Halloween Costume

Gwendolyn chose to be a mermaid this year, at her school's Halloween Party!!! Don't ask Mama why mermaid and how does mermaid relate to Halloween...but Lyn Lyn's intention is to dress up in a "costume" other than her own clothing!

Pretty mermaid, no need to put any make up this time!

Where to find this costume? In case Mama couldn't remember next year...it was at the party shop at Centrepoint! They have a huge range of Halloween costumes and decorations. For those who celebrates Halloween, this is a good place to hunt for the preparatory materials! A bit pricey, but super good range!

Garden Party

It's almost the end of the June School Holidays and one of the parents of a K2 child has decided to host a Garden Party in school, to celebrate their child's last birthday party at Etonhouse, inviting all the kids to join! Gwendolyn was all excited about the party and Papa and Mama brought her to buy a special dress and a pair of wings with a wand, so that she can be the "prettiest" garden princess at the party!

She requested Mama to help her with some light makeup, after putting on her nice princess "gown" and her pair of wings!

The garden princess in making


Mama still thinks that she looked like a bridesmaid than a garden princess...what do you think?

Etonhouse Sports Day 2009

29 May 2009, the last day of school for term 2, before the month-long school holidays! This day also marks the annual sports day at Etonhouse Vanda...where Gwendolyn missed the fun last year, as she had a fever that very same morning!

This year, our enthusiastic athlete was well prepared to face the challenges, which comprised of Treasure Hunt, Obstacle Course, Egg & Snake Shalom and last but not least, Gold Rush! This year, the N1s & N2s were separated from the K1s & K2s, so that the external arena was not so crowded with eager parents! Lyn Lyn told Mama proudly that she's in the Red Team, with Darcie and Lydia!!!

Before the race begins...K1s...Cheeeeezzzzzz

First was the Treasure Hunt...basically, the kids need to form into 3 in a team...taking turns to flip the coloured half-circles on the ground to look for balls to bring back to their home base. The team with the most number of balls at in their home container wins!

The ever competitive Lyn Lyn was trying whatever she can to get more balls in her team's container, whilst her relaxed team members were taking their sweet time in looking for balls...Mama say Lyn Lyn cheating as well, during the race...but she was really very eager to win...well...in the end, her team didn't win and she was kind of disappointed...

Red Team - Cheeezzzzz

After the exciting Treasure Hunt...the kids took a rest...not sure why though...but only after 1 game...they went under the pavillion and took their snacks and water...it was really hot that day and the parents standing at the side were all sweating...

After the short rest, the kids resumed at the Obstacle Course and started going around all the "obstacles"...Lyn Lyn was so proud that she's finished 5 rounds of the course, all by herself! Bravo...

The course was so easy for Lyn Lyn and she finished with ease...

Next in line was the Egg & Snake Shalom...basically, the teams, with the original 3 members, have to take turns to run from their home base to the water pool to scoop the balls out from the pool, but matches their own team colour...no doubt, Lyn Lyn was the ultimate cheater again, as she used both hands and fingers to make sure the ball goes onto her spoon...guess what? Without any surprises, her team didn't win again and she was very disappointed...

The ultimate last game : the Gold Rush...this game requires a lot of team work...where the whole team would run to the bucket at the other end from their home base, with a cup. One person will scoop a cup of water out from the bucket and everyone stand in a line and keep passing to each other, until reaching their home base and pouring into their own bucket. Repeating all these until their home based bucket is full...During this very last game, Lydia was already very tired and disappeared for a while...Lyn Lyn was kind of shouting to get everyone to hurry up, so that at least, her team can win this very last game...but guess what? Without fail, her team didn't win and she cried...

Mummy tried consoling her...telling her that winning isn't the most important thing in a race, but to complete something which she's started and keep the enthusiasm going! All of them were winners when they've completed all their tasks and no need to be sad! Luckily, these were reiterated by Ms Emelia in their class's debriefing session...Lyn Lyn was shouting the key points out loud and clear...in the end, all of their class members received a certificate for completion!

Well done, Lyn Lyn...Mama was so proud of you! Keep it home and be a good sportsman!

Mother's Day Celebration

Without fail, Mama promises Gwendolyn to attend the Mother's Day Celebration in school every year. This year, it was a breakfast tea party, with performances by all classes! Contrary to the previous years, snacks were served at the entrance to the school, with a display of snack items made by the kids! Mama was anxiously looking for the one by K1 Grand Canyon, but was a little disappointed...as there wasn't any. However, Ms Wahila told Mama that K1 did something different in "making" a tree! Well, Mama thought that it would have been something done after the Earth Day discussion (but Mama hasn't been able to verify up till today)?!

This year seemed to have more mothers turned up for the event and the room was all full...All the mummies waited for their kid's turn to appear in the room to perform their special deeds proudly in front of their beloved mummy!

When it's K1 Grand Canyon's turn, Lyn Lyn's class had 2 performance items : Poem Recital and sang a song! As usual, Lyn Lyn was the loudest and clearest when reading her share of the poem! Mama was exceptionally proud of her, when she realised that she's read her words wrongly. She would stop immediately, looked at her script again and correct herself, making sure that she read the correct words! Bravo, Lyn Lyn!

When the kids were done, they returned to their preparation room, leaving the mummies to have some fun...this was something new, as compared to the previous years! Mama enjoyed it, as she volunteered herself to play with the other mums, for a round of charade! Just when she thought that she'll wait to be the last one to be the one to draw out the clue, she's got the most difficult (or the teachers agreed that it wasn't easy) to draw, for the "Three Billy Goat Gruffs"! The only thing that Mama could think of at that time was to draw 3 goat-like thingie, with 2 horns and 4 legs...hoping that the other mums can take the cue from the "3"...Mama acknowledged that her drawing wasn't good and there were mummies laughing and shouted "3 ants"? "3 cockcroaches"...then...one shouted "Three Billy Goat Gruffs"! Phew...not a bad representation eh! [By the way, did any teachers took any pictures of the "3 cockroaches"? If so, may I have a copy please? Thanks!]

Art Exhibition : Imagine, Create, Discover

Gwendolyn's art work at the Exhibition, held on 8 Nov 08. Unfortunately, we've missed the event, as we all went to Sunway Lagoon Resort instead! Mama promised Lyn Lyn that even though we may miss the actual day, but Papa and Mama can always look at her work on the following monday!

Etonhouse Sports Day 2008

One year flew by and Mama was anxiously waiting to attend the Etomhouse Sports Day this year. Why is that so? As Mama was busy and missed it last year. This year, Mama told herself that no matter what happens, she must go and support Gwendolyn, as this is the first time she wears her PE uniform! In the morning, Mama dropped Geraldine at grandma, before joining Papa at Lyn Lyn's school. Mama got both cameras and digital video recorder ready to take Lyn Lyn's grand entrance...however to notice that she's not feeling very well. Trying to encourage her to participate, she tried going one round on the obstacle course with her friends, she was actually feeling extremely tired with no strength. You can see from the way she was finishing the course that she was actually very sick...

After all the practising before the actual day, Lyn Lyn could only barely complete 1 round of the course

Lyn Lyn sitting on Mama, waiting for Papa to carry her...poor gal...looking so sick

Without forcing her to go for the other games, Papa quickly carried her back to her classroom to collect her stuff and Mama used the thermometer to measure her temperature, she was running a high fever of 38+ degrees. Mama quickly informed Ms Jo and Ms Jam and we quickly rushed off to Uncle John. At Uncle John, her temperature was as high as 39.6 degrees and she was feeling terrible.

Lyn Lyn was really so unwell that she could only lean against the seat in the car...luckily, she was very willing to drink water...she knows that water is very important when she's not feeling well!

After seeing Uncle John and collected the medicine, Papa and Mama brought her home and took care of her for the whole day...she refused to eat anything and cried whenever she feels unwell...poor gal...running such a high fever, Mama removed her clothings and kepts sponging her for half an hour, whilst Papa and Mama pampered her with unlimited TV shows...however, she was so unwell that she asked to stop watching, as she was feeling terrible...after initmate care for the rest of the afternoon, her temperature has finally gone down and she returned to normal, talking and watching TV again...Phew...what a relieve to Papa and Mama...

After Lyn Lyn is well, Mama went to pick Geraldine from Grandma...and Papa brought Lyn Lyn for some food...they went to IMM to look for some Udon, which Lyn Lyn had asked for. But it was too late...the only thing available was only McDonalds...still, Lyn Lyn was such a good girl that she's only had a kid's meal's corn cup and didn't ask for anything unhealthy...

With both Geraldine and Lyn Lyn home, it was a really hectic day for both Papa and Mama...what a sighed of relieve to see Lyn Lyn all bubbly again, returning to her cheery own self!

End of Term - Teddy Bear Picnic

Gwendolyn told Mama excitedly that she's going to have an end of term teddy bear picnic in school on 6 March! Ms Jam told everyone that they can bring their favourite food to the picnic. Lyn Lyn, without hesitation, told Mama that she wanted to bring peanut butter sandwich to share with all 16 of her friends in her class! Mama promised her to bring her to the supermarket to buy the ingredients after school on 5 March, after Fu Fu has arrived in Singapore! (P.S. Lyn Lyn excitedly told Ms Jam in the morning that her Fu Fu will be picking her up after school on 5th!)

All of us hurried to the Cold Storage at McDonald's Place at the junction of Clementi Road and Bukit Timah Road, grabbed our stuff and hurried home. After dinner, Mama asked Lyn Lyn to bring out everything to prepare the peanut butter sandwiches. She's asked for the green plates that we've bought for the last X'mas Party to hold the sandwiches and the red cups for drinks during tomorrow's picnic. Lyn Lyn carefully spread the peanut butter on the bread and cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Mama and Lyn Lyn completed 4 sets, with 16 small pieces! Lyn Lyn was satisfied and carefully packed the napkins for all of her friends, with some, having special "santa claus" pattern. She even placed her teddy bear together with Spot at the console table, just in case she's forgotten to bring her teddy bear along the next morning! All well prepared...

P.S. 6 March was a rainy day and Mama wasn't sure what happened to the planned teddy bear picnic? Though Lyn Lyn returned to tell Mama that she had a great picnic with her friends!

New Academic Year - New Phase!

Gwendolyn is starting Nursery 2 this year! What's the difference? She has to start wearing uniform, follow a full-day curriculum during school hours : 9:00am - 3:30pm, etc...That translates to no formal nap time during school hours, no more shower after lunch, as there's no more nap time...what a change for her! But she was very excited about her uniform and thinks that she is now a "big jie jie"!

Since she's been enjoying a "lazy-bone" school holiday sleeping routine during the last 2 weeks of December, sleeping only at around 12midnight, Mama thought that it would be rather difficult for her to adjust : waking up earlier to go to school and have a full-day curriculum! Ms Jam, her new class teacher and Mama agreed to just observe her for the first day and see how things go! What happened on the first day? After lunch, she was so tired that she held on to her Spot and Steve and looked all teary, informing Ms Jam that she was very tired! Since it's only the first day after the school holidays, Ms Jam brought her to Victoria Falls (N1 class) for a short nap! Poor gal...but after that short nap, she was all happy and re-joined her classmates for snacks and a story!

P.S. We've heard of the fact from Ms Jam. Guess what Lyn Lyn told Papa and Mama after school? She was so creative that she's changed the timing of the whole matter, telling Papa and Mama that she napped in the morning and woke up for lunch! Hm...was she genuinely creative or did she have problem remembering the sequence of events? Something to think about...

Do I look smart in my new uniform?

Etonhouse Vanda Concert 2007

This year's Etonhouse Vanda Concert was held on 16 November 2007, Friday! Similar to last year, Papa and Mama took leave to watch the much anticipated performance by Gwendolyn. Why? As Lyn Lyn told us that her class, Victoria Falls will be singing 2 songs: The Rainbow Song, with her representing the colour RED and then another mandarin song called Xiao Qing Wa (小青蛙). Ms Wahila has asked us parents to prepare a pair of white pants and a solid colour t-shirt for her Rainbow Song performance and nothing for the 小青蛙 song, as there will be special costumes made in school! So everyone was really looking forward to the concert!

As usual, it started with the K2 Graduation Ceremony, where Ms Jam's son, Jordon will be leaving for primary school this year! Also, Bai Laoshi's son, Xin Bo is leaving as well...

K2 Grand Canyon's Graduation Class of 2007

PN1/N1 Performing Clap Your Hands - A much bigger class as compared to Lyn Lyn's last year

PN1/N1 Performing 泥娃娃

K2's Pianica Performing on 小星星 and 蝴蝶

N2's Fashion Show, with costumes from different parts of the world!

Finally it's Lyn Lyn's turn! Once she stepped her foot on stage, she quickly looked for Papa Mama's whereabouts and kept waving at Papa and Mama! Confidently waiting for the music to start, she remembered all her actions and would take chances to move closer to the microphone to ensure that her singing voice is being heard via the microphone! A born-performer? When the performance was over, she was tasked to lead her class down the stage by saying: 1-2-3 bow; 1-2-3 turn; 1-2-3 go... You can tell how enthusiastic she was in ensuring the performance was good!

Follow the leader!

K1's Folk Dance - 新疆舞

K2's Indian Dance - Bhangra Beats

N2's Puppet Show - Under the Sea

Finally, the long-awaited 小青蛙 is finally here! When Papa and Mama saw Lyn Lyn's appearance...oh no...instead of 小青蛙, she looked like a 胖青蛙! Maybe the white skirt was kind of fluffy and made her look very FAT! Anyways, most people find it cute though...When the music starts, Lyn Lyn didn't shy away, but followed the action closely...when she hopped like a frog, there were several times where she jumped to seriously and almost fell down...so close! But you can tell how much she's enjoyed herself...

K1's Pyjama Time

K2's Dance - 开门红

And you think the concert was over? No...the grand finale is a Malay song: Pop Yeh Yeh! Look at how hip our 胖青蛙 is, with her sunglasses? She was dancing away with everyone else in a retro style!

Here's everyone: Say Cheese!

After the performance, all the kids returned to their classrooms to get changed. Initially, she changed back to her Rainbow Song costumes. However, she requested to change to her pretty dress again...recently, she loves wearing dresses...why? Coz her good friend Carissa wears a dress!

What a wonderful performance, Lyn Lyn! Well done! She was proud of herself remembering every moves that she's practised! Nothing's gone down the drain!

Art-cum-charity Fundraisier

Gwendolyn's school embarked on a fundraising project with a group of students from Hwa Chong Junior College, to have the kids at Etonhouse to draw / make a 3-D craft, for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. In order to expose Lyn Lyn to some charity work at an early age, Papa and Mama signed her on for the project and had her drew 2 paintings for the event.

When being asked on what she's drawn, she described the following 2 pictures as follows:

The one on the far right is herself, dressed as Dora (pink t-shirt and orange shorts) and to her left is Mama, standing next to the elephant (remembering her good time at Krabi!)

The one in the middle is herself, playing on the swing in school

After the event, she was given a certificate for participation!

Etonhouse Sports Day 2007

Unfortunately, Mama had a Strategy Meeting on 24-25 May, which coincided with Gwendolyn's first Sports Day. Mama was so disappointed not to be able to join Lyn Lyn in sharing this experience, but requested Papa to be there! According to Papa, it's more of an activity day rather than competition amongst the kids. Participation is the most important element and showing their gross motor skill development (hand, foot and body coordination!). The school was being setup with various activity areas with their respective station activities.

The layout of the obstacles course!

The Grand Entrance!

Lyn Lyn's first task was to complete an obstacle course. She has to climb up a staircase, slide down, followed by crawling out from a tent-like place, balancing herself on beams and go around the cones.

What was really nice was that Angelique, Ms Jo's daughter, one of Lyn Lyn's best friends in last year, who's now entered primary 1, returned to see her. From the pictures, she's always standing by Lyn Lyn and guiding her along with the activities. Lending her a hand whenever she thinks is required. But over the last 6 months, since she's left Etonhouse, Lyn Lyn has become a more independent child and rejected all her assistance...she must be shocked by that sudden rejection then!

After completing two rounds at the Obstacle course, they proceeded to the next, where they are required to collect balls from a shallow pool and try to run back to fill up a bucket.

When this ball-transporting activity was over, the N1 kids all went for a short break, when Lyn Lyn was on the verge of dying of hunger, she requested for food, but the teacher told her to sit down first. Without further hesitation, she sat down on the floor on the spot and said: Can I have my food? See how much she was enjoying and apparently, she was causing the delay of her group, as she was still eating when the teachers were about to start the next activity!

After the short break and replenished her energy, she started the next activity, where she is required to balance a plastic turtle placed on a flat surface from one side and return. Initially, Mama thought that the kids were required to do it with egg and spoon, but apparently, they're more generous to the N1 kids and let them use bigger objects!

Balancing seriously!

The final activity for the N1 kids was to do a simple bowling game. Don't think Lyn Lyn would have any problems, as she has been practising the real thing at the bowling alley and at home! She must be very happy to play one of her favourite activities!

All tired after the last activity and the kids congregated on the grass playground, resting for a while before heading back to their classrooms.

Removing her sports shoes and socks all by herself before returning to her classroom.