3 posts from February 2009

I am proudly posting Cheenee's first progress report. I know, it would be only of perusing interest for us (it is

long.. and 'boring' if you are not the parent, hehe)... we are happy how our 'suspicion',  that she is ahead of her peers, has been more than validated by this progress report by her US-trained teacher.

 

 

 

Name:  --Cheenee Chua

Age:  2.5 years old

Date: January 2009                                          

Level:   Toddler Level

Teacher: Arby C. Robles

 

 

 

DEVELOPMENTAL REPORT

 

 

 

I.          COGNITIVE REPORT

 

            Cognitive development refers to your child’s ability to process information and to relate this information to his own experiences.  This can be observed by his comments, ideas, stories he shares, the questions he asks, the way in which he responds to questions, and by the extent to which he can absorb and retain past lesson.  It concerns his ability o put together bits of data in an effort to understand himself and his environment.

 

            Cheenee is a very intelligent girl. She is a fast learner in class and is able to sit for long periods of time which allows her to more focus in class. She is also very aware of her surroundings which help her in learning more. She often asks a lot of why, what and where questions. For example, when teacher says that we cannot play outside even if it’s a sunny day, she asks why. Teacher says that it’s because a lot of her classmates have colds and teacher doesn’t want it to get worse.

 

To improve her reasoning and comprehension skills, teacher asks questions too. Like, what did she do over the weekend or where is mommy or daddy. She would also often do a roll call of her classmates once she gets to school! Teacher tells her that they’re on their way to school already, after which, questions about how her morning went or how is she feeling would be asked.

 

            During story time, one can find Cheenee huddled between her classmates, listening attentively to a book chosen by one of them. She just loves listening to stories. Cheenee displays an array of facial expression when listening. She shows a sad face, a happy face and a surprised face. Cheenee loves the book hungry caterpillar. For a time, she would say, “Teacher, I like hungry caterpinar”. She is very excited to hear teacher reading the book for them during story time.

 

            Cheenee also loves to sing and dance. She is able to remember the actions and the tune of the songs in a short span of time. When teacher asks the children for song requests, Cheenee excitedly says, “Teapot!” “Spider!” “Bus!”

 

            Lessons that are related to the theme of the month are introduced in class everyday.  The teacher arranges everyone in a “circle” around the mat and presents visual aids and age appropriate information about the topic.  The children are welcome to make comments, add information, or ask question during this time.    * Language ability is intricately entwined with cognitive development.

 

            During circle time, Cheenee actively participates in singing songs and finger plays. She is very attentive when teacher starts singing, “Who is wearing ….( a song that allows the children to be observant so they could answer the clue being illustrated), Cheenee looks for her friend being described and happily shouts her friend’s name.

 

            As the weather song is sung, Cheenee’s eyes light up with excitement! She loves to be the weather reporter. As she approaches the window to start her report, she could be heard saying, “Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun! Mr. Sun is outside!” She takes her place on the mat and starts singing with the whole class.

 

            Cheenee also loves to sing the Alphabet song with a corresponding picture book. She sings along with the rest of the class wholeheartedly. She is able to recognize each picture with the corresponding letter!

           

            Part of the cognitive development is the ability to focus one’s attention to the task at hand and to remain attentive despite surrounding distractions.

 

            Cheenee is able to concentrate on a task given to her very well. All her worksheets and art projects are done on her own. She observes the process of the activities done by teacher and when it’s her turn to do her own worksheet or art, she is able to accomplish it in no time! It is only when Cheenee is playing or engrossed with a certain activity that she is not able to concentrate on questions asked. She often replies, “Teacher, wiwi!” or would ask teacher to call on Yaya Tess because she needs to go to the bathroom.

           

            Lesson time is when we talk about the theme of the month and we often review previous topics so that the children can associate past lessons with the present discussion.  Learning games are used to help the children understand their lesson in a fun and interesting way.

 

            During the learning game, Cheenee is very eager to join and participate. She listens attentively to the lesson presented and observes the mechanics of the game well so she is able to do the activity without assistance. She enjoys it very much when the games include toys and music and movement. Teacher knows that Cheenee is paying attention by her excitement as she waits for her turn. Teacher reminds her at times to wait for her name to be called. She goes back to her place on the mat, but remains standing up to be able to give the game a try as soon as she has her turn.  

           

Since we started to talk about letters, Cheenee is one of the few who is able to help teacher lead the class in learning about letters. As soon as Cheenee recognizes the letter presented to her, she shouts it out loud with a big smile on her face. She even includes a corresponding object to the letter. “It’s letter F for fish!”

 

            Creativity is another aspect of cognitive development whether it is problem solving skills, dramatic play, using his imagination or making something out of varied materials.

 

            The choice area is one of  Cheenee’s favorite places to hang out! As soon as she arrives in school and drops off her bag in her cubby hole, she heads to the room to play with her favorite toys. She likes to pretend a lot which enables her imagination to work. She sometimes pick up blocks or she tries to push an empty push cart and pretend that it is heavy. She would say, “Teacher, it’s soooo heavy! UUUggghhhh!” She would match it with a facial expression on her face! She loves to play with the blocks and make a replica of her house, the school or a tower. In the choice room, she also likes to play with the tools, hammering and screwing on the tools as if she was making something. At times, she would be seen with a doll. Cheenee prepares the stroller with pillows and blankets and pretends to make the doll sleep. She even feeds it too!       

           

            Cognitive Development also covers the basic academic skills such as identifying colors, and shapes, saying the alphabet and identifying letters, identifying numerals and counting.

 

            From the start of school, Cheenee already knew her basic shapes but needed assistance with colors. She kept on mixing up the different colors she knew. After much practice, she is already able to identify the correct colors except for the color yellow. Teacher still has to give her clues when identifying color yellow. For shapes, she is familiar with, circle, square, triangle, rectangle, heart, diamond, oval, cross and star. For colors, she knows red, blue, green, purple, pink, black, brown, white and orange.

 

            For her age, Cheenee is ahead with her knowledge of letters and numbers. She is able to identify all the upper case and lower case letters. She is also able to give corresponding objects that start with each letter of the alphabet! i.e. A is for apple, B for bus, C for chicken, D for dog, E for elephant, the list goes on. These objects that she matched aren’t typically seen in the classroom or told to her by teacher. It actually changes every time teacher would ask her.

 

            The toddlers are practicing to count from 1 to 10.  Cheenee is able to count perfectly from 1 to 30. She is able to do it on her own without anyone cluing her on the next number. After the number 31, Cheenee starts again with 21, 22, 23 and ends at 40, 41, 42, 41,42, 43… Cheenee just needs a bit more of practice after 30 though; she made so much progress for a child her age.

           

  

II.        LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

 

            Language development is your child’s ability to communicate and express himself to others. This is the key to intellectual development and the key to expressing thoughts and feelings. Language development refers to the ability of the child to listen, understand, and speak which eventually leads to reading and writing.

           

Cheenee is a very expressive child. She is able to express what she feels, what she wants and what ideas she has. She also loves to tell teacher stories about her experiences when she is able to remember it. One morning, as she was putting her things in the cubby hole, she was giddily saying, “Gymboree teacher, gymboree! I played with telescope!” Yaya told teacher that sometimes during her free time, Cheenee goes to Gymboree. Cheenee is very excited to share with teacher about her experiences over the weekend. She is able to express herself very well that she can handle short but meaningful conversations with an adult.

           

During circle time, Cheenee loves to volunteer as the weather reporter. She likes saying, “It’s a sunny day! We can go outside later!” She also loves to participate during learning games and would always ask teacher if its her turn already! She is very excited to join the games, as soon as teacher is done demonstrating the process and would say, “I want to try!” or  “Cheenee’s turn!”

           

Cheenee is also able to say her full name, as well as all of her classmates name. As soon as she gets to school she does a roll call of all of her classmate’s names.

 

III.             SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 

            Socio-emotional development concerns your child’s social and emotional character. How does your child socially interact with other children and with adults? What is his general behavior? How does he react to certain situations? Does he have a positive self-image? Does he take pride in his abilities and accomplishments? Your child’s emotional make up greatly influences his social skills. Social skills include sharing, cooperating, and following rules. Emotional development includes a child’s feelings and his ability to express these.

 

            When classes started, Cheenee had difficulty separating from Yaya or Mommy. Teacher thought that she didn’t like coming to school because of the many days that she cried when Yaya or mommy left her. All she needed was a little time to adjust with her new environment and new faces she encountered in school. As soon as she was able to be feel comfortable with her new surroundings, Cheenee showed that she is very sociable with her friends and participates in all the activities prepared for the class.

           

Cheenee is now very sociable. The more kids she sees, the more excited, talkative and playful she gets. She just loves talking and playing with her friends, even with a Nipponggo speaking classmate! When getting hurt accidentally or if she is the one at fault, Cheenee never forgets to say sorry to her friends. A little hug or just hearing the word sorry is enough to bring back the smile on her face.

           

Cheenee is always ready to join in the fun! When she hears the music playing, she sings along with the songs she is familiar with. As she hears the beat to the music she likes, she would start dancing. She would always be involved in the activities!

            There are still times that Cheenee has to be reminded of sharing and borrowing. If she gets a toy from her friend, Teacher reminds her to say borrow and almost immediately she runs back to her friend and say, “May I borrow please?” She smiles and runs along to her place on the mat.

 

IV.  PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT                                     

           

Physical development is your child’s ability to control bodily movement, both gross motor and fine motor movement. It is said that gross motor skills develop more rapidly than fine motor skills.

 

A.  FINE MOTOR SKILLS

 

            Fine motor movement is basically hand and finger coordination. Writing, painting, cutting and pasting, crumpling, tearing, sewing, and playing with small connective toys are skills that exercise these muscles.

 

             At the start of the school year, Cheenee already knew how to hold the pencil and crayons correctly. Her control over pencil and crayons has also greatly improved. She has shown preference using her right hand. When encouraged to write sleeping, standing lines and circles, she is able to do it properly. Surprisingly, she can also draw loops and crosses.

           

Painting, pasting crumpling, and tearing also enhance fine motor skills. Cheenee is able to do all easily. When it comes to controlling her fingers during counting, she tries her best to control her fingers to show the number being asked. Teacher practices them with songs that include numbers or by questions to indicate their age and the number of objects that are shown to them. 

 

 

B.        GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

 

Gross motor covers movement of large muscles such as walking, running, climbing, biking, pushing/pulling, hopping, jumping, crawling and balancing. As they move, they develop strength, coordination, body awareness, self-control and confidence.

 

            Cheenee is a very active girl. She is able to do a lot of things for her age. In the playground, she likes to try out a lot of activities. She is able to walk, run or jog around obstacles without loosing her balance. She is able to catch and throw a ball, climb up and go down the slide, ride the teeter totter and ride the bicycle on her own.

           

Cheenee loves to play tag or just run around the playground with her friends. Her laughter exudes excitement which mirrors off to her friends as they chase each other on the play ground. She can balance as she hops, jumps and runs. She is able to maneuver around people or toys with ease. If at any time she falls down, Cheenee is able to muster courage and strength to stand up and continue playing with her friends as if nothing happened! ☺

           

After circle time, the toddlers stretch and dance. They sing different songs with actions. Cheenee’s favorite song is Animal Action and Do the Monkey. She loves to mimic the sounds and actions of different animals. She is able to roar like a tiger, gallop like a horse, scream and scratch like a monkey and crawl like a snake. She is so full of energy! Cheenee is a very happy child She has a very happy character that everyone loves to be around her!

I am honestly not a gadget-device-techie kind of girl, I am actually a big fan of  doing-everything-from-scratch-no-shortcuts.

I don't actually know what got into me that i decided to buy Clarisonic. I do not have skin issues, well neither do i have flawless skin, but i can honestly do away with face-washing, a little splurging on La Mer (Mica Tuano has great skin and she told me she's been using this) and philosophy products.  Aside from these two brands that i have mentioned, I confess that i have other tons of Healthy Options bought skin care stuff (by Alba and Avalon organics), plus special mention to emu oil as a must in my skin care regimen. (Okay, admittedly it's making me realize now that I am such a skin care junkie afterall!).

Well anyways, so i bought Clarisonic for my own vanity (it's pink!). I also bought extra pieces of sensitive brush. So what to do with the regular clarisonic brush head? i asked my husband to use the default (regular) brush! I observed that my skin got smoother, pores became smaller, no more dry and oily skin patches (i have combi skin) and my skin has never been this soft and healthy! Apparently, my skin care products are getting absorbed these days much easier! I guess it goes on without saying that no amount of "natural" or high-end skin care brand will make one's skin improve if the skin cannot absorb all the nutrients that these products offer. Thank heavens husband is so easy to coax in sharing my skin care regimen! (Even Cheenee, she wanted to use our clarisonic! Every night, whenever i will enter the bathroom, she would tell her dad "I will watch mommy wash face" then grabs her own kikay Clarisonic-like device. (Luckily, i have a Watson's facial massager at home and Cheenee uses it  to imitate what i'm doing)

From the website:

Clarisonic is the sonic technology proven to gently yet effectively loosen dirt and oil to clear your pores. The Clarisonic Skin Care Brush uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth your skin. In just 60 seconds a day, the Clarisonic micro-massage action cleans more than twice as effectively as manual cleansing.

In addition to cleaner skin with the Clarisonic, you’ll notice a reduction in the appearance of pores, improved skin tone, a reduction in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and improved absorption of serums and moisturizers.

Clarisonic offers a safe, gentle and natural way to cleanse your skin without any harsh abrasion or chemicals.

Husband has been battling pimples for the past years. It has dramatically improved for the past month: proper hygiene

 (regular razor disinfection) and tea tree oil, but he still gets occasional pimples! Then he added Clarisonic to his routine. The result, no more occasional flare-ups, he has smaller pores and finer-textured skin! He has tried accutane and tons of derma products in fact. He is sooo satisfied with Clarisonic that he agreed with me to buy another techie stuff by Philips- Sonicare toothbrush!

Last November, right in time before our Braun electric toothbrush stopped working, we purchased Sonicare Flexcare with Sanitizer. I  will not opt to sound like an infomercial but i can only say good things about Sonicare. It is honestly worth every cent! Verbatim as per husband's feedback: "It whitened my teeth, ang galing luminis, really impressive!" I guess those two things are enough to call something a good quality toothbrush! Jethro, Henry and I have been using Sonicare all the time - of course we use different brush heads! hehe. Yes, i honestly noticed squeaky cleaner, whiter teeth and it can actually clean right up to the hardest-to-reach areas of the mouth! (i will stop now, i am sounding like an informercial) 

Now, only if i can figure out how to "share" with my husband another techie thing I am planning to buy soon..... this GHD. (I heard it's better than CHI flat iron and needless to say waaay better than my vidal sassoon flat iron)  

*For more clarisonic reviews, click here

For GHD reviews, click here

 

I have been getting around these days outside my home (if i have to to go out) with the aid of a wheelchair*. Actually, during my last pregnancy with Cheenee, we were strolling the vast lands of Disneyland in Hong Kong, with me riding on a wheelchair, Jethro sitting on my lap, and Henry panting and sweating as the three, rather four, because i was heavy with Cheenee then, of us get around HK disneyland. It was the scariest out-of-the-country travel for us. I had low-lying placenta, ergo was having a delicate pregnancy. I had no choice, i had to. We actually visited HK primarily due to medical reasons.

With my current pregnancy, i have low-lying placenta, thus, i get around with the help of a wheelchair. Well, during my pregnancy with Cheenee, I had the same low-lying placenta condition as well. Ob-gyne advised: no long walks, no long travels, no physical stress, take more rests. I have two growing kids (and one growing belly!) and no matter how tiring it is on Sundays for me to go to the mall and watch them stomp, play, run around the mall's activity play area, i have to endure it. Minsan lang silang maging bata. I honestly do not want to miss all the fun they are having. Riding on a wheelchair does the trick (as Henry insisted). 

In Gattaca flick's term, I am invalid. In our social setting, I have disability. And if i am a child, i am a special child.

Disability is a lack of ability relative to a personal or group standard or norm. In reality there is often simply a spectrum of ability. Disability may involve physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive or intellectual impairment, mental disorder (also known as psychiatric or psychosocial disability), or various types of chronic disease. A disability may occur during a person's lifetime or may be present from birth.

 

Riding on a wheelchair has given me a first-hand view how it is to be a person with disability. And to be honest, even if i had not ridden on a wheelchair for the past months, i actually KNOW how it is to be disable. When we went to SM MOA, I would tell Henry how masa people would look at me with indifference. Later that day, at S and R, there were also the expats, educated and upper-middle class whom when i locked gazes with, gave me the most genuine smile or some form of regard. Henry, being so proud of Cheenee,  would simply think that people look at me because i have a cute little girl sitting on my lap. I explained to Henry that these people aren't actually looking at our little girl admiring her cuteness. Because what usually happens, especially to those who'd look at me with indifference, would look at me, shift the stare at Henry and look at me again (I half-jokingly told henry, "Isip nila true love talaga, nain-love ang pogi sa naka-wheelchair". I know the stare of empathy.  I know the look of pity. I know the gaze of indifference. Masa people would look at me with indifference (and tinge of noseyness?), rarely pity. Expats, upper-middle class and higher economic bracket people would look at me with empathy.

But then again, I  may be over-generalizing. We have come across people whom we even painstakingly tried to make understand what disability is, and yet all they  manage to throw was the most insensitive, indifferent response behind your back (or even slap your face with it). To put it simply, the rare times you socialize with these mask-wearing insensitive people will tell you nothing. What they say and do behind your back is everything. From their end, a little consideration and tolerance will go a long way (i don't have to expound on this, i am assuming that genuinely educated and well-bred people should know what i am talking about.)

I have proven an innocent child's unconditional love to his/her parents many times. In my case, no matter how i come in different form and uh, wheels i will get the same unconditional love from my kids. If i will be a paraplegic-wheelchair- riding-person-after-a-stroke, I already know the feeling of having understanding and loving people around me. I was greatly touched because despite being temporarily disabled, Cheenee gave me the best regard of all. One Sunday when when we met-up with Henry's parents, Cheenee spontaneously uttered "Mommy sits on a wheelchair because mommy has ouchy tummy!" Then she crawled up to me, and said , "Sitit mommy! (Sit with mommy). She would spurt out once in a while "This is my mommy!" She is utterly very proud of me. Her pride on having me as her mom didn't dwindle. Not even one bit.

When we went home, i was teary-eyed as i recounted this incident to Henry (he was busy talking to an uncle to pay attention to what Cheenee was saying earlier that day). It was honestly very touching how a "disable" parent can get such unconditional love from an innocent child: completely no discrimination, no embarrassment to have a disabled parent. Cheenee was 27 months old then. 

We are showering our kids with unconditional love all these years- with special mention to our eldest. And i know we are teaching them as well how to treat other people with respect and unconditional love. 

In our case, no matter how we have proven that it is futile to get the message across to (disrespectful and arrogant) people in order to understand how it is to have special needs (or in simpler words, to recognize one's need for a little understanding or broader mind), we can still offer unconditional love to these people, that in the event they will be walking in our shoes, we will be still be the first people to empathize with them. 

This is genuine unconditional love. 

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A reaction to Jenny Mc Carthy, a writer, a mother with a special child, during her Oprah guesting by one observer:

"I saw this book being promoted on Oprah, and was shocked by hysterical behavior, flawed arguments and the "know-it-all" attitude of the Jenny......I think this woman needs quite a lot of serious psychotherapy herself, because she obviously cannot cope with her son's condition and keep her common sense, let alone write a sensible book... 

And a reaction by another observer to this critique's observation:

Consider yourself fortunate for not having a  special child. Walk in a mother's  shoes with a special child for one day and we will see how composed you can be.

 

 

I CONCUR.

 

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*I actually have an aunt and two kumares who were also bedridden (as in NOT advised to stand-up or sit up by all means for longer than 5minutes by the obgyne)-  that's all through-out their pregnancies. Other people would help them bathe- lying down on the bed.  Come to think of it, i seriously consider myself lucky, i only have to use the wheelchair in order get around in public places.

*Jackie, wife of Gen Lomibao was advised NOT to walk even when going to the toilet at home after one incident of blood-spotting. She had to use the wheelchair when going to her six-steps-away toilet just located inside their bedroom.

 

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My blog FAN: I know how you have been my biggest fan. "Imitation" is the best flattery (well you know the 'things' you imitated and 'gained' by reading my entries). Please, stop your paranoia. i am never blogging about you. Please stop visiting my blog. We hope that you genuinely MOVE ON.  I have always spoken in a very generalized manner and no one should have taken my blogs PERSONALLY to begin with. I have long been blogging even before you, and i was blogging with no malice, not until you put malice in everything i do/write. One more provocation, we are seriously considering some serious talk. Genuinely put an end to this.

I've sitemeter all these years by the way *wink*.