Parenting on Purpose

Quote of the Day: When all has been said and done, what are you leaving behind for your children? We believe that children need to develop a spirit of reverence - for God and for others.

Our older son Z attended his first art class two days ago. And we were excited; perhaps more excited than he was. We had secured an arrangement with heART Studio, a local art enrichment centre, for Z to attend one term of classes, and we were apprehensive about how he would respond. When we entered heART Studio, the sign above the main door, "Teaching art from the heart", was a reassuring sight. We had previously read about the philosophy behind the centre (found on its website):  We believe that Art allows children to explore new worlds and to view life from another perspective. Art also encourages individuals to sharpen their skills and to nurture their imagination and intellect.  Involvement in the arts is also associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork.On Top of that  heART Studio  also impart Life’s Skills th...

A review of the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s (SRT) “Rapunzel” written for Little Day Out, a Singapore-based website that provides information and updates on the best of Singapore for families with young children. The classic Grimm Brothers’ tale has been given a new lease of life in recent years. Disney’s latest version, Tangled, features a feisty heroine with a thirst for adventure and now SRT’s The Little Company has also brought this familiar tale on stage with the story centred on an inquisitive and curious girl who longs to explore the world despite being trapped in an enchanted tower. That’s where the similarities between the two versions end. In The Little Company’s version, Rapunzel’s captor is a chef-wannabe witch who brushes the poor girl’s hair frequently in an effort to extract her tears, believed to be the secret ingredient that has won her a host of international cooking accolades. Rapunzel’s only friends are a roadrunner and an armadillo who is in charge of g...

Quote of the Day: What does it mean to take time with your children? For us it means to spend so much time with them that they will know we are there for them no matter what. It is truly an honour and a privilege to have children; yet it is the greatest responsibility a person can ever have. 

Quote of the Day: As parents and educator, it is our firm belief that education should include the teaching of moral values. Unfortunately much of education today is focused on the practical and not the ethical.

Quote of the Day: How can our education become an atmosphere, a discipline and a life? It has to be so ingrained into our psyche that education becomes second nature to us. We educate not because we have to; we educate because that's who we are.

Quote of the Day: We need to prepare our children for the future. That's what we continually remind ourselves when we start each homeschooling day. 

I know I have posted several times about pom poms,  but I can't get over how versatile they are! I have really enjoyed seeing the different ways my kids play with them. It's also the first time I have seen our 19-month-old so engaged in purposeful play. It's a sign that my baby's growing up *sniff sniff* but also very encouragingly a sign that he's becoming more independent in his play.  E and I are both down with a bad flu, leaving us both tired and listless,  so today was the perfect time to get out the toilet rolls I've been saving and let him entertain himself for a bit! Here's a list of other simple household items we got from around the house. Items Needed : Toilet rolls Pom poms (Art Friend is a good source, we got ours from Amazon) Assorted containers Straws/ sticks I just showed him how to stuff the first pom pom into the toilet roll, arranged all the other items in front of him, and the invitation to play began!  E ...

An adorable, excitable patchwork elephant has recently taken over our house. He is responsible for my 3-year-old's first sight word: "BOO!" I have a strange feeling that he may eventually learn how to read with Elmer - Z is now pointing out the letter sounds he has learnt on each page, signs that he is showing interest in deciphering the letters and words. I must admit that I do have a soft spot for Elmer, an elephant who celebrates being different and has a knack for making the other animals laugh. Of course, his adorable patchwork colours and cute facial expressions add to his likeability, and the simple story lines usually come with a humorous twist plus a meaningful lesson to be learnt. There is the episode where he gets to spend some time with his Grandpa Eldo and recall the fun times they have had together, and also the time he meets a herd of pink elephants and his friend Rose turns her fear of loud noises into courage and saves the day. Although it does g...

One of the things I hope to do in this blog is to share some of the activities we do at home which could easily be replicated by anyone who is looking for ideas on what to do with your young children. There are a multitude of ideas on Pinterest, but the materials may not always be available locally and may sometimes need to be adjusted for our climate,  e.g. homemade dough. Here's the first installment in our series! I was so excited about this idea when I shared it last week on our Facebook page. It can be found at the One Perfect Day blog.  I was excited to try it for our Little Hands to Heaven Unit 3 on the Letter "C". I have chosen to do "C is for Cookies and Cupcakes" this time round. Here are the materials we used for the activity: Drawing block Baking tray Watercolour paints (diluted) Craft glue Table salt Medicine droppers/ Paint brushes What you need.    This is what we did: 1. Place the drawing block ont...

A review of the I Theatre production, “The Ant and the Grasshopper” written for Little Day Out, a Singapore-based website that provides information and updates on the best of Singapore for families with young children. Snapshot with the cast of The Ant and the Grasshopper “There is a time for everything.” So sing the insects during the final song of the play. There is a time for working hard and gathering food; but there is also a time for enjoying music and the arts. Indeed this final refrain from I Theatre’s The Ant and the Grasshopper seems to capture the quintessential tension between what is “work” and what is “life”, and how to negotiate a difficult balance between the two. Brian Seward, in his re-creation of the famous Aesop Fable of the same name, has this time outdone himself. Seward has crafted a magical masterpiece around a seemingly simple tale warning children about the ills of not working hard and taken this to a deeper level, drawing out themes not ...

Some time two weeks ago, we had one of 'those days'. Since we started homeschooling about a year ago,  we've had a few of these - where the whole morning seems like one huge battle and in the end no one wins, or learns anything. That day's episode ended in a particularly desperate and spiteful chastising with the older boy on my part, "Z, do you want to do school with Mummy or not? If you don't want to,  you can always go and join the other children in their school next door. " (We have a kindergarten in the next block. ) To which he woefully replied, "I want to go to school with Mummy. " My most predictable reply: "Then you must learn to follow my instructions and listen to what Mummy says!" Not that this conversation got us much further after that... Part 2 of Why We Homeschool is honestly still in the process of being figured out (which is why I have been taking so long to write it). Homeschooling is really a complex and in-dept...