Of birthday celebrations & new beginnings- August 2012

Our niece, Sheldon held her one-year old celebration at Changi and Gerrard had such fun catching up (literally- when they were running all around) with his cousins. And aren't me so glad that I had finally changed my camera and managed to capture candid shots of the beautiful kids. Seeing them playing and laughing so unconditionally made me feel that childhood is such a precious stage in life where we can enjoy ourselves without a care for the rest of the world =)

 Testing out my new camera- finally some decent pictures after so long

 

 

 With Cousin Belva

 With Cousins Belva & Liv

 

 

 

 Happy Birthday Sheldon - May you grow up pretty and healthy!

Towards the end of August 2012, Soka Kindergarten had a "Celebration of Learning" night at the end of Term 3 where parents and kids were invited to school in the evening that showcased what was taught in that school term. The classroom was transformed into a "zoo" where a variety of animal crafts and works greeted us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 2012 is also the month where I signed Gerrard up for class at Eye Level (previously known as E.nopi) I have never heard of this school and happened to chance upon it by walking past Tampines West Community Centre. This came at an apt timing as I was starting to teach Gerrard how to do 2-digit additions. He got the concept very quickly but when it came to subtractions, I was unsure of how to teach him the "borrowing technique" eg. 12-7 where 2 can't minus 7 and needs to borrow from 1. I was concerned that the method I am trying to teach may not be correct and confuse him further when he eventually learns it from school in future. 

I gave Eye Level a call and arrange for a free assessment as Eye Level is based on an educational principle where students learn at their own pace. Hence, even if you are a 4 year old, you may not be put into a "4 year old" class as different child has different pace of learning. The diagnostic assessment results determines the level you should be starting at in the Eye Level curriculum. In class, the teacher goes through a concept with you and you will be given workbooks to do at home everyday until the next lesson where the teacher checks what you've done, correct you if necessary and assess if you can move on to the next concept. This form of self directed learning allows the student to learn at their own pace and I pretty like it. After confirming that the curriculum is aligned with MOE, I decided on a Thursday class for him and a big plus point it also that the centre is a stone's throw from Grandma's house so it saves a lot of time for them to bring him to and fro class. 

Gerrard has been enjoying the classes so far and I find both teachers very nice and approachable. I did a search online about the company and below is an extract from the chairman's autobiography:

"There are six virtues that a learner-individual must possess: 1) diehard "attitude" of competitiveness 2) "humanity" that conditions us against conceit; 3) "principles" that guard against temptation; 4) "passion" acquired through the spirit of sportsmanship; 5) "possibility" as the power that helps to achieve goals and 6) "effort" as the only force that can defeat natural talent."

Couldn't agree further.

November 2011- The month of celebrations

This year, I had a fabulous birthday with my family, thanks to thoughtful Derek who planned a dinner celebration with my family members. The food was sumptuous and we had a delightful time at our house thereafter, enjoying the cake, chatting and laughing.

22 November 2011 marks a significant milestone in Gerrard's learning journey where he performed in his very first concert. This is also a form of celebration of completing his first year of school independently. The event was held in NUS Cultural Centre and this year's theme is "Festivals Around The World". Gerrard's class carried out the second item, Japan Taiko Drum Festival and he is a "drummer". Seeing him on stage stirred up a whole lot of emotions in me that I almost teared... it just seems like my baby has grown up so much. My mind went back to Jan 2011 where he was reluctant to go to class without me, overcoming his fears and now reaching the stage where he waves me goodbye and tells me that he can go inside the class himself. He has been practising his moves and despite their young age, they are so courageous to go up and stage and complete the performance. Kudos to all our future leaders of Singapore!

My little japanese drummer

At the end of the concert, every child went on stage and sang the finale song, "We Are One" and Gerrard was really tired at the end of the day, especially since it was an almost full day of rehearsals and performance. I am sure this memorable day will stay rich in his memory and added on to his life experiences.

The best I could take from my trusty old camera + my limited photo-taking skills

Following the year end Zoophonics concert, we quickly dived straight to 26 November 2011, where it was Shirlyn's big day and Gerrard had the imperative task of opening the car door for the groom that morning. This year, he is a bit older and understands a bit more. But he is also more playful and knows how to test his limits with us. He was running up and down at the wedding solemnisation hall & during the wedding banquet. As we were still maidless then, Derek & me had to take turns to take care of this "whirl of tornado".

We took the opportunity to book a one night stay at Conrad Centennial as the banquet was expected to end late and I didn't want to rush all the way back home. It was a very quick staycation because we only reached the evening before, stayed in the room for a while to doll up & prepare, attend the banquet, slept, woke up for breakfast then we checked out. Nevertheless, Gerrard had great fun with his 7 "adopted Conrad bears" that he kept throwing & playing about and also the huge bed he jumped about in.

Tired as we were from all the events and activities, it was great joy and fun. With children, you can never have a minute of downtime, but at the same time, you will never have a minute of sadness- I guess this is what being blessed is about.

7 April 2011 - The Mystery of Smell

I smell Gerrard every day.

In fact, I smell him every now and then, especially when I am giving him a hug. I noticed that Derek smells Gerrard whenever he hugs him too, even if he doesn’t have the baby smell anymore. And this is not something I was specifically told to do, nor had I specifically told Derek to do that. Why I say this is because, being first time parents, we literally had to be told what to do eg. How to burp your baby, how to change diapers, how to carry them and so on. However, this action is our natural instinct to do so.

Since the beginning of time, humans “see” the world largely through eyes and ears and we neglect the sense of smell but yet, mothers can recognise their babies by smell, and newborns recognise their mummies in the same way. This seems to have something to do with the fact that smells retain an uncanny power to move us and each whiff of our kids instantly conjure up scenes and emotions of love and protection.

Isn’t this amazing? This kind of emotion and action grows upon a parent... if you have not given your child a hug recently, go on and hug them today, and take in your deepest breath =)