"Don't need to cut hair..."

From www.babyblues.com

E and I feel slightly guilty. We have been trying to get Han into a hair salon for the past 3 days for a haircut without success. She already looks like she has an over-sized black helmet on her head, the result of a last hair cut some 3 months back.

I still remember when Han was an infant, it was her grandparents who cut her hair for her. She was blessed with a thick mane of hair when she was born and it was not even 4 weeks later when she got her first trim from grandpa. Subsequently, whenever the need arises, we will bring her to the neighborhood salons where the kind hairdressers will give her a quick and professional hair snip for between $5-$10. Fuss free service that more than compensate for E and I's sorely-lacking barber skills. The most memorable time was when the very inexperienced - yet extremely adventurous - thinking we'll get a good deal E and I decided to try out a home-based hairdresser. These are normally middle-aged women who provide hair-cuts at their homes, which are equipped with the basic salon gear. It turned out disastrous because Han was wailing away (she was about 7 months at that time) and the hairdresser's "I've seen it all - it's ok even she cries her lungs out - so let's get on with it" attitude did not rest very well on us. So guess what? We carried the poor battle-worn Han home, half-crying half-asleep. With her haircut HALF-COMPLETED. A few hours later when she woke up from her nap, we bought her to my hairdresser who completed the job well. We were so thankful that it could be completed in the first place! Subsequent haircuts were quite uneventful. So what took place the last few days did catch us by surprise!

Back to the cause of our guilt. 3 failed attempts to get Han to a hair salon the past few days had taken an emotional toil on her. The first time we tried to insist she still went ahead, she really bawled. Our instinct told us that it was not a tantrum she was throwing, but it was a fear she was exhibiting. Of what? I'm not sure, perhaps it was the noisy purr of many hairdryers combined, the snipping sound of big shiny scissors, the intimidating lights in the salon, the somewhat sinister smile of the hairdressers (now I think I am imagining things!) etc. So on the 2nd and 3rd attempt, we tried to dangle some carrots. A cold drink, a sweet, some prep talk at the entrance, distracting her by focusing on the pretty Christmas deco... Nothing worked. Tears still flow and Han pleaded, "Hannah don't need to cut hair..." We toyed with the idea of just dragging her in and forcing her to sit down for a cut but in the end decided against it as we feel we need to help our girl work through what's bothering her first. There are specialised salons for children with TV monitors in front of the barber chairs and a cute super child friendly environment, but we so do not want to be using that as the only option.

She woke up last night after a nightmare. "Daddy! Daddy! Don't need..don't need.."

The haircut could wait for now. Thankful for hairpins. Hopefully our family trip the next few days will take her mind off this for a while and when we are back, it's Operation Cut Hair.

Laying the Table for Her Friends

Han loves to play her pretend play kitchen set and cooking accessories almost everyday during her free play time. Sometimes, I would ask her if she prefers to play with something else, she will rarely divert to her other toys and would still prefer playing with the pretend play cooking.

Recently, she started to involve her 3 friends in her play. She would pretend to cook for them and then dutifully lay the "table" (it's actually our family couch) for them. Some of my observations from  here:

1) Yellow plate for yellow BJ (colour matching)

2) Purple cup and purple eggplant for Barney (colour matching)

3) Purple cup for the small Barney (colour matching)

4) Purple-pink spoons for the 2 Barneys, none for BJ and Baby Bop

5) Teapot for refilling of cups

6) Big plate of food placed in the centre, not the side (observation from how the family sets our table??)

7) Something to eat and drink for everyone!

It's cute uh? I really wonder what goes on in the mind of a two-year old! :)

DIY Pegboard

I've been looking for a pegboard for the longest time. Something like that.

Toys R Us don't seem to have it and I am not too keen to spend a lot to buy it from premium toy stores. So I decided to make my own version of a pegboard! Went to Daiso, my favorite hunt for DIY materials and got 30 plastic children's toothpicks and a thick block of pink styrofoam. Total cost = $4. Ta-dah!

Putting in and pulling out the pegs is a good fine-motor skills training activity as it's not very easy to do that on a thick styrofoam block. The first time Han attempted this, she did not have the patience to do all 30 pegs as  there are no pre-punched holes on the block and she had to create a hole with every peg she pushed in. So I had to help her with that. But with subsequent re-visits to this activity, Han found it more enjoyable as she only needs to push the pegs into the holes that are already present. I like this activity as I feel it not only trains up her fine-motor skills, it also trains her on her patience to finish putting in all 30 pegs and pulling them out to keep them. Thankfully, the pegs come in attractive designs and cute designs, so we will do a running commentary (eg "let's put the pink rabbit in!", "Wow, now is the green tree's turn!" etc) as we do the activity.

The only thing I don't like is the random positions of the holes so I think I'll get another styrofoam board and pre-punch some holes in orderly rows as a second version for her to practise pegging. And yes, if a reasonably-priced (in my opinion) peg board comes along, I'll still get it!


Hurray for DIY!

Of Learning Alphabets - No Time for Flashcards Except for One

 I have a confession to make. When the test stick first registered a positive and after a subsequent visit to the gynae, we went on a spree for flashcards for the little one. Sheer excitement + don't know what to buy but still wanted to buy something + double income + heard a lot about flashcards = Buy a lot of flashcards. We bought flashcards for alphabets, animals, colours, numbers etc.

25 months later, I have a box of flashcards lying in a box and scarcely used...EXCEPT for one kind. The alphabet ones. First, let me explain why. Over time, I realised that learning is much more effective and interesting when other sources of materials and methods are used besides flashcards. I am definitely not discouraging the use of flashcards, just the exclusive use of them in teaching. (You could read an excellent book "Einstein Never Used Flashcards" which discussed this topic extensively.) Over time, it dawned on me that showing Han a card on numbers is not going to teach her much about math as much as showing her a card of a rabbit is not going to teach her a great deal about the furry cutie. I observed that she picked up words and meanings well mostly through experiential learning and exposure to the actual objects themselves.

However, I would like to comment the use of alphabet flashcards in the learning of alphabets, at least through my own experience. I first started showing Han the Hands on Learning Touch and Feel Cards (ABCs) by Scholastic Hands on Learning when she was about 4 months old.

Honestly, I did not do it with the intention of "teaching" her anything at all. It was just an activity that I like to do in between her naps and milk feeds. To Han, I believe she enjoyed the time we had together and the joy of hearing our voices, these surpassing any appeal that the cards have. I do recommend this set of flashcards for young infants and pre-toddlers as the cards have an element of touch-and-feel and it really appeals to them.

Naturally, as Han got older, I had to source for other alphabet cards for her as there came a time she got pretty bored with the same old set. I started to trudge the web for resources because I did not want to spend on another set of flashcards.

I found these 2 sets at Baby Bumblebee (I changed the "Q for quarter" to my own "Q for queen" as we don't use quaters here) and at Activity Village (they used to have the colour version, but I guess you could colour the pictures yourself) or you could construct your own flashcards using these alternate resources from Activity Village. I really like these 2 sets as they have clear and attractive pictures coupled with the alphabets in capital and small forms. All I did was to print them out and laminate them. On a side note, it's really good to invest in a laminator for all the web-based resources!

During our Learning Time everyday, I will always start off with these alphabet cards and end of with the ABC song. As we do this over the past 21 months or so, we can see Han recognising the alphabets, being able to say a few letter for what object (A for apple etc) and she can sing the ABC song in full just recently. It's really fun! Try it! Just remember that learning the alphabets take MORE than just having cards, it's really infusing alphabets everywhere and making them fun! Some of the things we do at home:

- Talk about alphabets everywhere and always! For example, A is also for aeroplane when you see a plane, B is for the butter on the bread etc.

- Put up an alphabet train on our learning alley. You can get this free version at Kidsparkz. I love this version as it has both capital and small alphabets and realistic photos. Laminate, hang it up and talk about them often.

- Put up alphabet posters

- Videos on alphabets. Our all-time favorite is the Leapfrog Letter Factory. It's very good for introducing phonics too.

- Bath alphabets.We use Little Tikes Bath Letters and Numbers. They stick to wet wall tiles and is really fun!

- Sing the ABC song often!

- Read and read and read.

- Talk and talk and talk to your child. You'll be surprised how they will catch on and spring you a surprise when they talk!

- 3D alphabets and alphabet blocks are good to play with and allow the child to manipulate and aid in letter recognition.

- Puzzles on ABCs

So here's my two cents worth! Have fun!

Creation Week #3! God's Creation of Man

We are still focusing on God's creation of Man. I found this WONDERFUL series of books at the library. This series of "Let's Read About Our Bodies" books has titles featuring the ears, eyes, feet, hair, hands, mouth, nose and skin. There are photos and a simple sentence or two on every page. I like them because the photos are eye-catching and Han was very engaged when I read the books to her, some up to 12 pages long. I also like the fact that the pages contain no more than 2 sentences. Fantastic series of books to teach about God's creation of our bodies!

Sample page of "Hands"

Another book I read to her along this theme is "Barney Plays Nose to Toes" It'sa really fun book and I get Han to participate in the activities inside. She loves it!

I still reiterate the question to Han, "Who made our hands, feet etc?" She will answer, "God." :)  I also figured that in teaching her about the parts of the body, it will certainly take more than just reading books. Therefore, we talk about the parts of the body as much as we can. For example during bathing, changing etc. Another example is when she's running about, I will then ask her who made her legs etc. So it's really about creating an awareness and building that truth into her learning. I pray she will always be in awe of the Creator !

Some other activities for this week:

1) Spooning activity

She's been doing a lot of this since a few months back.  I observe a level of improvement when we did this again this week. I must first say that I am extremely thankful for the Friso 3 milk scoop! It's the BEST spoon so far for Han as it is not too big and has a spoon depth that is perfect for this activity! Han used to give up after a while the last few times we did this activity using other spoons, so she resorted to using her hands. This time round, there was no such problem. So yay!

Beads, ice tray from Daiso. Friso 3 milk scoop.

2) Pipe cleaners slotting activity

Han found this relatively easy as the opening of the container was quite big. This activity trains her fine motor skills. I guess it's time for me to make it more challenging by using cut uncooked spaghetti and a salt shaker!

All materials from Daiso

3) Pre-printing practice (Line tracing)

I downloaded this activity sheet from the Kidzone website. They have loads of free pre-printing practice printables! Han has been practicing this for almost 2 months now. As you can see, the tracings on the first line were drawn with my holding of her hand. For the past two weeks, I allowed her to do the second and third line by herself. I think she is improving, but the cute thing is she gets kind of impatient towards the end and she will want to just get the activity over and done with! I'm still trying to train her to hold the crayon the non-palmar way. At the end of this activity, I'll allow her some free time to colour the drawings. Note how she can colour roughly within the sun? That took weeks of practicing!

4) Memory Card Game

I was a little hesitant to start Han on this until E's brother and sister-law gave this Ravensburger Disney Memory Game for her second birthday. I was very happy that the cards have pictures of Pooh, Tigger (especially!) and Piglet etc. That certainly motivated Han to play with them! I decided to start from six cards of three character pairs. Today is the first time Han is doing this and she needed much prompting. Nonetheless we were giggling a lot because when she turned the wrong card, she will start giggling herself! On a side note, I realised placing the cards on the table made them quite difficult to take and turn for Han's tiny hands. So when I saw a recyclable store product display "shelf" kind of things, I took it and it proved to be perfect for propping up the cards! Wonderful! You could make your own version using cardboard I believe.

Cheers!

Colour Matching Her Favorite Way

Han did her own colour sorting after we finish some crayon activity. She's been doing this for quite a few times. Today, she took out the different shades of the same colour and classified them correctly, according to what (who rather) else? Her good friends! It's moments like that when I know she is learning, retaining and applying what is taught! :)

A Nice Complement to A Great Book

One of Han's favorite books is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle). I read this book to her when she was just a few months old and it still remains as one of her much-loved books. She loves to say "tiny caterpillar" and "big caterpillar" when the story is read, and she goes into an excited frenzy when she sees the big and beautiful butterfly at the end. A few weeks back, I found this fantastic The Very Hungry Caterpillar Colorforms 3D Deluxe Playset at the Robinsons Expo sale.

Left to right: Book and Playset

Contents of the playset

It costs less than $9 after a 50% discount and I thought it's a super good buy! I really really like how this playset complements the story. What I did was to read the story once to Han. After that, I read it a second time, this time passing her the colorform pieces that represented the respective part of the story I was reading. They could represent the tiny caterpillar, the different food it ate, the big caterpillar, the cocoon etc. She then stuck the pieces onto the storyboard included. She was very engaged throughout the whole process and I felt that Han's handling and sticking of the colorform pieces really helped to illustrate the growing quantity of food that the very hungry caterpillar ate progressively! It was a visual effect that became more obvious compared to just seeing the book illustration, I feel.

I think it's a great idea to have complements to the books you are reading to your child, whenever possible. It does not mean every complement has to be stored-bought though because we can be creative in coming up with our own versions using existing materials or toys available. For example, if I am reading a story of ducks, I could make use of the bathing rubber duckies as complements. If I am reading a story of a bus, I could use a used tissue box to make a bus as a complement. The stories will be so much more alive when children can take part in and have more than their visual or auditory senses stimulated.

Have fun complementing your reading!

I'm A Student Again!

When I was young, I love languages and running. Reading books and running around everywhere (yes, they seem like contradictory interests right?) were my favorite things in the world. These are the two areas I had loads of interest in and I think I did pretty ok in them! It is then no surprise that I am very enthusiastic about reading to Han and running around with her, going for walks etc. Not much of a steep learning curve for me until...

During one of our art learning time, we were doodling happily with crayons and I was just randomly drawing some easy stuff for her like a flower, clouds, the sun, moon starts etc. Then in a very highly expecting sort of tone, Han insisted I draw this:

It cannot be just a tiger, it has to be TIGGER. I managed to do a decent one using a picture as a guide, and I just knew the days ahead will hold more challenges! I began to feel especially regretful about my fail in art as a student, but oh well :)

Some time later, a kind soul gave us this.

Han was very excited to use the chopsticks I gave her as drum sticks and she beat on the drums in a sort of attempting- to- play- it way.

I got to learn to play the drums! At least in a can-engage-a toddler-correct and interesting beat way!

Then it dawned on me that with this around,

my learning curve just did a vertical arising once more!. (the only instrument I know how to play is the guitar) I need crash courses!

Isn't it sweet and funny at the same time we parents are willing to learn what we do not know in order to let our children know the hows of what we don't?

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary Dear!

Dear,

Blessed 5th wedding anniversary! It's been 5 years since we said "I do."!

Thank you for:

being my husband, partner in Christ, best friend, soul mate, play mate, confidante, protector, father of our child,

always loving me for who I am,

always seeking to give of your best, giving of your time and energy to this family, many a times giving up your own needs,

working so hard to provide for this family, releasing me to bring up Han personally at home,

spurring me on in Christ, at times when I feel tired and need a nudging,

for making me laugh and have fun when I am too serious at times,

for giving so much assurance of your love, for me and the family

But thank you most of all for being who you are in God and that's the way I love you too.
I love you dear and I look forward to many many years of life together as One in Christ with you.

Do I Work and Will I Regret? - A Road Less Travelled

"You don't work??" she asked me with an incredulous look.
 (you think being a stay home mum is not working?)

"But you are so young!" she went on.
(thanks for the sweet reminder!)

"You can easily earn a few thousand if you work!"
 ( It's a reminder I don't need.)

"Will you regret if you don't have much in your CPF next time because you don't work?"

I have gotten this kind of conversation quite a few times, but today it seemed to linger in me longer. I feel a need to realign my decision in my heart again.

Staying at home is not equal to not working. With a child-caring schedule that spans more than 12 hours a day, "not working" is the last thing on my mind. Of course, I am very thankful to God for the times when Han is engaged in self-play and when taking her nap. That will give me about 2 hours of free time a day.
Seriously, I have yet to come across a one-liner that can explain to others how stay home mums are so really fully working! What a misconception of the word "working"! Maybe we should call ourselves stay-at-home-working-with no monetary pay- mums...

Of course, not everyone is a stay home mum. I fully salute working mums who can manage a career and family. I humbly admit I can't do that juggling! So onto the road less travelled I walk.

I did not answer the lady's last question. In any case, it was pretty much a one-way conversation. No, I will not regret it when 20 years down the road, I see less money in my CPF account. For I know the God I serve is our Provider and He will not let us run dry. But I will certainly regret when I know I have missed the many firsts in Han's life and the time invested in her childhood if I choose another road.

**********

The lady seemed to sense I was not exactly leaping with joy at her comments. She changed her stance.

"Wow! Your girl is really  well-behaved!"
 (patting Han) "Your mummy has taught you well."

Thank you madam, for it is by His grace. :)

Importance of Creating Memories

This afternoon, in her usual chatty mood, Han said,

" Hannah go to the beach with por por...
Hannah scoop sand...
Hannah pour water...
Hannah never walk on sand... (referring to her initial reluctance to walk on sand) 
Hannah wash legs...
Hannah's legs dirty!!"

This is not the first time she has talked about a memorable first time-outing to the beach with us and with my mum. Today, as she narrated it again and added the last three sentences to make today's version a longer one, something struck me.

Han could remember something that took place more than half a year ago and she really enjoys narrating it quite often. The more she narrates, the more details she will add. It's a process of articulating a memory that is very precious to her. She does the same for her second birthday party that took place last month.

"Hannah happy birthday...
So many purple balloons! Same colour as Barney!
(proceeds to name all the immediate and extended family members present at the party)
Hannah blow cake. Barney, BJ, Baby Bop, Scooter all on cake!"

Someone, an experienced father of 4 daughters, once told E and me , " Create memories for your children to look back on. What I remember is not the things my parents buy for me, but the memories they created for me."

A large part of a child's memories are  built by the parents and I pray, by His grace, we will seek to create great memories for Han.

Creation Week #2!

This week we were supposed to focus more on God's creation of man. However, there was a quite a change in our schedule as E was away at a camp and I substituted 2 days of Learning Time with outings instead (I had to get out of the house!).

The first outing we went to was the Borders clearance sale at Suntec. My good friend JR came along with Han and me and I was very thankful for her company! There were many books on sale and I managed to get 7 books for $32. My favorite buy is Waddle! : A Scanimation Picture Book which I got for $5.

It's not normally a book that I would get for Han as it does not focus on reading and it's a pricey book without the discount, but I thought it's a good buy for a book that can capture a curiosity of a toddler ! I was very proud of Han because she managed to queue along with us for close to 2 hours for payment (yes, the horror of clearance sales!). She was pretty grouchy at the end of the queuing, but was quickly pacified with a warm delicious dinner that filled all three of our cold, hungry stomachs. It was a positive experience to bring Han out! Thanks JR for being a great babysitter and company!

The second outing this week was a play date with Han's close cousin, Ian. I always enjoy bringing Han for play dates with Ian. They share great chemistry as they are regular playmates every week at my in-law's house. My sis-in-law, Ian, her helper, Han and I had a whooping good time (for the kids especially) at the roof top playground of Vivocity . It was a nice fellowship chatting with my sis-in-law and we ended the evening with a great dinner. I thank God He held the weather for us throughout the whole time, especially when I was making my way back home from the train station! Han was sufficiently tired out by 2 consecutive days of outings and she slept early and well :)

I thought these 2 outings greatly tested Han's patience in staying on her pram, our good trusty Maclaren Techno XT. She had to stay on it for at times long stretches of time as I was alone travelling with her to and fro venues via the train. She did very well and I am very thankful to God for that! 

For the rest of the non-outing days, we resumed our  Learning Time. I made an extra effort to keep asking Han the learning thematic question, "Who made everything?" Now she answers quite accurately, "God". :) I decided to shift the focus on God's creation of man to next week instead as I wanted to reinforce the idea of God creating all things.

So in everything we did this week, I made special reference to God being our Creator. These are the learning activities we had this week.

God made the fruits and vegetables!

Fruits/ Vegetables sorting (all materials from Daiso)

God made mice and flowers! Han is doing puzzles daily now. Found this great puzzle which has a replica picture at base for guidance. I love it! It really encouraged Han to enjoy puzzles more! I drew the outlines of the puzzle pieces using a marker as I think it facilitates the process for Han better.

From Toys R Us

God made colours and shapes! This set of shape recognition and matching is simple and encouraging for toddlers. Great for them to experience success.

From Toys R Us

Lastly, the most memorable and satisfying learning she had was the Alphabet Train activity.

Alphabet Train Puzzle (Bought 2nd hand )

 Previously, she could not have enough patience to last through piecing all the 27 (26 alphabets + 1 train head) pieces together. Today, she showed remarkable improvement by piecing together all the pieces in 1 sitting! I discovered the secret to sustaining her interest was to make a song out of the whole activity : " The letter A is in the alphabet train, place the letter A next to here.." Repeat for all letters with my own silly tune that amused Han greatly. Haha.

I decided to improvise on this learning by bringing out her wooden alphabet blocks.

Alphabet Wooden Blocks (bought 2nd hand)

 Han successfully placed 8 matching alphabets on top of corresponding alphabets on the alphabet train. She really enjoyed herself and so did I! We ended the activity by marching around the long alphabet puzzle, to me singing the ABC song for several times! Han loved it and kept giggling!

Cheers to learning!

Songs to God

This devotion really spoke to me.

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music IN YOUR HEART to the Lord..." Ephesians 5:19

In our household, having praise and worship songs played on the CD player is no rarity. I take extra effort to surround our house with lots of praise and worship songs in order to instill in Han a love for His music. When I was reading the verse above, I was very struck by the three words "in your heart". God reminded me that songs to Him must be first made in our hearts way before it comes from our mouths. What is a praise and worship song to Him if we sing it, without first rendering that praise and worship from our hearts to God?

I can play an endless list of songs to Him from my player or even from my guitar, but I know what delights the Father is first a song that starts in my heart and offered to Him with all sweetness of my soul because He is God.

Lord, help me to daily have a song in my heart for You and to You, always giving thanks for EVERYTHING.

What To Munch for Lunch?

Taken from babyblues.com

Lunchtime for me is always challenging in terms of thinking of how and what to eat. It's the time of the day when Han is napping and it's out of the question for me to pop outside for even a quick meal. So over time, I have gotten used to the following options:

1) Sliced bread with a spread / homemade sandwich
2) Leftover porridge from Han's lunch
3) Re-heated meal bought in the morning at the food court (many times not available if  I'm down for an early breakfast with Han) 
4) Cereal and milk
5) Fast food delivery (yucks, hate this option unless I'm seriously desperate!)
6) Leftover food from previous day's dinner

My favorite is option number...... 6. It may be leftover food, but it's home-cooked and hot and yummy! Having a daily freshly-cooked meal for lunch is one of the things I gave up when I stopped working outside!

In any case, I do not place much emphasis on my lunch as I would rather use the precious 2 hours to spend time with God, rest or do some net-surfing!

If only there's such a thing as dial-a-hot-freshly-cooked-non fast food-taste like homecooked lunch...

She's drawing parallels - "This one's same as..."

Han has been drawing quite a number of parallels in her speech. Her favorite and most consistent example is that of drawing parallels to colours. Examples:

1) "Same colour as Barney!" (whenever she sees an object that is purple)

2) "Same colour as Baby Bop!" (whenever she sees an object that is green)

3) "Same colour as BJ!" (whenever she sees an object that is yellow)

You must understand why she loves to use Barney characters as her references. If you do not, you can read an earlier post!

4) "Same colour as Tigger!"  (whenever she sees an object that is orange)

5) "Same colour aaaaaaaas .........." (whenever she sees an object's colour that she's trying to match a parallel to)

These few days, she has been using shapes to draw parallels too! Examples:

1) "This one's (a) square, same as (the) table!"
2) "This one's (a) circle, same as (the) cup!"
3) "This one's (a) triangle, same as (the) highchair!" (referring to the highchair tray)

Today, she took her kangaroo soft toy, came up to me and exclaimed, "This one's same as (a) rabbit!!" 

And so she proceeds to the next stage...

Creation Week!

The theme for Han's Learning Time this week is the Biblical theme "Creation".

I did a couple of learning activities with her, in line with the passage in Genesis 1 which tells us about how God created the world. Firstly, there was no memory verse for her this week, but rather a memory statement, "God made everything.". Throughout the week, when I talked to her about the creations of God, I would teach her this statement. It's a simple 3 word statement, so I guess it rested pretty well on her. I would then proceed to ask, "Who made everything?" The answer is supposed to be "God." For the first few times, she said "Mummy!" or "Hannah!" It was really funny. Eventually she learned that the answer is "God." :)

We learned that God created the sky, moon, stars, clouds etc. So one of the art and craft activity that we did was a drawing-sticker craft. I drew the moon, stars, clouds and the 3 stick figures (representing our family). Han placed the star stickers by herself. This trained her fine motor skills a lot as the star stickers were pretty thin and small. A few months back, she could not have placed them so well, so I was very proud of her that she improved a lot in placing the stickers on. I topped off the activity by giving her Barney stickers to decorate her art piece. Needless to say, she was very happy!

When I went on to teach her how God created the flowers and plants too, we did 2 other activities. One was a simple flower arrangement activity. I got some bunches of fake flowers and a ash-tray with many holes from Daiso. You could also do this using a big salt shaker with many holes. This allows Han to practice her motor skills as she places the stalk of flowers into the holes and at the same time allows her to be creative in arranging her flowers.

 She asked me to take a picture of the finished product.

I wanted to show Han how plants grew. The fastest and fuss-free way was to germinate some beans. By the second day, they grew visibly. By the end of the week, they were so tall that they protruded out of the container. Han greets her precious bean plants good morning every day and she lovingly holds the container of plants sometimes to just look at them. I like the gentle way she handles the plants!

We also read some books on animals when I came to the part of how God created animals. Two of her all-time favourite books are Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Eric Carle) and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle). We also did a few animal puzzles. I am very happy to see Han enjoying puzzles more and more! I hope she can enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles next. For now, I really must flame up her interest in puzzles first.

When we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I also incorporated these 2 puzzles for Han. Both items only cost me $6 in total. Han loved the magnetic puzzle very much and she did it repeatedly. She was also able to put in all the pieces well too for both puzzles! I thought the 2nd puzzle (below in picture) captured the life cycle of a butterfly very well. I got this for less than $2 at a clearance sale.

We also started on reading a Chinese book every day, using Novum chinese readers. I really like them as the books have bright and attractive pictures and the chinese words are large. I got them for $2 each at Giant sale.

 By the 3rd or 4th day, Han was conversing to us in Chinese sometimes. So I was very encouraged by that! I must persevere in teaching her Chinese!

We also managed to make a trip down to a fish farm with my parents on Friday and that topped off our week of learning about God's creation. Next week, our learning theme will still be on Creation, focusing more on the creation of man. Looking forward to more fun learning to come!

Staying Connected!

 It was a great time of fellowship and of worshiping the Lord together during G12 meeting! For tonight's meeting, one of the things pastor shared was from Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

I am always thankful to God for the community that He has set around E and I, and especially for the group of G12 sisters that I have. As a mum, I think it's vitally important to stay connected! First to God, and also to His people. You cannot parent alone (and this we all learn when the child arrives). Many a times, when the demands of parenting gets into me, I must confess it is easier for me to just want to be alone and "sort things out". One thing that God is constantly reminding me is that I must stay connected and not seek to solve things by myself. What an important lesson to learn everyday!

Psalm 133

 ¹ How good and pleasant it is
   when God’s people live together in unity!
 ² It is like precious oil poured on the head,
   running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
   down on the collar of his robe.
³ It is as if the dew of Hermon
   were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
   even life forevermore. 

So mummies, stay connected to your Source and to the body of Christ!

Favorite Song

I was washing up for Han today when I asked her casually, "Hannah, what is your favorite song?" She looked at me and seemed like she was thinking hard. I thought she did not understand what "favorite" meant, so I asked "Hannah, which song do you like the most?"

She replied without hesitation, "Jesus Loves Me."

Her Reality of Consequences

Seems like many interesting conversations and lessons are taking place at the food court, our daily morning place for a good breakfast.

Han saw the cleaner mopping the floor and was observing her intently. Han is no stranger to the idea of cleaning the floor as she sees me doing that everyday. And then she said: "Uncle (actually it was an aunty who was wearing a cap) mopping floor..Hannah cannot walk...Hannah will fall down." I nearly choked on my food as I heard that. Besides being one of the longer sentences that she has been churning out, it was to me, a sentence of profound meaning! What Han said reflected that not only did she understood the reality of consequences (if she were to walk on wet floors), but she was able to retain that idea and articulate it out in another similar setting! Wow!

I am very encouraged because this means each time there is a need to explain consequences of actions or  discipline,  I know that she can fully understand and she's able to apply it to similar situations the next time (I hope this continues!)! All those times of reiterating caution and instructions have not been in vain after all:)

I continue to pray that she has a teachable and soft heart that she may walk in the ways of the Lord always!