Children's Day Lesson

Every Friday is a very busy day for the family, well, mostly for Ira. He has school in the morning, remedial lessons after-school, French lesson at 5pm, and swimming lessons afterwards. Unlike any normal Friday, the 4th of October was a special one this year. Ira had no classes (and remedial) as it was Children's Day. His French lesson skipped this Friday for the same reason. But he still had swimming lesson to look forward to.

As he didn't have anything for the day, and Kelvin was home early because he only had his test to finish before being dismissed from school, we went to the swimming complex earlier than usual. We dropped by McDonald's for some sundae treat for the boys. Once they were done with the sundae, Ira headed to the pool for a dip while waiting for his lesson to start. I thought we could go to the slide and check if Ira now meets the height limit. I talked him out of the pool to go to the slide but he said he wasn't interested in the slides anymore. But I knew that really wanted to. It just so happened that a few weeks ago he and Kelvin went there and were rejected by the person-in-charge (PIC) as he was a few millimeters short of the height requirement. He was very disappointed then that he went back to the pool crying and mumbling angry litany. Knowing him, he didn't really want to go there just to be turned down again - he would feel rejected and embarrassed. As his lesson was almost starting, I didn't push the idea any further.

After an hour, I tried to convince him again. I told him that while I was talking to a friend, she told me that there was a class of students who went to the slide sometime ago and there were 2 children who also fell short of the height requirement. Their teacher spoke to the PIC, pleaded for the children to be allowed to go down the water slide as they knew how to swim anyway. Lo and behold, they were allowed into the water slide. I said maybe if I could talk to the PIC and let him know that Ira can swim, given that the height difference was not that much, then he might be allowed to try. With much persuasion, I was able to convince him to give it a try. Anyway, we won't be losing anything if we did. If he won't be allowed again, at least we tried. If we didn't try, then we won't find out.

So off we went to the water slide, feeling a bit nervous but determined. We walked up the stairs leading to the measuring wall indicating 1.2m. Ira stood with back on the wall, and he was a few mm short. But what surprised me was that before he was even standing next to the wall, the person manning the water slide approached us and almost told us off. He said Ira was still a bit short for the requirement. We stood aside, when a small boy rushed to the slide without even standing in front of the measuring wall (i think it was already his second or 3rd attempt). Then Kelvin said, "Mom, that boy is as tall as Ira and the man let him slide!" I noticed a father and daughter approaching the stairs. The daughter was almost the same height as Ira, so she definitely would not be allowed to go to the slide. But the father talked to the man-in-charge and said that she could swim. The man hesitated for a while, but allowed the girl to go provided the father would go first to catch her, just in case. The 3 of us looked at each other.  I guess we all had the same thing in mind - if she was allowed to go, then Ira should be allowed to go too! Heck, he is even a better swimmer than I am! So I talked to the man-in-charge again, showed him Ira's height as compared to the measuring wall, and informed him that Ira knew how to swim and he has been taking lessons for more than a year. Again, he hesitated, probably a bit worried since Ira did look small as compared to those his age, but he let us go in the condition that Ira can only go ONCE. Well, that was still better than not going at all. He let Kelvin go first, supposedly to be able to catch Ira. But I think Kelvin didn't really mind what he said so after sliding he walked to the side of the pool while the man shouted for him to go to the side and wait for his little brother. We couldn't do anything about that anymore so I told the man that I'll go first so I can assist Ira when he slides down. Ira was getting more and more excited. I slid down and waited for him at the bottom of the slide. Ira slid fast and swam to the side of the pool. He was soooo happy, his face lit up as he flashed those incomplete set of teeth. The look on his face - priceless. 

That's something money couldn't buy for him for children's day. 

True to our word, we didn't go back for another slide, but we did talk about going there again next week ;)

I hope I was able to teach them something about perseverance - not because he was turned down once, he was going to give up.  It's not about getting around the rules just because you want to do/try something. It's about trying and trying, using difference courses of action, as well as providing additional information that may persuade the other party to change his/her mind about his/her decision. It's showing that because Ira was only a few mm short of the required height, if we could reason out that he was capable of fending for himself in the water (eg. he can swim), maybe he could be allowed to go down the slide - safely. And he was!

Ira's Stage 3 swimming test

A year and a half in his swimming lessons, Ira finally took the first test - Stage 3. During the time that Kelvin was taking the lessons a few years ago, they didn't have this test. Kelvin went straight to Bronze level. That means one additional level for Ira.

He was a bit nervous but we said he could do it. He started to learn to swim at a very early age (around 4) as he was always tagging along during Kelvin's swimming lessons. He didn't know the proper strokes then, but now he is quite familiar with breast stroke and moving on to free style.

Ira waiting for his name to be called to take the test

with his friend, Lyle, who was also taking the test. Same age as he is but way bigger.

in anticipation of the test

Ira's swim teacher, Joyce, who was also Kelvin's teacher

stretching before jumping into the pool

he is one of the smallest in class but that doesn't deter him

from doing his best - swimming faster or diving the deepest or floating the longest

Ira's turn to do the straddle jump

demonstrating ability to correctly fit a PFD in the water

waiting for his friend to finish

 

his Stage 3 achievement certificate

Well done, Ira! You've passed the Stage 3 test. Now it's time to prepare for Bronze level in a few weeks time.

First Teenager in the House

Yesterday, we celebrated Kelvin's 13th birthday. Yes, we had just welcomed the first teenager in our home. It's going to be another challenging stage that we as a family will have to prepare ourselves for.

I'm glad though that at 13 Kelvin is showing that he is responsible in his studies and is trying to be a good role model to little brother. He started some sort of independence since P5 when he went for his CCA selection on his own and opted for the ones he was very much interested in. Now in Sec 1, he has chosen to be in the MSS Chorale. Friendship influence aside, I know that he really is passionate about singing and this CCA. He is always looking forward to their rehearsals, specially in preparation for the recently concluded SYF at SOTA. He would ask me to wake him up at 630am on a Saturday (mind you, he usually wakes up around 11 on a weekend!) so that he could have breakfast early and be in school before 830am. This was in addition to the Tuesdays and Thursdays that he had to stay back for the usual CCA hours. He was very excited to let me know, after the SYF, that they bagged the Distinction Award - the first time, according to their conductor, that they received the award (previous accolades were Bronze and Silver). Kudos to you and your singing career (?)!

In celebration of his 13th birthday, we asked him where he would want to have dinner. He initially wanted to go for a buffet dinner, but upon searching for establishments on the internet (which he did on his own, with his little brother commenting on the side) he found out some of the nearby places didn't have good reviews. He settled with Jack's Place at Compasspoint. So after doing all their school work and discussing what to do before dinner, we hopped on a bus and headed for the mall.

The boys went to Kiddy Palace as Ira said he wanted to buy something for Kuya (older brother).  Kelvin said he wanted to buy a hotwheels car to add to his collection. Great choice since Ira has very limited budget. They didn't see anything interesting though, so we had dinner first.

Calamari rings for starter. Ira's choice as he wanted to try it.

fierce look by Ira, and his official pose, while finishing up all the garlic bread

Dinner is served. That's US Striploin Steak (Kelvin's choice).

Mommy's choice is NZ Ribeye Steak. 

We also ordered Fried Rice, in case Ira didn't like the Calamari,

which was a good move as Ira didn't like the Calamari!

father and son, buddies in biking

daddy trying on Kelvin's glasses. What say you???

After a very filling dinner, we stopped by Metro so Kelvin can look for his present.

which one is the best one?

hurry up, Kuya!

Kelvin showing his choices to Ira. The little brother, on the other hand, 

was also browsing some cars for himself. We were able to talk him out of

buying one as this day is supposed to be Kuya's special day, 

the main reason why he is getting a present.

Ira handing over his hard-earned money to the cashier.

Yes, he was paying for his brother's gift using his personal savings.

What a very thoughtful, sweet and loving boy he is.

Kelvin went home happy that he has added another car to his collection. He immediately opened it at home and put it in his collection box. The two boys then showed each other their collections. Some of the things the two of them share and enjoy together.

During bedtime, I asked him to pray so that God will shower him with blessings and guide him in his life. He said he was happy. I'm glad that with this simple celebration, he found happiness and contentment. 

Happy Birthday, Kelvin!!! You may no longer be a little boy, but in Mommy's eyes you will always be one. We love you and hope that you reach your dreams and go with your passions in life.

Instructions from the Little Boss

Last night, I told Ira (more like reminded him) that he is not going to take the school bus home. I am supposed to pick him up after dismissal, have lunch, and then go with Kelvin's class on his learning journey to Silver Centre in Toa Payoh. 

Busy.... Busy.... Busy.... Kelvin

Exam week is just around the corner and I'm stressed out again. Not because we are cramming, but because there are a lot of things to do, as far as Kelvin is concerned.

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.

Ira pool acrobatics

Ira underwater acrobat

Ira loved playing in the pool. As he became more and more familiar with the water and the depth of the pool, he explored on the kinds of tricks he could do.

He especially loved this game wherein he is thrown like a torpedo and he would swim back to Dad, dolphin-style" swimming as we call it.

Ira in the pool

Ira, like older brother Kelvin, was introduced into the water quite early (as soon as he could walk). We would always bring him along when Kelvin was taking his swimming lessons in P1 (Ira was only 3 years old then). 

At first he would just play around with Kelvin at the kiddy pool, splashing water at each other. Then he learned to go down the slide (in the pool). After sometime, he got bored in the kiddy pool so we moved on to the training pool where Kelvin was taking his lessons. Ira couldn't reach the floor on that pool but it did not deter him from having fun.

Few more weeks and Kelvin advanced to the lap pool which was also the deep pool (from 4-6 meters deep). We followed with Ira in tow. He would just hang on the side of the pool at first. Then we would tell him to try and kick his legs so he could start to float and swim. 

It didn't take him that long to learn. And he wasn't really scared no matter how deep the pool was. From then on we would just stay at the lap pool and he would do different tricks. 

He enjoys the deep pool more than the kiddy pool. Although sometimes he would still go to the kiddy pool to go to the slides and play in the water fountains.

Here is a video of Ira when he was 4 years old. He could already swim almost half of the lap pool (cross-wise). that would be around 3-4meters, I think. There were times the lifeguards would check on him, of course, because he was too small. But as they see us there almost every week, they have learned to let him be, as long as we were there watching over him.

No more bottles

Ira just turned 5 last November 2009. We had a deal that once he turned 5 he will not drink milk from the bottle anymore. This was also in preparation for our NZ trip, so we don't need to bring formula milk and feeding bottles. But he did not stop on his birthday. Luckily he ran out of formula milk a few days after, and I told him there were no more milk tins in the grocery. I have also thrown away his feeding bottle teats as they were full of holes. Because of the series of events that happened, he was forced to give up milk bottles all of a sudden.

Biking in Singapore

We started biking a couple of years ago. We bought our son a bike when he was 8 years old. Then we bought 2 more bikes for ourselves (hubby and me, plus baby seat for our younger son).

Kelvin's Bronze Level Swimming Test

Kelvin started swimming lessons in June 2007 - during the school holidays. We used to bring him to Hougang Swimming Complex then. He had a good start. He progressed quite fast.

When the Sengkang Swimming Complex opened in 2008, we requested for him to take his lessons there as his instructors also held classes there.

Sengkang Swimming Complex is bigger than Hougang Swimming Complex. It has 3 sets of water slides, one covered pool (around 4 ft deep), a jacuzzi area, learning pool (around 2-3ft deep) near the waterslides, a kiddie pool (1ft deep) with playground and mushroom fountain, and a lap / training pool (4-8ft deep).

After 2 years, he was ready to take the Bronze Level Swimming Test. We signed the application form, paid $8 for the test and he was scheduled for 2 June 2009 from 9-10am at the Sengkang Swimming Complex.

During the test, he was asked to wear pyjamas.

Criteria for judging:

1. Straddle or tuck jump entry from the side of the pool and swim 50m.

2. Demonstrate ability to "drown-proof" for 1 minute.

3. Tread water for 3 minutes.

4. Undress in water and demonstrate ability to make float from attire.

5. Swim 400m using any stroke.

6. One surface dive must be executed and swim submerged for at least 5m.

7. Climb out from the deep end of the pool without the use of steps or assistance.

The successful candidate will receive a collar pin, a woven badge and a certificate.

waiting for the test master

Test master briefing those who were taking the test.

He looked strict but was actually quite hilarious.

I think it was a good thing to calm the nerves of the kids.

getting ready

drown-proof for 1minute and then treading for 3 minutes

making a flotation device out of his pyjamas

400m swim

few final laps...

last few strokes....

final stroke....

and the end!

 

Kelvin has done it!

He passed. He was very happy and relieved.

After all it was 1 whole hour of gruelling swimming test.

Dream Job of my 10-year-old

Yesterday, we received the Kumon 2010 diary/calendar from the mail. We actually called up Kumon for this promo/giveaway which we saw on the newspaper before we went for our 2-week holiday. He filled it up rightaway as he was sooo excited to get one.