Elgarmummy.com

Author: Sarah

  • Why The Pram Does Not Work For Me

    Why The Pram Does Not Work For Me

    There has been a huge uproar about prams recently. A journalist complained in ST about children not in the prams, children who are too big for the pram and prams that carry only bags.

    I did not read the article earlier when friends started complaining about it on Facebook. However, when I read a rebuttal to the overuse of prams, I decided to read the original article. There was name-calling, which was very unprofessional. Different people have different opinions.

    el in pram

    I am just amazed how parents manage to get their children to remain in the stroller. Ever since they could walk, my children refuse to sit in the pram. They insist on walking, and within a short period of time, they only want to be carried. I end up having to push the stroller and carry them.

    They refused to be in baby carriers, and baby carriers hurt my shoulders and back anyway.

    gar baby carrier 1

    What does this mean? We seldom go out. We stay at home most of the time. Our backs hurt if they insist on being carried. Carrying a child and pushing a pram cannot be done easily.

    I am not exactly sure why they hate the pram. Maybe there are invisible bugs. I had used to push Gar to the library in the stroller when he was younger, but he would always come back with bites. Up till now, I have not figured out whether the bugs came from the stroller or the short trip.

    I dislike using the pram actually. There is never a straight path from the carpark to the place I want to go. I will strap my child into the pram from the car, push the pram to the stairs, unbuckle him, carry him using one arm, close the pram and carry the pram in another arm.

    Then, I need to open it again and strap the unwilling child again. Then I realise the lift is full. Or it does not stop on the levels I want to go. It has become a white elephant.

    It is hard to navigate the pram. I had unapologetic people who ram the prams into my ankles, which made me jump in pain, and I had also accidently rammed the pram into others, apologising profusely only to be greeted with dagger stares.

    That is why the pram does not work for me or my children, but that does not mean people can complain about others using the pram.

  • Garisms – Funny Quips from Gar

    Garisms – Funny Quips from Gar

    1. The Little Fireman
    Hubby to me: Take the air purifier to the room.

    Immediately, Gareth came running to the room with his fireman’s helmut. He heard ‘Fire’.

    gar fire
    2. The Big Issue
    Auntie: Ah Ma
    Gar: Big!
    Auntie: Ah Gong?
    Gar: Small
    Auntie: Auntie?
    Gar: Small
    Auntie: Yeye?
    Gar: Small
    Auntie: Mama?
    Gar: Small
    Auntie: Gar?
    Gar: Small
    Auntie: Ah ma, small?
    Gar: Big!

    3. Going Out
    I was taking El out to a play. Gar heard the word ‘out’ and immediately went to the shoe rack to show he was getting ready to go out.

    4. Wet T-shirts
    The moment Gar’s shirt or pants is wet, he will take them off immediately. That usually happens when water splashes onto him while he is brushing his teeth, or someone with wet hands tries to carry him. He will say, “Wet, wet!”
    He was very upset when his favourite pillow case with lions was in the wash. To calm him down, I had to say “wet, wet” before he reluctantly accepted it.

    5. Gar’s Very Efficient Speech I
    Gar has trouble catching every word we say, so sometimes he will say the first word and the last word, or sometimes the first syllable and the last syllable.
    We were putting stickers of baby animals on a book, and he had placed a sticker upside down.
    Me: It’s upside down.
    Gar: Up – Down
    Me: No, it’s up-side-down.
    Gar: Up – Down… Side!

    6. Gar’s Very Efficient Speech II
    Me: Elephant
    Gar: El -phant

    7. Gar wants to watch Qiaohu
    Qiaohu is a Taiwanese children’s show to teach Mandarin and other growing up tips, a little like Sesame Street and Barney. Qiaohu is a tiger who is in preschool. Gar likes to watch it after we introduced to him recently. We watch it on our Smart TV usually, so when he wants to watch, he will take the remote control to me, and do the weight lifting hand signal, which stands for Timothy Tiger. He also tries to say Qiaohu, but it usually comes out as Xiaohu, which means little tiger.

    One of the songs is ‘Wei Xian (Danger), Wei Xian, Stop!’, accompanied by hand actions – X for Wei Xian, and two hands reaching forward with palms at right angles up. He has also done that action to tell me to switch on the TV.

    Now we just keep singing that song when he tries to do something dangerous.

  • Visit To Australian International School

    Visit To Australian International School

    I had gone on a learning journey to an international school in Singapore. It is the Australian International School, situated at Lorong Chuan. I have always wanted to go into this building as I pass by it frequently.

    I am very impressed by the differentiated learning they provide for their students. Of course, there is no way we can compare with them because the class size is 20 on average, but I had entered classes with only three students to 9 students. It is way easier to prepare materials for the high and low ability students when you do not have so many scripts to mark. However, I do agree that you can start small, by just preparing something for one student.

    I like that they have a behavioral specialist for students on the spectrum and also for gifted children. Most schools in Singapore do not cater to the gifted students, thinking they can just learn on their own.

    With the rise of a maker movement, I am definitely impressed by their curriculum. They have design studios, 3D printers, dressmaking studios, cooking rooms, technical workshops and others, to encourage students to pick up practical skills to make things. I am not very dexterous, so such lessons would have been useful now.

    ais classroom decoration

    Their art studios, music studios and theatres are well-equipped and well decorated. I saw a lot of ukeleles hanging on the wall, a small computer lab for composing music, students identifying tonic and dominant chords and these are highly qualified teachers. They even have frequent recitals.
    ais noticeboards

    There is one-to-one computing, with all higher level students using MacBook and elementary students using iPads. This is a luxury that only the top schools could afford at the moment.

    Students work on their projects and print out their brochures in colour in the French classroom. Printers are available in the hallway and students do not misuse them! I really hope to have students who treat their materials and those of others respectfully.

    We did not get to sit in classrooms, but the pedagogy is probably not too different from others. Still teacher talk and students listen, but all the students were very well-behaved.

    Some of the students were very articulate. They explained to us what the objectives of the lessons were and showed us what they were working on. They also responded to questions. That is something we could learn, that our students really know what they are doing in the classroom.
    ais student explaining

    I enjoyed talking to some of their teachers about their experiences. Many had been in very tough schools, and they totally welcomed the discipline in this school.

    I really love the sporting culture in the school. Of course, Australia has traditionally a strong culture in sports. The students join various activities on their own accord and we do not have to chase them. Despite being hot in Singapore, the children are playing in the sun without a care during lunch time. When I asked about this, they said the intensity of the sun is far greater in Australia, so they do not mind the sun here. Sports they are strong in are rugby and table tennis. They have a swimming pool too.

    ais school field

    Something that caught me by surprise is the pride in their uniform. The boys wear ties everyday because they voted for it. As a result, male teachers had to change their dress code so that they would not look bad beside their students.

    It was heartwarming seeing 18-year-olds look after the kindergarten children as part of their volunteer work. I also saw photography students taking photos of the young children playing with lights. These are great moments that the students will remember.

    ais light show

    I really like the strong focus in academics and non- academic area but the fees are definitely way too high even if they are allowed to admit normal Singaporeans. At S$36k a year for the highest levels, it is more than the cost of my entire university education.

    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...