The crying was very bad last week but it gets slightly better now. Not Little Edison, I’m referring to the children at the pre-nursery classes who have just started school last week.

Some of them started bawling the moment their parents leave the classroom. I can’t imagine those who take a school bus. They might be crying all the way from their home. Sigh.

The beginning of school is often very challenging for young children. Some of them may need more time to adjust to new people and environment than others. But with time, they will eventually settle down to the school routine. And they will gradually engage in the classroom activities and start making friends too.

So, don’t be despair if your child is crying at school. I experienced it two years ago when our boy started his pre-nursery. I also shared my 6-point plan on how to tackle separation anxiety in our children. Read it HERE, if you need.

Little Edison started his K1 this year. He was so excited about it, and he kept repeating, “I’m 5 years old now, I’m in K1. Next year, I’ll be 6 years old. I’ll be in K2.” And I said, “Yes, you’re a K1 big boy now!” He is very proud that he’s a big boy now.

This is his third year in the same kindergarten. So, he is very familiar with the classroom. He waltzed straight in, hung up his bag, dropped off his water bottle and walked up to the hall for his morning devotion. He is so excited to see his friends again.

For K1 and K2 children, the school offers a range of enrichment classes to enhance learning through creative activities. These classes are held once a week (one hour per lesson) after school hours. I signed-up two classes for Little Edison – the Chinese Integrated Program and IT Starter for Preschoolers.

Our choice of Primary School for Little Edison is a SAP school with strong emphasis on bilingualism. Thus, I signed-up the extra Chinese class for him so that he can have a good start in Chinese Language.

The IT Starter class, on the other hand, is to familiarize him with the use of computer and internet. It also equips him with the essential ICT skills, improve creativity and build-up his confidence through group projects.

I hope that he will enjoy these extra lessons this year.

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I bought the Basic Chinese 500 – Beginning Reader Book for Little Edison a few months ago. When I attempted to teach him for the very first time, it wasn’t quite successful. The main reason was due to his lack of interest, and secondly, I didn’t know how teach him in a more interesting manner.

At the end, we gave up and the books were chucked aside in the book shelf until I rediscover them again recently.

Unknowingly, as I read the last page of the book, it leads me to it’s website. Under the “Download” section, there is a very useful Basic Chinese 500 Parent’s Guide that is available for free downloading. After reading it, I gained a better understanding of the book and its structure.

As an introduction, the Sage Formula Basic Chinese 500 is specially formulated for young children to learn Chinese. It has selected 500 Chinese words which are most frequently used in children’s literature and most relevant to their day-to-day life.

The author has grouped and arranged these words into 5 levels from Beginning (the set that I bought for Little Edison), Budding, Building, Confident and Fluent. Each level contains 5 books that come with “han yu pin yin” to show pronunciation as well as English translation.

In each lesson, he learns a new word. This word will then be repeated in various scenarios and subsequent lessons so that he can grasp the meaning of it. The book emphasizes on one new word per lesson to make it easy for young children to learn. Gradually, he will understand how the book is structured, and he will be expecting one new word from each lesson.

Most importantly, the author also shared on how to start using the books on page 19 of the Parent’s Guide. This part really enlightens me on how to teach him more effectively. She has a suggested planned schedule here, but I derived my own by adding a little speed to it. Here’s my planned schedule:

• Day 1: Read lesson 1 to 5.
• Day 2: Repeat lesson 1 to 5, and add lesson 6.
• Day 3: Repeat lesson 2 to 6, and add lesson 7.

From Day 4 onwards, I’ll repeat the last 5 lessons learnt and then add one new lesson. That makes it a total of 6 lessons per day, and I think our boy is pretty much comfortable with this speed now.

The author actually recommends more than 1 reading session per day. However, due to my work commitment, I can only arrange one session per day every night. One important note to share here is that it’s important to establish a regular pattern and follow the schedule faithfully every day.

We’ve been reading the book for the past one week, according to my planned schedule above. I’m glad to say that we’re gradually gaining the upper hand on the progress and our boy is showing interest again.

Last but not least, I’ve also discovered that the Basic Chinese 500 is available on iPhone and iPad. How amazing! I bought the iPhone Apps at a little cost of US$4.99 (cheaper than the books actually). So, at any time of the day, I can dish out my iPhone to do some revisions with Little Edison. Great, isn’t it?

The only downside with this Apps is that we’re unable to scroll from one lesson to another without returning to the main menu, which is quite frustrating at times. Hopefully, the developer can improve on this part in near future.

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This is our boy’s latest favourite iPhone game. It’s called the 3D Mini Golf Challenge, a lovely miniature golf game created by Digital Chocolate. It’s available in two versions – free version (lite) and full version at a little cost of US$1.99. Expansion packs are also available for the full version.

At the beginning of the game, the player has to select either a male or female golfer. And so, Little Edison selected the female golfer. Then, he will begin with the first 100 holes of miniature golf fun. He has to compete for points at each hole to unlock more.

In short, the game requires him to visualize the course and figure out on how to manage the obstacles like fire pit, fan, skull etc in each stage. Some of them are quite difficult, even for adults.

He will line up his shot with a swipe of a finger. A handy shadow will appear showing the direction and strength. Once he is comfortable with setting, he will release his finger from the screen to shoot the ball. I remind him to watch out on the strength, depending on the distance of the hole. Now, he’s an expert!

When he’s stuck at certain stage, he will consult us for help. It’s also a good bonding time for us when we indulge in a game at night – usually within fifteen minutes or so before bedtime.

Whenever his ball rolls into the fire pit, he yells, “Aiya, my ball is burnt!” When he managed to complete a stage and unlock the next, he’ll run excitedly to me explaining how he did it.

This is our boy playing with the golf game last week at my parent’s home. And he got Jaerone (his cousin) excited about it too. The two boys love the game so much!

As to fear on whether he’ll get addicted, we will limit the game to half an hour each time. He still enjoys playing with other educational games that I bought for him, and he still wants me to read his Dora and Diego Phonics Books with him. So, I guess it’s still alright now.

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It was the New Year holiday. V brought us to the Volkswagen showroom at Alexandra Road. Much to our surprise, there were lots of fun-filled activities in the showroom in celebration of the New Year.

To begin with, V intends to buy a new car this year. He wants to trade-in his Toyota Altis for the new Polo GTI. He loves its hot racy look and the electronic panoramic tilt/slide sunroof. Yes, it’s pretty cool and we’re all ready to feel the wind in our hair!

I prefer the VW Jetta for its elegant and classy look. There is more legroom for rear passengers and maximum comfort for everyone.

While V was busy looking at the cars, Little Edison and I joined the activities in the showroom. We started with Cake DIY – a cake decorating activity. We were given a 4” cake, icing décor and coloured piping bags. Our boy enjoyed himself so much.

This is the cake decorated by our boy, with minimal assistance from me. He was so proud of his creation!

Balloon sculpting, instant photography, snacks and ice-cream were also available. This is our boy enjoying his smiley hash brown with tomato sauce all over his mouth!

It was a great afternoon. Thanks to Volkswagen!

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Well, another year is upon us. I’d like to wish you and your family a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I literally felt like the year 2011 went so quickly for us. It’s time to reflect on the year we’ve left behind while we ring-in-the-new. When I look back, thinking of the passing year, it helps me to realize what has been accomplished, what has been learned, who has helped us, and how we can do better this year.

So, here’s a round-up of year 2011…

Family –

I’m really grateful and relieved that everyone in the family is in good health this year. Minor illnesses like cough, flu and fever are also very minimal. With only one exception for me who underwent an endoscopic sinus surgery three weeks ago. I’m also glad to announce that I’m recovering well from the surgery.

Little Edison is learning and growing by leaps and bounds. He is happy to go to school and he becomes more independent, self-reliant and socially-adaptable in an expanding social circle of friends and peers at school. Recently, he told me that he wants to become a doctor when he grows up so that he can help sick people. I was really happy to hear that.

Holiday -

In April this year, we went for vacation in Hong Kong. It was one of the best vacations that we’ve had. Our boy had so much fun at the Disneyland. Hopefully, in the years to come, we can visit this place again.

On his birthday month, we went for a staycation at Resorts World Sentosa Festive Hotel. Amazing room, view, facilities and hospitality. Our boy was contented to just stay in the hotel room, but of course, we did venture out to Sentosa and Universal Studios during our stay.

Work –

Work has been very challenging for me, but I’m grateful for the opportunities that have been given to me. I was promoted to a managerial promotion this year, and the future is looking bright. It was one of the most significant career advancements in my life. And I’m excited to see what Year 2012 will bring for me.

Life, in general –

Our foreign helper left us in April this year and we decided not to hire a replacement. We’ve persevered during this tough period; we worked a little harder and a little longer. And we managed to adjust our lifestyle and routine without a helper. Now, we’re happier to regain our much-treasured privacy and freedom. No more maid woes. No more arguments about the maid.

The year 2011 closed up for us. Like what I always say, “Life goes on!” And so it does…

Let’s have ourselves a Happy New Year — onward to 2012! Cheers!

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