Parenting Times

Exams Are Over

2013-05-17T07:26:00.002+08:00

The childrens' mid year exams are finally coming to an end. Yes! We're gonna pig out, laze about, watch movies, sleep in, read books, play games and more. Then in 3 months time, we repeat the grind.

My girl has exams 4 times a year, my boy just 2. I think twice a year is much better. 4 times a year is too much. Exams are usually over 1 week with 2-4 papers a day. Yesterday she had to sit for 4 papers. How tiring.

Its time for the kids and mom to get a well deserved break. Yahoo!

What To Do When Your Parenting Style And Values Differ

2013-05-16T07:25:00.000+08:00

Children are the glue to many relationships but like it or not, they are also the source of many problems. This is the case when your parenting styles and values differ. When you are dating, especially if you are younger at the time, you very rarely discuss parenting styles, do you?

Things like breastfeeding, feeding, toilet training, education and how you would handle them are never put to the test until you actually experience them. Then your true values, parenting styles which usually come from your own background and upbringing start to show. Then the problem starts.

So how do you handle these problems? What do you do when your parenting style and values differ?

The Negative Way: If we can't work as a team (if you don't do things MY way), then we will always be arguing over this all our lives and we will both never get to bring up the kids the way we want and the kids will lose out too.

The Positive Way: With both our different styles and our mutual love for the kids, we can provide a balanced environment for the children and they will benefit from the best of both worlds.

Teachers - The Good, The Bad And The Ones I Remember

2013-05-15T08:24:00.002+08:00

The other day as I was shopping I saw some promotion for Teacher's Day gifts. I hadn't realised that Teacher's Day was just around the corner. In Malaysia, Teacher's Day is celebrated on May 16. Teacher's Day is celebrated on different days for different countries. The schools usually celebrate it according to their own schedule around this date. This year my kids told me that the head of the school had informed the students that they had received directive that celebration for Teacher's Day cannot be so elaborate. The kids were disappointed. "We have to go back to class after some performances by the students to continue with our lessons as usual. There will be no party."

That reminds me of the time when I was a student. I was just an average student, quiet and not noticed by the teachers. So none of the teachers made an impact on me either since I was not a teacher's pet. So I do not remember many teachers, certainly not their names but some faces do stand out.

Like the one who jeered and called me "Butter Fingers!" when I couldn't catch the ball during PE. I also remember the one who sighed and said "Both your sisters art are so good but look at yours.... I don't know how or why.....blah blah blah" followed by another sigh. Oh and I definitely remember the headmistress who shouted at us to smile when we were singing in the choir. How could we smile when she wasn't? She was also the one who called me up including others and cut my hair without warning, just because the pins that was holding my fringe up had fallen off. How humiliating.

Then I remember the one who taught us sewing for home science. She shared her love for cross stitch with us and taught me a lifelong skill, love and hobby. Thanks to her I have many pretty cross stitch pictures hanging in my house today. Here is my cross stitch gallery on Squidoo. She didn't have to do that. She could have just followed the syllabus (sewing boring aprons etc which we did) but she went above that and got us pretty things to sew and we all loved it.

I remember the kind and calm one who couldn't quite control the naughty boys in Form Four. Then there was the almost retired Math teacher who always wore white and who was funny. I also remember the law lecturer who loved to teach using mnemonics. We used to pass notes around to each other during his class.

Teachers and memories. I realize from this memory trip that bad things stay fresh in my mind. I can remember the exact look of that teacher who called me "Butter Fingers", her curly hair and big round eyes and how they stared at me in disgust.

As a teacher now myself to my own kids, I should remember to look at the big picture and try to make the memories good instead of bad. I certainly don't want them to remember the bad moments for life!

How To Teach Children

2013-05-14T17:19:00.001+08:00

I'm a disorganized person and this makes a lousy teacher. I find it so hard to teach the children.

Sometimes as I talk on and on, my son would be playing with his stationeries as I go on and then he would complain that he is hungry and then.... the list goes on.

Then I read somewhere that to make lessons interesting for children, there are more ways than one to teach. One way is to ask them to become the teacher. This makes them think and they will also enjoy playing pretend teacher.

So I tried it on the boy. I told him that he was going to be the teacher for the day and he said "Don't want like that lah." but afterwards he warmed up to the task. Before long, he was enjoying himself and really into it. After I wanted to strike off one topic as "learned", he said "No, you haven't done the exercises yet and proceeded to give me some exercises.

Then I told him that I was going to make some tea for him and he said "No, I'm busy. The teacher is very busy." I told him that he can prepare notes for his next lesson like I always do and he said okay. When I came back with his tea, I found this.

He had taken the trouble to find out all the Chinese words he needed to learn, then he looked the meaning up in the dictionary, drew a chart and told me these were for his last minute revision in class.

I must find even more innovative ways to teach children. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share.

Is Your Child Getting Enough Sleep?

2013-05-14T11:12:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, my son told me that one of his classmates fell asleep during a test. His teacher and several classmates had to wake him up.

Of course the children found it very amusing but it really isn't a laughing matter. The question that begs to be asked is... "Is Your Child Getting Enough Sleep?"

Many of the kids in school today have a long day. Those in the morning session start school at 7.45am. at least an hour before the adults start work. Some of them stay back in school for activities till 3 or 4 pm. Then they are driven to a child care centre till mum or dad comes to pick them up at 6 or 7 pm.

Some of them are sent to tuition centres AFTER dinner. These tuition centres operate till as late as 10pm or maybe even later with classes for children as young as 7 for those hours. Some tuition centres offer classes for Std 1 kids from 8.30 to 9.45 pm. How can these kids have time to unwind before going to bed? What time will they eventually fall asleep?

According to my children, most of their classmates go to bed at 10 or 11 pm. It is no wonder that they have trouble getting up in the morning. Some of them continue their sleep in the car or busses on the way to school and sleep at their desks while waiting for class to start and sometimes during lessons and in this case during a test. School going children aged 5-12 still need around 10-11 hours of sleep. Are our children getting enough sleep?

How To Teach Kids To Study

2013-05-13T07:46:00.001+08:00

I used to sit with my girl to study but now that she is older, I don't do that anymore. I just tell her to do her revision for her exams, that is all.

The problem is, the only thing she seems to be studying all the time is her Chinese subject. I have a headache in trying to teach her how to study.

It would be a lot simpler if she had a lot of time but her homework schedule is very tight, there is hardly time left for any self study or revision.

I can't teach her to draw a schedule for her revision because she doesn't have time for it! We do not send the kids for any other activities apart from piano and whenever the school exams are near, we cut down piano time. So, her tight schedule comes 100 percent from her daily school homework.

I am really at a loss on how to teach the kids to study.

Solitude

2013-05-10T07:32:00.002+08:00

I love my family but sometimes in the morning, after everyone leaves for school and work, I heave a sigh of relief.

I treasure whatever little time I have for me. I enjoy the time I can take to walk to the nearby shops to buy breakfast on Sundays. I never used to enjoy walking that much before, always parking at the nearest place to my destination but now I enjoy walking alone.

I enjoy having showers because it means I can be alone for a while but sometimes even that gets interrupted by people walking in and out asking me for things and talking to me.

I love the mornings when I am alone to enjoy my own company doing the things I love WITHOUT interruption.

I treasure my solitude. Do you? Do you enjoy your own company?

Exam Season And Exam Fever

2013-05-09T10:00:00.000+08:00

The mid term tests are here again. Study, study, study. That includes kids AND mum.

My girl who is doing the KBSR syllabus has tests 4 times a year, my boy who is doing the KSSR syllabus has tests 2 times a year. I hate exam season and exam fever more than them.

I didn't think it would be this way. I used to smirk at the thought of mothers who feel more stressed up than their kids during exam season. Now, I am one of those mothers!

I feel a lot of pressure from my spouse. He expects the kids to do their best and to be their best and he expects me to teach them and to help bring the best out of them from the limited time we have. Of course he is not all talk. He helps out a lot. After a hard days work, he will teach the kids as well.

However, the bulk of the teaching and homework as well as project help has to come from me. We do not send the kids for any tuition class. We are a one income family so we do not have excess funds to send them to private school for their education. Therefore we have to rely on public school. So it is Chinese school for the kids in their primary years. We do not speak or read Chinese ourselves and I find it difficult to continue to learn and teach Chinese beyond Std 3 and Std 4. Not being able to help and support them is a minus point so we do not plan to have them continue their Chinese education in Secondary school. It is also too tough and we want them to broaden their horizons and improve in their other languages.

That leaves Kebangsaan school and how many good schools are there? Only a few and competition is fierce to get into them. Why do we want to join the competition? Because we are worried about uncommitted teachers and lack of discipline in some of the schools. Because we have been to a good school with very committed teachers with little disciplinary problems, no bullying or worse still, gangsterism. The bar of excellence has been set high for us in our current school, it would be harder to settle for less. Although we pay a small sum in the form of once or twice a year donation (certainly not anywhere near what one has to pay for a private school), we can see things moving, there is always some improvement in one area or another.

The spouse continually reminds me of this and the pressure to perform is always there. The pressure for mom to get the kids to perform. If the decision is left to me alone, I would probably just let the kids go to the nearest school there is and drop the pressure to perform but I am part of a team so the decision is not mine alone.

So now the exam season is here and I am gripped by the exam fever. I am tensed and stressed. I have become one of those mothers I once smirked at.

Trolley Bags Or Backpack?

2013-05-09T07:47:00.000+08:00

When the kids first started schooling, we took some time to decide which types of bags (trolley bags or backpacks) to get them because we knew whichever bag we chose would be loaded with books. Finally we decided on trolley bags for both of them. Fortunately, they were on the ground floor for two years.

In the third year, they moved upstairs and continued to drag their trolley bag up and down the stairs because they preferred it that way. They didn't mind dragging the bags up and down the stairs as long as they could roll it when they were on the ground floor as it was a distance from the stairs to the school lobby. So, their bags went thump, thump, thump as they dragged it up and down the stairs. I don't know how they did it.

However, the books and workbooks kept on increasing and finally, they had to resort to carrying another hand carry bag, usually a recycle bag. Soon, that recycle bag was filled to the brim especially my girl's as she is one diligent kid who likes to have her books around her so she won't miss any homework. So, we got her a backpack and she ended up carrying a backpack AND a trolley bag. On days when she has activities like art, she would take out her recycle bag to put her art stuff. So she had her backpack, her trolley bag AND a recycle bag.

Recently we got them new backpacks and proper hand carry bags instead of the flimsy recycle bags. We didn't realize that the backpack was too big for my boy, so on the first day he carried it, it slipped off his shoulders and stayed strapped onto his waist! Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident. He only had to put up with some laughter from other children and the teachers around him because he looked so strange carrying a backpack that was strapped to his waist.

Now both of my kids carry two bags to school and both bags are just as heavy. Trolley Bags or Backpack? Heck, they need both!

What Is Digraf And Konsonan Berganding

2013-04-19T08:53:00.001+08:00

So what is Digraf and Konsonan Berganding? Both are words that contain two consonants (not a e i o u which are vowels) side by side, one after the other, within the word.

Both are words with two consonants beside each other so how do you differentiate one from the other. How is Digraf different from Konsonan Berganding or Konsonan Bergabung? In fact there are some which do not differentiate the two but rather present them under the same heading adding to the confusion for student, parents including some teachers. Others differentiate them as follows:

There are only 5 consonant combinations for words classified as Digraf. They are: ng, ny, sy, kh and gh.

Examples of Digraf: bunga, nyamuk, syarat, khas, ghairah

Other consonant combinations give you Konsonan Berganding.

Examples of Konsonan Berganding include: stem, trak, aiskrim, drama and more.

Related Posts:

What Is Diftong And Vokal Berganding

More Digraf examples can be found here.

Digraf from Yap Choon Heong

Here is a further explanation about Diftong, Vokal Berganding, Digraf and Konsonan Berganding.

Diftong, digraf, vokal berganding, konsonan bergabung from Cpf Chong

What Is Diftong And Vokal Berganding

2013-04-18T11:44:00.002+08:00

How do you teach your child something you do not understand yourself? Hmm.... you have to learn it of course.

My boy is in Std 3 and his Bahasa Malaysia syllabus include diftong, vokal berganding, digraf, konsonan berganding or bergabung or whatever those are. I didn't have to teach my girl, his older sister, that so that was fine.

I was first faced with this diftong and vokal berganding term the first time when my boy was in Std 1 or Std 2, I don't remember which year. I didn't understand it then. We just went through the books and memorised the words given that were supposed to be diftong or vokal berganding words. Naturally, when you memorize something without understanding, you forget, the next year and the next when you are faced with it again.

So, this year, I made an effort to "study" harder and finally we got it.

Both Diftong and Vokal Berganding are words that have the vowels "a e i o u" in them but how do you differentiate the two?

For example, the words "daun" and "wau" both have "au" (two vowels in them) so they are either diftong or vokal berganding. So which is which? Which one of the words is classified as diftong and which one vokal berganding?

The difference between the two comes in the form of pronunciation or the way you read the words. Words that have one syllable sound or satu sukukata when you read, are diftong and words with two syllable or dua sukukata are vokal berganding. So, do you know which is diftong and which is vokal berganding? Tell me in the comments. Or are you more confused now?

Try other words: tuan, koi, buah, tupai, gua, pulau, air, and more. Do you know which words are diftong and which words vokal berganding? Scroll down for the answer.

.... and I thought KSSR was easier....

The study of phonics is supposed to help children read but I think I have got it backwards instead. I read so that I can identify the phonics.

Here's more Diftong and Vokal Berganding Practise for the kids, the moms and the educators who are all a confused lot.

Perkataan diftong dan vokal berganding from Ooi Cad Li

Answer to above question: koi, tupai and pulau are Diftong. The others are Vokal Berganding. Did you guess correctly?

Related Post:

What Is Digraf And Konsonan Berganding

What To Do If Your Blog Post Is Copied By A Blogger Blog

2013-03-22T16:02:00.000+08:00

Recently my blog posts were copied again. In the past my blog post had been taken by another blogger as her own. That was the most creepy because the person took my personal posts and pretended they were her own. It is one thing for someone to copy another person's blog post for financial gain but to copy personal posts and pretend you are that blogger is downright creepy.

Anyway, in the past my blog has been copied lock, stock and barrel before too. This means that my entire blog was duplicated. I found out because someone wrote to me to ask if I had a mirror blog. At that time, I didn't know what to do. Someone thought me to change my blog images to show that you are aware that your blog posts are being copied. For example the blog is copying yours is called Parenting ABC. So all you have to do is include an image that says "Parenting ABC is copying the blog posts of ......" or "What you see on Parenting ABC blog has been copied from..." and that image will be picked up by Parenting ABC blog and displayed on that blog. If you're lucky they may take down the blog but usually that is not the case.

Anyway, these days, the plagiarizers are doing it differently. They will not make a duplicate copy of another blog. On the other hand, they will copy the blog posts from several bloggers and display it as their own. You can usually spot these kinds of blogs easily. There will be no email or contact information on the blog. However, there will be lots of ads. In fact, the blog will be filled with ads because the purpose of copying your blog post is to make financial gain from ads.

Well, recently I found my blog posts copied along with those from several other bloggers. This time I decided to take more proactive action. You can do the same too.

This is what to do when your blog post is being copied (if the copied posts are hosted on Blogger)

Report the abuse to Google Adsense using this form.
Make a complaint to Blogger using this form.

The first report of abuse is useful because you can cut off the financial gain from adsense which is what the plagiarizer is trying to do.

The second complaint is useful because Blogger takes a serious view and do take a look at the complaints sent in using the form. I know because I submitted a complaint and it was acted upon within 24 hours. Within 24 hours I received a reply from Blogger and the blog posts were removed within 24 hours too.

You can use the same form for multiple abuse showing your blog posts that had been copied one url at a time. That is what I did for all the 65 posts of mine that were copied from here.

In addition, I did a simple check (by doing a google search) to find out which other Bloggers posts had been copied on that blog. That is very simple. I know that the posts published there were not original. All I had to do was take a few sentences and do a google search and I found the original Bloggers. I contacted them and urged them to make a report too. Blogger will remove the offending page that had been copied if you make a complain but they will not take down the blog immediately. However, if they receive multiple complaints, that blog will be classified as a repeated offender and eventually the blog will be taken down which was what happened after the other Bloggers sent in their complaints too. The more complaints received, the "bigger" your voice and the more seriously your report will be looked into.

It took me many hours to write to those other Bloggers as well as to submit my complain for the 65 pages of content that had been plagiarized from this blog. However, it was necessary to do it. I can't allow someone else to gain illegally from my hard work. Besides, your blog will also suffer if duplicated content is found through no fault of your own.

To find out whether your blog posts have been copied you can use Copyscape the plagiarism checker or you can do what I did. Just take a few sentences from your blog post and do a google search and it will turn up any duplicate pages.

Image Credit: The above No Copying Sign was generated from here.

Kids First World Atlas

2013-03-21T16:53:00.001+08:00

Recently I spotted this Kids First World Atlas at the Kids Reference Section in the bookshop. I love it. Besides showing the World Map, the terrains and boundaries of the Countries of the World and their flags, the kids atlas also shows the animals, foods, sports and more on the separate world maps on each page plus some interesting facts.

It is an excellent Atlas that can be read to or with the kids and to answer their questions about the world. I love it. Besides the Collins My First World Atlas, we also got the kids the Collins My First Book of The Human Body and the Collins My First Book Of The Solar System.

We have only just started reading the Kids First Atlas. I wonder when we will have time to read the rest of the books in between homework. Fortunately the school holidays are just around the corner.

Tip: Did you know that an Atlas can be read to the kids just like a story book while you talk about the world, its people, famous buildings, foods, sports and more to the kids. An Atlas can be read to the kids like a bedtime story and before naps.

Amazon.com Widgets

Google Reader Alternative For Reading Blogs And News

2013-03-20T11:35:00.002+08:00

I'm sure by now that everyone who has been using Google Reader will know that Google Reader is being retired on July 1, 2013. That is sad news indeed for me. iGoogle is also being retired and that's sad too. I love both platforms and use them daily. Now, I can't use my Google Reader to read my favorite blogs and catch up with news anymore.

Google Reader used to make reading blog updates so easy. I had it on my personalized iGoogle page. I don't even open up my Google Reader as I look at it from my iGoogle which is also being retired later this year. I receive new updates on quick clickable links to blog post titles or news headings.

Google Reader Links To Blog Posts

Clicking on the link brings up a pop-up to read the blog content. If I want to leave a comment, then I click on the content to go to the Blogger's page.

Google Reader Pop-Up Content of Blog Post

Now, that Google Reader is being retired, I have to search for an alternative fast. I've decided to try Feedly. I've downloaded Feedly on my Chrome, iPad and Android phone. It was easy to download and it uses data from my Google Reader seamlessly. I don't have to sign up or do anything else further .... accept to authorize it to get my data. Yup! I'm leaving more and more trails on the net.

Anyway, transition is easy and for a time strapped person, that is a joy. I hope they don't start charging later on. Here is where you can get all the links to transition from Google Reader to Feedly alternative including Feedly for your iPhones and iPads, Feedly for your Android phones and Feedly for your various browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Safari. You can use Feedly as an alternative to Google Reader for all your devices including iOS and Android devices plus your desktop computers.

Here is a peek at the Feedly from my Chrome. You have a choice of reading your feeds in Magazine or Card Format, just the titles or full articles etc. It is a good enough substitute or replacement for my Google Reader for the time being as I don't have time to search for other alternatives.

Feedly Links To Blog Posts

Pardon the quality of the images. I didn't have time to do a Screenshot, so I just took photos of the pages using my phone and then I BUMPed them to my computer using the BUMP file and photo transfer app. You can read up how to do that here on my post on How To Quickly And Easily Transfer Your Photos From Your Phone To Your Computer.

Can you spot your own blog post in my Reader? If you see my own post in my Reader, it is because I subscribe to it too. I read somewhere that it will help the search engines to crawl your site faster. I'm not sure how much it helps or if it really helps but it only takes seconds to subscribe to your own site. So why not?

Doing Homework

2013-03-15T08:32:00.000+08:00

The other day when I was cleaning my son's desk, I found a strange creature.

It had saucer like eyes with an antenna or a nose that looked like springs. It had only one leg. Its body was rectangular and its one leg was cylinder shaped. It rattled when you shook it. It was translucent but it also had tinges of yellow and blue on its body and one leg.

Here, let me show you what it looks like.

That was what my boy was doing when he was supposed to be doing his homework. He had glued his torchlight toy tops onto two of his mechanical pencil lead box. Glued a mechanical pencil spring onto the lead box, stuck his pencil into a glue stick, then used tape to tape them all together.

That is what it always does when he is supposed to be doing his homework ie... play with his stationery. All the guilty party can say is "I'm very creative, mum"

Toilet Paper Roll Animal Cat or Tiger

2013-03-01T10:59:00.003+08:00

Making Toilet Paper Roll Animals is super easy, fun and quick.

Here's a quick and easy toilet paper roll cat you can make as a fast craft with bored kids.

What you will need for your toilet paper roll cat or tiger:

1. Toilet paper roll
2. Googly Eyes
3. Marker Pen
4. Construction Paper
5. Pipe Cleaners
6. Glue Stick
7. Tape or Staples

Here are the instructions on how to make your toilet paper roll animal cat or tiger:

1. Wrap the toilet paper roll with construction paper and glue (Tip: Push the access paper into the insides of the tube)
2. Glue in the googly eyes or stick them on if you have the sticker type. Alternatively, you can use black paper on white if you don't have googly eyes)
3. Draw in the face.
4. Bend the pipe cleaners to shape to make ears, paws and a tail then staple them in position. (My picture is minus the paws because I forgot to put them on!)

Taddaa! Enjoy. I think our toilet paper roll cat looks rather like a cross between a cat, a tiger and a lion. Maybe you can do better.

We also did a toilet paper roll peacock but I forgot to take a picture of that. What a pity.

Year Of The Snake Coloring Pages

2013-01-18T18:01:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year is coming soon. This year, 2013 heralds the Year of The Snake in the Chinese Zodiac calendar. Though snake are often depicted as slippery, sneaky, slimy creatures in cartoons and such and little children may be afraid of them, now is the time to teach them a little about snakes in a fun way. Get them coloring in these cute Year of the Snake Coloring pages with snakes that are too cute to scare. Here are a few of my favorites.

My top favorite Year of the Snake coloring pages come from Childbook.com which has a whole page on Chinese New Year Coloring Pages And Graphics.

I love love love all the Chinese New Year coloring pages here. If your child loves coloring do check out this page for the lovely Chinese New Year coloring pages including the snake zodiac coloring page.

There are plenty of other Chinese New Year graphics to color here. Do check it out. It is really nice.

Next on my favorite list of Year of the Snake coloring pages is the Chinese Zodiac Coloring Page from OnColoring.com.

You can get your child to color his own zodiac animal sign plus the Year of the Snake page. This will be a fun activity for siblings to do.

Don't know what is your child's Chinese Zodiac sign? It's easy, you can check it out using this Chinese Astrology Animal Sign checker.

My third favorite Year of the Snake Coloring Page is from Activity Village.

What I like about the snake coloring page here is they actually have the words "Year of the Snake" on the coloring page itself. This makes it an excellent Chinese New Year coloring activity for a child.

Finally, I like this Snake Coloring Page from Coloring-Pictures.net.

There is only one snake to color on this page but I like the Snake's Chinese New Year Outfit.

Get your child to color the Snake's Chinese style clothing in bright red and gold and use it to decorate your home with this Chinese New Year.

Then it can serve a dual purpose. It is a craft or activity plus a Chinese New Year Decoration. Make several of these and paste them in the play room for a fun Year of the Snake decor.

There are plenty more Snake Coloring pages but I am only featuring these few because I like them the best. I think the snakes look adorable and they are suitable as a Chinese New Year activity compared to some of the other more scary or boring looking snakes for kids to color. These snakes are not scary. They're just cute and kids will enjoy coloring them.

Have fun and Happy Year Of The Snake 2013.

Blogger Blog Deleted By Blogger

2013-01-18T08:19:00.000+08:00

This blog was deleted by Blogger in December 2012. There was no warning, nothing. One day, I opened up my dashboard and my blog was gone. That was it. I have 4 other blogs, they were all there but this one said "deleted". It had been caught by Blogger's auto spam bot which decided that the blog was spam. I also received this in my email.

Hello, Your blog at http://mumsgather.blogspot.com/ has been reviewed and confirmed as in violation of our Terms of Service for: SPAM. In accordance to these terms, we've removed the blog and the URL is no longer accessible. For more information, please review the following resources: Blogger Terms of Service: http://blogger.com/terms.gBlogger Content Policy: http://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy -The Blogger Team

All of my blog posts since 2004 was not only inaccessible to the readers, in addition I was locked out of my own blog. There was nothing there. I could not save my own posts into my own hard drive for example. Don't panic. Don't panic.

If your blog was deleted by Blogger, you will find a "restore" or "Request Unlock Review" button. The "restore" button does not restore your blog immediately. What it does is to send it in queue for a spam review by an actual person. It is stated that it will take 2-3 days. You will also see a message that says "If we do not hear from you within 20 days, your blog will be permanently deleted." So you had better hit that restore button quick and do check back to see that it is still under review. I found that mine disappeared after the first time I requested for an unlock review and I had that "your blog will be permanently deleted within 20 days message" back on.

To speed up the manual review process, you can post on the Google Groups Forum. You can do this 24-48 hours after you have hit the "restore" button. You can check out my posting on the Google Groups Forum here.

1. Parenting Blog Deleted By Blogger. Would Like To Have It Restored Soon

2. My Parenting Blog Has Been Deleted Again After Being Restored For Less Than A Week

Yes, that is right. I posted twice because after posting and going through the process of getting my blog restored, it was deleted again! I had to wait 3 weeks to get it restored the second time. Unfortunately for me, it was the year end holiday season so there was no one to manually review my blog for me.

Tip: When posting in the Google Groups Forum, do start a new thread. DO NOT post on somebody else's thread or on an old thread.

When stating your problem, remember to give the following information...

Name of your blog
Url of your blog
Date you received the email about the deletion of your blog by Blogger
Date you submitted the Request Unlock Review Form on your Dashboard
The nature and background of your blog

This will make it easier for people to help you. You will be asked to read the guidelines and state that your blog is not spam before it is directed to Blogger for an appeal. Read the two links I provided above. They will give you a much better idea of the process. Read any links within those posts as well. They are all very helpful and will give you a general idea of the entire process. Good luck.

Next: How to back up your Blogger blog quickly and easily.

Household Duties For The Kids

2013-01-17T16:56:00.001+08:00

Now that the kids are older and the maid has left, we have started to give the kids more responsibilities in the form of household duties.

The boy is Communications Manager or WIFI Officer and that means his job is to switch the WIFI on or off whenever we are leaving the house or just stepping in. He is also the Assistant Security Officer and his job is to turn the alarm on or off when dad is not around to do it. He is also to wipe the piano whenever he sees dust on the cover. He is also the Ribena maker and his job is to make Ribena for everyone during mealtimes. He embraces this duty, naturally.

The girl is Cleanliness Officer. Her job is to put all the rubbish into one bag and bring it downstairs for mum to throw out. She also sweeps the porch with the help of her brother during weekends.

Mum is Pest Control Officer. She takes care of the lizards, cockroaches, termites and other pests in the house.

What about dad? He is simply THE BOSS who tells everyone what to do. That's what mum and the Communications Manager says. Ok, to be fair, he is also the Security Chief in the house and takes care of the alarm system and all that.

The kids love this. They love the important titles and job that comes with it and takes their job quite seriously.

My take is... better take advantage of this small window of opportunity when the kids still love to help and do the housework and teach them to do so before it is too late. At the moment they think housework is fun and they love to help. That is the time to teach the kids to do household duties from young and not later when we have to nag them to do it.

Secondary School Choices Malaysia Kuala Lumpur

2013-01-14T16:03:00.000+08:00

My girl is studying in a Chinese Primary School or Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SRJKC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is now in Std 5 in the school. In two years time we are faced with the decision on which school to send her for her secondary education. Well, at least that was what we thought but it would seem that many parents have made up their minds on that way before that.

Many of my girl's classmates know by now which school they will be going to in Secondary school. They are surprised that she still doesn't. A number of them will be continuing their Chinese School education in Secondary school. That option is not for us. Six years is enough, I think. Some have planned to go to the numerous private schools in Kuala Lumpur or the Klang Valley. Some have left to join the private schools in mid primary. They couldn't stand the homework and the environment in the Chinese school.

So what do we do now? We are left with the following secondary choices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Chinese Secondary School
Public Secondary School or Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan
Private Secondary School
International School

Let's see. We will make the decision by omission. Chinese School is out because its too tough. International School is out because it is too expensive. Private School is also out because it costs a lot of money. We have to save for further education. That leaves Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan. Hmm..... So the question now is which Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan. There are plenty of Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan around. Unfortunately there aren't that many good quality Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan available.

As a result, the better schools are very hard to get into. You need very good results and connections. Sigh. So how? You tell me.

Doing Kids Homework For Them

2013-01-11T12:04:00.001+08:00

I know some parents who do their kids homework for them. Why? Most parents would not do this. Why should they? However, when the child comes home with 7-8 workbooks with 2-3 pages or more or homework in each of them and bedtime is looming, what do you do? Sometimes, you inadvertently, against your better judgement, more than help your child with their homework. You end up supplying them with the answers or doing it for them.

It's only the 2nd week of school and the homework scene has started. My girl is in Std 5 this year and the teacher reminded them that she is now preparing them for UPSR next year. Each day my girl comes home with the said 7-8 workbooks of homework. Each day, we rush her to go to bed, just like last year.

"Come on, hurry up. Put your books away. It's time to go to sleep. Stop your work now." Usually kids have to be told to do work. We tell ours to stop work! It's a crazy situation.

I admit, in the last year, I have done more than help with homework before especially when it comes to things like cutting and pasting. Sometimes the kids are given photostatted work to be cut and paste into their exercise books for doing at a later time. I have cut and pasted the worksheets for my girl so she would have more time to complete her other work especially when she is very rushed.

Knowing this, recently when the English teacher gave the children worksheets to be cut and pasted into their books, she reminded them that they should do it themselves. "Do not let your dad or mum or maid cut and paste it for you. You are to do it yourself." while one boy said "I'll get my father's worker to do it." Are these spoilt kids or overworked kids? Go figure.

First Day Back To School Rush

2013-01-03T10:52:00.001+08:00

The kids went back to school yesterday and its back to business as usual. There is no slowly easing into school. Its like climbing up a steep rock wall. One moment, you are relaxing and having a holiday and the next, you climb over this steep rock wall and you are back to business as usual.

When the kids return from school they bombarded me with stories.

"Mom, I'm sitting with so and so again this year, mom I don't want! At first no one would sit with me but then later teacher changed our places and I have to sit with him again! Yah, mom I have to sit with her again too, mom. Mom, we have replacement classes on this and this day and this and that day will be off for Chinese New Year, mom we started with homework today and teacher said she will be teaching us with great speed and teacher said why didn't you bring your exercise book, you kids think today no school? and mom shall we buy the insurance and we need to pay the fees tomorrow and here are my new books to be wrapped by Monday the latest and you have to fill up the form in this booklet on your pledge on how many hours a day you will sit and study with me and you have to sign here to decide whether what you want the school to do in case something happens to me and can we do our timetable on the computer and print it out and please we must photostat the answers from this workbook for reference because teacher will collect it soon, mom, my BM teacher is so and so, I can't remember his name but he says he is a good teacher and he is the dunno what 3rd place in all the schools and my class teacher asked us to fill up something in my communication book but I forgot to bring it so I wrote it here instead and can you sign here please, and you have to decide what periodicals we want and we need to ask dad for the money today and mom can you help me with my homework, I don't understand this and mom can you help me paste this on my book and..... " Finally mom said YOU ARE ASKING ME TO PASTE THIS! YOU ARE ASKING ME TO PASTE THIS! GO AND PASTE IT YOURSELF! (Yup bad mommy blew her top)

Then one was sent to do her homework and the other was sent to create his own timetable on the computer for printing out while mom checked the books, filled up forms, signed forms, counted money for fees, washed the school uniforms, prepared meals, marked the calendar for school holidays and school replacement days etc so she won't forget etc etc etc.

Yup! I've landed on the other side of the wall with a big bump! Time to wake up from the holiday. It is officially over. Then there is the daily washing of the school uniforms and ironing but I'm not washing shoes oh nosiree. I told the kids to wear the same shoes for the rest of the week. Smart moms have to learn how to cut corners and close one eye to 4 black shoes, yesiree.

Peek-A-Boo

2013-01-03T10:12:00.002+08:00

This blog has been playing hide and seek recently. It went MIA last month, then reappeared and 6 days later it went into hiding again for 21 days this time. Yesterday it made a reappearance. I hope it won't go MIA again anytime soon! I want to make backups this time, while I can access it but I'm too busy!

For those readers who do not know, well, this blog was caught by Blogger's Auto spam bot last month. They thought it was spam. After a request for restoration, it was restored, it happened again 6 days after restoration. I had to make a second request but with the holiday season, well it took 3 weeks to get it restored.

There was even a message which read "If we do not hear from you in 20 days, your blog will be permanently deleted! Oh no! Scary. All my thoughts and diary deleted in one swipe! That's the digital we live in today. Impermanent. In the cyber world, people can appear and reappear Poof! just like magic.

I'll share the process of how to get your blog restored if it was deleted later on. For now, I'm just glad that it is back. So, Peek-A-Boo and a very Happy New Year 2013 to you.

Cooking With Kids - Making Fried Wantons

2012-12-19T11:45:00.000+08:00

The kids love to help around the house. They especially love to help in the kitchen. Recently, I made fried wantons and got my two little helpers to help out. They enjoyed it very much. They love putting the filling into the wanton wrappers, then 'gluing' them up with the egg white 'glue' and arranging them out on the plate like a flower. It is rather like playing, only better. They get to eat up the 'toy' afterwards.

Cooking With Kids - Making Fried Wantons

Here is my girl laying out the finished wanton on a plate

All the wantons are neatly arranged onto the plates by the kids. They each had a plate but fought over the skins, the fillings etc.

Into the frying pan goes the wanton.

So many wantons for so few of us but we managed to clean out both the plates.

We used store bought wanton skins. As for the filling, we used minced chicken and chopped carrots. That was all the ingredients we had in the house at the time. Mummy forgot to add salt to the filling, so everyone had to eat the wantons with some sauce for taste.

Cooking with kids is a fun activity. We can only do this during the school holidays as during school days, the kids schedule are full ...... with homework.

Kids Role Playing

2012-12-17T10:31:00.002+08:00

The kids had fun role playing to the max at Kidzania recently. First, they got to don pilot uniforms and use a flight simulator to pretend at being pilots. Then, they got to pretend to be electrical technicians and worked with a team to repair a faulty street lamp.

Then they became investigators to investigate the case of some stolen data from a laptop, they got the clue to key in a computer and when the fingerprint was matched, they found the culprit.

They also joined a city parade and went Christmas caroling with some other kids. They sang "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" to a guitarist strumming with Santa and an Elf in the parade too.

They also got to become reporters and had to interview a bank staff about how to open a bank account and get an ATM card. They were given a real digital camera to take a photograph of the bank employee too and got to publish their news on a real newspaper and take it home. Oh yes, before they became a journalist, they went to college to study journalism so that they would get paid extra for having a degree.

This was their second trip to Kidzania. Most of the activities they selected were the ones which they get paid a salary, they didn't want to go for those others in which they had to pay to attend an activity. Finally, when they had to leave, they didn't want to buy any souvenirs with their hard earned kidzos. They banked it all in for their next trip.

"Mom, we don't want to buy those silly stuff which cost so much. We want to use it for activities the next time. It is more worth it."

I wish they had places like these when I was a kid. It is so much fun. When my girl heard that, she said they should have a Kidzania for adults too. Now, that would be interesting. I wouldn't mind 'working' in a beauty salon or jewelry shop and I want to try making an ice-cream from an ice-cream machine or making chocolates or yoghurt and...

Dad said they would be bored after one or two more trips when they have tried it all but I don't think so. There are still quite a few other activities they have not tried and they have already expressed the wish to do some of those they have tried once again.