My boys' teachers

I used to believe I'd be my boys' only teacher till they go to Primary School. But in my journey with them during their preschool years, God has sent them other teachers who have been a light to them in different ways.

I know I can't teach my kids swimming. It's difficult for their papa to commit to this as well. So very early on, when Zech was 4, I started him on swimming. He has been learning from Teacher Raven for 2 years now. Started individual lessons and since this year, he has been swimming with another girl. From doggy style to free style and now backstroke, I'm proud of Zech's progress and this is not without challenges. Zech is very comfortable with his teacher, who gives marbles as a reward. These marbles are Zech's prized possession. Recently, I realized he really likes his swimming teacher. A lot. Thanks to Teacher Raven's gentle nature and his patience, Zech is really swimming now.

After Zech turned 5, I started to plan and search for a suitable piano teacher. I wanted an experienced, dynamic teacher who organizes recitals for her students annually. I thought I've found one but it didn't work out. Then I began to give up my initial pre-requisites for a piano teacher and simply asked a reliable friend for recommendation. Since mid-April, Zech started learning the piano from Miss Chin. Zech likes his piano teacher very much too. He often looks forward to her lessons. In mid- June, Miss Chin organized a concert for her students. Was surprised as I didn't expect it. And of course, Mummy was overjoyed! In late June, Zech had the privilege to perform 2 simple pieces in front of a small audience. One of the pieces was 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow'. Indeed, praise the Lord for the opportunity! We sure were very proud of him. Recently, Miss Chin taught Zech how to play chords. Another bonus for us! Isn't it true when we give up all our expectations to the Lord and trust in Him, He will bring it to fulfillment if it's in His will?

Teachers are really a gift from God. And those who touch our hearts aren't many.

Nathanael has always been a crybaby. Starting from this year, we decided to let Nathanael try out Sunday School. The challenge naturally is his separation anxiety.

I had no expectations of the teachers, which is a very good thing I soon realized. As expected, Nathanael cried a lot. There were times when I had to harden my heart to just drop him off and go for service upstairs, knowing he's still crying. During worship, I felt like crying and almost cried just thinking of how dependent Nathanael is on me and how hard we struggle to get through church. There were several times I scuttled down to check on how he was doing. What made me more assured was the commitment of the teachers in Sunday School.

Teacher Sharlyn is usually the one taking Nathanael and she's not afraid of crybabies. Thank God for her gentle and loving approach. Nathanael takes to her and even calls her his mama. :) I've seen for myself how Teacher Sharlyn carried an upset Nathanael for almost the entire Sunday School time. I've also seen how she sat down with him and talked to him in the classroom while the rest were away in the room next door for worship time. It meant a lot to me to see how dedicated some of the teachers are in helping Nathanael to settle down in Sunday School. Especially since we are new in the church, words are not enough to express my gratefulness to Teacher Sharlyn and other teachers who have played a part in Nathanael's first year in Sunday School.

Time is but fleeting moments. I know many kids don't remember who and what their P1 teachers have done for them, let alone preschool or kindergarten. We all have fading memories. I've posted this up and hopefully one day, somehow, my boys will read this and remember who their first teachers were in their life. Teachers who have cared, taught and inspired them in the early formative years of their life.

'Teaching takes time and energy, paying attention to all the children, helping them, encouraging them, reaching out to the quiet one, and sometimes simply being there.'
Caroline Blauwkamp

'A teacher effects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.'
Henry B. Adams

Thank you teachers for lighting the fire and being there for my boys.

P1 prep at Berries

Zech has been attending Berries for 8 months now. When I signed up for him, I didn't even know it was a P1 prep course. I remember being very impressed with the resources and curriculum, knowing that my child will be more than prepared for P1 next year. That's very important, as Chinese is one subject I feel I'm not confident of teaching. Not familiar with the syllabus and not sure how to engage my child so that they are motivated and keen to learn.

In the resources Zech gets are the textbook, workbook, hanyu pinyin book, file for hanyu pinyin worksheets, reader pen which is a very valuable tool! I like the way the lessons are taught. The textbook is like a reader. Kids learn new words from the story in each chapter. As they progress to other chapters, the newly acquired and commonly used words are repeated. The stories are captivating and engaging. The workbook comprises of a summary of the story from the textbook and exercises related to the story. The resources are great!

What I like about the K2 class:

Ever since Zech started learning the hanyu pinyin in April, he was given a file packed with worksheets on hanyu pinyin. There are certain sounds I find difficult. This is where the reader pen comes in useful. Previously, Zech was using the reader pen to read the textbook. Now he also uses the reader pen to listen to the sounds in the hanyu pinyin book. This is a bonus to me! On weekdays when we do Chinese, we use the reader pen to listen to all the hanyu pinyin Zech has learned so far at Berries.

Recognition of Chinese characters is simple but not writing the hanyu pinyin for some of the words in the story. The teacher usually does an exercise with the kids where she highlights some of the words in the story and the pupils are required to write down the hanyu pinyin above the highlighted words. This is a weekly challenge for Zech.

It's true some kids may get confused between hanyu pinyin and phonics, especially if they are not grounded in phonics first. But I realized later as I teach and learn along with Zech, the brain is an amazing mechanism as it stores different languages in different storage comparments. :) And that is why brain research has shown the brain of bilingual and trilingual young children work differently from those who are monolingual.

Another very interesting feature about the class is sometimes the kids get to take home a little gift related to the story or new words they have learned for the day. Zech has brought home several items - toy camera, woodpecker, mini dustbin, handmade Singapore flag etc. Once I saw the kids from a P1 class eating porridge. They must have learned the new word 'porridge' in Chinese. This is definitely one way to sustain interest.

Posing with his woodpecker...

All the kids walked out with a mini bin of various colours. Super cute!

When Zech first started attending Berries in January, we dreaded going to class each week. Zech was previously at another enrichment centre. He doesn't like changes. It took him almost 2 months to adapt. He loves the resources and would look at them very often. But it took him some time to adapt to the class and the teachers. Now he enjoys his weekly class and will often show his papa and me how many stars he has received from his teachers. His teachers are very encouraging. So encouraging sometimes I wonder if they are too lenient. Haha!

At the back of the workbook, there are pictures for oral practice. The pictures are related to the stories in the textbook so the kids can use the vocabulary learned to talk about the pictures.

The teachers also taught the kids how to do a show and tell. It was a step by step procedure and took about a month or so to prepare the kids. I love the way the class prepares the kids for speaking, which is a very important component in the Pri schools.

Berries also organize seminars. Up and coming for parents is the P1 preparation seminar which Zech's papa and I are both attending. Will be interesting to learn more about the Chinese syllabus in the Pri schools and the challenges that come with it.

Zech's teachers sometimes give me feedback on his learning and progress in class. Not very detailed but just enough for me to know how my child is faring in class. There is a parent-teacher meeting coming up I think. Still waiting for news. This is a problem for big enrichment centres I suppose. I personally prefer more interaction with the teachers but classes are back to back for most of them. There was a test conducted recently. Didn't know till the teacher gave me feedback on Zech's performance. Zech later told me how much he got for his test. Noticed the teacher only gave feedback to parents whose kids either fare well or poorly. Hm...in a way, feedback is not given consistently to all parents.

The other grouse I have about Berries is the total number of lessons per year. In a year, there are only about 4 to 5 weeks of break. Each term consists of about 15 to 16 lessons. It's very intensive. Not just for Zech but for me too. If his class falls on a public holiday, he needs do his home-based learning at home for that week. It works like e-learning in schools. In a way, it's good as the child learns more. Zech's not complaining but I do feel the constraints when planning his holiday schedule.

Both Zech and Mummy are happy with Berries so far. Oh by the way, Zech attends the centre at Bishan and it's new and beautiful! If I were to change Zech to another centre again, he would give me many reasons why he likes Berries. He did so just last week when I casually mentioned I may change to another enrichment centre for him since we are moving house. He's a creature of habit, as you can see.

His favourite bag, which he opens and looks through his books whenever he's free.

My overall satisfaction with Berries - 8/10

It's all about Singapore!

Taking a short break from the usual stuff we are doing for school. It's National Day and it's time to do all things NE. :)

This year, I'm using a book, 'The Little Singapore Book' I bought last year at the National Gallery. Cost about $26. Not cheap but it's a book worth buying and keeping in my collection of children books. It's written to give kids an overview of the past and present of Singapore coupled with the final chapter dedicated to all things Singaporean. Beautiful illustrations, simple content and I love the suggested activities.

Other resources I'm using are...

I like 'Timmy and Tammy' series. Local books with different levels for young readers. The CD you see above is from Popular. $10 for favourites such as 'Home', 'Stand up for Singapore', 'We are Singapore' etc.

Before we start reading the books, we brainstormed what we think Singapore is. My dear Zech could tell me 'Singapore is a little red dot' and is 'my home'. Surprise surprise. After reading the book 'What is Singapore?', we added more to our chart below.

Zech wrote 'Happy place' as the last point with a star beside it. He's crazy over stars lately as he has figured out how to draw a star all by his himself.

Downloaded some activity sheets from Littledayout website. Cost about $2 per pack.

My boys also painted the Singapore flag using the activity pack. Pasted the crescent moon and 5 stars. While pasting, I explained to them the significance of the moon and the stars.

At the end of school, Zech wrote this in his notebook. Hm...not bad. He's becoming patriotic.

On day 2, we focused on post-war Singapore right up to independence. Read a section on Kampong Glam. We've been to Kampong Glam a few times but reading a section on it today gave us some insights on the history itself, which dated back to almost 200 years ago!

Our day started with the boys having fun with mazes. Bought the activity pack from littledayout website. Laminated them for durability.

Read the next chapter in 'The Little Singapore Book'. Nathanael simply had no patience and soon went off to immerse himself in his own play.

Zech read aloud from these books.

We listened to the national anthem, Majulah Singapura. Told the boys who the composer was and the meaning of Majulah Singapura. The boys love anything on YouTube. Also watched the videos for 'We are Singapore' (their fav!) and the new NDP 2016 theme song.

The activity for today was making coconut candy - a delightful traditional treat in the 1970s.

Off we went to the market. Thank God for the Indian grocery store downstairs. Zech helped to buy the fresh coconut. Smells heavenly!

Bought the rest of the ingredients from Giant, just opposite my block. Now we are all ready!

We followed the recipe in 'The Little Singapore Book'.

My 2 boys helped to stir the mixture. Took at least a good half an hour before we added the food colouring.

The final product...

For the boys to share with their friends tomorrow during the National Day party.

Nathanael's PreK years

What has Nathanael been up to when Mummy's homeschooling with big brother?

Mainly free and easy. Prepared some stuff for him to do. He chooses whatever he feels like doing.

This little boy has been enjoying this activity. Easy for him to do independently.

Teaching him colours. Prepare a sensory bin for him, focusing on a colour each time. This week's colour - red. And he's dumping more red stuff into the bin, telling me his red toys belong in here.

When he has enough, he's usually off to play on his own. His favourite area is the daybed. My 2 boys have been conquering my favourite areas in the house. First the swing at the balcony and now the daybed.

With one of the Leapfrog gadgets.

We love Leapfrog! Nathanael has been picking up his brother's Leapfrog reader pen and exploring the books on his own.


At least once a week, we do craft together during school time in the morning. We've done marble painting, paper folding, drawing and this week, making a sheep craft.

Marble painting.

Paper folding

It's a blessing when my 2 boys are peacefully doing their own work, not disturbing each other. A rare and precious moment here.

When we do Science, Nathanael usually joins us for experiments. Can be frustrating sometimes, especially when he is not supposed to touch the setups. But at the end, he still gets to enjoy some play with Zech.

Float or sink experiment

Exploring the different shapes of water

I've tried including Nathanael in pattern block or tangram activities in my aim to get the boys to work together, as two heads are better than one. Don't think he's quite ready for these. In the end, Zech solved the first one independently while I worked together with him on the second.

We tried the circle tangram recently again. Nathanael was more focused and he could contribute relevant pieces. Perhaps it always pays to give kids another chance. The boys did quite a few that morning.

Bought this from Popular.

In the afternoon, after lunch, Nathanael gets some homeschool time with me. Didn't plan for this but he always asks for school so I decided to have about 30 min of school time with him.

We do very simple stuff. My focus is not on teaching the letters of the alphabet or counting numbers, as I don't believe in starting young will gain him an edge over his peers. I have an example at home. Zech only started learning letters formally after he was 3.5 years old and at 5.5 years old now, I'm proud of my little reader who enjoys his books.

Doing simple stuff such as...

Pasting sticker dots.

Learning shapes. Made a felt board recently by recycling an easel board. Felt can be bought from Daiso. $2 per pack with different colours of felt.

Nathanael likes teddy bears so Mummy cut out some shapes from felt for him to create his own bear.

Activity sticker book from Popular. Used to belong to Zech. It's dry erase material so now Nathanael is using it!

Tear and paste book. Nathanel's favourite. There are other tear and paste book with different themes. From Popular too.

We do numbers too. Just counting from 1 to 15 using number cards.

Nathanael has learned to recognize his own and his brother's name. And that was how he recognized the letters N and Z. He knows B too because he stays in Blk xxxB. Hahaha! Talk about real life learning.

I'm looking forward to next year when I can do more with Nathanael. In the meantime, I guess he's contented with simple stuff.