Living in Malaysia and sometimes Singapore, our family has friends who celebrate Halloween although we don’t really do so. We were invited to a Halloween party once where little El dressed up as a pumpkin and that was about the experience we had. Nevertheless, the kids spent some time learning about Halloween in English and Chinese. I selected key phrases and made a set of bilingual word flashcards. These are smaller cards (1/8 A4) designed for children learning to read. As a control of error for Chinese reading, there’s Hanyu Pinyin behind each card. I also made two 1-page write-ups on the f ..read more

Here’s an easy Math craft activity! During Halloween, Little El wanted to make banners, so nerdy-me immediately thought of all the math that would be involved. Of course, you can change the colours to fit any theme you like. The best part is that it takes only about 15 minutes. And minimal mess to clean up. Sounds perfect, right? You’ll only need two pieces of A4 paper, some twine, masking tape and poster putty. Measure the width of the paper. Divide it by 2 to find the mid-point. For a younger child, use trial and error to find half the width. Join the upper corners to the mid-point. Cut to g ..read more

Over the years, the LINE Dictionary has become our favourite online Chinese-English dictionary. What’s more, it’s free… Our story… I learnt English and Chinese as first languages in Singapore. Now, my children are studying in a Malaysian Chinese school (SJKC), where the standard of Chinese is way higher. They also learn Mathematics and Science in Chinese, from 6+ years old. Ten years ago, I was apprehensive about being able to manage this. Then thanks to new technology and resources, my children and I are progressing well in learning Chinese. I even managed to homeschool the younger two throug ..read more

Here are more ways to bring Chinese reading alive, while learning the 石部首 (shí bùshǒu, radical of “stone”). Since 石 means stone, we worked with many little stones in a Montessori way. To save you time researching, you’ll be able to download the printables later. All you need to do is to write the words out.   Step-by-Step Tutorial Materials & Preparation Stones: About 2 to 3cm diameter each Light coloured 1kg (about 30 to 50 stones) Black fine-tip permanent marker (I use Sharpie) Pencil or ball-point pen Printables (download below) 1. Get stones Gather 30 to 50 stones from the ga ..read more

Jae was hospitalised for 18 days last month due to lymph node infection (swollen lump at the neck) and a fever that kept returning for more than a month. It was a difficult period for us. I stayed with him 24 by 7 and barely saw the other two kids. Jae was the bravest boy during treatment. He didn’t flinch when setting the IV line and going through multiple blood tests to find out the root cause. He needed to take antibiotics through IV and he was more bothered that the IV line would restrict his hand movement for play. His hand would swell after a few days, so a new line would be set. Four li ..read more

Jae wanted to print money at Bank Negara Museum and Art Gallery again, so we made an impromptu trip there. Bank Negara in Malaysia is the equivalent of MAS in Singapore. Gosh, the children’s gallery was soooo crowded! As a student, Economics was my favourite subject after Math. Great chance to learn about inflation import & export fun facts about money and more! Coincidentally, over breakfast, we chatted about the casino industry, tax, bitcoin, money laundering, etc. This is a simple way to bond and carry out ethics and financial literacy education at home. Where to find Address: Sa ..read more

It’s Singapore’s birthday. When I was young, my dad would bring us to watch the annual NDP fireworks . During Secondary 2 days, my school participated in the National Day Parade (NDP) performance. We spent months rehearsing in school and at Padang. It was a year of minimum homework and tonnes of fun with friends. What’s on our shelf Today, I spent some time updating our thematic shelf so that the kids can learn more about where Mummy comes from. The simple shelf covers 3 languages (English, Chinese, Malay), Math, Science, History & Geography. Try to spot them! Let’s take a closer look ..read more

My family is still under prolonged lockdown, so we’ve been busy watching and learning from the Tokyo Olympic Games. Mental wellness has been a widely-discussed topic recently after gymnast superstar Simon Biles withdrew from the Olympics. For more than a year, many families are already experiencing stress from the Covid-19 pandemic. As high-achieving parents raising children with limitless potential, we need to open up about mental wellness. Let’s start in a gentle way today. I’ll share first… My Story Since my University days, I started experiencing stomachache right before every examination ..read more

After a few weeks of stuffing ourselves with mooncakes, it’s finally Mid-Autumn Festival today! The kids spent some time learning Chinese history and language. We read a story on the Mid-Autumn Festival from the book above. The children have already heard variations of the story over the years. So this year, we focused more on reading words. I selected key phrases from the story and made a set of bilingual word flashcards. These are smaller cards (1/8 A4) designed for children learning to read. You’ll get the free printable below. As a control of error for Chinese reading, there’s Hanyu Pinyi ..read more