About my preschoolers

Caitlin, my little princess is finally three. Kieran is coming to five. I've been a mother for five years. Motherhood has been a long roller coaster ride. Life is a journey of self discovery but motherhood kind of expedited the process.

A while ago, I went to Clark Quay and I had the fortune to sit by the river and watch the boats of tourists ride pass, and the colourful painted shophouses along the river banks. Life is good when there are small pockets of personal space and time here and there. Too much of it, and life will be a bore; too little of it, and life will be a chore. Hey, it rhymes! I can be a poet too. Haha!

This picture of my lovely girl smelling a rose, makes me smile. I love it when my family gets in touch with Nature. Nature brightens our hearts and lightens our loads.

Suddenly, my little boy seem such a grown up. We wouldn't be able to plan two hectic trips in a day when he was small. But now, it is much easier. He had been cooperative, even nice, and obliging throughout.

At night, when we sleep, Kieran would ensure that my head is on a pillow and that I am well settled before I sleep. He would look lovingly at his sister (although tonight, she reciprocated will a snarl and threatened to bite because she was in a cranky sleepy mood), and said "Goodnight" to his daddy. Elaine Aron said parenting a HSC has its ups and downs, and it all comes in a package, so we have got to accept it as a whole. I totally get it. I am going to embrace his uniqueness and his virtues, and work at encouraging him to overcome his fears. Hubby said if we coddle him, he won't be able to survive in the army (SG has compulsory enlistment for all SG boys, unless he wins Olympic Gold medal like J Schooling). I disagree. He's a preschooler. He has 14 years ahead of him to prepare himself for National Service (army enlistment). He will be loved and be treated as a preschooler for now. When he is ready to face the challenge, we will face it with him. We do not need to worry about him not being able to survive the harsh realities in army camps because we will be there to prepare him for it. We will be there to walk the journey with him. Let children be children, let men be men. When it is time to cuddle, we will not let the chance go by. When it is time to let go, we will do so with joy.

Kieran at 2 years old

Kieran is really smart. I love the baby Kieran because he's such a cutie pie. Chubby and with large imploring eyes. I love the toddler Kieran because he's extremely smart, and witty, and a lot of fun! I enjoy learning with him, cheering for him as he learns, and growing up with him!

Here's some of what we did together and the funny stuff he said since 1 Jan 2014:

13 Jan 2014 (Monday): Daddy was telling Kieran people need to eat to have energy, & asked him what do cars need to drink to have energy? He said "cars need to drink Transformers' milk milk." I imagine a Transformer breastfeeding her baby car... Things a breastfed child say!

10 Jan 2014 (Friday): 允轩：阿嬷去哪里？
我：阿嬷去外面丢垃圾。可以把允轩丢掉吗？
允轩：我不是垃圾。
哈哈！
Translation: Kieran asked where is Ah mah (Grandma) going to? I replied that she's going outside to throw the rubbish. And asked him whether we can throw him away too. Kieran replied "I'm not rubbish." (In a really innocent and matter of fact way) Haha!

8 Jan 2014 (Wed): I was putting Kieran to bed so I told him to close his eyes and sleep. He said no! And I asked him "Are you a goldfish? Goldfish don't close their eyes when they sleep."
He said, "no, I'm a shark! Does sharks close their eyes?"
That baffled me. I never knew... So do sharks close their eyes? Do they have eyelids?
PS: I googled and found that Sharks have eyelids but they do not close their eyes, contrary to goldfish who do not have eyelids and therefore, cannot close their eyes.

Kieran at Playground. He enjoyed himself so much!

Eating his own meals on his new Mother's corn plate. I found that this is the best plate I can find as the individual "bowls" are deep enough to put porridge, soup and other dishes. It's not easy for him to scoop up food if the plate is shallow.

Kieran learns how to hold the pencil by himself. He explored different ways of holding it and ended up in the position which he find easy to use. Clever! I didn't want to teach him to hold a pencil because it may create unnecessary stress which can stifle creativity and remove the joy of exploring and learning something by himself. Two years old is the age when toddlers like to do everything themselves. So just let them! There'll be mess, lots of time and effort required to clean up, lots of guidance and patience, and some small accidents and spills, but who cares as long as they enjoy the process and have fun learning and exploring!

Painting lesson 1: His first time painting with brushes. He loves it a lot!

Painting lesson 2: Today we went out to collect leaves (I also taught him not to pluck leaves as and when he wants. We only pluck them when we absolutely require to do so for lessons. Respect Nature.) and use the leaves to do prints with paints. I also brought him to buy lotus stem and cut it for prints. This is the first time he sees a lotus stem.

Early childhood is the time to be happy, play, to learn through play and exploring the natural surroundings, and most importantly, with the child's favourite person - mummy!

I read the book [病是教養出來的] written by a traditional Chinese medical doctor who is also a Waldorf [華德福] doctor in a Waldorf school in Taiwan, that children has to have enough play in childhood [孩子一定要玩夠]. Indeed, this is the time when they play to their fill, then sleep to the max, then eat till they are happy, and then play again. Why make them grow up too quickly? Why make them learn academic skills and their ABCs? If they are smart, if they are geniuses, they don't need special brain stimulation any more than a normal person. Play - that is the right of a child.

Planting green beans

I've always loved Nature and plants, so I want Kieran to be able to enjoy and appreciate them too.

Yesterday, we planted some green beans.

I showed him the Yakult bottle that we will plant the beans in. He finished up the drink in the bottle and I washed it clean and told him we are planting green beans in it. He didn't know what it is but he can sense it must be something fun and he's excited about it.

I let him touch the soft cotton wool balls and told him what it is. He thought its the "cotton candy" that I let him eat few months earlier at the Fo guang shan fun fair. LOL. He has good memory.

I let him touch the cool water I poured on a plate that we are going to dip the cotton wools in. He said "water" and "水". I like how he's bilingual and knows these 2 stands for the same thing.

And of course I showed him the green beans.

Then we wet the cotton wool and he put them into the bottle. We then put in the green beans. He tried to pour out the green beans again but I told him not to do that as the beans need to be inside to grow.

Today, I get him to use a spoon and scoop some water to water the green beans. One of the beans have sprouted. Very soon, he'll be able to see the tiny plant growing.

The best way to teach a child is through experiential learning. I hope Kieran will soon explain to people about life cycle of green beans through what he learns from this.

My love for plants started since young. My dad loves planting and his plants thrive very well under his care. While other parents taught their kids that the soil is dirty and the insects and creepy crawlies are disgusting, my dad allowed me to help him scoop the soil, water the plants, and watch with fascination at the tiny garden snails and small ants that form a small eco system in each pot of plant. I knew then that the soil is not dirty. It is a lovely gift from Nature where plants get their nutrients from, and its a lovely home to lots of tiny and amazing creatures.