Return Of The School

The world didn't end in 2012, obviously. And life goes on for everybody in this new year. That includes workers, housewives and students (and more). While I'm happy that I no longer need to sit in a classroom full of kids who were more or less like me, somebody else in the family now has to go through the same ordeal. Yes, his name is Jakjak. He doesn't hate school. He just doesn't love it. Still, I am pretty sure that it had been good to him at different points in his educated life.

(Jakjak took this picture ... of his feet!)

K2 prepared him for what to expect in primary school. It also established the fact that he is not too keen to learn math and native language (aka mother tongue). Still, it was a good year.

Jakjak advanced further in reading and writing. He earned all four reading badges in their reading program where he read 100 books. That is on top of the books that he regularly reads at home and his bring along books for mother tongue class. He also reads books by himself now only asking us for bedtime stories once in a while. His vocabulary has increased by four fold and his spelling mistakes have lessened.

He learned more math than he wanted to learn. He can count to a hundred now and add and subtract big numbers as well. He started learning about money, which he now understands (some of it anyway). Math concepts of more and less have been taught as well.

He won trophies at school for sports and music. He engaged in school activities with his mum and other parent volunteers. He went on educational journeys to the zoo and a water recycling station. He learned things he didn't know would interest him during those times, and he was happy to have learned them.

(Jakjak and some of his classmates)

More importantly, he made friends. Real posses who would stick by him (and he returns his loyalty to them as well). He also happened to have gained some fans to which he once told us: "mum, dad, do you know who the cutest boy in school is? me!". And we bow our hat to his incomparable self confidence (he is cute, no doubt about it).

While it wasn't all fun and games, the positive experiences he made in school far outweighed the negative ones. And while we give him as much freedom as we can, we still can't escape the boxed out world of school (as compared to the open world of homeschooling).

The Land of Bricks and Nasi Lemak

Lego. Who doesn't know what Lego is?

Legoland Malaysia opened it's doors to Asia and the world early this year. And we were lucky enough to have been able to book a trip with everyone's busy schedule. At the very least, our short holiday included one full day to spend at Legoland, and lounge around the days before and after.

We went to Johor Bahru, Malaysia with little knowledge on how to go about our trip. All we knew was the name of our hotel and where we were going, Legoland. Nothing new, we were in the same situation as we were when we went to Penang earlier this year. It's good to get lost. Trains, bus rides, long queues, immigration and four kids. No problem.

We went on this trip with Jakjak's cousins; the twins and a ruckus. The first thing you notice is how burning hot it is. You could probably cook an egg on the pavement, no kidding. I had Jakjak and the twins cool off in the ATM booth while waiting for our tickets. I had high hopes that the kids would enjoy the park, but with the sun against us, not so much for the parents.

Legoland differs itself from other theme parks with it's, well, theme. Which is, half of the park is made up of Lego bricks. At it's core, it is still a theme park with rides and attractions designed to entertain anyone from 3 years onward. While some of the more extreme rides like roller coasters exist in the park, you can't help but think that the place was designed more with children in mind. Not surprising, Lego is a learning toy, and is considered for kids. You do appreciate the uniqueness of the Lego-themed rides and attractions, based on Lego's diverse line of bricks (when I was a kid, a Lego brick was a Lego brick). From the basic Duplo all the way to Technic, the areas were designed to mimic the general feel for who these types of Legos were made for. That being said, Lego has tons of products and you can't expect them all to be in front of you. Duplo made up the babies area of the park where parents can (supposedly) drop off the kids and get a sitter to look after them while they stroll in the park. Technic hosted an intriguing coaster that was shot up per car. Academy had Lego building classes that you can get your kids to take a part in (gladly would as it's in an airconditioned building!).

The park itself is not really that big. You can probably get the Legoland experience in one day. Of course, that's taking into account that you don't need to go on each ride and attraction. The queues on the main rides can take up to an hour, and there are classes for kids that are scheduled with fixed intervals. One ride per area can get you through the park. Mini-land may take a little longer if you like to stare at the details. It was a mixed experience as we went there twice, first in the scorching heat and second as the sun was going down and the lights on the building were being turned on. I would suggest leaving it for winding down. Apart from the day being a bit cooler, you would end up in getting the evening view where the lights start to open up on the buildings and streets of the Lilliputian metropolis that it represents. 

It's a brilliant concept. One that kids would enjoy. If only the place had more trees ...

The Life of a Stage Parent

We were all very excited when we learned that Jakjak had been chosen as the OshKosh B'gosh ambassador a few weeks ago. He beat over a hundred other tots for the title (according to the newspaper). What was cool was that he did it, like a boss. :)

Thursday night. We have spoken to Jakjak about the fashion show the following day. We told him what he should expect, what not to expect and how he had an obligation (sort of) to do it (being the winner of the contest). At that point, we had realized that we had indeed become stage parents. Sigh.

Call time for practice was at 7 in the morning. Tough. On a non-school day, we are all still asleep at that hour. Add to that about an hour's worth of travel to get to Paragon and it was a recipe for a moody morning. Surprisingly, we made it to Paragon in one piece. We were hungry (too early to make breakfast) but not frustratingly mad. In fact, everything was calm and serene that morning. At least until the practice got on its way. And it all ended in a high note where everyone was free to do anything until the 2 PM call time for hair and makeup. For us, we went home.

In the afternoon, the mood had changed. Jakjak did not want to be on the show (that's what he thought anyway). He started acting up all through hair and make up. Thankfully, mum managed to calm him down after a while (after a long while). And with only minutes left before the show, he was finally up and about and playing with the other kids as if nothing happened. Mum decided that she would be the one to stay backstage with Jakjak, which meant I had front stage duties. It was more difficult than I had expected. I didn't think there would be so many people. I decided on photos rather than video (which I think now was a bad idea), because I was thinking that we can get a copy of it from Kidstyle. But it was alright, it wasn't easy to get good shots (the official photographers had the best location after all), but I managed somehow.

The shots could have been better, probably if I had training shooting events. But all went well. The show was over. Jakjak surprised everyone, even us. He was totally in to it. He ramped up the catwalk like he owned it. And it was the first time he did it. We are so proud of him for being a star in his own world. We hope that he did OshKosh (and Jay Gee) proud.

These two photos courtesy of Jules Estrella. Thanks Bro!

Ambassador Duty

Mum and dad saw an ad in the paper that OshKosh B'gosh was holding a model ambassador search for the brand. We both looked at Jakjak and smiled (more of an evil grin actually). While we had to buy our entry to the contest (you had to purchase a certain amount worth of OshKosh products), we figured it was just fair. Jakjak needed new shoes anyway (or so we kept telling ourselves), and that alone was already more than half of the required purchase. So we got him the shoes and told him all about the contest. There was a little bit of hesitation between the 3 of us then, but we thought, what the hell, let's just do it anyway.

We have always believed that Jakjak was photogenic. But since we are his parents, we thought that was just natural. I mean, no parent would dare say that their child isn't cute or adorable, right? So we have always just kept that between ourselves. While on the topic of photography, it's also best that people know how shy Jakjak is in front of the camera. Or so he says. What he always tells people, is not always what he is. To be honest, he is far from being shy. Well, at least not too shy to be a charming little prince.

What followed next were a few photo-shoots  After all, we did have to prepare him for modelling duty if needed. A few good shots here, a few good shots there, and more hours of frustration than was required and we finally had something to send to the contest coordinators. It's not that he was difficult to shoot, in fact, most of the time he was in the mood to do the shoots. It was just, well, we never really had modelling experience. Both the model and the photographer. So sometimes it was awkward, and sometimes it was hopeless. Most of the time it was just full of fun and silly things. And that was how it went on most days. And all that labor of love brought us to the interview and screening day.

On hindsight, we did not really get Jakjak ready for any interview. We just told him that there would be one. That they would probably ask him about himself, and that if they did, he can tell them anything he wants to tell them. We knew that he would have to model his clothes and told him to just follow instructions from whoever was coordinating the shoot. We did not tell him what to say, we did not teach him how to pose (goodness, we probably should have). We just let him do whatever he feels like doing and have fun doing it. It looked like he did have fun while we were there. Too much fun probably as he was in a most cheerful mood all day. So we figured, he did good. He did very good, that he received a round of applause from the crowd. After that, was the excruciating wait for the results.

Responsibility. Too Much, Too Soon ?

Jakjak had a scheduled learning journey with his class to the Botanical Gardens. On his school journal, it said to bring a hat, insect repellent and a camera. That last bit got me, for real. These are 6-7 year old kids who don't pay much attention to their belongings, and they want them to be bringing cameras. Cameras come in a load of different flavors now, but you still can't call them cheap (affordable, yes, but not cheap). I was having second thoughts of letting Jakjak bring one, I know him. One minute he is holding on to something and the next minute he does not even know he had had it. But at the same time, I did want to see if he had grown responsible enough to be entrusted with such a thing.

Well, I got to test it anyway when Jakjak asked for permission to bring his camera on their trip. We did get him one that was shock proof, dust proof and water proof (just to be on the safe side). And it wasn't cheap (affordable, yes). Since he asked nicely, I gave him a chance. I attached a neck strap to the camera (replacing the wrist strap) so that it would be easier for him to lug around. I spoke to him about his responsibility to take care of the camera. That he should make sure that it does not get lost or get snagged by giant spiders. And he was quite sincere and honest that he would do all that as well. So we taped his name, address and our contact number on all sides of the camera just to be on the safe side. And we let him bring it.

One hour into the trip, mum asked one of the parent volunteers to take pictures of Jakjak and the trip. Her friend then informed mum that Jakjak did not have a camera, and when asked, he said he must have misplaced it. Ouch! I wasn't really angry, after all, I did let him bring the camera (thinking that he would be responsible enough now for it). Well, it became a costly lesson for me (and him, hopefully). I was still hopeful that he left it someplace where people would find it and return it to him (like the bus), or maybe back in school. I was thinking about it all through the day until finally, one of the parent volunteers told mum that the camera was found in school! Somehow, he left it at his desk and his form teacher found it. Sigh!

Care Bear

I got a boo-boo in my hand. Somehow, I accidentally cut my finger with a razor (yes, it's pretty lame). And of course, it bled. Jakjak saw this and was immediately by my side looking over the boo-boo. In the blink of an eye, he was dragging a chair to the bedroom. He was soon up on it and inside the closet. He reached out and grabbed our first aid kit, opened it up and took a plaster from it. He told me to wash my hands and before you can say ouchie, he was putting the plaster on the boo-boo. One can't help but smile over something so simplistic and yet so meaningful. For him, he was helping out in a way that he knew how (by watching mum tend to his own boo-boo). To me, he was showing how much he has grown and how responsible he is towards people.

Maybe it's a one-time thing for now, or maybe it's not. After all, he had always had a kind demeanor. He looks after his peers like a big brother. And that is one of his most noticeable traits (next to being so talkative at least). He truly is one of a kind, and he has done a lot of things that make us proud.

A child copying what his parents are doing is one thing, and a child genuinely showing compassion is another. As parents, we may overlook this, but if we forget for a moment that he is our child, one will notice that all of it is real. That he is not simply copying what you have been doing, but he had learned why you are doing it and is actually emphatic about it all. Once you realize this, you can smile and rest on the fact that he is growing up as a fine child indeed.

Meeting Mister Maker

Mister Maker is the host of his self-titled show on Ceebeebies, a kid channel under BBC News. It's not really an entirely new concept in children shows. I have watched art shows on the telly when I was younger myself. What was great now was, that we had an opportunity to meet Mister Maker. 

Mum had entered a contest on Facebook to get an invitation to meet Mister Maker. It took 2 weeks before we got a reply and it was quite frustrating. Not because it took that long, but because Jakjak told us that he did not want to meet Mister Maker. He said he was shy (just like what he tells us about everything). He was really reluctant to go, to the point that we had to actually argue about it. But mum wasn't about to let that invitation go to waste. So that morning, we went to Plaza Singapura to meet Mister Maker.

When he was seated, he still clung to his mum like he was the shy-est 6 year old there. Soon enough, some other kids shared his table with him. The good thing was that the kids that he got to share the table with were English speakers and were as talkative as he was. The siblings were then joined by one more "shy" kid. While they were starting to get cozy with each other, the parents were then asked to move out of the activity area as the show was about to start (and as one would have hoped, he was already his normal not-so-shy self at that time).

The activity was not that long, as time was short. But it felt like what a Mister Maker making area should feel like. Mister Maker himself was spot on as to how he is on the telly, which probably means that is how he really is. I guess what followed next was what the parents had been waiting for, a photo session with Mister Maker. Proof that their child had actually met Mister Maker. And even through the long sessions, Mister Maker had been jolly and  cheerful like how he is on the telly. He was absolutely brilliant. I wouldn't really mind meeting him again.