Sarah goes for Mandarin Speech & Drama Class

Sarah is into her 3rd session by this week and she loves every minute of it - the teaching, the art and craft, the song and dance, the shirt, the bag and the supper [old changkee fishball] that comes after that. 

During our very first session, she was disapproving of me sending her to class. She bathed and ate her dinner well but she reminded me, "Mommy, I don't want to go." Silently resolute, I was determined to bring her:) So we decided to take the mrt for the 'thrill' factor'. As we had to arrive at class at 7:15 for the first session, Sarah did a mighty sprint from our house towards the mrt. It was a long run but she did remarkably well - leaving me catching my breath most of the time. The train was crowded with many eager to return to their home cooked dinner. Within 10 mins, we have arrived at our destination. Sarah reminds me again as we approached the door of her Mandarin Centre, "Mommy, I don't want to go." 

As she stepped into the place and saw other young tots, the kitchen set and coloring materials, suddenly, she adapted like a fish released into the water and soon, she was playing alone, without mommy. 

For the next 1.5 hours, she was ushered from the teaching area, to the art and craft area and lastly to the dance studio. By the end of the session, Sarah was ready to go for her second session. 

I was glad that turned out real well...now Tues Evenings to her Mandarin Class is a fixture that Sarah looks forward to...and even Didi Sammy. 

I love this picture of my little girl going to class.

So Precious

I would never have guessed how a little 3 year old would have a heart so full of love, a body so full of life and legs so full of energy and how she would so fill my heart and life. I count myself very very blessed to be given Sarah to take charge of. So blessed... that the thought of Sarah in pain would tear me apart and the thought of Sarah not being with me would crush me entirely. Sigh...I speak here so uninhibitedly because I simply cannot say it any other way. So, I just pray and ask God for His grace and mercy that He would grant me and our family with many many years with Sarah. 

It has been ages

It seems like it has been a long time since I have blogged...so long...because there are so many lessons that I have learnt, so many thoughts that I had and so many beautiful moments that I remembered. Time seemed more prolonged because I am experiencing some problems with my flicker after creating one for Sarah's art pieces. Well, I hope to sort these out slowly....

Understanding Work and Exploring Education

Since the return from London, our family has been kept very busy. In thoughts, in resolution, in understanding how we as Christians are to live in the world which God placed us in. June Camp provided me a precious opportunity to work out my own personal manifesto of work. The process itself was revelatory. And at the end of the week, I was impassioned with what I needed to do with the life that God gave. And in doing so, work out my priorities in life as well as consider more concretely, what my secular education as well as spiritual education has "undone" me for.

Believe it or not, we were almost ready to uproot ourselves from our four wall flat to an open area where the children could explore and run freely. That is another story at another time. Well, although that eventually didn't work out [much to my disappointment] but it hasn't really squelch our resolve to live our life as we ought to. 

One of the more significant manifestations of the manifesto has been to relook at School of Tots. We had so much fun and the kids all learnt much. But, as I grew to understand my physical limitations all over again and my priorities and my focus, it seems like for the time being, School of Tots will take a long recess. And like all forms of recess, I think it is time to undertake some reform until we are all ready to take it up again and perhaps relaunch with new vision and goals to support our children's education for the long term as well as financially.

But in the meantime, Sarah and Sammy is walking along their journey of learning.

A note on learning the Alphabet - The kids have been learning their alphabet through various sources. For one, thanks to Auntie CC, Leapfrog Letter Factory has made learning phonetic sounds a painless and fun process. I think the kids mastered the sounds after a quick 2 weeks. This phonetic learning is reinforced very effectively with www.starfall.com. This is an interactive and free resource I stumbled upon searching for resources that teach kids how to learn to read. The kids enjoy their computer time with this site and I try to schedule computer times during the waiting times, such as in between baths and in between bedtimes. Besides phonics, sight words are also important. For that, I use Peter and Jane as well as suggestions from "The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading" and Meet the Sight Words DVD from the National Library Board. Sammy was able to read the words "my", "to" and "go" unassisted much to my astonishment. As for Sarah, she was able to figure out "pat", "fat", rat", "hat" and "mat". But of course, this was done with continuous practice. And for the past few nights, Sarah has been trying to read Peter and Jane 1A and 1B on her own. I do look forward to the day, when the kids can read independently because that would mark the start of their own learning.

Lapbook and the Letter B: Blueberries for Sal

In the meantime, I have started Sarah and Sammy on some lapbook and unit studies [in the loose sense of the word]. We call it Lapbook Time and they like the opening song cos they get to be whirled around, and I become dizzy after whirling them around. I decided to continue with the use of award winning children's literature, and we have moved on to "B" - Blueberries for Sal. The book is readily available in our National Library and there are plenty of free resources from the net. I will post some links soon. My most useful craft material are adhesive felt sheets from Daiso. So for this book, I concentrated on counting from 1-5, number recognition and the letter "B". Along the way, we looked at the life cycle of a bear [triggered off by hibernation] and we did a blue and letter B collage for the front cover of our lapbook. It's still pretty art and craft at this stage and I hope to move on to engaging the kids in some simple discussion. I am convinced that learning is not rote but understanding, questioning, clarification and engaging one's mind.  At the least, Sarah could engage me in a very simple discussion on hibernation.

The Letter C - Corduroy

The next book we looked at was "Corduroy". We looked at the letter C and it was good to continue with the bear theme. Only this time, we played "toy shop". Sarah was given 5 coins which she had to use to buy toys. Flashcards of numbers 1-5 were used to connect her sight and sounds of numbers. At the end of our 15 mins of play, I must say, she was pretty competent in numbers 1-5.

A Study of Africa
This week, inspired by the free concert of Watoto Children's choir at Trinity Christian Centre, we looked at a study of Africa. The continent of Africa is made up of many countries and Uganda, where the choir came from was one of them. It was an educational study because we learnt that there are many kinds of children that God created and He loves every child. Sarah and Sammy learnt how to make the flag of Uganda, they learnt how the map of Africa looks like and they stuck safari animal stickers onto their brown felt strips of dessert. The climax of the choir concert was a very enjoyable one. The children literally turned their praise and worship session into a song and dance concert. God's word "I will never leave you nor forsake you" was an anthem of hope and life for the kids, many whom were orphaned by HIV. At the end of the concert, sammy was moving to the beat and so was Hannah.

Here are some good books that were picked out at the NLB that I found particularly engaging because it made use of a narrative as well as shapes and alphabet to introduce the kids to a new foreign culture. 

Special Note: Lest any young mothers are getting stressed over my posts, take heart because these posts are not meant to do that. During my lapbook sessions which I have with Sarah and Sammy, it's always intersperse with Sammy running off and trying to dig out his cars or lego, Sarah saying she is tired or some other distractions. It is definitely challenging but those bursts of learning and sparks of ingenuity that they emit unexpectedly have kept me keeping on. 

On a lighter note, our usual Friday trip out was thwarted by the heavy rains in the morning last week. So, at the prompting of Sarah, we went  out to play with the puddles. A new dimension was added to their puddle fun - Toad Hunt. The croaks by the bullfrogs were unmistakable that morning. So, decked in their raincoats from Lyme Regis and wellingtons, they went on a Toad Hunt. And I think we all secretly pleased that we didn't see any jumping out into our faces, although we heard a few really loud toads.

More of London

Sarah still talks about London and how she wants all of her extended family to go with her. Well,perhaps we would head there again...It was truly a great trip and here are some reasons why we all love London.

Of course, we did the touristy things and visited the National Gallery, the Science Museum, Trafalgar Square, Bath, Stonehenge etc. But our holiday only begun when we travelled down South and we visited quaint little towns, devoid of tourists in the South. Mevagissey was special with all its unique bric-a-brac. 

Bosinver was our base as we explored the South. It was an award winning farm stay that had everything to make a family holiday relaxing for the parents and fun for the kids. A playroom that never closes, animal feeding and huge pasture and many climbing structures. www.bosinver.co.uk

We drove to Plymouth to visit the site where the Pilgrims set forth on the Mayflower towards America. It was a surprisingly beautiful and developed place that held much historical significance in the development of Christianity. 

A stopover at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen on Mother's Day was refreshing. The restaurant overlooked Newquay beach and it was a lovely and comfortable place to dine. 

We had a chance to visit Dan's Auntie at Mapperton and her garden was teeming with many wild bluebells.

Sarah playing dress up at the Museum.

The magical part of our trip has got to our stay at Lyme Regis. I have never heard of Lyme Regis before this trip and we only went there because a beautiful beach fronting apartment was available due to a last minute cancellation at half the price:) It turned out to be the coolest place on our itinerary - magical, I would say. It was inspirational to know that Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy travelled to Lyme Regis to get inspiration to write their novels. It was thrilling to hear names like Sir David Attenborough [ I was a documentary fan] because Lyme Regis is well known as a fossil site. For the kids, seeing the endless beach was a welcoming site for them and they hit the beach in their winter wear at least thrice a day. Everyone had a whale of a time, eating ice cream, rockpooling, visiting the award winning museum and our climax there has got to the the 2.5 hour fossil walk where we met unassuming geologist Paddy Howe. I didn't realize that he is quite a big name in paleontology till I googled him back in Singapore. The kids had a great time with teacher Paddy, especially Sarah. 

Orphanage at Ashley Down

As we moved to Webbington (our final stop in the South), we went in search of people who were instrumental in shaping the history of Christianity. We drove to Bristol and tracked down George Muller's Orphanage at Ashley Down. The building was already an integral part of the architecture there and it has been converted into a university. We were glad to see the building. We headed the next day to George Muller's House. Daniel wrote in to the person in charge and he was kind to take us around the house. 

Next day, we headed to the heart of Bristol to visit the world's oldest Wesley Chapel. These sights left us with much thought about the perservance of the saints and God who brought all these to past. 

Our trip ended with a drive to South Wales where we saw the ruins of Tintern Abbey. I never thought much of ruins but being confronted with Tintern Abbey, I was awestruck. The place was so serene and peaceful and the air was filled with floating dandelions. I have perhaps used the word beautiful many times in my description of UK..but it is indeed beautiful. I love the overexposed shots of Sarah blowing the dandelions:)

As we bid farewell to South London and headed back to London, we drove through Cheddar Gorge at Mendip Hills. It was a deliberate drive because Cheddar Gorge was legended to be the inspiration for the hymn "Rock of Ages". As we drove through the towering Gorge, Daniel blasted "Rock of Ages" in the car. I enjoyed that drive very much, especially since Rock of Ages is one of our favorite hymn. 

We left London with much to remember and reflect. Truly our God has been faithful in this great nation!

Our Dear Samuel - Our Tiny Tim

Samuel is a special one - that's how he is made to be, since his conception, to his delivery and to his existence. Many times, I feel like I am just a custodian who stands afar, and watches God unfold His grace in this boy's life. As many people look at Samuel and comment on his long eyelashes, his handsome looks and his cheeky demeanour, I can only nod readily not because I nor Daniel gave him his good looks...but we know surely that Samuel is God's special creation and thus His honor and glory alone. 

Looking at Samuel reminds me poignantly of the words that Tiny Tim uttered in the Christmas Carol. Tiny Tim had hoped that when the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, Who made lame the walk and the blind to see. The very same way, it seems that God has placed a reminder through Samuel to all, those who know Him and those who don't, that there is a Divine Being, greater than all His creatures. God is the one who shielded this little boy from the effects of chemotherapy and God is the one who formed his inner parts. Sammy is my reminder of a God who is real and a God who is sovereign and a God who is loving and a God who is powerful. What a wonderful God we serve!

He is turning two in a week's time and we are still praying for the Lord to preserve him from childhood diseases. 

A Very Belated Post

Some of you are probably wondering if this birthday party mommy forgot to celebrate Sarah's birthday. Well,we did but in a small scale this year as it was just 2 weeks before we flew off to London. Sarah would not allow mommy to forget this important occasion. It was a small family celebration at Triple Three [no pun intended] and we are thankful for the thoughtful staff who gave us a private room and even doubled up as my event manager for the day. 

Sarah and her balloons which she specifically requested are a must-have at her party.

The cake that she couldn't stop nibbling at.

Ah Gong, Ahma, Duayi, Uncle Henry and Cousin Belle Belle.

Grandpa, Grandma, Shu Shu David, Auntie Chiao Chyi, Shu Shu Darrell and Cousin Hannah and Cousin Josiah.

Grand Auntie Fung, Grand Uncle Mark, Natalie and Emily

Dear friends, Josh and Jan and Jojo.

Grand Godpa Chua and Family.

More surprises that evening with the Ikea Kitchen which Auntie CC took hours to fix

Shu Shu Darrell and his gift of roller skates to Sarah.

Duayi and Uncle Henry's Birthday Bicycle to Sarah.