Parenting on Purpose

I have a five-year Mom's journal in which I try to record our boys' growth and experiences over time. I have not been very faithful in my daily recording,  but when I opened it up recently I realised I had written almost exactly a year from today (28 Jan 2014),  "This is our first official day of homeschooling!  We are starting with a unit on vegetables and did painting with chickpeas today. " Our older son was about 2 1/2 at the time and my inspiration for our first unit study (though I didn't know what they were called back then) was to stir up an interest in vegetables in my then fussy eater. Z rolling chickpeas for his painting work. Great for his psycho-motor skills. He was excited to choose the colours for his painting. Broccoli printing. Getting him interested in cutting the vegetables meticulously was a challenging process for our energetic son. Admiring his masterpiece. Seems like a rather unglamorous start to what has actua...

Children's Grand Park We were rather sad at leaving the lovely Jeju island after 10 days there. By the time we arrived at our hotel in Busan, our children were already experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The older child was still asking for Mr Kim, the owner of our lovely Jeju abode, while the younger boy was especially clingy to us. As it was almost evening by the time we arrived (due to a delayed flight and a terrible jam from the airport to the hotel), we settled for a simple dinner and decided to call it a night. The next day we were up bright and early, excited by the promise of adventure in a new city. We headed west to the Children's Grand Park, which we heard had lots of activities for the children, including a mini-zoo, amusement parks and hiking trails galore. Our older son posing at the entrance of the Children's Grand Park. "Autumn" trees in winter? Not quite the expected match, but a feast for the eyes nonetheless.  The war buff...

"Swallow your food!" An authoritative voice boomed from the living room.  "Children, swallow your food otherwise you can't go out!" I turned to the source of the voice. It was a 3-year-old boy, seated on the sofa with his three favourite soft toy "children" - Elmo, Cookie Monster and Big Bird. Rather amused at the proceedings, I inquired, "Did Elmo swallow his food?" The young boy turned to the brick red creature. "Elmo, open your mouth."  "Elmo, you have to listen to your Daddy Z and swallow your food. Otherwise you can't go out. The little boy nodded his head. "Elmo [has] swallowed his food." "Good job, Elmo," I said. A tender moment. Z & E with their "children". We have always encouraged our older son to take on various roles during his playtime. One of his favourite activities has been to play with a toy cash register and receive money from us when...

It often starts with a courteous smile followed by  raised eyebrows and a slight alteration in the tone of the voice. This follows by a surprised "Wow!" or a curious "Really?" or even the unintended but clearly indicative "Oh." The conversation then launches into queries on why we have decided to homeschool our children and how different this is from mainstream education. And then comes the question that almost always escapes the lips of the other party: "Aren't you concerned that your child will lack social skills if you homeschool him?" The general public has a rather hazy picture of homeschooling. They imagine a tired mother conducting lesson after lesson for her child. This could either take the form of rigid classes and the regurgitation of facts. But more often than not, there is a general perception that homeschooling is unstructured and that the lessons are mostly unplanned and whimsical. There is also the perception that homesch...

Motherhood is a perplexing thing. In the pure exhaustion of the daily business of handling two young boys I find myself looking forward to my two work days each week when the boys go to their grandparents' homes and I have a few precious hours of time away, not necessarily time to myself as there are chores to do and other children to teach, but sufficient for regrouping and a little rest and reflection. And yet, in that moment of parting when I see their little solemn faces through the car window as Nai Nai drives them off, it is somehow still hard to let them go. I confuse myself sometimes! Reflecting on our parenting are an important part of the process. Yesterday morning was no different.  We had had a gruelling weekend of three family gatherings in a row which had left a rather grouchy older boy and a clingy toddler.  The older one was sensing the impending separation and acting up the whole morning. Finally bundled up in their grandma's car, I waved goodbye to t...

Hallim Park We awoke with a certain sense of sadness; for it was our last full day in Jeju and we had grown fond of this picturesque and charming island. We quickly packed our things and headed out - we wanted to make the best of what we had left. Destination: Hallim Park. When we did the research for the trip, Hallim Park was described as one of the most kid-friendly places on the island. And we found this assessment to be very accurate. We were fascinated that the park was created from scratch in the 1970s by a farsighted individual. He literally transformed 100 thousand square metres of barren land into the garden paradise it is today.  The park's official website presents this tribute to its founder: With luscious vegetation all around, the park was clearly one of our most favourite sites in the whole of Jeju! Beautiful flowers line the pathways of the park. These are changed periodically from season to season. Just a stroll in the park. Z e...

Saryeoni Forest Sue had been reading about a special theme park for kids - the Cocomong Eco Park. We therefore packed our things and prepared to drive to the park, located in the south of the island. As there is only one major road artery leading to the south, we had to pass through the island's interior. During the drive there, I was lamenting on how I missed going on a forest trek and how much the boys enjoy walking. This especially since we were driving through luscious forests all around. It was then that we made the spontaneous decision to go for a forest trek. This alluring sign caused us to alter our itinerary for a lovely trek through the forest.  The air was pristine; peppered with the fresh scent of crisp leaves. The chirping of birds resounded through the air; almost like a choreographed orchestra. And we almost felt like we were walking in the scene from a Korean drama. Our son Z sets off on foot as eager as always. So proud that he walked on his...