Tuesday, September 28, 2010 ;
9:04 PM
12/9
Sun
8am - 5pm
ds1's 1st chess competition this yr. He was the youngest fielded. Cos usually none of the P1s would join CCAs. Even if they join chess club in P2, they usually go to the non-competitive chess club where they are taught the basics. Thanks to the teacher-in-charge (TIC), he switched ds1 from the non-competitive club early on last yr. ds1 was feeling very bored re-learning all the basics then, but I encouraged him just to continue and see whether he could learn something new.
After he started with the competitive club, he enjoyed himself tremendously, naming Tues and Thurs the best days in the whole school week, cos he gets to stay back for chess. Even though chess is from 4-5.30pm!
Also, P1s have class till 3pm only, so that meant he had to stay back in school from 3-4pm alone, having nothing to do. For a P1 kid, I think it is tough. Initially, after the 1st week, he did cry and asked for company, said no one to talk to, and every minute was like an hour. My mom lived right across the street at that time, so she'd walk over to accompany him for that hour. Thankfully, after several months, he finally was able to spend that hour alone in school.
The problem was that none of his classmates had CCA, and the P2s and above have supplementary classes from 3-4pm, which is why CCA starts at 4pm. Fortunately that problem has been solved now that he is in P2. I used to worry at home, even while nursing dd, whether he would be in the canteen or running amok in school or worse, running out of school during that time.
After chess, the school's CCA bus will bring him back, so he reaches home at 6pm. From morning 7.45am till 6pm, I'd imagine he'd be very tired, but he was never so, always re-energized by the CCA session. I guess that's why it is very important for the kids themselves to choose an activity they love, then they'd have lots of energy for it! After he returned home, he'd want to eagerly share with me all the new strategies he learnt.
He usually spends the entire session pitting his skills against the rest of the chess club members, and the TIC will walk around coaching them. He thus learns from his opponents/ seniors and the TIC.
Finally, in Sept, his TIC felt he was ready for his 1st competition. The TIC did caution me that with his many years of experience, he had many young ones go for competitions and then drop out of chess club after that because they were demoralised. He said kids at a younger age would be disadvantaged at most of these competitions, because the category is just Primary, open to all 6 levels. the P5-6 would have an obvious edge due to experience and age.
So I did tell ds1 just to go play for fun, gain experience, losing is ok.
This is the pic I took when we went to pick him up at the end of the day.
His inexperience showed. He was too focused on the matches and forgot to eat his lunch!!! From 8am till 6pm, he had nothing to eat! All the things I packed for him in his bag was untouched. He fell sick the next day in school- bad headache. I think it was cos of the entire day without water/ food? Dehydration?
As for results, he did alright. His ranking was 40+ out of 57, if I remember correctly. Most of the kids were in upper primary, so I think it was a good showing.
Mid-autumn festival:
Mooncakes, lanterns, pomelos...
And having dd, now our youngest, wear the pomelo cap. Her hair smelt so nice after that! Citrusy...
Time for weaning:
What were the first foods she ate?
1st stage (4-6mth): I boil brown rice, then push all the soft brown rice porridge through a sieve. She loved it. Just plain.
I introduced non-citrus fruits like banana too. Just for taste, not a lot.
2nd stage (7-9mth): I wash the rice grains, dry them, then grind the grains. Then I boil like I was making porridge. At this stage she appreciated having the outer layer of the brown rice to chew on. Since it was ground, it is still soft and in small bits, but chewy.
As she grew older, I reduced the grinding time more and more, so the bits became bigger and coarser.
Now she doesn't like porridge anymore! So I save myself the hassle. She just eats off us now. Whatever we happen to be having, I will give her some. But on the days when it is just her and me having lunch (boys at school, hubby at work) then I'll cook porridge or boil some pasta. However, being used to our food, she is becoming more and more picky about bland food now. I guess I'll just move on from here, no point looking back.
11/9
Sat
L's bday
On the morning of L's birthday, we sat dd in the walker my sis passed to us, so she could wait for us to get ready.
She was very happy that day, perhaps she knew it was her L kor kor's birthday!
At L's house, see how dd was straining to get at the cake?
So funny, the way L closed his eyelids with his fingers, to make a wish.
Same day evening, we went rollerblading/ kite flying together with L and Ch at the park.
rainbows every day, do not worry for the morrow
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Time for weaning:
At L's house, see how dd was straining to get at the cake?
So funny, the way L closed his eyelids with his fingers, to make a wish.
Same day evening, we went rollerblading/ kite flying together with L and Ch at the park.
