Tot School: Halloween & Spiders

Tiger is 28.5 months old.

We are no longer following a theme strictly but since it was Halloween

and he had a thing for spiders recently...I felt inspired as well :)

Here are some of the stuff we did:

 This was a fix-the-skeleton fine motor work.

Mission: reattach the joints of shoulder and hips.

It was harder than it looks

When he finally did it, he did a little dance of victory.

Painting is always a favorite activity of Tiger's.

We did some foam painting with shaving cream and spiders.

He chose yellow and orange.

A wonderful sensorial experience.

I was delighted that he enjoyed it so much and didn't complain about dirtying his hands.

Having said that, he requested to wash up the moment he was done.

Dot painting is still a hit.

 Painting with Crayola paintbrush.

Just to reinforce his colours and fine motor skills.

He asked, "Colour inside line?"

I answered, "You can colour anywhere you like. No restrictions."

Tiger replied, "Silly mama"

Tracing lines with his dry erase board and markers

Matching silicone shapes

Matching lowercase to uppercase letters

Care of self: Dress-up bear.

He could manage the zipper, velcro and button himself.

This is a logic puzzle that was free with purchase of Enfagrow sometime ago.

He is an expert but failed to conquer the master level.

Maybe in a few more months...

We usually start 'school' with tot tray activities.

Some activities allows me to leave him for a while to prepare his right brain stuff.

Time is so precious nowadays..

Linking up to Tot School

Happy Halloween 2012

Here's my Lil Pizza 'holding' her ketchup bottle.

I thought since she is developmentally meant to be lying supine, this was perfect.

I didn't have the time to sew the toppings, so whenever she turned to the side,

the toppings fell off!

Lil Tiger (Spiderman) & Lil J, the Skeleton

I recycled last year's deco.

Lil J's skeleton suit was a little snug for him, so, after some persuasion,

dear Tiger agreed to swap.
We had to rescue Little J's birdie birdie ;p

Yummy sugary goodness...slurrpp

Little M, as Miss Spider

 

Big M was too busy exploring the toys, he did not want to wear his Percy costume.

 So, Tiger helped himself.

After he pooped in the skeleton suit, we reused last year's pumpkin.

A bye-bye shot before Little J went home.

This year, the kids still enjoyed doing their own things.

Tiger seemed to be craving for some brotherly love.

He tagged along with Lil J everywhere he went, watching his every move and copying.

He is a lot more verbal and friendly.

I wonder how much will change next year?



Happy Halloween!

Grace & Courtesy: Tea Pouring Session

Since Tiger is more verbal now, we are working on his manners.

First up, saying:

Please, Thank you, and You are welcome 

I know that manners are best learned through modelling but sometimes

adults tend to forget and take things for granted.

I also know he is only two and he probably wouldn't comprehend the true meaning of courtesy.

At the moment, mastering these social skills and vocalising the words appropriately is good enough.

We had some Parkson shopping vouchers so we bought this:

 Tadaa!

A robin blue picnic basket with a tin tea set inside.

I have been looking around for a proper tea set for some time now.

When I saw this flower pattern inside, it was a done deal.

^.^

We practised pouring, with real water of course.

Sometimes he does it with two hands, sometimes one.

He has been playing with this set for days.

Almost as much as his play dough. So, I know it is serious business.

ME: What are you doing there?

Tiger : I doing make coffee.

ME: Wow, can I have some, PLEEAAASEEE?

Tiger: Yes!  (Hands me a cup)

Me: Thank you. Psst...say you are welcome...

Tiger: come

We invited Scout and Alphie to join our tea party.

So, a little snack was in order.

Therefore, he got to do some tonging and sorting as well

Mama always gets pink and Tiger's always blue.

As usual, he enjoyed 'school' very much.

Needless to say, so did I...

Linking up with Montessori Monday @ LivingMontessoriNow

Right Brain: Home Practice {28 months}

At 28 months, his home practice sessions generally last about 10 minutes.

Sometimes, we do a part of it.

Sometimes, none at all. {If mama's working late}

This is a sample of what goes on during a session:

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Welcome Song

{or Oppa Gangnam Style if that is what he wants}

As long as he is happy.

Hug & Kiss

Not a normal hug; a tight, I really really love and appreciate you looong hug

Energy ball

Here is a video on how to make one

He usually makes one for me too ^.^

Blowing exercise

To teach child deep inhalation and controlled breathing techniques.

This is a foundation for meditation sessions later.

On this day, he was suppose to move the tentacles.

Eye exercise

I printed mine from from Right Brain Shop but you can simply draw one yourself.

 It is kept in a clear holder

Using a red dot magnet in front and another pin magnet behind,

I hold it in front of Tiger and move the red dot up-down, right-left

This is to warm up his eye muscles for memory work later.

Photographic memory

Here's a demo video on how it's done

These are mama's DIYs since they are so overpriced.

On the left are 2 question templates placed into clear holder

I used Tack-its to place the icons randomly.

The blue folder are the answer sheets for Tiger to replicate the icons' positions.

Grid memory game

Tiger loves this game

I used the Tot packs from Carisa's for these since they are already the perfect size
and oh-so-cute!
Do check put Jolanthe's packs as well

Imaging

This is from his Brainbox Set

I give him the card for 8 seconds before removing it.

Then I will ask some simple questions, like

Can you name the animals? How many birds were there?

Great for mental imaging

Spot the difference.

I give him 4 seconds to do this.

Tiger usually point out the difference, "This, this no same"

Colour memory

The icons are same, just different colours.

In these case, a clown balancing 3 balls

Linking Memory

Shen Li @ Figur8 is sharing her resources graciously.

Do check out her site to learn more about right brain education.

You can recycle old flashcards to do this.

Mandala

Ours are from Right Brain Education Shop

You can buy from here as well

If he is still interested we will continue with flashcards or puzzles

Otherwise we will read before retiring for the night.

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To read more about right brain education, here is our intro

For more free downloads, here are the links

Why I teach Lil Tiger from young (since 9 months)? Read about it here

My photographic memory templates/icons are from Google image.

If you would like a copy, just pm me or leave a comment.

You will need a printer, laminator and paper cutter.

A lot of work but think of the money you will be saving. $.$

Sensory Bin: Skeleton & Spiders

Did I mention that we love Halloween?

^.^

In honour of Spiders Week, I created another bin for Tiger

This one was easy.

I simply rehydrated some red water beads.

Then, we added some skeleton, spiders and pumpkins.

Voila!

Note the drowning skeleton

 

We usually keep the lid on when the bin is not in use to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

It started to smell funny after 2 days so we added some lavender oil.

Now, it smells heavenly.

Read more about water beads safety here

My little China man still smiles by squinting his eys :)

Sensory Bin: Halloween Pumpkin Bin

 Halloween is not exactly a big celebration here in Malaysia.

Why? Why not?

I love dressing up the kids, sugary treats, pumpkins, spiders & PARTY!!

We started the week with lots of of Halloween-inspired activities.

As per Tiger's request, we are doing a lot of spider work this year

He was scared of spiders last year. Kids....

One of the rule of Halloween Week is wearing our headbands during playtime.

Here is a make-upless shot of me for you to laugh at.

I was teaching him to make a peace sign but he could only sign "good job"

Must remind help and MIL to stop praising him

This is our Halloween Sensory Bin

I was going to get some black-eyed peas for the base but these dal beans are so much nicer!

They also have a hint of curry/dal smell. Lovely!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the bin are items recycled from last year.

A large disco-ball pumpkin (light changes colour)

Wax pumpkin

A small pail

Some cut streamers

Small printouts meant for cupcakes/food deco

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 A ladle, bottle and funnel for scooping activity

I introduced ounces and mls to him but
he'd rather play "So much for Tiger and A Little Bit for Mama"

He searched for hidden cards and counted them.

We played hide and seek with the cards so many times I lost count.

Can you see the other sensory bin behind Tiger?

Pssst, he loves the other bin more

Review: Wikki Stix

We have been given a sample of Wikki Stix mini play pack for review and we LOVE it.

Such a simple invention that provides hours of fun, creativity and learning. Okay, seriously, we didn't play for hours at a stretch but it was long enough for me to think. "Yeah, this one's a keeper"

Of course, nothing comes between Tiger and his ABCs, so that was the first thing he wanted to create. He could twist nicely but he wasn't able to shape them into the letters yet. He kept saying, "Mama, you make"
He was pretty happy just to arrange the letters.

When I asked, "What else can you make?"

He created a square and sang his Shape Song

The happy boy.

I asked for a happy, dashing smile and he gave me this.

The pack came with a small leaflet with ideas and a connect the dot picture.

We placed the Wikki Stix on the paper together to form a bell.

Then, he wanted colour.

I love open-ended products as it encourages imagination. Wikki Stix takes it a step further by being non-toxic, stickable and reusable. Most importantly, it is CLEAN so there is no need for massive clean up after play!

It is recommended for children above 3 years old but I read in a teacher's forum that it is being used even in high schools! How cool is using Wikki Stix to trace rivers and borders on the map for Geography lessons?

So, what exactly is Wikki Stix?

A piece of Wikki Stix is actually a yarn dipped into non-toxic wax. So, you can pretty much create anything that strikes your fancy. For more elaborate creations, we will probably need more than eight Wikki Stixs.
Now that they are available on our shores, we can always add more to our collection.

How to get some Wikki?

If you are a busy mama, you can purchase online at www.wikkistixasia.com. They offer free delivery worldwide with no minimum purchase. What's more, get a special 10% discount by entering this coupon code BLOG1012 upon check out.  

In Malaysia, they are available at the following locations:

Books Kinokuniya – Kuala Lumpur 
Lot 406-408 & 429-430 Level 4,
Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur City Centre,
50088 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603 2164-8133
http://www.kinokuniya.com/my/

CzipLee Bangsar
1 & 3 Jalan Telawi 3,
Bangsar Baru,
59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603 2287 7699
http://www.cziplee.com/

Kraf Kydz Enterprise

http://wikkistixmy.com

Mama Paradise / KidsnMum
No 2-29-2 Sinaran Satu, Persiaran Anggerik
40460 Shah Alam, Selangor
Tel: 603 5131 8917 / 6016 311 8917
www.kidsnmum.com
www.mamaparadise.com

If you like free stuff, Wikki Stix have a weekly promotion called Wikki Whacky Wednesday where they give away Wikki Stix products or offer good discounts.  You can check out their Facebook page for more information.

Messy Art: Glitter, Glue and Sprinkles

At 28 months, we are moving towards a free play/learning approach.

We used to have a schedule but it has been rendered useless.

If there is one thing I have learned thus far, it would be,

you CANNOT force a child to learn (or use the potty for that matter)

Free play encourages imagination and we all know that Einstein said:

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"

Tiger already knows where I hide the all the good stuff like glitters/glue/beads,

you know, the off-limit stuff.

So, occasionally I will suck it up and attempt something brave like this.

Nowadays, messy activities are my wild nights. Yeah, I am pathetic like that.

So, I braced myself when he took the glitter glue and alphabet sprinkles and asked for 'duo-ing'

Tiger is a neat freak.

Slimy, sticking, 'dirty' sensory activities are a challenge for him.

He usually ask for brushes instead of using his bare hands.

This time, he actually went for it without hesitation.

What a nice surprise.

We just mix the glitter with lots of glue for him to smear.

Then, he 'spwinkle, spwinkle' the ABC. ^.^

Of course, he insisted on washing his hands immediately after that.

He kept saying, "WOW, nice!"

We framed it and it sits proudly in the living room.