the fine things

It’s Tuesday today and it rained again.  Some states in the country have been badly affected by flash floods after intermittent rain showers over the past days, forcing the evacuation of people in some areas. Sometime last week, I mentioned to Ian that I love the rain because it basically “give” us life,  but not too much of it.  He asked why not.  I shared some facts and showed him some pictures of flooded districts around the country and in other countries too  - with people sitting on rooftops waiting to be rescued and so forth.  He was quiet. I think he was trying to make sense of what I had said and what he was seeing in the pcitures. In other words, he was trying to comprehend the situation.  Some days later, he asked his Dad, “Mom doesn’t like rain.  Why?”   I hope rain showers for days will not persist.  Some sources have cited climate change as the culprit.  But other factors need to be seriously considered especially drainage systems and rapid developments.

the false alarm of some sort     This morning, as I was preparing to listen to students’ presentations, my cellphone rang. It was Ian’s class teacher calling to inform that Ian was not well, complained of tummy pain and has been crying.  She put Ian on the phone.  Still crying, he said, “Hello… Mom…my tummy is very painful. I want to go home”. Still thinking what could have happened, I said, “Daddy will pick you up, just wait there”.  “Okay, I will wait here”, he replied, with increasingly loud sobs.  “He just wanted to pass motion”,Daniel got back to me some 40 minutes later. My guess is he has never before experienced, at school,  tummy pain and feeling of wanting to pass motion at the same time.  I gue…sss he wasn’t comfortable communicating to his teacher the need of wanting to do his business at home, a place where he is comfortable the most – his territory.   

Side note:  I used to hear some grandma stories that when a child becomes sick, this basically indicates that he or she is going thru another milestone in his /her life.  Many actually believe this.   I’m not sure.

Saturday  Ian’s spontaneous reaction as soon as he woke up this morning, ”Mom, let’s go. I wanna pick up  sands, stones and earth, lots of them!”  He took his bucket and one of his grandma’s gardening tool  -  the  ’scoop’ and hurried me to get ready as well.  It was 7.30am.  The weather was good and he was in good mood. Why not? 

Went out again late afternoon -  ended up at City Mall buying some casual wear which I’ve been eyeing for quite some time now.  Ian didn’t go back home empty handed too.  The message he was giving me, “if you’re bringing something back, well me too.”  He’s so into Transformers these days – seems like the whole world to him.  He already has a handful of them but know what, I’m finding it difficult to say ”no”!  

We were out for several hours; probably he had felt sleepy and dizzy too at some point but didnt say anything.  As soon as he got into car, he asked to recline the seat, soon after dozed off!  Had to postponed our trip back home  as I didn’t think he would be too well for the car ride to his grandparents’ house.   We took him off school for the whole week  this week- had high fever two days back which frantically sent us straight to the clinic!  He’s back to his old self now!  

Saturday   First off, Happy Halloween to you!  Halloween is definitely not a big thing in this part of world.  So, this evening’s concert is Ian’s 2nd ever since joining pre-school.  He  had a blast, enjoyed the fun moments with his friends!  There were performances including story telling, singing and dancing  by the school children; the teachers did too!

The turnout was really good.  I think  it’s easier to get audience for a children’s concert, I mean parents would surely want to watch their kids perform right?  I wouldn’t miss any of it over anything, would you? It’s  fun watching the children having a great time!  They were all so candid!  I asked Ian  why one of his friends cried on stage to which he replied, “He told me he wants his mommy!”  Now isn’t that the cutest thing!  

 The above picture is the group singing ‘farewell and good night’.  One or two were crying, probably tired, but most were so into their part!  For some kids, if allowed more time, they could go on and on, while for some, 10pm means  bed time!  

Wednesday   Yesterday morning, I sent Ian to another location for his concert rehearsal.  The kids have been practising for quite sometime before Ian joined them earlier this month.  He brought back home his concert costume yesterday and excitedly showed us some of his  dance moves  - cute! 

This unrelated to the topic picture was taken back in 2008.  I think the tree is pretty …rather expressive in nature !   We’ve one planted in the playround –  infront of our house. 

Tuesday   I was trying to figure out if  Ian should be at the pace he is now, in regard to reading, so re-visited some online sites to read about milestones and so forth.  Well, he’s almost there.  There really is no definite answer to this.  “Average age for kids to learn to read” is anywhere from age 3 to age 8, suggests some of my readings. 

 I also read that the earlier a child learns to read, the greater likelihood that he or she will excel in reading and academics in the future. I’m not sure if this statement is supported by research but it does make sense.  However, one needs to acknowledge the fact that all kids learn at different paces and individual personalities/abilities need to be taken into account as well. I’ve come across kids who learned reading later but excelled academically.

It’s obvious that kids learn best in playful and fun environments where they are free to laugh and make mistakes,  as the case with Ian.  He especially loves a situation whereby he  (or we) spots an “error”!

 Making him sit and asking him to read after me don’t work too well! He only lasts about 10 minutes  without moving about. He learns fast and remembers well when he plays the fun way and on “field trips”.   

Love our  “field trips”  part, but I think Ian loves them more!  I honestly think a child learns best when he’s having the most fun!

 Glad we were at the beach.  The sunset view was spectacular!

Sunday   My sunday started out good.  Woke up early with Ian waking soon after.  He used to get real upset seeing me leave the house without him.  I guess he was in the best of mood this morning, no fuss  but just said softly, ”Bye Mom” waving at the same time.  Promised to bring him to the beach after; he was looking forward to it. He said, “we go to the beach this evening and after school tomorrow, we go to the airport to pick Daddy up”.  A promise is a promise.  Kids remember well. 

u wahh hello  

Thursday   Just barely 3 months away to 2010!  Time passes by so fast, in fact it feels like days are passing by faster than ever! I remember telling myself (as a teenager) when I looked at calendars and counting years, “Year 2000  is still a  loooong way….”  Well, year 2000 is long gone, and 2010 is barely 3 months away!

Some of  This &  That     On our lil’ one – we finally enrolled Ian into a new preschool cum kindy. I think he enjoys the new environment – it shows when he talked excitedly about his friends and his activities at school. The first 2 days, he waited eagerly for me to pick him up. On the 3rd and consecutive days, I had to wait a little longer for him to appear at the entrance coz he was still mingling around with his new friends.  And…yay..he will be wearing school uniform when Jan session begins.  I’m still trying to picture (and digesting the idea) Ian in school uniform  - our baby has grown up!  Ian in uniforms? – not sure who’s more excited, me or him?! 

On some investments!  – schooling doesn’t come in cheap these days! This is at kindy level, and here’s what we will be looking at (rates differ according to school) : monthly fees is RM350, RM30 for computer class (compulsory), RM30 for each extra-curricular activity that a student undertakes i.e. lessons in swimming, piano, etc. Fees that are paid once a year – RM300 for books, school uniform RM60, Sports Wear RM30, Deposit RM150, Registration RM50.

On weather - been wet lately! Love the rain, not the storm. In some countires, it’s all snow, in some it’s sunny, while in another it’s all rain. Whatever the weather is,  there are things to be grateful of every single day:)  Ian has been asking since Monday to visit the swimming pool again, and Saturday would be just nice for this – hopefully it’s going to be a fine day.

On remaining days of the year – looking forward to year-end holidays, Christmas songs, putting up Christmas trees, some quality time…

Thursday    Not quite liking this tendency to wake up at the wee hours of the morning and the inability to get back to sleep.  Thank God for internet, at least I get to read stuff & things the world over, in addition to read and reply emails, read other people’s thoughts & ideas or simply update this blog!  Took time to read some of the articles that babycenter.com has recommended; the first one that grabbed my attention: How tall will your child be?  Though it may not be as accurate but this mother’s instincts tell me the result will be quite close!  Read on.

Height Predictor: Your boy will likely be 5 ft. 10 in. at age 18.

Learn More: Young men often continue to grow a little past 18 until they reach 21, but their height at age 18 is very close to their final adult height. This prediction is a “best guess” but it’s still just that — a guess. Based on the formula we used* there is a 50 percent chance that your boy’s full-grown height will be within 0.8 inches (above or below) of this prediction, and a 90 percent chance that it will be within 2.1 inches. - babycenter.com

More interesting articles about your 4-year old  here. You may want to avoid reading stuff like “Do you think your baby is cuter than other babies?”  Enjoy reading!