Projects for HEing - Cooking Club

Cooking Club for all ages

I'm really excited because I've found a new friend to share the excitement of forming my little cooking club. We're starting a Home schooling cooking sessions. My idea is to teach something exciting and substancial rather than the usual cookies or chocolate rice crispies. I'm thinking recipes from all cultures. And all recip[es has to be child-friendly in terms of preparing and eating it. It will be great if we can get mothers to each volunteer to teach their favourite recipes.


Project Yateley Common

Another idea of mine has taken off with great success. Yesterday 5 families turn up for our first session presenting A Day in the Life of the Ranger. During the 1 hour walk thru the protected heathland, we very quickly see the potential of working with the ranger for the children's educational benefit. Without due, we've confirmed a one a month arrangement with the ranger, covering subjects ranging from science, maths to history and anything really. Next topic is to be Den Building, highlighting ancient way of life as hunter and gatherers, highlighting also the "mutual beneficial relationship" between the heathland as an important souce for wood, food and shelter and the ancient peoples' role in helping to maintain the heathland.

GTA Week 2 - 4

Since the Timeout 1 ended and Gecko Jnr was handed back his GTA game, all seems to be going pretty well. He very quickly used up his 7 hours allowance, split between Monday (4 hours) and Tuesday (3 hours). And moan about unfairness for the rest of the week. So I suggested that he "earn" some extra hours by doing lessons. Choice of lessons were Mandarin which consist of watching Mandarin languaged movie or cartoons; Malay language which will be looking at any Malay language science, maths or picture dictionary; English which will be doing any worksheets in English. So son very quickly did 1 hour of watching some Mandarin dvd, thus earned his first 1 extra hour on GTA.

However, as I'm writing this is on Day 3 of Week 4, Gecko Jnr's interest in GTA seems to be showing signs of waning. The past few days, it didn't seems to be Gecko Jnr's top priority to switch GTA on first thing in the morning, and he's only been clocking an average of 1 1/2 hours per day, quite fascinating to actually be seeing this transition. He's gone back to his Looney tunes, ToonTown online and Star Wars Droid Factory.

Lessons Gecko Jnr benefitted from GTA? Most certainly he is now very aware of all the bad words one should not be saying, and quite often hears teenagers walking by, spouting all those F words and A words. He very quickly conclude that the person is very rude and bad. Now I believe is time is ripe for him to understand the idea of why saying those words is rude and bad for you.

Project Grand Theft Auto- Day 6

We're still in the middle of GTA Time Out No.1, with 2 more days to go before Gecko Jnr gets his GTA back.

So far, he's accepted his time out contently, never once mentioned it and I do wonder if he will remember about it by next week.

So far since he's been isolated from his GTA, he very rarely touch his PS2. He is more likely to be playing on his online Disney game called Toon Town, or playing outside in the garden, playing with his Lego or watching tv. He is also more talkative and more inquisitive.

So I do wonder if the PS2 do "numbed" his mind and brain when he's on it? I am now considering relocating the GTA-PS2 time to the late afternoon. This way, I get to keep my "inquisitive son" for first half of the day and get to do alot of things, or get out of the house, before i surrender him to the fantasy world.

Hmmm....MamaGecko is wondering if this will work! Me and Papa Gecko is also surfing for an alternative driving game with lots of beautiful sports car, but without the violence.

Project Grand Theft Auto- Day 2

I was lucky enough to have a very kind stepfather. And now that I'm a mother, his parenting thoughts and approaches are very much my bible. My stepdad was a very kind, gentle, quite, calm and fair man. I would like to think I was a "quick thinking and smart kid", but now looking back as a mother, I can easily see myself as being a very rebellious and stubborn teenager, constantly questioning anybody or anything. It's a shame i never really appreciate him when he was alive. But then I was just 17, anxious to break away from home. And when he passed away from cancer, I was only 19, in the middle of revelling in my new found independance. I was having too much fun to even think about home! It's sad to think that it is only now I'm beginning to realised what a great person he is, and appreciate him as an individual and not as my stepfather, and how deeply his wisdom has influenced me. I only wish I'm able to thank him now and tell him I how grateful I am, knowing how much he cared for me.

So here's what influenced my thoughts as a parent now.

Dad's parenting skill No.1
"Play fair, let them have the freedom to deciding which and what rules and regulation applies"

Dad's parenting skill No.2
"Now, give them enough rope to hang themselves".

"And they will learn to be true to themselves, and is therefore able to negotiate better compromise between us parents's expectation and their needs for themselves, and is then willing to abide and learn by their own mistakes, and subsequently be a wiser individual."

So needless to say, we're in Day Two and Gecko Jnr has broke the rule of "only playing with GTA when mummy or daddy is with you" by sneaking downstairs early this morning and started playing GTA all on his own. Plus he was also being deceptive by shutting my bedroom door so as to not wake me (which he'll normally do everyday without fail), and turning the tv volume really low so he obviously really didn't want me to wake up, because if I did, he'll have to have breakfast first before
even get to go near the PS2.

So Time Out No.1 is currently being served for a week.