T for turtle and U for us

I can't help but blog about the goodness of the past 2 units of MFW (My Father's World - a curriculum I'm using to teach Zech).

T for turtle unit -

It taught Zech about perseverance. The fable, 'The tortoise and the hare' is a powerful story in this unit. There's a memory verse for every unit. The verse for this unit, 'I don't quit! I persevere." soon became a slogan for Zech as I presented some challenges for him to take up. He's still learning to be patient. But through this unit, it was a breakthrough for him.

The completed fish with some food stains. :)

U for us unit -

 

A wonderful journey for Zech to discover about himself!

Simply love the books borrowed from AMK library. Surprise surprise! One can actually find such great and relatively new information books there. Never underestimate your neighbourhood library.

 

 

Love the DK book on human body. Each page reveals the human body from outside in.

 

 

I traced Zech's body on brown paper. Then we pasted the organs on the figure. Now Zech has an idea of how God created the inside of his body.

 

I like the different kinds of experiments we have done for this unit.

Using the sense of smell.

Making a 'telephone' with 2 cups and a twine to communicate. That's the power of the sense of hearing.

 

Using the tongue to learn the basic tastes.

Home-made musical instruments.

Comparing the sound in a small versus big shaker.

A simple drum using a glucose container and chopsticks as drum sticks.

 

Best of all, Zech  got to make his very own baby photo album. A trip down memory lane indeed!

Finally, before closing the unit, I helped Zech to create his own family tree. I find doing this is good for him as he got to reflect and understand the relationship between family members. The only thing I missed out here was to include our siblings. For that, I'd need a bigger piece of paper. Probably drawing paper. Zech's holiday project. :)

Coincidentally, there was a Teochew Festival which I thought was really timely for the unit. Zech is a Teochew and it's the best way to learn about the culture.

 

 

There were some exhibits and a mini museum that showcased the history of Teochews in Singapore. Zech wasn't terribly interested. He was only keen to watch the stage performances which were pretty good. It was my first time watching and hearing someone sing in Teochew live on stage. The song was really soothing and nice. 

When I started teaching Zech at home, time flies! We are now at a new unit, D for dinosaur. Another amazing and truly enjoyable journey! Will update again.

This is the way Zech learns Mandarin.

 Zech has his regular Mandarin lessons with me and I'm using this set of books, 'Basic Chinese 500' to teach him.

 

 

The Mandarin lessons I've planned for Zech has basically no frills. Simple and traditional, this methodology seems to be really effective. By the time Zech completed the second book, he can read the third book in the series independently. What I like about the books is the teaching and learning of Chinese characters in context.  Unlike flashcards which teach words in isolation, 'Basic Chinese 500' introduces the Chinese characters with a storyline. This enhances understanding of usage. Repetition of the words ensures learning too. If you've heard of the leveled readers, 'Peter and Jane' (Ladybird series), 'Basic Chinese 500' is similar. At the beginning of each chapter, the strokes of the new Chinese character is shown with numbers to guide the learner. That's really a plus point as it encourages and allows a child to practise writing independently.

After going through the books, Zech practises writing on the word boards with a 'pen'. These boards are very useful but I can't find them at Popular anymore.

Next, I'll go through a Chinese book on colours with Zech. It sure wasn't easy for him to learn his colours in Chinese. I'm glad he knows them by now. For all his books, I usually paste a sticker on each page for successful word recognition. This reward system works very well for him.

Recently, I took out the magnetic Chinese spelling set purchased some time ago. Using the guide book, Zech could form the characters with a little help from me.

Zech also uses one other workbook as a supplement. I'm no expert but with trial and error, books recommendation from friends and some teaching knowledge as an English teacher in the past, I found some great ways to teach Mandarin. Most importantly, the child needs to be provided with opportunities to practise and speak the language.

An effective way to get kids to remember and recognize the Chinese characters is to use them daily in their speech. For example 来 is frequently used in Zech's daily interaction with my mum, so it was very easy for him to remember and recognize it. Building connections work too. For instance, 是 may not be easy for some kids to remember. I told Zech every time we encounter this word, "我是林宣义。” That aids in memory. 

Another powerful resource for learning Mandarin is reading. Enjoyment is important. If the child resists and doesn't like Mandarin, you know it's time to build the interest and not continue to force a child to learn by rote. Consistency is the key.

Personally, I feel there's a lot more I can do with my 3 year old going on 4 but these should suffice for now.  

Screen time for kids?

Ever since Zech turned 3 last Dec, he started watching an educational DVD once a week. His DVDs were limited to Leapfrog, Eric Carle and a series of short Mandarin stories. Recently, I've increased Zech's screen time. Probably inevitable.

The units from MFW, N for nest and T for turtle, were great opportunities to expose Zech to the natural world. Something that is difficult to see and experience in our city. So DVDs and the internet are great windows to the world beyond Singapore.

Sid the Science kid, which is now Zech's fav, is highly recommended. We watched 'home tweet home'. Wonderful series that educate and inspire...

At least, it inspired me to have a nest building activity with Zech after watching the show.

A home for the hen.

A home for Zech's craft bird.

We watched some great videos on YouTube.

Here's one showing how the hummingbird builds its nest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aupSOndl7W0

Another one by BBC showing the weaver bird.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6svAIgEnFvw

An eye-opener for Mummy too!

For T for turtle unit, I chose a few videos. They were simply amazing! I've always wanted to witness a real turtle lay eggs and now I finally did!

Witnessing the birth of hundreds of hatchlings. It was really a long wait but the good thing about videos is I can fast forward the process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afsBBRbQb_I

A turtle laying eggs. Live!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwtjj9bRGtM

Discovered Jonathon Bird's Blue World series. Very cool! Up close and personal with sea turtles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_44-x_gWE7Y

So you see, I'm not against screen time for kids. But it must be restricted with a certain amount of educational value in it. And usually, I sit down with Zech during screen time so that I can explain and enjoy the programme with him. It's a wonderful way to relax too!

Activities for Nathanael

What's Nathanael doing all this time while his big brother is learning with Mummy?

He started fixing his peg puzzle. Hand-me-down from Zech. :) I'm so glad I kept Zech's puzzles.
To my surprise, he could fix some of the shapes on his own.

This is more challenging for him though he recognises where to place some of his favourite animals.

His first drawing experience. This time, I bought the Crayola mess free markers for him to doodle. I think he prefers the markers Zech is using.

 

 

Nathanael likes to read. He gets mad if we don't read enough to him.

 

Here's Nathanael in Zech's favourite reading spot.

 



Some of Nathanael's favourites...

If you are ever in doubt, always buy classic children books. My 2 boys love almost the same picture books.

I discovered he's quite good at slotting things into tiny slits.

 Nathanael's happiest when he gets to learn along with his bro.

Still can't believe I allowed them to play with jelly. But I did and they were thrilled!

Outside, Nathanael is just as cheeky as he is at home.

Enjoying his kiddy ride on Thomas the train.

 

And I believe he's most contented playing with Zech. Brothers forever!

 

We should love one another. 1 John 3:11

 



An overnight stay at Kukup with the cg

Kukup, a small fishing village about 1.5 hours away from Singapore, is a picture of serenity on a Friday afternoon. As we walked to the restaurant for lunch, the street reeked of fishes both fresh and dried, serving to heighten the experience of a small, quiet and laidback town so different from our city.

The kids were mesmerised by the jetty dotted with fishing boats. Some loading and unloading tons of fishes while some setting off to the nearby fish farms.

 

 

After lunch, we went on a boat ride to a fish farm.

The kids enjoyed the breeze and boat ride out to sea.

On the fish farm...

What we saw wasn't fantastic. But still a good experience for the little ones.


Horseshoe crab

 

 

Baby shark

Dried puffer fish

Trying to lure the fishes out using food as bait. Failed mission.

 

 

We had to hold our kids' hands tight while walking on these wooden planks.

 

 

Evening at the waterfront of our chalet.

 

 

At nightfall, the kids came out to play. An early mid-autumn celebration...

 



 

The best part of the night was the fireworks. You can purchase and light them up on your own. We didn't so we watched others do it. Spectacular but too near. In fact, the fireworks were raining directly above me. My eyes were closed most of the time as I tried to take a video of it. Haha! The kids were fast asleep in the chalet by this time.

 

After breakfast the next day, playing with poppers is traditional yet fun to liven up the festive mid-autumn mood.

 

 

Morning stroll after breakfast. A glorious start to a new day!

 

Spot the mudskipper? There were heaps below the chalets which are on stilts.

It was home sweet home after our seafood lunch. Great trip with superb company!