We're still sick

I am now also sick together with Sean. I am not sure whether that is a blessing or is worse that it is over the weekend. The doctors are closed but at least I have my MIL to help me with Sean in the afternoon. My hubby has been taking care of both of us in the morning and at night.

Thank you dear, I really appreciate that you have taken over the doctor duty, because I am feeling just too weak to do anything much.

Sean had added cough to his fever and runny nose. The poor boy cannot sleep because of his cough throughout the whole night. Hence, all of us cannot sleep too. I really hope he gets better soon. This is getting too long. Tomorrow we have to make another visit to the doctor.

Sean is sick

Sean has been having a high fever since Wednesday, so it's been 3 days. Luckily, he doesn't have the croup which caused him to be hospitalized last month. But this time the fever is not going away. We brought him to the doctor yesterday to get the doc's opinion, but again, whenever we go to the doc, he seems ok. He gets really hot at night, like right now.

Poor boy. I hope he gets better soon so he can enjoy playing again. Otherwise this worried mummy may bring him to the hospital again, but that's something I really don't want to do unless it's necessary.

Tadika Diyana

After much thought and headache over whether or not we should prepare Sean for chinese primary school, we have decided to register Sean in a Kindergarten which has both streams, i.e. Tadika Diyana.

I went again this time with Sam to see the place. Today, we had a better impression. The children were lively and were having a good time at school. I checked the play area and it was bigger than Peter and Jane's. They also have a big hall where they do PE and we saw children having a good time during PE, which I feel is important at this age.

We were both quite happy with the school and Sean seems happy there. So we registered there and then.

http://www.tadikadiyana.com.my/

Why are we even talking about chinese school?

Obviously, we are rather concerned about the standard of the Kebangsaan school. If we decide to send Sean to a chinese primary school in 3 years time, we have to make sure that we prepare him for it, which is why I've been having a tough time deciding which school to send Sean to. I didn't even consider chinese school when we started the kindergarten search. We've only thought about it last week. All the ratings I did was based on my observation of the teacher's ability to speak english and the general feel of the place.

I've talked to many other mothers about their opinions on chinese schools and what their thoughts on how to proceed for us since we can't speak mandarin or even any dialects. Most of them suggest that we send Sean to a chinese kindergarten even from now so he gets a good exposure to the language first.

Since we are still undecided, we decided that we'll let Sean try to do his kindergarten in mandarin. I'm hoping that he's not going to object too much being put into the chinese stream next year. If we see that he really dislikes it, then we'll take him out and put him into the english stream, and later on to a Kebangsaan primary school.

I can't believe that we have to think of primary school even from now. But if we don't prepare Sean for the possibility of going to a chinese primary school from now, the possibility that he'll adapt later on is very slim.

We were set to put Sean in Fairfield because we felt it has the best english teachers out of all the schools. But I brought Sam to see Diyana because it was the only school he hadn't seen. He liked it and Sean seemed quite happy with the place, happily running around and playing at the playground. We had discussed the night before, ok, no chinese school because the cultural difference between an english speaking home and a chinese school is very different. But when we went to Diyana, we saw the possibility that it may work.

Diyana seems to attract many parents who don't speak chinese to put their children in the chinese stream. So I'm hoping that Sean won't feel out of place when he starts school next year. I'm also hoping that the teachers know how to handle children who come from non-chinese speaking family gently and introduce mandarin in a non-threatening way.

So here is to us hoping that we made the right choice.

Sean @ 37 months

Another month has passed. He had his birthday and then he was hospitalized for a night and a day. Soon after, we were busy thinking of where to send Sean next year for nursery.

Sean has been spending a lot of time playing computer games because mummy is either out teaching tuition or doing some transcribing work at home. But he tries to get my attention as much as possible when I'm working at home. Whenever his game is loading (it's an online game, so it takes time to load), he comes over and "Hug mummy!" So I've been getting loads of hugs and cuddles, and a lot of "I love you Mummy!"

Ok, the picture here is when he's making his Grrr face, not exactly loving and cuddly, but most of the time, he's full of hugs and kisses. =D

I feel blessed my son is so loving and so free with his hugs and kisses. I hope mummy will always get as many hugs as I am now getting from you. I'll miss you next year when you start nursery full time.

So what's up with Sean:

His current favorite game is Busytown Mysteries based on Richard Scarry's character. He loves listening to the songs and dancing to them, and he loves going around the town in the game. It's really an interesting game. Perfect for kids Sean's age.
http://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc/play/busytownmysteries/

We haven't been doing much art recently. So on Saturday, I thought we could just have a messy afternoon on the porch. Sean spent a short time drawing chalk figures and painting of Animal Mechanicals. They are not like the original characters at all but I'm proud of his drawings and painting nonetheless. After painting, he preferred to fight a bush with a stick instead!

Unicorn and rex













Mighty Sasquatch










Komodo
















This is what the Mighty Sasquatch painting finally looked like.












Ok, this drawing looks like squiggles, but it's supposed to be a spaceship with 4 aliens looking out of windows.

Need info on Chinese Primary School

Seriously, this kindergarten search thing is giving me a headache. Maybe it's just me, I feel the need to know enough to be able to make a decision, but the more I know, the more choices there are. So we've decided to let things take it's own course. We've done our research and we've finally ranked them in order. So we are now just waiting to hear from the schools whether there'll be space for Sean next year.

I don't want to think too much again. LOL.

Now, there's something else bothering me. I wish I'm not the type to think so much about all these. It would be nice to just decide, Hey that's fine and that's it. But that's not me.

It's the whole Chinese versus Kebangsaan issue. At first, we were quite sure that we are not even going to think about sending to a Chinese school because both of us can't speak any Chinese at all. We didn't want him to have to take too many tuition or to feel too much pressure on school work.

But recently we heard that Chinese school isn't that bad. The facilities are good, the teachers are dedicated, and they are no longer that harsh, and if you learn chinese early enough, you shouldn't have that much trouble with the work at school. Now I'm not sure if any of these are true, but it has made us be open to the idea of sending Sean to a Chinese primary school. Maybe only, it's still a new thought.

I know it's still early, but I heard that you have to register by next year! I'm not sure if that's correct, but I need more information about this.

So if anyone can enlighten me about what Chinese primary school is like, I would be more than grateful.

In search for a kindergarten - part 2

New info:

I've just heard from a friend whose son is in Peter and Jane that they have changed the school hours from 3 to 4 hours, which means the school fees have increased substantially!

She was complaining that she calculated that the snack costs her RM10 each day, and her son is only getting biscuits and milo. She also doesn't like the teacher and her son's class is next to the toilet. Despite asking for class change, she was told that there was no space. I do feel that it's unfair because I feel that the Mutiara Damansara P&J has excess space!

So I'm really glad that we decided not to send Sean to P&J.

We really like Tadika Diyana. Sean liked it immediately and there was no fuss at all when h started school. His teachers speaks both English and Mandarin well. She is also very nice. Despite his class being next to the toilet also, it's not a problem because it's a closed class and air-conditioned. He is very comfortable in his school and looks forward to going to school.

So if anyone read this entry about kindergarten. My choices will be:

1. Tadika Diyana
2. Fairfield (for English session)
3. Peter and Jane (but the school fees is even higher than before!)

The kindergarten that I thought I was not even going to take a look at (because of the expense) turn out to be the one that I really like, i.e. Peter and Jane. Unfortunately, their morning session is already full. So next week, we'll go take a look at the Peter and Jane in Mutiara Damansara.

Our current possible choices are:

1. Peter and Jane. They are full for morning classes in Taman Sea, only afternoon classes are available.

2. Fairfield. My only concern is that there'll be only 1 class of 4 years old next year. That may be too few possible friends for Sean.

3. Juara Cerdik. Because it's nearby and the fees are affordable. But Sean may not like it because of the drastic change from being able to play a lot to having to sit and study so much. So I forsee a lot of "I don't want to go to school, Mummy" in the first few months.


My review of the kindergartens, if anyone is interested :P
These are in a sort of order of rank.

1. Tadika Diyana - classroom concept

I went for a 2nd look with Sam. This time our impression is much better. The children were quite lively today, which gives us the same impression as the other schools above.
Guided by Montessori approach for Nursery but little of it is practiced. More emphasis on academics for K1 and K2. Teacher student ratio = 2:20 for nursery

Pros: A beautiful school structure. Classrooms are quite spacious. Has many facilities. Fees average. It has English and Mandarin stream, which makes it flexible for people like us who have not decided where we will be sending Sean for Primary school.

Cons: Some of the teachers and students looked rather bored. Classroom arrangement more suited to be a Primary school. It would be great if several classes of children can play together during playtime, but despite the big school compound, it's play area is small. I checked out the play area again. It's much bigger than Peter and Jane's play area. And they have a big hall where they do their PE.

1. Peter and Jane - Open concept
Nursery (4 yrs old) - Montessori approach. Lots of learning through hands and play. Emphasis on motor skills, creativity, music and learning through activities. Teacher student ratio = 1:14 for nursery.
K1 and K2 (5 & 6 yrs old) - Gradual introduction of more academics, maths, reading, writing and communication. K2 is divided into English and Mandarin sections.

Pros: Montessori approach. Friendly and warm teachers who speak well. Clean, bright and cheerful. Teaching system is well thought out. Gradual learning of new languages. Children seem to enjoy themselves a lot and yet it's orderly.
Cons: Maybe a little noisy because of the open concept, but I think Sean may thrive in such an environment. Expensive.

2. Fairfield - Classroom concept
British system. Emphasis on reading, creative writing and communication. Teacher student ratio = 1:15

Pros: Older, more experienced teachers. A big grassy field where all the children play together during play period. I like the fact that they get to play together. The children are friendly and polite. Principal and main teacher are ex-Garden International.
Cons: Classrooms rather small. Quite expensive.

3. Nakorn Sari - Classroom concept
British system. Emphasis more on play. Great for children below 4 years old. Teacher student ratio = 2:15 (I think)

Pros: Very fun and has lots of activities. Teachers are cheerful and friendly.
Cons: Lack of order and discipline. Quite expensive.



5. Beaconhouse Gasing - classroom concept
Guided by Montessori approach for Nursery. More emphasis on academics for K1 and K2. Teacher student ratio = 1:15 for nursery

It's really average because it neither impresses us nor was there anything wrong with it.


Fungates open concept
It's marketed to be learning through play but I saw more studying than play. The high emphasis on academics can be a pro or con depending on parents' viewpoint. A lot of emphasis on workbook and practice. Exams and homework start from 4 years old. Seems to emphasis a lot on Mandarin lessons than any of the other lessons.

1. Juara Cerdik - Fungates
Pros: Teachers seem ok. Teacher student ratio = 1:18 for nursery. Fees are affordable. Good value for money. Nearby our house.
Cons: May not have enough play time. Lots of studying. I saw a 4 year old girl practicing chinese characters!

2. Madeline - Fungates
Pros: Cheap. Quite organized. They have 2 options at K2, English and Mandarin.
Cons: Teachers do not speak English well. Teacher student ratio = 1:25. Classrooms seem overcrowded.

3. Sri Nobel - Fungates
Pros: None I saw.
Cons: Strict lots of rules. The environment is cold and factory like. Lots of cons!!!! It's terrible!

In search for a kindergarten

We are thinking of putting Sean into a full kindergarten next year. One thing is because I'm getting busier and don't have as much time as I used to with him. He also looks to be growing out of the current playgroups he is in. So therefore we've been checking out kindergarten this week.

Our criteria for a kindergarten:
1. Experienced teachers who are well-spoken and have warm personalities.
2. A good system which teaches well but nothing too academic because we feel that it's still important to have time for play and reflection.
3. A good level of discipline but not too harsh. Discipline is still important but it shouldn't be meted out in a harsh manner that it suppresses the personality of the child.

All these will result in
4. Children who are warm and friendly. So we also want to see the children who are studying in the school because they will be the community of students that we want Sean to be friends with.

And last but not least

5. A place that Sean likes. So his personal judgment is still taken into account.


We went to see 3 kindergartens this week and including the kindergarten that Sean attended before, they rank in this order:

1. Fairfield (British system)
2. Nakorn Sari (I think British system)
3. Beaconhouse (own system)
4. Madeline (Fungates)

Unfortunately, we went to Beaconhouse and Madeline on their open days and could not see the children. But they did not meet our first criteria.

We like the feel and teachers of Nakorn Sari but criteria no.3 is not met, which is I think the reason Sean does not like it despite the friendly and cheerful teachers over there. Actually Nakorn Sari seems like a really fun place but every time we even pass the school, or the other day when we went for the Lantern Festival, Sean always comments quite emphatically " Don't like this school."

So at the moment, our current choice is Fairfield, which seem to meet criteria 1-4.

Sean did not say whether he likes it or not, which is why we're still going to look at a few other kinddies:

5. Sri Nobel (Fungates)
6. Juara Cerdik (Fungates)
7. Tadika Diyana (not sure yet)
8. Peter and Jane (maybe)

With the Fungates system, I'm just wondering whether it's just too academical? It feels a bit like a factory system where the children (crammed in a class of 25) are fed academics subjects throughout the whole morning. I can see that by the time they leave at 6 years old, they will have learned quite a lot.

However, does this system take away creativity because everyone has to do the same thing at the same time? I know that will be what they'll have to do once they get to Standard 1, but they are only little kids now, and isn't this the time when they can relax and play?

I can't make up my mind about it yet because we have yet to see children in the school setting. So hopefully when we see the next few kinddies later, we'll be able to make a better judgment.

When I'm not home

Sam takes care of Sean for the few hours that I am out teaching tuition.

Today, Sean played computer games while his daddy fell asleep on the bed. And when Sam woke up, Sean was taking photos of him sleeping with a headphone on his head. =P

No photos though because Sam does not want his unflattering photo posted up on the blog. *chuckle*