No. 1 Tip in exam

I am not in any ways a good scholar. Nor am the mother of exemplary students.

But so far, at P4 and P1,they are stress-free and, thank God, achieved band 1 in all subjects so far.

For me, a very simple rule of thumb is to sleep early the night before exam.

Enough sleep helps the brain to process information (I.e., the questions) clearer. It also reduces panic, and therefore the hazard of panic induced answers.

The night before exam, it's too late to cram in whatever things that's not understood yet. Instead, parents of young children are challenged to pace their daily study, so that the progress is gradual. Understanding the subject well (vs memorizing it) helps to build up the foundation necessary for the next level.

Two pages a day for 30 days is better than 40 pages a night before.

Hope it helps. And hope I can be committed to perform my parental duty above. Should the tip cease to work in the future, I'll revise this post :P

Painting a Presentation

Just want to make a quick note to remind myself that indeed working the corporate life is an art.

Presenting in the title also covers reporting.

Presenting skill is one key component in higher level work. To convince others of an idea, the presentation must also be backed up with confident communication skill. Pretty much a good salesman skill.

Most juniors give facts. If we're lucky, the facts will be organized in some sort of manner. Reader (audience) needs to digest, separating the important information, making the head and the tail of it.

However, from the seniors we can expect a performance. Sit back, listen and see. You will know the essence precisely how s/he wants it. If the presenter communicate well, there's even a chance that you'll believe the content, and act on the message. A good presentation is halfway done.

Below are a few pointers that I've gathered over the years:

1. Understand what you need to present. This is absolutely necessary. By knowing your content well, not only you'll gain the confidence to talk about it, but most importantly you will be able to do the below next steps well.

2. Confirm what is the aim. Consider your audience. Be as specific and you can. For example, to highlight point x, downplay point y, so that they will decide towards point z, ....

3. Sketch the big picture. Device a strategy of the presentation flow. Jot down the important point of every slide or section.

4. Develop each slide, choose your content carefully. The more is not the merrier. Not all little details need to be in. Put what's necessary. For this I like to use graphical rather than points. Takes a long time to do up, but it can be easily understood, even across culture/language. This is to ensure decision is made based on correct facts. You don't want people to come back thinking you have twisted the facts.

5. From each slide, highlight a few points that are the key. This can be done by many ways: bold bigger text, boxed up, utilize the space, etc.

6. Beautify the package. As much as we value products that are packaged beautifully, a good looking presentation will appeal more. Audience tends to be happier in listening/reading. It's not a waste of time when done cleverly. Some basic:

* Use a professional font throughout. Most of the time, you have many source. By copying from left to right, it'll looks messy and doesn't reflect well on you.

* Pay attention to font/figure size and spacing. Important content should be easier to spot. When space is limited, do not size the font such that it becomes very small and illegible. People feels uneasy with fine prints.

* Choose a color theme and stick to it. Manage the colors to emphasize, downplay, or to guide the attention in the flow.

* Outlines are not necessarily be black. Black, dark outline for many figures cramped into a slide will make the slide looks tangled. Try using a more subtle color, trying out the line weights.

* Choose a gender neutral color scheme. Equality aside, you want to attract everyone.

7. Review, and review, and review, ... 

Well, this is a skill that gets honed with experience. Practice makes perfect. I myself am newbie here. Drop any comments if you have tips to share.

Happy painting :)

[Good books] Chicken Soup for the Soul series

I find that people opinion on the Chicken Soup for the Soul series tends to differ in extremities. Some love it, the other half sneer at it. Gimmicky? Commercialized heart warming stories?

Well, taking a step back, I can see the gimmicks. With more than 250 titles and counting, sure  the series has approached some very specific souls which make the spectators shake their heads in disbelieve. And, tone of the book depends on who co-edit/write it.

For me, I've been reading Chicken Soup series for almost 20 years, on and off. And at the very least, it reminds me every now and then to count my blessings. Secondly, some of the short stories has cheered and encouraged me along the way. Now in the 30s, I can appreciate its title. Well... It feeds and warms your soul!

Below are three titles that are my personal favorites:

Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul

Read this during one of my all time low after my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at almost 20 weeks. I couldn't help to wonder what went wrong, how about the next ones, ... whether there'll be a next one since the grief was so hard to bear. Fortunately I bumped into this book in the library. Unexpectedly, the stories inspired me that everything is possible.

Life Lessons for Loving the way You Live

This book is like a crash course on serenity prayer. If you want to change it, go and change. Otherwise, be at peace. I think, this book helped me to at least save many years of wondering and wandering. After reading it, I know what I want is to mommy the children. Working is just to support this goal. It matters less where or what I work on.

Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul

My 10 years old daughter found this book in a bargain section and she bought it. After reading it, she has some sense of acceptance of her life. Come to think of it, surely it's tough to be a child. Almost everyday, your world is changing. New abilities, new teacher, new friends, ... So, back to my preteen. I think there are some situation or problem that she doesn't even know how to phrase it, or whether to share it with us her parents. The book affirms that what she's facing is normal, happens to other preteens as well. And of course, not coming from her naggy parents, she is more readily receptive of the message (I could've said some of the advices myself, but it won't sink in as well).

So that's my top three titles. What are yours?

PS: To those new to Chicken Soup series, if you want to start, start from the original first book. The sequels tend to be less exciting.

Much Ado About Feeling Beautiful

Recently I had a major change happening. To cope with it, I am making sure that I'm 'uncluttered'. Uncluttered, to me, means that I am not distracted by the smallies, and that I feel comfortable to face come-what-may.

Unexpectedly, one of the small thing that works for me is taking care of myself. Hence the post title. It's not about looking beautiful. Wanting to look beautiful brings round the challenge to please others' eyes. But in wanting to feel beautiful, you have only yourself to answer to.

Without the burden of others' perception, we can truly design and enjoy the process. Everyone can do it. It does not depend on the $$$ sign. For me, for example, instead of going to the expensive spa, I had a good scented scrub and did it myself while watching a funny TV episode. Afterwards, with a nice moisturizer, definitely the feeling is good.

Another example, tried out new shampoo or conditioner. And took time to blow dry my hair instead of wash and dash to go. Haha I know it's normal for most ladies. But for me, with two little ones tugging and pulling, I need to make a conscious effort to steal the time.

In short, when we feel beautiful, your confiden is boosted multi folds. With the newfound level, you're good to go wherever life takes you.

[Good Brands] Klutz

We fell in love with Klutz 9 years ago when I discovered a Klutz book below:

It's not expensive at all, considering the hours of fun derived from it. Most of Klutz book... Well... Kit, more appropriately. Most of Klutz kits are reusable over and over again. Using the materials provided handily in the sturdy pouch or container, the child can do and redo many sets of instruction provided in the book. Afterwards, children can make their own creation. The idea behind each kit is simple, but very stimulating.

After that, we got about 5 other Klutz kits, none disappointing.

So, imagine the joy when we spot this:

Two of our favorite brands combined! Lego and Klutz. If Lego is cool, Klutz brought it to a new level by introducing the dynamic engineering theory into it. Super!

This post is not sponsored. It's purely an info sharing.

When Mommy is Sick...

I'm not well. Hasn't been feeling tip top in the past few weeks. With 1000mg vitamin C boost every day, managed to keep it going. However, last night decided to surrender and have a day rest today. 

Unfortunately, dear daughter's teacher had a less than pleasant feedback in the parent teacher meeting this morning. So I'm upset. Yes, I do. While my gal completely has no issue in her studies, she does have her moments of stressed out outburst. And frequent outburst in public is simply not right.

So in and out I drifted between paracetamols induced sleeps. In each awakening, my big problem zooming in cruelly. 

Why, one may ask, is it such a big problem?

My friend, it's big because I have no clue on how to solve it. And attitude is so very important to me. I've always emphasizing to both kids that I'd rather they fail their test, compared to being a person with a bad attitude.

Part of me is feeling guilty for not being there for her because I spent the time in the office, busy catching deadlines which I'm not sure whether it matters.

Another part is screaming... Nooo... It's doesn't sound like my little sweet girl... She must've been provoked! How can the teacher judged so while she herself was more often away in training or other personal matter. But I was humbled by my other more-rational-part into acceptance that indeed darling princess has been very rude and moody at home. Welcome teenage hormonal zing zang!

So here I was, alone, sipping my hot cocoa, waiting for the kids to finish their lessons. And suddenly it strikes me, to thank God. Thank you for the hot chocolate to calm me and my runny nose down. Thank you that my girl is acting up now. This means she's growing up. I hope by this episode, she'll learn a very valuable lesson. Rather than not knowing until she's old and wrinkled. Thank you for less than perfect form teacher. Because otherwise she may think everyone is like Mary Poppins. All objective and patient and naiiish...

Thank you for this problem... Because it means I'm alive...

If you have tips on how to parent a teenager, please do leave some comments below. Thank you. 

Is it necessary to take piano exam?

When I grew up, we didn't know that it is possible to learn piano without taking exam. This knowledge is important.

Why? Because, to some, preparing for exam may rip away the joy from learning piano.

So when I was looking for a piano tutor for my offspring, I told her that I don't really insist on taking exam. Gullible me didn't realized that piano tutor do need to increase tuition fee which is normally based on grade. Paiseh.

My colleague came out with an alternative solution to it. He allowed the tutor to judge. So based on the book, without taking exam, the tutor may increase the fee accordingly.

Now, I'm the midst of preparing dear son for grade one exam. I know now that he is not made for exam. He enjoys learning piano. But preparing for exam with endless repetitive exam piece is not his cup of tea.

BUT, I'm glad that we did it. Because, no matter what, exam is designed to test the capability properly. In those ghastly practice hours, the kid learns all the necessities to be a FINE piano player. Piano vs forte, speed, phrasing, expression, ... No doubt those with real talent does not need to go through this painful process. But my children are just mere mortal whose mom likes piano

So exam or not, at least once, let them take it. The experience worthed for both parents and child. :)

Best Method to Stop Unwanted Habbit

Ok, short and sweet.

There were times kiddoes start an annoying habbit. BOTH consciously or unconsciously (yes, can you believe it... One of them seriously made an effort to create one).

So far, I found the best method is to sit them down, tell the offender why it is not a good habbit, and... Ignore it.

If there is, condition the environment. For example, if we need to stop nail biting, keep the nails short so there's nothing to bite.

Don't remind, don't scold. Literally boiling inside, bite your tongue.

Eventually he/she will forget about it.

Hope it works for you... Wish you luck. :)

[Good game] Quoridor

For Christmas, we got this great game: Quoridor.

It's great! Simple, fast, and brain-excercise-y enough :)

They come in various level of difficulty. So be sure to get one suitable for your needs. The cutest pictured above is for 5+!

Castle

Recently, I'm hooked on Castle.

Not a game, not a toy, not a book.

It's a TV series. Murder mystery thriller, with a cool beautiful female detective. Although quality of the story varies from episode to episode (some scenes could be totally not realistic), it has some neat twist that even my beloved hubby couldn't guess the killer right.

But, the best feature I like is the father-daughter relationship pictured there. It's how ideal parenting is to me. With respect, honesty, love, and lots of fun. Daughter in question here is a late teenager, with all the rebellious hormonal stage, newly acquaintance to first love, searching for life footing, ... All the things I'm most anxious to face in our children future.

God helps, hope we will be good enough to have that breed of relationships with our children. Hey, He sent a model answer! Though it's very questionable whether one would be wise to learn from a TV series. 

Hankuk Taekwondo

1. At 1.5 years old, dear son requested to join big sis for... Ballet. Ha! Or course hubby flipped both with laughter and curiosity. Along with in laws' objection, I gently pulled him away from it.
   
   
   After prying and prodding, seems like he saw the ballet class as something fun. Body movement with friends, what's not to like.
   
   
   After understanding what he wants, dear son turned the request into 'any class that will teach him to fight'. Of course, this bring in another parental challenge to emphasize to him that even if we sign him on any martial art class, it's only and must be only for self defense.
   
   
   After much shopping around, we found one that is suitable for our expectation, budget, and location. It's...
   
   
   Hankuk Taekwondo School
2. 246 Upper Thomson Rd, 574370
3. 6456 1355

   http://hankuk.com.sg

   
   

   The masters are nice. Polite and good with kids. Son enjoyed the class and has no objection to practice for grading. He started almost 2 years ago at 5 years old, and the interest is still going strong.

   
   

   Great for parents who wait, the location is on top of Udders Ice Cream (yummy alcohol tinted ice cream!).

   
   

   Grading is held quarterly at one of their branch. Great, because at least it's on a location familiar to us. However, I do see a possible point of improvement. Not sure on how they schedule it, but if we come at the appointed time, we have to be prepared for a 2-3 hours wait. So far their reason is that because each examiner has his/her own way. Some may do it fast, some slower. Well, four times a year, I whipped out a good book or an iPad, sat cross-legged on the floor, and wait. Bearable.