I do not always like reading Sophie fairy tales because they are often too long and the ending sometimes seems a little brutal. However, I found these quite easy to read and the ending relatively benign as well. More importantly, Sophie enjoys them.
Sophie has always been fascinated by gingerbread man although she did not like the taste. I think she finds it amazing that things she read about in books appear in real life to0. Thus, I did not hesitate when I found this cute gingerbread man. Naturally, she was thrilled.
I do not always like reading Sophie fairy tales because they are often too long and the ending sometimes seems a little brutal. However, I found these quite easy to read and the ending relatively benign as well. More importantly, Sophie enjoys them.
Sophie has always been fascinated by gingerbread man although she did not like the taste. I think she finds it amazing that things she read about in books appear in real life to0. Thus, I did not hesitate when I found this cute gingerbread man. Naturally, she was thrilled.
This morning, I drew a huge gingerbread man outline with Sophie's body. I was surprised that she did not protest or move around much. We even painted it brown while waiting for breakfast to be ready.
19 July 2010
Usually, I would let the children do collage when we did this with lower primary children. For Sophie, this would be a simple gingerbread figure... with hair?
We started making a lapbook on "Three Billy Goats Gruff" on 14 July but it took a couple of days for us to finish it. Sophie was keen to make and play with the "Troll" but she was not too interested in colouring.
Sophie really enjoyed telling the story again and again, especially the Troll's line "I'm going to eat you!". She even had difference versions.
Alright, this is the last time I would blog about the beans. They have grown as much as they possibly could but they lost some roots during the transfer so I reckon they probably would not make it. Sorry Sophie!
We started making a lapbook on "Three Billy Goats Gruff" on 14 July but it took a couple of days for us to finish it. Sophie was keen to make and play with the "Troll" but she was not too interested in colouring. Sophie really enjoyed telling the story again and again, especially the Troll's line "I'm going to eat you!". She even had difference versions.
18 July 2010 This morning, I drew a huge gingerbread man outline with Sophie's body. I was surprised that she did not protest or move around much. We even painted it brown while waiting for breakfast to be ready.
19 July 2010
Usually, I would let the children do collage when we did this with lower primary children. For Sophie, this would be a simple gingerbread figure... with hair?
Alright, this is the last time I would blog about the beans. They have grown as much as they possibly could but they lost some roots during the transfer so I reckon they probably would not make it. Sorry Sophie!
The beans are outgrowing their little "greenhouse" so I bought some "gel" (did not want to deal with soil) for them to grow further (fingers crossed). Sophie was very excited when we did the transfer but I kept telling her they might not grow. Hopefully she could understand that I do not have "green fingers".
In any case, some roots were destroyed during the transfer so I am not sureif that would affect the growth.
The beans are outgrowing their little "greenhouse" so I bought some "gel" (did not want to deal with soil) for them to grow further (fingers crossed). Sophie was very excited when we did the transfer but I kept telling her they might not grow. Hopefully she could understand that I do not have "green fingers".
In any case, some roots were destroyed during the transfer so I am not sureif that would affect the growth.
To round up the theme on sea creatures, Sophie's school organised an excursion to the Underwater World in Sentosa. This is our first school excursion and to be frank, I was rather nervous. For the first time, I have little idea of the itinerary and SOP. However, the school was nice enough to invite parents along and let the Nursery parents take the school bus with their children.
Although we were in the afternoon session, we joined the morning children in the combined excursion. We gathered at 8.20 am. Sophie was not too good with crowds and thus, she looked a little overwhelmed when we assembled. Also, she was probably unfamiliar with the rest of the children and most of her classmates were late.
During the routine exercise, Sophie tried to join in (with so did Papa). I have not seen her do the morning exercise as a Cherrybrook pupil and I must say she has gone a long way. She used to be passive and just watched curiously as the others worked out. That was a mere couple of months ago. Now she was able to participate like the rest. How amazing!
This was Sophie's first school bus trip. The distance was not too long but the bus ride made her sleepy. She held the safety belt and bag so tightly because I told her to be very careful on the bus and take care of her belongings always.
I think I am getting way too big to walk with Sophie at her pace. I wobbled and got tired very easily. Howeverr, she still wanted me to carry her whenever she felt insecure, especially if the crowd was aggressive and rowdy.
Sophie was excited to see the fish at the entrance. She kept asking for Nemo (clownfish). Amazingly, she started saying all the Chinese names of sea creatures she has learnt.
Her school teachers bought some fish food for the stingrays and offerred me a piece to try feeding them. It was quite scary since they are huge and very eager to eat from my hand. Sophie was a little startled as well. She clung on to me when I was feeding the stingrays. It was hard to balance with her and Alfee.
Soon we reached the highlight of Underwater World. Sophie was elated to see so many authentic and familiar sea creatures. She also saw divers cleaning the tank so she was thrilled. I learnt something too that day. I thought a dugong was manatee but Sophie's teacher told me it has a dophin like tail (opps!). Oh well, at least now I know it is called "海牛". And Sophie asked me what the chinese name of puffer fish is, so I promised to find out for her. Oh my goodness, it took an hour to find out its name - "河豚鱼" when we came back.
Our last stop before the end of our excursion - Dolphin Lagoon. Unfortunately it started to rain so we had to brave the rain from the Underwater World to the Dolphin Lagoon. Ridiculous... It was a short 20 m (at most) distance and they did not build any shelter to connect the two places. Anyway, the show was short and kind of a letdown. Sophie was stilll excited to see the pink dolphins though so I was happy... even though my face said otherwise.
To round up the theme on sea creatures, Sophie's school organised an excursion to the Underwater World in Sentosa. This is our first school excursion and to be frank, I was rather nervous. For the first time, I have little idea of the itinerary and SOP. However, the school was nice enough to invite parents along and let the Nursery parents take the school bus with their children.
Although we were in the afternoon session, we joined the morning children in the combined excursion. We gathered at 8.20 am. Sophie was not too good with crowds and thus, she looked a little overwhelmed when we assembled. Also, she was probably unfamiliar with the rest of the children and most of her classmates were late.
During the routine exercise, Sophie tried to join in (with so did Papa). I have not seen her do the morning exercise as a Cherrybrook pupil and I must say she has gone a long way. She used to be passive and just watched curiously as the others worked out. That was a mere couple of months ago. Now she was able to participate like the rest. How amazing!
This was Sophie's first school bus trip. The distance was not too long but the bus ride made her sleepy. She held the safety belt and bag so tightly because I told her to be very careful on the bus and take care of her belongings always.
I think I am getting way too big to walk with Sophie at her pace. I wobbled and got tired very easily. Howeverr, she still wanted me to carry her whenever she felt insecure, especially if the crowd was aggressive and rowdy.
Sophie was excited to see the fish at the entrance. She kept asking for Nemo (clownfish). Amazingly, she started saying all the Chinese names of sea creatures she has learnt.
Her school teachers bought some fish food for the stingrays and offerred me a piece to try feeding them. It was quite scary since they are huge and very eager to eat from my hand. Sophie was a little startled as well. She clung on to me when I was feeding the stingrays. It was hard to balance with her and Alfee.
Soon we reached the highlight of Underwater World. Sophie was elated to see so many authentic and familiar sea creatures. She also saw divers cleaning the tank so she was thrilled. I learnt something too that day. I thought a dugong was manatee but Sophie's teacher told me it has a dophin like tail (opps!). Oh well, at least now I know it is called "海牛". And Sophie asked me what the chinese name of puffer fish is, so I promised to find out for her. Oh my goodness, it took an hour to find out its name - "河豚鱼" when we came back.
Our last stop before the end of our excursion - Dolphin Lagoon. Unfortunately it started to rain so we had to brave the rain from the Underwater World to the Dolphin Lagoon. Ridiculous... It was a short 20 m (at most) distance and they did not build any shelter to connect the two places. Anyway, the show was short and kind of a letdown. Sophie was stilll excited to see the pink dolphins though so I was happy... even though my face said otherwise.
Sophie has always been reluctant to learn or utter anything in Chinese. It is a worrying attitude considering how important Chinese is later on in her education. After our failed attempt to give her a home tutor, I thought I could also teach her Chinese based on how the trial lesson was done. Frankly I was not too impressed by the tutor from China. She wanted to charge me $45 per hour but her materials were neither original nor interesting. And of course she had to give me poor work attitude (MIA after the trial lesson).
We did a summary on the Chinese names of sea creatures Sophie has learnt for the past two weeks in school. I must say, I am learning with her. I suppose she is unconsciously witnessing how her mummy is learning together with her. For example, I have no idea what "sea anemone" is called in Chinese so I had to check the internet for its name. Of course, I did not hide my ignorance from her. I told her exactly how I would find out its name and then let her know once I confirmed it is right. Painfully slow but hey, she learnt most of the terms and her interest in learning is sustained. PROCESS... not product!
Sophie has always been reluctant to learn or utter anything in Chinese. It is a worrying attitude considering how important Chinese is later on in her education. After our failed attempt to give her a home tutor, I thought I could also teach her Chinese based on how the trial lesson was done. Frankly I was not too impressed by the tutor from China. She wanted to charge me $45 per hour but her materials were neither original nor interesting. And of course she had to give me poor work attitude (MIA after the trial lesson).
Thus, I started teaching her basic vocabulary each day (late June), coupled with lots of Chinese storytime and reading. I was hoping that that would help her adapt a little better and faster in class (mid July), especially during her Chinese lessons. We started with her name and moved on to facial features, body parts and action words related to hands and feet. When she began schooling, I followed the theme "sea creatures" and tried to introduce some simple terms.
On 9 July (Friday), a miracle happened on our way home from school. She gave me an intense look before saying, "海豚", "海星" and "鲨鱼". When probed, she told me she learnt the terms in class. I was elated and so proud, I almost cried. Then before she slept, she said,"小丑鱼" and "魔鬼鱼＂in a slang. It took me a while to decipher what she actually said, but we were both super happy when we did. Tonight, she surprised me again with "水母", "海马", "鲸鱼" and "龙虾". I am so glad she started school.
We checked on our seedlings today and found the green beans and black eye beans growing well, but not the red beans and black beans. In fact, they have got all mouldy and rotten. I guess the seeds have died so they could not germinate at all. I made a point to name the growth - roots. Compared to the green beans in the bottle, the ones in her "garden" are growing much slower.
We checked on our seedlings today and found the green beans and black eye beans growing well, but not the red beans and black beans. In fact, they have got all mouldy and rotten. I guess the seeds have died so they could not germinate at all. I made a point to name the growth - roots. Compared to the green beans in the bottle, the ones in her "garden" are growing much slower.
We did a summary on the Chinese names of sea creatures Sophie has learnt for the past two weeks in school. I must say, I am learning with her. I suppose she is unconsciously witnessing how her mummy is learning together with her. For example, I have no idea what "sea anemone" is called in Chinese so I had to check the internet for its name. Of course, I did not hide my ignorance from her. I told her exactly how I would find out its name and then let her know once I confirmed it is right. Painfully slow but hey, she learnt most of the terms and her interest in learning is sustained. PROCESS... not product!
I was always nervous about planting so I talked to Sophie about the little growth, I lost my words and said "seedling". Oh well, it should have been just "roots". The roots are growing out after just a day so I was very excited (yes, more so than Sophie apparently). I only did the decorations today because I did not think the seeds would germinate at all.
I was always nervous about planting so I talked to Sophie about the little growth, I lost my words and said "seedling". Oh well, it should have been just "roots". The roots are growing out after just a day so I was very excited (yes, more so than Sophie apparently). I only did the decorations today because I did not think the seeds would germinate at all.
I read Sophie The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. It was a little long but she was quite engaged nevertheless. After that, I tried creating a little garden and greenhouse for her. It was too easy to make and I was reluctant to decorate it before the green beans germinate. I have no talent for growing anything but we would try again. I also wanted to try growing the beans in glass containers, just to compare the outcome.
Even since Sophie was shown the hermit crabs in school, I became obsessed with the idea of reading her A House For Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. However, we did not have the book and it is near impossible to borrow form the library. Thus, I made a trip to Kinokuniya on the day she fell in school, to buy her a copy. It was all good because she loves the story. Although it was a little too long for her, she still managed to sit through it.
I also bought her two Chinese readers for the theme on sea creatures. One was about sea turtles and the other about sea creatures in gerneral. I can appreciate how such books teaches basic vocabulary now. I must admit, I am learning all the Chinese terms together with her.
Even since Sophie was shown the hermit crabs in school, I became obsessed with the idea of reading her A House For Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. However, we did not have the book and it is near impossible to borrow form the library. Thus, I made a trip to Kinokuniya on the day she fell in school, to buy her a copy. It was all good because she loves the story. Although it was a little too long for her, she still managed to sit through it.
I also bought her two Chinese readers for the theme on sea creatures. One was about sea turtles and the other about sea creatures in gerneral. I can appreciate how such books teaches basic vocabulary now. I must admit, I am learning all the Chinese terms together with her.
I read Sophie The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. It was a little long but she was quite engaged nevertheless. After that, I tried creating a little garden and greenhouse for her. It was too easy to make and I was reluctant to decorate it before the green beans germinate. I have no talent for growing anything but we would try again. I also wanted to try growing the beans in glass containers, just to compare the outcome.
We had this set of gears forever but somehow Sophie could not engage with it. Today, we tried again. Although she was more interested than before, she was still only lukewarm.
This is not my usual style. Normally I would draw everything from scratch but I really did not have much time to prepare for Sophie. Thus, I cheated by printing materials from the internet.
We tried to colour pictures of seahorse, starfish, clownfish, coral reef and clam etc. Then I stuck them to some strings and attached them to a paper plate with pipe cleaners.
I was not very familiar with making mobiles so it took me a while to fix it up properly. Of course Sophie loved to play with it and almost destroyed it before I could finish it.
I found it a little plain so I added some seaweeds and the leftover "jellyfish" from the gooey ghost prints we had made earlier.
This is not my usual style. Normally I would draw everything from scratch but I really did not have much time to prepare for Sophie. Thus, I cheated by printing materials from the internet.
We tried to colour pictures of seahorse, starfish, clownfish, coral reef and clam etc. Then I stuck them to some strings and attached them to a paper plate with pipe cleaners.
I was not very familiar with making mobiles so it took me a while to fix it up properly. Of course Sophie loved to play with it and almost destroyed it before I could finish it.
I found it a little plain so I added some seaweeds and the leftover "jellyfish" from the gooey ghost prints we had made earlier.
We had this set of gears forever but somehow Sophie could not engage with it. Today, we tried again. Although she was more interested than before, she was still only lukewarm.
We did a couple of counting with food but I could not document anything. Today, Papa was around to help. Sophie was still not able to count well but we are improving and hopefully she would get better as we move along with more creature counters.
We did a couple of counting with food but I could not document anything. Today, Papa was around to help. Sophie was still not able to count well but we are improving and hopefully she would get better as we move along with more creature counters.
The weekend after Sophie’s legendary fall in school. We were brutally reminded about her accident whenever we looked at her face. Of course we felt a lot of heartache but we had to pretend we were fine in front of her. It did not help when an ignorant girl pointed at her face and said, “Eee… so dirty!”, laughed and ran off behind her equally ignorant father. I was usually quite tolerant to ignorance (especially with children) but I felt very compelled to tell her off because I believed she was mean and definitely in the wrong. And I totally blamed her father for taking it lightly.
Sophie have not been making much progress on her skate scooter but Papa was ever so encouraging to her.
Papa : … steer your bike… to your left…
Sophie : Who’s on a bike?
Papa : You are on a bike…
Sophie : This’s not a bike, it’s a skate scooter!
After our morning walk at Upper Peirce Reservoir, we headed for lunch at Sembawang Shopping Centre. Usually, I would not let Sophie play at the playground but today, I was all out to make her feel good. I felt that perhaps I have not been letting her play enough so she was too eager to play in school and that resulted in accidents. Yes, I do take responsibility for her injuries. I failed to teach her proper safety procedures at the playground.
I was hoping that Papa would let her climb all the way. It would have been a great triumph for her, especially after her fall. However, I guess we were all still too affected by her accident to let her go.
In any case, I did not get to see her "bravery" at the playground today. Her teachers were telling me how relentless she was at the slide, even after her fall. However, she was very cautious and "gutless" whenever I was around. She was not like that in school. Nope! She was like a hurricane and she would not stop. Maybe she knew I do not like rough play so she was pleasing me.
To think that I used to think it would be impossible for Sophie to learn Chinese, I was so wrong. I probably should have more faith in her. On Friday, she looked at me all serious and intense before uttering 海豚, 海星 and 鲨鱼 (with a slang) in the cab. I was ecstatic even though it took me a while to understand what she said! I had to infer a little because I knew they were doing sea creatures that day. And just before she slept, she said to me (again with an intense look) 小丑鱼＂and "魔鬼鱼.She had to say a couple of times because it was hard for me to understand her slang. But once we agreed on what she was trying to say, we were hugging and celebrating like football fans!
That was all the cue I need to quickly reinforce her learning in school. I whipped out our dusty flip chart and picture dictionary and practiced our Chinese this morning. The school has an amazing influence on her learning. Despite her accident and injury, I am glad she likes school so far.
To think that I used to think it would be impossible for Sophie to learn Chinese, I was so wrong. I probably should have more faith in her. On Friday, she looked at me all serious and intense before uttering 海豚, 海星 and 鲨鱼 (with a slang) in the cab. I was ecstatic even though it took me a while to understand what she said! I had to infer a little because I knew they were doing sea creatures that day. And just before she slept, she said to me (again with an intense look) 小丑鱼＂and "魔鬼鱼.She had to say a couple of times because it was hard for me to understand her slang. But once we agreed on what she was trying to say, we were hugging and celebrating like football fans!
That was all the cue I need to quickly reinforce her learning in school. I whipped out our dusty flip chart and picture dictionary and practiced our Chinese this morning. The school has an amazing influence on her learning. Despite her accident and injury, I am glad she likes school so far.
The weekend after Sophie’s legendary fall in school. We were brutally reminded about her accident whenever we looked at her face. Of course we felt a lot of heartache but we had to pretend we were fine in front of her. It did not help when an ignorant girl pointed at her face and said, “Eee… so dirty!”, laughed and ran off behind her equally ignorant father. I was usually quite tolerant to ignorance (especially with children) but I felt very compelled to tell her off because I believed she was mean and definitely in the wrong. And I totally blamed her father for taking it lightly.
Sophie have not been making much progress on her skate scooter but Papa was ever so encouraging to her.
Papa : … steer your bike… to your left… Sophie : Who’s on a bike? Papa : You are on a bike… Sophie : This’s not a bike, it’s a skate scooter!
After our morning walk at Upper Peirce Reservoir, we headed for lunch at Sembawang Shopping Centre. Usually, I would not let Sophie play at the playground but today, I was all out to make her feel good. I felt that perhaps I have not been letting her play enough so she was too eager to play in school and that resulted in accidents. Yes, I do take responsibility for her injuries. I failed to teach her proper safety procedures at the playground.
I was hoping that Papa would let her climb all the way. It would have been a great triumph for her, especially after her fall. However, I guess we were all still too affected by her accident to let her go.
In any case, I did not get to see her "bravery" at the playground today. Her teachers were telling me how relentless she was at the slide, even after her fall. However, she was very cautious and "gutless" whenever I was around. She was not like that in school. Nope! She was like a hurricane and she would not stop. Maybe she knew I do not like rough play so she was pleasing me.
I tried explaining to Sophie after the experiment that the salt increased the buoyancy of carrot. It made the water “thicker” to support the weight of the carrot. I doubt she understood everything I said but I guess it was an good experience for her nevertheless. My domestic helper was definitely surprised to see the carrot float!
I took the opportunity to let Sophie play with a "sea creatures" sensory tub every evening when I bathe her. She was very happy of course. I put marbles, plastic rocks and assorted sea creatures in a plastic box before filling it up with water. Unfortuately, I could not take any video clips because she was naked and I do not like to expose her that way.
I tried explaining to Sophie after the experiment that the salt increased the buoyancy of carrot. It made the water “thicker” to support the weight of the carrot. I doubt she understood everything I said but I guess it was an good experience for her nevertheless. My domestic helper was definitely surprised to see the carrot float!
I took the opportunity to let Sophie play with a "sea creatures" sensory tub every evening when I bathe her. She was very happy of course. I put marbles, plastic rocks and assorted sea creatures in a plastic box before filling it up with water. Unfortuately, I could not take any video clips because she was naked and I do not like to expose her that way.
For art appreciation this term, Sophie’s school is introducing Paul Klee (German-Swiss, 1879 – 1940). It is quite easy for young children to create a masterpiece based on his works because of his simplistic and primitive style. And since the theme is on “sea creatures”, I thought it would be good to merge the two and let her re-create “Mister Seahorse”.
She didthe first part before school. I drew a huge seahorse on a piece of A3 paper. Then I marked it with checkers for her to fill in with markers.
Although Sophie was able to stay focused and fill up a couple of spaces, she was soon bored and I had to complete it by holding her hand.
However, she was quite happy to apply glitter glue on the seahorse. After that we had to hang it up for drying.
The rest was done when she got home from school. I tore some tissue paper and cut some squares for the background.
Sophie was trying to complete the work while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Despite the distraction, she was able to do it with minimal glitch.
