My Waterway @ Punggol

I have always been very proud of where I stay as I love the surroundings and estate very much especially when new things start to sprout out. It gives me a sense of humility and I just feel blessed to be able to stay where I am as we started off with nothing much. Now, I feel like we have everything that I look for in an estate...great scenery, lush greenery

many activities to do and see..

And of course, great food!

With the opening ceremony of the waterway just over, I can't wait for more things to be built- the driving range, the horse stables and more restaurants and eateries along the Punggol Beach...

For now, I am still enjoying the peace and tranquility of the area, as the crowd hasn't set in yet. Definitely a great place especially for the kids to grow up in!

My darling students...

Just recently, my mum commented that she is very proud of me. That really made my day...She said that she is proud of what I have achieved and what I am doing now for my students and my family. I feel humbled and touched as at least, there's someone who recognises and supports my effort in the things I do and love doing. Personally, I try my very best in what I am given- my role as a teacher, a wife, a mother and a daughter. I try my best to be involved in all that I do and not neglect my roles and responsibilities. But of course, it has not been easy especially when this year, for the first time, I have been given a Sec 3 and a Sec 4 math class to teach. Usually, its only one level per year. I have been spending a lot of time with my Sec 4s by giving them a Math camp during the March Holidays, many night classes till 9 pm, Sat classes etc.. I enjoy being with them and though I have only started teaching my Sec 4s this year(which is another rare case as most of the time, the Sec 3 teachers would follow them up to Sec 4 which I didnt teach them last year...and for the record, I have been teaching Sec 4 consecutively from 2008 to 2011. My last Sec 3 class I taught was in 2007), I have grown so close to these group of students. During this time, was a very busy period for me as I have been very busy with my robotics training, in preparation for their Asia Pacific Vex Robotics Championship in Taipei which is in Nov and on top of that, I have to prepare my Sec 4s for their O levels. I even had to arrange my students to come my house for extra lessons if they need just to squeeze out time..

Another interesting occasion I had with one of my students was to bring him for a haircut. He is my Robotics student, Benedict and he recently had a brush with the discipline master for his hair. And because we have been training so much from 7am till 9pm, he didnt really have time to have his hair cut. So today, we manage to squeeze some time off during training and I drove him all the way to his barber for a hair cut! (And by the way, I have become like his godma)

One of my students commented that teaching is in my blood and I really hope that is true as I do enjoy teaching and I really hope I will not have to quit teaching because of any unforeseen circumstances... My students also commented that if I dont become a teacher, I can always be a motivational speaker.. I am always amused and grateful by all the interesting comments that my students make about me as it makes me think about how I am doing and how I can improve as a teacher or as a person. Anyway, whatever happens, I will continue to do my best and hopefully, inspire my students in some ways and to mold the future of Singapore! Whoo hoo!

My one-of-a-kind darling..

My daughter is a very unique girl...or rather, she chooses to be different, independent and has a mind of her own. Every time I see her, its like a reflection of myself as I like to do things my way and we are both quite stubborn in character. Here's Danielle getting ready for dinner. She chooses her own clothes and the way she wants to dress. If you choose for her, she would fuss and cry. She likes things HER way! I don't usually give in to her as I do not want her to think that crying or fussing can be used as a weapon against me. (though I was like that when I was young and I enjoyed crying for attention and love)

Had dinner at Jumbo to celebrate one of the China boy's birthday (whom my mum volunteered to take care of them in Singapore). Danielle, being Danielle...she is quite easy to take care in the sense that she feeds herself since as young as 11 months old.

Here's what Danielle would do at home..

And here's catching her sleeping in a strange position at home...

Though she is stubborn and can be quite a handful at times, I choose to see the positive side of her and with a character like that, she will not be so easily influenced in future. Anyway, I will just treat her the way I would like to be treated since she is so much like me. ;)

Artist in the house

My son loves art. As and when he is free, he would take his pen and paper to start drawing, regardless of the time. It could be as early as 7am in the morning.. Here's some of his recent drawings at age 4 years old...His drawings are inspired by the cartoon movie, Cars and Cars 2.

Recently, I had to do an art project with him for his school on transportation. I asked Caleb what he wanted to make. He has always been nagging at me to buy him a bus. So instead of wasting money, I told him, "why don't we make one instead?" So I got him to choose his favourite colour for his bus and to start making one for his school project.

Though it was a forced effort on my part to do such art and craft, the result is rewarding whenever you see the smile and satisfaction on your child's face. Every effort is worth it..

My students are graduating...

This year has been an exceptionally good year for me in terms of bonding with my students. Whenever students ask me why I become a teacher, one of the reasons I usually give is.."because I enjoy talking to youths and bonding with them..." This year, I taught 2 Sec 4 classes combined which comprised of only 18 students. Despite only teaching them for less than a year, the bond that we established is quite amazing. My 18 students even came up with a Math class T-shirt which says, "Dawn's Army" in front. I felt as if we have been through so much together. Maybe because of the late nights I spent with them giving them night classes, having lessons even in Ikea, my house as well as overnight camp during the March Holidays...

Truthfully, I will miss them very much. Another class that I took for only one year was this CPA (Computer Applications)class which I took last year when they were Sec 3s. Most of them complained to me that I should have taught them in Sec 4 as well but I had to explain to them that this is the school's arrangement and there is a quota of graduating classes a teacher can take. Nevertheless, despite the short time I spent with this class, we still keep in touch constantly through facebook and I just feel I want to always be there for them and with them.

To all my Sec 4 students, hope your Secondary School life has been memorable and fruitful. Here's wishing you all the best in your future endeavours and I will constantly pray for your well-being as you embark in your next phase in your life. Love you..

my new love...

Besides love for food, family and friends, I discovered one more..that is, robotics. I volunteered to join my school Robotics CCA and since then, my interest for it grew. I have to say, it has been tough juggling all my responsibilities, trying my best not to neglect my family, friends and teaching at the same time. Robotics has taken up a lot of my time but no complains. In fact the ones complaining are the people closest to me as they sense my absence. Time spent learning with my students and being with them makes me happy and to see their robots come alive after spending days building it, excites me. An exhilarating feeling that I cant describe..

This picture above was taken one of the nights where I stayed back alone with the students to work on our robots for the Asia Pacific Competition till 930pm. Seeing how dedicated the students are inspires me! They have unknowingly taught me a lot in terms of technicalities of the robots but also life lessons. So far, I feel that there is still so much to learn about robotics and I just wish I could find someone to teach me patiently. Nevertheless, at the mean time, I will continue to do my best as I learn from my students and through other means.. Here are some pictures of the building phase of our robots..

Now, my wish is to build one all by myself..and to see it come alive. ;)

One of our favourite haunts..

One of the places I enjoy bringing the children is to Changi Beach. The reason is because they not only have good food right at the doorstep in Changi Village, not as crowded as East Coast Park but also the bicycle kiosk has the right bicycle size and colour for Danielle! However, when we went there today, the bicycles were all rented out. So we made do with it by allowing the kids to play with sand. They were fine and contented...

After that, we went to the nearby Seafood Restaurant for a great dinner! It was our first time trying it and I would definitely go back again as the oyster omelet is so yummy! Its not the starchy kind that you find in hawker centers. Its just egg and oyster which I love!

Right after dinner, as we walked back to the beach to the carpark, we bought ice cream from the cart. See how clean Caleb was after eating his ice cream!

Also chanced upon this while walking back to the car..

All of us had a great time!