Good Manners & Courtesy School ~ Phone Manners Classroom

Serving Others #6 ~ Learn about and practice good manners and courtesy

The 3rd class of our Good Manners & Courtesy School is Phone Manners Classroom. It is all about some basics in phone etiquette, and have them practice phone conversations.

Huge part of everyone’s life is telephone, answering machines, cell phones, text messaging and handled incorrectly can make others uncomfortable.

General rule of answering and making phone calls are be pleasant, speak clearly and most importantly Smile because you can Hear it through phone!

How to Answer A Telephone Call - Make up a true or false quiz about telephone manners such as: “Hey! Who is this?” is always a pleasant way to begin telephone conversations.

• Answering: ‘Yes, this is she/he’
• ‘Just a moment, please.’

How to Take Message - Or “May I take a message” – then deliver it.

• If someone wants to leave an important message, just try to remember what they said as best you can.
• Or, You don’t have to give any information at all to strangers on the telephone ~ not even your name, how old you are, where your parents are, your address, or anything else.

How to Make A Telephone Call -

• Call Waiting: ask to take the call – then be brief.
• Avoid anything that will make the first person you were talking to feel less important.
• Answering machines: speak slowly, give full name and phone clearly.

Telephone Basics -

• Talk about phone manners like not screaming for your parents when it’s for them, etc.
• How to properly answer the phone. This would be an easy thing to get ready and be fun too. They could use this for their hospitality focus.

Make Sure It Is Appropriate to Take or Make a Call -

• Not in restaurants, bus, theatre, stores (especially checking out),school
• Not when it leaves others in your presence hanging
• No texting or talking when driving

For an activity, take in a couple telephones and have the children role-play telephone conversations. Give them situations to act out. Example: Your sister’s friend is calling for her and she’s in the bathroom, etc.

Hopefully after this activity, both Issac and Annabelle will be more alert during answering telephone calls!

Issac & Annabelle Infected with Chickenpox

It was Tuesday night that Annabelle started to say that she was not feeling well and feel very hot. The night had been very warm in our house. I did not notice at all and I assumed it may have been a bit of heat rash.

On Wednesday I noticed there were little blisters under her belly button. I didn’t recall seeing it before. At this point something started to ding in my brain – it was either a bad case of heat rash or the it must’ve been chicken pox.

So I wanted to go to Dr. Liew’s Clinic to get his consultation, unfortunately his clinic was not opened on Wednesdays.

Thus, we have to wait till the next day. From then on the spots just kept coming, I felt like I could literally see them appearing by the hour. In fact, Issac was infected then.

The blisters were generally pretty small except for a few larger ones around his groin area and hips. They just looked like little blisters and some of them looked like they had tiny black dots in them.

By the time bedtime came and they were snoozing I could see that they now had them in their ears too.

Both Issac and Annabelle woke on the Thursday with a few more than he’d gone to bed with but even by then I could see that these little liquid filled blisters had started to dry up. And, yes Bingo!

Dr. Liew was pretty sure it was the chicken pox and advised us to get some antihistamines and antibiotics to help with the itching whenever it started to happen.

We were applying calamine lotion and some anti viral lotion, Dr. Liew giving them antihistamines but he was starting to get a little bit more irritated by them, although I am not sure if that was down to me praising him for coping so well so he played on it a little or if they genuinely were a bit itchy.

I am so relived to be able to say that they was not really affected at all – had they not had the visible spots I’d never have known any different.

And they were quite bored to get to spend few days at home with me, as I have to take leave to take care of them.

Family Home Evening @ Sister Saffron’s Place

Sister Saffron invited our family to her home for a family home evening dinner. We rested for a while after we came back from Church, had our lunch and did my household chores. We left to Sister Saffron’s house at 5.00pm from our home.

There were already a lot of brothers and sisters at her home, including new investigators of coarse. Sister Saffron always help our branch missionaries in doing missionary works.

All the sisters and girls were gathering at the kitchen to make the dumplings. Some sisters were making the dough, some sisters were rolling the dumplings skin, some sisters were wrapping the dumplings. All of us were enjoying each other companions and kids too were having fun doing their own dumplings.

We sung the opening hymn and prayers before the Elders shared with us their messages, before we have our dinner. It seems like we have the biggest ever group that hold the family home evening at Sister Saffron’s house tonight.

Keifer Birthday Celebration

After both Issac and Annabelle routine art classes and violin class, we straight away go to Brother Lynard and Sister Sheryl house at The Wharf, which is near our home.

         

They are inviting our family to celebrate Keifer’s birthday. We arrived there just in time, as the food just served. All are home cooked by Sister Sheryl.

         

Sister Annie, Sister Glenda, Sister Zelie together with their children were there. Besides us church members, Brother Lynard’s colleagues were coming too.

    

All the food were so delicious. The birthday cake was nice too, as Sister Sheryl really good in baking. We were having good food, companied by friends, and chit-chatting.

We stayed there about an hour and a half, after which we left and came back home.

So Tired!

Both of Issac and Annabelle always so tired everyday after I fetch them from school. Both of them will be fall asleep during the journey from Mecaje to my office like this…

The change of school and study times seems has changed to longer hours, but actually is not. This is due to the school starts at 8.45am instead of previously 7.15am at SRJK Chee Wen and ends at 4.00pm instead of 1.35pm.

A huge change to them, they still can adapt to it, just physically tired. And then the travelling time from home to school and from school to my office, then back home is even longer compared with previously.

During at SRJK Chee We, I fetched both to school and after they off the school, the school bus driver fetched both only from school to Mahkota Tuition Centre, then just wait for me to fetch them home while they were doing their homework and tuition.

Hopefully the change of school would be a right choice that Alvin and I made, as I can see Issac is getting more interesting to his study which is a good sign.

Yeah! Still tired or them.

We Miss You Daddy!

Daddy told us he is going to Singapore for company business trip from 3 April, Monday to 6th April, Thursday. So, only 3 of us in the house only.

The kids miss their daddy! Mummy just took both lovely children photos and WhatsApp to Daddy.

Seafood Feast!

Today is a Sabbath. After we came back home from Church, Mummy helped Daddy to cook his new recipe which Daddy wanted to try.

Yesterday we bought some frozen bamboo shells, scallops and claims at Village Grocer, Citta Mall while we were waiting for both Issac and Annabelle finish their art class. We bought some ingredients as well.

Daddy cooked the bamboo shells in curry curry style, while the scallop and claims with fish maw in plain steam style.

Well… Overall not too bad… We should try with fresh seafood, would be much more nicer!