As there are lots of other performances happening at the shopping malls, we decided to catch “Thomas the Train” at Millenia Walk.

Needless to say, Nathan was very excited, as he has been playing with Thomas Train Sets since he was a toddler, and Daddy knows his train sets well enough, even to write a review about them.

We arrived at the atrium half an hour before the 1pm performance, and there were already lots of people there.

Parenting Tip:

If you are planning to go for this show, do go early, as they give away Limited Photo-taking coupons with Thomas and the Fat Controller.

Before long, it was time for the performance and we were looking forward to it. The set looked promising and we were ready to be entertained!

We were introduced to the show by a “spunky” young MC, who tried to stir the crowd up in preparation for the cast! I must say, that she did try her best to get the audience moving…

Next up, was the Fat Controller…who was a real disappointment.

First of all, he was not even FAT! …

2ndly, he was not even excited about performing for the children. In fact, he looked like he just “rolled out” of bed, and I did not even notice him smiling…

The 2 of them belted out the famous theme song of “Thomas the Train”, and I think that was the highlight of the performance…

But what about THOMAS? Did he make an appearance…???

He did…But I was disappointed…

As the Cast Shouted out…

Out came Thomas…

Yes…he was just made of wood and his face did not even have varied expressions. Mummy remarked that they have something similar at Toys R Us!

Using a voice-over technique…Thomas made a brief appearance, and the rest of the cast (the two of them) took over.

In fact, the whole performance was less than 10 mins, with the duo cast just singing 2-3 songs and it was all over…(talk about anti-climax).

The Photo-taking session was up next.

This was actually quite a highlight for the kids. However, it was a real pity that I caught the Fat Controller heaving a sigh of “When will this be over”… as the kids were lining up to take a photo with Thomas and him.

Frankly, his lack of excitement showed in his photos, and he just stood there stoic…as the kids went up to take photos with him

Therefore, unless your kids are all hardcore “Thomas the Train” fans, I think a trip down to Forum Galleria for “Alice in Wonderland” is much better use of your time!

Performance Details:

• 2-5 Dec, 9-12 Dec.
• Weekdays only at 7pm, Weekends at 1pm and 7pm

Gone are those days (my days, at least) of pride (?!?!?) when we proclaim we failed our 2nd language spelling, we got ungraded in the year-end examinations, and of course, the ultimate fun bit—we are not alone, the whole class too! Unless you are from the mission schools where I came from.

Fast forward to the 21st century. I had this same silly pride over my kids. I mean, no one speaks Mandarin to them at home. Grandma and Grandpa don’t, Popo and Gong Gong don’t, even Ah Zou & Ah Tai (both Great-grandma) use smattering English with the kids! We were quite convinced the excellent award-winning world-acclaimed Singapore education system will rise to the occasion and do its job!

Well, Nicole is 5 yrs old. She goes to a pre-school, which has mandarin classes since she was 3. Through the past years, her teachers gave us these comments:                      

“Ohhh she speaks very well!”                                                                                                

“No one speaks Mandarin at home? We can’t tell!”

These were such FANTASTIC comments! No one ever said that about me! We concluded it was not necessary to have additional  classes for Mandarin.

What savingss$$!

Nathan. He is 3 yrs old. He goes to the same pre-school, which has mandarin classes too. This year, he had his first taste of Mandarin. (we didn’t try anything since Nicole was ok without trying) His teacher’s comment:                                                                        

“He spoke one sentence in Mandarin today, what a good boy!”

Wahahah! That got me thinking, we better start considering additional classes? This boy is not picking up Mandarin like his sister! The above comment came in October…last quarter of the year!

Nadine. She is 2 yrs old. She’ll start school next year. After that comment from Nathan’s teacher, we decided to immerse her in some Mandarin. We tried with the basic—using her Chinese name. Her response?

“No. No wan”                                                                                                                            

“NO NO NO” 

Sigh… and we’ve tried this daily for three weeks. Even Nicole and Nathan have chipped in, they use Chinese to call her. It’s now a frustrated and exasperated NO from her.

So THE question arose. Do we need to send them for extra classes? Nicole speaks well, but apparently can’t read all the words off the “Berries” textbook for K1. (Her friends from church can, although I’m not sure it’s necessary that a 5YO can read these words:

?, ?, ?, ?

I’ve no doubts that my children would need mandarin tuition. But starting before they go primary school is really something I don’t want to do. We are not expecting As for Mandarin. Is the standard really so high in Primary School that you need a thorough foundation at pre-school? I mean isn’t it enough if the child can understand mandarin, speak simple sentences? Is reciting Chinese poetry necessary?

I know I can do better in exposing them to Mandarin. And we will do that. My wife reads Mandarin stories to them at bedtime weekly. We try to have a Mandarin only hour each day. They watch Disney Playhouse in Mandarin. We will try to have Mandarin a part of our lives, and not a foreign entity found in school.

So till Nicole goes to Primary One, we will work hard to give them Mandarin exposure. In these growing years, we want to be a part of their journey learning Mandarin. In the future, there’ll be many chances when they will be on their own learning.

I’ll post the steps and ideas we are embarking on our family’s Mandarin life classes next. Meanwhile, if you have any ideas, please comment!

In case you are wondering, the above words in Mandarin are short, heavy, hot, thirsty. Some browsers are non-Mandarin, so you may just see three Question Marks

The contestants are once again at  Ngee Ann Civic Plaza, with 400 contestants from across the region competing to be the last one standing in the endurance challenge.

With no sleep, food, water or shelter and with just their right hand on the car, the contestants are gunning to last the longest on their feet, all in the hopes of winning a brand new car, a Subaru Impreza 2.5 MT Sedan.

Well, we brought the kids down to Takashimaya to check out the competition. With its 9th year – this can surely classify as one of the most “Bo-Liao” events in Singapore!

When the kids first saw the adults putting their hands on the cars, they had tons of questions!

“Why are they doing this?”

“How do they go to the toilet?”

“Why is the uncle swaying left and right?”

“Is it only the skinny people will win?”

As you can see (from the clock at the background), the contestants have already been at it for  52 hours, and they are given a 5 min break only after every 6 hours! Siong man! 

Anyway, the kids were so amused by it, that when we went home and had our own Subaru challenge!

Nathan and Nadine lasted two more seconds and they were out!

But Nicole took on the challenge and tried for 5 mins.

This was her face after 3 mins!

Well…she made it! 5 mins!

And today, she has a new understanding how long 5 mins is!

And we gave her the Ikea Yellow Table instead of a Car!

If you want to catch the Subaru Challenge event, they are still there…
the all-time record for the MediaCorp Subaru Impreza Challenge stands at 81 hours 32 minutes (set by Singaporean George Lee in 2008)

One of my most pressing questions is:

How do I prepare my child for Primary School?

Recently, I met up with Fiona Walker (CEO of Julia Gabriel for Learning, Chiltern House Child Care Centres and Julia Gabriel School of Education), and I asked for her opinions on this topic:

How well a child copes with the transition into Primary One will depend on how well they are prepared for that move.

There are a number of factors for parents to consider.

Firstly how do YOU feel?

Your attitude will greatly impact your child’s attitude towards the new school.

You must be confident this is a positive move for your child, and one that with support he is ready for. If you are shaky about the transition your child will pick that up and lose faith in the belief that she will be just fine there.

When faced with a new and unknown situations, children will naturally look to their parents for cues on how to behave.

Talk to your child about the fun and joy you remember about your school days, the friendships you forged and the happy memories you have of that time.

Secondly, remember we are the sum of all our experiences.

Children will face a new situation with the knowledge and experience gained from previous activities, experiences and feelings. The more positive experiences your child has had outside of the home and away from immediate family the more confident they will be when faced with a new environment and people.

By enabling our children to attend activities they enjoy and arranging social play-dates and sleepovers we build up their confidence in managing in unfamiliar situations.

More than academic learning it is the life skills of confidence, positive communication, high self esteem, problem solving and creative thinking that children need to make a success of new situations. As parents we can help children develop these skills by developing trusting bonds, playing with them, enabling them to play with peers, modeling positive discipline at home, by reading together and listening to their ideas and thoughts.

Prepare your child for the transition by talking about the expectations in primary school, the need to buy food from the canteen, the need to be able to ask for help and directions when feeling unsure or lost. Some preschools visit a nearby primary school in Kindergarten Two and this can be a valuable trip for many children who are unsure of what primary school will mean.

You cannot prepare a child for P1 by putting them into intensive tuition programmes in the last term of K2. Yes, children do need to be academically ready but the expectations are not nearly as high as some parents remember them to be. If your child is able to read basic sentences, write basic sentences and do relatively simple mathematics they will be fine, as long as they have a sense of enthusiasm and look forward to making new friends and can adapt to new environments.

Thirdly, ensure you have realistic expectations of your child.

Each child is different and some children take on the new challenge with enthusiasm and hardly a backward glance, others will need a longer time to warm-up and may require more support and understanding from you and their teachers before they are really comfortable in their new school. Some children will find the academic work easy but may struggle with the organizational skills needed to be independent or the confidence needed to make new friends.

If you know what your child is likely to find more challenging you can help them accordingly. It is a common fact that children, and adults for that matter, learn more readily when they are happy.

So take the time to arrange play-dates and help them organize their school bag and books. Once they have friends and are confident in their new routines the learning will most likely fall into place.

Lastly, keep it all in perspective.

School is important, of that there is no doubt. But it is not everything!

There is a tendency to become somewhat consumed by ‘preparing’ your child for Primary One. But what you ultimately have to remember is school is not everything and not everyone will excel in all areas of school life. What we must remember is that our children heading off to ‘big school’ are only 6 years old and they have a right to a happy childhood.

Don’t become so consumed by making sure they are successful in school and the academic subjects taught there that we forget to ensure our children have a balance in their life.

As parents we must do all we can to make the transition to primary school as smooth as we can, we must be there to listen to their concerns, to help them understand what is expected of them and at the same time to make sure they have a balanced life. A childhood in which there is time to play, time to focus on other subjects they can succeed in, including art, music and sports, and a childhood in which they feel loved and valued.

As with any big change there will be a period of adjustment. Moving into primary school is one of the bigger transitions we face in our school life but it does not need to be traumatic; together you can face the new challenges with a sense of excitement, confident in the knowledge that there is much to learn and new friendships and opportunities just waiting to unfold.

The best thing you can do for your child as they prepare for the next step in their educational journey is to remain positive and available for them emotionally. It WILL be fine.

As responsible parents, we always try to instil positive thinking into our kids, and we are always speaking positively into their lives!

We are tell them that “You are the Smartest!”, “You are the BEST kids in the world” and that “Daddy and Mummy loves You!”

And Yes…We also let them know that they are “Princes” and “Princesses”, and they hear such praises and affirmations regularly.

Not too long ago, we bought a Magic Wand, as it was on sale at one of the department stalls.

When you press the button on the Magic Wand, it emits out a melodic tune of “Dring”….Ya…Just like the tune, when the Fairy God-Mother cast her spells!

Well, the kids started playing with the Magic Wand, and Nathan in his role play, started using the Magic Wand like a Fairy God-Mother.

He went to Nicole…Pressed the Button…”Dring”…and he said:

“I make you a Princess”

Nicole went…

“I am already a Princess…Make me a more BEAUTIFUL Princess!”

Daddy and Mummy laughed…She is definitely one confident girl!

Nathan is half-way through his toilet training programme. He can go diaper-less through the day, and would let his caregivers know when he needs to shishi (pee) or poopoo (poo).

But whenever that happens, it is a race against time to get him to the toilet. Most parents would know that at this stage, the pre-schooler only informs you of his toilet needs when he cannot contain the pee/poo any longer.

Well, last Monday, I was driving Nicole and Nathan to school. Just me and the two kids.

Along the way, Nathan shouted out loud, “Mummy, I need to shishi!”

Oh no! Mummy is driving, we are going to reach school soon. Can you ask the shishi to wait? Let’s ask the shishi not to come out!

(Okok… I know this is silly, but that’s what I always tell them. Address the issue, then distract them. Some parents told me you should just change topic and talk about something else. But I’m so worried, what if they pee when we are talking about Thomas the Train or singing The Wheels of the Bus??!?!?)

Ok. Shishi don’t come out! Shishi, don’t come out!

I drove as fast as I could. It was morning traffic. There was nowhere to stop the car & look for a drain, let alone a toilet!

Mummy, I need to shishi!

I know, I know… we are going to reach school soon. Let’s ask the shishi not to come out first!

Shishi don’t come out! Don’t come out! Mummy, Mummy, my kuku is going to explode!

AHHH! ok, Mummy is driving as fast as I can.

Mummy, if my kuku explodes, I will have a patpat right?

?!?!?!

For readers who are a little lost, in our family, we use baby vocab kuku & patpat for the male and female anatomy respectively. Don’t ask me why, but it certainly seems easier to say then the actual word ya?

In any case, we got to school dry. Nathan rushed in to the toilet, pee-ed his heart out. I was so tickled by his comments, I shared it with some parents. And I learnt new tips about this phase in their lives!

Parenting Tips for Toilet Training your Toddlers

1. Always have a spare pull-up diaper in the car

This works for ALL emergencies! No fuss at all!

2. For boys, STAND AS FAR AS YOU CAN FROM HIM.                                                                                                  

When they reach the toilet, always stand as far as you can from the boys!  Once the pants comes down, he SHOOTS!

A mummy shared that her shoes always get wet when she pulls down her son’s pants!

3.RUN!                                                                                                          

As soon as your child tells you he needs to pee, RUN to the nearest toilet/bush/drain. For all kids, when they tell you they need to go, the pee is probably already close to bursting point!

As an aside, my method of telling the shishi not to come out seems to work! I’ve not had any accidents ever!

But recently, Nicole said she wanted to poo. So I did the usual, “Tell the poopoo not to come out first”. And she answered me…

Mummy, my poopoo has NO EARS!

I have never been a fan of the Tote Bags, as I have thought of them as similar to the bags given out by Travel Agencies when I was young…

However, this year…I was pleasantly surprised by the Fun Tote Bags for this year’s NDP.

There are a total of 7 different designs, and all contributed by local designers…

Putting on a fun mindset, the designers sought to create designs that will be used by Singaporeans after the parade. The Chairman of the Fun Tote Committee, Col (NS) William Chua said, “We want a bag that is designed by Singaporeans for Singaporeans and it will be a bag that we are proud of” .

I must say that the designs are really COOL…and I don’t mind carrying these bags at all!

Of the 7 designs, this is my personal favourite!

In fact I have already starting using it already…It makes a great diaper bag, as not only is it made of recyclable material but it is well-sized to do that job! In fact, it is also the right size to throw in your notebook and your school books! Very useful for all ages!

Here is also a sneak peak at the items that you will find inside…

In fact, all the “National Day Essentials” such as the packet drinks, biscuits and Koko Krunch are put into a “Bento Box” design, which makes carrying the materials convenient, and packed into a classy casing. Ingenious!

There is even a game to entertain the older kids, as they wait in the hot sun for the parade to start. This is definitely more child friendly as compared to the previous years.

Parenting Tip: 

And if you are attending the Parade this year, don’t forget to hold on to the Discount Booklet. Coupons include 50% off the Night Safari and the Singapore Bird Park, 15% discount at Popular Bookstore and other food vouchers

When the kids hit 4yo, there is another surge of pressure to send your kids for even more classes especially on the weekends. From language classes, music lessons, swimming, fencing, phonics, taekwondo, art, speech and drama…the list goes on.

Recently ED Unloaded had an opportunity to conduct an email interview with Fiona Walker (CEO of Julia Gabriel for Learning, Chiltern House Child Care Centres and Julia Gabriel School of Education) and she gives her input on Enrichment Classes for Pre-Schoolers.

1. Are enrichment courses necessary?

Enrichment courses should be just that – a course to enrich and enhance your child’s learning and experiences. The school system here offers a very comprehensive academic programme so if your child has talents or an interest in the arts or sports it is a good idea to allow your child to follow that interest and enrichment courses make that possible.

With young children you may not know where your child’s interests lie. Taking a music class, art class or tennis lessons, for example, for a term then swapping over will help you and your child discover what he or she may wish to pursue.

2. Some pre-schools offer this as part of the curriculum. Is it sufficient?

Generally Nursery age children can find a full preschool curriculum very stimulating so if additional enrichment programmes are built in I would imagine, yes this may be enough for now. You may have heard of a course which is particularly good and engaging but I would limit that to one or two weekly additional classes for young children.

As a parent you will have to judge whether or not your child is being tired out. Dragging a tired or unmotivated child to enrichment classes really can be a waste of your money. Once children are in Kindergarten they are more ready for classes which expand their experiences beyond traditional classroom learning.

3. Is there such a thing as too much enrichment for children?

Definitely! I have known many children with a schedule which would horrify a professional executive. Rushing from school to classes almost 7 days a week. There have been a number of reports on the increase of stress in young children here. I believe this stress is very much a direct result of children being robbed of their childhood and right to free play. By increasing our expectations and packing their schedule from around the age of three, we will actually be producing children who behave like hamsters on a wheel and not creative geniuses.

Children need time to think and use their imagination. Enrichment classes can feed their imagination and help them think creatively but it is no use if they never get the chance to explore and expand on that new knowledge and skill before being rushed off to the next class.

My thoughts?

Well, I would LOVE it if my child could play Bach on the cello, Sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” like Connie Talbot (From America’s Got Talent Fame), Read French with the right accent, and get a fashion spread at Young Parents. And if they could eat their veggies, it would be a nice bonus

But having three kids of such differing personalities, giftings and talents, I realised that exposing them to a wide spectrum of enrichment only makes it more difficult to make a decision! We’ll keep their official structured learning during school hours, anything after, will be based on their interest, likes and wants.

And my vote goes to more Family Time! where after school hours will be spent bonding as a family! We can’t do that together in Ballet or at Art Class, and this definitely can’t be achieved if I spend half the time finding a parking lot at the enrichment centre!

Furthermore, the extra enrichment classes are a real financial strain, and I think that quality time with the kids will be a better option…although I am a bit tempted with the Chinese Language classes, as we don’t speak enough Mandarin at home!

Recently, I was invited to a Media Event by Zespri and I realized that Kiwi fruits have:

• The Vitamin C content of 2 Oranges!
• 95% of the Vitamin C content that you need in a day
• High in Fibre ( which means good for poo-poo)

As compared to Apples, it KOs the apple in terms of nutrition…

In fact, if you want to eat a fruit…U should eat a Kiwi Fruit.

I thought that these facts were really revelational, and a group of Bloggers including myself,  were treated to a live demonstration by Renowned Food Blogger, Dr. Leslie Tay, on how to maximize our Kiwi Fruit Diet.

Besides sharing with us little facts like the Kiwi Fruit first originated from China and not New Zealand, he shared with us his home-made dishes on how to introduce the Kiwi Fruit into our diet.

There were dishes like Kiwi-sago Pudding (ala the familiar Mango Pudding, Kiwi with oolong jelly and even a Traffic Light Smoothie! This drink would have been a hit at Nicole’s Traffic Light Party!

We also got our chance to get our hands dirty, and make the creations for ourselves.

Nicole enjoyed herself making the Kiwi Fruit Honey Bread Sandwiches.

Check out Nicole’s Satisfied Face!

This was also our family’s first time at the Asian Food Channel kitchen, as it was fun, just trying to make all the concoctions that we were taught!

Many thanks to the folks at Zespri and Edelman for inviting us for this event!

We went down to Nestle in Changi Business Park, and through our kind sponsors, we filled our goody bags full of Milo products! 

I have never seen so much green stuff in my life…It was like St. Patrick’s Day

And as requested by our Birthday Gal…her party must have games!

We managed to get our trusted friends to come down and help us. They were most willing to oblige and organized some “Milo Games”, according to the theme of the party.

Our First game was: Stand on the Magic Number!

Simple game where the birthday girl would draw out the lucky number, and if you were standing on the Magic Number, you would win a Prize!

We also had traditional Party favorites like Passing the Parcel…the kids loved it, as every time the parcel came to you, you got a prize!

We had a Milo Telematch

And of course we had food…According to my daughter…the Perfect Party must end off with Burgers and Fries from McDonald’s…

And the kids naturally had NO objections!

Nadine was also there, and she was enjoying herself!

And Nicole loved her Strawberry Shortcake Agar-agar birthday cake!

And to end it all off…the kids gave a loud “CHEERS”to Milo!