Kyle's Penitence
Our library books were overdue and we needed to make a trip down to Compasspoint. The Duo immediately settled down on the ground, pouring through the books they found. It was without much hassle that we chose the books they liked. Kyle chose a book by Dr Suess, 4 books on Berenstein bear and a pictorial fantasy. The only problem we had during check out time was that we had 2 books too many.
After that we proceeded to the Kopitiam foodcourt to have some dessert. That was when Kyle's 'nonsense' started. He wanted to go to Popular bookshop to browse through his Ben 10 books and was very impatient. He started whining and then insisted on playing with my handphone although I gave him strict warning not to. The whining did not stop even after we got to Popular. He discovered that his daddy had gone for a haircut and he whined that he wanted to have one as well. I immediately set him in a corner to tell him off. He wanted Popular in the first place and now he changed his mind. He grouchily submitted and turned his attention to the books. He was soon engrossed in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. He asked to get it and I agreed on condition that he reads 3 Chinese books for me per day. He agreed and I bought.
At the hairdresser's, he met his dad and sister and he again whined that he wanted a hair cut despite our telling him that we will bring him to his usual hairdresser which costs only $7 compared to $10. He made a big fuss and said that he will pay with his own money. By this time, both the hubby and I were of the same mind that we needed a talk with him. He was to stand and face the wall once he reached home.
Once home, we told him what was it he did that upset us and how it had spoilt the outing. Then we spoke to him about the value of money and where it comes from. He is aware that we have to work for every cent we spend. He also claimed that he has worked for his own money by swimming and doing work (written)and has a right to spend it (btw, he had earned about $50 to date). I then told him that that is a reward that the daddy gave him and the dad still has to work for it. With that we let him go.
Minutes later, I was at the table writing a cheque for his insurance policy. I told him how much it cost and that I have to write another cheque to pay for their school fees as well. He stood there for a while and then he made up his mind. "Mummy, I'll give you my $50." he offered graciously. I accepted and thanked him. Following suit was Meryl who wanted to give me her $10 but her brother told her to give me her $2 instead since he had given me $50 already. Of course both were praised for their generosity.
Footnote: Just before sleeping, he asked me how much his Transformer book cost and I told him $10. Then he commented that he gave me more than what I paid for the book, almost regretfully. I then reminded him that his insurance and school fees came up to more that $2000 and he hurriedly nodded his head in agreement!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Our Current Fave books
The Reading Family
Both the Hubby and I started on the 'Belgariad' by David Eddings sometime in March. It was one of our favorite fantasy epics which we both read during our late teens. In fact my hubby claimed that his English only improved after he started reading the series which consists of 5 books in "Belgariad', 5 books in 'Mollareon' and another 5 in 'Elenium (too bad he only started reading after his 'O's). There were also branch- offs from the series on specific characters from the book. So by his standard, that's a LOT of books he read then! Both of us decided to re-read it Again (3rd time or so for me and him too)! Every night we will commence reading time before bedtime and everyone of us will pick their own books and do individual silent reading, Meryl included. We will then spend about 15-25 minutes reading before lights out. (Btw, I am almost done with the 10th and final book of both Belgariad and Mallorean !)
For Kyle, I introduced him the Ben 10 comic series (currently Book 11) knowing that he prides himself in knowing everything about Ben 10. It was also because he was aware that the books that we were reading comes in a series. Thus when I told him about the Ben 10 series, he was very excited and couldn't wait to collect all ( like mum and dad). However, he has to work hard for it. It was a form of reward for him when he does something well, such as Abacus, swimming or taking initiative to do his work without prompting. It worked Wonders!! He is currently at Book 7 and still needs to earn Book 8 and 9 which I had already bought. Every night he'd pour over the 7 books he has, scrutinising the pictures and reading the words in the dialogue boxes. In fact, more often than not, he would refuse to go to bed until he finished going through the selected books for the night at least once. He seldom bother us when he is reading and is happy to be on his own. Now he has also acquired the habit of bringing along a few books whenever we go out!
As for Meryl, she is into her Princess books. It started when I played them an audio CD of 'The Little Mermaid' in the car. They enjoyed it so much and was able to follow the narrator so well that by the end of 1 week, both could recite the story. I then went on to buy a few more such as "The Lion King', Snow White and the 7 dwarfs', 'Cinderella', beauty and the Beast', 'Thumbelina' etc. Meryl loved to be able to pick up the books and look at the pictures and make Many comments on them. She also loved to just sit there and listen to the cd, lost in a magical world. There are times, when I would play the cd in her room for her and there are times, she was just thumbing through the books during our reading time, on her own. Like her brother, she also insists on bringing books out with her. I am comforted to know that I have managed to impart my love for books to them and inculcate in them this habit of reading.
The kids have an assortment of books ( about 3 shelves full of both English and Chinese books) that I salvaged from book fairs and Popular in JB ( I LOVE Book Fairs!) There are also certain authors that I have introduced them to with a wide selection under their belt, such as 'Curious George' by Hay Reyes, Tony Ross, Dr Suess, 'Berenstein Bears' etc. It helps that they are familiar with the characters in the stories and sustains their interest. I have found it an effective way to keep them asking for more as they are curious to find out what else the characters in the series do. Kyle started with 'Curious George' at about 2 plus and he is now able to read it on his own. There are periods when they are obsessed with certain things and we will then go library to borrow more on the subject. One example was when both of them were fired up about learning the different functions of the body. Books on 'Digestive System', Respiratory System', 'Nervous System' were then hunted down and they poured over it.
One of my favorite place when I visit JB is Popular Bookstore at CitySquare. Here is where I buy All the Chinese storybooks for the kids. They cost about half the price in Singapore! They also have bundles at times which made it even cheaper. For some reasons that I do not understand, the cost of Chinese books (those with big pictures and one sentence below it) is ridiculously high, sometimes between $3-$6. The kids love the bright, colourful pictures and the words are simple enough for them to understand. There is another series that comes with dialogue boxes and the children are suppose to role-play. It was definitely a good way to engage them in reading Chinese. I LOVE it! I usually buy about 3-5 books per trip and then add on to their collection with every visit.
If you ever have a chance to sit in our car, you will notice that the pockets of the seats behind are overflowing with books. This is where I read most of the Chinese books to them when we are travelling from place to place. This is where they listen to their CD( when their mom is feeling lazy) and follow the narrator in telling the story. This is where they Fight most of the time over books as well. Now that I am blogging on this, I am thinking that actually most of their learning to read took place in the confined space of the car, since they have nothing better to do!! In fact, last week, we took a ride from a friend in their car and the 1st comment that Meryl made when she went in was, 'How come you have no books in your car?? Where are all your books?'
Both the kids know that their mummy will not buy toys easily for them ( in fact, hardly ever now) but when it comes to books, she will part with her money willingly...provided that it is not too expensive lah!
Both the Hubby and I started on the 'Belgariad' by David Eddings sometime in March. It was one of our favorite fantasy epics which we both read during our late teens. In fact my hubby claimed that his English only improved after he started reading the series which consists of 5 books in "Belgariad', 5 books in 'Mollareon' and another 5 in 'Elenium (too bad he only started reading after his 'O's). There were also branch- offs from the series on specific characters from the book. So by his standard, that's a LOT of books he read then! Both of us decided to re-read it Again (3rd time or so for me and him too)! Every night we will commence reading time before bedtime and everyone of us will pick their own books and do individual silent reading, Meryl included. We will then spend about 15-25 minutes reading before lights out. (Btw, I am almost done with the 10th and final book of both Belgariad and Mallorean !)
For Kyle, I introduced him the Ben 10 comic series (currently Book 11) knowing that he prides himself in knowing everything about Ben 10. It was also because he was aware that the books that we were reading comes in a series. Thus when I told him about the Ben 10 series, he was very excited and couldn't wait to collect all ( like mum and dad). However, he has to work hard for it. It was a form of reward for him when he does something well, such as Abacus, swimming or taking initiative to do his work without prompting. It worked Wonders!! He is currently at Book 7 and still needs to earn Book 8 and 9 which I had already bought. Every night he'd pour over the 7 books he has, scrutinising the pictures and reading the words in the dialogue boxes. In fact, more often than not, he would refuse to go to bed until he finished going through the selected books for the night at least once. He seldom bother us when he is reading and is happy to be on his own. Now he has also acquired the habit of bringing along a few books whenever we go out!
As for Meryl, she is into her Princess books. It started when I played them an audio CD of 'The Little Mermaid' in the car. They enjoyed it so much and was able to follow the narrator so well that by the end of 1 week, both could recite the story. I then went on to buy a few more such as "The Lion King', Snow White and the 7 dwarfs', 'Cinderella', beauty and the Beast', 'Thumbelina' etc. Meryl loved to be able to pick up the books and look at the pictures and make Many comments on them. She also loved to just sit there and listen to the cd, lost in a magical world. There are times, when I would play the cd in her room for her and there are times, she was just thumbing through the books during our reading time, on her own. Like her brother, she also insists on bringing books out with her. I am comforted to know that I have managed to impart my love for books to them and inculcate in them this habit of reading.
The kids have an assortment of books ( about 3 shelves full of both English and Chinese books) that I salvaged from book fairs and Popular in JB ( I LOVE Book Fairs!) There are also certain authors that I have introduced them to with a wide selection under their belt, such as 'Curious George' by Hay Reyes, Tony Ross, Dr Suess, 'Berenstein Bears' etc. It helps that they are familiar with the characters in the stories and sustains their interest. I have found it an effective way to keep them asking for more as they are curious to find out what else the characters in the series do. Kyle started with 'Curious George' at about 2 plus and he is now able to read it on his own. There are periods when they are obsessed with certain things and we will then go library to borrow more on the subject. One example was when both of them were fired up about learning the different functions of the body. Books on 'Digestive System', Respiratory System', 'Nervous System' were then hunted down and they poured over it.
One of my favorite place when I visit JB is Popular Bookstore at CitySquare. Here is where I buy All the Chinese storybooks for the kids. They cost about half the price in Singapore! They also have bundles at times which made it even cheaper. For some reasons that I do not understand, the cost of Chinese books (those with big pictures and one sentence below it) is ridiculously high, sometimes between $3-$6. The kids love the bright, colourful pictures and the words are simple enough for them to understand. There is another series that comes with dialogue boxes and the children are suppose to role-play. It was definitely a good way to engage them in reading Chinese. I LOVE it! I usually buy about 3-5 books per trip and then add on to their collection with every visit.
If you ever have a chance to sit in our car, you will notice that the pockets of the seats behind are overflowing with books. This is where I read most of the Chinese books to them when we are travelling from place to place. This is where they listen to their CD( when their mom is feeling lazy) and follow the narrator in telling the story. This is where they Fight most of the time over books as well. Now that I am blogging on this, I am thinking that actually most of their learning to read took place in the confined space of the car, since they have nothing better to do!! In fact, last week, we took a ride from a friend in their car and the 1st comment that Meryl made when she went in was, 'How come you have no books in your car?? Where are all your books?'
Both the kids know that their mummy will not buy toys easily for them ( in fact, hardly ever now) but when it comes to books, she will part with her money willingly...provided that it is not too expensive lah!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Meryl's school report
Meryl's school report (1st semester)
I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me when I reached home after a long, long day at work. Meryl's progress book! She received mostly Good for all areas such as Intellectual Devt, Self help, Motor Skills, Social Skills, Reading Skills, Writing Skills and Numeracy Skills. What surprised me was the number of Excellent grading she got! I must say that I have lower expectations from her than from her brother thus I was pleased to see that she was excelling in some areas. They were Emotional Development, Language and Literacy skills (speech, hearing and story) and in area of Creative Expression. I showered her with praises and at the same time told her of the areas that she needed improvements in.
Later that night, Meryl's teacher had a tele-conversation with me over her progress in school as I was unable to attend the Parent-Teacher meeting last Saturday. She told me that Meryl was an articulate, expressive and sociable girl in class and was the 'Little Helper', making sure that everyone packed up after class, keep their chairs etc. She was also a 'trend-setter'among her classmates. According to the teacher, Meryl has been singing "Ponyo on the cliff' ( a Japanese cartoon I brought the kids to watch and thereafter they learnt the song on Youtube) everyday and her classmates had caught on and they were also trying to imitate the Japanese cartoon characters and how they walk. However, she will also talk ten to the dozens in class whenever she does her work thus resulting in her always being the last to finish in class. In fact, the teacher mentioned that this was one of the problems she has; lack of focus as she only wants to talk and talk! The only time she can complete her work on time is when the teacher sits next to her.
Recognising words was another area of concern I brought up to the teacher as at her age, her brother was already reading independently with minimal help. Her teacher claims that she is progressing well although she discovered some of her 'tricks'. She will always choose to be the last to go through the guided reading with her teacher and on the pretext of being gracious, let others go before her. But instead of playing while the teacher is busy with the rest, she will be furiously going through the book and trying to catch the story in snippets from where she was, hoping to remember the words when it comes her turn (btw, she has a fantastic memory and can recite her audio books of 20 pages from 1st to last page). That was how she managed to score 9 stars in her recent Wordbank Booklet. No wonder when I tested her at home, she was unable to read some of the words!
The teacher also praised her on her leadership skills (!!! btw she is the shortest in class!!!) Apparently, she will help to issue instructions in class and makes sure that everyone follows suit. I have seen her in her element at home, trust me, she can be very determined and aggressive when it comes to certain things! According to the teacher, she is a natural performer...ha ha...seeks the limelight, will relish every opportunity to sing/act.( I recounted to the teacher a time when we were at Malacca and Meryl saw people performing on a stage and she insisted that she wants to go up to sing her 'Hokkien song'. It was only after much persuasion that we managed to get her to drop the idea. Phew! So far, she had taken part in 3 competitions, a Toddler contest where she came in 1st Runners up , a RC- organised talent song where she got 1st and a fancy dress cum talent show where she sang a medley of songs on stage without any signs of stage fright in front of a whole hall of audience).
Now my job at hand is to help her read better and learn to be more focused when doing her work!
I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me when I reached home after a long, long day at work. Meryl's progress book! She received mostly Good for all areas such as Intellectual Devt, Self help, Motor Skills, Social Skills, Reading Skills, Writing Skills and Numeracy Skills. What surprised me was the number of Excellent grading she got! I must say that I have lower expectations from her than from her brother thus I was pleased to see that she was excelling in some areas. They were Emotional Development, Language and Literacy skills (speech, hearing and story) and in area of Creative Expression. I showered her with praises and at the same time told her of the areas that she needed improvements in.
Later that night, Meryl's teacher had a tele-conversation with me over her progress in school as I was unable to attend the Parent-Teacher meeting last Saturday. She told me that Meryl was an articulate, expressive and sociable girl in class and was the 'Little Helper', making sure that everyone packed up after class, keep their chairs etc. She was also a 'trend-setter'among her classmates. According to the teacher, Meryl has been singing "Ponyo on the cliff' ( a Japanese cartoon I brought the kids to watch and thereafter they learnt the song on Youtube) everyday and her classmates had caught on and they were also trying to imitate the Japanese cartoon characters and how they walk. However, she will also talk ten to the dozens in class whenever she does her work thus resulting in her always being the last to finish in class. In fact, the teacher mentioned that this was one of the problems she has; lack of focus as she only wants to talk and talk! The only time she can complete her work on time is when the teacher sits next to her.
Recognising words was another area of concern I brought up to the teacher as at her age, her brother was already reading independently with minimal help. Her teacher claims that she is progressing well although she discovered some of her 'tricks'. She will always choose to be the last to go through the guided reading with her teacher and on the pretext of being gracious, let others go before her. But instead of playing while the teacher is busy with the rest, she will be furiously going through the book and trying to catch the story in snippets from where she was, hoping to remember the words when it comes her turn (btw, she has a fantastic memory and can recite her audio books of 20 pages from 1st to last page). That was how she managed to score 9 stars in her recent Wordbank Booklet. No wonder when I tested her at home, she was unable to read some of the words!
The teacher also praised her on her leadership skills (!!! btw she is the shortest in class!!!) Apparently, she will help to issue instructions in class and makes sure that everyone follows suit. I have seen her in her element at home, trust me, she can be very determined and aggressive when it comes to certain things! According to the teacher, she is a natural performer...ha ha...seeks the limelight, will relish every opportunity to sing/act.( I recounted to the teacher a time when we were at Malacca and Meryl saw people performing on a stage and she insisted that she wants to go up to sing her 'Hokkien song'. It was only after much persuasion that we managed to get her to drop the idea. Phew! So far, she had taken part in 3 competitions, a Toddler contest where she came in 1st Runners up , a RC- organised talent song where she got 1st and a fancy dress cum talent show where she sang a medley of songs on stage without any signs of stage fright in front of a whole hall of audience).
Now my job at hand is to help her read better and learn to be more focused when doing her work!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
