Raising Rockstar

Queen E has been learning in Kindy about consideration for other living things, the consequences of and being aware of their actions… Following one of her friends bringing in a large burrowing beetle, the kids then had the added option of contributing to the setting up of a beetle habitat, digging up the earth in a designated corner of their outdoor play area and finding (never plucking) leaves, while being reminded not to disturb the immediately adjacent areas that house plant beds and pots. That was how it all started…

One evening we’re walking JD on the beach and lo and behold, a big fuzzy caterpillar is crawling along the open expanse of sand.

Like, where that boy is walking.

Queen E excitedly brings it to school, to the response, “…a great provocation for the children to inquire into…” 

Earnest Serious Face for this picture haha

Queen E’s is not normally such a serious personality (she’s a cheeky monkey at home), so we were quite impressed at how seriously she took this. “Great provocations” – never thought of it that way before – another small step to nurturing a young inquiring mind. She knows it’s a caterpillar. Yet caterpillars don’t belong in the middle of a sandy beach. How did it get there? She came back from school that day saying they had tried to note down the identifying characteristics (horns, markings). The thing was already in a cocoon that morning.)

Because sometimes life throws a big fuzzy caterpillar our way. 

When we find One Big Hairy crawling along in the sand, we can:

1) Scream and run the other way. (Lots of people do this)
2) Scream at the dog not to eat it. (I’d do this)
3) Squish it for fun, just because you can. (You don’t do this, do you? The caterpillar’s journey stops there. But so does yours, ever think about that? Because within your selfish of-the-moment gratification of being the squish-er, you have forever snuffed out your own chance to see what emerges from the cocoon), or

4) Put Hairy Opportunity In A Plastic Cup and try your hardest to nudge it into a butterfly/ moth (I later justified to Queen E nabbing it despite having no idea how to care for it (what does it eat?? Nothing nearby looked like what a caterpillar might eat and there were no other cocoons, caterpillars, or butterflies in sight, it’s actually quite cold now) by observing it was probably in trouble anyway, if it was in the middle of the wide expanse of sand.)

I fervently believe you should never be more “cruel” than you absolutely have to be, to other living things on this earth (in the sense that you have to eat something living, be it plants or animals. And you have to smack mosquitos, because they might give you something. But you do not have to salt snails), they are there for a reason and some kind of “greater good,” even if we have no idea why they exist. (I said something like this long ago and a reader commented that being mean to other humans often starts with the capacity to be cruel to animals)

I have a similar (imperfect) argument for say, the difference between loading up on vitamin supplements and eating as many of the foods in their natural form as possible – decades ago, there were only maybe 6 “discovered” vitamins. Nowadays there are…. 20? Wait a few more decades there’s going to be….. 50? Thing is, you cannot artificially manufacture a vitamin that you don’t know exists. So, taking the supplements instead of the natural foods means you’re not getting the potential vitamins that pharmaceutical companies don’t know to manufacture yet. (I like to look in Bumps to Babes and other supermarkets for squeezies with more exotic fruits/veggies mixed in them – squeezies cost a lot more than the regular fruit or veggies, so then squeezies should “work harder” with the exotic veggies.. Of course then I have extra work making sure the kids really eat the whole thing at home :P)

“Goji” appears to be the “gei-jee” we use in chinese soups…

(Other fruits have higher sugar content and when you snack on them in dried form they actually stick to the teeth more than this one)

On a further aside, around this time Queen E somehow revisited Charlotte’s Web that we’d looked at ages ago, about the spider who spells words on her web (might have started from the spelling because she came home from school one day and asked “what were those words that spider spells?” and so I went to dig it up) to save her friend the piglet from being eaten. It’s also a story about a little girl who refuses to give up on saving the runt of the litter – even if it means winning a livestock competition against all odds.

This is Charlotte (pic from wingclips.com)

Actress Julia Roberts, who voices Charlotte, once said that after making the movie she couldn’t kill spiders as readily as she used to.

That’s the piglet she’s trying to save (pic from target.com)

I liked that Charlotte looks like a real spider (though Rockstar complained that the spider blinks and narrows its eyes in the movie). Also, Charlotte dies at the end of the movie, having lived out the natural life cycle and span of a spider. She does not marry a prince and get whisked off to a castle happily ever after, to be waited on hand and foot by palace maids and drivers and butlers and what-not <snort>. She drinks fly juice (having pointed out to the other farm animals that she does not have her meals brought to her), spins webs, secures her giant egg sac…

One of my favourite scenes is when the farmhands think a spelling spider is miraculous, and are told that the web-weaving spider is already a true miracle – “You know how to knit a doily because someone taught you… No one teaches a spider how to weave a web. Don’t you think that’s a miracle?”

How many miracles can you find with new eyes this week? 🙂 

Catchup post following the CNY Grandparent Tour we take each year at this time… 

Updated 13 Feb 2017: Rockstar was asked to amend “Pokemon” to “Rylandians,” write about humans (:D), and add a currency; slightly concerned his project had taken a wrong turn with the Pokemon, he went on to recycle bits from his beloved mountainous pile of Legos to use as mode of exchange…  

1) The Ancient Civilisation of the Pokemon

We get back mid-week after mostly putting down our tech for the duration of the tour, and start to work on Rockstar’s writing assignment in earnest:

As culmination of the school learning unit of inquiry, “Where we are in place and time,” Rockstar’s homework assignment was to create and write about “Mylandia”, his very own ancient civilisation:

• “Characteristics of civilisations and societies (Form)
• Connections between past and present (Connection/Reflection)
• Processes involved in collecting, analysing and validating evidence (Function)”

This was following a term of theatre and museum trips, class projects including art or modelling, building their own virtual ancient civilisation during ICT (think: computer version of Lego on steroids).

“Narrative writing

A major component of this unit are the rich narrative writing opportunities for the children. They have been developing their story writing skills by describing characters, settings, complications and using figurative language and exciting vocabulary. The children have been exposed to a variety of openings and endings which go beyond ‘Once upon a time’ and ‘happily ever after’!                                                                                                                                                                                   

After striving to get out of him what he learnt last term before losing his marbles over Break  revising, Rockstar is turning in “Rylandia” (naturally haha), inhabited by ancient Pokemon who lived near a river for food and water source, and built a fort to keep Pokemon Egg poachers and Pokeballs out.

mypokecard.com

They also worshipped Legendary Pokemon who, I agree with him, had spooky similarities to ancient Egyptian gods.

This is the Legendary Pokemon Articuno and the Team Mystic crest based on the same

This is Horus, Egyptian god of sky, air and hunting (pic from pinterest)

Rockstar concluded his essay late last night (he would rather do that and most anything, except sleep haha) with ” The Pokemon civilisation really did end up living forever – in video games. They continue to evolve in our imaginations, show(ing) up in human children’s homework assignments and virtual reality.”

Uh…. I have no idea if he gets in good or he gets in trouble, but kinda had to tell myself throughout the whole Pokemon Ancient Civilisation of Rylandia thing that the point was getting there <sheepish>

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Because shifting from Ancient Pokemon to President Donald Trump is as easy as having your own blog…

2) President Trump created his own “dong-dong-jiang” over the recent CNY holiday by executive order that refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries – Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – be banned from entering the US. So, human rights activists, the International Rescue Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union, officials from some of the seven Muslim-majority countries, and basically A Whole Lotta People, are very upset with President Trump right now.

Why is anyone surprised by this latest thing?

E! Entertainment personality Giuliana Rancic married his first “Apprentice”. President Trump is someone known on tv for – wait for it –

President Trump is a pretty fearless businessman. In one of his books, as well as per his daughter’s description, he apparently once walked past a homeless person he frequently gave money to and said, “This man has more money than I do. I owe people millions.”

I don’t think President Trump is necessarily aiming to stick it out for the 4 (or 8) years of presidential office to begin with. Nor is he tha-at interested in approval ratings.

Certain guy named Bill went the potential impeachment route with far less heat than that, and lived to tell the tale…

President Trump is not exactly someone who’s ever driven to the middle ground in order to be liked by everyone, not when he had the pageants, not when he did reality tv, not even when he needed to get elected to the Presidency (there’s a parenting/ personal lesson for all of us – how far you can still go when everyone hates you haha) so why would he do it now he’s in office.. There’s a lot you can say and get done simply from running for office. From winning office. From your first 100 days. From erm, being there for however long it takes before people catch on that you’re not necessarily in it for the long haul. He’s here to make Changes Tsunamis Waves.

Therein lies Rockstar Career Advice #6-or-however-many: Personality plays a vital role to success in career choice, possibly even more so than sheer IQ. You should not fear an IQ so much as you should fear Burning Ambition (you know the rest of the moniker right, “Burning Ambition At All Costs”?

But oh, the opportunities in trading and investments right now. Especially if no one has done the proverbial “big short” about President Trump not staying full term.

Waves mean investment and trading opportunity (and every time someone says “opportunity” we should hear “opportunity ergo also risk.“) Buying is technically only one side. There is also selling, and the combination of the two that derivatives would allow (legally, of course :D) Just that we’re usually more comfy or regulated to do one side over the other side – but what you really want is movement, in either direction (barring regulatory restrictions, not your own view restricting your ability to see)… The best buying opportunity in Hong Kong was sadly during SARS. It’s not during happy hunky-dory times. It’s not during times when everyone expects the outcome because Zero Sum Game. Think The Big Short.

pic from Wikipedia

If you throw away everything you learn however – including what they tell you in college that financial statements and reports are supposed to tell you – it’s not a bad idea to do something. It doesn’t have to be a lot, unless you are one of those people who is fine with Losing Big To Win Big and have no other commitments you need to think about (you know not to go in big unless you are prepared to lose it big as well, right?? Because of the NFL (No Free Lunch rule)… Used to refer to that as “At Least Entertainment Costs,” with my RMs. Every time you hit the market, it will cost you something. If you’ve made more than it costs you, you’re ahead. If you don’t, but you learned something/ were hugely entertained by news and screens and over a gadzillion dim sum lunches then you were basically paying for an entertainment, an education…. bunch of golf games abroad or ski trip maybe cost you about that too?

So, actually more fun than a casino. Casinos can’t hold a candle to CNN, BBC. That’s your reality tv show right there. Why not make your own?

pic from dailymail.co.uk

Have a good week back, dears…

“…give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime…” – the quote spans many cultures and religions; ever thought however, how true that is of instilling a love of reading?

 Classroom doors turned into giant books

(Some of these pictures are from our school newsletters; if this is not ok someone please shoot me a note and it’ll be gone ASAP)

The culmination of Rockstar’s school Book Week is Dress-Up Like A Book Character Day, and Rockstar went as one of the Malfoys from the Harry Potter series.

This was taped to a pillar when I went to pick him up at the end of the week…

So this is Scorpius munching a chicken sandwich on the way to the bus stop

(These are the “real” Malfoys on Broadway) – pic from Brit.co

Now, Cursed Child is a relatively new screenplay Rockstar picked up over Christmas, having finally gotten into the world of J.K Rowling via Fantastic Beasts, also a screenplay after the hit movie…

(pics from mentalfloss.com)

(Speaking of which, at least one kid apparently came as Newt, while there were several Harries, Hermiones and a Ron Weasley, according to Rockstar).

Btw this is  the “real” Newt Scamander, Eddie Redmayne – no. 11 in this Eton Alumni pic, while Prince William, future King of England is no. 20 – pic from Dailymail.co.uk

Anyway, when Rockstar comes home remarking that almost every kid he spoke to in his year made the distinction he was Scorpius, not Draco Malfoy I am impressed – there are 8 preceding novels – awful thick things of convoluted storylines, where Harry Potter’s nemesis Draco features prominently. Cursed Child then features also various alternate realities thanks to time travel, picking up on multiple threads from the first 8 books. There is a movie that isn’t out til next year… and almost every Y5 kid Rockstar spoke to has already read enough to differentiate Scorpius-the-protagonist’s role from dark Draco’s, from the >300 page screenplay?  How much and how quickly are kids reading nowadays?

(And btw this is Rockstar’s current reading for Chinese. No he is not in the strongest stream designated for native Chinese speakers.)

Rockstar brings home 4 books every week from the school library (albeit he always picks one for Queen E and it’s usually about caring for hamsters or horses or earthworms or dragons – while Queen E has her own Kindy Library Time and Quiet Reading (I think every single day) after free play, the gesture of having her older brother bring her something – and a book – is a biggie for her.) Anyway. Rockstar’s library activities – not inclusive of class-prescribed reading couple times a week with a book based on the child’s reading level and for which parents sign their reading diary.

In other words, nowadays if your kid doesn’t like to read, they’re in for a pretty miserable childhood. You can send them to umpteen tuition classes (probably making them more miserable), o-r you could really appreciate when your child’s school has Book Week. Welcome to the world of:

1. 

   Book buddy system (older kids working with their Y1 buddies to make/ write books and stories)

   Rockstar: …so (Little Bus Buddy) apparently really loves planes now. So he wanted to write a story about all these plane characters. We’re calling it “Planes!” Isn’t that cute? 

   Me: (and I notice Queen E has perked up) Yes – (Rockstar interrupts to keep talking about the storyline they’re developing)….. Did you know there is a “Planes” movie?

   Rockstar: What? Really? No. Why would I know that?

   Me: So you learned something new from Little Bus Buddy.

   Queen E <authoritatively>: There are a few movies, Mum-may. 

2. Otherwise Potentially Nerve-Wracking (particularly in the heavily oversubscribed Dragon Zodiac Year) Admissions Interviews being conducted by Wally, various pirates and cowboys

3. 

   Ok this is not an admissions interview, but I think this is another enthusiastic teacher hamming it up during a Book Week activity..

4. 

   Rockstar tells me this is additional story/reading time at Break, which from the looks of it are quite popular (I don’t see any chains or cuffs on the kids so I take it this is voluntary :D)

5. 

   Big Book Swaps… which allow the kids exposure to many other books and authors amongst their friends

   (and again – say the word and it’s GONE immediately if the pics are not ok…!)

Rockstar tells me there was a big Teacher vs Student book quiz, where <ddrrrruum-rollll> the students won. Naturally ;D

ps: If you’re gonna read J.K. Rowling’s work, you might want to also read the transcript of her speech at Harvard, The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination.

Her Royal Imaginative-ness at Harvard

You may know her first and foremost as Fantasy Author Extraordinaire, but in the speech she is also candid about her less-than-stellar moments. How decidedly un-glamourous poverty is, from struggling to make a living of what you really want to do.

Yet there is another story to tell – instead of well, retiring on the warm sunny beach of some island, to be served a drink with a little umbrella in it, she went on doing something she loved. (In fact, she could probably have bought herself one. Island that is, not little umbrella.) She just kept getting better at what she did. That’s the true goal isn’t it, not just competing to be the best – finding a way to make a living, potentially an unconventional one, from what you’re good at, from what you love.

Each time Rowling went back in to write something, given her past successes, she risked facing “failure”. Coming up short. The higher you fly, the harder you can fall, and all that. She did it anyway. 10 years after telling the Harvard kids the importance of failure, she’s still a risk taker.

Now go back to Book Week. One small step for a little kid who’s trying to decide if reading is a joy or chore. Friends who challenge them, have fun learning, gift them meaningful books they themselves enjoy. Teachers who put on dog ears and a funny voice.

900 kids in a school. Maybe 899 who range from rabidly book-loving to meh about reading. One who maybe becomes the next Rowling.

Ever wonder if the future King of England looks back at his school year book photo and thinks Wow, I Went To School With Newt Scamander?  Thought for the mid-week, dears…

So you thought Professional Nerf Gun Player wasn’t a real thing…

(These guys don’t think it’s a real thing either, but this hobby of theirs ended up taking them on Youtube tour in New York, made them Nerf ambassadors, and more…)

Also Professional Trick Shot Makers

Remember when I said if you love doing something you’ll probably fight for a way to make a living of it? They keep saying they want to do something else eventually (at least one of them is now a dad, even), but for now there’s 5 college/ fresh out of college guys and a panda who’ve turned one-upmanship (initially basketball) trick shots and Nerf guns wars into a lucrative hobby… (Not… advocating skipping school to do this, but between vegging in front of the tv and doing this then definitely this?)

pic from dudeperfect.com

Queen E disapproves.

She thinks Argon The Dragon should have the Panda’s job (pic of Roger Daltrey’s Wheels on the bus off Youtube)

So anyway Dude Perfect. More than 15 million Youtube subscribers. Almost 20 million mobile game downloads. More than 17 million Facebook fans. Where your worst online controversy would be whether your latest trick shot is real.

Like, of course they sell t-shirts. (It’s like, everyone has t-shirts these days. Months ago I went to Stanley Market looking for stuff for Rockstar’s last birthday, and found a teenager screen-printing in a stall, one break. He was swamped. He spoke English with an international school accent. Among his half-done orders and samples were various international school tees and club logos. Turned out he was also quoting higher than someone else on amazon in the UK who immediately replied my online order request with, “I notice you bought the maximum number I had – I could make more of them, how many more would you like?” <rrrespect both these kids ok>)

But back to DP – they also wrote the book: Go Big. Making Your Shot Count In The Connected World. 4.5 stars out of 5, on amazon.com.

(Cory Cotton is the younger of the twins, who both studied Communications and did the DP branding – the others are Wildlife & Fisheries, Architecture majors)

I mention because there is not “a doctor, lawyer, dentist” in the bunch. They got into this among others to avoid the usual college temptations to party.

Proving it’s not the degree for the degree’s sake (or the job, or the…) It’s what you do with it that counts. I once said using financial derivatives was like giving a monkey – or a sushi chef – a sharp knife. You can train in both savvy and self control, and produce a delicacy by removing the poison sac in the fugu (pufferfish sushi), or you can well, whatever it is monkeys might do with knives. Like the investment products and derivatives <shrugs> and… the internet and social media…. If DP hadn’t been doing trick shots, they’d probably have ended up still at least moderately successful at work, their attitudes and determination are the real asset, not the ball-playing Nerf-shooting prowess…

What “sushi” can you make with your “Nerf” 😛 ? Thought for the week, have a good one dears…

Ever wondered how JD’s doing, 9 years after Rockstar was born and ~14 years after we got her? Over the years she’s dropped out of Obedience School <snort>, then skipped Obedience and gone on to complete Advanced Agility (don’t ask me why this dog cannot get through Basic Obedience or even place in Basic Agility but made it to the top 3 in almost every Advanced Agility she competed in, including winning the Advanced Agility relay team event at the HK International Agility competition)…

That was ~10 years ago. She then survived a particularly virulent strain of tick fever (too commonly fatal in HK) shortly after Rockstar was born, did Show & Tell with him in his earlier schooling years, and well here she is today:     

Freaked Out Face of Old Dog

We brought the kids with, for the checkup. It’s quite a learning experience, from the expertly kind way staff hold her (I am actually requested not to hold her when she gets her shots, some with a very large needle), to the bloodwork and um…. math?

If I’m not wrong, this test is for heart worm (she had two tests, can’t remember which this was, what with Queen E doing things like, “Don’t worry, shissa nice dog!” “JD, its ok, be brave!” while staff are holding our Border Collie. (Heart worm is a severe and potentially fatal disease spread by mosquitos here – another time we lapsed on vaccinations they calculated the number of months and had us do a re-test then, because of the months when she was wide open… It’s not uncommon, dog lovers in HK can be seriously anal – we’ve been approached  by dog lovers when we are with the kids who say things like, “do you remember you have a dog?” (Uh, yeah) and when it’s raining, “How come the dog isn’t also sheltered with an umbrella?”(for the record, because JD is a huge water dog))

This Zurich Insurance ad comes to mind (pic from pinterest)

So anyway, one bar for the control, two for positive:

Looks like a pregnancy test, right? 😀

We have a discussion about why “positive” in this case really means the “opposite” – you want a negative result, i.e. no heart worm.

This also reminds me of the 15 year old boy who figured during a Biology class and brought to fruition a similar test for pancreatic cancer (I’ve written about this before) Jake Andraka for a World Without Cancer.

Dis is he.

The basis is, testing cost a lot. As a result, people tested much less frequently. Obviously, with so many cancers early detection is a key to survival. But if it’s prohibitively expensive, lots of people aren’t going to go “I Think I’ll Get A Pancreatic Cancer Test Today.”

What this then-15 year old did was to methodically identify the enzyme or hormone (for pregnancy tests it’s a hormone, right?) that identifies the cancer….. by patiently going through about 1000 different enzymes or hormones until he identified one that would work. Such a simple idea – it’s not controversial expensive stem cell research – he made a cancer test as simple and cost-effective as the proverbial peeing on a stick… and out of a Biology class.

Thought that was simple but weird?

These are Cancer Detectors in Training

For real, Cancer Detecting Sniffer Dogs have been around for awhile… though in this article these two were ready just 6 months ago. (The additional selling point besides the Case For Dogs with this one is, testing is unpleasant. Now you have a choice between a cold, hard clinical machine and a snuffly little dog.)

Because Real is often weirder than not. Keep it real and have a good post-holiday week dears…

All Hail Queen E, whose first time it is, to put her hand in the team ring (or whatever they call this (sheepish))

In the game of Dodgeball, the “doctor” player’s role is to “revive” other players who have been hit with a ball thrown by the opposing team. Players who have been hit may not continue to play until their team “doctor” has given them the High Five of Revival. The team “doctor” has to do this without getting hit by a ball themselves, since the “doctor” is the only one who can revive other players, and cannot do so for themselves. Obviously, the game is as good as over when your team “doctor” is hit. Naturally, the team “doctor” has to a) revive team mates as fast as he/she can, and b) avoid getting hit.

The other players on the team have a different role. They are to take out the other team’s players and “doctor”…. while protecting their own team “doctor”. Obviously, a team “doctor” who raises his risk of being taken out by the other team by running around crazily in the open attacking the other team isn’t a very “good” player. On the other hand, non-doctor members of the team should make the connection that they should take a hit for the team “doctor”. To instead selfishly play “for themselves,” not deflecting balls from their team “doctor” and allowing their doctor instead to be hit would mean the whole team loses. Such a good example for the kids, of the different roles and responsibilities on a team, of allowing a few losses. No child, however competitive or not, needs to be told that winning is important. But very few have a chance to be taught how to lose. Or why it’s not always a bad idea to lose. Pick Your Battles comes to mind.

On an aside, my last experience with a ball game was learning how to play netball for the now-merged OUB Bank/UOB Bank in the Singapore Corporate Games. There was this super high-achieving colleague who had served NS (National Service) as an Officer-ranked Commando. Extremely fit, he charged and flew across the court, deflecting, defending, attacking… until no amount of fitness or skill could make up for the fact he couldn’t be in two positions at once, and in the split second he took to barrel back to his own position, the other team scored via his unguarded position. (Obviously he never strayed that far after that.)

What do kids do at Multi Sports? Have Fun. That’s where the best learning happens isn’t it, and when they’re motivated is when it sticks. Both kids already insisted on coming back for more camps next chance they get. They improve their coordination and balance, stepping in and over rope, bench and hurdle courses to which they then also do a few rounds balancing bean bags on their heads, arms or tennis rackets, balls on cones.

This is Queen E running along a bench while balancing a bean bag on a tennis racket

This is like a tire run but without the falling-over factor from stepping in and out of knee deep tires

Oh yeah – they also need to listen to instructions (in English of course) – because what they need to do on the obstacle course changes frequently.

Early Birds Listening To Instructions In A Ring

Besides the attention to safety (hence always good for them to follow instructions) the kids are periodically also given directions like “stay behind the white lines,” or “don’t cross the red lines into the bench area” (when playing what looks like touch rugby)… (I do think it’s good practice especially for the safety element – when a basketball/ football/ netball/ etc etc game is going on little kids should really be more aware of the lines marking the court and not toddle or wander into a game and get tripped over)

This one’s Quiet Mouse Sneaking Past Sleeping Cat <blissful silence until the Mouse screams their lungs out fleeing from the newly-awakened Cat>

And this is the “ice cream cone” balancing round where you need to wiggle through the hoop among others while yes, balancing the ice cream cone

The youngest participant has his mum valiantly following him through hoops and over benches (below 6, an adult attends camp with the child) – she tells me at break that he’s just turned 2; the oldest few (not pictured) look easily to be tweens, executing cartwheels and backward bends amongst themselves at Break. Most of them are attending with younger siblings of various ages.

Teens with younger sibs at a wider age gap are like a third parent. I believe the value of this to the older sibling is underrated – by reinforcing good values to their younger brothers and sisters, it’s a powerful reminder to themselves as well. Our pastor once described how he felt when his daughter caught him in a(n albeit harmless) white lie. Obviously he was raising her to value truthfulness, so that hurt. Our kids are probably our biggest immediate conscience. Y’know, because Life Sucks <shrugs> – like it wasn’t bad enough these selfish little monsters stomp on our hearts with their big squeaky Crocs, now we have to watch our hypocrisy levels as well, because apparently as they get older our biggest chance of not losing credibility with them is if we practice what we preach.

On a smaller level, I have mum friends who don’t eat candy in front of their kids. 

Yes I’m aware some of Rockstar’s friends now read this blog because you guys told him at school – buzz off, it’s not any of your mums. And none of us are stealing from your candy stash either, so there. (The Mum Doth Protest Too Much? ;D)

Occasionally a younger child cries from tiredness, or well, just because. I mention because both my kids have/had (past tense, in Rockstar’s case) “those” moments. I would not be surrounding my kids with a team full of highly disciplined child gymnasts from Romania.

Dis Child Even Got A Perfect 10 – Hong Kong, How Intimidating!!  – pinterest pic of Nadia Comenaci

I shall be surrounding myself with fellow mums who say the most comforting thing in your time of need, over your kid rolling about doing a nutty on the floor: “No Judgement.” ;D

There are activities where the kids are grouped according to their ages, and activities where all the ages are mixed together, every day. They constantly reshuffle the teams so everyone gets both a taste of winning and losing, and well, while they don’t have the whole sugar-coated “Everyone’s a winner!” (the jury’s still out, even in My Loser Kid Should Get A Trophy) nonetheless they are casual about both winning and losing even as they (equally casually) reshuffle teams that are too strong or too weak. I overheard Rockstar commenting to Queen E that no one loses repeatedly, what with all the team changes. She really needs that, since she can very quickly and unexpectedly become super intense about winning and losing. Because of how it was done at camp, and so very quickly, she took everything in her stride and must’ve then gone Hey. Lost A Few. Won A Few. when the dust settled.

This is another really good one – the kids have the option of trying to shoot the ball through the actual adult-height basket, a lower one attached to the pole, or the hula hoop.

There is a lot of attention to how individuals are doing, as well as the combinations in the small teams – no one is told they didn’t lose, while winners are celebrated….right before they are casually reshuffled next round so other kids get a chance. (In fact they reshuffle so much that watching, I cannot make out any overall winners or losers – everyone has had rounds where they win and lose – which I’m guessing is deliberate :P)

I think it’s a delicate balance, and there is no substitute for the human element, a good coach, to make a judgement call in a split second. In that instance when your kid is wide open looking for guidance (or just needs to be casually distracted away from Armageddon meltdown without realising it – that’s for you Queen E), you want the best qualified person on the court with your child. No excellent… system, or infrastructure, can replace what a human being actually does with it.

Also sometimes, it’s just really fun to run back and forth piling and un-piling balls in the different corners and centre of the court based on the instructions called out by the coaches

I seem to not have taken a picture of What’s The Time Mr Wolf, but rest assured both young and older kids enjoyed it and played it together. The camp coaches were really, really good at keeping any potential naughtiness at bay, the kids constantly moving and distracted with game after constantly refreshed game.

(I’m not under the illusion we were with a bunch of perfectly behaving angels because the moment we stepped outside to try and catch a cab, two of ’em ganged up and pushed Queen E off their joint exploration of the fire hydrant by the roadside. Queen E bawled, I cuddled, she calmed down and tried again and they did the same – whereupon the helpers took out a bag of candy and bribed lured the kids away – but not before they turned to Queen E and said “I’ve got candy!” and proceeded to scarf the lot from a safe distance away, in front of her, telling her how yummy it was. NOT….. a complaint at all – unlike Rockstar at that age, Queen E is a lot tougher – gang up to push her off and she bawls but bounces right back… and remembers to throw more balls at you, next Dodgeball round haha the only reason I mention this incident is so you know some of the kids really are naughty off the courts… and on the court this is completely not evident because of how the coaches handle it. And btw, not all kids who attend ESF Camps are kids attending ESF schools, camp is open to all)

So anyway Selfie

Epilogue: Can’t tell who won what but the kids did get a pack of trading cards each (not candy, yay!) – 

Also can’t believe Rockstar went through 2 years of ESF Kindy and reached Y5 before we made it to one of the ESF Sports Camps that go on all over Hong Kong… But well he started off in primary school with his hands full as one of the younger ones because of his birth month, was quite shy, and…

His reaction to ball sports used to be somewhere between this…. (gif from confusingmiddle.com)

…and this. (gif also from confusingmiddle.com)

I can only imagine, that the only reasons people don’t pack these classes are because 1) they limit the class sizes, 2) not as many people as you would think actually know just how good these camps really are (the write-ups and advertisements really don’t do it justice, and 3) if you’re not native to Hong Kong and they change up locations and times and activities, it can be a bit daunting to keep track of.. but totally worth it!

This day, Queen E decided her look required something extra

Rockstar borrowed it. 

(Wide fabric band with long scarf tail; wow did she go batsh*t when she saw it)

Hello, serendipity

So we’ve had this dinky little toy guitar of Rockstar’s for years now, and Queen E has been messing with it for some time (also our decorative ukulele from Okinawa that has been dropped, broken, had its wooden bits used as a guitar pick…) So this Christmas we thought to try this Loog guitar, which comes with an instructional app and Youtubes for learning how to play it. (Pricey toy, or cheap quick and dirty guitar course, you decide.)

The day it arrives off shopbop.com, Queen E is beside herself. A big thing marketing gimmick thing about the Loog is that it comes like a piece of Ikea furniture, with simple instructions, and the claim that a kid of about 8 can put it together in 15 minutes (which is supposed to be an additional selling point).

Now, I’d never handled a stringed instrument before, and while Queen E literally hurls herself at the task of assembling it (with help, of course – she is after all 4), we are soon staring at an instrument that…… doesn’t make a sound.

We go over and over the bits in the box (there really aren’t that many), and I can’t find any….. plug-in wires or battery box or anything. What gives?

So while dropping Rockstar off at piano class, I take the guitar in and ask his music school if I can buy the power cords and things from them. They initially look at the instrument curiously. “3 strings. Never seen one before.” They Google the Kickstarter video:

One of the guys behind the guitar accessories counter waves what looks like a pedometer about. “How are you tuning it?”

Me: There’s an App we’re supposed to download –

<clips pedometer-looking-thing on Queen E’s Loog> <spends several minutes> “Can’t really tune it.”

Me: Um… I haven’t handled one of these before, is no sound coming out of it due to you always needing to plug them in?

“Are you enrolled for guitar lessons here?”

Me: Erm, no, we’ve never considered learning the guitar, but then I saw this thing and my daughter seems to be really interested. We put it together, and now it doesn’t seem to work (bearing in mind I have no experience with stringed instruments). I thought we needed the plug and possibly some other stuff, which is why I’m bringing it to you. We would like to buy the rest of the missing stuff here.

“Even if I sold you the (something that looks like an amplifier) that’s going to cost HKD 4000 thereabouts.”

Me: Can’t I just buy the plug/ cord/ anything else missing from you and plug it into one of my speakers at home?

“Y-es…. But we don’t sell the cords for plugging into those. How much did you buy this for?”

Me: HKD 1000 thereabouts with a (standard Shopbop general merchandise) coupon. The guitar also comes with enough material to learn about 5 songs as a start.

“The pieces don’t fit that properly. Even if I sold you this one piece so it fits better, it could cost more than the entire guitar.”

“Also, this other part doesn’t have an additional section that allows you to adjust/ tune it. Up here”

Me: <seriously dismayed> What? I can’t believe it! This thing had awards, and all these instructions and the App and everything… Are you saying it completely doesn’t work???

“W-ell….”

Me: <very disappointed> Oh no. I can’t return it, I never expected it to be lousy because there are so many rave reviews! Also, (when I wasn’t looking) Queen E drew on it with a marker – I can’t send it back.

“Consider this a toy, no point buying any more add-ons. You’re better of buying a real guitar.”

Queen E is still excitedly dancing about with an on-sale guitar strap from the store draped over her shoulders. I buy the strap for her, then vow to go home and take a serious swing at this thing. I’m so mad I decide to seriously make this thing work no matter what……. or write a scathing letter to the Loog People. And post about it in the Shopbop product reviews.

Exiting his class, Rockstar sees my Still Upset About The Loog face and I tell him what happened.

Rockstar: Lemme see.

Me: Would it help, how d’you know anything about guitars?

Rockstar: We got to mess with guitars during Music in (his primary) school. They have uh, people answering our questions.

Me: I would roll my eyes if I weren’t so upset, can you be any more uppity about it…

(looks at it while we are walking out of the mall…)

Rockstar: <tightens and tightens strings><plucks at strings>There’s some sound now, right? <tightens some more> There… <twangs> There… Oops that one broke… sorry… You just needed to tighten them <twangs the remaining two strings> ….Did it come with an App?

Me:  <shows him the App> But…. the App is definitely easy to follow, but…… the problem was… <weakly> they said… the guitar…….

Rockstar: <twangs guitar><looks at me>

Me: <speechless>

Queen E: Yaaaaaayyyyy! There’sa sound <Rockstar hands her the guitar>

Me: <still flabbergasted> – but – but those guys actually play these things. H0w could they – they were messing with me, weren’t they? There’s no way they don’t know this right…

Rockstar: Guess so <shrugs>

So we go home, Rockstar also snaps the replacement string but there’s still enough string left to reuse it.

Rockstar volunteers to tune it with the App

It actually works fine without any other accessories, at least you can actually tune it fine with the Loog App.

https://youtu.be/5TtqckBMHL8
As a first “toy” where your kid can get up to playing it passingly well… none too shabby.

Here’s some other instructionals:

https://youtu.be/2d3BSMXJr_U

Playlist of lessons here.

(No this is not about Germany’s chances at the World Cup)

Queen E took her first taekwondo grading, while Rockstar and Friend (also most senior belted in our group – yes folks, Most Senior Belt among our bunch of friends was a girl) took their Red Black.. Been super nervous leading up to this… Now we are checking out like teenagers who are done with Finals 😛

Rockstar’s grading call came slightly early, so he doubled his training in the weeks and month(s) leading up to the exam, he wanted his red black belt so badly. The senior class which is mostly attended by older kids later in the night is…. extremely disciplined. No horsing around, the older kids are really there to train.

Come Sunday morning, this is one way the two rockstars are different:

Rockstar: <wakes with a deep breath> O..kay. Today’s the day.

Queen E: It’s today?? THE EX-AM IS TODAY??? YYYYAAAAAYYYYYYY!!! <jumps up and down> 

Rockstar: OMG. D’you understand the meaning of the word exam? Hah? Hah?? You have to actually pass it to get the belt ok…

Queen E: <pause> YYYYAAAAAYYYYYYY!!! <jumps up and down> 

Most of our group with kids taking grading don’t live anywhere near the local sports centre where the exams are held, and don’t know the area well; we’ve had people joke about writing off parking ticket costs (no idea where to park but will deal with potential wheel clamp on a Sunday night later) just as long as their kids make grading. (Since there’s lotsa Cantonese-challenged kids from our area taking gradings in this very local setting, we’ve also joked that if they speak to an Asian-looking kid in Cantonese and the kid completely doesn’t respond (being Korean or Singaporean/Malaysian, Dutch-Vietnamese, French-Chinese or any other smorgasbord of nationalities who look like they might otherwise speak the language but hear only Bing Bong Bing Bong In Their Heads when you speak to them) – it’s probably kids from our area haha). It’s also a very interesting local Hong Kong experience for us (well, we live in Hong Kong, right?)

So this Sunday evening as we prepare to camp there for several hours rather than tow kids about an unfamiliar area knowing they have to make it back for their grading times, I start making roast chicken finger sandwiches to swap for things like Korean sushi with other mum friends whose kids will also be up for grading… When you start having siblings at different belt levels/ exam times…. picnic 😀

Then she fell asleep along the way.

The cabbie glances at her briefly in the mirror and volunteers, “Don’t worry, let her sleep, it’ll be awhile more before we get there.”

Me: I don’t know who I’m more anxious over, the one taking his senior belt grading, or the one taking her first ever grading.

Cabbie: I know what you mean, I’ve got a boy and a girl too la. Little kids are tough. My son only got into the 9th primary school we tried.

Me: ?! Were there just too many applicants?

Cabbie: <laughs> Nah, he just never said anything. Finally I said to him, “Look, 1 school or 2, maybe. But 8 schools. There’s just no way the problem isn’t you.” <laughs again> So when we got to the 9th school he finally started talking. So that’s where he went to school. <shrugs> He’s doing fine in college now, but when he was a kid….!<shakes head> 

Ok we’re here now. Good luck!

One day not too long ago, one of the older boys Queen E um, engages in lengthy debate with, about things like whether his feet should be on or off the mat, came to class proudly. “Yellow Belt, Queen E!“ and for the first time I saw Miss Indomitable flinch and go quiet. I felt it from all the way outside in the corridor where I often skulk 😛 (All you mums who hide behind corners and in doorways so your little kid doesn’t know you’re still there know what I’m talking about right.)

It hurt seeing her hurt, but unlike sensitive, over-thinking Rockstar, Queen E is tough as nails. Where Rockstar is Do You Know What Happens To Your Body When You Lack Oxygen, Queen E is Don’t You Want To Know What It Feels Like When You Start To Drown. They have literally said that to each other. I believe Queen E used the word “dizzy” while gagging on pool water. 

On some level she kinda needed to see that her Partner In Crime at taekwondo class had earned his belt through his efforts, while she hadn’t yet. But Please Dear God may she not need too many of those lessons before she comes round. Or decides she would be awesome at Hip Hop instead. And so she came to the party kinda late this grading, and thank God she got through.

Quick “before” shot – Rockstar is nervous, I’m nervous, and Biggest Cause of Our Nervousness has a wicked little half smile)

As always, the grading hall is full of echoes, loud noise and bustle, as the instructors are calling out loudly for the kids to line themselves up according to their belt colours, and parents find the queues to register their kids. Near the door I see another little white belted girl we don’t know move in obediently, brushing tears off her cheeks. I bet she actually knows all her moves at her fingertips. Queen E…. Uh-oh. She’s so excited. I hope she can remember enough to pass, and doesn’t just get completely caught up in the excitement…! 

Queen E tries to sit up very straight with the noise of all the kids finding their positions around her……… and then turns and engages the two Yellow Belts in the neighbouring queue, obviously buddies who are discreetly jabbing each other, with “That’s not funny.” Stuck in the parents’ queue, I see the two boys turn curiously and start talking to her. Please dear God let her not start dancing about in excitement or join the jabbing contest, since she is not likely to be as discreet as the older children…!

We leave the hall, they close the doors (which btw have papers stuck on the glass panels so you can’t look in…) And then… it’s over.

Rockstar’s turn

They must’ve told her she needs to practice, practice, practice because she doesn’t stop clutching the book and looking through it for some time. She’s also uncharacteristically quiet. Maybe the whole tense and serious grading experience finally impressed it upon her.

Sitting there, she doesn’t even eat our sandwiches or sushi. Not even the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies Mum Whose Daughter Is Taking Red Black With Rockstar offers.

Kings arrives, cuddles the kids, and drives the champions home….

Epilogue: 

Well he ate the sushi. And the sandwiches.

I really like martial arts for little kids because of the belting lesson – if you don’t show respect and discipline, you don’t get to learn the next steps that go with the next level of belt. And the level after that. And so on. The lesson is that learning is a privilege. The visual of the different coloured belts (plus nowadays also the additional sparring etc gear that comes with) that you earn at each level is one they see all the time, and one that is reinforced over and over, each lesson. White Belts sit down, Yellow Belts stand up and learn these additional steps. Now the Green Belts. And so on.

Next stop, ESF Sports Camp. Because if you really want your team to win, sometimes you have to learn to pass the ball. 

This was Rockstar, several weeks shy of his 3rd birthday:

I…KNOW

This is Rockstar today, several weeks shy of his 9th birthday.

I. Know.

Now

Rockstar issa Hipsta

How Time Flies When You’re Having Fun

Ps: No Rockstar doesn’t really play, no it’s not the same guitar in both pics, more later..