Snail Surprise

“Snail hide.” Russ pulled me along as he looked for snails on the ground.

“Yes, the snails are hiding now. I said.

The sun was bright and warm. There were no snails in sight.

“Snail! Snail” Russ pulled me hard so I walk faster. He walked to the other side, squatted down to examine the plants.

“Snail, mummy!” He said excitedly. He pulled on my hand so I squatted down next to him too.

He pointed and I looked up.

“Wow! so many snails! Russ really knew where they were!” I thought.

He wanted to show me the snails! It was such a pleasant surprise! Now I know where they hide during the day time. I felt that I learn something from my son today. Can you see how many snails are there in this picture? There were more of them! There were about ten of them when I counted.

Here’s another picture for a closer look!

Tallest Fun!

The kids were running wild again. We just wanted a peaceful lunch. Then suddenly an idea came to my mind.

“Kids! Let’s have a competition” I immediately wonder if they understood what I just said.

“Let’s build the tallest building!” I said.
“Quick quick! Let’s see who can build the tallest building!” My hubby chipped in. His tummy rumbling.

“Whoever build the tallest building will get…. CANDY!” I declared.
“Haha!” I laughed and my hubby laughed too.

That was the best reward any kid wanted. They zoomed off and started their little project. And we zoomed off back to our lunch.

Who’s the champion? They both got candies for their effort and we both got our lunch!

“Let’s build an animal!” I tired my luck again.

Russ walked away without even looking at me. He wandered off to do something else more ‘fun’.

Kay ran towards the blocks and started building. Here’s her second project. Can you tell what animal that is?

Kay’s First Drawing

“Who is this?” I wonder who is Kay drawing this time.

“Russ!” Kay declared. Sometimes, she will say the picture is daddy. Sometimes, it’s mummy or anyone else in the family.

Match it!

This book is really great! Most of the worksheets are designed by a Japanese lecturer. It is then adopted by the Chinese and printed in China. Haha! I LOVE China.

Kay had lots of fun. She can’t take her hands off the book and can finish 7 worksheets in a row!

The worksheets are very ‘kumon’ style. Bright colours, cute pictures and comes with interesting topics and objectives. These kept both the kids interested and excited. I will be showing more of these worksheets.

Let’s have fun! Woohoo!

“Do you like mummy to be home?” I asked Kay. She gave me a blank look.

We were preparing to go home after a day at Ikea.

“Mummy can bring you out when mummy is not working” I added.

“I like mummy to bring us out! Haha! ” Kay said happily while sipping on her soda.

I was hoping she will pester me to be home more often. But apparently, Kay cannot make that connection yet. Haha!

My colleagues reminded me about our childcare leave. Since I have not utilised any, I decided to take a short break and bring the kids out for some fun.

Childcare Leave Day 1
6/11/08, Thursday

Visit to the Zoo
We visited the zoo with my colleagues and their kids.

Poor man? Look again!

Childcare Leave Day 2
7/11/08, Friday
Karaoke and Lunch at KBox
Kay sang so much I had to fight with her for the mic.
Russ refused to sing that day.

Day 3
8/11/08, Sat
Playroom at Ikea
Kay and Russ walked into the playroom together.
I felt so proud watching them walk in by themselves for the first time.
We watched them while they play. I wish I am a kid again!
Just in case you are wondering… these pictures are taken from Ikea website.
P.S. They are not my kids

Day 4
9/11/08, Sunday

Swiming with Daddy

(No Picture!)

I am really grateful for the childcare leave. The time spent with my kids is priceless. Watching them play just bring so much joy to my heart.

Right Brain Education

Right Brain Education is a method of activating both hemispheres of the brain to accelerate learning, activate photographic memory, promote speed reading and make early learning fun for both children and parents.

Right Brain Education focuses on accelerated early learning program inspired by Maria Montessori, Glenn Doman, Makodo Shichida, Tony Buzan and many others.

Pirate Attack!

Russ fell in love with ‘Mask’. He insisted on holding the book since we borrowed it from the library. The book is half as big as him. He struggled as he walk with the book in one hand. At home, he insisted my hubby read the book to him over and over again. He just could not get enough of the book.

The next morning, I could see all my hubby wanted was to have a peaceful Sunday morning in front of the TV without having to read the book again.

“Daddy, read Mask!” Russ shouted and jumped.
“Read Mask!”
“Mask!”
“Daddy, come down!” he pestered his dad.

I felt a little lucky that I was making lunch that Sunday morning. My hubby gave in and read to my son again.

Pirate! Pirate! Pirate!” Russ chants.

The Project!
That afternoon, my hubby gathered some art material and declared that the kids and him would be making mask. I was surprised. Didn’t he had enough of that book?

The mask making material

The Product!
They finally finished their mask with lots of help from my hubby and myself. They were excited about the mask, wore them, fashioned them infront of the mirror. Kay Giggled. Russ laughed and they both run around with their mask on.

My hubby and I laugh too. At their sillines, our beautiful day and the job well done.

Pirate and Princess

Kay Reads..

In this ‘Weekend’, Kay enjoys reading about the butterfly, grasshopper, caterpillar and many more bugs. If you like to get this book, here’s more information.

Robin Readers My Weekend – Ben Catches Bugs
Author : Janet Bartier
Publisher : Popular UK Pte Limited
Item Code : 9781906303525
Usual Price : S$4.50

Synopsis:
My Weekend introduces 10 fun-to-do weekend activities through the eyes of children. While having fun, the children also gain new skills and learn new things about the world around them. Colourful and entertaining illustrations accompany the easy-to-read stories, making them enjoyable for early readers. Activities are provided at the end of each book to assess children’s understanding of the content.

Flashcards for Russ

“starfruit”
“cherry”
“banana”
“durian”
“mango” my hubby said while he shuffled the cards.

Russ was sitting right in front of him with his usual smirk on his face.
I was lazing, watching tv next to them while trying to catch quick glimpse of the two serious man at work.

fruity flashcards

I decided to test Russ by writing the words on the doddle board today.
Report Card:
1. starfruit – correct
2. cherry – correct
3. durian – incorrect (he said something like dinosaur.)
4. mango – incorrect
5. pear – correct
6. banana – correct!

I forgot to cheer for Russ. He got bored and ran away with his sister to do something else more interesting. hehe

Note:
I read somewhere that we are not suppose to test our kids when doing flashcards. But how are we going to know what to reinforce and when to add in new materials when we dunno how our child is performing? So, I decided that diagnostic test is necessary. But I strongly believe that we should not give additional stress to our child through these test. Additional stress may eventually turn the child away from learning. Learning must be fun! When is it fun? Is it fun when both your child and yourself are enjoying it.

Quotes I Live By

“Good discipline is not punishment, it is instruction.”