Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Last month we all went to Indonesia and we visited Bandung as well with Wilson’s family.

One of the places we checked out was Vin’s Berry Park (or Vin’s Berry Farm), where we managed to see (and pick for ourselves) raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and heaps others.

It’s located up on the mountains (ie. Lembang) and … the air and view from up there was just SO refreshing!

(Too bad when we were there, it drizzled a bit for a few minutes so we didn’t manage to check out all areas of the huge piece of land there)

[Really yummy fresh fruit juice!]

The friendly owner is a good friend of Wilson’s Dad’s, and he gave us a personal tour around his farm. And from the way he talked about agriculture, fruit planting, etc, I could really tell how knowledgeable and passionate he is about what he does and develops!

It sure was a great place to visit!

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Oh btw, the kids were allowed to pull some carrots off the ground, … and look who got herself a baby carrot! *smile*

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More info:
– Also known as “Vin’s Strawberry Park”
Jalan Kolonel Masturi
(in front of KUD Sarwa Mukti)
Cisarua-Lembang
West Java
Phone: (022) 2700410

– Opening Hours: 8am – 4pm
– Entrance Fee: Rp. 10,000 (and you’ll receive one complimentary cup of fresh juice!)
– The farm has fun (adventurous) features too, like rock climbing and flying fox. Fun for all ages!
– It allows school visits and all sorts of educational tours
– It has quite a few animals as well there for little ones to observe and see
– It has one spacious cafe on the second floor! Yogurt ice cream, drinks, food, jarred jams to bring home, you name it!

We had quite a few indoor shoots today, and we turned one part of our humble home into a ‘studio’. Yep, with backdrops, studio lights and all.

As usual, I would share with Anya and Vai at least one day in advance, if I’d need to go out for shoots on Saturday morning, or when we’d be having quite a few families coming to our place, etc.

This way, the kids at least know what’s happening on a particular day and what’s expected of them (read: Kids being kids, … ‘knowing about something’ doesn’t mean they’ll fully ‘cooperate’ though *smile*)

Anyway.

I think they both behaved relatively well throughout the day today *Thanks kids*

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In the middle of one particular shoot, Vai did have a request though.

He approached one studio light, turned to look at me and said, ‘Mommy, take a photo of me too please. I want one too!’

*smile*

And THAT was the shot he got.

Just want to be part of the action too, I guess.

The next time you try taking photos at home, you may want to experiment with some natural light, from the side, and create some shadow effect on your subject. Like what Anya and I did the other day.

Vai was fast asleep that afternoon, but Anya, who’s been trying to doze off, told me how she really couldn’t fall asleep.

So I told her, okay … come and help Mommy do some experiments then, hehe.

It was close to 5pm, and the harsh afternoon sun came through her bedroom window. I let her sit against the white wall just slightly below the window. The window grills allowed for some dramatic shadow effect, which basically was what I wanted to test out.

Then I told her she could do any silly poses she liked.

She stuck out her tongue. She scrunched up her face. She put one finger up her nose.

And when she burst out laughing after her own silly poses, I took a shot of her naturally laughing away too.

The above shot is one of my favourites.

A totally ‘free-to-laugh-out-loud’ shot of a happy little girl.

*smile*

Happy experimenting.

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Here’re some quick and useful links from Kodak.com on:

– Natural Light
– The direction (position) of light
– What works in black and white

Play-doh ‘look-alikes’ are just everywhere these days.

And they’re getting quite creative too, I reckon!

We got this one as a gift last year.

A ‘going to the doctor’ play set.

Cute, heh.

And, it allows for role-playing fun too!

And it sure is even more fun when you have a sibling to play (and argue) with!

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Btw, if you have original play-doh and they’re getting ‘dry and hard’, this is the tips from the Hasbro website:

To restore the softness to PLAY-DOH compound, try adding water one drop at a time and working it in to moisten the PLAY-DOH compound. You can also try wrapping the PLAY-DOH compound in a damp paper towel, returning it to the container and replacing the cover. Let it sit overnight.

Hmm.

One of these days I’ll give it a go …

Anyway.

For more fresh ideas on what to make, click HERE!

Have fun!

Just recently, as I was chatting away with another mom, she asked :

‘So do you cook at home?’

‘Yes’, I said.

‘Then where are your kids when you’re cooking?’, she asked as she gave a puzzled look.

(She briefly shared earlier how she found it hard to do anything around the house when her two kids are not in bed).

‘They’d play by themselves somewhere around the house’, I explained,

‘OR they’d be with me in the kitchen, helping me out with something or watching me cook.’

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When I grew up in Indonesia, we had maids to cook and clean the house for us. And so as a little girl, I didn’t spend much time in the kitchen.

If I stepped into the kitchen (when I was no older than seven years old), I’d most likely get told to wait and play elsewhere, for fear of getting ‘hurt’ from all the cooking and cutting.

Boys generally are not expected to be in the kitchen, too.
(ie. generally practised among the more traditional chinese families at the time)

I guess, it’s just simply easier to NOT have kids in the kitchen.

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Things are run rather differently at our home though.

We try to involve our kids in age-appropriate ‘kitchen activities’ since they’re young, while teaching them the importance of knowing what’s safe and what’s not, and the kind of things that can only be carried out by adults.

(I wrote a post on ‘Getting kids involved around the house‘ in 2008, when Vai was less than 2 years old)

For example, kitchen activities that can be done by toddlers are:

– Move fruit pieces from the big bowl to their own small bowl
– Hand over the vegetables and fruits from the grocery bag to Mommy
– Stir the marinated chicken with a big spoon
– Place banana pieces into the blender, stand aside and watch Mommy make some yummy banana milkshake

(I wrote a post titled ‘Vai’s pictorial instructions on How to Enjoy your Meal‘. Vai was 2 years and 3 months then and he helped out with our meal preparation)

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Basically, we try to let our kids see how their contribution and active participation can indeed be a rewarding and positive experience
(read: This does not mean they ALWAYS need to be in the kitchen when we’re cooking though)

And if you ask me, the fact that Daddy helps out and cooks for the family once in a while also plays an important part, especially for the son (as the little boy gets to see how helping out around the house, including the kitchen, is meant for all members of the family, regardless of their gender)

Anyway.

I’ll now leave you with a video clip I recently took of Anya as she helped cut some vegetable for dinner (she used a ‘bread knife’ as it’s safer for her age).

She’s 5.5 years old.

She can be mellow and reserved.

She can be loud and giggly.

She can be silly and funny.

She can be calm and composed.

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Anya turns six years old in three months time. And it’s been an amazing journey watching our little girl grow over the years.

Time flies.

I feel blessed and grateful to God to have let me be with her throughout her early formative years.

And I pray for more wisdom, patience and perseverence we all need each day to be the kind of parents God wants us to be for our little ones.

Here in Singapore, Nursery and Kindergarten kids generally spend an average of three hours at school.

Before or after those three hours, however, some may have been signed up for tuitions, enrichment classes and other extra-curricular activities.

If the child is in K2 (Kindergarten 2, also known as ‘pre-school’, ie. one year before the child enters Primary One), some parents also send the child to extra classes and enrichments in a hope to better ‘prepare’ him/her for Primary One’s higher academic expectations.

[For Anya’s case, so far, she has ballet once a week, and Chinese enrichment class once a week too, right after school]

I don’t know if I’m the ‘odd one out’, but while I still can, I prefer to keep my kids’ days less ‘busy’ with programmed schedules (especially since they’re only three and five years old).

I mean, if my kids attend Primary schools here in Singapore, they’d naturally be busier with school, its homework, exam preparations etc anyway.

So, while they are still NOT in such a phase yet, I’d like my kids to have the option of enjoying ‘free and easy’ days (usually our ‘spare time’ is right after their afternoon naps).

Like having arts and crafts session together on one day, and playground time on another.

Helping out with dinner preparation on one day, and biking around the neighbourhood on another.

Or, … going out and about to fun places like Sentosa’s Palawan Beach late in the afternoon, like we just did earlier this week!

Last Tuesday was Vai’s second day of school.

Just before he put on his uniform that morning, he told me how he didn’t want to go.

As we walked to school, he told me how he’s tired and wanted to sleep.

And, as we walked into the school’s waiting area (where the kids all sit on the floor in rows according to their respective classes), he clung onto my legs tightly, desperately pleading and telling me how he’s tired (in other words, ‘Please get me out of here!’)

The idea of being away from his family must’ve been quite a terrifying experience for him.

[For the past few days I’ve been giving him hugs and reminding him how we love him, how Anya’s class will soon be just two rooms away, how I’ll come and pick him up afterwards every day, etc]

As he was still trying to convince me to take him out of the room, the school principal (she knows who Vai is since some 2 years ago when we both sent Anya to school every day) saw us. And she got down to his level, told him how everything is going to be okay, and pulled him away from me.

Oh my. Vai of course, with his arms outstretched, cried a desperate cry and begged me to stay and be with him.

It’s such a heart-breaking moment for both of us, but I know if I didn’t leave, it’d be worse for everyone.

And so I went to him (who’s been trying to free himself and run to me), smiled and gave him a reassuring pat, and I told him how I love him and I’d pick him up after school. And I left.

He cried for a good 30 seconds or so, then he sobbed. And within a minute or two after that, he held onto his teacher’s hand and walked to his classroom. Now that’s not too bad, I thought.

I took a peek and saw how he quietly placed his bag at the back of his chair, sat down and waited for everyone else to settle down.

He’d be fine, I told myself.

And I was right.

He was all good and happy that day, even when he played some ball games near the playground and saw me sitting on a nearby bench.

And that afternoon, as the three of us headed back home (and as I listened to him singing the songs he learned from school), I thought to myself, ‘Oh my, now it’s MY turn to get used to idea of NOT having my TWO kids around as much as before!’

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I think I’m the one who’ll be sobbing soon.