Since last month, Ya tou has shown her ability to indicate her urge to pass urine and would request us to bring her to the toilet! That's wonderful as we can now save Earth's resources by using less diapers. I have been feeling pretty guilty all this while for contributing to the world's ever-increasing undegradable rubbish.
Thanks to Zheng tz who patiently trained her. When Ya tou is home, we would let her go bare-bottom (but with shorts/pants on). When she needs the loo, she will tell us "Shh shh" and we will bring her to the toilet. Sometimes, when she's slow in communicating to us, especially during engrossed playing, she'll wet her pants. On certain days, I find her wardrobe running out of shorts!
Last sunday, I went shopping for Ya tou's panties becos her shorts/pants were giving friction to her bottom and causing redness. Hmm.. I've never imagined getting her panties at this young age. haha.. but it feels good cos it shows that Ya tou has grown up! :)
As to passing motion, she is still not ready to do it in the toilet. Nanny tried many ways to teach her but she just prefer doing it on her diapers. We'll leave things to go by nature's course then.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Childcare centre hunt
I thought I needn't start googling for "childcare centre in Yishun" until another one year after finding Zhirui's present nanny.
But from the look of it, Zhirui's present nanny will not be able to look after her for long.. For reasons:
1) nanny's grandson will be due in Jul/Aug. Which means there will be no room for Zhirui then.
2) nanny's health has been suffering since she took up the task
3) jx is not very pleased that he has to share his Grandmother with Zhirui..
The above factors are not within our control, so it's better to start planning for Ya tou's child care needs.
There are many things going thru my mind. One is, believing that '三岁定终身', should I take no pay leave and stay home to take care/educate Ya tou till she turns three? But knowing myself is not the type who can face the child whole day alone, this option will be very challenging (or killing). Ok, how about going part-time so that I can have a balance?
When I told MP about staying home to teach Zhirui, she discourages becos she feels that we (stay-home mums) won't be able to teach many things at home as compared to in childcare centres. Example is phonics. Huh?? But is phonics more important than the (emotional) well-being of a child (feeling secured and loved when her mother spends time playing with and teaching her child personally)? Hmm.. this seems to be the mentality of many Singaporean parents. They tend to weigh academic acheivement more than anything.
Anyway, if we can find a childcare centre which can provide holistic development, we will consider putting Zhirui into it. So the search was on. Contacted a few centres and viewed them with SB. We liked "My little campus" but the principal could only confirm Ya tou's enrolment for playgroup 2011 next week.
Hopefully there will be a place for Ya tou. Otherwise, we would really need to start our own child care centre (which SB has been contemplating!). :)
But from the look of it, Zhirui's present nanny will not be able to look after her for long.. For reasons:
1) nanny's grandson will be due in Jul/Aug. Which means there will be no room for Zhirui then.
2) nanny's health has been suffering since she took up the task
3) jx is not very pleased that he has to share his Grandmother with Zhirui..
The above factors are not within our control, so it's better to start planning for Ya tou's child care needs.
There are many things going thru my mind. One is, believing that '三岁定终身', should I take no pay leave and stay home to take care/educate Ya tou till she turns three? But knowing myself is not the type who can face the child whole day alone, this option will be very challenging (or killing). Ok, how about going part-time so that I can have a balance?
When I told MP about staying home to teach Zhirui, she discourages becos she feels that we (stay-home mums) won't be able to teach many things at home as compared to in childcare centres. Example is phonics. Huh?? But is phonics more important than the (emotional) well-being of a child (feeling secured and loved when her mother spends time playing with and teaching her child personally)? Hmm.. this seems to be the mentality of many Singaporean parents. They tend to weigh academic acheivement more than anything.
Anyway, if we can find a childcare centre which can provide holistic development, we will consider putting Zhirui into it. So the search was on. Contacted a few centres and viewed them with SB. We liked "My little campus" but the principal could only confirm Ya tou's enrolment for playgroup 2011 next week.
Hopefully there will be a place for Ya tou. Otherwise, we would really need to start our own child care centre (which SB has been contemplating!). :)
Little poet
Ya tou is progressing very fast in picking up her mother tongue. In fact, many people were awed by her accurate pronounciation of Chinese words.
Since young, Ya tou has been surrounded by recitals of chinese classics like 弟子规 (Standards for being a Good Student and Child) , 三字经 (Three-worded classic), 大学 (The Great Learning), 朱子治家格言etc. We believe that drawing on ancient moral teachings to mould Ya tou's character is better than anything.
Seeing Ya tou's great advancement in speech, Daddy started to introduce Tang poems (唐诗) to Zhirui. By 18 months, she could recite Li Bai (李白)'s Thoughts in the Silent Night (静夜思). Now, Daddy is teaching her the "登鹳雀楼" by 王之涣 and 大学.
Really love listening to ya tou's sweet little voice reciting these great poems. :)
Some people might doubt the benefits & relevance of reciting ancient poems, besides the probable improvement to Chinese language. I too, have no real idea how this might be good to Ya tou's character development since she would not quite understand them. But what I do strongly believe is the energy. I believe there is good energy from these scriptures that can influence the reader positively. Something which I can only explained by this Chinese phrase "潛移默化". :)
Since young, Ya tou has been surrounded by recitals of chinese classics like 弟子规 (Standards for being a Good Student and Child) , 三字经 (Three-worded classic), 大学 (The Great Learning), 朱子治家格言etc. We believe that drawing on ancient moral teachings to mould Ya tou's character is better than anything.
Seeing Ya tou's great advancement in speech, Daddy started to introduce Tang poems (唐诗) to Zhirui. By 18 months, she could recite Li Bai (李白)'s Thoughts in the Silent Night (静夜思). Now, Daddy is teaching her the "登鹳雀楼" by 王之涣 and 大学.
Really love listening to ya tou's sweet little voice reciting these great poems. :)
Some people might doubt the benefits & relevance of reciting ancient poems, besides the probable improvement to Chinese language. I too, have no real idea how this might be good to Ya tou's character development since she would not quite understand them. But what I do strongly believe is the energy. I believe there is good energy from these scriptures that can influence the reader positively. Something which I can only explained by this Chinese phrase "潛移默化". :)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Dead fish
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??
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??
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.
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