Week 3 of Term 1

This week, the children learned about their five senses and their uses. They also learnt that their five senses are very important and that they need every single one of them everyday.

They were also introduced to the letter Bb and its sound.

Also introduced to the colours purple and orange. Interesting activity was to squeeze juice from an orange. My little boy enjoyed himself. According to teacher, he finished the whole cup of juice even though he said it was sour =P

Art and craft time. Pasting little pieces of orange coloured paper onto the picture of an orange.

Bb for bubbles..............................

No idea what they were doing here. Guess they must have been playing a game.

Joshie didn't cry on Monday and Wednesday. However, I had to walk him to his classroom and slowly sneak out. On Friday, he cried at the doorstep of school. I wonder why. But teacher said he was ok after I left and was actively participating in all the activities.

Oh, he wet his pants twice on Monday. Thus, on Wednesday and Friday, he kept on asking to go to the toilet nearly every 30 minutes.

An Ipad!

See how happy the boy is with the Ipad on his lap?

Kids nowadays are really so blessed. It's a family Ipad but the cheeky is using it most of the time. Most of the apps that we downloaded are his. But I have to say that the apps are really very educational. However, I make sure that he does not use it for more than 1 hour on normal days as I am worried about his eyesight.

Week 2 of Term 1

The kiddos were introduced to the letter Aa and its sound on week 2. They were asked to locate the magnetic letter Aa from the whiteboard.

More learning on body parts as well, as pictured below. Good teaching on teamwork too.

Their masterpiece.

Furthermore, they were taught the colours green and yellow. Played the game "Green Musical Chairs". Can you see that my boy is the only one who sat on a blue chair?

Art and craft time. Pasting little green pieces of paper on the picture of an apple.

Joshie was much better during week 2. Cried less and I didn't have trouble putting on his school uniform in the morning.

Random pictures of Joshie

On the tyre swing with Oscar.

Preparing to slide down with Haley.

Run, run, run. He can sprint really fast for a 2 year old.

Playing with the drum set at Parco, Millenia Walk.

I-phone bonding moment with daddy dearest

An embarassing moment

We were queuing up at the cashier's at Parkson when my little son walked up to the manequin and touched its crotch. He then turned and said "mummy, kukubird where?"

I told him it's just a manequin and that managed to pacify him. I think the rest of the shoppers were amused when this mummy took out her Iphone and took a picture. I saw the man behind us smiling away.

On another note, Joshie's speech has been improving a lot. He's been talking in sentences and he has also added tons of words to his vocab. However, his recognition of words is deteriorating. Last time, he could recognise more than 15 words from the flashcards but recently, he only reads less than 5. His attention span on flashcards is getting shorter and it's really difficult to get him to concentrate. He's getting more playful. I guess that's how boys are.

A new one to replace the old

This is a backdated post.

Sometime towards the end of last year, our Toyomi fan just stopped functioning. Hubby would give the fan a good slap, and then it would move again..........but to our dismay, would stop and not function again. Our dear son was really helpful, he took a screw driver out and said he was going to fix the fan (pictured above). As he fiddled with the screw driver, he kept mumbling "no more battery", "mummy, go buy battery".

This gave my dear hubby the chance to fulfill his dream of owning a Dyson product! =) He has been eyeing Dyson's vacuum cleaner and air multiplier. Without further ado, he walked to the mall opposite our home and lugged back the Dyson air multiplier to replace our non-functioning Toyomi fan. There were 2 sizes available and he bought the bigger one since it's to be placed in the living room. It ain't cheap, you can use that money to buy an air-cond instead.

Unlike the usual conventional fan, there are no blades. So, it's very safe especially if you have a curious toddler at home. I've been wanting to buy the plastic netting for the fan ever since I saw Joshie trying to stick his fingers through the gap. A further plus is that it's much easier to clean. And last but not least, it cools the room at a more efficient rate compared to the old fan.

But what does Joshie think of his daddy's huge household investment?

He reckons it's also another toy for him. One which he can throw his ball through. Pick up the ball and throw it again. Continuously till I said stop!

Mushroom cut to usher in the rabbit year

His hair was getting really untidy, especially near the ear area. Thus, I packed him into the taxi sometime last week after he woke up from his afternoon nap. Headed to Liang Court on River Valley Road to visit his hairstylist.

The stylist asked if I wanted her to cut the same style as before. Asked her what other style does she recommend and she suggested the mushroom cut. Said now is the ideal age for mushroom cut. Looks cute now.

So mushroom cut that's it. Sat the cheeky down onto my lap and she started snipping. Had to pacify him with a lollipop when hair started falling onto his skin!!!! He just hates hair on his skin. But lollipop and Nemo managed to placate him and before I knew it, it was finished.

I was a little shocked when I saw his new look. And also regretted too, coz the old cut was more stylo. =) Just take a look at my picture, don't you agree with me?

But over the next few days, I appreciated his new look. I think he looks cuter now, with his new hairstyle =) Moreover, the fringe is now a bit longer and doesn't look so severe anymore. Hmnn, so maybe it was the right choice after all!

Car bed

Joshie has been sleeping on a mattress on a floor since he started climbing out of his baby cot. That was 9 months ago. Ever since I found out that he's allergic to dust mites, I've wanted to buy him a bed frame. But because we were always out of the country, we kept procrastinating our furniture shopping. However, our procrastination came to an end when we had to start clearing the store room for our new helper. Bought a cabinet for the living room, an open shelf for the kitchen and last but not least, a bed frame for my little son.

After doing some research, we finally settled for a car bed frame. Bought it from one of the shops at The Furniture Mall on Beach Road. Cost us $600 and we spent another sum of money on a Getha latex mattress.

This is how Joshie's room looks like now.

Also bought him a cardboard book shelf from the mall opposite my home. Doesn't it look nice?

Week 1 of Term 1

Theme for Term 1 is All About Me. According to the teacher, the kids were introduced to different parts of their body. To reinforce the learning, they played the game "Simon says point to your body parts". They were also taught the colour red and blue.

As we only came back from KL on Monday, Joshie missed the first lesson and only joined his classmates for 2 lessons during Week 1. Although he cried when I dropped him off, teacher said he coped well in class and mingled around as well.

The class is small, only 5 kiddos, so teacher can have enough time for each student. In the picture below, the kids were doing some art and craft.

Joshie at school

I enrolled Joshie for the Leap Kids Program at LeapSchoolHouse. The program is conducted thrice weekly (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 9 to 12:30pm.

As we only came back to Singapore on Monday, he missed the first lesson. I've been drilling into his head that he is now a big boy and has to go to school on his own. He nodded his head and also repeated after me that he will be brave and won't cry. Since Wednesday was his first day, the teacher asked me to bring him into the classroom first. When we were there, I pointed out to him that all the other kids are on their own, without mummy or daddy. I think he got a bit worried and stuck to me like a leech. Wanted to sit on me all the time. Slowly, I managed to get him to play with some blocks and then took the opportunity to slip out of the room. I peeped through and saw him looking for me. Walked towards the door and started crying already. I then left him with the teachers and did my own stuff. When I picked him up at 12:30pm, he was ok. I was quite worried that he'd be crying throughout the whole 3 plus hours. But according to teacher, he only cried for 5-10 minutes and began participating in classroom activities.

On Friday, he dilly dallied the whole morning before school. Made excuses when I wanted to dress him up for school. Told me he wants to wear his Thomas pyjamas...........After much coaxing, I managed to get him dressed. He was ok on the way to school. However, when we got off the lift at the 9th floor, he dragged his feet and told me he wanted to go to toilet. So I brought him even though he has just peed like 15 minutes ago. Went to school and he immediately bawled when he saw the teachers. Told me he wanted to go to toilet again.......brought him there again.........and then back to school. Carried him into classroom and he was still bawling. So I decided to just pass him to teacher. Walked out of classroom and the next minute, he stopped crying.

So what should I do next Monday? Just pass him to teacher and leave! Hope he will not cry anymore........

Hello 2011

This is a picture of Joshie sitting by the lake at Singapore Botanics Garden. One of my resolution for the year is to do more outdoor activities with Joshie. Less tv but more outdoor activites where he can run around and release his pent up energy. :)

Two major changes for us this year:

1) First, we've employed a live-in Filipino helper. She came yesterday and today, I've been training and teaching her how to do her chores. Her attitude seems ok but she's pretty slow. And a bit blur. Doesn't seem to really understand what I say. Think I need to learn to talk slower and maybe write down everything that she needs to know.

2) Joshie goes to drop-off school. He's starting tomorrow at LeapSchoolHouse. The programme is thrice a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9 to 12:30pm. I am a bit anxious that he'd cry. Pray that he adapts well and enjoys going to school.

I seriously wonder what else is in store for us this year. Hopefully I make full use of the extra ME time that I get!

Goodbye 2010

I know, it's already the 4th day of the new year and I still haven't said goodbye properly to good old 2010. Just a short post for me to recap 2010.

2010 was a year of traveling for us. We did not intend to travel to so many countries but somehow, we have. Mainly because the hubs and I discovered that the little cheeky is quite a good traveller. We first brought him to Hong Kong when he was just 15 months old. It wasn't easy, BUT it was much easier than I had imagined. From a boy who wouldn't even sit in the stroller, he surprised me by taking his nap in the stroller without any fuss. We then became more adventurous and planned a family trip to Australia. Little did we know that before we even booked our tickets to Aust, the hubs had to go to Japan for work. So cheeky and I tagged along. We came back in good shape (not over-exhausted like how some other moms describe their holiday with their tots) and continued to visit Australia and Bali before the year came to an end.

2010 was also a year where I got to discipline and train my toddler better. Although some moms have told me that it's easier to train babies, I choose to concur. I only managed to sleep train Joshie when he was a baby. Other things - FAILED!!!! He wouldn't sit in the stroller nor the playpen; thus I had no time for myself. I remember rushing through housework like a mad woman. Potty training also failed; no matter how hard I tried, he just wouldn't poo in the potty. But 2010 saw my toddler transitioning from a baby cot to a single bed with little fuss, sitting in the stroller while I shop, playing independently and being potty trained (no diapers during the day). I am now a much more sane mom! Hahaha........more ME time and less stress. I have even gone for a pedicure and a massage with Joshie.

2010 was also a year of numerous visits to the doctor! My little boy came down with a cold practically every month. I was just so fed up feeding him medicine. Well, we finally discovered the root of the problem in September - his allergy to dust mites; and since then, we've managed to control the occurence of a cold to a certain extent.

2010 was also a year where the hubs was away from us very often. His business trips are very frequent although he might not be away for long - maybe 3-4 days on average. Except for his longest trip to B, which was 10 days. I used to get stressed up in the beginning because coincidentally, the cheeky would fall sick each time the hubs is not around. My worst nightmare was him waking up every 45 minutes on average throughout the whole night, with a fever that hovers around 39C plus, even with panadol. I even brought him to A&E!!! Sickness aside, cheeky also seems to know that daddy's not around. He'd be cranky and at times, would cry for daddy. Thank God he's much better now, he seems to understand that daddy's only away for a short while and would be back. It helps that he can now talk to daddy on the phone.

Ok, that's all for 2010 I guess. Happy New Year, folks!