Growing Dinosaur

When we visited the Petrosains StreetSmart Exhibition, the kids participated in a game and received a goodie bag each. One of the gifts is a growing dinosaur. According to the note, it'll expand 600% in size when it's put in the water. It takes up to 72 hours to fully expand. When removed from the water, it'll shrink to its original size. Interesting, eh?

~ original size, about 2.5 inches ~

~ submerge in water for 72 hours ~

~ after 72 hours, about 5 inches ~

When I took it out of the water, it's a little slimy. All covered by something gel-like. After 72 hours, it only expanded 200%, so I soaked them in the water for another 4 days. But it didn't really expand some more. Well, maybe just a teeny weeny bit. And the orange dino cracked up like this due to over-soaking...

~ disfigured dino ~

A Memorable Day

The kids are having their long school break. I haven't planned anything for them. So far, they've been having a good time at home, watching tv, playing with toys and tv games all day long. Brought them to MegaKidz @ Mid Valley during the Hari Raya Haji holiday and the Petrosains StreetSmart Exhibition last Sunday.

Let them fully enjoy their holidays for now. I think I'll start giving them (especially XY) some work next week, just so they don't lose track of school work. Anyway, I won't burden her, maybe just spend half an hour a day for "revision". Got to prepare for Standard 2, right? She has to work hard and keep up her effort next year, to maintain her results. She exceeded my expectation by getting 1st in class. And she surprised me further when she was selected to receive the award for Best Subject: Mathematics. Unbelievable! Although she did some careless mistakes in some papers, looks like she really checked her work thoroughly in Maths.

We attended the Excellence Awards Ceremony at her school in the morning (very early, had to be there by 7:30 am) on 13th November (didi's concert was at night). She received a certificate and RM20 cash voucher (from a bookstore) for each of the award. The school awards the top 6 students in each class. Quite odd hor, usually it's just 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Maybe because there are only 4 classes per year so they can afford to award more students from each class. :-)

~ so proud of you, ah girl ~

As for her reward, she wanted to go to Kizsport. We brought her to MegaKidz instead. And she's just as happy.

His First Concert

CE had his first concert last Saturday night. I thought it was going to be difficult to put lipstick for him. Surprisingly, he didn't make much fuss. Although he said "No" at first, he was very cooperative when I told him everyone will have to put on make-up for the concert. I applied lipstick for him at home and SIL applied blusher for him at the venue (waiting room). We left the boys (CE and CH) with the teachers and went to wait at the hall, where I bumped into Anggie. It was really great chatting and catching up with her, without any distraction from the kids. :-) Hmmm, Wyson's mommy, where were you? Missed you again this time.

Jeremy's performance was the 2nd one, while CE's was the 4th. Jeremy was the leader of the pirates and the introducer of their dance. He did very well, giving the speech fluently. He's one very cheerful and smiley pirate. I didn't recognise him in front of the microphone because he was wearing fake hair with long curly locks. I was thinking, "Why is this girl giving the introduction, instead of Jeremy?" Ooops! But my question was answered when he started giving the speech. hehehe

I didn't know what is CE's performance as he didn't show me much at home. For his costume, I was only given a plain white round-neck t-shirt and a pair of black long pants (sheer-like material). Only at the venue I saw the teacher putting on a yellow shiny vest for him. So I was really surprised (and amused) when they announced his class is performing an Indian dance. He walked out looking around for me. I was below the stage, taking his photos. I waved at him and he saw me. Then while dancing, he kept looking at me. *shake head* But it was rather entertaining to see my cool boy shaking and dancing on stage. *syiok sendiri* hahaha

~ check out my Bollywood star :D ~

~ having fun on stage ~

CH took part in 2 performances -- percussion and pom pom dance. His dance was the last performance. It was accompanied by a fast-paced Chinese song. Very entertaining and they looked quite coordinated too. Well done to all the kids and teachers!

School Shoes

This is a sponsored post.

We bought XY’s first pair of white school shoes 2 months before the start of the school year (Standard 1) because she needed it for her kindy graduation ceremony. I chose the PVC type as they are easier to clean, without the need to put shoe whites. I also bought another pair made of canvas as a spare, in case of rainy days. The PVC shoes are double the price of the canvas ones. However the PVC pair only lasted half a year. I don’t really like the canvas shoes as they get dirty very easily. Now I’m waiting for the year end ‘Back to School’ sales to get her another pair of PVC school shoes. How nice if their school shoes are black in colour, then we don’t have to worry so much about white dirty shoes.

I always have problems buying shoes for my kids, especially boys shoes because my son is very impatient and fussy. Even though I bring them along for trying, I don’t really know how to check if the shoes fit them perfectly. Sometimes I can’t even feel their toes so I’m not sure if it’s too tight, too loose or just right. And kids being kids, it’s difficult to get a proper feedback from them. But after watching this video on YouTube that shows how to fit buckle-up school shoes for girls, I now have a rough idea. It shows you how to check around the ankle, sides, front and top part of the shoes. Now I have more confident in buying shoes that fit them perfectly and comfortably.

Kindy Progress Report

=== backdated post : 30 October 2010 ===

I went to CE's kindy for Parent-Teacher's Day to collect his progress report. 4-year-olds don't have any exams. So we just discussed about his progress in school. His class teacher, Ms. S, is generally happy and satisfied with his work. He's improved a lot compared to beginning of the year, in terms of behaviour and school work. She said he's ready and would have no problems in Year 5 next year, where there are more writing work, etc.

Some of the feedback :
* Can write alphabets and numbers on his own.
* Got used to the routines in class, e.g. lining up. He used to stray away from the line. :D
* Can concentrate better during lessons.
* Greet the teachers at the gate in the mornings and say bye when they bring him to the car after school. Last time, he just kept quiet and gave the cheeky look when the teachers greeted him.
* Participates well in class, to the extend the teacher has to ask him to give others the chance to answer. hahaha

The teacher's comment in his Report Card :
CE is a smart and cheerful boy. He is able to focus better during lessons now. He is now more confident in writing alphabet and numbers on his own. He is also good in phonics and he is able to do counting from 1-20.

I'm glad he's doing well in kindy and mixing well with his friends. At home, we have difficulty in getting him to answer or talk to us when he doesn't feel like it. He's very good at ignoring people too. :-| I was worried his "cool attitude" would be a problem. But looks like it's not so "severe" in school and he doesn't bully his teachers like how he bullies his Mommy. o.O

Lost And Found

Yesterday was the day to return XY's school books. As she's lost her BM Activity book, I had to see the teacher-in-charged to see what can be done. We've checked the local bookstore but it's out of stock. She actually lost it 2 weeks before her exam. She told me she passed it up to her teacher, Puan J (on a different day than the class as she forgot). So I asked her to check with Puan J and also ask her classmates. I went to see Puan J before the exam, in case she doesn't take my girl's words seriously. But she can't find them anywhere. I was told by the class teacher that I've to replace the book, otherwise, XY won't be getting next year's books.

So I waited and waited, hoping her book would somehow appear. But it didn't and it was time to return the books. I spoke to the teacher-in-charged and she asked me to see the Penolong Kanan at the office, Puan R. Had to wait 45 minutes to see her as she was doing an interview (overheard it's for Head Prefect). Puan R was really nice and helpful, said I don't have to replace the book coz it's the Activity book (they'll write off anyway).

On the way out, I passed by XY's classroom so I decided to tell her class teacher what Puan R said. Surprise, surprise! The book has been found! One of her friends had taken her book, obviously without XY's knowledge. The girl took it to copy some work which she didn't finish. And she said she didn't understand what Puan J said when she was asking the class about the book. Fine, even so, shouldn't you return your friend her book so that she can do revision for her exam? Or anytime earlier than return-school-books-day?

When she was back from school, I found out the teacher didn't say anything to that girl. So I told her to explain (nicely, of coz) to her friend that she shouldn't do that. Cannot take other people's things without permission (if the person didn't hear you, it's not considered asked :p) and must return to them as soon as possible. Actually I'm quite pissed because of the trouble I had to go through. Luckily we didn't really go hunting for the book. And XY was worried about losing her book. Worried her teacher will scold her. Although I told her I'll handle it, she was still worried. And every time she mentioned about the book, she'd get an earful from me. "If you hadn't passed up the book on a different day, you wouldn't have lost it... blablabla." Poor girl. It was not her fault at all. Anyway, I'm just glad things got sorted out and she received next year's books already.