Rare like a unicorn.

So a younger colleague of mine remarked to me:

"Apparently you are like a unicorn. It's rare to find someone in these parts that holds both a Montessori Diploma AND a Teaching Degree. We normally find one or the other, but not one with BOTH."

Those from Malaysia reading this, take note. This IS the case in Australia.

A frickin hot day!

Today was one of those absurdly hot days in Spring.

Two ladies came in for an interview with the Boss. One for the position as a Trainee. She would only start in November as she was still doing her HSC (High School Certificate).

Another interviewed for the position as an Early Childhood Teacher. She will come in for induction and training for the next two weeks, possibly under my wing.

Lets pray this works out well. I really need my time off.

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A 3 year old trilingual child.

Today, Wei-Wei a new 3 year old child started. Apparently he was already attending another day care centre before joining ours.

His father is Cantonese chinese from Australia, and his mother is a Greek lady from London. So he was speaking fluent English to all the Assistants when he came in.

When he saw me, he started speaking Cantonese to me as I had spoken some Cantonese to him during his Orientation visit to the centre. I realised his grandparents were most likely from HK, as he was using HK cantonese rather than Malaysian Cantonese.

He started calling himself 'Wei Wei', which is his Cantonese name his grandparents call him by. The child practically attached himself to me the entire day.

I linked him up with a 4 year old child, Tong-Tong, whom I described to him as 'jeh-jeh' (meaning big sister) who spoke the same dialect. It turns out Tong-Tong and Wei-Wei were from the same family day care.. no wonder lar...

The Supervisor tells me that the child apparently also speaks Greek when he visits his Greek grandparents in London.

Wow, he truly is a trilingual child without having to even learn it at all!

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Sandy Boy/Girl

I've heard the children singing this at preschool. I saw this child with really blonde hair, and thought of this song:

See the little sandy boy/girl sitting on a stone.
S/he's Crying, Sh/e's Crying

Because S/he's all alone.
Stand up Sandy boy/girl and wipe your tears away,
Choose a friend, a special friend

To dance the day away

Tra la la la la la la la la la
Tra la la la la la la la la la la
Tra la la la la la la la la la la
Tra la la la la la la la la la la la la

Things Children Say: Chicken Noodles!

So recently the children have been saying "Chicken Noodle" to tease
each other.. (no idea what it means)...

Child: Teacher, you're Chicken Noodle!
Teacher: Oh, Chicken Noodles? (with surprised tone). YUM !( with
exaggerating tone)
I love chicken noodles!!

Child gives perplexed look and doesn't know how to reply then runs off.

Teacher: and you wanna beat me at my own game? Hmmph!

Things Children Say: Your teeth will fall out!

I heard a kid say this 'your teeth will fall out if you drink so much Coke!

Things Children Say: I'll Tell My Mom On You!

I hear the kids saying this all the time, ''I'll tell my mom on you.''

Then i replied,

'well good. then i'll tell your mom on you!''

and the kids started protesting no no no!

Countdown to Exams.

So I have just finished a group presentation with my International Management group.

That's one group assignment down, and now its two assignment, one being a group presentation, which is mostly on paper,
and one personal assignment.

Our presentation was quite "dry". Heh.

What can I say? Then again, most of the others were too. LOL.

Then its down to 2 lots of three hours written examination. One on the 23rd Nov, (International Management), and one on morning of 28th November.

Today I put down an application for leave with the boss. She did not approve of my leave, but then I realised that I had not put down the reason for my leave. I was advised to re-apply for the leave putting in the reasons as well.

Anyways, since it's seven weeks to go before my examinations, who knows who may come for an interview within these 7 weeks.

So guys, pray that my boss can find a replacement. Yes, so I can get off work and finally do what I have to do!

Work or not to work?

So I just met with a friend who came down from Tasmania today. Since she is a mother of a one year old child and is also working, she had a better understanding of the childcare benefit system.

Childcare was at least minimum about 16k Aud per year for five days a week in Tasmania. Whereas it was about 25k Aud per year for the rate in Sydney.

Considering that my current childcare workplace charges 70Aud for preschool and 75 for nursery per day, and does not provide food, and is located half an hour from the city by train,
that is considered expensive.

If one parent is not earning at least 50k minimum treshold, it was not worth going back to work, as the childcare charges is enough to eat off the entire wages earned. With a second child, one parent should be earning 75k.

There is also a yearly rebate for each child when doing tax returns, which is about 8k but I am not sure if this for combined incomes, or on a single income.

Hence, I think as a result of this, many people have opted to put themselves as 'single parents', as the benefit for them is much more. Or some couples opt to divorce, separate, but still live under the same roof.

Tsk Tsk Tsk.

Really abusing the tax system.

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Harry Potter: Real vs Pretending.

Today the son of my employer dropped by the work place. His house is next door. He told the Assistants in the workplace that he met the 'Daniel Radcliff' as he had gone on a trip to America on an excursion.

Later I overheard one of the Assistants telling a 4 year old child, XM, that one of their friends met 'Harry Potter' saying to the child that Harry Potter 'was real', and he was 'alive' and a real person.

The back story to the child and some other peers were that they were going on about 'casting spells' and some of the Assistants were actually encouraging them.

Now, I have no problem with Harry Potter, or watching their movies. But I do have a problem when a child who is yet to differentiate reality from truth is told that what they see in movies is 'real'. The Assistants did not realise the way they were talking was confusing the child.

Today in the afternoon, the same child XM, was with me, and had asked me for some stick and connectors set which he said he wanted to use to cast some spells. Now, I have put away that particular set as the children were not using them appropriately in the way it should.

When I told him that Harry Potter was not real, XM protested saying that it 'was real as someone had met him'.

So explained to him that 'yes, someone had met Harry Potter, but he was the person who was pretending to be Harry Potter'.

XM did not really understand, so I had to explain further.

'remember how you are pretending sometimes when you are playing outside with your toys? Well, this person is also like that. He's a real person, but he's 'pretending' to be Harry Potter' but he's not Harry Potter'.

There is a reason why action hero movies are restricted to children until they reach a certain age, or can only watch with parental guidance. The above is one of the reasons.

I concur.

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