Baby School: Shapes Week @ 13 months

Lil Dragon's getting used to our school routine.

Her top 2 activities are:

 Brillkids lessons & the learning trays.

Sometimes, she will opt for drawing.

That means making a mess :)

She loves this little chest of drawers.

I hid a silicone shape in each drawer for her to discover.

A labelled sheet for matching.

I did the matching & naming for her, just to introduce her to shapes

and creating print awareness while playing.

Sometimes, Tiger does the tutoring for me.

 

 
Spooning...

...which ended up with pom-poms everywhere.

Transferring ping-pong balls into cups

I love this face <3

Combining trays and learning that balls cannot go into a small hole.

M&D Shapes puzzle

With Tiger, we stressed on more complicated ones such as

octagon, parallelogram, trapezoid, etc

She has gotten the concept of
Here's the mat and this is what we are doing now.
Instead of going Rar rar rar....all over the place.

The mat is essential to any learning.
The genius that is Montessori :)

On Brillkids,
We are doing a lesson a day.
When she spots a bird outdoor, she points and says /b/.
Unlike Tiger, she is being exposed to 3 languages since we have a Indonesian
kakak now.
So, I expect her speech to develop a little slower.

This week, we will focus on colours.

Little Dragon: Her Space @ 13 Months

It's no secret the two little ones are currently frenemies.

So, Tiger decided some time ago that

Study room = his

Play room = Little Dragon's

Which makes sense because she does spend a lot of time in the playroom.

She is probably in here 80% of the day.

Thank you God, for giving me a toy-loving kid!

I was so worried she would be a toy snob like Tiger.

First up, the books.

She loves flipping books.

So, we have a reading area with all the

 baby board books and some hardcovers.

Her favourite is a RM5 CATS book from a book fair.

^.^

I've tried baskets with the covers facing forward but she prefers them this way.

Easier to toss onto the floor. =.="

Got to remember to get some Malay books for kakak to read to her.

Then we have toys:

On the left (rotational toys)

Can you spot the pop-up toy hanging precariously on the shelf?

Must be Tiger's work.

I gave her some Tupperwares to play with. That's me being 'creative'

On the right shelf (from top)

 Her mattress for afternoon naps, 

Some soft toys & puppets, 

Puzzle space: alphabet puzzles

Music Box and Manipulatives

 Last but not least,

I read somewhere that it doesn't matter how much your kitchen cost.

It could be just an old box.

It's about what is 'cooking' in the pots.

The sweetheart loves cooking, stirring, making drinks.

<<<>>>

Here are some notes on play and toy from Bright From The Start:

1. When shopping; buy a variety, not quantity.

Your child may LOVE cars but there is no use in having a million cars.

Exception: Books (See why I love this book?)

2. Rotate regularly

Notice how new toys engage a child's attention better?

You are not alone.

They are biologically programmed to like new stuff.

See, now you can explain to your husband why there is a need for MORE

When you rotate, the old seems like new again

3. On safety,

I like the 'toilet-paper tube' rule.

If it slides through the tube, it is a CHOKING HAZARD

Other baby proofing methods apply as well.

4. Use Play-n-Learn cues

i. Use a mat (Montessori!)

ii. Say "watch": demonstrate/model

Say "you try" and let the child try

Tiger modelling Flashcards Reading.

It was an epic FAIL.

I love Lil Dragon's pose here...haha. She's funny.

Tiger has his own space in the living area.

There is no right or wrong when playing.

It is just fun.

Send us a picture of your play room so that I can have a peek :)

Little Dragon: 13 Months

Sweet cheeks at 13 months.

I can finally 'style' her hair!

At the moment, it's either one coconut tree or 2 :p

Better than nothing, right?

The first time I tried, she yelled and screamed bloody murder.

I was kinda bummed to which hubby commented, "No need to tie la"

I retorted, "What's the point of having a daughter if I cannot doll her up?"

That shut him up.

Socially...

The lil monkey cannot be still, not even for 5 seconds.

She has boundless energy.

A fighter's spirit which means the brother is usually at the receiving end.

Imagine the 1 year old taking a swipe at the 3 year old.

Oh, the fights they get into.

She is very territorial.

My lap and kakak's are reserved for her.

Tiger will be beaten if he even tries to sit on either one

Outside,

she is wary of strangers and buries her face in her hands when some stranger smiles at her.

When confronted head on, she closes her eyes with her hands (ostrich maneuver)

She loves going out for walks and is always asking for shoe

Appetite..

Way bigger than Tiger's

She has a bottomless pit..haha...no matter how much of a meal she has eaten,

she will always go around asking for more food :)

A very adventurous eater, not too fussy at the moment.

Boobs are still very much in demand, especially before bed at night.

Now she will lay down on the bed and sigh "come"

For boob as snack, she will just sit on my lap and yank my shirt.

I think it's endearing :)

Speech...

She grunts a lot.

Like a grumpy goat.

Favourite word is still Tiger's name

She recognize quite a few words on Brillkids but she has yet to vocalise them.

No rush.

Gross motor...

She is trying to run, falling down on and off.

She climbs stairs two feet per steps, unassisted or with one hand held.

She has no fear of the water.

She is bouncing to music

Cognition...

She imitates our actions such as feeding.

Obey simple instructions such as 'No' and Give me'

Her favorite books are those with cats in them and a hide-and-seek one from Popular.

The playroom has been rearrange to suit her love for books.

She enjoys 'study' time but her attention span is not as good as Tiger's.

Whenever she picks up a card or letter, she will say /x/

That's her 'reading'

 I looked at Tiger's development at 13 months and he seemed much older.

Old-man boy!

Two kids, same mother (and father) and yet

different as night and day.

Baby School: First Play-Doh Experience

Confession: I would rather buy Play-Doh than DIY because

the cooking and stirring and washing...not my type of game.

Okay, I admit I errr..burned the dough and gave my MIL high blood pressure.

She is always worried I will burn the house or poison her grandchildren from

all the crazy activities we do.

Instead, we have A LOT of store bought dough 

since I requested for those during Tiger's second Birthday.

Personally, I prefer just simple tools like cookie cutter, scissors, etc to 

encourage open ended play.

But oh, what the heck, I bought two playsets.

One is the Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe (ignored).

A little too high tech for my babies BUT the kid in me says it's fun.

If you are going to buy just one set for the rest of your life, I recommend 

the Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Candy Sweet Shoppe Cyclone.

 A Play-Doh expert who bought practically all the Play-Doh playsets recommended it. 

It is crazy addictive to see the little gumballs roll out

It even got hubby's approval. He was saying, "Hey, you can use this to make tang yuan"

*roll eyes*

 Dunno which wife made tang yuan for him. Definitely not me.

 Pffft.....

Back to Baby School....my only student was fascinated to say the least.

She squeezed and tore the dough.

Rolled it in her hands.

Smelled it like a detective.

She didn't try to choke herself and make me look like a bad mother.

 Just played along like good girl should.

 The whole night, she picked up 'gumballs' and re-inserted each one into the set

 

She tried to rotate the handle like kor kor

Fed-up face after multiple tries?

I love how round she has become.

Our kakak is doing an excellent job.

Going to give her Raya bonus ^.^

Oh, my boobies must be credited as well.

 Tiger?

He was busy making chocolate ice cream for Papa

Playing with dough is taken seriously in my house, hence the post.
If you need more convincing, read this by Imagination Tree

 Clearly I do not follow the recommended age suggested because I know my children

BUT

please do not try this at home with your baby if you are uncomfortable

or you cannot resuscitate.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all of our Malay friends and family.

Drive safely and have lots of ketupat!

Hugs!

Baby School: Lesson 2 @ 12 months

Baby School's tagline: Let's play

I prepared these trays.

 Left:
1. Small muffin tray with reusable ice (replaced them with porcupine balls later)
2. Ciggie holder/ashtray with unsharpened pencils
3. Faux grass with some miniature animals

Right:
1. Magnetic three piece animal puzzle
2. Magnetic ABC book (M&D)
3. Poker chips and raisin can

And the winner of the week is...........

 Every time I watch her little hands at work, I am giddy with joy :)

She was also into the 'letter box'

She will open one, take out some letters, examine, replace them and close.

 

 The tray for one-to-one correspondence.

She did well considering her attention span

It was great for sensory too.

Tiger saw a video of his ice cream shop in my phone and....

.........here we go again.

Can I be cheap and pretend this is Lil Dragon's first sensory box?

I was kacau-ing her with the pom-poms when the brother decided to copy cat.

We showed Lil Dragon

soft, big, small, red, blue, pink, many, few, in, out, scoop, etc

She was excellent at pour and throw

When she is doing it free style, it's messier :)

 

Maria Montessori would not be pleased with Tiger's extension of the broad stairs

She is also obsessed with my phone.

She swipes her fingers like an expert while looking for songs and videos.

 

During the weekend, she yelled and screamed to join us outdoors.

She is a very giving child but somehow they always end up slapping each other.

Occasionally, they play nice.

Cute, kan?

The teeny dimples and cheeky smile drives me nuts.

Oooh, the trays that I did not photograph, she ignored.

Tiger played with them instead.

So it was not a total waste of my time

Baby School: First Attempt

To make life easier for me 

Baby School = Dragon 

Preschool (now) & Tot School (then) = Tiger

Okay, guys?

So, Baby School...

Please bear in mind that she has free play all day long.

She is a very physical baby who thinks she is Spiderman. 

But because she has been screaming to join Tiger for a few months now, 

we have decided to let her try 'school' for about 30 minutes every night.

I don't think she will enjoy the detailed work I did for Tiger when he was a Tot.

They have very different personalities.

For Dragon, our approach will be more playful and activity-based

    With that in mind, I prepared these.

Left:

Stacking cups with foam shape (from Enfagrow)

Shapes & Sticks (for beginner's threading)

Little Poeple and circle fraction's board (one-to-one correspondence)

Right

Large buttons & 2 bowls (transferring)

Blue can (ciggarette butt holder from DAiso) and pipe cleaners

The poker chips and can

<<<>>> 

After clearing off Tiger's material to make space for her,

she took one look and walked away...

Gasp

Noooooooo!!!!!

Sigh.

Tiger would never have done that to me.

SOB

She likes the Do-A-Dot markers. 

Every time she comes into the room, she walks straight towards them.

Oh, what the heck?

Let's paint and make a mess

 

See the shell-shocked face?

Priceless...

She held on to the marker for dear life and

refused to play with the Crayola stampers 

(which by the way is the closest to Do-A-Dots as you can get

Or you can search for bingo markers on www.tanbao.com)

 I removed all the gadgets and poured some paint onto the tray.

A funny pic just for you...

 It was a spur of moment activity, so,

 I used this instead of good'ol homemade paint.

After weeding, washing the water feature, trimming the plants,

picking up Tiger's sand play, washing off the bubble mix,

wash myself, eat dinner, teach Tiger.....

then painting with them (all after full day's work),

gimme a break laaa.

Next time, I will try to make pudding/yoghurt/whatever paint.

The Crayola paint makes her hand smell yucky, even with washing.

Should have used finger paint.

Important Note:

Please don't do this if you child is still mouthing.

Lil Dragon stops at "No!" and is no longer mouthing everything in sight.

Tot School: Trial class for Lil Dragon

We were playing school last night when sweet girl yelled non-stop from downstairs

After a while, my heart could not take it.

Maybe it's time to try again?

So, trial class it was.

Gave her a CNY decorative box filled with cheap poker chips.

She played with the lid for a while.

Examined the inside and outside quietly.

More inquisitive than Tiger was at one.

Container and chips (RM 9.80) from Fun & Cheer

Thought of the old raisin can with a slit I made long ago for Tiger 

Used to be wrapped nicely with origami paper

After two kids, no need wrapping anymore...hihi

Within 1 minute, Tiger abandoned his flags and joined us.

See the kaypoh chee brother?

No, mei-mei....like this....see? I teach you.

Unlike playing with toys, 

they were so focused on the task at hand, they forgot to fight.

I love this pic showing both their little chubby hands

She was having some trouble.

So, I used masking tape to delineate the slit so that she could see the opening better.

Tried changing hands. No luck.

Changed chips.

Success!

Played continuously  for 10 minutes

Old can and some chips...

When she was done, she tried to shake out the chips by tipping 

the can over.

Ended the class with some crayon work with Tiger.

She did not want to stop but Tiger announced that it was bedtime

Fingers crossed for more calm Tot school days ahead