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Becks Kao Ben Kao Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Nat Kao The Kao Kids

Fun with plants

March 9, 2014

We’ve been learning all we can about plants these days and it’s been two months of planting-fun!

What I planned for our PLANTS theme homelearning

I’ve been making trips to the library to find books that would answer all our questions about plants. Our National Library is indeed a wonderful one-stop resource centre with plenty of materials for teaching preschoolers. Besides reading the reference books aloud, I also told the kids the story of The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, a beautiful tale about a flowering plant’s life cycle through the seasons.

These books were some of the many I borrowed the past 2 months

I also did a comprehension text with Ben and Becks using a text with an accompanying activity from this book which I found at the recent Popular Expo Sale (yes, yes, I frequent this place A LOT to get things cheap!):

Evan Moor's Read Write & Learn Preschoolers

I find this book very colourful and engaging

This text is about leaves and their usefulness:

Colour-xeroxed the text about LEAVES for the notice board

After reading the text together, I got Ben to read aloud each statement from the worksheet and circle the correct answer, and while he’s reading out loud, Becks would slap the answer with her flyswatter on her Yes-No board. It was fun for her, and she got to learn the sight words “yes” and “no”.

Comprehension Activity Sheet

Becks’ Yes-No Board

And then it was sight words and spelling time! We also picked up on the concept of singular-plural in English and that we don’t just always add an ‘s’ to every word to make the singular form plural, like in leaf and leaves.

The sight words for the theme

We also touched and felt the leaves we eat (the vegetables in our fridge!), and the kids got to draw and colour their favourite. We also revised the parts of a flowering plant using one of our Age 4 worksheets from our Hands On Homeschooling curriculum:

Drawing leaves and labelling parts of a plant

Last month we were at Port of Lost Wonder and there was a mini gardening activity station there which allowed us to plant our little potted plant and take it home. We took home three and the kids have been faithfully watering them ever since. I also managed to buy a pot of flowering plant from Ikea and my little gardeners are helping me tend to it.

We don’t have a balcony, so these potted plants are at our corridor

On one of the days, we also got our baskets and headed downstairs for some leaf collecting. I wanted the kids to observe the different shapes and sizes of leaves and describe them as we walked and picked. The sweepers in our estate would be mighty pleased to know we helped to do some cleaning up with our leaf-picking that afternoon!

The weather’s been cruelly hot these days but that’s not gonna stop the little fingers

The leaves were not picked just for fun – though it was fun – because we later used these leaves for our painting activity. I got the kids to ink the leaves with paint and then stamp them on drawing paper to create artwork to showcase the variety of leaves they picked.

The littlest was the happiest – first time painting!

Needless to say, they were very happy to be *finally* playing with paint (I have OCD, which you know, right?) and were mighty stoked to be using their hands and paintbrushes. The squealing and laughter was worth the cleaning up, and they now have masterpieces to brag about:

Pretty artwork by little hands

We’ll be visiting Oh Farms for a hydroponic farm tour during the March holidays, and that will pretty much wrap up the PLANTS theme for us. Can’t wait!

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Happy days Homelearning fun Learning fun! Nat Kao The Kao Kids

Birthday card making fun

March 8, 2014

Since the boys had their birthdays last month, one of our homelearning activities involved having them create generic birthday cards.

I started the lesson by getting the kids to read the reader from Scholastic’s First Little Readers Level A titled Birthday Surprise. It’s a simple story about a boy using glue, scissors, crayons, paper to make a card for grandma.

The story was simple and the activity of making birthday cards was one that was suitable for all three kids. Ben learned the various sight words and how to spell “Happy Birthday” by writing it several times on the cards he made. Becks learned to identify the beginning sounds of each sight word. All three of them got to practise peeling off stickers and strengthening their finger muscles by colouring, and we all had lots of art and craft fun.

I also took the opportunity to make Ben his birthday card which I demanded that he keep for a long, long time.

If you need handmade birthday cards for anyone special, the Kao kids are ready to be at your service!

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Enrichment Invites & Tryouts The Kao Kids

Review: I Theatre’s The Ant & the Grasshopper

March 7, 2014

Last Saturday, we caught the The Ant and the Grasshopper at Jubilee Hall, I Theatre‘s very first production of the year. Based on Aesop’s famed fable, we were told that The Ant and the Grasshopper would be fast-paced, interactive and full of fun, with an unexpected twist.

And so it was what we were promised indeed.

The show was an engaging 55 minutes filled with happy songs and witty dialogues (love those bee puns!) and there was even a segment where the kids had to get up and exercise with Mr Grasshopper! The insects – the two Miss Bees, Miss Ant, Mr Grasshopper and Miss Caterpillar (and a special guest appearance by Miss Ladybird) – chattered, bickered, laughed, sang and danced all through summer, and learned the important lesson of having a balance (not ALL work and not ALL play, yo!) and embracing change through the bitter cold of winter.

The simplicity of the story with colourful characters (we love the bees’ costumes!) was what won Ben and Becks over. They are familiar with the story and the moral behind it, but the kids especially love how the characters all came alive (and there were side stories that were also hilarious and touching at the same time, like the one about Nessa the Caterpillar resisting change but morphing into a beautiful butterfly) which made the story meaningful for them.

They couldn’t help chattering about who their favourite insects were long after the performance was over. Ben tells me that he learned that “there’s a time for work and there’s a time for play” when I asked the kids what they took away from the story, and Becks says, “Mama, if people don’t have food, we must share with them. I like Ant because she shares.”

Who would have thought that we could learn some of life’s valuable lessons from insects?

More details:

The Ant and the Grasshopper is suitable for children (3 years old and up) and families, and is on till 15 March 2014 at the Jubilee Hall. Tickets from Sistic.
I Theatre is a non-profit organization which exists to create top quality theatre for children and families. Since April 2008, I Theatre has been a registered charity and an Institute of Public Character. It relies almost entirely on ticket sales to support its work of four quality productions annually. To support ‘Theatre For All’, email team@itheatre.org.

Disclosure: We were given media passes to The Ant and the Grasshopper. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions here are mine.

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(Self) Examination Becks Kao Ben Kao Family life as we know it Milestones and growing up Nat Kao Parenting 101 The Kao Kids What to Expect... As a Mother

Parenting at 5, 3-half and 2 (Part I)

March 6, 2014

Last month, my sons turned a year older and I’m officially doing this mothering gig with my three kids who are 5, 3.5 and 2.

This means that change is here again.

The 5-year-old is clearly growing up fast and probably has a vocabulary of close to two thousand words. He’s playful still but not as cheekily innocent as he was a few years ago. He’s now got an emo streak and pensive moods, and have been showing signs of being easily hurt and offended. He’s learned the art of argumentation, and has also picked up the skill of being acidulous and sarcastic (why, why, I’m sure he also learned from the best). He has the ability to give you a million and one reasons (and then some more if you allow him to) why he can or cannot do something, something as simple as why he can’t come immediately to brush his teeth or empty his bladder, and would do almost anything from pouting to demonstrating aggression to win an argument. He can fire questions at you fast and furious and has about more than a gazillion ‘whys’ in his head every single day.

Not a day passes without him asking at least 50 questions, giving you a ton of useless reasons as excuses why something happened which is not his fault, and a show of emo-ing, complete with tears and sulking at corners of the house. He learns things fast but is also very selective in what he wants to learn. He’ll cite poor memory as his excuse for not remembering how to spell words you teach him but he can remember every single character in all his favourite TV programmes. He’s an energiser bunny who’s waiting every day to muck around, asking, “What can I do? What can we do?” and looking for someone to play with him.

On good days, he goes a little wild and says the darndest but most intelligent things that can make you laugh so hard and wonder if you’re with a 5-year-old or 15. He can also have very intense conversations with you, and we have had days of talking about God, heaven, life and the meaning of it all.

On good days, he’s also a wonderful big brother to his siblings and acts with a mature sense of sensibility.

***

The little girl is a July baby so she only turns 4 in 4 months. Although the terrible Terrible Twos which we’ve experienced with her is finally, finally over, we do get the tantrums once in a while especially whenever she’s tired or in discomfort, though the tantrums have evolved to be more muted and controlled. I’m happy to say that Becks is now able to exercise a lot more self control at this age.

Phew.

She’s also at a phase of being really eager to differentiate herself from her siblings. I’m not sure if it comes with being the middle child but she’s demonstrating to us clearly every day that she wants to be different, and to be seen as different. In the past, she would join the games and rough play, and play with much abandonment with them. Lately, she wants to read about the Disney princesses and play with dolls. She’s been asking if I could buy her a Barbie or a princess doll. She would drag her brothers to pretend cook and grocery shop with her, and if they didn’t want to (and preferred to be doing neanderthal-like things like uzzah-ing the house down) then she would go to a corner and be perfectly fine talking to and cooking for her soft toys and her bolsters.

Her ambition for now is to be a mummy. A good mummy, she says. I wonder where she got that inspiration.

***

I’ll be lying to say I don’t have a favourite. When you have more than one kid, you’re bound to have someone who is the apple of your eye.

That said, I don’t play favourites. I don’t pit one sibling against another and bring on the rivalry with any favouritism games. I love them all with all my heart and all that I can in my capacity as their mother and a human being.

So this boy.

He turned two last month and is starting to talk in sentences it’s just way too cute, cute, cute. The things he says and words he strings together – aww, soooo cute, I tell you – just melts my heart and makes me laugh so heartily everyday. Not a day passes by without bouts of laughing out loud and sides-splitting gaggles filling the house. With Nat, we’ve heard much laughter, and had much laughter.

So while I’m sometimes tearing my hair out at trying to communicate with my firstborn and feeling the frustration of handling the temperamental middle child, the baby – and resident clown – in the house gives me much respite from the parenting weariness of the day. I’m just glad to have only suffered hardship from the Terrible Twos one out of three. I was anticipating and bracing myself for tough times with the littlest who has a mule-like temperament, and while the littlest has his “moments”, it’s been so easy to handle his moments with distractions and lots of hugs and kisses.

I’m really going to miss this stage. And because Nat is Nat, I’m so glad we didn’t decide to stop at two. We can do with more funniness, adorableness, and happiness in this house, methinks.

***

Hello everyone. I’m Motherkao. I have three kids age 5, 3-half and 2 and a new season of parenting is here again. I am bracing myself for the challenges ahead. There’s potty training, meal times routines, sleep training and weaning (yes, 24 months and still going on – ugh!) to settle, ABCs and 123s to teach, words and books to read, songs to sing, stories to tell, games to play and lots of clowning around to do. There’s also fun to be had, skills to teach, values to impart and lives to shape.

In other words, there’s a whole lot of mothering to do.

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Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reading fun Reviews

To NoQ for more books

February 27, 2014

We’ve been given credits to shop online … for books again!

Yipeedeedoo!

The Kao kids and I have been really thrilled these days – like who’s going to say no to more books? Hurhurhur.

This time, we’ve been given the opportunity to shop here:

NoQ boasts of having 14 million titles at up to 50% off

The NoQ Store (= No Queue, as in, don’t have to queue, no need to queue) is part of the Times Publishing Group, one of the most reputable names in publishing, printing, distribution and retail in the Asia-Pacific. At NoQ, we are talking about browsing at an online book store with millions of titles at really low prices. I couldn’t wait to as I was told to expect a solid variety of books from the Children’s Section spanning across different genres ranging from fiction to education and general knowledge.

The opportunity to shop and review NoQ came at a perfect time – we’ve just finished reading the entire Mr Men Collection, and are at the point of doing repeats. I’ve also been searching high and low for the complete Little Miss Complete Collection so we don’t have to do repeats of Mr Men at tuck-ins. The kids are such huge fans of Roger Hargreaves’ characters that they can’t get past one night without meeting one of them for their bedtime story. I went to the major bookstores to hunt for the Little Miss box set but the search was usually futile at the heartland malls. I did, however, find the complete set at the Popular bookstore at Bras Basah and of course, online at Amazon, but the prices were so ridiculous I could feel my pockets burning up before I could even place an order.

The kids love Mr Men and want one every night

The kids love Mr Men and can’t wait to meet one every night

So.

What better way than to put NoQ to the test.

If you have Little Miss at a bargain, I’d be very impressed, NoQ.

So I went to NoQ, clicked on Books – Special Feature – Box Sets for Kids and crossed my fingers.

Found it! Cheaper by so much!

Yipeedeedoo! *doing the happy dance*

I would have loved to add to my shopping cart the Peter Rabbit Library, Dear Zoo Library, Guess How Much I Love You Library, Magic School Bus Box Set which I found under Special Features / Box Sets for Kids – if only there wasn’t a budget constraint! These are wonderful classics to be introducing to the kids, and ugh! Guess I would have to save up some more for those!

There was indeed a dizzying array of books at NoQ to look at and within each genre and section you would find a couple of sub-categories that would certainly make any book lover hyperventilate at the sheer number of available titles to choose from. Having to navigate around can be pretty daunting given the extensively huge number of titles, not to mention so many bargain books to check out for as low as SGD$3. NoQ also highlights their bestsellers on the right sidebar so you know what everyone else is buying, as well as shout out their latest promotional offers big and loud right on its home page.

My only complaint was that the prices can sometimes be adjusted upwards instead of down. You kinda expect prices to be slashed more often than they are increased like all other book stores – but I found the Little Miss Complete Collection to have experienced a price hike after I ordered mine at SGD$87.21. It’s now going for $142.03, which is great news for me who ordered but probably not that great a bargain for someone else searching high and low for the same thing and not wanting to leave a hole in the pocket. I actually wrote in to ask them why, and the folks at NoQ say that because they draw their prices directly from suppliers, book prices at NoQ get adjusted automatically when suppliers adjust prices on their end.

Bummer. It’s not so nice to see something on your wishlist get more expensive the next day, eh. I was so very fortunate indeed to have gotten the Little Miss Complete Collection at 50% off. Just glad I clicked on it fast and paid up when it was such a bargain.

That said, you can wait for their promotional offers like storewide discounts or check out the Bargain Section periodically to get the best book deals. Afterall, if you look at the deals they offer, most books are slashed to almost half their original price. For their wide selection of books of every genre in book-dom, and for letting me find the Little Miss people my kids have been wanting so much to meet at bedtime – and at a steal – I am still going to be adding NoQ to my list of favourite haunts to hang out online.

Just for Motherkao’s readers!

If you like what you see at NoQ and are going to be buying some books, get 15% off all purchases made via the NoQ Store website and Mobile App by entering the promotional code “Motherkao” under the “Voucher & Promotion Code” tab during checkout.

This promotion is valid till 30 April 2014 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers and discounts. Only one voucher code per transaction and not applicable to shipping and tax charges.

And I’m giving away one $20 gift voucher on the blog, courtesy of NoQ Store!

If you’d like to win a $20 NoQ gift voucher, simple leave me a comment here telling me what’s one thing you like to have from NoQ Store. Do also remember to leave your email address so the folks at NoQ can email you if you win.

Giveaway ends 6 March 2014.

And the winner is…

Congrats, Tiffany! I hope Jamie Oliver would give you lots of inspiration to create healthy quick meals for your family!

Disclosure: The kind folks from NoQ gave us $60 worth of credits to shop. Topping up the balance for the box set from pocket of mine. All opinions here are also mine.

UPDATE as of 2015: NoQ has since closed down and ceased operations.

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Ben Kao Getting all sentimental now The Kao Kids

Five

February 26, 2014

Five.

I never thought five would be a big number but today, this number is looking BIG to me.

You are 5 today, Ben. That’s having you in my life for half a decade and I am still trying to make sense of it.

In the busyness of motherhood, I hardly stop to take a good look at you. You’ve grown so much taller, so much stronger and so much more sensible. That little boy that used to open and close cabinet doors for fun, squeal and cackle at every raspberry I blow and fall asleep holding his blanket tight as his mama sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a big boy now.

So big he can no longer be carried by his own mother. So big that he can now run ahead so quickly leaving her panting behind. So big that he no longer needs Mama to button his shirt, wear his socks and clean him up.

So big we can have intense discussions about school, friends, God and life together now.

You’re all grown up, my love.

Fire Chief Ben at ONE

Ben at TWO

Ben at THREE

Ben at FOUR

Happy 5th birthday, Son.

At FIVE

Loving you to infinity and beyond,

Mama

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Family life as we know it Milestones and growing up The darndest kid quotes and antics The Kao Kids

Sound bytes of our lives: the darndest things we say (III)

February 25, 2014

Someone’s being bullied these days and suffering from the tyranny of the majority.

On the way to school on Monday

Ben: Ugh. It’s Monday. Can we not go to school?

Me: You think?

Becks: Yes?

Me: In your wildest dreams.

Ben and Becks: Huh?

Ben: You mean I can dream? If you let me dream, I dream of you not letting us go to school.

Becks: And you will do ALL our homework!

Me: -_-

The mess is too great to bear

Me: Every day this mess at home is getting worse.

Ben: Why? We are playing what.

Me: But you guys don’t ever keep.

Ben: Ohhkaay… we…will..keep… (moving around slowly to pack) Becky, come help!

Becks: Ohh…kaaay… (moving about slowly) Hey look, korkor… (pointing at me who’s packing at double speed) A SERVANT!

Ben and Becks: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

An everyday sight

No Money

Becks: Can I please buy donuts? Or fruit juice?

Me: No.

Ben: Can I buy more Transformers?

Me: No.

Ben: Why every time we ask you, you say no?

Becks: Ya lor… (on the verge of tearing)

Me: I have no money. Remember I don’t work? I don’t have money to buy frivolous things.

Ben: I have an idea. Go ask from Dada. Tell him “I need your money to buy toys and yummy food”.

Becks: I have an idea. GO AND WORK! We let you go.

Me: -_-

Since when do you kids order me around?

The two “big” bullies

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Getting all sentimental now Happy days Milestones and growing up Nat Kao The Kao Kids

Letter to my littlest #9

February 20, 2014

Dearest Nat,

Has it been two years since you filled our lives with so much laughter? Where did all the time go? When did my baby start growing up? Slow down, will you, baby boy? This growing up business is getting too fast for this mama’s heart to handle.

I still remember the little bundle I carried home a while ago and the squeals in the house everyone made in adoration of you. You stole the hearts of your big brother and sister the moment you came home and you have won their hearts ever since. We’re now a family of five and Ben and Becks cannot go through a day without being with you. The three of you play together every day and I pray that you will all play together as happy children for a long, long time.

You’re adorably funny and exasperatingly endearing. These days I call your name and you reply me with a “What?”. When I tell you to do something you ask me “Why?”. And when I ask you why this or that happens, you answer me with “Because”. You sing the Alphabet song every day and amuse us all by standing on the table to do it like it’s some rock performance. You chortle and chuckle many times a day even after you’ve been disciplined, and live each day clowning around with your funny antics. Every day is a riot with you and even though you get yelled at a lot for the naughty things you do, my greatest wish for you is that you’ll never change the way you are.

Be the happy, cheeky, sticky you, Nat. Always. Happy 2nd birthday!

Loving you to the moon and back, and to infinity and beyond,

Mama

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Invites & Tryouts Reading fun Reviews

This Giraffe’s too Groovy – Singapore’s first online remainder bookstore

February 19, 2014

Growing up, I would make my father take me to the bookstore and leave me there to read for hours. My favourite hangout was the MPH at Robinson Road, where I had spent many hours of my childhood devouring the Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl classics.

There’s something about holding, touching, feeling and smelling new books that thrilled me then. The best part about going to a bookstore – and not the library – with my dad was that it was almost always a given to return home with new books to add to my book collection. (Dad, I’m sure you knew I always pretended I couldn’t put down a book so you could buy it for me, right?)

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’d know that I am on a quest to make avid readers of my kids. I’ve shared that we should by all means borrow, but nothing beats being able to have our own books so that we can read and reread them.

Last year, I discovered The Groovy Giraffe, Singapore’s first official online remainder bookstore which sells heavily discounted new books that are overprints. The prices of books here are discounted up to as much as 85% and this giraffe is oh-so-groovy alright. So groovy that buying new books ain’t going to be burning a hole in your pocket anymore.

I recently shopped at The Groovy Giraffe again with the credits that the kind folks at The Groovy Giraffe gave me and managed to find the Read at Home First Experiences Series. The series is written with the aim of introducing young children to new situations and I am glad to have found them because these books are great starters to get the kids to talk about their feelings of their first experiences:

TGG_First Experiences Early Reader Books

We’ve been on a plane and to the pool, so these readers will be used as a springboard to get the kids to talk about how they felt.

The books arrived promptly within 3 working days after I checked out and paid, and I can’t wait to share them with the kids.

There is a decent variety of books for babies, toddlers, children and adults at The Groovy Giraffe. They even have assessment books and educational guides that are heavily discounted and sections for bargains and gift ideas. I particularly enjoy browsing at the Children’s Early Reader Books Section to check out titles that would interest the older kids, as well as the titles under Activity Books to see if I can find anything that wouldn’t cost me a bomb for the youngest to work on to keep him meaningfully occupied.

A screenshot of some of the bargains under Activity Books for Children - I'm thinking of getting 100 Stickers Series for some sticker fun for Nat!

A screenshot of some of the bargains under Activity Books for Children – I’m thinking of getting the 100 Stickers Series for some sticker fun for Nat!

There are also tips under ‘Babies’, ‘Toddlers’ and ‘Children’ to help you choose titles for children of different age groups and reading abilities, which is definitely helpful before you begin shopping!

Tips for choosing books for Preschoolers and Young Readers

If holding, touching, feeling and smelling new books thrill you – as it still does even now for me – you may want to consider popping by The Groovy Giraffe to shop for your books. Check out using the code “MOTHERKAO” to get a 5% off your purchases (except for Bargain books). There’s no expiry date to this code, so you can use it any time, whenever.

My dad would have loved to meet this giraffe when he had an avid reader of a little girl that was me. I’m pretty sure it would have saved him so much money buying me new books so often.

Disclosure: I received credits to purchase some books from The Groovy Giraffe for the Kao kids. All opinions here are solely my own.

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Becks Kao Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

All pretty now

February 18, 2014

So I spoke too soon.

My sassy little girl, who is now three-half, has gone all girly-feminine on me.

Just like that, she’s suddenly taking a liking to pink things again and all things princessy.

She now insists on wearing a dress whenever we go out, when previously I got so much hell for wanting to put a dress on her…

A sporty dress for Sunday School!

A floral dress handed down from an older sister-friend

I would have never been able to put this cheongsam on a couple of months ago

She also MUST wear a dress to sleep now and dislikes the long-sleeve-top-and-pants ensemble which she used to love. She used to want to be like korkor and didi but well, not anymore.

She needs to wear a sweet PJ to sleep…

She’s starting to like accessorising and making very tacky fashion choices like putting on everything at one go – hat, wristlet, necklace, bag and all the hair clips she’s got.

She loves to have her hair all clipped and tied now

Gotta teach her less is more and classy is the way to go. Heh.

My mother already warned me there’ll be days like this; days of her putting on my shoes and wearing my makeup. I guess I’d better keep my blushers and lipsticks under lock and key for now.

“Look Ma! I can wear your heels!”

I guess it’s a rite of passage for all girls to go through a phase of wishing to be like their mothers. These days, Becks is starting to want to be different from her brothers and is consciously trying to differentiate herself with the choices that she makes and the things that she do. I know deep down, she wants to get attention from me this way and wants to be affirmed by her mother as her mummy’s little precious princess.

Deep down, the little girl is crying out to me, saying, “Look at me, Mama. I may not be as smart like Korkor or as cute as Nat, but I am also special!”

And I’d be a fool of a mother if I didn’t know that and love her just as she is.

Becky love, you’re beautiful. You’ll always be our little darling princess.

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