Get ready to read: preschoolers (4 to 6 years old)

Keep focus on having fun with words and stories. A healthy vocabulary will help your child understand what they are reading once they start sounding out letters.

• Offer choices

Take out a few books and says, “which one should we read first?” letting him/her be the “book boss” helps him/her feel like he/she has a say in the activity.

• Use bigger words

Research shows having a larger vocabulary in the first grade leads to greater reading achievement.

• Go to library

Teach your child how to find and check out books.

• Check out street signs

Spotting them helps your child see how vital reading is in daily life.

• Show words in action

The next time you go grocery shopping, point out words on your list (“milk”) and on the item when you find it.

• Make connections

When your preschooler is ready to learn alphabet, help him/her to link between letters and objects. You might pull out magnetic letters B, D and F, along with a stuffed bear, a duck, and a frog, and see if your child can figure out which magnet goes with each animal.

• Create your own books

Ask your child to tell you a story, then write down on several piece of paper. Staple them together along one edge, and have them to illustrate each page.

Get ready to read: Babies and toddlers (below age of 3)

 

• Narrate the day

Talking to your baby may be the most important thing you can do to promote language development. Conversation helps your child become accustomed to hearing a stream of speech, and it stimulates the language pathways in their brain.

• Touch the text

For infants and toddlers, moving your finger under the words as you read them serve as a clue that those funny little symbols have meaning and are the source of the story.

• Be expressive 

Create distinctive voices for the characters in a story, and use sound effects (Bonk!) and exclamations (“oh!  No!”) Where appropriate.

• Let your toddler be the teacher.

Have him/her show a stuffed-animal friend how a book works. Then encourage your child to narrate the story from what they see in the pictures.

• Read with your child, not just for him/her

When you sit down with a magazine, give your toddler some broad books to look at too. You’re showing her/him that reading is important to you, and they’ll want to imitate you.

Bragging Kids

 Kids will sometimes gladly talk about how smart she or he is or all the things they can do better than their friends, such as drawing, reading or spelling. But for experts, bragging is normal. Kids are trying to figure out the differences between themselves and others, so they measure their talents, accomplishments, and materials possessions against those of their peers. Use these tips below to help limit your child’s “I’m awesome” talk. 

• Show and tell

Many 5 and 6 years old kids don’t really understand what word brag means or why they shouldn’t do it. Start the conversation by explaining what bragging is and why it can be hurtful. Try to tell them, “Bragging is when you talk about all the cool toys you own or how you can do something better than your friends. It can make people feel bad because they may not have the same toys or be able to do things the same way you can.”

Try reading books like “Well, I can TOP that!” , by Julia Cook, or “I’m the best”, by Lucy Cousins. Or, role-play different scenarios and ask your child “How do you think?” or “How would you feel” This can help your child identify bragging and understand how it impacts everyone involved.

• Watch your words

Clearly, kids follow their parents’ lead. So practice humility and resist comparing your child with others kids or siblings. That’s not to say you can’t praise your child; however, constant “Good job!” compliments can become meaningless over time and cause children think they deserve feedback about everything. Instead, be specific with your praise and emphasize effort rather the end result.

• Focus on the goal

A child with healthy self-esteem makes himself feel good, whereas a boastful child rely on the feedback of other to give himself a boost. So, if you hear your child bragging, think about what he trying to accomplish.

The Do’s and Don’ts of internet Safety for Kids

  You taught your child to look both ways before she crosses the street. You strap her bike helmet on securely every time she goes for a ride, and you buckle her seatbelt before you take off in the car.

      And that’s exactly why you should never let her venture into wide world of the internet without taking proper safety measures. Follow these do’s and don’ts for computer, cell phone, and tablet use to help make the web a safe environment for your child.

DO

• Keep personal information private. Teach your child never to share her name, address, phone number, or any passwords or photo on line.

• Surf together.When you spend time with your child online, you can oversee her activities and talk with her when potentially dangerous situation arises. Make sure the devices she uses are in a common area of your home so they’re in your view.

• Protects your family’s devices. Some antivirus software (e.g. Norton) protects each device your family uses from online threats and helps your kids enjoy the internet safely and securely.

• Communicate. Make sure your child knows to tell a parent or a teacher if she feels uncomfortable about anything she sees online.

DON’T

• Use public chat rooms. Teach your child that, just as in real life, it’s not safe to talk to or “friend” with strangers. Keep her online chatting to friends and family members you know.

• Trust blindly. Educational programs and apps are not necessarily risk-free. Test them out before you let your child use them. Is there advertising? Can she click a button accidentally make a purchase? Use parental controls and pay close attention to the apps she uses.

• Bend the rules. Your child should not make purchases or download apps without your permission. Make sure she knows the rule is that Mom or Dad has to be the one clicking “buy”, “download”, or “install”.

Draw with your kid...

Should we send a 3 years old children to an art class? For me, the answer is no. My daughter joined the art class on her age of 7.

There is a lot that goes into drawing ability. Self-confidence is one of them. Believing that you can draw as well as enjoying the act of drawing are MORE important than technical drawing skills. So, for the young children is more important to help them hold on to their self-confidence (in art specifically, but also in general) and enjoyment of art.

Below are some ideas I would like to share, some learnt while teaching my daughter, some learnt from reading (books, articles or blogs);

 1. Don’t ever denigrate yourself or your own drawing abilities.

Draw with your kid. If you sit down and draw and doodle beside her (and I think you should at least once in a while!), don’t say, “I can’t draw.” Doodle squares, circles, spirals, hash marks, letters, and whatever else you think of across the page. Enjoy the process. Keep your pencil moving. Whatever. But don’t utter the words, “I can’t draw” in front of your child. Children learn by example.

2. Be conscious of how you talk to your child about the art she makes.

My default is to ask children to tell me about the story of their artwork. If your child is a young three, she might not be assigning meaning to her art yet, but as she gets closer to four, she will likely be more and more elaborate with the stories that go along with her art.

3. Make art fun and exploratory.

Keep your child’s art activities as process oriented as possible at this age. Try not to expect particular outcomes but rather encourage her to explore the art materials, ideas, and techniques in her own way. Introduce new materials and techniques, but also stand back and let her explore art on her own in her own way.

4. Keep your art activities appropriate for her age and developmental stage.
I don’t think that teaching a child “how to draw” is appropriate at age three. You can guide her through the occasional observational drawing exercise if you like, preferably in a way that is as much about observing as it is about drawing. But the most important thing at this age is to encourage open-ended exploration of art materials, self-confidence, and enjoyment in art and learning.

If you really want to try an art class with your young child, I would suggest looking for one that is focused on age appropriate which is an art program for toddlers and preschoolers.

However, an art class for young children may be a good idea for other reasons.

1. It might provide you with ideas and instructions for more art activities to do with your daughter at home.

2. It might expose your child to more materials and activities than she has at home.

3. You and your child might enjoy the social aspect of the art class.

4. The art class might provide messy art experiences that you might not feel comfortable providing at home.

Drawn in kindergarten

In drawing class

In drawing class

In drawing class

In drawing class

Drawn in school holiday

Flying pants (drawn in school holiday)

Drawn in school holiday

Drawn in school holiday

Penang interactive museum and batu ferringhi beach...

09 June 2014

During this mid-year school holiday, we plan to take a one day tour around Penang island. After breakfast, our first destination is Penang interactive museum.  This "made in Penang" Interactive Museum is the first 3D art or trick art museum in Penang, Malaysia, which launched on the 1st of November 2013. It is the latest attraction in Penang with the aims to promote the history of Penang.

This museum is in the sprawling Behn-Meyer Building in Weld Quay near the ferry terminal. When you first walk-in you can see a mural 33m long and 10m high along the alleyway of the building. The mural depicts Weld Quay in the early 19th century when it was a bustling port used by the English and the Germans.

On the ground floor is an exhibition of clay and plaster figurines that showcase the culture and history of Penang. There is also a 10m long model Weld Quay in the early 1900s. It offers 34 giant 3D art pieces in the second floor that are not only creative but also tell stories about Penang lifestyle, culture and history.

For kids, they are really having fun on 3D art pieces in the second floor.

For More Information,
Made in Penang Interactive Museum Facebook
Address: No. 3 Pengkalan Weld, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.
Opening Hours : Daily 9 am – 6 pm.
Admission Fee : Adults RM 15 (with Mykad), Children RM 10 (with Mykad), Adults RM 30 (without Mykad).
Tel : 04 2626 119

After that, we went to Gurney Plaza to take a break, having lunch and shopping. Then the next destination was Batu ferringhi Beach... Relax and having fun there....

A day in Kidland

23 May 2014

  One week before we go to kidland, my daughter get so excited. Although this is the first visit, but we already know what we actually can do inside the kidland.

Entrance of Kidland

After breakfast, we reached 1st Avenue shopping mall around 10am. We used the link bridge to go into Pragin Mall. Kidland located at 4th and 5th floor of Prangin Mall.

Map of Kidland

The time we walked inside the kidland, hmm... quite "empty". I mean most of the less popular jobs being empty and without

any staff standby there. Another reason maybe we went on weekday, less customer,less staff. But the point is we paid the "full amount".

 Most popular ones are the Fireman, Police, Band and Doctor.

Besides different stations for role play, there is also a big indoor playground for the kids and a 5D theater. The mini 5D theater is fun, my daughter play twice in there.

The radio station and bomb disposal is under maintenance? For 30,000sq.ft, there are only 2 toilets each for male and female.

I don't think we will come again until some improvement have been made.

The most important thing is "at least" my daughter enjoy her visit here and get to know some new friends.