I started on this post like, back in third week of August and just got time to come back to finish it up! Its going to be a long one so skip this post if you don't like reading words! So here goes..travel back in time to 3rd week August~
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Yep little JCH is in childcare centre now (he's enrolled in beginning August)! I had wanted to post on Monday to record his 2weeks achievement, but been really busy catching up on the backlog of things i have to attend to. It has been 3weeks now an we have seen positive changes to his behaviour.
Many people who knows us, and our plans to have Elias enrol into childcare services right at 18mths mark. And I do get questioned by some people whether it is too early to be letting him be in full day childcare. Thankfully all these well-meaning people are understanding people too, some even encouraging me, telling me what to expect (the heartaches, cries, separation anxiety etc).
So for a start, to help ease him into the centre, we left him there for up to noon time before picking him up for the first 3days. Supposed to leave him half day for one week, but those 3days, after discussing with the teachers, he actually falls asleep right after play! So me picking him up results in rousing him up, interrupting sleep. So decided to leave him in the centre on Thursday of week 1 onwards for his afternoon nap. True enough it is better for him, though he naps for less than 1hr.
He got the sniffles over the weekend bcos of durian overdose (lololol) and didnt go school on Monday of week 2. And on that week's Tuesday, we left him at the centre for full day. He does cry in between the day and seeks comfort with some teachers that he likes. Decided to bring forward the entire schedule cos i was due to report back to office on week 3 Monday. I hope that by then he will have settled in more to the centre so that i wouldnt need to worry about the possibility of rushing back (i know, worry on no basis but its just there..at the back of the head).
He is still crying each time we bring him to the centre now at week 3 (sometimes hubby doesnt go but, he tries to avail himself on most days to send the boy to school), and still crying each time one of us go fetch him home. By Monday of week 3, he stops crying once the teacher carries him past THE WALL. Its like super automatic, some invisible veil of some sorts that he recognizes as "being in school". Similarly when he's being called to go home, once he passes THE WALL, and sees us, he cries. But by week 3, he doesnt come out as auto when his name is being announced to go home. Like he is having too much fun to go home now! Ahahahaha! Its a good thing i guess. Meaning he's settling in comfortably with the environment, little humans and big humans.
By Tuesday of week 3, i managed to talk to the coordinator too, who feedback to me that JCH is crying alot lesser throughout the day, totally enjoying his outdoor play to the extent that he refuses to go back into the centre to get changed out of his full diapers and settle down for meals, dances to music, staying more with his PG class and not disappearing running off to find his favored teachers at other classes, and when the teacher that he is stuck with needs to get busy and another teacher leads him away, he is able to be led away without throwing tantrum.
Yes he's got certain teacher he will go looking for to be carried when he feels insecure (i guess). And so far all the favored teachers have more flesh kind. Lol. The really skinny teacher (only one i see so far) he doesnt really go to her. The teachers takes turn at the door to take the temperatures of the children and check them for any signs of hfmd and for any other bruise or kind that they need to know, every morning when they come in and evening when they leave the centre. So we wld see the teachers and know which are his favourite ones.
Also looking at the comm book, he is showing signs of settling in as well. Progressing from not eating much, not napping long, and not pooping, to now he is eating all the meals in the centre and taking his milk feed, napping time slowly increasing (he usually naps 2~3hrs at home, but at the centre beginning is <1hr, now its passing the 1hr mark), and pooping well. He got a smiley sticker pasted on his shirt on Friday as a reward for responding well and being cheerful to the nursery rhymes being sung during class! I stuck that smiley sticker on the summary page next to that date. *proud moment*
Ah yes, the Communication (comm) Book. It is a good way to communicate with the teachers at the centre without physically staying there at lengths. There is a summary page to note certain fixed activities during the day, and then the rest of the book is for writing. Very useful. Of cos, the most important thing of all is to find a centre that u trusts with all your heart and soul, else the comm book is not helpful when the parents keep doubting and not trusting whats written. This vibe is easily picked up by the children and in turn translate to insecurities. So trust is very important. Besides, if the centre is no good, your kid will be sending distress signals that are easy to pick up.
So like i mentioned previously that im supposed to report to office. I have been working part time from home,and previously whenever i go office, my mom could help me take care of JCH. But as he grows up, it is getting more difficult for my mom to handle him. She resorted to leaving my brother's com on, playing his favourite Pororo cartoon all day long till this overdose killed his love for the cartoon. Pororo no longer holds magic for him anymore, i need to look for alternatives (shaaaattttt)!! So having him in childcare is a perfect option, at least he gets human interaction and learns social and other skills instead of facing the screen. Its just too much screen time.
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Now back to present time, today!
Our brave little boy has completed 2 full months of being in Playground in a childcare centre.
And I really just want to pen my sincere heartfelt thanks to the nurturing people at the centre, along with the children there. They have been most loving to our little one.
He has grown much, and also has picked up a lot in the centre. So far, mostly good things. AND FUNNY ONES TOO!
Let's recap for the last two months:
- He knows to roll back to his own sleeping area, unless its too warm to sleep comfortably, or if he got disciplined big time by me during dinner time (more on this later).
- He naps (in the afternoon) and sleeps (at night, sometimes, still working on this time) without the need for pacifier. Nope, he wasn't given the pacifier at the centre from Day 1.
- The day officially ends at 8:30pm for him ever since he started going for PG! YES!! We get more time after he sleep to pack up the house and rest.
- Now he gets times when he will want to sit in his own IKEA POÄNG armchair, if not for only the littlest while.
- His action of keeping megabloks is actually reinforced I believe at the centre (he already has the action going before going to the centre, which I have no idea is a habit or just random act). Either he emulates what the bigger children do, or all the children across all levels are taught to keep their toys after playing.
- He is able to following directions a whole lot better now. Being amongst the big korkors and jiejies (he is currently, at time of post, the youngest in the whole centre!), seeing how they respond to directions and following routines, has made him realized and learnt that behaviour too, something he would not have learnt so fast at home simply bcos he's alone and has someone spoiling him plus when I'm doing chores, I can't split myself to spend that amount of time to teach him all these.
- He has finally grasps drinking from a straw cup near 19mths old (1mth into being in the centre)! And self-feeding using spoon established by 20mths old! Just that, he tends to play when he's full.
- Totally off formula milk by 20mths old! He's taking full cream MEIJI milk at home now, and whatever full cream milk the centre is giving him.
- Since taking to drinking from straw bottle, he is now able to locate his bottle and drinks from it as and when he gets thirsty throughout the day.
- About two weeks ago, his crying has subsided a lot when we pick him up in the evening. And the teachers there also reminded him not to cry, cos he would walk out to the lobby smiling and blabbering, but once he sees us he would burst out crying. And that made all of us laugh like mad! Sorry baby, you are funny that way. :P
- Since last week, his crying when we bring him to the centre in the morning has started subsiding too. Today when I brought him in, he didn't even cry at all! The Chinese teacher hold him in her arms (he refused to take the seat, instead choosing to stand and lean on the teacher), does the morning medical examination, and only when she commented “今天很好哦！没有刮风下雨.." did he start to go "WUAAHHHHH~~" for a short while, quickly quelled by one of his PG teacher when she comes out to take his bag and bring him in. LOL! We were laughing at that too, really shouldn't have jinxed the moment.
- Since last week he has also been doing a particular action of standing under the shower head automatically to wash off soap from his body. And he loves brushing teeth a lot too! And yes, he cleans his mouth quite well, brushing clean even his tongue! I guess it also brings relieve to his gum. He bites a lot on the brush that I am going to throw a second toothbrush away soon due to fraying within 2 months' time! So I have bought one with silicone brush (a Pigeon Stage 2 brush) for him to continue soothing his gums while he has his screen time after shower.
That's all I can remember now! Quite a list for a 20mths old to achieve in 2mths time! I am so proud of him actually, for braving everyday, for learning like the sponge he is, for learning to express sorry-lets-patch-up (yes he has that action now), for his strong independence since the day he start to learn walking (nope, he didn't allow us to hold his hands AT ALL since the first time he started to learn balancing and walking).
Now, we are all just waiting for the day he starts talking and communicating with us verbally. Right now, its a lot of action communication.
I got this question before from a friend: "Wah he improve so much! You guys put him in those $2000 a month kind of childcare ah?"
Nope, we didn't have that kind of money. Its just a normal childcare that my teacher introduced to us, not those ATAS kind.
I guess the issue is not with the money you spend on the centre fees, but rather the people, the brains of the centre itself. And I can certainly say for sure, as certain as my teacher had once told me (she had volunteered for gardening lessons at the centre for a while as all her children attends that centre and she has the heart to teach), that the people at this particular centre are children-loving and nurturing individuals. I wouldn't say they are teachers, though the particular name to give for that profession is teacher. But I would think of them as more than teachers.
They are children-loving and nurturing individuals.
They teach curriculum, they empathize with the young ones and first timers, they love the children, they instill discipline upon them, they impart moral acts to them (the children are taught to say Good Morning when they go to the centre, and to say Goodbye to the parents, and are taught to say Goodbye to the teachers when they leave the centre, basic mannerism), and most importantly, they teach these children about the basics of being a person (correcting their unreasonable tantrums, teaches them communication, enforcing independence).
I can only say, thank God for His abundant blessing. :)
And 2 pictures to finish off this post. I have pixelated the faces of other children appearing in the picture, not sure if other parents want their children's faces here know.
Our brave little boy has completed 2 full months of being in Playground in a childcare centre.
And I really just want to pen my sincere heartfelt thanks to the nurturing people at the centre, along with the children there. They have been most loving to our little one.
He has grown much, and also has picked up a lot in the centre. So far, mostly good things. AND FUNNY ONES TOO!
Let's recap for the last two months:
- He knows to roll back to his own sleeping area, unless its too warm to sleep comfortably, or if he got disciplined big time by me during dinner time (more on this later).
- He naps (in the afternoon) and sleeps (at night, sometimes, still working on this time) without the need for pacifier. Nope, he wasn't given the pacifier at the centre from Day 1.
- The day officially ends at 8:30pm for him ever since he started going for PG! YES!! We get more time after he sleep to pack up the house and rest.
- Now he gets times when he will want to sit in his own IKEA POÄNG armchair, if not for only the littlest while.
- His action of keeping megabloks is actually reinforced I believe at the centre (he already has the action going before going to the centre, which I have no idea is a habit or just random act). Either he emulates what the bigger children do, or all the children across all levels are taught to keep their toys after playing.
- He is able to following directions a whole lot better now. Being amongst the big korkors and jiejies (he is currently, at time of post, the youngest in the whole centre!), seeing how they respond to directions and following routines, has made him realized and learnt that behaviour too, something he would not have learnt so fast at home simply bcos he's alone and has someone spoiling him plus when I'm doing chores, I can't split myself to spend that amount of time to teach him all these.
- He has finally grasps drinking from a straw cup near 19mths old (1mth into being in the centre)! And self-feeding using spoon established by 20mths old! Just that, he tends to play when he's full.
- Totally off formula milk by 20mths old! He's taking full cream MEIJI milk at home now, and whatever full cream milk the centre is giving him.
- Since taking to drinking from straw bottle, he is now able to locate his bottle and drinks from it as and when he gets thirsty throughout the day.
- About two weeks ago, his crying has subsided a lot when we pick him up in the evening. And the teachers there also reminded him not to cry, cos he would walk out to the lobby smiling and blabbering, but once he sees us he would burst out crying. And that made all of us laugh like mad! Sorry baby, you are funny that way. :P
- Since last week, his crying when we bring him to the centre in the morning has started subsiding too. Today when I brought him in, he didn't even cry at all! The Chinese teacher hold him in her arms (he refused to take the seat, instead choosing to stand and lean on the teacher), does the morning medical examination, and only when she commented “今天很好哦！没有刮风下雨.." did he start to go "WUAAHHHHH~~" for a short while, quickly quelled by one of his PG teacher when she comes out to take his bag and bring him in. LOL! We were laughing at that too, really shouldn't have jinxed the moment.
- Since last week he has also been doing a particular action of standing under the shower head automatically to wash off soap from his body. And he loves brushing teeth a lot too! And yes, he cleans his mouth quite well, brushing clean even his tongue! I guess it also brings relieve to his gum. He bites a lot on the brush that I am going to throw a second toothbrush away soon due to fraying within 2 months' time! So I have bought one with silicone brush (a Pigeon Stage 2 brush) for him to continue soothing his gums while he has his screen time after shower.
That's all I can remember now! Quite a list for a 20mths old to achieve in 2mths time! I am so proud of him actually, for braving everyday, for learning like the sponge he is, for learning to express sorry-lets-patch-up (yes he has that action now), for his strong independence since the day he start to learn walking (nope, he didn't allow us to hold his hands AT ALL since the first time he started to learn balancing and walking).
Now, we are all just waiting for the day he starts talking and communicating with us verbally. Right now, its a lot of action communication.
I got this question before from a friend: "Wah he improve so much! You guys put him in those $2000 a month kind of childcare ah?"
Nope, we didn't have that kind of money. Its just a normal childcare that my teacher introduced to us, not those ATAS kind.
I guess the issue is not with the money you spend on the centre fees, but rather the people, the brains of the centre itself. And I can certainly say for sure, as certain as my teacher had once told me (she had volunteered for gardening lessons at the centre for a while as all her children attends that centre and she has the heart to teach), that the people at this particular centre are children-loving and nurturing individuals. I wouldn't say they are teachers, though the particular name to give for that profession is teacher. But I would think of them as more than teachers.
They are children-loving and nurturing individuals.
They teach curriculum, they empathize with the young ones and first timers, they love the children, they instill discipline upon them, they impart moral acts to them (the children are taught to say Good Morning when they go to the centre, and to say Goodbye to the parents, and are taught to say Goodbye to the teachers when they leave the centre, basic mannerism), and most importantly, they teach these children about the basics of being a person (correcting their unreasonable tantrums, teaches them communication, enforcing independence).
I can only say, thank God for His abundant blessing. :)
And 2 pictures to finish off this post. I have pixelated the faces of other children appearing in the picture, not sure if other parents want their children's faces here know.
This was a collage sent to me by the school of his first week's play time.
And this was captured by the teacher during food time of their Mid-Autumn celebration. I was there alone that day so, couldn't take any pictures on my own.
