Kids' Kampong

Last Saturday, we went to Kids' Kampong to assuage the stresses built up from the week - Big Bee's CA1 tests as well Hubby and my usual work stresses. True enough, squatting by the drains, focusing our attention on the swiftly dashing fishes and trying our best to swipe them into our miniscule nets are activities that helped cleanse and rejuvenate all our minds from the weekday stresses. Maybe except for Little Bee, who felt more stressful trying to catch the fishes to no avail, despite our enthusiastic encouragement!

Big Bee was the longkang fishing champion. She was catching fishes into her net continuously, and we lost count of how many fishes she had caught! It was breathless merely trying to catch up with her. Eventually, we caught a total of 30 fishes! We took the fishes back home and Hubby brought Big Bee out at night to release these fishes in a true blue longkang, as we thought that these poor fishes would probably perish sooner or later under the over-zealous swipes of little kids' nets if we returned them to Kids' Kampong! 

After fishing, we started our rounds of animal feedings with 4 packets of very versatile animal food amongst us (all the animals are fed using the same packet of food consisting of pungent-smelling pellets!). Once again, it was fascinating yet a wee bit morbid feeding the ravenous and huge koi fish that were clambering over each other and onto the dry parapet just to eat their share. It was rather overwhelming!

They then went on to feed a whole big hutch of cute little bunnies in colours of pure white and warm brown. They were all so furry and cute, and needless to say, these adorable bunnies were the recipients of most food from all the enchanted kids based on their cuteness factor!

The Bees particularly enjoyed feeding the 5 or 6 plump ducks, talking and throwing pellets of animal food to these maternal-looking ducks. We relished the pleased quackings of the ducks and Little Bee could even pinpoint which 2 ducks were more friendly to her, whereas the rest were just fierce ducks! Hilarious. 

They were then enthralled with a whole bunch (more than 10!) of very eager and impetuous chickens in a coop. They were squawking excitedly (and somewhat angrily!) amongst themselves, and pecking away at the food that Big Bee fed them. 

We ended off our kampong visit with 2 cups of creamy ice-cream and visions of hungry animals in our minds! 

Work Hard, Play Harder!

When I was young, my parents always encouraged me to dream about the fun-filled holidays when I was grumpily studying for exams. And my mum would usually plan some wonderful holiday programmes for my brother and I, together with our cousins, so that we worked hard, but played even harder! I think it was a fundamental philosophy that shaped my attitude to perseverence, always ensuring a strong balance of work and play in my life. 

With the Bees, I try to reinforce this same philosophy that my parents taught so well. One example was this past weekend, which was such a remarkable one! It was jam-packed with all sorts of activities, making it a very balanced weekend, and we truly worked and played hard. It was the weekend before Big Bee's Science CA1 on Monday, but instead of staying home to revise, I decided to practise intermittent revision with her instead!

Here was what we did:

Saturday

1) Big Bee's good friend from kindergarten, Mit, invited her to her 9th birthday party in East Coast.

2) Hence, we could drop Big Bee at the party place, where we left her squealing and excited with her good pals, before adjourning for a refreshing alfresco breakfast with the little one, which was a rare occasion! 

3) After breakfast, we ambled towards the beach for a bout of sandcastle building with Little Bee. The late morning sun was blisteringly searing, but Little Bee enjoyed this little exclusive time with us thoroughly, where she was able to arrest both our attention all to herself. We love the soft, powder-white sand, and was able to stroll along the coastline, picking up myriad pretty seashells and colourful rocks! This certainly brought a whole new perspective to the East Coast beach for me! 

4) We headed back to the birthday party for a little chatting between the parents, and some bonding amongst Little Bee with her jie-jie's friends. Most importantly for Little Bee, she got to eat the mouthwateringly moist chocolate cake! 

5) We then headed for Kid's Kampong, where I had promised to bring the Bees after experiencing - once again - just how fun it was to do longkang fishing after Little Bee's field trip. This excursion with Papa and Mummy was much longer than the field trip in school because the Bees got to feed and observe many little animals too! More on this in another entry. 

6) After an exhausting session of frantically catching fishes and feeding hungry animals, it was to our cosy home we headed towards! Big Bee and Papa (who is the designated Science tutor!) did some quick Science revision with her textbook. 

7) After invigorating baths for everyone, we proceeded to Keat's and Candice's charming Thaddeus' first month celebration in the evening! It was simply remarkable to catch up with my cousins and relatives again, and for the Bees, their cousins as well! The Bees were also excited to welcome their newest baby cousin, Thaddeus, and Little Bee kept whispering to me that she wanted to carry the cute little baby! Gazing at the beautiful infant makes me want to have another baby again! Haha!

Sunday

1) We decided to head towards the zoo bright and early in the morning, and enjoyed a whole morning of enrapturing activities with the animals, all the way till lunchtime! Again, more on this in another entry. Big Bee was disciplined enough to complete her reading revision of her Science textbook before we proceeded to the zoo. Little Bee was also diligently completing her school homework with minimal supervision from me. Once again, working hard and playing harder! :)

2) Back home, Big Bee did a Science assessment by herself while I read some books with Little Bee. 

3) I promised them a break in the cool evening breeze and stunning golden light of early dusk that I so adore. So, after an hour of schoolwork, the Bees dashed out to play table tennis with a grinning me in tow! We had fantastic fun sparring at table tennis, with Little Bee playing a moderated version where she simply rolled the ping pong ball over to Big Bee. We also stopped by the playground to become giggling pendulums on the swings! The addictive chuckles emanating from the Bees never fail to make my heart surge with immense joy. 

4) Sundays are usually playtime in the bathroom for the Bees, which means waterplay and showering together! Again, shrill squeals and excited yells filled the bathroom with happiness and wonder as the Bees created a mountain load of bubbles! 

5) Finally, more revision in the form of 听写 for Big Bee and some 四五快读 flashcards for Little Bee, before we call it a day, or rather, a long weekend!

As Big Bee exclaimed enchantedly at bedtime, "Mummy, this weekend seemed soooooo loooooonnnggg!" 

One Of Those Languorous Weekends...

This week had been rather busy with Big Bee's continual assessment tests for this term. Her first paper started mid-week and unfortunately, her last paper (Science) would only be next Monday, which means we would have spent 2 weekends revising with her! 

However, I do not believe in creating an incessantly "mugging" environment, preferring consistent revision versus last minute cramming. So we still have plenty of time for relaxation, although there were some rather intensive bouts of revision every weekday night, just before each test, which resulted in me neglecting poor Little Bee, whom I could only afford whatever little time left to read a book with her. I can't imagine the nights when Little Bee enters primary school as well! 

Weekends before tests or exams are usually kept simple and relaxing for us, so we can have full flexibility to revise or to laze about. A languid weekend was what we had last week, and we emerged revived and rejuvenated, ready for this week's gruelling challenges! 

We had a hearty breakfast in Botanic Gardens on Sunday, and ambled contentedly around the lush grounds, feeding the fishes by the lake and enjoying the serenity.

The Bees were very intrigued by what Big Bee called a long mysterious winding road that leads to nowhere. 

We had a lackadaisical and serene afternoon, in between revision bouts, to wander around our estate, with the Bees playing with bubbles and chilling out with their friends. What a perfectly restful Sunday!

The Bees with their friends in the neighbourhood playing with one of the girls' guinea pig. 

Fishing With Little Angels

I took some time off from work to help out as a parent volunteer during Little Bee's field trip to Kid's Kampong last Friday. It was such a fun yet busy and tiring experience, and I am happy to see Little Bee elated by my presence. 

Taking time off to help in school is essential for our children to understand that we are eager to be a part of their school life, which is a fundamental part of their little lives. For me, it also serves as another avenue for me to get to know their little friends (and vice versa), so I have more things to chat with the Bees about! 

We took a long bus ride all the way to Pasir Ris, during which some of her little friends were accosting me for non-stop attention. One precocious girl was singing incessantly to me, and kept asking me cute questions. Another assertive girl kept trying to mother Little Bee continuously. And yet another boy kept complaining to me about another girl's assaults on him! I was deeply tickled by all these, although I tried to be sympathetic and understanding. 

The entire bus, consisting of 2 K1 classes, was enveloped in a deafening ruckus of kids' highly excited and loud chatterings, which rose to a rambunctious crescendo upon arriving at Kid's Kampong! It was all great fun! 

I was not very prepared for the imminent hard work in a kid's kampong, where their first activity was longkang (drain) fishing - the kids were all given a bucket and a small handheld net to catch small, terrified and swift guppies from narrow, meandering ponds! 

First, I must ensure that all these 12 over-enthusiastic K1 kids do not topple into the pond in their excitement to catch the scurrying fishes. And I almost fainted from the sheer fatigue of catching fishes for 7 to 8 insistent kids who were bent on capturing as many colourful fishes into their little buckets. I tried my best not to be impartial towards Little Bee, so I had to ask her to wait for her turn many times. 

Little Bee had 2 fishes in the end, although the kids could not bring the fishes back, which I thought was good practice! 

The other mummy helper and I were chuckling later on that we do not normally do such tricky, laborious feats like catching little guppies - especially for me, because Hubby was usually the one who helped to catch all the fishes when we used to frequent this place in the past. I bragged unashamedly to him in the evening that I had surpassed his record of captured fishes in a single session, due to immense pressure from anxious and distraught-looking kids standing right beside me as I was frantically swiping the net at the furiously fast fishes! 

Little Bee and her best friends focusing hard on catching those elusive guppies!

The weather was chaotic that afternoon. After a short tea break where I had fun helping the little kids with their yummy snack of cheese, bread and raisins, the kids proceeded to the small animals' section for a bout of feeding. They were all tremendously excited at feeding a gigantic pond of multifarious koi fishes that were so impetuously fighting for the food that many of these large koi fishes were struggling with each other on a ledge above the water! 

Just as the kids were enjoying themselves, the sunny skies turned dark almost instantaneously, and a sudden, turbulent downpour ensued. We were all caught off guard without any shelter, and the management passed us several umbrellas. Imagine a rampageous scene where we tried sheltering 3-4 kids per umbrella, who were more interested in dashing about in the heavy rain, still trying to feed and observe the different animals! It took a lot of effort to get them huddled under the umbrella to be bundled off to the main building. 

By which they were mainly drenched! To make matters worse, almost all of them did not bring along an extra change of clothes. Thankfully, Little Bee has an extra set of clothes, and was nice and dry after she was changed. 

My heart swelled with sympathy for the rest of the little kids, some of whom were complaining to me that they were cold and wet. The 4 of us (2 teachers + 2 mums) proceeded to get them to take out all their wet socks, and I got a clean towel to dry the kids - from their hair, to their bodies to their wet feet and shoes! In the end, we put some thick paper napkins at the back of the kids' T-shirts so they would be slightly drier. Poor kids! 

I think the adage for kind, loving teachers is very true, as echoed by Big Bee's principal in primary school just recently, "We treat every child as if they are our own, and hence, will be able to put in all our love and commitment." 

As I was cleaning each of the kids, I thought of this adage, and it was so easy for our generous adult hearts to love all these kids unconditionally, not just focusing on our own children. I think that is a quintessential characteristic for all good teachers. 

I would think that the kids would be knocked out by fatigue after this rainy episode, but Little Bee's K1 class was boisterous and comically noisy in the bus, despite the fact that the other K1 class did not utter a single squeak due to exhaustion! That being said, I was told by many teachers that Little Bee's class has one of the most outspoken, extroverted and active kids in the kindergarten, which I thought suited Little Bee just fine! 

What a day - and this serves as a powerful reminder for me to appreciate Little Bee's kindergarten teachers even more, as I witnessed for myself their unfaltering devotion to the kids and relentless hard work, despite the inevitable fatigue! 

Learning At Home: Farm

We spent a great deal of time on the Farm theme, probably because there were lots to do, and we had not even completed half of what I set out to accomplish in my lesson plan!

Here are some brief samples of what we had done.

1) Visual/spatial intelligence (painting, visual arts, arts and crafts)

Crafts

We did a few farm-related crafts, much to the Bees' delight, as most farm crafts are really cute and enjoyable. By working on crafts, they also learned more in-depth about the various animals and plants that they worked on, as they focused on intricate details in the crafts and as we discussed casually about these animals/plants while our hands were busy crafting. 

Pink Pig

Little Bee created a slightly inflated pink pig from painted paper plates, and we loved the wiggly pigtail! 

She drew everything on the pig herself, hence the eyes with lashes!

She spelled and wrote PIG on the back of its legs!

Woolly Sheep

The Bees enjoyed this craft tremendously, especially the pasting of fluffy cotton wool to emulate sheep's wool! 

Big Bee's sheep with a nice woolly head

Little Bee's sheep

Fruit Orchard

They relished making different fruit trees from recycled toilet rolls and rolled up coloured paper so much that there were a few fruit-tree making sessions, even once with Val when she was visiting! I loved this craft for its happy, multi-hued colours. 

Corn craft

Another simple yet visually colourful craft.

Farmhouse collage

The Bees spent a fair bit of time completing this psychedelic piece of farm collage in many different colours and materials. I had great fun seeing how they selected the materials and colours from a child's perspective! 

2) Verbal/linguistic intelligence (reading, writing)

Word recognition

I worked on English and Mandarin word recognition with Little Bee on some key farm animals through a farm wheel and a flapbook, as well as some handwriting skills. 

These words were then reinforced through a homemade, customised story book that I created for Little Bee, with longer sentences and a farm plot.  

Little Bee likes writing titles of our little homemade books!

I also worked on simple sentence construction in Mandarin with Little Bee, focusing on farm-related words. 

Reading
We scoured the library and our bookshelves at home for a multiplicity of books on farms! Reading a good mix of both fiction and non-fiction books on the related homelearning theme always enliven the interest and knowledge levels of the kids. 

Relating stories

I got Little Bee to relate some short stories related to farm animals, and these stories from her imagination really tickled me to no end! 

Writing

Little Bee wasn't writing as much last year when we worked on this theme, compared to now in K1. But nevertheless, I recreated a rough mini book from recycled paper, and got her to write and draw the animals she likes.

The scribbling beside Little Bee's name was her signature, or so she claimed!

Cat was drinking milk from a bowl, hence the bowed head, according to Little Bee :P

Acrostic poems

These are fabulous instruments for bigger kids to start categorising their knowledge and concepts about a particular theme, and to assist them to focus hard on the various elements and keywords in a theme. A short acrostic poem is also good for kids around Little Bee's age (K1) to reinforce beginning letters and what they stand for. 

Big Bee did an acrostic poem on FARM ANIMALS, which is a wee bit long to feature here. I will just highlight what she brainstormed on FARM:

Fish

Apple tree

Rooster

Milk

3) Logical/mathematical intelligence (science and math concepts)

Math

Little Bee strengthened her concept of addition and numbers from 11-20 through a homemade kit I created for her, with a carton of 10 eggs and individual eggs which was great for teaching tens and ones. She was also able to work on addition sums with more zest with the chicken and eggs! 

She also played numbers fill-in-the-blanks, so I could monitor if she really internalised what she learned. 

Join the dots

We worked on the concept of tens from 10 to 100, and used this join-the-dots exercise to reinforce this concept. 

Mazes

Simple mazes printed from the internet for lazy days when I did not feel like doing any learning at home! 

Science

Learning about mothers and their babies

We have this wonderful animal puzzle where we match animal mummies to their babies, and learned all sorts of marvelous names for the animal babies, eg cygnets, fries, owlets, etc. So we played a lot with that while working on this theme. 

I also created flashcards focusing on farm animal mummies and their babies, and Little Bee was fascinated with these cards for a little while. We played memory and matching games with these cards.

We created a booklet comprising of farm animals and their babies to augment her flashcard learning. Little Bee drew the fat round pig and wrote "piglet".

From farm to food

Most importantly, we discussed a lot about how farms impact significantly in our daily lives through our food intake like fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat. We played games like fishing to emulate life in a kampong and for them to role play how fishes (their favourite food!) ended up on our plates from the fishermen to the market to our kitchen and then the dinner table! We did a harvesting exercise with some of our crafts to understand how sheep's wool can become the winter cardigans we wear, and how fruits materialised seemingly miraculously from trees into our refrigerators. 

The Bees were pretty grossed out when we discussed about slaughterhouses for cute animals like pigs, cows and chickens. So when Little Bee saw a piece of pork, she would utter, "Yewwww, this pork is from a pig!", although that did not deter her from eating meats in future. 

We also had a fun roleplay game where the Bees "milked" a cow using a rubber kitchen glove, squeezing water ("milk") into a tub and hence, understanding where milk came from. That was really hilarious, messy but utterly enjoyable! 

Differences

As our previous theme was on forest animals, we started this farm theme with a discussion on the differences between farm animals, and I got the Bees to sort out farm and forest animals from their huge collection of small animal toys. 

4) Musical/rhythmic intelligence

Again, I need to focus more on this category as I usually tend to neglect it (not very good at teaching singing and all!). We sang a little of Old MacDonald's Had A Farm and Mary Had A Little Lamb, and emulated some farm animals' sounds. 

5) Interpersonal intelligence

Farmyard games

The Bees constantly pulled out their entourage of barnyards, Playmobil farm set and dozens of farm animals and recreated farm scenes in all sorts of permutations. This reinforced values of teamwork and sharing, and we do get many moments of peace as they played together. Through such games, they could also learn about sorting and categorisation - the right farm animals into the appropriate quarters in a farmyard! 

Farm activities

Again, many farm activities that we roleplayed (milking a cow, shearing a sheep, harvesting fruits and kelong fishing) reinforced teamwork and amiable playing alongside each other. Despite some inevitable petty squabbles (eg "Little Bee put the apples into the pail for the oranges!" or "Jiejie kept milking the cow, not fair!"), these games encouraged the Bees to work and play harmoniously together. 

6) Intrapersonal intelligence

The farm activities mentioned above also highlighted the difficulty of farming to the Bees. Whilst they were squatting and "milking the cow", they both complained it was hard work and started wondering aloud how farmers could milk so many big cows over a long period of time. Of course, I reminded them that there are now milking equipment in some big modern farms these days, as seen from one of their trips to a goat's farm. 

They also grumbled a little while shearing their sheep craft, with Little Bee telling me it was very "tiring work" and Big Bee quipping that it took a long time to shear all the wool from just one sheep! The value of empathy was thus enhanced from such activities. 

Art

Drawing is a good way to enhance self-reflection and thereby, intrapersonal intelligence. Big Bee draws a lot to reflect her thoughts, and Little Bee is starting to do the same. It is rather amazing when we peep at their respective drawings - which really provides a privileged peek into their different personalities, perspectives and emotions about different issues that impact them!

The Bees painted landscapes of farms, and I provided stencils for them to come up with their ideal farms. It was very interesting to see different viewpoints from each Bee, despite using the same set of farm stencils.

Little Bee's farm

Big Bee's farm

Little Bee created a farm scene from roller brushes, which is great to instill a sense of achievement and confidence in younger painters who may have difficulty painting the things they want to draw. 

The farm collage was also excellent for them to roam around the infinite borders of their imaginations, and for them to appreciate a piece of work that is uniquely their own creation. 

We also created spontaneous art competitions where I as the judge would utter a farm animal, and the 3 of them (including Hubby!) would doodle that animal, and then I would "grade" their animal caricatures. This is a great family-night activity for laughter and bonding.

Pink board: Hubby's cow; Purple board: Little Bee's cow; Orange board: Big Bee's cow :)

Stories

Stories is one way to strengthen their self analysis and how they internalise the learning process. I did not manage to get Big Bee to write a farm story or journal this time, but Little Bee related several stories about farm animals from her own imagination, and was mighty pleased to see me writing these down in a little booklet!

7) Naturalistic/environmental intelligence

We went on a farm stay in Singapore so that they can be closer to nature and experience some elements of farming in urban Singapore. We would love to stay in a proper farm in New Zealand where they can milk real cows and shear wool from real sheep, but I guess that could wait for another time! 

8) Summary

Little Bee worked on a very simple lapbook, where she collated a few of her works as a summary of her learning process, and she never failed to refer to it with child-like pride and satisfaction! 

Oops, forgot to rotate photo, sorry!

Her 1st Primary Three Composition

Big Bee showed me what she wrote for her first composition in primary 3, and I thought it was pretty decent fare. The workload is conspicuously heavier in primary 3, and we are both still adjusting to the level of teaching that I needed to commit, and the difficulty level of the homework, spelling and 听写. And in 1.5 weeks' time, she would have to sit for her 1st continual assessment (also known as CA1). 

I can't help but think these poor primary 3 kids did not have much of a breather since school started. Besides, she had been getting very active in her CCAs, having been admitted into the school performing team for ballet with longer practice hours. That, on top of ballet exams coaching, tennis and a Chinese creative writing supplementary class, she has to stay late in school for 3 days out of 5, sometimes as late as 4.30pm! Whew. 

In the evenings, she does get a wee bit grouchy. I am not sure if this is due to hormonal changes of the tweenhood, or fatigue, or stress. I am still monitoring and observing - as with many parents of P3 kids. Well, by trial and error, I am sure we will emerge calm and steady eventually. 

Till the next academic update on P3, here's her unedited composition. In primary 3, they are required to write essays of at least 120 words, and she completed hers in 235 words. 

****************************

A Frightening Incident

It was a cold, still night. Timid Peter was reading a ghost story. Soon, it was time for him to go to bed. Peter was still thinking about the ghosts in the book. He could not go to sleep. He looked around the pitch dark room. As little Peter was terrified of the dark, he started to shiver with fright. 

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew into his room. It made a howling noise. The curtains were tossing and Peter thought they were creepy ghosts. Peter turned as white as a sheet when he saw shadows around the dark room. He screamed very loudly and hid under his white blanket. 

He screamed so loudly that his mother rushed into his room. She asked Peter what happened, and Peter told her about the ghosts and the eerie shadows. His mother just laughed and assured him that there were no such things as ghosts. His mother went to close the windows, and at the corner of Peter's eye, he saw something funny. There was a blank space in the cupboard! 

Peter thought that a ghost had taken the sheets in the cupboard away. Peter trembled with fear and told his mother about his thoughts. She told Peter that she had taken the sheet in the cupboard to wash that day. Peter heaved a sigh of relief and as his head touched the pillow he fell fast asleep. 

迎兔年

我们最喜爱的农历新年不知不觉又过了。在新年四天的假期，我们跟九家亲戚拜年，也吃了丰裕的佳肴 - 太幸福了！过年过节最有意思的是跟亲密的亲人一起欢聚一堂，凑热闹，聊天，还有多多培养亲情。血浓于水，能年年跟我们的亲人聚会简直象在世外桃源！










除了热忱地拜年，我们初三在家也观赏了一个意气风发的舞狮表演。两只舞狮表演得非常矫捷，孩子也看到太精彩了！






我们在初四去春到河畔走走，可是我觉得这个新年景点不怎么可观，蛮差劲。不过，孩子们特别喜欢春到河畔的娱乐场，玩了两个刺激的游戏。






四天无忧无虑地过了 － 真的是太完美了！

In Hops The Rabbit

We did not manage to descend upon Chinatown on 除夕, as it fell on a working day this year. Thankfully, we were on half day, hence Hubby and I could do some very last minute shopping in Holland Village. 

I love the jubilant mood every 除夕. The smiles on shopkeepers' faces seemed wider, early auspicious greetings abounded, loud Chinese New Year songs blasted out as we were shopping - the entire atmosphere around us was dense with exhilarated anticipation of Chinese New Year, which is so immensely fundamental to our family and many others. 

I love how most families were bustling with eager spring-cleaning before the all-important 大年初一, and how they decorated their homes with vibrant red and gold trinkets. I love going to the plant nursery to feel the efficacious mood of people buying beautiful plants in all kinds of hues and shapes by the dozens. Most of all, I truly relish immersing in the ambience of department stores, shopping malls and supermarkets, where people are buying new clothes, new bedsheets and endless jars of delectable CNY goodies frenetically. 

Being brought up in rather traditional Chinese families, Hubby and I were infused with the spirit of Chinese New Year every year. This year, we spent the idyllic and balmy afternoon of the eve of the Rabbit year sprucing up our house with vivid red trinkets to intensify the festive atmosphere of CNY. Somehow, these resplendent red and gold decorations and the umpteen plants that Hubby is fond of buying never failed to bolster the mood by several notches. 

In the evening, we set off - together with droves of Chinese Singaporeans - for our reunion dinner with Hubby's family. This year, we booked a table in a country club's ballroom, and the experience was very pleasant. The lofty ceiling coupled with ample space in the ballroom created a very memorable reunion dinner experience for all of us. This was further amplified by the excellent food and scrumptious lo hei that I enjoyed thoroughly. What a perfect start to the Rabbit year! 

Back home, the Bees were very eager to 守岁, yet it was very apparent that they were thoroughly fatigued by 11.30pm. They managed to keep awake until 11.50pm, by which Hubby and I snuggled alongside each other to countdown to the Chinese New Year, with the decades-old familiar New Year tunes belted out on TV. 

It is familiar rituals like these that make important festivals so significant and fundamental in our lives - so that we are grounded in our values and are comforted in the knowledge that traditions are carried out generations after generations. 

兔年快乐，心想事成！

CNY Lunchbox

Last Thursday, Big Bee wanted a CNY-themed lunch box to bring to school, much to my surprise. So I woke up a little earlier to decorate her favourite buttered bread with colourful froot loops and some love letters. 

I think I am blessed that Big Bee is a simple girl with easy favourites for her recess lunchbox. Like me, she can survive daily on bread and butter, and loves it! Being in primary 3 also means that she doesn't cherish those cutesy bento boxes she used to like (they need to look cool with friends now, in their tweens!) 

Hence, it does lead me to be a wee bit lazy in preparing her lunchbox at (most) times. I am glad it is festivities like this that would prod my lazy pre-dawn bones to create something a little more presentable for her, so as to elicit a small smile from her and to remind her in school that someone at home cares for her immensely :)  

I think I shall work on a Valentine's Day lunchbox for her next week! 

CNY Started Early!

Chinese New Year came early for us, with a nice simple gathering at my house for Viv, Fon, Angela and Annie. Once again, it was a rare occasion to see all 5 of us together (thanks to Fon and Angela for being in Singapore, hurray!). We treated ourselves to a nasi lemak buffet, plus mee siam and scrumptious pizzas (compliments of Viv), as well as lots of mouthwatering CNY goodies (thanks, Fon!) and addictive desserts (thanks to Angela and Annie!). It was pure heaven just to be sitting around the dining table, and yakked and ate for hours. In the end, the party that started at 6pm ended at 10 plus, to the delight of the Bees!

Meanwhile, the Bees were thrilled that their newly found friends were coming to their home, and had a great time indulging in Wii/iPhone games, Uno, a craft game, remote control cars and plenty of bonding. The kids were enthralled by our octopus, but the elusive octopet made a poor showing due to its shyness, revealing only a fraction of its meandering tentacle, much to the disappointment of everyone!

Surprisingly, we were able to capture all the kids for a group photo, except for...

Dylan, who was enchanted by the octopus!

Good food, great company and kids who can entertain themselves - it was a great way to spend the Sunday evening before the flurry of Chinese New Year activities starts!