Playgroup trial

The Library Association also conduct a play session for children under 4 years old every Thursday morning. So we went for a trial class on Thursday. It was really fun! There were lots of toys and about 15 sets of mothers and children.

It's a non-profit organization, so the mothers have to take turn to do story telling and craft every week. Maybe also have to chip in for cost of some of the materials used. The membership cost is cheap. I think only Rm20 per month. (not so sure since Sam filled in the form while I stayed with Sean).

I think many of the toys were donated by expatriates or rich parents whose children have outgrown them or by the people who found this organization. They are well used but in great conditions. There are many Little Tommy playground sets (slides, houses, see-saw, cars, etc), which would have cost a bomb brand new.

First thing Sean did was to paint at the easel, that occupied him for about 5 minutes. When I think of all the preparation and clean up required if we do this at home, and then he spends 5 whole minutes only! I'm not sure I'll let him paint until he's a lot older.ha ha ha=P

Then for the next half an hour, he was busily playing at the rice pit, the most popular play spot. There was a huge plastic trough filled with about 60-70kg of rice. All the children were really happy just scooping rice into the wheels , baskets or buckets. Even the babies were content to play in the rice pit. If you have many children, this is a great toy area to invest, otherwise that much of rice is a bit too expensive to be used for just one child at home. he he he =D

There was also a sand pit with many trucks and tractor toys, but he refused to get inside because he didn't like the feel of sand on his feet. After that, he played in toy cars.

Luckily, Sam came along and took care of Sean so that I could chat with some of the other mothers, as well as do the craft (binoculars) for Sean. Since many of the kids are small, the mothers do the craft. The other kids seem to be content to play by themselves while the mothers chat.

At 11am, we cleaned up and kept the toys and rice. Then it was half and hour of story telling and singing. Sean couldn't keep still for long though. He wandered around while all the other kids were listening to the stories.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable morning. I would like to make this a routine activity. There are so many possible play activities that Sean would not get to do at home. Also, I've been looking for a playgroup like this so Sean can socialize more. Being an only child with no cousins around is no fun. I get to socialize as well =P

We've signed up and paid the deposit but we are currently on the waiting list. They only allow a certain number of children at any one time. Supposedly there are a few mother-children sets leaving in a few months time because they're going into Kindergarten or leaving the country. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope we get a confirmation soon.

Books Vs TV

Today, I went to The Playcentre Library Association, a non-profit library. Some of the books are old but are of good quality, in good conditions and well-organized. It is run by volunteers and they have many good children books that I would like to borrow for Sean.

One of the volunteers, Judy, maybe a committee member, said that children under 2 should not watch TV at all because the flickering of the TV affects their attention span. I'm not too strict about letting him not watch at all. I think some TV is acceptable. But it's true that Sean's attention span is really short.

Judy read 2 books to show me how to read them out loud. She was really good! I'm not sure if I can read the books the way she did it. Gotta listen to her story telling more and learn =D

So I joined the library membership and am hoping to get more good tips about reading to Sean. I'm supposed to read to him the same book about 5-7 times a day! Not sure if I can do that, but I'll start with once or twice a day. I have been slacking in that area. =P

But it's also because Sean hasn't been interested in books recently. He can't sit still to listen to me reading a book to him. He prefers to watch TV and I've been letting the TV to babysit him too. Sam is into TV and keeps saying how are we going to entertain Sean for so many hours with no TV?

I don't know how to fill that many hours with activities. As it is, it takes a lot of energy just to entertain him for half an hour without TV. But somehow, I've got to start weaning him off the TV a bit at a time again. He really has been watching waaayy too much TV.

I think it's going to be an uphill battle for me. Gotta fight both Sam and Sean!

If you want to join the library, here's the info:

Playcentre Library Association
16, Jalan 6/6, 46000 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-77817813

Library hours:
Tue 9.30 am - 4.30 pm
Thu 9.30 am - 12.30 pm
Sat 2.30 pm - 4.30 pm

Fuzzy Hair

Today, Sean had a haircut. I had trimmed his hair a tiny bit before but felt that it's time he had a proper hair cut. He wriggled a lot and eventually I had to carry him while Auntie Jennifer, the hairdresser, cut his hair. But it really wasn't as bad as I imagined it. It went pretty smooth. Of course, it helped that there was a puppy there to entertain him while he waited for his turn. I love touching his head. It feels like a carpet of soft fuzzy hair. Very therapeutic. =D

Sam decided to keep his hair a bit longer. I think it looks too young on him =P ha ha ha...

Raju... raju.....

We've been eating quite a lot of Indian food recently. Sean gets quite a reception every time we go to Raju for a roti or Indian rice. The waiters would crowd around and tease him. He also gets free papadams every time.

Unfortunately, Sean and I are getting pimples due to the oily food we eat. So .. Daddy.. no Indian food for a while, please. =D

Balagan

Last Saturday, Sean and I joined the FBC Boys Bridgade to watch Balagan, a theatrical circus. I was a bit apprehensive about bringing Sean to a theater show that last 1.5 hours. However, it was free! he he he.. So I decided, it was as good a time as any other time to see if Sean would behave for so long.

The moment we joined the BB bus, Sean started to cry. He was rather nervous being with so many strangers and it took him a while before he calmed down. Of course, breast feeding in the bus helped him to calm down too.

When we got there, we had to wait a while for the BB boys and girls to get into their individual groups and line up. I was glad to have carried Sean in the Ergo sling. He was well behaved and patiently waited with all of us, while strapped behind me.

When the show started, he enjoyed himself immensely. The music and the colorful lightning and costumes were enchanting. He swayed to the music, clapped along with everyone else and was as entranced as any other child. Halfway the show, he breastfed and fell asleep. The music was very loud but he slept peacefully for at least 45 minutes. When the show ended and we were about to leave, he woke up. LOL..... He missed quite a lot of the show.

Now I'm thinking... hhmm... maybe we can bring him to the cinema if there's a movie we really want to see. =D