Thanks Tamarind, for posting the audiobook links!


And Tamarind, though you say that your kids couldn't read before the age of three, look at how they accelerated after that!

The main thing is that you have cultivated the love of reading in them - that is a wonderful gift.

:celebrate:

tamarind:

MyBaby:

[quote=\"tamarind\"]I have also bought a set 10 books by 郑渊洁, the best selling children's books author before 杨红樱, will post my comments here later.

I've also got 皮皮鲁和超级智齿(上, 下) by 郑渊洁. This author is recommended by DD's Pri 4 Chinese teacher whom she likes alot. We were praying that she would be teaching DD this year but well, DD didn;t have the good fortune...

DD has yet to read these 2 books though as she was distracted by 笑猫， 女生日记 (absolutely recommend this book for 12 yr old girls who are undergoing puberty), and 非常妈妈， 非常爸爸 and 非常老师. This 非常 series must be good as DD was laughing her head off as she read the books. DD is now reader faster than me, so I have yet to find time to read the latest books except for 女生日记.

Another book that I find good is 我是白痴 (王淑芬). It is written from the perspective of a simpleton (some one with low IQ) and how he was taken advantage of by his classmates and even his sister. However, being a simpleton, he does not see it as being bullied and does not understand the good intentions of his good friend who tells him not be taken advantage of by others. This is again recommended by DD's Chinese teacher and we picked it up at DD school's bookfair. DD cried her eyes out when she read it.

Tamarind, one a side note - can you tell more about Chinese ebooks/audio books? You've given a link in previous post from dangdang. Are these ebooks free or payable? If payable, how to go about doing the payment? Do I need any particular ebook reader (kindle?)? TIA!

Hi MyBaby,
The ebooks at read.dangdang.com are free for viewing. Just click and read the contents of each book. However, I think it does not include 100% of the contents of the actual book, probably 60-80%.

I posted a link about audio books for young children a few weeks back, that one is also free.

Great to know that 郑渊洁 is recommended by Chinese teachers. I read a couple of books, the themes of some stories are probably too mature for lower primary kids, more suitable for 10 to 16 years old.

I am definitely going to get 女生日记 and the 非常 series of books.

I am eager to read 我是白痴, will try to the library to get it first. Thanks for the recommendation. :D[/quote]Hi Tamarind.

Can you post the link for the audio books for young children that you mentioned above again?

Many thanks .

Dear buds, hope things will turn out okay for you.


If you are thinking of moving away from your in-laws (sorry, is that what you're trying to do? I don't have time to scroll through all the posts to get the full gist :oops: ), let me tell you that when I did that, the relationship with my in-laws actually improved! :lol:

But be prepared to put up with less help, eg babysitting. Especially if a third tiny dear comes along... you never know. Mine cited distance as an excuse, so I looked after my kid all by myself.

But for me, it's ok in the end, because less interaction and less dependency on each other means less friction, and so our relationship has remained cool but cordial.

Take care. :celebrate:

Gosh, thanks for all the feedback!


Well, I had severe jet-lag a few years ago, when I travelled to Orlando, hence the apprehension. :shock: Also I threw up a few times on that turbulent flight. I am very prone to motion sickness.

Hope my kid can take to flights better than me! :oops:

P.S. My friend also recommended that I bring along a small laptop and some children's DVD's to play on the plane. Hope that helps!

:celebrate:

auntieM:

My son loves the plane?! We would let him play and exhaust himself out.

He would eat, play a little inflight games, then look for his small stuff toy, at this time would get attendent to make bed while bring him to toilet.....Afterwards he would :snooze: for a long time.
Upon arrival we practice: sleep when tired, eat when hungry for about a day.
Then he would be ok from there. We have been lucky I guess

AuntieM, attendant got make bed ah? You travel business class/1st class? Or which airline is this?

So, your kid just took 1 day to adjust to the time zone difference? Wow! How old is he?

Thanks all!


This will be our kid's 1st flight some more!

Originally planned to travel to Japan in April to try out the SIA experience with him . But this thing cropped up and my hubby feels that since he has to go (his close cousin's engagement), why not we tag along too, and we skip the Japan trip. (can only afford 1 overseas trip per year mah... :oops: ). Some more he is using so much leave for this trip, got little left for other trips. So if me and kid don't join him, means no more trips for us this year!

But I don't want to spend half the trip struggling with jet lag myself and a jet-lagged kid too! My hubby has to help out with the organising, and join his mates for \"farewell to bachelor days\" party etc... events where me and kid excluded, so I may be alone for the first few days...

Also, the long flight sounds... l-o-n-g. But at least my hubby can help out here.

Would really like to go, but considering whether my kid can take it, long flight, change in weather, unfamiliar food, new surroundings.

My hubby, however, very positive. Said it would be a very stimulating experience for the kid. But then, he's the one going to :siam: during the first few days, ha ha.

smurf:

Hi minnie,



yoou are right. I'm not patient too, and is embarassed to said that I lose temper quite frequent lately. and worse, show it in front of kids...I feel lousy and bad as a mum...I think I'm a lousy mum... :oops:

Smurf,

Don't be hard on yourself. From your posts, can tell that you have two very active boys...

Your older boy reminds me of my sister's son. In K2 now, hyperactive and mischievous, been giving my sis a hard time since babyhood (kept everyone up with colicky screaming and crying for 6 months!) Likes to be stubborn and wilful, can snatch cane from my sis and try to throw it away! :!:

But he is also very smart, like your boy, I think.

And talk about losing temper, my sis is shouting at him almost daily!

Can be very :x now, but hopefully they will mature with age.

So try to keep cool.

:celebrate:

Hi. We may have to travel to San Francisco next month to attend a relative's engagement party.


My concern is whether my 3.5 year old son will have problems adjusting to the time zone difference there. When it is 12MN here, it's about 8am there. Pretty hard to adjust quickly, right?

We will only be spending about 1 to 2 weeks there. And when we come back, he has to adjust back again.

Anyone has experience on what this is like? Will there be a lot of crankiness, difficult behaviour? How long does it usually take to get over the jet lag? Any useful tips?

If it's going to be a hassle, we probably will not go.

Please advise. Thanks.

I agree with all the answers except for Q5. For that, I think ks2me's answer is somehow, better as it seems more in keeping with the gist of the passage.


I must say this is quite tough. I think you've got to read a lot of chinese books, classic as well as modern novels, before you can get a feel for such questions. For me, I just answer by gut feeling. Sorry, can't explain very clearly. :oops:

Btw, this is a very lovely, lyrical passage. Anyone knows who the author is?

tamarind:

pea,
Where can we find the Sesame Street DVDs in Singapore ?

I was worried that my girl will feel bored in school, but she has not complained. She likes the music, arts, and sports lessons very much, so she likes going to school.

I spoke to my girl's English teacher, she said that although the books are very easy for my girl, she still pays attention, and spends her time quietly observing the other classmates. I let her read more interesting and challenging books at home so she can continue to learn more.

Hi Tamarind.

You can find Sesame Street DVD's at Popular.

Your girl is very guai leh. Yes, you should continue to challenge her at home yourself.