Baby

My kids are very fond of their Ah Yee's baby even before the baby is born.
Especially Jesslyn. Every few days, she would ask me questions pertaining to Ah Yee and her baby. For example:

1. Has the baby has come out.
2. Has the doctor take the baby out from Ah Yee's stomach? (She pulled up her blouse to show her tummy). Is it painful when the doctor take the baby out?
3. Why the baby is not out yet?
   
4. Why the baby doesn't want to come out?
   
5. Has Ah Yee left the hospital? (as if Ah Yee has delivered)
6. Mummy, I want to give this(potty, book, doll, dress) to the baby in case she don't have it.
   

Her consistent concern surprises me; like an acquaintance concern. It's not like she sees her Ah Yee. She doesn't know anyone who is pregnant. She definitely doesn't have experience. So, how does she know all these stuff? Why is it so important to her? Beats me.

Nevertheless, I am happy that my girls love their cousin so much.

Enrolment in School

I was at in dilemma for months, choosing between Ave Maria Convent school and Poi Lam school. My first choice is AMC. On the other hand, Poi Lam is not even in my 'My Wish' list.
Many misunderstood me for wanting Jerilyn to go to an 'A' school because it's, well, an 'A' school. No! That's not my purpose. The school's academic achievement is besides the point. I know anywhere Jerilyn goes, she would do well academically, unless of course the school doesn't teach at all. My purpose of wanting to enrol her into AMC is because of opportunities. More exposure to various activities such as cheer-leading. Moreover, students there are less naughty and many come from decent family background. To me, who a kid mix with is very important in shaping a young mind. They are vulnerable to influences especially bad influences. I don't want them to come back with vulgar words or crude habits.
However, I face a huge obstacle which is transportation. Our house is about 13km away from the school and there is no one to fetch the little girl EVERYDAY at PEAK hours. Therefore, we have no choice but to enrol her into Poi Lam school, which is only 5 minutes walk from my house. It's a new building, which means that my girl can enjoy all the new facilities here (1plus point). The school is shifting to this new building next year so by the time my girl joins the school in 2014, everything should be settled down. Forget about the reasons why I don't want her here as it's a sensitive issue.
I spoke to 2 ladies who were ex-AMC. One of them has school-going kids and both the kids are sent to a school near her house. The ladies opined that going to a smaller school (tho Poi Lam isn't small) in fact gives the kid more opportunities to join activities. In schools like AMC, they only pick 'The Best of The Best'.
I enrolled her into Poi Lam on 2 March, the second day schools open for registration. She was numbered 45. I saw that its enrollment has dropped over the past 2 years because the parents are willing to send their kids from town to this side of the city. This is another plus point. Small classes will do the students justice. They get personal attention from their teachers as opposed to classrooms with 40-50 children.

Little Pianist (Part 2)

I have recorded two videos of Jerilyn playing the piano.

#1 shows Jerilyn playing three songs without the help of books. Can you figure out what are the songs?


#2 shows Jerilyn singing while playing a song. She has just started doing this recently. I encouraged her to sing and play because she is not very good with timing. I figured that singing some of the known nursery rhymes might help with her timing. It doesn't help with all the songs but I am pleased that she could read the 'lyrics' and play simultaneously. It's not like she sings Mary Had a Little Lamb or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. An unfamiliar song like this looks like a piece of cake to her.

Little Pianist

I never expected Jerilyn to love playing the piano because she always gives me the 'I am rough, rugged, impatient, therefore, I don't play piano' impression. She is also quite tone-deaf. However, I still introduced piano to her a year ago. We started with the birthday song.

Today, she hasn't played like a pro yet, but she plays with passion. Averagely, she plays 30 minutes daily without supervision and during each session, she spends between 5-15 minutes. I don't have to remind her to practise. She, herself has the initiative and interest. What really amazes me is she plays from page to page repeatedly. For example, she starts with page 10 today and she plays from page to page til the last page(pg 50). It could be tomorrow or day after. After that, she flips back to the first few pages and start all over again; playing from page to page til the last page. She is still playing the beginner's book I bought her. Other than this book, she has completed another book for beginners, given by her cousin.

I am not rushing her into Book 2. I have learned a lesson thru a colleague's story. My colleague was complaining to me that her daughter doesn't like to play piano so much so that the teacher complains to her every week. She has been playing the piano for more than 5 years but she is only in 2nd grade. She plays the same piece every week because she couldn't play it (well). At that moment, it struck me that I need to give my daughter time to practise each piece moderately well before introducing a new piece. I used to introduce a new song practically every other day, ignoring her ability to cope. I was too ambitious. In my time, I learned a new piece every other WEEK. Instead of giving Jerilyn week(s), I gave her only DAY(s) which was unfair to her. I must have gotten mixed up between weeks and days! :p

However, I believe an early start benefits a kid tremendously in the long run. A good foundation makes it easier for the kids to catch up later on.

Sore Neck

Jerilyn complained of having a sore neck while writing at her desk. At first, I thought she was giving excuses not to write. Then, she explained that she was talking to Ah Yee for too much. I didn't understand her 'til she added that she was also playing the pinball game for too long. I realised then that she was talking about a sore neck because of using the computer for too long. Nowadays, she loves exchanging messages with her Ah Yee in yahoo messenger although there is nothing much in the content as she takes quite long to form a sentence. She has trouble locating the letters on the keyboard. Anyway, the position or the height is unsuitable, thus, causing sore neck. I, myself have the same problem occasionally since my second job with Hovid Pharmacy. I told this to my dad.

My dad, in turn, told my aunts. Unfortunately, he told them not to believe her. :-(
He should sit in front of the pc with one hand on the mouse for an hour. He would understand then.

1st Essay

The above is Jerilyn's first essay of about 50words. I suggested most of the sentences and I helped to spell some big words. What I am sure of is I didn't suggest the last sentence. I asked her why she only mentioned Ah Yee and Yee Cheong but not us. The Gong Gong part was added later. She said that this is because we (Mummy & Daddy) are here with her but Ah Yee and Yee Cheong are far away.

She wanted me to send this essay to Ah Yee. She was so serious that she folded the letter inserted into the envelope. Maybe I should send to Ah Yee, shouldn't I?

Jesslyn's Reading Ability @3y2m

At 3y2m old, Jesslyn is able to read Peter and Jane Step 1. I tried introducing Step 2 but after the first page, she loses interest. She complains that there are too many words. Although it won't be difficult for her to learn as the author introduced words one at a time, the sheer number and smaller size of words just made her close the book. Other than Peter and Jane, she can read certain repetitive instructions from workbooks such as colour the picture, circle the answer. She can recognise words from father to sister, gender, simple 2-3 letter words and this and that.

She can't read Chinese at all. She can barely speak the language. Even though she uses them, she doesn't understand the meaning. She speaks for the sake of speaking. For example, she repeatedly said "Ni Hai Shi Wo" (in Mandarin) one day although no one had done anything to her. Obviously, she learnt in from school. Today, she came back with "Mummy, what is He Dour Dour Sui" . She often says "Wo Bu Shi, Ni Shi" for fun.

On the other hand, she is good with colouring and Mathematics. She doesn't need to count one-by-one to get total 3. She counts faster than her sister too. On the downside, being too confident and too fast causes her to miscalculate sometimes.

Weight

Jerilyn - 18kg @ 5y 1m old
Jesslyn - 14kg @ 3y2m old

Jesslyn's Masterpiece

This must be Jesslyn's first proper drawing and my first record of her drawings. She is 3y2m old. Unlike Jerilyn, Jesslyn seldom draws. In fact, she drew this because she saw Jerilyn herself was drawing.
Jesslyn called them two little monsters.
Monsters, they are.

Teacher's Comments

I never had a chance to discuss about the kids with the previous kindergarten but over here, the principal welcomes any questions from the parents. She knows her students like the back of her hand and shows interest in her students.

As I paid this month's fees, I took the opportunity to gather information from her. The first thing she asked me was "Did Jerilyn say anything?" I replied that she loves school. She then, 'complained' that Jerilyn is over-confident. I was speechless. The principal continued that Jerilyn said "Teacher, this is too easy. Can you give a something more difficult?" while teaching Odds and Evens. Upon hearing that, she tested Jerilyn by pointing to 27. She said Jerilyn couldn't answer and kept quiet after that. She quickly signalled that she might have hurt the girl. I was surprise that Jerilyn was daring enough to show-off to her teachers. I thought she only shows off at home.

As for Jesslyn, she likes to watch or observe others. She is rather shy. Another surprise because I thought Jesslyn would have opened up after 2 months here. She is usually tight-lipped at the beginning but once she is comfortable with the people and the environment, she is super chatty. At home, she is the big bully. She never gives in and possessive. She is more mischievous than her sister. Probably, arrogant and unfriendly are more suitable for her.

Let's see what the principal has to say next month.