2017 so far

A lot has been going on and we have been busy. Though my intention had been to slow down this year, instead it seems to be busier than ever before.

I don't even know where to catch up on this blog. Some things the kids have been up to:

Jo sent in a resume to Kidzania to be congresskid. She made it past the interview, did a video of herself and campaigned at Kidzania. Unfortunately she didn't get in though personally I think she did great at her speeches. I guess, it's as they said, "if you wanna get in, try singing a song or something."
She didn't sing. Still it was a great life experience, all that public speaking, video making and interview was a worthwhile experience.

Both Jo and Nel are now part of ICC Words Alive group, a group committed to helping young people become better public speakers for a good purpose. Earlier this year the whole group visited Pulau Ketam as a chapter, and presented a drama. They also volunteered by playing games with the local kids and taught them English. For Nel, just being in this drama was a BIG deal!
She really struggled in her first rehearsals, not wanting to say her line because she was so conscious of people looking at her. In the end she did great! She had the role of a teacher, while Jo had the role of a busy body, which she played really well!

The first quarter of this year has also been memorable. Both girls auditioned to be in our church's Easter presentation and got in. Hubby and I decided to hang around their first few practices to observe, but what do you know, hubby got "sucked" in and ended up playing three roles, which he did amazingly well! I'm astounded, having discovered his hidden talent for acting! Proud of him.

Jo played a little child, as well as a seller at the market scene. Most of the time she was observing the director (Vince Chong)  and producers, being very curious about how a whole production is put together. I think she learnt a lot about theatre through this experience.

As for me, I accompanied Nel to her dance rehearsals to encourage her. My goal was to get her out of her comfort zone and try performing arts (dance with drama) to help her blossom out of her "shy"self. So I too hung around and joined in the warm ups. But guess what, I got roped in too, and ended up dancing! We had fun preparing our own costumes, which included ripping and smearing them with paint. Fun was also painting our own faces to look the part of occupants in hell.

The most beautiful part of it all was that, we were actually once, all together in a performance, serving our dear Lord together, as one unit, together with other like minded people. We enjoyed the weekly rehearsals, going together, rehearsing together, it was well worth our time!

Apart from that, there are our usual homeschool activities, too many to list. One memorable one perhaps was the camping trip we had in Perak in the month of March. The river was beautiful, we had great company of good friends and lovely food all cooked by the OAs.

Oh I forgot to mention, a new addition to the family. It was Chinese New Year, and I was preparing Heng Hua Mee Sua and making homemade pizza when hubby brought back a kitten!! We named him Blue. Hés turned out to be quite a tyrant...an alpha kinda male, but I've grown to love this lil fella.

 I'll conclude by saying 2017 has been a really fruitful memorable time so far. God is good!





@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2017

.

Homeschoolers Unite at Tribe Fest and Lembah Barakah

Jo and friend ZH wanted to present a short drama for a HS Tribe FEST. So together they recruited a few friends and in 5 weeks prepared a short skit to present. They called themselves, "Homeschoolers Unite." Jo wrote the script without my help. Then every Wednesday, 8 of them would meet at a friend's apartment lobby. They didn't want the help of adults, so we mums would sit far away and eaves drop now and then.

Despite quarrels, disagreements, play, chit-chats, jokes and moments of unfocused wondering, they managed to discuss and rehearse the script, create their own props, chair their own meetings, block their play and all. It wasn't always smooth going, sometimes they had major disagreements on certain things....but in the end, they performed so well to a wonderful crowd! I'm really proud of them!

This to me is a well worth-it experience. It's nice to see how they resolved problems and disagreements without adult intervention, made decisions that they were proud of and came up with the concept, theme and everything by themselves. Because they totally owned the production they were really proud of their work! There were moments I was tempted to provide input, but I'm glad I held back. Though the final performance was great, I think, greater was the experience  they took with them throughout the process.

(Smiley added to protect identity of child.) 

To reward their hard work, we took a two day break at Lembah Barakah, Ulu Langat. Though we mums were tired, the energetic children cooked their own dinner, and had a crazy fun time together. Night time, 16 of us slept, aligned like sardines, in the beautiful kampung house we rented. They had a midnight feast, and the chattering and whispering did not stop till after midnight. They certainly deserved this getaway together!

 On the second morning, a cold one! brrrr...., we had a brief tour of their place and had an interesting session on kelulut bees (stingless bees.) It was interesting to view the structure of the hive, and the highlight was when the owner removed a tiny portion from a honey pod and put in a syringe to draw liquid gold. The honey tasted like a mix of honey sweetness and apple cider vinegar. Delicious!  Then some of the kids jumped into the river for a quick dip while the rest played cards.
To rent this lovely kampung house, message them via their FB page at Lembah Barakah Organic Orchard .

@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2016
.

.

Nel's Ballet Performance

Nel's ballet teacher challenged her students to choreograph their own ballet performance for this year's concert. Out of the many students in the class, 5 chose to take up the challenge, and one of them was Nel. I'm so proud of her. She and her dance partner, J, took about 3 months to choreograph and perfect it. It was tough going at first as this was a new experience. So I sat with her initially picking the right song, counting out bars and phrases, discussing steps, working on accuracy.

Eventually they took off and worked independently....with a bit of pushing and prodding from me along the way. We had fun shopping for the right dress, buying make up, and sequins to decorate the dress. Lots of hard work, but it all paid off. Beautiful dance!!

Am so proud of her. My girl who has mostly been too shy to even stand before a tiny group of audience took this challenge and danced before a full house at DPAC. Bravo Nel!!

@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2016

.

Grandpa's birthday

We had a special birthday celebration for dad's 70th birthday. It was a gathering of family and our closest friends. Both Nel and Jo choreographed two dances together with their cousins. Rock around the Clock (which they made everyone dance) and Wind Beneath my Wings. The second was a really touching and beautiful performance. At the end of the dance they held up cards with the message, "Ah Kong, You are the Wind beneath my wings." Then they all ran and surrounded him with hugs.

Girls doing the Rock around the CLock dance before changing into beautiful dresses for the second dance.

Jo baked a cake for her beloved grandpa. Though she's a beginner, she did it well. It was moist chocolate cake with cream and deco all done by her.

Certainly they really love their grandpa, and they are blessed because he loves them even more.

@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2016

.

The Witches and Ballet

Early this year, Jo auditioned for the part of Bruno in the Witches (By Bubblegum Project) and got it! It was about 3 and a half months of intensive rehearsals, during which she had to work very hard on voice projection, diction, memorization of script, actions etc. I never thought she'd make it, considering her playful personality, but hey she did it!! The Witches showed for one week, (20/5-23/5)10 shows, back to back, and daily she had to be up by 6am. It was a struggle, but I think my little gal did well! She received great reviews, and some people came up to her and told her that she was their favourite character! She even got paid. Out of the pay she received, believe it or not, she gave some to me for driving her up and down! :)

As for Nel, she was involved in her ballet school concert, which also meant weekend rehearsals. My not so little gal anymore did well! The teacher says she's come a long way. Nel is an introvert, and when she started, she wouldn't even look the teacher in the eye at all. She still finds it difficult but is improving. She's been involved in the church dance production and ballet school concerts. The fact that she's able to dance on stage and smile is great victory for her.

I'm proud of both my girls. Little steps mean big celebration for us. :)
@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2014

.

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013 was eventful. After spending 3 weeks in December taking turns falling sick with a horrid flue virus and high fever, we eventually recovered on time  for Christmas. We had some lovely friends and family over for a simple dinner.


On the menu was Cheese and Crackers, recipe gotten from an American friend whom we visited during Christmas as well. Well, their cheese looked like a snowman. I attempted doing one as well, and I don't know why mine turned out looking like a bird!
Anyway...what I put in it.....
   ~ 2 packs of Cream cheese
   ~Cajun seasoning
  ~ chopped Pecans
  ~ bacon (stirfried and chopped up)
  ~Garlic powder
  ~Dill
 ~Walnuts

Kids decorated the house before guests arrived and made this sign.

After a wonderful time catching up, I decided to bring out some gingerbread cookies for the children to decorate. It was well....interesting watching the difference between how a 2 year old and an 18 year old decorate. I'm sure you can tell which age decorated the cookie below. I kinda call it "The death of the ginger bread man." hehe....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nel and Jo were both involved in the performing arts for Christmas.
Proud to say that Nel danced well, despite the nervousness she felt. After the third performance she even smiled while dancing, which is a great achivement for the introvert that she is.
 And Jo enjoyed being part of the choir so much.
@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2014

Johor Arts Festival

The kids with their team, Jumping Jellybeans performed again, this time at the Johor Arts Festival.
What a memorable trip it was, travelling with all their friends in a big bus, singing and playing games all the way.
In between rehearsals and performances, the children went on a walking tour, visiting old bakeries, small sundry shops and playing. An unforgettable trip!

 

 @poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2013

Mini Street Theatre Performance

Recently, my children, together with their friends, formed a small street theatre  group under the guidance of Shantini Venugopal and Lorna Henderson.

Initially when a parent initiated the class, my older girl was a very reluctant participant. She being an introvert, prefers spending her time reading books in a quiet corner, or spending time with just a few close friends whom she knows  very well. In a group setting, she'd rather watch, observe or daydream without participating. She tends to back away from group activities fearing several things like being "watched", making mistakes, not fitting in, not knowing what to say etc. I understand these fears, as I'm an introvert too.

I'm just so glad that through this group, Nel was able to set aside and overcome some of that fear, and even performed on stage.   :)   Way to go Nel!

As for Jo, she thoroughly enjoyed the classes. I can't say she was a good performer, sometimes participating, sometimes getting distracted by the happenings around her. Still, this was a wonderful experience. At the end of it all, they performed twice at Publika, once at the Agathians Shelter Home (which was awesome!) and at Phyllis Caring Home.

Warming up with teacher Lorna before the show at Publika.

Shantini V, talking to the audience and introducing the children's group.

Wowing the audience with songs, poetry and drama. Also notice the young stilt walkers.

Colourful flags that the children handpainted themselves.

Using drama to touch the community. Performing at Phyllis Caring Home.  The person who runs the home was so touched. She commented "In 20 years I've been here, this is one of the best moments ever for us. "

Performing at the Agathian Home for Boys. Warming up before performance at the Agathians

The Agathian boys performed for us in return. They are fantastic dancers!! The crowd went wild with their performance! (Photo taken by Alison, but I kinda edited pic by "chopping" off  heads to protect privacy of participants.)

@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2013

.