Singapore theme for homeschool pt 2

On post national day week, we focused mainly on present Singapore. We visited an exhibition by the Singapore Discovery Centre, which was along the Esplanade waterfront and for the second time, went to the National Museum for 'Singapura: 700 years'.

  

We read quite a fair bit on LKY. As a follow-up, Zech wrote a short paragraph about our first Prime Minister.

Zech also learned the names of our past and current Prime Ministers and of course the current President of Singapore. We watched an animated video as well. It was posted online by a friend. Really quite good as it follows a character from young till old to showcase the history of Singapore.
Do check this out -
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/08/07/history-crash-course-charming-animation-shows-80-years-of-singapore-history-in-16-minutes/

Crafts...

Made a windsock to add on to the SG50 mood.

Sponge painting. Dabbing and scrubbing were 2 techniques I've learned recently from a Art teacher. :) Easy enough even for Nathanael.

As Singapore steps into post-modernism, our landscape has changed rapidly. I showed Zech pictures of some of the significant landmarks such as the Merlion, Padang, HDB flats, MBS etc.

And of course, it's time to introduce the national anthem, Majulah Singapura, and know what it means.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdb_O91d92M

As Singapore has a reputation for being a clean and green city, I showed him the national flower and we studied some of the common trees in Singapore. This link is very useful.
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/activities/family-time-with-nature/recommended-activities/know-10-trees

Some of the activities Zech has done are below.

Drawing a tree and labelling its parts.

Experimented with puffy paint to outline the crown of a tree.

Used yellow food colouring for another tree but was messed up so had to throw away. Ran out of Elmer glue to make more puffy paint. :( Decided to try again another time. Check out this website - http://artfulparent.com/2015/07/diy-puffy-paint-for-kids.html

One of the most enjoyable activities was tree hunting. We hunted for the common trees around Singapore. Spent almost a week on this activity. Zech had to do some bark rubbing, collect a leaf for rubbing and measure the tree trunk using paper clips.

Bark rubbing on the trumpet tree just outside our block of flats. We have so many of these trees with beautiful pink and white flowers which often lays a gorgeous pink or white carpet beneath it.

The angsana heritage tree near to Woodleigh Park, along Upper Serangoon Road.

 

 

Later I found an Angsana tree really near the AMK MRT station. Sigh. To think we went to the trouble of driving to the heritage tree along Upper Serangoon Road.

Tembusu heritage tree at the Botanical Garden.

Couldn't do any bark rubbing as it was all fenced up. But we were very lucky to find a small branch of leaves and budding fruits on the ground.

The boys had fun hunting for saga seeds at the AMK Town Garden East, opposite blk 126. So did I!

 

Zech counted the saga seeds. A total of 84 seeds! Planning to use the seeds for flower craft.

 

Some of the activity sheets for the tree hunting activity.

For Math this week, we started on the measuring book. Went through the concept of long and short, high and low, tall and short. Zech practised measuring different tree trunks using paper clips, with  help from me and his Papa as the girth of the tree trunks were wide.

 

 

Zech had so much fun with the Singapore theme he kept asking for more. Very informative for me too as I learned along Zech the history of Singapore. I've never taken an interest in the trees and plants around me but because of this, I've been pointing out to Zech the different trees we have by the roadside in Singapore. We really need to be appreciative of our garden city. That's my take-away after planning all these lessons for Zech.

 





Singapore theme for homeschool pt1

This week marks the beginning of my own thematic curriculum for Zech. With National Day just around the corner and all kinds of events around our island to celebrate the jubilee year, naturally it got to be the Singapore theme.  I've always wanted to infuse National Education in Zech's homeschool. Finally, here it is!

Day 1:

I've made my own slides on the history of Singapore, in chronological order beginning with Temasek ruled by kings for 80 years. Tried to make it simple for a kindergartener. Check out the following websites - http://www.singapore-discovery-guide.com/Stamford-Raffles.html and http://www.yoursingapore.com/about-singapore/singapore-history.html, which I've found to be useful.

For Zech's first lesson, I made a sensory tray, tapping on the idea of Temasek as a fishing village. Zech contributed to this by making one of the houses. The colored one is his.

 

What's in the sensory tray? Used pasta as green grass and sand, blue kinetic sand as the sea. Made some paper boats and paper houses. Lego people as fishermen. Some trees. Zech reminded me to put in some fishes since it's a fishing village. Forgotten about that.  We managed to find some fishes lying around and he arranged them himself in the tray. Realized the tray was great for pretend play.

It was only on day 3 that he messed everything up.

For Math, Zech played the fishing game. I gave him addition and subtraction sums on the whiteboard and he used his rod to catch the fish with the correct number.

Day 2:
The history of Singapore for day 2 focused on the founding of Singapore by Raffles and the town plan he drew up for the different groups of immigrants.

Zech sorted out the pictures on the four races in Singapore then pasted them onto the drawing paper to make a poster.

He played with tangram too. Printed out the boat and fish from this website.

 

Day 3:
We focused on the Japanese occupation in Singapore. This part of history is particularly interesting to Zech who kept asking me questions about the war. Never occur to me to visit Changi Prison till we did this.

After the slide presentation, Zech did a dramatization, pretending to be a prisoner of war (POW) who was sent to the Burma Railway. I wanted him to go through a POW 'experience'. Though it wasn't authentic, it made him think how it felt to be a prisoner with no freedom. This prepared him for the next activity on feelings. He was able to identify the different feelings a POW could have.

 

 

Downloaded free from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Feelings-Vocabulary-Cards-Social-Emotional-Development-752151.

As a follow up, he completed a 'My Feelings Book'.

 

This was downloaded free from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Feelings-Book-Activity-752232.

We also spent some time talking about how blessed Singapore is and about how important it is to pray for Singapore. During our time of prayer, Zech gave thanks to God for Singapore while I prayed for God's guidance to be upon our leaders.

Day 4:
On this day, we read about how Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his Ministers formed the PAP, further developing Singapore to what it is today. Zech could not wait to start school and immediately after morning devotion, he asked me if we could start the lesson earlier. :)

We read the following books.

As Zech was painting the Singapore flag, I explained to him the significance of the crescent moon and five stars.

As a closure, we prayed for Singapore progress and for ourselves as Christian Singaporeans who need to love Singapore and stand up for the right ideals.

We also did the usual every day such as calendar, time, Math, sight words and readers.

History is really very crucial for our young ones to understand how we should not be complacent and not take things for granted. What our precious kids see today did not come easy. Through history, they can trace the path our ancestors have taken and see how Singapore gradually develop to what it is today. It is a very important learning curve not just for Zech, but for me too. As I shared with him about the Japanese occupation, I could tell him real stories from my grandmother (his great-grandmother). The most poignant I guess was sharing with him about the Burma Railway. It strikes a chord in my heart as my own great-grandfather was sent to the Death Railway and he never made it back. Stories like that make history come alive.

For the next few days, we are going to learn more about Singapore outside our home. Field trips are really important for kids to see first hand the relevance of history. The National museum is a great resource I feel. A month ago, we visited the exhibit on Singapura 700 years. It's very likely we are going back again for a second visit. Other places worth checking out are Changi Airport SG50 trail (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/changi-airport-goes-big/1988612.html), Heritage Bay at Clifford Square (exhibition at Clifford Pier) and SG50 exhibition on Singapore's past, present and future at Esplanade Lawn (http://www.sdc.com.sg/special-promotions.php).

The 2nd homeschooling year

How's homeschool like for Zech now?

We've completed the Kindergarten curriculum from My Father's World. As we were nearing the end a few weeks ago, we had lots of fun doing crafts and not forgetting, our book picnic (my boys love this to bits!) at the park next to our flat.

This is our favourite spot where the boys have their breakfast, read their books and watch the trains and the world go by.

Quail, flower and rainbow crafts...
You see double now as recently, Nathanael is able to join Zech during craft time.

 

I've bought the first grade curriculum but I'm holding on to that for a while. Currently, I planned my own lessons. Here are some stuff we have done.

Bible
I'm using a Mandarin big book. Ended up sharing the story once in English and on another day in Mandarin. Zech listened to each story with great interest. Maybe he's one of those who simply loves stories. What I like about this set of Bible stories is how easily I can teach character building based on each story.

 

One of the stories of Esau and Jacob allowed me to focus on the individual identity. As a follow-up, my boys made a handprint and after brainstorming with Zech, I wrote both his and Nathanael's strengths on their handprint.

For the subsequent follow-up, Zech drew a self-portrait with a mirror in front of him. Then he wrote a short paragraph about himself.

 



English
I've chosen words related to the story as Zech's new vocabulary. Other new words include sight words or words from his readers.

Using the Melissa and Doug magnetic letters, I taught Zech to use the CVC format to make words. With a set of sight word cards below, I showed him how to construct simple sentences using pronouns, verbs, nouns or adjectives. To my surprise, he could create more complex sentences like the following.

I'm also focusing on phonemic awareness. I know I should have done this earlier but with the K curriculum, there really was little time left. So it's like back tracking. Still, better late than never. We've just practised sound discrimination between beginning and ending consonants and revised short vowels. Moving on to rhyming and long vowels next.

Math

Zech is learning to use different strategies to add and subtract. Usually, manipulatives are used to develop his conceptual understanding and to link from the concrete to the abstract.

In the picture below, he's using the 'make ten' method to add.

Other than addition and subtraction, he's also doing patterns (below) and learning to tell time.

Zech is now 4 years 7 months. Homeschool is beginning to look more like school. Sometimes I feel guilty for giving him too much work and for insisting on neat handwriting. After being advised by more than 1 concerned friend, I decided to let it go if effort is put in.

As much as possible, I try to take the boys outdoor or to the playground more than just once a week. Play and field trips are a major part of learning for them. This is one important element I've incorporated in the upcoming unit I've designed based on the Singapore theme. Will be sharing that soon in my blog.

 

SG50 - NDP theme songs and videos

As Singapore turns 50 this year, it's been very exciting to watch the up and coming events happening at almost every corner around our sunny island. It's a big celebration and we are not going to miss it here at home. So as part of our very own SG50 celebration, I've compiled a list of NDP songs with the links for the music videos. Not the most comprehensive but the list has included many favourites of mine.

Enjoy and sing in your most patriotic voice for our multiracial country!

NDP theme songs

1.      Stand up for Singapore (1984)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzS5rPaZW9w

 

2.      Count on me Singapore (1986)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_a622n3v2I

3.      We are Singapore (1987)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzm5o9GwLH8

4.      Home/家 (1998)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTkVG6lWvwY&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=3 (English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvrOxItmCCs&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=21 (Mandarin)

5.      One people, one nation, one Singapore (1990)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piF_2PQSkBM

6.      Together (1999)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhIF9A0o12U&index=39&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc

7.      Where I belong/ 属于(2001)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLUn4F-IzMk&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc&index=32 (English & Mandarin)

8.      We will get there/一起走到 (2002)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD31os2SwUM&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=28 (English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntI0Jh6TcJo

9.      One united people/全心全意 (2003)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lLA8UzSuvI&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=7 (English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hmyv1AKT9A&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=22 (Mandarin)

10.  Reach out for the skies (2005)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic3SXtPzeMQ

11.  My island home (2006)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLFHFzfdzSw&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=5 (English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F73lxWeEvo&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=13 (Mandarin)

12.  There’s no place I’d rather be (2007)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nezOVWQkmu0&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F&index=19

         Will you? (2007)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acin-y0AQoM

14.  Shine for Singapore/晴空万里 (2008)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzxCnqozyK8 (English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfheW0rOKQY&index=20&list=PLF47DC37125E3500F (Mandarin)

15.  What do you see? (2009)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKAMTOx0nNw

16.  Song for Singapore (2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlTYFXGm-eo

17.  In a heartbeat (2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIgoiKKa9_E

18.  Love at first light (2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANTvzs6Hzpc

19.  Shine Singapore/最幸福的感动 (2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-7HKFduAqA&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc&index=32 (English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5GQDdDlbHc&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc&index=27 (Mandarin)

20.  There’s no place like home (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBHjpabBDMs (English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b3gkM_S8nE (Mandarin)

My beloved homeland (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQqETrD5stk

Our Singapore (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urEMOZZaLR8
 

Other National songs

Singapore town

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI_dTDxTf7w&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc&index=24

Five stars arising

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He86OrIx4lo&index=27&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc

Munnaeru Vaalibaa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFoyRWEhu7Y&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc&index=31

Singapura, sunny island

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwhsSsGWJaw&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc&index=28

Di tanjung katong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL3-AixDU2U&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc&index=37

Chan mali chan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNRT5EMlaDo&index=31&list=RDANTvzs6Hzpc

Living in His amazing grace

She used to be my Sunday School student. A small and sweet little girl, always willing to obey and please everyone. Looking at the back of this young woman, it struck me between now and then that 15 years had flown past. Where have all those years gone?

In those 15 years, I had my most difficult trial in life but I came out of it better than before. In those 15 years, I graduated and fulfilled my greatest passion. In those 15 years, I decided to focus solely on a single ministry and my involvement was much greater than what I had ever imagined. In those 15 years, I found a decent man who later became my husband. In those 15 years, I had the time of my life planning and materialising my dream wedding followed by the most memorable honeymoon ever!

In those 15 years, I had my first precious boy. That bundle of joy filled me with immeasurable joy and awe. Many firsts and special moments were created. In those 15 years, I decided to homeschool my children and thus, happily resigned from my job. In those 15 years, I had my second precious boy and had great bonding with him in my breast feeding journey. He's the most mischievous and cheekiest boy I've ever taught. He's also the sweetest and most adorable little "koala" I've ever seen.

My boys are now 4.5 and 2 years. Looking back, I know I have not lived those 15 years in vain. God gave me more than sufficient grace in every situation. Even when I went through the darkest valley, He was there waiting for me to see the light. During my happiest and most blissful moments, He was also there. He has never shut me out of His grace and mercy. I know now that it's us humans who subconsciously or intentionally keep God out of our lives.

Standing at the crossroad once more, just as I did 15 years ago, I don't deny I feel more burdened than before. 15 years ago, it was just me. 15 years later, it's no longer solely me. I need to make decisions while taking into consideration my 2 boys. However, I increasingly have this faith that God is with us and will make a way for us. 15 years are gone. My next 15 years will, I'm sure, be filled with much more amazing grace that comes from God above.

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*The above was written in May before my trip in Adelaide. After my trip, God gave me a surprise.
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Many years ago, by God's divine providence, He brought me to Covenant EFC. That was the lowest point in my life. I spent a good 6 months there and met a group of wonderful brothers n sisters.

Almost 15 years later, God brought my family and me back to Covenant. It's strange how things turned out. I can only say it's all in God's plan in His own time. A few months ago, I was sharing with some close friends how I felt God is calling me back to Glory, the church I grew up in. The only obstacle is my hubby who wanted to explore other options which I wasn't keen. Less than 2 months later, God changed my heart. My friends and I decided to check out Covenant. My hubby, out of curiosity, agreed. Stepping into Covenant again gave me a sense of familiarity and warmth. I was glad to see some of my old friends. After the first service, a sense of peace which I've not felt in the longest time came over me. Naturally, we started attending the services the second, third and then fourth time. By then, we were quite certain this is where we want to worship.

Many pp may wonder and thought it must be tough on us. To even entertain the thought of moving on at our age can be daunting. However, the overwhelming sense of connectedness, peace, joy and contentment is more than suffice to indicate to us this is God's will. It's liberating because I no longer feel the bondage that hindered me from worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. What can be more important than the assurance God has given to me, my family and my close friends.

God is good all the time. This for sure I know as I've experienced and tasted His goodness in the weeks that follow as I stood at that crossroad some time ago, believing In His faithfulness and committing my next 15 years or more to Him.

The best of the June hols

This must be the most activity-packed hols we ever had! After our holiday in Adelaide, we rested for almost a week as Zech was down with really bad stomach infection. The day he was better, we headed out to the mall. Mummy was keen and Zech had been asking for it too. So off we went to KM Mall for the Jurassic Challenge.

My brave boy trying rock climbing. Not easy as this was also meant for adults. Saw a teenage girl struggling to climb up the wall after Zech's turn.

What Zech was looking forward to was this. Flying fox!

More dinomania at PS.

 

Making a spiral timeline of the dino period.

Science show at the atrium. Informative! I learned dinosaurs walk on land. Those in the water and air are known as water reptiles and flying reptiles! Never too late to learn!

Zech had his almost 1 week long holiday programme at Act 3 International. The highlight was of course was the drama presentation on Sat which was open to all parents in a theatre. For the stage experience, it was all worth it.

Cooling off at Nex water playground. Look at how my little water baby is enjoying himself.

A great day for the boys under the hot sun!

The fun doesn't stop here.

Science experiments at home.

1. Using salt as 'glue' to stick the string onto the ice cube. Learning point: Salt causes the ice to melt quickly. The water refreezes quickly into ice again, which is why the string is stuck to the ice cube.

2. Lego man excavation. This experiment allowed Zech to apply what was learned previously. He used different methods such as salt, warm water and sharp objects to excavate the Lego man.

3. Exploding ziplock bag. Learning point: The chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda releases carbon dioxide, which causes the bag to expand till it explodes as it could no longer contain more carbon dioxide.

Zech loves them. These experiments are a good way to introduce Science concepts and to get him to think and make predictions. Ideas were taken from lemonlimeadventures.com/must-try-summer-science-activities-for-kids/

Sensory play!

Bought this set of Australian animals during our Adelaide trip. The boys spent at least 45 min playing with this.

During the Jun hols, the realisation of how quickly my boys have grown struck me once more. They could play, fight, quarrel and even share a good book together.

I love the boys' book conversations. Nathanael would ask his big brother and Zech would answer him.

Here's Zech reading one of his favourite books 'Paperboy' to Nath. A pity the little one doesn't have the patience to listen and sit through the entire story as Zech is not reading as fluently as Mummy. But still, it's good effort on the big brother.

I'd love the holidays to continue a little longer. But next week is just a few days away. School's beckoning and Mummy here must adjust. Nonetheless, it has been a great break for us all. We will be dreaming of all that we had done. Museums, dinos, experiments, playdough, water play etc etc. But hey! School can be fun too. That's why I need to readjust. :)