Thank You Mrs V

Big H and his class teacher, Mrs V

Big H did very well in his Year 2 SATs exams (top in class) and it was due to his teacher who understood his needs and his perangai.

1 good thing about going to school here, the teachers are always aware of the kids' behaviours and characters and problems therein and will discuss with the parents about this and also will inform the next class teacher of what is required for each child (e.g. extra attention, extra encouragement..etc.).

Big H can be a little funny in his behaviour, I tell you that - no doubt he is an intelligent boy but being just pandai belajar is not good enough in life.

Big H was categorised as requiring 'special attention' when he first came to Mrs V's class, 2 years ago, just because he didn't know how to make friends and doesn't really speak in class.

The problem with Big H is that he thinks too fast and doesn't know how to articulate his flurry of thoughts. He used to get very upset when we couldn't understand what he wanted to say and on top of that is also very sensitive to everything you say to him.

But Mrs V handled his behaviour very well.

Throughout the 2 years that she taught him, I could see improvements in Big H's speech and behaviour and I am so very glad that Mrs V didn't just discard Big H as 'beyond help' or simply as a child with 'problems' or even worse, to categorise Big H's behaviour as 'just normal for his age'.

Instead, she always gave me encouragement and gave me suggestions on how to 'handle' Big H at home. She was always very helpful and at the same time her suggestions also comforted me too.

To show my appreciation to Mrs V, I will always go to help her in class (parent volunteer) on Thursdays and on the last day of school, I made some carrot cupcakes for her - couldn't show enough gratitude to her! She won't be teaching Big H next term as she will be staying to teach next terms' Year 2 children so I'm a little worried about how the new teacher, a 'Mrs H' will be handling Big H and how Big will take to her.

Mrs V said she will sit down and have a chat with Mrs H about all the students so, 'don't worry' - but I'm still feeling a bit anxious.

Have to wait and see and pray for the best.

The cupcakes for Mrs V

Cupcakes

Ok..here are my first efforts at cupcakes. The pics are not very sharp - I blame my Sony. You know, Sony cameras are not ALL THAT jugak...for anyone who's looking to buy a digicam, I seriously suggest a Canon or Nikon...NOT Sony! (And for a camcorder, JVC is always best.) Pics outdoors tend to be good but once indoors....without enough light the Sony camera cannot deliver!

In my not-so-expert opinion lah...

These were for a bbq at a friend's place in Hackney. It was gone in a few minutes.

Carrot cake and chocolate cake combo.
The top 2 are the carrot cakes. I enjoyed making those insects!

The order was specifically for Spiderman cupcakes..a major glitch though - the question mark is for one of BATMAN's nemesis!! Alamak..tersilap..I'm sure the receiver of those cupcakes will notice as she's supposed to be a real spiderman fan.. :(
(I haven't gotten the feedback yet.)

Ok..this pic is the worst...yellowish and blurry...seriously annoying. Not to mention getting a long lecture from Mr S who said "now the cake dah bagi kat orang, all you have left are these pics...after all your hard work, THIS is what you've got to show for it??!!!!"

Yes..Mr S was annoyed that I didn't move the cakes to a better lit area...bla bla bla
But funny lah Mr S, when he first saw the cakes he was so impressed that he gave me a hug and a kiss...and the cakes were not even for him!! He he he...

Well then..not that too many people read this blog but if anyone wants to order cupcakes for any occasion..just send me an email and we can talk shop... ;)

Another Grading

Big H went for another karate grading on Sunday. He was a red belt going up to orange.

This was taken during his grading. Thank god for the boy on the left - they were partners during the sparring test and he actually helped Big H a teeny bit during the test!

Results were announced - the sensei called out Big H's name to tell him whether he had passed or not and Big H rushed to the front but the sensei still couldn't find him - kecik sangat... :) Can you spot Big H? If you can, then you can see the smile on his face when the sensei announced that he passed his 8th kyu.

Right afterwards, Mr S bought Big H's new orange belt and he quickly put it on for a pic - together with Little H, of course - the white belt wannabe! :)

Congrats Big H!

Big H's 'Sports Day'

Just some pics of Big H's sports day earlier this week...

Remember our sports day when we were in primary school? We had all the real stuff like 100m sprint, relays, short puts, high jump, long jump etc. etc. right?

The kids here (Year 1- Year 2) normally have 'sack race' or 'three legged race' or 'egg on a spoon race' for their sports day more like our 'sukaneka' but this year, since the London won the Olympic bid for 2012, the kids were introduced to decathlon events, only, 'kids-style'.They didn't even care who wins or loses - so no medals or anything like that.

The whole thing was just for fun and to be enjoyed by everyone!

It was a cloudy a day but the temperature was warm all the same and I think the kids had a good time.

Little H feigned a tummy ache and wanted to go to Big H's sports day - instead of going to his nursery on that day. I knew his trick but just acquiesced - bagi chance lah.

Big H's shot put event was just about throwing a small and slightly heavy ball (a cricket ball??)

The colours of East London..he he he..

Big H getting ready for the bean-bag balancing race.

After all those Wii boxing sessions, Little H thought he should practice at the lamp post..haiya!

Jumping hurdles in one of the races.

Believe it or not - this was their 'javelin' event!

After the games, a pose with Little H.


And.....another one!

Big H's 7th Birthday

We celebrated Big H's birthday with a small party last Saturday. Here are some pics:

Big H's birthday was actually 2 days before the party - on a school day. We simply celebrated the day with a small chocolate cake Mr S bought from Tesco with a card and present from both Mr S and I.

Big H with his present from Mama and Papa.

Pics of the food I made for the party on Saturday:

Ayam percik
(oven roasted, obviously!)

Rojak

Lamb Stew

..and some other stuff...

Not forgetting the cake!
Big H requested an 'earth cake'...baked the cake and iced it the night before.
Had to buy a semi sphere shaped tin for it!

Big H and friends singing the birthday song.
As you can see, it was a really small gathering - only 3 families invited.

Happy birthday Big H!
And may there be many more happy returns of the day, sayang :) !

Driving School

Just putting up some pics and a video of the kids at Legoland last weekend.

The video is of the boys at the 'Driving School'. There are two such attractions in Legoland, one for 6-11 years olds, the other one for 3-5 year olds.

Of course, my boys belong in separate groups, Big H being 7 and Little H being 4. The queues were long as usual so while I was standing in the long line for a nearby boat ride, I asked Mr S to bring Little H to the 3-5 year old Driving School as there was a fairly short queue for it.

Mr S and the boys came back to me after 30 minutes with pics, videos and a story...

The kids were put into groups and each group had to listen to a short briefing on what to do and how to drive before they go on the Lego cars. Mr S tried to convince Big H to join the group and pretend that he's 5 - to his loud and vehement 'NO!!!'




Obviously he was not going to ever pretend that he is 5, being older and proud too to be older than his little brother.

Little H was getting ready to go into his yellow car when suddenly a girl in his group cried off and refused to go - running off to her parents who were standing nearby.

Mr S quickly took the opportunity and asked the assistant whether Big H can take the girl's place - there were lots of other kids waiting to go in but none of them have been briefed yet and fortunately for Big H, he was listening when the briefing was given to Little H's group...

And so, Big H being Big H - he went and enjoyed himself (I think) but pretended he was forced into it...hunching his shoulders and making a face although smiling when he forgot to frown.



He looked very funny while driving the car, pretending to be unhappy while he was really enjoying himself.



Little H of course, enjoyed himself tremendously. He could not stop talking about his wonderful experience at the driving school the whole time we were there!

After a few rounds around the track the kids were asked to do some moves just for fun (in the video) before their 'driving licenses' were given out and you can see how Big H was enjoying himself but quickly started to slouch to pretend that he was 5 years old - indeed worthy to receive the 'license'.

Kids.

(Video taken from a Sony T70 digital camera - left the camcorder at home!)