Good Friday 2013

Mart and I thought it would be a good idea to take the dogs out and decided that a day at the beach would be a great way to spend the day!

We waited for the predictable rain (it never fails to rain on Good Fridays) to stop and thereafter packed ourselves off to East Coast Park.

The thrill of watching Fluffy disturb Pepper aside (pouncing on him, chasing him, nibbling him),  it was great to see my girls getting more comfortable with the sea and the sand.  The last we went cycling at East Coast,  Ashlynn absolutely detested the touch of sand and Adri was hesitant about getting near the waters.  Though they are still nowhere near being termed as 'water babies', I'm glad that they are slowly but surely loving these bits of nature.

Guess who had the most fun? Without a shadow of doubt, Fluffy! She's every bit a puppy, active and playful and constantly up to mischief.  Check out the pics!

Newest Member of the Wong Family

Mart and I have, many a times, toyed with the idea of having a big dog of our own. Now that space constraint is no longer an issue and that the girls have grown bigger and increasingly less fearful of dogs,  we decided to explore...

We went visiting pet stores and farms over a few weekends and finally decided on this cute little 3-month+ 'She'!

Meet Fluffy!

Well, Fluffy isn't really little. We were told she is a big-boned golden x labrador retriever. Mart and I are mentally prepared for her to grow to some 25 to 30kg in mass. Imagine that!

How are the girls taking to Fluffy? Well, they gave the greenlight to having Fluffy around.  In fact,  Adri handpicked Fluffy (over Fluffy' sister) and named her. The girls are perfectly fine when Fluffy is confined but a tad fearful when she's on the loose. To them, Fluffy is HUGE. They are,  however,  thrilled that they may possibly ride on Fluffy one day when she's full grown! Mummy is definitely looking forward to that too!

Bespectacled Adrielle?

Results of eye check conducted by health team.

Is Adri going to be like myopic Mummy?

I PRAY NOT, not when she's this young! =(

My Bump...

Oh gosh! What's happening to me?
The weighing scale showed a dif of 2kg just within the week! =O

Adri's Takeaway from Sunday School

''God made everything and it was very good.'' - Gen 1:31

Ashlynn @ School

Adri's Masterpiece

This is what Adri learnt in Art class today. Can you make out what she drew?

Enrichment Classes

These are the enrichment classes Adri goes for on a weekly basis:
Mon: -
Tue : -
Wed: Art
Thu : -
Fri   : Swimming, CL @ Berries
Sat   : Music, Phonics

 

In additional to the above, Adri is on Kumon EL and Math homework programme. She does a set of their learning sheets on a daily basis.

 

Too many, too much?
Mummy is worried that Adri would find it  overwhelming. Adri, however, finds much joy in attending her classes. Phew! Fun aside, Adri finds  it important to constantly acquire new knowledge and she finds great satisfaction each time she conquers a little mountain.

 

A little snippet of what she's doing for her kumon Math:

 

 

How did all these classes start?

Believe it or not, Adri was assessed by her school teachers during last year's midyear PTM (Parent-teacher-meeting) to be slightly below average! All three teachers (EL, Math and MT) commented that Adri lacked focus and concentration in class and in the academic aspect, there was much gap to be closed. I probbed further and found out that to Adri, her friends took a very important place. In class, she was observed to be constantly busying herself with caring for her friends, helping her friends and of course, chatting with her friends! As a result, she probably absorbed little of what was being taught.

 

I have to admit that that comment shocked me. As an educator who took great pride in helping my charges achieve beyond what they thought they could, I was shaken that my own daughter was termed as "below average". Anxious, I reacted to the comment and started enrolling Adri for Phonics class, Kumon Math and Berries in July 2012. Both the phonics and Math assessments prior to the commencement of the classes further confirmed that there was much to be worked on with Adri. Adri did not know most of the letter sounds and there were letters that she could not recognise! For Math, she had difficulty recognising numbers beyond 20, especially when she was tested at random. Some concerned colleagues (as well as bosses) whom I shared with were quick to ask me to dismiss Adri's teachers' comments and used my professional judgement to discern if Adri was okay. I would definitely love to believe that my Adri was okay but it was not all about will power and belief. The problem I had was, I had no inkling in assessing children this young! I did not know what the benchmark was! For me, my primary concern was to make sure Adri would be ready for Primary 1.

 

I am proud of Adri. It has been a good 9 months since she started on her enrichment classes. She persevered through and never once whined about working hard or wanting to give up. Today, She's able to attempt word problems like the above on her own and she's able to read fluently. As an educator, it is my personal belief that pupils, when given enough opportunities in experiencing success, will be instrinsically motivated to learn. As a mother, the joy I am experiencing does not stem from her academic achievements but from the increased level of confidence that she's exhibiting day by day. I'm glad she's experiencing success for herself and is not afraid to try conquer mountains that exist along her learning pathway. I want Adri to be H-A-P-P-Y and I strongly believe that self-confidence is one main key.

 

What about the non-academic enrichment classes? Those were simply for pure fun and exposure. Undenibly though, I'm hoping that Adri would sustain her interest in playing the piano and move towards achieving at least a Grade 5 or 6. To be able to play the piano is Mummy's childhood dream! Ha!

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Innate ability to fight?

~04.03.13~

For the umpteenth time within the short 1 hr of play, an exasperated Adri screamed,''Mummmmmy!!! Ashlynn snatched my toy! She crushed my building (referring to the structure she had painstakening built with building blocks) too!!!''

I lost count of the number of times I had tried to coax, correct as well as 'coerce' Ashlynn into making right her wrongs.

I hv no idea why I said the following but I actually did:

Me: Ok, Adri, Mummy gives you the permission to snatch back your toy.

Adri stares at me, dumbfounded...

Me: Go on, go ahead and get what belongs to you

Adri makes her way to her lil' sis apprehensively...

Adri: But I don't know how...

Me: Just take it from mei mei's hands!

It was of course easy for Adri to retrieve the toy from her little sis who was a head shorter than she.

Shocking truth for the day: Unlike her fiesty little sister, snatching and fighting isnt innate in Adri!
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Adri's 1st Visit to the Dentist



After much procrastination (and the "revelation" that the much-feared tooth decay seemed to have increased in size, slowly but surely), Mummy finally made an appointment for Adri at Q&M. Adri was scheduled to have her first dental check on 15 Jan 2013.

 

The dental clinic is one place Mummy fears terribly, so much so that I quiver, shiver and "quake" each time I was made to lie on THAT seat. Hence, I made it a point to prep Adri by describing to her what she would probably see and go through. I didn't want Adri to grow up being like me, terrified of having my teeth checked.

 

Adri was good. The dentist was good. I had asked for Dr Sharon Chong (highly recommended by many of my colleagues) but unfortunately, I had called in for an appointment just...a month or two late; Dr Chong had stopping seeing patients who were little children. Instead of Dr Chong, Adri had Ms Huang. Ms Huang patiently explained to Adri what the tools and equipment were used for and even managed to get her excited about the special, reclinable seat.

 

Adri's first visit to the dentist went on fine, totally fine except for the fact that I was told she actually had 4 (instead of the one and only I had thought) cavities!

 

Doc: Mummy, Adri has 4 cavities...

Me: Huh?!!! OMG!! I could only spot one! Where are the others!

Doc: Here they are..  (went on to show me where the other cavities were)

Me: Ok, what do we do?

Doc: We will fix the smallest today. I want her first experience to be as quick and pleasant as possible. You try to bring her in next Tues for treatment of the others...

 

I simply nodded my head. I guessed I must have looked real pale. I had a train of thoughts - How would Adri take to the treatments? Would it hurt when doc cleans up the teeth? Would the tools come into contact with the nerves of her teeth (OUCH!!!)? Would this first experience make or break it? Would Adri grow up to be fearful of dental visits too (hopefully not!)?   *and the list continues*

 

Adri was BRAVE. While Mummy quietly "shivered" at one corner, Adri was noticeably calm and took the whole treatment well, very well - no complaints, no whining, no fear.

 

Phew!

 

 

 

Oldies who knew I took Adri to the dentist lamented that I could have saved the $200+ (for both her 1st and 2nd visit) by merely waiting for Adri's milk teeth to drop off and be naturally replaced by the permanent ones.
Nah... I would leave no chance for the toothache to act up. I don't want Adri to experience what i have gone through - numerous toothaches that built up the tremendous fear I have towards dental visits.
Hopefully this helps, Adri!
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Adri's Milestones in Swimming...

Adri takes swimming classes in school and these are her little milestones!
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Ashlynn learning CL

What a creative way of getting Adri to revise her CL! She sure had to know how to read the CL characters correctly before she could chuckle at her lil sis' mispronunciations (yes, she did. Notice how she laughed readily and heartily whenever her sister sounded odd to her).