Club SAHM

[blurqueen]

Happymoon:

Thks, kiasimom. Was feeling kinda guilty cos my DS plays whole day (during hols) while my colleague sends her 6 yr old DD to 6 different enrichment classes (hols or not) each wk. Wondering if I'm not kiasu enough.

What is wrong with a child playing all day? Being a child, he/she is entitled to play and play and play! What's a childhood without play?

DS1 plays all day too even at P1. He only goes for a Chinese tuition since we're a English speaking family. My neighbor is like your colleague and the drilling started since birth (no kidding!). I too wonder if I needed to be more kiasu? End of the day, both boys got similar results and streamed to the same class in school. 1 boy studied all day, one played all day.

Just ensure the child's play has at least some sort of learning process. I don't encourage too much media games. Still prefer the \"do it yourself\" types which DS invents himself to play with his bro. Since they were 3, I let them have a rather free hand on cutting (yes, even handling childproof scissors), sticking, using everything they get their hands on (with permission of course). They have loads of fun making their own toys!

[Mum_2Gals]

Hi Happymoon,


My dd1 is also 5, going K2 next yr Besides half-day CC, she only attends piano class once a week. Hee, maybe I'm also not kiasu enough Her 6yo cousin has phonics, English, Maths and Chinese classes, all on weekends :!:

[blurqueen]

Off topic . . .


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DS received his 1st books recently and my reluctant reader hasn’t been able to keep away from it.

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Blood Bones & Body Bits
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Ugly Bugs
Winner of the prestigious Rhône-Poulenc Junior Science
Book Prize 1997

Really Rotten Experiments
Winner of the Junior Aventis Science Book Prize 2004

[buds]

Hi HappyMoon, i have two girls 8 and 6.


They only started official music lessons
like barely a month ago. DD1 goes for
violin and DD2 goes for piano. My hubs
was usually the one who gave them
impromptu lessons at home.

I provide the supplementary Phonics,
Maths and Creative Writing at home.
So we save a lot on enrichment $$$.

For me personally, i did have timetable
when they were younger. The timetable
served more for me really! Cause i didn't
want to crowd my time with housework
only and forget about them.

I set aside three to four hours daily to do
stuff with them. For example, Language on
Mondays and Math on Tuesdays and so on...
i also include craft work and music on Fridays
so it kinda works out like a holistic week for
the children. :lol:

I bring them out to play in the afternoons after
the 4hrs together and they can let off some steam.
Hubs and i teach them how to cycle, roller blade and
swim. Grandpa comes in to coach them swimming when
he is free. Nothing very scheduled. Just impromptu lessons
and the kiddies are swimming fine. Grandma does beads
craft, jewellery, bags and needle work activities with the girls when
we visit; plus baking with them. Occasionally they get to play computer
games as well. We watch TV together too..... to unwind. Other times.....
we really like to go out to eat together! Boy, do we enjoy eating! :lol: On
and off, we bring them for outdoor trips to the zoo, bird park, movies and
short family vacations to chill too. Being SAHP, one needs to find time to
unwind too; even if not alone, at least together as a family is also nice.

My girls have been in different sessions of the day in their kindy years.
I've enjoyed having separate bonding time when they were in different
sessions and i have also enjoyed a lotta me-time with my hubs and kakis
when they were in the same afternoon session too. Staying with ILs some
more, i have to be more creative with my time. :evil: So that i don't get
stressed or bored being a SAHP. Coming seven years and counting for
me... and i dunno if i can look back.... to those 9-5 days! :shock:

[Blobbi]

sleepy:

I must be the most 理直气壮 housewife then. No guilt in spending DH's money

I guess I already way exceeded his expectations by staying home so 'anything also can' as long as I continue to stay home

However, DH knows very well that I'm a thrifty person. So no worries about me spending. More of justifying that purchase to myself rather than him

... And maybe hubby knows I can SPEND :!:
I better tighten my belt and look for pointers from Club Super Aunties :D.

[Happymoon]

Dear Buds, thk u for sharing. I think your two girls are having loads of fun!! Do other SAHP plan for outdoor activities on a daily basis? My English neighbours bring their kids out many times a day (swim, playground, park etc).

[Blobbi]

Happymoon:

Dear Buds, thk u for sharing. I think your two girls are having loads of fun!! Do other SAHP plan for outdoor activities on a daily basis? My English neighbours bring their kids out many times a day (swim, playground, park etc).

Hi Happymoon, weekends, my son is out swimming, mostly, with daddy (so I can avoid getting wet) . During the weekdays, we do a lot of scooting and cycling or we just go to the playground. He's so dark, his schoolmates think he's Indian, lol!

[sleepy]

Happymoon:

SAHM wannabe here. Can I find out from more experienced SAHP if I should have a timetable everyday for DS who is 5? Can share wif me how you spend weekdays wif ur children?

My dd has no fixed timetable. In the morning she goes kindy. In the afternoon, after her favourite tv programme hi-5, I will sit with her to do some written work for an hour or two. The rest of the time is free play, doing art & craft, reading, play piano or toys.

I'm an indoor person, hardly bring her to outdoor playground, swimming or cycling. I bring her to movies though. Outdoor activities in charge by dh

Is your boy attending any enrichments?

[Happymoon]

My dd has no fixed timetable. In the morning she goes kindy. In the afternoon, after her favourite tv programme hi-5, I will sit with her to do some written work for an hour or two. The rest of the time is free play, doing art & craft, reading, play piano or toys.


I’m an indoor person, hardly bring her to outdoor playground, swimming or cycling. I bring her to movies though. Outdoor activities in charge by dh

Is your boy attending any enrichments?[/quote]

Took my boy out fr CCC & enrol in K2 next yr since I’ve just resigned to be SAHM. He’s not attending any enrichment yet. Will sign him up for extra Chinese cos he’s really BAD at it (refuse to speak in Mandarin at all). Thinking of music lessons perhaps but a colleague told me the drop out rate for boys quite high at Yamaha. Anyone care to share about music lessons for their children?

[flim]

Happymoon:

Took my boy out fr CCC & enrol in K2 next yr since I've just resigned to be SAHM. He's not attending any enrichment yet. Will sign him up for extra Chinese cos he's really BAD at it (refuse to speak in Mandarin at all). Thinking of music lessons perhaps but a colleague told me the drop out rate for boys quite high at Yamaha. Anyone care to share about music lessons for their children?

hi happymoon,

i learnt music in yamaha when i was young (that's eons ago, of course) and i loved it! i started playing the electone. it was in a group setting, so we played ensemble as well as individually. it was a lot of fun. the teacher was good too. but my happiness didn't last very long.

my parents thought i was talented so they promptly enrolled me to a private lesson with a tutor. i was totally put off by that experience and my interest in music soon disappeared. what makes matters worse was, my parents specifically told me not to tell my yamaha teacher about these private lessons for fear that she'd be unhappy about it. but being young and naive, i felt like i was betraying my yamaha teacher and from then on, our relationship became very awkward. i didn't enjoy any of the music lessons anymore.

thankfully my parents realized this and stopped my private lessons. but damage had already been done and i never felt the same way about music anymore. now music felt like a pressure. it felt like something i had to excel in, not something i get to simply enjoy.

so now, everytime someone mentioned 'music lessons' to me, i always make it a point to share this experience so the same thing won't happen to their children.

i think it's easy to build up our expectations once our children perform well in something, even for one lucky moment. but we need to always remember that first of all, the children need to enjoy it.