All together now - Heeyah!

Yesterday, after a week of psycho-ing, Punpkin was eager to give Tae Kwon Do a try. She enjoyed it very much and now the 2 girls together with their friends will spend their Sunday mornings kicking and punching and shouting "heeyah!'. Pumpkin needs to work on her high kicks (she fell on her bum while trying to execute a kick) but her "heeyah" is easily the loudest in the class.

The girls and I have started playing a new game - a frog hunt, where I hide 12 little frogs and they have to go look for them using a list of clues. Tai Pi enjoys it very much and makes us play over and over again.

And a new game I've been playing which gave the girls the creeps at first is this online game where you are trapped in a room and you try to get out with the help of a series of clues. I still have not figured it out. Give it a go and if you do manage to crack it, drop me a hint. Try the game "Crimson Room" at http://www.fasco-csc.com/index_e.html

Tai Pi signs up for Tae Kwon Do

This morning, we went for a trial Tae Kwon Do session at a Tae Kwon Do school located in town. Tai Pi enjoyed herself so much, we couldn't not sign her up and so we did. And she was really thrilled with the uniform too. See how smart she and her friends look! Pumpkin was supposed to give it a go too but didn't feel up to it, maybe because of her neck strain; she hurt her neck maybe from watching too much TV while lying in bed - there's tennis elbow but this is the first time I've come across couch potato neck!

The verdict is out

Last Wednesday, Tai Pi brought home her report book. She scored 87% for English and Chinese and 77% for math. There was no indication of class or cohort ranking so it's hard to say where she stands relative to the rest but I suppose it is average which is good enough. She got an "excellent" for her conduct and "A" for non-examinable subjects such as PE, art, etc, except for a "B" in music. Tai Pi is very pleased with her results and so am I!

Pumpkin in concert

One week after Tai Pi's concert, it was Pumpkin's turn. Unfortunately, I was not there as I had a course to attend. But KK taped it down for my viewing pleasure.

Pumpkin put on a fantastic performance and looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herslf. And even when she slipped and almost fell at one point, she was totally unfazed and continued like a pro!

Tai Pi was busy serving refreshments to the guests. See pic of her with her good friend and two big piles of curry puffs.

Our first post-exam weekend

Oh it feels great not having to do any revision, any coaching! Last Saturday, we made our second pinata - a colourful bird. We'll have a whack at it once we get the goodies to fill it up with.

And yesterday, Tai Pi and I attended a jewellery making class at the clubhouse. I made a ring and a pair of earrings while Tai Pi made herself a ring. Tai Pi wants to be a jewellery designer when she grows up. Two of her close girlfriends have already said they would help out in her store.

We also visited a children's fair at the Singapore Expo yesterday. Popular Bookstore was there but I was able to steer myself away from their assessment books and moved over to the more interesting booths. We signed up Tai Pi and Pumpkin for a trial Tae Kwon Do session this coming Sunday. The girls also tried their hand at archery. To think that in the old days, the kind of sports we indulged in was table tennis on a coffee table with cassette tape boxes for a net!

Speech & Drama Concert

Yesterday we attended the much awaited Speech & Drama Concert put up by the Primary 1 children at Tai Pi's school. Tai Pi was in this number about animals in the zoo. She was placed in the front centre because, as she says, she could sing loudly and clearly. And really, even with some 60 kids on stage, I could hear her voice.

The performances were pretty good and of course the audience, comprising the parents, were supportive, but the funny thing was, you couldn't hear very much applause. Why? Because all the doting parents had their hands occupied with various recording equipment - still cameras, video cameras, handphone cameras!

Just 2 more days to go

Tai Pi has an English paper tomorrow and a Maths paper day after and then her exams are over!

Anyway I have not subjected her to the same intensity of revision work the past couple of weeks because I can't keep up with it myself. It is not something I enjoy at all and I guess it's hard to keep at something you don't find any pleasure in. I'm also more relaxed now as Tai Pi has shown improvement. Just last Friday, her BASC teacher said that her math is now the best among the kids! Not bad considering she was the worst at one time. I am so pleased with myself! hee hee... This reminds me of when I gave tuition during my undergrad days. I taught this primary school kid and she won the award for greatest improvement. When I quit, her mom begged me to continue!


This morning, after Tai Pi did a math revision paper (she scored 96% for it), we had a treasure hunt where the girls searched for a series of clues, one leading to the next till they finally get to the treasure (M&Ms in the letterbox). They had so much fun with it, I promised I would have a treasure hunt for them another day. After that, we went for another one of our walks or "running away from home" as we like to call it (inspired by the children's story "A Baby Sister For Frances").
As usual, we went to the Reading Room at the clubhouse (see pics above) and also made a trip to the provision shop where the girls get to buy some snacks for a picnic at a nearby void deck (see bottom pic). At this age, it is very easy and very cheap to keep them amused.