Enrichment Madness - Part 2

It is now February, and I am glad that Iffah has settled in well in her Kinderart class. A class did start in Pasir Ris, with 3 other girls who are all equally passionate about drawing and colouring and could spend that 1 hour focusing on their art piece . And with that, I could put a check in one of the boxes of my checklist that says : An enrichment class that Iffah likes and enjoys, which will help to further develops her skills/interest, something that is not covered in her school, something that I can' t teach myself at home. Checked.
But that does that solve all the enrichment madness ? Not yet, because there are a few more left unchecked. Like an enrichment class that she might not necessarily enjoy, but is equally important because it either teaches fundamental skills, or to improve something that she is not good at in the first place. Like

1. Madrasah / Qur'an : Nowadays kid start madrasah earlier and earlier .. and since Kidz Meadow only incorporates Iqra' and daily doas, I am like panicking a bit because I did not enrol her anywhere for this academic year. I must start deciding which class would be good/ fun ?. Al- Istighfar Mosque ? Or Cordova ?

2. Swimming .. yes she can play in the water .. but real swimming ? Should i wait until swimming enrichment classes in primary school ? Iffah is not physically inclined so getting her to go a class might be challenging .. but I don't think I can teach her myself. I can't even make her lift her legs away from the ground.

And even if i do enrol, how do I fit them in ? Morning before her school starts ? Evening ? Sunday ? Or Sat .. before/after her art class ? I am amazed at how other parents manage their time, and how are their kids so receptive to going to so many classes.

Then there is Akif. After recovering from the initial shock that one My Gym class costs around $37, I finally forced myself to go for a trial class. I sort of know what to expect as Iffah did go for one My Gym trial around the same age. ( but it was free during her time ) . So, yes, Akif could not sit and listen to instructions and cried everytime the trainer touched him. And it was also a dizzying experience for me ... as I had to run, spin carry whatever. The class serves its purpose- it was very physical and it will probably help Akif's balancing, tumbling and agility and all.

Nevertheless the English teacher in me prefer the Gymboree kind, whereby physical play is incorporated with themes , imaginative play and the teaching of concepts ( in and out, up and down ) . And I remembered that it was not too costly sending Iffah there. It was only about $26 per lesson. So at the end of the My Gym trial i told myself that Akif would probably prefer Gymboree as there are no trainers who touch him, and the set up there are more friendly to toddling babies.

I even told myself that I do not mind making my way to Tanglin mall during weekdays while Iffah is in school . But of course, it is not happy ending just yet. Last week I called to enquire and was so disappointed that the price for Gymboree has ballooned. It now costs $399 for 12 lessons so each class amounts to $33. knowing me, I would end up taking cab and back so each trip/lesson would set me back at least $60. Sigh.

So again there is the vacillation as to whether to go to My gym in Tampines or Gymboree further away or none at all. I like the idea of him in a class, with other kids, and me interacting with other mums every Thur afternoon while Iffah is in school.But seeing my money in the back getting less and less month after month , I think I will wait until July to send him to Gymboree Tanglin Mall. In the meantime I need to convince myself that it is perfectly ok not to send Akif to any gym class now. ( cos the insecure mum in me keeps telling myself that I'm either not being fair since Iffah did start Tumble tots at 13mth ..or Akif and I will lose out something somehow by not putting him in a class ..ugh )

To spree or not to spree.. the maths of it

Yesterday afternoon while Iffah was in school, I went to Parkway Parade ( my favourite shopping haunt ) and was glad to say that I did not make any purchases from Fox or Esprit or Mothercare, Pumpkin Patch, Isetan, Kiddly Palace etc .. (only bought books at Borders). Those who know me know that I usually end up splurging at PP, but I was too lazy to browse the clothes on the racks and hangers and they just looked too messy and unappealing. After all, it has been much more fun looking at items neatly arranged in grids and squares and scrolling up and down and zooming in and out.

I first joined a spree four years back to get myself a pair of Birkenstock. While it does not seem justifiable to pay more than $100 for a pair of sandals, getting one that cost around $30 less than RP seemed like a pretty good deal.

Last month, I joined a couple of spree again because of the great discounts they seem to have online. ( WARNING - from this part on, this blog entry will get really really technical )

One spree was from BabyGAP. 25 % discount for the orders above 250USD. Keen to get Iffah out from her Strawberry Shortcake T shirt and skinny leggings which has been her uniform since she turned 3, I let her chose 3 outfits.

1 Smocked dress : http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=6436&vid=1&pid=707588&scid=

2. Heart tunic top : http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=49690&vid=1&pid=707608&scid=707608002

3.Puffed sleeved T-shirt : http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=49690&vid=1&pid=707535&scid=707535082

price was 25 , 15 and 12.50 USD

With the discounts and exchange rate, the price was :52.5 x 0.75 x1.45 = $57.09

With most sprees on VPOST , the shipping is somewhat a surprise so I will know only when I get the items.In the end i had to incur a shipping of $9.88 .

After doing the maths, the items cost me around Sing Dollars, $29, $19 and $16 respectively. Still quite a good deal as the prices were cheaper than what I would usually have to pay for similar items in Fox or mothercare. Iffah loved them ( yes they were all dark pink and did not wear any of her strawberry shortcake T shirts last weekend )

But since it was on a spree organised by others, there must be some mark-up somewhere , exchange rate, as well as the shipping so I have been toying with the idea of ordering myself directly from the websites. After all, it is not too difficult to set up a Vpost account. The opportunity came when Old Navy had a free domestic shipping offer for items above 50 USD. Now that wouldn't be too difficult to achieve right ? I do not have to spend hundreds of dollars and I could save on the exchange rate, shipping and the hassle of self collection or postage. I was on the verge of ordering until today afternoon when I did some mock-up calculations based on $56 worth of spending while Akif was taking his nap.

Scenario 1
Me ordering directly
$56 x 1.43 + $ 13 ( Vpost base charge ) + $25 ( international shipping by weight ) = $118

Scenario 2
Ordering from an organised spree ( with registered postage )
$56 x1.46 ( mark-up ) x 0.9 ( organiser's member discount ) + $3.84( shared Vpost charge ) + $25 +$2.24 (reg ) + $3.05 ( mail ) = $107.7

Scenario 3
Ordering from an organised spree ( self collection )
$56 x1.46+ $3.84( shared Vpost charge ) + $25 = $110.6

So despite the mark-ups and postage fees, a spree is still more cost efficient because of the shared Vpost base charge among all the spreeists and additional discounts. The only way I can save on my own purchases is by getting friends to join in as well, in other words, be a spree organiser myself . Which mathematically, is a very tempting idea but . But for now, I will go back to checking out more sprees. FitFlop spree where are you ???

Aurora Iffah Aqila Minnie Mouse England Australia

Yestarday, Iffah threw a screaming fit for 20 minutes just as we were getting ready to go for a birthday celebration because somebody put her favourite clips in the star container instead of her favourite love boxes. Last week, just as she was getting ready to bathe and go to school, she discovered ( horrors of horrors ) that her Minnie Mouse hooded towel was hung on a purple hanger and NOT a pink hanger. And then, in the evening a few days later, I told her to bathe and left for the kitchen to heat the food. She did not check the time and undressed when she saw a watch and realised it is not 6.16 pm, ( the time that she wanted to bathe ) . Oh oh, another round of screaming and tears.

The daily meltdowns are no surprises, but what fascinates me are the source of meltdowns. Just when I thought I have covered all angles and pre-empted any possible tantrums, she will somehow manage to find something new that she is unhappy about.

The thing about her is that she is so into this favourite colour, favourite number thing and how things must go in some particular order. If I were to look at it positively, she could be described as very detailed, meticulous or systematic. On the other hand, she could also be seen as obsessively perfectionist and super fussy.

Like how her favourite number is number 6. So she would only bathe if it is 6.16 pm or 6.26 pm and so on. And how she insists that our car must be parked at a lot with the digit 6. ( If Atuk forgot on the other hand parks in a lot with number 6, she will throw a big fuss ) However, her
obsession with number 6 is so overbearing because she will be scrutinising even serial numbers ( on her ez link card, shoe boxes and packet of smoo milk ) .. If there is number 6, she will be exremely happy and if there is none ... well I have to end up weaving some story to convince her that it is ok ... or how there must be some mistake somewhere ... Sometimes I succeed, other times ... oh well ... like a few nites ago she asked me why her birthday was on 17th Feb and not 16th Feb ... Apparently my answer was not good enough ..cos she went to her room, sobbed sadly into her pillow and fell asleep.

Then there are her favourite days, Wednesday and Sundays. So on these days, she must wear her favourite colour - which is dark pink ( not light or medium but dark - close to fuschsia ) , or her favourite T-shirts, and her uniform must be size 26 . ( there is only one pair of that and 2 pairs of 24 cos really i think 24 fits her better ) . So yes, I have to ensure that these favourite clothes must be washed immediately and dried so that they are ready to be worn on her favourite days. For a few months, I was actually wearing dark pink on every Wednesdays and Sundays too but thankfully, she has finally stopped checking out and insisting that I change. Phew.

Sometimes I tell myself that her attention to details is perhaps what makes her able to read, count or draw and colour well. But I also worry that her fussiness makes her unlikeable, unfriendly and ... easily stressed. Like how she gets upset when she colour something out of the line and found that she could not erase it. Her teacher also commented that she does get panicky at times in school when she thinks she has done something wrongly. She is definitely someone who is not the happy go lucky type ... but the perfectionist with the roller coaster emotions. I worry that her tantrums will make her other family members think that she is rude and truly impossible to get along or that she might go through school without any friends and cry at every disappointments....

As of right now, I am at peace with her tantrums. And I will deal with any other problems as they come along. After all, I am the only mum she's got .. I can't get upset everytime or throw tantrums myself ... Even if she has decided that her name is Aurora Iffah Aqila Minnie Mouse England Australia .