a new effective way to cultivate good habits in Renzo

When Renzo was 1.5 years old, he was reciting 三字经 together with us, he could not memorize 100% and his articulation wasn't really clear, of course he couldn't possibly understand a single word of it but I thought that was a pretty good start, to expose our little boy to some ancient, traditional Chinese Confucian classics, which might help him to learn morality, especially filial piety and respect for the elderly.

We did not pursue further to teach him more about it, because I personally feel that  三字经 focuses quite a lot on elements of Chinese history, which is not as relevant to his development at this stage. So instead, I started teaching him 弟子规 since he turned 4 last week. It is another book based on the ancient teaching of Chinese Confucius, that emphasizes the basic requisites for being a good person and guidelines for living in harmony with others.

It's amazing to see some pretty good result after Renzo started learning and reading 弟子规 for just a few days.

For example, after I explained "晨则省, 昏则定", meaning, in the morning I will greet my parents and at night I will wish them a good night, Renzo went to our helper and asked, "Aunty Jonalyn, may I have water please?" in a super polite tone, and after he finished the water, he returned the cup to our helper and said "Thank you Aunty Jonalyn, GOOD NIGHT!"

I bet that's the first time Renzo took the initiative to say Good Night to someone.

And nowadays when he's not behaving well, I could simply remind him to go and read his  弟子规, he will LISTEN, and FOLLOW without making any fuss at all!!

Now, he could read the first few verses fluently on his own, indeed, he understands and remembers these verses very well. Because when I asked him, 父母做什么，你要“须敬听"? (what do parents do, you will listen respectfully?), he answered immediately, "父母教, 须敬听 mummy!" (When my parents instruct me, I will listen respectfully).

Here's a video of him reading "父母呼 应勿缓 父母命 行勿懒 父母教 须敬听 父母责 须顺承"

Confucius emphasized that the basic moral values and virtues should be first taught to a child since young. Those values are to respect elders, respect brothers and sisters, respect wife and husband, respect the society and lastly respect the country as a whole. We often question why kids nowadays have no respect for anyone, I think probably it's because these great values are not instilled into their minds from young, instead we focus too much on creativity, imagination, self-esteem, or even academic records. I would strongly recommend 弟子规 to parents, have fun reading and learning together with your kids!!

best ever "job" offered to Renzo's parents? hopefully....

After we moved to our new house in Pasir Ris for almost 3 months, I finally have some time to think through one unsolved question that has been bothering us for the longest period of time:
Which primary school should we send Renzo to??

I still couldn't believe I had the courage to read up on the tedious Primary One Registration Exercise procedure 2 years ago, when Renzo was not even 2 years old. But somehow I felt my hard work gets paid off now, because it didn't take me too long to come to the conclusion this time, surprisingly my decision is exactly the same as before:
 
And on August 13, 2012, I received the best ever "job offer" from that first choice school, I am accepted as a parent volunteer with the school!!!!!!

Why do I consider PV (parent volunteer) for this school?
- the school has a history of balloting for those staying within 1km, and we are staying between 1-2km, as long as we fall under Phase2C, we will have to go through balloting. In order to have a peace of mind before P1 registration madness drives me nuts in 2016, I have to secure a space for Renzo under Phase2B
- it is a good way to understand the school better, as I will be working directly with the teachers, students, and other parents. I have heard about parents not sending kids to the school of choice eventually because they have different views about the school's culture and environment after getting to know the school more through PV work
- the school is 5 bus stops away from our house, and there are 5 direct buses going there
- the school has an in-house student care service, although there's no guarantee we could enroll Renzo as there's limited space, at least there is a possibility for us to leave him there without worrying about what is he going to do at home after school, and our helper will be able to focus on housework and fetching Rynus from childcare center by then
- some popular schools do not guarantee a seat for those staying far, even if parents clock a total of 600 hours parent volunteering work instead of the standard 40 hours. I am not exaggerating, read it here. At least the school we are interested in is willing to take in all applications under Phase2B based on history, so why not?
- the 2nd choice for us is also a good choice in actual fact, academic record is not my priority but I do have a 1st choice in mind for various reasons, I want to try my best at least so I won't regret one day

 Then on August 19, just today, a piece of news with regards to Primary One Registration Exercise has been announced, and I got some information to share from these 2 different resources, talking about the same thing of course, on MOE site, and todayonline.

I gobbled up a pack of Loacker's hazelnut cream wafer (30g/154kcal) right after reading this news, seriously, I was lost, and stressed out.

After some further readings and checking with my fellow mummy friends, I figured out that there's really nothing much I should worry about at this stage. What does this piece of news mean and what kind of actual impact it will have for Phase2B, I have no idea and I believe it takes time before I could have a clearer picture. Whether Renzo is able to get into this school under Phase2B, I am not sure, but I definitely can't wait to start clocking my hours and getting to know more about the school that hopefully my sons, or even their children will be studying at in years to come!!

Little Renzo is 4!!!!

Almost 13 years ago, when I fell in love with Daddy Chan, I thought he must be the last man I love in my life.. I was wrong.. When we welcomed Renzo Chan into our lives on August 12, 2009, I learned what is "love at first sight", it still feels like just yesterday. And today, our baby Renzo, turns FOUR.

The past four years have been the most fun, exhausting, and memorable years of my life. Our Renzo has made me a better person. Why I said so? Because my dear boy, you have taught (or should I say trained) me to be a mummy, probably the most challenging role in the world!!

Over the years, I've changed from someone who's afraid of lighting a match, to a mummy who can whip up a hearty meal for the family despite tight work schedule; from someone who enjoys 10 hours of beauty sleep at night, to a mummy who is very used to 3 to 7 times of wake-ups at night, with a total of 6 hours disrupted sleep daily, for a continuous 2.5 years; from someone who thought not having a baby girl is a tragedy in life, to a mummy who appreciates, adores and cherishes boys much more; from someone who has zero tolerance to any kind of noise made by kids, to a mummy who thinks every action from kids (okay honestly, my kids only) is cute and sweet; from someone who cried for help during confinement month, to a mummy who is so confident in taking care of little ones and even dream about opening a childcare center. And most importantly, you gave me the courage to bring another beautiful baby boy, Rynus Chan, to our family. The "curse and swear" of never wanting another baby after that 17 hours of painful labor, became nothing, compared to all the joys and laughter you've brought to us.

We are so blessed to have you in our lives little Renzo, even though you are growing up far too quickly,  we are so lucky to be the ones to love, nurture and watch you grow into a lovely little man!