The best thing that my boys benefited from their bad sleeping habits or from their battle against sleep is to be able to count up to 100.
When they were 3, Y would keep running out of his bed announcing "Mummy, I can't sleep!" To avoid the tears and battle during bedtime, we came up with the "Count to 100" strategy. He would sit on the rocker chair with me and I would rock him as we count to 100. He has to go back to his bed after we count to 100 and may not come out again. He kept to the agreement sometimes, he fell asleep when we haven't even reached 50 sometimes or he would run out several times to count on some days. It started with me counting only, then with him counting after me, then progress to him counting with some help from me when he got stuck. After 2 months, he mastered his counting to 100. Counting to 100 was no longer challenging to him and the strategy didn't work anymore. I wanted to introduce skip counting but I'm happy that he came up with counting backwards himself. K, being a better sleeper who also count lesser is getting quite upset that his brother can count from 100-1 while he can only do 1-100.
Learning can take place in the most unconventional way. I would note in Y's growing journal that he mastered counting because he was the worst sleeper in the family.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Aversion towards Babies
My boys are suffering from a condition I call, "Baby Aversion". We invited a classmate who had a baby brother over one day. They looked in horror when the baby brother stuffed their favorite police car into his mouth, knocked down their Lego blocks tower and dropped their toys on the floor. At the playground, they screamed when wandering toddlers took their bike for a ride conveniently while they were climbing at the bars.
I can't really blame them for that, considering they almost lost one patch of hair when a friendly toddler came over for a chat coupled with hair pulling when we were at Sentosa once. They got beaten and pinched several times at the playground, also from friendly babies.
It was hard to get them to understand that the babies were not being mean or obnoxious. On the contrary, they were just overly enthusiastic to make friends with them. They wanted to touch them but do not know how to control their strength. The boys have forgotten they were babies once too and they were like this too. They couldn't believe me when I told them they have done the same too. They have declared "We hate babies! NO babies in the house!" until ....
Y: Can we invite S&W(their classmates) to our house to play?
Me: Yes we can. We will invite the whole family and that includes the baby sister.
Y&K: BABY??!!!
Me: Yes.
Y: Why they have baby?
K: Can the baby don't come?
Me: No, we have to invite everyone. The baby is not going to stay home alone.
Y: But I just want S&W to come.
Me: That's not going to happen. If you invite the brother, we have to invite the sister.
K: Never mind. Maybe the baby won't come. I think the baby like to stay home... I think... Maybe... maybe the baby won't come.
Me: No, the baby WILL come.
K continues chanting... no... the baby won't come, the baby doesn't like to come...
After a few incidents at the playground where they were nasty to young babies, screaming when they get close to them.
Me: I don't like your behavior towards the babies just now.
K: I don't like babies, they spoil my toys and they hit me.
Me: What happens if we have a baby in our family? Are you going to be nasty to the baby too?
K: Then I will share my toys with the baby. But only baby toys ok? Is it a baby girl or baby boy? I want boy.
Me: ????
That reply took me by surprise, so maybe they don't hate babies that much after all. I'm just looking forward to see their reaction when their friend's baby sister come over. They mix around with older cousins who give in to them. I hope they can learn to be tolerant towards younger children just like their older cousins.
I can't really blame them for that, considering they almost lost one patch of hair when a friendly toddler came over for a chat coupled with hair pulling when we were at Sentosa once. They got beaten and pinched several times at the playground, also from friendly babies.
It was hard to get them to understand that the babies were not being mean or obnoxious. On the contrary, they were just overly enthusiastic to make friends with them. They wanted to touch them but do not know how to control their strength. The boys have forgotten they were babies once too and they were like this too. They couldn't believe me when I told them they have done the same too. They have declared "We hate babies! NO babies in the house!" until ....
Y: Can we invite S&W(their classmates) to our house to play?
Me: Yes we can. We will invite the whole family and that includes the baby sister.
Y&K: BABY??!!!
Me: Yes.
Y: Why they have baby?
K: Can the baby don't come?
Me: No, we have to invite everyone. The baby is not going to stay home alone.
Y: But I just want S&W to come.
Me: That's not going to happen. If you invite the brother, we have to invite the sister.
K: Never mind. Maybe the baby won't come. I think the baby like to stay home... I think... Maybe... maybe the baby won't come.
Me: No, the baby WILL come.
K continues chanting... no... the baby won't come, the baby doesn't like to come...
After a few incidents at the playground where they were nasty to young babies, screaming when they get close to them.
Me: I don't like your behavior towards the babies just now.
K: I don't like babies, they spoil my toys and they hit me.
Me: What happens if we have a baby in our family? Are you going to be nasty to the baby too?
K: Then I will share my toys with the baby. But only baby toys ok? Is it a baby girl or baby boy? I want boy.
Me: ????
That reply took me by surprise, so maybe they don't hate babies that much after all. I'm just looking forward to see their reaction when their friend's baby sister come over. They mix around with older cousins who give in to them. I hope they can learn to be tolerant towards younger children just like their older cousins.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Dec 2012 Vacation in Phuket
We went to Phuket for our Dec vacation with my family. A total of 19 people! It was a great trip with great company, great resort, great weather and great activities. It was simply the GREATEST. BESTEST vacation we ever had.
My sister recommended the Outrigger Laguna Resort. We were considering the villas but after calculating the cost, they were out of our budget. It's a pity but the apartments suites there were amazing as well. We got a 2 bedroom suite just in case the boys do not want to sleep in the baby playpen and my husband and I are the kind of parents who can't share our beds with our children. At age 3, they want to be BIG boys and will not consider anything that's "babyish" but to our surprise, they were happy to jump into the playpen.
We went to Siam Safari on the second day. We took the 4 in 1 tour. You get to take the Water Buffalo Cart, see the Rubber Tree Cutting, have an educational lesson on Rice and lastly, an Elephant Ride. This tour is great for educational purpose and the kids enjoyed it.
On the 3rd day, we ventured into the unknown. My sister signed up for a tour where it takes us Phang Na Bay. We didn’t get a lot of details on the tour and we didn’t expect it to be such an adventure. We went Kayaking and Caving!! Our impression of the Kayak was a big wooden boat that someone will be rowing it but we didn’t know it’s a Canoe. With very young children and older folks in our group, we were a little worried initially but my boys just jumped in the Canoe with some whining beforehand that they WILL NOT get on.
We went to 2 caves, an Oyster Cave and a Bat Cave. The entrance for the Oyster Cave was extremely low and we have to lie down to get in. I was a little worried that my boys may not be able to follow the instruction and get up half way in the cave. Thank god they listened and even told me to lie down when we were getting near the entrance.
Phang Na Bay is very scenic but having been to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, I wasn’t too impressed but enjoyed the leisurely ride.
It was a tiring tour and the boys got cranky by evening since they went without a nap and started fussing. They were too tired to take their dinner and my husband and I were trying to placate them and was unable to get any food for ourselves. Thankfully we have my family to help us out. We would have gone hungry the whole day if not for them.
Our 4 days vacation passed in a flash and we went home tired but happy. The boys have been asking to go Phuket again since we came back and I kinda sure we’ll definitely be back. Maybe a villa stay the next time.
My sister recommended the Outrigger Laguna Resort. We were considering the villas but after calculating the cost, they were out of our budget. It's a pity but the apartments suites there were amazing as well. We got a 2 bedroom suite just in case the boys do not want to sleep in the baby playpen and my husband and I are the kind of parents who can't share our beds with our children. At age 3, they want to be BIG boys and will not consider anything that's "babyish" but to our surprise, they were happy to jump into the playpen.
We went to Siam Safari on the second day. We took the 4 in 1 tour. You get to take the Water Buffalo Cart, see the Rubber Tree Cutting, have an educational lesson on Rice and lastly, an Elephant Ride. This tour is great for educational purpose and the kids enjoyed it.
On the 3rd day, we ventured into the unknown. My sister signed up for a tour where it takes us Phang Na Bay. We didn’t get a lot of details on the tour and we didn’t expect it to be such an adventure. We went Kayaking and Caving!! Our impression of the Kayak was a big wooden boat that someone will be rowing it but we didn’t know it’s a Canoe. With very young children and older folks in our group, we were a little worried initially but my boys just jumped in the Canoe with some whining beforehand that they WILL NOT get on.
We went to 2 caves, an Oyster Cave and a Bat Cave. The entrance for the Oyster Cave was extremely low and we have to lie down to get in. I was a little worried that my boys may not be able to follow the instruction and get up half way in the cave. Thank god they listened and even told me to lie down when we were getting near the entrance.
Phang Na Bay is very scenic but having been to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, I wasn’t too impressed but enjoyed the leisurely ride.
It was a tiring tour and the boys got cranky by evening since they went without a nap and started fussing. They were too tired to take their dinner and my husband and I were trying to placate them and was unable to get any food for ourselves. Thankfully we have my family to help us out. We would have gone hungry the whole day if not for them.
Our 4 days vacation passed in a flash and we went home tired but happy. The boys have been asking to go Phuket again since we came back and I kinda sure we’ll definitely be back. Maybe a villa stay the next time.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Hiatus
It's been a 6 months hiatus. I haven't forgotten this blog but there has been many changes that took place in the family. I was adapting to the new routine with my new work. So, I'll be back with more post and thank you to those who dropped by. :)
Monday, May 14, 2012
Revamped Bishan Park
We have been wanting to visit the new Bishan park. We brought our Striders (balancing bike) and had a great time there. The slopes in the park is very suitable for the bike and the boys just cruise around while we chased behind. Y went so fast that K and I couldn't catch up and we lost each other.
Getting ready for the ride. Got knee guards for them but it seem to restrict their movements so we still took them off in the end.
The river. We saw people fishing there. Seems quite fun but the boys were not keen to go down the river, maybe next time.
Nice chair for people to laze.
Hungry and thirsty? The yellow M is there to save your day but be prepared for a long queue.
There's a playground with sand and the boys made themselves at home. Took their shoes off and made some friends there.
Junction 8 is just a short ride away. Perfect place to have our dinner.
We enjoyed the park very much and love the space there for biking. It's crowded but not as crowded for East Coast Park. We only explored one park of the park, will explore the other side the next time round.
Getting ready for the ride. Got knee guards for them but it seem to restrict their movements so we still took them off in the end.
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The river. We saw people fishing there. Seems quite fun but the boys were not keen to go down the river, maybe next time.
Nice chair for people to laze.
Hungry and thirsty? The yellow M is there to save your day but be prepared for a long queue.
There's a playground with sand and the boys made themselves at home. Took their shoes off and made some friends there.
Junction 8 is just a short ride away. Perfect place to have our dinner.
We enjoyed the park very much and love the space there for biking. It's crowded but not as crowded for East Coast Park. We only explored one park of the park, will explore the other side the next time round.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Chinese Learning: My Family 我的家人
It's still really hard to gain their interest in Chinese. It can be very disheartening when they reject the activities I planned for them once they see the materials in Chinese. Many times, I wanted to give up and just enrol them in a Chinese enrichment class. But my husband has been encouraging me to keep on trying and we are holding off the classes.
To look on a bright side, from totally not speaking Mandarin to being able to converse in Mandarin now, it's an improvement. Another improvement is accepting Chinese books. They are able to sit through long Chinese stories now. Come to think of it, I was still feeling very down and was complaining to my husband few weeks back when they refused to accept any Chinese books during story time. Thinking through, I think it's because I'm more fluent when I read in English. So, I picked out a more interesting book that I think they will like and practice reading it a few times before reading to them. It helped greatly. The story engaged them and they were more willing to accept other books from the same series.
They are showing interest in reading but only English words. They will spell the words and ask me how to read the word. I'm hoping they can show the same interest in Chinese words and was trying to do more words recognition in Chinese with them. For this purpose, I have prepared some activities with the theme, My family, 我的家人 in mind. I wouldn't say it's very successful as Y refused to participate in most of the activities.
Family Tree
First, I did a family tree to illustrate to them the relationship between each people.
Make Your Flashcards
Then I printed some photos of our family members and let them make a set of flashcards.
Matching Game
A matching game where we have pictures of family members on one side and words on the other side attached with velcro.
Hoola Word Game
Another word game we played with Twister Hoola Game. Got this from the Toy r'us clearance sale at $16 with very badly damaged packaging.
I don't know how much learning is done but there's sure a lot of laughter there. I almost got mad at Y for being the trouble maker but decided to take it easy. He didn't want to participate as he didn't want Chinese and kept distracting K.
This is how I play the game
(1) Put the word card on the floor and get the child to read, after he read, let him place the hoola over it.
(2) After placing all the word cards, say a word and the child find and stand on the word.
Didn't work with Y as he started taking away the hoola and putting it over his head. K thought that's super funny and joined in. Since it didn't work, I changed the game.
(3) Collect the hoola - Get the child to read the word, if he can read correctly, he collects a hoola and he can put it over his head.
Paper Plate Bingo
Got this paper plate game idea from No Time for Flashcards. Write the words on the paper plate, cut it and the child fold the correct word down when you call it out. So far, only managed to do this with K, my "I don't want Chinese" Y ran off once he saw the Chinese words.
I have no idea why Y rejects Chinese so badly but I'm starting to hear him communicating in Mandarin. So, hopefully he can accept it more readily as he build up his confidence in the language.
They are showing interest in reading but only English words. They will spell the words and ask me how to read the word. I'm hoping they can show the same interest in Chinese words and was trying to do more words recognition in Chinese with them. For this purpose, I have prepared some activities with the theme, My family, 我的家人 in mind. I wouldn't say it's very successful as Y refused to participate in most of the activities.
Family Tree
First, I did a family tree to illustrate to them the relationship between each people.
Make Your Flashcards
Then I printed some photos of our family members and let them make a set of flashcards.
A matching game where we have pictures of family members on one side and words on the other side attached with velcro.
Another word game we played with Twister Hoola Game. Got this from the Toy r'us clearance sale at $16 with very badly damaged packaging.
This is how I play the game
(1) Put the word card on the floor and get the child to read, after he read, let him place the hoola over it.
(2) After placing all the word cards, say a word and the child find and stand on the word.
Didn't work with Y as he started taking away the hoola and putting it over his head. K thought that's super funny and joined in. Since it didn't work, I changed the game.
(3) Collect the hoola - Get the child to read the word, if he can read correctly, he collects a hoola and he can put it over his head.
Paper Plate Bingo
Got this paper plate game idea from No Time for Flashcards. Write the words on the paper plate, cut it and the child fold the correct word down when you call it out. So far, only managed to do this with K, my "I don't want Chinese" Y ran off once he saw the Chinese words.
I have no idea why Y rejects Chinese so badly but I'm starting to hear him communicating in Mandarin. So, hopefully he can accept it more readily as he build up his confidence in the language.
Happy Food
My husband and I are quite strict with junk. For the first 2 years of their life, we were able to trick them into thinking that sweets are to hold when they come back with sweets that they managed to charm some aunties into giving. But once they enter school, it's getting hard with bags of sweets every month from birthday celebrations. Seeing their friends popping the candies, the "just hold it" trick don't work any more. So, when they bring back the goody bags, I will let them choose 1 item from it.
Y fell in love with lollipop. Just see how happy he was eating it and sharing it with his brother. I finally understand why sweets are happy food.
Y fell in love with lollipop. Just see how happy he was eating it and sharing it with his brother. I finally understand why sweets are happy food.
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