Frog Is Frog - I Simply Like Myself by Max Velthuijs

This is a an excellent story book introduced to me by my Chinese friend, YL. It teaches children to love themselves in an entertaining and endearing way through a simple story about a frog who wanted to be like his friends Duck, which could fly, Pig, which could bake a cake. In the process, he learns to appreciate his own uniqueness as a frog.

The English title is called "Frog Is Frog" written and illustrated by Max Velthuijs, a Dutch author, who wrote a series of children books portraying the growing up of Frog and his experiences. The Chinese version translated the title to "I Simply Like Myself" which I think is a more fitting to the story than the English title.

I particularly like this book and all his books on the series on Frog. J loves all the books too. However, if you have a limited budget, and need to only pick a book, then I will suggest to pick this book. The Danish version can be borrowed for free from the Danish library.

It brings to mind the famous words of Albert Einstein which this story book illustrated very well:

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

I wished I had read this with JN while he was visiting us in Copenhagen recently. I have been reading this book to J since he was 3 years old, and I read to him again this evening. He could understand more and more now. He acted like the frog learning how to fly and not succeeding:

You can find the English version from Amazon UK here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frog-Max-Velthuijs/dp/1849391173/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1372367455&sr=8-4&keywords=Max+Velthuijs

You can read more about this talented Dutch author here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/28/books/28velthuijs.html?pagewanted=print&position=

Montessori Activity: Practising Writing Numbers with Dry-Erase Book/练习夹击把握

Age: From 3 years old

Activity Duration: 5 - 15 minutes

Objectives:

1. To train fine motor skills esp. pencil grisp

2. To provide a fun way of learning how to write numbers

Materials:

1. Dry-Erase Number Book

2. Whyteboard marker

Directions:

1. Demonstrate to your child how to trace the number. Then count the objects together.

2. Invite your child to try

Additional Information:

I bought this book from Popular Bookshop (www.popular.com.sg) in Singapore. This book is just published in July 2011. The quality is very good and compared to the dry-erase board from Amazon, it is very cheap. It works very well. This book is in Chinese. I wanted to also get something similar in English, but I could not find it.

Joshua (2Y10M9D) practised pincer grasp and writing numbers today with this book. Initially, he got discouraged for not able to follow the line. Oh dear, Joshua is showing signs of being afraid to make mistakes. This is not the objective of this exercise!

I wondered how I can encourage him to continue. Then an idea came to my mind. I will demonstrate by making mistakes. Then I show him my mistakes. Then I said, "That is alright, mommy will try again." I repeated this several times to show that practice makes perfect. He took it up and began to get teh courage to try again and again.

Thank God for answering my prayers and helping me to solve problems as they arise and walking along this parenting path with me.

References:

http://blessedmom.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-teach-kids-to-hold-a-pencil

Heritage Education: How to Nuture Your Child's Mother-Tongue Ability?

Many children living in an environment, where his/her mother-tongue is not the predominant language of the society, will when entering kindergarten or primary school, refuse to converse any longer in his/her mother-tongue.

I discussed this with a few cross-cultural mothers, and here are some ideas, which I will be trying out to sustain Joshua's interest in his heritage and mother-tongue, Mandarin Chinese:

1. Expand Vocabulary before Kindergarten

My friend, Yang Li, and I have been analyzing the issue of why children refuse to speak his/her mother-tongue. Upon entering kindergarten and primary school, the child's language ability will explore due to the exposure he/she gets when interacting with others. The child will naturally use the language that he/she has the most words and can express himself/herself best.

To prevent refusal from speaking mother-tongues from happening, according to my friend, Yang Li, Chinese mothers need to be very determined and diligent in expanding his/her child's vocabulary to be on par with the dominant language in kindergarten and school.

Daily conversations with Mommy is no longer enough. More sophiscated, deep and rich expressions are needed to carry the child through for his/her need to express himself/herself in their increasingly expanding world. This is done through reading, reading and reading to your child. Here are some books she recommend from China based on her contacts with the Chinese teachers in China:

Read to the child story books with increasing text and expressions that will still capture the child's interests. The best children's books are actually the story books which are translated from English to Chinese, because nothing beats the Danish and English fairy-tales, which never fails to capture a child's interest in story-telling and reading. Hans Christian Andersen, for example, is one of the most popular Children's authors in China. 

Next, read to the child the children encyclopedia in Children Chinese edition. You will find that even Chinese mothers in China had a hard time knowing all the Chinese terms. Here are some book Chinese Children's Encyclopedia's titles.

The above books are appropriate for a child from 2 - 3 years old.

I fully agree with Yang Li, but this is a very tall order for a cross-cultural working mom like me. It is a long journey ahead, I am not sure I will be able to do it, but I will do my best.

2. The Secret Language

My colleague, D, shared this tip: Tell your child that this language is the secret language that Mommy and child share exclusively, that his/her classmates do not understand. I think this is a brilliant idea too.

3. Make a List of the Successes of your Heritage

Very often, the child stops speaking the mother-tongue, because the language has a low status in the environment he/she is growing up. The child becomes ashamed of his/her mother-tongue and heritage. No matter how small the successes of your heritage is, make a list and share it with your child. Teach your child that he/she has much to be proud of his/her heritage and should not be ashamed.

My Very First Prayers in Chinese/English

This is another book that I bought. it is also very expensive, around 60 SGD. It has a lot of good bedtime prayers and good Christian values. I bought it at Bras Basah Complex in Singapore. It is also published by www.mount-kidz.com

I sometimes can't find the words to pray with J, and I find the words inside very meaningful.

Here is a couple of examples:

Dear God,

When my mum is happy, let us laugh and play together.
When my mum is busy, let us do the work together.
When my mum is worried, let us sort things out together.
When my mum is weary, let us sit and rest together.

Dear God,

When a perfect day is spoiled, help us find a way to mend it.

When the weather is cold, may our home be warm.
When the weather is wet, may our home be dry.
When the sun shines hot, may our home give shade.
When the world is dark, may our home be bright.

My Very First Bible in Chinese/English

I bought this Chinese/English bible for J from Tecman Christian Bookshop at Bras Basah Complex in Singapore. It was quite expensive, approx. 60 SGD I remembered, but it was a very good investment.

I have been reading to J in Chinese and Daddy in English, since J was a newborn.

The advantages are:

1. It comes with Chinese and English text side-by-side and is very colourful and reader-friendly. It is very hard to find such books in the market, thus, this is a rare find.

2. I like the content very much.

There are two disadvantages though:

1. It does not come in Chinese Hanyu pinyin. But my mum came to visit me, when J was born, and with her help, I have put Hanyu pinyin in some of the words.

2. The pages do not come in hard cardboard, thus not so baby-friendly. However, I usually read to J during bedtime, thus, he does not get to touch the pages.

J loves it when I read to him, and it is one of those books that he doesn't get tired of, which is good, considering the price I paid for it! Now that he is a toddler, he loves to point at the illustration in the book. Also, now that he is a toddler, he does not tear book, but gently flip the pages, which is nice.

It is published by www.mount-kidz.com