Home Schooling

Nuaim throws tantrums when things don't go his way. And the only way to deal with it is to explain a complex situation with all the really minute details. Which he completely understands.

Episode 1:

Some time ago, his uncle bought him two Lego Creator sets from Sydney. He loves these Creators - Hubby had purchased three previously - as each set has an instruction booklet that shows you how to build three different items using the same pieces. The booklet from the Sydney pack also showed the other available Creator models, one of which Nuaim took a fancy to. He started asking why his uncle didn't buy him that particular set, so to cut it short I told him they had run out in Sydney. Being Nuaim, he wouldn't drop the subject, so he kept pestering me about it till I promised to buy it at Toys'R'Us. Alas, Malaysia does not seem to have a market for Lego Creator.

"Why don't they sell here?" he asked.

"No one wants to buy them." I answered.

"I do. Why don't other boys buy them?"

"Because other boys aren't clever enough." I was hoping this compliment would make him feel better. It backfired.

"No! I want other boys to be clever enough to build them!!"

"Well, they're too expensive to make in Malaysia."

"Why are they too expensive?"

"The factory is too expensive to build here."

"I want Lego to build a factory in Malaysia!"

"Nuaim, do you know what it takes to build a factory?"

"No. How do you build a factory?"

Then I launched into a full description of a Project implementation framework that would put SKG19 TP's to shame, complete with basic design, long lead item procurement, installation, pre-commissioning inspection, performance test runs and delayed start-ups.

By the end of it, Nuaim looked pensive.

"So you see why they can't build the factory here?"

"Yeah, it's really difficult."


Episode 2:

We were watching Animal Planet on ASTRO today. As usual, the signal started breaking up with the slightest sign of bad weather. Nuaim began asking me to clean the VCD, not realising that the two were totally unrelated.

"It's not from a VCD, Nuaim. ASTRO is from the sky."

"Why is it shaking?"

"The wind is making it shake."

"Turn off the fan!"

"No, dear. It's not the fan, it's the wind in the sky."

"Close the windows! Don't let the wind come in."

"No, no. It's shaky from outside, not inside the house."

Nuaim still didn't look convinced. So I had to go all technical again.

Armed with a piece of paper and a pen, I described how microwave signals travelled from the main ASTRO broadcasting station to our receiver dish on the roof, down a cable to the ASTRO decoder and finally into the TV set in the family hall. Professor Charles Turner would be so proud of me.

Nuaim really appreciated this piece of information, then looked at my sketch thoughtfully.

"Where's the staircase?"

ARRGHHH!!!