Preschooler Update: Almost Four!

Almost Four!

How quickly this chubby baby became...

.....this lanky kid. 

He is still the sensitive, thinking child I've always had.

In this shot, he was pondering about which prop to add to his 'frog pond'

 

He is a little nerdy at heart. Okay, very nerdy.

Too skinny.

But handsome (haha!)

At almost 4,  he decides on what he would like to do.

Usually its some cut & glue or math.

When I suggest Ready? Go! (right brain practise)

He gives me a determined, sour face, "No. I don't like ready go"

"Why? I never scold you anymore" 

"I don't like it. I like math. You say ready go one more time, I go downstairs.

You study alone."

Sigh...

MATH

So, we do some math everyday.

Still dunno whose math genes he got. 

Must be Winnie yiyi's, cause nobody else likes math.

He is quite good for his age.

Not a genius because 3 year old geniuses would be doing quantum physics by now.

Here, he figured out skip counting by 2 without my help.

Btw, zero here represents 10 (according to him)

 I took the opportunity to introduce him to tadaaaaaa, the times table!

Sorry la, cannot resist the Asian Mom in me. 

 

More math. 

He actually enjoys tracing numbers and counting.

 

We danced to some skip counting by 2 songs from Youtube.

And then I decided to teach him odd vs even using the red counters.

He got it in 10 minutes. End of lesson.

I must be a damn good teacher la *flips hair*

PLAY

 He was down with some viral infection.

High grade fever for 5 days and lost some weight again....arghhhh.

 Still he requested for school but we just played during that time.

I love this set of building toys on loan from Winnie.

He made these that I posted on fb.

Got some money sense, this one.

 

I also posted some laughing pics of him.

Now I recall what it was that made him so happy.

I was telling him that the creature was llama

He said, "Blama? Clama? Clement??"

Hyena laugh.

 WRITING

Tiger is also keen on writing at the moment, so we focus on skills that strengthens his grip:

Coloring within lines

 

Writing in sand.

These are leftover from his sand art kid. I added some salt for volume

  

 He is always excited when I change the trays.

This set was meant to entice Dragon girl but Tiger insisted on doing it.

I replaced the red rods with marbles.

 Major tip to get their attention:

Just add water.

Now they are learning to share without whacking each other.

CHINESE

 He has completed B cards from Baobei after almost 1 year.

Not too bad for a non Chinese speaking boy.

SOCIAL SKILLS

With strangers, he still still very shy.

The sister is as much an extrovert as Tiger is introverted.

Dragon is the first on stage and Tiger would only dance after everyone's left.

 Oh, actually he didn't dance. He was just running around.

 

 With his darling Grandma

Cognitively he will have no problems.

Socially, he has improved a lot. 

He has two friends in Baobei now. 

Hahahahaha....versus one friend last year.

I love you, my darling boy.

I wish you a very Happy Birthday in advance and my only

wish for you at 4 years old is to gain some weight and to be in the pink of health.

Parenting: The Kiasu Mom

Tiger hates his YAMAHA lessons.
We are talking about crying and dragging his feet to the class kinda hate.
Then I get irritated because it's money wasted, time consuming, ungrateful brat, bla, bla, bla...
I get moody too and hence the weekly music nights became Nightmare Wednesdays.

Last month, while I was daydreaming in class, his teacher announced, "We will be having our JMC concert in  June and we will be singing the these songs," She wrote the songs down on the board and continued, "One student will be chosen to play the key board"

The sleepy kiasu mom was suddenly awaken, "One student? Play keyboard? Like the alpha male? The leader of the pack?"

I look over at Tiger with my 'semangat face', "Psst, we are going to be the pianist, okay?"

He just blinked at me. 

Class after class, I shot him my laser glares. Sing louder. Play properly. Sit up straight. Smile.
Teacher's coming, Teacher, coming, play nicely. Dance la, why you dance like that one?

Looking at him struggle to coordinate his hands and legs, I have concluded that he is
1. Not a musical person
2. He dances like his papa....bwahahaha. (The traitor doesn't read my blog, so I can make fun of him)

His allies, namely papa and grandma were forcing me to quit his class after watching his dramatic defense against evil-music-class-mama. Sorry, no losers allowed in this house. You will learn to be responsible and understand that not all things in life is a bed of roses. Sometimes, you just have to struggle a bit.

So, last night, I held his hands before class and I said, "Tiger, I am not going to scold you today, Just enjoy your class but sing as loud as you can, okay?"

He smiled and agreed.

And he really did enjoy himself last night. Singing, dancing, and laughing with his friends.

After class, we bought some onigiri and he said to me, "Mama, I love ebiko. Thank you"

Did you enjoy the class?

Yes, I like.

Cause mama didn't scold you?

Ya.

No more kiasu mom for now. Maybe later...

Preschool Guide to Math

Warning: A lot of links on this post but definitely worthy of your time.

So, don't be lazy, go read.

<<< >>>

 I heard Tiger singing the other day,
One plus one is two
Two plus one is three
......
(from Shichida song)

Correct, but when I ask him,
"If mama give you 1 sweet and papa give you one more,
how many sweets do you have?"
Three
=.="
Confirmed. Not math genius.

Since I am not trained to be teacher, I have to ask Google.
First, must back up my teaching with science.
This article is useful

I was looking for a guide on preschool math when I found some I like:

1. Life of Fred (books)

2. Greg Tang (books)

3. Singapore Math

At the end of the day, what I want to achieve is
still the same: LOVE OF LEARNING
CURIOSITY
CREATIVITY

What should your child learn in preschool math?
 Even if they didn't learn a single thing by end of preschool, at least make sure they
have some number sense

If you are happy that your 4 or 5 year old can recite
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
and trace those numbers on countless worksheets
you are in deep shit.
I know kids in our system who recites blindly from A-Z.
But when you show D individually, you get a ??????

Bottom line is,
they must understand that numbers represent a set of things.
Like how words represent an emotion.
Otherwise, you are wasting your money.

Just like
how kindy waste one month preparing for concert
by making children conform to a routine in a monkey suit. 
Monkey suit also you must fork out own money.
Kolian.
Just that alone turns me off.
No, thank you, I'd rather spend that money watching paint dry.

 My advise: PLAY
but not just plain play, SNEAKY PLAY

At this age, they must be able to touch and feel math.
Use anything you can manipulate.

 For more ideas, you can refer to Karen Cox's prekinders
Choose a guide that you are comfortable with and stick with that!

Generally,

PRESCHOOL SCOPE

• Numbers & Counting
• Grid Games
• Matching
• Shapes & Geometry
• Pattern Block Mats
• Sorting
• Patterns
• Sizes
• More, Less, Same
• Estimation
• Money

KINDERGARTEN SCOPE

• Count to ten
• Count a set of five objects using one-to-one correspondence
• Identify the numerals 1-5
• Compare sets of objects and describe them using “more,” “less,” “equal,” or same
• Use correct vocabulary to compare objects (“big,” “small”; “long,” “short”; “more,” “less”; “heavy,” “light”)
• Use words that identify time of day (“morning,” “afternoon,” “night,” “day”)
• Identify circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles when shown models
• Sort objects by their attributes (color, size, shape, and so on)
• Use words that indicate position (“in,” “out,” “beside,” “over,” “under,” “between”)
• Recognize and copy patterns in songs, rhymes, and body movements

Tiger loves worksheets too but I try not to do too many.
He is kinda btw a preschooler and kindergartener's level at the moment.

So, too simple a task...BORING!

To difficult and he becomes frustrated. Like writing numbers, etc

Solution?

I try to challenge him creatively by asking him to create games of his own.

Here's what we did last night.
 Prop: Skeletons (RM 5.90 from Memory Lane)

Matching with pipe cleaners (Daiso)
It was Tiger's idea to make a cross.

More complicated matching.
He was to match with the pipe cleaners.
Problem: too short.
Solution: He said, Nevermind, can ady
=.=""

His work
Essentially correct but so grrrr....crooked!
I was telling myself, "Control...do not correct his work. Breathe"
Must. Control. Self.



He came up with helicopter skeleton.
Excellent fine motor work.
Again, if he was in kindy,
I doubt this kind of non-conforming behavior is encouraged.

 

 Matched with musical bells.
Ring according to number of skeletons

Going to sneak in some addition work tonight.
Again, me no expert. Just a mom, doing her best.
Following my nerdy boy's lead.
We will probably use Singapore Math soon.
Will keep you guys posted on that.

I read somewhere that our educational system is from the Industrial Ages.
Where silence, obedience, robot-like factory workers are created.
Despite new findings, it will take many many years before changes are made.
It's okay, we can beat the system...one kid at a time.
Gawd, I hope I am still so spirited when Tiger's 10 years old.

Lil Tiger: 3 Years 2 Months

What can I say about this preschooler that I haven't already mentioned?

Sorry la if I bore you guys but this is for Tiger....


SOCIALLY,

At 3 years 2 months, he is more friendly and out spoken than before.
To the point that rude people like my mom complain that he talks too much.

He has develop the habit of saying Thank you, Excuse me, and Sorry
as deemed appropriate.

He no longer hide between my legs in the presence of strangers.

I think having a sibling plays a big part in 'curing' my innately shy boy.

His favourite person is still my sister's husband, C.

PHYSICALLY,

he is a typical three year old with boundless enthusiasm and energy.

I am fine with it as long as he stays safe and does not interfere with other people's business,

Once I smacked his hand in the car park when he refused to be held.

Howled like a dog for 1 minute and then he apologised.

I don't believe in physical punishment.

ON LEARNING CHINESE,

did I mention that I have not visited Bao Bei Reading Wonderland.

Or met the teachers personally 

and yet I am very happy with his progress?

He loves Chinese flashcards and books now.

He is also more open to converse in Chinese.

He also teaches his banana father who buys him Tutti Fruitti
every time he garners more cards from the set of 80 being taught in Bao Bei.

For a banana boy, he has received 9 cards in the past 1 month 1 week.


ON READING,
Loves alphabets and making up words instead of reading books.
I just let him be.

Like doing this:

And painting this

ON RIGHT BRAIN EDUCATION

He always ask for Mandalas.

When he makes a mistake, he will say...

Oh...wrong already. Sorry. I try again tomorrow

ON MUSIC,
he loves the YAMAHA classes.
Occasionally, he hums tunes from the class.
Or he will tell me big man's drum is BANG BANG BANG;
small man's drum is tock tock tock

He has no problem following instructions or remain focused for the one hour.

ON LEARNING IN GENERAL,
he is in his artsy crafty and Geography phase.

ON LIFE IN GENERAL,
he is learning about delayed gratification
and accepting limits.

For example, if he chooses one flag sticker a day, we will play the game everyday.
If he chooses to use all the stickers, then we will no longer have geography lesson on flags.
He chose a flag sticker a day
"Mama, I one day one sticker only. Tomorrow I put again"


On limits, I don't say yes to everything he ask for.
Like mechanical rides, sweets, etc.
Of course, there were public meltdowns but it's okay,

I have thick skin and couldn't care less about others' opinions.

Flop: No doctors please...

After all the excitement of preparing the doctor set pretend play, 

he just said, "No mama, I don't want"

Did not even touch it.

*Cry*

As a consolation, he enjoyed ONE of the books I prepared.

The pop-up body book

I love this picture of Tiger 'reading' to his sister.

He was picking out CVC or Dolch words that he could read,

like what he does with my fictions.

Lil Dragon lost interest in about 5 seconds

 My Body pop up book from Bookxcess in Amcorp Mall, PJ

Fantastic A++++++ book

Why wasn't my medical textbook like this?

See the intestines?

  

See the skeleton?

Pegged puzzle from his baby days.

He could read most of the words except chin (blend)

Don't remember teaching him except during Tot School's F for Foot.

So, how? 

Remove the doctor's play set or elaborate summore?

Messy Play: Ice Cream Dough

I was searching for some messy goodness when I came across this 

recipe for ice cream dough from Play Create Explore

Since he is STILL requesting for his ice cream shop, 

this recipe was perfect!

Since we learn best at play, took this opportunity to show him some fractions

with the measuring cups and puzzles

He was more excited about the fact that I was writing on the floor :)

Measuring cups from Tesco

Fractions puzzle from USL education supplies

Ingredients needed:

Cornflour, conditioner, measuring cups, food coloring.

I added some milk powder scoops for him to do the scooping himself.

The DOVE conditioner was an FOC product.

Always ask for free stuff when you shop at Guardian.

They always give me some travel-sized goodies

Transferring cornflour into measuring cups

We used the Daiso shoe box as a mixing bowl :)

He couldn't wait to add the food coloring.

Called it 'sauce'

Ice cream!

 

He requested for chocolate and porrerri (strawberry)sauce 

I don't enjoy the messiness

BUT

I love watching him enjoy the experience.

I love watching his hands at work.

I love his focus.

 I especially love it when he declared,

"Okay, finish. So nice, huh?

Thank you.

I want to wash and go sleep already"

Then he helps to clean up and wash himself before nap.