It's all about Singapore!

Taking a short break from the usual stuff we are doing for school. It's National Day and it's time to do all things NE. :)

This year, I'm using a book, 'The Little Singapore Book' I bought last year at the National Gallery. Cost about $26. Not cheap but it's a book worth buying and keeping in my collection of children books. It's written to give kids an overview of the past and present of Singapore coupled with the final chapter dedicated to all things Singaporean. Beautiful illustrations, simple content and I love the suggested activities.

Other resources I'm using are...

I like 'Timmy and Tammy' series. Local books with different levels for young readers. The CD you see above is from Popular. $10 for favourites such as 'Home', 'Stand up for Singapore', 'We are Singapore' etc.

Before we start reading the books, we brainstormed what we think Singapore is. My dear Zech could tell me 'Singapore is a little red dot' and is 'my home'. Surprise surprise. After reading the book 'What is Singapore?', we added more to our chart below.

Zech wrote 'Happy place' as the last point with a star beside it. He's crazy over stars lately as he has figured out how to draw a star all by his himself.

Downloaded some activity sheets from Littledayout website. Cost about $2 per pack.

My boys also painted the Singapore flag using the activity pack. Pasted the crescent moon and 5 stars. While pasting, I explained to them the significance of the moon and the stars.

At the end of school, Zech wrote this in his notebook. Hm...not bad. He's becoming patriotic.

On day 2, we focused on post-war Singapore right up to independence. Read a section on Kampong Glam. We've been to Kampong Glam a few times but reading a section on it today gave us some insights on the history itself, which dated back to almost 200 years ago!

Our day started with the boys having fun with mazes. Bought the activity pack from littledayout website. Laminated them for durability.

Read the next chapter in 'The Little Singapore Book'. Nathanael simply had no patience and soon went off to immerse himself in his own play.

Zech read aloud from these books.

We listened to the national anthem, Majulah Singapura. Told the boys who the composer was and the meaning of Majulah Singapura. The boys love anything on YouTube. Also watched the videos for 'We are Singapore' (their fav!) and the new NDP 2016 theme song.

The activity for today was making coconut candy - a delightful traditional treat in the 1970s.

Off we went to the market. Thank God for the Indian grocery store downstairs. Zech helped to buy the fresh coconut. Smells heavenly!

Bought the rest of the ingredients from Giant, just opposite my block. Now we are all ready!

We followed the recipe in 'The Little Singapore Book'.

My 2 boys helped to stir the mixture. Took at least a good half an hour before we added the food colouring.

The final product...

For the boys to share with their friends tomorrow during the National Day party.