We had a few fish magnets on our fridge which always drew Zhirui's interests. The sight of these fish magnets will trigger off non-stop lugging on Mummy to get them down from the fridge.
You know how children 'play' with things. Their only mode of play is to throw and see things break apart. haiz.. that goes the fate of the magnets. The fish broke off from the magnetic piece and could no longer be used.
I told Zhirui. "The fish has died." and she gave me a sad look and moaned. I was very surprised by her reaction and that she understood the word 'die'. I don't remember saying this word to her before. It seems that she could relate 'die' with something very bad and depressing.
During one ESP lesson in Shichida, the children were asked to 'see' what's inside a cooking pot. The options given were a carrot, a vegetable and a fish. When asked to choose the object, Zhirui seems doubtful when her finger came close to the fish. When teacher asked, "is this your final answer?", she changed her mind and hit on the vegetable. The answer revealed. It was a fish inside the cooking pot. Good try Zhirui! :)
But I wondered why she did not choose the fish. She usually scored full marks in ESP. hmm.. could it be because it was a dead fish??
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Shichida Methodology and parenting
Have been slow in updating this blog recently as much of my energy was spent on reading up on the Shichida's concept in child upbringing and making some home practices tools.
Here are some approaches which I've picked up regarding cultivating an environment friendly for right brain development. I feel that these are great tips to guide my parenting journey.
1. Accept the child as she is. Do not enter into a battle with the child as that will give rise to negativity (negative energy) and stress for both of parent and child. This shuts down the right brain.
Acceptance can be demonstrated by:
a) Listening to her
I'm guilty of not listening to Zhirui enough. We tend to forget this becos as parents, we always have 1001 things (more often, instructions) to tell our children. Zhirui's ex-nanny (JH tz) is a wonderful listener to Zhirui's then babbling. She would spend time sitting down with her on the couch and chat with her. She would ask her questions and listen to her answers and views, and comment. Amazingly, she said that Zhirui does understands her. A common saying goes, "Life mirrors what you do." If I refuse to listen to Zhirui, Zhirui will refuse to listen to me.
b) Respecting her
Instead of rejecting her requests or wants straight, can try putting it across this way, "Mummy understands that you wish to... .... Mummy will let you ... ... when ... ..."
c) Believing in her.
When you truly believe in your child, you do not compare her with her peers and give up on her. Refrain from showing your disappointment when she does not meet expectations. Keeping encouraging her and reaffirm that she is really great! (Becos she really is!!)
After accepting the child as she is, teach her the proper so that she may slowly change her behavior.
Just remember a simple principle: Love opens up the mind, mind opens up the brain. Parental love is more important than anything in unveiling every child's potential. But love has to be conveyed in the right way. Loving without education will spoil the child.
2) Practise deep breathing before the home practices. When doing this, left brain waves switches to right brain waves, hence activating the right brain.
3) Apologize to the child for implanting negative tots.
4) Practise 8 seconds hugging, i.e. to hug your child for 8 seconds. This 'conveys' love to your child better. :)
Something worth pondering:
"Most mothers think that they love their children enough but most children think that their mothers don't love them enough."
The reasons I think, is probably because (1) mothers' love are not effectively conveyed to their children, or (2) mothers are loving their children in ways that their children do not accept, or (3) simply mothers do not shower enough love.
Hopefully I'm not the third kind of mother.. ;)
Here are some approaches which I've picked up regarding cultivating an environment friendly for right brain development. I feel that these are great tips to guide my parenting journey.
1. Accept the child as she is. Do not enter into a battle with the child as that will give rise to negativity (negative energy) and stress for both of parent and child. This shuts down the right brain.
Acceptance can be demonstrated by:
a) Listening to her
I'm guilty of not listening to Zhirui enough. We tend to forget this becos as parents, we always have 1001 things (more often, instructions) to tell our children. Zhirui's ex-nanny (JH tz) is a wonderful listener to Zhirui's then babbling. She would spend time sitting down with her on the couch and chat with her. She would ask her questions and listen to her answers and views, and comment. Amazingly, she said that Zhirui does understands her. A common saying goes, "Life mirrors what you do." If I refuse to listen to Zhirui, Zhirui will refuse to listen to me.
b) Respecting her
Instead of rejecting her requests or wants straight, can try putting it across this way, "Mummy understands that you wish to... .... Mummy will let you ... ... when ... ..."
c) Believing in her.
When you truly believe in your child, you do not compare her with her peers and give up on her. Refrain from showing your disappointment when she does not meet expectations. Keeping encouraging her and reaffirm that she is really great! (Becos she really is!!)
After accepting the child as she is, teach her the proper so that she may slowly change her behavior.
Just remember a simple principle: Love opens up the mind, mind opens up the brain. Parental love is more important than anything in unveiling every child's potential. But love has to be conveyed in the right way. Loving without education will spoil the child.
2) Practise deep breathing before the home practices. When doing this, left brain waves switches to right brain waves, hence activating the right brain.
3) Apologize to the child for implanting negative tots.
4) Practise 8 seconds hugging, i.e. to hug your child for 8 seconds. This 'conveys' love to your child better. :)
Something worth pondering:
"Most mothers think that they love their children enough but most children think that their mothers don't love them enough."
The reasons I think, is probably because (1) mothers' love are not effectively conveyed to their children, or (2) mothers are loving their children in ways that their children do not accept, or (3) simply mothers do not shower enough love.
Hopefully I'm not the third kind of mother.. ;)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Change for the good.. new year
2010 is genuinely a new year for ya tou as two new changes took place.
First, we transferred her to Shichida school and class started last Sunday. It wasn't our first time to the centre but it looks daunting that day. Hmm.. not sure if it's the 'kiasu parent' syndrome playing tricks, but when you see the swarm of parents filling every space in the centre and babies as young as 3 months old waiting to enter the classrooms, you can't help but feel overwhelmed, or should I admit it.. scared!! I shall not deny this fear may be the manifestation of the kiasu mentality within me. haha.. so much of a unique parent who wants to bring up her child in unique ways.. :( But still, I'm always reminding myself not to let this 'kiasuism' morphed into ugly forms of 'selfishness' or 'competitiveness'.
So much so of my internal struggles.. back to ya tou's first day at Shichida.
Our teacher is Joanna. She is a cheerful and energetic young lady. Contrary to her first day at LNT, ya tou spent much of her time exploring the room at Shichida. During the lesson, she kept picking up the boxes on the floor and bringing them to me (the boxes are for the phonics game). haha.. instead of scolding her, I thanked her. Ya tou did well for the ESP section. She was able to guess correctly the caterpillar hiding inside the watermelon and the rubbish can with sound. What's more, she didn't took long to answer. Good job Zhirui! It was a pleasant surprise! The phonics game was fun too and ya tou did excellent.
Second, Zhirui has got a new nanny. Zheng tz and family loves Zhirui alot and takes care of her well. SB and I are just worried ya tou may get spoiled becos of the new-showered love and ardor. So we communicated with tz on our discipline standards so that ya tou does not receive conflicting treatments. :)
For the first few days, we notice she's more irritable when she got home. Sort of deduce that it's due to the change in environment. We are still making observations and she settle down and get back to her usual self.
Together with this switch, we are blessed with the joy of having home-cooked dinner after work. Tz has agreed to cater our dinner. Now I'm always looking forward home for the homely dinner spread. :)
First, we transferred her to Shichida school and class started last Sunday. It wasn't our first time to the centre but it looks daunting that day. Hmm.. not sure if it's the 'kiasu parent' syndrome playing tricks, but when you see the swarm of parents filling every space in the centre and babies as young as 3 months old waiting to enter the classrooms, you can't help but feel overwhelmed, or should I admit it.. scared!! I shall not deny this fear may be the manifestation of the kiasu mentality within me. haha.. so much of a unique parent who wants to bring up her child in unique ways.. :( But still, I'm always reminding myself not to let this 'kiasuism' morphed into ugly forms of 'selfishness' or 'competitiveness'.
So much so of my internal struggles.. back to ya tou's first day at Shichida.
Our teacher is Joanna. She is a cheerful and energetic young lady. Contrary to her first day at LNT, ya tou spent much of her time exploring the room at Shichida. During the lesson, she kept picking up the boxes on the floor and bringing them to me (the boxes are for the phonics game). haha.. instead of scolding her, I thanked her. Ya tou did well for the ESP section. She was able to guess correctly the caterpillar hiding inside the watermelon and the rubbish can with sound. What's more, she didn't took long to answer. Good job Zhirui! It was a pleasant surprise! The phonics game was fun too and ya tou did excellent.
Second, Zhirui has got a new nanny. Zheng tz and family loves Zhirui alot and takes care of her well. SB and I are just worried ya tou may get spoiled becos of the new-showered love and ardor. So we communicated with tz on our discipline standards so that ya tou does not receive conflicting treatments. :)
For the first few days, we notice she's more irritable when she got home. Sort of deduce that it's due to the change in environment. We are still making observations and she settle down and get back to her usual self.
Together with this switch, we are blessed with the joy of having home-cooked dinner after work. Tz has agreed to cater our dinner. Now I'm always looking forward home for the homely dinner spread. :)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
First family trip
A place that is not too far (to save journey time) and packed with educational sightseeings to awe Ya tou.. Where on earth can I find such a place??
The first criteria helpfully sieve out faraway lands. I'm much left with Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The latter two seems a little chaotic, so they were struck off. I finally decided on Desaru of Johor because of its farms and beach.
There was some mad rush.. Initially, i thought Ya tou doesn't need a passport to travel. (In the past it was so, just tag the child's name to the parent's passport.) Just the 1.5 week before departure did I realize it no longer works this way. Thanks to ICA's efficiency, her passport was produced within 5 days.
We took a ferry there instead of driving, hoping to enhance the travelling experience for Ya tou. There she is posing a shot at the jetty with the little (pathetic-looking) ferry at the back.
She wasn't as excited as we'd imagined. But she did enjoy running around the ferry exploring the open deck and enclosed cabin. That's Mummy and Ya tou inside the ferry cabin.
After settling down at the resort, we head off to Desaru Fruit Farm. It has claimed to grow over 100 fruits but the guide only showed us about a tenth-- dragon fruit, breadfruit, jackfruit, passionfruit, banana, custard apple, pineapple, soursop, figs, mangosteen, pumpkin and some herbs. Here are pics of Ya tou with dragonfruit plant and in a herb garden.
The first criteria helpfully sieve out faraway lands. I'm much left with Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The latter two seems a little chaotic, so they were struck off. I finally decided on Desaru of Johor because of its farms and beach.
There was some mad rush.. Initially, i thought Ya tou doesn't need a passport to travel. (In the past it was so, just tag the child's name to the parent's passport.) Just the 1.5 week before departure did I realize it no longer works this way. Thanks to ICA's efficiency, her passport was produced within 5 days.
We took a ferry there instead of driving, hoping to enhance the travelling experience for Ya tou. There she is posing a shot at the jetty with the little (pathetic-looking) ferry at the back.
After settling down at the resort, we head off to Desaru Fruit Farm. It has claimed to grow over 100 fruits but the guide only showed us about a tenth-- dragon fruit, breadfruit, jackfruit, passionfruit, banana, custard apple, pineapple, soursop, figs, mangosteen, pumpkin and some herbs. Here are pics of Ya tou with dragonfruit plant and in a herb garden.
Another highlight of this farm is the animal sanctuary. They keep a galore of animals! Ostrich, turkeys, peacocks, eagle, owls, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, monkeys, tortoises, snake and lambs! Ya tou was exhilarated to see static pictures seen on books go live right before her eyes.
Back to our hotel, we took Ya tou swimming. It was a mind-blowing experience for her cos she didn't like water (like Mummy)! It took Daddy a long time coaxing and assuring before she entered the water. Below, Daddy teaching Ya tou how to blow bubbles in the water.
Next morning, we took a walk at the beach. Ya tou timidly retreated when Daddy invited her to play near to the water. She was also quite apprehensive in the beginning when we led her to walk on the beach barefooted. But soon she got used to it and started making more adventurous moves. :)
It was a short 2 days 1 night trip, but it did fulfill our purpose-- to relax and let Ya tou have some fun. Some more pics to say a few more thousands words..
Ya tou 'warming-up' before her swimming class.
This is inside the wardrobe. Ya tou loves sitting on the short table.
A children's play room in the resort. Ya tou enjoying herself.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Daddy shed blood for Ya tou
Not to complain about how poorly shoes are made nowadays, but it is quite the fact. :P I remember my grandparents telling me how long their pair of shoes usually last-- it is Decades! The second pair of Bubblegummers footwear we bought for Ya tou broke apart within just few weeks' of occasional wear. (erm, it's the 'Pooh bear' picture label that came off..)
Daddy suggested sewing the label back though I rather take the easy way out-- to super-glue it. When it comes to making such domestic decisions, the 'greener' option always win. Sewing is definitely more earth-friendly than buying a super glue which is almost always left to dry up after its first application.
So one fine Sunday afternoon, Daddy spared time out to repair the sandals. His sewing skill is quite remarkable. He can actually use the antiquated 'Singer' sewing machine to mend his clothes, while I confessed that all my Home Economics class sewing work was done by my best friend Lao mong. haha..
The shoe material is quite thick and Daddy had a painful (literally) time piercing the needle through it. He pricked his thunb as a result..
Daddy suggested sewing the label back though I rather take the easy way out-- to super-glue it. When it comes to making such domestic decisions, the 'greener' option always win. Sewing is definitely more earth-friendly than buying a super glue which is almost always left to dry up after its first application.
So one fine Sunday afternoon, Daddy spared time out to repair the sandals. His sewing skill is quite remarkable. He can actually use the antiquated 'Singer' sewing machine to mend his clothes, while I confessed that all my Home Economics class sewing work was done by my best friend Lao mong. haha..
Daddy is also a quick-witted man and thought of using a piece of wooden puzzle to push the needle.
Taa Daa... Done!! Like brand new!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Picture story "A day at work"-- by Mimi
Red bull give you wiings but Milk give me good brains. It's critical for my optimal functioning each day. Support orginality, stamp pirates, go for Mummy's brand.
Behind every successful baby is a great woman. That's my Mummy. She makes sure my power suit is in order while I groom my hair.
Always think BIG! This is one great philosophy which I integrate religiously into my life, even in the choice of footwear.
This is my personal vehicle which I take to work. Aunties drool & scream when they see me in my mobile elefant. Cute guys pls stand aside~!
Hey, stop giggling!! I'll show you my 厉害soon! :)
Upon reaching office, I'll check my mobile phone for incoming business deals.
I'll get up my chair to get things started. Making calls to clients to foster relationships is crucial to my business.
I listen attentively to the needs of my clients and offer my best advice and a competitive quote. Upholding honesty and quality, it's not difficult to close multi-million dollars deals.
Sometimes when clients get unreasonable, it upsets me and I'll shut the phone. The negative energy from them is too much to take.
When the going gets too tough, I seek for a warm hug from Mummy. It always energizes me and keeps me going. "What's a million dollars without you.. Mummy."
"Me too."
-The End-
Give me real food!
Talking about copy cats, my little ya tou is one true goood species. haha.. I believe it's not just her, but all the little people who are just beginning to learn about this world!
Children just can't help modelling their parents! Therefore, family upbringing is so crucial in building a child's character and values. This is something I always remind myself of, so that I do also 'behave' myself well in front of Zhirui. hehe..
Ya tou has always been curious about (and tempted by) adult food. Erm, the fact is that she just wanna copy us. But with the pathetic teeth population she has (her first pearly white only emerged when she's 13 months), we had to stick her to porridge, porridge and then... porridge. :D
Weeks ago before turning 16 months, she raised a protest against her porridge! Oh well, I would have predicted this day.. So the decision was made to overthrow porridge and institute a new food that's more 'muncheable' and 'adult-ly'.
For Chinese, steamed rice was the obvious choice. We accompanied it with soup. Since Mummy is a Cantonese and a fan of soups, she's quite happy to introduce this delicious liquid to Zhirui. :P
Her diet was to stay as 'virgin' and healthy as possible, so no seasonings were used. The soup contains only the natural flavourings from the ingredients, such as corn, carrots, tomatoes, red dates, beans, beancurds.
"Hmm.. that's more like it!!"
Children just can't help modelling their parents! Therefore, family upbringing is so crucial in building a child's character and values. This is something I always remind myself of, so that I do also 'behave' myself well in front of Zhirui. hehe..
Ya tou has always been curious about (and tempted by) adult food. Erm, the fact is that she just wanna copy us. But with the pathetic teeth population she has (her first pearly white only emerged when she's 13 months), we had to stick her to porridge, porridge and then... porridge. :D
Weeks ago before turning 16 months, she raised a protest against her porridge! Oh well, I would have predicted this day.. So the decision was made to overthrow porridge and institute a new food that's more 'muncheable' and 'adult-ly'.
For Chinese, steamed rice was the obvious choice. We accompanied it with soup. Since Mummy is a Cantonese and a fan of soups, she's quite happy to introduce this delicious liquid to Zhirui. :P
Her diet was to stay as 'virgin' and healthy as possible, so no seasonings were used. The soup contains only the natural flavourings from the ingredients, such as corn, carrots, tomatoes, red dates, beans, beancurds.
"Hmm.. that's more like it!!"
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