Update: Change of the date of May 6th Book Launch of My First Picture Book –All Because of the Hummingbird… Or the Horse

Update: Due to the fact that the Election Day will be held on May 6th, I have had to reschedule the book launch.

The new date is: Sunday, May 14th, 2006, 3:00-4:30 p.m. The venue remains the same.

I am pleased to invite you all to attend the Official Book Launch of my first picture book, All Because of the Hummingbird… Or the Horse - a collaboration with Ing Yong Chien, illustrator. The National Library Board has graciously provided us with a free venue at the National Library Building on May 6th, 2006. The picture book will first be available at this book launch. It costs $20.00, with 70 percent of the profits donated to a children’s programme for autistic kids. Please read the previous blog entries for more information.

The detailed information on the Book Launch is as follows:

Book Launch of a Picture Book about Autistic Child: All Because of the Hummingbird… Or the Horse

Choo Kah Ying, author and Ing Yong Chien, illustrator

Get a glimpse into the mind and life of an autistic boy through this heartwarming picture book that depicts his struggles and courage in overcoming his fear of an


mals. In writing a book for primary school children, Choo Kah Ying, author, hopes that the next generation of Singaporeans will grow up to be compassionate towards others, including those with autism. Apart from discussing the creation of this book (with Ing Yong Chien, illustrator) and reading snippets from it, Ms. Choo will also talk about her extraordinary eight-year journey of raising and loving her autistic son. There will be a book signing following this event.

Time: Saturday, 6 May, 3.00 – 4.30 pm.

Venue: Central Lending Library (Basement 1, Multi-purpose Room)
100 Victoria Street
National Library Building

Registration: Please register for this event by contacting Ms. Choo Kah Ying at 8163-4509 or kchoo7@gmail.com. It will help us to coordinate seating arrangements.

As this book is targeted at primary school children, please feel free to tell your friends and relatives with primary school kids.

An Individualised and Customised Learning Programme

Introduction

With much gratitude to the faith and support of Kampung Senang Charity and Education Foundation (KS), I am pleased to announce that I will be launching a pilot learning programme for moderately to severely autistic children (aged 5 to 8), slated to begin on the last week of May.

As a parent of a nine-year-old autistic child who had lived in the U.S. for the last 12 years, I had witnessed the challenges of running an effective special education programme that is truly customised and individualised to the unique learning needs of our children. In spite of the high adult-to-student ratio, these learning programmes never offered an individualised and customised approach for the children, because of the heavy investment of time, resources and labour involved in such an approach. However, from my observations of these classroom settings and my own experience of homeschooling my son, I realise that an individualised and customised learning programme will be most effective for our children.

Apart from being a parent, I was also an academic researcher who was involved in preparing and editing many academic theses for my clients, many of whom were principals and teachers. In the process, I knew a lot about diverse educational models, including cutting-edge and progressive concepts that that have formulated and implemented all over the world.

My learning programme is thus a product of my personal experiences, as well as my research and analysis of progressive and effective learning models, which do not conform to the philosophies and practices of conventional schools.


Components of the Programme

• Individualised and customised academic programme.
• Group activities
• Activity-based learning.
• Partnership with parents and the community ,m


Number of students

The total number of students in this class will be six. As Sebastien (my son) will be attending the school as well, only five spots are currently available.

Costs

The costs of participating in this programme are as follows:

1. The cost of this three-hour/per-day, five days a week learning programme will be $250.00 per week.

2. In addition, all children who have been selected for entry into the programme will need to undergo an assessment prior to the start of the learning programme. The purpose of this assessment is to allow me to prepare an individualised and customised learning programme for the children before they even step into the classroom.

The entire assessment and the customised package will constitute a one-time cost of $150.00.

3. Subsidies: The Kampung Senang Education and Charity Foundation is prepared to offer a subsidy to low-income families based on the following criteria. Families with a per capita income of $500.00 or below will be eligible for subsidies.

Venue and Time of Learning Programme

Venue: Blk 254, Tampines Street 21
#01-464, Singapore 521254

Time: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., five days a week.

Free Share Session

For more detailed information about this children’s learning programme, please come to a free share session to talk in depth about this learning programme. Please sign up.

Venue:

Student Care Learning Centre, Kampung Senang Education and Charity Foundation
Blk 840, Tampines St. 82, #1-113.

Day and Time: April 8th 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

The talk will last for about 90 minutes, with the remaining 30 minutes being used for parents to ask questions and arrange to speak to me about their interest in this learning programme.

Contact information: Contact Kah Ying at 8163-4509 or email at kchoo7@gmail.com.