Orchid la!

Do you remember the TV advertisement way back where the toddler's father was trying to teach his son to pronounce the word "flower" a couple of times and suddenly, the toddler snapped back saying "Orchid la!"??   It was darn funny rite??

Well, I got my "orchid la" moment last weekend when my little brainy at home decided to outsmart the mother!  

We were driving back after his UCMAS class that afternoon and I saw a chicken crossing the road - yes, crossing the road.  Then I quickly called him to see and said "Bryan!  See chicken!  Quick quick!    He scrambled up from the car seat and took a look and then snapped back .. Mom, its Rooster la!


Both hubby and I really had a good laugh I tell ya!   Smart little fart!

Ben 10 Cupcakes

The school had a celebration for April babies yesterday and Mommie decided on some Ben 10 cupcakes since Bryan is sooooo crazy over this series lately. Was not sure how many kids in the class but I guess a box of 16 large cuppies should be enough for the kids + teacher. The flavour of the cuppies are chocolate and iced with buttericing and a few decorated with edible images. Will have to make a full Ben 10 cake for his home celebrations this weekend and will post it up her for your comments, ok?

Father & Son Bonding Time

Its been quite a while since I have updated on Bryan. He is doing pretty well in kindy. He takes the private van to school and back. He does not have much problems but if there is a few days break in between (like CNY holidays or school term holidays) he turns a little lazy and will cry a little when its time to hit the 1st day of school after the break.


The kindy provides a meal for the kids (like friend mee hoon, biscuits, doughnuts, etc with drinks like milo or ribena ... thats what he says lah cos we ask him everyday, how was school and what he did and what did he have for tea today, etc). So I guess, he is in good hands.

















Bryan started kindy for 4 yr olds this year and they start learning how to write properly. They also started Mandarin classes as well. He can now read some of the pages from his Mandarin text book. Generally, he is a bright kid .. just a bit "angin" .. wuahahaha!

Daddie has started him on computer lessons! Yes! And the younger you are, the larger your laptop .. hehehe. He enjoys reading and stories from Starfall now and a couple of times a week after dinner at home, he gets to enjoy his very own computer time (old junk from Daddie lar) ... I must say he is really good in handling the mouse. Im quite impressed at how fast he learns such skills! Not to mention he can navigate his Daddie's Iphone 4 like a pro!

Would you know of any other sites suitable for his age, do let me know ya. Thank you.

Proud of Bryan

We're really glad that Bryan is quite ok handling himself in a new place or environment. School started on Monday and daddy sent him to school that afternoon. It did take him a couple of minutes to get warmed up all over again but overall, he adjusted quite well. He took the school van home without much fuss in the evening ... so good job Bryan!

The past few days also went well, Mom said. He changed and hopped onto the school van without any fuss and was in ok mood when he comes home in the evening.

We have been really looking forward to the new school hours. Classes start from 12.15 - 4.15 and by the time he reaches home, its almost 5pm. Shower and dinner, then followed by cartoon shows on TV. By 8 or 9pm, he is really really "mabuk" and its a good time to have a warm bottle of milk and while having his "fix", he is already dozing off! What bliss!! To us I mean! He used to only fall asleep past midnight but these few days, he is in bed at 10pm. Im quite glad Mom gets to rest early. And so do we ...

Time really flies .. still remember hunting for a kindy and now Bryan is in his 2nd year in pre-school. I think its time to look into a chinese primary school.

Extended Preschool Hours in 2011

We just got notice from Bryan's kindy that according to the Ministry of Education's new regulations, preschool hours have to be extended by one hour with effect from 2011. Is it the same at your kid's preschool?

Bryan goes to a Montessori kindy and they have 2 sessions a day. I can't recall what time the morning session starts but the second session starts at 11.45am till 2.45pm (so thats 3 hrs). With the new regulation extended to 4 hours, his session for 2011 will start at 12.15pm till 4.15pm!

Actually we are quite excited about this and it kinda fits our requirement better ... hehehe. You know why? Cos right now, our prince wakes up late and of course, to start with, he sleeps late lah. And he does need his afternoon nap. The moment he steps home, he gets changed and will ask for milk. Right after milk, he will automatically doze off in the sofa. So nap time is around 3.30pm till 5.30pm. With the nap in between, nights are torturous for us! We will all be trying to go to bed by 11pm (that's already considered late for me!) and he will still be very hyper with his badminton & tennis racquests asking for game after game!!! Aiyoh!

So with the new timing, our plan is to allow him to wake up late (he can sleep till 10.30am) and then prepare for school. If school finishes at 4.15pm, we reckon he'll reach home around 4.45pm and after a shower and a glass of milk, its time for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Channel 613 - hurray!!!! So that means, he wont have a chance to take a nap! And with that, we are hoping that his battery would run out no later than 10pm and then its PEACE for all of us ... woaah! Cant wait to embrace 2011!!!!!

Bryan's 1st Report Card

Due to laziness, I have not been updating my blog. There you go .. my confession .. hahaha. But having to experience our first ever parent-teacher's meet and having to experience receiving our son's 1st ever report card was a bit nerve-recking I shall say!

Nothing shocking but we were surpised to find out from the teacher that Bryan is a very polite boy (really?? he screams all the time at home if he wants something and loves to hit & bite his mom and poh-poh .. and that's polite??) and he actually sits down for his meals (huh, are you sure??)

But then again, yes, I have to admit that he is kinda polite when it comes to strangers. Yeah, he loves to greet anyone on the street or if there is someone in the lift when we enter. He would say "Hello Uncle!" or "Hello Aunty" to anyone in the mall or even "Hello Kakak" when he sees the maid next door! But when it comes to us at home, sorry lah. I think he knows very well that he can bully us in some ways.

I always thought that I will be a mom that will not expect or force my son to excel academically. I thought that B's are good enough and although A's would be good, its not really necessary, as long as you have tried your best. So seeing Bryan's so-called "REPORT CARD", I felt a bit different than I thought I would feel.

Bryan got a B for fine motor skills! I mean, fine motor skills wor! How can that be!!! Since he was months old, he would want to do everything himself. He would want to touch everything. He would want to taste everything. He would want to walk everywhere! As he learnt to speak, he would say "Bryan hold" or "Bryan touch" or "Bryan eat" or "Bryan try". Even till today, he still loves to say "Bryan try" everytime he wants to do the things we (the adults) are doing!! So how can he still get a B for fine motor skills??? To me, he has got excellent fine motor skills! Aiyoh!

Ok .. ok .. I better cool down. After all its only first year at kindy. And I have to remind myself that I am not supposed to feel or behave negatively if he gets a B - remember!!! Ok, ok, cool down liao.

He also got a B for emotional development initiative. Its ok then. Its good. Cos then there is room for improvement. Right?

CNY in School

Bryan had a pre-CNY party in school on 12 February. So I donned him in a traditional chinese costume which I bought in HK when I was there visiting back in July last year .. yeah, I kept it for this CNY ... such advanced planning by this Virgorean mommy!


It fitted him perfectly and off he went to school to show off to his friends and teachers. There were only 2 boys who wore traditional costumes.

Being Bryan, he only stood there for like 5 seconds. Even that 5 seconds, teacher had to practically hold him there. After that, teacher also gave up. Let him run lah, all round the school.





Parents of kids contributed to some CNY goodies to be shared with their classmates, so I made some cuppies as Bryan's contribution. I used a cartoon theme even though it was a CNY party cos I reckoned kids would not really understand CNY yet, so I do hope his classmates & teachers liked it.

How was School?

It was Orientation Day last Sunday. We were out in full force *smile*. Daddie, Mommie, PoPo and ....... Mickey Mouse (his new love) to accompany this Prince of ours!

All along, I know I dont have a problem with a crying/screaming kid. I know my son to be a brave boy. Sometimes too brave but thats another story. At school, I knew that the moment he step foot into the compound, he will not look back to find his Mommie or Daddie or PoPo. True enough, he was too excited with the new surrounding, new toys, new books and color pencils, new gadgets and a new slide!

This only means that as usual, it is almost impossible to make him sit on the chair in his class. He can only sit for 30 seconds and that's it. He is up and about other things. Hyper leh.
On Monday & Tuesday, PoPo accompanied him on the school van. Bryan insisted on Daddie's car, but after a while, he got comfy and enjoyed the ride. PoPo said there were 2 other kids who were crying like crazy in the van, and that made Bryan emotional too. He cried a bit but after awhile, PoPo manage to comfort him.

Teacher suggested to Daddie not to stay in the school compound. At one time, Bryan caught a glimpse of Daddie and screamed for him, then cried a bit. After a while, he stopped. This guy stops crying like an emergency brake! Just need to distract him with other stuff and it works magically.

Today, PoPo suggested she stay back the whole day and not make 2 trips to school since Daddie is back to work. She will follow the van and wait there till class starts. Once Bryan gets into class, then she will walk to the nearby coffeeshop to have her lunch and hang around till class finishes at 1.30pm. For the first 3 days, classes end an hour earlier. They will then take the school van back home.

PoPo has been kind enough to accompany Bryan in the school van for a week or two more. Both getting there and coming back. Yes, Bryan is still very young (he has not turned 3 yet). Bryan is a very adventurous boy. And curious. About everything. So that means, he is MOVING all the time. TOUCHING everything. PULLING anything. So he needs supervision. Just afraid that the school van Aunty cannot manage too many kids while she is driving. But will see how it goes. For now, we have PoPo, our savoiur. Thanks PoPo for your sacrifices.

Daddie has been having sleepless nights. He is worried about his son. How the son is coping in school. Whether the teachers there has kept an eye on his boy or not. Worried he goes upstairs and no one noticed. Worried he ran into the toilet to shee-shee or play with water and teacher does not know. Worried he falls from running all over the compound or while playing with the slide. Worried he put the color pencils in his mouth like what he does at home. Worried when he falls, its dirty and no one take him to wash his hands clean. Worried that he gets hurt while running about like a wild boy! Worried that the gate might not be locked accidentally and he gets to run out into the roads! Worried about school van driving carelessly. Worried about everything.

And you think this Mommie is not worried? I would be lying if I said I do not. But wish to let go. I wish to allow my son to explore the world. I wish to allow him to fall down and see how he lifts himself up again. I wish to let him learn that yes, you will fall down and it will hurt you, and its totally ok to fall. I wish to see him cry from being hurt but learn to stop crying too. I wish for him to feel and experience danger here at the kindy before he goes out to the real world and realise it gets much harsher as you live your life! I wish to let him be taught by others. I wish to show him that not everyone gives you or grants you what you want, all the time, like home. I wish to let him play with new things and explore new toys. I wish to teach him to share and not have all the toys to himself. I wish to let him learn that not all toys are his, to begin with.

He is barely 3, but yes, I wish to make him a more independent person than I am.

Lil one goes shopping!

For DVDs .. what else! He does not know how to request for sweets or junk food yet but we decided to let lil one go out and pick his own DVD last week when we visited Mid Valley Megamall.

There are loads of choices from the Speedy Video outlet and I decided to let lil one run about all he wanted .. after all ... even if the DVDs fell on the carpeted floor, cannot "pecah" one right? Worse case scenario .. even if the cover breaks apart, I will just pay for it lor .. DVD only mah .. cheaper than many other things my lil one is capable of breaking or even worse, throwing!!!

Lil one was busy touching every disk that looked familiar to him .. namely Barney, Blue's Clues, Preschool, Sesame Street and from his baby-days, Baby Einstein! We decided on more Preschool DVDs as we have noticed that he now loves to mimic what older kids do ... and he can sit still longer while watching all those "ko-ko" and "cheh-cheh" go about doing house chores, homework, coloring, etc etc.

Learning to write with Aqua Doodle

My lil one is now 21 months old and he is learning to write .. on the wall .. on the cushions .. on his hands and feet .. on the floor .. on his grandma's legs ... everywhere!

We started off with pencils and paper, then upgraded to pens cos the pencils easily breaks off with lil one handling it so rough. The headache with pens is that .. you know lah .. cannot be rubbed off! So we have lines drawn all over grandma's house!

Hubby spotted this really cool toy for him to learn to write. Its called the Aqua Doodle! I normally do not allow hubby to buy anything expensive (by my standards la .. cos I am an alcheapo mommie mah) but this one - I must say is a GOOD BUY! Well done hubby! I simply love it.

Its basically a mat that can only be drawn using a marker filled with just water. After scribbling or drawing, the image dries off by itself in a minute or two and the mat is all clear again for new scribbling!

Lil one has been busy with this toy since we got it for him two weeks ago from Jusco. But of course having "lil monster" as a nickname has its reason ... my lil one decided to test out the marker in his mouth and realised that it has got water .. and since then, he would try to put the marker in his mouth and suck the water out like as if its his Barney water tumbler! Headache!

Kindermuzik @ Selangor Inst of Music

We went for another trial class for Bryan and this time we visited SIM at SS2, PJ. Decided to try on this one cos their trial class is free :-)

Being a Saturday, they only had 2 session for his age group. We choose the one at 10.25am cos at least I know at that time he will be wide awake. The 2nd session at 12.15 noon was probably not suitable as he normally naps about 1pm or so.

Oh my! That place was crowded for a Saturday! There were children running about EVERYWHERE on the first floor where the classes were held. Parents and maids were EVERYWHERE too!

The class itself was not too different from Musikhaus but there were about 10 kids in the class. There were definitely more daddy-child combi compared to mommy-child combination - hahahaa.

Nowadays, daddys seems to play a very active role in their children's upbringing which is really good eh. Those days, when I was young, my daddy never played with me at all .. only my mom! We were just too afraid of daddy cos he was the stern one at home. Right?

Classes at SIM are pretty expensive. It cost RM620 for 15 sessions + RM200 for materials (like books & CDs for home use). So that works up to RM54.60 per 45 minutes! I dont even make that much! And sorry, no pics were allowed as well.

Honestly, I prefer the environment and teachings at Musikhaus. The fee is pretty reasonable too. Their 5pm class works perfect for me cos after that, we can head to Ikano or Ikea for some shopping & then dinner. However, its quite a drive from my place to Mutiara Damansara. Sigh. The first of many difficult decisions to make.

Musikhaus

Since it was a long weekend, I decided to enrol lil rascal for a trial class at Musikhaus (formerly known as Kidz Talent Lodge at Ikano Power Centre) at Bandar Utama.


This is his first time at any class or gathering with kids of any sort, so I was initally afraid he would be a big bully to the rest! Cos as you know, I dont call him a lil monster for nothing right?

We were a few minutes early and once he saw all those playhouses in the garden, our dear friend straight away headed for it! I, of course, expected him to do that .. knowing he's afraid of nothing!

Enjoying the slide while trying to show off his (unhairy) chest!





His very first time stepping into a "class" and there were 5 other toddlers in that session. We registered him into a "Bubble" class which belongs to toddlers from the age 18 months right up to 2.5 yrs. He was the youngest one there at 18 months :-) There are also classes for 0-18 months (so dont think I am kiasu okay .. those in his classes have already been attending for 3 months :-)

Before the class started, he was just to eager to play with his all-time favourite toy, balls! So teacher had to bring down the balls for him to play.

So teacher started off the class with balls lor ... which he loved! And as usual .. cannot sit still .. daddy trying hard to keep him in place .. hehe.

Tried to spin the ball away as per teacher's instructions.


There was also singing and music time, swinging and dancing, story time as well as "picnic" time where the little ones get to choose what food they love and then teacher will sing & explain a little on the food they choose .. hmm .. yummy.

And my "tai kor" below taking over the picnic mat!

Basically, the class involves listening to instructions, responding, interacting with others while having fun. I think it was a good class.

For a trial class, it cost RM35. One term of 10 classes costs RM300 and each class lasts 45 minutes. The have programs catered up to 7 yrs old and if you are keen, you may visit their website at http://www.kidztalent.com/.

Little Rascal's First Books

My little one loves books - which is a blessing.



He loves to flip through them while mumbling some baby words. He never has the patience for me to finish reading the page to him (cos he is the energizer-battery-hyper-active-type remember?) so he goes ahead to flip & flip to his whims and fancy.

He does not have a favourite yet but anything colourful and familiar like dogs, cats, butterfly, star, etc will be able to attract his attention.

We tried reading to him every night before bedtime but the more we read, the more awake he becomes! So, sorry Bryan Boy, we will have to stop reading to you at night.

Any mommies or daddies out there willing to share what kind of books you read to your little toddler?

Pre-school Online Kids Games

I was just discussing with hubby the other day on the topic of computer usage for toddlers/kids. I was telling him how some parents just turn on the computer for their little ones and let them click on interactive games by themselves for as long as they sit there quietly.

I sure understand the fact that to keep them occupied for a longer time, you get to complete some house chores, etc but on the other hand, unsupervised usage of the computer by the toddlers will not benefit them either.

For our little one, although we have not started him on this, we will definately make time to sit with him so that we can read out the words and explain to him what is happening on the screen in order for him to understand it better.

There are quite a number of online pre-school kids games available, be it for fun or educational. I am thinking of starting him with this site by Fisher-Price.

If any one out there has got similar sites or better ones, please do share it with me. We intend to teach him in 2 languages - English & Mandarin.

Too Early to Scout Around?

I have been reading my blogger friends blog about how she almost dropped off her chair when she found out the cost of kindergartens these days!

Oh my! Looks like I really need to budget my expenses wisely from now on cos as I read along, I think I too, wanted to drop off my chair.

As we plan to move into a new housing estate next year, I have been doing some initial research on some kindys and school in that area.

Sometimes I feel as if I am doing too much at one time. I think perhaps I should concentrate on what's needed to be done with the new home first, settle in and then work on the rascal's educational needs later?

Barney!

Oh Barney! How boring would the world be without you! Hee Hee.

I am sure most of us would recognise him without a doubt. I guess he is currently the world's most famous cartoon character to all the childrens of the world! Err .. maybe after Mickey Mouse ????

Bryan's first encounter with Barney was when his Yee Yee (his aunt, my younger sis) bought him a set of Barney pillow & bolster. Bryan was only a month young then. He was too young to enjoy them but now, he will never let you take & play with his Barney pillow & bolster! I love to playfully cuddle and pretend to "sayang" them and he would then come running to me, pulling it away from me, then hug them himself.

He also has a Barney soft toy which we bought from Toys R Us. This soft toy is kinda special. It can tell stories related to the specific page you flip to. But the specific one that we bought was extra special! He never stops telling the stories! Must be some malfunction somewhere! And no, we cant open to remove the batteries. So we normally stuff him up in my closet when Bryan doesn't play with him. Surprisingly he is still telling stories after so many months - battery very lasting man!

We decided on a 3D Barney cake for Bryan too when he turned 1. We all loved it! It was super-cute! Don't you agree?

Bryan started watching the Barney DVD series when he turned 1 as well. This seems to be his current favourite. He used to want to press the "eject" & "play" buttons on the DVD everytime his grandma plays it for him, but now, he would run to the sofa and quickly climb up and sit there waiting for it to start!

Kids - they really grow fast - although they can be a pain in the @*& at times (*wide smile*).