Messy Play: Moon Sand

Tiger prefers sand to water

Given the choice, he would pick sand play, hands down.

We always use sand from ELC.

Why not sand from the beach?

God knows who has peed or spat in that particular batch...

Construction site sand is even worse...dogs and cats love doing their business there,

have you not notice?

Moon sand is more moldable compared to regular play sand

We took the DIY recipe from Imagination Tree, a wonderful play blog

The recipe called for:

• 4 cups play sand
• 2 cups corn flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp coloured powder paint

White container: Antonius from IKEA

Giant shovel: Melissa and Doug (ELC)

Sand: ELC (rm 29.90 for 10 kg. Buy during sales la)

 We didn't have powder paint on hand.

The sibuk went and took food coloring himself and made the whole thing blue.

A reminder that I have to adjust the height limit again and 

move the forbidden drawer higher.

Oh well, since we are messy already anyways...

ADD GLITTER!

Lots and lots of it.

Glitter from Fun and Cheer: Less than RM 5 for 4 bottles

I shared this picture on our FB page last week.

Seemed like such a waste to play alone.

We invited Lil Jay to join us and they turned blue from the coloring.

In order to get him to shower, I have to exchange sand for paint 

=.="

He also like to ask, "Red mix with yellow become what colour?"

He will help himself to the paint while I do a facial mask or wash my hair

and end up with something like this.

Drip art?

He prefers syringes to water gun :)

Sometimes, it can get really, really messy....

Reminds me of a CSI scene.

Luckily bathroom art = easy clean-up

Oh we got rid of the blue coloring in a jiffy, in case you were wondering.

I gave him a Scotch Brite scour pad and made him wash the bathroom.

He used his shower gel laaa, not toilet cleaner.

As a result,

I get a relatively clean bathroom and he gets clean hands.

Win-win.

^.^

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.

Messy Art: Bathroom Art Material Setup

 

This setup is probably the reason why I never shower alone anymore.

 Top (from left to right):
Brushes*
Crayola Window Markers
ELC Bath Crayons
ELC Knob brushes
Water Gun from Toy R us

Bottom:
Pebeo Brand Finger paint (blue, red, green, yellow)
Crayola BRIGHT Finger paint
Spray cans

*Brushes: The blue and yellow brushes are M&D Jumbo brushes. Good quality.  The handles are rounded and large (like my butt). I bought them ages ago from Mothercare (sale lar, of course) when Tiger was very young so that he doesn't poke himself in the eye. Eye patches only look good on pirates. Same theory applies to the knob brushes.

Recently, I bought some cheap ones from Becon. (Used here as well). Comes in 3 different sizes. The brushes were okay in terms of painting but do be careful when washing up as the metal edges are not tucked into the wood.

 We are so in love with the new Crayola Bright colours.

I named them;

Emerald

Tangerine

Turquoise

and 

Purple (yawn...) He insisted.

Gotta love the colours! 

Remember to look for BRIGHT on the box if you want these.

The Crayola Brand (RM 39)  is more runny compared to the Pebeo ones (RM 49 from craft shop) but they both work fine. I personally like finger paint because you don't have to add water and the consistency is easy for toddlers to apply. Also, they come in tubes, so Tiger can help himself.

We encourage free art expression. I don't believe or intend to send Tiger for Art Classes. Here's someone more experienced and better writing skills; putting my thoughts into perspective. Do read it Janet Lansbury

Messy Art: Bathroom Picasso

Since I am too tired/lazy/busy for art with Tiger these days,

we started doing more in the shower.

Art stuff we keep in the bathroom:

1. Finger paint

2. Paintbrushes

3. Bath crayons

4. Window markers

5. Water gun

6. Spray can

 On this day, I painted the wall red and gave him some clay modelling tools

We scrapped patterns.

 I bought a pack like this from Popular for about RM 5, I think.

 

Before washing, I will use the wall for some learning.

When we first started, he usually requested for randomly painted alphabets.

Then he will find A to Z and shoot them with the water gun.

Then it was some CVC words.

Now, we spell out words like chocolate, calculator, I love you, etc

This is me being creative with the S3

Usually we do this butt naked but for modesty's sake, he was allowed a shirt.

Vocabulary/Spelling/Art + Fun = Happy Mom

He enjoys doing this on a daily basis.

Even when I am just in the toilet for a No 2, he will be bugging me,

"So hot.....shower?"

Art & craft: Painting Week Ideas

Like I mentioned on our Facebook page, Tiger's been bitten by the art bug recently.

Here are some of the activities we did:

Painting with Glow-In-the-Dark paint.

 Because normal paint is sooo boring

Just kidding.

I wanted to help him overcome his fear of the dark, so this was a fun way to do it.

Yes, this ELC paint worked and we painted in the dark for 30 minutes.

Paint: Sponsored by Ashleyprettimommy

Plastic bib: free with Pebeo hand paint set

ELC: First brushes and stampers set

Art easel: Fun & Cheer



Stamp a giraffe

If you are not so creative, like me, just get an art idea book and let the child choose.

Yes, there are tons of idea on the internet but we got a nice thick one from the Big Bad Wolf sale.

It is in the background for Tiger's referral since he wanted to make a giraffe.

 He tried, but it ended up looking like a squashed yellow Furby.

Cue: Meltdown, Mama do, Mama do

Okay, okay

So, I painted the giraffe for him (looks like an elongated Furby)

A small cube sponge for stamping and voila!

A giraffe, I think.... 

Times like this, it is the thought that counts, so we gushed over his painting.

Bathroom art

Nowadays, Tiger awaits my arrival home from work eagerly.

So that he gets to 'play art' in the shower.

Can't share the pictures here cause of nudity issues and mama's still not so hot.

Gimme another 3 months....phew-weet....i can dream right?

We have tried painting with texture brushes, toothbrushes (papa's),

stamping with bath toys/ducks, water gun BUT his fav is this:

WATER SPRAY CAN

Water spray can: Daiso
Paint: Crayola Finger paint- diluted



Outdoor

Sidewalk chalk is fun on walls too.

Especially when you don't have lots of space.

Washes off easily with a spray of water. (very important)

He made: Raining, Thunder, Rainbow, the finally it was Fireworks.

Fickle-minded, this one.

Then, he helped with WEEDING

According to him that was fun too...hoohoo...we will see in another 5 years time.

Shirt: Pasar malam Oppa Gangnam
Chalk: Crayola
Potted plant: in need of fertiliser.

   

Linking up to Tot School @ 1+1+1 = 1

&

Tuesday Tots

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

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.

Painting: Fun With Stencils

I have lost count of the times he asked for painting during my confinement period.

Now that we are back in business,

we gathered his bottles of paint, stencils and brushes for some messy art goodness.

Boy, was he excited!

Yes, you may stack the bottles while Mommy was reaching for the camera..

Mommy's not required to squeeze out the paint anymore.

He loves doing this by himself.

Must be the ever growing sense of independence.

One day, he is going to stop saying, "Mama, help"

Sob, sob...

Please excuse me, feeling a little nostalgic at the moment.

I love the concentration these activities demand.

What a fun way to learn about the animals too.
I was a little surprised that he could name them with just the outline.

He chose to paint with the animals, alphabet, shape stencils.

No prize for guessing his favourite piece of 'art'

Yes, you may paint on the floor too..

I give Tiger a lot of freedom and space when it comes his art materials.

All of his paint, crayons, markers, chalk & papers are within his reach.

He has never tried to scribble on the walls or strewn his material all over.

I respect his needs and in turn, he respects his belongings.

<<< >>>

A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.

Michelangelo

Messy art: Textured Brush Painting

I have decided to post our flops for several reasons:

1. A reminder to repeat these flopped activities in the future.
2. To share the gritty reality of what happens during school.
3. Sometimes, it ain't easy. Infact, it's a lot of work. There are breakdowns, tantrums, tears in between the giggles. I just want to capture the the other side of the coin.
4. Most of the time, things just don't go the way I planned in my head and I must learn to accept and adapt :)

So here's flop Number 1:

Tiger requested for painting last night. Come to think of it, he didn't ask. He just went to his art drawers and took out a bottle of paint. Then, he made an exaggerated effort to uncap the bottle, while giving me his puppy-eyed look.

Mommy: Painting?
Tiger     : Nods head.
Mommy: What colours do you want? You can have three.
Tiger     : Purple
Mommy: Gave him a container to put his bottles of paint, naming the colours as he did it. Lifting a bottle of green paint. What colour is this, baby?
Tiger     : Purple
Mommy: Okay, boss. You win...


After I set up his messy art stuff, I realised that my camera battery pack's empty. Darn!!!

I quickly went out of the study to charge the battery, Tiger tagged along and decided to help himself to more paint. The art supplies drawer is just outside his study. =.="

I could smell the stink of failure looming close by....



These are his textured brushes form ELC (30+10% discount)

You can easily make these. I am just too lazy.

I clipped a cloth onto his foldable table and demonstrated to him.

He tried it ONCE.

All he wanted to do was....

THIS!!!

Play with water  o.O

 After he's done pouring, he would

sign "more",

say "more"

Point to my bathroom to refill 

I'll say, "No"

then "Okay, last time" 

Repeat process 5 times.

This was the end result :)

Not all was wasted

In the end , we didn't produce art but Mommy got a hug ^.^

&

a very satisfied 22 month old who got his way

Totally worth it despite the flop!