On the Notice Board

Remember this craft we did some time back?  I was pleasantly surprised to see it on the Notice Board at Kimi's SM school.  I never expected it to be chosen and pinned up.  Kimi was so excited to see his work and started relating the story behind the craft.

It's so nice when your little ones remember the things you do with thing fondly.  These are the kind of memories of growing up I want Kimi to have and to hold, close to his heart. :)

Under The Sea

Remember our trip to the beach to collect shells and sand? Here's Kimi's homework from SM.

We had to paint the seahorse. So, instead of just colouring it, I wanted Kimi to use more of his fine motor skills as well as touch and feel a variety of texture for this craft. This craft was done over a few days. :)

The ideas for the overall craft/materials are from me but it was still very much child-directed. For example, Kimi would choose the colour of the pearl paper while I cut it and he pasted it himself according to the shape(s).

Then when I suggested using bubble wrap to stamp for the seaweed, he surprised me by saying he wanted to use his fingers to paint the seaweed instead!

Kimi also said he wanted to stamp 1 part of the seahorse which he did. I gave him a few material choices and he decided which he prefered for the different seahorse sections. Lastly, he chose and arranged the shells on the seabed himself and even gave the craft a name - "Under The Sea".

I was impressed at how much he had progressed since we last did some craft and am encouraged to do more challenging ones with him. I enjoy doing crafts like this where we have an exchange of ideas - far more interesting than just me inputting. :)

As usual he enjoyed the sand art best and even took some sand and threw at me!! AIYO!!!! That's why I always PREFERRED to do sand art at the playground downstairs! But thought this was a small section .... welll... :)

The "naked' seahorse

First, Kimi painted the whole piece in a light wash of blue for the sea
Here, it's done!
Kimi concentrating on pouring the sand we took from the beach to spread it all over. I drew a dividing line for the seabed and used double side tape to cover it all over. Then I remove and let Kimi pour the sand over.

Kimi transferring the extra sand to the tray
Kimi showing me his favourite shell!
Tada! Our completed craft. I only took some pix of the process cos I had forgotten to take.. heehee! See the beautiful seaweed and palm print? All Kimi's idea! He also said he wanted the seahorse to have a blue face - ok, up to you darling. The yellow bits at the bottom are crepe paper which I made him tear and roll. To strenghthen the fine motor.

Great Tot Finds

I am a FAN of Daiso. Yes, I admit I am addicted to this place. Cos, the things are affordable yet of relatively good quality.

This is what I found recently. These are Kumon-like activity book for folding cutting, pasting, etc. So nice and cute!

Grab them before it runs out! :)

Cute Counters

I saw some very cute counters a long time back when Kimi just turned 1 and was keen to get them. But it was very expensive so when I needed some now, I decided to make them instead.

This is so easy to do and so customisable as you can choose the kind of pix your child loves most, beating all commercial counters and at a fraction of the cost! :)

What you need :

• Some large puffy stickers (preferably a few of the same sheet)
• Foam sheets
• Scissors
• Patience

How to do it?

• Stick the stickers lining them up nicely on the foam sheets
• Cut around the stickers
• Use it!

Tips

If you find foam sheets too light, you can stick them on magnetic strips or magnets (avail from Daiso) and use them on those cheap white magnetic boards for games, etc.

Besides being counters, you can use these for :-

• Sequencing
• Sorting
• Maths activity
• Memory game

Cheap and cute puffy stickers
All lined up and ready to be cut - various themes!

Cute counters!

Home Learning - Russia, St. Basil's Cathedral Craft

Remember the many bottles we inherited from the large amounts we drank? I saved some of them to make this craft for our homelearning.

What you need :-

• A few bottles, 1 taller than the rest
• Some cords or ribbons
• Some gold paper, I use those cigarette box inserts (donated by my sis)
• Printed paper of the facade of St. Basil's Cathedral (you can used plain paper and colour in the exterior)
• Double sided tapes

The materials

I use double-sided tape on the body of the bottle so it makes sticking on the paper easier. Kimi rolling the paper onto the bottle.
And then using double-sided tape, I stick that alll round the top so Kimi can line up the cords wind it up nicely and easily. With glue, it will be very messy while with double-sided tape, you can remove and re-do and re-adjust. It's also easier for the kids. :)
Our neighbour, Kieran joined us much to Kimi's happiness!

Our completed craft! Yay!! Kimi loves it and is soooo protective of it, not allowing Kieran to bring his piece home. In the end I sneak it to him. :)