Writer’s Workshop: Getting Back on Schedule

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Thoughts mama kat's writers workshop

An ice bucket

It’s back to school this week. The kids enter their 3rd term of the school year and it’s going to be a more busy term as the supplementary classes in school starts. The alarm clocks have to be set and school bags have to be packed. I’m glad that the kids are back in school as it gives me time to catch up with the backlog of work which I had accumulated due to the holidays.

Here are some tips on how I get the kids back on (school) schedule.

1) We still keep part of the daily schedule even on holiday.

I don’t believe that the sequence that we have been following through during school term should be tossed out of the window once the holidays arrive. The daily schedule however would be trimmed or adjusted to add in more fun and outdoor activities.

2) Finish all holiday homework before leaving on vacations.

This June holiday we brought the kids overseas. I insisted that all holiday homework which they had to get done be completed within the first week of holidays before we were off to enjoy ourselves. The kids too were to write journals on the places which they visited during their overseas trips.

3) Slowly ease the kids back into the study routine.

To get the kids back into the studying mode we started doing academic revision during the 4th week of the school holidays. It was time to get back to the books and revise/recall what they had learned the previous term. I also removed all their late night privileges and they were made to go to bed based on their regular school night timing. This gave their bodies enough time to get back to sleeping earlier and waking up early.

How do you ease your kids back into their school routine?

June 30, 2013

Top 10 Highlights of June 2013

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Thoughts Monday Listicles, Top 10 highlights

Tiger girl posing in front of a bed of yellow flowers

June has certainly whizzed by super fast. Today marks the start of the 2nd half of the year and the 3rd school term for the kids. It is back in school after a month long vacation which saw them visiting many different places both locally and overseas. We went on a family holiday and on separate holidays. Tiger girl , R and me went of to Jeju island, Korea while the boys went with their grandparents on a plane, coach, ferry, train adventure to Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Ipoh, Penang and Langkawi in Malaysia.

I’m still sorting out the 1000+ photos that I took in Korea and will be posting them here on blog in the coming weeks. Meanwhile here are my highlights for the month of June.

Monkey Boy holding his candle

1. Monkey boy had his first holy communion on the 2nd of June. It is the 2nd sacrament which he has received since he was baptised as an infant.

Monkey boy with his self portrait

2. The kids when for a 3 day art camp during the holidays at heART studio. Monkey boy did self portraits while Doggie boy did monochromatic nature painting.

Monkey boy painting

3. We did some baking and Doggie boy made some Egg tarts. He personally loves eating Egg tarts and would certainly order them each time we go to a Dim Sum restaurant for breakfast.

Making egg tarts

4. Besides egg tarts we had lots of other yummy foods like Pork Chop burger as we were eating out a lot this holidays.

Fun on the obstacle course at Changi Airport

5. The boys had great fun at the Gems of Indochina at Changi Airport. There was a 10 obstacle course specially constructed for this June holidays and the boys had a blast going around thrice!!

The boys playing target shooting

6. It was the 2nd time that the boys tried out target shooting. We were unable to get together a big enough group or else I’m sure they would certainly enjoy a game of paintball.

The place where we took a submarine tour

7. We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary in style with a trip under the water in a submarine. The tour was a real eye opening experience for all of us.