Done with Nursery One!

I would have wanted to homeschool my little boy during his pre-school years, but when I gave birth to our second child January of this year I knew I just had to give up that idea. A toddler and a newborn were just too much for me to handle, so we decided to enroll him in a pre-school instead. We were staying in Iloilo City then, and the closest preschool to our apartment was the Iloilo Montessori School. Coincidentally, this was the same pre-school my husband attended when he was in Kindergarten.

Can you spot my Dada?

Dada dancing at Iloilo Montessori School some 30 years ago

Thirdy was enrolled in the one-month summer program but he was only able to attend for 3 weeks because we had to fly back to Singapore for some appointments. Thus, he was not able to join the culminating activity of the summer class. 

Ocular visit at Iloilo Montessori School with Maam Ditas and Dangdang

Bambam was just 2 months then

I sat with him during his first day. Because I was there, he actively joined in the activities. He seemed confident in imitating his teachers, but he still did not want to let me go. During the succeeding days, he would tearfully hug me everytime I would hand him over to his teachers. After the first week, he was already happy to join in the class. He really liked his Teachers Ms. Noreen and Ms. Hera.

Snack time on my first day of summer class at Iloilo Montessori School

Ms. Hera and Ms. Noreen, my IMS summer class teachers

We enrolled him again during the school opening with the plan of letting him finish the school year. But this was cut short because we had to fly back to Singapore as Bambam's dependent pass was approved, which meant we could all stay together as a family in SG. So, we had to say goodbye to IMS again. 

Ms. Tricia, Ms. Joyce, and Ms. Hera, my IMS June-July teachers

The perennial blue line of IMS

We were back in Singapore by July, but since we did a bit of travelling, we were only able to enroll Thirdy last August. It took us some time to find a school for him as most of the early childhood institutions near our place are childcare centers, which means they do not cater to 2-3 hour classes. We were blessed to have found Starland when we met a nanny at the playground who informed us that her ward studies in this school. What is nice is that it is just about a 10-minute walk from our block. Thirdy officially became a Nursery 1 pupil of Starland last August 16. 

Birthday celebrations in school 

Just another day in school

 

Children's Day 

 

Yakult Factory Tour

Deepavali/Diwali Celebration (India's Festival of Lights)

 

                                      With a Chinese boy                                         With an Indian girl                                      With a Malaysian girl

Graduation Concert

It's a small world, after all!

You are my sunshine!

Medley with other grade levels

Schoolyear in Singapore begins in January and ends in December. Students also attend school according to the year they were born and not according to their age. If you were born in 2015 for example, you belong to Nursery 1, regardless of the month you were born in. 

I was the smallest in class.

                                                                          My last day to wear this blue sailor uniform

Saying goodbye to Ms. Jaculin, my Nursery 1 Teacher at Starland

Teacher's comment made my Mama and Dada's day!

I used to frown on parents who post their children's report cards in social media to show off the excellent grades. Now, I understand why they do. It just feels great to know that your child is performing well in school. I am excited for his Nursery 2 classes!

Mommy Hacks

About Me:
1. I am a housewife and a full-time Mom to two young children ages 3-years-old and 10-months-old.
2. Our family of four is based in Singapore.
3. My husband works full-time.
4. We have no helper.
5. My 3-year-old attends a morning Nursery class (9 AM-12 NN).

So you see, my hands are always full. I have been a full-time mom for almost two years now. It is hard, yes. But along the way, you get to learn how to be efficient and make the most of what you have. Here are some of the mommy hacks that I have learned. They are efficient and cost-saving. If you are a mommy and are reading this, I hope they will work for you, too.

1. Use a powerful hose/bidet to get rid of nasty poop from cloth diapers.

Bambam uses cloth diapers during daytime and switches to disposable diapers at night. 

Peek-a-boo!

My life practically changed when I discovered this (no kidding!) Before I had this eureka moment, I would handwash the cloth diapers to get rid of the nasty and sticky stools. It was tedious, and I could only do it at night when the children are asleep. Now, I just place the diaper at the toilet, and with proper aim shoot the stools away with my power gun. You can use either a bidet or a hose. This one takes a bit of practice, though.

2. Let your children take a bath/shower together.

It amuses my boy to see that his sister does not have a penis. 

I find that it saves me time when my two children take a shower together. It also saves water! I usually put the younger one in the tub, shower her, then the older hops in the tub, too. I soap them together, but the younger one is towel dried first. I then take out the princess for a change with all the girly rituals, while I leave the prince in the tub to play. When I'm done with the baby girl, I bring out the boy to be dried and to be changed.

3. Make biscuits out of Cerelac.

rice cereal biscuits made from Cerelac

mushy insides!

My cute food taster loves her home-made biscuits!

After every visit from our pediatrician, we go home with several packets of Cerelac. I am no fan of pre-packed foods for my little ones, but I also do not want to throw away the Cerelac. I thought why not make biscuits out of them instead? Here is the link of the recipe that I used for my biscuits: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/baby-cereal-cookies-104405

4. Save cartons and boxes to be used for art and crafts.

Use the back part of your boxes to let your toddler write or draw whatever he wants.

IKEA garbage bin box turned into a robot head

box of a pot turned as a canvas

My sister who is a preschool teacher actually taught me this one. Instead of throwing cartons from packages and boxes of your groceries, you can actually turn them into something creative for your  children. You can do many things with them: turn them as a canvas or drawing paper, cut them out, turn them into forts, make costumes out of them, etc. After your little one is done using the packages, you can simply throw them in the recycling bin

5. Make your own claydough.

blue clay

clay in primary colors of blue, red, and yellow

If stored properly, they can last up to 6 months. 

Can you guess what this is?

I learned this one from my Early Childhood Education class (thank you, Maam Jade and Sir Art!). I am sharing their recipe for homemade clay dough: 

Materials
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
Food coloring
Saucepan
1 cup flour

Directions
1. Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm.
2. Remove from heat and add flour.
3. Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don't have it on hand.
4. Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag.

6. Make your own fingerpaint.

Primary colors

Van Gogh, is that you?

Oh, it's Thirdy the artist!

Don't forget to hang their masterpieces!

Again, I got this recipe from my ECE teachers, Maam Jade and Sir Art. This fingerpaint is safe for your children as the ingredients are food-based. Your children can even help you prepare the paint.

Materials:

2 cups white flour

2 cups cold water

Food coloring or tempera color

Directions:

1. Pour the water into a large bowl; add the flour slowly stirring constantly.

2. Stir until it is totally smooth, divide into smaller bowls or muffin pan and add food coloring or tempera colors. 

7. Take a nap with your children.

I love my cuddles with these little ones.

Cute babies, eh? They can make you lose your sleep. 

That's my place there between them. 

Every parenting article and baby book I came across seem to give the same advice: Sleep when your baby is asleep (especially when you have a newborn). I never took this advice to heart because really, why would you sleep when you still have laundry to wash and a demanding toddler to attend to? But this is one practical advice that every mom should try to do. Moms are more recharged when they take a nap, hence have more energy to take care of their babies and do household chores. I sometimes do not get lucky with this as there are times when they do not take a nap at the same schedule.

8. Make your own baby wipes.

Credit to the owner of this photo

I actually no longer keep baby wipes as I can now directly wash my daughter's bum with water. But when she was a newborn, I prepared my own baby wipes because I find commercial wipes too wet for its purpose. And it's actually cheaper if you prepare your own. All you need are paper towels (do not use the regular bathroom tissue), baby liquid soap, baby oil, and virgin coconut oil. Here's the video link of a more detailed procedure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1yL3ZTSWFo

9. Try baby-led weaning.

Bam knew how to chew at 7 months.

starter pack for BLW

It could get messy. 

But your little one will be introduced to different colors, tastes, and textures...

Baby-led weaning (BLW) is the opposite of  traditionally starting your child on solid foods. Instead of offering babies (around 6 months) mashed and pureed foods as their first solids, BLW encourages giving of finger foods right away. This may seem like a drastic move as babies at this age do not have teeth yet and there is the danger of choking, but BLW makes a lot of sense when you want your child to grow up as a happy, confident, and adventurous eater. I intend to write a separate post about BLW in the future, but for now, all I want to say is that BLW has made my life easier as I do not have to prepare pureed baby foods.

10. Maintain a manageable, fuss-free, and low-maintenance hairstyle.

My little princess, Bambam

My little prince, Thirdy

In short, maintain a short hairdo! When you have two young children, having a pixie cut saves you a lot of time and effort. On mornings where we all rush to get Thirdy to school, I do not have to brush and tie my hair. Babies like pulling hair, so I am saved from Bambam's curious little fingers. With a short haircut, I also do not need to spend much on shampoo and conditioner nor do I need to go on trips to the salon. Plus, this haircut suits me just fine.

Although my husband works full-time, he does most of the cooking and is always a great Dad to our little ones. Maybe next time he can write about his daddy hacks.