Educational Games

Parenting is never an easy task and I think most parents would agree with me. What we say as a parent may be for the sake of the children, their safety, health or development but to the children, they hear nagging, they see over worried parents and they feel lack of trust and independence.

Let’s take the issue of exposure to computer and internet as an example. With the advancement of technology, it is a trend now to expose young children to computers and internet. On one hand, we want them to be in touch with technology but on the other hand, we are afraid they would be addicted to computer games or view sites that are not meant for children.

I have a seven year old and a five year old son. Both of them like to play with the computer. Well, do I stop them? NO! I think stopping them is not the solution as it breeds dissatisfaction and anger. So, after much thought, I decided to sit with them and play with them. Recently I found out that there are lots of educational games out there that appeal to children. While they play, they actually learn!

So, instead of having the children play Ben10 game or Dragon Fable, I would prefer that they play “MIA Reading: The Bugaboo Bugs!” Have you heard of this new title in the Mia collection by Kutoka? Well, let’s take a look at the following picture:

I guess nine out of ten children would willingly raise their hands and nod their heads if you ask them to try MIA instead of Ben10. This cute little mouse named Mia takes the center stage in “MIA Reading: The Bugaboo Bugs!” which is developed with a combination of adventure and educational activities. I’m very sure that both my boys would love this as it is specially designed for children aged five to nine according to the educational curriculum.

Characters found in Mia's adventure

So, while you are thinking how to cope with teaching your children phonics, spelling, vocabulary, sentence structure, words, word recognition, reading comprehension, punctuation, verb, adverbs and etc., why not let Mia do the job with you sitting by your children’s side guiding them along the way? All of these topics are covered in Mia’s Reading Adventure which has been categorized into twelve exciting literacy skills activities with four different levels of difficulty according to age.

One of the many activities found in MIA Reading: The Bugaboo Bugs!

The story line in “The Bugaboo Bugs!” starts with the invasion of some unwelcome bugs called the Bugaboos in a Victorian house where Mia lives. Mia needs the player’s help to get the Bugaboos out of the house before they are noticed by the human and before exterminators are called so that Mia and her family would not lose their home. I think it is a pretty fun adventure the children would like. The best part is the children have total control of the moves.

The Boogaboo Bugs

Now, “MIA Reading - The Bugaboo Bugs!” can be found on a hybrid DVD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh. If you are wondering where to get a copy of this, do visit TOYS ‘R US, The Apple Stores (US) or other fine toys and computer stores. If you are staying in Canada or the US, you can even purchase it online at Kutoka Boutique.

“MIA Reading – The Bugaboo Bugs!” is played in the computer and the minimum system requirements would be:

Windows XP (sp2), 2000 (sp4), VISTA; Processor: Pentium III - 1Ghz; RAM: 512 MB; Video & Sound: DirectX 9 compatible; DVD-ROM Drive: 4X; Hard Disk Space: 1.2 GB.

OR

Macintosh OS X, 10.4, 10.5; Processor: G4 - 1Ghz; RAM: 512 MB; Video & Sound: Standard Macintosh; DVD-ROM Drive: 4X; Hard Disk Space: 1.2 GB.

Fun learning makes children happy and happy children learn best. So, with just USD24.99, you are investing in something which will generate high return (happy and intelligent children).

One Light

"Many Lamps, One Light"

"As we embrace the joy of Deepavali, we are once again reminded that we each carry a spark from the one light that unites us."

I saw this advertisement by ASTRO in the STAR newspaper today. To me, it's very meaningful. To crop it into a smaller picture, this can mean a family. Each oil lamp can mean a member of the family and each one of us have the special bonding among us that nobody else could replace.

Tomorrow is Deepavali, the festival of light and it will be the day I teach my children about unity. It will be a day to teach them how to love each other, to treasure this relationship and to appreciate that they have a family.

Happy Deepavali to those who are celebrating it and happy holidays to all of you out there.

Different Experience

We are back from home town. It was a wonderful trip as the children get to see their grandpa and grandma (my parents); kong kong and popo (my parents in law) as well as their cousins. Every time we go back home, it’s like killing two birds with one stone as we get to visit both families.

It’s totally a different experience as my parents in law lived in a small village where there are no karaoke, no pubs, no cinema and no shopping complexes. What my children find interesting about this place is that they get to see durian trees, mangosteen trees, banana trees, oil palm estates, rubber estates and lots of chickens, dogs and cats. They have even witnessed a durian dropped from the tree.

Hubby brought us to the oil palm collection centre his brother own and told us the process of collecting oil palm.

Lots of oil palms collected

This is the weight bridge to weigh the oil palm (computerised). First, weight of truck with oil palm is taken. Then, oil palm will be unloaded and weight of empty truck is taken. The difference of weight equals to weight of oil palm.

Ramp (Truck will go in there and oil palm will be unloaded)

Seeing it with my own eyes is really different from reading it. Hubby also took the chance to explain to the children about the products produced using oil palm. Now, when he asks the children: “What can be produced by oil palm?” The children would answer: “Cooking oil and margarine.” Hubby and I really like to teach the kids informally. No textbook learning, no bored children but interested and curious children. It’s much easier for the kids to absorb what we say when they get to see and experience.

See Mummy

This morning when Karl and Wayne were preparing themselves for school, they called me suddenly.

My boys: Mummy, come and see.

Me: What’s up?

Karl: That Indian uncle simply throws rubbish.

Me: Where?

Wayne: There. He throws rubbish there (pointing to the opposite of our house).

Me: Hahaha… he is not throwing rubbish. He is a rubbish collector. He is only putting the rubbish together so that when the rubbish truck comes, he can upload the rubbish into the truck.

My boys: O.

It’s really funny to hear that but in my heart I was glad to hear what they say because I know that they have got the idea of where to litter when they couldn’t bear to see other people dirtying the place. Bravo to “Informal Learning”. I guess that’s how they pick up this value.

Instil Moral Values Through Stories

I found a great book in MPH. For those who know chinese, you know what I am talking about. Do you remember stories like "Kong Rong who chose the smallest pear?" and "Chao Chong who weighs the elephant using a boat?"

This story book is all about children of very young age, about how intelligent they are, how brave they are, how hardworking they are, how kind they are, how they love their parents and siblings. I read these stories to my kids and I can see the effect on them.

There are some mornings when Wayne felt like staying at home instead of going to school. I would ask him: "Wayne, do you remember the story of the little boy who wants to go to school but has to look after cows because he's too poor? Now that you have a chance to go to school to learn, do you want to go?" Wayne would look at me and say: "Mummy, I like holidays..... and I like school too!" Haha... that does the trick!

Karl likes to cry although he's already 6. I am constantly encouraging him to be tougher and after I told him the story about a boy (Shi Ma Quang) who kept calm and thought of a way to save his friend who fell into the water, I told Karl: "Karl, crying cannot solve problems. Look, Shi Ma Quang did not cry while his other friends cry and ran away and ONLY he managed to save his friend." Karl would wipe his tears and stop crying. I know it's tough for him to totally change but the story motivates him and I know he would learn one day.


Nyn would always share her portion of food with me but sometimes, she would give me the "not so nice" part and I would remind her: "Nyn, remember a boy named Chai Soon who picked berries for his mummy? He put the black berries in one basket and the red berries in another and he gave his mummy the black berries which were sweet while he ate the red berries which were sour. So, Nyn, if you love mummy, you must share with mummy the good and nice food and not the lousy ones, ok?"

Hopefully, they learn. I believe they will... one day.

Play and Learn

My kids love to Play and I love to see them enjoy themselves while they play. Recently, I found something good at the Cartoon Network in Ikano. It's a simple puzzle but it actually trains your children's motor skill when they learn how to match and it widen their vocabulary in a way too.

These puzzles are recommended for age 3 and up and I actually bought them for my sweetheart (age 4) but my little honey angel (age 2) became pretty interested when her brother was playing and so, she started playing too. She slowly got the hang of it and played really well.

Puzzle 1: Whose Baby?

- A very simple puzzle which consist of 2 groups: the mummy or daddy (1st group) and the baby (2nd group). Children match the baby animal to the mummy or daddy animal. For example: Puppy to Dog, Tadpole to Frog, Owlet to Owl, etc. What I would do is to separate the animals from their youngs and then, I would take out one animal, and ask my little honey angel: Where's the cat's baby? Where's the kitten? Then, she would search for the kitten and match it with the cat. After that, she would proudly present her work and say "see mummy, see this." So, teaching vocabulary isn't as tough as we think.

Whose Home?

- This puzzle is similar to "Whose Baby?" which also consist of 2 groups: the animals and their homes. All you have to do is to match the animals to their homes. Example: Dog to kennel, rabbit to burrow, spider to cob web, etc. Most of the animals are animals that the children know but the challenge is in the type of home which most of them do not know. It's so wonderful to see them learn through play. Even my little honey could answer her daddy when he asked her: Where does the rabbit live? Haha...