Beware...mum's bragging
This was the International Friendship Day. Kai was one of the host and he also shared about his best friend back in Singapore. Well, you can say I am bragging and yes, I admit I am bragging. Would any mum not brag if her child has been outstanding in his performance? Asians must break away from the 'cannot-praise-my-child' syndrome. I believe we should always give credit when due...no matter who they are.



Among the boys, he was the most eloquent speaker. I was very proud when the teacher beside me commented that he is a very confident speaker.

My constant nagging, "speak up, pronounce your words clearly, don't mumble..." pays off. It is good to nag alot sometimes *wink*

School event
I always look forward to the Annual School Project Fair. It is the time of the year where the students, from pre-school to grade 6, showcase their projects. Here are some of them...




Making use of recycled materials. Mother nature will be pleased to see these


We have glue stick,now a new invention, butter stick. I personally love this very much. I actually think it is a very sellable idea


Slide made from styrofoam and they even had a volcano park


This is Ann's project. This little cute bumble bee was done by her. Yes, all by herself. I am a very strong advocator of "your work, do it yourself". Parents must learn to let their kids do their own work. It is very sad to see near perfect work of parents displayed as student's work


Kai's class was pretty enterprising. Making use of the large crowd to raise funds for the Japanese who were affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Good to think out of the box!

This is home, truely
The much anticipated Singapore Day finally arrived. To have all the Singaporeans coming together, doing the Singaporean thing is very heart warming!


Every Singaporean event must have a goody bag!...and the best find in the goody bag is this chilli tapioca, my all-time favourite


Yes, I love Sing-a-pore!


A common bonding....Food Glorious Food!


Moses Lim is Tan Ah Teck, Koh Cheng Mun is Dolly....Irene Ang, Rosie! My favourite part of the whole programme



Seeing stars...ok, I am not their fan.


One big happy family!

When Kit Chan went on stage to belt out her song "Home", I just wanted to cry......

Home
Music & Lyrics : Dick Lee

Whenever I am feeling low
I look around me and I know
There's a place that will stay within me
Wherever I may choose to go
I will always recall the city
Know every street and shore
Sail down the river which brings us life
Winding through my Singapore

Chorus:
This is Home, truly
Where I know I must be
Where my dreams wait for me
Where that river always flows
This is home, surely
As my senses tell me
This is where I won't be alone
For this is where I know it's home

When there are troubles to go through
We'll find a way to start anew
There is comfort in the knowledge
That homes about its people too
So we'll build our dreams together
Just like we've done before
Just like the river which brings us life
There'll always be Singapore

Chorus:

What's cooking, mum?
I haven't stopped cooking, I haven't stopped baking. It just that, these days, I have become a "political watcher"!

Anyway, I went for a noodle-making class and this was what I learned...



This is call green onion fried noodles. My verdict - super yummy. Love the QQ texture.

Little this and that



It's a rose...transformed to a shopping bag!

Love these to bits! Here in SH, you have to pay extra to have your groceries packed into plastic bags. Very important to always have a shopping bag at hand. These little "roses" are great to stuff into my handbag!

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Guess what is this?

The fruit-seller at the wet market gave me this. It was a very pleasant surprise but a very good one for a Monday morning!


Ta-dah...囍糖(wedding sweet). He just came back from his village after getting engaged to his sweetheart and wanted to share his joy with me. Inside it was a kind of peanut candy.

This brought back sweet childhood memories. When I was little, every wedding dinner which my parents brought us to, always have these little tokens for the guests to bring home after the wedding dinner. It was often packed in this way. Some were packed in a pink wrapper. Also, remember those tiny little fruit cake wrapped in silver wrapper. Don't think that time they had aluminum foil.

Thanks for the memories and most of all, thank you for regarding me as your friend and not a "tai-tai" customer.

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Kai's Naruto range of potteries

Yeap, that's my boy's work. The best part about his pottery is that we all can use it. Mummy doesn't have to spend money buying cups!

Cultured, refined...
The school put up the Spring Concert in one of the most beautiful concert hall in SH. It was a great night out and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the programme.





Beautiful hall. In my opinion, it is even more beautiful that our very own Esplanade!

Before we left, many friends told us that this place is rich in culture and the fine arts. We should really take our time to savour it. Upon arrival, almost two years ago, a cultured and refined society was the last to be seen. Even kids are not spared. Little Ann was shoved just travelling on an escalator. Kai was invisible when he was q-ing to pay at the cashier.....DH commented that it could be due to the Cultural Revolution or even what happened during the Qin Dynasty that led to such behaviours. Perhaps, that is true... to a certain extent. However, someone once said, a person's determination to change for the better far exceeded the influence of society. This, I find so much truth. You steer your own ship, you look for your own destination. No one can change your journey if you insisted on your own way...even if your way is wrong.

Among the locals that I have crossed path with, I have met some real cutlured and refined people. These people hail mainly from the poorer provinces. All belong to the same country yet all are not the same. What is the reason behind it? Perhaps, when a society becomes richer and money becomes the main motivation for living, people become not so pleasant. The Bible is right to say "For the LOVE of money is the ROOT of all evil" (1 Tim 6:10)

Out of his comfort zone
Recently, I see a change in Kai's reading genre.

Kai used to love adventure, sci-fi, mystery, detective books. Basically those boy-kind of books. I have been urging, nudging, encouraging him to move out of those books. To read books that he could draw some life lessons from. He kept pushing them off, finding them 'boring'. Not that I find Percy Jackson, Narnia, Hardy Boys etc...bad. I just wanted him to widen his persective in life. After a long time, I finally see him stepping out of his comfot zone to try new things.

Last year, his class teacher shared with them, Ann Frank. He was very keen to get hold of the book. It is really not easy to find English books here and even if you do, you would probably be paying a lot more for it. Well, they do have an alternative but usually they are those popular trash novels, at least, to me.

Finally, we found it at a foreign bookshop. Kai read the Dairy of Ann Frank, something out of his usual genre. That was last year. After that, he was back to his usual books, then I went again, doing what mummies do best....nudge, nudge, "they are more nice books you know!"

Beginning of the year, his English teacher encouraged the class to read Totto-chan, The Little Girl at the Window. Just at the right time, we were heading back home for the Chinese New Year and we got hold of the book. For the last couple of months, he has read Wee Kim Wee, Glimpses and Reflections; Mitch Albom, For One More Day; George Orwell, Animal Farm and even William Golding, Lord of the Flies (scream)....I could see that he is beginning to enjoy books of a different kind. These days, he will always ask me what book am I reading, is it nice? I guess my own reading habit has also a part to play.

Sometimes, stepping out of our comfort zone is a good thing. The first step is always difficult but once the first step is taken, you will soon find out that the new zone, although not very comfortable, it is much nicer and richer.

This week, Kai came home with a book borrowed from the school library....a kiddy book by his standard


hahaha

"Why did you borrow this?"

"Easy reading and got pictures mah!"

If you are a parent or teacher reading this, remember never force your kid to do something, never shove knowledge down his throat. Encourage, motivate and most of all, walk the talk.