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You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2014.
Remember our Sunflower Growing Competition back in September? Well unfortunately Mommy and Daddy have been disqualified because no mater how many seeds I planted, none grew for us adults. Bummer.
The kids’ sunflower plants, however, have been thriving! Although Hannah’s seed was the last to sprout, it looks like her plant is the tallest among the three now.
We’re just waiting for that first bud to show! 🙂
Don’t let my calm demeanor fool you. I may strike you as a quiet and serious child, but I’ve really got the grooves and the moves, baby!
Hannah had been excitedly waiting for the last day of school on Friday. She even planned what to wear and which hair clip she wanted to put on. Don’t get me wrong…she does enjoy school, but according to her, she enjoys holidays as well. 🙂 (Don’t we all?)
It would be her last day of school in K1 (Kindergarten 1) and next year, she would be in K2 (Kindergarten 2). To celebrate, her class had a party with an early Christmas gift exchange for the kids. Actually, I think she was really looking forward to the gift exchange.
I baked some graham crackers as a last-minute thingy and Hannah and I prepared these little succulents in pots as gifts for her teachers.
I found these cute gift tags which suited the pots, so I downloaded and printed them; and Hannah decorated them.
She helped me arrange the tags in the pot and she insisted on bringing them to class all by herself. I think these make pretty gifts. 🙂
Later, after school, Hannah told me all about the party, what she ate and what she did. Then she told me, “Mommy, today was a great day for me!”
Awww…I just love it when the kids are happy like that. 🙂
Last Saturday, we attended the Catechism Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2014. Our Ethan had been attending catechism classes every Saturday afternoon for the past year, and this ceremony was just to close the chapter for 2014 before moving forward into 2015 next year.
It was held in the church sanctuary and we were treated to simple performances from each class.
Doesn’t my boy look handsome? 🙂
Anyway, during the ceremony, certificates of achievement were also presented to those who had 100% attendance in catechism, and also those who had great participation in class. I think Ethan wants to aim for the 100% attendance award next year. 🙂
Hannah too, was excitedly watching the entire ceremony. She can’t wait to start catechism next year when she will be in the preschool class.
Scrap Credits
a hopping hallOween QP freebie from Sahlin Studio
Weight
7.7 – 7.8 kilos.
Height/Length
Not measured.
Teeth
11 teeth: 5 bottom teeth (3 incisors and 2 canines) and 6 upper teeth (4 incisors and 2 canines).
Motor Skills
Communication and Social Skills
Food and Feeding
Emma is eating almost everything we eat now with the exception of very salty or very sweet foods. I’m also not giving her shellfish and dairy just yet.
However, we can see that she really loves food, and shows a keen interest in whatever we are eating.
She loves her nutritious bowl of homemade chicken porridge and is getting better and better at self-feeding.
I also found a little pre-loved plastic straw bottle, which Emma loves to drink from now. You’ll see it in the picture above. We’re hoping this will help her drink more water.
Here’s the thing about regular school that homeschooling does not have: Competition; and since the beginning of his school year in August, Ethan has been excitedly reporting to us his progress on accumulating merits whilst in school. Yes, this is something he really really thrives on and gets hims really inspired.
Students are given incentives in the form of house points when they behave well (e.g. showing respect and good manners) or perform well (e.g. good work in assignments). Accumulation of five house points will earn you a merit. Earn 20 merits and you get a Bronze certificate; 40 merits = a Silver certificate, and 60 merits = a Gold certificate.
At one point, he almost got wrongly penalised (a teacher wanted to subtract house points his house points because she mistook him for someone else). Thankfully, his record stayed intact and unscathed.
Every now and then, Ethan would eagerly either tell us that he was currently the front-runner in his class, or that someone else had overtaken him by a few points.
Finally just 2 weeks ago, he hit the 20-merit mark. We could tell he was so very proud of himself 🙂
So last Friday, Emma and I attended the morning celebration assembly where Ethan was presented with his Bronze certificate. What’s more, he was one of four in the first batch this year to get the Bronze certificate.
Way to go, Ethan! Next up: the Silver cert! 🙂
I’m very happy to see all my kids putting in an effort to exercise. Today they will demonstrate how to perform the Down Dog pose. When done correctly, the Down Dog pose will energize the body and calm the mind, and results in an excellent all-over stretch.
To jog your memory, here’s Ethan doing the down dog when he was just 3 years’ old!
Down Dog example #1: Ethan
Down Dog example #2: Hannah
Down Dog example #3: Emma
Have you done the Down Dog today yet? 🙂
Just like chicken soup that warms the tummy, it warms my heart to see them playing together like this. Certainly makes the sighs and grumbles of the day worth the while. ♥
In my ongoing efforts in bringing back some semblance of fitness into my already-overbusied life, I’m trying to to the 7-minute HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) at least once a day. There are 12 different exercises to be done in intervals of 30 seconds each, with a 10-second recovery period in between.
One of the exercises is a Wall Sit, and after I’d explained to the kids how I do it, Hannah was happily “practising” it herself. What was amusing was that after she demonstrated the exercise, Emma walked over to the wall, and tried to do the same thing!
My two girls…they have just grown so close to each other. I pray they will grow up in each other’s love and support always. ♥
