short term memory loss

Sunday afternoon, Kate was having chocolate ice-cream with M&M and chocolate rice. "Look, I could make the ice-cream melt faster," said Kate as she stirred the ice-cream. "I did this at school at Bangkok. I mixed different color of ice-cream and it was so fun."

Few hours later,
Kate: Mum, do you see my wallet?
Mum: No, I don't. Where did you put it?
Kate: I put it on the coffee table. But now it's not there.
Mum: No, I don't see it there. May be you've moved it somewhere else.
Kate: No, I'm sure I put it there.
Mum: Are you sure it was today?
Kate: Yes, I'm really sure.
Kate asked Daddy who was working near the coffee table and Daddy didn't see it, either.

After searching here and there, Kate gave up. She looked so sad and confused. Suddenly, "I think it's in my pinafore!" exclaimed Kate as she hurried went to her room. And it was there!

Then Mum remember that in the morning Mum has praised Kate for getting her uniform ready for the next day and seen the string of the wallet hanged out from the pinafore's pocket. But both Mum and Kate forgot about it.

Kate: It's weird. How could I remember something that has happened few years ago, but I forgot something that has happened today.

Lost & Found

On Monday, Mum got a phone call from Kate's teacher, informed that Kate has left her school bag in the SBS bus on the way to school.

Amazing ... how Kate didn't realize it until she reached the school hall and was about to put her bag (which was not with her). And about an hour before her teacher called, Kate has called Mum about other thing, but she didn't mention about her lost bag.

Anyway, Mum called lost & found of SBS Transit. For more than half an hour countless dial, it was always answered by machine, saying that the officers were busy. When finally an officer got on the line, she gave Mum another phone no, which was took only one ring to get through.

Apparently, as the bag was left on that day, it was still kept at the control office at the terminal. In this case, Kate took SBS Bus 80, Harbourfront-Sengkang direction, so the officer at Sengkang Interchange kept it.

When Kate came back from school (she didn't know that her teacher has contacted Mum):
"Mummy, I have a bad news.. I left my bag in the bus this morning... Luckily, I still have a spare bag, don't I? So we don't need to buy a new one... But how about all the books? The textbooks? The spelling book? The journal? ... Oh, no! I need to write those all over again, and I need to get spelling tests again, and my teacher will need to mark those again ..."

Kids ... their way to think is so simple ...

reward

Instead of lecturing and reminding Kate everyday ... * she knows everything... what to do, what will happen, etc* ... Mum decided to give her reward.

Reward for leaving her stuff? Of course not. It's reward for NOT leaving her stuff. Mum made a small calender and put it on a fridge. If Kate successfully brings all her stuff back home, she will get a sticker *just a simple circle one* to put on the calender. And to make it more challenging, if she does it 5 in a row, she will get another reward *to put in her saving box*.

And on the next 4 weeks, she brought everything back home.
Well done, Kate!

Update:

Since Kate has done it really well for the rest of the term, we decided to discontinue this sticker reward.

first 10 days

School has just begun for 10 school days and lets check what Kate has left in her class:

5th day:
left her chinese book. We found it out straight after we reached home. We went back to school because she had chinese homework for the next day. The classroom has been locked of course (it was past 7pm), luckily we could found auntie who was in charge for the keys.

6th day:
left her drink she bought and chinese book (again). This time we found it out when we reached bicycle. The classroom has been locked as well. Kate met a teacher who helped her through another door which has not been locked.

9th day:
left her purse (and her pocket money), english book, and story book.

10th day:
at school she found her english textbook under her table, her purse at her form teacher (with help from the prefect - thanks), but forgot about the story book. at home ... she realised that her chinese workbook was not in her bag, but was really sure didn't leave it in her classroom because she had checked her table. Where is it, then?

Gosh ... Even she wouldn't know that she has left them behind if Mum didn't ask her or incidentally made conversation about it.

Update:
11th, 12th, 13th days: she left stuffs like homework file, spelling book, letter for parents.