Halcyon Hiatus

We celebrated Hubby's birthday a couple of months back with a weekend retreat in nearby Bintan - just for one night, just the 2 of us and without the kids. It was a decision I made for him - not to bring the kids along and revel in our couplehood. He was rather reluctant initially and kept persuading me to bring the Bees along. I would usually acquiesce as we typically could not bear to leave the kids over the weekend with my parents. However, this time, perhaps due to his birthday celebration, I stood firm with my decision, albeit with much pain in the heart at spending a precious weekend away from our darling Bees.

On the way there on a Saturday afternoon, Hubby and I were still talking about how bad we felt at leaving the kids behind and not bringing them along for a little escapism. However, once we settled into the lush lifestyle of the resort, connecting our souls with nothing but sun, sea and the quietness of the beach, we began to unwind and appreciate our time with each other. Idyllic chats with minimal interruptions, long alfresco meals with the enchanting sound of the waves and an amorous 4-piece band crooning Indonesian island songs to tranquilize our minds into a romantic state of art, aimless walks by the beach hand-in-hand, companionable silence reading beside each other right in front of the vast endless ocean.

It was magical. Despite it being just one night, it reconnected us together and created another strong pillar in the foundation of our marriage. For we were able to take a short reprieve from being frazzled parents with no time to chat with each other to having the full luxury of 24 hours to truly savour the reasons of why we are married to each other in the first place.

Despite the initial trepidation of leaving the kids behind for one night, this short getaway was well worth it. It is also a wonderful gift to the kids, for a happy marriage is the best present for our children, really.

She Did It Again!

After Big Bee's heist of the Scrabble game with her sweeping victory of the added 50 point bonus, she did it again! 

It is our nightly bedtime routine this June holidays to play some board games with Big Bee before we turn in for the night. So, we usually indulge in Boggle, Hangman and Scrabble. It could be because this Mummy is deadbeat almost every night with housework since our helper is away. It could be I am sleepy or distracted. But Big Bee began beating me in these games where I am usually a clear winner! And last night, she had that magnificent, throat-choking moment when she laid out all 7 of her tiles for the second time in a month to form the word "WEALTHY". 

I was stumped. And a bit deflated because it means tonight is another losing night at Scrabble for me! But the elation and pure delight on Big Bee's face more than made up for it. We played for 20 minutes. And at the end of the game, the final score is: Big Bee 178; Mummy 72 (*hides my face*). 

I think I better drink more coffee to be alert tonight. 

Of Old Friends And Gatherings

This past long weekend was a wonderful one, full of bonding sessions with close friends and get-togethers for all our kids. I love public holidays for the fact that we can have the whole day free for outings, unencumbered by bothersome weekend enrichment classes! 

On Vesak Day, we met up with 2 of my longest and closest friends YM and LP for a bout of morning picnic in the sweltering and oppressive heat. We were all pouring buckets of perspiration but the kids were oblivious to this harsh heat, scuttling and scampering all around the emerald and gorgeous grounds of Botanic Gardens. They blew bubbles, played soccer and dashed about in all directions. We had to cut short their blithe vivacity in the open to adjourn for lunch in the cool comfort of air condition in West Coast Plaza. 

We all had a great time catching up and gossiping, while the kids indulged in cutesy chatter and active games. We were lucky that there were animal rides just outside the restaurant we dined in, so the kids could be distracted for a protracted duration of time whilst the adults stood by, keeping a close watch over them and yakking to our hearts' content! 

The following night, we met up with Hubby's oldest and closest friends for a swim party and BBQ dinner at J's place - complete with 11 kids! I didn't bring any swimsuit for the Bees, but gutsy Big Bee just plunged into the pool, tee shirt, shorts and all, and enjoyed herself to the maximum. 

We had a sumptuous BBQ dinner with succulent meats and delicious bee hoon with curry. After dinner, OD and M brilliantly gathered all the kids to a dark section of the estate and distributed sparklers to all the fascinated kids! I had never seen a more orderly bunch of kids - all of them were queueing up obediently just to get their hands on the dazzling sparklers, and then arranging themselves in a neat straight line to wave the sparklers around. 

After the sparklers, the amazing OD and M whipped up a huge bunch of glow-in-the-dark phosphorous light tubes which bewitched the kids inexplicably! They were contorting their light tubes and manipulating them into all sorts of creative shapes, and it was so fun to watch them! 

After a final boisterous session at the playground, the tired adults decided to surrender and call it a day at 9pm, much to the chagrin of all these hyper kids! 

Life is really all about lasting and enduring friendships, and what better way to demonstrate the value of old friends than to let our kids bond with each other's kids. 

The Bees definitely enjoyed this long weekend tremendously, though Hubby and I were really deadbeat as our helper had gone back for her home leave. Still, it is a happy sort of fatigue - working on household chores with camaraderie and teamwork! 

Life Of A Parent Helper

May 14 was exceedingly tiring for me, merely because I had volunteered to be a parent helper for Big Bee's Zany Brainy Games Day in school, whereby parents organised a day of remarkable activities for the kids so that the teachers can mark their papers peacefully (and accurately!). 

I was also a parent helper for this same event last year. Despite the immense fatigue last year, I decided to go for a second round because I truly enjoy being around big rowdy primary school kids! Hence, this year, I became a "Station Master" for one of the games and had to judge and monitor these kids. 

Little did I know that Little Bee's Sports Day also fell on the same day, albeit in the afternoon! Under the persistent hot sun and punishing heat, it was truly an exhausting but fun-filled day, which is really what parenthood is fundamentally about! 

Morning: Big Bee's Zany Brainy Games Day

I woke up at 6.15am to dress up and prepare to stride right into school with Big Bee, much to her delight. Once again, I had wonderful networking opportunities with parents of children from different primary standards. For this event, Big Bee had written a long entry in her journal. With her permission (and some editing just to cut down on the length and details), here are some pages from her diary :) 

**Long entry by Big Bee**

Today, it was my Zany Brainy Games. I also had the highest English marks for my test for the whole primary two! Mummy went in with me to school because she was a station master. After my flag assembly, I went to the courtyard to draw a car decal. The most beautiful decal in every level will be printed out to be a real car decal for the school. I drew the school badge and my school. I coloured it beautifully. After I finished decorating my decal, I went to the hall for a dance competition. Our whole class was the first class to dance on stage with our old class in primary one. I was crazy on stage. I said to Amanda, "Ka-put" and told her that she farted. Amanda did the same to me. Me and Amanda also did a "chicken dance" all around the stage which made the pupils and parents laugh! At the last part of our dance, we pretended to fall down when we bowed. It was very fun. We watched the other classes do their dances but none of the classes were funnier than our class! 

After the dance competition, we went for our recess. I went with Amanda, Joanne and Madeline. We went to the playground for our recess. I saw Mummy near some of the benches next to the playground during recess. Soon, our whole class was at the Parents' Corner. Our class chaperones thought that our whole class was there so we started our Crazy Class Challenges! 

Our first Crazy Class Challenge was called "Castles In The Skies". We had to stack up cards to make a big triangle. It was difficult but I managed to make the biggest, tallest triangle among my class. Our team won! My classmate, Rachel, was as good as me. I managed to make a seven storey triangle while Rachel managed to make a five storey triangle. 

Our next station was called "Ping Pong Pass". Mummy was a judge for that station. We had to hold on to spoons and pass a ping pong ball. When my friends saw Mummy, they were screaming loudly, "(Big Bee)'s mother!" We passed the ball to each other. Unfortunately, our team did not win. 

After that, we went to our last station called "Crazy Hair Challenge". We had to tie as many ponytails as we can to a girl. The team that has the most ponytails tied on their hair will be the winner. I was a model while Rachel tied my hair. She tied about nine ponytails. Our team had eighteen ponytails altogether. We won again! 

After that, we had a one hour play time. My friends and I rushed down to the canteen. Our class chaperones were very slow, they were behind screaming at us, "Do not go so fast!" When we were at the canteen, some of my friends went to buy food and some went to play the piano. When I was about to join my friends at the piano, I saw Mummy. Madeline offered some food to Mummy. Janna also offered Mummy some food. After playing the piano, my friends and I played a ghost game in a tunnel at the canteen. Someone pretended to be a ghost with their hair on their face and my classmates who were not the ghost would go into the tunnel. When they see the ghost, they would run out of the tunnel screaming. If someone got caught by the ghost, it would be their turn to be the ghost. I did not get caught by the ghost. 

After that, we went to the Sports Complex for our prize giving. First, the prize-giving parent helpers announced who won for the car decal. Unfortunately, I did not win. It was very boring. Joanne gave me and Alethea some paper to draw. I drew a picture of my school. Madeline loved my picture so I gave it to her. I thought that our class would not win anything but we did!! I was very happy. It was my best day of the semester. 

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

Afternoon: Little Bee's Sports Day

I sneaked out of Zany Brainy Games (and thus missed the prize giving ceremony) to reach home on time to bring Little Bee to her Sports Day. She was anticipating this the entire morning, and was skipping and hopping with delighted excitement when she saw me. Despite my fatigue, and wanting Little Bee to truly experience this to the fullest, I wiggled and jiggled with her in exhilaration. 

This is her first Sports Day in school (and my 5th since Big Bee was in the same school!) but I was trying to gain a different perspective from her innocent, fresh and unclouded bright eyes...and I began to feel a growing sense of pride stealing stealthily into my being. My little baby is now participating in a Sports Day as a pre-kindergartener! She is truly a big girl, ready to fill our hearts with bursting pride. 

She loved every bit of such mega events, dancing vigorously during the warm-up dance, smiling her dazzling beam of ubiquitous grin, participating in all the races with sprightly gusto and jesting playfully with all her little friends - always with that amazing smile and positive attitude. 

We went home with her in our arms, chatting animatedly about her very first Sports Day. For me, having experienced Big Bee dashing through all the Sports Days and knowing just how swiftly time passes, I am not sure if I am looking forward to the next Sports Day. Because that would mean my Little Bee will be a big K1 girl...and growing up way too fast! 

Learning To Read

Little Bee learning to read at 3 years 4 months

This was Little Bee learning to read last month from amateurish-looking flashcards that I created for the theme on plants. She thrives a lot on positive reinforcement, hence my over-exuberant exclamations! That is her learning style. If we tell her she is wrong, she will usually lose all interest in the activities we are working on. Hence, it can get challenging for more academic-based activities where the line between right and wrong is more apparent.

"Added 50 point bonus"

For those who played Scrabble regularly, you will be familiar with one of the rules of play: "Added 50 point bonus". It states that any player who plays all seven of their tiles in a single turn scores a premium of 50 points in addition to their regular score for the turn. It is a lofty incentive that I had always aspired towards but never ever had the luck nor opportunity to reach.

A few Sundays ago, our family was ensconced in the Bees' room, contentedly playing Scrabble, using this game as a typical unwinding activity after a hectic weekend. As we started a new round of game, I saw Big Bee furrowing her eyebrows and arranging one rather long word at length. Suddenly she exclaimed, "I used up all my 7 letters!" Hubby sat up immediately, read through the rules of play intensely and declared, "Then you will get an added 50 point bonus!!! You will beat Mummy this round!"

Both of us looked at her with amazement and she was dazed for a while with delighted disbelief. Needless to say, she won hands down that evening. For the first time! And I must highlight that, since that evening, she had won the game against me one more time! Well done, Big Bee! I am now waiting for her to be victorious over me in Boggle!

Big Bee formed the word "CANDLES" from all her 7 tiles in one round. Those random letters on the top left quadrant of the board belonged to Little Bee who also took turns participating in the game eagerly!

The Whimsical Wind

The lure of controlling a kite's flight pattern and feeling its buoyancy high up in the azure skies beckoned us to Marina Barrage last Saturday evening.

I was somewhat shocked by the density of kites in the sky as well as the ubiquitous crowds! This was a very different scene from the empty verdant meadow we chanced upon last December! Perhaps it was the solacing evening sunset or the opening of Marina Bay Sands Resort that drew the crowds like ants to an anthill.

Our kites (clockwise from left): Hubby bought a gigantic red squid monster from the kite shop at Marina Barrage after his beautiful triangular kite was accidentally spoiled by Little Bee. Big Bee was having fun prancing around with her faithful and resilient My Little Pony kite. 

Somehow, together with PF and family, we managed to find a relatively lonely patch of grass beside a group of exuberant teenagers singing and strumming on their guitars (free music!) and set up a big picnic mat, complete with snacks and plenty of kites. We then settled down comfortably for an enjoyable evening near the zenith of the skies.

The kids having gleeful fun.

The wind was in a very capricious mood that evening, rising and ebbing erratically, which made kite-flying rather challenging. It was amusing to see the whole sky filled with a profusion of dancing kites when the wind was cheerily blowing and then the entire sky depleted of kites the next moment when the wind decided to go into hiding, with frustrated mortals trying their best to let their kites set sail!

Eventually, after many incidents (which included Little Bee trying to help Hubby to launch a kite and then spoiling the entire kite!) and attempts to fly the kites in the temperamental wind, we decided to sit back, relax, chat lazily and munch on chips galore! The kids were running wildly throughout the entire field, playing with frisbees, chasing each other and generally losing themselves in the thick crowds. 

For me, I love the resplendent, scintillating golden rays of the setting sun framed by sun-kissed auburn clouds and a deepening lavender sky against a breathtaking backdrop of the twinkling Marina Bay Sands Resorts and Singapore Flyer.

We packed up our mats eventually, in the dusky remnants of a darkening amethyst sky.

Breakfasts On The Beach

There was a time, back in the 80s and 90s, when the only way to have breakfast on the sandy shores of a beach was to lay down a mat and have a picnic. I remember Hubby and I escaping to Mauritius in the 90s and were thrilled when we were served a basic lunch of fish in a makeshift table right beside the crashing waves, with the fish freshly caught from the ocean and grilled to perfection right in front of us.

I also remembered our keen alacrity when a friend introduced us to South Changi Beach Restaurant in the late 90s, just perched beside the sea, and restaurant patrons like us could dine with our toes snuggling in the fine, powdery sand, the candlelight flickering with wavering shadows on our faces and the sound of the undulating waves whispering right beside us.

With our affinity for the sea and sandy beaches, we had our ROM dinner in this restaurant within a romantic, enchanting pavilion under the stars and with sabulous grains of sand beneath our feet - sealing a lifetime together. When we conceived Big Bee and then Little Bee, we brought them umpteen times to this very same restaurant by the beach, where they could admire the sea and enjoy the sand whilst we chomped on breakfast goodies.

Unfortunately, we realised recently that this rustic eatery had closed down, paving the way for something swankier and more commercialised. I was somewhat devastated to hear this news. Although there are now many restaurants by the beach all around Singapore, nothing compares to this simple, uncomplicated bistro with excellent service and fantastic food.

Early this month, we decided to descend to another beachside restaurant (one of many!) in Sentosa. The sand was a wonderful nanny as the Bees utterly immersed themselves in building sandcastles while Hubby and I could sit back and have lazy conversations on a cheery Sunday morning.

Happy Bees getting down to work!

Seabreezes seem to transport magical ingredients - for food always tastes so much better at the beach!

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we asked our friends SB and C, with their kids Sherilyn and Marcus, along to this same restaurant with us the following Sunday. We had a great time catching up and watching the kids getting messier, dirtier and wetter by the minute! The kids had a marvelous time playing alongside each other.

The Bees with Sherilyn - dipping their feet in a puddle they painstakingly created!

The Bees, with Sherilyn and Marcus, digging and moulding buckets of sand!

Unfortunately, we could not loiter for long at the beach that day, as we were caught in a maelstrom of grey moody clouds, turbulent winds and ferocious rain that rushed upon us so rapidly. We witnessed in awe how the ships in the harbour were obliterated from our sight by the angry rain. It was a humbling vision, as usual, when faced with the potential powers of the forces of nature.

I think we will be back quite soon :)

Sunday Humour

Last Sunday, as the Bees and I were lazily chatting, I asked them, "Is Pink Panther a boy or a girl?" The Bees looked at me, stunned and bewildered. Here are their answers. 

Big Bee: "I think it's a girl. It's pink! But wait a minute...I think he has a girlfriend! And it wears men's clothes! But it's pink....so Mummy, is it a boy or girl?!"

Little Bee: "Girl! Of course it's a girl! It's pink coloured! Cannot be a boy! Boys cannot be pink! Pink are for girls!" 

I was laughing hilariously, and they both were not too pleased when I told them that Pink Panther is a male panther. Little Bee is still in denial. Imagine them watching the Pink Panther cartoon series all this while, thinking he is a pink female big cat! 

I had never believed nor taught the Bees gender identification through colours, because I am never in favour of any form of gender association, so I seriously wonder where all these colour associations come from!  

The Good And The Bad

This evening, when Hubby and I both returned from work, Big Bee stood right at the door and told us this wonderful piece of news, "My teacher told me that my English paper is highest in the whole standard!" 

Hubby and I were shocked and were dumbfounded for a few seconds - followed by a long and hard hug from me to Big Bee. It was very apparent that she was very pleased with our elation. However, I tore myself from the hug and asked her, "Mummy and Papa are so happy! But more importantly, are you happy with this piece of news yourself? Do you feel proud of yourself?" Big Bee gave a small bashful smile and nodded her head eagerly. 

I was delighted that Big Bee could attain decent marks without the need for hothousing, tuition (as yet!) or any academic enrichment. All we provided is an environment of love, care, support and constant encouragement, as well as some extra effort on my part to revise through some work with her on a constant basis. I hope to continue this state of no external tuition for as long as I could, despite the many skeptical parents who had incessantly encouraged me to put Big Bee through tuition to ease my workload and for her to "realise her full potential". 

But if realising her full potential with external tuition centres means not spending enough time to understand what your child is doing, I think I am content to spend a bit more effort and work to nurture my children myself - for as long as I can, and within what I am capable of - for now. 

More importantly, it is fundamental to let her know that she should be proud of what she had achieved herself - and not to use this achievement to bribe for external gains, not to exchange it for our love (for our love will always be overflowing for her whatever happens) and not to brag about this to friends. 

Life works in funny ways though. Barely an hour after I received the fabulous news from Big Bee, I received a piece of bad news. I will not blog about this as Big Bee reads my blog. I was terribly disappointed, and Big Bee knew it. I took this opportunity to impart something that I think would be even more intrinsic in our children's upbringing - that of life-long values. Not through harsh reprimands like what we used to receive as children. But, hopefully, by treating Big Bee as a friend and using logic and rationale to appeal to her. I hope it works and that she will be on my side. 

It seemed to work tonight. And I pray that she will be this receptive to me forever. 

Sowing The Seeds Of Love

For those of you born in the 70s, you will recognise the song title above. Last Tuesday, Hubby and I took some time off to attend the Tears For Fears concert at Resorts World. To say that we had been anticipating their arrival for 25 years is somewhat an understatement.

The very first music video that I set my eyes on was Tears For Fears' "Shout" at a grand age of 12 - from an old rickety TV set that fizzled between faded colour and black and white. I remember listening to "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" from my trusty black Walkman, immersing with exuberance in the lyrics - a whole journey of life truly ahead of me back then. I remember gushing with excitement and empathy over the bittersweet lyrics of "Head Over Heels", with the blossoming of sweet, innocent teenaged infatuations all around me. And I remember thinking, "Oh how wonderful if Tears For Fears can come to Singapore, but they will never ever come." For back then, we lived in a time where we did not have the luxury of such concerts in Singapore.

And now I am here, in front of a stage that screamed their name - with the love of my life beside me, hands entwined together, and 2 beautiful offsprings asleep peacefully back home, with half a lifetime of journey behind me, and another half ahead in the murky unknown. Together with some new wrinkles as well as jaded eyes (and I do not refer to just Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith!), the same band that helped us come of age a quarter of a century ago rocked our world again.

They sang all their greatest songs, to a gigantic crowd of adoring fans. Roland Orzabal's vocals is as strong and powerful as ever, and Curt Smith is as sweet and pleasant as before.

For 2 deliriously blissful hours, the entire crowd of 4,500 folks of considerable age sang to the familiar songs and roared with zeal at every comment Tears For Fears made. It may be evident that the crowd was somewhat middle-aged, but in the dim light of the concert hall, the dancing and gyrating silhouettes - many of whom had arms and hands up in the air - could easily pass off as young, nubile teenagers again. Physically, we may reach our biological ages. Mentally, we travelled back to the years when life was ever so simple and idealistic. It was beautiful that we could escape in the songs that Tears For Fears played and sang so well, and be transported back into the recesses of our splendid memories again. Years past could never be lost, for they live in our memories forever, indelible and ineradicable.

More importantly, I was elated that I was there with Hubby, experiencing the same exhilaration, loving the same songs and dwelling in the same past as him. What a night to remember indeed.

Learning At Home: Plants

April was an extremely busy month with Hubby's and Big Bee's birthdays, complete with celebrations and parties, as well as Big Bee's CA2 preparations, so I did not work on a lot of homelearning activities for this month's theme - the wonderful world of plants! 

I got the inspiration for this theme when I observed the conspicuous interest that Little Bee has towards all things flowery and green! She loves flowers and will literally stop to admire and talk about any particular flower - its colour, shape, size, texture - whenever we walk past any striking flora.

This is an amazing theme with so many elements to explore, and it is unfortunate that Big Bee could not participate in most of these due to school work and CA revision, but I am sure I will revisit this theme during holidays soon! 

Featured books

Jack and the Beanstalk (wonderful story to impart this popular fable to young children as well as inculcate the life cycle of a plant from seed to, erm, a giant beanstalk in this case!)

Farmers Market (great way to educate the children on the origins of fruits and vegetables produce in the market!)

Plant Life Cycle (very pictorial way to teach little kids about life cycles of plants)

We also borrowed an abundance of books on trees, woods and flowers from the library - all fabulous books and too many to mention here!

Games

We played games with leaves that we collected around the estate, and explored how little white insects infested the leaves if we left them by the balcony for too long. The Bees were really grossed out by the Lilliputian white creepy crawlies, but I used the opportunity to highlight how the elements of nature are interconnected for sustainability. 

I usually introduced themes by immersing them in some light-hearted games so this month, I got them to dabble with Playdoh to create anything related to plants. Big Bee created this beautiful flower but Little Bee was more interested to make pancakes from Playdoh instead. 

So I got her to draw plants on the children's whiteboard using the circle template, and she drew a little meadow of flowers, complete with birds in the sky, a glowing sun and hills (if you can identify where the hills are!).

Reading

Little Bee is now learning to read short words, and she could also spell out some of the easier words independently (like "egg" and "cat"). I created an amateurish set of flashcards comprising of words she could already read to boost her confidence (like "dog" and "fish"), together with plant-related words like "tree", "sun", "rain" and "seed" to impart new words into her reading vocabulary. She is now able to read most of the words from the flashcards below, but it is an ongoing task because I have to consistently set aside a daily reading time to reinforce these words to her. It is not easy when she is in a playful or distracted mood! 

I do not teach her to read phonetically, as I am not convinced that was the best way (Big Bee and I did not learn to read by phonics!). Besides, I read that only about half of English words are spelt phonetically, so I would rather depend on the method of whole-word identification through recognising beginning words and the use of visual association for now. 

Beginning word recognition and writing 

This month, Little Bee focused on learning the lower case letters of "l" and "g". She is now able to identify the lower case "l" finally as it was previously a challenge because she would usually associate it with the number 1 or capital I. She was also able to find simple short words in the word puzzle below - all by herself! I was pleasantly surprised. 

She had been showing much interest in writing words now, and would tend to scribble a lot of gibberish and chanting what she was "writing" - exactly like her jie jie last time! 

So, I got her to copywrite some words like "flower", "leaf", "tree", "sun". She drew the pink leaf and attempted 3 renditions of butterflies beside the word "tree". 

Math and Mandarin

I did not do much academic or numbers-based Math learning for this theme, preferring instead to use leaves and flowers to get Little Bee to sort them according to sizes, shapes and colours. However, I got her to start writing numbers in numerals and Mandarin characters. She was able to complete the exercise below with me providing the guiding words on a separate sheet of paper but did not require guidance for matching the right set of Mandarin or numeric characters to the flowers. 

Little Bee is also getting better at reading Mandarin words, so I prepared flash cards for the below phrases, together with pictures for visual association, and now she can recognise these 2 phrases. 

Painting

As I spent most evenings coaching Big Bee on her impending CA2, I did not have the chance to paint much with them this month. These are a couple of paintings that Little Bee created when I asked her to paint something related to plants - a flower on one occasion and a tree on another evening! 

Crafts

We only created a few crafts this month, although there is a whole plethora of brilliant crafts that we can do with this theme. 

Muffin flower craft

This is an extremely easy craft to make, using an everyday item of 2 muffin paper cups. Little Bee used up 10 minutes one evening painting different colours on each muffin cup, and we let the paint dry overnight. We then revisited the craft the following evening when the paint had dried, and Little Bee pasted the 2 muffin cups on top of each other to give the three dimensional effect of a flower. She then drew the rest of the flower, complete with hurriedly scrawled grass at the bottom. Less than 30 minutes to create this 3D flower that can be a wonderful handmade gift for little friends or grandparents! 

Handprinted Tulips

This was a somewhat messy craft activity, possible only if the kid is not adverse to dirty painted palms. I painted Little Bee's small palm a shade of bright happy pink - her favourite colour - and got her to smear her palm 3 times on a piece of white paper....voila! We have 3 tulips! Next, I plucked a leaf from an ixora plant, let Little Bee paint it green and then stamped the leaf onto the painting. Finally, she painted 3 green stems - and there you go, handprinted tulips in less than 20 minutes! 

Tissue poppies

Some time back, we layered an abundance of wispy pink and orange tissue papers to create beautiful poppies, twining green wires around the poppies for the semblance of stems. Those flowers were bright and cheery, and I would love to make more, but it was rather labour-intensive (only I was able to cut the copious flower shapes from the thin tissue papers!)

Dried leaves collage

This craft took a relatively longer time to make - took us a whole morning to collect the entire plethora of leaves and twigs from around the estate, washing them, drying them and painstakingly sticking them to create a collage of trees. But it was such an enjoyable project that Little Bee truly relished. She was gamely selecting the leaves, washing them, helping to dry them and then meticulously pasting the leaves on the branches of the "trees". She also stuck on cotton wools as fluffy white clouds, as well as drew and coloured rolling hills as the backdrop. 

Step 1: Stick on cotton wools for clouds, draw and colour in the hills, and outline the shapes of the trees

Step 2: Stick on the twigs according to the shapes of the outlined trees in step 1. Ideal to use very strong glue, which I don't have, so I ended up using ugly scotch tape to fasten the twigs together. This step was largely done by me as sticking the tough twigs together was rather challenging for Little Bee. 

Step 3: Paste as many beautifully coloured leaves around the "trees". This was really fun and interesting for Little Bee who learned which part of a leaf should be extended from the stem. This step was done mostly by Little Bee. I took the opportunity to talk about the different colours and shapes of the leaves. 

Science

The beauty of this theme is the accessibility of plants all around us. At the start of the month, I brought the Bees around our lush estate, informing them of the month's theme, and retrieving interesting leaves and flowers along the way. We collected quite a bunch and back home, we talked about the shapes and sizes of the leaves, and how they will turn brown if we cut them off their life sources comprising of the plants' roots and stems. Little Bee was so intrigued that she was constantly persuading us to go traipsing on flower walks around the estate these days! Hence, she had been collecting bunches of flowers and putting these beautiful delicate flora into makeshift vases to decorate the house. 

The Bees also planted green bean seeds and we observed how these seeds grew on a daily basis. By explaining the growth process of these green beans, they were able to understand the different parts of a plant like root, stem, leaf, etc. I took pictures at every step of the life cycle, created flashcards from these pictures and got the Bees to arrange them in the right order of the life cycle. It was evident that Big Bee could arrange the cards with complete ease and speed, but I was surprised when Little Bee could arrange the cards in the right order with minimal supervision too! This activity reinforces their general knowledge, science education as well as Math sequencing competencies in a fun way, I thought. 

Big Bee's beanstalk

Little Bee's beanstalk

Field trip

There are field trips galore for this theme - we brought them to the Botanic Gardens, but really, every opportunity out in verdant Singapore is a field trip in itself!  

Bubbles and nature could go very well together! Inset photo: Big Bee and Eugene observing closely how the resident black swan used plants to create a cosy habitat. 

Nature all around us. On a Sunday morning trip to the wet market, we chanced upon a patch of gorgeous, gossamer dandelions! The Bees excitedly huffed, puffed and blew the seeds of the dandelions, while Hubby and I explained how plants use a lot of help from animals and humans to help pollinate themselves. 

Best Mother's Day Present

I had never experienced a tranquil and halcyon morning at home in ages. Most weekday mornings see Big Bee and me preparing for school and taking a brisk and pleasant walk to school in the crisp awakening of dawn. It is then followed by a brief but wonderful time bonding with chirpy Little Bee if she manages to wake up early. And then off to work for a mad day. 

Weekend mornings will see us dashing off for Big Bee's Saturday classes and if I choose to stay home with Little Bee for some homelearning activities, it will involve a talkative Little Bee and me working on some fun programmes. Sunday mornings will see the whole family relaxing at our imperative Sunday breakfast ritual. 

This morning, as I am nursing a cough, dear Hubby decided to take both Bees out for Big Bee's enrichment classes. Which leaves me in hushed, contented and quiet repose for the entire morning right until early afternoon. This is a complete luxury for me. 

For the first time ever, I can appreciate the stillness of my own home, sitting in the balcony, inhaling the sweet morning air and basking in the shimmering morning sun whilst lazily flipping through the Saturday papers. I can literally hear the birds awakening and chirping merrily, the harmonious gurgling of the fountain in my pond and the sighing of leaves caressing each other on the ubiquitous trees around me. 

This is the best Mother's Day present ever. Thank you, Hubby.  

儿歌

This is a video of Little Bee reciting an 儿歌 as mentioned in the earlier post. She performed this song in her school 

assembly in March, and had been reciting it, along with 

other Chinese and English songs, while she is playing by herself almost everyday!

Learning Mandarin 2

There had been much furore in recent days over the government's potential decision to reduce the weightage of the Mother Tongue subject in PSLE. I had been reading many polarised opinions from all walks of life. The debate still goes on, and I am waiting with bated breath for the verdict. 

In my humble opinion, and coming from someone who is not particularly strong in Mandarin, I abhor the imminent policy that may reduce the weightage of Mother Tongue in PSLE. Yes, I heard all sorts of conspiracy theories, from economic to political, but coming from a simple parental perspective, it is sending out the wrong signal to our children. The lucid message that, if you cannot excel in something, or are struggling with something, give it up, we will provide an easier solution for you so you can cease struggling. I am not sure if this is the right type of values I want to inculcate in my children. Certainly, in the traditional ethos of our nation's pioneers, perseverence and determination are 2 fundamental building pillars to the development of our country's current socioeconomic development. 

On a lighter note, I am lucky to have my mum who communicates with my children in Mandarin 5 days a week. It makes a world of difference for them to be exposed to the language on a daily basis. But it is a myth that Mandarin speakers at home will naturally excel in Mother Tongue academically. I think what is crucial is the work of the Chinese teachers in school that make learning Mandarin fun and intriguing for the children. 

I certainly see this transformation in Little Bee, who used to reply my frustrated mother in English for every word of Mandarin my Mum spoke with her. Once she started nursery 2 this year, and with the help of her interesting Mandarin teacher in school, she is now able to read quite a few Chinese phrases (爸爸，妈妈，飞机, etc) and can recite fairly long 儿歌, thanks to my Mom's daily revision in the mornings too. It takes both hands to clap - the family and school. 

On the other hand, Big Bee likes Mandarin - and I am now trying to nurture in her the love of reading Mandarin books. I must highlight that it is not easy to find captivating Chinese storybooks that will enthrall lower primary children though. I am desperately looking for the Chinese version of Enid Blyton so that Big Bee can develop a love for Chinese literature. 

Big Bee has started Chinese 作文 in school this year, and I had become the de facto 作文老师 for her, trying to find ways to teach her to write engaging compositions. In trying very hard not to expose her to tuition centres at this age, I had resorted to surfing the internet almost nightly to find out the rigours of creative writing in Mandarin and English! I suspect I should be able to qualify as a tuition teacher soon enough! 

Here's a sample of Big Bee's first 作文 that she did in school and another one that she wrote for Chinese New Year. 

我的家庭 

我的家里有四口人。他们是爸爸，妈妈，妹妹和我。妈妈和爸爸会照顾我，也会帮我学习华文。妹妹很可爱。我很爱她。爸爸和妈妈很爱我们。我们也很爱他们。

新年

过新年了，我穿着新衣去爷爷奶奶家拜年。我拿着两个柑，对爷爷奶奶说：“新年快了！” 爷爷给我吃肉干和年糕。我说：“真好吃！”

爷爷和奶奶拿出红包说：“祝你学业进步！” 我很开心。我们就去吃晚餐。我很爱今年的新年。

Indoor Picnic

2 Saturdays ago, my cousins Fio, Irene and I planned for an afternoon delight comprising a picnic nestled in the grounds of Botanic Gardens. Unfortunately, the torrential rains and dense moody cumulo nimbus of the gloomy monsoon season obliterated the merry sun rapidly by early afternoon, which led to all of us congregating at my home for an afternoon of indoor picnic instead! 

That might be a blessing in disguise because the grannies could chit chat and catch up with each other in airconditioned comfort, and the kids could have free access to all the Bees' toys. Of course, I miss playing in the verdant greenery of the lush Gardens, but let's leave that to the end of the monsoon, which is nigh!

Some highlights of that fun afternoon:

1) Gastronomical delights worth many high tea buffets, prepared lovingly by the 2 grannies and comprising of yummy takeaways by Irene! My mum created succulent "kong ba pao" which is a recipe that I am determined to master. Fio's mum cooked up a storm with fragrant yam rice and the most scrumptious stir-fried Chinese long beans. Irene brought along a myriad of mouthwatering nonya kuehs with juicy fruits from Fio. All of us were in seventh heaven just by stuffing our stomachs full of these goodies! Who needs hotel high tea buffets when we can have such homecooked delights? 

2) The 4 little cousins comprising the Bees, Chloe and Val whipping up imaginary culinary delicacies with the Bees' oft-neglected cooking toys. I guess company certainly makes the toys a lot more appealing, so all the little girls busied themselves with preparing a whole assortment of imaginary dishes! Big Bee is gradually losing interest in toys, plus she is straddling that delicate threshold between little childhood and tweenhood, so she hopped between chattering with the adults and patronising the little ones! She is a role model for the little ones though, especially Val, who will follow her every action! 

3) An early evening of intensive and messy bubble play - an abundance of iridescent soap bubbles shimmering in the heavy, post-rain shower atmosphere. The 4 little girls were drenched in soapy chaos but it was so evident that they revelled in this fun disorder! Running around chasing bubbles, scuttling around to burst these bubbles, laughters of pure delight and squeals of mirthful amazement. Wonder to the adults' hearts indeed. 

4) The finale definitely has to be 4 little girls - stark naked - with 3 of their flustered mummies all squashed in the confines of my bathroom's shower cubicle, showering after the messy bubble play - altogether!! The Bees were tickled beyond words and I wish I could take a picture of this delightful scene! 

5) A quiet evening of co-operative and peaceful playdoh between Little Bee, Chloe and Val at Little Bee's desk. It was so cute seeing them chatting in their little kid language to each other about the idiosynscracies of mushy playdoh! Big Bee, in the meantime, was well ensconced in her room, after a nice shower, re-reading her favourite Enchanted Wood series again :)

With the weather that seems to be embracing blue skies and the golden sun once more, I think our next outing should be amongst verdant giants. That is, after Big Bee's mid-year school assessments! Meanwhile, coaching and tutoring in the household continues...

Handmade Expressions Of Love

The Bees are both very fond of creating cards and little mementos during special occasions for the whole family. Last month was a hectic month with celebrations for both Hubby's and Big Bee's birthdays. It was indeed heartening and touching to see both Big Bee and Little Bee fussing earnestly over their handmade creations during these 2 special days.

Little Bee was a busy bee indeed, having to make 2 cards, one each for Papa and jie-jie.

Front of the card for Papa with a birthday cake

The inside of Papa's card from Little Bee - she drew and conceptualised everything by herself without any supervision! I was quite surprised, really. The 2 figures on the left are Papa and Little Bee.

Little Bee also drew this all by herself for jie-jie's birthday. This is a scene from jie-jie's birthday party, and she said she is drawing all of jie-jie's friends singing a birthday song for her. That's a 3-tiered birthday cake in front!

Little Bee, who so adored jie-jie, also created a bookmark as a present for jie-jie. Everything was arranged and cut by Little Bee, except for the 3 heart shapes that she needed help from an adult to cut.

And Big Bee slaved for 2 hours just to create the perfect card for Papa's special day.

The front of the card - Big Bee is now experimenting with decorative handwritten fonts.

The inside of the card with a 3D bouncing heart to represent a beating heart full of love, and a car at the bottom that can move from left to right along a strip of paper.

Back of the card - with a secret message flap...

...open the flap, and may all Papa's wishes come true!

With the plenitude of precious gifts from the girls, especially sentimental Big Bee who had been making beautiful presents for us since a few years back, I had now set aside a treasure box of love - open it and Hubby and I will be dazzled by all these overt expressions of the Bees' love through the decades to come.

Upcoming projects: I am already observing Big Bee surreptitiously researching through our craft books to create more tokens of affection for the imminent Mother's and Father's Day. I am indeed blessed.