Creative Wings To Flutter and Fly

Letter to Santa

2011-12-19T22:53:00.004+08:00

Rhu wrote her first letter to Santa tonight while Mom wondered what she wanted from Santa. Glad to see she can write sentences now. Had to tell her to add the silent 'e' in come and remind her that Santa begins with a capital S and also the 'ea' in please. Was a good writing exercise for her, after the 23 cards she made for her friends and teachers at school for Christmas. Unfortunately didnt remember to keep a copy of it.

Thought her first card to Santa was very precious and want to keep it in my memory bank as long as possible.

It reads...(in case its not legible enough)...

Come Santa come,

Santa please come,

Santa I want present

From Ruhani

Barbie,

Gold Crown (the crown must be her size) she specified and not for Barbie.

Below she has written to Mom and Dad (Does that mean Mom and Dad have to do the job???)

AMPAC Talent Time 2011

2011-07-12T11:15:00.019+08:00

Here's some good news I would cherish all my life. Hence thought of adding it to my blog.

Rhu won her first trophy in violin (1st Prize) at AMPAC Talent Time 2011. This is an annual event in the school's 3 branches. Children are categorized according to their level. There were about 12-14 children in Beginner level and she was amongst the youngest, i think, at 4 years. (This was her 3rd Violin Performance, first two were only talent sharing, more of exposure on stage within the music school).

She was soo excited with the trophy she didnt want to leave it for one moment, and also displayed it on the table in the restaurant later which we finally pursuaded to put away (coz others could take it). Thanks to my parents for the timely gift of the lovely dress bought from India.

Still a long way to go. Mummy is very happy and proud of her and hopes she loves her musical journey all the way.

Here is the video of her performance at Talent Time 2011

Rhu's violin performance video

Some snaps before leaving home and some during the prize distribution...

Mother's Day card

2011-05-08T15:43:00.003+08:00

A mother's heart can only be filled with unimaginable joy when two little eyes are fixed on a piece of paper, while a little hand works hard while the head is bent down until the smile of satifaction spreads on her face. All because she wants to make her mummy happy on 'Happy Mother's Day'. Look at all the hearts she has made for her Mummy and Mummy hopes she knew that this 'ever strict' mom loves her so very very much.

Drawing, drawing everywhere

2011-05-08T15:28:00.004+08:00

Do you shop around for the best of drawing sheets and art paper for your little ones to express his/her art? Sometimes children can choose the wildest of places to sketch their hearts out.
My daughter has not only been tearing pages from notebooks to draw, besides regular drawing sheets, she loves drawing on all sorts of places and items around the house. Sometimes its the back of a visiting card, and sometimes also on her sister's hand.
Here Rhu drew on an airsick bag, probably we had kept on one of our journeys for our 'puky' little girls. Its a drawing of her little baby sister and herself. True, medium doesnt matter when art is on your mind.

Handwriting practice

2011-05-03T18:00:00.012+08:00

Rhu loves drawing and making cards for everybody. Don't be surprised if you are greeted with a post-it note with some scribble on it saying, "its a card for you" when you meet her. We made good use of this practice the other day by helping her improve her writing skills and draw while she enjoyed the same activity.
Here is the picture of the card she made. The glamorous Aunty is Shina Aunty with her two children Aniya and Vihaan (a newborn) who had come to our house to play with Rhu and Jia. Behind the card were everyone's names. Everyone got their respective stickers from high heels for Aunty to sunglasses for the boy and princess items for the girls.

If you haven't broken your neck already trying to read what she has written, here are some pointers on how writing skills can be improved without having to break your neck trying to make them sit and write the same old alphabets:

1) Use writing as more of a fun activity for writing on cards.
2) Make loads of lists. List out the name of the people in your family, the name of her dolls/cars, his/her favourite list of things colours etc.

3) The numbers of your mobile phone.

4) Pretend play of taking orders of your breakfast/lunch/dinner.

5) Writing the body parts and sticking them on a human body chart.

6) Writing the name of his/her school etc.

Speaking of handwriting, I feel it is very important for parents to stress on correct formation of letters right from the beginning so that they dont fall into a habit of writing the letters the wrong way. A same letter can be written in various ways to form the same letter by putting the later strokes first and the starting stroke in the end. This can be a problem in the later years when you get into a habit of writing it the other way round. Hence, it is important to sit with your child while she practices her writing and not leave it on her to finish the work and just see the end product.

Until they get into the keyboard world, you can encourage them to write as much as they can. A blank page of a handwriting book sounds as much boring to me now as much it was when I was my child's age. I was always inspired by my parents' and grandparents' handwritings as a child. I loved watching the beautiful formation of letters when a postcard from my grandparents came home.

Enjoy writing with him/her. Let her see how you write. And let her fall in love with her own handwriting.

Nicknames

2011-05-03T17:45:00.007+08:00

My daughters' nicknames are Rhu and Jia. Rhu told me that she had mentioned to her transport lady teacher that her nickname is 'Sol'. I was surprised and asked her why she said her nickname was 'Sol' since her nickname was 'Rhu'. She insisted "No, my nickname is 'Sol'". I again said, "No Rhu, your nickname is Rhu."

Who told you your nickname is 'Sol'? "You", she said. That is when it struck me, I had mentioned once that her nickname meant 'Soul'. Lol

Jia means heart in Hindi. Rhu means soul.

Immediately I took out my sketch pens and drew a heart shape and wrote her little sister's name on it "Jia". Inside the heart, I made another heart shape and wrote "Rhu" on it. She then said, "No, Mummy its all wrong. I am the big one, I will be the big heart, Jia will be the small heart (or soul)".

How would you explain 'soul' to a 4 year old?

Search

2011-04-08T00:07:00.002+08:00

The seed to Papercrafting!

2011-03-28T23:29:00.017+08:00

Bits of Paper, Bits of Paper, Lying on my bed...
Yesterday my four year old daughter, Rhu asked for scissors and reached for her pastel colours. I thought to myself this is going to be another cutting and scribbling exercise, like any other afternoon. And I will have to endure another no sleep afternoon. But to my surprise the cutting and scribbling suddenly turned out to be a work of mixed media. She had decided to place the cut pieces together based on her own imagination and created a cute dog. Was really surprised with the work of art. It could very well grow into the art of papercrafting. Thus bringing alive how children can see patterns even in random objects and create works of art even when there are no specific instructions. And often we as parents over do our instructions. Are you guilty of asking your child to fill the boxes, or colour within the lines. Help your child go beyond boundaries and let her colour the grass red and the sky orange. You will be amazed what young minds are capable of when they are left to explore on their own a myriad of shapeless new shapes and images...

Fun with drawing and stickers

2010-08-20T16:31:00.005+08:00

While I was busy with my 7 month old, I gave my 3.5 year old active young girl, Ru a big chart paper and pencils, primarily to keep her quiet while I attended to the needs of the baby. Ru as I had rightly guessed got engrossed in creating her masterpiece. After a while when I happened to see her finished work lying unnoticed on the table, I was partly surprised and also happy to see the improvement in her drawing. Her earlier drawings used to be focussed on a the face. Now, her drawings are beginning to include hands and legs and look more like a 'homo sapien'. It goes on to show the development in her observation skills.

Here is what she made. I appreciated her drawing and asked her whom she had made and she said the drawing was of her friend 'Titli'. Titli was a friend from India who had come to stay in Malaysia for a short while (returned to India now) and both had become quite pally with one another. No doubt she misses her dear friend while Mummy misses chatting with her mummy too.

To appreciate her effort I put it up on her room door and was watching it when an idea struck me. I brought out my set of empty stickers, called Ru. I kept pointing at each and every element in her drawing and together we spelled out the name of the parts and wrote them letter by letter and stuck them to the chart paper. It was something very involving and fun for Ru while she brushed up on her phonic skills....unknowingly.

The first six months post delivery

2010-07-24T22:32:00.016+08:00

It's been a while since I have blogged. Yes, you are right. Still getting to terms with the needs and demands of a toddler and an infant. Its like a relay race everyday. But, its been an interesting six months and time just flies. Jia is 6 months old now and Ru is 3 years, 5 months old.

The first week after her birth Mum and Dad managed alone. It was tough but its done. Dida had fallen down and broken her leg in December but still managed to come over on 15th January with Dadu after physiotherapy and good will power. Dadu returned after a week becuase he had work while Dida continued for the first two months followed by next two months when Thammi came over. Mum has recovered from her caesarian and has been taking up the duo challenge from day 1.

Ru and Jia visited two countries in the past 6 months; Phuket, Thailand to get Dida's visa extended and Medan, Indonesia to get Thammi's visa extended at 1 month and 3 months old respectively.

Ru refers to Jia as "My Baby". Jia adores Ru didi, gives big smiles and gurgles words of endearment while Ru didi returns her love with hugs and kisses on her hands, toes and head. Jia's smiles are not toothless any more. She is a proud owner of two pearly whites and she shows it often to anyone approaching her. Her blue eyes at birth have become brown now (like her Mom's eyes). Ru's eyes are a darker shade of brown more towards black.

'Didi' loves 'Bonu' like crazy. Her biggest gift to her 'Bonu' was a soft toy of the character 'Noddy' which she loved a lot. She happily gifted Jia her favourite Noddy to keep in her cot. Ru has never been majorly fascinated with dolls. And, since Jia's arrival, her dolls are gathering dust in a dollhouse that Mum had enthusiastically cut out of cardboard boxes and made for her. Ru's doll is now her little sister Jia. She wants to brush her baby sister's hair (and also brushes her own with the same brush at that time), show her toys to her, tells her what is happening on TV or in school, show her drawings to her (sometimes wakes her up to show her), wants to carry her, runs for the wet tissue whenever Mom is changing diapers, helps Mum during bathtime (in the process getting wet), plays peekaboo, tickle tickle, takes pictures of her (her newly acquired skill while Mom hopes the DigCam doesn't slip from her hand) and also tells her that she will not give her presents and stickers "and not friend her any more" if Jia doesnt finish her milk. Ru also tells Jia that you have to listen to Mummy and Daddy.

Some things worth remembering:
1. One night while going to bed, Ru tells me: "Mumma, I will put a big cross with my pencil on Jia's head". Mummy (heart sinking): "But why?"
Because she is not finishing her "Dudu"/milk. I will put a big cross on her head like Teacher Shanti.
Mummy reminds Ru,"No Ru, you should not do that. Pencil is only for the..." Ru with a smile: "paper"

2. Mummy was watching a pic of a friend's daughter on facebook. Ru asked, "Who is this?" I said, "My friend's daughter". Ru: "But, I want to have a daughter too, like Jia, but i dont want to cut my tummy".

3. Ru hugging Jia, "Mummy, I love Jia sooo much. Can I take her to my school? I want to show her to Scindia, Rowena and Chen Xuan".

4. Ru's 3rd bday was celebrated in school and ever since she has been wanting to have her 9 year old bday. She thinks she will get more presents if she is nine years old.

5. Ru had wasted a lot of toilet tissue. Mummy and Daddy scolded her and said, "If you waste tissue there will be no more money left and then you cannot get any more toys". Ru immediately said, "Thammi has money. She will give you the money" (Thammi had given money for some joy rides in the shopping mall on her last visit and hence she relates Thammi with having money). May Thammi's reservoir of money be ever-flowing. :P Also, she related Dida, Dadu and Thammi to the giver of presents and even told them that next time you come from India bring lots of presents because I (Ru) am being a good girl.

6. Some comparisons for comparisons sake. Jia is a small baby (birth weight: 2.75kgs) because I had placenta previa during my pregnancy. Ru was a big baby (birth weight: 3.6kgs). Jia was born in Malaysia. Ru was born in India. Both are caesarian babies. Ru didn't sleep the nights because she had acute colic pain the first 4 months. Jia has never troubled me in the sleep arena as of now except just a few colicky nights. (touchwood)
Ru was an exclusive bf baby till 6 months. Introduced solids for Ru at 5.5months and continued bfg till 10months. Jia was advised by doc to combine bfg and bottle to increase her weight. So, started bottlefeeding along with bfg at 2months end and continued bfg till 6months. Unfortunately, she too like her didi is not taking to the bottle. Introduced her to solids at 4 months. She doesnt take the bottle when awake. She will take it when she is sleeping but she manages to figure out and pushes it with her tongue even then. So, Mummy has to keep feeding her at frequent intervals while she is sleeping. Also, she is not learning to hold the bottle with her hands yet. She will hold the bottle only to push it out. She has been switched from EnfalacA+ to Isomil (soya milk) because she threw up Enfalac everytime. Need to check if her milk allergy has gone now at 6months. Mum got very scared intitially when she threw up hoping its not the same reflux as her Ru Didi had but fortunately it seems it was only the milk. Ru had severe reflux from 7 months of age to 2.5 years of age when she used to vomit all her meals (food and milk) almost 6-7 times a day, daily. Thankfully those days are gone but Ru has become a picky eater who runs at the sight of food. Mummy is having a tough time feeding both of them one after the other or sometimes together, throughout the day. Its exhausting but definitely exhilarating, when at the end of the day Ru signs with her hand a heart shape and says "Happy Mother's Day"

Here is a pic of both sisters at 6 months of age. As a friend Baibhav rightly pointed out,
Ruhani (Ru) sits like a saint, being the spiritual one, while Aarini (Jia) seems to be very active and jumping on the bean bag. Whether they will abide by their names, only time will tell.

Aarini has arrived !

2010-01-25T10:59:00.014+08:00

Ruhani's Christmas wish came true as she recieved her gift from Santa on 7th January 2010.

Ruhani is now a 'big' sister or 'Didi'. She's been kissing mummy's tummy ever since she knew there was a tiny baby inside and now that her baby sis is out, her excitement knows no bounds. She has been showering all her love on her new little baby doll.

Ru keeps saying, "The sun is out and the moon and stars are gone. Why is the baby sleeping? Wake up baby, wake up!" Poor sleep deprived Mummy wants baby to sleep as long as possible while big sis wants her to be awake so she can play with her, show her her toys, sing songs to her etc etc.
Mummy hopes her education will be taken care of by her elder sis. The process has started and Mummy keeps her wishful thinking cap on.

...And when she is awake, our precious newborn gets to listen to all the new nursery rhymes that elder sis is learning at school (no one else can sing to her), see her toys like Dora, Mickey etc, gets to hear what she is eating, playing, colouring and so on.

We've named Ruhani's sister, "Aarini". While "Ruhani" means 'spiritual', "Aarini" means 'adventurous'. Since they are both the 'heart & soul' of our lives, one is lovingly called 'Ru' meaning 'soul' and the other is going to be 'Jia' meaning 'heart'. This is a special moment when Ru held Jia for the first time, and Jia gave a big smile while she slept. Perhaps Jia knows that this is the adorable 'Didi' I would love playing with, fighting with, sharing secrets with and also look up to all my life. Mummy is glad that Ru and Jia are already enjoying what siblings enjoy - each other's company. Hopefully this love and friendship is going to be cherished for their lifetime.

Family Portraits

2009-12-29T19:48:00.005+08:00

While I cooked in the kitchen, Ruhani brought out her doodle set and told me that she wanted to draw the baby. The curious 'me', immediately dropped the ladle to catch a glimpse of our 'to-be-born' baby and this is what she drew.

Then, Mummy said, "Now can you draw Mummy and the baby?"

Ru said, "No, first I will draw Baba (Daddy)".

Mummy said, "Ok, you draw Baba first". Here's how Baba looks like.

Then, Mummy said, "How about drawing Mumma now?" (hoping to see a fat-fat preggy me)

"No. Now I will draw Ruhani."

"Ok!," said Mummy. "It's my turn now".

"Ok!" She said....

....and this is how Mummy looks like...

Poor Mummy!!!

At Peace with Pastels!

2009-12-17T22:32:00.012+08:00

Daddy's again having his spurt of creativity. This time its with pastel colours. Daddy just loves immersing himself in his world of solitude on some of those wonderful weekends bringing 'life' to blank paper. Ruhani too loves these times with Daddy trying her hand (with pastel rubbed all over her hands, dress and also on paper).

Here are some of Ruhani and Daddy's creations. While the duo are at work, the 'heavily preggy Mommy' (who else but me) relaxes on the sofa. The music in the background fills the air. The heart fills with pride. The hours pass and the seldom found 'silence' in the house is again lost in oblivion. Enjoy the pictures of Ruhani followed by her Daddy.

A Rollercoaster ride

2009-12-06T12:06:00.002+08:00

Anyone interested in a rollercoaster ride, just jump in. Ruhani's latest fascination has been aligning up shoes and socks to make a rollercoaster. She had recently seen the rollercoaster at Times Square. Since then, shoes and socks are taken out often inviting Mummy and Baba to sit in her rollercoaster.

Who did that?

2009-11-27T00:34:00.008+08:00

Its not uncommon for parents to commit mistakes. And when they do, its quite amusing when your little one points it out to you on your face. Our daughter had been reprimanded a few times for having tried out her drawing skills on this very wall.

The other day, daddy tried throwing an object on the wall which said it had vanishing ink, but the ink didnt vanish and left a mark on the wall...to the greatest annoyance of Mummy.

Ru (already knows the answer coz she has asked it several times now): Mumma, Who did that?
Mumma: Baba did it.
Ru (shaking her head in disapproval) : Oh Baba! He is very very naughty. (lol)

Mumma (pondering later): A mistake is a mistake is a mistake. Its better to admit it truthfully if I want her to be truthful too later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Baba

2009-11-10T10:27:00.012+08:00

The world's most exciting achievement for my daughter is having a 'Birthday' - Cutting the cake, blowing the candles, getting birthday cards and recieving presents, something we adults also enjoy. Ru hums the popular birthday song on Playhouse Disney Channel about Birthdays being 'special' with birthday parties, birthday cakes. "We love birthdays. Have a happy special, wonderful, magical Playhouse Disney Birthday".

Goes without saying that Baba's darling wanted to make Baba's Birthday 'special' too.

She insisted that we buy a cake and birthday card for Papa. So, I bought a cake while hubby was in office and a card from my side. She of course blew one side of the candles before Baba could blow them out.

As for Ru's card, we decided to make it at home. I sat the earlier evening to help her make a birthday card for Papa.

She loves playing with watercolours. So, she readily agreed when I asked her if she wanted to paint a card for Baba. I decided to keep the water away so she doesnt destroy her painting by flooding it with water. She enjoyed opening the tubes, dabbling some paint on to the brush and putting it on paper. She would not let me touch her brush though. So, I let her do whatever she wanted on it. I asked her to make a 'sun' in the beginning but it turned out, she wanted to make 'Baba'.

And wasn't Papa pleased!!! Sure he was.

That's 'Baba' and 'Ru' enjoying their dinner date together to celebrate the happy and special day.

How to make a Pirate Hat

2009-09-22T23:57:00.004+08:00

Ahoy there! Recently we were invited to a birthday party where Ru had to go in a pirate dress. Here is a pirate hat that I made for my daughter. Its quite simple to make.

1. All you have to do is grab 3 sheets of newspaper (two sided- no half sheets) for making a sturdy hat.
2. Spread it out infront of you sideways.
3. If you fold on the front at the middle from both sides (leave a little bit of space in the middle), 4. Take the first 3 sheets, fold them up and crease it. Do the same on the back side of the hat.
5. Measure your child's head size and staple it on both sides of the head so that it fits nicely on the head. Now the base of the hat is done.
6. You may use black construction paper or paint to colour the hat. I painted the hat black and sketched a skull on it to give it the pirate hat look.
7. I also added ribbons to the hat so that it could be fastened on her neck.
There goes Mates...your hat is done.
Here's my little pirate just after the party.

Dabbling with water colours...

2009-09-02T14:46:00.009+08:00

Isn't it fun to pick up a paint brush and a box of water colours a jar of water and see your child pour his/her creative juices on paper. When letting your toddler enjoy watercolours, remember that 'Play' should be the keyword.

Let the flow of the brush, the dabbling of paint and water take its course on paper. Once they are done, you can pose a question, "I wonder what this looks like?"

These are some of the paintings that my two and half year old daughter created with her dad's participation over a period of two weekends and also the original titles of the paintings as she thought it depicted.

Title: A House in the Clouds

Title: The hiding sun

Title: A rose

Title: The Green Jungle

Title: 'Ellie' - The Elephant

Some of these paintings have been slightly modified to give it some shape to make it more meaningful for her. She is beginning to understand how a blend of colours can bring out a beautiful picture.

It is important to encourage them to enjoy the watercolours and 'discover' what they made instead of teaching them various techniques of handling the colours.

A Debut Public Performance

2009-08-20T20:55:00.006+08:00

Now about a backdated post. There was a 'Mommy & Me Weekend' held at Bangsar Village a while back where my daughter's School Principal requested me to take her to show her development on her 'Reading abilities' at Vital Years. Frankly, I was quite sceptical whether she would be able to say or read anything on the stage but her Principal sounded quite confident about her. Here is a video of what happened there.
Watch the You Tube Video by clicking the link: Ru's debut public performance at 2 years 3 months. It teaches not to underestimate the potential of kids. Also, it fills my heart with love and pride. Her Principal was so happy that she took her to a cartoonist who immediately sketched out her caricature and also another girl who made a painting on her hand. My daughter was soo overjoyed.

My Absence From the Blogosphere

2009-08-13T18:23:00.011+08:00

Many of you might wonder where I vanished. Well the answer is...I've been really, really very very busy. The reason? We had brought MIL to Malaysia for a month. My maid left. We decided to go to Hyderabad in India to visit my brother and his family for an Annaprashan ceremony - first rice feeding ceremony of their baby. Ru thoroughly enjoyed being 'Didi' or elder sister to her little 'bhai' or cousin brother. Also, a good news that I havent shared with you all yet. We are expecting our second one. So, I had decided to vanish from the blogosphere until I again get the time and energy to cope up with all the developments. Hey, and the good news is...the charm of the blogosphere brings me back again. :)

Mommy & Me Weekend Event at Bangsar VIllage II

2009-05-27T09:01:00.002+08:00

Just came to know about this event and wanted to let my blogger friends know about it...
Here is the link to the event.
http://www.venusbuzz.com/mommy&me/

An Artsee P'Art'y

2009-05-15T14:41:00.018+08:00

What do you expect FOUR friends to do, that too 'women' (two married with no kids, one with a baby, the other with a toddler) when they come together on a lazy afternoon. No, they dont gossip about the latest scandal in town, they dont bitch about their friends and colleagues, or talk about how frustrating it could get at times with kids, or how respective hubbies haven't been taking their responsibilities seriously or how the maid spends hours chatting to her boyfriend on her phone.

They grab pieces of paper and create what may be called 'Art'. That is how it was on 13th May when my friends came over for a different sort of party. It was an 'Artsee' Party. Some even came armed with their own tools and paper and invoked Goddess Saraswati before they began (atleast that's my interpretation). That's my talented friend Vedanti all set for the show. (I've skipped uploading your drawing as per your request, but i think it was done beautifully and is worth sharing.)

It was heartwarming to see our new & busy mommy also pitch in to let out her creative spirit. Three Cheers to Mommy Sneha for being such a sport. She drew like a pro, just picked up the pencil and started sketching and was done in no time, while all of us still unsure what to draw watched with our eyeballs popping out. Talking of eyeballs, the one with the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, Neelanjana, lovingly called Mouli drew her most favourite subject, 'the eyes'. She is not only a talented singer, a successful dancer, but also an artist, a 'truly creative' person amongst us. I was amazed at her drawing of the eyes.

Her art which she termed 'unfinished' had such magnetic charm I could just sit and admire it for hours.

I also could not resist myself from picking up the pencils and letting my heart out. Although I completed this the morning after when my daughter left for school.

Do you know that the age group of this fun afternoon party started from age two.

Yes, that's my daughter sitting with all of us, pouring all her creative juices on paper, (doing more of scribbling than drawing). She wanted everyone's approval after she made a stroke on paper. So, she was becoming more of a nuisance than anything else. She soon lost interest like all two year olds (with very low attention span) and ran off to play with her blocks.

Everything else beside the flower on the picture below is her masterpiece. :D

She had drawn daddy for the 'nth' time on her doodle set too. I am soo jealous.

We would have also invited our youngest and cutest friend, six month old 'Aarav', Sneha's son to join his artee elders. Anyway, next time Aarav! He instead chose to give us a different talent show altogether. Isn't he simply adorable?

Thanks everyone for coming over and being such a sport for the memorable party! It was indeed fun.

Drawing before Mother's Day

2009-05-09T15:56:00.005+08:00

Just a day before Mother's Day, Mummy chanced upon a drawing lying on Ru's desk while she was sleeping in her room.
Isn't it cute? I love the smile on the face. Is that Ru herself with her chubby cheeks and cheeky smile or is that Mummy trying to guage if her daughter has been up to some little mischief again (with eyebrows raised)! hehe..
Mummy is soo soo proud of her. I admire her drawing while my little one peacefully sleeps... I will ask her once she wakes up about the subject of her drawing.

My Shichida Testimonial

2009-05-02T21:08:00.006+08:00

I’m writing this testimonial to share with others the remarkable progress of my daughter Ruhani after she joined Shichida at 7 months. Shichida is a school for right brain development which was started by a Japanese person Makato Shichida many many years back. The techniques used has been found to be useful and successful not only in Japan but also in other countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

At 12 months, she knew how to blow, paste stickers, said ‘Happy’ while I was showing her the ‘Feelings’ flashcards. She could also say simple words like ball, fan etc.

At 18 months, she started speaking many words. She knew the phonics song, the different sounds of animals etc.

At 20 months, she started talking sentences, could match and sort shapes, colours, etc.

At 24 months, she could sing the ABCD song and many other nursery rhymes, had letter recognition from A-Z, knew number counting till 15-20, correctly. A friend of mine (another Shichida parent) showed her a bird flashcard and she immediately said ‘Sparrow’. I do many flashcards with her - one category being ‘birds’.

Now, at 25 months, she has good photomemory, ESP, linking memory, loves drawing and singing, can write few letters and knows her opposites : tall-short, heavy-light, and simple addition like : 1+1, 2+1.

Sensei Kin has played a major role by being very supportive and encouraging and making the activities enjoyable leaving a mark of her charming personality. Also, she has inspired me to keep following the program regularly at home.

Thus, I have experienced how a good program like Shichida, positive interaction by a good teacher and regular home practice can help in overall child development. I would recommend Shichida Method to all parents...and no, Shichida hasn't paid me for writing this. :D I am just too pleased with Shichida.

See your baby talk

2009-05-02T15:13:00.006+08:00

Here is my reply to a query expressed by one of my readers, a mum of a 16 month old on how to encourage her 16 month old to speak more and how to communicate with one's child. The faster your child learns to speak, the faster you will be able to understand the needs of your child and reduce the frustration and crying of your little toddler.

There are lots of views on using sign language for babies. It could be interesting to see how fast your baby picks up some of the signs to be able to communicate correctly with you.

There are quite a few things that you could do to increase your baby's vocabulary.

1) First and foremost, don't pressurize your baby to speak. Just let her be while giving her lots of input on all the things that you see. Just keep TALKING a lot to her in ADULT language. It can seem weird but they grasp words quickly.

2) Use lots of picture flashcards (pictures on one side and text on the other) and show her at very fast speed. Note that you would need a thumb holder (available at the stationary section in Popular or other book stores). Gradually, you can encourage her to say the word instead of letting it out.

3) Teach her how to blow if she doesnt know already. You can make an octopus with threads hanging as legs and ask her to blow it. You can make various interesting craft work and ask her to blow. Once she knows how to blow, you can ask her to blow a candle. Also, ask her to blow a whistle to see how much strength she has in her blow. She will be able to pronounce words like P, Kh, etc. that require air to be blown out of the mouth.

4) Listening is the first step to speaking. Babies love nursery rhymes. Rhymes, Finger rhymes, Action rhymes are tools that you can use. Start with simple rhymes like 'Johny Johny' or 'Are you sleeping'. Finger rhymes like 'Two little blackbirds sitting on a wall', Action rhymes like 'Eensy Winsy spider'. Something that is very easy to pick up.

5) Sing regularly to her. Children love music and will start humming and then saying the words in no time.

6) Some children dont speak much because all that they want to say is being understood beforehand. Sometimes, act as if you are just not getting it (without telling her in words that she needs to speak). But, dont do it too often.

7) Read picture books to her everyday and point out the pictures while spelling out the words clearly.

8) Follow her focus of attention. This is something I did a lot while dealing with my child. Instead of asking her to say words that you want her see, you can follow her eyesight and keep giving words to her that SHE is looking at. Say when she is looking at a ball under the sofa. Dont ask her to see a 'bird'. Focus on her object of attention. Tell her, "Yes, get the ball".

9) How to speak to your child: Speak short simple sentences of 3-4 words in a sentence. Break up all your conversation into short sentences. For example: "I am hungry. I need food". Say a bit loudly but slowly with lots of intonation in your voice.

10) Use lots of play sounds while you play with him/her. Children love it. Let her be surrounded by lots of 'Swishhhh', 'vroom vroom', 'Crashhh', 'Splashh', 'baa baa', 'moo moo', 'tick tock' and so on.

11) Use a lot of repetition. Look, there's the ball. Its a blue ball. Can u throw the ball? Give the ball to Daddy.

12) Repeat what she says or is meaning to say back to her in meaningful words without showing that you are correcting her.

13) DONT ask questions. Dont let her feel the discomfort of being asked to speak. Let it come naturally.

14) DON'T comment on the way she is expected to speak or say that she does not speak to all your friends. Children catch messages very fast.

15) Make sure its not too noisy when you are speaking to her. Anything that could distract her attention can be tuned off, like the television, phone etc.

Activities for a 16-20 month old: Make a game of naming the parts of her body. Teach her the sounds that animals make. She would also love activities like scribbling with colour pencils, banging drums, building a tower of cups, fitting, filling emptying etc.

You will find many more activites in my blog earlier posts in the category 'Children Activities'.

Your baby will talk eventually. So, do not stress or over pressurize him/her to talk. And in case you suspect that your child has a speech problem, schedule an appointment with a speech therapist as soon as possible if the above techniques dont work.