"Children are not expensive..."

A mother I know once said:

"Children are not expensive, lifestyles are."

A statement shared by a mum during an ever-popular discussion [about what kids need - more $ to pay for more enrichment classs, or the undivided attention of nurturing adults during their foundation years].

A March to Crab Fest w/ Old-Time Pals

With the busy lifestyles that everyone leads in modern Singapore, such a simple gathering is really hard to come by.

Thus despite Prince Christian nursing a teething fever, and Mummy Eliz a slight flu, we turned up for the Crab Fest @ AMK with our old pals.

And it was such a great surprise to be invited over to Auntie Yvonne’s lovely house after the dinner.

~ Our family of 4 ~

~ Getting ready to fest !! ~

~ Look at the huge crab! ~

~ Cool great food! ~

~ Happily showing Valentina her nicely done-up fingernails ~

~ Getting ready to go! ~

"Teach & I remember. Involve & I learn.”

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin

Heritage Fest Kids’ Zone @ Suntec City

The theme for this year’s Heritage Fest is “Heroes”.

Princess Chelsea went along with some other 80 home-schooled kids aged from 4 to 10, to the Kids’ Zone at Suntec City Gallery Foyer.

The kids were treated to interesting tales about heroes and heroines in war-time Singapore. They participated in a interactive puppet show about how Redhill got its name [Chelsea’s favourite activity of the day], and did some craft-work on heroes.

Princess Chelsea’s personal hero is Daddy Tiong, and the reason is because he always protects her, and taught her a lot of things.

And not forgetting, here’s a special thank you to all the parents for bringing your kids along [else Mummy Eliz would not be able to meet the minimum number of kids required to book a slot for the kids activities].

Mummy hope you had fun learning all about heroes and here’s a pat on the back, to the parents, for being the unsung heroes in your kids’ lives.

~ At the gathering area, waiting for the color-coded tags to be handed out ~

~ Enjoying the tale about Elizabeth Choy, a heroine ~

~ “I want to protect Singapore, my home!” ~

~ Chelsea’s impression of Daddy Tiong on a piece of cloth;
shiny, bold, and colorful ~

"Give the Small Stuff Small Attention ... "

Give the Small Stuff Small Attention and the Big Stuff Big Attention

I remember a professor in college telling the class on the very first day, “If you put the same amount of attention into sharpening your pencil as into writing your thesis, you will only succeed in making yourself a nervous wreck.”

As a parent, you must deal with a million details every single day of life. If you put everything equal on the scale of importance – from putting toys into the toy box to choosing the right preschool, you would very likely make yourself a nervous wreck.

- Extracted from the No-Cry Discipline solution by Elizabeth Pantley.

Weekend Kite-flying at Bishan Park

To compensate for Princess Chelsea’s disappointment at the NAC-Arts Outreach Event earlier, Daddy Tiong brought a really colorful kite and arrangements were made for her to experience the thrill of kite-flying.

The heavens were kind to us, there was no rain, the wind was gentle, and minimum effort needed to fly the kite.

Princess Chelsea really enjoyed the experience of flying the kite all by herself; Prince Christian on the other hand, was more interested in guarding his precious box of strawberry poky than anything else.

~ “Fly Kite Fly!” ~

~ “Wow!” ~

~ Princess Chelsea happily getting a workout ~

~ Prince Christian guarding his precious box of treats~

~ Our kite high up in the sky ~

Home Exploration Topic: When I grow up

Daddy: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Chelsea: “A clown, as I can make didi laugh.”

~ With the mascot of PAW Walk 08 for Babies & Toddlers ~

Junior Olympic Adventure @ NLB

Princess Chelsea got to try out basketball, golf, football, archery and sailing at this Junior Olympic Adventure organized by the Singapore Sports Council, Sports On! Kids Club.

The atmosphere was initially lukewarm, but once the mascots, Gigi and Max made their appearance, all the kids were practically jumping for joy. Now Mummy Eliz could finally appreciate the importance of mascots at kids’ events.

Princess boldly went on stage for the dance with the mascots, but once the initial wave of excitements worn off, she started feeling self-conscious. Still, she was relatively pleased that her effort got her one goodie bag with some toys.

Princess Chelsea will be signing up as a Sport On! Kids Club member for only $20 a year and we certainly look forward to:

• A Fabulous Welcome Kit, comprising of a t-shirt and other items worth $30
• Sports Workshops free of charge and at discounted rates
• Exclusive member-only events with chances to meet Team Singapore Athletes
• Exclusive member benefits, discounts and privileges for sport and wellness-related products and services
• Monthly e-updates

~ Daddy Tiong in a desperate attempt to prove his presence at the event ~

~ Princess smiling so happily with Gigi ~

~ Daddy and Prince with Gigi ~

~ Princess with Max ~

~ On the stage with the other older kids ~

~ Princess excitedly following the moves ~

Fun! Fun! Fun! - Sports On! Kids Club

Mummy Eliz caught this advertorial in the Young Parents’ Magazine.

Recently launched by the Singapore Sports Council, Sports On! Kids Club adopts a motto of “Keeping the FUN in Sports”. Targeting children of 3 to 12, the club promotes sports as a fun and healthy lifestyle choice for children, starting with its Junior Olympic Adventure at National Library.

Their motto sounds really cool; the Junior Olympic Adventure might be worth checking out.

Finally a butterfly, after 12 long days

For Princess Chelsea, the best sight to set her eyes on, on Saturday early morning was a curious butterfly flapping its wings around. This amazing sight was enough to drive any unwanted morning crankiness far away.

After 12 days of waiting, our little pupa exited from its cocoon to become a beautiful butterfly. Its cocoon had just turned black the day before.

Princess enthusiastically wanted to feed our little butterfly some cheese after hearing Daddy Tiong’s explanation of setting it free so that it could find some food [nectar].

We set it free in the gardens downstairs. This was such a great experience. Thank you, little butterfly, for showing us the beauty of life.

~ Notice the cocoon in front of the butterfly ~

~ Princess Chelsea was really amazed ~

"To give children ... problems to solve."

“Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.”
- Roger Lewin

Batik Expression at Malay Heritage Ctr

Auntie Sya from the local home-schooling group organized a Batik Expression session for the kids at Malay Heritage Centre.

Princess Chelsea tagged along, and had fun, decorating two pieces of Batik Hankies. We also had the pleasure of witnessing the usage of melted wax to do the outlines of the pictures before the Expression.

After the session, Princess Chelsea ventured to the wooden ship outside, and had fun playing with the sand, looking for unique stones and snails.

She really looked engrossed. And Mummy Eliz suddenly felt that kids should be given more chances to have experiences like this, being alone, and yet not in a hurry to just explore and feel time moving by.

~ Happily admiring her first piece of Batik artwork! ~

~ Waiting for the Batik artworks to dry ~

~ A second piece is really hard-work ~

~ Running to show Mummy the snail that she found ~

Home Exploration Topic: Home-grown organic Kang-Kong

Our Hydroponics Farm Tour inspired this project of home-grown organic Kang-Kong. You can find the details of our visit at http://chelsea-and-christian.blogspot.com/2008/07/hydroponics-farm-tour.html.

After a good 5 days in the germination tub, our first batch of seedlings is finally ready to be transplanted into the growing pots.

~ Princess Chelsea with a proud smile on her face =) ~

"What is Parental Discipline?"

“Parental discipline is about helping our children create a foundation of strong values, morals and guidelines that they can use for a lifetime of self-discipline.”
- Elizabeth Pantley

Mummy Eliz is tryin very hard to bear this in mind. That parenting is a journey in itself, and that there is no real result / report card to strive for.

Our little caterpillar is now a pupa !!!

Our little caterpillar is now a pupa, and it is more amazing than amazing, witnessing it hanging by the side of the box using two silky threads which it fixed on the side of the box.

Check out the close-up shoot of it.

~ Hanging for its dear life ~

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again
- By Diana Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I’d do less correcting, and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less, and know to care more.
I’d take more hikes, and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run though more fields and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging, and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.

Home Exploration Topic: Lifecycle of a butterfly

While educators acknowledge that books and videos [e.g. youtube] play a useful role in teaching science, most would agree that hands-on experiments and close observation is probably the best way to teach it.

Mummy and Daddy thus strive to engage them in activities, in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas.

A good way is to involve as many senses as possible.

In getting a real caterpillar, she can smell the leaves it eat, touch its delicate skin, see it chewing, and hear the sounds of the leaves.

~ Our little caterpillar the day we brought it home ~

“What a child doesn’t get he can seldom give”

“What a child doesn’t receive he can seldom later give.”
- P. D. James

Russian Sails & water-play @ Vivocity

Such a pity, our family was a good 5 minutes late. Else we would be able to board the Russian Sails that docked at Vivocity.

Princess Chelsea was really disappointed.

Luckily, the water play area at the play court helped to disperse some of that disappointment. Daddy thought about it a long time before agreeing to let them strip, and just enjoy the water play.

~ Prince Christian looking curiously around ~

~ Princess Chelsea looking really disappointed ~

~ The naked sister-brother pair =) ~

~ Prince Chrisian really enjoyed water play ~

~ Waiting patiently for the water to come out fm the sprout~

Uncle Raymond’s Granny’s Cremation

After attending Uncle Raymond’s Granny’s cremation at Mandai, Princess Chelsea turned over to Mummy Eliz and said,

Chelsea: “Mummy, if you die, I want to die with you so we can be together forever.”

Daddy Tiong commented that it is a show of how much she loves Mummy. Mummy Eliz is contentedly basking in Princess Chelsea’s unconditional love now, and hoping that this love will last forever, hopefully even throughout her teenage rebellious years.

Chloe’s 5th Birthday Party Celebration

“Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday Dear Chloe,
Happy Birthday to You!”

Our family is really honored to be invited to Chloe’s 5th Birthday Party Celebration. She is such a sweet and lovely young lady.

After the party, the kids went for a dip in the pool. All was fine and well, till a boy had the fits. Not sure what triggered it, but we certainly felt relieved that the boy was ok.

~ The sweet and lovely young birthday lady, Chloe ~

~ Chelsea squeezing in for a picture while the Birthday Song was being sung ~

~ The kids playing with the sunglasses in the party pack ~

Hydroponics Farm Tour @ Oh Farms

Auntie KY kindly coordinated a Hydroponics Farm Tour to Oh Farms, a supplier of local fresh vegetables to NTUC and Cold Storage [http://www.ohfarms.com.sg/].

An eye-opening experience; the guide Tony shared with us many interesting tips on herbs and spices before the start of the tour. An interesting mention is the Miracle Fruit, a fruit that confuse ones’ taste buds. After eating it, things that are sour would taste sweet.

We toured around the nutrients center, germination room, plant nursery, packing centre etc. Kids were also introduced to the idea of eating Kang Kong uncooked, and were surprised that it tasted nice.

~ The seedlings in the nursery ~

~ Peeking into the germination room ~

~ Princess Chelsea seeing rice grown for the first time ~

~ PROOF that Prince Christian was there for the trip ~

PS:

At the end of the tour, armed with a starter kit, and a seedling fresh from the germination room, Princess Chelsea was ready to start her home garden project with Daddy Tiong.

Our next possible trip is a tour of the Herbs and Spice Garden there.