I dance because it's not groovy!

I was listening to one of my current favourite songs from Faye Wong (duet with Eason). Shean Wenn was dancing and shuffling her feet to the song.

Me : You like this song, don't you?
SW : No, I don't. 
Me : Oh? Then why are you dancing to it then??
SW : If I am dancing like this, it means I don't like the song. See? See how I am dancing?

@.@

Then another Faye Wong's song comes up. She stood still.

SW: Oh, this is my FAVOURITE SONG! See, I am not dancing. If I am not dancing, it means I love the song!

@.@ @.@ -____-"

Conversations : Take 2

Continuation of their conversations over lunch. This time, I realised my camera was set to "colour accent" (Yellow), which you may have noticed that other colours seemed a little off-colour in the previous video. Here they talk about more random stuff!

Conversations between pre-schoolers

Shean Wenn had a friend, Kaye, over for playdate few weeks ago and I took this video of them over lunch. Kaye is 7 months younger than Shean Wenn and both of them such chatterboxes! Here, they talk about Birthdays, scooters and more.

Little Miss Chatterbox

My little 3 and a half year-old is full of opinions and is always willing to share them with anyone who wants to listen. We had just returned home from a fun-filled day out - it was the Easter Fare held by her kindy in the morning followed by lunch and scootering in CW malls.

Here, she talks about friends in school, days of the week and butterflies!



More of the "Little Miss" Series here.

Cantonese class : Chinese writing

Saturdays are busy days for little Shean Wenn. She starts her morning with ballet class at 9am for 35minutes, before a mad dash for us going to the another side of London for her Cantonese Class (not Mandarin). She enjoys her ballet class very much but the same cannot be said about the chinese class. Sometimes, she would cry in the beginning of the class and I can see that she was not very enthusiastic about it at all.

When we first started the class, I told her that she will be going for a Chinese Playgroup. And due to the education system in the UK, a child is not required to sit down & read/write until they are 5-years old (according to the early years education system) so when I said "playgroup", her natural perception was a FUN class where she is allowed to play/jump/sing/tumble-about! So when she attended the chinese class, it was a shock to her to have to sit down quietly for a full hour (60mins) listening to the teacher and writing /doing homework. They break for 20mins for food & drinks before commencing the class again with some games or singing. She is getting used to this class and style now.

After much coaxing & prepping, she no longer finds this class a chore. She is more enthusiastic about her Chinese Class and even chirps to me out of the blue sometimes : "I'm going to practice my Chinese (writing), mummy, because I'm a Chinese!". Ahh.. a good sign, isn't it?

So, since starting her weekly 2-hourly CANTONESE class less than 3 months ago, she has been learning to write come basic Chinese words. Here, she is practicing a few words (chinese Han Yu Pin Yin followed by the meaning in English in brackets) :

Yue (Moon)
Ri (Sun)
Da (Big)
Xiao (Small)
Shan (mountain)
Li (Strong)
Dao (Knife)
Mu (Wood)

And numbers :
4, 5, 6 & 7

Gong Yee Wat Tsai : Happy Chinese New Year 2011

It's the Lunar New Year again!

Shean Wenn knows more about the Chinese New Year this year, but only the things I told her, which are :
1. She must behave well during CNY
2. She must greet everyone (at least the chinese people/friends) with "Gong Yee Wat Tsai" - Hainan for Gong Hey Fatt Choy/Gong Xi Fa Cai.
3. She gets an ang pow from her mom, and one from her dad. (She has been bugging me this evening to give her "THREE hong bao, mummy??" - doesn't work that day, Shean Wenn).
4. We go to the temple on 1st day of CNY.
5. We bake some peanut cookies for CNY - she has been telling her teachers about the "Chinese Cookies" she helped mummy made. Funny! I told her it's Chinese New Year cookies.. and it's peanut cookies.. but she intepreted it as that.

Meng has also bought a CNY CD by the Malaysian girl-group "M-Girls" for her to watch. Actually she has been watching them on youtube previously (last year) and since she loves their songs so much, Meng bought the CD for her. Whenever we put it on, she will try to follow the dance steps to her favourite songs in the album - she has a few fav. And the video below is her MOST favourite from the CD : A song called "龙头大队贺新年".



So here's wishing everyone, especially my family (The Lim family & the Wong family) a prosperous, healthy and safe New Year of the Golden Rabbit!

(You can watch the original video of the M-Girl's track here)

Book Reading : Some Dogs Do

One of Shean Wenn's favourite hobby is reading! Every night before her bedtime, she likes to sit on our bed, sometimes by herself, usually with Meng and both of them will go through her books. During this time, I'm usually busy washing up the dishes in the kitchen so I seldom read to her before she sleeps. Anyway, she has a few of her fav books. One of them is by Jez Alborough, entitled "Some Dogs Do". I didn't realise she knows all the words (by memorising, I suppose) and found that out one day while I was reading to her during the day as I was "forcing/training" her to get her afternoon nap - she really doesn't like sleeping during the day. Anyway, sometimes while i fall asleep during the day with her by my side, I will wake up and knock over a tower of books left there by SW!!! And I mean A TOWER of them!

This book, "Some Dogs Do" is really fabulous because the storyline is so engaging, his sentences rhyme nicely and it is punctuated with so much humour. And at the end of it, there is a good Moral of the story - which is to tell kids that, although some people may not think you can do something, you should strive to achieve it against all odds ("Now Sid, you shouldn't lie," She said. "All dogs walk and jump & run, but dog's don't fly - it can't be done" - and at the end of the book, you'll see why Sid can fly... "Do dogs fly? Is it True? Some dogs don't, and some dogs do.") I love it too! Would recommend you to get it except you prob can't get a new book as it's given out for free in the bookpack that the UK gives out - under the Bookstart programme. This was found (i believe) in the 3-year-old's pack - there were 2 or 3 books with colour pencils, some drawing block & money-off voucher.

Meng loves the book so much, he actually bought more books from Jez, but I think Some Dogs Do is still the best!

Shean Wenn has also learnt all her alphabets - uppercase & lowercases and she loves spelling them out. You'll see in the beginning of the video. She can also spell & write her name now, which she does very fondly everytime she has a pen/pencil/crayon on her.

Favourite TV Shows : Aussie-influences

Amongst the many TV shows that Shean Wenn just LOVES, are these 2 from Australia. When she was about 1YO, the paternal grandparents gave a HI-5 DVD and said they were one of the bestselling groups on Aus, I put it on for her once & she never glanced more than 5 minutes. Fine, I then chuck it aside and hoping she'd know how to appreciate it one day. Anyhow, in Jan this year when we went back to Aus & SW met her 2 cousins for the 1st time, she also met Wiggles for the 1st time. She was hooked.

1) The Wiggles : After that when we were browsing the shelves in the local toy-shop here (Smyths, awesome!) and found they stock up Wiggles, we bought a few titles for her. It was only about £4-5 each. From then, everytime SW asks to watch a show, it would be "WIGGLES PLEASE MOMMY!". She can memorise all the songs, all the characters, all their antics, their funny trivia, she can tell us. Her favourite character is also Anthony. Her fav songs are "The big red car" (and a few more which I can't seem to recall now).

2) Hi-5 : She got into Hi-5 just 2 months back when Meng was recording it for her in the mornings. I guess this girl really likes to jive to music, esp those with catchy tunes. The Hi-5 is the UK group (not the Aus version) and her favourite character is a girl in pink (what else)! And the her ultimate favourite song is FEELINGS.

"Feelings go up,
feelings go down,
There's lots of feelings spinning round & round & round,
Sometimes they're good,
Sometimes they're bad...."

Here's a video of her dancing to the song with all the right choreographed steps which she has been "practicing". She usually sings along to it but when she knows she is being video-d, she hesitated.

The REALLY NOISY fishing game!

4 April 2010 : Shean Wenn @ 33 Months Old

This weekend being Easter Long weekend (Good Friday is a Bank Holiday* & Monday is a replacement holiday for Easter Sunday), saw us spending our Friday in a shopping mall. Meng went "mad" shopping for Shean Wenn at the toy dept.

Toy 1 : This "create & play" toy from ELC.

(Request of the day 5 Apr 2010 : A dog!)

It consists of chunky shapes, nuts & bolts and you can assemble & create various designs with it - the box gave many different ideas such as a robot, trucks, a car, shopping trolley & a wheelbarrow!

When we got home, SW excitedly told us she wants to build a car. Meng taught her what is a screwdriver & a spanner. And she helped out Meng with the whole project and was very very enthusiastic with it too. The next day, she asks daddy to make a truck for her. After seeing that there is a shopping trolley that she can also build with it, she requested us to help her build one. So, this time MUMMY dearest - the "engineer", had to help her out. I sat down with her & taught her the nuts & bolts too. The good thing is, daddy also taught her a system to arrange the nut & bolt together so she was very good at it. We build ourselves a nice looking trolley, but obviously not nice enough for her because she then "demanded" that I should put flowers on it. She looked for the flower petals in the box - and found it (I told her they didn't give it to us, but not satisfied with my answer, she rummaged until she found it!).

(Shean Wenn's very own shopping trolley - created with help from mummy!)

Toy 2 : THE VERY NOISY FISHING GAME!

Oh boy, the title says it all. Actually I have been telling Meng that Shean Wenn will sometimes swing her scribbler board by holding to its pen. When asked in horror what is she doing : she replies she is FISHING! Where did she get the idea from? I really don't know. But I was SO afraid she might swing it and it accidentally fly off from her grasp & hit herself, or the tv, or me! So Meng says let's just buy her a fishing game if we can find it. We managed to find one in Smyths and bought it straightaway . Meng also bought a Hello Kitty DVD, and 2 Wiggles DVD for her.

This is a video of her "fishing" - this was taken this morning, her first morning playing with it! She is very excited because everytime she comes home from outside, she will run to find it and sit down & fish!



NOTE : * Bank Holiday = Public Holiday

Summer Sliding

So Summer has officially ended weeks ago although I still am in denial. It feels odd now that we have to bulk up again and when we go out, chilly wind keeps beating my face. And not so oddly, the sun has also retreated.

This was one of SW's favourite activity : besides swimming, jumping & singing!



She & her friends Joyee & Kaye (esp with Joyee) kept running up and sliding down, and giggling as they do so.. they walk ON THE SLIDE itself and at one point it was stressing me out (because I was afraid she might fall off). But most times, I am fine with her jumping & sliding all she wants.

SW draws a face

About a month ago, I accidentally stumbled upon SW's new skills. She can draw a face! Complete with 2 eyes, a nose & a mouth - all at the right places. At the same time, on her own initiative, drew a pair of ears at both sides of the head! What I did was, I drew an oval/round-shaped "head", and she proceeded to draw the other features. Then, after drawing the eyes, nose, mouth & ears, she told me she wants to draw legs, and the legs started just below the chin!

Oh, of course to me that was the most beautiful painting/portrait. A MASTERPIECE!

Today I woke up to her drawing on her Aquadraw Mat and I video-taped her drawing another face.

Shean Wenn doing another masterpiece.

(Note her "bangles"! Oh she's a fashionista alright!)

18 Months Old : What is SW doing now?

She turned 18 months old on 24th Dec 2008, Christmas Eve.

Stats :
WEIGHT - around 11kg
HEIGHT - 68cm


Speech & understanding
As with most 18MOs, she can understand alot of basic daily speech and can/will reply you with a verbal answer, or with an action, or both!

Book & Reading : She loves them to bits and can indulge in reading for a long time, many times a day. Typical scenario of a day with SW - Mummy resting on the couch, SW toddles along, slams a book on my tummy/chest/nose declaring "BOOK!", me looking at her in alarm and she telling me "Up!" (to indicate she wants to climb up on me so that I can read to her) while climbing up and sitting on my tummy. This kid is getting heavy, everytime she sits her bum on me, I can feel my inerts being crushed. Ouch!

Daddy has also been teaching her a few funky stuff, ie the numbers (1, 2 & 3 only, let's not confuse her too much) and she also knows the "musical note" saying "MUSIC!". One rubbish that he taught her was where is her bum-bum and she will respond by turning around and patting her bum with her hands!

Here is a video of Shean Wenn reading with daddy.



Especially at this age, repetition is crucial for them because it is how they will absorb information - repeating what she learns from yesterday, an hour ago or 2 days ago. She reinforces her learning by also chanting the new words every now and then. What I do is to repeat after her, sometimes to correct her, but never with too many confusing words (ie, I don't string long sentences, I say something to the point so she catches the main part of what is important, for example instead of saying "This is a blue fish swimming in the big ocean", I say "FISH swim swim in the sea".)




MOTOR SKILLS

Eating :
Getting there, she can feed herself better although still with alot of mess and her spoon usually turns downwards upon reaching her mouth. Very annoying to watch, but I leave it to her most of the time because I want her to learn it at her own pace. She will point to her spoon, or even fork and say "Poon" (spoon). I will correct her everytime she says the fork as spoon..

Pulling/Pushing :
From around 16MO till now, she likes toys that can be pulled or pushed. Pulling toys include the wooden caterpillar my parents gave her for her 1st b'day, it is very noisy and can drive us up the walls... but I think she likes that it makes the clanking noise whenever she takes it for a walk. Pushing toys such as a mini-stroller also gives her a great amount of pleasure. Since we do not have one at home at the moment (she plays with her friends' mini-stollers at the mo), she makes do by pushing her kitchen set around the hall. It really reminds me of those "mamak stalls" or the aunties in the "pasar malam" (night market) pushing their carts around hawking their food. Meng teased her if she is selling "hokkien noodle" at the corner (corner of our couch, that is)!

I push you.... you push me! Child's play.

Role-Play :
She is learning alot about growing up by role-playing. Sometimes, I catch her forcing her Pooh Bear to drink water, and sometimes I see her using her toy spoon to feed pieces of blocks to Mr Pooh Bear! She is also a caring little girl, when she will bring Mr Pooh Bear to the couch and putting a blanket over him. Other role-playing activities she likes : "talking on the phone" (she will make do with anything as a phone, a piece of wooden block, a door stopper, my handphone, the pen-drive?), cooking up a storm in her "kitchen", holding a bag (like how I would hold mine) etc.

(Playing with her kitchen set)

"Mom, let me help you with your bag!"

SIGNS OF BEING INDEPENDENT
She goes to the shoe cabinet and brings out her shoes and tries to wear them as she sees her dad doing it, one hand holding on to something and her legs putting into the shoes, she usually gets it right. Sometimes she sits down on a box and put them on (like how mummy does it). She tries to wear her own clothes, and sometimes she pulls off a shirt off the hanging laundry and tries to put it on herself (daddy's t-shirt, a few times she tried to wear daddy's pants).


INTERESTINGNESS
I noticed it since she was 7 months-old), she likes to be very engrossed and focussed on doing something, such as clasping the clasp of a baby-chair/high-chair/stroller/shopping trolley. At around 11MO, she succeeded first time putting in the clasp of her baby rocker chair. I was very impressed... until now, she still likes doing it, focussing on doing up and sometimes (very rare) undoing the clasps. She also likes to lie down on the floor looking up to her musical-rocker (like how a mechanic checks the car chassis) and there are two little hinges there which is supposed to be clipped onto the back of the piano, but she will lie there, focussing on unclipping the hinges and then putting them back on again and unclipping it... she can do this for a long time. This really reminds me of my brother when we were young, how intently focussed he is on exploring and trying to figure out how things work. I hope this is an indication that my inquisitive little girl is a "thinker" ("how do I solve this?"). Maybe I can train her to solve the rubik's cube later on.. KEKEKE..

Conversations with my 15 MO

Differentiating between HOT and COLD

1. Dinner is served for her and as I scoop a spoonful to put into her mouth, she spits it out

SW : HOK HOK (Hot hot, it means)!!
Me : No, it's not hot, it's warm, can be eaten.
SW : *shakes head* *pushes my hands away* HOK HOK *shows me her tongue* HOK HOK!
Me : *Hmmph!* (wanna spank her!)


2. SW playing by the heater/radiator (which we have switched on for autumn- Low heat)

SW : Ooh! HOK HOK!!! *retracting her fingers from the heater and her mouth making a big "O"-shape*
Me : See, don't touch. (Serves you right :P)

3. Weekday romping at the mall - somewhere in Canary Wharf. I saw Zaza, a newly opened gelato shop. Asks for a single scoop Hazelnut in cup (comes with a baby-cone).

Me : SW, you want ice-cream??? (Scoops and put into her mouth)
SW : *takes a tiny taste of it and turned her head away* HOK HOK!!!
Me : -_-" Not HOT, COLD COLD!
Me : You want somemore?
SW : *Nods* *Opens her mouth - takes a little* HOK HOK!
Me : COLD COLD! Ok, you eat this cone then! *Yayy.. i eat all*


ANIMAL SOUNDS

(SW sees her favourite song on Cbeebies. Claps and dances happily until song finishes)

Me : What does the Tiger do?
SW : *makes roarring sound* GRRRR!
Me : What does the Monkey do?
SW : HAIK!! (Huh?)
Me : Monkey do what?
SW : HAIK! (thinks sumo wrestler? Oh, i see she cannot pronounce Hoohoohahaha)

Here is an UNEDITED video taped using my handphone (very low resolution) but you can hear her saying WA-BEET (Rabbit) with some hand-gestures, and also doing some other animal sounds.




SHOWING PAIN

I heard a loud knock - she has fallen down and knocked herself. Shean Wenn cries.. and composes herself before coming to find me. I hurried out from the kitchen. She brings me to the scene of accident and pats her hand on the floor, showing me where she has fallen down. I said "Oh no, is this where you fell?" She nods, and then uses her hand to "hit" the floor - something I taught her in order to distract her from the pain. She has been doing this quite alot - whenever she falls down, or hit herself while playing. And yes, she still falls down and hits herself quite often, unfortunately!


Speech development

SW bring her favourite book to me (ok, she has alot of fav books!) - this is the one daddy bought for her form Dubai, with buttons at the side that when you press it, it will read out an object.

SW flips to one page, points to the Car.
SW : CAR!
Me : *huh?? Impressed*
SW points to flower
SW : Fwawa!
Me : Yes, you are right.
SW points to ball.
SW : BOR BOR.
Me : Yes, correct.
SW points to boat. Presses the button and it reads BOAT.
SW : Bowp.
Me : *wow!*
Me : SW is a SMART GIRL! *Kiss* (And i meant it!)