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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V
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!
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