Dinner Under The Kites

A few Sundays ago, the cousins and I traipsed down to Marina Barrage for an alfresco dinner and a stint of kite-flying. Unfortunately, the kiterunner in our family - Hubby - was away for work, so the Bees did not have a kite to launch into the enchanting twilight sky! 

All of us brought along some food for the picnic - scrumptious chicken rice and roast pork with eggs by Irene, mouthwatering rojak, popiah and hokkien mee by Fio, and juicy grapes by me. We laid out the mats and played around a little with CC entertaining all the 4 active girls using his solo kite. 

Before long, we sat down comfortably and dug into the local feast with much gusto and relish! Yumz! The Bees, who are accomplished food connoisseurs, sat right beside me and joined in the food attack, not caring much about running around in the green meadow nor flying the kites. 

I always enjoyed Marina Barrage, despite the crowds. The scenery was breathtaking with the glittering Marina Bay Sands on one side and the placid sea on the other side. We were immensely lucky to have exceptional weather that evening, with the setting sun creating bewitching shafts of brilliant tangerine rays. 

The lavender skies above us were dotted with a kaleidoscope of kites, and there was a constant gentle breeze wafting all around us. What a mesmerising evening indeed. 

Big Bee took this photo, with one of the little girls holding the toy. Toy courtesy of Irene! 

The Bees soaked up the beguiling atmosphere, smiling, laughing and chattering incessantly with their cousins. 

We finished up the food eventually, as the dusky and mysterious gloaming descended on us. Twinkling lights came to life in Marina Bay Sands but Marina Barrage was shrouded in murky obscurity, making the kids squeal with excitement, thrill and a little dash of fear in the imminent darkness. 

We will be back very soon for another night under the kites! 

Sketching Our Great Solar System

The Bees are immensely interested in the solar system after our long-drawn homelearning theme of Planet Earth (which had extended into the theme of Space as well!). 

Big Bee now knows the names, order and characteristics of the 8 planets like the back of her hand. Little Bee shows significant interest in the planets, and could roughly indicate the order and key characteristics of some of the planets, eg Saturn has rings of ice and dust, Uranus has many moons, Jupiter has a big red spot (she thinks there are 2 spots though!), we can see Venus as a bright star from Earth, etc.

They had taken to doodling the solar system in their spare time, and here were a couple of sketches that they had done. 

Big Bee's solar system

Little Bee's solar system

Little Bee had also raised the concept of recycling to a higher level when she showed me what she sketched one day after I came home from work last week. She doodled her few favourite planets on Big Bee's old testpapers - right on top of the printed words! I had to applaud her for doing her bid to save the Earth :) 

Planet Earth

Saturn

Jupiter

Travel Memoirs: Cherry Blossoms in China

I was in China for a work trip 2 weeks ago, and went on a whirlwind schedule in 4 cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Nanjing. This was the season of spring, and I was enveloped by sights of exquisite cherry blossoms, alluring spring flowers and fields of golden yellow blossoms, almost as if the sun had decided to multiply its billion offsprings on the jade-green meadows. 

The cherry blossoms were enchanting - they were ubiquitous, even in the urban city of Shanghai. They burgeoned in blooms of snowy-white, clusters of brilliant fuchsia pink and flourishing in gentle pastel pink. Magnificent indeed.

Other flowering plants preened with floral bursts of delightful yellow, luxuriant purple, mysterious lavender and resplendent red. Truly breathtaking. 

I had missed the family badly this time (as this was my first trip after a whole luxurious quarter of no travels, staying grounded in Singapore). However, the sight of these delicate blossoms imbued me with inspiration, awe and amazement - encouraging me to snap photos as if I was an over-zealous tourist, so that my Bees could revel in the glorious rejuvenation of spring. 

This was the view when I stepped out an office after a meeting. Divine poetic beauty. 

Her Own Blog

Big Bee wanted to start a blog of her own - do visit her here at her blog, which is still largely work in progress. Her first entry was lifted from her Chinese diary (from school) where she penned about our March holiday in Penang. 

Enjoy reading, and do visit her blog and leave comments to encourage her! :) 

My Child, My Parent

Late on Sunday night at 2am, when Hubby and I were engrossed in watching the movie Munich on DVD, we suddenly heard the girls' bedroom door open followed by some furtive whisperings. 

I peeped across the dark corridor and saw a tiny figure - Little Bee - and ambled into her room. She clambered onto her bed, whispering like a nagging parent, "Very late already!" Oops. 

I patted her to sleep again, and sneaked out to continue watching the movie with Hubby. 

Within 10 minutes, we heard the door open again, followed by more urgent whisperings. I scampered into her room, and here was what she told me as she scrambled up on her bed again, "Mummy, better come and sleep, otherwise you will be tired tomorrow!" (we are still co-sleeping with them)

Awww....sweetest of all sweetness indeed :) I can't help but beam with happiness into the silent darkness - it does feel divine to be mothered by our children at times!

Tennis Under The Stars

On a languid Saturday night, what better way to whittle away the sluggish minutes than to indulge in a game of evening tennis? The breeze was gently welcoming, the stars were out gleaming at us - the weather was perfect! 

The Bees and I descended upon our tennis court with much anticipation, with Big Bee and I trying our best to engage in a smooth tennis sparring session, but I must say my tennis is not good at all to immerse Big Bee in a proper game! 

Cute Little Bee, on the other hand, was gamely picking up the balls that were flying in all sorts of bizarre directions, working up a sweat with her short little legs running around the court! She was also the sports photographer, taking pictures of Big Bee and me panting away. 

The results? No winning or losing (as Mummy's tennis skills were way too bad!) but plenty of perspiration and an abundance of spent energy - just in time for bed :)  

All Ready

The goodies are immaculately wrapped

The cake has been selected

The food is ordered

The entertainment is set

Her good friends were all invited

A party is brewing again

And we can't wait!  

Footprints On The Moon

We are learning about the moon this week and were amazed by many fascinating facts about it. We were also lucky to have gazed with wonderment at the Supermoon last month, when the Bees were intrigued that our moon had crept up so close to the Earth for the first time in 18 years.

Some easily digestible facts about the Earth's moon for kids:
1) It would take more than 2 weeks to fly there in a fast airplane!
2) The moon is about 1/4 the width of Earth.
3) The gravity on the moon controls the Earth's ocean tides.

We read a charming book about the moon and astronauts, and the Bees also learned about the concept of gravity and tides. Big Bee, being older, could grasp the theory of how our moon affected our tides, and Little Bee likened gravity to a magnet hidden deep within the Earth. Which was why she was slightly confused when she examined a picture with the cross-section of the Earth, wondering where the magnet was in the midst of burning magma!



Through this book, the Bees' imaginations were blown away when they read that humans walked on the moon before. I remembered my own ambition to be an astronaut when I was 9 - I wonder if my dainty little girls harbour similar ambitions?

Anyway, I love this book for its simple yet beautiful language, its vivid illustrations and its encouragement for our children to dream big.

Lost

Big Bee wrote an English composition in class, and her essay was chosen as one of 6 to be displayed on the notice board in her class. Big Bee was highly encouraged by this, although she tried not to show it. 

We were elated of course, and this brought back memories from days of yore when my secondary school's English teacher would read out my essays to the class, making me squirm in embarrassment. However, that was highly significant in inspiring me to develop a deep love for writing in life. I hope Big Bee would find much joy in literary pursuits as well, and I applaud her class teacher for reinforcing such encouraging measures to nurture writing skills amongst her students. 

In new age times like these, where short condensed messages in the form of Twitter and Facebook are the norm, I hope my Bees could sidetrack this vile and slow murder of the language arts, and instead, enjoy the sheer pleasure of appreciating the rapturous texture and intensity of the language arts - in any languages. 

Here's her simple little essay, titled "Lost". Enjoy! 

Chinese New Year was coming soon! Tom and his father went to Chinatown to buy some festive goodies. There were big, red lanterns and stalls selling pineapple tarts, “bak kwa” and Chinese New Year decorations. It was very crowded. Little Tom held onto his father’s hand tightly. He did not want to be lost.

There were Chinese New Year songs playing loudly in the background. After a while, Tom and his father decided to buy “bak kwa”. There was a very long queue. Tom was getting impatient. Boom! Tom heard some beating of drums. Tom went to see what had happened. There was a lion dance! Tom watched the lion dance happily for fifteen minutes. When the lion dance had ended, Tom skipped back to the cashier to look for his father. To his horror, his father was not there!

Tom walked all about Chinatown alone. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He cried loudly. Some passers-by asked him what had happened. Between sobs, frightened Tom told the passers-by that he was lost.

The passers-by said they were sorry for him and would help him find his father. Soon, Tom heard a familiar voice. He turned around and to his relief, saw his father. Tom grinned from ear to ear and hugged his father. Tom learnt his lesson never to walk off alone again.  

Prima Ballerina

We have another ballerina in the making, as Little Bee started her ballet classes at long last with Big Bee's ballet teacher! Little Bee was thrilled to bits on Saturday when we dressed her up in her ballet attire, and struck several poses to announce to the world that an up-and-coming ballerina is arising. 

She had been very interested in dance since very young, and had been emulating her jie-jie whenever she watched her in open houses or school performances. This is the day that she had been waiting for, and I am so pleased to see her mirthful elation. 

Big Bee was invited by the ballet teacher to stay in the class with Little Bee, so Hubby and I were thankful for this little respite to spend a little couple time together. Big Bee also took so many beautiful photos and videos of her mei-mei in class, and we were glad we could partake in Little Bee's first ballet experience vicariously through Big Bee's photojournalism. 

Striking a pose in class

We peeped at Little Bee secretly and was tickled to see her demonstrating many ballet poses that she thought to be appropriately "ballerina-like" to her teacher in class. She is being her usual extroverted and expressive self, and we love it. 

We are delighted to see her so happy, and we wish her a wonderful dance journey ahead :)  

To Market, To Market

We made a date with both sets of the Bees' grandparents last Sunday for a hearty hawker breakfast and an invigorating walk around the market of Chinatown! 

The jolly group of 6 adults and 2 kids met in the balmy morning setting of Chinatown's hawker centre, ready to have our palates tickled and tantalized. The aromatic, fragrant flavours of the busy hawkers titillated our olfactory senses, whereas the colourful sights of hawker dishes in all kinds of varieties teased our gustatory senses to no end. 

It was gratifying to see both sets of our parents chatting like old friends, and even more delightful to see how the Bees revel gleefully in the cocoon of the grandparents' pampering love. 

We had a thoroughly satisfying breakfast of splendid hawker delights, comprising of the best wanton mee I had ever tasted in a long time, succulent chee cheong fun, sweet beancurd and other epicurean wonders. The grandparents were thoroughly thrilled by our suggestion of meeting there - thanks to Hubby's brilliant idea, and they kept reminiscing about old times, especially the grandfathers :)

After breakfast, we sauntered to the wet market below. It was an eye-opener for the Bees, whose closest wet market they had experienced was a perfectly dry one in the neighbourhood. This Chinatown market had wet floors speckled with a few stray catfishes struggling and squirming on the floor, much to the Bees' fascination. 

There were also all kinds of exotic wares on sale, ranging from crocodile meat to eels.

Fresh abalones for sale

Fish maw before their dried up, preserved state! The Bees loved this.

It was noisy and crowded, filled with a multitude of aromas from raw fishes to resigned frogs waiting to be butchered to sweet-smelling fruits and vegetables.

There were a motley variety of all kinds of fishes, alive and dead, for sale, and the Bees were amazed as we meandered past many stalls. 

It was vibrant, alive and energetic, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

Sadly, Hubby and I always questioned how long such trades could survive in urban Singapore, and always made it a point to reinforce to the Bees our roots and historical past. It definitely helped to broaden the Bees' knowledge of history when their grandparents recounted stories of ages long past, in a different Singapore with a completely different pace of life. 

We certainly hope to be back here with our parents and Bees on a frequent basis! 

The Great Leap Forward

Now that Big Bee is well adjusted to her primary 3 life, we parents are the ones who are constantly amazed (and frazzled) by how quickly children adjust to changes. I am also truly impressed by children's capabilities to absorb information and tackle new challenges at whichever stage they are. It indicates that every child has an infinite pool of ability to assimilate new knowledge and we should always be encouraging this boundless retention. 

The leap from primary 2 to primary 3 is indeed startling, albeit not overwhelming - yet. There is more homework, but Big Bee kind of got used to it after 2 years in primary school. However, the work had elevated a fair bit in terms of difficulty, especially for Math, Chinese and the new inclusion of Science. 

Critical thinking is essential, and should be a fundamental skill by primary 3. This is very apparent in P3 comprehensions, when teachers would expect our little 9-year-old to analyse logically and think independently when tackling tricky questions. Very much like GP last time! No longer can they be expected to derive answers directly from the passages like in the first 2 years, but they are required to deduce answers from critical reading. 

Hence, I think it is important that we build up critical reading and analysis skills even in the kindergarten years. 

Big Bee had been delving a lot in Math homework this week, leaving her no time to dabble with the other subjects. Using models to derive answers for Math may seem irksome to many parents but I find it a wonderful tool to help children visualise the problem sum logically - and the beauty is, models can even be used for sums involving multiplication and division! It is fundamental for parents to learn modelling as well, so we can guide our kids along. It is not rocket science, and is actually very rational! 

A few samples of problem sums from her work tonight that needed modelling to solve. In these cases, using models revealed the answers in a logically simple manner!

1. Vivian had three times as many orchids as roses. She had 84 more carnations than orchids. If she had 120 roses and carnations altogether, how many flowers did Vivian have altogether?   

2. Each kilogram of prawns cost three times as much as each kilogram of fish. Mrs Pang bought 4 kilograms of prawns and 3 kilograms of fish. The prawns cost $36 more than the fish. How much did each kilogram of prawn cost? 

Other types of P3 Math will revolve around heuristics, a concept that would be practised starting from P1. An example below: 

It takes much longer to complete a Math exercise now, but I guess we have to teach our children to just bite the bullet and soldier ahead, rather than lamenting about how easy their previous work used to be. And of course, reward them fully with lots of sunshine and play whenever the weekend approaches! :)