Electronic Flash Cards

I stumbled upon this website that features a very innovative method of doing flash cards electronically. The physical flash cards can be difficult to store due to their sizes and if the paper quality is not good, they may turn yellowish over time. Electronic flash cards, on the other hand, can be very interesting for the children and easier to maintain.

BrillKids has developed Little Reader software that allows us to teach the young children in a fun and interactive way. I have downloaded the beta version for trial. The first moment I demonstated the Little Reader to Edison, he was amazed! He focused on every slides and started making responses as he was looking at it. These 2 days, he started making roaring sounds (like a tiger!) which I believed he learnt from the reader.

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In addition to the software, you can download flash card slideshows that are PowerPoint files that you can playback on your computer. The slideshows contain pictures, embedded pronunciation files as well as sound effects that make learning a fun and enjoyable part of everyday.

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Download your free flash card slideshows here -->

http://www.brillbaby.com/download/slideshows.php

Home Practice using Flash Cards

For the past few nights, I have started home practice with Edison using the flash cards that I bought at Shichida. The first box that I opened was My Fave Genius Cards. I will limit one session to ten minutes this week. At each session, I will increase the number of cards by ten.

I laughed hysterically when I saw Edison’s blur look as he focused on the cards… He must wondering why Mummy keep showing him the cards every night.. What are these cards about? Nothing interesting though.. He chuckled and crawl away… Oh, my boy!

WHY DO WE USE FLASH CARDS?
This is one of the effective ways to teach babies and young children. They have unique ability to learn things effortlessly. We should help them to harness their amazing learning capability so that they can easily acquire skills that will enable them to excel in the future.

Child-brain specialists, Glenn Doman and Prof Makoto Shichida, both developed this method of teaching using flash cards.

Ideally, the cards should be A5 size, bearing pictures, words or numbers. This can be physical cards or virtual cards stored in computer and shown as a slide presentation.

Flash cards presentation is good at capturing children’s attention. By doing this religiously, the children’s knowledge and understanding may increase rapidly. However, pls bear in mind that this activity should be carried out when the children is happy and in a relaxed frame of mind.

HOW FAST SHOULD WE FLASH?
Shichida Method states that we should flash the cards as rapidly as possible, ideally 0.5 sec to 1 sec per card! By doing so, the information will be absorbed unconsciously by the right brain. For children below the age of 3, it is very easy for the brain to apprehend information in this way.

READING ALOUD
Another technique is simply reading aloud a word to the children as we flash the cards. We will read aloud a word, followed by a word card or picture card representing the meaning of the word. The advantage here is it teaches children the meaning of words, as well as pronunciations.

I will be attending a home practice session this Thursday, organised by the senior parents from Shichida. They will teach the new parents on the effective ways to conduct home practices.

I will definitely share some tips with you. So, pls check my blog again next week! :)

Our PhotoBook has arrived!

We were so excited to receive our PhotoBook yesterday... The album looks great! Mummy has given it a title - "My First Year Memory Book". She has diligently recorded all my important milestones in the book and arranged the photos nicely to fit into the book.

Here are some snapshots of the album:







The printing quality is good (looks like a magazine!). Prompt service! We uploaded our book for printing last Sunday and to our surprise, the book arrived in just 3 days!

My Fierce Little Edison..

I managed to snap this pic of my little boy screaming towards the boys in the swimming pool... He looked so fierce! They were playing with water guns and Edison was so excited to see them...

These days, Edison makes a lot of noise; when he is excited with something, or when he is bored with something, or when he wants something... Oh, my boy. He is just so lovely.

Flash Cards

I did the craziest thing in my life last Saturday. I can't believe it, BUT I've bought almost $300 worth of flash cards from the Tensai Showroom at Shichida Method! A total of 7 sets, with different titles, and these are the cards...



Edison seems to be a little excited with these boxes and couldn't stop his hands from them..



I realised that it takes a lot of efforts to make him a GENIUS! Its NOT about paying $780 every term and attending the 1-hour class every week. Its ABOUT the daily home practices, believing in the Shichida Method and never give up! I have to attend a seminar on home practice next week in order to learn how to carry out home practices effectively.

I attended a 3-hour long Parent Education Course last week. Needless to say, I'm amazed by the development of the Shichida students. These kids are so smart! I started to understand the concepts of the Shichida Method and started believing in it. I am inspired to be a GOOD MOTHER.

Most important, from Shichida's point of view, the LOVE makes the MIND works and the MIND makes the BRAIN works. So, this is the formula!

Organising a birthday party

Its time to start thinking and planning for our little Edison's FIRST BIRTHDAY... We have roughly 2 months time from now to prepare for the party...

Doing it BIG? Invites family members, friends and their kids. Book the function room. Order a 2-tier cake, party decorations etc. Find a food caterer. Send invitation cards etc. OR having a SMALL party with family members. Book two tables at a restaurant and have a simple celebration.

Well, its time to think about it... Found some useful information from the SMH forum.. Its time to look into them now...

*** PARTY SUPPLIES ***
Jolly Party
#03-09 Great World City
Tel 6733 3797
Daily - 9am - 9pm

Party City @ Raffles City #03-28
Tel : 6336 2161
Daily - 11am - 9 pm

Party City @ Holland V
277A Level 2 Holland Ave
Tel : 6462 6011
Weekday - 11am to 7 pm
Weekend / PH - 10am to 6pm

Party with us @ Centrepoint #05-01
Tel : 6235 0221

Party with us @ Valley Point #01-10
Tel : 6235 0326

Grefio
http://www.grefio.com.sg/

*** HELIUM GAS RENTAL & BALLOON ***
P & G
116 Middle Rd #01-03
Tel: 6396 8208
$1 for 1 balloon
Rental of Helium Tank

Balloons R Us
200 Turf Club Road #01-39A Bukit Timah Singapore 287994
Tel: (65) 6314 2850
http://www.balloonsrus.sg/index.php?cPath=7

*** BIRTHDAY CAKES ***
Strawberry Shortcake Bakery
http://www.e-shop.com.sg/

Glad Cake
http://gladcake.blogspot.com/

Ecreative
http://www.ecreative.com.sg/index.asp

Emi Cakes
http://www.emicakes.com.sg/

7th Manna
http://www.7thmanna.com/

Room for Desserts
http://www.roomfordessert.com.sg/

Hotfuchsia
http://www.hotfuchsia.com/

Sweet Secrets
http://www.sweetsecrets.com.sg/cake.htm

Pine Garden
http://www.pgcakes.com/

Smiling Orchids
http://www.smilingorchid.com.sg/

cherylshuen
http://www.cherylshuen.com/

Cake Avenue
http://www.cakeavenue.com/

The Patissier
http://www.thepatissier.com/

Cedele
http://www.cedeledepot.com/

Vivian Cakes
http://www.freewebs.com/vivcakes/

Making a PhotoBook

I am busy working on a new project now - making a photo book for my little Edison... Title of this photo book will be "Edison's First Year Memory Book". My intention is to list down all important dates, events and milestones that happened in his first year.

Let me share with you the steps in making a photo book:
1. Download the software at PhotoBook website.
2. Install the software.
3. Print out the instructions and read them up.
4. Choose the book styles that you want.
5. Planning and conceptualizing. Think of what you intend to put in your photobook.
6. Organise them to fit into the 40 pages of the book. You can add more pages if you want.
7. Organise your pictures. Put them into one common folder so that you can upload all the photos into the software.
8. Download some fancy fonts from the internet (if you don't have). Cartoon fonts or decorative fonts are nice to be displayed on the photo book.
9. Finally, START working on your photo book.

Currently, I'm already at page 36. 4 more pages to go this week and I plan to send the book for printing next week. I will take some snapshots to share with you in this blog when I receive my photobook.

A medium portrait softcover photo book with 40 pages costs you only $49.00. Its an innovative way to keep your photos, rather than the conventional way of printing them in 4R and keeping them in photo albums.

I can't comment on the printing quality now, until I get my photo book. Stay tuned for more updates on my book!

PhotoBook Singapore website: http://www.photobooksingapore.com/
Pricing information: http://www.photobooksingapore.com/?pg=1price

Happy Feet!

We saw this nice pair of CROCS shoes at Robinsons Shopping Centre yesterday. Mummy & Daddy were contemplating whether to buy them or not. They are super light-weight and comfortable to wear.. You simply don't feel the weight on your feet when you are wearing them.. The colour is vibrant and the design is nice too.. They are sold at a whooping price of $49.00!

Below are the designs shortlisted by Mummy...

Thomas the Tank Engine

SpongeBob Square Pants

Bob the Builder

Cool, aren't they? Well, we will go down to the CROCS shop at Vivo City to try them out again! This will be my FIRST pair of shoes... Learning walking is so fun with them... Mummy, I'm so motivated to walk!

Edison turns 10 months today

11 July: My little baby turns 10 months today. How quickly time flies. In a blink of an eye, my little Edison is now a BOY... He goes to school, he has his own daily routine, he sleeps on his own, he talks in his own language (which we don't understand!)...

I'm amazed by the rate of his development. The other day, he waved GOODBYE to me when I went to work in the morning. And then he said "Ma Ma" three days ago, giving me a very big surprise.

Edison learnt a new trick. He will stand up without holding onto anything. "Are you freaked out, Mummy??" His longest record is 10 seconds. To add to my surprise, he began 'walking' yesterday.. He held the coffee table and slowly walk around the table..

He looks funny when he stick out his tongue... He likes to blow bubbles with his saliva. Yucky! He has too many funny expressions that make me burst out with laughters...

It was a lovely moment to witness all these developments and milestones of Edison. It is BEAUTIFUL . SWEET . PRECIOUS.

Our first Shichida class

~~ Wednesday 9 July 08 ~~

Edison attended his first Shichida class last Saturday at HDB Hub Toa Payoh. His class starts from 4:15pm to 5:30pm (Duration: 1 hr 15 min).

As this was our first lesson, we were given a welcome kit that contains booklets about Shichida Method, a child observation book and a t-shirt (printed with a big GENIUS word on it!)

The class has 6 students, all aged between 9 - 12 months old, with 3 boys and 3 girls. The ratio is really good! Our Sensei (in Japanese, means teacher) is Ms Eunice.

Many of us may wonder what are actually taught in the class, especially when the students are still so young.

5 mins: Welcome routine ~ sing the welcome song in Japanese
55 mins: The Shichida Method lesson
15 mins: Child activity, communication between Sensei and parents, Q&A etc.

During the 55 mins, there are many activities being carried out. Some of them that I can still remember:
1. Energy Ball as warm up
2. Sensory Games to sharpen the innate senses
- Sensei used a picture of a frog (with bells attached to it). She moved the frog in 3 directions; zig-zag from left to right, up and down, and in a butterfly shape.
3. Image Play to improve their memory and strengthen visualization skill
- Sensei showed a series of picture in order for 3 times. After which, she asked the child to pick a card that shows the pictures in the correct order.
4. Music Play to develop good sense of pitch and rhythm
- Sensei played music in different languages; English, Malay and Japanese.
5. Memory Play
- Sensei showed a picture with Pooh and Tiger for 3 times. Then, she took out a paper with the same background but without the Pooh and Tiger. She asked the child to stick the Pooh and Tiger to the right location as seen in the first picture.
6. Flash Cards
- Sensei flashed the picture cards as quickly as she can, and she read out loud. She used as many as 100+ cards with different topics.
7. Speed Reading
- Sensei showed a short story book to the child. She read out the story in 3 speeds; slow, normal and fast. The parent will guide the child and use their finger to point at the words as the Sensei read.

Above activities are for right brain development. The class also focus on the left brain activity; learning phonics and reading ABC for example. All areas are well-covered during the 1 hour lesson.

Edison enjoyed himself with most of the acitivities, except the flash cards where he showed very little interest. The funniest thing is, towards the end of the class, two kids fell asleep! The remaining 4 kids started to make noise and they all have pacifier in their mouth! I think these kids need more time to get used to the class routine, to enjoy themselves in the class and get more exposure with the activities.

Well, this is the update on our first lesson. Stay tuned! We will update more as we progress.

Received our parcel from JShoppers..

Our orders from JShoppers have finally arrived last weekend... We're so delighted to receive the parcel...

JShoppers is an online fashion store from Japan... Why we love JShoppers so much? Stylish Japanese design, 100% cotton material, competitive price as well as free international shipping!

These are the clothes that Mummy bought for me.... :)


Nissen STYLE 5-pc set for Boys @ 2190 Yen (~$29.70)


Nissen STYLE 5-pc set for Boys @ 1680 Yen (~$22.80)


Nissen STYLE Sleeveless T-Shirt 4 pack @ 1390 Yen (~$18.80)


Cut & Sewn Denim-Style Pants 2-Pack @ 1390 Yen (~$18.80)

After looking at these clothes, I'm sure you are also tempted to buy yours.. :) So what are you waiting for? Let's go and check out what's in store at JShoppers now...

Enjoy shopping & enjoy dressing up your kids - My mum's motto :)

What a Sunday...

It was a Sunday.. I woke up at 8:30am when I heard Edison's voice from his little bed.... He was looking at me the moment he was awake...

"Good morning, Edison!".. I dread myself to wake up, walked to the toilet and cleaned myself.. Then I cleaned Edison and changed him.. He was delighted to see his bottle of warm milk and quickly drank it the moment I put the tit into his mouth.. 180ml taken within 10 mins, that was real fast...

I'm lucky to hired a good helper.. Her name is Niti, 23 y/o from Central Java.. She helped me with all the house chores during the weekend... As I had my breakfast and browsed through the newspaper's headlines, Edison was playing with Niti in the living hall...

After my breakfast, I went to do some work in the kitchen... cooking Edison's favourite fish porridge using a slow cooker... followed by steaming an apple & a pear to make into puree... This puree will be stored into the mini cubes and frozen for later consumption... This has been a weekly routine to me to make fruits puree for Edison...

Soon, its 10:30am, Edison was a little sleepy... He took a short half-an-hour nap.. Then, I bathe him at slightly pass 11am... This cheeky little boy likes to play with his powder puff container..

At 12noon, it was lunch time for Edison and he took half a bowl of fish porridge... Soon after lunch, he was sleepy again.... He dozed off with his bulging tummy... His beauty sleep ended at 2:00pm... Its was good timing, as I've just finished my lunch...

Soo, it was activity time for Edison... As usual, he was super active and crawl all over the house.. He practically mopped the floor with his shirt... and he ran into all kinds of troubles at home; pulling the wires from the TV cabinet, poking into the power point with his little fingers, pull and throw away the edge guards that Grandpa has installed on our coffee table and TV cabinet... Naughty little Edison! :)

Milk time again at 3pm, and he finished off another 150ml... An hour later, Edison had his apple puree.. I insisted that Edison must take one cube of fruit daily (35ml) as Vit C is crucial for strenghtening his immune system..

At 4:30pm, Edison went to take another half an hour of power nap.. Then, we hit off to the playground... Edison enjoyed riding the wooden horse a lot... Looking at the children happily running around the playground, I felt to 'stress-free' and relaxed... After the playground, we took a stroll around the garden, admiring the little fish in the pond...

Dinner for Edison was served at 6:30pm... He finished another half bowl of fish porridge... Then, he played with toys that were scattered all over his playmat.. I got an sms from Elaine (Rent-That-Toy), and it was time to return the toys that we have rented last month.. I quickly browsed through her website and have chosen another 2 set of toys for exchange... I always make sure that he has enough toys to play... I think that toys help in the motor development for the children...

At 8:30pm, it was wind down activity for Edison.. I put Edison on his little bed and dim the light... I am doing some sleep training for Edison... For the first 10 mins, I let him lie down on his bed, roll around and get into sleep (on his own!)... I walked into the room to check on him every minute.. If he still doesn't get into sleep after 10 mins, I will help him by gently patting his back and humming some goodnight songs to soothe him..

After he went to sleep, I have 2 hours of free time to surf the net & read a book before I go to bed..

To many people, this may be a daily routine in their life.. But for a FTWM (full time working mother) like me, I enjoyed every hour and every minute spent with my little boy..

HAPPINESS is, to see him grow, stronger and taller each day.. It was all I needed... :)

Dear Edison, Mummy loves u more and more each day ~~

This is my friend Tad!

~~ Sunday 6 July 2008 ~~

Mummy got me a new toy again... Its called a Learning Friend, Tad! Tad is a bilingual frog that teaches counting and colours in English and Spanish.. Press Tad's foot and he will say "Hi, I'm Tad." or "Hola, soy Tad." When squeezed, Tad can sing catchy little songs too... And Tad carries a fabric booklet with numbered objects from 1 to 10 corresponding to his songs.. Its a fun toy.. What a friend! :)