Ira doing addition

Ira has been doing mental calculations since K1. He just enjoys numbers. He loves doing oral exercises in Math. He can add 1 digit numbers in K1 (eg. 2+2). Then he progressed to adding 1 digit and 2 digit numbers (eg. 10+2). Then he was introduced to subtraction in school and I followed through at home. He seems have a good idea of how simple addition and subtraction works.

He is currently experimenting on 2 digit and 3 digit numbers (eg. 10+10, 20+10, 100+5, 100+30, and the likes).

Yesterday I made him do some addition exercises on paper. I wanted to test if he would be interested in doing math worksheets. I've written 10 addition problems for him to do. He was able to finish it in a minute! So I added a few more addition problems. When he was done he said he still wants to do more and he wrote his own addition problems and answered there as well.

Here is a copy of his first Math addition worksheet. I thought it was a very good start.

Ira in K2: 5 senses and body parts

This term is about learning body parts. Last week Ira learned about the 5 senses. He was so excited to tell me about it while walking home. At first he was a bit struggling to remember what they were but he was able to finish the list by the time we got home. I told him to always remember his face/body - what is the eye for? the nose? the ear? the mouth/tongue? the skin? The following day he used the idea and was able to enumerate all 5 senses.

The other day, while picking up Ira from school, the teacher talked to me about their lesson. That day was about the lungs. She said Ira mentioned that the rib cage protects the lungs and the heart, although it was not discussed in class yet. I remember Ira was telling me about this topic. He probably learned it from Kelvin - in his skeletal system lesson last year. The advantage of having a big brother :)

2010 Racial Harmony Day Celebration at Montfort

Just got back from Montfort. I volunteered for the Racial Harmony day celebration.

There were performances by the students as well as parent volunteers (who prepared  multicultural dance numbers). I was only able to watch the performance by the parent volunteers, I had to rush to Montfort after bringing Ira to school. Good thing I got there in time. The boys cheered on their parents. 

After the short program, it was recess time. Some parents brought food to share with the boys. Then there were different games booth at the hall. I was assigned to be in charge of congcak game. 

Congcak is a mancala game played in Singapore as well as other Asian countries. It is almost the same as "sungka" in the Philippines, with a bit of deviation. Since I had a bit of an idea how it is played (Philippine style) I was quite excited to be in the game booth. We weren't really briefed on how the game is played here in Singapore so I asked one of the parents to show me their version of the game.

The boys then started arriving and can't wait to get their chance to play the game. Some of the boys knew how to play the game while others just learned about the game today. As the boys were playing, I found out that each of them had their own "interpretation" of the game. Some proceeded with the game clockwise (as per rules) while others counterclockwise. All of the boys who visited the game booth received a bookmark, a Singapore flag tattoo and some sweets. They enjoyed themselves.


I saw Kelvin during recess. He wore red pants and yellow shirt (Hundred Islands Philippines from Lolo Erlin) with red handkerchief. He wore the same clothes last year except for the white top which is now quite small. At school we found out he was wearing the same color scheme as the boy students from China who were in their school for a one-month stint. Anyway, he brought his friends to the booth but they were not able to play (there was a queue in all 3 of my congcak games!). I just gave him and his friends some bookmarks and tattoos for coming over and wanting to try the game.

It was fun to learn about other games and traditions from the different cultures - the similarities and differences. I am looking forward to racial harmony celebration next year and the succeeding years. Maybe we could make a booth for some Philippine games then.

For details of how the game is played, you can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congkak. Have fun!

Road trip via Bus 80

Yesterday, after celebrating my mom's birthday (even though she in not in Singapore) and meeting up with relatives from the Philippines and Singapore at Vivocity, we headed to the Harbourfront Bus Interchange so the kids could check bus brochures. Ira and Kelvin have been collecting these for a few months now. It was actually Ira's idea and Kelvin got into the hype.

Since it was still a bit early (around 8:33pm) we decided to take the bus going home. We estimated the cost to be cheaper but the travel time to be almost double. MRT from Harbourfront to Sengkang is around 40 minutes @ $1.71 per adult, plus the bus from Sengkang Interchange to our place (5-10minutes).

We predicted that the kids would be asleep by the time we get to Paya Lebar but we were wrong. They were both wide awake and very much curious about the surrounding, esp the bus stops. Ira checked the bus numbers at every bus stop. He was sort of counter-checking if the route on the bus numbers he has at home are correct. He would check the bus stop name or the road name and would tell us what buses serve the route. He seems to have memorized the routes of the bus numbers he has!

Bus 80 goes from Harbourfront to Tanjong Pagar to Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Lavender, Kallang, Geylang, Paya Lebar, Serangoon, Hougang and, finally, Sengkang. We were able to see the railway station - of the train that goes to Malaysia - at Tanjong Pagar. Then the customs port with the very big digital clock clearly seen from the road. We passed by People's Park Complex and Clarke Quay, and had a glimpse of the CBD buildings. Then we drove pass the touristy Victoria Street and Bugis Junction, and the infamous Geylang Road. We spotted some places that we would want to visit some other time. 

After an hour-long trip, we were  around Kovan and Ira remembered the place. He mentioned that bus 119 passes through that road (Upper Serangoon) and confirmed it by checking the bus stop again. He was so proud to tell us that he was right! Few more minutes and we were already on our destination. Ira was pleading for us to go to the interchange first. He wanted to check more bus numbers. But we told him we needed to go down at the next stop and that he can visit the interchange some other time.

It was a good, long trip around Singapore. It's like a tour of the central and eastern part of the country. We're contemplating on doing another road trip, on a different bus route, some time in the future. The kids would definitely love that.

Borrowing Money: The what and what not

Source: Money SENSE worksheet on Borrowing Money (2010)

Some of us would probably need to borrow money at some point in our lives. It may be for education, for our home, for some household appliances, or even for some luxury items. Whatever our purpose for borrowing, we should always take into account that "excessive borrowing may lead to financial trouble".

Kelvin turns 10

Time flies so fast. We now have a 10-year-old! That means we have been in Singapore for 10 years now.

We don't really have lavish celebrations for birthdays (except for his 7th birthday). We usually just eat out then bring the kids to a bookstore or toyshop to buy the gift that they want. For Kelvin, most of the times we buy books since he is a bit older for toys now (although he still plays at home). He wanted the Diary of a Wimpy Kid this time. I think that's the "in" book this year. He loves reading books and for the past years he has always been requesting for books as his birthday gift and Christmas gift.

He was quite happy with the gift he got. He was even happier when my sister-in-law bought him the remaining 3 Diary of a Wimpy Kid books as a post-birthday present! He loved the one wherein there were fill in the blanks pages - like he is making his own comic book/diary/story.

Registration Days are here again

It's been 4 years since I last participated in the registration exercises for incoming P1 students. That was during Kelvin's time. Now it's Ira's turn. It's easier this time around since Kelvin is already in the school. I just registered Ira under Phase 1 - for children with siblings in the school. The application form was sent through Kelvin on July 6 (first day of registration). I got the confirmation letter yesterday, July 8. So Ira is now officially enrolled at Montfort Junior School.

Same with Kelvin's registration before, I needed to fill up a form for application to offer non-mother tongue language (it's a requirement for students to choose from the 3 languages offered). I called the admin manager to verify if I can apply for exemption for Ira (just trying my luck although I have an idea it won't be allowed). Unfortunately, I was informed (as expected) that MOE does not allow for mother tongue exemption for children coming in as P1. That means he needs to go to P1 with mother tongue first and then his performance will be observed - whether he will perform well in the mother tongue or not. This was the same case as Kelvin. So I guess we will have to see again if Ira can do well in his mother tongue before we could apply for exemption. If we base it on Kelvin's experience he did really well in the first 2 years, but struggled in P3 and now in P4 as the subjects get more and more difficult. Well, I guess they have to bear with that since it's a requirement (unless, of course, they get approved for mother tongue exemption in the future).

We are already looking forward to the orientation day in November. I am already thinking if Ira could find a uniform size that fits his very petite body. Oh well, that's still a few months away. For now, he will still enjoy his K2 days with his friends.

For more details on requirements, you can check my previous blog on P1 Registration.

For information on the schedule for registration per phase, visit MOE website.