So I brought Miss Shannon to see the Eye Specialist today... and it turns out that it is not Amblyopia if Shannon can see perfectly fine with her glasses ON. It doesn't matter that one eye is perfect and the other is a shocking 125 degrees... if she can see with her specs, then she doesn't have a lazy eye.
Oddly enough also, she was also not concerned that one eye was perfect and the other was going off in a direction all on its own. She even went on to tell me about people who functioned as such, and was not concerned that Shannon's brain had "switched off" the other eye when she did not have her glasses on. Weird.
So thankfully, no further expenses in this area. We just keep Shannon in glasses to ensure she can see clearly out of BOTH eyes, and we need not continue with the patching... Shannon is happy because that little girl really likes the way she looks in her glasses. Funny Shannon.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Patched and bespectacled Shannon
Here is sweet Shannon wearing her patch quite happily. We are patching her for just two hours a day for the time being, until we get further instructions from her doctor. Thankfully she is quite happy to do so, even in public.
And today we collected her new glasses. She looks quite good in them, I might add. :)
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And today we collected her new glasses. She looks quite good in them, I might add. :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, December 24, 2012
Amblyopia and other issues
Just when I thought things were settling down with the children's various needs, something new crops up. We have just discovered that Shannon has amblyopia... Also known as Lazy Eye.
Her health checks in school (including eye checks) had been indicating that she did not have perfect vision in one of her eyes. However, at no time did the reports indicate that we needed to do anything about it, so we let her be. This year, at one point, Shannon did mention in passing that one of her eyes was blurry when she closed her other eye, but when we wanted to take her for an eye check, she declined, saying that she could see clearly... And indeed she could when we tested her (with both eyes open).
As time went on, I had a hunch that something was not right and so when she was at OT the other day, I made her cover one eye to read a chart on the wall, and while she could and readily did with her left eye, she squirmed and refused to read with her right. That was when I realised that she couldn't see clearly with that eye.
That afternoon, we had a talk and I found out that her extreme self-consciousness led her to feel that she would be ugly and thus did not want to have to wear specs. She was afraid her friends would laugh at her. After some reasoning, cajoling and firm talking to, she conceded that it would be better and that we could search for a pair of frames that she would approve of, that would make her look good, rather than ugly.
It turned out that while she has perfect 20/20 vision in her left eye, her right eye is myopic at 125 degrees! I nearly fell off my chair when she read H as R, at the second biggest size on the eye chart!! Yikes! Oddly enough, the optician did not say anything about seeing a doctor or doing something about her lazy eye... But I knew we had to do something about it since if it is allowed to progress she would eventually lose her sight in that eye.
So I quickly did some research and made an appointment for her to see a specialist at the SNEC, at the same time deciding that I would also start patching her good eye for a short period each day, just to give her a head start. We needed to 'reactivate' the lazy eye as soon as possible. So this Friday we have an appointment with the eye doctor, and hopefully that will give us an idea of what other treatment she needs besides patching and for how long.
Surprisingly, given her resistance to getting glasses in the first place, I was surprised that she was eager to give patching a go. In fact, after we bought the adhesive patches and were headed for a movie, she asked if she could start patching immediately, and was quite happy to be patched in public. I thank God for her siblings who made the experience easier by getting excited about it, and for korkor who told her she looked like a pirate! Lol. I thank God for making it easy for her.
On a related topic of special need and issues... One of the children reported to me that someone had commented to them that I was crazy to keep labeling them with 'so many labels'. I explained to the child concerned that the person didn't know any better... And indeed, I cannot understand what the issue is... Like with the lazy eye, should I avoid giving her a label and letting the condition deteriorate when with help and support Shannon can function better? Just because there is a stigma with being labelled, we ahold therefore avoid it if it isn't too serious? Or too visible? By all counts, Shannon can see... And she can see clearly. But she can see clearly only because her brain has already shut out the visual signals coming from her lazy eye. I have the option of training her brain to switch it back on... She will have the advantage of using both eyes again, improving her depth perception and possibly her coordination as well. Should I avoid all these, and spare her the perceived trauma and embarrassment of having to wear glasses and be patched, and lose out on improving something that can be improved? Ridiculous. Similarly, my children's other issues are being treated along the same lines. They have mild hidden disabilities. That is a fact. The labels and diagnosis gain them access to support that enable them to do better and feel more confident and emerge as happier children. Avoiding labels deprives them of such support and leads to children who struggle unnecessarily, often misunderstood by teachers, peers and other adults. They cannot understand themselves and why they are different and this in turn leads to many behavioral problems later on.
So I would thank you to keep your comments to yourself... My children are doing very well, thank you very much. They are recognized for being excellent in character and for doing well despite their difficulties. They may not be perfect...but no children nor any other human being are. I am grateful and thankful that they have access to support, therapy and help, and they are developing the way they are.
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Her health checks in school (including eye checks) had been indicating that she did not have perfect vision in one of her eyes. However, at no time did the reports indicate that we needed to do anything about it, so we let her be. This year, at one point, Shannon did mention in passing that one of her eyes was blurry when she closed her other eye, but when we wanted to take her for an eye check, she declined, saying that she could see clearly... And indeed she could when we tested her (with both eyes open).
As time went on, I had a hunch that something was not right and so when she was at OT the other day, I made her cover one eye to read a chart on the wall, and while she could and readily did with her left eye, she squirmed and refused to read with her right. That was when I realised that she couldn't see clearly with that eye.
That afternoon, we had a talk and I found out that her extreme self-consciousness led her to feel that she would be ugly and thus did not want to have to wear specs. She was afraid her friends would laugh at her. After some reasoning, cajoling and firm talking to, she conceded that it would be better and that we could search for a pair of frames that she would approve of, that would make her look good, rather than ugly.
It turned out that while she has perfect 20/20 vision in her left eye, her right eye is myopic at 125 degrees! I nearly fell off my chair when she read H as R, at the second biggest size on the eye chart!! Yikes! Oddly enough, the optician did not say anything about seeing a doctor or doing something about her lazy eye... But I knew we had to do something about it since if it is allowed to progress she would eventually lose her sight in that eye.
So I quickly did some research and made an appointment for her to see a specialist at the SNEC, at the same time deciding that I would also start patching her good eye for a short period each day, just to give her a head start. We needed to 'reactivate' the lazy eye as soon as possible. So this Friday we have an appointment with the eye doctor, and hopefully that will give us an idea of what other treatment she needs besides patching and for how long.
Surprisingly, given her resistance to getting glasses in the first place, I was surprised that she was eager to give patching a go. In fact, after we bought the adhesive patches and were headed for a movie, she asked if she could start patching immediately, and was quite happy to be patched in public. I thank God for her siblings who made the experience easier by getting excited about it, and for korkor who told her she looked like a pirate! Lol. I thank God for making it easy for her.
On a related topic of special need and issues... One of the children reported to me that someone had commented to them that I was crazy to keep labeling them with 'so many labels'. I explained to the child concerned that the person didn't know any better... And indeed, I cannot understand what the issue is... Like with the lazy eye, should I avoid giving her a label and letting the condition deteriorate when with help and support Shannon can function better? Just because there is a stigma with being labelled, we ahold therefore avoid it if it isn't too serious? Or too visible? By all counts, Shannon can see... And she can see clearly. But she can see clearly only because her brain has already shut out the visual signals coming from her lazy eye. I have the option of training her brain to switch it back on... She will have the advantage of using both eyes again, improving her depth perception and possibly her coordination as well. Should I avoid all these, and spare her the perceived trauma and embarrassment of having to wear glasses and be patched, and lose out on improving something that can be improved? Ridiculous. Similarly, my children's other issues are being treated along the same lines. They have mild hidden disabilities. That is a fact. The labels and diagnosis gain them access to support that enable them to do better and feel more confident and emerge as happier children. Avoiding labels deprives them of such support and leads to children who struggle unnecessarily, often misunderstood by teachers, peers and other adults. They cannot understand themselves and why they are different and this in turn leads to many behavioral problems later on.
So I would thank you to keep your comments to yourself... My children are doing very well, thank you very much. They are recognized for being excellent in character and for doing well despite their difficulties. They may not be perfect...but no children nor any other human being are. I am grateful and thankful that they have access to support, therapy and help, and they are developing the way they are.
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Monday, December 10, 2012
Results for PSLE
Zach received his PSLE results while we were in Israel... And it was good news!!! After failing math consistently for the last two years, even up until prelims with a 46%, Zach actually clinched a B for math! A miracle!! He also got a B for English and a C for Science which we kinda expected because he said he couldn't complete the paper. This put him at 188 which meant he made it into the Express bracket just by the skin of his teeth! This, together with the B for Math boosted his confidence and he was happy for his results. Yet at the same time, it was low enough for me to explain to him that opting for the NA stream was probably a better option... The pace would suit him better and he would have a much greater chance of experiencing success... This in turn would boost his self-confidence and help him with moderating his stress.
All in all, we are very pleased with how well he has done, and look forward to better years in Secondary School.... :)
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All in all, we are very pleased with how well he has done, and look forward to better years in Secondary School.... :)
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Update on the Awards
So it turns out that indeed both girls will receive their ECHA awards and in a surprise mail, we found out that both biggies will receive EAGLES awards as well!!! We had anticipated it for Zach, but had no idea that Stacy had been nominated as well... So it's five Edusave awards for the three kiddos, and I can only hope that they will all be given out on the same day at the same ceremony... Otherwise that's just too many prize giving ceremonies to sit through!!!
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Sunday, November 18, 2012
Edusave awards
I think since the kids started primary school, my kids have only ever gotten the Edusave Good Progress Award... Once for Zach when he dropped Chinese in P3, twice for Stacey when she dropped Chinese in P2 and then continued to make good progress between P3 and P4.
Then came Shannon who got her Edusave Merit Bursary Award (though we weren't eligible to apply for it due to income ceiling) for her P1 results.
This year, it seems we will be getting more Edusave Awards than I have kids. We just learnt last Friday that Zach would be receiving the Eagles Award for Choir. In previous years, it was just the colours award which came with s book voucher generously donated by a parent - an internal award given by the school. However, the Eagles award is an Edusave Award for Good LEadership and Service.
Then sometime in the 9th week, we also learnt that both the girls were nominated and selected to go for the final round of the ECHA awards which is the Edusave CHaracter Award. The confirmed results are not out yet, but it seems they both have a good chance of getting it. Shannon also has a good chance of receiving the Edusave Merit Bursary Cert again based on her results for her P2 exams.... So that will be four in one year.
So proud of them, and how far they have come.
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Then came Shannon who got her Edusave Merit Bursary Award (though we weren't eligible to apply for it due to income ceiling) for her P1 results.
This year, it seems we will be getting more Edusave Awards than I have kids. We just learnt last Friday that Zach would be receiving the Eagles Award for Choir. In previous years, it was just the colours award which came with s book voucher generously donated by a parent - an internal award given by the school. However, the Eagles award is an Edusave Award for Good LEadership and Service.
Then sometime in the 9th week, we also learnt that both the girls were nominated and selected to go for the final round of the ECHA awards which is the Edusave CHaracter Award. The confirmed results are not out yet, but it seems they both have a good chance of getting it. Shannon also has a good chance of receiving the Edusave Merit Bursary Cert again based on her results for her P2 exams.... So that will be four in one year.
So proud of them, and how far they have come.
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Irlen Syndrome and Enlarged Print
Stacey has been using Irlen or tinted lenses for about two years now, and earlier this year, after her first semester exams, her very observant Math teacher spoke to me about allowing her to try using blown up test and exam papers, to see if they would help because she had done dismally for her SA1 math and science papers.
Naturally I agreed, and so, on in term 3, her teachers would periodically blow up her test papers for her, especially of the work included very wordy passages or problem sums. Stacey reported this as being of help, and so when we got her re-assessed to renew her report for her application for special accommodations for PSLE, I asked the psychs to look specifically into this area as well and to include it in her report.
Her teachers at school also helpfully spoke to the special needs AED to ask that she be given A3 papers for her SA2 exams as well... And her results saw a drastic improvement this semester! Math jumped from 57 to 76... Almost 20 points! And Science improved from 64 to 80.5 which happened to be the top marks for her class!!
Hopefully this trend continues and she will do well with the accommodations given for PSLE.
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Naturally I agreed, and so, on in term 3, her teachers would periodically blow up her test papers for her, especially of the work included very wordy passages or problem sums. Stacey reported this as being of help, and so when we got her re-assessed to renew her report for her application for special accommodations for PSLE, I asked the psychs to look specifically into this area as well and to include it in her report.
Her teachers at school also helpfully spoke to the special needs AED to ask that she be given A3 papers for her SA2 exams as well... And her results saw a drastic improvement this semester! Math jumped from 57 to 76... Almost 20 points! And Science improved from 64 to 80.5 which happened to be the top marks for her class!!
Hopefully this trend continues and she will do well with the accommodations given for PSLE.
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More artwork
Zach's beginner's art class had come to an end. Just 5 lessons where he dabbled with watercolor, acrylic, block printing, charcoal and soft pastels...and I must say the results are impressive.
All photos have been edited to crop out his name which he usually puts at the bottom of his work. :)
He needed some persuasion, but I convinced him he would benefit from more and regular art lessons next year. He was reluctant since he found the art classes 'too complicated', which I took to mean that perhaps it was a tad too technical for him... But I think he has potential waiting to be unlocked. Besides, he seems intent doing animation in Secondary School, so I need to tell him that art skills are very important in doing animation! Lol...
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All photos have been edited to crop out his name which he usually puts at the bottom of his work. :)
He needed some persuasion, but I convinced him he would benefit from more and regular art lessons next year. He was reluctant since he found the art classes 'too complicated', which I took to mean that perhaps it was a tad too technical for him... But I think he has potential waiting to be unlocked. Besides, he seems intent doing animation in Secondary School, so I need to tell him that art skills are very important in doing animation! Lol...
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Thursday, October 25, 2012
Clean Toilet
Since Zach is done a month early with exams, I have put him to work with chores around the house, including cleaning out the bunnies' toilet. A few days ago, I had gotten him to clean it out again, this time to my exacting standards. I also decided that I would give the bunnies' cage a thorough washing, and reconfigured their run into a smaller area. While waiting for the cage to drip dry, I noticed that the clean toilet was outside the enclosure and so made a request of the boy...
Me: Son, can you please put the rabbits' toilet into their enclosure?
Zach: Why?!
Me: Huh? Why?! Because I washed their cage and I'm waiting for it to dry. Put the toilet in there for them first.
Zach: Nooooooooooooooo!! They will poop in it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL...
He did eventually put the toilet in, but by then, the rabbits were so offended by his wail that they boycotted it for some time...until they had to go. :)
Me: Son, can you please put the rabbits' toilet into their enclosure?
Zach: Why?!
Me: Huh? Why?! Because I washed their cage and I'm waiting for it to dry. Put the toilet in there for them first.
Zach: Nooooooooooooooo!! They will poop in it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL...
He did eventually put the toilet in, but by then, the rabbits were so offended by his wail that they boycotted it for some time...until they had to go. :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
'Real Museum Art' classes
I had been wanting to send Zach for art classes for some time now, but because of his tremendously packed schedule and all that he was dealing with, I never did so until now. A lot of it also had to do with me turning up my nose at the typical 'Children's Art Class' found in CCs and such, because all the work that gets churned out looks exactly like it was...well, churned out.
I stumbled upon the photos of this lady who conducts art classes in her home, and she uses and teaches with a variety of mediums... Water colours, acrylic paints, oil pastels, and even things like Lino cut... Whatever that is... And the work that her students produced actually looked like real art... As Zach put it, 'like real museum art'.... Lol...
So when she came up with a short beginners course after the PSLE period, and it promised to expose the children to a variety of mediums, I happily signed him up.
And this, bloggityville, is Zach's very first piece of 'real museum art'. Apparently the teacher herself was impressed with his work... And I was really pleased that he enjoyed himself and had a blast despite being in a class where every other child was no taller than his elbows. Heh. When they took a picture together, he was like a giant in the midst of Lilliputians. It was just so cute.
This piece is done in acrylic and pastels. Real name and 'signature' censored. :)
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I stumbled upon the photos of this lady who conducts art classes in her home, and she uses and teaches with a variety of mediums... Water colours, acrylic paints, oil pastels, and even things like Lino cut... Whatever that is... And the work that her students produced actually looked like real art... As Zach put it, 'like real museum art'.... Lol...
So when she came up with a short beginners course after the PSLE period, and it promised to expose the children to a variety of mediums, I happily signed him up.
And this, bloggityville, is Zach's very first piece of 'real museum art'. Apparently the teacher herself was impressed with his work... And I was really pleased that he enjoyed himself and had a blast despite being in a class where every other child was no taller than his elbows. Heh. When they took a picture together, he was like a giant in the midst of Lilliputians. It was just so cute.
This piece is done in acrylic and pastels. Real name and 'signature' censored. :)
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Updates on The Schedule
The scheduling woes have still not sorted themselves out. We've got dance schedule down, and school choir for the girls down... and... and... nothing else!
Berries is 'settled' only in as far as them having very graciously shuffled things around to accommodate my letting them know that Shannon has only Thursday afternoon free for Berries, and should there be no class available for her at that time, she will not be able to continue with Berries. However, I am also told that they might not have enough students to open up that particular time slot, so hopefully they will have enough people who indicate that Thursday afternoon is at least a viable option for them.
Piano, at this time, is only semi-confirmed... so we are still waiting that to be absolutely set in stone... which we all know nothing ever is.
Then there's her Maths which I wanted to enrol her in, except that she can only fit ONE of their classes into her schedule... and it's for high achievers, so I have to wait until we get her report book to prove that she can indeed score above 80 in her exams, then wait for her to take a test and see if she qualifies for this class, and then also to see if enough people enrol for it in the first place! Sigh. And I'm not even all that keen on her being in the high achievers class...but it's the only option since she can't make any of the other P3 slots! And to think my intention was for her to cut down on maths class time! Sigh.
We are also waiting for everything to be settled before we can finally decide on a slot for Occupational Therapy next year. We are also waiting to confirm if Shannon will be joining yet another group therapy program or going back to her individual sessions. I do have certain issues I would like her therapist to work on with her... But all that is moot until we can settle everything else. Another sigh.
And so far, all the above is basically the schedule of Shannon alone. Stacey still has her DAS sessions that need to be fitted in, as well as deciding whether she will be joining the supplementary classes in school. I still have to figure out how she is to get home on days when she has extra lessons and I am unable to pick her from school.
Zachary's schedule, other than dance, is a complete blackout as of now. Until we go for orientation at his new school and until we figure out which CCA he will be joining and when those sessions will be, we will not be able to pin anything down. And I hate not knowing. It makes me twitch... And thanks to the blackout, I am unable to make any decisions regarding his DAS sessions. The only thing we know for sure is dance. The good news though is that he officially graduated from OT a couple of weeks ago... after his PSLE was over... We are giving him a break because we believe he has improved significantly and now deals with stress and anxiety a lot better. We have the option of starting OT again next year if he is unable to cope with the demands and changes... But I'm praying that he will not have to. I'm also hoping that he will be able to join a regular art class with a fantastic art teacher that I found. But more on that in a separate post.
So yes... We have all these things floating around, and we are unable to make any decisions as yet... *twitch*
Berries is 'settled' only in as far as them having very graciously shuffled things around to accommodate my letting them know that Shannon has only Thursday afternoon free for Berries, and should there be no class available for her at that time, she will not be able to continue with Berries. However, I am also told that they might not have enough students to open up that particular time slot, so hopefully they will have enough people who indicate that Thursday afternoon is at least a viable option for them.
Piano, at this time, is only semi-confirmed... so we are still waiting that to be absolutely set in stone... which we all know nothing ever is.
Then there's her Maths which I wanted to enrol her in, except that she can only fit ONE of their classes into her schedule... and it's for high achievers, so I have to wait until we get her report book to prove that she can indeed score above 80 in her exams, then wait for her to take a test and see if she qualifies for this class, and then also to see if enough people enrol for it in the first place! Sigh. And I'm not even all that keen on her being in the high achievers class...but it's the only option since she can't make any of the other P3 slots! And to think my intention was for her to cut down on maths class time! Sigh.
We are also waiting for everything to be settled before we can finally decide on a slot for Occupational Therapy next year. We are also waiting to confirm if Shannon will be joining yet another group therapy program or going back to her individual sessions. I do have certain issues I would like her therapist to work on with her... But all that is moot until we can settle everything else. Another sigh.
And so far, all the above is basically the schedule of Shannon alone. Stacey still has her DAS sessions that need to be fitted in, as well as deciding whether she will be joining the supplementary classes in school. I still have to figure out how she is to get home on days when she has extra lessons and I am unable to pick her from school.
Zachary's schedule, other than dance, is a complete blackout as of now. Until we go for orientation at his new school and until we figure out which CCA he will be joining and when those sessions will be, we will not be able to pin anything down. And I hate not knowing. It makes me twitch... And thanks to the blackout, I am unable to make any decisions regarding his DAS sessions. The only thing we know for sure is dance. The good news though is that he officially graduated from OT a couple of weeks ago... after his PSLE was over... We are giving him a break because we believe he has improved significantly and now deals with stress and anxiety a lot better. We have the option of starting OT again next year if he is unable to cope with the demands and changes... But I'm praying that he will not have to. I'm also hoping that he will be able to join a regular art class with a fantastic art teacher that I found. But more on that in a separate post.
So yes... We have all these things floating around, and we are unable to make any decisions as yet... *twitch*
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Scheduling woes...
It's the time of year again where I have to look ahead to the next year and see how the schedules of the three Twinklets are going to fit into one another's and how I'm going to juggle it all so I don't end up having to be in two (or three!) places as the same time.
You'd think with Zach in Secondary One next year, things would be easier... But the sticky situations arose when things changed somewhat unexpectedly.
We first learnt of new times and days for the Twinklet girls' dance class. From being on the same day with classes back to back, next year, I will find myself going down on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday AND Saturday for dance. Shannon has three days of dance - 2 for ballet and 1 for tap - and Stacey has the same. Difference is that after the exams in March, Shannon reverts to just Wed and Fridays, while Stacey maintains her three times a week because she will be in the Vocational grade after her Grade 5 exams next year!
The earlier timing of the dance classes also meant that it now sat somewhat awkwardly in the day, since the classes are from 5:30-6:30 or some similar timing.
Then came news that Choir practices were also going to change, and that choir would now be on Mondays and Fridays instead of Wednesdays and Fridays. This immediately kicked Berries out of its usual Monday 4pm slot.
With OT now on Wednesdays, and me signing her up for a new Maths class in an effort to reduce her load from twice to once a week, there was only one more slot for Berries on Thursday... Which originally would not have happened... But they heard about my situation, and the powers that be were able to make a class on Thursday afternoon happen. Thank God.
With this new arrangement, it promptly ousted piano from its rightful place on Thursdays, so now, with her Saturday mornings free from the second maths class, we have relegated piano to Saturday morning. It keeps moving further and further away. We started piano at the cc which is a stone's throw from my place, because I needed my mom to be able to send her easily should the need arise. However, the piano teacher there didn't quite meet my expectations pedagogically, and so I switched Shannon to a school two MRT stops away... With the view that it would still be relatively easy for my mom to take her there. Next year with this new arrangement, I am unable to continue going to the school she now goes to, and so have decided to continue with her current teacher but at her home, now a good 15-20 mins drive from my place... Sigh. Because she is doing so well with her teacher, I do not want to change teachers again, so I'm hoping that the two older ones can fend for themselves on a Saturday (they can easily take a bus to dance) while I take Shannon for her piano, before flying her down to dance school for her dance lesson (which thankfully will only last a term).
Now, all this largely revolves around Shannon, and still does not take into consideration the fact that Stacey, being in p6 next year, is expected to attend Supplementary lessons on school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wednesdays aren't so bad as I can pick her up after Shannon's OT session (hopefully they can get us a slightly earlier slot) and we can fly Shannon to class, but Thursdays will be trickier, unless I get my mom to help send Shannon to Berries while I pick Stacey up from Supp and fly her to dance straight after. And may I point out that we haven't even factored in classes twice weekly at DAS? *faints*
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You'd think with Zach in Secondary One next year, things would be easier... But the sticky situations arose when things changed somewhat unexpectedly.
We first learnt of new times and days for the Twinklet girls' dance class. From being on the same day with classes back to back, next year, I will find myself going down on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday AND Saturday for dance. Shannon has three days of dance - 2 for ballet and 1 for tap - and Stacey has the same. Difference is that after the exams in March, Shannon reverts to just Wed and Fridays, while Stacey maintains her three times a week because she will be in the Vocational grade after her Grade 5 exams next year!
The earlier timing of the dance classes also meant that it now sat somewhat awkwardly in the day, since the classes are from 5:30-6:30 or some similar timing.
Then came news that Choir practices were also going to change, and that choir would now be on Mondays and Fridays instead of Wednesdays and Fridays. This immediately kicked Berries out of its usual Monday 4pm slot.
With OT now on Wednesdays, and me signing her up for a new Maths class in an effort to reduce her load from twice to once a week, there was only one more slot for Berries on Thursday... Which originally would not have happened... But they heard about my situation, and the powers that be were able to make a class on Thursday afternoon happen. Thank God.
With this new arrangement, it promptly ousted piano from its rightful place on Thursdays, so now, with her Saturday mornings free from the second maths class, we have relegated piano to Saturday morning. It keeps moving further and further away. We started piano at the cc which is a stone's throw from my place, because I needed my mom to be able to send her easily should the need arise. However, the piano teacher there didn't quite meet my expectations pedagogically, and so I switched Shannon to a school two MRT stops away... With the view that it would still be relatively easy for my mom to take her there. Next year with this new arrangement, I am unable to continue going to the school she now goes to, and so have decided to continue with her current teacher but at her home, now a good 15-20 mins drive from my place... Sigh. Because she is doing so well with her teacher, I do not want to change teachers again, so I'm hoping that the two older ones can fend for themselves on a Saturday (they can easily take a bus to dance) while I take Shannon for her piano, before flying her down to dance school for her dance lesson (which thankfully will only last a term).
Now, all this largely revolves around Shannon, and still does not take into consideration the fact that Stacey, being in p6 next year, is expected to attend Supplementary lessons on school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wednesdays aren't so bad as I can pick her up after Shannon's OT session (hopefully they can get us a slightly earlier slot) and we can fly Shannon to class, but Thursdays will be trickier, unless I get my mom to help send Shannon to Berries while I pick Stacey up from Supp and fly her to dance straight after. And may I point out that we haven't even factored in classes twice weekly at DAS? *faints*
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Tuesday, October 02, 2012
2 Oct lunchbox
Used the Nude Food Movers rubbish free lunchbox today... It was a bit of a challenge fitting everything in...
But we rotate between this and the Lock&Lock just to give the boxes a chance to really dry between uses. Also, Ms Shannon regularly forgets to clear out her boxes and then the rotation becomes necessary. :|
Trying out a new brand of rice cakes today... A more lunchbox friendly shape! We also have a GF chocolate breakfast bar, an apple (as always - its Shannon's favorite fruit!), GF 'O's, Lychee Nata de Coco and ham and cheese rolls.
Here are some of the products used. Oops, the outback animals cookies weren't used today... Will feature them tomorrow.
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But we rotate between this and the Lock&Lock just to give the boxes a chance to really dry between uses. Also, Ms Shannon regularly forgets to clear out her boxes and then the rotation becomes necessary. :|
Trying out a new brand of rice cakes today... A more lunchbox friendly shape! We also have a GF chocolate breakfast bar, an apple (as always - its Shannon's favorite fruit!), GF 'O's, Lychee Nata de Coco and ham and cheese rolls.
Here are some of the products used. Oops, the outback animals cookies weren't used today... Will feature them tomorrow.
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Monday, October 01, 2012
Today's lunchbox
Using the big lock lock box today, we have....
A small pot of jam, a whole apple, about 5-7 pieces of 7D dried mango rolled up, grapes, a hard boiled egg, GF peanut butter puffs, GF cinnamon mini cookies, and (in the cupcake liner above the cookies) some fruit snacks.
In the bottom layer, we've also got two pieces of Corn Thins, an organic vit C lolly and a choc breakfast bar.
Here are some of the products I used....
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A small pot of jam, a whole apple, about 5-7 pieces of 7D dried mango rolled up, grapes, a hard boiled egg, GF peanut butter puffs, GF cinnamon mini cookies, and (in the cupcake liner above the cookies) some fruit snacks.
In the bottom layer, we've also got two pieces of Corn Thins, an organic vit C lolly and a choc breakfast bar.
Here are some of the products I used....
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Saturday, September 29, 2012
A peek into her GF lunchbox
I've been packing lunch boxes for Shannon since she went on her Gluten-Free (GF) diet, and I thought I would share what I give her. Keep in mind that she eats this over three installments... Breakfast upon reaching school, recess, and after school snacking.
Yesterday she had potato sticks, GF 'O's, strawberry jam, an apple (uncut), honey, grapes and a hard boiled egg. The honey is to go with the 'O's. You can also see a small container of dark sauce to go with the egg.
Under the grapes is another layer of food, and there she has two pieces of Corn Thins and a GF chocolate breakfast bar. The jam is to go with the corn thins, which can be rather bland.
More to come next week!
Yesterday she had potato sticks, GF 'O's, strawberry jam, an apple (uncut), honey, grapes and a hard boiled egg. The honey is to go with the 'O's. You can also see a small container of dark sauce to go with the egg.
Under the grapes is another layer of food, and there she has two pieces of Corn Thins and a GF chocolate breakfast bar. The jam is to go with the corn thins, which can be rather bland.
More to come next week!
Monday, September 17, 2012
FIrst time PSLE mom
Everyone who hears that the boy is sitting for his PSLE this year gives me this look of sympathy and expresses how stressful it must be both for him and me.
But the truth is, while it probably is stressful to some extent for him, given the additional workload from school, that's probably as much stress as he is dealing with.
At home, we are just mainly concerned with him doing his level best in dealing with his homework, both from school and tuition... and... that's it. Given that he has trouble moderating stress, I am not pushing him to achieve... Just to be able to take it all in is stride and do his best. I thank God that he has an affiliated school to go to, and am not worried about him not being able to make it there... So no problem.
He, on the other hand, has no worries about performance... He is just looking forward to finishing and having three months of time to play. So typically boy right? So it's another ten more days to his first paper and just over two weeks till he is done... Yay!
And this mom so cleverly agreed to let daddy sign us up for a trip with the church in November... And the slight detail known as results was overlooked until we had already confirmed our trip and paid up. So my son will not be around to receive his results... Instead, I will have to send his uncle as a proxy to collect his results for us and register him for sec one as well. So clever this mommy. Ah well. At least I remembered to keep our December free for posting and orientation... :p
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But the truth is, while it probably is stressful to some extent for him, given the additional workload from school, that's probably as much stress as he is dealing with.
At home, we are just mainly concerned with him doing his level best in dealing with his homework, both from school and tuition... and... that's it. Given that he has trouble moderating stress, I am not pushing him to achieve... Just to be able to take it all in is stride and do his best. I thank God that he has an affiliated school to go to, and am not worried about him not being able to make it there... So no problem.
He, on the other hand, has no worries about performance... He is just looking forward to finishing and having three months of time to play. So typically boy right? So it's another ten more days to his first paper and just over two weeks till he is done... Yay!
And this mom so cleverly agreed to let daddy sign us up for a trip with the church in November... And the slight detail known as results was overlooked until we had already confirmed our trip and paid up. So my son will not be around to receive his results... Instead, I will have to send his uncle as a proxy to collect his results for us and register him for sec one as well. So clever this mommy. Ah well. At least I remembered to keep our December free for posting and orientation... :p
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Growing like a weed...
The boy is totally stoked that he is now taller than his grandmother.
LOL... Puberty has arrived at our house... And makes its presence known in the grunts I get over the phone and the pong that bodyslams our nasal sensitivities.... Woah! Fun....
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LOL... Puberty has arrived at our house... And makes its presence known in the grunts I get over the phone and the pong that bodyslams our nasal sensitivities.... Woah! Fun....
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Going Gluten-free...sort of...
About 4 months ago, I brought both Zach and Shannon to see an enzyme therapist because they had been having gut problems since young and Shannon especially, was still suffering from attacks of bad tummy cramps which had been previously diagnosed as gastritis. The medication for gastritis helped and we had her on it for about 6 months... But after three months, we reduced the dosage and weaned her off it by the end of the sixth month, because we felt that it was not a good thing for her to be on medication long term. This was when she was only 5 years old. In the recent years, the attacks had resumed, and we were trying to control them by restricting her diet, since we suspected that her triggers were oil and dairy.
After a friend kept prompting us to check out enzymes, we finally decided to give it a shot and consulted a friend in church who happened to be working with enzymes. As a result, both children were put on a daily regime of enzymes to aid their digestion.
After two consults, although we did see improvement, Shannon was still experiencing cramps occasionally... Despite our restrictions and the enzymes, she still got the attacks. The therapist suggested to us that perhaps it wasn't so much the oil and dairy that was causing the cramps, but that she was instead sensitive to gluten. This was based on what I'd described as well as a blood test to see how healthy her blood was.
So it has been about a month since we have embarked on a gluten-free diet for Shannon, and so far, she has had no attacks even though we have relaxed on the oil and dairy restrictions. She is still taking her enzymes, but it seems going gluten-free is the key.
The only problem with the GF diet is that it is actually quite a pain. Thankfully though, Shannon is not totally absolutely allergic to gluten, just sensitive to it, so we can actually get away with not being 100% gluten-free. However, she is now not allowed regular breads, biscuits and cookies, pasta of any sort and cake. Many confectionary items also contain wheat flour. Thankfully though, the GF and GFCF diets are becoming more common, so it is actually possible to find gluten free stuff in my regular supermarket, which is a great help.
I also am so thankful that the child herself has been so good. She knows what she is allowed and what is not allowed, and she has been a real trooper in not taking the forbidden foods, although we have had a few incidents involving MnMs... Grrrr. This GF diet business will also be a pain in future when she has to attend camps or travel. In those instances, while we will still try to steer her towards a GF diet, we will also provide her with gluten-combating enzymes to deal with whatever gluten she does consume. I could just take the easy way out and just give her the enzymes day in day out, but I still feel it is a healthier option to just try to reduce gluten from her diet rather than pig out and take enzymes to deal with it on a daily basis.
So far, some of her favorite GF treats include
these little bunny cookies that are cinnamon flavored, if I'm not wrong. She also gets more chocolate flavored stuff than usual because my choices are so limited.
I will post more pics of her favorite GF things available locally in time to come. For anyone out there who is contemplating a GF diet for your child... I hope this will help. I buy most of my GF food locally from Cold Storage and NTUC Finest. I also plan to ship in enzymes and stuff from a recommended site www.iherb.com. I'll let you know how that goes as well.
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After a friend kept prompting us to check out enzymes, we finally decided to give it a shot and consulted a friend in church who happened to be working with enzymes. As a result, both children were put on a daily regime of enzymes to aid their digestion.
After two consults, although we did see improvement, Shannon was still experiencing cramps occasionally... Despite our restrictions and the enzymes, she still got the attacks. The therapist suggested to us that perhaps it wasn't so much the oil and dairy that was causing the cramps, but that she was instead sensitive to gluten. This was based on what I'd described as well as a blood test to see how healthy her blood was.
So it has been about a month since we have embarked on a gluten-free diet for Shannon, and so far, she has had no attacks even though we have relaxed on the oil and dairy restrictions. She is still taking her enzymes, but it seems going gluten-free is the key.
The only problem with the GF diet is that it is actually quite a pain. Thankfully though, Shannon is not totally absolutely allergic to gluten, just sensitive to it, so we can actually get away with not being 100% gluten-free. However, she is now not allowed regular breads, biscuits and cookies, pasta of any sort and cake. Many confectionary items also contain wheat flour. Thankfully though, the GF and GFCF diets are becoming more common, so it is actually possible to find gluten free stuff in my regular supermarket, which is a great help.
I also am so thankful that the child herself has been so good. She knows what she is allowed and what is not allowed, and she has been a real trooper in not taking the forbidden foods, although we have had a few incidents involving MnMs... Grrrr. This GF diet business will also be a pain in future when she has to attend camps or travel. In those instances, while we will still try to steer her towards a GF diet, we will also provide her with gluten-combating enzymes to deal with whatever gluten she does consume. I could just take the easy way out and just give her the enzymes day in day out, but I still feel it is a healthier option to just try to reduce gluten from her diet rather than pig out and take enzymes to deal with it on a daily basis.
So far, some of her favorite GF treats include
these little bunny cookies that are cinnamon flavored, if I'm not wrong. She also gets more chocolate flavored stuff than usual because my choices are so limited.
I will post more pics of her favorite GF things available locally in time to come. For anyone out there who is contemplating a GF diet for your child... I hope this will help. I buy most of my GF food locally from Cold Storage and NTUC Finest. I also plan to ship in enzymes and stuff from a recommended site www.iherb.com. I'll let you know how that goes as well.
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Shannon gets a chance too
Thus far, it has mostly been Stacey who has had the chance to perform with her dance school, being older than Shannon, but sometime in August, Shannon too, got a chance to perform with her dance school in a modern dance item as part of the constituency's celebration.
Here she is thrilled with being a part of this. This particular performance was actually the second time they did this dance - the first being as part of the 'A Very Special Walk' event to raise funds for Pathlight, a school for children on the ASD spectrum. I wasn't at that event though, so I don't have pictures of that.
Here she is on stage. She said afterwards that the light was very bright and she could barely see, but she still enjoyed herself. I never thought my little one would like being on stage and in the limelight in this way. She used to be way shy and would avoid being in the limelight... But I guess she is growing to like it... Haha.
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Here she is thrilled with being a part of this. This particular performance was actually the second time they did this dance - the first being as part of the 'A Very Special Walk' event to raise funds for Pathlight, a school for children on the ASD spectrum. I wasn't at that event though, so I don't have pictures of that.
Here she is on stage. She said afterwards that the light was very bright and she could barely see, but she still enjoyed herself. I never thought my little one would like being on stage and in the limelight in this way. She used to be way shy and would avoid being in the limelight... But I guess she is growing to like it... Haha.
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Piano updates
Shannon has completed 2 terms of piano lessons - one with her original teacher at the CC whom I felt was not very pedagogically sound in her teaching, and one with my friend, whom she sees at Cristofori Music School (my friend also gives lessons at her own home in Bedok, but that was too far for us).
So far, I think she is doing quite well. She is enjoying piano lessons with teacher S tremendously, and she finds teacher S very "funny". Apparently the two of them have a rollicking good time laughing while Shannon is learning to play the piano. :) A very good way to learn.
At home, her practising is all self-motivated. I don't have to remind her to practice and she practices every chance she has. She has also discovered how to mess around with the sound bank of my keyboard (we don't actually have a piano), so she's taken to playing her pieces to different sounds, which is great because it means she gets more practising done and it's not boring! She has also taken advantage of the "record" and "playback" function on the keyboard, and delights in playing her pieces then playing it back for her own enjoyment. Again, all good as it encourages her to get it as "right" as possible... :)
Theory work is also done on her own... she finds the work "so easy" and has already moved on to her Third Theory book. She keeps telling her teacher that the work is simply so easy, so her teacher has been moving her right along... :)
Again, I am so glad that I held off giving her lessons until she was good and ready and self-motivated... it helps also to have a great teacher who can inspire and help her enjoy playing and making music while challenging her just enough to keep her progressing. Given Shannon's issues with perfectionism and resilience in face of failure, she has done a great job in getting her to overcome that. So all in all, good.
The other day, she apparently played on our friend's piano while they were at Cell Group (I wasn't there - I was at NDP practice with Stacey), and her Godma (who is also a piano teacher) commented that she was really doing very well with the piano playing. I looked at her a little skeptically and asked if she really thought so or if she was just taking pride in her god-daughter's abilities... and she compared Shannon to some of her students of a similar age and said that Shannon was indeed doing well. Of course, Shannon is no prodigy, but she is doing well for someone who has just been playing for a little over two terms.
Shannon, my prayer is that you will find great joy in this ability to create beautiful music... and that with this you can overcome your need for instant perfection in all things that you attempt, but learn to love the process as well. Keep playing my little one... you're doing a fantastic job of learning!
So far, I think she is doing quite well. She is enjoying piano lessons with teacher S tremendously, and she finds teacher S very "funny". Apparently the two of them have a rollicking good time laughing while Shannon is learning to play the piano. :) A very good way to learn.
At home, her practising is all self-motivated. I don't have to remind her to practice and she practices every chance she has. She has also discovered how to mess around with the sound bank of my keyboard (we don't actually have a piano), so she's taken to playing her pieces to different sounds, which is great because it means she gets more practising done and it's not boring! She has also taken advantage of the "record" and "playback" function on the keyboard, and delights in playing her pieces then playing it back for her own enjoyment. Again, all good as it encourages her to get it as "right" as possible... :)
Theory work is also done on her own... she finds the work "so easy" and has already moved on to her Third Theory book. She keeps telling her teacher that the work is simply so easy, so her teacher has been moving her right along... :)
Again, I am so glad that I held off giving her lessons until she was good and ready and self-motivated... it helps also to have a great teacher who can inspire and help her enjoy playing and making music while challenging her just enough to keep her progressing. Given Shannon's issues with perfectionism and resilience in face of failure, she has done a great job in getting her to overcome that. So all in all, good.
The other day, she apparently played on our friend's piano while they were at Cell Group (I wasn't there - I was at NDP practice with Stacey), and her Godma (who is also a piano teacher) commented that she was really doing very well with the piano playing. I looked at her a little skeptically and asked if she really thought so or if she was just taking pride in her god-daughter's abilities... and she compared Shannon to some of her students of a similar age and said that Shannon was indeed doing well. Of course, Shannon is no prodigy, but she is doing well for someone who has just been playing for a little over two terms.
Shannon, my prayer is that you will find great joy in this ability to create beautiful music... and that with this you can overcome your need for instant perfection in all things that you attempt, but learn to love the process as well. Keep playing my little one... you're doing a fantastic job of learning!
National Day Parade Tap-Dancer
Another reason why I've been so busy this season is because Stacey is also involved in this year's National Day Parade. It's been rehearsal after rehearsal, some of which happens on a school night, although the teacher fights hard to have them not attend too many of those.
Here she is getting her makeup done. The teacher decided that for this rehearsal they would go with funky hair. LOL...
Stacey has been enjoying herself tremendously since she loves performing and being in the limelight.
So we were lamenting that we were unsuccessful this year at getting tickets for the NDP Preview or Parade through the balloting system, but thanks to Stacey's participation, we were given two tickets for the NE Show, and her teacher managed to get another two more from the other participants who were not going to use their tickets so that our whole family could go! Woohoo!!
So on Saturday, we readied ourselves for the great NE show! We put on our mandatory red and white attire, and I enjoyed myself dolling up my baby girl... shhh, don't tell her I called her my baby. :)
The weather, despite the scorching heat, was beautiful, because the day before, the weather forecast had indicated rain in the late morning and early afternoon, and sun only coming out in the evening... so when we were greeted with a bright blazing sun all day, I gave thanks for an answered prayer of no rain. :) A cheer actually went up when the sun was hidden by the clouds... don't you think it looks like a mouse dancing with a squirrel?
After the contingents marched out, the PA item came out, and lo and behold, there were our beautiful DSI girls! Stacey is in the third column from the picture's left - the one in the middle. I was so proud them all, in particular my daughter! All those weeks and weeks of hard work and constant changes to the formation and sequences, it was all coming together for this second NE show! Three more performances to go girls!
After the show was over, we fought with the crowd and drove in crawling traffic back to the CC to await the return of the girls... they had worn their costumes there, and so needed to go back to the CC to retrieve their belongings and change their attire before going home for a well deserved rest!
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Here she is getting her makeup done. The teacher decided that for this rehearsal they would go with funky hair. LOL...
Stacey has been enjoying herself tremendously since she loves performing and being in the limelight.
So we were lamenting that we were unsuccessful this year at getting tickets for the NDP Preview or Parade through the balloting system, but thanks to Stacey's participation, we were given two tickets for the NE Show, and her teacher managed to get another two more from the other participants who were not going to use their tickets so that our whole family could go! Woohoo!!
So on Saturday, we readied ourselves for the great NE show! We put on our mandatory red and white attire, and I enjoyed myself dolling up my baby girl... shhh, don't tell her I called her my baby. :)
The weather, despite the scorching heat, was beautiful, because the day before, the weather forecast had indicated rain in the late morning and early afternoon, and sun only coming out in the evening... so when we were greeted with a bright blazing sun all day, I gave thanks for an answered prayer of no rain. :) A cheer actually went up when the sun was hidden by the clouds... don't you think it looks like a mouse dancing with a squirrel?
After the contingents marched out, the PA item came out, and lo and behold, there were our beautiful DSI girls! Stacey is in the third column from the picture's left - the one in the middle. I was so proud them all, in particular my daughter! All those weeks and weeks of hard work and constant changes to the formation and sequences, it was all coming together for this second NE show! Three more performances to go girls!
After the show was over, we fought with the crowd and drove in crawling traffic back to the CC to await the return of the girls... they had worn their costumes there, and so needed to go back to the CC to retrieve their belongings and change their attire before going home for a well deserved rest!
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Choir Trip to Vienna
The reason this blog has been very quiet until now is because I have been extremely busy - as you can see from the avalanche of blog posts... and that's just the half of it. The other half is made up of the more mundane things like ferrying the kids to and fro from classes and dance and enrichment and so on.
Earlier this month, Stacey's choir departed for Vienna to take part in the Summa Cum Laude (read Soomah Coom Loud-day) Youth Music Festival. It's a huge festival with more than 1, 400 participants - some in choirs and orchestras and string ensembles and so on.
Some groups were there only to take part in the Festival and not the competition. Our girls competed with two other choirs from China, as they were all in the "Children's Choir" category for children 12 and under. 17 choirs in all took part in the competition, of which 3 choirs received an "Outstanding" award, and 3 received "Excellent" (the other awards being "Good" and "Participated"). In our category, the SMPS choir came in 2nd place, with an "Excellent" award. We were so proud of them because this choir that went to Vienna was a tiny group of only 28 girls... yet, the acoustics in the Halls are so awesome that we could still hear them clearly, despite their number and size (they were amongst the youngest participants there).
The girls were given neon green tees to wear to the airport simply because it would be easier to keep track of them if they were easily identifiable. Of course, some wore their own jackets over the t-shirt and this sort of then defeated the purpose! :P
In Vienna, besides rehearsing, the girls were also taken on day tours to see the sights. We visited a palace, and various Music-related attractions like Mozart's house and the House of Music... as well as the Opera House on the last day.
The weather was freakishly hot and humid... I say freakishly because it is unusual in Europe. Ah well.
The girls in their school uniform after visiting the Schonbrunn palace...
We took a break here and I think also stopped to eat our packed lunch and to take photos. The food was generally good and the girls generally enjoyed themselves, although the portions were sometimes a little too big for them, because at every lunch and dinner meal (besides the packed lunches on the days that we had no time for a sit down meal) there was always soup and bread, followed by the main followed by dessert.
Everywhere they went, they would be looked upon with the "aww, so cute!" kind of expression - and who could blame them? They look absolutely adorable in their choir outfit! And because they were the youngest participants, they were given some privileges like being allowed in first to sit right in front during the opening ceremony, much to the displeasure of some groups from other nations who were somewhat aggressive and pushy. Sigh. And unfortunately, that particular country fielded many many groups in this competition, so there was much gnashing of teeth sometimes, and the parents and teachers had to band up and protect our children from the overly aggressive behaviour of these people. Sigh.
This was at the winner's concert. Of the 17 choirs that participated, 7 were invited to sing at the Winner's Concert - all the choirs that had received "Outstanding" or "Excellent" and a Choir from Africa that had received an "Encouragement Award". They arranged for all the 1,400 participants to form up in the great hall, and it made an impressive photo!
This was taken at the Opera house (sorry, a blurry pic) where the choir put up an impromptu public performance of one of their acapella songs... it was very much enjoyed by the visitors to the Opera House who happened to be standing around. :)
Overall, I'd say it was a great trip... the girls were generally well-behaved although we did have a couple of incidents that had to be dealt with... and they performed well despite the very small number of girls that we had. I hope that when Shannon is in the choir, we will have another opportunity to take part in this again. :) And hopefully we can bring more girls with us.
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Earlier this month, Stacey's choir departed for Vienna to take part in the Summa Cum Laude (read Soomah Coom Loud-day) Youth Music Festival. It's a huge festival with more than 1, 400 participants - some in choirs and orchestras and string ensembles and so on.
Some groups were there only to take part in the Festival and not the competition. Our girls competed with two other choirs from China, as they were all in the "Children's Choir" category for children 12 and under. 17 choirs in all took part in the competition, of which 3 choirs received an "Outstanding" award, and 3 received "Excellent" (the other awards being "Good" and "Participated"). In our category, the SMPS choir came in 2nd place, with an "Excellent" award. We were so proud of them because this choir that went to Vienna was a tiny group of only 28 girls... yet, the acoustics in the Halls are so awesome that we could still hear them clearly, despite their number and size (they were amongst the youngest participants there).
The girls were given neon green tees to wear to the airport simply because it would be easier to keep track of them if they were easily identifiable. Of course, some wore their own jackets over the t-shirt and this sort of then defeated the purpose! :P
In Vienna, besides rehearsing, the girls were also taken on day tours to see the sights. We visited a palace, and various Music-related attractions like Mozart's house and the House of Music... as well as the Opera House on the last day.
The weather was freakishly hot and humid... I say freakishly because it is unusual in Europe. Ah well.
The girls in their school uniform after visiting the Schonbrunn palace...
We took a break here and I think also stopped to eat our packed lunch and to take photos. The food was generally good and the girls generally enjoyed themselves, although the portions were sometimes a little too big for them, because at every lunch and dinner meal (besides the packed lunches on the days that we had no time for a sit down meal) there was always soup and bread, followed by the main followed by dessert.
Everywhere they went, they would be looked upon with the "aww, so cute!" kind of expression - and who could blame them? They look absolutely adorable in their choir outfit! And because they were the youngest participants, they were given some privileges like being allowed in first to sit right in front during the opening ceremony, much to the displeasure of some groups from other nations who were somewhat aggressive and pushy. Sigh. And unfortunately, that particular country fielded many many groups in this competition, so there was much gnashing of teeth sometimes, and the parents and teachers had to band up and protect our children from the overly aggressive behaviour of these people. Sigh.
This was at the winner's concert. Of the 17 choirs that participated, 7 were invited to sing at the Winner's Concert - all the choirs that had received "Outstanding" or "Excellent" and a Choir from Africa that had received an "Encouragement Award". They arranged for all the 1,400 participants to form up in the great hall, and it made an impressive photo!
This was taken at the Opera house (sorry, a blurry pic) where the choir put up an impromptu public performance of one of their acapella songs... it was very much enjoyed by the visitors to the Opera House who happened to be standing around. :)
Overall, I'd say it was a great trip... the girls were generally well-behaved although we did have a couple of incidents that had to be dealt with... and they performed well despite the very small number of girls that we had. I hope that when Shannon is in the choir, we will have another opportunity to take part in this again. :) And hopefully we can bring more girls with us.
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Monday, June 25, 2012
Tappin' with Daddy
All three Twinklekids tap... but recently, both Twinkledaddy and I have taken it up as well. Because our lesson is right after the kids', the girls tend to want to join us for lessons - in part to show off (how often do they get to be better at something than us?) and in part to encourage us as we try to get our decades-old muscles and limbs to do things it has never been asked to do. LOL.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Day 3 of Gold Coast Scootin'
The third day saw a very excited bunch of Twinkle kids anticipating a Whale watching cruise and a helicopter ride. Unfortunately, due to the choppy seas, the whale watching cruises were still cancelled, and there went all hope of catching sight of a whale. Ah well. With that, we headed into the main Seaworld and started exploring.
The weather was awesome and we splurged on a 15-minute helicopter ride for the whole family. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we weren't too sure how the two auditory averse children would take it. Surprisingly, though they said that the helicopter was loud, they were excited enough not to be put off by the rotor blades... and once safely in the helicopter, the use of the headphones really helped to cut out the sound of the blades.
The view from up there was fantastic... the pilot pointed out all the interesting buildings, then we flew out over the water... hoping to perhaps catch sight of a whale... but we saw none. Ah well. The children enjoyed the helicopter ride very much, as did the adults... and the kids asked to go "again!"... to which we laughed and said no, then laughed some more when their eyes nearly popped out of their heads when we told them how much we had paid for our family to go on the helicopter ride. Hurhur.
After the helicopter ride, we headed out towards the attractions, and spent a while checking out their wonderful penguin enclosure... the penguins were so funny, walking in line back and forth, parading in front of all the visitors.
More walking and touching of sea creatures like stingrays, and we also managed to catch a dolphin show. The dolphins in Singapore can't compare to the dolphins there... theirs were much smarter and could do a whole lot more tricks it seemed. In any case, we really enjoyed the show... that's something I'd watch again if I could.
Shannon also asked to be allowed to pat a dolphin (you have to pay extra for the privilege) and we allowed her... so she was a thrilled little missy when after the show we trooped down to be led "behind the scenes" as it were so that she could have a chance to get up close and personal with the dolphin, and of course get her picture taken professionally while she was at it.
We walked all the way to some Pirates Land (I forget what it's called, but apparently it's quite a new attraction). There we spotted a 3 level ropes adventure course, and to our great delight, climbs were FREE for that day!! Zach is not keen on such things, and me, well, somebody had to look after all the belongings right? So I sat with the bags and my ipad and food, while Twinkledaddy went with the girls to climb the ropes course. It was during this time that we discovered that while Stacey is the one who is super excited about such things, it was Shannon was moved as if she was really comfortable. Truly, she walked as if she was on solid ground... not 3 or 4 levels up in the air.
The whole course was ingeniously designed, and with that one harness, you could move every which direction and go to whichever level you so desired. For a child of Shannon's height, she was supposed to be accompanied by an adult at all times, but it was soon glaringly obvious that she was far more adept and comfortable at the course than then adult accompanying her, so daddy soon left her to her own devices under the still watchful eyes of the people in charge of the course while daddy took his time moving around.
Another quite fun attraction was the water shooting thing where there were boats going round equipped with their own water cannons which riders could use to shoot jets of water at those "on land". Those on land though, had a distinct advantage though because they too were equipped with the water cannons as well, and they had the advantage of being able to move away out of reach of the water jets from the boats, while the riders were basically stuck. We all ended up thoroughly soaked in middle of winter... and while the kids had brought a change of clothes, mummy did not, and so had to end up wearing daddy's extra shirt and buying a pair of shorts to go with it because there was no way my jeans would dry. Heh.
The kids spent so much time at this area that soon, it was time to start heading back. They missed out on some of the other rides and shows because it was already close to closing time, much to their disappointment. How we wished we had a longer stay there... but it was our last day, and the next morning would see us heading for the airport for our flight home. Ah well.
A parting shot with the rental car... one that Twinkledaddy has fallen in love with. Hurhur.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The weather was awesome and we splurged on a 15-minute helicopter ride for the whole family. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we weren't too sure how the two auditory averse children would take it. Surprisingly, though they said that the helicopter was loud, they were excited enough not to be put off by the rotor blades... and once safely in the helicopter, the use of the headphones really helped to cut out the sound of the blades.
The view from up there was fantastic... the pilot pointed out all the interesting buildings, then we flew out over the water... hoping to perhaps catch sight of a whale... but we saw none. Ah well. The children enjoyed the helicopter ride very much, as did the adults... and the kids asked to go "again!"... to which we laughed and said no, then laughed some more when their eyes nearly popped out of their heads when we told them how much we had paid for our family to go on the helicopter ride. Hurhur.
After the helicopter ride, we headed out towards the attractions, and spent a while checking out their wonderful penguin enclosure... the penguins were so funny, walking in line back and forth, parading in front of all the visitors.
More walking and touching of sea creatures like stingrays, and we also managed to catch a dolphin show. The dolphins in Singapore can't compare to the dolphins there... theirs were much smarter and could do a whole lot more tricks it seemed. In any case, we really enjoyed the show... that's something I'd watch again if I could.
Shannon also asked to be allowed to pat a dolphin (you have to pay extra for the privilege) and we allowed her... so she was a thrilled little missy when after the show we trooped down to be led "behind the scenes" as it were so that she could have a chance to get up close and personal with the dolphin, and of course get her picture taken professionally while she was at it.
We walked all the way to some Pirates Land (I forget what it's called, but apparently it's quite a new attraction). There we spotted a 3 level ropes adventure course, and to our great delight, climbs were FREE for that day!! Zach is not keen on such things, and me, well, somebody had to look after all the belongings right? So I sat with the bags and my ipad and food, while Twinkledaddy went with the girls to climb the ropes course. It was during this time that we discovered that while Stacey is the one who is super excited about such things, it was Shannon was moved as if she was really comfortable. Truly, she walked as if she was on solid ground... not 3 or 4 levels up in the air.
The whole course was ingeniously designed, and with that one harness, you could move every which direction and go to whichever level you so desired. For a child of Shannon's height, she was supposed to be accompanied by an adult at all times, but it was soon glaringly obvious that she was far more adept and comfortable at the course than then adult accompanying her, so daddy soon left her to her own devices under the still watchful eyes of the people in charge of the course while daddy took his time moving around.
Another quite fun attraction was the water shooting thing where there were boats going round equipped with their own water cannons which riders could use to shoot jets of water at those "on land". Those on land though, had a distinct advantage though because they too were equipped with the water cannons as well, and they had the advantage of being able to move away out of reach of the water jets from the boats, while the riders were basically stuck. We all ended up thoroughly soaked in middle of winter... and while the kids had brought a change of clothes, mummy did not, and so had to end up wearing daddy's extra shirt and buying a pair of shorts to go with it because there was no way my jeans would dry. Heh.
The kids spent so much time at this area that soon, it was time to start heading back. They missed out on some of the other rides and shows because it was already close to closing time, much to their disappointment. How we wished we had a longer stay there... but it was our last day, and the next morning would see us heading for the airport for our flight home. Ah well.
A parting shot with the rental car... one that Twinkledaddy has fallen in love with. Hurhur.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Scooting around in Gold Coast - Day 2
The night before, the girls saw a sign "advertising" a Rock Climbing session for kids for the next morning, and both the girls were super excited and begged to go for the Rock Climbing session. This being a kids resort, there are tons of such activities being organised for children every day... it was a pity we were there for such a short time and didn't have a chance to make full use of the facilities and the programs. Anyways...
So at 8:30am, the girls happily reported for the Rock Climbing session, for which we paid A$15 per child for a 90 minute session. We were told that how much climbing they actually did depended on how many children signed up for the session, but it being in the middle of winter, the resort was not very crowded, so there was only one other 7yo boy at the session. This meant A LOT of climbing for all three of them.
That Stacey in the pink and Shannon in the blue jeans... and we asked them to high-five each other while up there. It was quite a feat as they had to move closer to each other in order to do that, besides freeing one hand and holding it long enough for me to take a picture! LOL...
They were assisted by a great team who encouraged and cheered them on... occasionally even giving a little boost by pulling harder on the harness so that the child could reach the next rock... so sweet. See the hairnets that the girls are holding? The children actually share the helmets (there are two so it gets rotated), so for hygiene purposes, the kids are given a hairnet to put over their head before putting on the helmet.
After rock climbing, we headed to MovieWorld, and within Movieworld was a Kidzworld (or something similar) where the rides are pint-sized and not as scary...
We also managed to catch the Batman show...
The girls got Jester hats by playing a game of Toss the ball into the Basket... we actually only won 1 hat even though the girls and I all had a turn (because mummy was the only one who managed to even score 1 point) but the lady took pity on us and gave us another hat for "free". That was really nice of her.
Besides these, the Twinklemen also went on the slightly bigger and scarier rides, and we also caught the Stunt Cars show which was really good! But photographs don't do that show justice... you need to see it live! I think we didn't manage to do quite a bit of what was available because some rides were closed due to it being Winter and off peak period... and also because we spent quite a while in the kidzworld section... and later on, at the adults' bumper cars section, where they went over and over again for almost 10 rounds!! LOL. Thankfully that was located in an arcade, so I entertained myself by playing arcade games and winning tickets in exchange for a Loony Tunes Tote Bag! Yeah!
Dinner was at HarbourTown... we were told that this was a really good place for shopping, and we did manage to score some pretty good buys! We finally sat down at a Sushi / Jap food place because by then, the kids were really tired of Fish and Chips and such... haha. As usual though, outside of Singapore and Japan, Jap food tastes weird and was not very good... maybe because the ingredients are not as readily available. Anyway, Zach was thrilled (still!) by the Sushi Train that would come around carrying the sushi... see the railway tracks? The best part about Harbour Town? The supermarket that stayed open till 9:30pm. Heh. So we shopped for snacks and milk and food for breakfast, before ending the day with a drive back to the resort.
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So at 8:30am, the girls happily reported for the Rock Climbing session, for which we paid A$15 per child for a 90 minute session. We were told that how much climbing they actually did depended on how many children signed up for the session, but it being in the middle of winter, the resort was not very crowded, so there was only one other 7yo boy at the session. This meant A LOT of climbing for all three of them.
That Stacey in the pink and Shannon in the blue jeans... and we asked them to high-five each other while up there. It was quite a feat as they had to move closer to each other in order to do that, besides freeing one hand and holding it long enough for me to take a picture! LOL...
They were assisted by a great team who encouraged and cheered them on... occasionally even giving a little boost by pulling harder on the harness so that the child could reach the next rock... so sweet. See the hairnets that the girls are holding? The children actually share the helmets (there are two so it gets rotated), so for hygiene purposes, the kids are given a hairnet to put over their head before putting on the helmet.
After rock climbing, we headed to MovieWorld, and within Movieworld was a Kidzworld (or something similar) where the rides are pint-sized and not as scary...
We also managed to catch the Batman show...
The girls got Jester hats by playing a game of Toss the ball into the Basket... we actually only won 1 hat even though the girls and I all had a turn (because mummy was the only one who managed to even score 1 point) but the lady took pity on us and gave us another hat for "free". That was really nice of her.
Besides these, the Twinklemen also went on the slightly bigger and scarier rides, and we also caught the Stunt Cars show which was really good! But photographs don't do that show justice... you need to see it live! I think we didn't manage to do quite a bit of what was available because some rides were closed due to it being Winter and off peak period... and also because we spent quite a while in the kidzworld section... and later on, at the adults' bumper cars section, where they went over and over again for almost 10 rounds!! LOL. Thankfully that was located in an arcade, so I entertained myself by playing arcade games and winning tickets in exchange for a Loony Tunes Tote Bag! Yeah!
Dinner was at HarbourTown... we were told that this was a really good place for shopping, and we did manage to score some pretty good buys! We finally sat down at a Sushi / Jap food place because by then, the kids were really tired of Fish and Chips and such... haha. As usual though, outside of Singapore and Japan, Jap food tastes weird and was not very good... maybe because the ingredients are not as readily available. Anyway, Zach was thrilled (still!) by the Sushi Train that would come around carrying the sushi... see the railway tracks? The best part about Harbour Town? The supermarket that stayed open till 9:30pm. Heh. So we shopped for snacks and milk and food for breakfast, before ending the day with a drive back to the resort.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Scooting off to Gold Coast!
We had to give our annual church camp a miss this year because Twinkledaddy couldn't take leave for it. So when I learnt about the new budget airline's flights to the Gold Coast, we thought it would be a great opportunity to take a really SHORT vacation there. If not for the cheap airfare, we would not have gone for the 4 days of vacation there. Why so short? Well, because Twinkledaddy could only take leave from the 12th onwards, and we had to be back in Singapore before the 18th because Zach had supplementary lessons, plus Stacey had choir practices because the choir was preparing for their trip to Vienna in July.
So we booked ourselves tickets on Scoot - their inaugural flight, no less - to Gold Coast on the night of the 12th, and had to be content with flying home just a few days later on the 17th because the flight on the 18th was already fully booked.
Because it was the inaugural flight, there were a lot of festivities and celebrities milling around. We spotted quite a few familiar faces in the crowd though the children were oblivious to their presence, not knowing who they were.
The CEO of Scoot was there taking pictures with whoever wanted photos of him and the surfboard that he had brought with him... And he obligingly offered to take a picture for our family with the surfboard, sans himself. Haha.. I thought that was nice of him. :)
The flight was delayed by about an hour due to a fault with the door... But we still managed to get to Oz safely and within reasonable time. Once there, we got into our rental car and started exploring the areas nearby.
Twinkledaddy had done some research and brought us to Honeyworld, where we got to get a tour and lesson on bees and their world... It was very very interesting! Shannon was initially a little worried that the man would release the bees and that they would sting us, but once she realized that that would not happen, she relaxed and enjoyed herself.
Waiting to go for our Bee Tour!
After learning all about the Queen bee, the drones, the worker bees (they are all girls!) and how the hives work and so on, the guide also did a demonstration on how they extracted the honey from the hives and so on. It was kinda exciting to be so close yet not in danger of being stung!
The waves were huge and the seas were really rough that day. We were really blessed because we were told that just the days before our arrival, there had been nothing but rain and cold gloomy weather. The four days we spent there saw nothing but sunshine, although we were disappointed that we couldn't do the whale watching cruises that we had looked forward to because the seas were too rough. Ah well.
So in looking for food, we wandered along the beachfront and enjoyed the crashing waves and the beautiful crisp and cold air. It was such a lovely time, just marveling at the power of the surf... This was something we would not see in Singapore, so there we were, the suaku Singaporeans, gaping and just watching the waves rise up and come in one after another.
After finally checking into our hotel, we took a walk to the beach front again and there we came upon big fat seagulls. Shannon had a great time running after them and scaring them... Haha.
We also came upon a bazaar of sorts, and looked with great interest at all the things were being sold... Foam lizards on a stick, glop that had very interesting properties, lots and lots of soap in all colours, shapes and sizes... Also art work of all sorts and clothes and touristy things as well. The children also spent some time walking on the beach... Whilst mummy stayed safely on the tiles and used sensory aversion as a reason for not wanting to go down. I hate having sand in my shoes. Yuck.
All that walking and cold air made us very hungry, so we ventured into a nearby mall-like looking place to look for food, and ended up eating pasta, fried seafood, steak and ribs. :) yum.
This was my Seafood Basket. It tasted every bit as good as it looks! Yums!
Night fell very quickly even though it was still early, but we had had a long day (and night), so we took a leisurely walk back to our hotel and crashed soon after.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
So we booked ourselves tickets on Scoot - their inaugural flight, no less - to Gold Coast on the night of the 12th, and had to be content with flying home just a few days later on the 17th because the flight on the 18th was already fully booked.
Because it was the inaugural flight, there were a lot of festivities and celebrities milling around. We spotted quite a few familiar faces in the crowd though the children were oblivious to their presence, not knowing who they were.
The CEO of Scoot was there taking pictures with whoever wanted photos of him and the surfboard that he had brought with him... And he obligingly offered to take a picture for our family with the surfboard, sans himself. Haha.. I thought that was nice of him. :)
The flight was delayed by about an hour due to a fault with the door... But we still managed to get to Oz safely and within reasonable time. Once there, we got into our rental car and started exploring the areas nearby.
Twinkledaddy had done some research and brought us to Honeyworld, where we got to get a tour and lesson on bees and their world... It was very very interesting! Shannon was initially a little worried that the man would release the bees and that they would sting us, but once she realized that that would not happen, she relaxed and enjoyed herself.
Waiting to go for our Bee Tour!
After learning all about the Queen bee, the drones, the worker bees (they are all girls!) and how the hives work and so on, the guide also did a demonstration on how they extracted the honey from the hives and so on. It was kinda exciting to be so close yet not in danger of being stung!
The waves were huge and the seas were really rough that day. We were really blessed because we were told that just the days before our arrival, there had been nothing but rain and cold gloomy weather. The four days we spent there saw nothing but sunshine, although we were disappointed that we couldn't do the whale watching cruises that we had looked forward to because the seas were too rough. Ah well.
So in looking for food, we wandered along the beachfront and enjoyed the crashing waves and the beautiful crisp and cold air. It was such a lovely time, just marveling at the power of the surf... This was something we would not see in Singapore, so there we were, the suaku Singaporeans, gaping and just watching the waves rise up and come in one after another.
After finally checking into our hotel, we took a walk to the beach front again and there we came upon big fat seagulls. Shannon had a great time running after them and scaring them... Haha.
We also came upon a bazaar of sorts, and looked with great interest at all the things were being sold... Foam lizards on a stick, glop that had very interesting properties, lots and lots of soap in all colours, shapes and sizes... Also art work of all sorts and clothes and touristy things as well. The children also spent some time walking on the beach... Whilst mummy stayed safely on the tiles and used sensory aversion as a reason for not wanting to go down. I hate having sand in my shoes. Yuck.
All that walking and cold air made us very hungry, so we ventured into a nearby mall-like looking place to look for food, and ended up eating pasta, fried seafood, steak and ribs. :) yum.
This was my Seafood Basket. It tasted every bit as good as it looks! Yums!
Night fell very quickly even though it was still early, but we had had a long day (and night), so we took a leisurely walk back to our hotel and crashed soon after.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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