A New Chapter of Yvette @ 28 mths: ChildCare Day 2

Today is Day 2, so what had happened?

As usual, I will wake up 20 mins earlier for my breakfast before I wake Yvette up on 8 am. IT takes me 5 mins to wake her up and I get her to clean up before we left the house. 8.30 am is the indicative timing to reach CC for us as the first lesson starts at 9 am.

The usual health screening was carried out at the door. As a concerned mum, I check with the person in charge whether the school has any cases of HFMD before. She told me it was long ago and there wasn’t any case now.

*TOUCHWOOD* BETTER DON’T HAPPEN!!!

I walked into the class with Yvette since I know where is the class now. I got her settled on the chair and Teacher N started to give her half a bowl of scramble egg. As usual, she won’t be able to finish. I am also given the permission by the teacher  to allow Yvette to eat her cheese in class too.

Today, the teacher made some adjustment for the lesson. Knowing 3 new students and 3 of them will cry, they combine the class together and conduct the English lesson in one big group instead of splitting them into two. Very flexible in making changes to the class and benefit the other students who were the same class with the 3 new students.

True enough, the little boy started to cry when his parents said “Bye Bye” to him. Me and another mum stay on.

[I let Yvette wear a top inside her dress because it is rather cold in this school.]

A good start for this boy and this boy really copes well. (So far for so many blogs I have read, boys seem to be able to adapt to CC faster.) He cried, he stop. Then he observed the class. The he cried again. But before the lesson ended, he already stop crying. I am not too sure did he cry after I left but then it seemed he coped very well because Teacher N sing praises of him when I brought Yvette back during lunch time.

This time I left during the first snack. While I was feeding Yvette Honey Dew, I kept telling her I am going to leave and she will have to be the teacher. Initially she was ok but then when I really said “Bye Bye” to her, she started to cry.

There she went crying for 2 hours when I was away. She stopped immediately when she saw me. Poor girl. I wonder how she is going to cope without me!

I know it will not be easy for Yvette and here are the reasons for it

• I am her sole care giver.
• She is still a breastfed child. I think she miss “neh neh” more than me. She will ask for it once we reach home. Neh Neh is the KING now. Although this is a good method to wean her but it seem harder for her to forget neh neh now.
• I always accompany to class in the past make the transition harder. I think she must be thinking since I can be with her in the past how come not now?

But she seems to understand that I WILL definitely come back for her. I been a unbroken recorder since the day I signed her up.There are some positive signs given out be Yvette that I really feel comfortable to let go:

• She is willingly to let teachers carry her when she is looking for me.
• She will eat, drink, even go pee without me.
• She understands about my departure is only temporary when we talk about it. It is just too hard for this little girl to manage.

Anyway today is Thurs, we received two books from school and here they are:

Oh yes, the teacher told me Yvette ate 3/4 of bowl of porridge for lunch and she could finish another half of the bowl of her normal serving at home. Hmmm, she has such a BIG appetite now?

And let see how Yvette fair on the third day!

Yvette: 2 yrs 4 mths (28 mths)

P/S: I am late this month. Too busy with CC. She turned 28 mths on 13th Sept 2010.

My little girl is all grown up. She has entered her next chapter of life. I am excited as well as worried about the change. She is so cheeky now and always give us the ever best cheeky smile especially when she requests for things that required our approval such as sweets.

One interesting tiny talk among us happened during the last lesson of JGC. I was trying to piggy back her and then suddenly she spoken up: “Mummy, CAREFUL!”

Her classmate’s mummy heard us and laughed together with me. She never been careful; and most of the things she did are so dangerous. Since when the word “careful” enters her dictionary.

Oh ya, she does speak Singish!!! All my fault. I have been Ya Ya Ya to her since she started to talk. So she also go Ya Ya Ya when she response to me. And I am correcting myself to say YES!

She could pick up a proper conservation with stranger.

She like to ask what, How, & WHY now!!!

After getting her the CD from JGC and copied all the video clips that I took down during her lesson into iPod touch, she speaks more Chinese now. In fact our conversation are more in Mandarin from this month onward.

I am getting more and more guilty that I do not have any structure program  teaching her at home. Couple with a total of 2 hours with iPod Touch, reading books to her, doing some learning activities with her either using toys or any materials I can find at home, she seems to be doing fine. And her mini achievements for this month in learning:

• Learn more Chinese Character from 我会读 (Completed learning Colour and numbers)：

水果：苹果，橙，梨，葡萄， 榴莲， 香蕉， 红毛丹

动作：吃，站，哭，笑 （no new words)

我的家庭：爸爸，妈妈，哥哥，弟弟，爷爷，奶奶

我的身体：口， 头， 手

• She also like the Stickboy series (there are total 8 series of book and only selling at USD4.99. I found out after I downloaded the first 3 books. !@#$%)  from iPod Touch.  I will download the full version for her till she has almost mastered all the words from these three book. I will go thru 2 books with her each there and from there she learn:

拍球(Book 1) : 明明， 丽丽，球， 大，小， 手，拍， 笑

看花(Book 2): 看, 花,

爸妈(Book 3): 爸爸，妈妈 (Perhaps from 我会读)

• I did this material for her for her word recognition. Without giving her the first and second learning card, I only pass the word card to her. She is able to identify and even match all the colours correctly. I am very sure she can recongise a lot more English word and this is an area I can work on.

Although Yvette could recognise individual word that is flash to her but I still have a problem with her. There is a barrier I need to break before I make her as a reader. When many words are form together as a sentences, she find hard to digest. Even when I point the word individually on the book for her, sometimes I got no response from her even though she knows the word very well.  Any suggestion for me?

• She could use a pencil to trace the dot line. I was really happy to find out she has try to attempt it herself. I brought these activity books from Dangdang spree in SMH Forum. This book help her in  handwriting techniques.

The 7 is written by Yvette

• She loves playing this set of (50 pcs) puzzle with us now. She seems to like to play big puzzle. She doesn’t like to play the 5-6 pcs puzzle I am working with her.

• She could sing in a tune and remember many lyrics now.  Both English and Chinese. At least we and our relatives can understand what she is singing. Haha!
• Playing Snake & Ladder has improved her maths. She could do some addition and subtraction and do serious counting rather than just reciting.

On self care & practical life skill; She knows how to remove her top and as well as remove her panties when she go toilet.

I would say there is a huge improvement over her ability to tell me when she need to poop. Although she is toilet-train to tell when she need to poop, it is always too late when she inform me. But then in this month, she poops most of the time on the bowl.

Some interesting quirks and behaviours changes (and habits) are:

• She is Doc Yvette. She loves to pretend she is a doctor now.

• She has an active imagination. The latest quirk she has it, she assume the pail as a hat.

• She really like the Courtesy Lion very much. (You can spot it everywhere now.) But she always tell us this is a Tiger despite we have told her many times it is a Lion. (Just like she refuse to accept Powder. She always say apply Power!!!)

• She loves to play with hanger clips and this has aided in her pincer grasp.

• She loves to watch movies I uploaded to iPod Touch. I took many clips when she was with JGC and she loves watching them and follow what the teacher did in the video.

• If it is not crowded on the train or bus, she loves to sit by herself.

• She doesn’t mind messing with paint.
• Her motor skills has sharpen thru playground trip.

Physically she is 88 cm (height), 12 kg (weight) and 15 cm (feet).

I think this is so much I can recall for her growth & development for the past month.