The river is calling...

Been planning to go to the River Safari this year. After constant reminders to Zech's papa to get the corporate pass, we were finally going.

Just before doing that, I spent some time with Zech reading up on pandas and piranhas. Borrowed the books from the library at Nex. Prepared a 'River Safari' lapbook too.

 

Zech tried some of the activities. Really glad he was looking forward to the trip!

So off to the River Safari we went on a weekday! Reached about 10 plus. Not many visitors! Mostly tourists. Cool!

At the entrance, Zech posed with the crocodile.

Giant otters! The first animals we visited at the Amazon Flooded Forest.

Manatee. Clumsy-looking but rather adorable. It was lunch time.

Zech didn't like to be in the dark as most of the animals in the Amazon zone were housed in the aquarium that mimics their natural river habitat. He was becoming disinterested until we came upon these.

Piranhas! Somehow, Zech was captivated by these small creatures with shiny scales.

Once we were out of the Amazon, Zech was relieved. He wanted to see the pandas. That seemed to be the highlight of the trip for Zech. He can't take the boat ride as his height doesn't qualify. Fortunately, he was very cooperative and waited patiently for us adults to take the boat ride before visiting Kai Kai and Jia Jia. 

 

He didn't miss much. Most of the animals were hiding somewhere.

 

 

 

 

Now for the highlight of the day! Zech was thrilled to see Kai Kai! He obligingly took pictures when I asked him to. See his happy face below?

 



 

 

We had lunch at the Mama Panda Kitchen.

 

All things panda! Really really cute! Food is average but, ambience is more important for me, so the panda theme made up for it.

 

 

After lunch, Zech visited the pandas again. This time, we saw Jia Jia sleeping.

 

 

Thanks to the pandas, Zech perked up and even dared to put his hand on the glass in front of the Yangtze alligator. This seemingly small creature looks harmless here but it apparently kills human. See how interested it is to see Zech?

 

 

 

The River Safari took us a good half day. We left around 1 plus. The boys were tired, especially Zech. Nathanael slept most of the time. He probably only saw the pandas and the stingray.

 

Bought this for Zech at the souvenir shop before we left. Quite an interactive book. Reading it to Zech was like having Kai Kai and Jia Jia talking to him.

 

Had a follow up with Zech the next day. We read the books before trying out the activities in the lapbook.

 

 

 

Zech fixed this panda puzzle before asking for a story about the pandas. That's what he usually does now after completing a puzzle. Seems like storytelling is a motivation for him to do puzzles.

 

 

 These few days, I hear Zech talking about the River Safari. If he were to go again, it's only for the pandas and yes, the boat ride when he's grown tall enough. It's panda frenzy at home now.







'School' for Zech at home

This year marks the beginning of school at home for Zech. No formal curriculum. Only short lessons planned by Mummy in the morning and afternoon for weekdays. Strictly no lessons on weekends which are reserved for family outings.

Starting from this year, I regularly let Zech draw and colour. It was just at random last year. Unfortunately, this boy doesn't enjoy colouring. He likes to draw lines. Straight lines, crooked lines, jagged lines etc. So I got him to do lots of matching activity sheets. To make Zech more enthusiastic about writing, I bought him a set of stationery.

Zech's 'no nonsense' stationery.

But really, the quality is much much better than those cute stationery. His name is pasted on the classic pencils. I love his pencils and so does Zech!

His portfolio with all his activity sheets. Divided into basic skills such as visual perception, cutting etc., colouring and do-a-dot.

Bought him many activity books from Popular. They are part of his school routine every morning. These are fun activities and not worksheets like most preschool books.

These books just remind me of my own mum who bought similar ones for me when I was little. The only difference between Zech and me is I loved to colour the pictures inside the book. Even when the books were not meant for colouring.

Something else that Zech enjoys is cutting. It's his newfound skill. Doesn't he look diligent here? We were amused to find him so focused and intent.

Bought him this Kumon book for some paper cutting practice. Really cute and creative pictures to encourage cutting.

I've also started using the wordless book to share the Gospel with Zech.

Made the wordless book using A5 coloured paper.

For the past month, he has been memorizing 'The Lord's Prayer' so for the month of Feb, it's going to be Gospel month! Just started yesterday with the colour gold and will follow up with a craft related to heaven.

One of our homeschool aims is to get Zech to retell the story of Noah. Using this pack of cards as stimulus for retelling.

 

Zech has learned his basic shapes last year. This year, we are reviewing the shapes and going beyond the basics. Review in different forms such as games like this one.

His favourite is treasure hunt. Searching for the correct shape can be so much fun!

Zech is also enjoying his Mandarin lesson with Mummy every morning. He likes to practise writing the Chinese characters using the board as shown below. A very useful resource! Zech's Por Por bought it for him at a book fair. :)

Teaching one to one is quite a breeze most of the time. The activities above are spread out throughout the day so Zech will not feel tired or bored. He still has his playtime. Lots and lots of play which is important for his age. And of course, not forgetting his daily reading time. We usually read at least 4 English and 4 Mandarin books.

Zech's routine is rather different from last year's and he is still trying to adapt. But I must say he has been very cooperative so far. Hopefully, it stays that way. :p

Zech @ 'Titans of the Past'

'I'm scared Mummy', Zech repeated this umpteen times as we walked through the 'Titans of the Past' exhibition at the Science Centre.

Gigantic creatures in the dark with eerie sounds in the background were rather intimidating for a 3 year old. There are replicas such as these.

Zech, standing some distance away from the T-Rex, didn't want to go near it at all but looked at it in awe coupled with fascination from a distance. 

Then there are the real stuff.

The skull of the T-Rex, which Zech could not appreciate.

However, his mummy and papa were so interested in the skulls of the dinosaurs that they took time to examine it and read the information on the panels. There are also guides stationed near some of the popular exhibits like the T-Rex which is the highlight of the exhibition. The guide was quite informative and this is really what I like about 'Titans of the Past', a tremendous improvement as compared to the previous exhibits on  'Megabugs'.  Tried to get Zech's attention by pointing out the names of familiar dinosaurs and feeding him with bits of info but he was too frightened to even look at the skull. 

 

The good thing about this exhibition is it's quite child-centered. Feel there is something for both young and old. There are interactive exhibits like this below.

 

Climbing onto Triceratops.

 

Zech enjoyed pressing the button to listen to the sound of the baby dinosaur. He did not dare to press the button of the adult dinosaur so we pressed it for him. He had a fun time listening to the sounds.

 

 

 

The last hall was a big open space with a big screen showing a documentary on dinosaurs.

 

 

 

There were also replicas, more interactive exhibits, craft booths and a big sand pit for kids to pretend to be paleontologists. That was the most enjoyable for Zech. See the kids using a brush to look for dinosaur bones and fossils? 

 

 

 

The craft booths look interesting too. Making clay dinosaurs, coloring styrofoam dinosaurs, 3D dinosaurs etc. Just before the exit, we walked through an aisle showcasing ice age mammals. Like the mammoth most.

 

 

Zech also saw his favorite animal, a small horse. Seems that my boy enjoyed himself so much we had difficulty getting him to go home. He was in tears and sat on the steps, refusing to leave. Too bad all good things must come to an end.

My rating for 'Titans of the Past' : 4/5

Not as big as the museums in the States but good enough to learn more about dinosaurs and their behaviour. And some of the exhibits are genuine pieces. Find the exhibits good exposure for young kids like Zech who will like it due to the interactive exhibits and animated dinosaurs.







A brand new start 2014

Blessed New Year!  Has been some time since I've updated  here. Been busy the entire month of Dec which went past in a flash. A very exciting month for our family, we celebrated Jesus' birth, Zech's 3rd birthday and attended the annual church camp. Was glad to complete 'Truth in the tinsel' with Zech who has grown more mature and is able to do and understand more from the series of lessons.

Most of Zech's craft from 'Truth in the tinsel'.

Beginning from 2014, we have decided (took a lot of courage too) to carry out our plan to homeschool Zech. Initially, I've planned to start formal schooling with Zech at home using 'My Father's World' curriculum. However, based on observation, I feel Zech is not ready for it yet so I'm going to wait for another 5 months. Very brave of Mummy right? When most kids at Zech's age have memorized their alphabets and numbers, here I am taking things slow and easy. If Zech knows his alphabets, phonics or numbers, it's purely incidental learning. I'm still focusing a lot on learning through whole language approach. Reading, comprehending the text and honing fine motor skills stand priority over all else. Though I've not started formal schooling with Zech, this year marks the beginning of more sit down lessons and seat work. It's amazing how a 3 year old has made progress in his understanding and attention span.

A new year spells new beginnings. To start the year right, it's really essential to go back to the Bible. And so, I created mini lessons for Zech to learn The Lord's Prayer. Zech's very first goal for the new year is to memorize The Lord's Prayer. Was very surprised that he has memorized a big chunk of the prayer. Pasted stickers on top of the words he has memorised. His papa sometimes read it to him before bedtime and I suppose that helps.

 

This month, we are also going to watch 'The Gruffalo' (part of Kidsfest). Prior to the show, I've prepared pre-activities for Zech to enjoy after reading the book each time. He likes the story so much we are reading it almost every day.

Another major step I've taken is in teaching Chinese. Wanted to sign him up for enrichment classes but have shelved this for the time being due to transport problem. Can't find suitable programmes around our area as well. So I have to teach Zech myself. We are using Basic Chinese 500 beginning level. It has selected 500 Chinese words most frequently used in books and daily life.

At first, I found it boring but the advantage of one to one learning means I can link the new word to Zech's life. He was immediately very keen to learn. Not sure how this will all progress. However, a positive beginning  motivates us to move on with new hopes. Daunting it may be to teach a child Chinese when I've never done it before, I'm glad we have taken a major step ahead.

Now some updates on our youngest in the family. He loves his solids very much.

He's been crawling since he turned 7 months and now trying to stand up on his own. He likes joining Zech in his lessons. He simply enjoys playing with his brother's toys, not his own toys. Here's Nathanael with his personal set of flashcards and books. He loves them to bits.

Sometimes, his brother reads to him before bed. He's a big brother now!

In this new year, we pray for God's leading and ask for more patience (bringing up 2 boys is a challenge for me!) as we venture forth on our homeschooling journey.

All about colours part 3

Yellow was the next colour Zech learned.

Bought the tiny yellow stones from Daiso and the rest of the objects were taken from his existing toys. Added a real lemon for the first day of play with the sensory tray.

After playing with the sensory tray, I cut a slice of lemon and let Zech try it. Very sour but he likes it.

Stimulating the 5 senses is important in learning so this time, yellow food is included in learning. :)


Zech had scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast. I allowed him to watch how the scrambled eggs were cooked. He was involved in beating the egg and adding in the cheese. He slurped it all up! For lunch, he had pineapple fried rice prepared by my mum. Super yummy too!

Coincidentally, the next day was a rainy day. Brought out his yellow raincoat and rain boots and played pretend at home. We sang the yellow song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHGYLqvfygE) while walking around the house.

Once the rain stopped, we went to the roof garden for a walk.

There's Zech romping around in his rain boots at the fitness corner.

We even spotted a yellow flower.

Then it was time to work those little fingers! Zech had fun with window art. I pasted contact paper on the sliding window and Zech pasted pieces of yellow transparent paper on it. The final product will be one with different colours on it.

 

Other activities Zech did with the colour yellow were kneading yellow play dough, sponge painting on a chick and picking up yellow pom poms with tongs and placing them in the egg carton. He had loads of fun! The best part I feel was using the concept of a chick hatching from an egg to teach him about how God has given us a new life when we believe in Jesus Christ.

In the following week, I prepared a different sensory tray for Zech to learn the colour orange. We had too many ice cubes at home so I put a couple of them in a pail and added some orange colouring.

Water play has always been Zech's top favourite activity. Ice play seems fun for him too. He loves scooping up the ice with his bowl and pouring them back again into the pail.

Ice play was the first part of play. The second part was after his nap. By then, the ice had melted. Took the opportunity to teach him Science. He looked kind of amazed when I showed him the melted ice cubes. Now he could play with orange water!

Zech did some quiet work as well. He identified orange smiley stickers on the sticker sheet and pasted the stickers on an activity sheet.

 

Made a bag of orange paint for Zech to scribble on. But he played with it for a while and now it's just sitting in his activity basket.

Zech also made his own orange juice. The enjoyable part was of course drinking the fruit of his labour.

He continued with his window art.

 

 

 

Found some really nice printable pumpkins online (http://www.pre-kpages.com/halloween-visual-discrimination-activity/). Zech was supposed to identify similar patterns in the pumpkins. A pity he was not in the least interested. He merely tried once and protested loudly when I asked him to do it again.

The last activity I did with Zech was counting one on one. He often recites 1 to 10 while he plays but this is probably meaningless unless he understands the concept of counting. Was surprised he enjoyed this activity and wanted to try over and over again. It's a good way to get him to learn counting. :)