Buy books buy books.

Received this notice in my mailbox today:

The Big Bad Book Sale is Back!

The Big Bad Book Sale (organised by Big Bad Wolf Books) will be on from 26 November to 2 December 2009.

The sale will feature more than 200,000 books and magazines at at prices ranging from RM3 to RM20.

The books on sale will be brand new and include many current and popular titles.

The Big Bad Book Sale
Date: 26 November – 2 December 2009
Venue: Level 3, Amcorp Mall (former cinema lot)
Time: 10am – 9pm

A short note.

I certainly welcome readers who wrote in asking for suitable schools around their living areas. Can I also urge you all to state at least your email address so that you can be contacted directly and promptly, when a responder is able to answer your pleas, resulting in speedier q&a process, especially when looking for the almost-perfect school for your children?

Lee Havis – Montessori Convention Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2009

I received this ‘gift’ in my mailbox. The audio is quite fuzzy but the content is pretty exciting and totally mind-opening!

more about "Lee Havis – Montessori Convention Kua…", posted with vodpod

Slow down, teacher!

We tend to have at least one child in the classroom displaying difficulty in following directions or instructions and often resulting in power struggle with teachers or other children. Sometimes the child will run away before we could even finish a sentence, thinking somebody will grab the thing in his/her hand and runs away a lot.

Instead of  struggling physically or reprimanding the child, I find some of the methods below useful:

• stop dancing along with the child’s movement to escape from you. Move towards the child in a slow and steady manner. Use eye contact and proximity when the child is not looking directly at you.
• Invite other children, especially the older ones to help the disarray child, such as reminding him/her to sit properly, how to behave at the meal table or even to merely walk in a line.
• I also keep telling myself to control my own personality, not letting it to influence the child’s inner guidance. I need to trust the child. Initially, I force my own opinion and personality onto the child, coercing the child to accept the right actions. But then, as I withdraw myself from the situation and observe patiently whilst giving the child space and time to think and act more appropriately, the better side of the child unfolds without me having to praise or chip in my opinion of herhis actions. The child seems to know the right thing to do.

Oh! All the above remind me of an incident in school today. It was my turn to babysit F today. After finishing his snack, I asked F to put his water bottle into his bag, which I helped to open after he had tried several times to unzip it. He refused to put the bottle into his bag, and I repeatedly instructed him to do it, telling him that I would help him in the process. That’s when my personality kicked in and I stared/looked at him in the eyes. He even ‘rebelled’ by dropping himself on the  floor and refused to get up. I left the room at that moment, leaving his bag opened and the bottle by the side. After a few seconds, I stood outside the room and peeped from there. What I saw surprised me! F took the bottle , put it into his bag and was trying to zip it up. That was when I went to his rescue. Who ever said timing is not crucial!

Nanny required.

I received this urgent email from a mother.

“Actually, what I am looking for is for a minder/nanny who can come over to my house during the day from around 9-6.30.. I have an Indon maid to do all the housework and just need someone to look after S and the baby. I live in PJ, SS3.”

Dear readers of this blog, if you know any reliable nanny (like Mrs. Doubtfire ), please email me the details and I will forward it to her. Thank you!

Ecology Education

The crowd enjoyed the premiere release of another environmentally induced movie “The Age of Stupid” at Grand Millennium Hotel, Malaysia yesterday. A movie with an urgent message for humankind as we continue to damage this ill earth.My early resolution for this cause is to fly only once this year.

In South Africa, schools are collaborating, participating and educating the children to contribute to the cause of saving the earth from the incessant temperature/climate change issue.

Newberry House Montessori Primary in Somerset West (with only forty children) must be one of the smallest schools in the Western Cape to have achieved its Eco Flag…all the children, parents and teachers worked really hard to change their environment and take ownership of our precious earth. Over 1000 schools in South Africa have already been granted their Eco Flag.

(Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa)

The playground a year ago was quite a barren gravel pit. Most of it has been converted to a volleyball court with sand, but around the edge there is a small Eco Garden. The students planted at least ten indigenous trees, made a few eco-circle gardens, planting vegetables and herbs. They also installed a small pond. The garden has already created enough diversity for the bird life to be improved, and the children have made bird-houses to make them feel even more welcome!

Newberry House Primary School is working with WESSA and WWF under a project called Eco Schools programme which is “designed to encourage curriculum-based action for a healthy environmen. It is an internationally recognised award scheme that accredits schools that make a commitment to continuously improve their school’s environmental performance. This program has been running since 2003 and they have worked tirelessly to get schools more environmentally aware.  At the Awards Ceremony in April it was very encouraging to find so many schools from all walks of society being recognised for their efforts.”

Schools around the world are taking small steps to save Mother Earth, I wonder whether educational institutions here are lunging into tiny steps to do the same. Why don’t start working hand in hand with famed ngos like WWF and MNS?

Updates.

Grounding myself to work on two Montessori/school-related projects. One of which I will reveal in hopefully less than a month and the other would be worked on a weekly basis but I’m not sure how to implement it as I am drafting the idea and policies for it.

Many ideas many hats many triumphs!

Selling used things.

I am selling my used stuff (books, clothes, cds, dvds, vcds, souvenirs) and conducting a survey at Awesome Possum Bazaar booth 32 on

Dates: 4^th July 2009(Saturday)
Time: 11:00am to 8:00pm
Venue: Subang Square Shopping Gallery, SS15 Subang Jaya

I hope to add dosh into my Travel Piggy Bank from the sale. Initially, I wanted to sell my handmade accessories there but the my things are occupying a large part of my brother’s space, so I thought that it would be fair to pass on the things to the next owner to provide more space for my bro’s house and to salvage the abandoned things. I can always find another selling venue for my accessories.

So, don’t forget to bring friends and families on that day to enjoy maximum! And for more details visit http://awesomepossumbazaar.blogspot.com/

Childminder.

Reading an article in an early years magazine from UK, and this thought struck me all of a sudden.

It’s an article about celebrating National Childminding week in UK in mid-June, and the question that hit me was what is the definition and responsibility of a childminder, and any similar position here in Malaysia.

Registered Childminders are professional day carers who work in their own homes to provide care and education for other peoples children in a family setting offering a flexibility of service that is difficult to find in other provisions. – taken from Leighton Buzzard Childminding Association

Do take note of the word ‘registered’. And here they call them nanny, don’t they?

Registered childminders offer a flexible service in a family environment. All childminders are required by law to register with Ofsted. Police and Social Service record checks are carried out on the childminder and all persons over 16 living in the house. The childminders home is also checked for hygiene and safety. Bedfordshire childminders are required to attend training courses before registration. Registration is renewed annually, which involves an inspection of the childminders home by Ofsted to check that standards are maintained. Registered childminders must also have public Liability insurance.

Okay above is something  far-fetched from our local nannies, although no doubt their liability to look after young children is unlikely to differ much from the UK childminders. What I want to highlight is the seriousness and professionalism in child care conduct and codes in developed countries, and whether we should start to emulate this strictly here.

On a lighter note, I’m quite happy to know there are a few semiformal playgroups conducted by parents, taking turns to organise indoor and outdoor activities for the young ones.

Survey at PJ Civic Centre, Malaysia.

I am helping  a researcher friend to collect data on public’s knowledge about  Minggu Amanah Saham and basic financial knowledge on 13 June 2009, Saturday (8am- 5.45pm) at Petaling Jaya Civic Centre, in conjunction with a seminar to be held by the Malaysia Indian Business Association.

Do come and support me at the booth if you are around the corner. You won’t be going back empty handed. A lovely pen with clip and lanyard will accompany you home.