..we look alike..
..we sleep alike..
we're sisters of the travelling pants!
altogether now... awwwwwwwwwww!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
SOLD!
Guess who's walking down the plank next....?
SHE is!
And a little get-together to recapture the past excesses, misadventures and misdemeanours of our youth...
..and indulging in a different kind of sin altogether:
Love ya heaps chickadee! *muacks*
SHE is!
And a little get-together to recapture the past excesses, misadventures and misdemeanours of our youth...
..and indulging in a different kind of sin altogether:
Love ya heaps chickadee! *muacks*
Monday, March 22, 2010
By leaps & bounds
To be honest, I wasn't sure Madrasah was the right choice to start her off on the path of lifelong learning. There were too many horror stories about how kids who went to Madrasah Kindergarten ended up not knowing their ABCs when they enrolled in Primary 1. It even happened to my cousins, many years back. Perhaps not being under MOE purview caused a lax in their teaching standards? Perhaps they focused too much on the spiritual aspect? Perhaps the teachers were unqualified? Perhaps perhaps perhaps..
But when Arissa first went to a secular play centre, I could not agree on the standards of hygiene especially when she came back home with "slash marks" on her diaper- evidence that they don't wash the kids bum-bum after their No 2.
More upsetting was when she came back with a slew of Singlish fillers- the LAH and the MEH and the ARH. Call me ya-ya papaya but I just.cannot.accept Singlish unless it's used recreationally. Our main language at home is Malay (I was intent on instilling a sense of YOUR MELAYU ROOTS) and I wanted her to pick up 'proper' English from school.
So there I was, (falsely) thinking a secular environment would compel her to learn boardroom English but what did I get after 5 months in NTUC Childcare- a tot who spoke like a run-of-mill, coffee-shop Ah Lian! Undoing the damage was the hardest part.. For the longest time she called me "MUMMY ARH..." to my chagrin.
Anyway, back to the story:
3 months into Madrasah and I have yet to hear any Singlish in her diction.
The school gives me weekly updates of her curriculum through a "communication book" which she brings home every Friday. And a library book meant to cultivate 'parent-child bonding'.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are Phys. Ed days where the kids play at the rooftop playground. I feel safer that she isn't at a common playground near any roads or paedophilatic strangers.
Fridays are solely religious days where she learns the things Hafidz and I could not teach her, because we have forgotten all of our little doas, save for the ones we say before a meal. (Reminder to self: get a doa book for parents asap!). The other day in the car she held out her hands in prayer and recited the whole surah Al-Fateha to our surprise (maybe because Daddy drives like a maniac on speed).
She has a clique of her own- a trio comprising NorJannah Hayley, Qaisara and a love-hate relationship with Mysha and Diah Inshirah. Names too cute, I have to meet these girls in person!
She brings home weekly topical worksheets and bibs and bobs of craft they did in school. She recognises all her alphabets from A to Z and Alif to Ya even when I mix them up (hey, just making sure it isn't rote memory she's exhibiting). She has learnt phonics through songs:
Elbows Everywhere, Eh Eh Eh
Elbows Everywhere, Eh Eh Eh
Elbows Everywhere, Eh Eh Eh
'EH' is the sound of Eeeeee
And one quiet Saturday, when Sofia was soundly sleeping and it was time for our letter-writing session, I found that she had carefully, on her own, traced out 4 pages of the book. So impressed was I by her squiggly penmanship and show of motivation that we got her more stationery.
But (and there is always a but)...
...when Arissa plays pretend, she usually becomes a Malay-speaking teacher mimicking all that happens in class, leading me to believe that her teachers speak a lot of Malay to the tots. And also because this is Madrasah, she has a very limited network of non-Malay friends, apart from Yen (my Mum's 4-year old neighbour) and Anish. I don't deny a secular environment would do a lot of good for her social skills (and contribute vastly to her Singlish vocabulary) so I'm weighing the option of sending her to a secular Kindergarten next year when she officially begins schooling. Having said that, it all depends on how the rest of the year goes and we still have another 9 months to go down this road..
But for now, Mummy is very happy that Madrasah education has improved by leaps and bounds. Sofia, however, thinks Kakak is a showoff, as always!
But when Arissa first went to a secular play centre, I could not agree on the standards of hygiene especially when she came back home with "slash marks" on her diaper- evidence that they don't wash the kids bum-bum after their No 2.
More upsetting was when she came back with a slew of Singlish fillers- the LAH and the MEH and the ARH. Call me ya-ya papaya but I just.cannot.accept Singlish unless it's used recreationally. Our main language at home is Malay (I was intent on instilling a sense of YOUR MELAYU ROOTS) and I wanted her to pick up 'proper' English from school.
So there I was, (falsely) thinking a secular environment would compel her to learn boardroom English but what did I get after 5 months in NTUC Childcare- a tot who spoke like a run-of-mill, coffee-shop Ah Lian! Undoing the damage was the hardest part.. For the longest time she called me "MUMMY ARH..." to my chagrin.
Anyway, back to the story:
3 months into Madrasah and I have yet to hear any Singlish in her diction.
The school gives me weekly updates of her curriculum through a "communication book" which she brings home every Friday. And a library book meant to cultivate 'parent-child bonding'.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are Phys. Ed days where the kids play at the rooftop playground. I feel safer that she isn't at a common playground near any roads or paedophilatic strangers.
Fridays are solely religious days where she learns the things Hafidz and I could not teach her, because we have forgotten all of our little doas, save for the ones we say before a meal. (Reminder to self: get a doa book for parents asap!). The other day in the car she held out her hands in prayer and recited the whole surah Al-Fateha to our surprise (maybe because Daddy drives like a maniac on speed).
She has a clique of her own- a trio comprising NorJannah Hayley, Qaisara and a love-hate relationship with Mysha and Diah Inshirah. Names too cute, I have to meet these girls in person!
She brings home weekly topical worksheets and bibs and bobs of craft they did in school. She recognises all her alphabets from A to Z and Alif to Ya even when I mix them up (hey, just making sure it isn't rote memory she's exhibiting). She has learnt phonics through songs:
Elbows Everywhere, Eh Eh Eh
Elbows Everywhere, Eh Eh Eh
Elbows Everywhere, Eh Eh Eh
'EH' is the sound of Eeeeee
And one quiet Saturday, when Sofia was soundly sleeping and it was time for our letter-writing session, I found that she had carefully, on her own, traced out 4 pages of the book. So impressed was I by her squiggly penmanship and show of motivation that we got her more stationery.
But (and there is always a but)...
...when Arissa plays pretend, she usually becomes a Malay-speaking teacher mimicking all that happens in class, leading me to believe that her teachers speak a lot of Malay to the tots. And also because this is Madrasah, she has a very limited network of non-Malay friends, apart from Yen (my Mum's 4-year old neighbour) and Anish. I don't deny a secular environment would do a lot of good for her social skills (and contribute vastly to her Singlish vocabulary) so I'm weighing the option of sending her to a secular Kindergarten next year when she officially begins schooling. Having said that, it all depends on how the rest of the year goes and we still have another 9 months to go down this road..
But for now, Mummy is very happy that Madrasah education has improved by leaps and bounds. Sofia, however, thinks Kakak is a showoff, as always!
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Pillowtalk
Overhead @ 2:45am, Sat night.
Daddy: Arissa, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Arissa: I want to be a cow..
D: A WHAT?
A: Cow laaaaaa... moo moo
D: !?Why a cow..?
A: Eh tanak, I want to be a cat... Errr no no no, a bear. So I can live in the jungle.
Point being: She only 4 with limited reasoning (..and ambition..) and doesn't always make sense yet most days we forget how small she is and expect her to act like Big Sis all the time.
Daddy: Arissa, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Arissa: I want to be a cow..
D: A WHAT?
A: Cow laaaaaa... moo moo
D: !?Why a cow..?
A: Eh tanak, I want to be a cat... Errr no no no, a bear. So I can live in the jungle.
Point being: She only 4 with limited reasoning (..and ambition..) and doesn't always make sense yet most days we forget how small she is and expect her to act like Big Sis all the time.
But when I see that cheeky grin, I just want to smother her with butterfly kisses. :)
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