PUZZLE-d

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Goki snail puzzle by Beni Design.

The latest addition to Nathan's mini puzzle series.

He has not quite master this one yet.

I was impressed with its 4 in 1 puzzle concept.

It consists of 4 snail cut-outs, each with different colour and patterns,

with the footprints on top of each other, varying in sizes

Clever design, I must say.

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Nathan has to first identify which snail to start on,

and which are the ones that follows,

in order to complete this `sequential' puzzle.

But most of the time he would do

the smallest and largest snails, leaving out the rest.

He said he does not allow the other snails to get in!

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The result: Big yellow snail caves in

cos it is `hollow' underneath without the middle snails:P

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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

This is Nat doing a rendition of

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,

while completing his puzzle.

I managed to catch him on video discreetly, unnoticed,

otherwise he would nag me to put the cam away!

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I must say it is pretty well delivered for his standard

We just need to work on the tune a little,

he sounded as if he was biting hard on the words:P

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Today he just did a `rap' version of the song.

I can tell that he is bored doing the same thing over and over.

It was hilarious!

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Before you can say CHEEZZZ!

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The pair playing together.
One has no patience to be hugged clumsily.
While the other loose interest easily.
So its kinda tough to get both together for a proper shot.
This will do for now:)
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Almost like my mum

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Nathan brought back his work folder yesterday.

I couldn't help but to smile sheepishly.

I saw his `report card', at least this is what we call those

much feared, thin, blue booklets during school days,

which can make or break your day

when mum scan it at the end of the semester:P

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`A helpful boy who enjoys colouring' was Melissa's remarks.

Something new to me.

At home, when I encourage Nathan to do colouring,

he is more interested in playing with the coloured pencils.

Also, he rarely wants to share anything with dee dee.

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As I scan through his works,

I saw the coloured teddy bear,

and remembered the day or days he told me he coloured a teddy bear.

And the mini palm prints, gotta love them, so original,

no wonder when Daddy N popped by the other day,

Melissa was busy washing hands,

he thought some kids may have vomitted or something.

And the pasting works are pretty neat,

I can almost imagine Nathan sitting quietly on his own

doing the pasting and gluing

And they learnt the letter `A',

which he can recognise by now.

Whoa, this is definitely more engaging than a copy of `8 Days'.

Plus, I will get to see them every week!

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Aiyo, I think I am turning into my mother,

during the days when she was a teacher.

Only with a small dose of kiasu-ism.

Gosh, its just a playschool and Nathan is merely 26 months old!

Mom, please remind me not to be too hard on him:P

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AfterClass Talks

After nearly 3 weeks of class, we noticed that Nathan has been

1.

Singing. A. Lot.

But then again, we had to make sure

there isn't too many praises or encouragements going around.
We don't even acknowledge his singing or talk about it.

Just listen to him quietly when he does his thing.

He has a huge pride, you know.

2.

He developed a sweet tooth.

I was told that on several ocassions,

teacher gave the kids a candy each to cheer them up after class,

or rather, to stop them from crying non-stop.

Oh, well.

3.

It is only a 2-hour slot, and yet when he comes back from class,

he is always unusually hungry and sleepy,

asking for all sort of food and junks.

The class must have drained him mentally and physically.

So, I have to make sure there are

abundant food around to satisfy his hunger.

4.

Whenever we put on a yellow shirt for him,

he would tell us he does not want to go to teacher...

Cos his unifom is yellow lor...

Even when his fellow playmate, Sing Yee

met him at the playground the other night,

she was crying non-stop and demanded to be carried

cos she thought class is about to start soon.

Innocent kids. Cute aren't they?

5.

Nathan does not really want to talk about

what he does in class that much.

So he just stick to the fact that he did not watch Barney

and that he coloured a teddy bear,

each time when we ask about his day in class.
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On the other hand, teacher Melissa feedback that:

1.

Nathan has only spoken 2 times so far!

`Finish' and `Barney sleeping'

Melissa thought that this boy . Does. Not. Speak.

So unfair of him to be so noisy at home!

So, she has been yearning to hear him talk

since he has started to smile a lot.

I think she has to wait long long.

But at least, the shy boy lets her plant a kiss on his cheeks.

2.

He knows his belonging very well,

he picked up his own water bottle,

socks, shoes and bags correctly everytime without fail.

3.

He would point to the TV and asked for Barney,

EVERYDAY, to the extent that

Melissa had to tell him, `Barney sleeping'

so that it does not become a habit.

Strangely though, he does not watch that much TV at home.

4.

He takes instructions very well,

in English, which is good,

as we do speak to him in Mandarin 90% of the time.

5.

He is the quiet and observant kind who likes to play on his own.

There was a particular puzzle toy in class

that has not been popular with Melissa's students for years...

Only Nathan bothered to play with it.

And guess what, in Melissa's exact words,

'Nathaniel influenced the other children to play with it',

and so, the dormant toy is now the most popular one.

Not surprising though, as he is very good with puzzles.

I have been sourcing for more challenging puzzles for Nat,

the ones meant for 3 to 4 year old standards for him solve.

6.

When Melissa commented that

Nathan is careful and serious about his works,

`Really?', was my first reaction.

Formal classes have started

and the kids have been pasting stuff.

I was wondering if Nat was more interested

in playing with the glue instead,

but Melissa feedback that he carefully pasted his artworks.

Anyway, we will get to see his works in class weekly

when he brings back his work folder every Friday.

Can't wait!

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Playgroup updates

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This is Nathaniel on the 4th day of class.
He just recovered from a mild flu,
which he also passed on to Gabriel...
I think this will be quite common among kids,
but hopefully not so often.
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Nathan started crying on the subsequent days of class,
well, most of his playmates did,
as parents are now strictly barred from entering the class,
not even allowed to peep or be seen from the windows.
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The children cried for 10 minutes
after which a familiar Barney song can be heard.
There was immediate silence!
For the next few days, teacher Melissa used the same trick:P
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After 2 weeks of class,
Nathan still cry a little at the beginning of class.
I think he is still adjusting to being independent.
The cry got shorter and shorter now.
But he seems happy at the end of class
and even waved goodbye to teacher.
Soon, he will forget about crying:P
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Everynight, I would ask him about class,
and he would admit that he did cry in class,
and teacher had to carry him.
When asked why, he told me,
`kakak shi shi' which I could not decipher.
Eventually I found out that my helper told him that
she needs to go to the bathroom
and would meet him after class.
haha...
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A few nights ago,
he told me he coloured teddy bears in class,
I was curious as he sounded so confident,
so I checked with teacher Melissa.
Turns out they did colour teddy bears in class.
He is making good progress.
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Mini Muncher

Taking a Breather

Only goggles, no belt