Motivational Art and Music on a Monday

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Thoughts Motivational Monday

Bicycle Rack

Last weekend while at East Coast Park for the kids annual sports day I chanced upon this really ingenious contraption- a bicycle rack. The display was near the East Coast Village food court and there were other wooden sculptures in the area but this was the only one which caught my eye.

The bikes are hung at an angle so their tires don’t remain on the sand while being parked at the bicycle rack. I know how difficult it can be to keep the tires clean and how dust and dirt can screw up the cycling mechanism if the bike is not cleaned properly.There was even a pictorial instructional sign in front of the exhibit to explain how the bikes should be mount on the structure.

I really love how functional this piece of art is and that the inventor really managed to get his creation out from an idea in his head to something which everyone can enjoy. It only shows that if one really works on ideas/dreams which they are passionate about the dream will come true.

What are your thoughts about this?

Sharing one of my favourite songs from Tiger Girl’s birth year 201- SHERO by S.H.E

September 22, 2012

Weekend Reflections: Bilingualism and Education in Singapore

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Parenting Views, Weekend Reflections

Study Materials

Educating kids and education in Singapore has always be heavily emphasized on. Billingualism is the norm here as it’s compulsory to learn English and your mother tongue (which is Mandarin for my kids).

From Kindergarten, they are taught both English and Mandarin with the majority of lessons in English. Maths, Science , Art & Crafts and other subjects are all thought using the English medium. Exposure to Mandarin has been limited to the 1 hour Chinese lesson which they have in school.

I personally feel that it doesn’t give them enough exposure to Mandarin as they are not using the language to communicate most of the time while they are in school. English is still the dominant language which is used in teaching.

To get my kids ready for school I have been teaching them in both English and Mandarin since they were born. I have been collecting and using flashcards and other related teaching material to practice with them. We do reading of storybooks in both English and Mandarin before bedtime.

I feel that they should be most comfortable expressing themselves in both English and Mandarin and be able to switch effortlessly from one language to another. For them to do so I need to ground them in their vocabulary and written and spoken ability in Mandarin more then English. The limited exposure that they have in school shouldn’t be carried on into the home and I give the kids maximum opportunity to converse in Mandarin when they are at home.

Once they are very fluent in these two languages we will be moving onto Japanese and French.

How do you foster Bilingualism with your kids?