First acrylic & rock painting

We were inspired by this book to try some rock painting.
Written by Linda Kranz, it's filled with beautiful illustrations and artwork of rock fishes.

Our poster colour simply won't do, so I got us some acrylic paint.

Have you ever painted with acrylic? No?

Neither have I.

I didn't know the paint dries quickly, so basically you can paint your designs
over the base colour in one sitting.

Tiger was in awe and my cool mom status went up several notches *ahem*.

For our first trial with acrylic, it went well.

 If you compare his purple and black fishes with the ones on the cover...very close, aren't they?

 Art is subjective. Don't judge. Haha.

Since he already smeared paint on the paper,

I suggested an underwater background instead of throwing it away.

We added some details together. I drew a submarine and some plants.

He added his deep sea creatures by Safari Ltd.

These creatures are the coolest.

The Buncho poster paint was used to paint the deep dark ocean floor.

I hate to say this but I couldn't remember their names :p

Thank goodness he made some name cards for the set a few months ago.

Weird names:  Gulper eel, hachet fist, dragon fish, giant imopod...

 

For children five and above, acrylic paint is great. It is going to be a staple in our art pantry.

For kids like Dragon girl who likes to paint on walls and floors, I would wait a few more years.

So, what other medium should we try next? 

We've tried air dry clay but he didn't enjoy it much.

Not even when I presented it so nicely.

These kids have no idea how lucky they are to have a crazy mom :)

Read & Play: The Billy Goats Gruff

Can't see properly?

Here, let me help you with that.

*blows dust off the blog*

Hehe. It's been a while.

This is our second Read & Play,  the first being the Three Little Pigs

Any books with animals are the best for my kids at this age.

We listened to the The Billy Goats Gruff CD a month ago.

It's part of this Audio book series if your are interested.

Then, Tiger got into the whole McD's Happy Meal toy and 

I commented that his Boovs looked like trolls.

He asked, "You mean like in the Billy Goat story?"

Yup, that was my inspiration and hence the invitation to play.

He wanted to build a bridge from his Lego instead of using the wooden bridge from his train set.

So, we designed a simple one together.

We have plenty of goat miniatures, so that was easy. (Yay!)

As we read from the books, he acted out the scenes.

There was a signage that read, 'Warning Goats Beware'.

I asked him if he would like to copy and he agreed.

This is how writing and spelling is done in our house.

Never mind that it's all wonky.

 

 He had a blast knocking Oh off the bridge.

Then he created his own storyline where Oh fought with all the other animals in the Kingdom.

My Little Dragon?

She was just a few steps away, with more important things to learn than Trolls and Goats.

Like physics :)  

For worksheets:

3 dinosaurs have a pack (free)

We are using some from Twinkl

After I wrote this, it got me thinking about 2 things:
1.) What is the meaning of Gruff in the title?
2.) Why is '3' used so repetitively in fairy tales?

I turned to Google and it seems,
The goats' surname or family name is Gruff!
Haha, never thought of it that way before.

And "three"in fairytales are discussed at this forum.

Basically, three represents a pattern and complete form of beginning, middle and end.

Happikiddo

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You guys know how much I love shopping right? 

Nothing makes me happier than being in a store that sells toys or educational material. 

Throw in some baby goods and maternity stuff and I am all ...

Honey, I want another baby!!

Hehe..

So, when Happikiddo asked us to do a review, 

I was like Yes, sure, no problem, when, where...all in one breathe.  

 

I am not kidding when I say they have everything for kids under one roof.

Happikiddo houses over 50 international brands with more than 10,000 products.  

I went bonkers in the HUGE outlet at Citta Mall, Ara Damansara.

What an apt name too....it's such a happy place.

They should rename it Happimama because I was more excited than the kids!

  

The store's interior is very warm and welcoming 

Their helpful and friendly staff were ever ready to answer my queries. 

Come, take a look and you will see why we are so enamored.

 

Upon entering the store, you are greeted by the gorgeous counter laden with gifts.

To the left are racks and racks of feeding essentials.

They carry a large selection of bottles, feeding utensils, lunch bags, etc   

At the far left corner are the bath and body care products.

Besides the common Malaysian brands like Pureen, they also have 

California Baby, Mustela and Putto. No need to pay for shipping anymore...woohoo!

Oh, if you are a fan of Tanamera, guess what? They have those too!

In the clothing aisle, my Mini-shopaholic couldn't make up her mind.

So many choices, so little time!

 

 "I want to buy everything!"

Sigh, I totally get you, baby. 

I look like that too when papa say cannot buy everything.

You are truly my daughter.

 

Happikiddo carries chic maternity and nursing tops and my girl found these two fascinating.

How often do you see breastfeeding mannequins?

 "Come, I help you nen-nen"

While my girl was being all motherly and sweet, my boys were busy....being boys .

Trying out the sporting gear.

Luckily the store is spacious enough to accommodate these two. 

Behind these are the strollers and rockers.

 My favorite part of the store is....TADAAA!!!!!

I died and went to high quality toy heaven....

 Tiger was very impressed with the selection of JANOD and B. toys.

Too bad for him his papa tagged along...he was allowed to select ONE toy.

It's so tough because there were SO MANY to choose from.

 

  

 

He was glad they were selling kinetic sand.

He said, "Everybody should play with sand. It's really fun."

^.^

It's priced at rm259.90 for 5kg

 

In the end, Tiger was like,

"I don't know what to buy. You buy this room for me laaaa"

Yeah...right...

They even prepared a little play area with a play kitchen and refrigerator set up.

That occupied Dragon girl for 30 minutes while we were looking around.

 

Next to the play area, is this gorgeous setup.

I thought they were ceramics because they were so beautiful.

 

 The tableware is from RICE Denmark.

They are homaigod pretty, it's almost a crime to do anything more than stare.

They are made from food-safe melamine, so no worries.

 Some words from RICE website:

• Melamine is not suitable for the microwave
• Melamine can break if exposed to hard shock.
• Please check for cracks and discard the product if any is found.
• Over time, melamine products can age and obtain a matte finish.
• Products with a very matte finish should be discarded.

Dragon girl's fascination with our goody bag beauties.

Montessori promotes the use of ceramics and glass, even in toddlers.

Looking at her, I can see why now. They truly appreciate beautiful things.

Having said that, I think I will just stick to melamine for now.

You're sure I am allowed to play with this?

Will break or not?

  You sure this is not ceramics?

 I am going to play now...like right now...okay?

Since Tiger couldn't make up his mind, I helped him by purchasing this 

B. Piccolo Carousel Bells (rm 99)

It is way cheaper than Lazada and much better than our hand bells.

 

If you are looking for Christmas gifts or you know, just in case 

 anyone wants to send us a Christmas gift, here's my wish list.

All available at a Happikiddo near you :)

B. Toys Meowsic Piano

 Hape Discovery Spaceship

SkipHop PlaySpot (Blue/Gold)

#cooldieme

 

Kiddimoto Superbike

This is so cool: "Hey dude, need a ride?"

I was thinking of getting this for Dragon girl...hehe.

Hape wooden refrigerator 

Some things we already have and love:

Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplay

 

Bazoongi Learning Cottage

Visit a store near you today!
 

1. Happikiddo Citta Mall 
Lot No. F23-F25, 1st Floor, Citta Mall, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. 
Tel.: +603-7859 9330

2. Happikiddo Quill City Mall
Lot No. 2.26 - 2.31, 2nd Floor, Quill City Mall, 1018 Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. 
Tel.: +603-2602 1596

3. Happikiddo Publika
Lot No. 9 Level UG 1, Publika Shopping Gallery, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel.: +603-6206 1830

4. Mum Over The Moon

Level G3-49, Publika Shopping Gallery.
Tel.: +603-6211 2258

Or connect with Happikiddo via:

Web: www.happikiddo.com.my (a spanking new site will be available early 2015)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Happikiddo 
Instagram: @thehappikiddo
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**For online order, you can reach Happikiddo via FB private message before the new site is up.

The good people at Happikiddo is having a BIG Giveaway!!

If you want to win something, just follow the steps and good luck!

No Brainer Light Table

Since I cannot stop organizing, I found that I have an extra side table 

after relocating the printer.

I created a 'spaceship'  in the new found space for my little nerd. 

Promise to blog about that later :) 

I stared at that side table and it just screamed light table!

The pink stain on the leg came from the old CISS printer.

The printer we're using now is Canon E510, the ink-saving model.

For this project, I used things I already had:

• the above side table or you can use any transparent container
• Fairy/LED lights
• Insulation sheets

That's all.

Our side table from IKEA is made from transparent corrugated cardboard on a wooden frame.

I do not know it's IKEA name but if you know, please do tell.

To make the sides opaque, I used some insulation sheets from Daiso.

Matte on one side, reflective on the other.

Just perfect!

The lights:

I just bought another strand of white LED lights from F&C the other day.
so that the reading area is better lit.
While I was there, I also grabbed these little paper lanterns for only rm 1.60 each.
Shopaholic problems, I know...
 

 For the light table, I used the second strand of lights and tadaa!!!

That's Dragon girl stacking away!

I know you are going to ask about the blocks.

I bought them from a shopaholic Facebook group.

These are wooden blocks with different inserts: acrylic, sand, beads and coloured water.

I cannot tell you how much they cost because I conveniently told hubs I forgot :p 

But the important thing is Dragon loves them.

Considered early Christmas present la.

For some weird reason, Dragon girl aka princess do not like to play on the floor.

Therefore, she didn't really like the homemade Antonius LightBox.

You can read about the Antonius box version here.

 Sigh....I love upcycling useless things :)

A Week in October 2014

The last week had been one of our low-production weeks.

Mondays are usually no school days since I usually work till late.

Mid week, we were distracted by Dragon's Halloween costume.

Sneak preview of the back only :)

She loved it even though it was a tad tight around the belly.

 Tiger and I went to the toy store after his music class to buy the amulet and crown for her

and he conveniently bought two more Pixar cars, Bob Cutlass and Darrell Cartrip.

He chose Bob for completion of book 7A.

I hid Darell in my underwear drawer since he is refusing book 7B right now.

Everyday, he'll ask, "Mama, do you remember where u keep Darrell?"

Imagine if someone overheard..Is Darrell her stepson? Or goldfish? 

At the toy store, he was also asking for this 

which is a repackaged version of this.

*raise right eyebrow*

Sneaky toy makers, I know watcha trying to do.

 I said no to buying replicas and when we got home, 

I gave him this and it was the first time he moved on from C-V-C words!

I don't know about you but I've never studied phonics or silent Es in school.

I learnt it from Alphablocks...haha.

When he spelt ICE, the very intelligent toy dog named Scout said

I

sssssss

E is silent in ice

I was like, "WHOAAAA"

But I'm not very smart, so, you be the judge la.

Worthy investment, in my humble opinion. And you can skip the two toys above

We painted some plaster with the girl.

She is naturally comfortable with paint

The boy's all grown up.

The first time we painted plaster he was only 19 months old.

*Sniff*

Since they were in the mood for Halloween, I made some "blood" for pouring.

She poured non-stop for 30 minutes.

 

I made it more difficult for Tiger by asking him to pour an approximate amount

like 100 mls or a quarter.

We use this Spot-the-Difference book from popular fair for our right brain practice.

He will memorize the picture on his Left for 10 seconds.

Then I will fold the book ask him to circle the 10 differences on the page to the Right.

If he answers correctly, he gets to stamp "Good Job" on it :)

I also introduced some simple subtraction to him this week using

some free Halloween worksheets from Royal Baloo.

I think he was saying 'four' in this picture :)

We also did a lesson on odd-vs-even.

This time, I told him odd is one-syllable, hence the last cube has no partner

E-ven has two-syllable, therefore the last cubes are in pairs.

 Then, I pointed out the pattern to him on the 100 board.

One is odd, so all numbers ending with one are odd.

And I repeated with all the odd numbers.

Now, when I ask 97 or 67 or 34 is even or odd?, he could answer me very confidently.

Yay for homeschooling!

Just when I thought I was a good teacher..I have this monkey girl who teaches me humility.

"Cat, dog, cow, duck, horse, horse..."

"Ehhh, that's a goat"

"No, horse!"

"goat"

"horse!!"

"goat"

"HORSE!!!"

Okay...horse..

She was pissed with my behaviour and busied herself by spinning this hippo.

She loves these and many a time, goes to bed with one in her chubby palm. 

Sometimes, school is interrupted simply because they had better things to do.

Like riding Kater Katoo, the stuffed caterpillar

School was also cancelled again on Friday when we rotated his toys.

Despite the fact that I had to duct tape the tracks together, he was so happy :)

Princess is in a stack-everything-in-sight mood. 

She stacks literally everything...blocks, paints, shoes, stones. 

Here she was playing with hubby but I cropped him out for indecent dressing.

The blog is rated 13 PG.

A couple of her cute/funny expressions

She has shown some interest in golf.

I hope she chooses to excel in golf instead of say, carom :p

Low contact sports with proper,nice clothes AND big prizes...what's not to love?

If she becomes the next Michelle Wie, could you guys please note that her mother (me)

had nurtured her gift and she shall not place the mother (me) in an old folks home no matter how senile the woman becomes. Thank you.

 

If she chooses to be an artist...can also la...

My wallet was crying after I bought some charcoal and 

a huge bag of  Crayola art supplies from Art Friend in the Gardens.

Anywhere else selling Crayola with discount?

The kids spent Sunday at Ekids where a few hours of running around cost me rm 100 (wtf?)

But that meant dating and shopping time with hubby :)

He kept whining while we were at the Baby Fair, I ended up with nothing to buy.

The boys in the 3D ride before we went home, exhausted.

I am learning to let go and let them learn at their own pace.

So, that's basically our week in pictures.

 Oh, we also spent a lot of time at the park but I never bring my phone anymore.

Must distance myself from Facebook when I am with the kids :)