Our school holidays Pt 2

I can't believe how fast time speeds by! Been having sleepless nights lately because just next week, we are starting on an entirely new schedule and yes, going to school, even though I'm not the one, gives me the jitters. I realized too no matter how much we treasure and value time, those precious preschool moments with Zech are a thing of the past. All turned into memories and I wonder if we would still remember them when Zech is 21. Would he tell others, 'You know? I was homeschooled during my preschool years?' Would he share of trips to the garden and parks when most of his peers were in school?

Life is really very very short. Kids grow up all too fast. I hope the values and the Biblical truths stay with Zech.

A recap of our Dec hols...

We continued with the Christmas story using 'Truth in the Tinsel'.

Collaboration between the brothers to stitch a small pillow, which represented Joseph's dream where an angel appeared, telling him to take Mary as his wife.

The finished product!

Painting. An enjoyable activity for the 2 brothers.

Another of their fav craft - the nativity.

After we read about Jesus' first visitors, the shepherds, we made a sheep snack out of grapes, bananas, marshmallows and raisins.

Posing very happily for the camera, as they couldn't wait to start eating!

Some other activities tied in with Christmas...

Nativity shadow match

Bought these foam cutouts from a website a few years ago. The kids have been using these to create their nativity scene.

Most importantly, after Christmas, we spent some time reflecting on the story and what it really means. Zech was very keen to say the sinner's prayer. I think by now, he is able to comprehend the Gospel message. Nathanael simply followed but after praying, he asked to listen to 'Jesus Loves Me'. Maybe that was his response to the message.

I've not seen him so serious before. :) I was so touched!

Boys are boys. Zech requested to go to the beach at Sentosa on his 6th birthday. He was unwell that day so we postponed the trip to a week later. So there we were on a warm and sunny Friday!

We had a joy ride on the beach tram after a McDonald's lunch, which is a rare treat for the kids!

Feeling very pleased with their happy meal toys.

Zech attended an inline skating camp at Bishan Sports Hall.

We bought him a pair of roller blades from Decathlon as his Christmas present, hoping to motivate him to continue the sport.

The boys had playdates with several friends. Zoom Park, Changi Airport, Gardens by the Bay, Christmas parties. They are very blessed.

The excitement of the hols and festive season has simmered down. We are preparing for school, be it at home or outside. And that's another very different story to tell next year.

Blessed New Year!

Our school holidays 2016 Pt 1

The festive season is here again! The best time of the year and the most loved season of all! Carnival rides, a jaunt in the Botanic Gardens, catching free live shows in shopping malls... The list goes on.

I've signed up Zech for a couple of holiday programmes since Nov.

1. The Learning Lab at United Square

A chance for Zech to hone his presentation skills. Having stayed home most of the time for school, I'm quite concerned about his oral and communication skills. At home, he can rattle on and on like a pro but I'm just not sure how he would fare in a classroom setting. Spending 2 mornings at TLL had built up his confidence and given him plenty of chances to speak and read to more than just Mummy and Nathanael.

Presentation draft.

Some of the reading materials.

My only complaint was combining the P1 and P2 children together in the same class. Perhaps it was a holiday class and perhaps there weren't enough P1 kids who enroll in the programme. But I'd much rather prefer resources specially to prepare K2 kids for P1 next year.

2. Artary at Kovan

It's a small art school but the pirate themed art programme was fantastic! The only problem I have is Zech getting too much help from the teacher. Most of the art pieces ended up really similar. But still, Zech enjoyed it much more than NAFA.

3. Vacation Bible School by Ambassador Baptist Church

A 3-day camp, Zech spent his time learning how to be his best for Christ. He came home reciting  the memory verse from the King James version! Amazing! He was very blessed to get the same teacher as the last VBS in June. The spiritual food the kids were given far surpassed any other holiday programmes.

4. Creepy Crawlies Workshop

This was conducted by NParks. During school hols, I try to sign up Zech for at least one of the programmes at Botanic Gardens or Jacob ballas Garden. This was 4 hours long and I paid $50 for it. The age range was pretty wide. Some of Zech's worksheets were beyond his age. But he knew all the answers! The teacher must have taught well.

Love this mini garden he made by himself. He repeated the instructions to me a few times. Hahaha! He really sounded like a teacher.

5. Lovable Wolves

This was the one and only storytelling and craft session I signed up for Zech at Yishun library. Cos the popular ones were all snatched up. I didn't expect much. However, the session was good! The stories were captivating. The maze worksheet was something Zech loves to do. The craft was well-taught and each child even received a little toy at the end. In fact, the entire session was very well-organised.  For once, I think the librarian was a good storyteller.

His last class in the 4 to 6 age group.

6. Basketball under ActiveSG
The best thing about programmes from ActiveSG is they are subsidised! For 5 sessions of basketball, I paid about $60 after subsidy. It was a small group of about 5 kids or so from 3 to 6 years old.

7. Chengzhu Mandarin Centre (Chinese branch under Julia Gabriel) at Rochester Mall
Finally finally, Nathanael got his turn in attending a holiday class at Chengzhu. As usual, he cried on the first day. But from day 2 onwards, he was willing to walk in on his own and was even looking forward to the next lesson! He's progressing. :)

The class, again comprising of both N1 and N2, was mainly focused on cultural arts and immersion. Nathanael was able to recite a poem and even sang a few lines of Chinese folk songs. That was pretty impressive to me for a 3 year old who has never attended school beyond the home. On the last day, parents were invited to sit in for a half an hour session. My Nathanael was able to introduce himself! But he claimed to be 林宣义 (Zech's name)!!! Oh no! Even so, I'm still very elated over his mini performance for me in class. Didn't expect him to be able to sing and recite poetry together with his friends and teachers. Though it didn't last, after 30 min or so, he was restless and started doing his own stuff.

This holiday, we are still having tons of fun and the  main highlight of each day is the Christmas activities. We have our own holiday programme at home too. I'm using 'Truth in the Tinsel' again. Check it out if you are keen at http://truthinthetinsel.com/.

Find the materials very suitable for kids and my boys look forward to a small segment of the Christmas story and the craft following it every day.

The Bible I'm using besides the digital one from iPhone and ipad.

The boys love angels and simply adore their angel craft.

All the crafts they have done thus far...

Not forgetting their very first Christmas craft for the year back in Nov before we started 'truth in the Tinsel'.

It's an exciting season and we ae hoping to do more Christmassy stuff next week!