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Maths Game

We're trying to get Sophie familiarized with numbers 11-20.

I know... we are really far behind in Math. How to go to school like that? Her reading is at Grade 2, Math at zero grade. :) 

Anyway I found this online Math game on Cyberkidzgames... a lot more fun than trying to get her to write in her workbook. Best part? Levi loves the monkey sounds. He happily sat on my lap to watch and cried when it was done. So funny this little one.

Google makes homeschooling so much easier. All I had to do was google "online math games 11-20". 


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Our Sonlight books arrived!

Our household has been a bit of disarray coz our order of Sonlight kindergarten books arrived in the mail yesterday! Woah! I can't seem to get Sophie to stop picking books out of the box! We chose Grade 2 Readers coz she's rather advanced in her reading. It comes with a reading curriculum too where she's supposed to read aloud to me The Beginner's Bible over a span of 10 weeks. She's almost done with it lor. It's not even been 24 hours.

I told her, the funniest thing? I was EXACTLY the same! I was one of the crazy people who read all my textbooks before school started! So nerd right? 

Oh wells, I guess we're not much different are we? I am planning to hide the books. :) Hiak! 

Btw, I found/made a friend who is as nerd as me. She has a girl who is almost the same age as Sophie. They came over yesterday and all of us just goo goo ga gaed over the books. Nerds unite!

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Coffee Table


I've been received a couple of compliments on our really cool and retro coffee table so I thought I'll do a post on it.

This has gotta be our best buy. It was only CAD$25! It's from Nood (new objects of desire), a NZ company that is also here in Vancouver. I was quite pleased to find out that Nood is here too coz I really liked it when we first discovered it in Christchurch, NZ. The original price of the table was almost CAD$400! We got it at a Nood clearance outlet and it was broken. James bought super glue and fixed it. Viola! Coffee table! Actually we even have another of the same in black, in perfect condition! Anyone wants to buy? Haha, we are planning to use it as a planting table outdoors but we may not have any more space. Hmmm... maybe we should sell it for profit on craigslist. idea. 

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Sophie is 5 Years Old

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Dearest Sophie,

It's been a long time since Mummy's written a letter to you. You just turned five! It's such a big milestone and a great time for Mummy to write and remember this special time in your life. 

Sophie, you are a really special girl. You are so full of life and always thinking of things to make, draw, do etc. Your mind is constantly alert even at a very young age. It has been a privilege of mine to enter into your world. I am constantly amazed at what you can do with little things like leaves, twigs, ropes, paper, glue, scissors and come up with the most amazing things. God has gifted you in the most amazing ways. You are really smart and I pray that you will allow the Lord to use all that He has gifted you with. Remember that it all comes from Him. Mummy also prays that God will teach us how to help you to make the best of all that He has gifted you with. Sometimes Mummy gets very impatient because I don't understand how you can have so many ideas all at the same time when all I want for you to do is finish your dinner. But remember today? We prayed that Mummy will be more patient with you. 

Thank you for being such a loving child and always giving me flowers, drawings, and saying that if you have money you will buy magazines for me. Your gift of generosity inspires me. You are always so giving towards your friends and little brother. Little children like you very much, like Levi, Janice and even your new little friends Andrea and Akari. You are a great che che. 

You've been struggling with the fear of the dark and being alone at night. This morning we learnt about how Jesus is going to return again and make all things new and He can take away all fear and darkness. So we prayed this morning and for the first time in ages, you fell asleep without complaining and needing me to be around. I know that it is the grace of God and I pray that you will continue to live without fear and in deep security. The changes and moving around the previous years must have contributed to that fear but we want to trust that God is in control and we can put our trust in Him to help us to overcome our fear and insecurities. You have been braver and braver and you've been going to childcare, Chinese class and Sunday School on your own. Mummy and Daddy are really proud of you our little 5 year old!

May the Lord bless you as you grow in faith and in maturity! Always know that you are deeply loved by God, by us and by many many people around. We thank God for you Sophie. 

Love
Mummy

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Reflections of the Past 5 Years

Some things I've learnt as a mother of 5 years:

1. I learnt that when I think I got it, I need to think again. Everything changes very fast in the first year, like what they are like at Week 1 will be different in a week's time, what they are like at 3 months will totally change at 6 months etc and then eventually it slows down. They will not put on 1 kg every month. By 5, everything slows down. 

2. I learnt to say sorry. I learnt that I'm terribly imperfect. I learnt that children forgive very easily. 

3. I learnt to play again. I remember once again the joy of playing with dough for the sake of playing with dough without having to make something nice with it. I think the reason why I love homeschooling is because I really enjoy learning and playing with Sophie.

4. I learnt to be less judgmental of other people's kids. Seriously. It's hard to be a parent. And children DO cry and DO go astray, it doesn't mean that they have bad parents. 

5. I learnt to appreciate my parents. 

6. I learnt to pray constantly. "Lord, pls make him sleep", "Lord, pls give me patience", etc...

7. I learnt that they copy EVERYTHING. Especially the bad things. 

8. I learnt that calmness and kindness begets calmness and kindness.

9. I learnt that having more that one child is great for the child as well as for me. Sophie has been a great older sister. She's been such a great help and she loves having Levi around. She misses him when he's not around.

10. Finally, I learnt that I'm the parent. It's not what I say goes but what I do that earns their respect. I must be the example. 5 years old are allowed to lose their control, not 35 year olds. If a child says "I hate you mummy!", I can choose not to believe it coz it's unlikely that she really means it forever, but if a parent says "You stupic child", the child will probably believe it with all his/her heart forever.

It's been such a journey. I think being a mum has build muscles in me that I never knew existed before (and I'm not talking about physical muscles, although carrying 10kg Levi and rocking him to sleep must have developed my arm muscles a bit). I can now cook, hold a baby, entertain a 5 year old, have the clothes in the wash and have dinner on time. Most of all, this journey has made me so aware of my insecurities, failures and need for God, need for help. It has been a humbling journey yet it's been the most amazing journey ever. How can a little child be so like me and James in so many ways? The first time I told Sophie at dinner table, "pls put your book away and stop reading" reminded me of the many times when my mum said exactly the same thing to me. 

I'm so thankful that God gifted us with Sophie and Levi. 

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My red chair and others

We've moved in for 2 weeks and are only slowly starting to get the hang of things. Like I can cook without realizing halfway that I don't have this or that. That said, I'm still missing a mop and a vacuum. Oh wait.. and a couch, bed, bookshelves... ok still a long way to go. 

But but the most important thing, I got my red vintage polka dotted arm chair.

It still has its Sears tag on. Sears is like a CK Tangs/Robinsons here. I have no idea how old it is but it must be pretty old. But it's so well maintained! And so well made! Ah... I love old things. Back in the days where things were made well. One thing that I noticed going around the thrift shops and looking at old things, there was a time when things were NOT made in China. This armchair was made in Toronto, Canada!

How cool is that?

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I love Garage Sales

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If you've been observing my FaceBook statuses recently, you'll noticed that we've been busy setting up our new home and having a whale of a time visiting thrift shops and garage sales. The thrift shops, run mainly be charity organizations (which means the money we spent go to good use!) are all over and some of them stock very well-maintained old furniture and household things. The garage sales on the other hand are everywhere on the weekend - you just have to drive around the neighborhood and see everyone putting their stuff out on the lawn and selling stuff! Some literally open up their garages to sell their stuff. Craigslist.ca is also a great place to find good bargains second hand.

Besides having a good deal (will post some of our bargains in the next few posts), I've learnt so much about the locals just by going to these garage sales. 

So far I've met a couple splitting (that's how we got our hutch and dining table, was torn feeling sad for them and happy that I found my dream furniture at a steal, not funny, I still feel torn thinking about it!), people disillusioned and moving out, people who have kept their books from since they were little (I bought Heidi published in the 60s), a lady who has made refurbishing old furniture her hobby (we bought a , an artist who plants and sells his plants, a little boy who was selling his old toys to buy a new Lego set, all very interesting...

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