How to help the community? (from a kindergartner)

This week's topic for show and tell is community. Draw a picture or print off a picture of someone in the community who helps you.
In Jaylin's eyes builders are important people for the community. They help people to build homes to keep them warm and safe.
I loved her drawing and how she explained it to me. From a parents view I expected Jaylin's answer to be a police officer, fire man or paramedics but her answer was very original to me. I love being the listener and let her explain her views to me. It amazes me each and every time!

(Red building on the left is a new house the builders are building, the guy in red is wearing a yellow hard hat because safety come first, the guy in green is the builder giving directions and marking the checklist, the guy inside the orange crane is using the machine to remove rocks, and the last guy I don't remember what was his job)

Learn To Read- Kindergartner

Jaylin started working on Hooked on Phonics at the age of four, whenever she is craving to learn I feed it to her like I'm feeding her brain.....her curiosity. I let her take the lead and I will pick up her cues to what her recent interest are. A while back she was not into fiction books she was eager to learn about animals, science, non-fiction type of books. I will buy/borrow reference books for young readers or head to the library and let her choose what she wants to learn or curious about. I will steer her toward the non-fiction books to see if anything catches her eye but she will quickly tell me "mommy I am done let's go check out and go home".
Hooked on Phonics was a terrific approach for Jaylin at the time so we gave it a try and she was hooked. Each lesson is about 20 mins long and she will watch a DVD for about 5 mins listening and following the pronunciation.  Step two is the workbook and reading a short story with the vocabulary she learned from the lesson. No drama, no tears, no stress it was all smiles because she felt so proud reading like a big kid. Its been close to 6-9 months working on Hooked on Phonics she is comfortable sounding out the letters to read the word. From lesson 1 to current she practiced mainly on words with the letter "a" such as: at, an, am, ad, ag and etc... Maybe we worked on the same workbook too long she is losing interest and does not want to proceed with the lessons. She turned five roughly two weeks ago and developed a mini attitude and thinks she knows it all.

She is not a genius nor a gifted child but at school I don't think it's challenging for her, at home I will introduce her to some science, reading, writing, simple math, arts and crafts. I am not a teacher I don't have a degree in early education I am a stay at home mom trying to keep her busy and maintaining tidy household. Her recent attitude change was driving me crazy, being bossy, not listening, regression," I know it all" kind of attitude......everything is expected and normal for her age. To bust her bubble a bit I had to out smart her and show her she is wrong and prove it to her instead of telling her "because i said so, or I know because I am your mommy" : ) Slowly this devil side of her phased out and she is slowly switching gears and willing to listen to what I have to say or teach her. ( it took me roughly 3 weeks to have her ditch her attitude, boy oh boy did she test her limits with me and pushed my patience to the max)

OK, back to business..... she is able to count and write her numbers up to 100 without assistance, capital and lower case alphabet seems to be consistent now. Reading was the next challenge since she lost interest with Hooked on Phonics I approached her with BOB Books. Its for ages 4 and up Set 1 for Beginning Readers, I didn't look through the books myself yet and grabbed the first book and handed it over to Jaylin to see how far she can go on her own. To my surprise.... she was capable of reading if not all but most of the books in the set. I didn't think she can read the short stories because she mainly work on "a" words. She caught my attention when she slowly sounded out the "i" words along with "o" words. Of course it felt like a milestone to mommy, praising her, clapping and acknowledging job well done pronouncing the words on your own. That boost her confidence so high she didn't want to stop but to keep reading one book after another. Maybe tomorrow she will like to continue with Hooked on Phonics.

Being bullied and they start young..

Not a single parent out there wants or wishes any child being bullied and hurt mentally or physically.
But we can only protect them when they are in our arms but when you let go and send them off to school you only pray they are safe and happy.
Everyday I wait at the bus stop to give that hug and kiss to my little honey the moment she steps off the bus. But today my mommy gut feeling from a far distance viewing the bus I know something is wrong or I will get bad news. My little honey did not jump with joy waving to me I see her hiding in her seat staring outside her window with no smile or affection. That is not my child..... Where is my sunshine?
The moment she stepped off the bus I asked her what's wrong? Her response was it was a very very bad day and I don't want to talk about it!! Tears was in her eyes and of course I pulled her to the side to let the bus pass, then she told me XX hit me and he hit me 3 times? Not over reacting I want to make sure what's going on or what happened?
She doesn't lie to me the good the bad the right the wrong Jaylin tells me everything. She slowly told me what happen and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I raised Jaylin to always use her words and never her fist. She was minding her own business sitting on her own in front of this boy, he decided to go sit next to her then punched Jaylin in the chest. Jaylin mocked at him and demands him to stop and hitting is not kind. She wanted to move but he blocked her, she yelled stopped again and apparently not loud enough for the bus driver to notice anything. He punched her again and she grabbed his arm and said " you stop that right now" his response was I don't care and I will do it again. The third punch happened again at the chest and I guess it was time for him to get off the bus. As we were still standing on the sidewalk I checked her chest for bruises but luckily nothing. I hugged her ever so tightly and told her you did the right thing but how come you didn't tell the bus driver, she answered me the bus was moving and we are not suppose to change seats. I had nothing to say but to tell her don't worry Mommy will fix this and put an end to it before it happens again to her or anyone else.
I took her to lunch my chest was tight and I couldn't think straight! I let her choose her favorite snack to make her feel better and to ask her how she was feeling and if we should go see the doctor. Not trying to over react we went and had lunch, I texted my sister asking her what I should do. I didn't know what I should do as a parent I wasn't sure if I should go to school or phone someone about this.
My sister told me to report to the school immediately, which I did and was able to speak with the assistant principle. I felt he was sincere and didn't tolerate children being bullied. He assured me he will investigate and will pull the two children aside and have a talk with them. I really hope he is not trying to shoo me away and think I'm one of those annoying parents complaining about something small.
All and all I didn't feel good and I don't ever want to hear Jaylin being hurt. I should tell her to kick that boy's ass!!! She knows what is right and what is wrong and I am so proud of her.

FaceBook Help

I bet many of you is upset and frustrated with Facebook's constant update but you can't blame them because if they don't update their interface it will get dated then slowly people/businesses will stop using Facebook. Many people that uses Facebook is comfortable and doesn't adjust well with change. I was quite upset with the updates myself and slowly feel my News Feed was empty and so quiet, I wonder did my friends unfriend me or how come my friends doesn't update their status or pictures anymore. Facebook's robot or system might think they are smart and automatically categorize who is your "close friends" and set what goes on your news feed. The friends that you comment on the most will surely remain on your news feed, but sometimes there are friends you have that you enjoy reading about them but don't comment or communicate much. I call those silent stalkers wahahah just kidding.

Last night I decide to go through my "Friends List" and do a bit of clean up and categorizing : ) Then I figured out why some of my friends that are close to me no longer on my news feed. Unfortunately there is no shortcut to this....you will have to go to each and every friend of yours to do the clean up or make the necessary changes. Take a look at my pictures for further directions.

Step 1: 

Click on Friends on FaceBook App or Click on All Friends on Computer

 Step 2: 

Click on a friend on your list then go to their page and click on the Friends tab

• If you like to get updates on this particular friend and have them on your news feed, make sure there is a check mark on "get notifications". 
• If you already have them as "close friends" that should have been checked automatically
• You can get a notifications on this friend or have them automatically pop on your news feed. If you check "show in news feed" their update appears. If you check BOTH (get notification & show in news feed) you will get both. Notifications is the "badge" on the op of Facebook page.
• Lets say you don't want to unfriend that particular friend but don't want to get any update from them, uncheck both "get notification & news feed"
• If you don't want that particular friend to see what "you post or your updates" you will categorize them in "acquaintances". Just remember when you post a recent update about yourself make sure you select the type of visibility such as "public, friends only, or friends except acquaintances".

Chinese New Year Fruit Basket

We spent most of the day at home today, while the kiddo was playing with her father I had some time to myself to test/try another Lunar New Year Decor. The fruit basket to hold mini clementines or tangerine is another tradition staple for Chinese New Year.
I didn't film a tutorial or take a step by step pictures of the process. Since new year is already here didnt think it will be relevant:) But if you guys are interested comment below and I will film one.

Lunar New Year Dinner

This is our first year having Lunar Dinner as a family, the hubster did most of the cooking, and I can't believe I stood in line for over an hour to get roast pork. Guess what, I was the last person to get roast pork....all the customers behind me wasn't a happy camper. I would be so so so pissed if it was my turn and they tell me sorry lady we are sold out!
The kiddo was so happy wearing her new year outfit and playing with her lion dog. Running around the house saying "happy new year" (in mandarin) wish I was with my family in Boston!!! But it was a new experience prepping for lunar new year on my own. The long line ups... Yummy food and fresh fruits.
Lunar new year dinner is similar to Thanksgiving dinner:) will update another post with more details about the dinner.

Supermom having super powers...

As we were roaming around the Dollar Store Jaylin grabbed a pair of pink and blue gloves up and asked me, what does this say mommy?
It says "super mom" honey, she paused for a moment and checked her pockets. She gets a dollar here and there if she helps me around the house. She took some money out and said to me " mommy I'm going to buy this for you".
I asked her why, and her response was..... You are my super mom and with these super gloves they will give you super powers so you can clean super fast.
My heart melted.....

Lunar New Year Lantern

How to make a lantern with red envelopes? 

Fold the envelope in half then fold each of the corner in like shown above 15x. You need to fold all 15 red envelopes the
same way.


After making the crease for all the corners, open them up 15x. We will now begin to staple the flaps together. Take one envelope and located the top right corner, then grab another envelope and locate the top left corner and attach them together like shown above.

After attaching the two flaps staple them together on the crease, then add another envelope and attach the flaps together and staple...........repeat total of 5 x. When attaching additional envelopes to the flaps make sure the design is facing the same direction to have the design nice and neat. After attaching 5 envelopes and stapling their flaps together. Start all over and make another one exactly the same way.  You will then have 2 sets of flowers and used up 10 envelopes.

You now have two sets of flowers and 5 remaining red envelopes.

Take 1 of the remaining 5 envelopes you have flip it horizontally then staple the top left flap of the horizontal envelope to the bottom right flap of a vertical envelope of the flower. Repeat 5x there will be no envelopes left. You will now have a hat like lantern and the remaining flower to attach.

You will need about 24 inches of golden color string, split in half then tie a knot. Cut any random piece of cardboard about 1 inch in width then staple the string inside the cardboard. Secure it nicely by stapling twice then fold up the two sides and place it inside the hat like lantern before attaching the remaining flower.

After placing the string inside the hat like lantern make sure its nice and tight inside and will not pull through now attach the remaining flower. Locate the bottom two flaps of the horizontal envelope, like shown on the picture above attach the right flap of the flower to the bottom left flap of the horizontal envelope. Do the same to the other side, bottom right horizontal envelope to the left flap of the flower. Repeat 5 x until all the flaps attached and stapled together.

After all of the flaps are stapled together your lantern is now finished.

Sorry : ( I forgot to take pictures of how to transform one design to another just by stapling the sharp corners together to make a round like flower lantern.

For a video tutorial please visit my YouTube Channel.
Thank You
Happy Lunar New Year to all
2013 Year of the Snake.

Jaylinbree's YouTube Channel

                                         

                                   

They call it the "Fresh" 5 years

Every year after her birthday....since Terrible Two's kicked in I face a new challenge or a new and improved "Jaylin" in front of my the eyes the morning after her birthday. She turned 5 about a week ago and according to some books they refer to it as the "Fresh Fives". Once again she test her limits with me and I face a new tone and/or attitude from her. (hands on her hips and wiggling her body saying " no, it's not mommy".

I didn't start blogging so many of you may think every kid is the same, you are absolutely right. It's all normal and nothing new to parents ears but it's driving me nuts. Through the years Jaylin and I developed a deal or let's say we help each other, she is a very mature 5 and I believe and she understands the routine very well. Whenever mommy is done with all the chores or what needs to be done this mommy is not afraid to get down and dirty with her and play anything and everything. Taking turns is how I like to put it..... but lately with my workload trying to keep a blog going, learning to develop a website and uploading videos on tutorial  on YouTube i am counting on her to cut me some slacks but guess what I don't get anything done.

Setting limits and allowing her to make some choices.... she is 5 and i believe she should start learning how to make good choices on her own for herself. Taking baby steps by letting her get out of bed on her own without dragging her out of bed for school every morning, letting her decide when bath time is ready and making good choices such as getting out of the tub before having wrinkly hands. Switching things up for her quite a bit, before I will give her the 5 minutes time up kind of deal or you have 2 more minutes then we have to....etc...etc. But mommy still means business and when you can't make good choices for yourself mommy will take it all away and make the decision for you until you can practice good behavior.

I can't blame Jaylin for her behavior instead I will take two steps back and see what I have been doing differently and are my expectations set too high for a 5 year old?!?!? Is she not getting enough rest? Jaylin normally naps 1-1.5hrs daily after school but I have been cutting it to 45 mins because she will be going to first grade in September so I would like to slowly wean her off, dont get me wrong I love naps that is the time where mommy gets some snuggling time with her or get some work done. She could be tired with the new sleep schedule being crabby and short tempered. Jaylin goes to bed roughly by 8:30 pm and wakes up at 7:45 to get ready for school that's about 11 hrs of sleep plus a nap. She is a busy bee busy as in busy at home with mommy kind of activities not after school programs. I didn't sign her up for classes like most parents do nowadays, do you find that odd? Instead I will work with her at home with reading, simple math, science, DIY and other fun crafts projects. She loves it and so do I, we like to keep each other busy and aside of all the fun and games plus projects mommy still needs to keep the house in order and do daily mommy duties.

When Jaylin cooperates I can get a lot done, normally a speedy 30 mins of prepping and cooking or 15 mins here and there I can get things done in a jiffy and attend back to Jaylin with my full attention. Sounds easy right..... it actually can happen. But lately nothing was productive, reminders left and right, slowing things down a notch to lecture or reason with her why this and that was wrong or why don't you try saying things way rather than that way to make its sound nicer and less demanding. (regression) Jaylin is definitely testing my patience and I have to keep my cool. I try not to let it get to me or get frustrated with her because she is still learning and developing her personality and understanding what is right and wrong and how to deal with situations.

Lunar New Year is around the corner and today we recorded a video on how we made our lanterns. Stay tune...I need to edit the video along with writing specific directions on how to make decorative lanterns for Chinese New Year.

Crystal Growing Mystical Tree Experiment

A fun easy experiment for all age group but for the young ones age 3 and under a little assistance with snipping the liquid bag and pouring it in the little case will still fascinate the little hands. They don't supply a lot of solution so it’s ideal to be careful and not to spill so your tree will be a full grown tree.

I have seen this experiment at many dollar stores such as Dollarama. Take a stroll to the toys aisle and see if you get lucky, if not you can easily purchase a packet like this through amazon. I would even try a regular toys store such as Toys R Us it may be called a Crystal Tree, Mystical Tree or Magical Tree it’s all the same experiment.

When you open the box and spread out all the pieces you can tell the magic to the growing the tree is the solution. The solution is made out of Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate which is a soluble salt which is used as a fertilizer, a food additive and a fungicide. Best to keep a close eye to young children when using it so they don't consume it by accident.

I didn't experiment it on my own with Jaylin yet but I wonder if we poor the solution to a regular piece of cardboard what will happen, will we get the same result?

If you look closely to the tips of the tree you, it comes in different colors….some packets may contain one color ie: one of my trees is pink and the other is rainbow. It depends on the color you received and that will be the outcome of your tree. The solution is clear/colorless I am guessing its food coloring on the tips of the tree, that’s another good experiment to try out in the future. To dip the tips of a regular cardboard box with food coloring then add the solution. I may need to do more research on the solution to see if it’s possible to mix on your own with household products. I will update post if I figure out the solution mix.

The instruction is quite easy:

1.     Attach the two pieces of tree together then spread out the branches.

2.     Pour the solution into the base (bottom of the tree) and not directly on the branches.

3.     Let it stand and allow the cardboard to soak up the solution. The tree will begin to grow shortly but it may take up to a few hours to fully grow.

As simple as that you are done, the box states the tree will last 3-4days but the tree we have been the same as day one. But keep in mind since the solution is all dried up and the cardboard is dry as well the crystal will easily fall off or break. To keep the tree intact I suggest you leave it as display and not touch it nor shake it.

For a video demonstration please visit my web site:
Mystical Tree Experiment

Episode 1: Stew Black Bean Spare Ribs with Turnip

豆豉排骨炆羅卜

Ingredients:

• spare ribs 1 1/2 lbs
• 1 turnip 1 1/2- 2 lbs
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 5 slices of ginger
• 3 tbs black beans
• 2 sticks of green onion

Sauces:

• 3 tbs corn oil
• 2 tbs dark soy sauce
• 2 tbs cooking wine
• 1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp corn starch 
  
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

• Place spare ribs in pan/wok with cold water (enough to submerge spare ribs)        add 1 tsp of cooking wine and bring to boil (roughly 5-10 mins)
• Drain and rinse spare ribs with cold running tap water (set aside)
• Heat pan for about a minute then add cooking oil
• Add peeled bulb of garlic to pan stir fry until golden brown then add 2 sticks of chopped green onion, stir fry together (1 min)
• Add clean spare ribs to pan and stir fry (3 mins)
• Add rinsed black bean and 2 tbs dark soy sauce, stir fry (2 mins)
• Add 1 tsp sesame oil , 1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar and the rest of the cooking wine to pan then stir fry all sauces evenly 
• Add water to pan (enough to submerge spare ribs) at high heat, bring to boil then lower temperature to medium/high for 30 minutes
• After 30 mins add sliced turnips then cook in high heat for 10 mins
• Mix 1 1/2 tsp of corn starch in a small bowl with 3 tbs of water then mix well, add mixture to pan and stir well till the desired consistency of sauce (discard rest of mixture)
• Ready to serve ( the amounts of black bean and dark sauce added not necessary to add salt but can add to desired taste)

Video demonstration to this recipe on my YouTube Channel.

Please visit my YouTube channel:  
Stew Black Bean Spare Rubs with Turnip

Please visit my website:
www.jaylinbree.com