26 months and 25 days old

27 February 2015

Today is free and easy learning time and we will be reading from Peter and Jane Series from Ladybird. This series is introduced by my FIL as he said this series is quite good for kids to learn. Prices are not cheap as the book are pretty thin,  i think it cost us SGD 30 plus for this 6 books. Well, knowledge is priceless so we just gotta make full use of the books and look after them carefully so that the kids won't tore them up...

Our collection of Peter and Jane Series from Ladybird

The series starts with learning words and then slowly forming sentences. Later on, when the kids are bigger, they can learn spelling as well.

Book 1a (simple words)

Book 1b (sentences)

Book 1c (spelling)

For XX, i start with slowly learning book 1a, we read about 5 pages today, learning words and some short sentences. He is rather lazy and keep distracted while we are reading (keep eyeing his iPad as he was watching movie before i asked him to do reading). Manages to read about 5 pages, let him rest and we will continue again maybe later on or another day.

Key words to learn in book 1a

Key words

Short sentences

Longer sentences

Weekend is here and have a great weekend everyone. This weekend we are going back to Malaysia to visit XX's grandma and grandpa. Next week will be a busy week for us as mummy has doctor's appointment and will be working for 2.5 days. So, we might be posting less next week....Meanwhile, happy learning everyone as everything around us can be a great classroom and not just paper, worksheet or books :)

26 months and 24 days old

26th February 2015

It is Thursday again and today we will be learning shapes. XX can point to the correct shapes when i asked him which one is triangle, circle etc.. most of the time anyway...

But when i asked him what shapes is this? He can only answer 'triangle" as usual...

Today's worksheet

We started with recognising the shapes and then proceed to choosing colour to colour the same shapes with the same colour. Surprisingly, XX took out the correct "RED" colour when i asked him to choose red from a pile of his colour pencil.. not sure if it is just coincidence or he really can recognise RED colour (as those who followed us so far will know that COLOURS is definitely not XX's forte). Well, mummy is excited cause he choose the correct colour (like all mummy does) so I am quite happy :)

Finally, worksheet is done and this is what he had done. Look how he kinda draw triangles inside the huge triangle, quite a good control of his hand i must say for his age.... Well, mummy is proud of u darling :)

Finished worksheet

26 months and 23 days old

Hi all,

For those celebrating Chinese New Year, we hope that everyone had a good break.

We had a great time reunion-ing with family (both paternal and maternal), have 2 reunion meals (lunch at maternal side and dinner at paternal side). XX had a good time collecting red packets (ang pao) from relatives and friends, having chinese new year goodies and visiting relatives with oranges. XX will goes Blessed New Year while handing out his mandarin oranges....This year XX enjoyed Chinese New Year much more compared to last year where he is still "blur blur" and unsure what is going on. 

We also went on a half day trip to Pulau Ubin to cycle and enjoy the greeneries... 

Now QQ jie jie is back to school and XX will be starting his "home lesson" too... 

Today we will be learning "COLOURS" again... for those who has been following XX's learning journey, you will know that COLOURS is definitely not XX's forte... 

Well, we still gotta start slow somewhere. Recently the kids water bottle has been leaking, probably cause they have been throwing them around , so we changed to new ones...So , will be learning colours from the bottle...

Today XX learn BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE and WHITE... well, i would say still need more improvement but slightly better. Will keep reinforcing these few colours each time before XX drinks from his bottle :) 

Colourful water bottles

26 months and 9 days

11th February 2015

OBJECTIVE: Recognising colour by relating to daily life items

It is COLOURS day again today. My headache...If you guys followed my blog post, you will know that XX can only recognise PINK. The rest is always just "shake head". 

Today am trying a new approach, as usual can recognise all the pink items. Then , i pointed out to the "black" plate and tell XX this is "black" colour, just like mummy's hair. We try that for a few things but XX doesn't seem to be able to remember during this session. Well, at least i try, let me try and do it during our daily conversations and see if that helps.

Colours

Tomorrow we will be going to Science Centre and Friday will be out shopping for CNY stuff. Next week will be CNY week so we will be taking a break, so we will see you guys on Wednesday 25th February 2015!

Have a great Chinese New Year!

26 months and 8 days

10 February 2015

Today we are learning NUMBERS again. XX has been quite good in counting 1-12 so far.

OBJECTIVE: Counting, recognising number and writing.

As Valentine is approaching, we are counting LOVE SHAPES today.. in 5, 6, 7 and 8.

XX starts with counting the LOVE shapes and then recognising how the number looks like. After that i hold XX's hand and we write the number together. Towards the end, XX was pretty impatient, wanted to start colouring but i asked him to finish writing first.

Worksheet (Before)

And here are our finished worksheet.

Worksheet (After)

Wishing everyone a great Valentine Day :)

26 months and 3 days old

5th February 2015

Today XX requested to play with "play dough". Not exactly a great tool for learning shapes but XX does get to mould the play dough into different shapes and stacking them. So, i agreed for him to play with "play dough" but first he has to learn some COLOURS first...

Went through all 9 colours as shown but unfortunately, XX didnt recognise any of them... oh no, i must really work hard on colours. I was a little worried that XX is colour blind but he can recognize PINK all the time and though he can't recognise the colour, he would point to an object similar in colour when i ask him what colour is this... so i guess it is ok, i do need to observe him more and make sure he is really not colour blind.

Colour (part 1)

Colour (part 2)

Colour (part 3)

After XX unsuccessful colour learning, XX played happily with his sister QQ (QQ is at home today cause she is down with fever) so both of them happily play the play dough until my floor all dirty..."sweat"

Play dough

Tomorrow will be working again and Monday will need to run an errand, so we will see you guys on Tuesday to learn NUMBERS :)

26 months and 1 day old

3rd February 2015

It is Tuesday and we will be learning NUMBERS today. Today we will be learning numbers using a Leap Frog Toy.

Objective: To learn numbers through playing.

First, XX has to learn to recognize each number on the octopus' shoes. Then XX has to count the animals on the shoes... e.g.: How many tortoise, how many crabs etc...

Next XX can start playing by playing a ball (that comes with the toy) into the hole. Then XX has to guess which shoes the ball has gone into...Quite fun to keep opening up each shoes and checking if the ball is there....

Octopus with Shoes

Little shoes

Played for a while, then it is some free and easy play time. XX playing "cooking", he even took a puppet penguin and pretend to use it as a gloves to hold hot pot from his "stove"...

Tomorrow mummy will be working so we will see everyone on Thursday. Join us for our fun shapes Thursday!

26 months old

2nd February 2015

XX is officially 26 months old today. Chinese New Year is approaching so today we are going to make some cookies.

Objective: Read ABC book like what we did last week and then XX will be training his motor skill in helping mummy making cookies.

We started with reading the ABC book that we read last week. More or less XX recognise the same things like what he did last week, he did surprise me with the word KITE. XX said this is kite, the one Princess Sophia was playing and the kite fall down... (so KITE is something he learn from watching the show Sophia The First. I think although many parents was pretty much against watching TV, I do think that my kids learn quite a bit from TV show... lots of English words for example. But of course everything must be done in moderation. I wasn't too worried about XX cause he is not someone that could sit down forever watching tv, he gets bored after a while and then will go and play his toys or read a book)

After our weekly ABC learning, it is time to play with some "dough". I was busy making peanut cookies while XX was given some dough to shape into anything that he likes. He makes dog and carrot... do u think it is alike? hehe! XX was very patience when he is shaping so I guess this activity can train toddler to be more patient as well.

On top: Dog, Below: 2 carrots

Proud little chef

Pop the dough into the oven and it is done. Time for a little snack :)

It is done... snack time :)

For those who is interested in the recipe for the peanut cookies, this is the link! Enjoy!

25 months and 27 days old

29th January 2015

Objective-Learning and sorting shapes

Today we will be learning a few shapes and to sort them accordingly. 

First, I pointed to each shape and asked XX what shapes are they... XX can only recognise TRIANGLE. 

For SQUARE and CIRCLE, XX shakes his head and says don't know what are they... BUT he took the correct shape from the pool of blocks and says "This is This" referring square to the square block that he holds in his hand... Pretty smart way.. I can't say he is wrong ....

So, explained to XX the shapes and then proceed to spelling the shapes.

Activity of the day

Then XX starts sorting out the blocks of shapes onto the respective paper....Look at his attentive look. Love when XX is serious in learning...(Cause he will usually monkey-ing around)

Time to sort

And it got all sorted in no time...

All sorted :)

XX enjoyed this game as well and played 2 more times. The next 2 rounds, I chose the shapes and XX has to say the correct shapes before I passed him the shape to be placed onto the correct paper. At the end of the session, XX can recognise square on top of triangle. Still need to work on circle and other shapes...

Tomorrow we will be going to post office as mummy needs to run some errand so will be explaining to XX how to send a letter. 

XX will be learning ABC with everyone again this coming Monday. Stay tuned!

25 months and 26 days old

28th January 2015

Objective-learning colour via mini games (sorting ball into respective coloured container). 

Today is Wednesday and it is COLOUR day. Today we are going to learn via mini games.

First I pointed to each container and asked XX what colour are they. XX only manage to recognise PINK as usual. We then proceed to learn each colour and also learn how to spell them. XX patiently repeat after me. 

Assorted colours container for the balls

I then explained the rules of the games. XX will choose a ball in the pool of balls, tell me what is the colour and then place the ball into the correct container. 

I am sure everyone can guess which ball XX chose first. Yes, it is PINK!!!! Happily XX said PINK and then place it into the container. XX then proceed to choose all the PINK. After that was a little unsure which one to choose. He will choose one colour, unsure what it is, i will let him know the answer, he then place the ball into the container and choose the same colour until he is finished with that colour. Quite smart i must say...

Balls to be sorted

After a while, it is all sorted out :)

Sorted :)

Close up-Sorted :)

XX wanted to play second round, so I changed the rules a little. I will choose the ball, XX has to say what colour and place them into the container. Now, he is a little better, can recognise PINK and some of the GREEN. He then place them into the container, although was a bit loss at times cause have to slowly look at the ball (cause each time is different colour) and then choose the container (not as easy as first time round). 

XX was quite happy playing this mini games (we played 3 rounds- for the 3rd round i added spelling too before passing the ball to XX) and I am glad he can learn better than just on paper like what i used to do.

25 months and 25 days old

27th January 2015

Objective- learning to count and recognise numbers.

Today is NUMBERS day again. This is XX activity sheet...

Activity sheet-before..

First thing XX says is "Apple"... and I said yes, today we are counting apples. We proceed to count and then I will point to the numbers and say " this is how number 1 looks like". Did that for all the numbers. I then hold XX hand and we trace the number together while reading it. XX commented why we didn't trace the first number, and i answered cause I have written that for u as a reference.

Afterwards, XX get to choose 4 colours to colour the respective apples in the box. He choose red, dark green, orange and light green. Recently his colouring skills improved, instead of randomly colour, XX manages to colour inside the apples most of the time.

Activity sheet-after..

25 months and 24 days old

26th January 2015

I hope everyone had a great weekend. XX spend his Saturday morning playing at home with his elder sister QQ and after his afternoon nap, we went for dinner and ice cream treat for the kids. We usually order junior scoop for the kids and let them choose their own flavour so that they start to learn to make choices since young. 

On Sunday, we went to church and at night we had movie time with the kids after dinner. We watched Rise of the Guardian which is the kids current favourite movie (finally the Frozen Crave had toned down...). The kids particularly like the part whereby Jamie's sister played at the stairs while saying "Easter bunny, hop hop hop" and they like to mimic that part...

Objective: To learn ABC and recognising pictures.

And so today XX will be learning ABC and we will be learning via ABC hard cover book with lot of colours and pictures. I will be pointing to the alphabets and XX will repeat after me. He then will also try to recognize the picture and say what the items are...

XX can recognise quite a bit now... from apple, ball, elephant, orange, hat, ice cream etc... 

I was surprise that XX can recognise parrot instead of saying "bird". 

Mini ABC book I used

And XX also said "Queen Elsa" when i pointed to Queen.... (residue from Frozen Crave) which I then corrected and say it is Queen Daisy.. haha!

Queen Daisy

25 months and 20 days old

Objective: Learning shapes and colour the same shapes with the same colours

22nd January 2015

Today we will be learning shapes. Started to point to the shapes and ask XX what are these shapes? He can recognize "triangle, star", mistaken circle as square and can't recognize the rest.

So i re-inforce and teach XX the respective shapes, repeatedly. 

Afterwards, i took 3 colours out and ask him to pick up one of the colour that i mention. Eg: take out blue, red and green. Asked XX which colour is red, XX has to pick out the colour i mention and then XX can choose which shapes he wanted to colour and to colour all the same shapes with the same colour. He can't really recognise most of the colours but were able to choose the same shapes and colour them with the same colour.

XX was happy that he was able to make some decisions in choosing which shapes to colour.

Tomorrow I will be working so won't be posting XX's mini activities at home. Will be updating on Monday 26th January 2015. Stay tuned!

Before

After

25 months and 19 days old

21st January 2015

Objective: Learning colours via story book

Today we will be learning colours via reading a story book. We were reading "The Magic School Bus" mini book that we gotten from McDonalds happy meal. It is a story about the teacher bringing students on a bus trip to learn about stones.

Was pointing to the kid's clothes and asking XX what are the colours....the only colour he recognise is pink. The rest is just "don't know"... must work more on colours!

25 months and 18 days old

20th January 2015

Today, XX is going to learn numbers and we are learning them via a hands on activity. Chinese New Year is around the corner and mummy is trialling some cookies to share with family and friends. XX will be helping out in the kitchen and learning how to count at the same time.

Objective: Learn how to count and helping out in kitchen. Also learn about hygiene (washing hands before preparing and eating food)

First, mummy explained to XX that we will be making cookies and asked if XX wanted to help. He was excited and mummy says XX must learn how to count first. XX goes "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fourteen, thirteen, fourteen" Oppss.... anyway got the first twelve correct... must work on the rest...

We started making cookies, XX was attentive at first but he was still learning, need to work on that fingers... XX makes a few, count his cookies and got bored (also because XX woke up early this morning so was tired). XX washed hands and mummy make XX some milk. XX drink and played on his own , then fall asleep on the bed while mummy finish up the cookies. 

XX goes "one, two, three, four"

25 months and 17 days old

QQ and XX used to learn together at home. However due to their age gap (about 2 years old), even though I will usually give them the same learning sheet, they usually do different things with the same learning sheet.. QQ will learn while XX will mainly colour.

Now that QQ has started school and XX is 2 years old already so I guess he should starts to learn more things than just colouring and recognising pictures.

Read about QQ's School Life here.

So, will be sharing the learning sheets that I prepare for XX. Hopefully this shares some learning ideas with other parents. I am no teacher so will be mainly getting the ideas from internet or just anything that pops in my head.

Monday 19th January 2015

Will be testing some thematics for now. 

Monday-- Alphabets

Tuesday-- Numbers

Wednesday- Colours

Thursday--Shapes

Friday-- Miscellaneous

Today's theme will be alphabets.

Main objective- For XX to learn to recognise some alphabets and learn how to write them. 

First, I asked XX to point out A, and then B and so on. XX only manages to recognise A. Mis-recognise D as B and didn't manage to point out much for the rest. I then point to each alphabets in sequence and ask XX to read along with me. He did so and after that I hold XX hands and we write the alphabets together. Halfway XX wanted to write on his own but he wasn't sure how to write them so just anyhow write. Hold his hand again and teach him to write in the correct sequence.

Afterwards, we used a blue colour pencil and link the alphabets together according to the sequence. Whole activity took about 15 minutes. XX says wants to colour the alphabets then got distracted and play his toys.

After a while, wants to read book so took out his "My First 1001 Words" and flip around. Read a bit on colours and then got bored. So far only able to recognise pink. 

Learning Sheet (Before)

Learning Sheet (After)