Ian @ 4 Years 10 Months

My little big boy is almost turning 5 in another 2 months' time.  How time flies!

He is now more matured, and starting to look after Isabelle when I am busy with other things, abeit they still fight over toys now and then.  He also helps to undress Isabelle for shower after we come home, while waiting for me to change and bring the towels to the bathroom.

He is also my little helper, helping out with the household chores like bringing the dishes/pots to the kitchen for washing, wiping the table after meals, vacuuming the floor, fetching things for me, and he has even attempted to scrub the toilet floor for me once.

Academically...
We have started to read chapter books to him, like Winnie the Pooh.  We also purchased a few Step-Into-Reading books and he seems to be able to read at Step 3 of the series.  At one of the book fairs last year, I collected the whole series of Peter and Jane, and right now, he is only at book 4, which I have made him read by himself.  Recently, I also made him read the classic "Hansel and Gretel" from the Ladybird Read-It-Yourself series at level 3.  In order to let him learn how to speed-read, I made him read the books quietly, as he had been used to reading books out aloud in the past so that we could check if he could read the words.  As I feel more confident in his reading skills, I have decided to let him start reading books quietly.  It is a joy to watch him read at a corner of his room, independently.  To me, it is another step forward!

When it comes to Math and Chinese, Hubby and I will feel like pulling our hair immediately.  Ian is now towards the end of the 2nd term in his abacus enrichment, but still having problem with addition and subtraction.  And he loathes Chinese!  It becomes a chore to revise Chinese words with him, and he takes a lot of effort to remember a word.  I wonder how to arouse his interest in the language?  *sigh*

Emotionally...
I wonder if there is a "terrible 4", just like a "terrible 2"?  Sometimes, when he makes a mistake and I try to correct him, reason with him, he does not accept it immediately.  He may throw a tantrum, such as deliberately stopping on the spot if we are walking outside, or make some noises, or slam on the table.  I guess we just have to work harder and keep on reasoning with him at this age, and I think he is beginning to understand what we are trying to put across.

Physically...
I have no worries in this aspect at all!  Although we still have not bought a bicycle for him, he has been allowed to cycle on a trike and ride on a scooter in school.  His teachers have feedback that his sense of balancing is good and he learns physical activities pretty fast.


Quick stats:
Weight: 18.2kg
Height: 113cm

A Roundup of Enrichment Classes

In this new year, we had attempted to enroll Isabelle into a right-brain training class HEGL.  I had attended the first lesson with her.  Although she was rather uncooperative at times, we still managed to sit in throughout the class.  In the second lesson, I had thought that she would be better-behaved with her Daddy with her, but it was the exact opposite.  She started crying upon entering the classroom and had refused to stay there.  Hence, we had decided to let Ian "take over" this enrichment class.

The principal had kindly allowed me to sit in with him in the first class, and unlike how he ran around when he attended at the LNT when he was younger, he could now sit still and listen to instructions.  However, he could still improve on his ability to focus.  In those memory exercises, he fared pretty badly.  We shall see how he improves in the next few months!  *Fingers-crossed*  The consolation was, he really enjoyed himself and took the initiative to ask to do the homework when we were back home!

The other classes that Ian is continuing from last year are:

1. Piano (last term of the beginning class now, with advanced group class starting from Febuary) - he is beginning to read the score and play on his own now, though still not playing smoothly unless he has memorised it.
2. Abacus (into his second term) - doing double-digit addition/subtraction using abacus, still having some problem with simple addition without an abacus.
3. Advanced phonics (starting from January) - doing long vowels as of now, with sentence writing, and simple comprehension.
4. English Speech and Drama (in childcare) - sheesh, no idea what they are doing!  But he seemed to be having tons of fun when we attended the open house lesson last year.

Since stopping his Chinese enrichment class, it had become a bargaining chip to make him do our bidding as he really detested being sent to the class again.  We had been home-teaching him using materials that a friend  gave us, and so far Ian seemed to improve more than the 3 terms of Chinese enrichment class.  It had not been an easy task, as it was quite evident that he had no interest in the language.  It took us many revisions just to drill a word into his mind.  Hopefully, the right-brain training lessons will improve his memory skills and enable him to remember Chinese characters with more ease.

Recently, he also surprised us when he used his phonetic skills to figure out the spelling of a word.  Just a few months ago when I tested him, he was still clueless as to how to apply his knowledge, and all of a sudden, he seemed to understand now.  When I asked him who had taught him that, he said that he had self-taught!  *Faint*

Baking Class for Ian

Ian got to join his friends Carys and Cayden for a pizza making workshop at Billionaire's Kids!  We were pretty late for the lesson that day.  I wonder whether the rush had affected Ian's mood, as he looked grumpy when we arrived at the class.  However, after the class, he told me that he had enjoyed himself and wanted to participate again.

Enjoy the photos!

 Kneading the dough

 Spreading Nutella on top

 Decorating with marshmallows

 This is his bunny!

 Cheese!

A certificate of achievement!