Coloured Salt Crystals!

Sharing another activity which I did with Le Xin using food colouring on National Day.... Somehow Mummy is really quite obsessed with the use of food colouring it seems :p I've gotten this idea from KidsCraftWeekly it's a fantastic website and every parent and educator should check it out!

This learning experience is quite engaging and fun but...it's a little tricky to do it with a toddler.

I told Le Xin that we were going to create salt crystals and gave her a bottle filled with salt to explore... She used a spoon and tried to stir the salt in the bottle.

This was the part which I find it quite tricky for a toddler to do but still we tried it and made it! Le Xin was attempting to scoop salt (fine particles) into the small plastic bowls. It was not easy and there was spillage over all but it's okay.......the whole idea was to stay calm and cool!

I dropped a bit of red food colouring and observed Le Xin's reaction. She took an ice-cream which I prepared for her and started poking the "red spot".

Le Xin try stirring the salt, what can you see? asked Mummy. Le Xin stirred the salt and observed how the colour changes.

Le Xin added a little water into the bowl. She tried to stir again and noticed some of the salt began to dissolve. Le Xin, this mixture is too wet, just like the jelly mixture that we did last time... so maybe let's try to do it again but this time without the water okay? suggested Mummy.

Le Xin went over to Mummy excitedly and gave her a bottle of blue food colouring and said blue. So Mummy asked Le Xin if she wants to try putting the food colouring in. Mummy gave her a straw and she gently dipped the food colouring in.

When Le Xin was stirring the mixture, she kept saying blue and became quite excited. Some of the blue salt crystals actually flew out of the bowl and landed on Mummy's lap whahahahha!

We tried mixing yellow food colouring into the salt too. These were the food colouring salt crystals that we made.....I am going to keep them in a spice jar once they are dry and it will be part of our materials in our Atelier where Le Xin can sprinkle them on her art work just like glitters!

Each day as I grow with my child, I find myself turning into a keen learner too. I read somewhere that some Mummies think very carefully about what to do with their child/children so that the learning is purposeful..... I feel bad because I do not plan at all, it's always very spontanteous.... I like the discovery and the emergent feeling...once I think too much about something....the kind of excitement will suddenly disappear.......I am glad Le Xin is with me to enjoy this learning journey :) love love my best friend that God has given to me!!!



Experimenting with food colouring, milk and detergent!

This experiment was inspired by my ex-colleague Raisha from Etonhouse.. We did this experiment with the N2 children in school and they simply love it. So I thought of trying it out with Le Xin and Daddy Scott and yes they were quite amazed by the outcome.

Hi everyone, this is what we need - milk, food colouring, detergent, a cotton bud...It's that simple.....so you can try it at home too!



Firstly, Le Xin poured in the milk.

 

Mummy helped to put the food colouring in.

Daddy Scott said that the food colouring looked like a smiley face in the milk......haha yes indeed!

Le Xin dipped the cotton bud that was soaked in detergent into the mix with food colouring. The food colouring began to spread sideway!

The food colouring is moving...Mummy said excitedly

Does this reminds you of Paddle Pop?

Just look at how beautiful it looks!

Le Xin kept dipping the cotton bud into the mixture, till the food colouring stop moving. It was all mixed up, then she started stirring till the mixture turned into a dull purple solution.

Mummy and Le Xin were having so much fun with food colouring so far......We never knew the many usages of this special ingredient! Next up......exploring food colouring with salts!

Baking Blueberry Muffins!

Received another Parental Involvement Activity from MSF! This time it's baking Muffins! From the previous post on Le Xin's First Baking Experience everyone should gather that Mummy is not a fantastic baker. However, I really wish to take part in this parental involvement activity so why not give it a try....I stick on to my philosophy that in life you never try.....you never know! Even though, I do not have an oven at home....it did not stop me from wanting to try out this activity. I was hoping to borrow an oven or visit my sister's place to bake the muffins but thank God I saw that my toaster oven states that it can be used to baked Muffins so I decided to give it a go!

As usual, I started off by introducing Le Xin all the ingredients that we were going to use which include, blueberries, vegetable oil, milk, eggs and muffin baking flour. We also need a large mixing bowl, a whisk, a spoon, some pretty baking papercups and two metal baking cups which we bought from Daiso!

Firstly, we cut the tip of the flour packaging and Mummy held on to one side while Le Xin tried to pour the flour out. She accidently spilled some of the flour onto the table and said Oh oh but Mummy told her it's okay and so she continued pouring.

Le Xin helped to pour the vegetable oil too.

Le Xin added the milk in. When Mummy asked her What's this? She replied nuk nuk and that's how she pronounces the word milk at this point of time. It's very cute, I tried to tell her a few times it's milk and not nuk but I guess she is still not ready to say milk yet. That's pefectly fine with me :)

Then she added two eggs in! She said eggs after pouring the eggs into the mixture.

Le Xin began mixing the mixture with a whisk. She lifted up the whisk a few times to observe how the mixture dropped "back"  into the mixing bowl.

Mummy is obviously training Le Xin for MasterChef Junior Singapore..... Dear Whitney can you take Le Xin in as your disciple please?

Yeah! Of course we can't miss out on the blueberries too!

Stir Stir Stir......Mummy and Le Xin wonder how this mixture will turn out to be???

Le Xin testing the consistency of the mixture. I asked her Do you think the mixture is ready for baking? and she nodded her head.... I really wonder if she knows what I am asking her or not? :p

Le Xin helping Mummy to scoop the mixture into the paper cup!

I like this photo. Le Xin was observing the muffin mixture rising inside the toaster oven. She seemed to be amazed by it!!! Daddy Scott who just came home said I smell your muffins!!! haha

Le Xin holding her first muffin that she baked. The first patch we baked them for 10 mins and they were a little overbaked so the second patch we baked them for 8 mins and they looked just nice. It might not look like it's the BEST MUFFIN in the world......but it  certainly was the MOST SPECIAL MUFFIN because she baked this together with Mummy!

Hungrily eating her muffins.....Yummy!

The wonder of learning first begins with Exploration and it doesn't end.....it just the begining of a journey to learn more as each day passes.....Carpe Diem - Seize The Day! for it's so precious....with the companion an adult who is always keen to be part of this learning journey, just in hope to make a difference..... and an impact! Are you a parent who wants to be a part of your child's learning journey too? It's neither too late...nor too soon :)



Fun with Chalks!

Daddy Scott was busy helping out with the household chores on Saturday so Mummy had to do her part by keeping Le Xin busy so what should we do?



What about engaging in some chalk play with me Mummy?

Le Xin was involved in decision making - deciding which chalk to choose first :) She took out a piece of light green chalk and guess what, instead of drawing it on the ground, she gave it to me first!!! Aww~ Mummy was SUPER DUPER TOUCHED to no end.......(alright I am exaggerating but I was really quite happy that she was willing to share her chalk with me)

Le Xin took out a dark green chalk and started drawing a few curves

Then she took out another light green chalk to form some marks on the ground. After that, she got up and started jumping and running to another line that she has created in front of her......haha if Teacher Lin reads about this..... she will definitely know why........right? :p

Le Xin ran to another spot and drew a few more lines with her chalk. Actually, I wanted her to trace the shadow  but the sun suddenly disappeared. Le Xin took a blue chalk and said blue then she offered me another piece of chalk as if she was initiating that I should draw together with her...... That's lovely!

We went back to revisit what she has drawn earlier on and it looked like a beautiful rainbow....Yes I know I should not assumed it's a rainbow....it just happened to look like one :)

Actually, Daddy Scott was not very supportive of my idea in letting Le Xin engaged in this chalk play, somehow he felt that I was teaching her to "vandalise" Am I? I think Le Xin is smart enough to understand what we are doing.....bleah :p When he opened the door and saw how happy Le Xin was.....he seemed to forget what he had mentioned to me earlier on (I hope) hahahaha. When we had to end the chalk play, Le Xin gave me a really sad look and I know she really wanted to continue...but well I explained to her that I need to wash the ground and she accepted my explanation so she went in to wait for me.

I went to take a bucket of water and a brush to scrub the floor but before I did that, I shut the gate so that Le Xin will not run out of the house and guess what I saw?

Le Xin saying good bye and waving to her "work"....... To us it's just chalk marks that were left on the ground but in her small little world, these mean a lot to her......It seems animistic but at that moment I really feel that her drawings are like real life objects to her.....

Le Xin observed how I washed the ground and I kept apologising to her that I need to "wash off" her work if not the neighbours might complain. After watching for a while, she took the packet of chalks, walked to her easel board and continued drawing.

This chalk play has taught me lots of things......above all I seem quite fascinated about Le Xin playing at the corridoor most of the time. Remember about her water painting activity? I just like the idea about her connecting to the world that she is living in.....trying to think about the benefits of living in a HDB :p  I learn that Le Xin really values what she is doing everyday, even though she is not even 2 years old yet. I embrace the Image of the Child which states that Every child should be respected and should be viewed as an independent thinker.....  Leaving you guys with a video of her playing with chalks.

I love you soooooo much each and every day Le Xin, hope you grow up to be this happy always :)



Sculpturing @ MFS

Today's post is a special documention contributed by Teacher Lin, Le Xin's form teacher from MFS! Teacher Lin has documented the learning process of Le Xin engaging in a sculpturing activity at school which she conducted with the children.I have included my comments "Mummy's voices" too. Thanks Teacher Lin once again, I really appreciated your effort in creating this documentation, it's definitely special to me and to Little Le Xin as well!

Mummy's Voice: Le Xin, Mummy is really proud of you! I am glad you are participating in sculpturing at school. Look how good you are in pressing the clay!! I wonder how does it feels like? Is it soft and sticky? Was it fun like playing dough at home? I bet it must have been an enjoyable expereience for you. I really like how you dug the clay with your little fingers.... Haha!

Mummy's Voice: Wow! Look how your friend was observing you ripping the clay. I am sure she wanted to join you too. Did you offer her some of your clay? It's good to share and I guess you know that, because you often ask me to share things with you too isn't it? :) What were the different shapes that you have created?

Mummy's Voice: Some good rolling you have there!! Wow~ Daddy's technique in guiding you how to roll the dough must have left an impact on you. Look how focused you look when you rolled your clay! Well done my darling girl :)  

According to "Making Learning Visible" by Project Zero - Reggio Children, in the preschool of Reggio Emilia, documentation is viewed as "assessment" like marks in a record book. It is both a product and a process that seek to represent in words and images the working, playing and learning of groups and individuals.  True enough, I strongly believe that young children SHOULD NOT be assessed through tests, exams or even checklists which are sometimes merely based on their abilities at that moment. The progression of a child in his/her different domains of development is something all parents and educators should look into and not just focus on that moment of glory. 

Hence, I feel that documention served as a great platform for parents to gain insight of what their child is learning and doing in school. It is something that all parents should learn to value and appreciate. It is through this form of communication where the bond between the child, the teacher and the family is closely knitted and formed based on a trusting relationship that their child is in the good hands of his/her teachers.

Potato Printing

This is probably one of the easiest craft work to do with any child. All you need is a piece of  potato and some paint! That's all.

This time we tried using food colouring too, but the consistency was too watery thus it was difficult to print as the colouring kept dripping. Nonetheless, it was a good try!

Le Xin sat down patiently and observe how Mummy cut the potato with a knife. Then she grabbed one of the potato the minute Mummy finished cutting it. Guess what she did?

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She smelled it.....for some reasons she doesn't seem to like the smell and said eeeee hahaha!

Dipping the potato into the food colouring, Le Xin carefully shifted the potato.

Then she started to print the potato on the drawing board.

What else can we use to paint the potato? asked Mummy. How about we use the paint in your art shelf? Le Xin nodded her head and went to her shelf to take the paint. What colour would you like to use? asked Mummy. Le Xin pointed to the blue paint and said blue. Mummy helped her to open the cover, she dipped her brush into the paint and started painting her potato.

Le Xin was very focused when painting, she ensured that she painted every part of the potato before  printing it on the drawing board.

Then she initiated to use another colour. When Mummy asked her what colour she would like to use, she replied yellow. Then she scooped the yellow paint using her blue brush and Mummy reminded her to dip instead of scooping.

Le Xin continued  painting, she looks ever so ready to take up any challenges :)

Print print print.....Hooray!

Potato printing is a very good way to introduce the idea of stamping...Le Xin had lots of fun while engaging in this learning experience and I was thinking of asking Le Xin if she is interested to print with lemon and onion too, perhaps the next time we can try :)