Lesley-Anne's debut as a public speaker

Lesley-Anne has just started lessons for JC1 and already, her schedule is crazy packed. She finishes late most days and on top of that, has to fit in CCA, ballet classes, school talks for Danger Dan, meetings with Epigram Books, media interviews and photo shoots. Phew! And it's gonna get worse when homework and exams are in full swing. It's like trying to juggle full-time studies with a full-time job.

On the plus side, she seems to be enjoying school tremendously so far. She's in a fun class with many lovely people and she loves her subjects. Still early days yet but a good start nonetheless!

On Saturday, she gave her first speaking engagement at the All In! Young Writers Media Festival, held at the Arts House. Her session, Young and Published! was held in the historic Chamber, where parliament sessions used to be held.

She was part of a panel with two other young writers, Munirah Jaafar and Gabby Tye (seen here with the moderator, Jamie Nonis).

Despite this being her first public talk, Lesley-Anne spoke confidently and clearly. This is no mean feat as I know how nerve-wrecking these sessions can be for introverts. After the talk, a few guests came up and told her that she spoke very well.

I'm one proud mama!
   
Signing autographs after the session.

Danger Dan for sale at the foyer.

If you missed the session and would like to catch Lesley-Anne in action, she'll be speaking again at the Arts House on Wed 5 March under the New Word Order series. By then, you'll also be able to buy Book 2 of Danger Dan! More news on that later.

Meanwhile, there was a mention of the Danger Dan books in the Sunday Times yesterday. (I won't reproduce the article here to avoid copyright infringement).

And here's a wonderful feature of Lesley-Anne and me on the Mums@Work Singapore blog! Among other things, I talked about how we wrote Danger Dan.

Stay with this blog or like our Danger Dan Facebook page for more upcoming Danger Dan news!

Mums@Work weigh in on The Good, the Bad and the PSLE

Mums@Work is an online career portal for working mothers and mumpreneurs, set up by dynamic mumpreneur Sher-Li Liew, who wanted to empower mothers to find flexi work, work from home or set up their own businesses.

I take my hat off to Sher-Li - she gives seminars and workshops, negotiates with the authorities for support for working mums, counsels women while at the same time raising two young kids. Truly a living example of the empowered mother!

Mums@Work wrote a review of The Good, The Bad and the PSLE in their recent e-newsletter:

Our Review:
 

Enough has been said about the ill-effects of our stressful education system on our children in Singapore, therefore it was truly enjoyable to read a book that accurately depicted the trials & tribulations that a Singaporean mum might face. Parts of it made me laugh out loud, while other chapters were thought-provoking. Ling (the lead character) is both charming and engaging. Reading her adventures of adapting parenting styles to suit her 2 children's different personalities was entertaining and heartwarming. A must-read for parents of school-going children in Singapore. It certainly helps to know you are not alone!

Epigram Books told me that the book is the most borrowed book in the library among their catalogue of books. I had mixed feelings when I heard the news. On one hand, it means people want to read my book (yay!) but on the other hand, it means they're not buying it (nooo!)

If you've yet to read the book, I hope you will take the time to do so. It's now available on Book Depository at a pretty attractive price. And free shipping to anywhere in the world! You can't get a better deal than that :)  

Danger Dan is going places!

Happy Horse-picious Year, everyone! How did you spend your CNY? Ours was filled with way too much eating, as usual!

First piece of news: the first issue of Danger Dan is now available at bookstores! A kind reader sent me this pic from Kino Ngee Ann City.

Popular bookstores has been dragging their feet in getting our books on their shelves. Bah. Support Kino, you guys!

Apart from that, Lesley-Anne and I have been busy. What we didn't expect was that the launch of Danger Dan would generate so much interest from all quarters. I mean, the launch of my first book, The Good, the Bad and the PSLE, was a relatively quiet affair.

But Danger Dan, true to his character, created a buzz the moment he was officially released. Maybe it's the novelty of a mother-daughter writing duo. Or the fact that Lesley-Anne is only 16. But the excitement started rolling from the get go!

First, we received full-page coverage in Young Reader Club - a magazine subscribed by students.

Then out of the blue, Lesley-Anne received an invitation to be a speaker at the All in! Young Writers Media Festival organised by the Book Council. Her session is on 22 February 2014 and she will be part of a panel with two other young writers. For the event, she was interviewed by Straits Time IN (the newspaper for students). Here she is being photographed with another of the speakers, Munirah Jaafar.

And that was just the start! Lesley-Anne has also been invited to speak at the New Word Order series at the Arts House on 5 March 2014, again with two other young writers.

In addition, we've begun to receive requests for school talks and other even more incredible invites which I will reveal in due course. All this, in addition to starting JC orientation, has kept Lesley-Anne super busy. In fact, her schedule is crazier than mine at the moment! My priority right now, is to ensure that she doesn't overwork herself and maintain a good balance.

Due to the positive response to Danger Dan, Epigram Books has decided to release Book 2 earlier than initially scheduled. So I'm pleased to announce: Danger Dan Tackles the Majulah Mayhem will be hitting the bookstores sometime in March!

Meanwhile, if you or your kids would like to hear from Lesley-Anne and the other panelists how they became writers, feel free to sign up for the above talks. The All In! Festival costs $30 to attend the full day seminar on 22 February (sign up here) and the New Word Order event is free (you just need to register here).

For someone who tends to shy away from the limelight, all this is a little overwhelming for Lesley-Anne so I'm keeping a close watch. But I'm glad that for now, she seems to be enjoying this new path that has opened up. How proud am I of her? Proud as heck! And this introvert is delighted that she gets to do the talks instead of me :D

Afternote: I just had to show this picture cos it makes me laugh! Lydia from Epigram Books (who designs all the graphical elements in the Danger Dan books) had collected the standee and decided to pose for some photos. I'm sure she and her cool dude attracted some attention! 

No longer boy boy, not yet a man

Watching Andre develop over the past year has been interesting. Many boys hit puberty and start transforming into unrecognisable beings at about age 12 or 13, and I've heard from some friends that their sons turned into strangers once they became teenagers. So I was curious as to whether the same phenomenon would hit Andre.

I had always thought that puberty in boys occur when their voices break so I was surprised when I read an article last year and found out that puberty actually happens much earlier. This article is pretty useful if you want to find out more about puberty in boys. In essence, there are five stages of puberty and voice-breaking actually marks stage 3.

Based on the article, I figure Andre is somewhere in stage 2. In the past 12 months, he has grown about 10cm. He's finally taller than Lesley-Anne and comparing photos from a year ago, I can clearly see that both his face and body have become less babyish. He has also become rather clumsy and his longer limbs add to the lack of coordination. He's constantly bumping into furniture and walls and we can hear him muttering, "Stupid gorilla arms!" Even though his voice has grown deeper, it hasn't cracked. (He can still muster up a squeal worthy of Kristin Chenoweth).

I think many boys of this age are surprised by their own physical development. Andre has a primary school classmate whom he met recently at a badminton friendly between schools. This friend, who used to be rather pudgy, is now taller than 1.7m and speaks with an impressive baritone. The friend told him rather delightedly, "I used to do so many situps but no use. I was still fat. Now I do a few and BOOM! Abs!"

I've always known this to be true - physical and mental maturity do not always go hand in hand. Cognitively, Andre's still as childish as ever. He's 13 but he still finds girls annoying (especially when they pat his head and call him "cute"). It's quite funny. I don't have to pre-screen movies because he's terribly embarrassed by love scenes. He will self-censor by throwing a cushion over his eyes, saying, "Yuck! Sick! Tell me when it's over!" He even refuses to watch Disney cartoon characters kiss which baffles me. I mean, those shows are for little kids, right? When we're walking in a mall and go past a lingerie shop, he will make squeamish noises and shield his eyes, much to our amusement. 

Recently, I asked him whether there were any BGRs in his class. He thought for a bit and told me quite a few boys were interested in two girls.

Me: "Wah, only two girls? How come they're so special?"

Andre (looks blank): "How would I know?" 

Me: "Well, are they very pretty?"

Andre (shrugs): "I dunno."

Me (channeling the persistent mum): "Do they have long hair?"

Andre: (looks totally confused): "Long hair? What's that got to do with anything??"

Maybe this is mean, but I laughed very hard at his cluelessness. And secretly, I hope he'll be clueless for a little longer yet.

Higher Chinese and its implications

As an IP student, Lesley-Anne didn't have to sit for the GCE 'O' levels, as she had a through-train pass to Junior College (JC) (as long as she met the minimum requirements in her school exams). However, she did sit for one paper last November - the 'O' level Higher Chinese exam.

The results were released last Monday and... happiness! Lesley-Anne scored a B3 which we're absolutely thrilled about. This means that she won't have to take up Chinese as a subject in JC. One less subject to worry about, one less exam. That's always good news!

Those who have followed my blog from way back when Lesley-Anne was in primary school (gosh, that seems like a million years ago!) will know that Chinese was always a subject that she struggled with. We don't speak Mandarin at home and she had a pretty lackadaisical childhood, free from all kinds of enrichment programmes. Her kindergarten didn't even have a Chinese teacher for six months and it was only before she entered p1, that I realised just how appalling Lesley-Anne's Chinese standard was. That's when I engaged a Chinese tutor for her and even then, it wasn't very intensive.

All things considered, Lesley-Anne has always done ok in Chinese but it's certainly not one of her strengths. It was the only PSLE subject she didn't score an A* in but we weren't expecting anything more. Then came secondary school, where all the students in her school had to take Higher Chinese. Wah, how to cope when she didn't even take Higher Chinese in primary school? Nevertheless, she gamely said she'd give it a try. Call it foolhardiness. Or maybe ignorance really is bliss.

So she plodded along and it was TOUGH. She had to attend remedial classes. She had Chinese tuition. She was called up for prep tests because she performed below the cohort's average. Her compositions were probably 'Dick and Jane' compared to some of her classmates' Shakespearean sonnets.

Thing is, we as parents weren't too anxious because we could see how much effort she put in. And that's why we're so delighted that she managed a B3 - she earned it through sheer dogged hard work. Sweat and tears.

This part of Lesley-Anne's journey is now over but I was pondering the polarising topic of Chinese in Singapore schools. There's the pro camp and the anti camp. And then there are those who are so terrified of it that they will find all ways to avoid it, especially at PSLE. Yes, I'm talking about the group that are exempt from Chinese. As far as I know, there are a couple of ways to be exempt from Chinese - 1) the child is away from Singapore for a minimum number of years 2) the child has been medically diagnosed as having a disability in languages (usually dyslexia).

I want to stress that most of these cases are absolutely legitimate. I'm not suggesting that anyone is faking a disability to get out of Chinese, especially since the condition has to be certified by professional psychologists anyway. But I find it amusing to hear anecdotal accounts of how in certain schools *ahemmissionschools*, by p5, there is suddenly a sizeable number of kids being sent to the psychologist because their parents are convinced they have a learning disability in Chinese. Or how some parents, on hearing that they're being posted back to Singapore from an overseas stint, will ask for their posting to be delayed/extended so that their child can hit the minimum period to be exempt from Chinese.

All these accounts demonstrate just how much the PSLE and Chinese are dreaded. To me, the situation is made worse by how MOE has chosen to remain very vague about the issue. When a child is exempt from Chinese, how is his t-score calculated? Here's MOE's reply to a question on their website:

Q: Would pupils who are exempted from offering Mother Tongue Language at PSLE be at a disadvantage as compared to those who offer the subject at PSLE?

A: No. These pupils’ PSLE aggregate scores would be adjusted so that they are neither disadvantaged nor advantaged.

Translation: Nyeh nyeh ni nyeh nyeh! We're not telling!

It's truly a non-answer because it is not humanly possible to make sure that every student is not disadvantaged or advantaged. So parents start guessing and their guess is that, when you're exempt from Chinese, your fourth grade is an average of the grades of your other three subjects. If this is true, then if your child is bad in Chinese, this is a HUGE advantage. Not only does he get to count only the other three subjects which he's likely to be better in, he has one fewer subject to study.

There's no way of knowing if this is true but again anecdotally, looking at cases from my kids' classes who had been exempt from Chinese, it seems to bear out. These kids have generally gotten higher t-scores in comparison to other kids in class with a similar standard of English/Math/Science.

If this is true, then my personal opinion is it's not really fair lah. To prevent any over-zealous parents from exploiting this loophole, MOE should do something like say, all those exempted from Chinese will be given a Chinese grade equivalent to the AVERAGE of the cohort. Or something like that. Then these parents will really have to consider if it's worthwhile trying to get that exemption.

What I don't get though, is why Mother Tongue continues to be given special treatment. No, Chinese Nazis! I'm not saying Chinese is not important! Of course learning Chinese is important. But consider this: at PSLE, those who ace Higher Chinese are given two extra points for SAP schools. Which I accept as fair cos it's only two points and only for Chinese schools. But then comes 'O' levels and those who pass Higher Mother Tongue (HMT) are given two extra points for admission to JC.

I'm sure everyone will agree with me that two points for JC admission is a WORLD of difference from two points at PSLE. Cut off point to the top JCs is in single digits. Two points can be as much as 33.3% of your L1R5 score! The message is this: HMT is not just important, it is the MOST important subject. Why not special recognition for English? Or Maths? Or Science? To me, this is baffling.

You can't sell me the argument that it's to encourage kids to take HMT because in JC, if you haven't taken HMT, it's compulsory to continue MT lessons at H1 level. Which is somewhat like HMT at 'O' levels. And the HMT kids would already have the advantage of not having to go for any more MT lessons in JC, freeing up their time for other subjects.

To me, this is an instance of how some education policies have not evolved with time. Maybe in the old days, two points didn't make much of a difference, and not that many kids take HMT. But in today's very kiasu and very competitive landscape where people chiong down to the last decimal point, it becomes yet another area for kids, parents and teachers to strategise, so as to get the better of the system.

I know the Chinese subject is a hot potato. Let's see if anyone in MOE is brave enough to raise the issue.

Danger Dan hits the shelves!

He's dangerous! He's Dan! He's... Danger Dan!

Yes! For more corny jokes like these, check out my latest book, co-written with Lesley-Anne! The title of the first book in this five-part series is Danger Dan Confronts the Merlion Mastermind.

We collected our books from Epigram Books yesterday and it was uber exciting! There's just something about seeing your book in print form for the first time - I don't think it ever gets old.

Here we are, with our editor, Ruth and designer, Lydia. I can't tell you what a blessing it is to work with people as enthusiastic as you about your books. They've both done a fantastic job. I also have to credit James, the incredibly talented illustrator, who wasn't present yesterday.

I didn't offer pre-orders of my book to my blog readers this time, unlike with The Good, the Bad and the PSLE, as postage would make the book more expensive than buying it from the bookshops. So if you're keen to buy Danger Dan (and I hope you will be!), do check out the major bookshops (especially Kinokuniya). Give them a week or two to get the stocks onto the shelves.

Price is $10.90 (before GST). Reading level: 8-12 years old.

Meanwhile, you can find out more about this series here. You can even read the sample first chapter to see if you like the writing style of the book. And do 'like' our Facebook page to receive fun Danger Dan updates.

Danger Dan - saving Singapore now and then!

Online reviews for The Good, the Bad and the PSLE

Happy 2014, everyone! How's the New Year treating you?

I'm getting really excited cos Danger Dan will be out very, very soon. But in the meantime, I've been getting quite positive responses to my other book (remember? The one about the stressful school system?)

Yes, The Good, the Bad and the PSLE has been getting noticed! What I found interesting was that some of the reviewers are not Singaporeans but identify with the Asian academic rat race nonetheless. Like this review by a blogger.

Here's another and in French, no less! (I ran it through Google Translate to get the gist of what it said).

And here's a review by a local blogging mum. Be warned though, if you haven't read the book, it contains spoilers!

It's even on Goodreads! If you've read the book and like it, I hope you will share your views on that site. Support me lah :) The book is S$17.90 (before GST) and available at all good bookstores. The bookstores don't always shelve it in a prominent or even correct location though, so if you can't find it, ask the sales folks for it!

Very grateful to all those who have taken the time to write reviews, especially since I don't know most of you personally. If you happen to read this, thank you for the support!

Yuletide blessings

For many folks, the end of year marks a season of parties and extreme feasting and we are no exception. Christmas tree, sparkling decor, loads of presents and our home was ready. We even had a special visitor this year - Danger Dan!

Then there's the food! Just in anticipation, we try to cut down the day before a party and do a little more exercise. But it's all in vain. No amount of jumping jacks done as an afterthought can withstand the massive onslaught of turkey, ham, etc etc etc. I'm quite certain just thinking about Christmas food makes me move up one waist size. Time to switch to elastic pants.

Plus cake. Always lots of cake. And almost always chocolate. I'm telling you, those feeble situps don't stand a chance. Your brain sends an image of the dessert to your abs which, seeing the futility, surrenders and sags instantaneously.  

But most of all, Christmas is really about the company we keep. Sharing meals with loved ones, especially those we don't get to meet as often as we like - that is what makes the occasion.

Food, family and friends - God has provided for us abundantly over the past year. Hope you had an equally fabulous Christmas season and here's wishing all of you showers of blessings for 2014!

Braces off!

Almost a year ago on 31 December 2012, Andre had braces fitted because his top front teeth jutted out at an angle that affected his jaw growth. This meant that he often went around with his mouth slightly open because the overbite was so severe. Here's a picture of him a year ago.

 

Due to certain circumstances, we ended up with a different orthodontist for Andre than Lesley-Anne. This orthodontist is pretty pricey and we wouldn't have gone to her if not for the fact that Kenneth knew her and she gave us a discount. Even so, the bills sometimes made us feel faint! I'm pretty sure we paid for the ornamental fish tank and other furniture in the clinic. :o

We expected the braces to be on for at least two years, since that was the case with Lesley-Anne. However, this orthodontist is some miracle worker because yesterday, Andre's braces were ready to come off! Just under a year! I thought this was pretty much unheard of. So maybe, you do get what you pay for afterall.

We're terribly pleased with the results. His teeth sit so nicely now and the gaps from the extractions have completely closed up. As for Andre, he's just glad that there will be no more tightening and no more bouts of porridge and fish soup!

A mega-watt smile for Christmas :)

Danger Dan hogs the limelight at Crystal Jade My Bread!

In September this year, I was invited to a media dinner to review Crystal Jade Steamboat Restaurant. I thought it would be a one-time thing but the lovely folks at Crystal Jade asked me back again! This time, it was for a media event to showcase Crystal Jade My Bread's Christmas offerings.

To make it even more interesting, I was invited not just as a blogger but as the author of the upcoming Danger Dan book series. That meant Lesley-Anne was also invited and of course, Danger Dan himself!

For the festive season, Crystal Jade My Bread offers a comprehensive takeaway menu which ranges from nibblets to complete party packages. Everything from turkey and ham to log cakes and cupcakes. Here are mini pizzas and mushroom vol-au-vents.

Mini egg and bacon bread rolls (background), fish and pork stick in Thai style (foreground).

Since both Lesley-Anne and I are camera shy, having Danger Dan as a guest is GREAT because he loves being the centre of attention (and trust me, he was! People were staring.)  We made him photobomb everything and it was super fun!

We also got to decorate our very own snowman cake!

And while other guests came up with pretty, jolly old Frosty...

Danger Dan had to put a creative spin on his! Zombie snowman, anyone? (And in case you couldn't tell from our abstract artistry, the mouth is actually an attempt at the Danger Dan logo). 

We had a terrific time and I can see that we're going to have a ball with Danger Dan around. By the way, all pictures were taken by Lesley-Anne. That made me Danger Dan's handler (as you can imagine, it's quite a task trying to keep him in check).

Oh yes, this post was supposed to be about the food, right? The Christmas menu is available online and at Crystal Jade My Bread outlets. Prices start at $8 for 8 mini pizzas. Pretty reasonable. You can place your orders three days in advance.

Crystal Jade hotline: 6512 0800 Mondays to Fridays, 9am - 6pm (excluding public holidays)