My days

Friday
Sent my car for servicing, while waiting I went to Taka to do my shopping. And it's way too
rushing for me, the shops open at 10am. I need to pop by 3 places in a span of 1 1/2hr. *pant pant* before going back to the workshop to collect the car and fetch Aricia.

First stop was to buy a gift for Richard & Irene who are heading here. (Haven't seen Richard for 2 yrs 1 mths and Irene for 3 yrs 5 mths) Wanted to get Godiva but in the end I bought a set of 3 TWG Tea. Smells shiok! I bought this for myself which has a hint of passionfruit inside.
Then did my (very little grocery) shopping. Needed to get furikakes and my Japanese instant noodles. No time to head to Meidiya, so this is good enough for the time being. I better be stingy the next time, my green tea powder costs $10+, and I use them for baking. Must see if Phoon Huat as any.

Then it's to Kinokuniya to renew my membership and to look for books. I bought some stationeries and this magazine for the children. So interesting! I love it when I'm in the stationery section, feel like I'm in Japan. But... I always go crazy when I'm in Japan, alot of kawaii things.

Then it's off to Creative Hands to look for wriggly eyes and pom poms. No wriggly eyes - argh! Shipment comes in end March. Don't you just hate it? When you really need something and it's out of stock. Which is why my house is messy and have alot of rubbish. I like to stock up on things so that I don't have to shop for it. Then I get complaints from hubby who says "I keep rubbish etc..."

Times up!! I cabbed down to Toa Payoh. I spent the next 10mins eyes glued, hands holding on to the handle for my dear life!! His taxi is messy, I mean real messy. He had his books on the dashboard some papers for note-taking (I think), he can't hold his steering wheel still, needs to jerk. In that short journey, he horned at others 4 times. ??!! He cannot keep his head still. And I was thinking to myself my conversation with sister the day before.. and I looked at him. He's all white and he looks intelligent. Reminds me of someone whom I used to fly with - I know you're reading this now. Yes, I'm talking about you.
Conclusion : I shall not colour my hair next time. Hahaha!

Picked children up and then my next shift starts at home. Sigh..............it's the weekend tomorrow. Yay! Yay! Yay! Richard & Irene is in town. Can't wait!

The children room-ed in with us. I was about to sleep when I touched Aricia. She felt hot!! Was so sleepy but had to sponge her down etc... monitor temperature .. so tired in the morning. I don't know what's happening. She has to get well soon!

Saturday
Spent the time changing the flashcards. Although my flashcards are well-organized, I really hate to change, re-tag the old ones, stick the colour-coded tag stickers.
I wasted almost half a day on that - coz' I had to put in new ones as well. Duh! Think I need to buy another cupboard?

What made me happy was my parcels came. In total - 5!! KZ said the postman and her are good friends now. Great! So she don't have to help me receive anymore parcels - until much later in the night I tabulated the lists and realise one more parcel is not inside. Hopefully one last parcel before I cave in to temptation and start clicking again.

I was looking forward to this box. Filled with my stuffs and some adhesive stickers, which I shared with brother. Spent the rests of the time sorting out and dividing into 2.
2 hours gone just like that. Tiring leh!

Didn't do much with the children, Aricia fever came on/off. Still hopping around the house but I'm not risking.

Books for children

Crafts for the children, and the icing for me. Must be thinking crazy to buy icing - I wanted the skin tone in this box lah! My ivory and peach always end up not looking naturally at all.

Sunday
Picked my dear friends up @ their hotel. 3 adults sitting behind, a little cramp. Didn't want to bring KZ along but in the end decided that I needed someone to fully care for Aricia - too active.

Nice to see them again. Hope the next time I see them will be in their country.

Ps. For that same ex-colleague. This was the pax whom you thought was trying to gao-shua me.

The last time Rich was here, Athena would let him hold her hand. Not this time round, it's then Aricia's turn


Pity I couldn't send them off the next day as I'll be chauffeuring the children. But I might see Irene in SHA soon.

These are the cards that Athena made for them.



She cut and folded some papers, asked me to staple them and declare that this is Richard's drawing or sticker book. So funny! Think he would have thrown it away.

New lessons

I think I had the most meaningful day yesterday. It was the day that I have learnt an important lesson, a lesson in parenting. You may think I must be mad coz afterall I am a mother of 2.

Friends (who know me) and my readers will know that I had always been complaining so much about my Athena. How mad I was with her etc.. Last night I thought to myself if I should be writing this down afterall a blog doesn't mean you gotta spill every beans out. In the end I thought it might be good coz
1) helps to clear some doubts with people I know that I am not exaggerating every word I say about Athena. I remain true and honest in my thoughts, opinions. So sometimes some friends do not like the way I say certain things. With deep regrets if I may have offended you (but don't worry I am always open to critisism)
2) it serves as a reminder to myself that I had gone through this challenging parenting. In years to come (if my blog still exists), it can certainly trigger my memory should I suffer from Alzheimer's Disease or any kind of dementia
3) when my children read this next time, they know what "hell" their mummy went through . And hopefully they're not faced with the same situation as I do. Of course this entry is not going to be one which will cause my child, Athena embarrassment in years to come where she gets accused for making her mother's life hell, but rather one where I hope I can find a better solution to my parenting style with her.

I had been quite troubled (gek-sim) with the way Athena kept taunting me with her nonsense, and kept wondering if there's a big problem with me - if I was too strict; too lenient or too demanding. However I did suspect I have minute depression. But then I also thought what's the problem with her, her behaviour may seem normal to others, like any child would behave but she's extremely stubborn behind doors (in the presence of the people she knew). Mom went to the medium and apparently he knew what's going on even before she could explain much to him, said she's born like this. And...he even said that the mother has depression. (even Master Tan did mention something like this before) So confirm it's more of her behaviour.

And then the talk about where this behaviour came from. Mom had been taunted by my sister for 16 years. Mom had been telling us it's difficult bringing her up, coz' she'll come up with alot of crying games or taunting her - and only to my mom. Mom mention that probably I'm walking in the same path as she did many years ago. I'm also dealing with a child, someone as difficult as my sister to bring up. Okay, what do I mean by her unique behaviour.
eg. I tell her to keep her toys. She refuses, I continue asking her in a nice way, can be bribing her with some things. Refuses again and then I flare up. I flare up still no response (and when I say no response I'm not referring to her pushing the job till later. She simply refuses to do it! Can just lie herself down on the sofa/floor and refuses and then start throwing tantrum) I look at her.. looks like kena possessed like that.

Words from sister
When I spoke to sister, who after so many years finally grew up and didn't make mom's life difficult. I get a different perspective from her.

>> Saying that that's some kind of ADHD, not the normal jump here; jump there; cannot listen; in own world kind but another form. Sister said smart people have that (she's trying to hint that she's smart lah. I would have been, if not for that kick down the L-shaped stairs. I'm mentally retarded now. Hee!) eg. Stephen Hawkings, Albert Einstein. This is interesting, read this. And the medium did say "this girl is smart". So I do not know if she's going to be someone famous in the world or a "genius in her own ways and be someone unknown". Maybe will see if she'll be in the Gifted Program years down the road. Maybe I was suppose to be in there leh.... but coz' my mom illiterate lah!!

>> She feels awkard if she don't make someone else's life hell. She must deliberately taunt someone. In Athena's case it will be us, the direct family (my parents or siblings wouldn't get to see this). And of course with my constant contact with the children all the time + I have depression = BIG FLARE UP

>> Sister used to fight over things or cry over the "aircon in the car etc.." - really sound like Athena. The only advantage my sister had was she is the younger child (at that time) & brother doted and gave in to her, whereas Athena is the older child & I have Aricia fighting with her and neither of them giving in.

>> Can't concentrate on doing one thing at a time. The whole place will look like a battlefield, but yes things will be done. Sounds abit like Athena and me - that's why my "preparing of materials" never seems to end. (haha! sorry just kidding. I don't think I'm gifted or that smart)
No wonder, I keep screaming at her to sit still when she's having her lunch/dinner. She'd eat and then walk to do something else

>> Though they are known to be those hyperactive kind. I must admit Athena is not that bad but yes, she doesn't sit still for long either. And like what sister said she herself though naughty but was well behaved when in others' house. Quite true in Athena's case.

>> They like to do things their ways, don't like to be directed at. Ahem... sister was creating hell in school too. Wouldn't want to spell out what happened but the teacher kept calling me my sister's name (even after she already left the school) and nobody believed that I was HER SISTER!! And probably coz' they thought I was going to be that "optimum naughty" child as well so nobody paid much attention to me or even bothered to let me sit for the tests. (shit! I didn't know. Last time I thought it was cool and so proud of having an elder sister in my school before.. and tell my teachers.) I told my sister that they probably triple blessed the school after she left, and no wonder they tear down the building lah! In Athena's case, I am consoled that she behaves well in school.
But I may want to send her for tests, if there's such a thing, to determine if she's ADHD. If she is, I'd speak to the teachers and then work around her nature. Coz' sometimes I ask her "what did you learn in school today?" she tells me "I don't know." ???!!!???

>> Distracted. Yes, countless of times she can't seem to stand still. When learning music, she'd be fiddling with the buttons or ribbons. And then she gets scolding from Peggy and later me. When I teach her something, she'd be doing that too. But then........thing is you ask her to play back what you just said, she tells you everything and can play back.

>> Sister tells me too on certain words she didn't like to hear as a child. And with that advice, I try not to ask her "is it you don't like mummy, that's why you're making things difficult for me" coz' like my sister said "if I don't do anything to make someone angry, I'll be feeling very awkward." And naughty she may be, she still loves my mom. And no wonder when I asked Athena, she won't answer me (coz' of her pride) but she'd shake or nod her head accordingly and tells me she loves me.

>>I cited an example of her coming back to school one day with her 'casual' test paper and she scored 34/40. I nagged at her over that loss of 6 marks, which was 4-5 silly careless mistakes. Sister said I sounded like mom, so sister at that time felt 'I study hard and get 34/40 you scold me, I don't study and get 32/40 you also scold me. So I might as well don't study at all.' And that 34/40 isn't that bad, true.... better than my results and it's 85%. But I'm expecting 90% and above for her, that girl can do it. She's smart, I'm not saying it coz' I want to praise my daughter. But I've seen her how she can write those chinese/english words on her own and how she answers my questions. So for this, I will not listen to sister's advice. Will continue to push her.

So now I know that's the reason why I say Parenting Books don't work on Athena (and I should be writing one). And why I kept shouting "suay suay suay ah" coz' I didn't realise the problem. Mom tackled that for 16 years, I don't know how long I'll have to tackle her. Maybe should use this 'measuring time' as a determination for me to live my life and not commit suicide.
Friends do give me advices and they always think I'm wrong in my parenting style, tell me what they do to their children and their children listen. I always tell them it didn't work on me, now I know why.... coz' Athena is 'special case', whether I use the soft or hard approach. I didn't want to argue further with friends coz' it'll be spoiling relationships with them but I'd eat the humble pie and say "okay, I will try it", knowing that I've done that before and it didn't work.

Depression
I'm really walking in the same path as mom, she didn't know that she had depression. Or if ever such a word existed before. Something did almost happen but it fell through. And somehow I'm grateful that I have my mom here with me now, someone who understands what I'm going through. I probably have double pressure coz' I'm so into the education aspects for the children and give me advice. Someone to watch over me so that I won't suddenly get so bloody depressed and slash my wrists or jump down from 12th floor.
I guess you must be shock - coz' for people who know me, I may seem to be a very cheerful person cracking jokes all the time. But of course like what mom said "we hide our feelings well" but what mom said about us - we are very strong, we have gone through what others may not have. I think I agree coz I realise I am able to pick myself up most times and I am stronger than anyone else.
I'm depressed over everything. Firstly, my hubby is out of the country most of the time. I'm always the only person taking charge of the house and children well-being. Even when he's in SIN, I'm still the only person taking charge. I am tasked with the full responsibility of educating 2 children which is totally draining me out!! Honest to God, I have tons of things to do but I don't have enough time. While he works or play computer games.
Speak to hubby?? I remember I spoke to MH about something and she thought it's funny that we don't talk that much of our inner feelings or me asking him to help etc.. Why? I hate to confront and then start a fight. And the person who's going to be dwelling more in the 'words used during the fight' will be me not him. Moreover I'm very independent.
I guess this came about in the recent years, thank goodness not when I was flying. Imagine you have a stewardessess who suddenly go berserk in the cabin and start threatening passengers with knives and dunno what nots, and then obviously outnumbered and then sent into the mad hospital and get my name striked off SQ payroll.

Method
Mom said she has to used all kinds of methods in a day to coax my sister. So I'm going to try... and next time write a book on this.

Footnote :
A drunk wouldn't admit he's drunk, a mad person wouldn't admit he's mad. But why I, a depressed person admit I am depressed over this public blog. Not for sympathy, I don't need it (I'm not a pet) but perhaps to tell the world that we shouldn't deny if we have problem, it'll be easier for people to reach out to help us when we really do need it.

Now, as I walk down the years with Athena. I hope I can try to be a better parent to her (and not to be seen as a mad tyrant mother), and hopefully no depression.

Yippee!

Some of my memories are flooding back. Yee ha!! Last night I managed to get my iphone with all data intact. Thank goodness I didn't lose much 'little notes' I wrote to remind myself on things.

The staff (in hubby's office) helped to jailbreak my phone and he downloaded several applications for me.

Last night too, I managed to change the look of my phone.

Cute??

This is my message background
All the icons



Was so happy with the games he downloaded. Especially this game called Monkey Ball. But.......apparently Athena played with it earlier on and it suddenly disappeared. Argh!

May try to download again.
IT dummy nutcrack me will need to do this slowly, if not.... hubby is going to kill me if I ever ask him to bring it to his office. No more IT presents for me.
As for Ipod usage, I'm going to use this just for solely listening to music. I'm using my other MP4 player to do the editing tracks for Aricia's home sessions. Don't want to risk losing datas again.

Good to know

Collected my reserved book- The Values Book by Pam Schiller and Tamera Bryant @ the library this morning. I love MPCL - the children area. Must bring my children there one day.

If you have the chance, try to get hold of this book. Many a times as parents, we are too caught up with the educational aspect of raising a child, ignoring the most important element - EQ - thinking that they will not help them in the future (No paper qualifications; no job - sounds familiar?)

About the book :

Teaching 16 Basic Values to Young Children
Young children learn best by doing, and that includes learning values.

The Values Book is packed with easy activities, projects and ideas to help children learn values and build character, both individually and in groups. Each chapter addresses one of 16 different values, including understanding, patience and tolerance. After defining the value, each chapter begins with questions to help adults clarify what that value means to them. The perfect book to introduce and strengthen the teaching of values in any early childhood classroom or home.

Best time to start nurturing that little precious of yours is now. This book starts every chapter with a song or poem. Of course good if you know the song, if not make up the tune yourself. Your child wouldn't know it.

In the first chapter of the book, it teaches Compassion & Empathy. The main cover song , I knew this song but didn't dwell into the meaning of the song until now.

"In a cabin in a wood
Little man by his window stood,
Saw a rabbit hopping by
Knocking at his door.

"Help me! Help me! Help me!" he said.
"I need a place to rest my head."
"Little rabbit, come inside
Safely to abide."

At the end of each chapter (Values), it gives you a listing of books you can read further with your children. Knowing me, I won't go and look for it in the library, I'd do it in the comfort of my home, clicking to reserve my books. Hee!

Anyway, that reminds me too, I heard Grolier sells a package on Character Building books. I'm not sure if that's the same one as these 2 :

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When Athena started school, the school passed the children many fliers on subscribing to newsletters. So far, there's The Young Scientists for Science, Highlights, for GK, And some Math things which I did subscribe for her (see lah! subscribe for her also can forget name) I ignored the other two coz' all these are too overwhelming for me. As it is, too many things to declutter at home.
But somehow about a month or more back I saw this Learning Is Fun by BBC magazine on the rack which I found it to be really interesting. And I'm even more supportive when I see the acronym - BBC. You are able to subscribe to it via mediacorp.

Another interesting little magazine I found - National Geographic Little Kids. I think this has been out for some time already and I only noticed it now.

Good morning!

What a fine morning it is, I hear birds chirping, I didn't hear my children yakking non-stop in the car, I see a rainbow in my heart.
I am like a bird released out from the cage. My eyes better, still sticky but not that bad as compared to before. Best of all, I will not go blind. Will get to see my children getting married (but first have to see the mess they always make in the house) Homebound too long makes me go gila.

Started the morning with a pleasant greeting from a lady who came up to tell me she's been reading my blog. Nice to meet you, S. And small Singapore it is, her child n Aricia is in the same school. Perhaps next time we might have a chance to chat further. I haven't got the chance to meet the parents of Aricia's classmates, coz' normally I drop her off early and.....there's a 10mins grace in carpark, nobody stays there for long. Hee!

Anyway, like I said if you do see me in the streets, I don't mind you coming up to tell me.
Rest of first 2 wakeful hours, a breakfast in Macs. A stopover in the market (eeks! Ah Soh!!), eye drops and back home.
Quick posting on this in Macs, bear with the ugly alignment till I adjust back home. Batt running low.

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!!

Photos

21sr - Suppose to be a duck. Don't look like one to me. Hmmm.....need lots of practice
thena's attempt with some help from me

24th - Trying our sorbet for the first time. Molded them into Pooh and Mickey Mouse



3rd March - My children love to eat pearls - cockroach eggs. So I tried boiling these
Tiring process

Mixed in honey for the children to drink. Ran out of honey, so both of them had little honey today.
Che-che drinking from the big straw she collects from those bubble tea shops

My view's getting better

I am glad that I made the right choice in driving (half blindly) down to the specialist in ES. I took the gamble to pop by the clinic, coz' I tried calling them but nobody picked up the phone. If not, I'll have to go all the way to Mt E & hopefully someone entertains me or end up in Parkway Eye Centre in Gleneagles. That's my plan should my first option is out. I took down some contact from Yellow Pages in the morning. When I drove along East Coast Road, I noticed a Katong Eye Clinic next to the Women's Clinic. Hmm........at least maybe that could be my backup plan instead of risking my life driving down to town area in that heavy traffic.

It's my lucky day, I reached the hospital just in time. The clinic's just opened and I went in. Only one guy infront of me, I was called in. Doc quite good-looking. Hahaha! So, I'm not half blind (just faking it) and if I thought I was numb and having stroke on my left side - I am not! At least my nerve did send a message to my brain to tell me he's good-looking. (so lucky day??)
He said my conjunctivitis is quite bad (no wonder didn't recover. And it's going to take me another week to fully recover from my 一个大 一个小眼睛) but good thing is that it didn't affect my cornea or the Lasik I've done 9 years ago. Phew! That's a relief. Gf teased me that I should stop bio-ing man, that's why I don't get well. Funny!

Prescribed Beoptic and TobraDex and I have to put it diligently every hour today, and every 2 hours tomorrow onwards.

The whole day I've been dropping eye drops. It feels like I barely finish the second bottle eye drop (needs interval time between both eyedrops) and I start cycle again?? No........it goes to show the hour is ticking by so quickly.
I can feel the difference, left eye don't feel that heavy after the 2nd cycle. My eyes gets a bigger view now, not much headache.

And by the time it was close to Ros's class, my eyes were so much better, not much sticky feeling and that involuntarily closing-eye. I feel so much happier, my 'illegal business' can finally resume soon. Yay!

I can't believe it when gfs saw me at Ros's, say "so horrible.." Goash! They should see my eyes yesterday & the day before. I wonder how I manage to tahan the pain.

Pictures
23rd June
By 1st Mar, both eyes were badly infected. Left eye feels very heavy; pain and was having headache. It got redder on 2nd Mar. Left eye closed more, vision narrowed and blurry. Tearing every minute
3rd Mar. My right eye's redness were gone. Left eye too, not that tremendous improvement as compared to my right eye (coz' I suspect it's more severe in left eye). But feel so much better.
Can't wait to bake, been dying to bake.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank friends for their concerns. I received many SMS-es at that time and couldn't reply to all coz' I didn't know who SMS-ed me. Remember my iphone konked out? Apparently after I got back my phone, all contact details have been deleted; all my notes too. sob....sob......all gone = my memory's gone too!

Horrible feeling!

It's horrible, really horrible feeling. I see their eyes recovering and I wish my eyes could turn from red to green with jealousy.

It's getting no where to recovery. And I'm tired from the uncomfortable feeling that I feel with my left eye. And on Thursday morning, I noticed my right eye is a little pink. (This will spread to both eyes). I am sick and tired of the constant tearing, the sticky discharge.

On Wednesday, I went back to the doctor that prescribed KZ antibiotics after I brought Athena for her follow up. Doc gave me antibiotics, which I had to make sure is stronger than Amoxycillin, and a different eye drop from my first doc and KZ. I pray for a speedy recovery, this is really so inconvenient. And I still had to drive around, it's really irritating to have the sun glare, and I keep tearing. I drive with one hand sometimes, then I get fed up and stuck a tissue paper on the sides - looking so ridiculous. Sometimes, my left eye can involuntarily close. Scary! Cham leh.. like numb liao.

Will I go blind?

By today, I couldn't take it. Went back to see him again. This time round, my right eye is red too! Shucks! Given Terramycin. His advice is to go to see him again on Tuesday, and then if it doesn't get well, he'll refer me to the eye specialist. Can I wait that long? For 2 days, I wonder if I'll go blind. Then I cannot see my children growing up, and them getting married. I know it sounds corny to you, but the idea of "it's your eyes and the window of the world", the thought of the window being closed forever just scares me. And what makes it worst is that, anyone with conjunctivitis often wake up with they eyelashes stuck - sticky discharge. I often have to go to the toilet one-eye-jack and use the cotton pad to slowly clean my eyes, finally opening my eyes and "oh yes, I'm still not blind" relief thought.
I told hubby maybe I should go down on my own on Monday. He scolded me "because you always rub your eyes that's why never get well", I didn't! I merely cleaned off the tearing. Siao eh! As if I'm so mad to go and rub my eyes when it's already so painful. KZ say I always use the same tissue, I told her I do change the sides and throw away. She said no I use the same side (siao eh... like I so stupid to use the bacteria infected parts to clean back. And if I'm so siao, I wouldn't even bother about sanitizing my hands that often and spraying whatever things I've touched with the Dettol spray), one piece of tissue she wipe 3 times and then throw. Wah piang eh.... I know this is not the time to save money, but I can use more than that. 4 corners + 4 middle portion of each sides + the middle = easily 9 times and throw.

Tuesday, sounds great too! Coz' the children won't have anything on after school. Was thinking, where could he refer me to? Eye Centre in SGH? Far.. but I still have KZ to help me pick up the children and worry if she'll get lost trying to take bus for the first time from Aricia school to Athena school. But I thought, since I get the contact for East Shore, might be a little faster. Don't have to wait until the cows come home in SNEC. But Tuesday?? Abit too long right? Or maybe Monday I go down on my own. Then supposedly if I can't get back home in time, ask her to bring Aricia to Ros class .. or skip again? Ehh........

Headache. Headache. Not from thinking of what to do, I think my heart tells me to go on Monday -Eastshore. Don't want to prolong too long, I need to get my eyes well soon. I mean real soon. But headache from the restricted widescreen (2.39:1) vision I've been having and trying to tilt my head upwards like a proud sombong person. Slept alot these days, can't do much, which partially explains why I can be so tired from going through Athena's work. Tonight's exception, I'm bored from closing my eyes too much and getting them stuck. So I'm blogging with the lappie screen light dimmed. Heavy eyes! Feel like closing my eyes and sleep, do nothing and be a fat pig.
Ear pain, ear pain. Damn! I feel like an old woman stuck with health problems. So inconvenient.

I remember I had conjunctivitis once when I was flying, that was due to contact lens. For that, I was given 2 days MC. Now that I'm no longer wearing contact lens.. more than 1 week??

Time to close my eyes and sleep. I want to get well soon!

Homeschool - III / IV / V

Wednesday

Think can close down my school, you've got a lazy teacher today.

Athena is given another 4 days of MC, that makes her absent from school for one week. *gasp*. I said I would rebel, I did. PD laughed at me, staffs said I'm over-reacting and "now that the naughty one is in school - house shouldn't be that noisy."

Wednesdays are Math day. She's doing Measurements - way way ahead of her peers. No problem today, so she's basically in my room while I do some printing. I only work my mouth today (in the first 2 hours).. hee! Talk about being a dedicated teacher, bullshit!

Emailed her FT to inform her, as well as asking her if there's any homework I can collect from the school next morning. Will do that after I drop Aricia off in school. Ehh... I am a little worried about her lagging behind her classmates. Very stupid right? She's well ahead of her peers, but still being a kiasu mother. The only thing I'm worried about is her subtraction. Friends say children always have problems with subtraction, I don't fully agree with them. Come on! I've been drilling this into her brain since last year with the Cuisenaire rods, until I want to bring out the 'rod' (pun intended) on her. She can read the sentence and though she can't really explain in her own words, she says she comprehends them. So what's the problem?
Needless to say, I went through all the silly mistakes she made in her books. Can you believe that she's concurrently doing 3 Maths assessment books, I've got another one on sentence sums for her; and... that's not it - another card sentence game set. Maths - more practice and practice.

Did her music. Didn't go for lesson.

I did a short home session with Aricia today. Dare not do the two LMs - coz' afraid of long contact with her.

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Thursday

Mad rush for me in the morning. I collected her work from the office in the morning, went back home to let her do her work.
I was told that on Wednesday, the moment I left the house, Athena gleefully sat herself down infront of TV. Timed and then took out the books to do when she knows I'm coming back. Smart or not? Say she dunno how to tell time, I think she's lying. Or maybe she goes by instinct. So this morning, I assigned her to do some pages of her Maths which she has missed out.

Came back to see her sitting on the coffee table doing her work. Good girl! Told her what she needed to do, and she took the work to do. She didn't ask me any questions, which is good news - goes to show she knows her work. But when I checked her work, I had to ask her to erase off some work coz' it's untidy. I marked her "missed out pages" and also checked on her Math workbook which is given back to her. Went through what she did in class - not much left coz' it's been torn off. But saw two sums which she did wrongly and told her off for her carelessness. Goash! Am I too hard on her? Afterall I did tell her I would want her to excel in class, be one of the Top 3 students.

I had to leave the house at 11.55am to pick Aricia up. Athena stayed home coz' didn't want her to end up playing with a helper and end up folding papers every week.
(speaking of which, I wrote of Athena missing out 2 weeks of her chinese work on Thursdays while waiting for me right? She was playing with a helper - the one who helped me accompany her when Athena was still eating & I had to rush in for class - of course I don't blame the helper for playing with her coz' she wouldn't know that she's given work to do. And that girl, being playful/being a child would choose to play over her work. So, for weeks I get presents after we finish class. I come out to the waiting area to see tons of folded paper boxes using magazine papers. Then when we had to go off, Aricia wants to be carried. And for obvious reason I can't & won't help Athena carry her stupid boxes. You'll hear her complaining "mummy, walk slowly. I cannot.........ah.......mummy my things drop. Mummy.... I cannot carry my book." Last time she'd do her work, until she pretended and lied to me that she dunno how to do her work for 2 weeks. What can I say? Aricia's class already over, we're rushing off to her class.)

It's odd, I didn't have to stalk in carpark to wait for Athena coz' she's not in school but I still did lor......I could have taken the time to go jalan-jalan in PP or Toa Payoh but I think Aricia needs her nap more than my bo-liao walking around to spend time. Resist! resist! I'm already itching to go out, to paint the streets red. Since the start of this year, I haven't had the luxury of being a tai-tai. sob sob.

After her class, went back home. Since I didn't let her go for Berries today, I arranged for make up lesson on Sunday or maybe MC (if eyes still pinkish). I had a little of leisurely time chatting with J who intends to switch her son, J, from Chiltern House to this. I gasped at the school fees! I don't have the money siah! Is there a need to send children to such expensive preschools? And then you hear stories of long waiting list etc... What's your view on this?

Back home, I didn't hear her fumble for the remote control (pretend to turn off TV) but I don't mind as long as she finishes her work. Not bad! She only didn't understand "write a addition sentence / a number sentence / a subtraction sentence." Explained to her and then she wrote her own lor-soh 'story' sentence.

Aricia's home session? No.........I was tired. Strange right? Afterall I didn't do much work with Athena what!

I'm so tempted, so tempted not to send Aricia in to school the next day. It's so stupid to go all the way to Katong to send just one child for school. And hers is only a few hours of school.

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

Friday

Sent Aricia to school, cannot miss lah! No excuse since she was telling me "temorow (tomorrow) go kool (school), see flend (friend) flend, see chicher (teacher), cannot cry...."
On way home, went to get some bread and small groceries. Just as I was about to reach home, at the carpark, mom called to ask me to go back Tampines to collect something. Duh! Stupid me, go all the way to Tampines.

By the time I got back home was already 10am. Athena was doing her work at the coffee table again (no remote control near in sight - heehee!). Guess what work? Maths! I asked her to do her English, she ended up doing Maths. Normally Fridays I don't assign any subject day for her coz' by the time she gets back home will be late.

What Homeschool? Mummy surrendered!! Buay tahan. Gave her a treat, I didn't want to make her think going out gai-gai is a must when she's on MC but I myself couldn't resist staying at home, though technically I always have things to do. I rebel too, coz' I've been staying at home almost 2 weeks straight! Is that a record? So promised her to bring her out after we pick Aricia from school.
She asked to go Big Splash (to FnR) but I declined, saying with her eyes, they'd not allow her to go in either. We either go PP or CP or TM - for 2 to 3 hrs, come back and I'd continue her work with her.
The children had their lunch at Sakae Sushi at CS, with Athena and myself wearing sunglasses the whole time. (ridiculous!) And we were using my hand sanitizer so often during that short trip out. After which they wanted to go ToysRUs. I didn't want to waste time, so dropped the both of them inside while I go over to Popular to do my much needed shopping. They played a while more then we left the place.

Back home, the children had their shower. Marked her Maths (again), went through the mistakes. Goash! I think I'm going to hide those books first! She's doing way ahead of her peers - that's the 3rd or 4th term's work. But she tells me she loves Maths leh. How?

English - she asked me what does 'herding' means. I taught her how to use the dictionary I bought for her. She got the hang of it quite fast, and then she asked me what does 'cattle' means? Let her find it, and she asks me another word. Will take very long for her to finish the whole cycle. She has to write the words that she don't understand in a book that I gave her. I call it her Vocabulary Booster Book.
I remember my sister made me flip the dictionary and read the meaning of words etc.. She also gave me a book Oliver Twist when I was 11. You think she was being nice to me? It's unabridged edition. Gasp! And I didn't read past Chapter 2 (my sis will kill me if she knows this. She will know, she reads my blog. Confession), I kept the book in pristine condition (obviously) and will pass it down as a heirloom to Athena. Muahhahaha.

Practised piano, guided Aricia with her Logico before she start fighting with me. Didn't do home session, I'm just not up to it - after I had exhausted my energy on Athena's work.

Rrrring. The school bell rang. What school? Ha! So now I really worry if she's lagging behind her classmates since I didn't really spend that much time teaching her things from her school textbook, which I had intended to.

Bentos

Very simple packed snacks for her recess. All these were prepared by KZ, I still can't get up very early to prepare for them. Hee! Lazy mummy.

16th Feb
18th Feb - Oh! This is done by me the night before using the extras Mcs pancakes. I instructed KZ to help me heat up in the morning. It's アンパンマン craze week. Remember?
18th - Lunch @ home

19th - Lunch

Must do something for the children already.

Sprucing up on hygiene

We had to step up on hygiene - now that Aricia is recovered, we have to make sure she don't get it again. Weird attitudes we have, when we're ok and the kids get it we don't step up on hygiene that strictly. But when we get it; we step up on it. Should have done so earlier to prevent everyone from suffering.

KZ's more busy now. She washes our towels everyday by using the method I taught her - boiling it with soap and colour bleach + she adds a little Dettol in it. Potent combination but what the heck! She changes the children bedsheets every day; changes my pillow case every day. On top of that, using the Dettol spray to spray on the pillows and the whole bed (not like I roll all over the bed). We spray quite alot of things apart from her usual cleaning up the house. We spray whenever we touch anything even though we've washed our hands. The doorknobs, the toys. Ai yah..........so easy jusy spray and spray.

We let her dry her hands by using the tissue paper instead of the hand towels. Coz' we wash very often... and then dry our hands with them. Though technically our hands should be clean but......better to play safe.

Spray so much that our new bottle is almost finished. Had to rush out to buy more, I could only grab the last 2 on the shelf. We still have 1 1/2 big bottles of Dettol. 1 1/2 bottle of Dettol handwash, don't think we'll finish that much- must be insane.
Reminds me of the SARS period, where I disinfect all the time.

Hubby is not aware of the extreme we're doing - of course he's at work. (but wait till he sees the utilities bill lor!) Then when he comes back and touch the children, I tell him to wash his hands - he shrugs it off! He's always like that, even when it was the SARS period. I told him to wash his hands and change his clothes before touching Athena, he won't listen. He thinks I'm crazy, probably so with me cooped up at home and imagination runs wild.
Now that he's having a little sore throat, I tell him to be more cautious with the children. Dowan to pass to children, and then I suffer again.

Aricia will be back in school tomorrow. As for che-che, she should be going back to school. But I may have to see how it goes, coz' if it took Aricia 1 week to get better, I was thinking her 2 days MC is not enough. And that girl was already complaining,"not fair! Mei-mei can have 1 week off." Wah.............she thinks skipping school is a luxury? She has alot of catching up to do. She thinks she's still in LCCC where she can skip school anytime?
Hope everyone recovers faster. It's so bloody uncomfortable. And then I am so conscious of people looking at me, I wear sunglasses - they give me one kind of funny look. This evening, the people in the kiosk looked at me. Must be thinking I'm crazy, wearing sunglasses.

Red Eyed Monster : Athena (Schooling from home)

School session starts at 7.50am. She gets her own free time till the lazy pig mummy aka teacher is up from bed.

Home school starts at 9.05am

1. Continuation of going through all the past-year papers. Finally finished all the papers & will start filing them in later.

2. Did Uncountable Nouns on the whiteboard yesterday. So today's a quick revision on Pronouns and Prepositions on the board. (something's wrong with my whiteboard, can't seem to use the wiper to wipe clean. Need the spray)

3. She copies what I wrote on the whiteboard into her notebook.

4. While doing so, teacher brings Aricia to sit infront of lappie and let her watch some Japanese songs videos online. (half the time, she keeps tilting sideways and tell me to scratch her backside. Eeeks!) then let her play an online alphabet game. She associates the banging any keys to getting the answer, which is not in this case (all her other games has this 'hit any key' concept) and it's annoying me. When she finally sees that I'm doing a left-click, she clicks every time. Sigh...........

RECESS TIME / SHOWER TIME

NAP TIME FOR ARICIA / CONTINUATION OF EXCESSIVE WORK FOR ATHENA

5. She did her Grammar book on Uncountable Nouns, Prepositions, Pronouns, while I surf the net for children websites. I've bookmarked far too much, was suppose to do housekeeping - end up adding up more bookmarks. Duh!

6. Aricia woke up, Athena started complaining and wants to go into the MOE chinese website. She played the games in the website while I did Aricia's home session + her homework.

7. Music revision. Aricia mess up the house.

8. *Rrrring* - full day school ends

Wait! Not yet!

DINNER

9. Go through chinese dictation & spelling with her.

Aricia

I thought my girl is going to be the total opposite from her che-che, afterall she did seem so boisterous. She is more outspoken

Turned out she's almost the same - the same naughty girl that shows her true self at home. And the 'quiet and obedient girl' in school. As what Teacher Felin told me today on the phone "she's very quiet in class." My first reaction was "Huh? Quiet??" "But once in a while she'll start talking and then her voice is very sharp." That one I do agree, she's got very sharp squeaky voice. I know there's always the opposite behaviour children possess. But her's is really a big change - she's a sum-seng gia at home; yakking and yakking at home.

Talking about this lil' girl. She is very head-strong - don't want means don't want. No matter what we do with her potty-training, stripping her, running her into the toilet with her screaming, her crossing her legs to hold her urine (hilarious incident) etc... But she is a dear. She sayangs her sister, she can be very obedient (except the potty training) and keep her toys when you tell her to. Master Tan says this girl is very filial - love her parents. Hmm..........

Reggio Emilia Approach

At a certain school in Singapore, it's the first to use this Reggio Emilia Approach. I guess everyone who went "huh? Reggio what??" are keeping their eyes open to see how the approach works, the Principal - on the other hand, I feel, is stressing the children up. Or maybe the parents. I don't know it all depends on how you look at it.

F, who's son is in P1 this year, tells me everything about the school. And although I'm the nutcrack, pushing my children all the time, I think it's too much of staying back in school for P1 students in this school. Perhaps it's the Principal's idea so as to push up the PSLE grades 6 years later? Hmm... I may be right or I may be wrong.

More about the Reggio Emilia Approach : is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education. It was started by the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia in Italy after World War II to eliminate fascism. The destruction from the war, parents believed, necessitated a new, quick approach to teaching their children. They felt that it is in the early years of development that children are forming who they are as an individual. This led to creation of a program based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment.

The city of Reggio Emilia in Italy is recognized worldwide for its innovative approach to education. Its signature educational philosophy has become known as the Reggio Emilia Approach which many American preschool programs have adopted. The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles:

• Children must have some control over the direction of their learning;
• children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing, and hearing;
• children have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that children must be allowed to explore;
• and children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves.

The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share with their environment at the center of its philosophy. Early childhood programs that have successfully adapted to this educational philosophy share that they are attracted to Reggio because of the way it views and respects the child. They believe that the central reason that a child must have control over his or her day-to-day activity is that learning must make sense from the child's point of view. To make it meaningful, it also must be of interest to the child. That is one way they have control over their learning.

Parents are a vital component to the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Parents are viewed as partners, collaborators and advocates for their children. Teachers respect parents as each child's first teacher and involve parents in every aspect of the curriculum. It is not uncommon to see parents volunteering within Reggio Emilia classrooms throughout the school. This philosophy does not end when the child leaves the classroom. Most parents who choose to send their children to a Reggio Emilia program incorporate many of the principles within their parenting and home life. Even with this bridge between school and home, many people wonder what happens to Reggio children when they make the transition from this style of education to a non Reggio Emilia school. The answer is that there is some adjustment that must take place. In most school environments, intellectual curiosity is rewarded, so students continue to reap the benefits of Reggio after they've left the program.

Contents [hide] 1 Community support and parental involvement 2 Teachers as learners 3 The role of the environment 4 Long-term projects as vehicles for learning 5 The hundred languages of children 6 Conclusion 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

Community support and parental involvement

Reggio Emilia's tradition of community support for families with young children expands on a view, more strongly held in Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, of children as the collective responsibility of the local community. In Reggio Emilia, the infant/toddler and pre-primary program is a vital part of the community, as reflected in the high level of financial support. Community involvement is also apparent in citizen membership in La Consulta, a school committee that exerts significant influence over local government policy.

The parents' role mirrors the community's, at both the schoolwide and the classroom level. Parents are expected to take part in discussions about school policy, child development concerns, and curriculum planning and evaluation. Because a majority of parents--including mothers--are employed, meetings are held in the evenings so that all who wish to participate can do so.

Teachers as learners

Teachers' long-term commitment to enhancing their understanding of children is at the crux of the Reggio Emilia approach. Their resistance to the American use of the term model to describe their program reflects the continuing evolution of their ideas and practices. They compensate for the meager preservice training of Italian early childhood teachers by providing extensive staff development opportunities, with goals determined by the teachers themselves. Teacher autonomy is evident in the absence of teacher manuals, curriculum guides, or achievement tests. The lack of externally imposed mandates is joined by the imperative that teachers become skilled observers of children in order to inform their curriculum planning and implementation.

Teachers routinely divide responsibilities in the class so that one can systematically observe, take notes, and record conversations between children. These observations are shared with other teachers and a specialized teacher called the atelierista who uses a space in the school called an atelier -or studio- to use art as an integrated way for children's symbolic expression. Parents are also involved in curriculum planning and evaluation. Teachers of several schools often work and learn together under the leadership of the pedagogista as they explore ways of expanding on children's spontaneous activities..

The role of the environment

The organization of the physical environment is crucial to Reggio Emilia's early childhood program, and is often referred to as the child's "third teacher." Major aims in the planning of new spaces and the remodeling of old ones include the integration of each classroom with the rest of the school, and the school with the surrounding community. The preschools are generally filled with indoor plants and vines, and awash with natural light. Classrooms open to a center piazza, kitchens are open to view, and access to the surrounding community is assured through wall-size windows, courtyards, and doors to the outside in each classroom. Entries capture the attention of both children and adults through the use of mirrors (on the walls, floors, and ceilings), photographs, and children's work accompanied by transcriptions of their discussions. These same features characterize classroom interiors, where displays of project work are interspersed with arrays of found objects and classroom materials. In each case, the environment informs and engages the viewer.

Other supportive elements of the environment include ample space for supplies, frequently rearranged to draw attention to their aesthetic features. In each classroom there are studio spaces in the form of a large, centrally located atelier and a smaller mini-atelier, and clearly designated spaces for large- and small-group activities. Throughout the school, there is an effort to create opportunities for children to interact. Thus, the single dress-up area is in the center piazza; classrooms are connected with telephones, passageways or windows; and lunchrooms and bathrooms are designed to encourage community. Groups of children will stay with one particular teacher for a five year period, creating consistency and an environment where there are no added pressures from having to form new relationships.

Long-term projects as vehicles for learning

The curriculum is characterized by many features advocated by contemporary research on young children, including real-life problem-solving among peers, with numerous opportunities for creative thinking and exploration. Teachers often work on projects with small groups of children, while the rest of the class engages in a wide variety of self-selected activities typical of preschool classrooms.

The projects that teachers and children engage in are distinct in a number of ways from those that characterize American teachers' conceptions of unit or thematic studies. The topic of investigation may derive directly from teacher observations of children's spontaneous play and exploration. Project topics are also selected on the basis of an academic curiosity or social concern on the part of teachers or parents, or serendipitous events that direct the attention of the children and teachers. Reggio teachers place a high value on their ability to improvise and respond to children's predisposition to enjoy the unexpected. Regardless of their origins, successful projects are those that generate a sufficient amount of interest and uncertainty to provoke children's creative thinking and problem-solving and are open to different avenues of exploration. Because curriculum decisions are based on developmental and sociocultural concerns, small groups of children of varying abilities and interests, including those with special needs, work together on projects.

Projects begin with teachers observing and questioning children about the topic of interest. Based on children's responses, teachers introduce materials, questions, and opportunities that provoke children to further explore the topic. While some of these teacher provocations are anticipated, projects often move in unanticipated directions as a result of problems children identify. Thus, curriculum planning and implementation revolve around open-ended and often long-term projects that are based on the reciprocal nature of teacher-directed and child-initiated activity. All of the topics of interest are given by the children.

The hundred languages of children

As children proceed in an investigation, generating and testing their hypotheses, they are encouraged to depict their understanding through one of many symbolic languages, including drawing, sculpture, dramatic play, and writing. They work together toward the resolution of problems that arise. Teachers facilitate and then observe debates regarding the extent to which a child's drawing or other form of representation lives up to the expressed intent. Revision of drawings (and ideas) is encouraged, and teachers allow children to repeat activities and modify each other's work in the collective aim of better understanding the topic. Teachers foster children's involvement in the processes of exploration and evaluation, acknowledging the importance of their evolving products as vehicles for exchange.

Conclusion

Reggio Emilia's approach to early education reflects a theoretical kinship with John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Vygotsky and Jerome Bruner, among others. Much of what occurs in the class reflects a constructivist approach to early education. Reggio Emilia's approach does challenge some conceptions of teacher competence and developmentally appropriate practice. For example, teachers in Reggio Emilia assert the importance of being confused as a contributor to learning; thus a major teaching strategy is purposely to allow mistakes to happen, or to begin a project with no clear sense of where it might end. Another characteristic that is counter to the beliefs of many Western educators is the importance of the child's ability to negotiate in the peer group.

One of the most challenging aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach is the solicitation of multiple points of view regarding children's needs, interests, and abilities, and the concurrent faith in parents, teachers, and children to contribute in meaningful ways to the determination of school experiences. Teachers trust themselves to respond appropriately to children's ideas and interests, they trust children to be interested in things worth knowing about, and they trust parents to be informed and productive members of a cooperative educational team. The result is an atmosphere of community and collaboration that is developmentally appropriate for adults and children alike.