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Gymnademics is at the ARC! (+a giveaway)

November 7, 2013

If you’ve read my earlier posts (here, here and here), you would have realised that Gymnademics isn’t your typical early childhood gym. Nat was invited to try their programmes out for a term earlier this year, and had it not been for timing constraints, we would be glad to have him continue lessons weekly.

Gymnademics adopts a holistic approach towards early childhood development, with a curriculum that comprises of a series of physical and intellectual activities specially designed to help the little ones (5 months to 5 years old) enjoy the process of discovery and learning.

Here’s some good news to share: Gymnademics has a new centre at the Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC) at 460 Alexandra Road, #02-25, Singapore 119963! Spanking cool, isn’t it?

And as part of their opening promotion, they’re waiving off registration fees and giving away a complimentary session when you sign up at the ARC:

*GIVEAWAY JUST FOR MOTHERKAO READERS*!

I’m giving away TWO trial class passes for classes at the ARC to two lucky readers of this blog! Simply Like Motherkao’s FB page (if you haven’t already done so) and Gymnademics FB page, and leave me a comment here with your name and email. Two winners will be randomly picked when the giveaway closes on 12 November. Trial passes are valid till 30 November 2013.

I assure you that there will never be a dull moment for you and your child at Gymnademics. Every hour that Nat attended class presented him with the opportunity to be engaged in as many as 14 activities that are mentally and physically stimulating. It’s been a few months since his last lesson, but I tell you, this little boy remembers his Welcome Song and hand actions for do-re-mi till this day his teacher should be proud (hear, hear, Teacher Selene!). Both of us remember his classes with fondness because it has been so much fun!

UPDATE: AND WE HAVE 2 WINNERS!

Congrats, Erlina and Serence, you won the trial class passes to attend Gymnademics with your little ones!

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Everyday fun! Fatherkao loves... Happy days

Hide and Seek Almonds

November 6, 2013

Almond Treasure Hunt Picto-guide:

1. Buy almonds
2. Pack almonds
3. Hide almonds
4. Prep kids with baskets
5. Give clues to search only lit areas in the house
6. Count the loot
7. Break almonds
8. Eat almonds

Almond-mentary, dear Watson.

This post first appeared on Fatherkao’s FB page. He was the one that prepped and executed the entire activity on a cold rainy evening as heading out was impossible.

Also linking up with:

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Parenting 101 Re: learning and child training The darndest kid quotes and antics The Kao Kids Thunderstorm days What to Expect... As a Mother

Survivng Fight Club (or ‘How to Handle Sibling Conflicts’)

November 5, 2013

I shared in an earlier post how the kids are fighting every day, and how it’s come to a point I am seeing blood.

So what does a mother do when the fighting start? How much conflict should she tolerate? When should a mother intervene, and how does she do that?

In this post, I share three principles Fatherkao and I abide by.

Rule #1 Don’t get involved

It is common for siblings to disagree, squabble and fight. I remember what Dr Kevin Leman says in his book Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours that when children fight, they are actually “cooperating with each other”:

“It seems odd to call fighting an act of cooperation, but that is exactly what is happening. It is extremely difficult to get a fight going with only one person.”

He goes on to say that the best way to handle this is to give the children what they want. If they want to fight, let them. Our right as parents is to say where and under what conditions they can fight – in a room elsewhere, at the backyard, away from everyone so that it does not interfere with the peace and welfare of others in the home. He also mentions one thing which I see happening when the kids fight.

“Their fighting, for the most part, was designed to get the parents needlessly involved in their hassles. The sooner parents learn to stay out of their children’s hassles the sooner they will teach their children greater responsibility and accountability.”

I couldn’t agree more. My job as a mother is not to eliminate conflict and rivalry between siblings. Conflict at home is natural. My job is to help each child resolve his or her conflicts in a positive way and build psychological muscles for dealing with the realities of life. So when I see a fight starting, I usually order the kids to take it elsewhere, out of my sight. I shoo them into the room, close the door and say, “Resolve the matter. Come out when you’re done.”

And you know what? Most of the time, they immediately say, “We don’t want to fight anymore, Mama.”

Rule #2 Step in only when there’s a danger of physical harm

Following Rule #1 doesn’t mean that I encourage my kids to fight. I see it as an opportunity for them to resolve their conflicts without me as their audience. The problem with always intervening is that you risk creating other problems. The kids may start expecting help and wait for you to come to the rescue rather than learning to work out the problems on their own. One kid would also feel more “protected” than another, and that would inadvertently make the kid feel he or she can get away with things, while at the same time stirring up sentiments of resentment in the other kid who is not “rescued”.

But if there’s a threat of physical harm, there’s a need to call the shots. Sometimes one child may pick a fight with another who is totally outmatched in size and strength. Sometimes a child may be provoked so badly by name calling and taunting he loses control and smacks the one provoking him. Sometimes a child may use things to hurl at another as an act of retaliation. These have all happened (and more – pushing and shoving and biting and kicking, yes, all and more) and I have had to clean up the sometimes very bloody battlefield with a very broken heart. This is when all involved in the battle gets a time-out and a swipe of the cane on their bums. This is when I insist that nobody is right and everybody is wrong and they all kiss and make up. Fatherkao sometimes insists that they think of three things to do to show love to each other, especially to the one injured.

So no matter how bad they feel or how angry they are, when the adults intervene, it usually means that they will be forced to hug, kiss and say “I love you.”

Rule #3 Let reality be their teacher

This one is a little difficult to follow. I’m always more inclined to protect the kids and make excuses for their misbehaviour – he must be tired, she feels neglected, this only happened twice – but thankfully, my partner in parenting, i.e. the other parent, is someone who stands quite firm and is more principled than I am. This rule we have at home is inspired by Dr Kevin Leman, who coined the term “reality discipline” which basically means to let nature take its course. And when nature doesn’t take care of the problem, the parents help nature along. The fundamental idea is to not rescue your kids from the consequences of failed responsibility. You allow life lessons and experiences to teach your children while they are still at home under your loving authority. Parents should not hover (like helicopters) or rule autocratically but authoritatively guide and direct them in a loving relationship.

I’m still learning to do this, and am consciously looking out for ways to teach the children. Recently, a fight broke out between Ben and Nat. Nat was perceived to be attempting to destroy something Ben has built, when actually he was just ruled by curiosity and driven by the need to explore. Ben obviously doesn’t understand developmental milestones, got upset and swung a plastic bucket (the sandcastle type) at him. What he didn’t know was that that bucket had a crack and the broken piece which was jutting out cut Nat on the flesh just below his eye.

This was the perfect opportunity to apply Rule #3. Fatherkao calmly took Ben to a corner, ordered for a time out and put on a blindfold for him. We thanked God that Nat was not wounded fatally but needed Ben to understand what it would be like if his eye was injured. So he went around not being able to see during dinnertime, all the way till it was almost bedtime. In fact, he ate his dinner blindfolded.

We didn’t lecture, didn’t scold, didn’t cane. In fact, credit goes to my husband who remained so calm it made me a little embarrassed (I had earlier gone hysterical but held my tongue from screaming at Ben).

Part of reality discipline: teaching Ben what it’s like if he’s lost his sight

There you have it. Three things that I try to remember when the fights begin at home. By the way, there’s gonna be Rule #4 come the day I can find boxing gloves their size. It’ll be “Make kids put on boxing gloves”.

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The darndest kid quotes and antics The Kao Kids Thunderstorm days What to Expect... As a Mother

Welcome to Fight Club

November 4, 2013

There is almost nothing constant in the world of parenting the Kao kids. The dynamics change. The demands change. The seasons change.

And now, I’m spending every single day breaking fights, stopping squabbles and wiping away blood and tears.

A few months ago, everything was still fine and dandy. I remember writing a post about how my babies are finally playing together.

Then just like that, everything’s changed. There’s suddenly a lot of angst in the house. The kids are smacking one another, snatching things and yelling. A LOT. Somewhere some time in the day, somebody’s being bullied, crying foul or yanking hair. I don’t interfere in their sibling quarrels usually, but now that there are more incidents of blood, I am yelling more frequently, sending kids for time out and inviting Mr Cane to handle some of these fights.

One of the reasons for this new situation arising is because someone is stepping into the zone called the Terrible Twos at 21 months. Oh man, this boy knows how to fend for himself, alright! He’s not one to be bullied, and he asserts his independence in as many ways as he knows how. He’s also started smacking (faces), throwing (things at people) and biting (body parts of anyone) whenever he perceives that he is at a disadvantage.

The other reason is because Ben is beginning to understand the notion of fairness, justice and revenge. I’m beginning to suspect that Ben may be more gifted than I think he is. He is verbally expressive, and argues with me like a lawyer would with another in court. The case he is arguing is usually his own, and he is very skilled in negotiating about rules, punishment, discipline, bedtime, dinner – basically nearly anything he doesn’t like or wishes to avoid (but that’s for another post another time, and another issue altogether). And because he thinks that whatever Mom and Dad expect of him should be the same with his siblings, he gets considerably upset and angsty when things are not equal. Things are not always equal because he is four and he should know better and has been taught more things.

Anyway, it is this grappling with the notion of fairness and justice that has caused him to be quite pent up. As a result, he sometimes act like a bully when things don’t go his way.

And of course, we have to add Becks to the equation, the little girl who still has tantrums and meltdowns, and who’s learning the art of negotiation from her brother by watching him every day. She joins this by contributing spiteful words with her unbridled tongue, always yelling, “I don’t love you anymore!” and getting way too emotional.

So there you have it. These two months have been tough with the kids with their evolving needs and temperaments. One minute they could be playing together and the next, they would be tugging shirts and pushing one another. They swing from adoring one another one moment and declaring “I don’t love you” the next. There’s a lot of tempers to tame, a lot of conflicts to negotiate and communication skills to be taught. This is one of the biggest challenges of having three children aged 18 months apart between each other thus far.

Some people say siblings that fight the most are the tightest and closest when they grow up. I sure hope that they will grow up tightly knit looking at the number of fights I have to break up every day.

Picture from Jantoo Cartoons

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Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves...

Hello Cinema Again!

October 30, 2013

We were invited to the movie screening of the Dreamsworks Animation, Turbo, at Golden Village Katong last week. I can’t believe we got to watch a movie in the cinema again under the ‘Mums & Babies Movie Screening at GV’! The last time we were invited, we watched The Croods at Golden Village City Square and enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

Being deprived of entertainment, unless you count watching my three kids clown around, I lugged all three of them plus the helper to the movie screening by bus – circle line – free shuttle (at Paya Lebar MRT) at 10 last Tuesday morning, so we can get our movie fix.

We arrived at I12 Katong’s Golden Village Cineplex at 11.45am and had ample time to settle in. It was a good thing I didn’t buy popcorn; the kids were given Gerber Graduates Puffs and a box of Heinz Baby Biscuits each. We grabbed three booster seats (which I didn’t find in GV City Square) and trooped into the theatre, all ready for the movie.

All ready to watch the movie!

What I particularly loved about this movie experience was that we were assigned seats all the way at the back and the kids could move around freely up and down the aisles, and in and out of the theatre (perfect for the little one who couldn’t sit still, and the older ones who needed to pee). The doors were kept open throughout the movie, so Nat who couldn’t sit still after half an hour got to roam about outside for a while with the helper. There were also some dim lights along the aisles such that the theatre wasn’t completely dark. At GV City Square where we watched The Croods, the lights were all turned off and the kids were pretty terrified at their first movie experience. There were also babies who were crying non stop then and I thought some dimmed lights might have helped soothe them.

Ben and Becks watching the movie while Nat moved freely around

The kids also had booster seats this time and that too, was a wonderful thing, because I needn’t sit any of them on my lap and hear them complain that they can’t see the screen.

Turbo was a good movie about daring to dream big – because how incredulous is it that a garden snail wishes to be as fast as a racer, right? – and Ben loved the speed and velocity in the movie. So did Nat, who’s into cars and trucks now at 20 months. Becks was a little alienated, but was more than happy to finish the Gerber Graduates.

It didn’t matter that we caught the movie three months after its release. We had a great time, and I totally just chilled out. Those 90 minutes were as good as a me-time I haven’t had in months, cos there was finally no one on my lap, and there was, at long last, silence from the kids for a while.

Thank you, Golden Village, once again, for the invitation!

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Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! The Kao Kids

IKEA Make a Friend Contest (and how a robot may change my mind about something)

October 28, 2013

I’m one of those moms that dislike having to work with glue, newspapers and recyclable thingys. In fact, I’d go as far to say I declutter so often you’d never be able to find a single thing to craft with where I live.

And yes, I am also a typical (Asian) Tiger Mom, who would much prefer my kids to be reading, tracing, learning their math or playing the piano, so I don’t usually do craft with my kids or allow my children time for crafting. Painting, yes; drawing yes; but making stuff from nothing, nope soree’.

The kids know that (the Tiger Mom part), and they don’t have a thing for crafting either (perhaps largely due to the fact they don’t get to do it enough to like it). So when IKEA invited us for their ‘IKEA Make a Friend Contest’ Preview Party last Saturday, I didn’t know if we should go. We would need to make a robot together – me, Ben and Becks – and I am really not sure if we could pull this off. Truth be told, we’ve also never worked on making something together.

But the kids love, love, love IKEA. There’s something about being there (at IKEA Tampines, where we hang out a lot), smelling the wood and looking at furniture that makes them very happy kids. So when I asked them, they didn’t even think for a minute how difficult it would be for all of us to be making a robot together. They heard ‘IKEA’, they jumped for joy.

It was then I knew I’d probably be the one making the robot instead of them.

Oh well.

So did we eventually “make a robot friend” on a nice Saturday morning? Well, for starters, Ben and Becks started fiddling with the materials we were given in our box with no idea what to do. Then Ben started drawing his signature smileys on the cardboard rolls and Becks just did whatever she wanted to do whenever – pretend paint, played with super glue, cut paper into strips – and was most diva when I requested that she help by adding some colour to boring brown cardboard boxes.

“Colouring with crayons is VERY tiring you know, Mama,” my little girl said.

The brother also echoed:

“Ya … I don’t know how to make robots lah. So difficult.”

I’m sure you could tell we were off to a great start.

So I ended up conceptualising, and doing most of the assembling, requesting for help only when help was forth coming – like when the kids were finally in the mood to help me tape / glue / cut / colour – all the while going flustered mom on them asking them to stop squabbling / putting glue in their mouth / rubbing newspapers on their faces / destroying the robot.

A rare shot of Ben and Becks getting some “work” done

And finally, we, made our friend. 95% Mama and 5% Ben and Becks. I’m sure it still counts as teamwork!

Tadaa! We made a robot friend!

Ben named him “Alien Robot” because he was green and had spoons on his head.

He really liked it, and got all the stuffed toys that IKEA gave us to befriend him too.

Ben and our new friend, “Alien Robot”

All of us at IKEA and our new friend, plus more new stuffed toy friends

It was a lovely Saturday morning (despite having to craft!) at IKEA and watching the other bloggers and their kids getting their creative juices flowing was all very inspiring! I felt so alone there, like I was the only mom in the room who didn’t like to craft at all and probably the only one nagging non stop at my kids (stop playing with tape! – don’t mess around with UHU! – quit shredding the construction paper! – gawd’, no, those rolls aren’t binoculars!). I don’t know how these moms do it – not scold their kids or nag them – and I very much wished that the kids and I could make something together without the nagging (from me) and squabbling (between themselves). I know it’s a little too much to expect, with Ben only 4 and Becks 3, but is it really too much to ask that they sit still and focus on a task?

Perhaps they need to be given more opportunities to work with craft materials, yes?

Perhaps I need to take a chill pill too?

The room of bloggers and their kids! Check out some of their blogs: The Gingerbread Mum, The Dino Family, Sengkang Babies, Singapore Mom Blogs and Sakura Haruka

The room of bloggers and their kids! Check out some of their blogs: The Gingerbread Mum, The Dino Family, Sengkang Babies, PeiPei.HaoHao.,Singapore Mom Blogs and Sakura Haruka

The kids, some adults and our robot creations

Nonetheless, it was a nice morning out and the kids were more than happy to be at IKEA, and to be presented with food and stuffed toys. “Alien Robot” now sits proudly in our living room as our new friend, and he’s making me change my mind a little about gathering recyclables and working with the kids on doing some craft together (perhaps with one kid each time, just one or two a year). I’d have to overcome my extreme disgust for glue first, that’s for sure. That, plus find a good pair of gloves to wear when handling newspapers. But till then, I’m glad the robot taught me something about how maybe, just maybe, I could start training the kids to focus on one ‘craft task’ at a time, and that maybe crafting together with them wouldn’t be so bad after all if we started doing it more often.

Hmmm. I need to think about this one. I am sure I can start being more ‘crafty’ because there are definitely more benefits than I can see. And we all can learn to reuse and recycle too, while at that.

But if you and your kids love to craft and love IKEA, here’s more on IKEA Make a Friend Contest:

If you’re not like me, and absolutely love to make things together with your kid(s), you can make a robot at IKEA’s Make a Friend Contest! The contest is open to all parents with kids aged 12 and under, and all kids who are 12 and under – but you have to be either FAMILY members of IKEA or småles members of IKEA. (You can find out how you can be a FAMILY member here or register your child as a småles member here.)

In the competition, each parent-child team will be given cardboard materials to create their very own robot within an hour, and every robot will be photographed and shortlisted by a panel of judges before a final round of voting. The best looking robot wins $500 worth of IKEA Children’s Furniture and gift card, and will be turned into a life-sized robot to be showcased at IKEA stores!

The great day of family fun where creative play takes place is on 23 November 2013 from 10am onwards at IKEA Tampines. There would be 5 sessions in total (more details here) and registration is free!

To register for a spot in the contest, simply sign up online here from 28 October 2013.

Disclosure: We were invited to the Bloggers’ Preview Party at IKEA. I did not receive any monetary compensation for writing this. The kids did, however, receive stuffed animals of their choice, and will go on an all-time high when you mention IKEA, and would love the idea of going IKEA even more now. All opinions here are my own.

P/S: I am not a crafting Mama. Please don’t throw stones my way, tell me how un-creative our robot looks or write to me about how I shouldn’t be denying my children the chance to get creative with doing craft. I’m changing my mind about that, but till then, it’s hard for the tiger to rid her stripes and her OCD.

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Family life as we know it Parenting 101 The Kao Kids

Grilles, at last!

October 25, 2013

We’ve finally succumbed. To the superior force otherwise also known as Nat-who-throw-things-out-of-the-window.

Yes, we’ve finally installed window grilles in the house.

We’ve never had grilles for the 9 years we’ve been living in this place. Our home without window grilles appear brighter and more spacious. When there’s a perceived abundance of spaciousness, the inhabitants are happier.

Or so we thought.

The older kids never had the problem. If they attempted to climb onto the ledge to see what’s outside the window, Mr Cane always fixed this problem. Then they quickly got the idea that foot on ledge equals pain and they quickly stopped. Whenever they wanted to look out, they looked out through the bottom glass window panes.

Then Nat came along and changed everything. No matter how we warned, spanked and caned, he doesn’t get it. He would bounce his balls so high they flew out of the window. He would volley his balloons and they would drift out one by one. He’s even thrown paper down, and I had to scamper downstairs with Ben and Becks to pick them all up. Worst of all, no matter how hard he was smacked, he would still put his foot on the ledge. I would have to write a post about him entering his Terrible Twos soon, because every day with him now is about him testing every boundary there is.

We figured we need to install grilles before I get arrested for killer litter.

So when we chanced upon Le Gate at the Baby Fair at the Expo, we quickly made arrangements for them to come. They specialise in “invisible grilles” which, in my opinion, are pretty affordable. We thought their grilles looked much better than those conventional gaudy ones, and so we hurried them to come and fix the grilles for us. We paid less than $500 to install and mount these invisible grilles of 3″ gaps (made of stainless steel wire rods) for the living room, dining room and kids’ room.

So here is how the house looks like, before and after grilles:

Before

After

And now, the adults in this house can finally can take a vision break whenever the children are in the living room. To heck with the perceived spaciousness, I say. This certainly makes the inhabitants (namely me, Fatherkao and the helper) much happier.

No need to scamper downstairs to pick things up. Or to yell at the little one for foot on the ledge anymore.

Yay!

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Going Out! Invites & Tryouts The Kao Kids

A FaBOOlous Halloween at Liang Court

October 23, 2013

We’re not into trick-or-treating, attending costume parties or carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns in observance of Halloween. In fact, the kids are pretty freaked out whenever this time of the year approaches, especially when heading to the supermarket requires them to duck in the trolley or look away.

So this is what happens at the supermarket these days…

So when we received an invitation for a Halloween Party at Liang Court, the kids went umm, no thanks, Mama! Thankfully, I was told that Liang Court’s ‘FaBOOlous Halloween’ would not freak the living daylights out of us, and it would be one celebration that would be suitable for children.

So last Saturday, the kids and I attended our first ever Halloween party, where we made costumes, were treated to yummy snacks from Shakey’s Pizza and caught an awesome, entertaining Japanese Street Gag by a really talented Japanese street performer who stood on one leg on a rope and juggled *gulp* knives.

A FaBOOlous Halloween at Liang Court from 1 – 31 October

It was a fun Saturday afternoon out. We made costumes sponsored by WondersWork that weren’t freaky at all – Becks was a choc chip cookie, and Ben was a Red Indian Chief, complete with face paint and tomahawk.

Sweet Choc Chip Becks

Red Indian Chief Ben

Well, there wasn’t anything to boo anyone about, but both of them loved their costumes so much they wanted to wear it everyday for the next three days. They also kept asking me what a vampire was, because some other kids chose to make vampire costumes, complete with blood (red face paint) and fangs. Then they started quizzing me on why there had to be scary stuff in the supermarket every Halloween, and what this day was all about.

Don’t throw stones at me now, I told my kids that Halloween’s one day where people with nothing better to do pull pranks on their friends! Hurhurhur. Too much to explain about it being the Eve of All Hallows dedicated to remembering the saints and martyrs and the faithful departed believers. Will make a mental note to refer them to Wikipedia when they can read.

So we didn’t do any trick-or-treating, didn’t carve any pumpkins but we sure learned some things about Halloween and put on some real un-scary, kids’ friendly costumes! Happy Halloween!

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Close encounters with the maid kind Family life as we know it The Kao Kids What to Expect... As a Mother

MITKH v.1

October 16, 2013

While most of my friends were busy candy crushing and completing their heist missions in GTA V, I was busy accomplishing the missions in MITKH* v.1 the last 5 days.

* MITKH : Maidless in the Kao Household

There were many levels to complete in MITKH v.1 and all of them came with challenges which had to be completed mostly in single player mode. Like any RPG, the player has to take responsibility for acting out roles within a narrative through a process of structured decision-making and character development.

Here are some of the challenges I completed in MITKH v.1 in ascending order according to the level of difficulty:

Challenge Take Care of Daily Needs of Three Children ON YOUR OWN

Level of difficulty 1.5/5

In this challenge, you double up as mom and maid. With one pair of eyes, hands and legs, you feed, bathe, dress and tuck in three kids aged 4, 3 and 20 months simultaneously. With practise, the children learn to wait their turn and you get better and faster such that you don’t get too flustered by the tasks any more. Sometimes, unexpected things happen, such as one of the kids falls and hurts himself, spills food on the floor, poops at meal times and throws a tantrum.

Cheat trick: Take deep breaths, ignore if you can so you can focus on mission, ensure that the older ones follow instructions to the letter. Enlist the help of Mr Cane if you have to to ensure order and discipline so mission gets accomplished with minimal yelling and nagging.

* Bonus points if you accomplish tasks with minimal yelling and nagging.

Challenge Mind the House that has NO Window Grilles with Three Kids

Level of difficulty 2/5

In this challenge, you face bored kids with mischief up their sleeves and no grilles in your confines. The kids unexpectedly throw ball, shoot Nerf guns, jump up and down sofa, tables, waist-level shelves and beds.

Cheat trick: Locate books and scatter them everywhere in the hope that kids will see them and start reading. Shut windows if needed. Enlist the help of Mr Cane if you have to to ensure order and discipline so mission gets accomplished with minimal yelling and nagging.

* Bonus points if you’re able to get grilles installed in time.

Challenge Bathe, Poop and Pee with Nobody Watching Three Kids

Level of difficulty 2.5/5

In this challenge, you need to do the above real quick. Unfortunately, all kids are awake and needing your attention. You do not have the option of skipping this challenge as you smell like a stink bomb.

Cheat trick: Usher kids into the master bedroom. Shut windows and doors. Turn on the air conditioning. Get them to sit in a circle. Tell the kids that you are going to play a game and you will emerge in a few minutes looking all gorgeous and get them to imagine what a sight it will be. Ask them to close their eyes and guess what colour of clothes you’ll be putting on / what t-shirt you would wear / whether you would appear wearing a skirt or a pair of shorts. Throw as many questions to them as possible and run into toilet to accomplish mission.

* Bonus points if kids don’t start banging on your door after one minute.

Challenge Do Laundry: Fold, Wash, Hang with Baby Holding on to Your Legs

Level of difficulty: 3/5

In this challenge, the laundry bags are filling up faster that you can say ‘laundry bags’. There are clothes on the bamboo poles which require keeping, dirty laundry not washed and baskets of laundry unfolded. Plus there’s a baby perpetually grabbing your legs everywhere you go.

Cheat trick: Ask older kids to help you and be specific – pair up the socks, fold your own underwear, bring these to the washing machine, give me 5 pegs for this pole – and remember to ask nicely. Make it sound like it’s the most important job they could do in the whole world.

Little trooper following instructions to hold clean and folded laundry this way and to keep them in the cupboard

* Bonus points if kids don’t walk out of their job halfway and decide to do something else and if you do not abort tasks in this challenge with baby grabbing legs.

Challenge Prepare Fried Rice for Lunch with Baby Holding on to Your Legs

Level of Difficulty 3.5/5

In this challenge, you’re alone and kids are starving. It’s too far, too hot, too troublesome (plus too embarrassing since you smell like a stink bomb and haven’t brushed your teeth) to walk out to buy lunch. You need to cook something quick with what you have in the fridge.

Cheat trick: Mince garlic with food processor. Mince frozen prawns with food processor. Ensure there’s eggs and leftover rice in the fridge. Give baby empty containers with caps that he can screw and unscrew to keep him occupied while you prep and cook.

* Bonus points if kids don’t faint from hunger and you’re able to wash all plates, bowls and wok, and clean kitchen up before dinner.

Challenge Clean House Thoroughly

Level of difficulty 4/5

In this challenge, there’s hair everywhere (yours). Plus dust, dirt, grime, food bits and booger. Every step you take makes your feet feel icky and the baby is starting to pick food bits up to ingest. Some cleaning is in order.

Cheat trick: Use lots of Magic Kleen cleaner and wiper sheets. Better still, enlist the help of older children if they are willing. Close both eyes if you need and imagine the mess and dirt is not there. Ask children and husband to do the same.

Little trooper helping to mop the house

* Bonus points if you can vacuum and mop (not just use Magic Kleen!) with all kids sitting still on the sofa and not come down from it at all.

Challenge Prep Lesson Materials for Two Older Kids AND (actually) Teach Them Something While Baby is Awake

Level of Difficulty 5/5

In this challenge, you have to continue your home teaching endeavours and follow through with lesson planning and delivery. Kids need to trace their letters, read their readers (both English and Chinese), practise their addition and sequencing, draw, do craft, go on field trips and listen to stories.

Cheat trick: Not known.

* Bonus points if you can do all the above and not lose your cool at any point in time.

I didn’t manage to start on the last challenge. It was all too difficult and exhausting by the time I reached that. I’m hoping I never need to clear that level nor play another version. EVER. AGAIN.

Just for the record, I don’t like this game. At all. Cos’ IT WAS FOR REAL! (Sorry, need to vent.) It gave a whole new meaning to the words “bone tired” of which I am experiencing right now.

P/S: The reason for MITKH v.1 was because the helper requested for home leave to visit her gravely ill mother. Initially she asked for two weeks. I said no. She asked for one week, and I said no again. 5 days is my limit. We had a deal, and I am glad she honoured her word and returned.

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Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun!

Learning Chinese the fun way [Chengzhu Mandarin Centre Voucher Giveaway]

October 16, 2013

One of the things to do to help pre-schoolers learn a language is to make learning fun and exposing them to the language in their daily lives in the most organic way. Ever since Becks attended Chengzhu Mandarin Centre’s Holiday Programme (成竹华语中心) in June where I picked up a tip or two to help pre-schoolers develop a love for learning the Chinese Language, I have stopped structuring Chinese lessons for the kids and started reading stories and speaking more in Mandarin to them to make learning Chinese fun and unobtrusive.

Becks isn’t exactly speaking more Mandarin, but one thing for sure, she’s definitely listening to more of it, now that Ben and I sometimes converse in Mandarin and play word search games.

*GIVEAWAY*

And as promised, I am giving away 3 x SGD$50 vouchers to be used at any of the holiday programmes that will run its course from 2 to 6 December 2013 at Chengzhu Mandarin Centre.

There will be a total of 9 programmes catered to children from aged 6 months to 9 years to help your child discover the joy of learning the Chinese Language through drama, stories, music, art, creative writing and performance. The school holidays will certainly be filled with much fun and adventure! You can check out details of the programme here.

To win the voucher I am giving away, simply leave me a comment here with your name and email address and the programme you wish to sign your child up for. Giveaway ends 30 October 2013.

UPDATE: Julia Gabriel Education will be giving away the $50 vouchers to all who indicated their interest by leaving me a comment! Hope your little ones would have fun at Chengzhu’s Holiday Programme, Angie, Ann, Meifen and PC!

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