so he likes school.....phew

E was coughing again so we wanted to keep him at home, esp with cold weather and air-con at school. yesterday he didnt go to school, but today he really wanted to go so we let him go. i cant believe he's so excited to go to school. i'm quite happy about it. :-)

no school for 2 days

since E was coughing so much, we decided to keep him at home for 2 days. we asked the dr if it would be a good idea and dr said yes (to our relief as we're going to use dr as an excuse). his airways are fine, just the throat is quite sensitive so cough a lot and at home we can encourage him to blow his nose.

E was a little sad today, esp since his dad needs to go to office in the afternoon and missing school.

music music music

i'm not exactly musical, i cant even clap to the beat. we also dont have the music on most of the time. so for first 3.5yrs of his life, he's not exposed much to music - except for hubby and me singing him to sleep.

around 3.5yrs we send him to kindermusik at tanglin mall. he seemed to like it though he didnt really want to participate in singing etc. (he would sing chinese songs though) he was very keen on playing xylophone there and i wanted to buy him one but the teacher at the centre told me to wait till he start the 4yr old class. 

but at christmas, i just couldnt resist getting him one. we got him a cheat one that comes with the music sheets. i showed him how to follow the music sheet (which comes in numbers-and not do re me) to play on xylophone. in 2 weeks, he memorised the notes for songs (oh susanna, twinkle twinkle litte star, jingle bell) and started playing w/o looking at the sheet.

i knew then that i needed to do something quickly. so we signed him up for yamaha junior music course (JMC). it started on 3rd jan 09. he loves the course, he even does the actions for the songs. now they are learning to play do and re notes in the class.

at home he plays his keyboard day and night. its a really good baby-sitter for us. :-) he can now play a few songs from the list of songs that came with the keyboard. and he and his dad are racing to see who can play better w/o looking at the keyboard. (me? i'm allergic to hard work so i dont practice/play)

i sent him to music class because i thought it would be very hard for him. i wanted him to try and learn hard things, i didnt want him to have such a easy life where he learns things w/o much effort. but now....i'm facing another happy problem. 

should i get someone to teach him to play piano in parallel with JMC? i wonder if yamaha allows its teachers to give ad-hoc classes. now he's playing well but i think his finger positions are not right. taking him out of JMC is out of the question, because i really want him to mix with other kids and learn with them. 

new bike

i've been wanting to get him a bike since he was 2. but everytime i asked him he wasnt interested. and i wanted him to crave for it, dream about it and finally feel the joy of having it. so i was determined not to buy the bike if he didnt want it.

recently he showed some interest and was willing to try on bikes. oh we tried so many models and many times on the same models. we let him chose the bike he liked and it was so hard to find the one with the right feel. hubby was teaching him about cost and benefits of each bike. we have always been telling him that though we have money, it is limited and we must be careful on how and what we spend it on. 

E was so happy after we bought the bike. he begged me to let him bike to his school (which was about 3-4km away) the next day!! bike to school to in singapore? no way. but that showed he really liked him bike. 

skipping school.......

we're sick again. we seemed to catch sore throat often. and usually infection will go up to the nose and all the complications of blocked/runny nose will follow.

E had a fever last friday, we (all three of us - since we're all sick) saw dr on sat, wasnt better by monday so saw dr again. and i think we have to see the dr again tomorrow.

E really wanted to go for his music lessons on sat, and dr said ok as long as he had no fever. but we didnt sent him to class as he was overtired and really bouncing all about. so he napped at home instead. he was so much nicer to be with after the nap. 

monday, tuesday - i let him go to school since he was quite alright except for some runny nose and cough. i didnt want him to know that when you are sick you dont have to go to school. last week i was already having problem leaving him at school. i dont know why but he wanted me to stay for 2 days that i sent him on my own. i already have enough stress and i dont really need fake leg pains/tummy aches etc....

but his cough is getting worst. he even woke up in just now (after sleeping for an hour) because of cough. so i guess, i will be seeing the dr tomorrow and will keep him at home for 2 days. ummm......i wonder what i should tell him.......

i was told to stop teaching him at home........

we finally send him to school. he was ready, he liked the school and we liked the school. i think it was harder for me than for him on the first day. my son, 4yrs old and starting a kindy.

on the third day, his teacher told me he was snatching things and hitting other kids. i told her to purnish him and that we're perfectly ok with time-out as long as he wasnt shamed. i also told her that he may need things to occupy him and that i'd be happy to provide materials (not that i have any ready) so that he wont be bored at school. we also talked to him at home. after that, he stopped hitting and snatching.

a week after the school started, his teacher spoke to me again. she said, as i told her before E (my son) knows alot of things and is very advanced (her words, not mine) and if it would be possible for me to stop teaching him at home. what she didnt understand was his maths understanding is around primary 2-3 level. 

and no i cannot stop teaching him. after all, it is all him. the sums i give him always turn out too easy for him and not numerous enough. he usually write and do his own additions, multiplication. i dont even have time to check every single one. whatever intersts him he will just do and do and do. i did explain to her and she suggested he can bring a book of his choice to school. 

more than 4 weeks have passed since that "talk", are the things getting better? i'm not sure..............