Sit Down Patience

I know eventually Leah would need to handle worksheets. At some point of time there is no escape. Lol. Two stages of her Primary education requires her to sit for formal examinations. One at Primary 4 which is the year she turns 10 & the other is at Primary 6 where she turns 12.

I don't feel worksheets are all that bad. I think the key is balance. Also it helps in cultivating "sit down" patience. When Leah turned 3, I felt that she was emotionally & cognitively equipped to learn how to control herself. We started with just ten minute blocks daily. Doing simple activities, reading, doodling etc. All while sitting at her little desk. 

Simple colouring activity on identifying colours. Plenty of awesome free printables online.

Letter recognition

Embarking on her first assessment book. Lucky her we can across a cut & paste activity which absolutlely delighted her. She actually surprised us with her level of concentration & so after a couple of weeks we were up to 20 minute blocks per session.

Doesn't every toddle just love cutting, tearing & pasting? 

This was more than a year ago. Right now at 4.5 years old, she is able to sit for at least 30 minutes & she absolutely loves doing worksheets. However we pace things out. At this moment, sit down time comprises of some worksheets, puzzles & table activities. Still learning as we go along - both of us. :)

"Have patience with all things,  but first of all with yourself".

Wall Art

Artistic activities play an important role in self-expression in children. It gives them the freedom to express their thoughts, ideas & emotions. The time came for us when Leah was around 2 plus. We wanted her to have a space where she could get messy & just explore. So up came the DIY wall easel!

We still weren't sure what would work for us & what wouldn't but we had to start somewhere.

Plastic sheet up the wall & mahjong paper onto the plastic sheet. Simple & plenty of space to splash paint around.

This was Leah's first art piece. Love that she chose bright happy colours!

We have since updated the art space & ended up buying a Crayola art easel. Was alot easier to manage. Some pictures of the coming up soon.

"Every artist was first an amateur".

Ruffles

Uncle Iggy & Auntie Pearlyn drops by for a visit & brings their doggy, Ruffles along. Leah has always asked for a puppy & has an immense love for all sort of animals. Imagine her excitement knowing Ruffles was coming for a visit! After spending a good amount of time trying to carry Ruffles (poor fella) & walking him around, we got home & Leah very excitedly tells me that she'd like to make a kennel for her toy dog which happens to look exactly like Ruffles!

I guess homeschooling moms are always ready for craft work!

Managed to dig up an iherb box, cut it up into shape whilst Leah started cutting out coloured shaped for decorating.

Plenty of cutting & pasting!

Final touch ups with some stickers & ta-daaaaa!!!!!

Of course not forgetting our little mei mei, Anna who sat around trying to "help" & sealed the deal by putting Ruffles into his new home upon completion!

G for Guitar

Throwback to when Leah was 3 somewhere last year. Me busy breastfeeding Anna whilst Leah was busy with her foam letters & a bunch of knick knacks. Next thing I knew, she turned to me & said, "Look Mommy! I made my own guitar. "G" for guita & a hair tie to strum it!"

The very unique guitar.

Leah strumming her home-made guitar!

Of course I'm an extremely proud Mommy. It's these simple achievements that amaze me. Sometime when we leave our children alone with themselves & only themselves, they will suddenly catch us by surprise & remind us in their own little ways that every moment is a learning moment.

PIcking A Preschool Curriculum

In my opinion, the most stressful thing about homeschooling is picking a curriculum. There are soooo many choices out there that you end up with a fear of picking the "wrong" curriculum & basically screwing up your child's education. Alot also depends on which route you are taking - classical education or the unschooling method (more on these later). So, in my quest for looking for the "perfect" preschool curriculum, I had to stop & remind myself of why I decided to homeschool in the first place. I had to remind myself not to let curriculum choices overwhelm me & that really I am my child's best teacher. Curriculum is there to aid me & not to take over my role.

With that, I switched my search. I looked for something that suited Leah's learning style instead. For a preschooler at only 3, she was already pretty "defined". I knew straight away I needed plenty of books. After discussing with the husband, we decided on Sonlight. Sonlight's preschool curriculum is simply story based. Everything circled around the story you are reading.

 In actual fact, I think I started customising my own curriculum from the start. I used Sonlight's curriculum alongside with all the other books & activities that I had planned based on Leah's interest, learning style & really what makes her smile.

Our Sonlight teacher's guide that came along with the preschool set. Not very thick & with simple instructions alongside with each story.

Puzzles, music, crayons & not forgetting a nice little prayer book.

Our huge stack of books! Super excited when they arrived. 

This was a year ago by the way & we are STILL reading these stories. There are some awesome classics that you can never get tired of & everytime we read them, it feels different. 

At the end of the day, it is really about our children. Don't get overwhelmed by the curriculum choices. Pick the curriculum & don't let the curriculum pick YOU!

Happy learning everyone!

Birth of Our Children

Both my pregnancies were not easy rides. While other pregnant women glowed & basked in the sunlight, enjoying cravings, pregnancy photoshoots etc, I had to battle with pre-natal depression. I suffered extreme nausea right from the start of my pregnancy to the end. Ended up hospitalised from dehydration for a couple of days. I also remember being nausea even the day before I delivered Leah. I spent many many days of my pregnancy crying my eyes out. Worrying I might split open right up to my anus from pushing to hard. Worrying I might die in labour and my baby would end up motherless. I only survived it all because of my extremely patient and supportive husband - and God's grace.

The husband hired a pre-natal yoga teacher to do house-calls once a week & together with my yoga teacher, they taught me how to meditate. I braved through pre-natal depression because of this. And for that I will always be grateful to my yoga teacher - War War, who needless to say has now become one of my soul mates. :)

Looking back now, I know I have no right to complain or whine about my experience. God blessed us with two beautiful & healthy girls. I have also recovered really well from childbirth (no I did not split open up to my anus) & we are doing great as a little family of four. So really, who am I to complain? God is great & he has been really good to us. He continues to shower his blessings upon our family & is always ever forgiving of all the parenting mistakes we make.

I don't know of any other way to show him my gratitude besides taking special care of his little children, bringing them up to know him, love him & praise him. To speak his name often & become Christ-like (plenty of homework for the non-church going Mummy!). This learning journey to be honest, is as much mine as it is for the kids & I am grateful to God for giving me that ability.

Thank you God. For everything.

Beginning Thoughts

I never dreamt of having kids much less to become a stay at home mom AND homeschool! But oh well, God works in mysterious ways and I guess this is the path he has planned out for me. The path of motherhood.

Looking back at the past, it all seems so surreal. All those late nights of clubbing, getting drunk, and just basically having hell of a lot of fun with my friends. I don't regret any of those (maybe just some) just because I feel it has all played a part in preparing me to be the mother I am supposed to be (more on that later).

So anyway, this blog is to document. My journey with my little family. My babies and their education. Life is too short. One of my greatest fears as a mother is to die young and leave my children motherless. I've had this fear from the day I got pregnant right up to today. You could say this fear puts me on a rat race to love, educate and prepare my children for their life ahead without me (whenever that may be but hopefully much much later). God only knows when and I know he will handle the rest when that time comes. For now, the time is mine. And I will take what he gives me and give it my all.

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing".