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(Self) Examination Becks Kao Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up

Fixing a problem with ‘Special Time’

June 27, 2014

Ever since I became more of a work-at-home mom than stay-at-home mom, I’ve not really done much homelearning with the kids. I still follow a routine with them, but it’s with less intensity and frequency throughout the day; and instead of creating and designing my own materials, I’m using a lot more stock ones that are available for downloading from the net. I’m also letting them play A LOT more together, now that they are at the age where they love to pretend play. Just recently, I heard someone say “Mama” and “Dada” and they were not calling the husband and me but each other, and it was altogether tremendously amusing.

I also outsource the learning of the Chinese Language to Berries. Ben has been attending lessons since last year, and Becks started her N2 class this year. I’m pretty much hands off in this area.

Until the rude shock yesterday, that is.

So Becks’ teacher informed me that she couldn’t recognise the words she’s been taught when she did a revision test with her. It’s not the first time the teacher’s said it since the beginning of the year, and I’ve pretty much just left things as they were and hoping not to intervene at all in Becks’ learning. But last evening, the test score was 1 out of 20, and it was quite horrifying to know that the little girl doesn’t remember any Chinese character save one since January.

Of course our first thoughts were: Does she have a learning disability? Is she suffering from something we do not know of? Does she have a problem with memory? Is the classroom engaging enough? Does she have attention deficit?

Believe you me, I think any parent would start off with these crazy thoughts.

But any parent who knows their child would be able to pull herself back from this and think about what it is that the child really needs.

I didn’t go all beserk. I didn’t get all anxious (for a while I did, but not for too long, hurhur!) about Becks’ lack of ability to remember. I didn’t go down that slippery slope of reasoning within myself about how she might suffer in primary school. I didn’t run out to buy more Chinese books or videos. I knew that the little girl was sending me a message loud and clear, and if I am not going to “listen” to it, I’m going to be a fool of a mother.

I know my child. I think she’s saying, “Mama, can you also teach me Chinese too?”

Last night, before the kids went to bed, I told them that there would be a new routine when they wake up. They would each get a “Special ‘Learning’ Time” with me for 20 minutes every day when they are fresh in the morning, and we could spend time doing anything that they wished to learn. They know ‘Special Time’ is one-to-one time with me which no one can interrupt, and so using this phrase got them all agreeable.

That was that. I had it at the back of my mind but still went to bed at 2am catching Episode 201 of Running Man.

This morning, at 8.30am, someone tapped me on the shoulder and shouted, “Mama, wake up. We are having special time learning right?”

Right, the ‘Special ‘Learning’ Time’, yes.

It was the little girl who was up and all ready this morning.

And I was right. She was all ready to learn some Chinese and do some flashcard reading on my lap and playing games answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Chinese. I’m thinking to myself, BINGO, isn’t this what needs to be fixed before the problem in the classroom can be? She needs her mother to be involved in every area of her learning too.

Lesson learned: Never dismiss my child as having any problems until I’ve invested good time and energy being involved in her learning. I have to keep filling love tanks and be their cheerleader every step of the way, whether I work at home or not. And those 20 minutes (60 minutes for me) didn’t just make one kid happy, it made all three happy to have some one-to-one time on Mama’s lap – and we’re all looking forward to this routine every day!

Special learning time

Everyday fun! Family life as we know it Happy days Homelearning fun Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

All play, no work, happy kids!

June 24, 2014

Is it the last week of the June holidays already?

This month-long vacation was all play and no work for the kids. Not the child labour kind of work, but I have had grand plans to do lots of revision with the kids like a seasoned, experienced teacher (ahem) that I am so as to help them consolidate their learning.

I had planned to revisit all the 小书 from Berries, test them on all they have learned for Math using pop quizzes, read our graded readers that’s been languishing on the shelves, begging “Read me, read me!” (Poor Peter, Jane, Biff, Kipper and Chip), and introduce some Science concepts through sensory play.

Ah, how ambitious I was.

I started the holidays also prepping this box with a stack of activity sheets for each of the kids and instructed them to go find their folder whenever boredom struck. I told them to be sure to check that box often because they would be finding new things every now and then.

This was called the "I AM BORED" Activity Box

This was called the “I AM BORED” Activity Box

The idea was nothing else but a good idea; the kids couldn’t even be bothered with the box.

I painstakingly washified their names and slotted in things for them to do. Not too fun, apparently!

I painstakingly washified their names and slotted in things for them to do. Not too fun, apparently!

Sigh.

They found entertainment every day with one another in lots of pretend play…

The kids pretended to be pirates and laid booby traps

The kids pretended to be pirates and laid booby traps

Interspersed with unscheduled moments of reading and suddenly wanting to work on some activities…

The boys sharing a moment together exploring a book, which happened all so suddenly. Moments before that they were swordfighting!

The boys sharing a moment together exploring a book, which happened all so suddenly. Moments before that they were swordfighting!

I made this for Nat and he likes doing this (but never gets past more than 10 letters) - this is a matching activity using magnetic letters and a laminated paper letter chart

I made this for Nat and he likes doing this (but never gets past more than 10 letters) – this is a matching activity using magnetic letters and a laminated paper letter chart

Drawing (A LOT)…

They can be playing and laughing, and then suddenly the house would be silent and I would find the kids at their desks doing this!

They can be playing and laughing, and then suddenly the house would be silent and I would find the kids at their desks doing this!

And going out a lot for events, outings and a really nice holiday.

Storytelling at Sentosa Playmobil Event

Storytelling at Sentosa Playmobil Event

At Montigo Resort for our short getaway

At Montigo Resort for our short getaway

At the new Sports Hub watching World Club 10s Rugby

At the new Sports Hub watching World Club 10s Rugby

I think this is the life for any kid, and maybe it was a good thing I got nothing in my list of grand plans done afterall.

Just look at how happy they have been all month long!

Happy kids!

Happy kids!

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

More play with PLAYMOBIL, all thanks to Sentosa’s Storytelling Comes Alive!

June 16, 2014

One of the most awesome things about having children is that you can be thoroughly entertained for hours watching them play pretend.

I watch my firstborn, who is five this year, do that with all his Lego people and Transformers. I hear him voice different characters and witness the drama and conflict unfold. I watch my little girl, who is turning four next month, talk to stuffed toys, take them to tea and organise all sorts of themed birthday celebration for Care Bears, Barbies, her favourite bolster and teddies. And with my littlest who is two years old, I am hearing him impersonate Captain America, Batman, Superman and Spiderman in all sorts of voices and going on rescue missions on his own, by himself. The kids play together at times but as quickly as they can gather to play together, they can also very quickly break away to immerse in their own worlds of play.

It’s all very amusing, I tell you. But I do enjoy every minute of being amused this way.

I’ve heard good reviews about Sentosa’s annual ‘Storytelling Comes Alive!’ event but hadn’t had the opportunity to check them out the past years. This year’s tie-up with PLAYMOBIL seems too exciting not to miss. With the kids huge on pretend-character-play these days, Sentosa’s ‘Storytelling Comes Alive! With PLAYMOBIL’ this year had me swearing to myself that I must bring the kids to go get their imagination fuelled!

So on a hot, scorching Wednesday afternoon we went…

Sentosa_The State of Fun

Giant PLAYMOBILS at Palawan Beach!

And they are everywhere: a giant Fairy PLAYMOBIL!

And they are everywhere: a giant Fairy PLAYMOBIL!

…Where we first checked out the Little Hands and Minds craft corner and had some craft done. We had wanted to catch the story of ‘Prince Plucky and the Treasures of the Ocean’ at 2.30pm but were late for it, so we thought we go get our hands busy instead.

Little Hands and Minds_Watering Can_Ben

Focused…

Little Hands and Minds_Watering Can_Nat

As usual, someone doesn’t know what to do…

Little Hands and Minds_Apron Decorating

We made an apron for the Princess!

Ben and Nat did up their watering cans, while Becks and I worked together to embellish and put some designs on an apron. It’s only $5 per activity, and if you come on a Monday, you get a 1-for-1 deal.

The kids then had their fun at the PLAYMOBIL play pits and needless to say, the boys gravitated to the dragons and dungeons and castles and started making all sorts of crashing and roaring sounds, complete with evil laughter, while the little girl just sat where the pink things were to la-la-la away. The heat didn’t deter anyone from having fun, although the adults that brought them there were fast melting and screaming for air-con.

Playmobil Play Pit_ Boys and Castles

The boys getting really excited now…

Playmobil Play Pit_ Boys and Dragons

And the grunting, crashing and roaring begins!

Playmobil Play Pit_ Princess for Girls

All these while the little girl was quietly playing away

It was a really hot day, that afternoon. Bet you could hear all of us sizzle like sausages in a frying pan just by looking at these sweaty, sticky kids.

So finally at 4pm, when I heard a voice blasting from the speakers inviting kids to gather at the air-conditioned pavillion for ‘Sun, Sea and Sand with Buddy Cool’, I hurried the kids to get some air-conditioning cool with me. We sat in for a really informative and engaging session on beach safety and Ben and Becks learned a few tips on how to stay safe at the beach.

In this informative session, we learned what the different flags at the beach meant and when it's safe to swim in the sea

In this informative session, we learned what the different flags at the beach meant and when it’s safe to swim in the sea

A picture with Buddy Cool!

A picture with Buddy Cool!

Then the clock struck 5.45. And that was when what really got us all excited began! A giant story book opened right before our eyes, and characters from the PLAYMOBIL fairy series came alive in ‘The Search for the Magical Unicorn’. I loved the whole concept of reading aloud from a giant storybook and selecting some kids to participate as fairies and unicorns, as well as involving the audience to recite chants complete with funny actions. The organisers even gave everyone a crown to get them into their role of reciting their chant. My little ones were thrilled, and even Nat (who usually can’t sit still) was totally immersed in it.

In the story, the PLAYMOBIL fairies and their unicorns came to live, and the children were transported into a world of enchantment and magic. We don’t have many pictures to show, and that’s mainly because the adults, too, were totally drawn into the story!

The Search for the Magical Unicorn_1

The King announces that there’s trouble in Fairy Land…

The Search for the Magical Unicorn_2

And the fairies and unicorns are summoned to help

You have to go check out the storytelling for yourself. It does comes alive, indeed (as the programme is aptly called), and it’s really something the kids should experience. The pictures here don’t do the fun we’ve had any justice at all!

The Search for the Magical Unicorn_3

We had to take a picture with these lovely people who made the story so engaging and fun!

Before we left, we just had to check out the PLAYMOBIL Toy Store pushcarts all over the beach front. The big boy was so awed by the fact that PLAYMOBIL (which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year) was as old as him he couldn’t wait to get his hands on some dragons and knights in the name of family bonding to play with his children.

So. Someone came home having bought all these.

So. Someone came home having bought all these. I hear there are good discounts (up to 15% ) only at the island, and that the dragons are exclusive to Sentosa and aren’t even in stores yet.

The last I heard, the sons and him have fixed up the castle and prepared their dragons and dragon slayers for an all out war with the Transformers Decepticons and Lego Vikings. The little girl also got a princess from her father and I suspect that this lady’s entire existence in the larger scheme of things would be all about being rescued from the knights in shining armour.

It's really late at night and the Kao kids should all be getting ready for bed. But the PLAYMOBIL sets beckon and they are all smiles.

It’s really late at night and the Kao kids should all be getting ready for bed. But the PLAYMOBIL sets beckon and they are all smiles and energetic.

Let the battles begin!

Let the battles begin!

And the last I saw was that of a very happy girl talking to her princess, tucking her in bed; a very talkative two-year-old discussing weaponry with his brother; and an extremely enthusiastic five-year-old losing sleep over the fact that there’s lots of new toys in the living room and that he is going to be playing those toys with his father very often.

Somebody stayed up late to build the sets with his father. Somebody woke up before everyone else to play with it. And this is the same somebody who can never wake up early if he has a lesson in the morning.

Somebody stayed up late to build the sets with his father. Somebody woke up the next day before everyone else to play with it. And this is the same somebody who can never wake up early if he had a lesson in the morning.

All thanks to PLAYMOBIL, an indulgent father, and the event at Sentosa, there is so much excitement in the air with play, play and more play now in the house!

More details:

Take time off for some family bonding with your little ones, and let them explore and learn through play!

‘Storytelling Comes Alive! With PLAYMOBIL’  is happening now at Sentosa till 29 June 2014. There are giant PLAYMOBILS all around Palawan Beach, storytelling sessions, exciting performances, PLAYMOBIL sand pits and play pits for you and the little ones to check out this June holidays – all for free!

Date: 31 May – 29 June 2014 (no stories and shows on Mondays)
Time: 11am – 7pm
Venue: Palawan Beach

Get details of schedules and synopsis of stories here and here.

Disclosure: We were invited by the good folks at Sentosa for the event and given 2 free activities at the ‘Little Hands and Minds’ booth and also F&B vouchers. All opinions here are my own, including how awesome I think it is that they are telling stories and running this programme in mostly air-conditioned comfort. Thank God for air-con!

Becks Kao Ben Kao Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reviews

Cookies, anyone? [Review of Rush-Me-Not Art Studio’s Holiday Workshop]

June 12, 2014

Making home-made play dough has been at the back of my mind for the longest time since I attended a course on teaching children writing. Getting the kids, especially preschoolers who are starting to write, colour and draw, play with dough is one the best ways to strengthen those little fingers.

And so I made a mental note to remember to make DIY play-dough with the kids this holidays and to sign them up for any dough related classes (baking, clay modelling, whatever) at the nearest community club  if it’s affordable.

And then I forgot and it’s now the second week of the June holidays.

Thankfully – and I say it with gratitude to God and to the people who invited us Rush-Me-Not Art Studio asked if we would be keen to review their ‘Sweets For The Sweets’ clay modelling workshop. The workshop promised to be a fun and tactile experience for children aged 3 and above as it would involve kneading, moulding, pinching and shaping clay to make colourful cookies.

And so to Novena Gardens we went on Tuesday. It was a three-hour drop off class and I was told that Ben and Becks would be in good hands. Here at Rush-Me-Not, the teachers and principal firmly believe in keeping classes small so that they can give the children their fullest attention, along with constant positive reinforcement and encouragement so children can pick up art skills in an enjoyable, therapeutic manner.

I didn’t worry much because when I saw the glee in Ben and Becks’ eyes when they found out they were going to be moulding clay and painting on it, I knew they would certainly be having a good time.

And they did. The folks at the art studio sent me these pictures as testament of the learning and fun they’ve had while at the workshop:

Rush-me-not Holiday Workshop_Clay modelling_1

Rush-me-not Holiday Workshop_Clay modelling_2

Rush-me-not Holiday Workshop_Clay modelling_3

On Tuesday, I had two very proud kids. Just look at what they’ve accomplished in three hours!

Sweets for my Sweet

Those little Kao fingers got their much needed practice for their fine motor skills despite their forgetful mother, got their kneading and moulding fix, and their creativity unleashed painting and patterning on air-dried clay. No wonder they were happy and excited the whole day. They would be glad to tell the whole world they made “cookies”, these children.

Thank you, Rush-Me-Not Art Studio, for inviting Ben and Becks to such an enriching workshop. Now at least if we don’t have the time to make play-dough, I would be happy that they did at least mould some clay this June.

And I know I’ll do good to remember the words of Principal Jealina who shared with me that when it comes to art, never rush the children!

More details:

Rush-Me-Not Art Studio is a Singapore-based holistic art studio that aims to provide an inspiring environment to adults and children alike in their exploration of art-making. Having been around for ten years, the art studio focuses on providing quality coaching, quality art materials and keeping class sizes small so that self-discovery, character development, expression and recreation can be experienced through visual arts and the fine arts.

Rush-Me-Not offers a variety of art-therapy workshops for children and parents, as well as regular classes and holiday programmes. They also believe that children can start learning art young, and even conduct Baby Art classes for 2 to 3 year old toddlers! For more information about their ongoing curriculum and programmes, you can get in touch for trial classes via email at rushmenot.artstudio@gmail.com or call them at 6256 1449. Connect with Rush-Me-Not via FB for the latest news and updates on their workshops and activities.

Rush-Me-Not is located at:

  • 273 Thomson Road, Novena Gardens #03-02, Singapore 307644 (Tel: 6256 1449 | 6254 7398)
  • 195A East Coast Road, Singapore 428900 (Tel: 6348 8608).

AND JUST FOR MOTHERKAO READERS, RUSH-ME-NOT HAS A SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR YOU!

Here’s not one but FOUR specials for you:

1) Quote [Motherkao] when calling Rush-Me-Not Art Studio and enjoy a free trial class (worth $40)

2) Sign up for 2 holiday workshops and get to enjoy 5% off the total fees

3) Sign up for 3 holiday workshops and get 10% off the total fees

4) Form your own groups for any holiday workshop with 2 or more friends and everyone gets 10% off the workshop fees

More details on holiday workshops here.

Here’s what’s offered this June holidays:

RMN Workshop 1

RMN Workshop 2

RMN Workshop 3

The holiday workshops run till 30 June 2014.

Disclosure: Ben and Becks were invited to one of the holiday workshops conducted by Rush-Me-Not Art Studio. We didn’t receive any monetary compensation for this but we got lots of clay cookies and some snacks to fill those hungry tums while moulding clay. All opinions here are my own, and after a thorough interview with the two excited and proud participants mentioned.

Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reviews The Kao Kids

Learning how to improve children’s writing at Lorna Whiston

June 5, 2014

In April / May, I was invited to attend a short course for five weeks at Lorna Whiston to learn strategies to teach young children to write.

I declined the invitation at first. For two hours every Monday from 6.45pm to 8.45pm, at the busiest two hours of the peak period at home, I would have to leave my husband and the helper (and then we didn’t have one for a while even!) to handle dinner, tired kids and tuck-in. No mother would want to put anyone except herself through that. Even if it’s once a week. Or for five weeks.

But I eventually accepted the invitation for three reasons. #1: It would be a good break away from the kids at the busiest time of the day (how about you kids learn to handle life without Mama for two hours huh?); #2: I need to acquire more strategies in my arsenal to interest Ben and Becks to start writing (since we’re starting on our reading already); #3: I can’t wait to learn from the experts.

Course title

The five-week course addressed a few key questions: How do children learn? What teaching methodology will best support children’s learning? How do we create a supportive writing environment? How do we get children started on writing?

And when they do pick up a pencil and start to write, how do we develop a wider vocabulary with them? How can we get children to plan and structure a story? What can we do to teach them how to start and end a story effectively? What are the stages of writing development?

Being a home-teaching mom who is actively involved in my children’s learning, especially for the English Language, I do already have some ideas and strategies up my sleeves. Attending this course gave me more ideas, more strategies to tweak and adapt for my own children and helped clarify some doubts I have regarding how children learn.

This writing course was also helpful in that the trainer, the Head of Teacher Development Unit at Lorna Whiston, meticulously planned and customised his sharing to our children’s developmental and learning needs. There were four of us mothers in the course, and we all had children of different ages ranging from two years old to nine. And as we interacted, we discovered our children had different needs and challenges, and as we shared them with the class, Jonathan also provided his expert opinion and shared resources and strategies to help with those challenges.

Lesson in progress 1

Lesson in progress by Jonathan Cooper, Head of Teacher Development Unit

Lesson in progress 2

In class, we learned how to evaluate writing based on a ‘Success Criteria’

It was a suitably tailored course with plenty of interaction.

A good deal of learning and relearning took place during those five weeks for me, and it helped me to evaluate some of the things I’ve been doing with the older kids. The course also reminded me about returning back to the fundamentals of role modelling and reading.

Here are five things I took away from the course, which are particularly needful at this stage of my children’s learning development at 5 and 4 years old:

1. Create a print-rich environment at home

One of the key things to create a supportive writing environment at home is to start by creating a print-rich environment. There should be an easily accessible library, lots of pen and paper lying around, attractive displays of their writings, labels that accompany visuals, word maps and charts, and lots of big books for sharing and enjoyment. Creating this is the first step to get children to associate fun with words and words with fun because the home is now literacy-rich and words are everywhere.

For me, it’s a reminder that I need to constantly create and recreate this at home – even though it means that the house looks like a classroom now. Time to change some of those posters and put up new displays on walls.

2. Don’t stop reading to your child and with your child

Reading to and with our children helps them build their vocabulary. And as long as the child wants to read to, regardless of how old he or she is, we should read to them. When they don’t want us to read to them any more, there should be time set aside to read together.

3. Bring back the play-dough and monkey bars

I hate play dough. I hate the mess it creates and the cleaning I have to do after. But I have to bring it back. Kneading dough actually helps strengthens those little fingers and prepare them for writing. During outdoor play, get children to swing on monkey bars to strengthen their grip and develop those muscles.

Time to bring the dough back for play!

Time to bring the dough back for play!

Ok, time to encourage my monkeys to swing and to make some DIY play dough for the kids.

4. Scribe by highlighting to create storybooks authored by your child

This is one tip I learned which I found especially useful. If our kids can’t write or spell yet, we can still get them to imagine up stories and put them all on paper – with us as their scribes!

I tried this on Ben recently and it was a hit with him. I put some paper with triple lines together and asked him to author a story book. What does he want to write about? Who’s going to be in the story? What’s going to happen? Then as he told me his story, I took a highlighter and wrote out the sentences for him, after which he took over by tracing what I wrote with the highlighter.

Writing his story

Writing his story

A Fun Party by Ben Kao

A Fun Party by Ben Kao

Doing this also allowed him to practise penmanship and learn the basic structure of a story – that every story has a beginning where characters are introduced, a middle where something happens, and an ending. And best of all, he loves writing now, and wants to create more storybooks.

5. Always model. Children need good models.

Children need to see adults write, whether it’s a shopping list, a note for someone or a birthday greeting. When they see that, they wouldn’t be averse to writing so much. Yes, so it’s time to put down the iPad and phone – because typing a text message is not writing – and start picking up pen and paper in front of the kids to scribble something.

Samples of guided writing by different ages shared with us at the course

Samples of guided writing by different ages shared with us at the course

Also, every element of story writing requires specific teaching and modelling. So it’s important to share good stories with children, and possibly even use bad examples to show them what not to do.

Recent reading research tells us that preschool teachers and parents should be systematic and explicit in their support of literacy skills, which means that things should not be left by chance and teaching should also be organised according to developmental milestones. So if it’s time to teach how to start a story, make it explicit and expose the child to as many story starts as possible. Plough through a story to learn vivid verbs if the child is at the stage where he needs more vocabulary to create the element of excitement in his story. Bottomline is: as parents, we need to model, we need to teach. Don’t leave things to chance.

All in all, fruitful learning took place for me for five weeks and I am going to gradually introduce some of the writing strategies to the kids as we chug along in our homelearning journey. If you’d like more information about the adult courses Lorna Whiston runs, you can connect with them on their FB page, visit their website or contact them at 6251 7662.

This was the course I attended

This was the course I was invited to attend

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the Improving Children’s Writing course conducted by Lorna Whiston Study Centres for 5 weeks. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions here are my own.

Ben Kao Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Reading fun

Rainbow Bear’s Dinosaur Discovery by Julia Gabriel [Book Review + Giveaway]

May 29, 2014

Ben is now 5 and can read small chunks of text to entertain and educate himself. This makes me a happy mother because I can pass him a book and he’s pretty much engaged, which frees me to handle the other two who frequently need my attention.

If you pass him a book that interests him, that is.

A while ago, Julia Gabriel Education sent us this:

JGE_Dinosaur Discovery Book and CD Set

Rainbow Bear’s Dinosaur Discovery Book and CD set retails at SGD29.95

No surprise there who jumped for joy.

I very much left Ben on his own with the book while playing the audio. The book and CD set did three wonderful things for Ben. First, it reinforced whatever he’s learned for phonics at kindergarten; second it allowed him to read along with the CD and figure out challenging dinosaur names on his own without my help; and third, the beautifully illustrated book let him do a picture search for things relating to the various blends and digraphs on each page, which is something he enjoys very much.

JGE_Dinosaur Discovery_Ben reading 1

Listening attentively…

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

And while the younger ones could only be engaged for only a few minutes with their shorter attention span, this boy sat in the living room for quite a while enjoying the story.

He loves picture hunts and this is keeping him really focused

He loves picture hunts and this is keeping him really focused

The book got him excited about dinosaurs again. It even has fun facts about the 24 prehistoric animals mentioned in the pages (and I actually thought the names were all made up but I was so wrong!) – which is really good fuel for his imagination and value-adds to his reading. The audio is also great for reinforcing the correct pronunciation with the dinosaurs teaching him the most common sound of each digraph and blend.

If your kids love dinosaurs and are learning how to read, this book and CD set is a good resource to have as they journey towards fluent reading. Plus, the songs and tongue twisters are funny too!

And I have THREE sets of this to give away!

Julia Gabriel Education is giving away THREE sets of Rainbow Bear’s Dinosaur Discovery book + CD set to three of Motherkao’s readers, so you and your child can meet ’em all too!

To qualify for the random draw, simply do the following:

1) Leave me a comment here telling me who you’d like to win this for and what’s his/her favourite dinosaur 

2) LIKE Motherkao’s FB page if you haven’t done so

Remember to leave your name and email address! Giveaway closes on 5 June 2014.

And… WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!

Congrats to Joey, Ooy Yoan and Evan! We’ll be in touch, and I think some little ones would be really excited to meet the friendly dinosaurs in the book!

Dinosaur Discovery Winners

Disclosure: We were given the Dinosaur Discovery Book and CD Set from Julia Gabriel Education. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions here are our own.

Everyday fun! Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

Food, nutrition & some serious fun in the kitchen

April 26, 2014

This month’s homelearning revolved around food and nutrition, and I also took the opportunity to teach my kids two simple skills: using a knife and frying an egg.

We had some serious (oxymoronic) fun, yes.

First, a tour of the kitchen to learn simple vocabulary for egg frying: STOVE, PAN, OIL, EGGS, WOK SPATULA, WHISK.

Then to get acquainted with all the sharp objects in the drawers so they know to handle them with care whenever we need to use them: (from right to left) PEELER, GRATER, KITCHEN SCISSORS, PARING KNIFE, UTILITY KNIFE, COOK’S KNIFE, CHOPPER (hidden in picture)

Homelearning_kitchen tools_sharp objects

Hold on tight: You know they’re a little bit DANGEROUS here!

Then, it’s tofu cutting time since we were going to be having tofu soup that evening anyway. Ben used the utility knife while Becks held the paring knife. I got them to gently touch the blade to understand the concept of “sharp” and had them dice the tofu with their knives.

Next, three eggs out from the fridge for each kid, and cracked into a bowl. Because it was their first, I held their hands to crack it with them. Got them to whisk, then had them pour a little oil, feel for heat about 5cm above the pan and pour in the egg. Then they scrambled them, served some to their father and savoured the remainder.

Homelearning_egg frying

Scrambling to scramble eggs

On another occasion, we chopped up celery, potatoes and carrots for our vegetable soup. This time round the kids understood that unlike cutting the tofu which was soft and easy, they had to hold on to the vegetables and watch their fingers while they exerted pressure with the knife. I gave the littlest a steak knife and had the helper watch him while I made sure the older two didn’t slice their fingers.

Homelearning_knife skills

Seriously fun to be chopping and slicing

After we were done, we threw everything in water to boil with chicken bones for soup!

I later asked the kids if they liked what they did – and they were very proud to have helped made a part of our dinner that night. What they shared with me made me realise that I’ve got to gradually learn to empower these kids to pick up age-appropriate skills so they can experience a sense of accomplishment.

I followed up with getting the kids to learn the words CUT, SLICE, KNIFE and VEGETABLES. Ben could easily form three sentences with these helping words, like “I cut with a knife.” / “I slice with a knife.” / “I cut vegetables.” I also got the kids to recount their experience by drawing what they did and then put their drawings up on the gallery so they can tell ‘stories’ to their dad when he returned home.

Homelearning_vocab and drawing

Recounting what they did with paper and crayons

We also read some books we borrowed from the library to learn the importance of nutrients for our bodies and our growth. These two books scored with the kids, cos’ we got to sing two very funny songs while learning about good food and our taste buds!

Food books_Singalong

“Fabulous Food” and “I Taste Sing and Read” from NLB

Here’s sharing how to sing the two songs with you:

Song 1 – To the tune of Farmer in the Dell

“What makes bones grow?
What makes teeth grow?
Milk and yogurt, cream and cheese,
Calcium makes them grow.
 
What makes blood strong?
What makes muscles strong?
Fish and spinach, nuts and eggs,
Protein makes them strong.
 
Why can we move well?
Why can we breathe well?
Wheat and rice, oats and corn,
Carbohydrates keep us well.
 
We know what to eat,
We know what to eat.
Fruits, vegetables, bread and meat
Now let’s go and eat!”
***

Song 2 – To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

“Your tongue tells you what tastes sweet
Honey, jam, an ice cream treat
Watermelon, peaches, too
Fresh fruit is so good for you
Your tongue tells a lot, it’s true
Salty, bitter, nasty, too.
 
Your tongue tells you what tastes sour
Vinegar on cauliflower
Grapefruit, limes and sour cream
Citrus-flavoured jellybeans
Your tongue tells a lot, it’s true
You have taste buds, lucky you.”
***

We followed up the taste buds-song with a fun activity of observing our taste buds in the mirror and adding little bumps to a giant tongue – on paper, that is. I wrote the words SALTY, SWEET, SOUR, BITTER and TONGUE so that the kids can repeat the vocabulary that describes taste as they drew on the giant tongue.

Tastebud activity

Come near and the giant tongue will lick you up!

It’s been a tastily fun month, and I am looking forward to enlisting these little troopers in the kitchen whenever I need help!

Becks Kao Ben Kao Homelearning fun Learning fun!

Teaching the Kao Kids: Routines II

April 23, 2014

Homelearning

There’s a new wall the kids have to face these days.

Our humble five-room flat is already looking like a day care. Might as well maximise every empty space for learning.

In order to create a print rich environment, I’ve put up two charts which I bought from a spree with some other mothers (SGD$15 for 1 from Taobao) and used the pockets to put in word cards for Ben (we’re currently still blending word) and letter cards (uppercase and lowercase letters) for Becks.

Ben's chart with Blends

Ben’s chart with Blends

Becks' chart with Letters + her weekly word cards from Berries

Becks’ chart with Letters + her weekly word cards from Berries

I change the cards in the pockets frequently but before I do so, they would have had faced their charts for at least a week.

It’s no punishment at all here in this house. We just like to face the wall, that’s all.

 

Here’s what I wrote about Routines, Part 1

Check out the other posts in the series:

TTKK Logo

Becks Kao Ben Kao Enrichment Happy days Learning fun! Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

It’s the sound of music!

March 31, 2014

It’s time to start the kids on their music journey. We’ve been waiting for Ben and Becks to turn 5 and 4 respectively, and since it’s going to be happening this year, we thought we’d begin.

A family friend gave Ben a recorder on his birthday and taught him how to blow some notes. It’s been noisy ever since, since the others also think it’s the longest whistle they can ever blow!

I haven't see a recorder since my primary school days!

I haven’t see a recorder since my primary school days!

And someone thinks it's a whistle!

And someone thinks it’s a whistle!

A good friend also lent us her piano, and I’ve started the kids on piano lessons at home. I initially had grand plans to teach my own kids (c’mon, Mama started learning at 5!), but gave up that ambitious idea because I really didn’t know how to scaffold their learning to help them understand the theory of music. I don’t even remember how I learned when I started; and all I am left with right now is a bunch of knowledge all jumbled up and rolled together in my head. It’s a challenge for me to teach the kids what I know because I no longer am able to relearn and break it down into easy-to-understand lingo for my completely clueless kids.

Hence the decision to get a teacher.

I must say, I really like the interesting ways their piano teacher is teaching them to identify the keys on the piano, as well as the engaging ways in which she gets them to understand the theory part through clapping, tracing and colouring. Check out how she places a little cat on the C key, a dog on the D and an elephant on the E with a dog house covering them all, so the kids recognise a pattern.

These little fingers are playing the piano, and I am really excited for them

Here's Ben learning the 'Good Morning' song

Here’s Ben learning the ‘Good Morning’ song

And Becks is learning 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'

And Becks is learning ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’

We also bought a set of drums but that would have to wait while we get going with their piano lessons for a while more.

Hopefully by Christmas, we can have a live band performing.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” – Plato

Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Nat Kao

Bill Martin Jr, Eric Carle and my two-year-old

March 22, 2014

Reading fun for Nat

After serving as excellent readers for Ben and Becks who can almost say them out by heart, these bear books are now keeping Nat company whenever Ben and Becks are in school when he has nothing to do.

Nat and I are reading the classic Bear Series from Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. They are:

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
  • Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
  • Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
  • Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?

Eric Carle & Bill Martin Jr Bear Books

As well as this book titled From Head to Toe which we both enjoy as it invites both of us to imitate animal movements, like stomping our foot like an elephant and thumping our chest like a gorilla.

All these books have got a good rhythm to keep even a two-year-old engaged and gives Nat the wonderful opportunity to imitate sounds and actions of animals. Besides attending playgroup for 1.5 hours twice a week, these reading sessions with Mama during pockets of time on a weekday is all he’s got. I take for granted that he would know how to flip the pages of a book, hold it properly and start reading from front to back; after all, the older kids had learned them somewhat. But I forgot that the older kids were in infantcare and childcare since they were four months old, and that now that I’m staying home, I have to be the one teaching Nat these skills.

Eric Carle & Bill Martin Jr Bear Books_reading

This boy is enjoying the bear stories and doing well flipping the pages properly now.

Thank God, no more torn pages! Looks like I now need to teach him to sit cross-legged every time he reads!