Play Hard Study Smart ala Miki – We are featured in Pa&Ma magazine January 2014 issue

Look at how fast time flies. It is now December and soon we will be saying hello, assalamualaikum 2014!  Miki is now just a month shy to 6 and Rafa is 18 months old. Both are too cute and too active,  taking care of them is a full time job.

At 5, Miki has so much energy in him that he jumps and runs all the time except when he is asleep. It is driving me crazy but finally I found the right activity for him that suits the overwhelming energy and beneficial for him at the same time.  I realized that Miki actually enjoys crafting but not making pretty artworks like colorful pictures and those lovely sparkly model they make in kindy art classes. Instead Miki could spend hours going through creativity challenges for kids beyond his age.

It started when we went to Karnival Ilmu 3P in Penang a few months ago. One of the activities held  in conjunction with the book fair was Innovation and Creativity Session with Awang Sharizan, winner of Cabaran Angkasawan Malaysia 2011. Together as a family, we joined the session and build model of a city using paper. Then, we were given polystyrene plates, cups, straws and  tape to create a boat that can move using water as its fuel.  During this challenge, Miki paid full attention and although he didn’t manage to create it, Miki surprised me a great deal during the next challenge – creating a fully functioning paddle boat using polystyrene dish and Popsicle stick!

Awang setting Miki’s paddle boat on water as my cutey lil boy looks on nervously. hehehe…

 Yay, it moves! Miki berjaya!

Because of that we won second place as most innovative family… altogether there were about 6 families joining. We won a hamper and Miki was so happy. hehe…

Recently we went to another innovation and creativity workshop hosted by the organization that I work with. Although it is meant for kids 7-14 years, Miki team up with my colleague’s kids, Baby, 8 and Syafiezal, 10 to test their if they got the innovative factor.

I am very proud of Miki (and Baby and Syafiezal), their straw tower is the tallest!! Kids in the other groups are much older but diorang punya tower tak naik-naik pun ada! LOL!

Miki called this very high structure, his Eiffel Tower. Cute!

After the straw tower challenge and a few other challenges, Miki also represented his group with a case study. Actually the task was to think of a solution for a common problem faced by them. The problem Miki faced was leaving his pet fish hungry while we joined the organization’s capacity building programme for 4 days. He drew the tank, the fish etc. And what I am proud the most is his confidence to go in front of the class, in front of everybody, speaks with a mike, speaks in full English about how he is going to create a robotic pet fish feeder to ensure his fish won’t die! That’s a fantastic idea baby! Mummy is so proud of you! Not bad for a 5 year old eh?

I find educating my children is much more challenging compared to the times our parents and teachers educate us when we were kids. TV and the all the apps in our iPhone and iPad are captivating and we parents have to be more interesting, more understanding and more fun than those TV shows and applications.

For little ones around Rafa’s age especially,I think the choice of toys we purchase for them is very important. Soft toys like teddy bears have been with us for ages, cute and cuddly but come on? What do they do except as a bedtime companion and a guest at tea parties… My sons don’t even play tea parties!!! I believe other boys don’t too…

Talk about toys, do get a copy of Pa&Ma magazine, January 2014 issue. I was interviewed by Pa&Ma about how I choose toys for my children. My answer was of course, those that can stimulate their mind and improve motor skill. My preferred brand is of course Fisher Price!

To read more about my views on kids toys? Baca the magazine la ye! hehe.. Cheers!

Rafa looks comel!!!

Two pages, full color, 3 pics. Meletop PR value… hahahaha…