The Little Miss PIGGY..

Nick's a homework addict.. He will remind me to give him homework every day..

 A few pages of work after each meal (i.e. after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner).  It's a good habit and i don't mind going thru bookshops every weekends to find work books for him.  

Well, Missy Piggy has started BEGGING for homework everyday.. (i say begging because apart from her normal homework, she has started asking for more more more until i have no more books or worksheets for her..) She has almost reach a point where i have fear of giving to her my books! If that book has 25 pages, she would complete the whole book in 1 sitting. If the book has 60 pages, she will also complete all 60 pages in 1 sitting.. Scary right!!! It makes me worried because, i am afraid this will burn her interest in books in future.. 

Today, i gave Nick a Maths worksheet.. And when i got home this evening, guess who i saw who doing it?? 

Missy PIGGY.. and little Missy "how lian" still has the cheek to tell me easy peasy when Nick still gets it wrong at times..  And for a 3yr 7mth, it's way too early for her to start!! Tsk tsk.. 

Missy Piggy, give mummy a break okie.. Gimme 2 more years to build Nick's foundation before i teach you when you are 6yo okies..... 

The Boy and his Mad Love with the Dinosaurs and Volcanos...

Sometimes, we have absolutely no idea where did the love for all these come from. 

Just like for dinosaurs and volcano, it just comes out of the blue, when he starts reciting all the names of the dinosaurs and telling us the dinosaurs all died because all the volcano decided to "EXPLODE" (he meant erupt) at the same time, the hot lava (yes, he used the word LAVA which i have no idea where he learnt that from) burn them all.. And they died.. :(

Well, it just started that way.. And he can spend hours and hours flipping Sam's encyclopedia even though he could barely read them. 

Last Sunday, we found this at Toysrus.. Feel that it was rather reasonably priced so we bought it for him.. 

Back home, daddy gave him instructions on how to break the hard sand brick to "extract" the dinosaurs out..

See some huge piece that came off? The small plastic hammer that nick is using is not capable of that.. Daddy played cheat after a while and used the real hammer to break the brick as it was taking too long for nick to break the sand block.

My young Paleontology and his assistant (i.e. daddy) at work.

Finally, can u see the dinosaurs? It's is like after 2 hours of hammering did Nick finally see them. 

Then.. 1 came out.. 

Then 2 dinosaurs..

Then 3rd one joined in.

And not long later, all 6 came out. 

*Mummy too excited, forgot to take pictures.. :P

After the dinosaurs appeared, Nick went on to prepare the plaster mix to make the volcano..

Then poured it onto the mould.. Smoothen the base of the volcano..  Then, wait for it to dry. :)

This weekend, we will be painting the volcano.. Stay tune!.. :)

Headache..

The helper just broke the news.. 

She won't be returning back here after this Hari Raya home leave.. :(

Am feeling sad cos she's like our 4th child at home, but also understand her wish of staying close to mama after working here for so long.. 

Tsk tsk.. Need to look for a new helper in July which will be tough cos, it's Hari Raya season, and it can be hard to find 1. 

Wish me luck..

Home 家 ..

This song never fails to touch my heart whenever it's on television.. The kids will also run into the room and sing along to it.

This is HOME truly!! And indeed, is a place i never be alone! :)

Honeymoon Or Family Holiday

Lately, been feeling tired, restless and fustrated..

Knowing i have to bring the kids out and play, yet because we have a P5 child who is having loads of homework and tests, and so we are trying to be as fair as possible.. When he stays at home to complete his homework or study for tests, we too not bring the younger ones out to play (the ikea trip is still on the outstanding list)..

Hubby and me really need a break soon, but the holidays are approaching, and it's also fair to bring the small ones out to play as they also have been very understand on the fact that their brother is having some test and exams, that they are not to turn on the tv or go out and play on weekday evenings..

NATAS fair is on this weekend.. Am thinking if we should go on a family vacation (which means hb and me will have no break), or a honeymoon trip to some beach resort so that our poor ears, brain, and bones can take a break..

It's so tough to decide.. :(

Books Vs Play..

I've been wanting to bring the kids over to Ikea.. It's only a mere 10mins drive from home..

Sadly.. Every evening, i battle between "STUDY or PLAY".. And lagee sadly, study always wins.. :(

The kids have been waiting for a meal at Ikea and PLAYGROUND..

Maybe.. Maybe i should make that wish come true tonight.. :)

The K2 Kids of Today..

It never fail to make me wonder what am i doing to my son's life!  Am i helping him or ruining his childhood..

The K2 boy came home with 3 pages of writing for the weekend. Mind you, 5yo going on to 6.. It's 3 pages of a total 10 words. He tried to negotiate with the helper.. Of 3 pages, 1 for Friday, 1 for Saturday, 1 for Sunday. The helper reminded him he has English and Math at Kumon on Saturday morning and we usually bring them out to play after class. He has Chinese classes on Sunday morning which we would be home till like 2pm and he has to nap and then try to squeeze in time for the wii or psp and tv after nap. 

 

I thought that i am a modern parent. I thought by sending my son for enrichment classes and  from there, learning is fun. He will be able to learn what he needs to earlier in a fun way, before his peers and thus breeze thru Kindergarten, Primary school etc. With strong foundation, that should also help him to finish his secondary school with no sweat. 

Boy, looking at it now.. I think i am so WRONG. 

Every afternoon, son will call me at work.. Telling me he has 2-3 pages of homework and needs my help to complete. Asking me to come home after work and help him. 

I knock off at 6pm sharp, rush home. By 6.15pm, i am at home, son sits beside me with his homework while i "swallow" my dinner. After completing his school homework, he usually takes his English/Chinese revision books and sit down asking me to complete a few pages with him. By 9pm, i will chase him to bed. This routine goes on every Monday - Friday except on evenings where he attends Kumon or his music classes.

In K2, he's reading words that i probably learned at P3 or P4. Chinese is sometimes way too difficult for me that i have to have the dictionary with me. Math, they are learning Mass, measurements, graphs etc.  And at 5yo, they also have Sudoku to do.. 

It's tough being a child today. It's also harder being a parent don't you think so? 

2 Little Monkies = 1 Big Plan

Something big is brewing..

If you don't cooperate with me.. I'll kiss you till you do!!

*Bleh* How?? U going to change your mind?? :P

About Nick..

Nick is going to Primary 1 next year and i am having a nervious breakdown soon! And, i am wondering if i the only one facing this..

Over CNY, i spoke to a friend whose daughter is in P1 this year. She told me that her girl is coping fine in school. No tution, just PCF then now P1.

I called a P1 Prep Class and the teacher told me a child is ready for P1 when they can read "I, You, He, Her, Is, Are, The, This, That". Is sufficient.. (i am more than certain that Sam could read those at K1 and a whole proper book at K2!!)

Am i really Kiasu?? Nick for sure can read more words than just those few, but still, i find him a slow reader.. *rofl*

Catching Up With Plays!!

Am so so excited!!.. I have just managed to buy the tickets for front rows for the 2 shows this weekend!!

So, the 2 younger monkies and me are going to have a great time tomorrow!!

The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo is a mouse. The story of the mouse's walk through the woods unfolds in two phases; in both, the mouse uses cunning to evade danger.

On his way the mouse encounters several dangerous animals (a fox, an owl, and a snake). Each of these animals, clearly intent on eating the mouse, invites him back to their home for a meal. The cunning mouse declines each offer. To dissuade further advances, he tells each animal that he has plans to dine with his friend, a gruffalo, whose favorite food happens to be the relevant animal, and describes the features of the gruffalo's monstrous anatomy. Frightened that the gruffalo might eat it, each animal flees. Knowing the gruffalo to be fictional, the mouse gloats, thusly:

Silly old fox/owl/snake, doesn't he know?
there's no such thing as a gruffalo!

After being quit of the last animal, the mouse is shocked to encounter a real gruffalo – with all the frightening features the mouse thought that he was inventing. The gruffalo threatens to eat the mouse, but again the mouse is cunning: he tells the gruffalo that he, the mouse, is the scariest animal in the forest. Laughing, the gruffalo agrees to follow the mouse as he demonstrates how feared he is. The two walk through the forest, encountering in turn the animals that had earlier menaced the mouse. Each is terrified by the sight of the pair and runs off – and each time the gruffalo becomes more impressed with the mouse's apparent toughness. Exploiting this, the mouse threatens to eat the gruffalo, which flees.


The Gruffalo's Child

The story is about the Gruffalo's daughter who, despite her father's stories, sets off into the woods to discover the 'big bad mouse', which is the only thing her father is afraid of.

Throughout her journey, she encounters the snake, the owl, and the fox from The Gruffalo, each of whom tell her where she can find the big bad mouse. Eventually, believing she has been tricked, she gives up, saying that she doesn't believe in the 'big bad mouse'. When it finally appears, she realises it isn't big and bad as her father described.

In order to avoid being eaten, the mouse invites the Gruffalo's daughter to meet the big bad mouse. It then tricks the Gruffalo's daughter by standing on a tree branch to use the moonlight to enlarge its shadow. The Gruffalo's daughter flees, believing the shadow to belong to the real 'big bad mouse'.

It is a typical 'brains over brawn' plot and follows a storyline and rhyming pattern similar to its predecessor, The Gruffalo. It utilizes a Winter setting in order to make use of animal tracks in the snow, allowing the Gruffalo's daughter to encounter the other animals.

Happy New Year!!

It's been a great great New Year!!

We had gatherings at home on Day 1, travelled to the town with the most water (water = money..) on Day 2 and followed by hotel stay and swimming in water (more more money again) all day on Day 3 and 4!!

Huat arh.. :)

Will be back to update soon!! Till then, enjoy your New Year!!