Sarah Turns 28 Months!

photo by Auntie CC: Sarah is seen here with her best friend Hannah

Quack Quack Quack!"

These 2 weeks - Sarah has been reading quite a bit of ducky books. It all started when mommy got really enthusiastic and wanted to get hold of the books on the recommended list for young children from "Honey for a Child's Heart". I am really thankful that I didn't have to look far nor spend much. They were all found at the National Library just 5 minutes walk from my place. 

This is an award winning book with really very simple words. The beauty is in the illustration and the little duckling that strayed away because of its curiousity. This appeals to 2 year old who are developing an ability to spot details because at each page, the tiny eyes would be peeling to spot the straying duck. Kinda like Where's Wally, minus all the chaos and confusion. Sarah enjoys this book pretty much:)

This book was picked up by Auntie CC at the same ole trusty library and it has been quite a life saver for Sarah. Since her pacifier was disposed off [another entry at another time], her falling asleep time has been much much prolonged. This goodnight book, like its predecessor, also deals with the same duckling who strayed. Only this time, the tiny eyes are looking for the Mother Duck and its brood that slowly strays away. The final picture where the ducks reunite and nestled warmly almost always prompts Sarah to hug me and lie down. *Phew*

This final book [another award winning book] is perhaps the most difficult of the lot. But I was pleasantly surprised to pick it up. It was brand new. That made me a tad glad:) It looked initially boring with huge sketches splashed across each open page. But it is really a heartwarming story of a brood of ducks finding a home in busy Boston. Their friendship with policeman Michael is beautifully illustrated when Michael helps them stop the traffic to allow them to make their way safely to the public gardens. haha...Can't help but think if the Mallards came to Singapore, the policemen here wouldn't be bothered and the Singaporean drivers would run them flat. Perhaps that is the difference between a civilized society and a society that tries to be civilize. 

Sarah & Her Formidable Memory

Today, just before naptime, Sarah literally made my jaw drop. We have been reading a lot of books before naptime. And I admit, sometimes, I get impatient cos it is just book after book after book before she finally falls asleep. One of her favourite series is Topsy and Tim. We have been reading "Topsy and Tim go on an Aeroplane" on and off for a couple of weeks now. Today, I decided to keep silent at some words to see if she could complete it. And I am absolutely astounded at what she did...

Mommy: Summer...

Sarah: Holidays

 

Mommy: They were going in an...

Sarah: Aeroplane

Mommy: The airport was very...

Sarah: big

Mommy: The bus reached the terminal

Sarah: building

Mommy: They had a long ride on an...

Sarah: escalator [pronounced e-ca-ca-la-tor]

Mommy: The door was high off the...

Sarah: ground

Mommy: "Welcome aboard, said the

Sarah: Stewardess [this kind of made my jaw really really drop]

Mommy: She gave them some...

Sarah: Sweets , comics

Mommy: It will stop your ears from

Sarah: hurting [this  dropped my jaw again]

All the while, I was looking at her eyes and trying to decipher if it was pure memory, or perhaps, recognition of words. But as I tried the story all over again. It was her memory. As she went to the switch to play with lights, she was able to fill in the blanks without even looking at the book. By this time, mommy had enthusiastically jumped out of bed and proclaim this discovery to daddy.

The Tot's Library

Since Sarah was a few months old, their grand-godpa has been stocking up their library with books that mommy thought were way too difficult for her. I was proven wrong. Sarah loves books - from Curious George, to Topsy & Tim, to Bible books and the list goes on and on. Inspired by a beautifully and thoughtfully written book about recommended children's books "Honey for a Child's Heart", mommy went on [hopefully] her last book buying spree - Bible books, Dr Suess, Chinese books etc. 

I am looking forward to setting up a reading area for Sarah and Samuel so that they can get cosy reading books with Daddy and Mommy. Bought some secondhand shelves from Bookbinders and I am excited to start a reading program. One book that we picked up recently that has been a Mommy and Sarah favorite is 'The Rhyme Bible'. We read it almost every nap and bedtime since we bought it on Wed. It is so much fun all packed into short, catchy stanzas. It always brings a smile to Sarah's face:)

Another treasure that I stumbled upon from the library is 'Lost and Found' by Oliver Jeffers. 

This is a beautiful story about friendship and the illustrations in watercolor are so captivating. Sarah calls it the 'Penguin' book. Our national libraries are really national treasures and I really mean it:) I hope to be able to post recommendations of the tots' fave reads on our new School of Tots site soon. So keep a lookout for it. 

Samuel Birthday Photos

Special thanks to CC for the photos, the youths for helping with the balloons and family & friends for their presence and to our dear God for sustaining all:)

A Week of Re -Discovery & Re-Prioritizing

These past 2 weeks was a relook at priorities again - both for me, physcially and spiritually, for my children, my family etc. So some trial and error as well as experimentation in order to [in my husband's words] - 'Simplify Life! Simplify Life!' 

Resuming our family walks purposefully. Daniel is determined to reconstitute this back into our family schedule and family time. With resoluteness & the help of Phil & Teds, it wasn't too difficult . This is perhaps one of our biggest investment in children's equipment. It is costly but considering that it allows our entire family to enjoy walks together [which is priceless] & enabling out helper to get her other chores done at home, it has been an investment well spent. Of course, the decision to buy it was also backed up by a sale at mothercare & also good demand for it on the resale market:) Well...It was back to the forested area of Bedok Reservoir with our squirrels, birds and a good water view. 

There you have it...my precious family:)

The path where butterflies, squirrels and little partridges emerge...

While Sarah learnt to mount onto the horse herself...

Samuel is just beginning to enjoy playing and shovelling sand.

It is a joy to see Sarah and Samuel playing together:) 

Sarah's new found activity - drawing in the sand as introduced to her by 'the man in the bow tie'.

New parks & Favorite Haunts

Drove out of a Toa Payoh Block one late morning and found a new park. Read about it and was so glad to stumble upon it. It looks boring at one glance but with architecture that was built for children age 2 and above and plants to look at - it proved to be a precious learning cove right in the middle of the heartland.

It was back to the Zoo for the 4th time running in the same year for School of Tots. Not that Sarah loves it, haha. Actually, she is pretty terrified of going to the zoo. Cos she has inherited mommy's fear for four-legged-furballs:) But Samuel had a great time with Hannah. 

 

Finally - Our most adventurous endeavour as a family was to go out to sea on Samuel's 13th month birthday. It was what Daddy had hoped for - to bring up our children by making them aware of God's creation and appreciate it. Armed with bags of food for a picnic dinner, playdough and entertainment for the kiddos, we were hopeful. The children were as good as gold as we set off to a neighboring island. Daddy docked at the mouth of a lagoon where the waters of the sea meet the waters in the lagoon. It was choppy but all was well. The children ate well and so did mommy and Rubi. Daddy had some good pulls as the fishes proved to be hungry in these waters. As the waters continued to bob, like a sudden change of tide....mommy started to feel stuffy in the chest. Before I realized that I was getting seasick, Rubi turned to the side of the boat and threw up. Haha....both the women on board were seasick. Samuel was still perky and so was Sarah. But Rubi and I were started to turn green in the face. Looking back, it's quite hilarious. Well, with a catch of a wild seabass, 2 still active children, and 2 green-the-face ladies, we were ready to head back home. Are we ready to do it again - You bet:) But, I am ever so glad that we don't live on a boat. Oh yes...did I forget to mention that we never did eat the cake meant for Samuel's birthday. Hahaha....

Daddy and his catch

Perky little Samuel and bobbing Mommy

Words truly give life

I use to enjoy reading very much when I was a little girl. That made me a really easy child to look after:) I wasn't sure if my daddy knew consciously the effect his actions had on me...but he would regularly come home from work with a new book in his hand and I looked forward to hearing his footsteps and press my face through the grille gates. Whenever his hand held a new book, my face would lit up. Sometimes, it was Richard Scarry's beautifully illustrated books, sometimes it was Enid Blyton's wonderful adventures, sometimes it was a series of Aesop fables, and sometimes it was ladybird books of the miracles of Jesus. Those books ushered me into a world that I didn't know and it was captivating to the small mind of a child that wasn't expose to the world beyond herself. I can only thank my dad for starting me on the path of reading.

As the years went by, the realities of life and time saw reading only as a hobby to be pursued when I was 'free'. And as more years went on, reading was merely functional. The effects of a busy life [be it at work, at home or even in church] was numbing to the mind. *gasp* I lost my joy in reading.

But I am so glad and perhaps relieved that my heart and mind is rekindled towards reading & 'words of art'. Reading [books as well as the Bible] is a precious exercise not just for the sole appreciation of the formation of words and phrases, but for the exercise of the mind in 'hearing' the voice of God, in understanding His will, in reflecting upon our lives and in eventually living a changed and transformed life for His glory. Only when we begin our journey in reading, can we engage the workings of words in our lives.  A recent book that I bought has put this succinctly,

"Since words are the way we communicate experiences, truth, and situations, who should know how to use them more creatively than people who are aware of their Creator? The world cries out for imaginative people who can spell out truth in words that communicate meaningfully to people in their human situation...yet tragically, we can live our whole lives inhibited and poverty stricken in human expression and creativity. We forget to notice, to see what is happening around us. We don't ask questions; we fail to listen. We are afraid of what is different, and are uncertain about what is true and good. Truth and excellence have a way of springing up all over the world, and our role as parents is to teach our children how to find and enjoy the good and to reject what is mediocre and unworthy. "                                             

Gladys Hunt [Honey for a child's heart]

Romans 12 deals with a transformation that is led by a renewing of your mind. Our minds can only be renewing if it is engaged [not mystically] plainly by the word of God. Busying ourselves serving and helping others, even in the name of the Lord, can numb our hearts and mind towards Christ. Perhaps that was the reminder Christ gave to us in busy Martha and through the unfazed Mary who chose to sit at His feet.

 

I am learning all over again...

Through this past year of teaching at School of Tots as well as breaking away from my devastated religious past, I am learning many things all over again. For all the teaching I have done in church since I was 14 years old and not to mention, all the learning that I have received in church since I was 5 years old, I am embarrassed at my own lack of diligence, exploration & questions when it comes to God's word. Sure, I did bible study and even conducted bible study - but to read the word of God plainly and simply allow God & His Spirit to reveal the truth as it is suppose to be revealed was an often neglected exercise.  Truths are always learnt but many times, not first hand. They were often quoted from this great man or that other great man. Perhaps, because the Bible in my religious circle always portrayed as a book that is shrouded with a mysterious cloak of piety that only those who are "called in the ministry" had full liberty and power to interpret - The parallelism is almost uncanny to the Dark Ages. 

Penned axioms like "Let Go, And Let God" are taken as quaint and nifty summaries in place of scriptural truths. These axioms are naturally popular simply because they fit conveniently into the modern day instant take home 5-word-message schema. 

This deficiency is especially acute when it comes to the teaching of familiar children bible stories. Many questions came to my mind as I reread the scriptures to study those all familiar stories of Noah's Ark, Daniel in the Lion's Den. Increasingly, it dawned on me how we teach children bible stories conveniently. Beautiful portrayals and displays of the character of God are reduced to moral lessons of - obedience, disobedience, sin etc...What a pity! because to do that, we would have only gotten to the meat of the story but not the heart of it. 

But I am excited. All is not lost but is only beginning to be found. What liberty we have in Christ and His truth! As I begin my relearning and put it down on record, I invite you [who with sincerity of heart] to join me and rediscover the wonderful truths of God's character which are often misplaced by otherwise popular and ego-centric conclusions which are true but almost always, never the whole picture. It is always about God!

School of Tots Resume

Our Totnadoes "Jailed".