Baby Le Xin

Sunday 26 August 2012

Waterplay @ Tampines 1 Rooftop

Last week, we brought Le Xin out to the Library and then we went for dinner at Tampines One. When we were at  T1, I spotted that the Water Playground at T1's rooftop has opened so I decided to bring Le Xin there for a short play. Here's a short post about her wonderful discovery but first up let's see who she met just before her waterplay?


Hello Kitty!!! I really love this car.....super sweet pink (thinking about my friend Irene...) I think my sister (Avid fan of Hello Kitty) will love this car as much as Le Xin and I do! She sat in and refused to come out of it (as usual).
 
I also took a short video of her playing in the car after she tried to pop in a dollar.
 

She just loves the idea of holding hand everytimes she gets on a ride!
 
Time for some waterplay at the roof top playground!
 
Le Xin was feeling the water as it was being shot out from the equipment....
 
Where's the water going? Is it back into the drain?
 
So you caught me climbing this too?
 
Wow I found a small water spring.....
 
Should I use it to wash my hands?
 
What happens if I step on it? Oh no I think I block the water flow :(
 
This somehow looks like a fountain...
 
Ohh no.....now I am all wet!!!
 
Le Xin appeared to be extremely happy when she saw the water gushing out.....she can't wait to beat the water and make a big splash!
 
Time for Le Xin to jump into the shallow pool, it not suitable for her age but I was there to guide her.....Actually this area of the playground.....was meant for aged 5 to 12 haha but she just loves the water too much and I know I had to bring her there.......This kind of reminded us how much fun we had at Vivocity.
 
Wow the water is shooting up high....
 
Wow look who's here to play with me? Jia Jun kor kor :)
 
Then it was time to go back....we changed her clothes immediately after the waterplay and ohh noo we did not bring towel so we had to used her jacket as towel (improvisation :p) to clean her up haha. It was almost night time by time, as the cooling wind blew on our face we hurried our steps and went out quickly. Just then we realised it was freaking cold too while waiting for the lift as the air conditional blew at us wooo..... wooo...... almost felt like Snow Storm!
 
Daddy Scott and Le Xin were happy to help Tampines One promote their rooftop water playground......So playdates anyone? Le Xin would definitely like to have someone to play with the next time she pops in there for waterplay again. Look at her pointing her finger at you.....as if trying to tell you "YES YOU! YOU CAN COME HERE AND PLAY WITH ME TOO!" haha :)
 
I thought this was indeed a fantastic water playground, it was actually so much better than what I expected. Best of all..... it's absolutely FREE! Of course we can't compare it with Port of Lost Wonder at Sentosa but this place it's definitely much more child friendly (for younger children)..... It's suitable for children from 18 months to 12 years of age... I even a baby below 1 year old playing there....crawling as the water splashed on her.....How fun!!! Do bring along a swimming costume and a towel if you would like to bring your child/children there I am pretty sure that they will enjoy it. Go during the evening time so it's not too sunny and please remember to "jio" us whahahahah!
 
Leaving you guys with 2 video of cute little Le Xin engaging with the waterplay equipment :)
 

 
 

Friday 24 August 2012

Sandplay @ East Coast Park

In the evening, I brought Le Xin to East Coast Park. My dad was happy to drive us there together with his lovable dog......Silver! This wasn't Le Xin's first visit to ECP, the previous time was my farewell party @ East Coast Park .....but I could tell how much she loves the beach and the sand play the other time when Ibrought her there....so today's outing was a planned trip so to speak. I bought her a small pail which consists of a few sand play equipment which she brought along to East Coast Park!
 
Le Xin volunteered to hold her own sand play equipment.....she was really excited!!!
 
We went to an area where many people were building sandcastles, there was a Castle Beach there too but it is only open on weekends. The place that we went to was near the hawker centre.
 
The first thing that Le Xin reached out for was the spade, she also found a seashell which she placed it inside her pail.
 
Wai Gong was observing Le Xin at play.....with Silver doggy!
 
I fetch some water from the sea with a watering can and passed it to Le Xin, I wanted her to water the sand initially but as soon as I passed her the watering can, she turned it the other way and poured out all the water whahahhaha! 
 
She observed how the dried sand turned a little "muddy" after water was added in and used her little finger to stir it.
 
Le Xin scooped up some sand onto a sieve using a spade
 
Then she scooped a little more by pouring the sand from the spade to the sieve.
 
As she poured the sands using the spade, I strongly think that she is begining to learn the properties of the sand....and this photo speaks for what I have just mentioned :)
 
Le Xin learning how to use a sieve for the first time! She appeared to enjoy shaking the sands on the sieve :)
 
Then she began to dug the sand....... 
 
Nah....Mummy Le Xin said as she handed me a rake. She often invites me to participate in her play.....and this was one good example.
 
Le Xin became a little distracted when Silver ran towards her.....she dropped her sand play equipment and walked towards Wai Gong Le Xin come......come and touch Silver doggy said Wai Gong excitedly.
Wai Gong reassuring Le Xin that Silver is a very good dog and it will not bite her.
 
Le Xin obviously was reluctant to touch Silver, she kept shaking her head and patted her own chest to signal to Wai Gong that she was scared. Poor Le Xin I thought......I already knew that all this while Le Xin is extremely scared of Silver because Silver likes to bark loudly at times and lick her face. I was really tempted to walk towards them to stop but something held me back and I waited......
 
For the very first time, I managed to observe how my father's patient persuasion has paid off.....Le Xin was convienced by my father to touch Silver!!! How amazing was that!!! The fact that she dares to take a big step to pat Silver shows how much courage and effort she has put in to conquer  her own fear. I am really proud of Le Xin and I seriously think she deserves a big clap and two thumbs up from Mummy!!!! Well done Le Xin......good patting :) I don't think I will ever have the courage to pat a cat in my entire life. :(
 
Silver gave Le Xin the doppy look!!! ----> "Come on you know I wouldn't bite you right??? Even though I really wish to cause your chubby cheeks are soooo tempting :)" hahahahahha
 
Le Xin tried to touch Silver again and again after her first attempt.......Sometimes it's just about doing it the first time RIGHT and you will keep on doing it :)
 
Then Le Xin stroked Silver's back while Silver happily sat down to rest......
 
My dad kept pestering me to take a nice shot of Silver.....which of course I have to do so and seriously I suspected Silver knew what I was doing....she kept posing for me....just look at confident face :)
 
Silver was trying to be a celebrity....and she is good at it isn't it?
 
I took out one piece of wet wipe to clean my camera which was filled with sand by the time I snapped all the photos.....and Le Xin saw the packet of wet wipe and helped herself with one of it. She started wiping her face and neck with the wet wipe thus showing independence and initiative in doing things on her own without my assistance......Good job Le Xin :)
 
Le Xin was engaging in stick writing again......If you have read my post on Playground Time With Daddy or saw the pictures of Le Xin which I posted on facebook, you would have gathered that writing using a stick is something that Le Xin is very fond of doing, so of course she will not miss out the fun of "writing" and "drawing" on the sand with a stick which she found :)
 
Then Le Xin decided to play a game with me which was to burry my feet with sand. Of course she gave up half way through  when she realised it will take her "forever" to cover my feet because her hands are just too small whahahaha (evil laughter from Mummy) :(
 
As the gusty wind blew onto her face, she finally found something more fascinating and she hurried her Mummy by pulling her hand to bring her there......She pointed to it excitedly and shouted in her own language which we adults call "BABBLES" haha so what was it that she saw which made her so excited????
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Going towards it.....but not there yet~~~~
 
It has to be experiencing the waves of the sea that splashed the sea water onto her little feet....She was really frighten initially and held on to my hand tightly. I patiently waited for at least 10 to 15 minutes for her to observe the waves before encouraging her to bend down to feel the water, of course she loves it :) and bent down a few times to feel the water each time the waves draws the water nearer towards her. What's the point of going to the beach without experiencing this right?
 
Then it was time to pack up, I brought Le Xin to wash her hands and feet at the diaper changing room before heading home. My dad is the sweetest and the most fanstastic Daddy in the whole wide world.....he bought us dinner before sending us back to Tampines :) Yummy fried rice which Le Xin, Daddy Scott and I shared together woohoo~
 
I found something while googling online about sandplay to find out the name of the equipment which I am still clueless about......do take a look at it, it's a simple and helpful article (<---- click on it to read) about sand play which I find it really good!
 
I used to think of those phrases such as "Live Today As If There Is No Tomorrow" or "Treat today as a Gift that's why it is call Present" very cliche because I used to take things that happened in my life for granted......Of course every now and then I still do...but now I do want to embrace those phrases. I know there many things in life I really want to do. Who doesn't? Just tell me who doesn't want more time to play Facebook, watch Youtube, go for a movies, shop for pretty clothes, take up a course, travelling, dining at a fine restaurent, cooking a meal for your special one or even having time for yourself to meditate or read a book.....Seriously tell me who doesnt? But now, I come to realise....I can NEVER EVER TURN BACK TIME, some of my friends and even strangers who read my blog told me "I seriously wish I did those activities you did with your daughter....now my children are all grown up.....I feel guilty for not doing them" I do not know if they said these statements out of regrets.......but I do not wish for this to happen to me FOR SURE!!! Come on Le Xin is a toddler now but soon she will grow up and she won't be a Toddler ANYMORE!!!!! There are indeed many things I wish to enjoy and accomplish....but for now my priority should be my FAMILY!!! Of course it's about striking a balance too......for example what's life without FACEBOOK or friends at all right????
 
As I reflect while typing this post the conclusion is ---->What a great experience I had at the beach with Le Xin, my dad and his doggy Silver! I really cherish every single experience that I had with Le Xin and my family members, each experience just proves to show how important family bonding is. I do not know if I still have the luxury of time to engage in all these kind of experiences once I start to work in September but I am certainly going to find time to do it no matter what happens!  Haha hope you enjoy this post about her sandplay experience as much as I do :) This blog is not solely dedicated to my darling girl....I do hope to inspire people out there.... my family, my friends, teachers, or maybe just a passer-by popping in to read my blog. I  do hope everyone can come to understand the importance of spending quality time with your children/family/students and be there for them........just  observing...... just listening.......and perhaps if possible....just documenting it so that this truly becomes a special journal for them to revisit when they grow up :) Just remember....everything is possible if the word "Try" appears it in your mind first...... God Bless!

Bee Craft!

It's MFS centre closure day, so there was no school for Le Xin and I knew I have to keep her
busy so I decided to.....
 
read her a book.... The Very Busy Bee by Jack Tickle!
 
It's a pop up book with colour illustrations, Le Xin simply loves it and it's pretty cheap. I bought it for just $9.90!
 
Then an idea struck me! What about creating a bee since I saw a bee crafting activity on KidsCraftWeekly
 
I showed Le Xin how I traced a circle using a plastic bowl and she was really eager to try it out as well. I knew she might not be to do it, I observed her tracing it half way and ended up scribbling. The whole idea was just getting her to try.....
 
This is what I did, I traced two circles using the plastic bowl.
 
Then I drew two lines to form an oval. I am obviously very bad at drawing so I need to do this to create an oval. I cut the oval and pasted it on top of another drawing board and cut it out again...repeating this step several times to ensure the final oval that we used was hard enough :)
 
Of course Le Xin helped me out as well, she was in charge of  pasting :)
 
For those of you who have read my post on Our Mini Atelier you should know that I kept some of materials at the Atelier using glasses....but later on I spotted these plastic containers, long and big....and I knew they are PERFECT to be used for storage for crayons and other materials in the so I swapped them with those glasses  and best of all they are cheap...$2 each cause I bought it from my Art Heaven hahahaha...is there such a place??? Joking....my Art Heaven is...... DAISO- Tampines Outlet :)
 
Le Xin decorating her bee with crayon!
 
She pasted an ice-cream stick to the oval so that she can hold on to it later - which acts as a handle...perhaps that's also the needle for the bee to sting :)
 
Le Xin was pressing the ice-cream to attach it to the oval, I helped to secure it by putting a small piece of scotch tape on top of it.
 
Le Xin tried pasting the glitter stickers to decorate the bee...What seems easy for us adult, was really tough for a toddler like Little Le Xin........why?
 
The stickers kept sticking onto her fingers and she didn't know how to remove them.... so she felt really frustrated and seeked for my help... I asked her where she wanted to paste the sticker and I helped her to paste them :)
 
Then I suggested to Le Xin, Hey let's draw two circles and form the eyes for the bee what do you think? Would you like to use black ??? (Actually I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT AT ALL... somehow I knew that's killing her creativity...look this where Human makes mistake especially when one is too absorbed with the outcome of things......When I realised I shouldn't suggest to her....it's all too late because the words had already came out from my mouth) However Le Xin's reply was NO!!! She looked at me shaked her head and said I want blue.... She confidently took a dark blue crayon and started drawing the circle, then she passed the crayon to me and asked me to draw with her which I did. Then I helped her to cut them out....
 
Once again, she helped out with the pasting of the eyes for the bee!
 
I suggested to Le Xin that we need to make the wings and so I passed her cellophane paper of different colours. (I believe if a child is older, he/she can choose what materials to use....) She said I want blue but she took the yellow cellophane paper. That's not blue I replied....so she took the yellow cellophane paper and placed it near her eyes, then she smiled and said I want yellow. Cheeky Le Xin....I wonder was she trying to trick me or did she get her colours all mixed up  hahahha!!!
 
Mummy twisted the cellophane and now it looked like a bow....
 
Le Xin pasted the wings onto her bee with a scotch tape...once again that's was really tricky for her. I guided her a few times before she could do it.......but after a few tries.......she kind of lost interest in pasting and said Mummy help me! Haha so I persuaded her to paste the cellophane together with me and she did.
 
Le Xin chose a pink pipe cleaner for the feelers.....somehow when she was taking it.....she said blue....blue...blue....every colours seem to be Blue to her now and I wonder why???
 
I helped Le Xin to attached the pipe cleaner with a scotch tape!
 
I passed Le Xin the bee and she held on to it and started dancing around.....I tried to take a photo of her holding on to her bee but she was swinging it.....so the image turned out a little blur.
 
Then I took another photo of her holding on to her bee but look at her face.......hahaha she looked sooo glummy......somehow the bee that we created looks like a strange looking Humpty Dumpy hahahaha!
 
While writing this post, I really felt bad.....I realised that even as an ECE, I am bound to make mistakes such as over directing my daughter on what to do while crafting with her. I could have written a beautiful post about how she good she was at creating the bee but I didn't want to. I want this to be a reflective journal. When I made a mistake, I seriously need to review and change for the better. Step 1 is to be aware and to admit what went wrong...... Step 2 Learn from my mistakes and Step 3 Remember and ensure I do not do that again......This is what I often tell to my K2 students. So are you guilty of killing your child/student's creativity when crafting with them? What are the challenges you face? Do you over-direct your child/students at times? How do you overcome it? These questions are posted here for reflections if you are reading my post :) Be aware that every child is capable of expressing their ideas and communicates in different ways... So becareful on how you ask them questions and how you interact with them....Leaving you guys with this "NG" post of her taking a shot with the bee.....just look how cute she was haha :)