Thursday, January 28, 2010

Dominoes

Not the pizza... the game..

Siang tadi gi Tropicana City Mall for the first time since it opened months ago... nak beli gifts for my niece Arifah who had her birthday on Jan 20th and buy a card for my dad for his birthday celebration just now.. Arifah came over all the way from Kajang too so we had 2 cakes during steamboat/grill dinner at Seoul Garden, Plaza Pantai... Ja belanja...

Went to Tropicana City Mall straight after picking up Rayyan at 11.30am. Terus cari Toys'R'Us. Bought some "Barbie" school stuff for Arifah while Rayyan was running up and down all the aisles to find something for himself that I would pay for.. hehe

My limit for him RM30 hahahaha nak beli apa for 30 bucks at Toys'R'Us... ahaaa.. that's the challenge... in the end we settled on Dominoes. Rayyan didn't know how to play. I promised that I would teach him and that promise alone kept him excited... untillah it was time when we reached home where he bugged me while I was working on my laptop.. bila la nak ajar dia main ni...

Finally I gave in... stopped my work for the day at around 4pm or so.. and just let him unwrap the Dominoes box and just told him that the number dots are there for a reason and that you must link them appropriately as you arrange however you want.... I let him play by himself first.

So he made a robot la, a kite la... but still susun ikut how we actually play Dominoes...

Then I told him the rules on how to play. That you need at least 2 people to play. You turn the Domino tiles over and "shuffle". Then each of us would take the tiles one by one. Then, sapa ada 6-6 start dulu. Place the tile in the center, and then the next person continue susun the tiles as he would susun to make the robot before.

And we played.... I won the first 2 games... he won the next 1, I won the next 1 and he won the next 2... hehehe...

Yang kelakarnya.... how animated he was while playing as soon as he got the hang of it...

"You are going DOWN!!! You are going down and down and down..." Sejibik macam pak hitam cakap... complete with the hand gestures... haha lawak budak ni...

Then about Maghrib time he played with Felishia.... Felishia pun kalah a few times... and by then he added..

"You are going down SUCKA!!!!!" hmmmphh.. cerita apa pulak dia tengok ada benda ni???

Then after dinner, we got back, Rayyan played with his atok pulak.. Atok won twice and he got trapped and lost the 3rd game.... we told Rayyan that you should not be saying "SUCKA"..

Felishia pun came up with words that he could replace it with... including "You're going down to the ground!!!" hahaha

So dia pun cakapla benda tu... pastu dia terlebih excited while playing siap tokok tambah lagi...

"You're going down to the ground.... INTO THE SEA!!!!"

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Sikat handsome

This morning tengah nak bersiapkan Rayyan for school, as usual terkocoh-kocohla every morning.. nak kena bangun, mandi, pakai baju, makan ubat, makan, minum, makan ubat lagi, flixonase, ventolin puff, sikat rambut all within 30 mins...

Time dah nak keluar rumah, terus ambik sikat nak try sikatkan budak tu...

Rayyan: Papa, can you sikat handsome...?

hahaha what's that??? hehe dah nak melaram dah budak kecik ni...

usually kalau lepas mandi he would wet his hair again and try making that "mohican" look with his hair.... itula kot sikat handsome... hahaha

oh by the way.. nak sambung sikit pasal schools.. I've been telling people for ages that how I wish (that if I were to send Rayyan to a public school) that I could send him to either SK Taman Tun (dekat rumah Nana tu) or SK Bukit Damansara... coz I know those schools are good coz I know how committed the teachers are over there...

and true enough, both of these schools are listed among the TOP 20 schools in the country (one of the Top 6 Primary Schools). I'm not surprised why none of the SJKCs (govt-aided Chinese schools) are listed... the SKs are better, they just need support from Chinese parents to keep sending their kids there coz these parents are vocal, and that is good to keep the SK teachers on their toes!!

Link to the top 20 school article: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20100125173928/Article/index_html

Monday, January 25, 2010

Schools...

Okay.. I've sort of decided to not send Rayyan to Sri KDU. Adalah reasons dia and $$ is one of them. I found a cheaper alternative.. and that plan can even start soon.. hehe

I've narrowed down the choices of schools: SK Sri Kelana and SK Taman Megah, both about 5-10 mins drive away. Definitely not going to SK Kampung Tunku.. my alma mater... hehe the condition of that school, the students, and the teachers now.. ntahler... takde confident pulak nak hantar anak sendiri kat sekolah tu.. it used to be the BEST of the BEST.. hehehe

I'm more inclined to send him to SK Taman Megah though... I heard they have a more balanced representation of races in that school. To me that is MOST important. I've gone through a well-mixed co-ed primary school, well-mixed all-boys secondary school, all-Malay co-ed MRSM.. and I think the best is still a well-mixed co-ed school anywhere, anytime... especially since Rayyan has Rayhana.. so a co-ed school is definitely convenient for us..

To me, English is important. And there is no way (yet) that Malay students in primary schools are going to talk to each other in English, UNLESS they make friends with non-Malays and there is a good mix of all the races.

I started my kindergarten in a surau.. Tadika At-Taqwa, I think.. kat Setapak... then, I went to Std 1 at SRK Gombak 1.. dekat Lee Rubber tu... the majority of that school was Malay. Half-way through Std 1, my parents moved to PJ and I went to SRK Kampung Tunku, not speaking a single word of English. But kalau English exam, I score.. hehe

I still remember an incident in Std 2. I wanted to borrow an eraser from a Chinese friend:

I said "Can I wear your rubber?" or something to that effect... hahaha

Another incident was when I was in Std 5, when I didn't complete my Math homework and the class teacher called me and gave me a lecture (in English) and asked why didn't I do my homework... I answered in Malay. I was warned to answer in English whenever asked in English...

Std 5 was the turning point. I had a great class teacher, Mrs Anne Wijasuriya (now living in Australia) who taught most of the subjects, and most of the time she would converse in English. It was then that somehow I spoke English to the max. By the time I went to secondary school at Bukit Bintang Boys' School (BBBS), I didn't have any problem conversing in English with close friends but sooo not confident with strangers though... (actually even now, kekadang kalau depan mat salleh, terkedu jugak lidah.. hehehe.. )

Then, it was my MRSM years... I would say that that was the time when my English went down the drain... even my grandfathers spoke better English than 90% of the students there. I do speak campur2 with the KL guys... but with the rest of my friends and classmates there... Melayu je la... I got C4 for my 1119 class. That was one of the highest marks at my MRSM. I know someone got C3... and that's it... loads of F9... even the majority of KL guys got C5 and C6... I'm pretty sure if I stayed at BBBS I would get better 1119 results.. hehe

Luckily I could still maintain my English proficiency at an acceptable level to get A1 for SPM.

Then it was the PPP/ITM years.... aaaaaahhhh.... some of the best years of my life... reminded me of my primary school years... where Malays speak in English to other Malays in a co-ed environment.. hehehe...

Few months back we had some sort of a small reunion among my MRSM friends. Those who hardly spoke English back then, but obtained their degrees from the UK and the US. I was AMAZED at how confident and well they converse in English...

I am also amazed at Ja... (sapa Ja?).. bini aku ler!!! She hardly spoke any English until she was "forced" to apply for an American Degree program and studied at PPP/ITM before obtaining a degree in the states. I'm more amazed at how critical she is and how well she reads and listens between the lines, especially when we read the same books or watch English movies together... most of the times dia lagi terror dari aku.. haha but kalau ambik English grammar test, I can safely say I can beat her any time... hahaha.. (I'm good at exams.. hehe)

It's all about the learning environment... thanks to ASTRO (hahaha), Rayyan speaks English well. He speaks better English than I was in Std 5! I would never risk it by sending him to a school where he would experience my "MRSM English" years...

Monday, January 18, 2010

Rayhana masuk nursery

Today's the first day Rayhana dihantar ke nursery... RM400+ per mth. From morning till 6pm. Ja sent her just now. I couldn't send any of my kids off anymore... tak sanggup tengok muka dia kena tinggal like when I sent Rayyan the last time.

Ja also picked her up just now. I have yet to her the stories since I'm still at the office. But just now in the morning si kecik tu siap kena umpan dengan playground.. naik slides etc, sampai terlupa nak balik, dengan selambanya salam Ja and went on with her play things while Ja pergi kerja... senangnya...

hahaha... nanti sambung citer balik bila dah dengar Ja's story..

Tuesday: 19 Jan 2009

Ok.. nak sambung citer... the nursery people told Ja that Rayhana ni pandai.. chewah... and dah banyak kenal benda... so she is fit to join the 2yo punya program although she is only 15 mths old. Since she is a newcomer, she is still treated and sleep with the babies... dah beberapa hari nanti she will join the others at the 2-2.5 year-old punya group.

Ja also warned the teachers there that Rayhana ni garang sikit, senang nak mencakar and menggigit orang kalau dia geram.. hehe.. and true enough, she almost gigit/cakar bebeudak kat situ... hehe

Rayhana also loves to join the older kids singing and dancing... well that's a good sign.. at least she enjoys herself there...

although.... masa nak balik, biasala.. nampak je muka Ja, merengek ler.. and when I came home late last night around 10pm, she was clinging to Ja's breast, dengar je I masuk rumah, terus dia lari peluk kaki I, I nak masuk dapur minum air pun dia kejar sambil nangis merengek suruh dukung... haha... rindu kot...

So I guess the nursery is a good thing kot for Rayhana... Ja will send her everyday (and hopefully picks her up everyday too.. hehe). Oh yeah, and the fee is not RM400+.. it's RM480 per month every month until she joins the 3 year old program at another location (same company - the separate the babies and the toddlers).

Friday, January 15, 2010

Port Dickson Trip

1st of Jan we went to Port Dickson. First we thought of booking the Selesa Resort but the resort was fully booked on that day. So we went to try out the new Thistle (not so new... it used to be the Guoman). They refurbished nicely.. very nicely...

My brother Faleigh joined us with Renu and Sharat.

I've uploaded most photos on Facebook. Here are just a few of them, and some videos later...






Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Rayyan's First Day & Sri KDU Trip

Rayyan's first day

Today is Rayyan's first day of school for this year. There was induction day earlier last Friday, so he pretty much had met the class teacher, and his new class. Genius Aulad Kelana Jaya just renovated the place and add 2 new classes... gila buat duit diorang ni... now they have 6 classes. They take in about 15 per class on average over 2 sessions (pagi & petang). So they make more than RM40,000 a month.

This year I enrolled Rayyan in the morning class.. need to teach that guy to wake up early. Kalau tak pukul 12 baru nak bangun. So today he woke up at 7am. Sorta voluntary.

I was supposed to send him to school but was too sick this morning that I couldn't drive. Ja had to take half day to send him at 8.30am and picked him up later at 10.30am (first day jer.. normal hours 8.30-11.30 to accommodate the new students).

Then Ja had to send me to the clinic. Tapi lunch time la pulak. So she sent me to DSH and asked my dad's staff to pick me up later. Had to do blood test. Got a Voltaren jab on the butt.

InsyaAllah will be okay in next couple of days. have to do a followup on Friday to take another blood test. Hope okayla sebab Saturday ni nak gi Pontian for my cousin's wedding. Staying overnight there.


Sri KDU Trip


Okay.. now nak cerita pasal the Sri KDU trip we did last week.

Rayyan LOVES the school. Me & Ja definitely LOVE to send him there if we can figure out how to pay for it.

We got to visit all their classrooms, science labs, music room, speech & drama room, dance room, computer lab, mandarin classroom, library, sports facilities, cafeteria, etc.

I've already mentioned about the fees and the schooling hours in my earlier post on Sri KDU. So all those are true... hehe..

So basically, Primary 1 students will have to take these compulsory KBSR subjects: BM, English, Math, Science, Islamic Studies (or Moral), Art Education, Physical & Health Education. They will be using govt textbooks, following govt syllabus.

On top of that, all students should take these additional compulsory subject: Mandarin, NCC Computer Pioneers Programme (UK), and Structured Performing Arts Programme (Speech & Drama, Dance, Choral Singing, Musical Instruments). Musical instruments is optional that you take up one musical instrument (drums, piano, violin, guitar, etc).

Then all students must take up 2 co-curricular activities from 2 groups (1 from each group)

Group 1: Arts & Crafts, Board & Traditional Games, Chess Club, Cultural Dance, Creativity & Problem Solving Club, ICT & Internet Research Club, KH & Sewing Club, Library Club, Living Skills Club, Math & Science Discovery Club, PBSM, Scouts, Young Voices Choir Club.

Group 2: Aerobics, Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Football, Hip Hop/Jam Kids' Club, Junior Yoga, Line Dancing, Netball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis.

All the above activities are done DURING school hours. No staying back after school, no weekend activities at all...

On top of all these, there is another group of activities which is optional (after school hours). These activities are graded. There will be additiona charges as they are conducted by professionals. The activities include: Badminton, Basketball, Fencing, Lego Junior Engineer, Lego Gamemaker, Mad Science, Creative Crafting, Pottery, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Science & Robotics, Seasons Drums, Sri KDU-Arsenal Football, Swimming, Taekwondo, Tap-Ballet-Modern Dance, Tennis, Yoshinkan Aikido, Wushudao.

All the above activities are for Primary School. The Secondary School programme has a lot more.

Things that caught my attention:

1. Most of the time, Science subject is conducted in the science lab, even for Primary 1. And the lab looked even more canggih than my MRSM Taiping lab.. hehe

2. Art class is conducted in the Arts & Crafts room. It's like ART ATTACK environment.

3. The computer learning program teaches the students as early as Primary 1 to learn how to use Microsoft products, Word, etc..

4. The computer program is conducted in their computer lab, each student is assigned to his own computer - no sharing.

5. There are also computers in the classrooms for students to search for info on the Internet, etc during classroom learning.

6. The whole school has WiFi.

7. The library has LOTS of interesting books. Books that you would most likely buy for your kids. Rayyan loves the library. Siap nak pinjam some books dah.. hehe

8. At the end of each year, there is a performing arts production that involves every single student. Last 2 years they performed MULAN. Last year they did an ALADDIN production.. so this year tak tau lagi..

9. Students are given some time during class hours to complete any homework given so they would only do minimum homework at home.

10. Each student is given a locker just outside the classroom. So takyah susah2 bawak bag.

11. About 95% of the UPSR students got A's in their Science and Math recently. Not 95% passed, but 95% A's! BM is not so good - about 20% jer A's. English is better - 50% A's.

12. 70% of students are Chinese, 20% Malay, 10% others, including international students.

So camna? Nak join ke taknak? There is an Open Day sometime in April for those who are interested to know even more about Sri KDU. They say it's going to be advertised in the papers.

Will be looking forward to that...

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Maid Lari Lagi

Gila!

We got her on 30th December, this morning, 5 January, she left VERY early in the morning before Ja got ready for work. Terus lari tanpa dibayar sesen pun. So far that I know of, duit pun tak hilang... alhamdulillah.. nape ni?

Dah ler she has yet to do full house work sebab Ja dah engaged an Indon part-time cleaner to to clean the house sampai mid this month (while we were out of maid for the past month or so). I pun ada kat rumah. Buat kerja kat rumah most of the time. So the kids selalu gak meleser2 kat I (especially Rayhana).

I'm down with the flu bug since yesterday, demam lagi (getting worse today - nak gi clinic after this), Rayyan pun dah almost takde suara, nasib baik tak demam. Rayhana is doing ok so far... How to take care of them?

Hish!

Nursery?? Thinking of it now.... had a bad experience before with Rayyan.. for Rayhana ni tak tau la camana...

GILA! 2 Malaysian maids within a span on 3 months. The agent takleh nak bagi the RM2k admin fee tu balik, we can only exchange with new ones as long as we are not satisfied within 3 months. Looks like the maids are not satisfied with us more than we are of them.. hehe

Friday, January 01, 2010

It's 01.01.10 People!!

Happy new year!!!

Only me awake at midnight... the rest have been sleeping about an hour ago...

Tomorrow morning had to go to Genius Aulad.. ada sort of induction/welcome session for new/returning students.. so Rayyan will be going to be a "senior".

Already signed him for the morning class. Class starts at 8.30am, finishes at 11.30am, which is about the same time he usually wakes up almost the whole of 2009. Let 2010 be a new beginning for him to actually get more "work" done earlier in the day... hehe

We've already booked ourselves a one-night stay at one of the hotels in Port Dickson. So we'll be going there right after Genius Aulad.

Kesian si Rayyan 'coz he anticipated a nice beach for him to make sandcastles and collect seashells which HAMPEH GILA kat PCB aritu... so we promised him to go to a proper beach... planned to go to Selesa Beach Resort (ex-Regency.. whyla hotels in PD ni sume tukar2 nama.. business tak laku ke sampai kena jual?).. Selesa has a nice beach with a complimentary pony ride on the beach itself during weekends. I have stayed there before few times. Loved it. Tapi bilik takde pulak...

Si Rayyan dah siap pi cari segala mainan yang dia nak bawak gi beach besok. He wanted to bring helicopter la apa la segala macam yang ada kat bakul mainan dia.. banyak I rejected.. so last-last dia bawak sikit je.. haha

So it will also be Rayhana's first proper trip to the beach! Tengah charge battery camera ni so I won't miss to snap photos there...

The new maid, Suraya will be staying at home. Bolehla dia temankan my mom next door tu.

Happy New Year!!