Here are a few reasons why the iPad really works for my family (not just my husband):

• There are some truly educational games that benefit learning.  We’ve found some games that help promote learning letters (teach and help the child trace and write letters), memory, animals, shapes, coloring activities - whatever - it’s probably out there.  And there are more and more development of these types of educational games available everyday.
• Watch movies and television series.  We’ve put “Ni Hao Kai Lan” and “Dora The Explorer” as 25 minute segments on the iPad and brought it out with us.  It’s especially useful when dinner time is over and as adults, you want to linger to talk - pull out the iPad and you can have 25 minutes of down time.  I find this is effective because I limit the amount of television viewing to my kids (about 30-60 minutes a day - MAX).  So every time the iPad comes out, it’s a treat, not a habit.
• They are the technology and gadget generation.  There is no doubt that as they get older, especially into high school or university, there will be a computer with them during their studies.  Gee, I was lucky to have a computer at University in my dorm, but the technology is so commonplace these days - that the exposure is inevitable.  I’m just starting mine a bit earlier.
• My budding scientists get a start of physics.  Any chance I get, I try to explain some sort of scientific or cool fact to my kids.  One such game is through “Angry Birds”.  It teaches people (indirectly) the beauty of physics (force, velocity and angles) through the launching of angry birds at targets.  It’s actually quite fun, addictive and a great learning tool for my kids.  Not sure how much they are absorbing, but it’s a start.
• 10 hour battery life.  An excellent and must have for lengthy plane rides - like my upcoming 16 hour horror to Toronto in a few days.  However, I am sure that the iPad will fulfill my highest expectations (probably the only time they will exceed their 30 minute window of television viewing).
• Portability.  Coming in at 1.5 pounds, it’s an easy carry and with the right case, you can just pack it anywhere.
• Digital stories.  And you thought pop up books were cool!  We’re reading “Alice in Wonderland” on iPad and it’s quite a story with its digital animation.  I must admit, it makes reading more interesting and lively, but nothing beats a paper book and a lively parent to tell a good story.
• Makes for a great reward.  If my children are behaving and put their dishes away or have brushed their teeth and they ask to play a few games or color on the iPad, I will usually honor their request.  Because I limit the usage of the gadget, every time they play with it, it’s a reward and a much coveted one at that.  It is also a great carrot for other things I wish to achieve (like doing homework and putting away their toys).

Anyways - iPad was available as of yesterday (at least) in Hong Kong.  So, yippeeee… doesn’t mean I will buy my own.  To me, I still need a full laptop because of some of the software required to do blogging - it’s a just another gadget right?

Here is Victoria being incredibly creative with her food.

Can you guess what it is?

Well, cereal is pretty obvious, but she’s mixing it in Chinese soup.  I’m not sure of the taste because I didn’t try it myself, but apparently for her, it’s OK because she ate it.  At first, she was eating just dry cereal and then when I came home and poured myself some soup, she also wanted soup.  Little did I know that she was going to mix them (like adding milk).

Needless to say, she thought she was “cooking” and thoroughly enjoyed herself.  I don’t stop my children from being creative, in fact, I promote it - even when it’s a sweet cereal mixed in a salty soup.  I could see how some Chinese parents would bawk and then berate their children at doing it (especially publicly in restaurants when kids do something completely out of the box), but for me, experimentation is something I would like my children to do.  As long as there is no harm in the outcome, it’s perfectly OK for me.  I kind of drew the line when she was trying to get me to try some.  Erm, no thanks.

Victoria started her first full blown official class on July 2, 2010 at Creative Kids in Taikoo Shing.  I wasn’t sure how ‘d she take it, but she did express keen interest in doing it, so we registered her for a 4 week crash course.  Of course, with Vanessa, she cried the whole time and didn’t enjoy it one bit and I think she’s got some sort of phobia because she never wants to take an art class again.

Anyways, Victoria brought home her first official work as an artist and gave it to her grandfather.  She calls it “The Ant”, and I think it’s rather creative and very cute.  More snap shots of her future work to come, but definitely a good start.  She really enjoys her class, looks animatedly forward to it and I love her work!

Check them out:

Aren’t they great?  They cost $3.99 USD each and are glossed and protected so that the image doesn’t scratch.  I originally thought of putting their picture on it, but then it will probably only last until they are older, so going quite generic (just with name and address on the back side), they can use this FOREVER!!!

It’s great for:

• school bags
• knapsacks
• luggages
• lunch bags
• jackets

Plus artscow.com has a host of images and embellishments you can put on the tags (like backgrounds and hearts and flowers and whatever you can think of, it’s pretty much there).  I love the ability to create unique and useful items - because you know practicality is my middle name right?

I didn’t realize how effective DAILY Chinese lessons are for young children.  I took Chinese classes once a week while growing up in Canada and I can say I learned the basics of writing (one, two, three, sky, cow, horse, my name).  My daughter, now 4.5 years in age takes 1 hour of Cantonese and 30 minutes of Mandarin a day at school - and she’s progressing much further than I did in my 10 years of Chinese education.

If parents (particularly expats or those living abroad) want their children to learn Chinese (beyond the level of speaking, but reading and writing), you have to make sure the exercises and activities are there EVERY single day.  The thing is that Vanessa HATES to write - and getting her to do her homework is quite a chore in itself, so I’m not pushing her outside of her usual school curriculum.

Vanessa comes home singing Mandarin songs and telling me Chinese folklore that I have never even heard of (so her father has to translate for me).  To be immersed in the culture and language so frequently is so critical to ensure the development of their language skills that I am seriously considering investing in more time (outside of school) to ensure that Chinese (Mandarin) is going to be at par with their native English skills.

Since my current path is to put them in ESF (completely English medium school), I need to continue the upkeep of their Chinese to ensure that they are still learning and progressing.  While there aren’t many Cantonese classes available in Hong Kong, there are plenty of Mandarin classes and hiring a private tutor for the writing is not a bad idea.  I have a colleague who grew up in the states, but can read and write Chinese.  This is because her father invested heavily in her Chinese education while growing up.  This is not to say that they can’t learn it when they get older, but I’d rather they have the foundation early instead of developing an interest and then learning (because that may never happen).

Vanessa can now read words such as:  Today, cat, dog, horse, sand, ocean, sky, fire, tummy… the list goes on and on.  I even question whether her reading is right or not, so I check and of course, it is!  So yah, the doubt is probably in my ability rather than hers.  I guess I’ll just have to get her to teach me.

Anyways, I’m super proud of her writing in Chinese (something I could never wholly accomplish) and her ability to read.  It’s so incredible how children can absorb a variety of languages, so I’m thinking about putting her in some recreational Spanish classes in the neighborhood.  Hey, she’s already learned some basics from Dora, so why not continue it and see where it goes?

My sister’s family caught 7 ants in total - 6 of 1 species and 1 of another species (inadvertently a mistake).  In the end, the 6 ants of the same species attacked and killed the left out species (a very typical behavior in the varying species of ants) and he was left to rot and turned into a cloud of “puff” - literally, white fluff of some sort surrounding the body.   The one great success was that 1 of the ants did manage to dig a tunnel of 2 inches deep before they all died (for some unknown reason).

My family’s ant experiment was far from spectacular.  There was literally no action for about the entire 30 days of the lifespan of this farm.  We only managed to secure 3 lively ants of the same species (quite small I must say - so small that they were able to fit through the cover of the farm - where there are 2 little holes for air made).  Anyways, after 30 days of incubation and careful observation, here’s what we discovered:

• These ants didn’t tunnel
• They only nibbled at the edges of of the gel
• They are often wandering around the top of the ant farm (I’m pretty sure they realize the holes are there - but we’ve only sealed them up)
• They didn’t interact with each other (like normal ants do)
• They must have been going crazy because of their captivity

Sadly to say, one of them curled up in a corner and died.  And that’s the end of our ant experiment.  Please see exhibits A-D for your reference.  See, not much activity right?  And after a few days, my kids got bored and it was only ME who was interested in what was going on.

In conclusion, the ants and the ant farm did not meet our expectations.  I’m not sure whether the type of facility (the ant farm and it’s bright blue jelly) are an ideal environment for raising and learning about ants.  The intention of the product is great and worthy, but it didn’t produce results (for 2 families).  You know, if it were just me, I might just say it’s me and my lack of ability to properly raise ants, but my sisters’ ant farm too?  Hmm… makes you kind of suspicious.  Anyways, a nice try - but maybe we’ll try fish next time.

Day 5 - Ants are busy exploring, minimal digging activity

Day 30 - 1 dead ant and minimal digging activity - game over.

Anyhow, just want to share some of my research and discussion with friends on what is great for kids.  Keep in mind that this post is for kids within the range of 2-4 year old (as that is how old my kids are).

Ballet

Vanessa will continue with her ballet lessons as started throughout the regular school year, however in the summer, their program is a little more condensed (a few times a week vs once a week).  Vanessa will be attending the Vivian Kwok School of Ballet and the cost is $1200 for 10 classes.  Not bad, $120 per 45 minutes of lesson.  They have a variety of age range groups appropriate for any toddler.

Piano

Again, like her regular curriculum, she will continue piano.  She is doing a session for toddlers (with accompaniment) that runs once a week at Tom Lee’s in TKS (Taikoo Shing).  They provide workbooks and stickers and really make it a diverse class that teach rhythm and the basics of music.  Since she has advanced from the beginning session, she is now learning “DO RE ME” and recognizing the little “tadpoles” she calls them - which are music notes.  The small progression is wonderful and her appreciation for music is only the beginning.

Swimming

Another non-optional activity - erm, maybe I should say skill?  Anyways, Vanessa has been swimming and will continue to swim at Stanford Swim School located at the nearby Korean International School.  The lessons are around $100 per class and if you enrol now until end of the year, they GIVE YOU the summer course FOR FREE!  The sessions start at 8:30 AM and run pretty late (I think the last session is 7:30 PM) in the summer and on weekends.  It’s pretty good in terms of teaching style and methods, although at some times, the pool can be pretty crowded.  Vanessa has progressed quite well in this environment and is now able to swim about 1 m by herself.  She is definitely able to swim with a flutter board and has no fear of submerging her head or diving for lost treasure.  The only thing that I will say that is missing is that they don’t teach kids how to float or tread water - the basics of self survival.  But then again, it is a “swimming” class and it is very focused on doing lengths.

Cooking class

Something a little different for tots - cooking!  Although a bit far from where I live, it’s something to consider.  The YWCA offers a variety of courses and such one course is a Kids Can Cook course.  The course is $2200 for 8 classes and the kids learn to make stuff like “Bug Juice” and “Purple Jelly”.

Art Classes for Kids

Art classes are great - especially if the kids can get messy OUTSIDE of the home!  Creative Kids (again in Taikoo Shing) offer a wide range of classes for different age groups.  I wanted to keep my 2 kids together (2.5 and 4.5) and they were able to let me put the older one with the younger one.  What’s great about their programs is that you don’t have to commit a whole summer, you can just commit to 4 lessons (once a week) at a cost of $840 HKD / 4 classes and each block of class focus on a specific topic.  Plus, the kids get to take home what they made, so sense of accomplishment.

Summer School

Structured summer classes for your kids.  My sister found a great one called Little Academy which is offering a course called Super Tots Summer Programme - We Love Our Earth.  It is full English course with 8 weeks of “Green” teachings.  The class is offered to children from 2.5 - 6 years of age (not sure how they will handle the wide range of age groups), but it sounds interesting.  The course is full-time (5 days a week) and if you do all 8 weeks, that’ll cost you a whopping $15,200 HKD!

Putonghua

Since Vanessa attends an international school, she needs to be supplemented with Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin - whatever is fine).  And since I have plan to send her to ESF, she might as well get used to being drilled in Chinese because being monolingual is a definite disadvantage in Asia (I would know!).  So they are offering Putonghua at Jack&Jill Treehouse - minimum commitment is 6 lessons over a period between July 17, 2010 - August 20, 2010.  The cost for 6 classes is $2160 for 2.5 hours a session of straight up Mandarin and each class is independent of the other so you can mix and match classes according to your schedule.  They also offer English classes with this arrangement for Pre-K kids.

I will update with more as I come across them, but you’re welcome to share what you’ve discovered in and around Hong Kong as well.

So a continued thank you to our supporters and readers and many thanks for your words of appreciation and advice.  It has been a wonderful and fruitful journey, but will share more later on the other opportunities that TheChineseSoupLady.com is exploring.  Check us out on June 9, 2010!

Thanks,

Lisa

So here are my ideas thus far for toddlers aged 2-4, this is why the list does not have complex arts and crafts because my children aren’t there yet.  Enjoy and recommendations welcome!

Make Mobiles

Materials needed: Paper, scissors, string, markers, others (sparkles, whatever you can think of)

This type of arts and craft for toddlers is very versatile.  You can hang as many as you like, in whatever shape or color.  You can consider doing a web of mobiles across the ceiling for a more complex and lengthy activity.  Children love to cut and rip and tape things, so this is a great outlet for their imagination.

Pasta or Macaroni Creations

Materials:  Pastas (macaroni, shells, spaghetti, twirly pasta etc) or rice, washable glue, paper

Readily available materials at home like pasta and spaghetti can yield plenty of play time.  Use washable white glue and let them design, create, and build whatever picture or structure they want.  This is a fantastic activity for motor skill development and it’s economical.

Origami

Materials:  Paper

One of the most economical activities for arts and crafts for toddlers.  All you need is paper and the “know-how” (which is so readily available on youtube and the internet these days).  Pick some easy ones to fold with your toddler (like boats and airplanes) and maybe even consider doing a farm for them.  I’ve seen some crazy origami while doing this activity with Vanessa.  People can fold people and animals and even things that move!

Boxes

Materials:  Paper boxes, cartons, packing boxes & materials for decoration (tape, markers, etc)

Children can do many things with empty boxes.  Shoe boxes and packing boxes are great.  My kids have made houses and cars and will mark up the boxes as they please.  Plenty of fun and it definitely occupies their time.  Milk cartons are also great for this arena, just make sure you empty it and wash it.

Straws, Toothpick and/or Aluminum Foil Architects

Materials:  Straws, toothpicks, aluminum foil, washable glue, paper

Similar to the macaroni and pasta activity, but with different materials.  Take caution with smaller children when using toothpicks.  Straws are great though, as you can buy different lengths, colors and sizes and they will love the aluminum foil.  This material is GREAT as it is it versatile and easy to use.

Hats

Materials:  Paper, washable glue & materials for decorating

Kids love to personalize something they can wear.  My daughters (both of them) love to wear what they make and hats are no exception.  The simplest type of hat is to just roll the paper like a cone and tape or glue it down.  They can decorate as they see fit with markers or even sparkles and paints (there is no limit) and can make as many as they please.

For those who aren’t familiar with the background, read my earlier post on Bianca.

May 28 is her official birthday so I wanted to share these photos in memory of her.  The great thing about this girl is that she could make even a rock laugh.  Her spirit and larger than life attitude shown through in her personality and in photos and some of these were just too good to pass up.

Enjoy.