Finally, I am back. Sasha is graduating from K1 soon. How time flies. I cannot believe that this year we have to put down payment for elementary school's development fee. He is not a K2 student yet but here we are talking about elementary development fee.

Allergy

For some reasons Sasha had a runny nose that lasted for more than 3 weeks. I finally took him to the doctor and was told he might have allergy. Sasha was prescribed a nasal spray that miraculously cured his runny nose in just 3 days. We have already used air purifier with HEPA filter in the house but now I am contemplating to buy a Dyson vacuum cleaner to help capture dust and loose allergen.

Photo Memory

Last Thursday one of the Shichida lessons in class was photo memory exercise. The instructor used 12 different picture cards that consisted of number, objects, colors, and people in random places. Sasha got them all correct and he did it in lighting speed. This is a significant improvement since he used to dwell in putting the pictures together. Even the instructor noticed that too. Sasha put together the picture without thinking twice and just tap..tap...tap...tap.

Suzuki Method

Posture is the most important part in Suzuki violin. Here, Sasha is learning the correct posture.

Student Of The Week

Sasha is student of the week. He is Mr. Obedient! I am very proud of you Sasha. This award is very special since Sasha has overcome his baby self and emerged to become an independent boy recently.

Peg Memory

In one of the Shichida Method many lessons for memorization, there is one activity that involves memorizing 100 pictures (in order) called peg memory. Sasha has so far memorized all 100 of them with 1-50 pictures being his most fluent. Meaning, he can correctly say what picture associates with what number easily. The technique to be successful in memorizing these pictures is to repeat them in 20 pictures and keep adding some more until 100.

Tennis

Sasha's new passion:

Cooking

For one reason or another Sasha has taken a liking in cooking. It started out when he read a book about making orange juice and went to make one with his dad. Ever since that, Sasha wanted to make anything that he could make; Pancake (together with dad), avocado juice, his sister's puree, pizza and tiramisu - after he stumbled upon how to make tiramisu on youtube. Of course we tried a few times to get all of them right.

Music Lesson

Sasha has been taking up a violin lesson for sometimes. Professor Makoto Shichida said a long time ago, in one of the rare conversations I had with him, music is important for brain development, especially learning to play the violin. Professor Shichida said that since violin involves a lot of movements on both hands: right hand to hold the bow and left hand for the fingering, such movements are believed to be a good exercise for the brain, both left brain and right brain.

New Year

Its January, I am determined to write regularly on my blog this year...or at least posting pictures like I used to. After the birth of my daughter, I found out that it was not as easy to sit down in front of my laptop as before. But all is well now.
News update, Sasha is no longer a long haired boy. We had it cut as of November 2011. And has since changed several hairstyles to better suit him.