Moving on - Universal Scribbles

Dear Friends,

Thank you for visiting this site.  I have migrated this site to Universal Scribbles -  Conversations among friends. Do join me there for new updates and articles on parenting, travels, lifestyle and personal development.

In addition, I have also set up a Facebook page.  Please "Like" the page.

See you at the new site.

Cheers,
Meiling

Imagination and creativity learning at the Science Centre

Want to encourage imagination and creativity in your child? 

Great news!  The Science Centre Singapore is collaborating with Make*Believe, a company specialising in children's enrichment programmes to roll out a series of themed Make*Believe programmes for students aged 18 months to 6 years.

Interactive blocks for kids to build anything that seize their imagination.

The first in the series is a 50-minute enrichment programme called "Common Spaces", which is based on architecture and urban planning.  There are 4 hands-on stations for the pre-schoolers to explore. Learning activities are built around a local landmark building (Central Fire Station), fire engine, fireman and city planning.

There are two types of common spaces, said Ms Juliana Teo, co-founder of Make*Believe and principal architect of Metropolitan Office of Architects. She explains that common spaces exist in the physical form like a playground or a sand pit, but also exist in the children's mind, so let's pretend to be pirates or princesses.  

"We aim to provide a fun-filled learning experience which cannot be easily replicated in school," said Michael Chay, Director of Marketing & Communications of the Science Centre Singapore.

Lay Wee Mee, a mother of 3 and co-founder of Make*Believe, adds that she hopes the exhibition will give parents some idea on how to engage with their children further and the teachers different perspectives to encourage the spirit of learning in children.

Using the Central Fire Station as a  backdrop, students learn about the design of Singapore's oldest fire station and are guided to piece together puzzles and cubes of varying levels of difficulty.

Signs in the City - Students take on the role of city planning and learn about shapes, numbers, space and more!

3D puzzle blocks

To Believe is to have confidence in, to have an opinion of, and to accept as real.  

Make is to create, transform, build, change and to put parts together to make a whole.  

Make*Believe is the coming together of the imagination and reality. Through different activities, mediums and platforms, children are encouraged to explore and experience concepts and make new discoveries through the lens of science, architecture and design.

Come and play with your kids.  They just might teach you something new.

Common Spaces is open to public on weekday afternoons and weekends.  For more information on timing and admission fees, please contact the Science Center Singapore at 6425 2500.  

Record Breaking Event - Longest Line of Flower Pots

If you are sitting at home, and bored of watching the same re-runs on cable, and don't want to do the usual shopping and dining weekend routine. Why not do something that will make history?

Singapore's first eco-friendly mall, City Square Mall, is hosting a record breaking event for the Singapore Book of Records - "The Longest Line of Flower Pots".

In conjunction with the National Environment Agency (NEA), the mall has organized a series of "Shiny Eco Workshops" over the last 2 weekends to encourage the public to display their creativity by decorating reusable plastic containers.

At the same time, to commemorate the Mid-Autumn Festival,  the flower pots will be transformed into lanterns for shoppers to bring home after the record breaking event,.  

“We are encouraged by City Square Mall’s creative idea of using these reusable plastic containers to engage the community for the Mid-Autumn Festival and fully support them in this green cause. Furthermore, these containers will be used to form the longest line of flower pots to set a record in the Singapore Book of Records and NEA will also be sponsoring the plant stakes with dengue prevention messages. We hope that through this initiative, shoppers at City Square Mall can help spread this important message and take up personal responsibility to clear any stagnant water in their flower pot plates at home to prevent breeding of mosquitoes,” said NEA's Central Regional Office Senior Manager for 3P, Mr Brandon Low.

When: 10 September (Sat)
Time: 8:30pm
Venue: City Square Mall's Basement 1 Fountain Square

Here are some of the quirkiest records made by Singaporeans:

• Tampines West Constituency Sports Club broke the world record for the most number of people sitting on a chair with 1,058 participants. (2008)
• 1,314 Singaporeans, including Greenridge Primary pupils and staff held the record for the most number of people drinking milk at the same time (Sep 30, 2009) 
• Biggest number of Singaporean students (1,082) performing a Bollywood Dance (May, 2009)Longest Karaoke Session 
• by Eunos Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC) and its Grassroots' Organisations (GROs) - The residents sang for 50 hours 50 minutes and 50 seconds -  13 Aug 2010

As part of the festivities, there will be exciting stage performances, games with prizes and 600 goodie bags to be given away. Whether you want to part of history or to see history in making, head on down to City Square Mall this weekend.  

Are we over-scheduling our preschooler?

Singaporean kids spend an average of 20 -25 hours a week in school, plus an addition 5 to 10 hours in enrichment activities. That's equivalent to an average adult's work week! Are we over-scheduling our kids?

Like most Singaporean parents, I started my son at Julia Gabriel at 15 months. By the time he was 3, he was enrolled in art, music and swimming classes. By 5, he has additional classes in abacus, Chinese, phonics, soccer and MPM. On top of that, he has a full social calendar of play-dates and birthday parties (I became his personal secretary, so busy was he). These activities all took place after his regular 3-hour preschool/kindergarten program.

Whew!! Just thinking about it now is enough to make my head spin.

“At 3.5 years old, is it necessary to send for enrichment class?” Joeline asks, worried that her child may feel stress & loses his childhood freedom.

Nicki, a mother of 3 doesn’t think so. “At this stage, it’s more important to give them the chance to try different things that they might be interested in – sports, music, art etc.”

But what if he cannot catch up with the rest?

This eternal question fuelled by the fear of parents that they have not prepared their young ones well enough, has resulted in a multi-billion dollar enrichment industry in Singapore.

Whatever you dream for your child to excel in; there is a class for him/her to take. Select from a wide plethora of choices to enrich your child in – art, dance, music, sports, reading, writing, mathematics, science, brain-training, motivation, or a combination.

Jean, a mother of one, said that “3.5 years is not young already. They already understand and can absorb what they are taught. This is the best time to feed them with info. Don’t ever under estimate them; you will be surprised on how fast they pick up things. At the end of the day, you are the only one who knows your child best and you are the only one who knows whether he is ready or not… cos every child has different learning patterns and pace.”

Elaine, another mom agrees. She enrolled her child for right brain training at 18 month and felt that was kind of late.

Short-changing or Over-scheduling their childhood

So, are we short-changing our children if their post-school time consists of nothing more than watching TV, a snack and some plain old-fashioned playtime, rather than a round of ‘enrichment’ activities? Or is over scheduling more detrimental to their development, leaving them with little idea of how to entertain themselves?

Child psychologist, Dr Harriet Tenebaum, said that “research suggests extra-curricular activities are related to improvements in children’s confidence and academic achievement. However, it is important not to over-schedule children because they need time to play and be spontaneous too. Spontaneous play helps children learn how to self-regulate their emotions and wishes, increase their imagination, contribute to their cognitive development, and help them learn how to act in different situations with a variety of different people.”

A mother of one, Dr. Tenebaum holds a degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz and has a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Education among her other luminous accreditation.

So, what can you do?

1. Watch out for over-scheduling

Children need downtime and unstructured play at home and with their friends. So, although extra-curricular activities can be fantastic, remember they already spend about 20 to 25 hours a week at school, and might have another couple of hours of homework on top of that. It’s all about balance!

2. Don’t put your children into the rat race too soon

Many Asian parents are compelled to enrol their kids in different activities out of fear or peer pressure when they see their friends or neighbours doing it.

If your child is tired enough after a day at school and prefers to simply catch up with their favourite toys at home, stick with that and try not to feel they’re missing out. A busy schedule of after-school dance and drama classes might create an all-singing, all-dancing child, but it won’t necessarily make them happier.

Once they enter primary school, they will have plenty of activities to occupy them. Enjoy their childhood with them as much as you can.

3. Stand firm

If they have different ideas each week about what activities they want to do or they want to do too much, it’s perfectly reasonable to limit them to 2 or 3 activities a week.

Trudi, who has a daughter, 9, and a son, 7, said “I will not force them to do anything. With any opportunities for classes, we let them make the choice to go. Once they have decided, they must stick with their decision for the duration.”

This article first appeared in theAsianparent.com.

15 things your child should NOT do in class

We spoke to some former teachers and these are the things that they say will definitely irritate your teachers.

courtesy of the-parenting-magazine.com

1. I’m not your maid –Teach your P1 child independence and highlight that the teacher is not a maid. Do not ask your teacher to pick up your pencil from the floor or take water bottle out of your school bag for you. If you dropped something, raise your hand, ask for permission and do it yourself.

2. Pooping in Class – some P1 students are born premature, or just shy and fearful. They may not dare to ask the teachers for permission to go to the toilet, and hold it in, until they could no longer do so and end up “peeing or pooping” in class. Teachers have to interrupt the class to clean up the mess and the soiled child. They also have to leave the rest of the students and may have a hard time explaining why their fellow student, who may be embarrassed for soiling him/herself. Teachers advised that parents train their kids to ask for permission to go to the toilet.

3. No Toilet Manners – In some schools, the teachers and students share the same toilet. Teach your child to practice good toilet manners by aiming properly into the toilet bowl.

4. Drinking Water in Class – Teachers generally do not allow students to drink water in class because the combination of spilled water, wet floor and young children is an ideal recipe for accidents, not to mention the extra work of cleaning up. P1 kids may also try to read and drink water at the same time – again, not a good combination.

5. Challenging your Teacher with Arrogance and Defiance – As more families adopt the no-caning policy and with more children coming from affluent or indulgent families, teachers experience more backlashes from haughty students. Citrix Chee, a former primary school teacher who taught Mandarin and now counselor at Kang Ren Group shares this story:

A student was sent to her Chinese remedial class for getting 8/100 marks in his Chinese testWhen she caught him doing his Kumon work, she requested that he put it away to concentrate on the Mandarin lessons. When she turned her back, the other students reported that he was doing his Kumon book again. She repeated her request again, only to be greeted by 3-worded Hokkien vulgarities from this P4 student. The other children were watching her reaction. She had no choice but to report the boy to the principal. The boy continued to be defiant and even threatened to get her fired by complaining to MOE.

Parents, do NOT tell your child that no matter what wrong he or she has done, you can write a letter to complain to MOE. This allows the child to be very defiant and arrogant towards the teachers.

6. Insult and Disrespect Your Teachers – Using vulgarities in class is a “no-no” said Ms Chee, but so are parents setting a bad example for the kids. She recounted an incident from a fellow teacher:

At the end of the school day, a P6 boy told his female classmate that she “was so cheap, she can be a prostitute in Geylang”, making her cry. When the teacher investigated the incident, the boy scolded the teacher, “For wasting my time, you’re a bastard”. The angry teacher went to speak to the father who was waiting in his Jaguar. The father’s response? “My son is right! Stop wasting our time,” he said. The son hopped into the car and they drove off, leaving a very upset teacher standing in the parking lot.

Parents, it is very important to teach your kids to respect you and their teachers!

7. Expensive Material Possessions – sometimes it is the parent’s best intention to buy branded bag, shoe or watch for their children as an indication of their love and indulgence, but it can make the other classmates feel inferior. For example on sports day, if your child turns up in Nike Air while everyone is wearing normal shoes, it is very hard for the teacher to explain to the other students. Try to fit the child in with the rest of class.

8. Relying on Teachers for Knowledge – Teachers agree that school is a place where they provide the knowledge for to students. Their bugbear is when students do not explore any knowledge by themselves and always rely on the teacher to provide the answer.

9. Not Hand In Homework On Time

10. Bad Handwriting or Sloppy Work – Students should check dictionary if they don’t know how to spell or write a word. Drawing circles in place of the words are not acceptable.

11. Incomplete Work or Missing Workbook

12. Fall Asleep in Class or Fidget because of Boredom – Before the streaming begins, your child may be more advance and already know the work. However, the teacher still has to teach the syllabus dictated by MOE. Help your child find ways to be patient in class.

13. Borrowing Money from Classmates – Teachers have to mediate when a child borrows money from his classmate. And when one borrows from multiple students, s/he may appear to be a fraud.

14. Bringing Handphone to Class – usage of handphone in class is very rude and risk being confiscated by teachers. Check what the school rules about handphones are and teach your children about the boundaries of handphone usage.

15. Bringing Sharp Objects to Class – teachers advise that sharp objects should not be brought to class. This is because the students are in the care of the teachers, thus it becomes their responsibility when a child is accidentally hurt from fights or play. Not to mention the dangers to the classmates and disruption of the class routine.

Teachers’ Expectation

Here are some of the things your child should already know when he/she enters P1:

1. Sit down on the floor
2. Raise your hand if you wish to speak – learn to be patient
3. Wait for the teacher to call on you to speak
4. Be toilet trained
5. Be able to stand in line and know where to stand in the line
6. Sit down at the desk when asked to do work
7. Do homework independently in class like writing.
8. Be able to write and recognize basic characters eg. father (爸爸), mother (妈妈)

This post first appeared in theAsianparent.com

The class bully

70% of 4,000 Singaporean students surveyed, reported some kind of bullying experience during their education life. While bullying cases in Singapore are nowhere as violent as in the US, they are definitely on the rise!

While bullying cases in Singapore are nowhere as violent or deadly as in the United States, they are on the rise.

70% of the 4,000 Singaporean students surveyed, reported some kind of bullying experience during their education life. Conducted by the Harvest Centre for Research, Training and Development and the Coalition Against Bullying for Children and Youth, the 2006 survey revealed that bullying occurred even in pre-schools.

While most of the bullying occurred mainly in the canteens and playgrounds in primary school (grades 1 through 6), the bullying in secondary schools (grades 7 through 12) also took place inside the classroom and in the toilets.

Even more worrying is the advent of cyber bullying which entails sending insults, pornographic images and threats of bodily harm via internet or the cellphone. Where traditional bullying was limited to physical or verbal abuse, the internet has given the bullies a longer arm to intimidate and torment their victims.

Wired Safety, the world’s largest internet safety, help and education resource, monitors 76 countries on cyber abuse. It reported that Singapore has the highest incidence of Internet bullying among kids outside of the United States!

Parry Aftab, its Washington-based executive director, said the results were shocking as he has “been to Singapore and seen how well-behaved the children are.”

What is Bullying?

Bullying is the act of intimidating and coercing a weaker individual or group to do something against their will, with the intention to cause physical, mental or emotional harm through harassment and assault.

The most common form of bullying among children is verbal abuse, which can come in the form of taunts, teasing or name calling. If unchecked, this form of abuse can escalate into physical terrorizing like kicking, thrashing and even rape.

Why do Children Bully?

Bullies generally start at a young age, with boys exhibiting physical terror and girls leaning towards emotional or psychological intimidation.

Children bully for various reasons – to seek attention from their peers and parents, to feel significant and in control, and to imitate violent adults or television programs.

James* who used to bully as a child, said that he did it to make friends as “the new kid in school.” He adds that “the bully is the most insecure person in class generally.”

Effects of Bullying…

Bullying has long-term effects on the victim and the bully. For the former, it robs them of their self-confidence, emotional well-being and future promises. For the latter, it is an erosion of self-worth and a rapid decline into an addiction in torment to boost their ego.

The fear and emotional trauma that a victim suffers can provoke a greater tendency to drop out of school. Some children who are bullied become bullies themselves. And young bullies who are not disciplined eventually become abusive adults, and/or criminals.

What to Look Out For…

Victims will not complain for fear of repercussions from the bully. However, they usually exhibit some of the symptoms listed below:

1. trouble sleeping

2. difficulty paying attention in class or any activities

3. make frequent excuses to skip school

4. sudden shunning of a previously-favoured activity like riding a school bus or visiting the playground

5. appear troubled, listless and discouraged constantly

How to protect your child from the Bully

Unfortunately, bullying is a rite of passage to growing up. Managing bullies is an important life-skill to impart to your child.

1. Seeking Help. With the recent spike in school violence, it is critical that we take the child’s worries seriously. Acknowledge your child’s bravery by seeking help. Assess the severity of the bullying situation – whether it is something that your child can handle or if you need to step in with the authorities (school or police).

2. Explain the dynamics of bullying. Despite their loud and bold actions, bullies are basically cowards who gravitate towards easy targets, namely the weaker sex, the younger age, the less aggressive and the loner. They act mean and put others down to cover up their own insecurities and lack of confidence. Bullying is defused when their power and control is taken away.

3. Empower Your Child. Brainstorm with your child on ways to deal with a less severe bullying situation. Help the child come up with a realistic and executable plan to deal with the bully, like partnering up with a pal, or not reacting to the bully’s taunts. If the bullying is not severe, allow the child to manage his own affairs. This will raise his self esteem significantly. Martial arts classes are also a great confidence booster as they are good places to learn about discipline and defensive strategies.

4. Talk about your own experiences. Share your own experiences in school. This will help the child know that he is not alone in such situations. Also, offer him a wide array of age appropriate books and movies with being “true-to-self” and triumph over harassments themes. For example, “The Breakfast Club”, “Mean Girls”, “Clueless” for the older kids and “Clifford the Big Red Dog” or Tigger and Pooh gang for the younger ones.

5. Foster out-of-school friendships. Get kids involved in extracurricular activities like youth church or other classes where they can create another social group and learn new skills. This will also offer them another perspective on the oppressive situation.

6. Keep a close eye on the situation. Monitor the state of your child and the bullying. If things don’t improve, with your child’s agreement, contact the relevant authorities and get a resolution to the problem.

This article first appeared in theAsianparent.com