The girl's childcare centre celebrated mid-autumn festival on Friday after school hours. The dinner that we had to pay for was quite insufficient. It was sort of pumpkin rice with 2 small chicken drumsticks but it was quite tasty. The girl, probably excited, did not even finish 1/2 her child's portion. 

The children definitely had fun with their friends. The night ended with taking a walk round the estate with lanterns provided by the school. I had brought along K's first lantern when she was not yet 2 but she didn't want to hold it because the LED was getting weak. -_- So she ended up taking the one from school which kept dropping off the stick and ended up not holding it either. 

And over the weekends, it was the hubs' turn to be away on an overnight golf game with friends at Batam, a game that he has not played in a long while I must admit. And since it's mummy, the girl stays home. Lol.

It was the usual HYPY and abacus class on Saturday morning, which I am planning to 'suspend' during the months of November and December so that we can spend more time with the girl and to sort of give her a break before she starts primary 1. 

I made us lunch after picking her up from the centre, which will become her student care centre in a couple of months time and acceded to her request to watch 'Wizard of Oz' on the laptop. During that time, I napped. Heh. But I did get up to tell her the play that she was watching was running too long and we have to continue another time.

We then went to the library to return and borrow some more books. 

And today, we went to church after which we had lunch with the eldest brother only because the SIL was still tired out from the day's event the day earlier. At home, I got the girl to do a craft work which she worked on for almost an hour while I napped. Hahahhaha...

The hubs came back home mid noon and everything is back to normal for us 3. :)

The girl attended her 2nd piano lesson yesterday. She seems to be enjoying it. Let's hope this interest stays for awhile yet.

Earlier in the week, the hubs mentioned that he may get a piano from an acquaintance who was giving it away. At first I was excited but after sharing it with the girl's childcare mate's mum, I think we should just settle for a cheaper and portable keyboard for now. Owning a piano incurs a lot of costs. From transportation and the regular tuning. Not to mention the space required. Getting a keyboard first is also less painful should the girl decide that she does not want to pursue it anymore but of course she needs to learn how to persevere first.

Although we are allowed to sit in during class since it's an individual piano class, the girl seems to be more responsive when we are not there. Fear of answering wrongly? Hiaz.....I think she has been frightened by our scoldings, which, we have noted and are of course trying to make a change.

Piano lessons do not come cheap. So I really hope, for her name's sake, she will be musically wired.

And so the company had a team bonding event organised at Club Med Bintan and all of us snagged a free stay from Friday to Sunday. I had fun the last time I went there many years back with the family owned business. And this time, I had good fun too but didn't get to go on the trapeze as much as I wanted because I arranged for 5 of my colleagues and myself to a spa out of the club premise, which of course was a lot cheaper. So I missed the timing for the trapeze...oh well... :(

Me and my room-mate, a pinoy lady who I'm pretty close to and have lunch with almost everyday took the 1st ferry available to us so that we could arrive at Club Med earlier to check the place out.  We were all split into 3 separate ferry timings.

We managed to slot in a pilates session before gathering with the rest of the company for dinner. 

We had team building activities on Saturday morning and feeling famished at the end of it, went for lunch, showered and off to the spa. It was good being pampered but as much as it was, the aches weren't exactly kneaded away.

And on Saturday night, we boogied the night away. It's been too long since for me, for obvious reasons. 

Overall, we all had good, clean fun. Some of us don't mind future company trips even at the expense of not having anymore budget for the company's annual D&D. Well, let's see.

We have arrived at a decision regarding the girl's request for additional 'enrichment' classes. We will not continue the girl's ballet lessons when this term ends. Her enthusiasm towards ballet is already waning. And I figured, what can she do even if she continues? 

Will she be a ballerina? I think it's a little far-fetched. And even to be a future ballet teacher, you need to be outstanding. Well, as long as her curiosity is fulfilled and now she knows what ballet is all about, I think that should be good enough. Her ballet lessons now stop for a 3 week break and start again next month. So let's see if she misses going for classes during this timely interim. 

As for swimming, we'll start her on lessons proper next year, after she has settled into the primary 1 routine. Let's just enjoy the slower pace, if any, for the next 3 months of the year. We will sign her up for individual piano classes starting this Thursday. Unlike ballet, music and swimming lessons are both life skills. Even if the girl decides not to sit for exams, the skill of notes reading and playing will stay with her. Similar to swimming isn't it? Hopefully, she will hone her piano skills well enough to serve in church in future.

So much to think just for enrichment classes. I wonder how some parents can pile so many on their child's plate. Even if the child is not exhausted, the parent will be. Just like me. The hubs and I are actually looking forward to no more ballet lessons so that we can redeem back the Saturday free time. Lol...

We are usually packed with activities on the weekend but Saturday's was the ultimate.

We had to wake the girl up early because the cancelled HYPY class last Saturday was replaced with 1/2 hour earlier at 9am this Saturday and the next. She gets probably a 20 minute break before she continues with abacus at the enrichment centre which will be her student care next year on. While the hubs hung out with his old classmate after sending the girl for her classes, I get the uninterrupted peace of doing the house chores. I do not complain when there is no one around to disturb me. Lol.

We had lunch at Macdonald's after paying half the payment needed to confirm the girl's slot at the student care. And then it is home for an hour's plus of rest before we head out to ballet. We returned the library books borrowed before that at the mall opposite the CC where the ballet lesson is held.

After ballet, we took off back to Jurong East to attend a trial piano class. We were early by slightly less than an hour so we went to the spectator seats of the ice-skating rink to wait out and watch amateurs ice-skate. 

We had to pay for the trial lesson but it was ok, since it wasn't much and the hubs and I could sit in. Since it was an individual lesson, the girl was able to pick up quite a bit from reading some basic notes and then playing them on the piano. She enjoyed it. I think we will proceed to send her for individual piano lessons. Like swimming, it is a skill that stays with you.

And after church yesterday, we went for lunch at the club to have an early birthday treat for the eldest SIL. I do not want to repeat what a blessing she has been to us but she has. After the heavy meal, because the hubs never fails to over-order, they came over to our place and rested/napped. Once again, the SIL entertained the girl while the rest of us took our glorious naps. Lol. And then we went off again to have dinner with M.

That sums up our busy weekend.

I brought the girl to observe a swimming lesson on Tuesday evening, after our dinner. I had googled and managed to find out that there are lessons on Tuesdays at 7pm and 8pm as well as on Wednesdays. As the girl has art lessons on Wednesdays, Tuesdays would make a better choice.

On top of swimming, the girl has also asked for piano lessons. Wahhh....where got time? Mind you, she has not said to stop going for any of her other classes. Although she does say at times she doesn't want to go for ballet, but after attending the day's lessons, she cleans forgets about the earlier self-doubt. Times when she doesn't want to go are times when she is feeling lazy.

When she was about 5ish, she would say no whenever I suggested sending her for any lesson and it always ends up with her liking them. It got to the point where I was quite fed-up, because I am impatient, and told her I will not ask her next time and she will just need to follow because she will end up enjoying the classes. But then again, with busy Saturdays like now, I dropped the idea of any other additional classes.

That is until our dear little friend asked for swimming and music lessons. 

Having 4 more months left of this year, (WHATTTT?!?!?!) I figured heck, just send. Let her swim for the next 4 months, then stop for primary 1. If she decides that she can still manage the evening lessons after school, she will let me know if she is still keen. As for music, I will arrange for a trial at a school that her classmate is attending and see how she likes it.

My only thought is if I should have start her off before she turned 5. Now? It's like there is not enough time!

So we received 'good news' today:

But, we are withdrawing her from that school and transferring her to one that is nearer to home. One that is beside her childcare centre, one that is within walking distance from home and most importantly one, that the student care we are sending her to is able to pick her up from.

After her classes on Saturday, the hubs and I sat down with the owner/teacher of the enrichment centre that K attends her HYPY and abacus classes at. I think I can speak for the hubs when I say, we do value the advise that the owner/abacus teacher gives us. She briefly spoke to the hubs about their student care program and fees last Saturday and asked that we both come in again to discuss about K's primary 1 student care plans. 

Having attended abacus since beginning of the year, followed by HYPY for quite a number of months now, we like how they guide the kids. Well, the enrichment setting is more intimate...I am not familiar yet with the student care setting. However, in the package, 2 hours of tuition is provided for English, Math and Chinese on 3 separate days and of course the usual homework supervision, lunch, tea breaks etc. Although the school itself have allocated space for privately run student cares, we are comfortable with the current place to prefer that the girl goes there. 

Furthermore, they have quite a few students from the school that they are willing to go and pick them up from, which makes us also want to transfer the girl there. Otherwise, we would have to arrange for a 1-way school transport for the girl to the student care after school hours. 

Initially, I was really skeptical on transferring the girl because I really have the impression that demographics is a factor on the make-up of a school. However, the owner assures me that both schools are almost on par and in fact, she has been impressed by the PSLE results that the nearer school has had for the recent 2 years. And, importantly, the parent factor comes into play. I am not for sending K to an elite school simply because when she is stress, we as parents feel the stress too. The NIL spends at least $1k on tuition alone! 

Anyhow, pray that our change of decision is blest by God. Only he will know the future.