Pretend play: Sushi & Tea Session

Pretend play is very important to me.

I think I spent my childhood doing that and reading.

My siblings and I never had the luxury of props, 

so we used whatever nature had to offer.

I remember burning leaves in a Milo tin,

playing teacher, store, library, camping, doctor, etc

I pray they share my love for play and books.

I always tell Tiger, "You can do anything"

Maybe that's why he is so challenging nowadays;

Can do anything right?

Like insisting to push the stroller despite having zero visibility (shorty)

and trampling on people's toes.

When I try to help, he will shout,

"You stop it, I can do it myself!"

Then people start giving me looks....sigh....gentle parenting sucks!

Toss in some sibling rivalry and you have a brat in the making.

Must I put him on house arrest until he learns social limitations?

OR

 use pretend play to teach social and emotional skills.

We practiced unrolling the mat,

setting up the cooking utensils and hand washing.

Some fine motor work

This was really fun. Chopsticks!

His favourite was probably this.

The pitcher is from a Chinese tea set.

Perfect size too

Scooped some real tea leaf and added plain water.

Pouring

We took turns being chef, waiter and customer.

Played with money and simple additions.

He is saying Thank you, Please and Sorry more nowadays.

A dash of Grace and courtesy lesson.

So, pretend play rocks, no?

Can't wait for Lil Dragon to join him on their own little adventures :)

Toys: Tiger's Play Area

When I am stressed, I clean and organize. It's my coping mechanism. I'm weird, I know.

Just because I always post pictures of Tiger in his study room doesn't mean that he has no play. We live in a small house, slightly bigger than an apartment. {I am trying to say that we are not rich, so please don't rob us.}

Therefore, in order to create space, we all sacrifice a little on the interior. Hubby's a little crabby about the arrangement but I promised to leave our bedroom alone. NO TOYS IN DADDY'S ROOM. (Well, except Daddy's PS3)

This is his play area in the main living space:

The floor space is defined by his alphabet mat. He tears them apart daily while practising his phonics.

A keyboard for his jamming a.k.a noise making sessions

Cheap plastic drawers to keep his spare change of clothes, diapers, wet tissues, lotion, etc. This is also his change area in the afternoon.

The bookshelf which is not very child-friendly holds his:
1. DVDs (that he doesn't watch) and CDs
2. His Chinese talking pen with the books and poster. (Out of reach as they are paperbacks) and hand sanitizer.
3. A Fisher-price stacker, 2 wooden cars (IKEA) and a Leapfrog pot
4. A Fisher-price shape sorter, a robotic dog and IKEA peg pounder

Next to the shelf:
His book basket
Alphie (Playskool)
His Fisher-price potty (Grandma thinks he is ready for EC)

* I rotate his toys and book 2 weekly. I tried to do it weekly but I am getting lazy :p

Tot School: K is For Key

‘Un’schooling Tiger Week 13 (1st- 8th Oct 2011) @ 16.5 months

Letter K

Theme: Keys/Things at home

This was our Tot Tray setup at the beginning of the week. I reused most of our Halloween stuff and activities from the party so that they don't go to waste. He was really into puzzles and totally ignored the sensory bag and category box.

This was surprisingly a hit despite the fact that he needed my help.

The tongs were from his Little Bean steam steriliser and not very child-friendly.

He tried really hard to work it and laughed a lot during this activity.

 LOVED the bedroom pegged puzzle.

The 'clock' and 'lamp' pieces were the easiest for him.

The rest he needed some help.

The M&D shapes puzzle of a house.

He is able to do this independently now.

This puzzle has moving pieces with holes on them.

I gave him a pencil to manipulate the pieces.

Perfect for Tiger to practice his tripod grip.

Inserting pencils into an ashtray shaped like a barrel.

It was perfect for fine motor activity.

Got it from Daiso for RM 5

A basket of keys of different sizes.

Using stickers on magnet pages from one of my fav sites: makinglearningfun.

I caved and bought the M&D latch board for him.

It was on a 20% + 10% for members sale in Mothercare.

Price after discount: RM78.50

Have I mentioned that I am a total sucker for Crayola and M&D?

We played with some dough on the P is for Pumpkin worksheet

from 1+1+1=1 pumpkin pack.

He kept saying peh, peh, peh for letter P

Yes, he reads his alphabets in phonic now.

Mostly letters A, E, C, K, P, and I. These few applies to all 26 alphabets ^.^

I never really sat him down to 'read' his phonics, he mostly picked them up from songs and his toys

Mommy's little drama baby.

Smiling at the camera one second, then fake-crying the next   o.O 

Loves painting and anything messy.

He will always ask for 'shirt' when we enter the room.

That would be this blue thingy from IKEA meant for mealtimes.

It works better than an old shirt/any art smock

Here he is asking for help to uncap his Crayola watercolour.

He can uncap his markers but not these.

Little Tiger takes his art very seriously.

I am seriously serious.

I have created a simple art center for him so that he has access to all his indoor art stuff.

You may think that this is dangerous but just take a look at this site and you will understand.

Anyway, I only put out the washable stuff for easy clean-up

Finger paints and other super messies are off limit for now

Here he is cleaning up his desk with a wet tissue.

I always keep a pack nearby. They are excellent for fast clean-up and Tiger gets to help.

This boy love to clean!!

During the weekend, we did some messy art outdoor with some sponges from ELC. He loved it.

It's true. Toddlers are synonymous with messy

Well, this one is...

 That night, Mommy raided Mothercare (again) and we had dinner at WIP in Bangsar Shopping Center

Here he is ordering dessert...

We decided to have an espresso + tiramisu,  and Tiger had his first taste of coffee

Just a teeny bit...

Tiger and Mommy

Needless to say, he made a mess as usual when he refused to be fed.

We had briyani rice, garlic bread and chips scattered around him like it was confetti

Linking up to Tot School at 1+1+1

I was comtemplating about this post as it was so joyful during the week, only to be punctuated by grief. Then I decided that I needed an outlet. Memories, good or bad are meant to be part of life.

At the end of that same week, we had lost the smallest member of our family. If sorrow could be conveyed in words:

If tears could build a stairway,
And memories were a lane,
We would walk right up to heaven
To bring you down again.
No farewell words were spoken,
No time to say good-bye.
You were gone before we knew it,
And only God knows why.
Our hearts still ache in sadness
And secret tears still flow,
What it meant to lose you,
No one will ever know.
When we are sad and lonely,
And everything goes wrong,
We seem to hear you whisper
"Cheer up and carry on."
Each time we look at your pictures,
You seem to smile and say,
"Don't cry, I'm only sleeping,
We'll meet again someday."
~Unknown

Tiger saw his little cousin during his last moments on earth and

as we left the room, he looked around and asked

"Baby eh?"

As I held him tighter, I said,

"Baby's sleeping for now,"

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

Now, not a day goes by without my gratitude for having Little Tiger by my side.

He is the light in our lives right now as he carries on obliviously with his antics that bring a glimmer of joy to my poor sister in law and her husband.

First phrase

Little Tiger said his first two-word phrase last night!!

"Off fan"

I hope I didn't imagine it.

He actually pointed to the fan when he said it.

I was expecting his language skills to be delayed as we speak three different Chinese dialects (Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese), English, some Malay and some broken Spanish (just numbers and greetings for now).

Oh, not forgeting Cambodian as well as seriously broken English from the maid.
For example, Kuk-kuk (cough) and no can (cannot)  =.="

Having said that, the cheeky fellow is still refusing to call mama or ama...arrghhhh....much to Daddy's delight!

Well, unless he needs something, he will wail, "Ma ma ma ma ma"  =.=""""

Messy Play: Goop

It has been raining cats and dogs for the past couple of weeks. The moment it didn't rain, I had to get Tiger out of the house for some messy play.
I have been dying to make goop/gak/slime for some time. Here's a link to some recipes at http://www.kidsactivities.net/

Since I don't bake, we were lacking some basic ingredients. All I had on hand was some multi-purpose flour and cornflour. So, I simply mixed the two with some water and green food colouring until I get the right consistency, runny but not too watery.

Our goop

This is the reason I love messy play outdoors: Tiger practically radiates happiness.

If happiness is measurable, it would be off the charts!!

Ohhh, he actually peed in his suit before I took the shot...LOL

Guess what? My Little OCD boy was disgusted...LOL (see pic)
He touched goop and exclaimed,"Eeeekkkk"

Then, he ran away!!

So much for sensory play, he needed a scoop :p

Getting aquainted ^.^

Finally, after some time, he enjoyed it!

What's sensory play without a little tasting?

Washing up is part of the fun!

This time he didn't throw a tantrum when is was time to stop..phew...

We love getting messy!! (Outdoors, of course)

Tot School: Letters A to J

‘Un’schooling Tiger Week 12 (15th- 31st Oct 2011) @ 16.5 months

Recap week {Letter 'a' to 'j'} with some Halloween fun

In the midst of preparing and celebrating Halloween, we still made time for Tot School since it is important to my little one.

Crayoning

Putting on his finger puppet

I placed his magnetic letters on his mini easel

Here he's making letter 'b' sound  ^.^

Reading his alphabet book

He enjoys making a mess occasionally

 

Instead of stacking his M&D blocks, he made a train

  

Using his dry erase markers with both hands, which I encourage all the time.
Like a cheapo version of  Brain Gym

Cleaning up

We had tons of fun with more Halloween activities like:

This Halloween Bin

Painting in orange for deco

Sensory bag

Halloween Party!!!

The next day, he was still playing with the sensory bin & when he

clipped his hands with the tongs..hehe..

but he didn't cry

Outdoor play

Mommy made some goop

He touched it with his hands and said, "Eeeeek"

Then he ran off and only came back after I gave him the scoop  =.="

We cleaned up at the water table.
So much more fun!!

Sunday afternoon was spent loitering in a bookstore

He took the timetable poster and started reciting in his own language.

Tiger and math...inseparable

Rides are always cheap coz he likes 'em sationary

We went back to grandma's place and he had DURIAN!!!

Gosh, this kid is a real Durian King.

Grandpa will always buy some whenever we come over  ^.^

I HATE durian but I actually liked it during my pregnancy.

Hmmm, maybe it was Tiger?

That's all for the week, a little disorganized but it's ok...we needed a break anyway.

Linking up to Tot School