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Reflections 2011 – 6th Birthday – Part One

Yuvan as always had a double whammy celebrations.. First at School , on the 15th of November, much earlier than his birthday,that falls on the 26th of November.

Yuvan had chosen the Diego cakes for both his celebrations this year, chocolate sponge with fresh cream…

Dad couldn’t make it for the school celebrations and it was a Mom, Son, friends and teachers affair !!!!

Yuvan was so happy and excited when his friends surrounded him to sing Happy Birthday Song, and it was lot of conversation with his friends as most of them know me as Yuvan’z mommy…

The kids enjoyed eating, cracking jokes, posing for pictures and I hope they loved the return gifts too:) It was a Happy Happy Day!!!!

Reflections – 2011 – Yuvan’z K2 Graduation

All I wanted over the last few months, was to blog back like before.. But I wasn’t able to… Yuvan had a blast Holidays starting from his Graduation Day:)

23rd October was the Day,  our little boy graduated from K2!!!! It was a great feeling to see our little son wear the graduation gown, with the little graduation hat!!!

And little did we know, he did a major performance role in the graduation concert together with his good friend Eleanor:) We were pleasantly surprised to see too many pictures of him displayed for order and he did awesome great on the stage. The good thing about Yuvan is, he enjoys completely what he does:) It was a day to remember !!! and Well done my Dear Boy!


Just before they entered the Graduation Hall, Yuvan as usual joined with his friends of 3 years starting from his Montessori Days….

Yuvan will continue and cherish their friendship forever:)

Two of the many Graduation Keep Sakes :)

 

 

6 years – The Journey of a young Graduate!!!

It seems as if it was yesterday that I gave birth to the little boy who just weighed 2.83 kg… The little boy named Yuvan now has graduated from his kindergarten and will be stepping into Primary school next year… I just can’t imagine how time flies…

Yuvan’s graduation ceremony was awesome, held on the 23rd October 2011 @ the Singapore Conference Hall. He was an active participant in the K2 cohort, enacted a main role with his best friend Eleanor as Mr Stanley, a friendly neighbourhood merry inspector. I have a lot of memories to cherish as well a lot of photos in terms of concert photos and graduation family photo-shoot. But whatever the school provided is a hard copy and so I bought a nice photo album and preserved all the photos.

Here is one soft copy taken during the Graduation Family photo shoot in my personal camera!!!!

His preschool journey has been a memorable one, lucky enough to be in good hands, with great teacher’s he has learnt life skills and academics right from day one!

He started his playgroup with a lovely teacher named Joyce at Sunflower playgroup( 2008 – 2009) and it was under her Yuvan uttered his first ever completely formed sentence at the age of 2.1 years, Yuvan being a late bloomer!!!

He then moved on to  be under Ms Reana and Ms Yogi at Shekinah Montessori (2009 – 2010 June ) for 1.5 years, where he became a more confident person, fluent reader and more!!!!!!

Then came Day spring Kindergarten (2010 June to 2011 November) where he loved the school with a bigger group and became a more confident person who excelled with all the knowledge and life skills he took with him from his playgroup and Montessori days….

He was under the guidance and care of Mrs Amit and Ms Ter and Mrs Loo during his K1 and K2 @ Dayspring Kindergarten!

He enjoyed every bit of his 4 years of pre-schooling and a great big hug to all his friends for being Yuvan’s friends and a Big Thank You to all the teachers who has made the huge difference in Yuvan,  developing and moulding Yuvan as a person!!!!!

Yuvan is a K2 graduate now and is moving on into his Primary Schooling with Anchor Green Primary School.After the orientation yesterday, I am happy that Yuvan will be in good hands and I am hoping for the blessings to continue!!!!

Yuvan, Both Amma and Appa  love you Yuvan and we cherish what you are  !!!

Picture speaks volumes

Stencil Creativity

I am Right now amazed by Yuvan’s creativity and incorporation.

I have never thought of buying him a stencil set before except the stencil in a ruler he has !!!!yesterday The a small stencil came along as a free bee with Milk. And look at what he has done with it…

Stage 1

I am sure amazed by his creativity of using the stencil to show a race among the fishes /dolphins (to be precise) in the sea and he has incorporated a Ordinal number concept in it… i.e..1st , 2 nd…  and what the other fishes that are behind may be thinking / feeling… Awesome .. and he did it without any single tip from me… I am indeed feeling guilty Why didn’t I Buy him stencil’s before :( Time to buy now!!!!

Every time he keeps proving he is a very good visual leaner and an interpreter!!!!!He is  a conceptual person.. He needs to know things from scratch and if taught that way, he always grasps t quickly and he s confident that he knows a lot about it right from the scratch!!!!

Stage :2

He has here tried to color it.. but he made mistake of coloring the thought cloud after writing, but has tried to redo it outside.

To take note of his creativity or filling the theme are the cars on the road.. aeroplane in the sky…

I am really proud of you man!!!!Keep it going :)

A complete scene

Another recent causal work by him  -

This is another surprise  - Because he tried to draw the Indian flag – all by himself and he has tried to complete the scene,which I find it awesome !!!

Photo Blog :)

It is just by an instinct and I decided to take a cue from the Photography fanatic E , to start shooting better photos…

For me , I always take photos as and when required , and doesn’t boast to have a photographic eye for sure..

But to appreciate myself and learn and explore more into taking Good shots of the limited ones I am trying  to shoot, I decided to create this photoblog…

Click to have a look at MY RANDOM PANORAMA

Comments are most welcome and would love to!

:)

What to do ?

I chanced upon this post from MyPlayschool.net ‘s facebook page ( which has been linked to home school how to for this post )and am really impressed..This is basically a post relating to what to do with kids during the school break,which eventually starts from today here in Singapore..

These are  the “100 things to do  ” not only during school breaks, but as and when we could do with our kids…

Many things takes very little time but I am sure is going to have lasting impressions on/with our kids…

The full list of ’100 things to do “ is  here and Please read through.. I bet you will love it and tempted to implement too…

A few I liked soo much and Am sure going to implement are

Pick a flower – Count the number of petals and leaves on the flower. If you have a
magnifying glass, you can look at all the parts of the flower very closely. Look at
whether the petals and leaves are jagged around the edges or smooth.
Note:- I recently found the value dollar shops selling good magnifying glasses


Cut open fruits – Get some different fruits that are in season and cut them open
from different angles. The apple is the most fun because if you cut it crosswise,
you will see a star in the middle. Always look for the seeds and talk about how
those seeds help make another tree or bush that will grow that fruit. experimentnt
with cutting fruits in different shapes and sizes and see which way you like to eat.
Take them to the post office, bank or local city office. Call ahead and see if
one of the clerks would be willing to take you behind the counter and show you
around for a few minutes to get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes.
Note: if not we could explain them step by step…


Find Japan and China on a map or globe. Talk about how far they are away from
where you live. Talk about what time it is in those countries right now. If your
child wants to know more, you can get a reference book from the library or search
for information online.
Note : We could do with any country we wish, or If our child has been talking about a specific country,better to do that or If you are intending to travel to another country, we could do that.

Go for a walk around the block and talk about what you see. If the weather is
too cold, go to a mall and do the same there. If you’re outside you can talk about
the trees, leaves, grass, houses, sky, clouds, cars, etc. Just make observations
about what you see and encourage your child to do the same. If they have
questions you can’t answer, make some notes to look up the answers when you get
home.

What’s missing – Get a tray and put several toys, food items, or any set of items
that fit on the tray. Have your child study what is on the tray. Then have them
close their eyes and take one item away. When they open their eyes, have them
guess which item you took away. Keep taking things away one at a time guessing
which item is missing. Your child will probably want to quiz you on this one too.

Go outside for a while and study the clouds. You can lay on a blanket with your
child or just look up at the sky for a while. If you want to count some of the
clouds, that would help reinforce their counting skills. You might want to look at
some books about clouds before you go out, but you can just look at the clouds for
fun.

Play grocery store- Save some empty packages like cereal boxes, cracker boxes,
noodle boxes, egg cartons etc. You can even use some full cans of food too. Set up
your pretend grocery store somewhere in your house and take turns being the
cashier and the shopper. Get some play money or make your own. You can “price”
your items and add up the total and pay with your money. Or you can just pick out
a few items and pretend that you have enough money to cover your purchases.
Note:- A very practical lesson plan to teach Money, next step after recognizing the coins and dollars  and their make up in different forms.

My favorite things – If you have some old magazines lying around you can use
them for this activity. Get a large sheet of paper or poster board and have your
child make a collage of their favorite things. These can be toys, food items or
anything else that they think of. If you have magazines, then you can cut pictures
out of them and glue them to your paper. If you don’t have magazines, then your
child can draw their favorite things.

Bubbles – I think all children like blowing bubbles. All you need is one jar,
although you can get much more elaborate than that. Blow lots of bubbles and
have fun chasing them around the yard.

Measure It – Get a cloth or plastic measuring tape and show your child what the
numbers mean and how to use the tape. Then let your child choose different
things that he/she would like to measure around the house. You can even have a
piece of paper handy and write down how long each item measured and then
compare the numbers.
Note: A Good practical add -on to learn about measuring!


Are you going to try some  too ?


Lack of sleep…

Are you one of those sleeping in like 5 hrs a day only ????

Then, You must read the study…

This article is originally from The Times of India linked..

The Major points to note are

Sleep deprivation is also emerging as a key reason for heart ailments. Recent research from London shows a person who sleeps less than six hours a night has a 48% higher risk of developing or dying from heart disease. This could hold true for Mumbaikars too, say doctors.

Cardiologist Brian Pinto recalled the death of a friend’s 43-year-old son who collapsed on the road while jogging at 5.45am. “Youngsters are cutting down on sleep to accommodate more work hours and exercise. But without seven hours of sleep, this could spell disaster,” said Pinto.

“There is a strong risk factor between obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension. If a patient’s blood pressure is not controlled by medicines, then we recommend that he undergo a sleep pattern test as sleep apnea is most likely the cause,” he said.

I have lately realised that I need to put in more hours of sleep… literally meaning Early to bed… as My morning starts at 6.30 am least…

So I need to buckle up.!!!!

Train of thoughts ….

Hmmmm… I haven’t been here since sometime , I had been really  occupied busy with few things ,which kept me on my heels…

Now I want to be back, School holidays are back…

I always look forward for school holidays , because I want to spend lots of one on one time with Yuvan.. But I always fall short of it ! End up tired…

Cooking, planning, sourcing,taking him out, keep him entertained….

But I always fall short of  accomplishing few things that I had planned for  :( It all part of holidays….

I would more likely go to India for 2 weeks… But my tickets are wait listed… My travel agent says will sure be confirmed sooner.. I was in a great dilemma whether or not to go… But few things would go fine if I am in India, then I need some pampering from my mom… looking forward to eat the yummiculous  food by my mom… She is one great cook!!!!! and an unexpected one day trip planned with my closest cousins… which is not yet confirmed.. but may be…

sourcing  few materials for Yuvan’s tamil is high on my priority list…

I have always felt ,Yuvan too unwinds during the vacation, it would be a welcome break for him !!!

Yuvan wants to go to India too ,but he did ask me when are we coming back after the holidays.. so ,is it for Yuvan too Singapore means HOME ?

I have some thoughts to put into action… let see how far it can work out this time… I really don’t know, but expect something good to happen :)

Yuvan ‘s vacation has really started with a bang… though he doesn’t buy toys more often, he is particular to buy few things ( within my stipulated budget) when he wants to.. He already bought a massive remote-controlled car..

Me:- (as he walked with the car at the suntec with his DAD ) “Yuvan how many cars will u buy ??”

Eash : Itz okie… let him  (is  thats why Dad’s are more loved by sons on this front ??? )

And we had one of Eash’s fren’s over for dinner last weekend and some catching up as she has flown into Singapore for a week.. It was really great to have her at my Place.. we really loved the evening… And Yuvan got his first set of Bob the builder trucks, A magnetic colour and play train and a set of 3 flag stickers sheets from Liz aunty.. He just loved all… Thanks Liz.. Yuvan loves Bob the builder and so he cherished the trucks.. he loves colouring and any train… and he is getting in to the habit of knowing countries and their flags.. so the gifts were a super-duper hit… and I am so happy to see my son pampered for a change by someone else..rather than always we buying gifts for others.. I mean it.. Liz..thanks so much dear :)

And we did watch Shrek – Forever After ..we liked it… Yuvan liked the movie..but the biggest hassle was they didn’t have a child size 3D glass..How can this be ? when they knew the majority would be coming in with children…SIGH!!! but he liked Shrek… and at the Mc-D’s last sunday he got SHREK as the toy to collect for his child meal :) he was “wooohoooo “

The 3-D glasses were this big…..

And at the EngWah with the Scooby :)

Tomo is another zoo day.. I haven’t even blogged about his last visit…we are to be there again..meaning Mom is pretty slow (lazy ) and the son is already planned about his zoo trip and what he specifically wants to do this time…

will sure have to blog this time…Lots on my draft… when will I clear ???????????????????


School re-opens and Project #2 – Rainbow

School re-opens tomorrow and Yuvan is excited to be back in school…. The school holidays were fun, and the major activity was spending time – close to 7 hrs at the zoo,exploring the new water play area and the boat ride…. I will be doing a post later on that… It was totally fun and relaxing with lot of team work at home, Yuvan falling sick for two days.. kindaa a roller coaster school holidays..but had fun :)

————————————-

And it was a rainy day yesterday and we did this project at home on rainbows post lunch,when it was only me and Y at home,with E engaged in an office pool tournament… I got the basic idea for the mural from this link

Supplies required :

1.Plain white paper

2.creative paper cut into small pieces for the rainbow colours

(I used crayons for violet and indigo )

3. Glue stick

How to do

1. Draw a rainbow on the plain sheet of paper

2. get the child to number each partition and count to get the number of colours in a rainbow.

3. Get the child Mark each partition with the concerned colour’s first letter

4. Do the rainbow either using crayons for all colours or using creative paper cut into small pieces…

5.If you are  using small pieces of creative paper, apply the glue on the respective area first and let the child drag the small pieces on to it and do it by himself.

6.Take another sheet of  paper and write simple facts about the rainbow… get the child involved in framing the sentences…

eg : when can u see a rainbow ? – The child :” On a rainy day ” – get him to write that ..