Teaching is a vocation and a good teacher is someone to treasure and appreciate. They leave behind an indelible mark and make a positive difference in the lives of those they teach.

Teaching can be a thankless job. Let's not discount on what they do as they mould the lives of our children.

What teachers want are not criticisms but critiques and suggestions on how best to help the students, our children.

Good teachers do not expect lavish gifts and expensive luncheons. Good teachers appreciate the soundless thanks that comes from an improvement in the students' work and the delight in seeing the students' faces when they realized that they have improved. Good teachers know when to reprimand and when to praise, and remind that above all, our self-worth is important and that we must take pride in what we do.

Yes, there are teachers and there are good teachers. And good teachers are sometimes hard to find. 

How about starting a herb garden with your child? Thought it would be nice to share with the parents here and give you some ideas on how to cultivate your child's interest in plants and nature.

If u live in a flat or apartment, then all u need is a small area to grow your herb garden. U can even use the corridor. Find a sunny spot for your garden with good/strong sunlight streaming in for at least 1/2 a day. Of course, if you live in a house with wide open spaces, then all the more better for the plants to thrive and grow.

Currently, my mini and humble herb garden consists of basil, rosemary, borage, sunflower and corn. I have been using the basil leaves and rosemary in my cooking. Intend to grow other herbs and plants soon.

You can buy ready potted basil, rosemary and borage at any nursery. As for the sunflower and corn, we buy the seeds from Cold Storage - or u can also get them at the nursery - and just grow them in pots.

Nothing beats homemade bread. Sure, the commercial ones are cheaper and convenient to get. There's also a lot of variety in the market too.

But there's something special about homemade stuff. The family gets involved and there's a sense of growing excitement in the air. Everyone takes furtive peeks into the window of the bread machine as we wait expectantly for the bread to rise.

Very soon, as the machine works its magic, the smell of freshly baked bread wafts through the air, permeating our home with comfort and warmth. Such are the memories of love that we want to linger on for our children.

Finally, the machine beeps. My children whoop with excitement. The bread is ready. We gather around the table as the bread is being prepared to be sliced and served. Crusty on the outside but tender loving warm and soft on the inside. Nice.

So, to borrow MasterCard's ad lines,

Breadmachine: $318
Bread ingredients: $10
Joy of baking homemade bread: Priceless 

My dd1 was also diagnosed to be ASD when she was about 3yo. It turned dh and my world outside down. Life was never the same after that. I can still recall the anguish and turmoil that we went thru. And yet, the diagnosis helped to explain the many "mysteries" surrounding her behaviour.

The positive thing is that, in discovering early, you can start your child on early intervention. This is very important as it will help her and your family cope with AS much more effectively

This is what we did with our daughter's lazy eye... Hope it gives other parents a better idea of what to expect if they think their child have lazy eyes.

Getting a referral
It is best to go to a specialist to have your child's eyes checked.

You could go to the polyclinic to get a referral to KKH Children's Eye Clinic or NUH.

When helping your child to choose a tertiary institution for higher education, it is important to do your homework before you and your child commits on the university and course of study. Here are some suggestions on what to look out for if your child has just completed “A” levels or Poly diploma and wish to consider higher education.

1. Ensure that the local service provider (or private institution) is established

Just for fun…

As parents, we are often caught up with the daily grind of looking into our children’s affairs, swotting over work and battling with household chores that never seem to end. We seem to give our time to everyone else except to ourselves and, perhaps, our significant other.

Of late, there has been much discussions in the Relationships thread on topics like “Extra Marital Affairs”, “Cheating Spouses”, “Spouse or Child First?”, “Temptations”, which can ben rather depressing and disconcerting to read at times.

Increasingly, we hear and read of stories, and even know of friends or relatives who are going through a rough patch in their marriage.