CHINESE POEM (唐诗) - "Jing Ye Si" (静夜思)

11 April 2012, Wednesday

Dad:  床前明月光，疑是地上霜。 举头望明月，低头看太阳

LZ:  No, 低头看... 看... 看什么了啊, Mummy?

Mum:  低头看星星

LZ:  No.

LM:  低头看大便

SUKU KATA

29 February 2012, Wednesday 

LZ:  Mi, how to spell 'mum'?

LM:  m, a, ma, m, a, ma... mama
 

Min is learning suku kata in her kindy these 2 weeks.

CHINESE WRITING - MOUTH

23 April 2012, Monday 

LZ: Mi, 嘴巴 (zuǐba) how to write? 

LM: 口 (kǒu) la, so easy... (with hands writing the word in the air)

EJAAN & SPELLING

23 March 2012, Friday

Zhen's spelling & "ejaan"...   She had some spare time to include some drawings.  :D

COLOUR OF THE FINGER

26 September 2011, Monday

Min is doing her homework and wants to colour the picture of a finger. 

Min:  "Finger, what colour, mum?"

Me:   "Finger, what colour?  Beige."

Min:  "Beige."  (standing & swaying)

Me:   "Yellow."

Min:  "Yellow."  (standing & swaying)

Me:   "Brown."

Min:  "Brown."  (standing & swaying)

Me:   "Black."

Min:  "Black."  (standing & swaying)

Me:   "Orange."

Min:  "Orange."  (standing & swaying)

Me:   "Apple."

Min:  "Apple!"  (stop swaying and turns towards me)

Min:  "Apple?  Eat one ah!"

ZHEN'S NAME IN CHINESE

4th January 2011, Tuesday Evening

Zhen started primary school, Standard 1, yesterday.  She's not so good in writing her name in Chinese.  So, I asked her to practice writing her name in draft papers.

Lee Zhen: "This is the way I write my name... My mummy says put my finger for spacing... there's my finger... :D"

SURNAMES

8th February 2011, Tuesday Afternoon

Lee Zhen was asking me why is this Friday, a school holiday?

Me:  (explained about the Hokkiens prayers to the Jade Emperor "拜天公"")

LZ:  Are you a Hokkien people?
Me:  No, I'm a Cantonese.  Your father is a Hokkien.
LZ:  Then, I am what people?
Me:  You're a Hokkien.
LZ:  Why I am not a Cantonese people?
Me:  'Coz you follow your father.  Just like your surname, you followed your father's surname, Lee "李".


LZ:  Mummy, next time I want to marry a Low, "羅".  Then my children can have your surname.  I don't know what people lah... but the surname is Low, like you.

"MEMBINA AYAT" (BUILDING A SENTENCE)

16th April 2010, Friday Afternoon 
I was going to my sister-in-law's place, and my younger daughter wanted to follow.  She turned to the maid and said,
"Kakak tak payah,

 kakak tak payah jalan-jalan,
 kakak tak payah jalan-jalan Koo Mah" 
(Koo Mah = aunt, father's elder sister)

CUCI GAMBAR

19th October 2009, Monday Evening 

I went to a photo shop to develop photographs this evening with Zhen, and I was talking to the man at the shop in Cantonese...

Me: Ngor oi sai seong (I want to develop some photos)
Zhen: Mummy, erase photo can do at the computer, why come here ?

WRITING CHINESE

12th October 2009, Monday Night  

While doing her homework, Zhen had all the strokes wrong, in writing her Chinese characters. Hence I corrected her on. She still made the same mistakes after that.
 
Me: Girl, you’ve got the strokes all wrong!

Zhen: Never mind, mummy, the teacher won’t know…

EXCUSE ME

25th July 2009, Saturday Bedtime 
I was reading to Zhen on a book about manners, Excuse Me, and recalled this…

 
I was driving one day, 2 years back, when Zhen just started nursery. The car in front of me, from the next lane, cut into my lane out of a sudden. When I pressed the horn, Zhen asked me why did I do that?

Me: "That car has no manners, didn't put on the signal before turning" 

Zhen: "Mummy, that car didn't say Excuse Me ?"

BUT & BUTT

25th July 2009, Saturday Afternoon 

Zhen asked me this:

“Mummy, how do you spell “BUT”, like blah, blah, blah, BUT blah, blah, blah… not this “BUTT” (pointing at her butts)”