请不要撇下我

我一直相信每个孩子都有能力学习。

无论是所谓的‘正常与否’，只要教育工作者或父母肯花时间去摸索孩子的性格，学习方式，一切都不成问题。

只可惜很多时候，也许是因为缺乏耐心和爱心，拘于有限的时间和人力资源，加上大人的无所谓，这些特别的孩子往往都是被撇下一边，成为牺牲者。

试想想，若孩子的6年黄金时期被枉费，他怎能跟的上小学的进度？（尤其是我国的）
倘若小学跟不上，岂能顺利的继续中学的读书生涯？
只因为在幼儿时期的无所谓，导致孩子的自尊，自信从小受挫。如果在加上学校老师是用体罚的，这些无辜孩子的身心灵就会一直地被鞭策。这种莫名的耻辱，伤害，是一辈子无法磨灭的痛。

我的学校有不同类型的孩子。有过动儿，自闭儿，有语言障碍的，缺乏安全感和爱的，有暴力倾向的，有自虐的，有非常聪颖的，等等。友人曾问，这样的孩子，你怎么可以收？这种孩子，你怎能教？

坦白说，教导任何一个孩子都是满了挑战的。无论聪慧与否，每个孩子的学习方式，吸收能力，爱与鼓励的需求都不同。所以我不赞成100%的统一教学。我非常强调一对一的教学法。虽然这种方式极其耗时，耗精力，但效果是令人刮目相看的。我的教学经历足可以证明这一点。

学校，不该只收‘正常’的学生。（请告诉我，什么是正常？）
学校的宗旨应该是教育！（教导和培育！）

所以，身为教育工作者和父母亲，
请不要放弃任何一个教育孩子的机会！
请不要因为任何一个理由而撇下或孤立孩子！
请不要~剥夺孩子一生的幸福！

重新启航

冷落部落格已有年之久。迟迟不敢重新启动，也许是因为新的旅程把我的时间给剥夺，也许是因为藉口和藉口。

在2015年10月，我的决定改变了我的生活。这个决定不始于冲动，而是为了圆我一直以来对孩子，对教育的一份热诚，一份执着，一份隐藏已久的梦想。

今天，我的学校已经快步入第二年。每回与丈夫谈起学校的趣事，成就，他都一直鼓励我把一切所细述的记下。他说，这一切的经验和经历都很宝贵，可以与其他爱教育，爱孩子的人分享，或是出个回忆录，让孩子们长大后读一读自己在我学校的学习成长故事。

经过丈夫多次的鼓励和催促，我终于重新启航。

在此，我不敢炫耀我的教育方式有多棒。只想单纯的把我们陪伴孩子的过程，难处，经历与感兴趣的父母，老师，教育工作者分享，切磋。

Being Happy!

Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect.
 
It means that you've decided to look beyond the

imperfections.

Have a wonderful day!

BPA Free Plastic is Cancerous!

The University of Texas published a report in 2011 in Environmental Health Perspectives confirming that hormone-disrupting chemicals leach from almost all plastics, even BPA-free plastics.

BPA concerns us because it has Estrogenic Activity (EA), meaning it mimics the hormone estrogen in the body. According to the study authors, chemicals with EA have been linked to all kinds of health problems, including early puberty in females, reduced sperm counts, altered functions of reproductive organs, obesity, altered sex-specific behaviors, and increased rates of some breast, ovarian, testicular, and prostate cancers.

BPA-free plastics are turning out to be just as dangerous as the products they’ve replaced. A peer-reviewed study published by Environmental Health Perspectives revealed that almost all plastics, no matter what type (BPA-free or not) were found to leach estrogen disruptors. In fact, some BPA-free products actually released more harmful chemicals than the original products that clearly contained bisphenol-A. (source)

So why is harmful plastic still being used?

Basically, regulating the safety of plastics is a political mess.

One glaring problem is that the laws governing chemical manufacturing do not require new chemicals to be safety-tested before they go on the market. Companies are rarely required to collect or disclose safety data, these chemicals are just presumed to be safe until proven otherwise – often after damage is already done. 

Because of this, it is virtually impossible to even know the exact chemical composition of any commercially available plastic part. A plastic item like a baby bottle can contain almost 100 undisclosed chemicals, so a product labeled as BPA-free (or free of any other known toxin) may still have component parts that actually contained harmful chemicals anyway. (source)

According to Michael Green, director for the Center for Environmental Health, “Corporations that come under pressure to root out toxins often replace them with untested chemicals, which sometimes turn out to be just as hazardous.”

BPA Free Plastic is cancerous!! Are you still letting your babies/children and family members using plastic or BPA Free plastic milk bottle/water bottles? Are you going to ignore the facts and put them in risk?

Just like everything else toxic in this world, pollution, cigarettes, alcohol, preservatives and additives in our food and skincare, contaminants in our water, etc., none of it will kill you all at once, but increased exposure increases your chances of cancers, illnesses and an overall weakened immune system and quality of life. So tap into your inner hippie and avoid plastics.

It is time to change your lifestyle. Quit using bpa free plastic but glass! Kindly contact us for Lifefactory Glass milk bottles and water bottles (for all ages) today. Spread the news and get all the people around you to be aware of this scary bpa free plastic truth.

Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Support Group - Fundraising campaign

Understand more about our Go Green! Go Glass! Cancer Awareness Campaign 2014. RM10 will be donated to Pink Ribbon Cancer Support Group for each water bottle sold! However, some people might wonder, where does their donation goes to? What is Pink Ribbon Cancer Support Group for? How can my little donation help? Hopefully you can have a rough idea after reading the information below. Thank you! INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT Psychosocial or emotional support aims to improve the quality of life for women diagnosed with  breast cancer as well as their family members and it is a powerful platform for coping with life  during diagnosis, treatment and beyond. The Patient Support Team consists of breast cancer survivors who undergo training and on-going supervision in offering psychosocial or emotional support for women diagnosed with breast cancer  and their families. Support is given through face to face sessions, phone calls and electronically. These support programmes help individuals with breast cancer and their loved ones to cope with life during and after diagnosis and treatment. The Patient Support Team members visit newly diagnosed individuals in government and private  hospitals regularly in the initial stages of their treatment, providing them and their family members support to help them cope emotionally, psychologically and physically through their  diagnosis, treatment and recovery. On the first visit, each newly diagnosed person is given a comfy kit, consisting of a bag, a  temporary prosthesis (if needed), a stress ball, a scarf and a arm rest pillow. GROUP PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT Therapeutic, social and emotional support activities are organised to help women with breast  cancer to deal with their treatment and recovery, and eventually, to take control of their lives  again. In these sessions, irrespective of educational, ethnic or social background, women with breast  cancer are able to benefit from mutual support, fellowship and information on managing  themselves. The Patient Support Team volunteers offer one-to-one informal educational sessions to help  newly diagnosed women and their family members to understand and gain knowledge about  what to expect during treatment and beyond. The sessions provide privacy and freedom for  them to express their concerns and to ask questions on coping and managing themselves through their breast cancer experience and making lifestyle choices. The common issues discussed at these sessions are: Fear of treatment; Concerns regarding uncertainty in life; Breast reconstruction; Dietary issues; Complementary therapies; Alternative treatment; Self and public image; Employment concerns; Financial constraints; Dealing with social stigma, prejudice and discrimination related to breast cancer; Logistical issues; and, Communication with children. Group Sharing Sessions Group psychosocial support programmes are a way to provide therapeutic, social and emotional support to help women with breast cancer and family members to deal with the impact of disease and treatment enabling women to regain control of their lives. These activities conducted in a safe environment reach out to women with breast cancer irrespective of their educational, ethnic or social backgrounds and enable them to benefit from the mutual support, fellowship, experience and the sharing of information in an informal way. The Patient Support Team members facilitate the sessions to ensure the participants are not misled into biased information. They are also available to attend to queries and to support women through their fears and concerns regarding mortality, suffering, dietary concerns and lifestyle adjustment. PROSTHESIS (artificial breast) Pink Ribbon Cancer Support Group makes available temporary prostheses and mastectomy bras for women who have had mastectomy (removal of the breast). The prosthesis that is inserted into the bra on a temporary basis is designed to maintain the external appearance of the breast and to give a boost of self-esteem to the woman. Feather-light weight and softness of the temporary prosthesis facilitates comfort and ease especially when the surgical wound is still sore due to surgery and during or after radiotherapy. However, the temporary prosthesis is not ideal for long-term use as it is too light to maintain body posture and it can cause postural and back problems in the long term. These prostheses are designed and stitched by the members who are mostly breast cancer survivors. They also provide training to enable other breast cancer support groups to sew their own prostheses. Pink Ribbon Cancer Support Group staff offers advice on the modification of pre-existing bras and the fitting of prosthesis and bra. While the temporary prostheses are given free, the mastectomy bra are sold at affordable prices and offered for free to the needy. HAIR SHAVING and WIG STYLING Women with breast cancer who undergo chemotherapy may lose their hair temporarily due to the side effects of the treatment. To ease the burden of additional expenses for these women, hair shaving and styling of wigs by professional hairstylist and loan of wigs are given to them at no cost. Pink Ribbon Cancer Support Group staff members are available to assist them to find the most appropriate wig to suit them. Once the suitable wig is chosen, the staff members will bring the women with breast cancer to our professional hairstylist for hair shaving and wig styling so that the wig will look natural. Advice on maintenance of the wigs is also given. Women walk away wearing a wig, feeling relived and looking good. Due to wear and tear, the wigs are regularly replenished to ensure that they are in good condition when given to the women. PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AWARENESS The extensive, on-going public education and awareness programmes conducted by Pink  Ribbon Cancer Support Group  aims to change public perception, attitude, behaviour and  action concerning breast health. The message cannot be emphasized enough, that early detection and timely medical treatment  of breast cancer are crucial in increasing the chances of preventing premature deaths.  The support group continues to hold exhibitions, talks and workshops that are conducted in different languages to educate the public on breast health awareness. Specific topics are covered during these public educational and awareness programmes  such as:- - Methods of early detection of breast cancer including mammogram, clinical breast  examination and breast self-examination; - Benefits of early detection and time medical treatment including testimonies given by breast  cancer survivors;- Adopting an energy-balanced lifestyle at a young age to prevent  non-communicable diseases including cancers.  This support group will need funding to maintain their services for all year round.  All breast cancer survivors in the hospital will be receiving a goodies bag which includes  prosthesis, arm rest pillow, stress ball and a scarf for free. In every October, during the  Breast Cancer Awareness Month, all these goodies bags will be distributed to all general hospitals in Kuching, Bintulu, Miri and Sibu, Sarawak. Do not be little to your small sum of donation and never  get tired of doing little things for others, sometimes those  little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts!

"Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. - Howard Zinn"

Go Green! Go Glass! Cancer Awareness Campaign 2014

Happy Meal

My princess's favorite restaurant is at RH Plaza, Kuching.
She will choose her own plate/bowl, high chair, beverage and finish half bowl of
soupy rice happily without fail. ^^

BPA Free Plastic is Cancerous!

Due to health-conscious mentally, we, the parents always go for BPA-free plastics to keep our children safe, and now there's a huge expose out that says maybe BPA wasn't the worst thing hiding in our baby bottles, plates, water bottles and sippy cups!

We all probably know that the commercial chemical BPA, or bisphenol-A, is a toxic nasty that could interrupt the endocrine system and cause all sorts of problems for our children. If you are not familiar with BPA, let me tell you what is BPA. 

Bisphenol A or BPA, is a chemical produced in large quantities primarily for use in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Here’s the kicker – it was originally designed as a synthetic form of estrogen and used in hormone replacement therapy. However, somewhere along the line scientists discovered that it could help make plastics hard and clear, and thenceforth, the floodgates were opened. 

And why is BPA bad? Since BPA mimics estrogen, it can impact your endocrine system – hence the name “endocrine disruptor.” There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of research studies published in the most respectable peer-reviewed scientific journals linking this little toxic chemical to a plethora of chronic conditions; obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and reproductive abnormalities to mention a few.

Nowadays, every plastic widget is so-called BPA free.  BPA free water bottles, BPA free sippy cups, BPA free baby bottles, BPA free blenders,etc. In one sense, this awareness is a pretty significant development in the right direction. However, the problem with plastics is that even those that are BPA free may still contain BPA or some other estrogen mimicking chemicals.

Yes! BPA-free plastic is also cancerous as it releases toxic without heat after several washing! 

The scientific study that found "some BPA-free products actually released synthetic estrogens that were more potent than BPA," and even shares the results of lab testing on BPA-free sippy cups. A quarter of the tested cups, the kinds purchased at major retailers, tested positive for what they call "estrogenic activity."

Sounds scary, doesn't it?

The plastics study from the University of Texas-Austin recently published in the NIH journal Environmental Health Perspectives, "almost all" plastics that were tested leached synthetic estrogens, including the BPA-free products out on the market.

Is this any worse than BPA itself?

Not worse, necessarily, but not better either! The primary reason moms -- and many companies -- have moved away from BPA is the feared risks to the endocrine system. The National Toxicology Program has expressed “some concern" for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children exposed to BPA.

So if BPA-free products are truly leaching chemicals that are just as risky, then it stands to reason our kids are STILL at risk, despite moms' best efforts.

Where is this stuff hiding?

The short answer is in "most" BPA-free plastic, at least according to the study out of the University of Texas-Austin. More specifically, according to the researchers' tests:

• 70 percent of HDPE plastic (a hard plastic use to make baby bottles, milk jugs, ice cube trays, etc. -- the acronym for the type of plastic can typically be found on the bottom of the container) tested positive for synthetic estrogens.
• 75 percent of PET or PETE plastic (a more pliable plastic used to make water and soda bottles) tested positive for synthetic estrogens.
• 68 percent of PP plastic (a heat-resistant plastic used to make baby bottles, sippy cups, and reusable food storage containers) tested positive for synthetic estrogens.
• 55 percent of PS plastic (a hard plastic used for making dishes, drinking glasses and food packaging) tested positive for synthetic estrogens.
• 91 percent of PLA plastics (a plastic used to make disposable forks and spoons, yogurt cups, and takeout containers) tested positive for synthetic estrogens.
• Other plastics are out there but have not yet been tested.

How can we protect our kids?

 5 tips on how to stay BPA free

1. Avoid all forms of plastic food containers whenever possible. Glass, stainless steel or porcelain should become your new best friends in the kitchen.
2. Avoid canned foods. That can of corn may not only be from GMO crop, it may also come with a dollop of BPA –based epoxy resin – the stuff used line the insides of most canned goods. If you have to eat from a can, there are several good BPA free options out there. Edens Foods is a popular one  
3. Increase your consumption of raw fruits and vegetables. Eating fresh fruits and veggies enables better detoxification of numerous toxic compounds including endocrine disruptors such as BPA. Based on scientific studies, broccoli, grapefruit, and apples are a great place to start
4. If plastic is the only option for a particular utensil or appliance, make sure it is not marked with the 3, 6 or 7 recycle codes. These 2 codes (flexible PVC or Polycarbonate respectively) indicate a possible presence of phthalates or BPA in the plastic
5. Also, if you find yourself forced to use plastic food containers, avoid microwaving them at all costs. BPA is more likely to leach at higher temperatures

Glass is One of the Best Alternatives
You may not be able to move away from all plastics because they are ubiquitous on the market, but where possible, but if you're interested in avoiding any number of chemical toxins leaching into your food and beverages, choose glass over plastic, especially when it comes to products that will come into contact with food or beverages, or those intended for pregnant women, infants and children. This applies to canned goods as well, which are a major source of BPA (and possibly other chemicals) exposure, so whenever you can, choose jarred goods over canned goods, or opt for fresh instead. Another good idea is to ditch plastic teething toys for your little ones and choose natural wood or fabric varieties instead.

To be fair, you probably can no longer completely eliminate your exposure to BPA, BPS and similar toxins (since they're likely in our air, water, and food, too) but you can certainly reduce your exposure dramatically by making informed choices like those described above.

Happy Birthday

Time flies. My princess is now 4-year-old. Sometimes I just couldn't believe that my baby girl is no longer an infant but a cute, active girl. Happy Birthday, my sweetheart! 

This year, we have the 1st birthday celebration for my princess in Kuching. My hubby and I planned to throw her a birthday party but my princess told me that she preferred to have it only with us. I was quite surprised on her decision as I thought kids always prefer to have big party with many other kids. Seems like I was wrong. In the end, we brought her to my parents' place to have some fun with her grandma.

As for the cake, I have failed to order a 3D Thomas and Friends birthday cake for her as it needs minimum 1-month pre-order from most of the famous bakers here. In the end, I have solved the problem by ordering a moist chocolate cake from Secret Recipe and bought her favorite Thomas and Friends toys from the Toys'R'us to place on top of the cake as decor. I am glad she is very happy with it and couldn't stop playing with her toys after the cake cutting.

I realized that this solution is better than having the 3D cake which has too much coloring and those with fondant is not really tasty.

Last year, she had an Elmo birthday cake. This year, her favorite character has changed to Thomas the train. Hmm... I wonder what will be her next favorite character next year. So unpredictable. Haha!

Bubble fun

Finally my princess has the chance to play with her new bubble gun we bought for her in Oct. Emm.... it's Dec now. I have to admit  that she is pretty patient in waiting. Hahaha. This gun is fun. It needs 3 AA batteries to work. The gun comes with nice soothing music whenever you pull the trigger to make beautiful bubbles. I have to go online and learn how to make the bubble solutions soon. ^^

Special friends

My daughter has a surprise birthday present from her special friends in the morning. I wish they can spend more time together next time. :)

4-yr-old birthday present

My princess is very excited to open up her birthday present from Aunt Jennifer and her kids (Abigail and Anselym). Thank you for brighten up our day! ^^

Four Lions (2010)

Four Lions is a 2010 British black comedy film. It's about four incompetent British jihadists set out to train for and commit an act of terror.

Plot

A group of young Muslim men from Sheffield have become radicalised and aspire to become suicide bombers. They are Omar (played by Riz Ahmed), the leading member who is deeply critical of Western society; his dim-witted friend, Waj (Kayvan Novak); Barry (Nigel Lindsay), a bad-tempered White convert to Islam; and naive Faisal (Adeel Akhtar), who tries to train crows to be used as bombers. While Omar and Waj go to a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, Barry recruits a reluctant fifth member, Hassan (Arsher Ali). The visit to the training camp ends in disaster, with Omar misfiring a rocket that kills fellow jihadists; however, he uses the experience to assert authority on his return to Britain.

The group begins acquiring materials for making improvised explosives but disagree about what to target. Barry wants to bomb a local mosque as a false flag operation in order to "radicalise the moderates", but Omar considers this idiotic. Faisal suggests blowing up a branch of Boots, but Omar doesn't think it is a worthwhile target. Hassan compromises their secrecy by allowing a neighbour (Julia Davis) into their safe house, and the team must transport their volatile explosives to a new location. Faisal accidentally blows himself up after tripping in a field, resulting in a row among the remaining four, who temporarily separate. They reconcile, however, and Omar decides to target the London Marathon.

Wearing various costumes to conceal their explosives — Omar as the Honey Monster; Waj as a man riding an ostrich; Barry as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle; and Hassan as an inverted clown — they prepare to blow themselves up. Waj expresses doubts about the rectitude of the plot, but Omar convinces him to go ahead. Hassan loses his nerve and tries to give himself up to the police, but Barry detonates his bomb using a mobile phone, killing Hassan and alerting the authorities to the remaining three. Omar realises he has led his unwitting friend, Waj, into something he does not want to do, and sets off to make him change his mind. Police attempt to shoot Omar as he mingles with other runners, but instead shoot a bystander dressed as a Wookie; prompting a lengthy discussion of whether or not a wookie is in fact a bear, and what a honey monster is, Omar eventually contacts Waj via his mobile phone, but is attacked by Barry, who swallows the phone's SIM card. However, Barry begins to choke on it, causing a passer-by to carry out the Heimlich manoeuvre and detonate his bomb.

Waj is cornered by police and takes a kebab shop hostage. Omar borrows a phone and attempts to talk Waj down. However, his call is interrupted by a police raid in which they shoot a hostage whom they mistake for the bomber. Confused, Waj proceeds to detonate his own bomb, destroying the kebab shop. Distraught, Omar walks into a nearby pharmacy and detonates his own bomb. It is revealed later that Omar's innocent and peaceful brother has been arrested and is suspected by the police to be a terrorist; that the police deflect responsibility for shooting the bystander; and that Omar and Waj killed Osama Bin Laden when Omar misfired the missile in Pakistan.

When my hubby introduced this comedy to me, I wasn't interested at the beginning. Well, it seems like I'm wrong many times by judging a book from it's cover. I slept off half way without knowing but woke up early in the morning to continue this movie. It's very funny indeed. I have enjoyed throughout the whole story as the black comedy is kind of unique. The jokes are very different from the usual comedy, it can make my hubby and I laughed a lot. 

I'm not sure how many terrorists are there who are truly willing to sacrifice their precious lives in suicide bombing. I feel sad seeing Omar leaving his understanding wife and smart boy just like that. 

If you would like to get a good laugh in your boring or stressful life, watch this! You are going to love it!

Wikipedia needs your support!

Wikipedia is the #5 site on the web and serves 500 million different people every month – with billions of page views. This wonderful website is a non-profit website which never run any advertisement for income. If anyone of you cherish this website and think that it is useful to you, kindly click here to donate.

This year, please consider making a donation of RM20, RM30, RM50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia. 

Where your donation goes

Technology: Servers, bandwidth, maintenance, development. Wikipedia is the #5 website in the world, and it runs on a fraction of what other top websites spend. 

Richard Clayderman is coming to Kuching!

Richard Clayderman (born Philippe Pagès, 28 December 1953) is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of popular works of classical music.

Early life

Clayderman was born in Paris, France, and learned piano from his father, a piano teacher.
At the age of twelve, he was accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won great acclaim in his later adolescent years. Financial difficulties, precipitated by his father's illness, forestalled a promising career as a classical pianist. So in order to earn a living, he found work as a bank clerk and as an accompanist to contemporary bands. He accompanied French singers such as Johnny Hallyday, Thierry Le Luron, and Michel Sardou.

Clayderman has recorded over 1,300 melodies, and has created a new romantic style through a repertoire which combines his trademark originals with classics and pop standards. He has devoted much of his time to performing concerts, going as far as playing 200 shows in 250 days. He has clocked up worldwide record sales of approximately 70 million, as of 2006, and has 267 gold and 70 platinum discs to his credit. He is popular in Asia and is noted by the Guinness Book of World Records as being "the most successful pianist in the world".


He lives in Saint-Ouen (near Paris) with his wife Christine, his son Peter, and his daughter Maud. (Copied and edited from Wikipedia)

The best part is, he is coming to Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia!!

World-famous pianist Richard Clayderman will be performing his enchanting tunes in his first concert here on Nov 7 2013.

Held in conjunction with his latest album, Romantique, the 60-year-old piano maestro, who is known for his remarkably distinctive reinterpretations of classical and popular tunes, will be performing music from the album as well as his popular musical numbers.

Clayderman will be accompanied by his percussionist and 12-piece string orchestra in the concert to be held at Pullman Kuching. This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for music lovers who have grown up listening to Richard Clayderman’s music to catch the world’s most successful pianist live.


Beside Kuching, the acclaimed pianist will also be performing in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 4, George Town, Penang on Nov 5 and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Nov 8 as part of his tour in Malaysia in addition to touring Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

The concert in Kuching is the only venue with a VIP ticket category where it is inclusive of a dinner after the concert as well as a ‘Meet & Greet’ session with Richard Clayderman. Each VIP tickets are priced at RM1,500.

Other tickets available are priced at RM118 for students, RM218 (Silver), RM418 (Gold), and RM618 (Platinum) and they can be purchased through the Ticket Charge hotline at 03-92228811 or via its website at www.ticketcharge.com.my.

A roadshow for the concert from today until Oct 20 will be held at The Spring Shopping Mall, Plaza Merdeka and City One Megamall. (Copied and edited from Borneo Post)

46-month-old Reading and Learning Progress

To be honest, I have lost track on the books my princess has been reading for all these days. I kept purchasing new books and she just read 5 to 7 books at a time. She hardly repeat the books that she had read unless they are really interesting and fun.

My princess has been picking up her great interest on languages. She is learning Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, Bahasa Malaysia apart from English.

For the words that she can speak in Spanish:
Colors:
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Black, White, Grey, Pink, Brown

Numbers:
0 to 20

Seasons:
Spring, summer, autumn, Winter

Months of the year:
January to December

Shapes:
Oval, circle, square, cube, pentagon

Fruits:
grapes, apple, orange

Thank you, goodbye, let's go...

We are still working on the fruits and vegetable. Well, for those who wants to teach your kids some languages that we (as parents) don't know either, we have to be humble, patient and learn together with them. My memory is not as good as my daughter. Her learning progress is so much faster compare to mine yet I'm trying my best to learn so that I can be her learning companion. We will test each other to kill times in the car or while waiting for our food in the restaurant. I found that it's a very fun revision game for both of us.

For Chinese characters, I'm surprised that she did self learn the numbers from zero to twenty and colours. Thanks for the app on the iPad. Hahaha!

So for the Chinese characters that she can recognize:
上, 下, 左, 右, 前，后，多，少， 零至二十，人，头，口，牙，手，耳，山，石，田，天，风，雨，木，土，花， 草， 树，叶，书，米，肉，豆，布，衣，日，月，水，火，云，门，刀，瓜，果，走，来，去，大，小，吃，笑，哭

Mathematics:
She can count from 0 to 100. Doing addition and subtraction. She can memorize the multiplication table for x2, x3 and x4. Not so confident in x4 yet.

Solar system:
She can memorize all the planets name, such as sun, Mars, Venus, Earth, Moon, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, asteroids, comet, etc.

Flags, countries' name and the locality of the countries on the map:
Cuba, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, Bahrain, Nepal, India, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Thailand, Greece, Philippines, Germany, Ghana, South Africa, Brazil, France, Colombia, Russia, Sweden, Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Finland, Greenland, Switzerland, Italy, Madagascar, Vietnam, Norway, Iceland, Papua New Guinea, Panama, Mexico, Spain, Chile, Netherlands, Romania, Portugal.
(I am not good in flags and names of countries. So I tried to learn together with her while teaching her at the same time. In the end, she is a faster learner than me. I can feel the stress now. Surrender!)

Below are not very familiar yet:
Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Tunisia, Qatar, Denmark

Writing:
Great improvement in writing skill. She can follow the dotted line well. No problem in writing A to Z and all numbers. She is trained in basic strokes and Chinese characters too. As for number 8, she is still not so confident yet.

Coloring:
I feel so happy that she can color better now. She can avoid to color out from the line and even mix colors. Her favorite sequence of her colors are always rainbow colors. All the colorful things that she owns must be arranged according to the rainbow color.  

Spelling:
My princess has very good memory. It helps her in reading, learning and spelling too. She can spell out the words by phonetics or by her pictorial memory. Previously I did teach her how to grab the spelling skills from 3 letters, 4 letters and 5 letters words. Seems like she has grabbed the technique and feel fun to spell out the words by herself.

Songs that she can sing:
- Rainbow song
- What a wonderful world
- You are my sunshine
- Butterfly
- Minion song
- You raise me up
- Gummy bear songs
etc (she knows how to type and search the songs or video clips she likes from youtube. She has self-learned many songs online.)

Below are the books that she read (and I can remember):- 

Little Grammar Book:
- And, or, but
( a book on conjunctions )
- Ouch!
( a book of exclamations )
- Quack, Quack and Tick-Tock
( a book on animal and object sounds )
- Jumps or jumped?
( a book on present and past tenses )
- Press or Do not press?
( a book on positive and negative sentences )
- See or Saw?
( a book on present and past tenses )
- Play + ing
( a book on gerunds)
- Is Reading, Have Read
( a book on continuous and perfect tenses)
- John is = John's
( a book on contractions )
- A, An, The
( a book on articles )
- Slowly, Softly
( a book on adverbs )
- Airport or Zoo?
( a book on names of places )
- Slither or Fly
( a book on animal movements )
- I, You, We
( a book on pronouns )
- My Pet, Your Garden
( a book on possessive adjectives )
- Lisa's and Bob's
( a book on possessive nouns )
- Yes or No?
( a book on yes-no replies )
- What is your name?
( a book on question-words and answers )
- I am an Australian
( a book on people )

A First Reading Program ( Early stage - 3 years +)
- A new home for mouse
- The train ride
- The other day I met a bear
- Old MacDonald had a farm
- The tiger and the jackal
- Zed's bread

Usborne Phonics Readers
- Big pig on a dig
- Fat cat on a mat
- Fox on a box
- Frog on a log
- Goose on the loose
- Hen's pen
- Mouse moves house
- Sam Sheep can't sleep
- Shark in the park
- Ted in the bed
- Ted's shed
- Toad makes a road

Let's Read 
Level 1
- Mira and the goose
- The donkey and the cat
- The flying tortoise
- The three fairies
- Two good friends
- Little red riding hood
- The ant and the grasshopper
- The goat and the fox
- The lion and the mouse

Let's Read More
Level 1
- The ugly duckling
- Sun, Moon and wind
- The Billy goats gruff
- The elves and the shoemaker
- The selfish giant
- Town mouse and the field mouse
- Mouse-deer and the tiger
- The rooster and the dragon
- Goldilocks and the three bears
- The gingerbread man

Charlie and Lola:
- Our especially special sandcastle
- But I am nearly ready!
- One for me...One for you...
- The very best thing about the park

Clifford, The Big Red Dog series:
-Clifford goes to hollywood
- Clifford's ABC
- Clifford the Big Red Dog
- Clifford's birthday party
- Clifford the firehouse dog
- Clifford and the big storm
- Clifford's good deed
- Clifford first autumn
- Clifford the small red puppy

The Smurf:-
- Fun and games
- Rise and shine
- Whatever the weather
- Making Music
- Happy Smurfdays

Usborne Very First Reading titles: 
- Pirate Pat
- The dressing-up box
- A bus for Miss Moss
- Dog diary
- Grizzly bear rock
- The queen makes a scene
- Stop that cow!
- Moon zoom
- Run, rabbit, run!
- Late night at the zoo
- Wild school
- The circus under the sea
- The monster diner
- Knight fight
- Mr. Mystery
- The Monster Dinner

Usborne First Reading titles (Level 3): 
- Danny The Dragon
- The Castle That Jack Built
- The Dinosaur Who Lost His Roar
- The Fish That Talked
- The Golden Goose
- The Leopard And The Sky God
- The Magic Porridge Pot
- The Scaredy Cat

 * She has finished all Usborne books from Level 1 to Level 4. However, I'm unable to type all the titles out here as I have cleared her books from the bookshelves for the new coming and sealed up the boxes of the books she has read. For more Usborne book information can visit their online catalog here.

Sesame Street:

- Elmo goes to the doctor
- Elmo's Tappin' Tunes
- Sesame Street I can make words
- Elmo's Play Day
- Opposite Day

Piccadilly Picture Book Library series:
- Conker and Nudge
- Little Croc and Bird
- One clever creature
- Zoe and the mermaids
- It's not fair!
- Kira the Koala
- The summer ball
- Fergus's secret
- Clown, bear and rabbit
- Best friends or not?

Ready-to-read (Level 2)
SpongeBob Squarepants:
- Man Sponge saves the day
- Vote for SpongeBob
- Who Bob what pants?
- Behold, No cavities!
- Trouble at the Krusty Krab!

Thomas and friends series:
- Thomas gets his own branch line
- Thomas and Toby
- Thomas and the castle
- Thomas and the magic railroad


Carrie and Carrot series:
- Carrot loves carrots
- Carrot goes to school
- Carrot gets lost
- 'Hicks!' Carrot has a hiccup!
- 'Click!' Carrot poses for the camera

First questions and answers (Science)
- Why does light bend?
- Why are mammals furry?

I Wonder Why series:
- Caterpillars eat so much

Dora the explorer Phonics Reading Program (Pack 1)

- Explore with Dora
- Isa's little fish
- Dora's Lost List
- Stuck in the mud!
- Friends out west!
- Hope you can come!
- Dora's show time!
- I missed you!
- Dora saves the game
- Dora Takes a hike
- At the beach
- Snowy day

Dora the explorer Phonics Reading Program (Pack 2)
- A great day for soccer
- Dance with Dora
- Super spies
- Zoom to the moon
- Through the woods
- Baby bird rescue
- Stuck Truck
- I love a parade!
- A walk to play park
- The circus comes to town
- The windy day
- Sail away

Touch and feel - Where's Dave?

Dora the explorer 
- Potty time with Big sister Dora
- Good manners for me and you

Little Fruits Series:
(Green apple books)
- The amazing slide
- Where is my egg?
- Neat and tidy
- In a row
- The rolling woolly ball
- The apples are asleep
- Let's go home!
- The bunny slippers
- Mummy's little helpers
 
(Blueberry books)
- Where is my home?
- Spring is here!
- Tubby bear's funny friends
- We are good friends
- Just like daddy
- Buster cat's new clothes
- The perfect home
- A school in the woods
- Thank you, mum!

Some other story books:

- Last Day, Hooray!
- What dads can't do
- Germs are not for sharing
- Barney Alphabet fun!
- Apples A to Z
- My Day from A to Z
- Little Einsteins - Christmas Wish
- Do like a duck does!
- Froggy's Day with dad
- A very Marley Christmas- God's big promises for kids
- Big and Busy Body
- K is for Kissing a cool kangaroo
- Down by the cool of the pool
- Jolly Olly Octopus
- Sesame Street - The three little Grouches
- Sesame Street - Rhyming Rapunzel
- Sesame Street - Read & Sing with Elmo
- Blue's Clues -  A present for Magenta
- Chuck & Friends - Unidentified rolling object
- Rabbit Ears
 
.... etc. I think I have to stop listing the books that she had read. I have to agree what my hubby said, vocabulary that she had learn are more important than the number of books she had read. I just keep buying books and don't have the time to list down anymore.

Let me try to recall what are the new words that she has learn:
1) syringe
2) reflex hammer
3) thermometer
4) atmosphere
5) measurement
6) complain
7) introduction
8) accidentally
9) etc

But the problem is, I can't keep track on her vocabulary too. She is good in phonetic so basically she can pronounce all the new words. For all the words that she picks up from the books are uncountable. My girl will read the signboards, notice, advertisement, menu, newspapers, magazines etc whatever words that can be seen by her when we go out. Basically we can't lie to her as she can read many instructions and know what is going on. For example, she will read out the signboard and tell us that's the toy's shop and she wants to go there.

Lately I have bought her many workbooks (Maths, English, Coloring, Chinese, IQ quiz etc) and guide her from time to time. She can read instructions and do the exercises by herself. I told my hubby "Teach your kid how to read, throw a workbook to her and we can have some peace!" :P

Well, it's true. Sometimes I was too lazy to read all the instructions as she can finish one whole workbook in one session. She will correct me if I have taught her wrongly, such as I told her to circle the correct answer but the instruction says to cross out the wrong answer. *sweat. I promised to be more careful  next time.

Would like to recommend the books below:
1) Reading Success Moral Story Book Series
- There are 2 stories in a book which comes with some after story exercises. The kid will be able to answer all questions if they understand the story. Total of 10 books in a set. Bilingual (English and Mandarin)

2) BrainQuest Workbooks Series

- Full color workbook which comes with stickers. My daughter just can't stop doing the exercises so that she can earn the stickers behind the book.

- Each book covers many topics. For Pre-K (P) has topics like ABCs, 123s, Phonics, Vocabulary, Shapes and Colors, Sorting and Matching, My World, Science, Fun and Games.

3) SE workbooks and Pelangi workbooks
- There are many types of workbooks for toddler and also kindergarten from these 2 local publishers. The prices are cheap and affordable compare to imported workbooks.

p/s: My princess has stopped using diaper in Sept 2013, that's her 45-month-old greatest progress.  I feel so proud of her. ^^