Goodbye CM, Hello P1

He spent the last four and a half years in this pre-school. It's been a place of learning and building of character. It was here that his first friendships were forged and many goodbyes along the way. Today Kayden bids farewell to his kindergarten, friends and teachers who have all been a wonderful and important part of his young life.

The school organised a farewell party for all the K2 children and they were to come dressed in their primary school uniform! Very apt! We parents were invited as well and all of us brought too much food for the party. The kids had a ball, Kay was a little shy as usual to see us in the classroom with him :) Flashes of him on his first day here in Character Montessori came to me and I marvel at the young man he has become, ready for the next chapter of his life - primary school.

Here are a few photos from his first day and last day in school!

last time signing in... 

group shot of everyone with the teachers 

Kay with his BFFs, Alden & Keafe 

the budding photog felicity 

laughing at himself when he appeared in the video of their 4 years in CM 

Last friday was the graduation concert and there was no stopping my tears as I saw him go on stage receiving his scroll in his graduation gown, performing in a skit and a spanish dance. I'm so proud of you Kay! You have certainly come into your own and mummy and daddy are really lucky to have you as our firstborn :)


(Kay is the second boy out on stage)

The Baby Elephant's Tea Party

Nila Utama is one! He is the first elephant born in nine years at the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. A BIG bundle of joy to his mother Nandong and father Chawang at 151kg, the one year old asian elephant is now a whopping 544kg! :p

We were invited to Nila's little tea party where the little one whose name is that of the Palembang prince who founded the kingdom of Singapura, was presented with a giant birthday cake made of carrots, wheat and ice, among other ingredients. Us humans had a mighty delicious elephant shaped chocolate cake and other tea-time yummies.

"The birth of Nila Utama was a significant milestone for us as it underscored the importance of education and conservation of Asian elephants in the wild," said Mr Kumar Pillai, General Manager, Night Safari. "This mini event is not only a birthday celebration for Nila – it also highlights the success of captive breeding programmes like ours and the plight of these beautiful animals in the wild."

The Asian elephant is an endangered animal. There are only between 25 600 and 32750 of them in the wild. Poaching of Asian elephants for ivory and meat remains a serious problem in many countries especially in certain regions of India where some people consume elephant meat. The illegal trade of live elephants, ivory and hides has become a serious conservation problem. You can help by not buying ivory products and spreading the word about the plight of the elephants.

Here's wishing little Nila Utama a very happy birthday and the continuing survival of the Asian elephant!

the kids doing some wild art work for Nila

Dylan enjoying the elephant fondant, he ate the entire elephant without touching the cake! :D

the yummy chocolate cake

my two elephants

we had a lovely tram ride to the elephant exhibit

all the kids were excited to meet Nila!

here he comes with his mummy! and there's the huge birthday cake prepared for him by the zoo

Kayden just recovered from HFMD thus he wasn't very chirpy :(

Dylan trying to feed his "elephant" peanuts :p

cheeky bugger!

the boys loved their elephant plush

Farewell ngiah ngiah Ah Mah

To differentiate this Ah Mah from my maternal Ah Mah, my brother and I call my paternal grandmother ngiah ngiag Ah Mah. "Ngiah" is teochew for beautiful :) She had this portrait of herself in her house which showed an elegant young lady so the term ngiah ngiah Ah Mah was coined and stuck to this day.

Last Saturday afternoon, ngiah ngiah Ah Mah left us :'(

During my childhood, my brother and I will spend afternoons at her flat in Farrer Road. It was a house full of curios and knick knacks and we loved the white arowana fish she had in a 4 feet tank and the couple of canary birds she kept. Once they even made nest and laid a few eggs! She was strict with us when it came to manners and will smack our legs with a cane if we shook them while eating at the dining table. But still my brother and I enjoyed ourselves at her home and looked forward to Chinese New Year visiting every year.

Towards her last couple of years, she got dementia and will keep giving us ang pows when we visited her during the new year as she forgets that she had already given us one. Aunty Mary will joke and tell us to stick around longer for more red packets :p This CNY when I took this shot of her with my iPhone, I was hoping it will not be the last one ever but unfortunately it was...

Today as we bid Ah Mah farewell, the sun was shining and that reminded me that it was her that gave Kayden his chinese name. She named him Yong Ming - Forever Bright, he was born on a sunny afternoon. And it was another sunny afternoon that we say goodbye to you. I chose a white rose and placed it over your heart. Dear Ah Mah, I have no doubt you lived a great 90 odd years, and understand that it's time for you to rest in peace. See you on the other side, I'll miss you. 

Win a WowART lesson this holiday for your child!

Your budding little artist at home will be thrilled to know that WowArt Learning Studio is having a holiday program this coming year end school holidays. During the September holiday, they offered art workshops only but this time, they will be taking the classroom outdoors and offering WOW Camps! Students will be able to explore, experiment, feel and play in these hands-on sessions. In the Artist & I workshops, your child will be exposed to great artists of all times such as Henri Rousseau, Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Edgar Degas through painting on canvas.

To know more about WowArt, do visit their website or read my boys' experience with them here and here.

Now for some exciting news! WowArt is offering one lucky reader of my blog a free workshop pass for your child! This is what you have to do:

1. Please "Like" the WowArt Facebook page
2. Help us re-post this blog post url http://maryannkoh.blogspot.com/2011/11/win-wowart-lesson-this-holiday-for-your.html on your own Facebook wall
3. Let me know that you have done all this by leaving a comment on this post
4. Drop me an email maryann@thestudioloft.com.sg with your contact details so that I may contact you if you are the winner

That's it! Last date for participation is Wednesday 16 November 2011. My boys will be at the workshop too on top of their regular Sunday lessons, hope to see you there! :)

My day with the chicken pox boy

I spent today with my elder son Kayden, who has been down with chicken pox since last friday. He isn't having a bad outbreak as he has been inoculated previously. Don't ask me why he still caught it but we are thankful it's just like 15 pox over his upper body. His sexy legs were spared haha, not even one!

As I was helping him get dressed after his bath, I started to notice things about this not so little boy. His bermudas have become shorts... he doesn't dislike pink... he owns a cute baby paunch... he has a lovely smile and nice lips... he is bashful... and this is the best thing I noticed - he still loves me despite the younger brother and my work claiming almost all my time! *yay!*

After doing some artwork, we walked over to the neighbourhood mall for his favourite Japanese lunch. The usual order is cold soba noodles and egg sushi. Once we sat, he proceeded to take a plate of Tamago off the sushi train. Followed by another in quick succession. I exclaimed that he must be famished! He replied,"No, this plate is for di di." But di di is not here darling. "It's for him when he comes back from school." *melts*

So there I sat across the table from this sweet boy, all grown up and independent, doesn't seem that long ago when I was still cleaning up his diapers. I can't help feeling that I had lost precious number of moments with him since Dylan came along. It's like he was 3 years old then 6 years! Where did all that time go? I got a little sad. I made a decision there and then that I must get to know my firstborn again. His dreams and ambitions, his joys and heartaches, I want to know them all and for him to share with me his deepest thoughts. I want to be his mother and best friend again. But for the moment, we are mother and son sharing a day together, and that hug and kiss from him when the day ends was just what I needed to remind me that I have a wonderful son who loves me.

I love you Kayden!