Connections

I've learned from research and reading that the brain of the pre-school child is "a masterpiece in progress". During these formative years, the rate of connections that form in their brains is much higher than at any other stages in their life.

Today, both XX and KK's brains made some serious connections and learnt some important lessons.

We went to Terminal 3 again, this time with my parents for lunch on Sunday. On our way back to the carpark after lunch, we stopped near the toilets and waited while mum and the maid answered nature's call. KK was playing near the automatic sliding doors of the exit. Both Hubby and myself warned him and asked him to come over and stop playing near those glass doors. However he did not heed and for a brief moment we were distracted talking to Grandmum. The next time I saw KK, he was standing next to us, looking sheepish. I noticed that his right hand was red and swollen. I ask him what had happened and our suspicions were confirmed. Immediately, KK got two spanks, one from Hubby then myself for disobeying our instructions to stop playing near the doors. It was really frustrating especially when we had just warned him to come over. Luckily, we checked and he was still able to move his hand and wrist, so I guess it's just some superficial skin abrasion. Of course, KK was scolded all the way back and back at home, he was spanked one more time.

I hope his brain registers this lesson:

Playing near automatic doors = pain

Disobeying daddy and mummy's instruction = cane

XX learnt his lesson of the day in a much sweeter way. He was at the food court and I allowed him to hold onto his brother's leftover Ribena drink. He put the straw into his mouth, chewed on it a little, and instinctively tried sucking. At first, the purple liquid only went up a few centimeters each time he sucked. I thought he'll soon give up sucking as it's not producing any visible outcome. However, with each try, the liquid went higher and higher up the straw. Until suddenly, it went all the way and reached his little mouth. Ah...hmm...yum! From then on, a permanent connection was formed in his little brain - "Sucking hard on this tube brings sweet rewards!" There was no stopping the little fella from slurping and sipping all the way now. That's another milestone reached.

Terminal 3

Monday evening Hubby flew off to KL for work. Before that, he suggested we have dinner together in T3. Since I've not visited this new terminal since its opening on 9 Jan 08, I decided it's worth it to mobilize the whole family (2 adults + 2 kids + maid).

At 5pm, we packed XX into the car, picked KK up from school and headed straight for the airport. The road leading to T3 is smooth and the direction signs are very obvious. The carpark is underground instead of multi-storey. I'm impressed with the ease of access from the carpark to the terminal building. Lifts are big, spacious and fast.

People have told me that if I think T2 is big, T3 is BIGGER! Thus the spaciousness I saw was expected, however I did find it really quiet....kind of like looking at a big plasma TV without the audio...surreal. The decor is modern, 'very hilton', Hubby nicknamed. Although the terminal is big, there seems to be toilets located nearby whenever you feel like looking for one. Good planning.

We dined at Crystal Jade Shanghai restaurant. From there, we had a nice view of the departure level, directing over looking the money changers, where many SIA crew went to change currency before 'disappearing under us' (as the entrance to the transit area is just under the restaurant). From the other side of the restaurant, we can even look down into the transit area. KK had fun waving to their daddy below in the transit area and talking to each other on the handphone. XX seemed confused why he's hearing his daddy coming out from the phone but daddy's waving from below.

It was a nice dinner, the food was fabulous - the xiaolongbaos extremely juicy and well made. (KK had 5 on his own!) XX also had his fun and fill playing with the soup of the wanton noodles. KK was supposed to be full already, but when he saw XX drinking the soup from the big bowl, he too joined in to gobble a few mouths of noodles. Kiasu-ism in action!

Here's a video XX and the BIG BOWL/BIG SPOON of wanton soup.

(You can't see from the video, but half the soup spilled onto his bib before the spoon reached his mouth!)

KK's New Year Wish

Since it's Chinese New Year, KK's chinese kindergarten teacher asked them to each write down their new year wish and put it into an 'ang pow' (red packet) for them. Guess what my dear son wrote?

He wrote: "wo xiang wan" (I wish to play) as his new year resolution. Indeed that's so KK!

Well, he certainly got his wish fulfilled during the past weekend, happily declared "the best days ever" by KK. On Saturday, he was out for more than 12 hours, starting with Mindchamps class, followed by Shannon's birthday party and then it was 4th uncle's place, returning home only at 2am. Sunday, we hosted our relatives with a small luncheon, that meant more people to play with again. This was followed by dinner gathering at 3rd uncle's place. This non-stop partying should come to an end with CNY drawing to a close but the idyllic lifestyle of KK will continue, for this year at least.

Besides 4 hours of school everyday, KK spends most of his days and nights simply playing Transformers or watching his Spongebob Squarepants DVD. Ok, this year, he's got Chinese writing homework on Fridays and a simple spelling test on Monday but life for him is generally carefree.

I found out recently that many of his classmates at Mindchamps are attending other additional classes such as 'speech class', phonics, mathematics, chinese lessons and 'prepare for Primary 1' tuition. For KK, the 2-hr Mindchamps class is the only additional 'lesson' we gave him and even that one, the kids have lots of activities and fun playing.

The mothers told me they are worried for their children as they are going to Primary school next year and their kids can't seem to speak well, read well, count well etc. But I thought isn't that what Primary school is for? Primary school is the beginning of formal education and that's where I expect my kid to learn how to speak, read and count well. If you know everything already, then school will become boring for the child cos there's nothing new to learn. If the education system is working, then shouldn't K2 prepare you for P1 and P1 prepare you for P2, so forth?

Or am I being too naive and laid back? It seems my son is one of the rare ones who does not have a series of extra lessons built into their little life. But I'm unrepentent. I still believe that childhood is to be enjoyed and playing (structured or unstructured) should be a major component. Serious work can wait, afterall, they've got the whole of their adult life to strive for. Right now, I think it is more important to cultivate the correct mindset and social behaviour in your child to handle formal schooling, such as the concept of completing homework on time (inculcating values of responsibility, perseverance and independence), taking turns and sharing.

Yes, KK's drawing skills are really primitive, he speaks Mandarin with an 'ang-moh' slang and he can't yet read a story on his own, but we're happy to see progress - at least he draws stick figures nowadays, speaks more Mandarin than last year and he can read at least half a book now with help. We'll continue to wait and watch his progress and for his talents to show themselves. Then we'll not hesitate to give him all the opportunities he needs to develop and grow those gifts.

Till then, play on KK!

Proud Moments

It just fills my heart with joy and pride to see XX enjoy eating. Whether it's XX finishing up his porridge or cereal, feeding himself his apple dessert or sitting on my lap enjoying biscuits tibits, these are the moments that I feel so contented and joyful. I feel like a good mother.

The reverse is also true. When the children don't have a good appetite or refuses their meals, I feel like a really lousy mother. With KK, I must say there are a lot of such lousy moments, even until now.

XX swallows his food as soon as it goes into his mouth and will readily open his mouth whenever you give him new food. But KK, when you want to feed him new food, he will draw back and scrutinise the food suspicously. He must ask you what it is and evaluate the look and smell before he decides whether he wants to try it or not. When he eats, he tends to hold the food inside his mouth, like a hamster. Luckily, as he gets older, he's starting to be more adventurous and has increased the variety of food that he eats. But speed is still a major issue and a major point of contention between us.

Just want to share this first video of XX feeding himself for the record:

The "Kids"

I mentioned in my earlier blog about my cousins being all grown up in the blink of an eye. This recent CNY, some of them gathered to take an updated picture, sitting in the same positions as in an old photograph (Forgot to ask, when was the old picture taken?).

Can you see how much they have aged?!!

Chinese New Year

It's Chinese New Year again. As usual, this festive period is the time for gatherings with relatives and lots of fun for KK. And as usual, every year this time, you marvel at how time flies and how fast the children grows.

Looking at my young cousins, the memory of them as toddlers like KK are still vivid in my mind but this year, I suddenly see a whole room of adults and not kids playing card games together. The faces still look the same (almost) but the size has grown tremendously. I looked around, and it seems the only kids around were my 2 boys and another 2 more cousins.




Even XX is no longer the 'goondo, blur sotong' baby he was. Our XX can now understand simple instructions like 'sit down', 'give' and 'take' and give instructions by pointing to the direction he wants to go, things he wants to take. Though he cannot speak much, he communicates his interest, amusement, excitment and displeasure through his body language. He's especially alert to sound of the door opening cos this means someone is going out (and why isn't he?) XX is also learning to feed himself nowadays and likes to play with the spoon and bowl. He can also walk around quite alot unassisted and stand up on his own from the floor. One thing hasn't changed though, his irritating habit of scratching you with his nails!


As for KK, he has grown taller but is still as boney. His language and literacy skills has improved, especially in Chinese. He can now recognise simple words and writing is no longer a chore. But there are some behavioural challenges with him recently. Every time we give him some instructions (like brush his teeth, have his meals, stop watching tv and go to bed), we will have to repeat ourselves many times or he will ignore it until we lose our temper. Otherwise there will be alot of excuses (like stomachache) or delaying tactics. At his age and with a younger brother, we expected him to show more maturity and understanding but sometimes I wonder if that's too much to expect. KK can be polite and obedient when he's in a good mood but he's yet to learn responsibility and respect for others. That's why compared to XX, KK is getting a lot more scolding from us.

It is considered inauspicious to get a scolding on Chinese New Year's day, but for KK, that was really tough.

Laughter

It is said that 'laughter is the best medicine'. Well, watching your children's spontaneous laughter has that same effect of making your day and curing any troubles.

Here are a few videos on laughters of our pride and joy:

KK getting tickled watching a funny segment of Korean drama

XX getting all excited playing with his brother