Compare and Contrast

After studying at Montessori for two months, I notice that the lessons are done at a slower pace as compared to the previous kindergarten. Although I am more comfortable with fast pace (being a kiasu parent), I like the effort put in by the management for having their own printed exercises in addition to the books. Their lessons are more organised where they make sure each student has a strong foundation from tracing lines to colouring in 1 direction (4yo). Easy Mandarin words are taught instead of teaching by themes (old school). The disadvantage of teaching by themes is some words are just incomprehensible for young kids. Imagine, for someone who is new to Mandarin, learning Chinese characters of about 10 strokes is almost impossible.

Jerilyn's passion for Montessori has not subsided. Every once in a while, she would say that she loves school. I hope her passion continues til she joins other institutions. I chose Montessori because of their teaching method which is more learner-centred and focus on building character and confidence. If the child has passion to study and enjoys school, the school has succeeded. However, our system instills fear in them. So, I hope these 2 years in Montessori will do them good.

Not that I encourage her to say the below but here are some comments from her:

• Mummy, the two Indian girls don't know how to read. They are so *silly.
  
• Mummy, do you know why the teacher teaches the easy stuff again? Because some children do not know.
• The lessons are boring. I have nothing to do in the school.
  

* I forbid them from calling anyone Stupid.

Forgery

This Montessori has a habit of getting parent's signature after each test. Apparently, after the first test, Jerilyn forgot to get our signature. I was already in bed. Daddy told me the next day that Jerilyn came down after 12am to get his signature. You see, he was still working at that hour.

Today, she came back with with flying colours for spelling test. She asked for my signature, while I was busy sweeping. The next moment, I saw a head on the line where parent's signature was suppose to go.


This reminds me of my own wrongdoing when I was only Standard 2. [who am i kidding? Daughter is only 5yo]. I forged my mum's signature in my report card because I forgot to get her signature and when the teacher asked, I was too afraid to admit that it was me who signed. Well, it didn't do me any good as I was punished anyway. I had to move all my belongings including my table and chair to the corridor. The rest of that day was spent at the corridor. I remembered the hot breeze blowing the pages from my book and tussled my hair. I held my tears but deep inside, it was really hurtful and frightening. That day was one my worst days in school and the most embarrassing. Based on the severity of the punishment, imitating my mum's signature must be the naughtiest thing that I ever did in school.

I wonder, IF I told teacher the truth, what would the outcome be?

Gift or Theft?

Day 1
Today, Jerilyn came home with a secret. I didn't know what it was until hours later. Why was it a secret? It's because she showed Jesslyn the 'secret' but hid it from me.
Later that night, she told me that Ryan, a friend, gave her a pen and showed it to me. She praised him 'pan-nai' (pandai) because he befriended her. I wasn't very pleased because I don't like the idea of her taking things from her friends, with or without their permission. You see, a couple of days earlier, she came home with a hair clip which she picked up from the floor and today this. I warned her that day not to pick and claim ownership of things she sees on the floor. Now, she came back with things claimed to be given by friends.
She proudly said that the boy asked "Are you happy?" (for giving her the pen). Oh ya! You should see her face. She was on cloud 9. He also said that his mummy won't be angry if he gives a way his pen. Well, his mummy isn't but this mummy is!!!

Day 2
Jerilyn told me that her teacher asked her to return the pen to the boy. The teacher said something about having to ask the boy's mummy's permission before taking/giving the pen. I am not happy again.... Now, it looks like we are stealing from others. Excuse me, but the pen was given to my daughter. I didn't make an official complaint but I warned her not to take anything from others anymore. End of story!

Random

One fine day, Jesslyn was playing Lego while Jerilyn played Scrabble. At one time, Jesslyn dropped a piece and out of kindness, Jerilyn bent her body to pick up that piece, which was just at her foot. Jesslyn shouted "Hey, don't take. It's not your problem. It's my problem." She was screaming as if Jerilyn was snatching her toy away. This is how serious her level of possessiveness.

Jerilyn was telling about a girl who likes to pull people's hair and beat them. Jerilyn is one of the victims. I asked her if the girl has any friends and she said No. Jesslyn was quick to add "Like me lor. I don't have any friends."

Out of curiosity, I asked if my girls play or talk to each other in school. Jerilyn replied Yes. She said that when they meet at the dining area, Jesslyn would nod her head and smile at her. I think they handle this very maturely. How sweet.

UNO game

The girls must have a game of UNO everyday for the past week. As a result, both can 'sort of' play the game. Of course, they do make mistakes occasionally. Through this game, we identified some characteristics in the girls.

Jerilyn:
She is slow and takes time in discarding her card. She will decide when it comes to her turn. She pays more attention in arranging her cards than the cards on the table. Instead of playing seriously, she enjoys making monkey faces and getting all too excited about the whole idea of playing.

Jesslyn:
She is quick in making decision. Too quick, we feel. The moment she has discarded a card, she picks another card from her stack and ready to throw it. She is the one who tells her sis to be quick and she doesn't understand the fact that the pattern may change when her turn comes. She concentrates on the cards on the table more than Jerilyn.

Mini Orchestra

I recently stuck the letter stickers on the keys for Jesslyn. However, she has no interest in learning the proper way.

Tattoo

'I don love you'.
That's what on Jesslyn's head. How surprised I was when I wet her hair during a shower. I asked her who wrote it. Of course, she said Jie2. I asked Jerilyn why. She answered "to make her face beautiful."

Careful with words

Kids have a unique way of making the adults speechless. For example, I complimented Jerilyn today although she didn't exactly play very well with the piano piece. I said "That's very good. You have improved, Jerilyn." Jesslyn said immediately "How come Jie2 has improved already?" I replied "Because she can play better." Not satisfied, Jesslyn continued "But, I thought you said she she is not very good yesterday?"

My mood changes like the weather and so are my principles or instructions. I was busy when Jesslyn wanted to open a bottle of soft drink and I told her 'No'. After half an hour, I felt exhausted and needed a reward for myself. I opened the bottle and shared it with them. Jesslyn asked "Eh? I thought you said don't open, and now you said yes?" [Speechless]

When I bathed Jesslyn, I poured shampoo onto her palm. Jesslyn asked "Is this body shampoo or hair shampoo?" (her hands were about to touch her hair). Good question.

Sometimes, it is best not to know the source(the culprit), but find the solution or emphasize that the mistake should not recur. This is so because when the girls realise that I am not happy with their behaviour, they would start pointing fingers at one another. Jesslyn would say "It's not me. It's Jie2. Jie2 who's the one who did it" and vice versa. I would like to point out that I did not ask or even utter a word. The look on my face prompted them to blame each other. Therefore, now, I don't ask "Who did it?" that often.

* It's more difficult to teach Jesslyn about Sharing and Giving. She was watching youtube while Jerilyn was playing the piano. Naturally, Jerilyn wanted to watch too but Jesslyn pushed her away and commanded her to continue playing her piano.