READING PLEASURE

"The greatest gift is a passion for reading."

~ Elizabeth Hardwick

Recently, my 6 year-old daughter was selected by her school to be part of a small performance at the Asian Festival Of Children's Content.  Truthfully, I was not aware of her participation until I got a call from the teacher to remind me that she has to be present as she was one of those selected by her phonics enrichment teacher....(well that's me!...consent form is always signed after receiving a reminder call from the teacher!!).

So the day came and we brought her to the National Library where the performance was held.  Her school was representing the enrichment centre's launch of a Malay language programme ('Fonik Ria' by Mini Monsters).  The 10 children selected was supposed to be there an hour earlier for a short rehearsal. 

Whilst waiting, the afternoon programme started with an introduction by a guest speaker, Vivian Kirkfield, who is a Blogger, Educator & Author of a few children's literacy materials.  At first I didn't think much of her presentation (due to some technical hiccups - her voice was not audible because of the noise pollution at the atrium and the PowerPoint was not working effectively at the beginning...). 



source: Asian Festival Of Children's Content, NLB



Not until a few minutes down the road was when I realised how significant her message was  - 'reading picture books with children is one of the most important tasks of parenthood!'.  Granted that most parents would have heard this time and time again, but her 15 minute presentation was insightful for me as it refreshes my memory on the importance of cultivating the love for reading.  Basically it jolted my conscience which at times (ok... at MOST times!) have resulted in neglecting reading with the kids AND with myself too....booohooo!)

Vivian's pointers were basics and the key message was that reading helps to build self-esteem for the little ones.  She recommended simple techniques of reading with the child such as investing a small amount of time aside to read with him/her.  Most importantly, she also suggested that after reading, to follow through with a simple activity to reinforce the learning such as doing art & craft with the child. 

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

~ Emilie Buchwald

Like I said earlier, most of us would already know this.  But the thing that triggered my conscience during Vivian's presentation was the fact that I was trained to do this!  This was one of the curriculum topics on teaching English for lower primary!  I recalled each week we were given children's story books to read and focus on.  It always got very interesting when we were asked to role play and develop extension activities for the particular story that was the focus for the week.  It was FUN and back then, I would always imagine how enjoyable it would be for the kids when such activities were incorporated into the reading programme. (I've never had such exposure when I was young unfortunately... ) Vivian recommended a few books and one of them was 'Where The Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak, and THIS was one of the books that we had to do in our review session!  Till today I still enjoy reading this book and I've read this to all my 3 children countless times! :)  Vivian's presentation resurrect my inspiration and energy once again to be a good story teller to my children.

Afterwards, I could not wait to see what was in store for my daughter's performance.  The little ones got up on stage and after a brief introduction, they began singing a very catchy Malay nursery rhyme.  Following that, the writer of the Fonik Ria book series called out her name and did a mini interview - asking her if she reads at home.  Then the surprising moment came (for me!).....she was asked to pick one of two books to read and she started reading the book page by page!  Oh WOW!! This was such a sight and a sentimental cum emotional one for me because up to 6 months ago, she could not read a complete story book on her own yet!  And now...she's not only reading by herself BUT in front of a public audience too!  So it was a really WOW moment there! :-)

I feel truly blessed to be able to witness yet again another milestone for my children.  Since that day, I'm now inspired to revive my love of reading (I know I need to buck up in this area...no excuses!) and hope to be able to continue to be a book lover advocate for my children too.

Are you a book lover too?  Do you get inspired and energised through a simple passion in reading?  Share your inspiration if you are an avid bookworm...

"A picture book is worth a thousand words"

~ Vivian Kirkfield

CHANGE MATTERS

"Change is inevitable!"

Recently, there's been a lot of changes happening around my circle of life.  Change is part of life I know but how rapid it evolves is something that I always ponder about.  We all know that change is inevitable.  In fact from the moment we enter this world, our life goes through this cycle of change from every aspect - physical, emotion, etc.

In the career field, I'm seeing change through the organisational structure.  This form of change can come in varied 'sizes' - small or huge; and the impact to the employees in the organisation has a huge co-relation to the magnitude of the re-organisational exercise.  In the past 4 years or so (and currently still...), I've seen policies and procedures changed.  But most importantly, I've seen changes in people (in comes the new and out goes the old ones!).    From a business point of view, professionally, the objective of the change is meant to be positive to bring about newness and for the company to progress along with the changing time and trends.  From a personal point of view,  it takes a toll on many when  you lose those that you have made connection and build tight relationships with over the years.  But it's business as usual....

On a personal front, change seems to be a constant factor in my life - marriage, parenthood.... Every changing path that I come across, I'd be telling myself "This is the most challenging hurdle!"  Yet it would pass by like the wave and then I meet the next challenge... So here I am again thinking "Ok, this year is tough..." and all because I have an elder son who's sitting for his final primary school exam (PSLE), another son who's mid-way through his primary school year, and a young princess who's due for primary school registration in a couple of months time!

So how do I deal with changes with so many going on right now?

1.  Change matters and I know it's inevitable.  I just have to face the brutal truth whether the outcome is postive or otherwise.   The truth is we can make plans but it is He (Allah), the Almighty, who will determine the final outcome.  As the saying goes, "If it's yours, it's yours..." and if things don't fall into the places you expect, this could also be a sign of blessings in disguise.

2.  Be prepared.  I know that I'll be facing a tough year this time particularly with each of my child going through another key milestones in their young lives.  I guess I was prepared for this year especially so since last year.  As such, I've decided at the beginning of this year that their agenda would be my priority.

3.  Face the roadblocks.  As much as I tell myself I'm prepared for what's coming, I also try to anticipate the impending obstacles that would come my way.  This could be in any form - physical, social, emotional... The most obvious roadblock for me would be the actual mental torture of anticipation which leads to STRESS!

4.   Handling the roadblocks.  Although it looks like I'm equipped with knowing the fact that I will have obstacles to face in changing situation, it's definitely harder to actually handle that difficult situation.  As mentioned, my biggest obstacle is the mind game!  When shoved to a corner, I'll be at my wits end trying to untangle my thoughts which are often split into 2 or more pieces... This is when I look towards company of close friends and family members to throw out those thoughts.  Most of the time I sort of know the outcome but just needed the affirmation.

5.  Accept, adapt and move forward.  I think in any changing situation, the most important factor is to be able to accept.  In general, it's never easy to accept changes as we human beings are habitual creatures.  Acceptance may take place either in a short or long period of time.  But once this takes place, it makes it easier to start adapting and make small or big steps forward.

I'm currently undergoing extreme stress level when I realised that my son who is an average scorer in school work may not have enough time to turnaround for his final exam.  I was prepared and knew that there will be many challenges for us and him.  Sometimes I have to admit that I'm on the verge of giving up hoping.  However, upon reflection tonight, I have accepted the fact that he is what he is.  I will continue to support him especially from the emotional aspect as I have seen how much he has progressed over the past year with some help from the therapy sessions as well.  If given a choice, I would of course try to reduce the unnecessary pressure for him from the education system here.   That choice is not here yet, so for now I will continue to move forward with him and help him to take those small steps.  InsyaAllah (with God's will) he will succeed at his very own pace.

Next stop....Primary One registration for the little princess....the emotional stress is creeping out I know...but oh well....that's another change story for next time perhaps...

Does change matter to you?  How do you handle changes in your life?  

I hope you are able to embrace change no matter what size it is...

TGIF

Finally the end of the week is here!  It's a relief especially for this week because it's also the last day of mid-year exams for my kids...YIPPEE!! I believe it's a similar situation for most of you who are parents too....

Speaking of exams...the first word that comes to the mind is usually - 'STRESS!!' I think this word is popping up more frequently and is often verbalised by the students and parents alike. 

Personally for a parent who's son is facing the

PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) at the end of this year (OMG...it's going to be VERY SOON!!!)....I can feel the stress level creeping up in me slowly but surely! 

But I wonder if my son is feeling the heat too because as far as I've been noticing lately, he's been rather relaxed and cool about it.  I know this is a good sign but to be honest, he's making me more of a nervous wreck with this calm and collected attitude!  Why? Well....my son is just an average scoring student and out of the 4 subjects he takes, he fairs either on the borderline or just under for 2 of the subjects....SO, that's why! :(

On the other hand, I know that some kids react negatively, i,e. expressing their stress through stress-related symptoms such as headache, fever and crying.  Recently, my friend has been sharing that her son (same level as mine) has been unwell and occurs frequently. When probed, he admitted that he was feeling stress about the upcoming papers.  Just today, another friend told me that her daughter ( a 3rd year secondary student) was in tears since the night through morning before going to school.  Her reason for the outburst - not confident that she could pass the math paper....

DOWN MEMORY LANE... 

I'm now going back down memory lane when many years ago I had to take

my PSLE.  My recollection of school and exam life back then was 'CAREFREE'. I don't remember having my mom or granddad pushing me to study, do homework, etc.  The only nagging I got was "Memorise your time-table!"  Most of the time, the memory that I had of that period was filled with lots of playing time both at home and in school.  Did I have tuition?  Hmmmm....I don't think I had any except for the last year when I joined a group tuition on the weekend.  Even then, I dreaded going for it and thought it was such a waste of time as I'd rather be home playing or simply do nothing.

When the big day came, again I don't think I was feeling 'stress', except for just a tiny-winy bit of nervousness.  The funny thing was that I did pretty well for the exams.  I spent my holidays in Malaysia and remembered gettnig a call from my mom after she had gone to collect my results.  Incredibly, I passed! (3As & 1A*).  My mom even asked if I had cheated....LOL....because my friends were incredibly surprised too with my results as they told her that all I did was play in school (I was always initiating the play time during recess!)

BACK TO REALITY... 

So back to the present.... I know times have changed and the standard has gotten way too high for the kids (I'm not going to start lamenting about how tough the education system has become lately!) As much as I want him and his siblings to experience the carefree days that I had during my childhood, I know that if I totally slack in giving him the push, he would suffer the outcome.  So I've become one of those typical parents who has to succumb to signing up the kids for tuition & enrichment classes.  Even with these, there's no guarantee that he would do well enough to pass through the year with the minimum benchmark.  On top of that, I also have to deal with helping him to improve his overall well-being from the social skills perspective. 

As the timeline draws closer to September, I think the best that we can do for them now is to continue to pray and provide the unconditional emotional support for them!

Anyways, it's TGIF and whatever it is, the mid-year exam is done!  The weekend is here and I'm going to make sure that they get the much deserved breather after the past weeks of slogging out. 

So please my friends....be happy that it's TGIF!  We are looking forward to go a birthday party tomorrow!! 

What about you?  Have a happy weekend!!! :)