|
All About Jam Home My Profile My Photo Album My Manager Register Today! Fresh Concoctionsfind me at blogspotkitchen window Good Behaviour Chart My Holiday Schedule Too Many Ideas Transferring.... The House in Batu Buruk Goodbye, Tim Sole Survivor 2 movies and 1 dramatic end Stale ConcoctionsFlavoursBlogberry JamCulinary Jam Fictional Jam Juvenile Jam Literari Jam Love Jam MixedFruit Jam Pearl Jam Shutter Jam Temper-a-Mental Jam Traffic Jam Transmission Jam Travelling Jam Trengganu Jam Official TastersAll Friendsphotostyle Chica lollies Chandramoon kingofankh bbd PeriodicallyDemented libertine paledaemon aiechomeyll mamarawks mosh roserose ondeonde LadyVisine beelove DeeJay budi famygirl green lana nectar suhaila dory oflionandbear pd theotheraj primarybasic lazydaisy cookiebubbles gartblue pizzofmine skyice treasa rotidua kejora ben ShortStories womanoffeathers Eclectablog nonah futuredoc mommyalif makintan zan honeychild blogawards birdsnest code6 Twist led haundem butterflutter myra poeticimmortal82 tony Minda abi Mia |
Good Behaviour ChartAbout a year ago when Ilham and Ihsan became old enough to do chores, I decided to put up a Star Chart as a reward (thus motivation) system to encourage them to complete their chores. Each chore that is completed well (keyword: 'well') will be rewarded with a star, that could be converted into money that could be spent on anything they want, be it books, toys, trinkets on our travels and what not.For disobedience (i.e. not listening to me, disrespecting, hitting), I used the naughty-spot/time-out method. As three of them got older, I think they have outgrown the naughty-spot method, so to keep their behaviour in check especially during the school holidays when tension runs high and opportunities for conflict is aplenty, I have decided to introduce the Good Behaviour Chart. 
left: Star Chart, right: Behaviour Chart (click for a bigger image) Each of them gets an initial 10 points on their chart (Because I believe that they are essentially good). For each bad behaviour (Starting a fight, hitting, not listening/ignoring instructions, screaming, etc), one point will be crossed out. The person(s) with the most good behaviour points at the end of the week will get a reward: They get to choose where we eat during the weekend. We have only been using it for a week plus, and last week Ihsan chose to eat Roti Telur at Madina Restaurant. This week so far, nobody has gotten their points crossed out yet, but it's only Sunday so we'll see. I think so far so good. My kids have started to think twice before they do anything, and it only takes a "Do you want a point off?" from me to keep them in check. Oh man.. now that I've written that all down, I think I sound like some military matron... *hangs head in shame* Too Many IdeasMy mom-in-law has this phrase "Banyak akai", which is actually "banyak akal", which literally means "too many ideas". It is often referred to a child who can't seem to sit still, which is exactly what Izani has become.I am sure Ilham, Ihsan and Anis were as crafty as him, but perhaps I was not as aware of it because I didnt spend the whole day with them. Therefore, I was also spared the frustration of having to clean-up after them and closely monitor them to make sure they don't get into another mischief. I can't leave Izani alone for even 5 minutes. I went to the toilet this morning and came out to discover he had ripped off the box cover of a borrowed CD. While I was downstairs cooking and his older siblings were engrossed in Hanna Montana, he had thrown all his hot wheels (and something else, we dont know what) into the toilet bowl and flushed it. Because the toilet got clogged, Taufik decided to throw away all of my kids' small toys (poor kids!). I give him a bowl of cereal to eat in front of the TV because he wanted to watch teletubbies and I go make my bed and the next thing I know, the whole living room is covered in cereal. The other day I had to use a tweezer to take a spring out of his nose! Now Izani's current obsession is taking off his clothes and diapers. HORROR you know !!! It started with just him learning to take off his clothes. He'd be running around with only his diapers on and I'd be chasing him yelling "shame shame boy! shame shame boy!". It turned into a game. Then he started pulling the diapers down a bit so that his dickie would stick out. It was funny at first. But then he learnt how to rip open the tabs. He'd be sitting quietly and the next thing I know he'd be nekkid! He'd still be watching TV, or doing whatever, but he'd be nekkid. The other day I had to wash the sofa coz he had an 'accident'. I will not go into details for fear no one would want to come to my house or invite me over. This morning. This morning was the last straw. He had actually ripped open the seams for the diapers (don't ask me how! Coz the seams are like sewn or something! It boggles me!) and the gel stuff came spilling out. Eyyyyew okayyyy????? And do you know how difficult it is to clean up those gels thingies?? I cant wash it out, coz they absorb water. It's like filled with pee and yellow and all so I can't possibly touch it. It's like, really tiny and gets into carpet piles and sofa crevices. *shudders and screams in disgust* By hook or by crook, I had to clean them up. I used the small broom thingy and also a vacuum cleaner then sprayed disinfectant all over the place. While I'm typing this up, I've gotten up and checked on him for, like, 10 times. Last I checked, he was fiddling with the red, white and yellow audio/video connectors on the TV. When he saw me coming, he dropped what he was doing and ran to the sofa and buried his face in the cushions. Other mommies are making their house safe for their kid. I have to start thinking about keeping my house safe from my kid. Pening bonda... 
cheeky little devil! Ilham is 10!Today is Ilham's birthday :)
10 years old is like a milestone in a muslim boy's life. He is expected to perform the 5 solat (prayers) daily and properly and dilligently. We have been teaching Ilham how and when to do this for the past few years. Alhamdulillah he has memorized most of the surahs and recitations, especially the tahiyat (spelling?). He asks and joins his dad for solat jamaah whenever his dad is home. I have to ask him how he's going to do it in school though. In other areas, I think he's grown a lot since the last year. He's taller and lankier. He eats as much as his dad now. He's grown to like curries :) and is more adventurous when it comes to food. He's at least willing to try new things. Sometimes I think he's still immature in his thinking. He still talks nonsense and goes off tangent in conversations, which just exasperates me sometimes. Don't get me started on how easily he gets distracted and the stuff he gets distracted with. (No prizes for guessing where he gets that trait from). He's getting to be very good with his hands though. He has made models of trucks and ships and tanks from pieces of paper and old toothpaste boxes, most of which would be left lying around and destroyed or thrown in the bin in anger by me at one point or another. I really should put them in the display case, but he keeps wanting to play with them, and I let him coz I think he can always make another one. He's turned into a very responsible boy. I could trust him to look after the younger siblings. He's even good at changing Izani's dirty diapers. Alhamdulillah. Well, he's not perfect, but he's my boy and we love him to bits and are proud of the acheivements his made, no matter how big or small. Happy Birthday Ilham!! (and Happy Birthday to his godfather, Wal a.k.a. Grom Airiss too!) And I just remembered ... Today is also Nael's birthday. (Nael - zan's eldest boy) Happy 5th Birthday Nael!!! Not So Good Morning Teacher*pulls hair*Today the school is having a virtual school day. That means that the kids are at home, doing school work from home, work that was given to them yesterday or from sites online. Why are they having a virtual school day? Because that big dolt from the land of the free is here for a visit, and since our school is right next to the embassy, for security reasons, they have decided not to have kids in school today. So who has to be the 'teacher' for the day? Yup. Me. Since 7 o'clock this morning, I think I have screamed at them at least 3 times. Once to make them brush their teeth and have breakfast. Once to tear them away from the TV (that I turned on to stop Izani from disturbing them) and to start doing their work. The last time was at 9:30am, at Ilham, because since 8am I asked him repeatedly to show me his homework diary and it took him one and a half hours to finally show me it, coz he kept doing 'other stuff' (he wanted to follow his class schedule to the T - first french, then science, then math, then literacy). When I finally gave up asking and rummaged through his bag for his homework diary, I saw in it that he had a literacy homework that was supposed to be emailed in before 9:30am. It was already 9:30 am and he hasnt even started!!!! arrrghhhhhhhh sometimes I just want to strangle that boy. It has only been two and a half hours. I still have the rest of the day to go through with them. God Help Me. This is why I don't think I can ever homeschool my kids. Or be a teacher. Izani is 2!On the occasion of Izani's 2nd Birthday today, I present to you:Izanish Dictionary - Special 2nd Year Edition ayah n dad abahn n "abang" , big brother usually followed by sun or yum anish n Anis, his big sister, usually preceded by kakaq appo n hippopotumus ahs v "ask", used to ask for milk. awan v "I want", his polite way of asking for something also see nawan baa n bye bubba n baby bubbye n bye bye :) bus n bus but n derrier, backside bunder n "bonda", mom (me) cane n crane car n car, often said with gusto cat n cat chee-qun n chicken. chocot n chocolate cooties n cookies digger n excavator, bulldozer, diggers. Accompanied with a hand digging action. drint v, n drink feet n feet fits n "fix", used when something is broken fish n fish go v go hen n hand iron n lion (he can't pronounce 'L' that well) kakaq n "kakak", big sister, usually followed by anish kengkoo n "Thank You" koo-wah n "kuah", gravy for his rice mah-dee n "mandi", take a bath, usually said as an order to his elder brothers and sister. e.g. "mah-dee!" mama n mom, used when he wants something especially his milk. also see bunder me n me, usually accompanied with one hand help up mun adj "mine" moose v move nawan v "I want" said repeatedly. Used when he really really wants something. also see awan nas n "snap", as in Crocodile noe n no noes n nose nowan v "I dont want", often confused with nawan oh n an exclamation of realization, sometimes followed by otay otay adj okay ought adj hot, often repeated 3 times, as in "hot hot hot!" ouchy n .. is an ouchy, any kind of pain, felt or inflicted. peas n please, as in "bunder awan wotar, peas?" pie-duh n spider shoos n "shoes", anything he wants put on his feet, including other people's shoes. soo-shoo n "susu", milk, said with a lilt in the last syllabul. seep n sleep sun n "Ihsan" , usually preceded by abahn trut n truck tie-*roar* n tiger uh-gain v "again", as in repeat, either sing, or dance, or read. wotar n "water" yum n "ilham", usually preceded by abahn He can also string words into a sentence now. See if you can have a go at translating these sentences: 1. "bunder, awan cooties" 2. "kakaq anish! moose! moose!" 3. "abahn yum, abahn sun,.... mah-dee!" 4. "uh-gain uh-gain, pie-duh" Alhamdulillah, Izani has enough books and toys to last him till the next year, but he would like to see other kids have the same joys of reading as him. So, he would really be happy if you could help his favourite clown, Dr.Bubbles, set up a library for an orphanage in Machang. Come let's help Izani help Dr.Bubbles spread some love around!  { Last Page } { Page 1 of 12 } { Next Page } |
Break TimesTalk to the JamFree shoutbox @ ShoutMix Pearl JamTracked by Histats.com 
Links |
