Wall & Furniture

The "cloud" theme wallpaper for my boys' room has been done up and I love the overall cozy feel it brings.

 

Most of the furniture that I ordered online have arrived as well.

Classic white wardrobe

 

"Aeroplane" theme drawers and shelf

 

 "Pirates" theme toy chest

that comes with miniature furniture and figurines inside.

 

"Petrol kiosk" storage shelf

 Suitable for displaying all his music CDs

 

Lastly, customised wall decals of my boys' names...

Yes I'm naming my 2nd boy...Kyrian, which means "The Lord" or "From The Lord"

 

Will update more on their bedroom soon...

His very own Waterpark

One of his outdoor play after he had his breakfast in the morning.

The First Play He Watched

 "What The Ladybird Heard. " by best-selling author, Julia Donaldson.

 

The play is about a very quiet ladybird who hears two crafty robbers plotting to raid the farmyard and steal the farmer's prized cow. She comes up with a very clever plan to stop them, helped by the very noisy animals all around them. So with all the mooing, clucking ,baaing, neighing, they scared and foiled the robbers' cunning plan.

 

Reagan seems to be the youngest kid present in the theatre, but I guess because he is familiar with the farm animals and the sounds they made, therefore the entire show is able to capture his attention and he was truly entertained for that whole of one hour play.

 

HIs eyes lit up when he saw that balloons were being distributed to the children after the show ended and his daddy carried him to get one too.

Baby Reagan is a big boy now and he has begin to appreciate the fun of watching a concert/play. I'll be checking out the sistic website again very soon for more interesting play to bring him to.

JG - Bilingual Playclub - CNY party + Sandplay

It was CNY class party for this week and the kids were dressed in their traditional costume! Each of them also brought along one of their favourite cny goodies to class.

My happy little cheena boy!

 Enjoying the snacks with his classmates

Sandplay for their outdoor activity this week. I changed him out of his costume so he wont dirty them in sand.

Engrossed in his sandplay with his buddy

 

Recognising 26 Letters of the Alphabets (at 19 months)

I think 18 months is like a magical age when we gradually witness many of Reagan's "outputs". It was only yesterday that hubby and I just discovered that Reagan recognised all the 26 alphabet letters at 19 months old. It was by chance that my mom tested him on his alphabets on a book and he managed to pick all the letters correctly. Then one day when I was having a casual chat with my mom, I informed her that after his bedroom/studyroom is ready, I'll start to emphasize on the teaching of alphabet letters. It was then my mom mentioned that she thought I've already taught him because Reagan has proven to her that he can recognise all the alphabets. So we tested him and she was right.  He can't actually say out the letter but he will point to the right letter that you want him to point to.

(Click VIDEO HERE)

We tried on other topic like "colours" and he is able to recognise the name of the colours,  red, yellow, green , blue, purple, orange, black, white and grey and sort items to their respective colours.

Therefore it was certainly a pleasant surprise to all of us. In my personal opinion, I felt that his strong foundation derived from the early right-brain training and flashcards are factors that enables him to grasp concepts faster and easier. Honestly, I haven't really sit him down seriously and revise thoroughly on the topics alphabets and colours. But he did have a few flashcards topics on alphabets and colours which I flash to him almost every other day, some random puzzles related to alphabets and of course the occasional singing of his ABC song. Therefore I believe these early exposures contributes as well.

Reagan did not follow the "traditional" method of language learning, which usually begins with recognising alphabets first, then phonics, follow by reading and spelling. He actually learned to recognise words and phrases first before the alphabets letters, which is also how the Glenn Doman Method works. My next step will be starting him on phonics soon, emphasising on the initial sounds of each alphabet letters and guide him on his writing of the alphabets.

Reagan hasn't been expressing much vocally, although he enjoys babbling and humming to his favourite tunes. I hope before he turns two, he not only master the 26 letters but also able to read out the letters and their phonics sound. Both of us are looking forward to our new learning goal together!

JG - Bilingual Playclub

This year Reagan is "promoted" to the 2 hours weekly Bilingual PlayClub (18 mths-3yrs old) class from his PlayNest class last term. And for this term, his best friend Ean is joining him as well. The theme is "Transportation" and the lessons are conducted in both English and Mandarin by 4 teachers. One of the teachers who taught Reagan last term recognised him immediately once he entered the new classroom and Reagan was equally excited to see her too.

Each week the kids enjoy the music and dance, the introduction of an alphabet and a Chinese word, 2 segments of craft sessions, a short skit by the drama teachers, snack time and outdoor play at their very own playground area. Reagan is always eager to begin the craft session especially if it involves messy paint or sticky glue. Their teachers are also very entertaining and engaged well with the kids. They are so dramatic and expressive that sometimes their weekly short skit seems like an episode from Hi-5 haha!

During the first week of class, the kids get to explore the playground. This week was waterplay and they had so much fun!

The outdoor activity for next week is going to be sandplay and I'm sure the kids will be looking forward to it too.

Gymnademics Pre-fellow Class

Reagan was around 6 months old when he first tried the trial for their baby class. He enjoyed the flashcards session very much during that time but was extremely afraid to try any of the gym obstacles.

This time at 18 months old, with his two other besties Ean & Fleur (both of them are certainly natural born gymnast!), I made him give Gymnademics class another try again. After the trial, we three mamas took the 4 sessions package and look forward to see each other in class every week. I always it find very amusing each time the three babies dashed excitedly together to the front to grab the musical instrument when the teacher brings out a box.

 As usual, Reagan's good attention span is still present and is able to focus very well during the flashcards and songs cards session. He is still slightly intimidated by the gym equipment but at least now he has shown more confidence in attempting the obstacles and even began to enjoy the trapeze now!

 

Some snapshots below, credits go to Fleur's mama.

Every week the school will email the parents a bonding-package to be practised at home with the child.

When Reagan saw me printing the work given by the school, he grabbed his crayons and can't wait to start working on his "homework." haha!

 

The Beginning of 2014 - The New Place

It has been a busy start of the new year for us. We are in the midst of moving and so there are a lot of shifting and packing to do. Reagan and his soon-to-come sibling are going to have their own room and I'm trying my best to do up a cosy and conducive room for the boys. And yeah and if you haven't hear about it, yes we are having another little king on the way.

I hope the kids' furniture will arrive soon and I can start putting everything in place,

 

New Year Resolution As A Mom

• Spend more quality time as a family, engage in more fun activities together, explore the outdoors and create more beautiful memories with the kids.
• Create more new and healthy recipes for baby meals
• Continue daily home practice with Reagan and do more early-learning activities with him at home. Set up a structured home-teaching curriculum and routine.  Increase his number of flashcards from the current 25 topics to 30 topics per session. Expand his vocabulary and teach him to read even more words. Engage in more right-brain activities. Create more new learning experiences and exposures for him.
• To kiss my husband and kids and tell them "I love you" everyday.
• To take a "one day leave" at least once a month to fully indulge on myself eg. High tea with my girls, go for facial, massage, spa etc.
• Stay healthy for my 2nd pregnancy, pray that this time baby be full-term and go through a smooth natural delivery.
• To breastfeed for at least one year for my 2nd one.
• To slim down and lose weight to my targeted number 48kg
• A family vacation with the kids
• Another vacation without the kids...haha
• To always stay happy, calm & positive !

Reagan's 1 year old shoot in 2013

While sorting the photos in my computer, I realised I have yet to post the shoot taken in the year 2013, when my baby Reagan just reached 1 year old. Below are some of my favourite shots.

I planned to do another shoot when he reaches 18 months, 2 years old and 3 years old. As well as one with his little sibling coming soon...

HaPPy 2014 !!!

I'm positive that 2014 is going to be a fun & exciting year to look forward to!!!

Goal reached: Baby Reagan "reads" 50 words/phrases at 18 months

Baby Reagan has accomplished the goal of "reading" or identifying 50 words/phrases at 18 months. He can't say the word out vocally but he uses baby signings or actions to demonstrate the meaning of the words that are shown to him. Click HERE for the video.

 

Baby Reagan is picking up words at a faster speed now. As I continue to teach him more and more new words, he is able to successfully learn the cards after flashing to him in less than a week time.  

 

Besides flashing the cards to him, sometimes I write the words on the whiteboard for him to identify ,or place the cards on the floor and get him to find and pick up the word that I read aloud to him.

A baby's brain is much powerful than we thought. They are absorbing like a sponge and the more you are willing to teach, the more they absorb. Our reading activity is just like a fun game to him and he is still enjoying every session we have together.