Shifting Gear

My 1oo1st post coincided with the 2nd half of 2016. A new phase of life, though not quite yet. The clock nonetheless continues to tick and time never slow down.

What's up in July? The most eye-catching event would be the P1 registration which of course, yours truly monitor the event in EXCEL spreadsheet. Yes, no exaggeration here because P1 registration marks a new milestone which is both frightening, stressful and full of anticipation.

We finally have given ourselves some dateline and short term checklist to mark. The man in the house finally opened his mouth and revealed that we shall stay put and renovate if we can't find a new place by next May. The first step however is to pay up current housing loan which we have managed to clear 80% of it. Coincidentally, the new location we are eyeing is 1-2km within Fairfield, our much preferred choice. Next up, we have decided not to pursue Fairfield as Phase 2B because the boys are settling well at the Bible Church and one requirement to get the church letter from my previous Methodist Church is to head back and be active member again. So we will go for the alumni phase at our 2nd choice of school. If we manage to move in the end, we will put up for transfer to FMPS, citing it is nearer to home and cross our finger that all will work out well in the end.

July also marks the start of having spelling and 听写 for my K-Oner. The list is not prepared by his preschool which means must be me... his tigress mum. I'm not afraid to acknowledge I'm a tigress mum or lioness. I'm the one that disciplines and the one that sits with them at the desk daily for an hour of learning. My rules are strict and clear. The boys know the routine and they have to comply before they reach for the toy box. "Offender" got his toy aeroplane thrown down the rubbish chute once and it never happened again.

impromptu word list

For the older one, we are doing 3 words per week with words blended with the taught digraphs from school. So week 1 started with "ai" and he came up with Paint, Snail and Rain. We have since progressed to "ay" which he also defined 3 words himself - Tray, Play and Ray. As for 听写, he actually know some of the simple characters already. But the aim is not to make him write complicated words but to boost up his confidence in the language.


The younger one is not spared from the daily revision.

writing his name

He is drilled in writing his name, both English and Chinese. I gave him a lot of writing exercises because that would relief me a while so I could focus on Jonathan. The writing practice has seen him improving on his pencil grip and fine motor skill.

doodling while we eat

his doodle

It could be his age or the persistent nightly revision. We are starting to see improvement in Jonathan's quality of work. He is colouring within border, doing the homework himself and taking pride in his work. Of course, I am thankful to his class teacher too. I haven't seen any teacher like her that is so focus and passionate in helping young children to develop their potential.

completing the work himself

canvas painting during holiday period

painting at home while nursing the flu

The bedtime routine of reading story books has made some paid off too. They are okay to hold on to a book while waiting for their food. They take interest in books from different genres. I am also happy that the 2 boys are starting to read out loud although the sentences from the books are very simple 2-words or one liner per page.

enjoying their books while waiting

the first 2 books the boys could read by themselves

I'm not boasting their achievements here but I'm comforted that after being told that my son had speech delay and another one with febrile fit, they are growing up well. When I first started this nightly routine of learning, I had not expect that it would grow into them. I also had not expect that I would persist for so long. There is no turning back and no need to turn back because primary school is another  level up.


I also hope that the current helper would persevere in improving herself. She celebrated her birthday with us earlier this month. Although far being "Excellent" in helping me, she shows bit by bit improvement. Without someone in the background washing the dishes and preparing dinner, I guess my nightly routine would have been upset long time ago.

@_@ it's his birthday EVERYTIME!

the birthday person became the supportive role

So cheers to a better 2nd half of 2016!