We have this system at home, and Daddy Sean insists we do it: He will only speak to Baby J in Mandarin, while the rest of us at home can speak to him in English or Hokkien dialect. Sean is very consistent, and may only slip in a sentence or two of English with Baby J. This way, Baby J will hopefully be able to converse comfortably in two languages as he grows up. Continue Reading…
‘Motor skill’ is a process involving the coordination of muscles that work together when motions are carried out. There are 2 different kinds of motor skills in a child’s development – fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Continue Reading…
Just like adults, children learn at different paces. Some absorb information and process them quickly, while others take a longer time to understand and retain new information. While parents are eager for their children to learn what they are being taught quickly, it is important to exercise restraint and patience when it comes to handling a child who is a slower learner. It does no one good if both parties get frustrated, and parents who lose their patience this way might inadvertently kill the joy of learning in the young one and cause them to lose their self-confidence, and affect their self-esteem. Continue Reading…
Sensory play is an interesting concept I’ve recently come across. It involves little kids learning through play and invoking their five senses to promote development. Sometimes, it involves creating a mess. 😛 Once babies reach the crawling stage, they pretty much want to roam around and grab stuff. So I thought, why not let Baby J grab stuff and learn at the same time? Went to do some research, and found some ideas of safe sensory play for babies.
We created a gooey concoction of cornflour and water, and added food colouring. This made the mixture edible for babies who enjoy putting stuff into their mouths. The night before, I excitedly followed a recipe I found online to a tee, but found that the mixture remained liquid for a long time. I suspect it could be the climate as I had followed instructions from a sensory play event from the US. Had to improvise, and I would advise anyone trying to follow the following to improvise as well. Also, check out the pointers at the bottom! Continue Reading…
As introduced in my first article, Phonics is a type of word-recognition technique, whereby the word refers to the relationship between phonemes (word sounds) and graphemes (written symbols).
Phoneme: A single, distinct unit of sound used to distinguish one word from another. Phonemes are enclosed with slanted lines (/ /) to show the relationship between word sounds and the symbols that represent them.
(For example: In the words cat and rat, the letters ‘c’ and ‘r’ represent two distinct sounds. The phonemes /c/ and /r/ make up the only difference in the pronunciation of the two words.) Continue Reading…
The job of a software engineer or a coder is very much coveted these days, especially in giants like Google and Facebook. If you do not have a degree in Computer Science or the like, you may be wondering what you should expect when you start learning coding. Continue Reading…
A ‘rhyme‘ is a repetition of similar sounds (or the same sound) in two or more words, most often in the final syllables of lines in poem and songs. Rhyming consists of rhythm and repetition, and through being exposed to songs or poems that rhyme, a child’s language skills begin to develop even before they’re able to verbalise actual words.
Rhymes have such a great positive impact on a young child’s language and literacy development. Some of its benefits are: Continue Reading…
Whether you are a full-time working parent or a stay-at-home Mom/Dad, I believe you have a desire to forge a close bond with your child. One of the ways you can build this bond during their childhood years involves a bit of your time, effort and energy. It is manageable and achievable, so do take some time out of your busy schedule to commit to this activity: Reading storybooks to your child. Continue Reading…
If you’re a parent of a young child, I believe you want your child to learn how to read efficiently and have an early head start in acquiring the skills to do so before they enter Primary 1 (I know you’re thinking about their education way ahead of time!). As a preschool educator specialising in Phonics, it is my goal and desire to impart my knowledge and techniques to young learners, and in doing so, I hope to inculcate a love of reading in each and every one of them. On top of that, I also wish for these children to be encouraged enough to eventually strive towards mastering the English language. The good news is that your child can begin his/her learning journey on how to read (and write!) through Phonics education. Continue Reading…