Climb climb up sunshine mountain...

The first Chinese character Zech knows and recognizes was 山. Ever since then, he has been fascinated with his mental image of a mountain. One day, he told me, 'Mummy, I want to climb up a mountain.' I agreed of course.

That was how on a Saturday morning, we ended up at Bukit Timah Hill. I'm a nature lover and deeply desire my boys to be like me. There's no better learning than outdoor education surrounded by God's wonderful creation.

Zech was raring to go up the hill. The first part was quite tedious as we walked up a steep slope. It became more gradual later. When I saw a resting spot, I asked Zech if he wanted to take a break. To my surprise, he didn't want to. So on we continued our ascent.

Climb climb up sunshine mountain
Heavenly breezes blow
Climb climb up sunshine mountain
Faces all aglow

That was our theme song and Zech enjoyed asking me to sing in both English and Mandarin. Thank God I attended Chinese Sunday School when I was little then taught in English Sunday School later! Along the way, I told him to look at the tall trees and even tried pointing out lichens to him. Not sure if he was interested. But he was definitely very keen to reach the summit. We met some friendly hikers on the way and some were really encouraging. One of them even told Zech that he was doing a good job and to keep it up. That kept my boy in high spirits I guess.

Once we reached the summit, it was snack time.

 



We had our little break before heading back down the hill.

This time, we took the summit path. Descending was much easier though the steps and dirt track were rather challenging for Zech. But we saw butterflies and monkeys as we descended. That perked Zech up. Although he complained a little as there were just too many steps and I had to distract him by counting steps with him, we made it to the end of the summit path. After that, walking was a breeze.

This is an easy trail for families with young children. We have taken route 1 red trail.  It was great to be out there enjoying the warm sun and shady trees while surrounded by the sounds of the cicadas and birds in the forest. To encourage Zech, a certificate was presented to him. Now he's very motivated and looking forward to our next hiking trail.

This was but a small first step to exploring God's creation and to prepare the boys for longer hikes and higher mountains. If anyone is keen, visit the Bukit Timah Reserve before it closes to the public from 15 Sept onwards for repairs and restoration works.

Chinese hol programme at Chengzhu Mandarin Centre

I've always found it hard to sign up Zech for classes. Either I find the environment lacking in some aspects or the teachers not fully equipped and adequate in certain areas. This Jun hols, I decided to sign up Zech for the Chinese holiday programme at Chengzhu, the Mandarin branch of Julia Gabriel at Rochester Mall. Have heard and read good reviews about Chengzhu though it's a relatively new player in the market.

Zech attended the programme, 'Adventures with the little bat' for 5 days every morning from 11.30am to 1.30pm. This programme focuses on cultural immersion using lots of dramatization, songs and play. No word recognition and writing at all. Cultivating interest in learning and encouraging the little ones to speak in Mandarin is the key goal in the programme.

On the first day at Chengzhu, I was really impressed with the high standard of cleanliness for the N1 and N2. This playground is just outside the N1 and N2 classes and is solely for the younger ones to play.

The classrooms look very well-maintained and clean too which is very important for young kids. Class size was capped at 10. Quite reasonable. There was a teacher assistant with the teacher. Throughout the week, I could see lots of interaction between the teachers and the kids. The glass panel on the door of the classroom allows parents to see what is going on. The teacher shared stories, poems and songs to keep the kids engaged. What I really like was the use of dramatization. The teacher would dress up as the little bat while the teacher assistant dressed up as other insects. The lights were switched off and the spotlights turned on to resemble a theatre. Very cool I thought. The setting captured Zech's attention.

Although there was no writing, there was Chinese ink painting. Felt it was good exposure for Zech. The teachers helped the kids quite a fair bit I think.

At the end of the day, 5 minutes before class was over, the teacher would come out and brief the parents who were waiting about what was done and the overall progress of the kids. Didn't expect this at all. After the class, the teacher was very approachable whenever I asked about Zech's progress. She sounded experienced too. In fact, I noticed the teachers in all the N1 and N2 classes were consistent in delivering the lessons. All the teachers were very lively and expressive. No wonder the kids were intrigued.

On the last day, what impressed me most of all was the half hour open class for parents to sit in and watch the kids perform. A day before, the teacher had briefed the parents so we knew what to expect. During the half hour open class, I could see that the kids were well trained in introducing themselves and presenting their class performance. Though Zech was not confident enough to complete his speech (he could only manage one line), the teacher was encouraging and prompted him till he was done with his introduction. After all the kids were done with their introduction, they presented the stories, poems and songs they have learned in a week with the teachers. Very entertaining for the parents!

The hol programme at Chengzhu Mandarin Centre was a very positive one for Zech. Since then, I've been reading the stories of the little bat and singing the songs together with him almost every night.