Preschool: A Delightful Week

The week I lost it.
My mojo.

After the two kiddos drove me nuts, I announced,

"That's it. Class is over"

You would think somebody would notice BUT

nobody was even listening.

So, I just switched off the lights and walked out.

The best part?

Tiger just shouted, "Hey, I not finished. Ai yoh"

Little Dragon?

She thought it was boob time and happily followed me out.

Tired mom = grumpy mom = non productivity

I was so tired all week, I couldn't stay awake past 11 o'clock.

I realized...... it's the caffeine withdrawal.

After cutting down caffeine and sugary treats, I am no longer Super Mama.

Right now, I am more like Lousy Mama.

Hopefully the withdrawal ends by next week.

I had to cut down because I think I am giving Lil Dragon dental caries from

my too sweet breast milk. She has chipped another tooth.

Personally, I think she looks like a shark now

(.) \/\/\/\/\  /\/\/\/\/ (.)

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We'll see a dentist on 14th and see what he says.

The caries, I mean.

I attempted to brush her teeth; which is a another major failure.

She will be the one to drive me to an early grave.

Mark my words.

Okaaay....back to fun school business.

Montessori

Tiger was very into the Pink tower and Broad stairs.

Which made me very, very happy ^.^

Honestly, his technique would probably kill a strict Montessorian

  He was moving everything very quickly as opposed to carefully.

I think it was all the right brain practice..haha.

We did some extensions

You can get the free printables from here

 

Science

Then we did all these Space work because he wanted to.

Space poster from Popular Bookstore

 We read this book until I nearly vomit blood.

So, I started reading with an Indian accent.

I thought I was funny but he just gave me a huh? look.

"____"

No sense of humor, this boy.

We use the whiteboard on a more regular basis now.

You can see I use it for calender time as well with just days of the week 

and the date.

 

Spelling/Puzzle

 Bought this letter game recently.

Very creative for spelling CVC or  CCV words.

RM 13.80 from Fun & Cheer

 He needed some help until I thought of Fridge Words.

Then, he just self check and correct.

I can relax and lay down...hihi...my fav pose.

If you buy this, then you don't have to buy the fridge phonics

 Reading

He is the Brillkids Manager trusted with the 'clicking' task

and asking mei-mei to SEE!

We are blazing through Peter and Jane because I discovered:

to blast boredom, use stickers

Just one measly sticker and he can finish the whole 2B in one seating.

How la?

To bribe or not to bribe.

That is the question.

Right Brain.

Only did one day of practise this week :p

He enjoys linking memory and flashcards at the moment

I like his, "Nevermind, I try again." attitude

Math

Caught him singing Shichida Addition song...haha.

Music

He sings VERY loudly when he thinks no one is watching him in class.

Whenever he caught me smiling at him, he would blush and cover his face.

Chinese

He has about 35 cards now in 3.5 months

Others

He thinks he is a co-driver. The shift stick is HIS.

He is also a novice graffiti artist now.

Yesterday he wrote a wriggly P on the shelf secretly.

When I saw his face, I just knew.

"Did you write on the wall ?"

"No," he answered matter-a-factly. "I write on cupboard"

@.@

He pointed to his P and said "I write question mark"

I was going to start nagging when he added, "I write for you"

Oh. in that case....give chance la.

Sibling moments

Sharing

Two seconds before they started fighting

 Sharing a joke...

Can't remember the joke but they laughed like mad!

That's all.

Have a great weekend guys!

Baby School: Shapes Week @ 13 months

Lil Dragon's getting used to our school routine.

Her top 2 activities are:

 Brillkids lessons & the learning trays.

Sometimes, she will opt for drawing.

That means making a mess :)

She loves this little chest of drawers.

I hid a silicone shape in each drawer for her to discover.

A labelled sheet for matching.

I did the matching & naming for her, just to introduce her to shapes

and creating print awareness while playing.

Sometimes, Tiger does the tutoring for me.

 

 
Spooning...

...which ended up with pom-poms everywhere.

Transferring ping-pong balls into cups

I love this face <3

Combining trays and learning that balls cannot go into a small hole.

M&D Shapes puzzle

With Tiger, we stressed on more complicated ones such as

octagon, parallelogram, trapezoid, etc

She has gotten the concept of
Here's the mat and this is what we are doing now.
Instead of going Rar rar rar....all over the place.

The mat is essential to any learning.
The genius that is Montessori :)

On Brillkids,
We are doing a lesson a day.
When she spots a bird outdoor, she points and says /b/.
Unlike Tiger, she is being exposed to 3 languages since we have a Indonesian
kakak now.
So, I expect her speech to develop a little slower.

This week, we will focus on colours.

Tiger's Play Area

I was going to take a picture of Tiger's play area when I came home to a 

complete mess. And nope, it wasn't Tiger.

MIL said, "No Dragons" when I was planning for a second baby.

Clearly I don't listen very well.

Because a year later, I popped out the cutie pie.

The fighting, oh, and the bickering.

All started before Lil Dragon was even one year old @.@

Is this normal?

I thought it was a boy-boy sibling thing.

She is really sweet most of the time but

occasionally, she morphs into Godzilla and does this:

Train table from Gift2kids

It never crossed my mind that she did it.

I thought Tiger was playing roughly because it was supposed to look like this:

Both sets from ToyRus

According to kakak, when Tiger yelled, "NOOOOO"

She took the liberty of climbing onto the train table and knocked everything off.

Guess who had to re-do the whole thing at midnight?

Little Dragon: Her Space @ 13 Months

It's no secret the two little ones are currently frenemies.

So, Tiger decided some time ago that

Study room = his

Play room = Little Dragon's

Which makes sense because she does spend a lot of time in the playroom.

She is probably in here 80% of the day.

Thank you God, for giving me a toy-loving kid!

I was so worried she would be a toy snob like Tiger.

First up, the books.

She loves flipping books.

So, we have a reading area with all the

 baby board books and some hardcovers.

Her favourite is a RM5 CATS book from a book fair.

^.^

I've tried baskets with the covers facing forward but she prefers them this way.

Easier to toss onto the floor. =.="

Got to remember to get some Malay books for kakak to read to her.

Then we have toys:

On the left (rotational toys)

Can you spot the pop-up toy hanging precariously on the shelf?

Must be Tiger's work.

I gave her some Tupperwares to play with. That's me being 'creative'

On the right shelf (from top)

 Her mattress for afternoon naps, 

Some soft toys & puppets, 

Puzzle space: alphabet puzzles

Music Box and Manipulatives

 Last but not least,

I read somewhere that it doesn't matter how much your kitchen cost.

It could be just an old box.

It's about what is 'cooking' in the pots.

The sweetheart loves cooking, stirring, making drinks.

<<<>>>

Here are some notes on play and toy from Bright From The Start:

1. When shopping; buy a variety, not quantity.

Your child may LOVE cars but there is no use in having a million cars.

Exception: Books (See why I love this book?)

2. Rotate regularly

Notice how new toys engage a child's attention better?

You are not alone.

They are biologically programmed to like new stuff.

See, now you can explain to your husband why there is a need for MORE

When you rotate, the old seems like new again

3. On safety,

I like the 'toilet-paper tube' rule.

If it slides through the tube, it is a CHOKING HAZARD

Other baby proofing methods apply as well.

4. Use Play-n-Learn cues

i. Use a mat (Montessori!)

ii. Say "watch": demonstrate/model

Say "you try" and let the child try

Tiger modelling Flashcards Reading.

It was an epic FAIL.

I love Lil Dragon's pose here...haha. She's funny.

Tiger has his own space in the living area.

There is no right or wrong when playing.

It is just fun.

Send us a picture of your play room so that I can have a peek :)

Preschool: Tiger's Daily Rhythm & Homeschool Schedule

At 3years old, Tiger wakes up around 8 every morning.

We usually hang out before I leave for work. 

 

Then he usually plays with his toys or ride his bike before getting ready for Chinese Class.

Morning is also Daddy Time as hubs drops him off.

They practice Jacky Cheung's songs in the car.

Okay la, song. One song. 

Kesian hubs. He has been listening to the same song for a few months.

No TV in the morning.

He is usually tired after class and naps immediately after lunchtime.

Standard: 2 hours of sleep

After nap, it's monkey time aka "Drive Grandma Nuts Time"

This is when he runs all over, fight with Lil Dragon,

plays with his trains/cars, ride the Thomas,

havoc time. 

I consider this part of the day as their undirected play time

 MIL usually let them watch some cartoon at this time.

You can imagine her relief when I come home in the evening.

Tiger still stands at the door to wait for me, that's 'our thing'.

But now, the cute as button sister wants a piece of mama too.

If I say hello to Dragon first, he will get upset.

So, I usually run to the bathroom to wash up first before kissing the two.

If I have seen some infectious cases like chickenpox or AGE, it's straight to the showers.

When I am not too tired and the weather permits, we will do some outdoor learning.

It could be science, art or messy play.

This is our directed play time

No TV when I am around.

 Then it's dinner and SCHOOL!

Whenever I ask, Who is ready for school/study?

 Guess who runs to the safety gate first?

Hihi...Lil Dragon!

This is currently Tiger's Home Preschool Schedule.

The cute pictures came from Homeschool Creations's Workboxes Printables.

I only take credit for the 3 abstract ones.

I am sure you can tell which ones =.="

 Since we don't have to report to anyone, it's okay if we don't cover everything.

Nobody has to find out.

Occasionally, I work till 9 or 10.

In that case we do what I call a 30 minutes lesson.

For example,

Calender time: day, date, year

Hug and Affirmations

Reading (Brillkids/books) or Math

Chinese (flashcards)

Energy ball

Linking memory

Puzzle/Fine Motor

Kiss & Thank you.

Hubs/MIL watches the kids while mom finally gets a much needed shower.

Bedtime is fixed at 11pm.

He is currently,

An irritating fussy eater.
Papa's BFF (which pisses me off massively. Imagine your 3 year old telling you to go
downstairs while he lounge in his father's arm. Grrrrr....)
Bossy kid who keeps instructing me around.
A cry baby.

A bully.

A pacifier addict. He is going to be pissed about this but I did say

I am going to take a pic and show yiyi. There! The pink pacifier.

At the same time, he has a softer side.

If I sustain a bruise or cut, he will be concerned, 

"Why mama? You fall down?"

"Pain or not? You want medicine"

Then he will proceed to sayang me gently.

Sometimes, he will sit next to me and announce,

"Mama, I love you"

The best one?

"Tiger, you like to go to school, Tweedlewink, Ditoso or school at home?"

"I like Mama School"

"So nice"

Giveaway: Winner For Mini Knobbed Cylinder Blocks

I posted on Facebook but I forgot to update the blog. The winner was picked by Tiger yesterday:  raffles-style.

He thought we were playing a game :)

The lucky girl who won the knobbed cylinder blocks is Moon Sam and I hope her little one will enjoy them as much as we love ours.

Keep an eye out for the next giveaway!

Printable: Mini Montessori Pink Tower Cards Set 1 {free}

The problem with buying the mini sets is difficulty in getting 'mini' activity extensions and printable such as this one from Montessori Print Shop for USD 2.29

Since I could not find any for free online. I made some in like 5 minutes. Getting quite tech savvy here.

If I can get my puny brain around Google doc, there will be more soon!

To get your Mini Pink Tower Cards, click here.

Little Dragon: 13 Months

Sweet cheeks at 13 months.

I can finally 'style' her hair!

At the moment, it's either one coconut tree or 2 :p

Better than nothing, right?

The first time I tried, she yelled and screamed bloody murder.

I was kinda bummed to which hubby commented, "No need to tie la"

I retorted, "What's the point of having a daughter if I cannot doll her up?"

That shut him up.

Socially...

The lil monkey cannot be still, not even for 5 seconds.

She has boundless energy.

A fighter's spirit which means the brother is usually at the receiving end.

Imagine the 1 year old taking a swipe at the 3 year old.

Oh, the fights they get into.

She is very territorial.

My lap and kakak's are reserved for her.

Tiger will be beaten if he even tries to sit on either one

Outside,

she is wary of strangers and buries her face in her hands when some stranger smiles at her.

When confronted head on, she closes her eyes with her hands (ostrich maneuver)

She loves going out for walks and is always asking for shoe

Appetite..

Way bigger than Tiger's

She has a bottomless pit..haha...no matter how much of a meal she has eaten,

she will always go around asking for more food :)

A very adventurous eater, not too fussy at the moment.

Boobs are still very much in demand, especially before bed at night.

Now she will lay down on the bed and sigh "come"

For boob as snack, she will just sit on my lap and yank my shirt.

I think it's endearing :)

Speech...

She grunts a lot.

Like a grumpy goat.

Favourite word is still Tiger's name

She recognize quite a few words on Brillkids but she has yet to vocalise them.

No rush.

Gross motor...

She is trying to run, falling down on and off.

She climbs stairs two feet per steps, unassisted or with one hand held.

She has no fear of the water.

She is bouncing to music

Cognition...

She imitates our actions such as feeding.

Obey simple instructions such as 'No' and Give me'

Her favorite books are those with cats in them and a hide-and-seek one from Popular.

The playroom has been rearrange to suit her love for books.

She enjoys 'study' time but her attention span is not as good as Tiger's.

Whenever she picks up a card or letter, she will say /x/

That's her 'reading'

 I looked at Tiger's development at 13 months and he seemed much older.

Old-man boy!

Two kids, same mother (and father) and yet

different as night and day.

Raya Break 2013 @ Avillion Port Dickson

I love, love, love this place.

Forget the fact that the bathroom looks fit for Fifty Shades of Grey,...hmmm, if only....hahaha...

What was I talking about?

Oh...the bathroom. Still thinking about the book

If you lean over the railing, you can see the sea! I would go back just for the bathroom.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

On the way to PD, we stopped at Seremban town for brunch.

Hubs wanted to have the famous beef noodle at the Pasar Besar
but the estimated waiting time? 1 hour
Tak jadi la.

The best part about eating in an old place?
The coffee. Good old kopitiam coffee.
I had 2 cups.
Could. Not. Resist.

We joined the Gamelan band while waiting for check in at 2pm.

They gave Tiger a tambourine and he played the part of little boy lost.

We roamed around the area and found this.

According to Tiger it was the best part of the trip.

Pfffttt.....

I will just dump him at the nearest playground before the next trip.

A pet farm.

Showing mei-mei "Rabbit" before giving her a slap for I-don't-know, breathing?

Sigh (I do that a lot these days, sighing)

Checking-in, finally.

Tiger was sibuk with the Cars trolley bag the entire trip.

Dragged it to dinner la, breakfast la...

See the little attention seeker? The papa's sweetheart?

Told you she runs...

The walkway to our chalet.
Ignore the squinty eye model

They have three pools. 

One solely for adults which Hubs and I wanted to go for at night but

I left out the tiny detail:

Boobs are not detachable. So...next time la

They have cooking sessions for kids!

Saturdays are Pizza Days...Yay!

The cook looked at Tiger and said, "Can ah?"

I flashed my cleavage and he was like, "Can, can." 

No la...Just kidding.

I grabbed Tiger's hand and waved it above the table, "See? Can reach. Boleh aje"

The cook then baked it and it was the best pizza ever!

 

The sand at the beach was great.

Not the coarse type you find on typical PD beach.

Soft, very fine, almost play sand grade.

We applied a ton of insect repellent because they put up a sign that says

"SAND FLIES"

I love the peacocks that roam free in the grounds.

Tiger kept following them everywhere :)

They have a small pet farm that resembles a Malay kampung with
chicks, rabbits, tortoises, doves, etc

Holding a chick and posing.
He was all, "I so brave, hor?"

Then, the man passed the hen to him.

He was almost in tears...bwahahahaha....

Dove...is this a dove, I think...

Nature walk and the aviary...

My only gripe, the kids playroom.

Some old blocks, a video game and sand art.

Come on...which reminds me to write in to complain tell them

Hubby's only complain: No Pool Bar

=.="

We will definitely be back, Avillion.

Without kids?

Hubby's reply to that?

Yeah right, no kids....

Babe, you know me so well  ^.^