Father's Day DIY bookmark

Hahaha.. I know I promised to blog more often but you know la.. Ya, you know la. *awkward whistling*

Anyway, here's one short post for those who need to make a little DIY gift for the father and thought socks and framed photos are just too conventional!

When I showed Elvin this little gift, his first reaction was "ok! I need to start reading a real book!" Why not? Role modelling is the best parenting isn't it?

Alrighty! Here's what we are making today!

Simple papa-I-am-flying! bookmarks!

1) take photos!

Remember to ask your kid to tip-toe, stretch the arms high and to do an exaggerated shouting happy face. :)

2) print the photos and cut them out

3) laminate them and cut again

Do note to leave a bit more space near the hands. This is when used over time, the tugging of the string will not wear out the hole too fast.

4) slit and drill a small hole in the hands

I decided against just punching a hole because I feel it would look way too fake because hole puncher's hole is so big!

5) put a cotton twine through the hole

I bought this 50 yard cotton twine from Popular at $3.90. Chose blue because I wanted to have the flying-in-the-sky feel. Hahaha..

6) pull the twine through Long enough to make two u-turns.

7) hold the twine but leave about 1.5inches below (twist a bit if you find it hard to hold onto so many thread)

8) twist the twine and tie a knot at the 1.5inch mark then pull and tighten, adjusting the knot nicely.

9) TADAH! we are all done!

You may wish to write something at the back before laminating the photos or you can write after laminating. Just make sure it doesn't bleed through. :)

I am gonna let the kiddos wrote a separate note this time round! :)

In case you are wondering why we made 5 sets, we are at a church camp and some fathers we know won't have their kids at the camp and as their kids are at a separate youth camp at another venue! Spread the love! :)

Wanna be smarter? Go Science Centre!

 Oh my! The number of half written posts in my draft is totally deterring me to even click on the app and type something short. Guess, just have start somewhere again! Since Fatin (inmyshawls.com) said she enjoys reading my blog and is waiting for the next post! Bahahaha...

Ok, as the title says, this is definitely a post about Science Centre! 

Personally, since mugging for exams days, I have always liked science centre. It is near home, has McDonald's, is air conditioned, opens early and not too crowded. (Psst! Elvin and I even had our wedding shoot there as we spent many of our dating days at the science centre macs!)

As an educator, you can get the membership at $40 for two years and you are entitled 4 entries a day! And 10% off kids stop and snow city. 

(Got my membership before the free admission off peak was launched last year)

With kids, we love it even more! The water play area is ingenious and fun and the bathing facilities is clean. Some may say that my kids are too young for the exhibitions and content as they won't understand much. BUTTTTTT we realised in all the exhibition, there is a range of difficulty in the content displayed. You will definitely find some concepts or activities suitable for each age group. :) 

Anyway, back to the main reason why I am finally blogging! 

THIS!

We had some free time after Phoebe's PTM on Saturday and at 10am, if we were to head to town or any museum, we would be later than most morning crowd. So the next option will be somewhere near home and it shall be Science Centre!!!!!!

When we arrived, Mr Foong screamed and ran towards the entrance like some crazy fan as right in front of Macs, is a X-wing fighter. HUGE. 

If you know Elvin, I think he knows Star Wars better than my childhood stories or even his own.

Ok, stay focused, Esther.

Anyway, science centre has designed a learning trail for every visitor below 12 yrs old. At the entrance, you will receive a booklet and you have to go to each exhibition, locate the logo and answer the questions. It's only 10 questions and we took about 1.5hrs to slowly explore and find the answers. Upon completion, you get a gift!

What made this activity really interesting was you do not need to write the answers. It is a 2-option question and it is a fun scratch-off to reveal the smiley (indicates a right answer). We gave our kids a coin each and they put it in their pockets and took it out only when we found the answer at each site. :)

 

Yup, that's phoebe being very serious about the activity and she took care of her coin and booklet carefully. 

I had so many proud mama moment this trip because I observed Nathan going to the boards to read the explanation himself and he actually can read and could understand! *i want to cry*

As it was a Saturday, there were many activities going on. We went to the craft station and Nathan had fun learning about plants dispersing their seeds by exploding or flying. He made a dandilion! 

We were stucked at the Eco-garden for the longest time because there was this egg almost hatching and the science centre staff were also waiting there trying to film the moment. After 30min, it was still not happening so we left.. I would have waited actually. It was truly amazing! :)

So how would we rate this activity?

I will let Nathan tell you!

AND each were rewarded with a super cool rainbow light stick!

Frankly, I feel science centre is really underrated. Please please please make a trip down this June holiday!

It has been revamped so many times over the years and you can really see the sincerity and effort the team has put in to make this place more and more interesting and engaging for visitors. :)

COME ON, IT IS FREE for SINGAPOREANS and PRs! 

By the way, I am more active on Instagram. So please just follow me there first while I build this habit of blogging better! Hahaha @estherlaoshi

CNY teachable moment 1: Make some greeting cards!

Teachable moments are facilitated moments for values, good behaviour or knowledge to be taught or caught. I love teachable moments as they are powerful because of the available situation and evidence and the emotions that the child can feel and observe. The key is actually the parent or teacher sensing the opportunity to offer insight and seize it strategically. Since it requires some practice to acquire this skill, in this post, I hope to help by writing the steps with clear teachable moments and what you can say or do. :) 

So, what are some of the teachable moments we can have for our children as we celebrate Chinese New Year? I will try my best to write a few (since I numbered it in the title) amidst the feasting!

How about appreciation for elders in the family? Here's a simple card that you can make with your child and let them present them to the elders this new year!

(Focus is not on the cards by what they can learn through making the cards)

Here are some simple wordings your toddle should be able to write on the cards: 

(1) 新年快乐

(2) 大吉大利

(3) 步步高升

(4) 平平安安

Step 1: 

Cut some thicker paper to use as cards. Depending on what kind of card you wish to make. For me, it's always postcard type because I like it straightforward! Ha!

Step 2:

Shape your toilet roll into a heart shape. Note that you have to ensure the heart shape is properly levelled. As you shape, the arc downwards may pertrude, making stamping uneven.

I made the kids say "heart shape" and taught them to do the shape with their fingers here. THEN told them heart shape  represents love and have them tell me one way they feel loved and one way they can show love.

(Adding rubber band is optional, depending on the quality of your toilet roll tube.)

Step 3:  

Palette and paint! This helps to organise the colours and ensure that the paint doesn't get mixed. Some likes to use small plates for each but I don't like to have children push and pull the colour plates to themselves or away. I prefer to have it like a colour station.

I would usually say each colour in English and Chinese and have my kiddos repeat after me. (Good moment to teach colours) You can extend the learning to having the child tell u what objects are of that colour.

(Please remember to spread the colour in the entire "hole". Do not mix too much water as the colour will just be soaked up and no stay on the tube for stamping. I don't even mix with any water.)

Step 4:

Demonstrate putting in the tube, and stamping AND returning the tube to the same colour compartment. Do it for all the colours to reinforce where each colour is and the correct way of handling the materials.

Step 5:

Now the children's turn! 

Try to control yourself in wanting to make sure they stamp or design in a certain way! Hahahaha! Nathan surprised me by doing paired up heart shapes and chain-like heart shapes. 

Talk with them about the patterns created and colours chosen but DO NOT pass judgements!

Enjoy the conversation!

(This was his first piece of which he was trying to get the colour purple by stamping the red over the blue!)

Here are some of their works!

Step 6:

You can either write the greeting directly on the card or separately then paste. If your child is still learning to write, I suggest doing it separately and remember to use pencil to draw a square so there can be some spatial awareness.

Step 7: 

When you are done with the cards, speak with your child on:

(1) who do they want to give to

(2) why do they want to give the card

(3) which card for who

I am sure any of you do craft or fun cookery at home but all these sessions can be not just about the skill acquires or the finished product. Try slowing down to capture the moments or for starter, reflect about the session and think about what  you can do next time. :)

Jiayou!

Baking time! Brazilian Cheese Bread!

Weekend is finally here! School has started for two weeks and I feel like it has been two months. So glad to just chill with the kiddos finally!

Actually, when I say chill I don't mean just sit around and laze... Yes yes yes I am a momzilla. Time with kids is precious for us working parents! So I like to plan what to do each night with my kids so time is more meaningfully spent. :)

So for today, we decided to make our own dinner! Brazilian Cheese Bread it shall be!

Ingredients are easy to find and most of then steps are kid-friendly.

I started with laying out what is required so I can introduce the items to the children clearly. Also, I would not need to run in and out to get items. :)

Ingredients:

(1) 125g of butter

(2) 250ml of full cream milk

(3) 1 tsp of salt

(4) 300g tapioca flour

(5) 2 eggs

(6) 100g of Parmesan cheese

(7) sausage or ham

Step 1:

Melt butter, milk and salt and mix them well. You can bring it to boil but after switching of the fire, keep whisking to cool it.

While the adult goes into kitchen to boil the mixture, let the kids do some cutting to keep them engaged.

Step 2: 

Add in the tapioca flour and whisk to mix it well. Keep whisking till mixture cooks further

Step 3:

Now whisk in the eggs and beat the mixture vigorously till it cool further

(This was phoebe before her crushing the egg in her hands. Her fingers poked through the egg!)

Step 4:

Now whisk in the cheese and beat it fast until the mixture is well mixed. 

Step 5: 

Fill mini muffin tray with mixture to 3/5 full. 

Do not worry about the consistency. Tapioca flour or tapioca starch is different from normal flour. With heat, it is watery and when cooled, it will be more solid. If watery, the difference is just it will take longer to bake. :)

Step 6:

This is optional but I just wanted to have the kids participate more. Put one piece of sausage in each hole.

Step 7:

Bake at 180 degrees C till golden brown. YUMZ!

The portion here can make 50-60 mini tart sized pieces. If you don't have a muffin tray, just let the mixture cool further so that it can be scoop into balls and just put on a baking tray. Just make sure there is a 5cm gap in between. :)

 Simple and delicious! 

Breakfast Time!!!! :)

Breakfast Time!!!

One of the common topics among mummies is what we can feed our toddlers, especially for breakfast when they are still in dreamland. (ZZzzz….)

Breakfast time is usually quite a rush, be it on a weekday or weekend. Weekdays, we are either rushing for school or work and sometimes kiddos are being dragged out of bed and you can experience grumpiness in a new level each time. Weekends, if the child is not sleepy, we may also be facing an active child, who is assessing the taste, looks and even plating more stringent than usual. (Life of a mother is so tough! ARGH!)

A quick survey among some mummies showed that we hope that the breakfast offered to our kids can be:

(1)  Healthy

(2)  Tasty

(3)  Attractive

(4)  Filling

(5)  Easy to prepare (FAST preferably)

Eight (Huat!) dishes I prepare for my kiddos’ breakfast are:

**: Very Good		* : Good				- : Neutral
			Healthy	Tasty	Attractive		Filling	Easy / Fast
1	Cheese Omelette - Fry the egg, put a slice of cheese. Done!		*	*	-		*	*
2	Cereal with milk - Fruits can be added, OR just given after We usually buy cheerios because it is not too sweet and healthier.		*	*	*		*	**
3	Sandwiches - can be quite dry if you use spread, hence have to compensate by making it attractive. Please purchase sandwich shape cutters.		*	-	-		*	*
4	Steamed Man Tou - These are frozen and come in so many flavours. My kids love the chocolate and yam man tou. Nice purple swirls! - You can steam it using a wok or steamer. Otherwise, wrap the man tou with slightly wet kitchen towel and put it on HIGH for 2 min in the microwave.		-	-	*		*	*
5	Prata with fruits/cheese/chocolate rice/egg - Frozen prata is always in my freezer as it has so much potential to become all sorts of meals! - I use to pan fry it when some butter previously. However, pan frying means you have to watch the fire which limits me to prepare other things. Hence, nowadays I just pop it into the oven toaster with a bit of butter and set the timer.		-	**	- (unless you use rainbow rice)		*	-
6	Yam and Sweet Potato rice balls (小汤圆)  - Frozen again! Colourful (Yellow and purple) and easy to prepare. - Bring the water to boil, let the kid participate by letting him/her put the rice balls in and together wait and watch them float. - For the soup base, you can just prepare some warm honey or warm milk. We used strawberry milk before and the colours were lovely and the kids had fun scooping the rice balls!		*	*	**		*	*
7	Omelette cups - You need a cupcake tray and the attractive value will increase immediately! Especially the small bite-size kind. - put in the ingredients you like and pour in the egg mixture, top it with some cheese and bake it till cooked! - ingredients I put in are chopped onions, mixed vegetable (frozen kind), ham/sausage and crashed frozen hash brown.		*	**	*		*	-
8	Oven Baked Donut Balls ¶ Special introduction for this dish! Read on and try making these!		**	**	*		**	**

Oven Baked Donut Balls

Oven Baked Donut balls are a lighter and easier alternative to traditional deep fried donuts.

Steps:

(1)  Combine the ingredients

(2)  Put them into donut tray or mini cupcake trays or simply cupcake sleeves

(3)  Bake them till golden brown. (5-8min? Just observe for the first time then adapt accordingly)

I usually sprinkle some icing sugar on top to make the balls/cakes prettier. You can even put those sugar shapes before you send them into the oven. J

 

You can even make cupcakes with this recipe! Last minute birthday celebration is no longer difficult!

Easy enough for kids to participate!

Ingredient List:

1 Cup of self-raising flour

1/3 Cup of Icing Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1 Cup of Low Fat Blueberry Yogurt

(I always have cups of yogurt in my fridge as they serve as good tea break or after meal dessert. You can change the flavour depending on what you have in the fridge.)

1 Egg

Some Fresh Blueberries/soft fruits (optional)

Hope this post is able to help you to welcome every morning with more confidence and joy! Do share with me more breakfast ideas that I can try out!

Say with me now, “I Love Breakfast Time! ”