Not ready for elementary school

Alfie is now an elementary school student. For one thing, we decided to enrol him to national school - Regina Pacis. I know that it will not be easy for Alfie to adjust to this old and conservative school. I have a lot of concerns and am worried that he doesn't want to go to school. To my surprise, he is not that bad. He cried a bit at school because he still hasn't made friend. He wakes up as early as 5am and does his homework everyday even with lots of grumble mumbles.
After a week, the most worrying thing happened today. Either he was not feeling well or he was stressed out with the new environment, Alfie threw up when he arrived at school. When I picked him up at 1035, the teacher said she couldn't release Alfie because he cried all the time and hasn't finished his writing exercise. He was alone in the classroom, finishing his exercise. And this thing continued to the next couple of days.

At home, I asked Alfie "Why did you cry at school, Alfie?" He calmly replied "I think I am not ready for elementary school" Well, maybe the right answer is "not ready for 'old-style' elementary school. So sorry Alfie, we need you to experience this to be a strong and tough boy! Hang in there!

Parenting 101 (1)

Alfie always surprises me with his knowledge. At his age now  (5 going to 6), he knows and understands a lot of things far much better than I was at his age. This evening, at a regular piano practice, he asked me "What is allegretto?" I said "I don't know, let's google it" I opened the google page and let him type. We got the answer 'allegretto means moderately quick' He read by himself as he can read now. Suddenly he added "Oh, it's like Adagio means slow, and then Moderato, Allegro and Presto- if you want to sing very fast!" I was speechless for a moment. He knows the terminology very well. I checked google, and they are all right! I myself never heard Presto in my whole life :) I asked Alfie where did he get all the things. He said "From Little Einstein!"



For those who against TV for kids, I must say that in fact it brings a lot of good things to kids - especially Alfie. He learnt many things from Oso, Handy Manny, World Word, etc.


The most impacted thing that we observed Alfie learnt much from TV is his English. It is impressive listening to his vocabularies and how he use the phrase or terminology at the right time. Here are just some samples:
"Mama, can I help you arrange the silverware?", "Wow, the rainbow is invisible", "We will arrive at no time"

School Holiday 2012

This is the most productive holiday for the boys. As I am still on maternity leave and Aco is on a very minimum working hours, we can do a lot of things together.

The most significant results from this 6-weeks holiday are Alfie can ride a two-wheel bike and swim a frog style, while Alwyn is no longer afraid to get into the pool without floaters and learning to ride a two wheel bike too. 

Other than that the kids also had several free activities in the Clubhouse ie playing table soccer, racing Tamiya car, decorating bag, and drawing. 
 

They also had a chance to play bowling @eX, play with their cousins Vanessa and Nadya in the playground @Giggles and spent a night at Novotel Bogor to visit Kebon Raya and Rumah Air. 

In one fine Sunday morning, we went to Taman Suropati just to satisfy Alfie and Alwyn desires to have a picnic at the park. They really enjoyed the day. The night before, Alfie and Alwyn were busy preparing toys and things to bring for their picnic.

Agatha

Introducing Agatha Lin Patunru. Born May 7, 2012.

Embracing 2012

 Here we go again, welcoming a new year. The foregoing one has been wonderful. But we lost one beloved person. Anna’s aunt O’o passed away in April. It was a huge grief. She had been very close to Alfie and Alwyn since their birth. She literally took care of the boys every weekday after school, before we picked them up in the evenings. May she rest in the utmost peace. Though obviously we will always miss her nastar – that’s Indonesian pineapple cookies, O’o made the best.

We have moved to a new house. The boys love the spacious areas – meaning, there is more space to mess around with their toys. But from time to time they still go “we miss the apartment”. Maybe because it’s closer to their school. Traffic is bigger challenge now, yes. As Alfie once complained, “I hate staying in the car for hours if it’s not like, moving”. Sorry boys, we just wish Jakarta’s traffic will get better someday.

One week after their close birthdays in August, we took the kids to Australia. Call it a belated birthday present. We flew to Sydney and drove to Canberra where Aco gave a presentation and back to Sydney again, visiting Tante Arty.  Alfie and Alwyn enjoyed the trip (except the car seat in Alwyn’s case, apparently). Taronga Zoo was very enjoyable to the boys. So were the harbor and ferries.

So now let’s welcome the new year. It seems the competition in the house will get stiffer next year – Anna is pregnant. The doctor expects the newborn will come in May. Alfie understands that he’s going to have another fella. As for Alwyn, he’s more reserved (maybe he’s been enjoying his status as the youngest – so he goes, “But all these legos and Transformers, I can keep ‘em, right?”).

Alfie has a resolution for next year: to form a rock band. He even has a name already: Stop by the Line (we have no idea what that means). He said he’s going to play the guitar and sing (no, he can’t play a guitar – yet). Alwyn, on the other hand, doesn’t care.

Happy new year, friends! 4As.