Buddin' Writer

The sense of satisfaction I'm experiencing is indescribable. It is every mother's wish to see her child grow. One can grow in many areas, in many ways.

I'm happy that Adri is growing up happily. Yes, although she fights with Ashlynn and they bicker every day, that itself is growth. Each day, as they squabble, the girls learn a little about conflict management, an important life skill.

At this moment, the sense of satisfaction I'm experiencing stems from Adri's academic 'growth'. From one who could barely read at the beginning of the year, Adri is making good progress deciphering n decoding words. More phonetically skilled (kudos to her phonics class), she has progressed from sounding, spelling and writing simple words to stringing those words together into a sentence! :)

Though 'tough' (and frustrating at times), I'm certainly enjoying the daily sessions I have with Adri, especially when I'm beginning to see the fruit of our (Adri and mine) labour.

Adri is Writing!

I started Adri on writing of simple words recently. In the short 20 minutes or so, Adri does a total of 3 activities daily -
1) sticker pasting + colouring
2) writing of simple words (one word per day)
3) writing of numerals

I decided that since Adri has started to pick up phonics, it was time to start her on simple words. I had absolutely no inkling as to when Adri would start writing sentences independently.

Today, I had a pleasant surprise.
Adri decided that she would like to write a sentence or two about the picture she has drawn! Mummy, of course, was more than glad to help her with it!

Other than 'Jerry' and 'mouse', Adri spelt the rest of the words herself!

Mummy is simply overjoyed and is looking forward to more masterpieces!
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Daddy's Birthday Cake

~9 April 2012~

A very happy and special birthday cake indeed, Adri decorated it.
That was extra 'sweetness' in the cake.

Happy Birthday, Papa Mart.
:)
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臭臭的脚?

Mummy: Adri, I think your feet is a little smelly. Would you want to go wash your feet?
Adri: ... ... ... (remains quiet)
Mummy: ...
Adri: 我洗脚了！

Adri's into code switching lately and she's getting better at CL! =)
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Copycat

While driving home, I repeated what Adri said. After some seconds, Adri became a lil' irritated and said, "Mummy, why are you mimicking me?"

Adri sure deserves a thumbs up! =)

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Ashlynn's 1st @ Sunday School

~22 April 2012~

That day, Mummy was very excited to head for church. Ashlynn had finally turned two and could be 'promoted' from the nursery room (where parents cared for their little babies and toddlers) to Sunday School where she would learn about God in a structured way, during lessons pitched to her cognitive level.

My prior knowledge (from Adri's Sunday School experience) has it that Ashlynn may not sit still, may not take instructions, may tear (or even bawl) and may not let me out of her sight for quite a while (for months or even years).

I was in for a pleasant surprise.
Not only did Ashlynn not cry, she took the teacher's instructions well and sat still throughout. She was so angelic n well-behaved! She sat quietly, observed what her peers did and did likewise. Ashlynn didn't take long to warm up to her friends and the teachers.

One significant event that got me chuckling was that though the youngest and unable to articulate her thoughts in words, Ashlynn was the only one who asked for a second helping of snacks.
How?
The teacher was going around to ask if anyone needed more. Ashlynn waited quietly and patiently (thumbs up for the patience exhibited), all while holding on to the paper plate given and when the teacher finally came to her, she held up her plate as a signal to the teacher that she wanted more! She had totally no fear and was absoutely not shy!
Mummy just had to chuckle.
During the snack time, Ashlynn watched the others drink water and she too took sips from her bottle. The very idea that she was actually sitting through the lesson totally wowed me. Ashlynn was so ready for school!

Food, toys and interaction with peers aside, One main takeaway for Ashlynn was that they fished in class! The day's lesson was on what Jesus did, that he was a fisher of men. In an attempt to make the abstract relevant, the teacher prepared fish and had the kids have a go at fishing! Not only did the kids fish, they got to bring home their fish! What an awesome experience!

It was a great start for Ashlynn. Her first experience at Sunday School turned out much much better than what Mummy had expected. Mummy knew that it wouldn't take long before the independence required to attend class alone is acquired. =)
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Ashlynn & her Lolli

I do not remember when I allowed Adri to start on a lolli; that seems to be a whole lot of sugar in there!

Ashlynn started on lollipops lately. Not because it's the top on my snack list but it's one of the must-haves on Adri's snack list.
Whenever Adri gets a lolli, Ashlynn demands for one too. Whatever her sister has, Ashlynn definitely wants an equal. If she doesn't get, She resorts to SNATCHING! (Yes, Ashlynn is a little feisty girl.)

Here's Ashlynn with her lolli, she makes it looks soooo good!
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Compare the Lips!

What pouty lips they have! =D
Mummy just had to put the pics side by side for a quick comparison!
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Picture Time with Adri

Adri frequents the hairdresser's on a monthly basis to have her hair trimmed.

We took some shots while we waited for her turn. Adri was in the mood for photography and mummy was certainly more than happy to pose with her! How rare was the moment! =D
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Paramedics

Mummy is too lazy to retell the exchange...here's a snapshot:
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First Window Art Painting

Adri had her first try at something I've always been intrigued at - Window Art. Y then the wait? Firstly, I wasn't sure if the hyper Adri would be able to sit through the whole process. Secondly, I wasn't sure if Adri's fingers were delicate enough for the intricate end product. I often wondered if the end product would turn out to be messy, with paint spilling across boundaries, spilling everywhere.

Today, for the very first time, Adri asked for craft work. I had no reason to not grant her request.

Amazingly, Adri sat through the whole process of some 30 - 40 minutes and her concentration level was 100%. Not only was she focused while she was applying the paint, she made sure she checked mummy when I helped to clean up a little.

Contrary to what I had expected ie paint spilling everywhere due to the ability to control the amount of paint to be applied, Adri had absolutely no difficulty. She was extremely careful. She squeezed the paint a little at a time, watched the blob of paint fill up a given area before deciding if she needed to apply more paint. She was so cautious that Mummy didn't hv much to clean up; the tissue paper and cotton bud given weren't really put to good use.

The enriching learning process didn't stop at painting. While waiting for her end product, Mummy walked Adri through why the paintwork had to be put through the oven and following that, into a trough of water.

Ta-da! Her beautiful Hello Kitty window art. Adri was definitely pleased with her masterpiece.
Before we left, she asked, "Mummy, can I have Sand Art the next time round?"
Mummy smiled. =)
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