4 Months at Clover

Tristan has been in School for four months already, here's quick update on how's school so far.

So far so good :) the school kept up their promises and I must say they did a good job at that. Thanks to the committed Directress Chaz Yee and her team of teachers at school.

Environment: Overall Clover offers a good learning environment with just enough numbers. Not too many and special attention from the low teacher student ratio is very good. I like how they mingle the older and younger group in some of the sessions so the young ones can learn from the older ones and the older ones can help and lead the younger ones. Place is well kept and clean,well ventilated.

His progress: His fine motor skills has improved, in terms of colouring, pouring, cutting, glue-ing things. And gross motor skills such as throwing and catching ball has improved too. He learns some alphabet and numbers but teacher says sometimes he seems to know it but sometimes not sure if he knows or not. So we are yet to confirm if he can recognise numbers and some alphabets. He's starting to speak some chinese words randomly and seem to be able to understand when people speak to him. But everytime when I start speaking to hi in Mandarin, he look at me and say "Mummy..." with a weird look. I noticed he will start speaking pretty fluent chinese under stress. e.g. like the last hair cut at the saloon, he screamed " Wo Bu Yao"- (I dont want) & "Pa Pa" (scared)

One small thing : I wish there's more update on my child's progress from the teachers. I noticed that pick up time is the best time to ask the teacher how has he been in school. But if no ask, no update. So parents have to take a more active role to ask. But there's a 3 monthly (1 term) report on Tristan progress which is great. I see his work in school improving and can see his work progress. He is more attentive to things around him and he loves singing all the songs he learnt. (apparently he used to not participate in class, but he observes and learns and then sing to me when he is home :) depends on his mood I guess.

There's a show and tell session once a week, that helps him to stand up and speak up, public speaking. He use to be quite shy and whispers to teacher and but now he can talk more, sometimes is good sentences.

So far no complains, and Tristan loves going to school.And the things they do there is different and well thought of with special attention to what activity helps in e.g. motor skill, language, social...etc... I enjoyed the 'birthday walk' he had on his birthday few weeks ago.

See Photo on right.

I'm going to sit in and observe the school in action one of these days. Stay tuned :)

My favourite book on Montessori :)

How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin


Like any DK published books, this book is well illustrated, to the point and easy to read. It covers all areas enough for a person who has little or no knowledge on this subject. For people like me who is not much of a reader,( I can never get through big fat thick books!) it's great, I enjoyed it so much that I borrowed from the library again.. and hhmm maybe I might end up buying one for my own collection of books :)
It has great simple ideas where you can incorporate in your daily life with your child, things to do to stimulate their senses and games: they call it "purposeful" play, where they learn so much through simple non-competitive games.

We're no longer 3 but four !

Wow time flies when you have 2 kids! The last I wrote was before I gave birth. Well that explains my life for the past few months!

Dont ask me why I'm awake at 4am in the morning... heheh.. suddenly remembered I had a blog and miss blogging :)

Well being a mother to number 2 is somewhat different, chaotic sometimes, blissful at other times. It's back to sleepless nights, endless feeding and changing diaper sessions, learning to multi-task parenting 2 ->e.g. breastfeeding and chasing after a toddler who just peed in his pants and running all over the place with his wet pants!

Many things happened and changed the way I looked at things.
LABOUR
Back to when I gave birth to Trevor... -> I prayed and thank God that Trevor came naturally on Sunday 21st Dec 2009, 3.45KG, instead of being induced, overdue by 5days. My labour was shorter, but I felt it was more intensed. It started at 8am with some 'stomachache' and was admitted at 10am. 2pm baby was out! This time round I kinda know what to expect and could focus and did a better job at relaxing during the contractions. Probably explains the shorter labour. I didnt take the 'gas' as I didnt want the nausea feeling, so I was awake and conscious the whole time, therefore i could feel everything. Dont know whether good or not:) The last time I was 'high' on gas so didnt exactly remembered what when on. But I'm just happy the labour was over!

After Labour
BREASTFEEDING!
After breastfeeding Tristan for 26mths, I thought.. should be no problem with no.2. I'm a breastfeeding counsellor so should set a good example, total breast milk all the way! And so I thought...
Every baby is unique, so is every labour and every breastfeeding experience.
I didnt prepare any nursing cream as I thought nipple should be 'season' already but I was wrong. The first feed was good, Trevor latch on pretty well and sucks very strongly. But hhmmm.. he is a hourly feeder! I was super tired and nipple sore like crazy. I was paranoid and keep asking Chris to check on baby make sure he was not fed formula as it may compromise the success of breastfeeding. So I was bit stressed up and exhausted, couldn't rest properly. The next day the Pediatrician came in and was concerned that Trevor has not peed or poo since birth. I cant remember the exact words but he said something like this: it is great that I choose to breastfeed, but I need to exercise balance and put baby's health as priority. He said it in a very nice way that I didnt feel that I was reprimanded for insisting on Total breast milk. I thought about it, worried for baby + sore nipples + every hour feed + super exhausted... I decided to top up with formula. Fill with guilt, but I knew I had to make a decision there and then.
I continue to feed directly and top up with some formula after every feed for about 3 days until the milk came in. I was surprised that this time round I have engorgement and too much milk. (didnt know too much milk will be a problem too)
-> that's a whole new story and topic..
On the 4th day, I'm happy and lucky that I manage to switch back to total breast feeding without nipple confusion and other problems. And I'm still happily breastfeeding now. :)

Thinking about it now, I realized that there are ideals and sometimes we give ourselves a hard time for trying to match these ideals and forget about our priorities and what is more important. I learnt that in life we have to strike a balance in everything and my view of things changed. I admit I was paranoid and went the other way of 'blaming' formula companies and their unethical marketing for being the cause of many lives in 3rd world countries. I was angry with formula for a while. I'm not saying that I forgive their act, it's still unacceptable but I have come to terms with it. It has changed the way I counsel as a breastfeeding counselor. Every effort that a mother makes to breastfeed is great and should be praised and encouraged. No mother should be made to feel bad that when they have failed. I'm sure the decision made under different circumstances has been thought about and is not easy. However amount of breastmilk that a mother manage to give is good for the baby.

Of course I still stand by that knowledge gives strength and together with will power and perserverance, every mother can succeed in breastfeeding. My role is to encourage and provide information so that mothers can breastfeed successfully and breastfeed longer.

Here's part 1 of my life after Trevor's born... will write again on
1) Tristan's reaction to new baby brother
2) Tristan going to school
3) Tristan entering toddlerhood
4) Our first holiday to Port Dickson as a family of four
5) Changes in our family dynamics
6) Managing 2 + Business (MummyHugs) + Studies (Kindermusik)! (or so I try)
7) How's Trevor different from Tristan.
-> Trevor growing big and fast. He seems to do everything faster than Tristan :)

Stay tuned.

40 Weeks Pregnant!

Started another blog at http://mummyhugs-twiceblessed.blogspot.com/ for my second time round pregnancy experience, but never really got to writing much. Since got not time to develop that blog, I copied all the entries I wrote into this blog under pregnancy:).

I guess 2nd time is pretty different in a sense that you don't have so much time to 'dream' about what what your baby will look like or how will you bring up your baby, read pregnancy books, and live in a fantasy world of the perfect birth plan, perfect delivery, touching moments when you finally meet your baby. Nothing like that at all. Most of the time I just feel tired, and trying to run after my toddler. And also I kind of know what to expect and it's not all a pretty bed of roses :)

Still, I enjoyed my pregnancy. Very thankful that I didnt have much complications. I still love the tingling feeling of baby moving in my womb or the somersault or football that he play in there! Actually today is my due date! But no signs of labout yet. Excited yet pretty scared of the 'process'. I was dreading the labour and dont want to think too much about it. But on Sunday, we met the Gynae and she was pretty busy and sound 'worried' that baby may go overdue. That scared me a little. I guess now is no time to dread it, I'm praying that baby come soon. If not I'm booked for to be induced next week! And if induction doesnt work it'll be Cesarean! I really dont want to be induced for go through Cesarean. So fingers crossed, pray baby is out by this week healthy and strong. :)

Found some links on how to go into labour... not sure how much it is true though.
How To Go Into Labor?
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-go-into-labor

How to go into labor?- Maternityacupressure
http://www.maternityacupressure.com/how-to-go-into-labor/index.html

I'm overdue: now what?
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/labourandbirth/planningyourbabysbirth/overdue/

Borrowed the books :)

Manage to go to the library in Woodlands, Singapore and borrowed some interesting books just a week before my due date!:)

The Joyful Child:
The Montessori Method for 0-3 Years at michaelolaf.net
My Review:Interesting book which gives a simple summary or explanation on Montessori for 0-3 Years. But note that half of each page is filled with 'advertisement' of baby apparels and tools for montessori. A better option is to just check out the link above,the online pages have the latest write up without adverts.

Still reading the other books I borrowed. Will update later. :)

Some interesting books I found on Montessori

Like it or not, I realised that we are often influenced by what others say and what others think. Because Montessori is not widely understood and most of the schools which require higher running cost for the low teacher-student ratio and the tools required to train the child, the school fees is generally higher.

I guess the only way is to find out more for ourselves.
"Knowledge gives you wings... gives you confidence!" :)

So I search online and found these books, went to the bookstore to have a look... (a bit pricy to purchase, so I just read it there :) hhehe... Trying to borrow the following books from the Singapore Library, but most of it is on loan... hhmm must be pretty popular then.

Some links for books:
Montessori Books @ Amazon.com
Montessori Books Australia

Photos from amazon.com

Montessori Play And Learn: A Parent's Guide to Purposeful Play from Two to Six by Lesley Britton













Teaching Montessori in the Home: Pre-School Years: The Pre-School Years by Elizabeth G. Hainstock












Why Montessori? How to choose the right school? by Aisha

This book is written by a Malaysian lady who lived overseas for a couple of years, came back to Malaysia to work as a Lawyer. She later became a mother and was inspired to become a Montessori educator. In this book, she gives a good overview of Montessori and the comparison between Montessori and other pre-schools. It's a great guide for parents who really want to find out more for themselves.





How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin

We found our dream school for Tristan!

I've heard and seen the word Montessori several times but never really knew what it was all about. I thought its just a way of teaching kids to read with phonics and things.

But there's so much more to it.

I've been looking around for a school for Tristan, living in Johor Bahru there are so many pre-schools/nursery popping out of no where. After visiting a few, I was dishearted and was convinced I probably have to teach him myself at home. I was not satisfied with most of the schools I've been to. Here are just some thoughts about some of the schools I went:
(just my personal thoughts, if you want more information please contact the schools directly)
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HillTop
The first school I visited was HillTop- an established pre-school which was mainly catering to expatriates who lived in here. I liked the environment and my own brother attended the school about 20 years ago. The principal is an Australian lady who advocate the Australian style of teaching of teaching. In a happy and joyful environment, kids play and learn. Not much pressure and homework...etc

But downside is that for the class of 2+ I realised that Tristan probably wont be learning much. The schedule from 9-1pm include- eating twice a day, colouring, playing at the play ground, music room where they sing and dance to Hi-5 songs, probably a bit of story telling and art and craft and watching video: Barney! They dont start 'ABC' till 4+ which is 2 years later... hhhmmm

The teacher say that she wont be doing much in the first few months as she will let them adjust to the environment first. I was thinking to myself, he probably wont learn much from this, and he can pretty much watch Barney at home. I dont want to pay that money for him to watch it at school. They are charging about RM950.00 per term (about 3 months) It's slightly more expensive than a normal school which charges about RM250.

I walked passed another class 3+, the teacher was losing the children's interest and she 'threathen' them to sit down and listen if not no Lollipops! hhmm... And everyweek they get a 'goody' bag to bring home, containing sweets, lollies, chocolates, twisties... etc..

I dont mind these junk food once in a blue mooon when it's someones birthday or for a special occasion but not every week though. Cultivating a bad habit.

Although I like the culture, but it has not change for the past 20 yrs. Kids are smarter now, and they need new technologies or new methods to engage them and I believe that even at a young age like 3 years, they can learn a lot. I'm not saying to pressure them to learn, but to learn and develop at their pace and capacity. really take the opportunity and expose them to different things when their brain is still developing.
--------------------------------------------
The rest of the schools, I am just going to run through them
CEC - It's run in a semi detached house/bangalow. They offer programs such as gym class, swimming lessons, Karate...etc
Cons: I didnt like the air in the place, was pretty stuffy and not well ventilated. When we met the teacher in charge, the first thing they talked to us about was the fees, very direct. And how we can get a month of tuition fee at RM250 waived if we introduce another child. "So if you introduce 12 children you dont need to pay any school fees for a year!" Hmmm...

HolyLight Kindergarten
It's a multistorey building... very much like a primary school setting. looks like they have a lot of students. I visited them in the holidays, so didn't really see how their classroom setting was like. The curriculum looks pretty good, they teach recognition of 'ABC' at 3 yrs and they have books and stuff for the kids to read and bring home. (looks more substantial)
cons: I wasnt' ready to send Tristan to a 'School' school. Looks like there are going to be too many kids, and Tristan is only 3 next yr. So... hhmm.. I looked on

Out of these schools Hilltop seem more suitable but I was not convinced that I should that Tristan there. Dishearted, I told myself this next one is going to be my last stop. If I am still not satisfied, I wont send Tristan till he is 4 or 5 yrs old.

Clover Learning Centre
This school is situated just walking distance from my home/my mom's home.
It says on the banner outside that its a Montessori school. I drove past it many times, but never called or walked in before. But since Chris is not working till 1pm, after breakfast, we brought Tristan along and dropped by the place.

Its' run in a terrace house in Taman Tasek, only a year old. Every time I drive passed I never seen any kids there. But my mom knew a lady who enrolled her child here and they live pretty far away. There must be something about this place that people are willing to travel to come. Well, I just wanted to clear my curiosity and tot to myself... no harm just paying a visit since it's so near.

They were having a 'Kindermusik' holiday program when we were there, and told us to come back in an hour so that they can talk to us further about the school and the programs. One of the teachers ( they call themselves directress instead of teacher-later I came to realise why) asked if we knew anything about 'Montessori' Chris and me exchange glances...not too sure and bit embarassed to not know.. Maybe we should have knew. So that hour that I was home, we looked up the internet and found these...

Montessori-Wikipedia
Montessori History and Characteristic
Montessori Vs Normal School
Kindermusik
Kindermusik Asia

That was a lot to absorb, and this 'Montessori' concept seem deeper than just using phonics. We went back and was pleasely surprise with what we found out and saw.

The main owner/directress was there to meet us. She welcome us warmly to the school and passionately, she explain the 'Montessori' concept to us while she show us all the tools they use to engage and teach the child. I asked if this was applicable to my boy since he is currently only 2.5 yrs? I was happy to know that 'Yes' it was, Tristan will be able to learn all these things! and Mandarin and Kindermusik and probably Art- proper art like blending colours, shades...more suitable for 3yrs and beyond when they can hold the pencil properly and can draw real pictures.

While we were there, Tristan happily (with the permission of the directress of course) tried the blocks and tools there. He was very engage and learning a lot on his own, figuring way out to put the blocks back.

I was very happy and knew that Tristan will afterall learn things that he dont learn at home.

It's held in a small setting. A lot of attention from teacher. They call themself directress because they are there to direct the child to learn themselves, and just guide them along the way instead of just telling them wat to do and what is right and wrong.. ( they dont use the word WRONG there... they try and use encouraging words like: why dont you try it this way... or that's in-correct- a more positive choice of words)

And... no junk food! They prepare healthy breakfast for the kids first thing in the morning and parents are not allowed to put sweet packet drinks, twisties... sweets in their bag. And even on birthdays, parents are discourage to bring goody bags to school as it pressures other kids/parents to do the same. Which is great too.

Everything I looked for is all in one school!Hooray! Finally!
1)Things to learn at 3 yrs
2)Things that Tristan cant/ dont do at home
3)He will be guided to develop at his own pace with 1 to 1 attention from teachers
4)Will be taught independence when they are taught to correct themselves when they are incorrect.
5)Mandarin! Although he wont be writing yet, he will be taught with flash cards and expose to speaking and listening to Mandarin
6)Kindermusik: Proper music appreciation, learning notes, beats, rhythm, Classical Music, creating in the child an interest and joy in music instead of pressured to pass the music exams (that was me) or to perform.
7) Encourage healthy food-No Junk Food!
8) Building strong foundations of Maths, Science, Language, Geology...etc..
9) No homework-letting the child learn happily at his own pace and not killing the interest to go to school.

And I found a website that state all the benefits/characteristic of Montessori too.

25 Characteristics of Montessori
1. respect for the child
2. respect for one another
3. cultural diversity
4. universal adaptability
5. cosmic education
6. individuality
7. independence
8. freedom of choice
9. hands-on learning
10. love of work
11. care of oneself
12. spontaneous concentration
13. self-discipline
14. lessons of grace and courtesy
15. intrinsic motivation
16. initiative
17. prepared environment
18. didactic materials
19. integrated curriculum
20. sense of order
21. heterogeneous grouping
22. refinement of the senses
23. movement
24. auto education
25. teacher as facilitator



It's a wow! really.. I never knew this place existed or this type of child education concept existed. It's just what I have been looking for.

Ok ok.. coming back from Cloud9, this all sounds so good. Chris asked me all these aside, are we really sure these promises weren't just sales talk? hhmm.. I thought. Well, one of the reason why I trust this place is because of Chaz Yee. I am influenced and inspired by her passion for this Montessori School. She has very strong and good principles that she carries for this school. And I am inline with what she does for the school too.

So we are going to enrol Tristan for Jan 2009 tomorrow morning. Excitement aside, we will see how Tristan feels and adapt to the school.

Last thing is the fees! It's actually more pricy than the other schools we've seen. It's RM1500.00 per term. But this include breakfast everyday, and Kindermusik and Mandarin, and since it's so near.. dont need transport fees too. So this is it!

TRISTAN GOES TO SCHOOL!