Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

I've got shelves full of books that I have started and never finished, for all sorts of reasons. Been too busy, got too bored, or just plainly forgot I had bought them.

And so my husband was quite surprised to hear that I had bought this book - Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - and actually finished it within days of buying it, which is probably a testimony of what an interesting read it is. I just heard about it from a friend, not knowing that it apparently raised so much controversy (if you would call it that) because of the author (Amy Chua)'s extreme parenting style.

I don't intend this post to be a review or a spoiler. I just wanted to say that I (yay!) finished the book, and enjoyed it! It was an easy read and I, thought, a good one at that! While I may not subscribe to this particular parenting style, it was certainly entertaining and insightful.

Now back to my shelf to attempt to finish another book....

Sight Words and Number Charts

(And because I haven't posted in weeks, I could be here all night - catching up on posts that have been stored in my brain.)

Anyway, back to our regular programming!

Am blessed to be married to a husband who works in (and is passionate about) the education industry. He's implemented a number of ideas at home on how to get Nico started on reading and counting, particularly putting up posters of Sight Words and numbers to read daily. It's actually amazing how quickly Nico learned to count and recognize numbers up to 60, and "read" so many words. (Actually, we also used a number of other tools to get Nico familiar with words, but will save that for another post.)

One of the ways we get Nico familiar with the numbers or words on his charts is to delay gratification on his requests (in most cases, his turn at using the iPad) by telling him to go to his chart and count to 60 or read the words. It works wonders for us! I've also shared this to a friend with a toddler almost exactly the same age as Nico, and it's worked quickly for her as well :) It's time to change our charts to include numbers 61 to 70, and add to the list of words!





Sight Words or the Dolch Words List

 


Counting to 60

 

A little bit of crazy

It's been a while since my last post, so I must apologize to my invisible reader base.

The months of July through September of this year promise to be crazy hectic for us, so getting some blog time in is going to be a bit of a challenge. On top of program launches at work, a family wedding, out of town guests, a family vacation and moving out of a house - my son's nanny (yaya) has decided to leave. And so begins the hunt for a replacement - I pray I find one SOON! Thankfully, my boss is very understanding and is flexible with the work arrangements should I need to make some adjusments in schedule and location.

Now that I am on the hunt for a new nanny though, my requirements of a replacement have certainly gotten more stringent - as if it weren't hard enough looking for a nanny as is.

If only day care centers were more popular in this country!

A different perspective

Oftentimes, when I visit a toystore in search of some educational toys to get for Nico, I end up milling about the aisles for a looooong time and leaving empty handed. For the most part, I feel I am hardly able to find any not-too-complex, budget-friendly, sturdy, educational toys that would be different from those he already has. (He already has a variety of blocks, vehicles, animals, sports equipment and tools - among others.)

So on one random visit to a toystore, I was happy to spot and pick up two very basic (and cheap) pieces! I enjoyed explaining what would happen when you looked through the lenses, while Nico enjoyed looking at things (such as insects) in a different perspective!



Magnifying Lens



Binoculars