'Fart' Food Go Away

Potato has suddenly become our main dish - and it is a 'fart' food - I leave you to imagine that :-)

However, thanks mummy brought with her some 'magic' from boleh land - tonight the 'Bak Kut Teh' with local mushrooms and chickens made Eden and Adam adding more bowls of rice tonight.

I like the School 2

Follow up what is left for previous entry.

Eden and Adam like going to school. This is good mainly the system here is so much different - no 'heavy laden' school bags - I remembered adam had to carry 2 bags to put in all his text and exercise books and it was really heavy - it was like doing my 20kg weight training.

No more spelling - homework - timetable memorising etc especially more than 5 homework a day.You can understand why Adam likes it very much here. Adam gets to know new friend easily and we have noticed he already got to know at least 6 friends in his first day. I was surprised that some of his classmates greeted him and said good bye to him so friendly (like buddies) when I picked him back from school.

Eden likes the activities in school - to him I guess it is more like a 'play' school. They learn through playing so he enjoys the class very much. No wonder he told us he liked the school that day. He is quite slow to get to know people but adapting well. We are grateful that they speak and know English good enough to communicate.

BUT - there is always a BUT

the Math and Science subjects are too far low standard at their level in UK. What they are learning right now basically is year 2 or 3 at most back in Malaysia. Adam is always the one who finishes Math first in the class and get the answers right !!

I worried they enjoyed too much at school but ignore the 'learning outcomes'.

I hope the school does good for both of them - hopefully the kids will learn to be a critical thinkers - dare to questions and always yearns to seek answer. I particularly am pleased that they have a chance to learn some other foreign language - Adam is learning basic French now and later German and Spanish - imagine they can speak about 5 languages after that. I hope he will soon pick up music in the later curriculum so that his piano skills will not fade away.

Oh yes, they have swimming class too - in this such a 'bitterly' cold country :-)

My last point: Being a bit 'kia Su' I am tempting to ask my folks in KL send in some local study materials like Maths and Science to us so that we can coach them personally at home.

Do you think that will be too much :0P

Outdoor game

The weather is so unpredictable here - like having 4 seasons in a day..

The kids dying for outdoor games... perhaps they envy K&D having fun time under the sunshine at the other opposite part of the world :0)

DST

Daylight Saving Time (or summertime as it is called in many countries) is a way of getting more light out of the day by advancing clocks by one hour during the summer. During Daylight Saving Time, the sun appears to rise one hour later in the morning, when people are usually asleep anyway, and sets one hour later in the evening, seeming to stretch the day longer.

The reason DST works is because its saves energy due to less artificial light needed during the evening hours—clocks are set one hour ahead during the spring, and one hour back to standard time in the autumn. Many countries observe DST, and many do not.

Benjamin Franklin first suggested Daylight Saving Time in 1784, but it was not until World War I, in 1916, when it was adopted by several counties in Europe that initially rejected the idea.

It is difficult to predict what will happen with Daylight Saving Time in the future. The daylight saving date in many countries may change from time to time due to special events or conditions.The United States, Canada and some other countries extended DST in 2007. The new start date is the second Sunday in March (previously the first Sunday in April) through to the first Sunday in November (previously the last Sunday in October).

Today it is almost always one hour ahead, but throughout history there have been several variants on this, such as half adjustment (30 minutes) or double adjustment (two hours), and adjustments of 20 and 40 minutes have also been used. A two-hour adjustment was used in several countries during the 1940s and elsewhere at times. A half adjustment was sometimes used in New Zealand in the first half of the 20th century. Sometimes DST is used for a longer period than just the summer, as it was in the United States during World War II. From February 3, 1942 to September 30, 1945 most of the United States had DST all year; it was called “War Time.”

It starts 2am this morning, does it mean I gain an hour more for my life :0)

Walk to school

I exercise... finally :) Twice a day 5 times a week 20 mins walk. Great to have the kids as companion.

Autumn

This is just a week apart. Getting colder and our neighbour is telling us that this is the beginning and worst to come during winter.

Dining

Finally we get to eat at a dining table. Sounds nothing special but having to eat our meals at coffee table the last 2 weeks this brings on the smiley faces.