Long Overdue Back to School Post

What was I busy with? I have no idea or maybe there isn’t things that are interesting enough to blog about. 

Anyhow, after a long holiday break, school and tuitions are now back on track. Their tuition centre squeezed all the classes in November, probably realising that half the world travels in December and trying to arrange for make up classes are nightmares. Suits us well. 

Zaky started school on 3 Jan (Friday) and grumbled so much about it. Nana’s school only started officially last Monday. I finally got a picture. Hoho. 

This would be a busy year. NSG has started and will last until March. Nana is taking her As while Zaky will do his Os this year. Zaky’s Chinese O will be in mid year and I am hoping to create the same miracle in him as with Nana. I think the challenge is much bigger but let’s take on the challenge! Hoho. If Zaky reads this, I am sure he would be an unwilling party. Lol.

Tuition has started too. Zaky is on A Maths and Chemistry with the tuition center and Chinese with 黄老师, who has/ is tutoring many of the kids in our circle. Zaky, pls don’t bring down teacher’s track record. lol. Nana is taking physics tuition in the same center and asked for a one-to-one tuition in maths after realising that group tuition (for entire JC1) doesn’t work. Their parents are working equally hard, paying tuition fees and ferrying the kids around. 

Other than Chinese, the kids’ academics are beyond what I can help, but we can always pay $$ for external resources and help. Hoho. Anyhow, the kids will be on their own. Nana appeared to be a little more gan cheong than Zaky now. I am sure the pressure will mount as the year progresses. Jia you! 

Mummy Lim

Done with EOY

Zaky finished his last paper on Wednesday and didnt have school on Thursday bcos it was marking day. Nana is taking her last paper - Listening Compre, today. She was upset that SST teachers are so lazy that they needed a school day for marking. Why can't they do the marking during the weekend? 

Yday, she realised and gleefully told me that she has no school on Monday and Tuesday bcos it is Higher Art paper on Monday and marking day on Tuesday. Ah... NH teachers can be lazy but not SST teachers. 

While Nana's EOY only officially ends today, celebration has started early. She had Emaths P1 yday and said that there is nothing much to study (for it). She totally dismissed LC. 

On many occasions, I saw Nana studying but something seems wrong bcos right before her physics and chemistry paper, she said that she had so much more to study for these 2 papers. She totally gave up on Chinese. This is the 1st time that she is taking a full Chinese paper in O levels format and she doesn't have a clue on how to study for the paper. Cue to look for Chinese tutor. 

As for Zaky, he claimed that he had studied. On occasions that I was wfh, each time I opened his door, he was gaming. He insisted that I just caught him at the wrong time. 我有这么准吗? It is OK, I told him that his EOY results will tell me and decide how many tuition he needs next year. Hoho. 

Nana went out for a feast with her mates yday. Korea BBQ wor. 

Then managed to sneak into a NC16 horror movie. She said that she had been saving for weeks for the splurge. 

She came home and told us how scary the movie was. So much so that she asked to sleep in our room. Zzzzz..  何必呢? By the time I had tucked Zaky to bed, Daddy Lim and Nana had occupied the bed. So I took Nana's mattress. She had been sleeping on the floor since she broke her ankle and moved back to her room. 

I was nicely settled in her room but didn't sleep well. I woke up several times in the night bcos it was so cold and I was wondering in my half asleep state why it was so chilly in her room. I was also too lazy to move and turn off the fan. It was only in the morning, when Nana came into the room, that I realised that I didn't turn off the aircon and the fan was on full blast. No wonder. Lol. 

Moral of the story? 

Nana, pls don't watch horror movie anymore. Lol. 

Mummy Lim

School Holidays Have Started!

The kids had been counting down during the last week of school. On Friday, Nana had sports carnival. In the name of inclusion and diversity, she participated, though I duno how. At times, it was rolling around in the wheelchair (no wonder it is breaking down) and others hopping on one foot. She came home happy but complained of muscle ache thereafter. Zaky had class party and came home happy too. What a great way to end school and start the holidays. I also want. 

Popo left for the cruise on Friday for the weekend. That is like double bliss. In the shortest time, Nana arranged for Boo to visit and sleepover. Never mind that it was only an afternoon and night. 

They all squeezed into a room for the night and were happy to do so. 

Boo had to leave super early on Sunday morning so that Popo wouldn't discover. She was looking half awake when she left. Lol. 

We went to Nana's church bcos the kids were meeting Boo for movie after church and logistically made sense for them to be together. Thereafter, they would sleepover at Boo's place. Nana had to take the public transport bcos we needed to stop by JP 1st. Clutches at all, looking very cluttered and busy. Hoho. 

The plans were well. I would feed Zaky while Nana attend some church meeting. Then, I would pack the kids into a Tada and I make my way to some malls in Jurong and wait for Daddy Lim to knock off. 

The execution wasn't as smooth. Zzzzz. While I was in JP, Nana called and said that Zaky had lost his wallet. He thinks that he had lost it in Gek Poh shopping center, at the bench outside Mac. He was munching on his subway when I tabao lunch for Nana. That was the last that he remembered seeing his wallet. The hassle and cost of replacing the bus pass and LV access card... arrggghhh..  Then, the Tada app suddenly decided that payment must be in cash. So, without Zaky's contribution and with the taxi fare gone, the kids were left with $12. 

I was still upset when Daddy Lim joined me. We eventually decided to go to Gek Poh, in hope that Zaky had indeed lost his wallet there and some kind souls had returned it to the Lost and Found counter. 

We are so blessed! Found! 

The kids came back this afternoon when Boo had to go to school for CCA. Then Zaky went out to meet his friends and asked to meet his friends again tomorrow for Seoul Garden buffet. Wah, so busy. Poor Nana is cooped up at home bcos she paika. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

Late Days

With Zaky entering secondary school, he gets to enjoy late days as well. For this term, he has 2 late days per week, starting school 1 hour later than usual, at 8.40am. 

On usual days, he would leave the house at 6.30am with jiejie, hitching a ride from Daddy Lim to the MRT. Then the kids would take the train to Clementi together before switching to different buses. 

The late days started for him this week and I got to travel with him bcos I was heading to the office. He told me that it usually takes him 40 mins to get to school and we planned to leave the house at 8am on Monday. 

Then I got anxious. We should make some time buffer right? So we attempted to leave 10 mins earlier which resulted in me rushing him non-stop. He was just very chill with me asking him to hurry up, 快点, walk faster. Aiyo. We only boarded the train at 8.06am and I was worried that he might be late. He didn't look at all worried. Chey. He eventually made it to school at 8.33am. Phew.

Today, both the kids have late days. Nana starts at 8.30am while Zaky starts 8.40am. The difference? Nana hates even the thought of being late and was out of the house at 7.25am; Zaky just got out of bed. I was again rushing Zaky out of the house and we made it barely at 7.45am. He is again very chill. 

He purposely inched forward to look taller in the picture. Hoho. This time, he was definitely in time. 

School has started and so has homework. Fighting!

Mummy Lim

1st Days of School

I had such contrasting responses from the kids about school reopening. Nana had been excited and looking forward to school reopening while Zaky had been whinning non-stop. I had thought that it should be the opposite since it is a new adventure for Zaky. Apparently not. 

On the last of the school holidays, we made sure that the bags were packed and logistics settled. After dinner and desserts at JP, we headed home for an early night. 

The kids were rushed to bed at 9ish and we started our routine morning rush on the 1st day of school. Zaky commented that it wasn't as bad as he expected to wake up early again. Hmm.. maybe he should assess again at the end of the week. Lol. 

It is the orientation week for Zaky and he gets to report in his PE attire. Like I say, any bigger (in size) and it would be a dress. I don't remember buying such a big size for him actually. Lol. Let's NOT hope that he would grow into them. I would gladly spend and buy a smaller size next year if need be. 

Of course the hair braiding resumes. 2 years done, 2 more years to go. I know, my skills didn't seem to improve much after 2 years. I don't care. Hoho. 

Nana had to perform her council duties and everybody was ready to leave at 6.25am. I had to ask repeatedly for a customary 1st day school picture. 

Nana exclaimed, "it is his shoes!". 

I think it is a "reason" that she can only use for a couple of months more. 

The kids decided to take the train to Clementi together and then different buses to school. Zaky managed his 1st independent journey well, whatsapping us that he has reached school but then telling us that he got lost in school for a while. Lol. The house was very quiet for the rest of the day. The workday was fairly peaceful as well before workload starts picking up. 

Zaky didn't come back until 5ish. He would have long days this orientation week. When Nana was in Sec 1, she came home and so excitedly shared about her orientation - the games, the cheering, the dances... Zaky simply told me how tired he was, that he walked over 13,000 steps, then lamented about the long week ahead. He said that there were games, but he "doesn't remember" what they were. Win le. What he can tell me is how expensive food in SST is. I had to dig information from him on other events of the day and he was happy to go to his games after dinner. 

Nana came home later and went on excitedly about how her day went. Her duties, her new classmates, her netball training and most of all, on and on about the upcoming Sec 3 3D2N school camp. Hmm.. who just started secondary school? So funny. 

God had placed the kids in good schools and is taking good care of them. A wonderful start of the new year!

Mummy Lim

Preparing for New School Year

This is the time of the year where the hand-me-down textbooks get exchanged and the unused assessment books and exam papers get passed down.

I have a big bag of books to pass on and Mochi got very excited with the Ikea bag. 

This bag not only contains the P6 books that Zaky is passing down, but some of Nana's sec 1 textbooks that Zaky would not be using. SST is weird, there is no FCE (or home econ as we used to call it). There is also no need for geography, literature and social studies textbooks. I am not sure if they totally do away with some of these subjects or solely rely on notes. Even the science textbooks are optional. 

Zaky and I made an appointment yday to purchase his books and uniform. 

Without the car, we are intending to lug the books in the school bags, like school children. 

I thought we would be done quickly, having booked a 9.30am appointment. Then we missed a bus. We literally saw it coming and leaving from across the road. Then the bus driver accidentally didn't stop at our stop when alighting and we had to walk a stop back. Late... 

Fortunately the bookshop wasnt particular about us sticking to the appointment. The bookshop was fairly empty too. Zaky could use most of Nana's books for the subjects that he needed textbooks and we only needed the Chinese workbooks. We spent $72 and majority on files and exercise books and note pads. He better uses those "extras". I hated it when the school asks that we buy them and they ended up not needed/ used. Zzzzz. 

Then, hopping next door to the uniform shop. Popo has warned that I must purchase extras bcos she doesn't want to rush the washing. Don't ask me why but she insisted that it is easier and "faster" to hand-wash the uniform but they take forever to drip dry and she whined about uniforms not drying in time. What is so troublesome about the washing machine? Haiz. 

Anyway, with Popo's warning, we bought 2 sets of PE attire, 3 sets of uniform and 1 long pants. We were told that during covid peak days, the students can wear PE attire on PE days but with the new year, they may revert to bringing PE attire to change on PE days. These cost $127! I hope he doesn't outgrown his uniform next year. 

To minimise the possibility, I got bigger sizes. Any bigger, he would be wearing a dress. Haha. Zaky got to try and wear over at the shop. I made him try proper at the school thereafter so that we can exchange if need be.

Yes, SST doesn't have a traditional uniform top but offers a polo tee top. I am sure this is much more comfortable. Boys must wear long pants on Mondays and to their preference for long pants or berms on the rest of the days. This applies to all levels. I thought it is a good arrangement given how warm Singapore is. Zaky was whinning the moment he wore the long pants. The SST jacket looks really great but was out of stock. Zaky will never need a jacket. He rarely needed one in the cold and wind howling Melbourne and what is a little aircon in Singapore? Nana is eyeing the jacket instead and asked that he buys one when school reopens. 

We are all done for Zaky and ready for the 1st day of school. The whole books and uniform purchase took the entire morning. 

Nana's arrangement is a lot easier. Her books were purchased online and delivered to our home. I was told by Aunty J and S that the sec 3 textbooks cost a bomb bcos they  covered 2 years. I had been asking Nana to ask her senior for their used textbooks like what I used to do when I was in secondary schools. Did it happen? Of course not. Kids nowadays cannot open their mouth to ask for such. I almost thought about buying 2nd hand from Carousell but it didn't happened either bcos her booklists say that she needed either new syllabus or some digital bundle. Zzzzz. We ended up spending over $200 on her books. The only silver lining? Nana has been wearing the same sets of uniform since sec 1 and looks like she would be able to fit in them all the way to end of her secondary years. We only needed to replace the cheaper PE attires. 

With that, we are all ready for the new school year. Zaky's new books have been sorted and packed nicely. I didn't dare to look into Nana's room. Her old books/ notes were in a pile and I wasn't sure what she wanted to do with them. With the new books, I now see a 2nd pile. Hmmm... well, she has 1 week to school reopens. 

Mummy Lim

Back to "Normalcy"

I am quite sure the kids would agree if I say that this June school holidays seems to pass faster than the previous ones. Maybe it is bcos we spent a week in Genting and I spent another week for business travel. Suddenly, the kids are going back to school. 

Secondary school has lost its charms. Lil Shauna isn't as enthusiastic as before to return to school. Zaky never like school anyway. Hohoho. Nevertheless, the inevitable will happen. 

The morning routine is now back in place and I thankfully still remember how to tie French braids. 

I am now working from the office 2 to 3 days a week and have the flexibility to plan my schedule. I was working from home on Monday bcos I was too lazy to commute and wanted to "recover" from the business travel. The house was exceptionally quiet. 

This morning, it was back to the office and the once familiar commute to office. I think everybody has gone back/ is going back to work. The train was crowded and the Raffles MRT station was 人山人海. 

Fighting! And let's start planning and keeping our eyes on the next holiday. Hohoho. 

Mummy Lim

First Days of School

School holidays passed in a wink. In the last days, Lil Shauna was hovering between "I can't wait to to back to school to see my friends" and "No, I don't want school holidays to end yet". Very confusing. Zaky was single-minded -- there is never enough of school holidays. 

Bcos of Covid, Lil Shauna started school on Tuesday, a day earlier than Zaky. Suddenly, I have to wake up at 6am to French braid hair again. I was worried that it would be a messy affair with her short crop and my rusty fingers. Not bad, not bad. 

What didn't go well was the result of an unwelcome guest - the mosquito. I could see it landing on my ankle and sucking my blood while I was braiding Lil Shauna's hair. I literally shed blood to braid her hair. In the span of that few minutes, I was the buffet table and suffered from 8 mozzie bites. The mosquito 有练过的.  

While Lil Shauna preps for school, Zaky enjoyed the very last of sleeping in on a weekday. Then, he grumbled and whined the whole day about school starting the next day. Lol.

Boo has been posted to the same secondary school as Lil Shauna! While they were super excited to see each other in school, it takes more than skill to spot each other in a sea of white and French braided hair. Lol. For 2 full school days, they missed each other. 

Zaky joined jiejie in the mad rush yday morning. Weekday early morning hasn't been so lively and noisy for a long time. I was hoping to take my customary 1st day of school pictures but nobody entertained me. These are all I have. Chey. 

With the new school year, there are some changes to Zaky's schedule. His Chinese tutor has opened a tuition center and he would be moving to a group base tuition on Sunday afternoon. I hope it works for him. I hate PSLE. Zzzzzz. His maths class has been moved to Tuesday evening bcos the tuition center has moved to an ulu-er location and it makes sense to pick both kids at the same time. 

The changes also means that Zaky can attend Student Care everyday; he used to skip on Thursday for his Chinese tuition. In exchange, we agreed that he can leave the Student Care at 4.30pm everyday, 30 mins earlier than last year's schedule. 

This morning, Zaky finally posed nicely for me. 

But there is no Lil Shauna, who starts school late on Thursday. 

Let me try again tomorrow. Muahahaha. 

Weekdays are so quiet at home now. 

Mummy Lim

School for a Week

On Sunday, we had to rush to Popular to replace Zaky's Chinese e-dictionary and buy color pencil for Lil Shauna. Zaky has crushed the screen of his not cheap and new e-dictionary. Roooaarrr... 

Lil Shauna needed to complete an art homework with 5 shades of blue. Instead of doing shading and color mixing, she insisted for a pack of 48 color pencils instead that already carries 5 shades of blue. Faint. Obviously the artistic and musically genes are missing from our family. She already had one of those 48 ones but cannot find them. face-palm.

The kids each bought a story book as well. Lil Shauna used to read so much and can chomp a few books in a week. She now barely reads and complains that she has no time. I am glad that she has re-found her love for reading.

Zaky chose the 1st Harry Potter book. I still remembered how addictive those were and I devoured the entire series in no time. He likes it as well and had finished the book in a week. I thought it was an incredible feat for somebody who can bring the same library book to school and find ways not to read a single page. 

Zaky spent the last of Sunday evening packing his bag and exclaimed that his pencil box was missing. Zzzzz. Another one. Haiz. Did we eventually find his pencil box? Cookie must have ate it. 

Zaky was back in school and student care since Monday. He adapted well. There was no complaint about going to student care. I had Lil Shauna until Wednesday. She was on HBL and returned excitedly to school on Thursday. She followed Zaky's footstep and was busying packing and lugging what she had bought home before the holiday back to school. A mini pile was left on her bedroom floor. It was stacked so high a month ago.

We re-start the morning routine, starting with the hair braiding in my half-awake state. Not bad, I still remember her to braid her hair. While I grumble about it, I know that doing so for her would only be for these 4 years. Like many other things that she has learnt to do on her own and no longer needed our help, this would go away too. At that, I am silently and secretly appreciating the times that she still need my help. 

We survived the week. The mornings without the kids were so quiet and I was yearning for their return from school. I will take a while to get used to their absence. 

Zaky appeared to cope better with the 1st school week. By end of Friday, Lil Shauna was walking dead. I think she is hitting the pillow too late but she has to manage on her own. Just when school has started, I was informed that coming Monday is Youth day, holiday again ah! #goodlife

Mummy Lim

School Reopens

I was telling the kids that the school holidays would fly by the moment we crossed the 2 weeks' mid point. Mummy knows best. While the kids were just celebrating the precious school holidays in the beginning of June, we have quickly come to the end. Hoho. Time passed especially fast after the mini lockdown was lifted. Well, at least we had a blast during the last weekend. 

Zaky goes back to school on Monday. It was back to the 6am wakeup routine so that Daddy Lim could drop him on the way to work. It wasn't too bad on the 1st morning. I could gladly do with some extra snooze though. 

As guessed, the house was exceptionally quiet without the boy. Jiejie was still home, doing her HBL until Wednesday. She has been looking forward to school reopening to be physically back in school to meet her friends and netball batch mates. So opposite of Zaky. Haha. 

Despite Lil Shauna being home, it was very quiet. She took the HBL seriously. Actually, she has no choice bcos the HBL is densely packed with real tasks and homework. She was hiding in her room most time, appearing only during the breaks. I very much enjoyed her company, any little bit of it. 

Come Thursday, we will have to make new adjustments to the morning routine to pack in the hair braiding. Yawn, I wonder if I still remember how to french braid her hair in a half awake state. Not easy ok. That is like the 1st thing I had to do the moment I opened my eyes.

Let's look forward to the next school holidays! Hoho.

Mummy Lim

School Holiday Starts

Finally! The 2 over weeks of HBL has finally ended. While Lil Shauna had been largely independently (just very much a computer dummy), Zaky had been getting more and more whinny. He whined about the amount of homework and he whined every time he has to do his Chinese work. I am starting to hate Chinese as much as he does.

I don't think a lot of teaching took place over Zoom during the 2 weeks. The only time that I heard Zaky spoke over Zoom was to ask the teacher when the lesson will be over and to bravely complain about the amount of homework. He must be teacher's nightmare student.

It is a smart move for the Government to bring forward the school holidays. This will give the teachers, parents and kids a good and much needed breather.

This was Zaky during one of his last zoom sessions y'day. Imagine if HBL is to continue...

Lil Shauna has quite some bits of school holiday homework. I have also assigned past year papers and revisions to the kids. It cannot be I being the only person working and the kids have endless screen time, right? Hohoho. Let's suffer together. After this school holiday, I am quite sure the kids wouldnt want Mummy to be home for future school holidays. Hahaha.

Last night, the kids and Daddy Lim reminded me not to wake them up this morning bcos they have no school and work. Chey, win already.

Mummy Lim

SA1 Woes

When Lil Shauna was in P1, I was totally unconcerned about her tests. In fact, I didn't even know the exact test dates. She has always done well academically and I pride myself for the strong foundation that she had built with all the enrichment classes that we had sent her. I was thinking to myself that exams weren't that bad. Lol.

Come P2, we dropped her Chinese enrichment classes bcos she complained that she was too tired from the travelling. Without her Chinese enrichment classes, we stepped up on our home revision. She was made to revise all the 生字 and do 作文. There was some heartache but she is generally a hardworking child and all went well. No sweat, ok, maybe a little sweat.

Now that she is in P3, it is another story. I now have to be worried about not only her Chinese but also her Science. I even took time to go through her Maths revision papers and explained questions that she was wrong. For her Chinese, her 作文 suddenly improved and I left it as it is. We took a lot more time to go through the 生字 bcos the list is so much longer and difficult now.

We did a final revision before her Chinese paper 2 and I was satisfied, thinking that she would be well prepared until she suddenly took out her past revision papers. Going through, I realised that it is more than recognising the words but having that regular exposure to the language. The cloze passage is a killer. There are helping words but they are often all so similar for e.g. to choose between 代替，代表，代理. Then, there is the choosing of helping words to complete phases. It sounded easy but requires the kids to have a wide spoken vocabulary to get the right answer.  Many occasions, Lil Shauna go on tikam mode so I think we have to pray hard. Lol.

Additionally, there is the new kid on the block - Science. Her scores on previous Science revision papers had been fluctuating. I didn't remember Science being so tough but I couldn't explain some of the questions she got wrong. Boo. I think we have to pray hard for Science on coming Monday too. Haha.

I wasn't too concerned about Zaky; he should have similar foundation as Lil Shauna given that they go for the same enrichment classes. However, his Chinese teacher called me after his oral test last week to inform that he didn't do well and to work harder for his actual paper. He scored 7 out of 10 and I thought it was good enough already. Apparently, it was a lenient test and many of his classmates scored 9 or 10. Zzzzzz.

My expectations for Zaky is naturally lower as compared to Lil Shauna. However, I am excited to see how he actually performs. I have another week to be worried and I think it is only going to get worse and worse moving on.

Mummy Lim

Ending Week 2

Week 2 ended great. Lil Shauna is getting used to sleeping at 9pm and waking up at 5.45am. Lil Isaac is slowly catching up with the homework train and it gets a little tiny bit better when it comes to practicing phonics. He better speed up bcos his school spelling and ting xie are coming onboard.

Church went well for Lil Isaac too. Probably bcos he still remembered last week's drama and I spent a lot more time reminding him before church. It was a bonus that the very interesting auntie was telling the bible story this week. Yeah!

Of course we had something interesting to do during the weekend after all the hard work. Boo invited us to her 7th bday party at ECP and the kids had a blast with laser tag!

When there are good companion, whatever that they do will be great, even the frisbee, ball game or even just running around in the field after the laser tag game.

Time is flying by when we are all so busy.

Mummy Lim

End of the 1st Week

Woohoo! I want to throw my arms in the air and scream with joy. I want to do cartwheels! Yes, we are alive. We survived the 1st week of school!

The school bus was about 15 mins late for all 5 days and there isn't anything much that we can do about it. We caught the school bus every morning and Lil Shauna remembered exactly which day to go to the student care and which day to go to home via the school bus. On Friday, she completed some of her homework in the student care. I am super happy that she doesn't hate the student care.

Bed time for Lil Shauna is officially 9pm, which she abides bcos she is so near to collapsing by then. It gets tougher to wake her up as the week goes by. On Thursday morning, she exclaimed that she would want to sleep into the afternoon on Saturday and on Friday, she pitifully said that she was so sleepy. Poor thing.

Now that finally the weekend is here, it is also flying by so quickly. They have their Chinese and phonics classes on weekdays, where Popo will help to ferry. Ice skating and TKD remains on Saturday and they are having their Maths class before church now. Maths was supposed to be on Friday evening from 7pm to 9pm in my attempt to shift enrichment classes out of weekends, but we changed it last minute. Lil Shauna didn't look that she would survive the class very well and Friday evenings are usually reserved for Lil Isaac's school homework.

It was indeed the right choice. This was what I came home to on Friday night.

Most of these are Lil Isaac's. His school is super fond of giving homework only on Friday and plenty of them. The school probably assumed that the kids (and parents) had plenty of time to do homework during the weekend. But we want to have fun during weekend! Not homework! So we spent almost an hour chewing these on Friday evening. The homework are not difficult (I think), but the boy was so distracted and took an awful long time, in between he of course tried to whine and negotiate his way out. Fat hope.

While I am celebrating the victory of surviving the 1st week, tomorrow is the start of the 2nd week. Why like that? What happened to the weekend? But we did do something fun. We had a playdate with Boo yday evening and will be meeting the 3Fs this afternoon.

Oh, on Saturday morning, Lil Shauna woke up at 9am and asked if it was the afternoon already. So she didn't sleep into the afternoon eventually. Haha.

Mummy Lim

1st Day of School

It had been a long break from routine - 1st the Korea holiday and then almost all the enrichment centers stopped their classes until the new year. Lil Shauna had completed all her enrichment classes homework leaving us to struggle with the little boy on phonics.

We had been trying to kick start the routine the last few nights with a lot of resistance from the boy. When it was homework time, he will instantly become very tired but all traces of tiredness will magically leave him the moment I declared that homework time is over. It reminded me so much of Superman and kryptonite. It didn't help that jiejie didn't have homework to do. To him, it is not bcos jiejie is hardworking but simply not fair.

The last few nights had been bad, I had to stand my ground while he threw a fit and cried for a good 10 to 15 mins. Fortunately, he recognised that crying wouldn't get him of the situation. He got the reading and spelling down in less than 15 mins when he finally decided that he was ready to attempt. I am secretly amazed at my tolerance.

There were some last minute “trying to get ready for school” on Sunday night. The tablets were hidden. The kids were then packed off to bed at 9.15pm bcos Lil Shauna had to wake up at unearthly 5.45am to be in time for the school bus. The pick-up time is at 6.10am and we are to be at the pick-up point 5 minutes earlier. Based on the previous experiences, the school bus does not wait even if it arrives earlier than the official pick-up time and it is absolutely Ok for the school bus to be late.

Lil Shauna must had experienced some 1st day school jitters. She couldn't sleep and asked a few times what time it was. She finally dozed off at almost 10pm. I am quite sure bedtime will be earlier thereafter. I would be tired too to have to wake up at 5.45am every morning.

We all slightly overslept on Monday morning and it was a mad rush trying to get everybody ready and out of the house in under 20 mins. Daddy Lim had to help dress Lil Shauna while I applied make-up and changed. I was tying her hair and then helping her to wear her shoes while she chewed sleepily on her bfast. We arrived at the pickup point at 6.03am. There were no other WG kids and I cannot tell if there were no other kids taking the bus or the bus had left despite us being super early. Finally, another mummy with 3 kids joined us and we waited. And waited and waited. The bus only arrived at 6.25am. It was bloody 15 mins late. I was upset. Lil Shauna could have gotten another 15 mins of snooze! How precious are another 5 – 10 mins of sleep at 5.45am in the morning! Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do about it.

The new school day also marks Lil Shauna 1st day at the student care center. I was assured that the teacher will point the kids to the center after school. Parents are allowed to pick the students from the student care at any time of the day. The official pick up time is at 6.30pm and the latest is at 7pm. The teachers will stay with the kids whose parents come after 6.30pm to 7pm. The school closes at 6.55pm and the last 5 mins will be spent waiting outside of the school compound. Not perfect but sounded like a plan.

To be sure that we are on time to pick Lil Shauna yday, I left office on time. I was early but intentionally waited until 6.30pm to see how dismissal looks like. I saw some parents picking their kids while I waited. Then at 6.30pm, I saw 2 student care teachers bringing the remaining about 10 students to the gate. Most of the parents had arrived except for a boy's parents. I was glad that I was on time for Lil Shauna, especially when it is the 1st day of her student care. The boy was then asked to sit beside the gate as they continued to wait for his parents. Then they shifted to the bus stop when the school gate closed. We were waiting for Daddy Lim to pick us at the same bus stop and he came at about the same time as the boy’s mummy. The teachers were with the boy the whole time and they were assuring but I was very surprised that the kids didn't have a proper waiting area. Being the last few to be picked up is already so sad and the pathetic waiting area just made it sadder for the kids. I made a mental note to try to pick Lil Shauna earlier if possible in the future and to feedback to the student care.

Lil Shauna was visibly tried by the time we picked her. It had been a super long day for her. I asked about her day it seemed pretty alright. She took too much time for dinner and there wasn't much time left after dinner. In the future, at least I am assured that homework had been done in the student care. Popo also said that Lil Isaac did well for the 1st school day too. He didn't drive Popo crazy before or after school. He didn't cry in school. We reminded him that he is now in K2. His teacher also rewarded him with a sweet for good behavior. I am impressed with the last point. Lol.

Lil Shauna flopped on the bed by 9pm while I was still struggling with Lil Isaac on phonics. He was reading so painfully slow, stopping at every single word and getting distracted every few words. Ouch! I tucked Lil Shauna to bed shortly after 9pm and sleep was very easy. We got to spend some one-to-one time with the little boy after jiejie went to bed. School must be super tiring for the kids bcos the boy asked to go to bed at 9.45pm too and it was equally easy to tuck him to bed.

This morning, we made a slight adjustment. There was lesser of a rush and we only left the house at 6.05am. The bus still came late at 6.25am. Arrrggghhhh! We also agreed that if we were to miss the bus on any days, we will simply drive Lil Shauna to school. School is only less than 10 mins drive away. We could actually send her everyday. It is just that Lil Shauna didn't appreciate arriving at the school so early in the morning.

We also agree that it actually makes more sense for me to take the car to work on most days. Yes, I finally agreed after being in denial for so long. I could easily drive to pick Lil Shauna and back to pick Daddy Lim. Otherwise, it was be a constant stress for Daddy Lim to leave at 6.30pm, to pick me and be on time at 7pm for Lil Shauna.  Training will start officially this weekend. I will start getting used to driving. Zzzzz. I hope the week gets easier as we get used to the new routine.

Mummy Lim

Graduation Concert 2014

This is the 4th year that I have attended the Graduation Concert and it is Lil Shauna's final graduation concert with Center of New Life (CNL) Kindergarten. Unfortunately, Daddy Lim couldn't make it and it is left to mummy to "double" support the kids. 

I have seen CNL made improvements to their concert since the 1st year that I attended. This year, the concert was held on a Saturday morning (usually weekday evening) and there was a bigger than usual crowd. The kids' costumes were so much more well coordinated this year. They all look the same yet different and the theme could probably be sequel this year - the kids all looked very shinny and reflective. Lol.

The K2 kids were to report at 9am, 30 mins before the other kids as they had to wear the graduation robe on top of their costume. I reminded Lil Isaac to use the toilet before his performance. He cried while on the stage last year bcos he needed badly to use the toilet and would have peed in his pants if mummy hadn't come to his rescue then. 

I only managed to take a picture of the little boy, who confirmed and re-confirmed that I would be watching him performed before he went to his class. Daddy Lim said that his costume looked very gay. Lol. I like this picture though - it is so rare for the little big to pose and smile nicely for me to take picture. 

The concert started at about 10am and the hall was filled with people. The front rows were reserved for K2 students' parents and we only managed to find seats at the outer aisles. The school also barricaded the front to prevent parents from creeping forward to try to take pictures. This happened all the time.

I didn't take many pictures this time bcos I would be buying the concert DVD and focused on watching the kids perform and smiling at my kids encouraging. The concert opened with the K2 matching in and collecting their certificates from the VIP. 

Then, the performed a song and I could see that the big girl wasn't her best self. Her little nose is dripping mucus and she was trying her best to concentrate while fighting with her running nose. Poor her.

Each of the class performed and so did the english, Chinese and music enrichment class. I didn't concentrate on most of them, only paying attention when my kids were on stage. 

The pre-nursery and nursery kids were so super cute. The K2 kids put up an enjoyable performance, which means that the K1 are the stuck in between and paled so much in comparison and they are also no longer cute. Lol.

The concert took over 2 hours including of the usual speeches and the sermon by the poster. The K2 students were given a little bear in CM uniform bearing their name. It is such a nice gesture.

Time flies so quickly. Wasn't it just a while ago that I first saw Lil Shauna performed on stage? How could it be that she's going to P1 soon? I am not at all ready. Lol.

Mummy Lim

Graduation Concert

So quickly and a year has passed. The kids were having their Graduation Ceremony this evening. 

I rushed home to help them prepare and make-up.

This is the 3rd year that I am attending. Last year, Lil Shauna performed on the stage and we brought Lil Isaac to watch. I was so busy trying to keep him entertained, walking the hall while waiting for jiejie to come on stage. This year, both of them went on stage so Daddy Lim, Popo and myself sit leisurely while waiting for them to come on stage.

Having attended the concert for 3 consecutive years, I already knew what happened when. Their concert has been improving in terms of variety. However, the number of students had increased over the years and there were way too many items. The concert ended at almost 10pm! Some of the items were pretty messing and I even got bored waiting for my kids' turn. I bet I wasn't the only one.

This year, they filmed graduating students sharing what they wanted to be when they grow up. I think Lil Shauna would do that next year and I wonder if she would declare on video that she wanted to be a farmer. Haha, yes, that is her ambition for now.

Lil Shauna did brilliant on stage, as per all her past performances. She was even chosen to make a short introductory speech in Chinese before her item this year. I was so proud of her. Lil Isaac's first item went great too. He was way too cute.

The siblings had a chance to go on stage together this year. They are both in the Chinese enrichment class and the students in the enrichment class performed 2 Chinese songs. When they went going up the stage, I saw that Lil Isaac was crying and I had thought he was scared. I tried to make eye contact and encouraged him only to realise that he was tugging at his pants badly and seemed to need the toilet. Then again, he didn't dare to move away from his allocated position and looked so miserable. I managed to rescue him midway and he was already starting to wet his pants. Poor boy! 

That episode left him pretty miserable and I think he didn't quite enjoy the rest of the concert. He had to perform in the finale with the rest of the school and he merely stood on the stage tugging at his wet pants. Lil Shauna was the total opposite and flashed great smiles as she dance to the finale.

Overall, it was pretty good and I could see the mega efforts both by the teachers and students. Next year will be Lil Shauna's last time. Sob, they are growing up so quickly!

Mummy Lim

Meet the Teachers Day

Today is the Teacher-Parent conference at the kids' kindergarten. Mummy could nicely make it since I am on MC. Hehe.

I met up with Ms Chia, Lil Isaac's teacher. As expected, she said that Lil Isaac is chatty, very chatty. He needs to learn how to be a little bit more focused in class. Ms Chia also commended that he is settling well in school as compared to the 1st term and is starting to enjoy school. Other than that, like all pre-nursery kids, he is very cute and lovable. Haha.

Mrs Neo commented that Lil Shauna is an obedient, attentive and cooperative girl but just a little quiet and shy. She doesn't give trouble in class and followed instructions when her teacher explained the need to do so. Mrs Neo also mentioned that Lil Shauna is a fast learner and I was secretly proud to hear that. Lol. Bcos of the classes that she missed with we were in Gold Coast, I was given a whole stack of assignments to bring home to complete during the holidays. Poor Lil Shauna.

I also met Zheng Lao Shi, the kids' chinese teacher. I was surprised to hear her say that Lil Shauna could write well. I personally find her writing horrible. Lol. However, she could work harder on recognizing Chinese characters. I am so glad that I will have more time with the kids in the future.

Lil Isaac did well with mandarin songs in class and could understand when her Chinese teacher explained what those songs meant. I am really glad to have Popo speak with them
in mandarin at home. At least it helps them to converse in mandarin and expand their vocab.

I am glad that my kids aren't trouble makers in school and are enjoying school. However, with the education system in sgp, it is just going to get tougher. Oh, we were selected to be PV for West Grove Primary School. If all go well, the kids would probably study there. Jia you!

Mummy Lim

Day 2 in School

Today is the 2nd day of school and things went even better. I was in the office in the morning. Popo helped to send the kids onto the school bus and rushed to meet the kids in school via public bus. We had wanted the kids to be independent and all went well. Popo said that Lil Isaac didn't cry today and jiejie took fantastic care of him. My big girl.

I arrived at the school at 12ish and took over. Lil Isaac was having his snack of porridge. He probably didn't like it very much cos he didn't ask for a 2nd helping. Haha.

School was better today as both the parents and the kids are more settled. There was less crying and aimless walking. Some of the parents left their kids totally. The teachers need not raise their voices as much too. The crying and yelling boy was tamer, but was still crying and telling at times. I was quite irked and actually felt like slapping him, oops.

The porridge didn't fill Lil Isaac's tummy very much. After outdoor play, they had water break and Lil Isaac asked me for bread. Water always go with bread at home. Lol. Popo was very concern when I related the incident to her and she kept asking me if we should pack biscuits and bread for Lil Isaac to snack. Faint.

School also ended earlier today for the boy and we took the sbs bus back home. I escaped to JP to complete some work after sending Lil Isaac to Centris. I heard that he concussed again right after his milk.

I also saw jiejie in school when she went for her toilet break. She looks so pretty and grown-up. I called her "baby", she pretended not to hear me and I purposely kept calling her. Maybe I was a disgrace to her. Lol.

I heard jiejie's class is much bigger this year. Several of her classmates' parents are considering switching school for their kids. I do agree that Lil Shauna's school is not as academically driven as many. Felicia came back with spelling list on the first day of school! Lil Shauna is still telling us that she enjoys school probably bcos there are more playing than learning. Lol. I have overcome that stage. So long as Lil Shauna enjoys school, it is alright. We have been through difficult times coaxing her to school. And more importantly, I like that she is learning about God. God bless our hearts. Amen!

Mummy Lim

Day 1 of School

*Post written yday.

Happy New Year!
Today is the first day of school and I am anxious like just any parent with school going kids. Lil Isaac is starting pre-nursery today! We have been reminding him that he will be starting school with jiejie today and he always nod in agreement. Ok, that is a good start.

The morning started off fine. It was as per usual. Jiejie changed into her school uniform and allowed me to tie her hair. Didi was excited to dress up for school too. We were early for the school bus, which happened to be late. So we had to distract the kids with plenty of grass watching. Lol.

The bus ride was uneventful. It was actually pretty boring and I tot Lil Isaac looked like he would fall asleep. We finally reached the school after about 20mins of turns and loops to pick up the other kids.

Lil Isaac has improved. At least he didn't cry when he entered the holding area. It was chaotic and the school's security failed. Lil Isaac managed to sneak out of the holding area without being spotted, not even by mummy and I had a bad fright. So mummy stayed with him in the holding area and the rest of the kids were all sitting down except for him who was loitering non-stop. I nagged at him to sit down and it of course didn't help. Faint. When jiejie left for her class, Lil Isaac started crying. Oh my, I didn't know he loves his jiejie so much, as much as a pack of gummy bears. He promptly stopped crying when I offered him the gummy bears. Win.

There wasn't much "school". The teachers had a hard time trying to read stories with crying and yelling kids and others who kept walking around. Lil Isaac kept escaping out of the class to the playground. There was a crying kid in his class who yells and screams at the same time. His mum was very pissed and no amount of coax and threats helped. We heard her yelled at the kids every now and then. I thought she wasn't too considerate. If my kid behaves this way, I would probably bring him out to calm him down 1st. The kid has really good endurance and actually cried the good 2 hours of school. Ouch! The teachers had to fight with the kid and the mum so as to be heard. We all pretended as if the crying kid and yelling mum werent around. Our poor ears.

The only time that Lil Isaac would sit down is snack time. Lol. The kids were served pandan cake and ribena and he asked for a second helping. That was after a hearty bfast at home before school. My growing boy.

School ended early for the pre-nursery kids. All of them dived for the playground. I had to lure Lil Isaac away after a while with the rest of his gummy bears. Gummy bears are so useful. We took sbs bus home and it was again an uneventful ride.

School makes the boy very tired, who concussed for the next 1+ hr. I wonder if Lil Isaac can survive without his nap when he attends the full class. Else, we will end up with a cheeky monkey at bed time every night. Scary thought.

Mummy Lim