"Kindercramming" by anxious parents

Time magazine ("Tutors for Toddlers", 3 Dec 07 issue) calls it "kindercramming" --- an obsession by anxious parents who are convicted to provide their toddlers with after-school tutoring beyond the traditional nursery education. Time attributed this toddler-tutoring frenzy to research reports advocating the essence of children entering preschools with elementary reading and math skills, which is essential for the strong foundation of success in later school years.

The article goes on to quote experts in the assessment of various pre-school teaching methods and emphasized the need for children not to have a hurried learning path but build up their skills through traditional learning-through-play programs.

For example, it says that reading specialists commented that although flash cards are used to teach letter and word recognition, young children are merely memorizing how to respond to each card --- drawing an analogy to the "paired-associate learning" syndrome which even "a pigeon can do it"! On work sheets, experts prefer the use of objects such as building blocks to "paper-and-pencil" drills in the understanding of early math concepts. Literacy skills are also opined to be more easily acquired through storytelling and exposure to a wide vocabulary, rather than through software-based learning programs.

Back at home, I use picture and word flash cards to conduct literacy lessons to my children occasionally. A few years ago, I had even bought the whole series of Glen Doman English and Chinese flash card programs but just didn't have the discipline and time to work on it on a regular basis after the initial enthusiasm.

While not doubting the need for early pre-school literacy and math skills, I somewhat agree that parents should refrain from putting too much pressure on themselves and even their children in chasing after pre-school educational fads and not understanding the unique characteristics of each child's learning preference.

Underscoring the importance of literacy and thinking skills, I believe it is one of the fundamental building blocks in the child's learning success, which will prepare him or her for other skills such as math and sciences.

New birth announcement

Another baby piglet borned at TMC

Naomi and Nathan with the cute chubby girl , a visitor for another patient next to

auntie Yen Sean

Congratulations to my ex colleague, Yen Sean to the birth of her baby boy, Chong Heng. This is her 2nd child. Going to be a very handsome boy :)

Sesame Street and Dora, here we come....

Today we brought the kids to Ngee Ann City for the "Sesame Musical" and United Square for "Dora's Best Friend Day" Christmas shows. The kids enjoyed themselves and laughed themselves silly at the two shows. They especially liked the Dora the Explorer show, as the musical is a show itself with a storyline just like the CDs with talking map, Swiper and more.

Naomi braved herself to take with her favorite cartoon idol though she is very fearful of such big dressed-up characters. She always claims that they are so big and gigantic compared to the usual soft-toys. That was why she was missing in the Sesame Street "meet and greet" photo-taking.

Educating the kids about "Financial IQ"

Sebastian recently bought a Chinese book, titled "Dad, What is Economy?" 《富爸爸，从小学起》, from Popular Bookstore. The Taiwanese author ( 郑南求） uses easy-to-grasp concepts on the management of our finances and savings, emphasizing the importance of educating our young children on "Financial IQ". Equiping our children with good financial management skills is alleged by the author to benefit them in their future and long-term financial health.

A search on the Internet reviewed that many foreign education policies are now putting into mainstream education, a structured way of educating young children from pre-school, the essence of savings and dealing with pocket expenses. Recently, our Ministry of Education also announced plans to include "Financial IQ" in the syllabus of selected schools.

Robert Kiyosaki, a.k.a. the "millionaire teacher", tells us that it is the responsibility of the parents to teach our children about money. There is even a board game called "Cashflow for Kids" which aims to provide fun learning on money management. It seems that the greatest gift to our children is for us (as parents) to educate them on money management, thereby giving them a financial head start.

I like Bill Hogan's famous quote --- "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!". Someone then said, "Take small steps, but take them!". So whenever there is an opportunity to lead by example, let's make time to educate our children on financial awareness. After all, God has intented us to be His stewards by taking care of His possessions which He has entrusted us with. And that means, the well-being and life skills for our children too!

Visit to Changi Airport Terminal 3 (Open House)

After our church service and quick lunch, we spent a great time exploring Terminal 3 (T3) of Changi International Airport this afternoon before its opening to the public on 9 Jan 08. We took the skytrain service from T2 to T3 and arrived at the magnificent departure hall. The hall's ceiling is designed to allow natural sunlight to penetrate into the interior, yet regulating its intensity and keeping the hall sufficiently cool.

We were impressed by the "green wall" and landscaping at the arrival hall. Imagine walking into a garden after a tiring flight --- what a soothing thought!

At the viewing gallery, the authority has installed a koi pond and a butterfly garden to pamper the public.

The kids have had a wonderful time running around the restricted areas and halls. We also took this opportunity to educate them about aviation history and some of the screening process at customs and immigration.

Christmas celebrations at shopping malls

It's the season of the year again. For the younger children, it's goin' to be a joyous season of receiving Christmas gifts and attending parties.

The streets and shopping malls all over Singapore have began to be don with the yuletide decorations, spreading the spirit and meaning of Christmas.

For the last few years, I had brought my children to shopping malls to watch and/or participate in the various children programmes. The kids enjoyed themselves very much. As parents, watching their joyous expressions at these shows was worth the time and hassle bringing them to the packed malls.

For parents who fret what children activities to fill their school holidays schedule, Christmas celebrations at the malls may be a good idea. I have consolidated the Christmas show schedules from various shopping malls for easy reference here (click here to download the xls file). Feel free to pass it around.

Last day of teaching at Rainbow Centre

After 6 weeks of teaching Kindermusik at Rainbow Centre, it has come to an end today. Time flies ! As this is my first time teaching Kindermusik, it has been a great learning experience for me. There are alot of challanges teaching special needs and autistic* children --- catching their attention, lifting those children who are not able to walk while teaching, pacifying crying children who are sticky to their care-givers, etc.. Though I have a diploma in Learning Disorder Management and Child Psychology from Linguistic Council, real-life teaching experience is a different ball game altogether.

I must confess that I was a bit discouraged initially esp those times when there are no teacher to help out while I teach and times when the class is half-filled. Having said that I still find it heartwarming to see that many children are beginning to be more responsive towards me - greeting and shaking my hand as a gesture of thank you. Today, I am happy to see that many of them are getting to be more responsive and enjoying the activities.

Is heartening to see the fruits of my labour and this itself is all worthwhile.

*Autism is a brain disorder that affects development. Autism can affect a person’s ability to communicate, relate to others, and interact with his or her surroundings. Signs of autism usually appear by about 18 months of age. It is usually diagnosed between the ages of two and three. There is no cure for autism but early diagnosis and treatment can help people with autism lead more fulfilling lives.

Congrats to Patrick and Aileen

Having endured a near 24 hours labour, Aileen finally gave birth to their 2nd child baby Samuel Patrick Gallo at Mt Alvernia Hospital on the 10th Nov (Sat) at 8.44pm. We were blessed to be able to see baby wide awake when we visited them today. He is a handsome little baby with sharp distinct features, big eyes and sharp nose. Baby Samuel, may God bless you to be a healthy and intelligent child and to grow up to be a man of God, just like Samuel in the bible.