Productivity @ Work - Not just for working adults ...

As Singapore Government advocates greater productivity @ work, such concept and best practices apparently have become quite contagious. Check this out from the government: http://productivity.enterpriseone.gov.sg

Productivity is not only the buzz word that had caught up with the working adults, it has quite naturally imbued in the hearts of the little ones as well .... especially when the kid understands that "Productivity is achieving MAXIMUM efficiency by DOING LESS".

Here is an example:
Observe how "efficiently" the kid had completed the second column of letter "d"s or rather, a straight line cutting across all the cells in the second column; merely touching the right side of all the "o"s.

Frankly speaking, the kid had done likewise for all the "b"s as well. We as parents had to step in to instruct for "rework" due to "quality" and "behavioural" issues ;-)

This ain't real productivity, it's plain LAZINESS!

This reminds me of my past encounter with another kid:
Correction DONE!!!

What is "Rachel How Many Day"?

My little one was so excited when she got into the car and I asked her why:

Dad: "Little girl, why are you so excited?"

Kid: "Because tomorrow is Rachel How Many Day!"

Dad: "What's Rachel How Many Day? Is Rachel your friend?"

Kid: "Dad! Don't you know that tomorrow is Rachel How Many Day????!!!"

After a deep long thought.... "Light Bulb!" then I realised she was refering to the
Singapore's Racial Harmony Day! (21 July)

Take a peek @ this 2min video and you might be pondering what does this food got to do with RHD:


To find out more from MOE what some schools are doing this year,2010, check this out:
Infosheet on Racial Harmony Day 2010

"It's GOOD to EMBARRASS you, Dad!"

While there were many people queueing up at the airport's custom checkpoint, a little kid exclaimed an embarrassing remark about her dad's pants. The dad was quite embarrassed and demanded the kid to be silent at once while the rest of the family members giggled or laughed.

Just before bed time on the following night, the dad gathered the kids to pray....

Dad prayed," ... we pray that the kids would not say anything that will embarrass the parents... "

Then the little cheeky kid interrupted,"Hey Dad! It's GOOD to Embarrass you!"

The dumbfounded dad asked,"WHY?"

The little kid answered,"Then everyone can LAUGH and BE HAPPY, right?!"

Then all the kids started laughing and giggling away ....

The dad had never thought of it that way and laughed heartily as well.

I guess joining in the laughter might be a means of defusing certain moments of embarrassment ;D

Ask me in private if you wanna clearer detail of what the little kid did earlier ;-p

Alternative of "I don't like you, and I don't want to be your friend!"

Many a time, we hear toddlers exclaiming the following phrases when they are unhappy with their friends,
"I don't like you, and I don't want to be your friend anymore!"
"I don't like you, and my friends will not to be your friends anymore!"

So, what phrase could the kid probably exclaim when he/she is very unhappy with the parents?

Just got this from the 4 y.o.:

"Daddy, I don't like you, and I will tell Grandpa & Granny NOT to be your PARENTS anymore!"

Gzzzz .... I wonder what would be next?
"Don't want Mummy to be your Wife?" thanks Audrey for contributing this idea ;D

Another opportunity for a family outing: Only 5 times in a year!

The Istana grounds are open to the public five times a year in celebration of the following occasions:

1. Chinese New Year
2. Deepavali
3. Hari Raya Puasa
4. Labour Day
5. National Day

Check it out ... where to park and outdoor pictures:
A GOOD MORNING Trip to the Istana Singapore :D =>Click here to find out more about the Istana Singapore

How do you know that the kid is bored during a wedding meal?

Majority of the guests invited for a typical wedding dinner will be adults, and kids who tagged along with their parents for such dinners would likely be bored and tend to create something out of the blue to relieve themselves from the boredom. Some would roam or roll around on the carpeted floor (without their shoes), some would play hide-and-seek, and so on.

And I managed to capture this little girl performing this "creative art" piece on the dining table:

WHAT WAS THAT???

Take a close peek below, and I believe you might have just guessed it right!

An Art piece evolved from Boredome ;D

It was a Flower with petals from the crispy prawn tempuras!

So, you can now count the number of the prawns eaten by the little kid.

BTW, this did not happen during Shawn and Eva's wedding ;D

Effective Reminders@WC - Series 1

I had been going in and out of AH recently to visit my dad and I personally found these toilet reminders quite easy to comprehend and put them into practice.

We could probably share these with our kids, make it fun for them to learn and adopt hygienic practices at home or in the public toilets.... but you may have to be careful with the last reminder ;-)

Take a peek:

Thanks AH for such interesting reminders!

Fun facts and "True" story of Santa Claus

Yah! I know X'mas is over, and it's the 14th day from 25 Dec 2009!
Perhaps, you may like to know these fun facts and share these with your kids in the coming X'mas which is just 11 months down the road (time flies ....). If you can't remember them, then please bookmark this blog ;D

Well, guess what answers you might get when you ask kids about Santa Claus? For example,
Why does Santa Claus wear RED?

Some kids' answers:

• Because he is a very HAPPY old man and his whole body turns RED

• Riding in the sky could be quite dangerous, so he need to wear RED for the airplane pilots to spot him easily and give way to his sleigh, then he will always deliver my presents on X'mas!

• Dad, please let me use your computer and I believe I can get the answer from Google .....

And that's what I have done and found these answers:

Why does Santa wear red? 20 fun facts about Christmas

If the above link does not work, try THIS!

Here is where you may learn about the The True Story of Santa Claus!

And finally, if you wish to learn more and how Santa Claus had evolved over the years, read it from Wikipedia ;-p

Have a wonderful year in 2010!

Counting down and Welcoming the New Year 2010!

This was my first time to take a peek at the community countdown to New Year party.

I took a walk with my two kids & Belle to the event, and we arrived in the nick of time for the Countdown!And here are some of the clips:

The event was held in the large open-air courtyard beside Hong Kah Community Club

This clip will show you the countdown over at Hong Kah North celebrations and if you fast forward to the last 10 seconds, you should be able to see me popping a bottle of sparkling fruit juice; it actually popped by itself without me touching the cork at all .... geeeezzzzz ....