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Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Nat Kao

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

March 22, 2014

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?

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.

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!

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

Steady progress at Eye Level (+ trial passes giveaway!)

March 18, 2014

Ben and Becks have been learning at Eye Level Learning Center for three months now, and I’m really happy with the kids’ progress in Math.

Actually, I’m also happy to be outsourcing this to their patient and caring teachers and get some time to myself every Wednesday afternoon, even though it’s just sitting outside the centre to wait for them. At least I get to read kdrama recaps, snack on OCK and chill for a while. Ha.

But I digress. Yes, as I was saying, I’m really happy with the kids’ progress because I think they’ve gotten their foundation in the basics right these past three months. Before starting at Eye Level, I’ve taught Ben to count using his fingers and counters and by making him count out loud, but here at Eye Level, they’ve done something even better. Through the activities in the activity booklets he does every lesson (and one more weekly for homework), his teacher guides him to add and subtract mentally (no fingers! and I hear the finger-way is kinda wrong!) and has taught him to count up to 120, and even doing it backwards (to help him understand subtraction). Concepts are revised regularly, and new concepts are introduced with a lot of scaffolding and practice, and then revisited in different ways.

Here’s how Ben’s learned addition up to 2 numbers in a variety of ways:

The activity booklet is designed to cover each concept in a variety of ways to keep the child engaged

At Eye Level, they also provide regular progress reports to keep parents updated. I like that the teachers there care enough to work closely with the parents and even provide a paragraph worth of comments on how the child is learning in class:

I get frequent updates after class, as well as consolidated reports like these

The best part of all these is not that I have a 5-year-old who can count big and add or subtract. Really, if you know me, I’m not a mother who lives to brag of such things. The best part for me is that these are learned without any blood (boiling) on my part, and sweat and tears on Ben’s part, and that most importantly, Ben is enjoying Math stress-free.

Because sometimes I can demand so much from my own kids teaching them. And that actually stresses them out a lot.

Looking at Ben through another classroom’s window: see how much glee there is!

As for Becks, she’s learning to count up to 10 through activities like story telling, colouring, cutting and pasting and sticker fun at Eye Level’s Play Math Programme – and the little girl is enjoying herself much too. She’s learning to count objects properly and systematically (and in fun ways while at it), as compared to haphazardly – and that to me, is great news.

$Just look at how beautifully illustrated these counting activities can be from the Play Math Programme!$

Just look at how beautifully illustrated these counting activities can be from the Play Math Programme!

Prior to attending lessons at Eye Level, Becks would throw tantrums just because I corrected the way she counted (she would point at objects randomly and double count most of the time). There were two things that didn’t work in our favour back then a couple of months ago: she was temperamental (even after exiting her Terrible Twos, yes) and I’ve got a pretty short fuse. Now that she’s three-half, she’s a lot better with those tantrums and I’ve learned also to be gentler when it comes to correcting her. Plus, I’ve also got a win-win situation here whereby Becks attends lessons at Eye Level and gets undivided attention from a very patient teacher whom she likes a lot.

Which translates into her liking Math a lot more now than before.

Becks getting ready for class

We’ll be continuing our lessons here at Eye Level for a while more because I like their systematic curriculum, the way learning is paced to be progressive and the fact that there’s a lot of proactiveness on the teachers’ part. Most of all, I like the idea that Ben and Becks are learning in an environment that’s fun and stress-free, but at the same time developing so much confidence in their thinking ability.

Thank you, Eye Level, for inviting us to review your excellent programmes!

Here’s something special for Motherkao readers, courtesy of Eye Level!

If you’d like to have your child attend trial classes at Eye Level, I’ve got THREE one-month trial passes for ANY programme at any Eye Level Learning Center located in Singapore for three readers of this blog.

You can choose from one of these programmes: Play Math (suitable for ages 2.5 to 4), Math (for ages 4 to 14) and English (for ages 4 to 14) at any of their learning centres islandwide – check for a location near you here.

*Do note that your child would need to take a diagnostic test before the commencement of the trial because Eye Level’s curriculum is designed to be progressive by levels.*

To participate for the random draw, all you need to do is:

1) LIKE Eye Level’s Facebook Page

2) LIKE Motherkao’s Facebook Page (if you haven’t already done so)

3) Leave me a comment here telling me the age of your child, the programme you’d like him / her to attend and your preferred location

Don’t forget to leave your email address so we can get back to you. Giveaway closes on 31 March 2014.

We’ve randomly picked… AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE THREE WINNERS!

Disclosure: Ben and Becks have been invited to attend Eye Level’s Math and Play Math for a term of three months (and now another three more months!). Motherkao has accepted sponsorship for her reviews of their programmes and endorsement of the centre. All opinions here are Motherkao’s own (with input from Ben and Becks).

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

Washi-ful, AMAZING fun with 3M Scotch® Expressions Tapes

March 17, 2014

I’ve stayed away – and kept the kids away – from washi-tapes for a long time. You know, those cute Japanese masking tapes typically made from natural fibres from the bark of trees that are native to Japan, yea those. They are super expensive, and if you get one, you sort of have to get all in every design, pattern and colour, cos’ they are all too pretty not to have. Besides, being OCD kind of makes me hesitate getting the kids those tapes because I’d much prefer not to have my furniture and walls embellished, thank you very much.

So since the kids are so extremely deprived of crafting fun, thanks to their not-so-crafty-mother, when an opportunity to craft comes along, I usually don’t say no so the kids can experience making a mess and getting all inspired and creative in an environment that’s conducive and fun.

Just not in our house, is what I’m saying. Hurhurhur.

Two Saturdays ago, we were invited by 3M’s ‘Make Amazing with 3M™ Scotch® Expression Tapes’ Tea Party to put the fun in functional using their bright and colourful adhesive tapes.

At the Tea Party, there was a display of all things washified - from stationery and chairs to shoes!

At the Tea Party, there was a display of all things washified – from stationery and chairs to costume jewellery!

To celebrate the launch of 3M’s Scotch® Expression Tapes, we gathered at Food for Thought @8Q for a no-holds-barred, anything-goes crafting session. We were asked to bring to life a simple IKEA children’s chair with as many Expression Tapes as we wished and turn it into a Rocket Launcher that would take us to worlds beyond.

We were given a demo by the trainers from Artz Graine, a leading art studio that creates a platform for art cultivation

With more than 55 colours and patterns from Magic™, Washi and Masking Tapes, we were truly spoilt for choice!

Tapes Galore!

We started washifying the Rocket cardboard with all the tapes that Ben and Becks had “shopped” for…

Getting ready!

Decorating the rocket with Expressions Tapes!

And when that proved to be a little too challenging for the both of them (because of the corners and odd shaped bits), Ben and Becks went wild making their washi statements on the chair…

Sticking tapes all over the chair, tis’ fun!

Leaving me (who else!) to continue working on the rocket …

All by myself: the OCD Mom did it. I washified NEATLY.

All by myself: the OCD Mom did this too

It’s so easy to use these tapes. They are also easily removed or repositioned and yet sticks securely to most surfaces. And the best part about these tapes is – and check this out – they are 100% TEARABLE (read: no need for scissors!).

Even Nat could help, and didn’t hesitate to join his siblings.

Nat at work

These versatile tapes are available in various textures and sizes in a rainbow of solid colours, prints and patterns to mix and match in almost every possible way. Just look at our final creation, our very own dazzling Launcher Throne:

Ta Daa!

The kids had a really great time playing with tape and discovering how to brighten their world with them. I’m guessing they will be off to upcycle all the ho-hums at home to add some pop to them with all the Expression Tapes 3M got us to take home (and I will try my best not to be OCD) and I am going to be seeing lots of tape around for a long time.

Thank you, 3M, for an afternoon of fun, food and craft. And yes, plus the chair and all the tapes you allowed us to shop for and bring back!

Food, fun and tapes!

More details:

3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Scotch® Expressions Magic™, Washi and Masking Tapes are designed to stick on a wide variety of surfaces for both permanent and temporary applications and can be removed cleanly.
These tapes retail at SGD$3.90 to $9.90 and are available at selected Popular Bookstores and other leading retailers.
Get a headstart by visiting MyActivityRoom.com and have fun with various creative projects using 3M Scotch® Expression Tapes!

Disclosure: We were invited to 3M’s ‘Make Amazing with 3M™ Scotch® Expression Tapes’ Tea Party and received many rolls of tape (used and unused) to craft with. No monetary compensation was received for this post and all opinions here are our own.

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Becks Kao Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up

A post (finally!) on girls and dolls [Part 2]

March 12, 2014

So I gave in and bought my daughter her first Barbie doll, and this is the post to explain why.

Last week we were invited by Mattel to celebrate 55 years of imaginative play with Barbie®, the world’s most popular fashion doll.

When I got the invite, I did the to-go-or-not-to-go in my head for a long time. Going would mean that Becks, at three-half, would enter into the dream world of fashion and style; afterall, Barbie’s the original fashion icon that’s played muse to designers all over the world and inspired fashionistas worldwide.

In other words, tis’ the start down the road of vanity.

But not going would mean that the Barbie fan in this Mama would miss out on the celebration. I go a long way back with Miss Barbara since the age of 5, having spent much of my childhood pretend playing with her, her on-off boyfriend and her friends at the beach, by the poolside and at her pretty home. Back then my aunt would buy me dolls whenever she returned from the States, and my godfather would buy me houses, accessories and various scenario sets. Those were fun times I’ve had with myself, my sister, and our imaginary friends.

In other words, I was the one itching to go lah.

And so we went. On a mother-daughter date on a Saturday morning to United Square, to join other girls and their moms in the “With Barbie®, Anything is Possible” Roadshow.

All dressed in pink!

Even the drink was pink

We participated in 3 out of the 4 activities lined up for us at the celebration. First, Becks went to the Barbie Style Icon Photobooth and played dress up:

At the Photobooth

Then, we designed our very own Barbie dress with fabric markers, glitter stickers and stencils. This was our favourite activity!

Becks designing a dress

We also tried the Style Icon Dream Closet Augmented Reality Experience where Becks got to play “digital dress up”. She wanted to be a princess – oh who wouldn’t – but somehow became a vet instead.

A veterinarian’s a good career choice, my dear. Better than princess, any time!

The activity which we skipped was the catwalk and runway experience. I’m keeping that away from her for as long as I can. No, make that forever.

I did wish that the celebration (which was of course, in an overdose of pink) would engage girls in more pretend play than dressing up. Like having a few scenario sets out (bring out the vet clinic, the Malibu Dreamhouse, the fashion wardrobe with all the clothes and shoes to change, and the Glam Pool Set, I say!) in a little play corner for the girls, like how there would always be a corner with plenty of blocks and bricks at any Lego Roadshow. Already the poor doll’s been parodied and criticised enough for her unrealistic idea of a body image and her lifestyle choices – so shouldn’t we play down on the dressing up and vanity bit and emphasise more on a doll’s role in inspiring creativity through pretend play through scenarios and adventures?

Which brings me to the reason why I bought my daughter her first ever Barbie doll. We chose a mermaid together, and I wanted her to enter the world of imaginative play with it since she’s already into the princess-happily-ever-after phase anyway. I’m happy to be paying $27.90 for something which can be part of her mythical pretend play of all the whatever that’s Under the Sea – mermaids, mermen and what-nots.

I also told her that she’s got to hold on to this doll for a long, long time and that some day, she should show her little girl how her love for dolls began, beginning with this Barbie mermaid from her Mama.

Her first Barbie doll from Mama!

***

Join Barbie® as she celebrates 55 years of imaginative play at United Square with Toys ‘R’ Us from 6 – 23 March 2014 from 11am to 9pm daily! To participate, obtain 1 stamp from every SGD$30 spent at Toys ‘R’ Us for an opportunity to take part in 1 of 4 activities.

Disclosure: We were invited to the celebration and received a gift bag with a Barbie doll in it. No monetary compensation was received and opinions here are all mine.

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Happy days Milestones and growing up Nat Kao The Kao Kids

A post (finally!) on girls and dolls [Part 1]

March 12, 2014

I have kept my little girl away from Barbie dolls for as long as I could.

Trust me, I’ve made her play with gender-neutral toys for as long as possible and even wanted her to rough it out with her brothers when they wrestled and do neanderthal-like things like grunting and crashing into random things.

I made all three kids play with toy cars, balls, Lego Quadro, Lego Duplo, kitchen masak-masak and trike-rides, and I’ve wanted it to be this way for at least the first three years of their lives. I attempted my best not to introduce any gender specific toys, unless they asked for it and only if they asked for it after they turn three.

So Becks did get a doll when she turned two because she wanted a “baby” and she was at that stage of wanting to comb everyone’s hair. And since I was still struggling with post-partum hair loss and constantly annoyed with the yanking and pulling and tugging of those very few precious strands left I decided to get her a Disney Mulan for her second birthday. She liked it for a total of 24 hours before she decided that her Puku bolster was a better choice for a “baby”. She’s been “mothering” those little bolsters ever since (I so need to write a post about those bolsters!), and Mulan has since been banished to a shelf known as Forgotten.

Becks’ first doll ever, who has now been forgotten, disfigured and banished

And that was that.

Until recently – and it was only just this year – she started going all feminine on me and began to develop a liking for all things pink (again!) and purple and all those Disney princessy stuff and happily-ever-after stories. I was hoping the tomboy phase would stay for a while more but alas. She was also dragging me to look at hairbands and clips, dolls and fairies and all things that spelled G-I-R-L whenever we headed out. Every time she squealed, my eyes would roll.

Vanity is not something I wish to be handling now, really.

It was also only recently that she asked me for a Barbie.

Well, I’m not sure if it’s because I introduced her to her (Miss Barbara, that is) earlier last year because I did share with the kids that I loved dolls as a girl (and I only started at 5) and then grew up appreciating dolls so much that I started collecting Designer and Collector’s Editions of Barbie Dolls.

Ladies and Gentlemen… Presenting my precious Barbie Collection

And more: My favourite and most expensive is the Duchess of Diamonds (my birthstone!), and it’s from a guy who wooed and won my heart (who also bought me a few more to add to my collection)

I also showed them my collection and promised them that they would get one on their respective wedding days and that Becks would inherit my collection some day.

Barbie Collection_Kids and their choices

The Kao kids “choped” their choices for themselves / their wives for their wedding day

I suspect that my little girl couldn’t wait till her wedding day, and has decided that it’s more fun to be pestering Mama for one to admire now.

Anyway, I caved in and bought her her first ever Barbie last Saturday.

The reason is here in the next post, Part 2.

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Becks Kao Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Nat Kao Product Reviews Reviews The Kao Kids

Review: Worry-free Luxury by Original Sprout

March 10, 2014

I like brands with an ethical philosophy, especially those that pledge to be environmentally friendly and are free from sulphates and parabens. I am big on labels, and scrutinise them whenever I buy anything to make sure that I get those which are free from harmful chemicals, and I am extra, extra particular whenever it comes to buying things for the kids.

So it did feel like Original Sprout picked up my thoughts by telepathy, because they sent these to my doorstep:

Original Sprout is a Californian-based family brand that’s already gotten a large following by Hollywood celebrity moms, and is recently setting foot in Singapore with their top 5 products. I’m not so won over by the Hollywood part as much as I am by the fact that the brand’s ethical philosophy is one of promoting an environmentally-friendly lifestyle by using ingredients that:

are free from synthetic hormone disruptor
are free from oestrogen disrupting ingredients
are free from sulphate
are paraben-free
do not use Lavender and Tea Tree Oils, Phthalates, Clove or Musk
are 100% vegan; no soy, gluten, honey, peanut or dairy
use parfum with only natural extracts
are environmentally responsible and bio-degradable
are eco-friendly and not tested on animals

I didn’t know about cosmetics with lavender and tea tree oil causing estrogen enhancing effects until now. I mean, what’s not to love about the smell of lavender! But I guess it’s now not so good for the boys cos’ studies have shown some correlation between cosmetics with lavender and boys developing breasts (read more about it here). Eww. Glad that Original Sprout also took care of that.

I don’t know about you but whenever I use products that have sulphates, parabens and a long list of chemicals, I am always extra careful not to use too much. Which is why I’d rather read a long list of what a product DOES NOT have any time. It’s so apt that Original Sprout calls themselves “Worry free luxury” because the more a product tells me what it doesn’t contain, the less worry I have, really.

So last weekend, I passed the kids the Original Sprout’s Hair & Body Babywash (354ml, SGD$25.00) and told them to go ahead and make their own day.

And they did. Liberally.

After her bath, I asked Becks how she liked the Babywash and she said that it smelled nice and “feels soft”. It was, indeed. The last I checked, the Babywash did leave her skin super clean and moisturised.

After her bath, Becks proceeded to slather the Scrumptious Baby Cream (118ml, SGD$16.90), mimicking the way I would slap on my moisturiser and hand cream after my bath. The multi-benefit cream is infused with natural Zinc for Environmental Protection and organic Rosemary for sensitive skin. It’s non-greasy and is a good protective barrier that keeps skin soft and velvety smooth.

Becks liked it so much she ran after her little brother to slather some on him.

Becks also tried the Miracle Detangler (118ml, SGD$16.90) that’s been created to make combing hair effortless and painless with organic ingredients like Rosemary, Calendula, Cranberry and Vegetable Glycerin. This girl is blessed with silky, straight hair with close to zero frizzies on a bad hair day, but that certainly didn’t stop her from spritzing the Miracle Detangler on her hair to make it even smoother.

The kids like what they’re using with Original Sprout, and I like what I’m smelling after their bath. It’s always good to be supporting socially responsible businesses and what more those that promise to provide safe and ethical professional solutions to our children’s skin and haircare needs.

Original Sprout is now available at 48 selection Watsons outlets islandwide. For more information, visit Original Sprout’s website here.

Disclosure: We were given Original Sprout products to review. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions here are our own.

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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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