Making New Friends

Where's the one place where a child could meet & make new friends easily? It's none other than the playground.

Tim met a new friend (Kurt) at the playground recently and it's amazing how friendly this little boy was to Tim and Little Missy. He had a pack of bread and he offered it without second thoughts to both my kids... he sure knew the meaning of sharing :)

Through my observation, Tim, seemed to play better with older kids, especially older boys. He learned and imitate a lot by observing the older kids. Kurt was really friendly towards Tim - they certainly had good chemistry there. They both had a great time by the playground this morning and I was happy to watch them play together.

Hopefully, we'd be able to bump into Kurt again :)

The Kid Had Fun...

We visited the Hollywood Dinosaurs exhibit at the Jurong Bird Park this morning and to be really honest, I weren't too impressed. However, Tim, had a great time amidst the dinos that he has always been very fascinated with. This trip was made for him, so I shan't make too much comments on my thoughts about the exhibit.

At the entrance of the place, Tim couldn't resist putting his hand on the display of Triceratop's head.
We walked into the place of dinos with lots of huge dinos (live-size) on display.
At the cave Tim saw many different breed of dinos...
Checking out the 'moving' tail of this dino...there was realistic yet scary sound effects that went along with the exhibit. Little Missy spent 90% of her time in this cave with her eyes closed... :P
Baby dinos... totally adorable!
The engine behind all the moving dinos in the hollywood movies... the kids had an opportunity to control the dino... at one point all three kids wanted to be at the control... *smile*
Fierce dino in the cage... not sure why this T-Rex was caged but it sure looked fierce...

I certainly wouldn't pay to enter this place of exhibit again, but I am just grateful that Tim enjoyed it tremendously. Now we are planning to work on a lapbook on dinosaurs as requested by Tim :)

A Walk in the Rain

We woke up to a rainy morning and just as I was scratching my head wondering where to bring the kids to for the morning... I remembered the kids had their new rain coats waiting to be used... and I noticed that it's a light drizzle with no thunder/lightning... what perfect timing!

Taking into consideration, Charlotte Mason's emphasis on bringing the kids outdoors regardless of the season & weather (even winter and rainy days), I decided to bring the kids down for some fun in the rain.

Here's the fun we had...

The Hollywood Dinos

We are so going to the Jurong Bird Park for the Hollywood Dinos exhibition!!! In our plan to do a nature walk next week, we are going for this!!! I am sure Tim will be extremely thrilled *smile*

This is a great opportunity for the kids to learn all about dinosaurs, as there will be 20 live size dinos in the exhibition and visitors will have a chance to walk along side some moving dinos too.

Watch the following video to know more about it...

We got our tickets from United Square event atrium today. The ticket prices are $11 (adults), $9 (children); kids below age of 3 enter for free. For more details, visit the link I've included above.

Little Missy & Her Purple Tutu

It was such a joy to see the handmade item being appreciated by the person whom I've made for. It's been a while since I wanted to make a tutu for Little Missy. Finally I had the time to do so today. I got three different shades of tulle (off-white, lilac and purple) from Arab Street and I was on my way to get started...

Love that the kids are the best of friends together in spite of their daily "fights"

The no-sew tutu was such a breeze to make even though it took me the entire day (got the tulle around 10am, started cutting the tulle around 11am and knotting the tulle around 12nn - 6pm).

For the amount of tulle I cut, I was able to make 2 tutus... so one for Little Missy and one for her cousin QQ as christmas pressie :)
Little Missy totally loved her tutu. Once she had it on her, she was twirling around as if she was a ballerina... I don't know where she learned all those ballet maneuvers from, I certainly didn't teach her that. She seemed to have the potential to be a ballerina some day *smile*

Activities On Home Ground This Week

This week we had it easy though I try to pack the mornings with activities so that the kids wouldn't run amok and tear the whole house down just because they are bored stiff.

On Monday, we took a morning nature walk round our neighbourhood and it turned out to be a real pleasant one. The kids rode on their bicycles and they had the opportunity to check out the tiny little nature around them...

We discovered a star fruit tree that was standing alone and bearing lots of fruits albeit teeny weeny little ones. I encouraged them to pick up those that had dropped on the ground and observe the fruit closely. To smell, touch, feel and to see... they in turn asked me a lot of questions (which was what I was encouraging - to have a curious mind, to ask, to find out and to think).

What a great way to learn... am sure we'll check out our neighbourhood more as we do our nature walks... :)

I've recently bought them each a rain coat, hopefully the rainy days wouldn't be a thundery/lightning-filled one... the kids would be really excited if they could play in the rain... pity we don't have snow here otherwise it'd be a different kind of experience... we can still enjoy nature, regardless!

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It's the season of Christmas once again... and each year I just don't have the desire to decorate the house very much simply a case of laziness hee... I'd love to decorate the house but it'll be a chore to clean and pack up the decor... so every year we just let all the festives run past us without much bother about decorating...

However, I recently checked out a link that my friend Evelyn shared in her blog and decided to give this a try since it's rather simple and when the festive season is over, all I need to do is just clear them all into the bin *grin* (love it!).

Though the making of this paper plates christmas tree was simple it sure took me some time to get the elements all ready especially the folding of the centre flowers.

Nevertheless, the joy and thrill in the kids was the best reward of all that time consuming prep work.

Christmas isn't Christmas till it happens in your heart... and during this Christmas season, I'd like to dedicate this song to all of you :) enjoy!

Fun @ T3

I simply love the year end school holiday season... though not that I enjoy the crowd, I just love all the wonderful activities that are made available and are FOC to the kids.

There are just too many activities to choose from and we decided on bringing the kids to the Changi Airport T3 to explore the huge Musical Ball and the Big Snow Fantasy inflatable castle.

Kyle and Tim checking the big musical ball out...
The musical ball opened up every half hourly and it was great fun to watch it open up and close... here's a glimpse of how it looked like...

While waiting for the inflatable castle to be ready, the kids were at the viewing gallery for some fun... they simply loved the vast amount of space for running... and can't seem to stop running that morning... wonder where did all that energy come from...hmmm...
After lunch we headed for the Big Snow Fantasy castle... due to a long queue, each child was only allowed up to 15mins of fun on this bouncy castle. Nevertheless, the kids had a great time at T3...

So if you have time and want to bring your kids to somewhere during this school holiday you might want to check this place out. The activities are all FOC!

A Morning At the Playground

On days when we have no play dates and no specific plans of going anywhere, the kids will just ride on their bikes and we'd have some fun outdoor time at the playground.

The aim is that the kids get some fresh air and exercising... partly to expend those pented up energy, as well as to build up on those locomotor skills that is necessary for their growing.

We just got Little Missy her own bike recently and she's been enjoying her bike rides round the neighbourhood :)
This little exercise corner was designed for the older folks but it seemed to appeal to the kids as well.
Little Missy being her playful self as usual...
and Tim... he is at the stage of making funny faces...
We are blessed that the kids have friends around their age to play with... that's our neighbour's pair of twin girls who live on the same floor as us.

The kids seemed to have a creative way of playing at the exercise corner...
That's a clearer view of the two adorable girls...

Simple, fuss-free and absolutely FOC activity *smile* not too difficult to keep the children happy...

We Love Being Outdoors!

The key thing a lot of our kids lack in is being outdoors - in nature, mainly due to our small city. After reading up on Charlotte Mason's method of homeschooling, I do agree that it's of utmost importance for the children to be able to stay outdoors amongst nature - to explore the wonders of God's handiwork, to observe how nature has a life of its own without much aid from man, to discover how things work and to truly learn and make sense of the things around them much to the kids' own effort.

I am grateful that there are so many parks and gardens made readily available around us and they are truly beautifully created for our pleasure and to the kids it's a great place for learning - even though the nature of parks/gardens were some how man-made (ie. manicured and prep by man)
We made our way to the Sensory Park recently and by the entrance I pointed out to the kids the wriggly worm that was crossing the path. We squatted down and observe the worm for a few minutes.

When outdoors, it's good to draw the kids' attention to details. That helps them with the habit of being observant of the things around them. With us prompting a few questions, the kids get to build up on those vocabulary as well as learn to describe to us what they see... that in Charlotte Mason's philosophy is narration.
For a start, I just let the kids run and have fun on their own (of course with my eyes peeled on them)... "The more they run and shout, and toss their arms, the more healthful is the play"...(Simply Charlotte Masion)



After all the running and shouting, we ventured further into the park and discovered a whole new world of plants, flowers, vegetables, herbs and fruit trees...

The kids get to see, touch & feel bamboo that's not treated yet... :) unlike those we have at home that we used to hang out our laundry hee...
Learning to describe the flower... :)
Huge Aloes...
Observing a Lady's Finger plant...
This park has all the plants & trees clearly labelled and even describe the usage of them.
Tim and his funny antics before the mirror *grin*

They had fun at the Parabolic Dish... watch to find out how it works... :)

Besides all the benefits that the children get out of being outdoors, I am relishing in the joy of no prep work to do, just enjoy the day with the children in the park!

Mommy & Daughter Date

It was my first time bringing Little Missy out alone without Tim. We had a great time at the Babies' Prom 2009! Through my observation, Little Missy enjoyed the Babies' Prom more than Tim did in the Year 2008's Babies' Prom.

She was swaying from side to side, clapping along and watching intently for the whole time it's amazing! She's not been this attentive at home... *smile*

Took a short video of her as the concert ended...

This will certainly not be the only mommy & daughter date we have... am looking forward to more of such outings with Little Missy am sure she welcomes that as well :)

Messy Fun - Scissors & Paper

We haven't done any activity using the scissors due to the previous experience we had I've stopped allowing the kids to use the scissors without my supervision.

Earlier this week, Tim requested for the scissors and I thought why not let them train up on those fine motor skills.

The amount of focus that I witnessed on both kids that day was amazing!
They both sat down quietly cutting the paper to shreds and could continue at it for a long while.
Little Missy even learned about shapes. As she cut, she told me it's a triangle...
Then she got playful and started showing me her new "mouth"...
It was a mighty mess as always hee... but I made them clean up (with my help along the way). This activity kept them unplugged from the TV for over an hour... not bad huh? hee...

Simply Homecooked - Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

A few months ago, a friend asked me if I knew which media could she look into in running an ad campaign for a cooking related movie... I got curious and asked her which movie that was... she asked me if I knew who Julia Child was... obviously I gave her a queried reaction because for the life of me, I've never heard of this name... little did I know that she's a legend in the culinary world *smile* how ignorant of me.
It was during my recent trip to Taiwan that I got acquainted with Julia Child (well sorta)...I was pleasantly surprised that the movie Julie & Julia was screened over the in flight entertainment system... I watched with great interest because the story of Julie was about a lady who blogged (hmmm just like me *grin*) and the story of Julia was about a lady who loved to cook (hmmm just like me too *grin*)... Needless to say, the entire movie inspired me tremendously that I can't wait to try the said famous Boeuf Bourguignon myself!

For one, I am really a lover of beef stew and secondly, the movie made the dish looked so tantalizing that I was really curious how it would taste like.
Not long after I was back from my trip, I was searching to get my hands on Julia Child's cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Was thrilled when I saw it on the shelves of the Popular Bookstore... without a second thought (didn't even check the price tag) I grabbed the book and was on my way to make the Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.

The thing about this cookbook is that Julia Child gave everything she knew about cooking to her readers and I felt that I was holding the BEST cookbook I've ever had! The book is filled with details of how-to, what-to and all the wonderful information about cooking that even a novice in the kitchen could become a chef (literally)!

Hubby was surprised that this book filled completely with words (except for some sketches on techniques of handling the ingredients) and no fancy photos of any food at all could actually teach me how to cook. Well, what can I say... the Boeuf Bourguignon that came out of my oven today was the BEST dish I've ever prepared!!! (even hubby agreed)... I can actually cook French food hah!
Beef (boeuf), is THE most important ingredient. Julia Child explained in detail on how to choose the best part & cut of the beef to make this dish... you've got to read it to find out... nonetheless, go to any supermarket that sells prime beef you'll be able to get yourself some really good meat!
Bacon is also another key ingredient of this dish.
Butter! Julia Child emphasized the usage of butter - LOTS of it! *grin*
Beef stock in cans or beef stock cubes worked beautifully for this dish.
It's french food so it's Julia Child's recommendation to use french wine... but I am a SAHM with limited resources, so I settled for a South African, full-bodied, red instead.
Portabello mushrooms is a must-have for me. Though the recipe didn't indicate that we must use portabello mushrooms :)
I have to confess that it was a lot of work preparing this dish but it was sure enjoyable. The aroma that filled the air was simply indescribable. I've never cooked something that smelt this GREAT, seriously! If only you could be here to experience it first-hand... *smile*

I couldn't wait for the beef to stew up to 3 hours, so at the 2nd hour of stewing, I stole a piece for my tasting pleasure. It was..... HEAVENLY!!!

The red wine has been completely absorbed by the beef and the combination of all the ingredients just made this dish simply DELICIOUS beyond description! At that moment, I was thinking, how could anyone ever thought of such a wonderful dish like this... it's amazing!
Julia Child suggested that this dish could be used as a main course in a buffet dinner or it could also be paired with boiled potatoes or rice. Today, I decided that I wanted to combine broccoli and mash potatoes to the Boeuf Bourguignon.

The kids lapped up every drop of it from their bowls this evening and so did hubby and I. Hubby even had a second helping... isn't it wonderful to be able to cook french food with such ease... now I've got to hunt out the next recipe to try...

Here's the recipe if you wish to try making some french food *wink*.

Bon Appetit my friends!