Friday, February 3, 2012

Hijrah Resolution


The list. OMG. I am making a list for 2012. Not so much the whole 'new-year-resolution' and all that, and you should now that I started this list way before December 2011. I think this simple list is just a reminder for me, of the things that I should focus on more (not 'achieve', achieve is an overrated word in this sense) this year and the years to come.

Yeah, yeah, lambat sangat buat list, ni dah masuk bulan February 2012, bla bla bla, yadda yadda yadda. So what? List aku kan? Target aku kan? Suka hati akulah nak start bila and nak end bila (eh, napa tiba-tiba sentap entah).  

So here it goes...

1. To be more involved in Little Miss' school work

I was involved, like, the night before her exam. Seriously. I am teaching my 7-year-old how to study last minute. How to burn the midnight oil. How to cram. Amazingly, she got number 1 in her class last year (proud mummy, sniffs) and she's now moved up one class for Standard 2. Understably, the competition is stiffer (like any Standard 2 class in any primary school in the whole wide world should be *___*) so being a kiasu mummy, I will make sure that Little Princess will spend at least 4 hours a day studying for her end of year exams. 

OH. MY. GOD. 

Yeah right.

I can't do that, can I? I can't, in good conscience, let my child go through all that. Hantar tuisyen? Paksa buat latih-tubi ala Kumon? It goes against all the rules I set out as being a parent (ceh, macam lah ada black and white set of rules pun, selama hari ni aku pakai formula redah je pun...). 

But one thing for sure, I want to be more involved in her learning process. I will try to enrich her learning experience. And so, to this end, 1433H/2012 will see more of:
  • Trips to Petrosains
  • Trips to Pusat Sains
  • Trips to Planetarium Negara
  • Trips to Zoo Negara
  • Trips to Muzium Negara

I am also contemplating enrolling Little Miss in Math/Science classes, not the kind where you listen to lectures, but the kinds where she gets to do the experiments on her own. But so far, the ones I've come across quite the bomb, so we'll see about that. Susah-susah, aku google je, pastu carik tutorial via youtube and just have it DIY-style at home. Welcome to 21st Century parenting, yo!

2. To teach my kids how to ride a bicycle

Little Miss is 7. Little Hero will be 4 in February. Little Miss have yet to learn how to ride a bicycle without training wheels. Little Hero rides his cousin's hand-me-down Zebra Little Tykes rider-thingie. I don't want my kids to be fat, bratty kids who cannot even ride a bike. Come on lah, nama pun duduk kampung (walaupun tak berapa nak kampung). Takkan tak pandai naik basikal?

Ironically, this (hmmm.. apa ye? point ke? resolution ke? ape?) activity is actually also for me. Teach my kids to ride a bike = me being more active = me losing weight. Huhu. tak sah new year resolution kalau tak de lose weight somewhere in the mix. Cliche, I know, but dammit, I do wanna lose some!

3. To travel to 2 more SEA destinations

Before getting married, I had this grand idea of backpacking through SEA. How hubs and I would take train rides and boat rides to explore our neighbouring countries. I only get to visit a handful of them. Sedih. Been to Medan a twices ages ago. 2010 off to Vietnam. 2011 was Thailand's turn. So for 2012, I am aiming for Singapore (been there, but AAAAGES ago) and maybe, Cambodia? Or the Philippines? Singapore's a definite, the rest is still unwritten. 

4. To introduce ABC and 123 to Little Hero

As I mentioned before, Little Hero will be 4 soon. He's yet to hafal his ABCs and 123s (*gasps*). Actually, he does know the numbers at least, because he knows (as in, can say out loud) the numbers of the TV channels he's changing to. For example, I'll be watching Law and Order: SVU, he'll come scurrying into the room, grabbed the remote and say, "Umar nak tengok... anam... satu... three" while pressing the remote. The right numbers with the right sequence. Maknanya dia tahulah nombornya, just that dia malas nak kira bila-bila mama dia suruh dia kira 123. 

Okay, so this year, I want him to be able to relate that one = *, two = ** etc. Tahu nombor dan tahu bilangan adalah dua benda berbeza. And I think I'll also introduce him to colours, since he seems to really love colouring. 

some of you might go, eh, dah empat tahun baru nak introduce number, letters and colours? Well, I am not gonna lie. Sebelum ni, whatever concept of numbers or letters and names of colours that my kids learnt are all learned from thei daily interactions. I have never sat them down in a teaching and learning session, lepas tu tunjuk flash cards one after the other of "F for Frog" and "G for Gargamel."
Click for image source
Seriously, that's the first example I can think of when I think of words starting with G. Sadis. What kind of a mom am I?

Yes, please berate me all you want, because I didn't start teaching my kids the alphabets since they were 1 month old. Yes, I am a borderline negligent parent for not exposing my kids to all these early childhood education thingie-majiggie. Thing is, I believe kids should learn from playing. And even then, learning should not be the main outcome of their play sessions. Kalau belajar, it's great, kalau tak, then it's still great, cos they're just playing. 

So okay, enough with the ranting. Umar, pas ni kena belajar ABC, okay? Kenapa? Saja, sebab Mama nak dengar Umar nyanyi... ;)

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Okay, that's it for now. Maybe I'll go through with all of them, maybe I'll follow through only one of them, maybe I won't go out and do ANY of them. But one thing's for sure, I will TRY.

Wish me luck, and please doa for me as well.

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