Making Faces(Reading@47months)

For the past few days, Alvin took over the night reading sessions with Albert while I was busy preparing for our trip. Alvin taught him how to read the short story entitled “Making Faces”. It took Albert two days to read the story on his own.

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My Mommy (Reading@47months)

Teaching a child to read is very challenging and needs PATIENCE but the result is very rewarding for me as a mom.

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47months "One Little Rabbit"

I’ve been busy planning our trip and forgotten to take videos of Albert’s reading lessons for sometime. Here’s a video of his latest reading lesson.

click here video

Up in the sky

Last week, we went to Kinokoniya Ngee Ann City to find maps for our trip and to buy a book for Albert. But we never found a book that is suitable for our reading lessons (that is, with large fonts and minimal pictures.) So I decided to make a book for him myself. I searched for simple stories from the web and printed it out using big fonts.

On that same day, we let Albert read through the book and today, just 3 days after, he almost can read the whole story with minimal assistance.

Click here video

Here are some of the tips that I got from the book (How to Teach your Baby to Read by Glenn Doman ) which I think are quite effective based on my experience:

1) Show your child the words in lower case letters except first letter of a proper name and in large font.
2) 5-minute sessions several times a day in order not to tire out your child (Vocabulary of the family environment; Vocabulary to build sentence’s structure; Phrases)
3) Follow text with your finger as you read
4) Teach according to your child’s mood. Do not force!
5) Build up the confidence of your child, appreciate his accomplishments
6) Don’t start a session when one of you is tired, hungry or bored.
7) Have fun together; take this as your bonding time with your child.

Albert’s development

Albert’s progress for the past months:
1) Drinks formula milk only before sleeping
2) He hasn’t been wearing diaper for the past 3months
3) He talks a lot
4) He uses Google to search for games or Thomas J
5) He eats the same as our meals
6) He can play a memory matching game of 3x6 in 2mins
7) In the process of constructing asking questions
8) He can color nicely if he in a good mood or not rushing to do other things
9) Less “NO”
10) Less tantrums

Recap

Kinareer naming lately dito sa bahay ang mag-reading sessions with Albert.

We have been very enthusiastic with the progress of our reading lessons. Even Albert himself looked very interested also. When he wakes up in the morning, he always wants to read his flash cards and he says “put in youtube ok” hahaha. Really encouraging even his playgroup teacher made a comment on my facebook and encouraged me more to continue with the reading lessons faithfully.

Today I tried to recap our one week of reading lessons. We had a total of 110 flashcards containing 171 words. I shuffled the flash cards and the result; Albert managed to read 90% of the flashcards.

click here video

"Sponge" Albert

After our two-worded reading sessions, i was becoming really amazed and filled with excitement with the progress of our reading lessons. So last night before i went to sleep i made new flashcards for Albert and this time containing phrases.

In the evening, after our 2 session(morning and afternoon) i tried to have 1 round with him before our friends arrived for dinner and the results were very amazing.

I realized that a child's brain at this stage is really like a sponge. It can absorb many things. Even though i have just shown the flash cards twice before this video was taken, he able to remember and read the words correctly.

click here video

Visita Iglesia 2009

Good Friday is holiday here in Singapore and for the first time we thought to visit 7 churches in Singapore. We went with our friends who were on vacation in Singapore and met some old and new friends during the visiting.

We started our first leg at 9am to St Anne Church which is just a walking distance from home. Then we took a bus to the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary followed by Immaculate Heart of Virgin Mary and managed to catch a mass. Then we headed to City via MRT. We alighted at Little India station and took another bus to Our Lady of Lourdes. Then we walked thru Queen street to St. Joseph followed by Sts Peter and Paul and lastly to the Cathedral of Good Shepherd. We finished our Visita Iglesia before 3pm.

We reached back home at 5pm. I thought we’re all very tired and I think also because the weather was very hot. All slept and woke-up before dinner.



"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."
~ C.T. Studd

First 2 worded Session

After finishing almost 200 words, we tried to test if we could go to next level using two-worded flash cards. Im proud to say that Albert memorized the words within two days.

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47.3 months old

Albert memorized all the words in one day only. We just did the morning, afternoon and evening session.

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47.2 months old- reading

Teaching your child with fun and love is more fruitful.

Program: 3days X 2-3/session

click here video

Albert can read

When Albert was two years old, we tried to teach him to read. We created flash cards containing familiar words and flashed them to him as suggested by a book. Unfortunately, it didn’t really work out because he couldn’t speak that much yet that time.

Several days ago, we tried it again. Surprise! In less than two weeks, he could read more than 70 words. For the next two weeks, we will start showing him adjectives and articles. Then after that, we will try out with couplets and phrase.

click here video

2009Jan - New Word "Sand dune"

Last night before we went to sleep, we talked about what we could see in the countryside. Albert made several suggestions. Here was our conversation:

Mommy: What are the things you see in the countryside?
Albert: Lake
Mommy: Lake. Good, what else?
Albert: River
Mommy: Yes river. Anymore?
Albert: Pond
Daddy: Very good, what else?
Albert: Fish in the pond
Daddy: Wow fishes in the pond...
Albert: Ah, mountains...
Mommy: Yes, mountains.
Albert: Trees.
Mommy: Good..trees
Albert: Sand dune
Mommy: Ano daw, daddy?
Daddy: Sand dune.
Mommy: Ano yun?
Daddy: Parang field sa desert...
Mommy: Next, what else? (I learned new word from albert, hihihi)
.
.
car
road
bus
train
.
.
.
zzzzzZZZZ

2008 Oct - Days 2-3: Family Retreat at Punta de Uian, Zambales, Philippines

I planned this vacation while still in Singapore. While browsing through possible vacation places, I was impressed with Punta de Uian and decided to have our family retreat there. At 10 in the morning, we were all set to go to Zambales. We rented a 10-seater van so we could all fit together in one vehicle and enjoy the journey.

Alvin and I were impressed with the new expressway from Clark to Subic. The toll was a bit expensive but it was worth it since we saved a lot of time. Our driver was a bit careful as he drove a little bit slow. Slowly but surely, we reached Punta de Uian at around one in the afternoon.

When Albert saw the pool, he became excited and wanted to have a swim right away. The rest of us were thinking about lunch as the long trip made us starving. Our packed lunch was really yummy. My mom packed dinuguan, shrimp, friend chicken, chicken rolls and kilawin (writing this part of the blog makes me hungry again!)

Punta de Uian is a secluded beach resort and is really on the remote part of Zambales. However, its seclusion is really one of the things that attracted me to it the most. It’s really quiet and it seemed like we owned the place when we were there (we were the only guests at that time.) From the beach, we could see two beautiful islands. Those looking for private and silent moments should visit this resort!

Click this to view more pictures

On day 2 of our retreat, we went for a 30 minute boat ride to Anawangin. The land around the beach is teeming with young pine trees. Anawangin is like a cove surrounded by mountains. It seems that there is no way to get here through land (unless you don’t mind to climb the mountains around it.) Anawangin’s beach has fine sand and is very fantastic.

After our Anawangin side trip, we had to pack up and go back to Pampanga as my sister Joy had a duty at 2 pm. It was a short but fun beach vacation.

Click this to view more pictures

Later at dinner, Tatang (my father) suggested that we go to Jerry’s Grill where he ordered his favorites: cristy pata, specialty rice, sisig and some veggies.

2008 October :Family Retreat at Punta de Uian, Zambales, Philippines

I planned this vacation while still in Singapore. While browsing through possible vacation places, I was impressed with Punta de Uian and decided to have our family retreat there. At 10 in the morning, we were all set to go to Zambales. We rented a 10-seater van so we could all fit together in one vehicle and enjoy the journey.

Alvin and I were impressed with the new expressway from Clark to Subic. The toll was a bit expensive but it was worth it since we saved a lot of time. Our driver was a bit careful as he drove a little bit slow. Slowly but surely, we reached Punta de Uian at around one in the afternoon.

When Albert saw the pool, he became excited and wanted to have a swim right away. The rest of us were thinking about lunch as the long trip made us starving. Our packed lunch was really yummy. My mom packed dinuguan, shrimp, friend chicken, chicken rolls and kilawin (writing this part of the blog makes me hungry again!)

Punta de Uian is a secluded beach resort and is really on the remote part of Zambales. However, its seclusion is really one of the things that attracted me to it the most. It’s really quiet and it seemed like we owned the place when we were there (we were the only guests at that time.) From the beach, we could see two beautiful islands. Those looking for private and silent moments should visit this resort!

Click this to view more pictures

On day 2 of our retreat, we went for a 30 minute boat ride to Anawangin. The land around the beach is teeming with young pine trees. Anawangin is like a cove surrounded by mountains. It seems that there is no way to get here through land (unless you don’t mind to climb the mountains around it.) Anawangin’s beach has fine sand and is very fantastic.

After our Anawangin side trip, we had to pack up and go back to Pampanga as my sister Joy had a duty at 2 pm. It was a short but fun beach vacation.

Click this to view more pictures

Later at dinner, Tatang (my father) suggested that we go to Jerry’s Grill where he ordered his favorites: cristy pata, specialty rice, sisig and some veggies.

2008 October - First day of our trip in Philippines

It had been two long years since we last went back to Pinas for a vacation. We really miss our family, friends, food, culture and the more laid back pace of life there. We’ve been planning to have a vacation earlier but couldn’t due to our hectic schedule here in Singapore. We were like “forced” to have this short vacation because Alvin needed to attend his close friend’s wedding.

So on October 11, we packed our bags and flew via Tiger Airways. Fortunately, Albert didn’t throw tantrums while we were on board. But he was a bit agitated when we were about to land. Tiger didn’t provide the immigration forms on board so we had to fill up in the terminal. This was very inconvenient and Alvin had a hard time chasing Albert in the terminal.

After getting out of the airport, we headed straight to Jun-jun’s Friendship for our yummy lunch. One surprising thing that I noticed was that almost the entire street (where Jun-jun’s was located) was swamped with Korean billboards. Probably a sign of a different kind of “Korean invasion” in Pinas.

After our scrumptious lunch, we went to the Mount Carmel Monastery in Angeles City to thank the Almighty for the safe trip that we had and to bless our one-week stay in Pinas.

We then headed to my mom’s place in Floridablanca and took all the food for Albert’s celebration at the DSWD Orphanage in Lubao, Pampanga. It was already dusk when we reached DSWD. We handed our donations (Nespray milk 1&2, diapers, Milo, sugar and clothes), and started to prepare for the celebration. Then orphanage has quite a number of children, toddlers and infants. We believe that our donations were not really that much but at it really felt good to give to those who need it most. It was truly heartwarming to see the kids enjoying the food and the toys that we brought!

Click this link to view our pictures of the first day or our trip.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/97/2008-_Alberts_3rd_Birthday_Celebration_DSWD_centre_in_Lubao_Pampanga

So that was it for our first day in Pinas. I’ll be posting our escapades for the following days shortly!

Phuket, Thailand Trip 2008

On the 20^th of August this year (2008), Alvin and I had a short escapade in Phuket, Thailand. Our Tiger Airways flight left Singapore Budget Terminal on time at around 8:15 in the morning. We reached Phuket at 9:00 in the morning (local time).

A Marriott vacation club offered us a free taxi (and massage) from the airport to Marriott resort and spa. In exchange, we had to attend a 90-minute sales pitch. We took the offer and soon arrived at the hotel after around 30 minutes of travel. The hotel is located on the northeast side of the island near a park/reserve. We had a “VIP” welcome as a hotel staff adorned us with orchid garlands. As we arrived too early, the room was not yet ready so we decided to visit Phuket town.

The taxi (which was actually a private pick-up), cost THB1400 (back and forth). The town is actually quite far from the hotel, around 1 hour of travel time. We reached town by lunch time and by then, we we’re craving for some authentic Thai food. After some discussion and tip from the taxi driver, we decided to have seafood. The driver took us to a seafood restaurant by the bay. One thing we really liked was the tomyam soup. It was really good! We ordered a lot we had to pack the left over so we could have something for dinner at the hotel. After the heavy lunch, we headed to Central Festival and Big C to buy some delicacies to bring back to Singapore. We didn’t find anything fancy to shop.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/91/2008-08_Phuket

We went back to Marriott hotel at around 4pm and walked around the beach. A red flag (warning) meant we couldn’t go swimming in the beach. So we just took some pictures and walked around the resort and had a swim at the pool. At dinner, we ate what we packed from the seafood restaurant.

On our 2^nd day, we went to Phi Phi islands. We left our hotel at 9 in the morning and reached Phuket Marina around 9:30. After 30 minutes of waiting, we finally went aboard a speed boat together with some 20 other tourists. Our first stop was at Ao Ling (Monkey Bay) on Koh Phi Phi Don. After that, our boat took us to Hin Klang where we snorkeled for half an hour. We relaxed at Koh Mai Pai (Bamboo Island) before arriving at Koh Phi Phi Don for a buffet lunch. We spent the rest of day at Phi Phi Leh, visiting Maya Bay – where the “The Beach” was filmed. The tour cost us THB3200 per pax, quite expensive but a “must go” experience. Fruits and drinks after stops were provided. On our way back, we had a very bumpy ride and we’re all wet.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/93/2008-08_Phi_Phi_Islands

Our 3rd day wasn’t so great as it rained heavily the whole day. We didn’t manage to swim in the resort’s beach. So our appointment for Marriott sales presentation was just nice because of the very bad weather. The presentation was quite enlightening for us. We were toured around their Vacation Club which was just next to JW Marriott. The sales pitch was 3 hours instead of the supposed 90 minutes. We didn’t rush as we couldn’t do anything anyway because of the heavy rain. After the long presentation, we decided to sign up for their basic Time Share at Marriot Vacation Club Mai Kao Beach. I will write a separate blog about the Time Share business of Marriott. After we signed, Mark the sales person gave us a lot of freebies. Free massage, THB2000 which we spent for our dinner, polo shirts and free 3-nights accommodation at Ritz Carlton Bali. After the talk we went for our scheduled massage.

http://karensumang.multiply.com/photos/album/92/2008-08_Marriott_vacation_Club

Our Last day….we are very excited to go home coz we missed Albert so much. Our flight was at 9.15 am so we took our breakfast quite early at the hotel. Tiger Airways was once again on time as we touched down at around 15 minutes past noon in Singapore.

Previous Blogs

Visit my past blogs at http://karenvalera.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/

Terrible two

This stage of Albert is really driving me crazy. He is now on his 30^th month and going thru what seems to be known (and rightly so) as the "terrible two" stage. From what I've read, kids at this stage are trying their skills at making their own decisions and forcing the parent to agree with them. My Albert is no different. When he wants something, he makes sure that I give it or not stop him from doing it. If I disagree with him, he will scream and hit my face. Anyway, here's my top 5 list of his terrible two antics:

1) Scream & cry when he does not get to do what he wants to do.

2) Do the opposite of what he's been told to do.

3) Spank my face when when I disagree or stop him from doing things. He can somewhat sense my objection even when he's not looking at me.

4) Throw tantrums anytime, anywhere.

5) Uncontrollable anytime, anywhere.

I didn't really expect how difficult this stage would be. It was really a heartache when he started to show these kind of behavior. I tried talking, scolding and even smacking him when he was on his worst, bu it didn't seem work. I even cried because I even can't do anything. There were times when I really felt helpless because I couldn't control him.

Well, one consolation is that this stage is not forever. I just hope that Albert's terrible two stage would end as soon as possible

2007 October

It's been a year since I last posted in my blog.

Just a quick update about myself and my family. I'm still working with the same company…yes for almost seven years already. Alvin is now working with a research and development firm. And about our Little Albert, he's now on his 28th month. He's been attending playgroup school since July 2007. His 1st week was very tough for him because he didn't want to stay with his classmates & teachers. Finally, after 2 week he managed to accept the environment.

Five months ago, I was so depressed. We sent Albert for a check-up and vaccination against Pheumococcal. I asked the doctor about the Albert's situation because he still couldn't say at least 8 words frequently. All of his words were mumble sounds but he also knew at least 15 letters of the alphabets. I was frightened from what the doctor told me. The doctor said that at age of 24 months, he should have been saying at least 50 words or more. She said Albert might have mild autism and after that word, I did shed some tears. Alvin was also shocked from what the doctor said. We were both speechless and we just let the doctor say whatever things she wanted to say. All I can remember was after the mention of mild autism, my mind couldn't listen to the doctor anymore and I just wanted to end the consultation.

I read and researched from the internet and journals about mild autism. There were actually no signs except the that he still can't talk much. I'm depressed for a month after hearing those words from the doctor.

Now five months after the check-up, Albert can read all the letters of alphabet (upper & lower case). He can recognize numbers and count from 1 to 10. He has more than 40 words (although he can't pronounce exactly but can 75% are understandable):

reality/flashcards/drawings
car, bus, truck, train, A for apple (I don't know why he don't want to say the word apple), nana(banana), orange, grapes, baby, Elmo, flower, lamp, glass, mug, iron, house, tub, brush (toothbrush), leaves, snail, bird, dog, cat, house, green, blue, red, circle, triangle, square

Action/instructions words
Come, there, sit, play, can

Conversational words
(Phone) Hi-Yes-Bye, bye, love you, care (take care)