They had 'conspired' about it, behind my back too!  Ha!

We took a leisurely walk with the children and my mother to our destination.  It isn't often we walk as a little family for a little distance along the pathways, you see, much less to Jurong Point, which I avoid like the plague due to its massive crowd.  The walk was nice, with our three gems mostly obedient.

Eddie and Hui Jun were a little late as they were caught with some last minute work.  We queued up outside Swensens' first and they arrived soon after.  It was nice to have the company of your loved ones over dinner, which I seldom get these days with them on weekdays.

When we were done with our main courses, I was expecting to go.  Little did I realise that they had a little surprise planned - they ordered an ice-cream for me and another one for the children, getting a waiter from the restaurant to stick a lit candle on my ice-cream and singing a birthday song for me.  Interestingly enough, mine was the fourth birthday song we heard in the matter of a couple of hours there as three other groups had someone celebrate their birthdays there too!  Seems like Swensens is the choice for birthday celebrations these days!

That had to be all.  We could retire to bed now, I thought.  How wrong was I!  Eddie asked nonchalantly if I drove and offered to send us back in his car when I revealed that I hadn't.  Oh well, how could we turn down the ride?  He dropped us at the 'Loading / Unloading' bay of our block.  He got out of the car.  I was puzzled.  It was then that I remembered the birthday cake Yen had brought home!

So Part Two of this 'operation' was underway.  Yen brought the cake out and lit the candles.  They sang me the birthday song and I had to complete the process by blowing out the candles, cutting the cake and eatting the cake.  These are things that our two elder children were familiar with after so long in play-school, and something Kayleen will see again soon when we celebrate her birthday in a couple of weeks.

It was a nice surprise, successfully planned and executed, masterminded by my lovely wife.  A nice moment to savour.  =)

Project Literacy

It is no secret - I fear that my own children cannot read and write.  Being an educator for the past few years, I think I have seen quite a little to nudge me into thinking so.  I have seen children, in classes which I teach or otherwise, not being able to muster reading simple words of their appropriate 'reading age'.  I have seen students who veer clear from learning, simply because they are not able to comprehend what they are to do, and give up on themselves totally henceforth.

On the other end of the scale, I have witnessed how some children excel time and again, scoring more than satisfactory results during their PSLE.  Too early to test them and judge them, we say?  Perhaps it is really so, but we cannot change the fact that they will have to sit for the dreaded four-lettered (no, not the swear-word!) examination when they reach the end of their primary school education.

I had thought long and hard about it, and have decided to take it upon myself to create readers in my children.  It is true that children are inquisitive.  Look at my younger princess - even when she cannot comprehend what is written in the books, she sits at the table or on the floor to browse through the books that once belonged to her elder siblings.

I have planned a multi-pronged approach to achieving my goal.  My children, like most others, love watching television programmes.  Before anyone judges us and lament that 'too much television is not good for children', especially at their tender age, I had thought of capitalising their 'love' to maximum effect.  We let them enjoy their dose of cartoon shows on Playhouse Disney (not a lot nowadays, since they are away in play-school most of the weekdays), rather than soap operas or drama serials where they may not learn anything from at their age.

I have converted myself into an avid fan of the channel and its shows when they are around too.  I have to say that I have learnt a few things from the programmes!  Other than that channel, we have invested quite heavily earlier on quite a few Hi-5!, Barney and other types of education CDs to entertain them, sometimes during the weekends.

You might have seen the pictures of the books I had taken earlier.  Then again, there could be books which are bought, but left as 'white elephants'.  I take it upon myself to read with at least my elder two children now when I am at home, to read with them before I put them to sleep.  Rachel and Felix enjoy reading, no doubt about that.  They will always ask to read a book before they hit the sack, and frown when we tell them that it is too late.

From time to time, when Rachel and Felix come across print on signages, they will read them aloud.  I help them with the ones they do not know and ask them to spell words that I think children at their age can handle.  The last I counted, Felix can spell quite an impressive amount of words.  In fact, he showed me that he has better concentration and memory by beating his elder sister to mastering spelling of words 'one' to 'ten' and understanding that rhymes mean spellings are similar (for example: he mastered spelling the word 'eight' quite fast, and remembered well when I told him that 'night' is spelt similarly).

My latest approach deals with phonics and phonetic awareness using word blends.  Not being 'trained' in phonics, this is not easy.  Thankfully, their play-school teachers have been doing their fair share to teach our children and I add in my part on blends.  I am working on simple ending blends at the moment and it seems to work out well.  The A5 pieces of recycled paper are used to write some blends and pasted onto the frames of their bed.  Rachel and Felix will blabber off at the words before they go to bed after reading.  That has, thankfully, reinforced their pronunciation and learning.

My next target will be to start getting Rachel to read the newspapers with me.  Her current year's teacher at the play-school does that with her former students (I have seen her do that) and has announced to Rachel, "You have to start reading newspapers."  The coming years will show if all my efforts will bear fruit.  My fingers are crossed!

New Year's resolutions?

People always make New Years resolutions.  It happens annually, whether they manage to achieve what they set out to accomplish.  Or if they even try to take steps towards it at all.  What is yours?

I do not have the habit to make resolutions.  Life rarely lets us manipulate our ways through situations anyway.  I tried years before but I had lived my life not remembering the resolutions that had been carefully carved out in that same year.  So I gave up.  What matters most, I reasoned, is to live a life without having to regret the decisions we made, years later.

Perhaps I should be more responsible.  Not that I have not been, most times in my life!  I should try to set some goals for this year and work towards them.  "Failing to plan is planning to fail", says a wise adage.  Do you agree?

Last year, without making my plans announced aloud, I had planned to leave the Ministry of Education to spend more time with my three adorable children.  Check.  I had planned to continue working with students and assist a few to achieving relative success in their PSLE.  Check.  Seems like a good year for me then!

This time round, I think I want to make resolutions for my family.  And I should resolve to better myself, personally.  So there I have the preliminary vows I have for myself in 2011:

1.  Spend more QUALITY (not just quantity) time with my three gems and my beloved wife!
2.  Be more patient.  It is a virtue that had eluded me in 2010!
3.  Be extra careful on the roads!  (I somehow have this feeling recently that I'll get into trouble one of these days and knock someone down, touch wood!)
4.  Make an effort to meet with friends who matter) once every two to three months.  (Someone needs to make the effort.  I'll do it if it has to be me!)
5.  Scutinise my expenses!

There are just too many things that I want to do this new year.  Let me start with these five.  It may be too many, but then again, let me just start off somewhere, lest I do not get moving at all!  Do feel free to call me and catch up on life with me, my friends.  Feel inspired to make 2011 a good year.  Let us take control of our lives!

Crocs - do you own them?? Beware!

"Escalator injuries with rubber clogs on the rise" reported The Straits Times on their Home section on 3 December.  It reported that KKH has 'counted eight such incidents' from the beginnning of the year up to November.  We have read about the many injuries suffered and the near-misses reported.  Why do parents still buy their children the popular brand of rubber clogs?

Stylish, affordable and/or fashionable these sandals are, I have never fallen into the trap of getting a pair.  Neither for ourselves nor for our precious darlings.  After reading all those reports with the adverse news / consequences on them, I am petrified.  I do not want a day where I will have to be interviewed on how my child's / children's toes get trapped between the steps of the escalator!

Some people have reported how light the crocs are, and how they feel a 'wobble' when they are on the escalator that may cause accidents too.  I opine that parents should, for the sake of safety of their children, consider carefully if the sandals are worth the risk.

Still, to each his own.  If you feel there is no cause for concern, and you are not going to fall victim to accidents involving such sandals, I still urge you to read some safety tips the newspaper suggested in that edition:
1.  Do not allow children to ride escalators unsupervised.
2.  Adults should be on the same step, and not behind, their children.
3.  Children should face the front and hold the hand-grip firmly if they can reach them.
4.  Ensure children stand in the middle of a step and not at the edge.  Footwear can be easily trapped when their feet are at the steps' edges.
5.  Be careful of the children's clothing that may get trapped in hte grooves of escalators.
6.  Do not let your children sit or play whilst on escalator steps.
7.  Do not allow your children to lean on the handrails.

We sometimes do not take note of some seemingly trivial safety tips, until it is too late.  I hope everyone stay safe with the festive season looming.  Merry Christmas!

A phrase a week, chases the boredom away...

Miss Little Princess has settled in well in play-school.  The initial period where she did not know what was happening and was left in play-school jolted her out of her comfort zone.  The second phase was the 'clingy' phase - following us to play-school happily in the morning, but hanging on to Daddy once she was there.  One might mistake her for a koala in the dimness!

As the days passed, she has got more and more used to the teachers there.  These days, she gets excited and happy to greet them, going, "Hello, tea*^%!"  She still cannot get the word teacher and the name out, but all the same, her teachers were glad to be acknowledged by our adorable children, especially the tiny one.

There are words and phrases, however, she has learnt that are clearly pronounced.  Nobody has used these phrases too much at home, so I can only conclude that she has learnt them from school.  Like the first one, "Kor kor pushing..."  Poor Felix was seated across the room, minding his own business!

This lasted for quite a while.  In fact, she still springs this phrase every now and then, whenever she feels 'bullied' (toys not being shared), or out of plain boredom!  Rachel is not spared from the accusation too...

Then came "Ah ma, hui lai le!" in Mandarin, meaning "Grandma, I'm home!".  This was from her siblings, and is pleasing.  She may not know what it means, totally, as she could be home for minutes already and she is still repeating the same phrase!

The most recent one is "Daddy, can you &%^(*#@,,," Yes, I can, if only I understand your request!  She could go on asking this for minutes, undaunted by the lack of response from us!  This adorable little girl!

Playing meaningful games

"Children learn best when they are playing".  I have heard this many a time during my stint in school.  It could be true, but I had never been able to find time to devise interesting enough games that is not just mindless banter and laughter, and for learning to actually take place in lessons.  Pounded with the many additional demands that lay on teachers in the shorter than a marathon's time children have with teachers for our academic subjects, it just seems impossible to include games in their learning.

Perhaps I can try including games in my children's learning?  But how?  Enter this book I bought some months back "Number and Logic Games" by Dr D. Einon, Hamlyn (publisher).  I only had time to read it recently after settling down in my new job and schedule and am in the midst of it.  I read with interest some activities that may be interesting for my preschoolers and tried out this activity.


This one is called 'Match the Pictures", aimed at helping children to practise their counting skills by getting them to link matching numbers of items.  It required me to draw six circles and numbers of items in them, so that every two circles willl have matching numbers of items.  Children are to count the number of objects and to draw lines to match circles.  I came out with these:


Amateurish, eh?  Ha.  It will do for now.  I put the activity to the test with Rachel and Felix.  I designed the simplier on on shapes for Felix so he does not get distracted.  The result?

Rachel and Felix enjoyed the short activity.  They were serious in counting and drawing a line to the matching number of objects.  The book offered an extension activity too - to find the odd one out by adding an extra circle with a different number of objects.  Think this short (it only took two to three minutes!) activity helped me in my learning of my children's capability.  They are looking forward to another round of a similar counting and line-drawing, as promised by Daddy!

What is the difference between an A-student and an F-grader?

“Rachel, Felix and Kayleen, you have done very well for your tests in school!”  I hope to be able to say this to them when they do attend primary and secondary schools later.  A bit too early?  I guess.  But it’s not too much of me to dream about it and to work us towards it, is it?  This goes a long way towards ‘The Good Life’ that many yearn to have, to working in offices and earning respectable incomes, as opposed to toiling under the scorching sun for hard-earned pay?

So, what is really the difference?  Is it totally in the genes, that it cannot be helped?  Hey, even the poor can turn the tables and become successful business-people given their hard work, intuition and luck, among other things!  How can we discover the potential in children, to aid them in knowing more to be successful in life?

First and foremost, let me begin by examining school children.  I have seen quite a few of them in these few years.  Pupils in the top classes and the better ones in my classes – what do they have that others might not have?  Is it riches?  I hope not…  Is it time?  Definitely not!  Then what is it?  Wait!  Most of those in the top classes have people to pick them up after school…  and not just domestic helpers who take up the job of fetching them from school!  They are in good hands, good company of educated parents.

Is the most distinct and integral difference having parents by their side most steps of their way?  I recall those in my classes.  I have never been the form-teacher of top classes in the school, perhaps due to the perception that I am not worthy, or the fact that I can only be a subject-teacher and may not be able to bring out the best in the cream-of-the-crop.

But I recall the top students in my classes…  they were mostly independent children who can take good care of themselves (who do not spend needless time at the playgrounds or chatting on the Internet at their age), or they had educated parents who were not working, sacrificing time during their children’s schooling years to take care of them.  Else, their parents are those who are busy working, but are in their own ways, quite heavily involved in their children's lives.

Did they have tuition?  Yes, half of them did.  But this does not explain how those who did not have tuition manage to come out tops in their tests.  One thing I do observe is that these children were not alienated by their parents (or vice-versa).  I could always hear them speaking fondly of their parents during our conversations.  About them spending time with them, telling them things, buying things for them… (no, you do not have to be rich to make your child happy!)  They are closely bonded.  They talk.  About schoolwork, their teachers, classmates, subjects, relatives… almost everything and anything under the roof of their scalp!

Why are some of my children’s classmates loquacious and conversant?  They are of the same age!  What is their secret?  Perhaps talk?  Maybe their parents have been spending meaningful time talking to them about things, and allowing them to make meaningful responses, apart from reading?

This talk, helps, I think.  It helps them in their oral abilities, in their forming of sentences, in their worldly-knowledge (it beats having me explain something to them than to let them go on the Internet and chancing upon unsavoury websites!) and more.  Letting them be comfortable speaking to us (parents) cannot be too wrong.  They may tell us things that we are worried about (their needs, their wants, and maybe even their crushes!).  We can advise them with an open-mind.

Parents can then encourage them to make the right decisions, to pull the reins back if they have veered off-course.  I think I may even create scenarios (like they did in some schools) for them to go to a ‘shop-keeper’ to ‘buy’ something!  To ask ‘someone’ for directions!  That’ll be fun!

So have you been speaking to your child(ren)?  I know I am going to start today!