Homeschool Room For Kindergartener and Preschooler

Some quick updates for March 2015.

It is an evolving process since I enjoy organizing so much.

I will post updates on the playroom and outdoor classroom later.

 Because lovely Hubs stole my "grass" carpet for the living room, I've had no choice

but to use this ELC alphabet tiles because the others were too small.

Initially they looked haphazardly cheerful, like this.

Last night, I rearranged them.

So. Much. Better.

Why didn't I do this earlier??!?

I've replaced the doors on the lowest levels of the bookshelves to reduce clutter.

And I've also removed the dangerous metal door handles and replaced them with some 

DIY pipe cleaners and XL pony beads.

So much nicer and child-friendly.

Those are currently the kids' treasure cupboards. One each. No fighting.

This week's Toy-centered Learning:

Cars

Playset from Enfagrow milk powder.

There was a broken toy car for Tiger to take apart but it's missing now :p

Some big machines books and his fav Usborne Look Inside Cars.

 

Space

Inspired by this Toobs set.

In the study room itself, the biggest challenge was delineating the 'zones' for my kids 

to reduce friction. The two aren't exactly best friends right now.

And the room is really tiny.

 Dragon Girl's Baby School Area is mostly to the left of the room.
Their artwork are proudly displayed no matter how, erm, creative they look.
The trays are created with a late 2 year old in mind.
Nothing advanced for her like what I did with Tiger. 

Left (top to bottom)

1. Peep Inside Zoo with miniature animals for matching

2. Two-to-three pieces animal puzzle

3. Froebel J1 for sorting.

Middle

1. Magnetic puzzle

2. Sponges for threading

3. M&D stacking blocks

Right

1. Clock

2. M&D letter stamping with ink pad

3. Our construction sensory bin

 

The creative area. 

This is mostly used by Dragon girl only.

The cart can be rolled off to gain access to the materials behind it.

Occasionally, Tiger tries to be artistic too :)

Tiger's kindergarten skills area

Math area

English and Chinese reading area

Music and science area

A 'secret' writing area that's placed higher up to hide our sand tray from Dragon :)

Last but not least, their small little games area just outside the study.

The marble run is surprisingly very, very popular and well used.

I've placed more board games on the bookshelves since they seem to enjoy those now.

Alright, that's all for now, folks. I am grateful to have the resources to teach my children in a loving, protected environment. I cannot imagine doing anything else in my evenings. Have a wonderful weekend!

PS: Just leave a comment if you are curious about the materials/toys used. If I do not reply here, please pm me on Facebook.

Baby School: Lesson A

Baby school

Letter A

Easter Sensory Bin

I created the Magformers A, not Tiger.

He just watched as I tried for 13 minutes....and then,

Tadaaaa!

 Wow!

*flips hair*

Someone kept using a chair to reach for the wooden puzzles.

That someone also scribbled on the boxes and had the audacity to announce

"See *insert name* draw" 

I had to move them down before the monkey breaks her neck.

Yes, only Dragon girl would do this to me.

 

                                      Cry..cannot clean ady.

 Tiger took over my role as teacher.

He kept saying "Mei-mei, look..see, I say look..."

Then, "mama you see this mei-mei, never listen..."

Ignoring the brother, rolling/unrolling mat like there is no tomorrow.

We tried demonstrating one-to-one correspondence. But...

she went off to play with the box of pom-poms with her accomplice.

I find her more cooperative when it is just the 2 of us.

Threading

Dot stamping.

I held her hands while doing this.

Then she stamped all over the paper :)

 Tiger wanted to do some Letter A work, so we did paper tearing and glue

Tiger helped in preparing the Easter bin.

We put treasure into the plastic eggs.

Stickers and alphabet slime!

 

 Her face when thunder roared.

She sat in my lap and hugged me real tight until the storm was over.

I just rocked her saying, "It's okay baby. Mama's here"

Found this picture of Dragon girl in the archive after her
Other Mother aka kakak/help complained that I didn't make a
newborn to 1 year picture frame for her.

I have to admit my mother was right. She was a darn ugly baby
but my then hormonal brain was deluded into thinking she was soooo beautiful.

 

Winter Wonderland Sensory Bin

Easiest bin ever..

I know I say that ALL the time, but this time, really one :p

Contents:
Base: Cotton balls, unifix cubes, and other white knick knacks to make 'snow'. There were fake snow in the shop that I had considered buying but the thought of cleaning them out of Dragon girl's mouth...yuck!
Mini Christmas Trees that we bling-blinged
Castle: Bought this eons ago and I thought, 'wasted investment' but hihi, nope...he loves it.

While writing the above, I've come to realize 2 things
1. I have been very lazy. Only 4 posts for December :p
2. Investment is defined according to personal preference.
For example, to hubs, it meant accumulation of wealth in properties and such with calculated risk. *insert droopy eyes and a big yawn*
To my sister and I: Investment in toys cash out when they suddenly discover an interest in a preciously scorned toy *pats self*. That's because our wealth is defined by our children's happiness.

Happiness vs Money. I don't look so shallow now, huh?
Fine...this shopping thing still needs work but hey, everyone has issues.

" If I see a psychotherapist, he or she will probably point out that it was because my mom used to hide all these new and shiny toys in the cupboard and we had to curi-curi take them out for play. It was in a cupboard above the bed. Ya, I know, some stupid 80's design la. We had to use pillows just to reach the toys, okay? A lot of work and determination went into each attempt but we never gave up.

My favs were the Atari, which we plugged into the TV ourselves (no one was electrocuted) and the Barbie ice cream shop. At this point I called Winnie to see if she remembers anything else we 'stole'? She said, "I stole my white bear (she still carries that thing around, prob infested by now...eeeee. Traitor doesn't read my blog, so it's okay to kutuk her here). She also recalled that there was a dolphin soap that we loved to smell (sound like weirdos but it was really, really nice) and the KFC coin box that plays some music every time you insert a coin.

 ATARI

At about 5 pm, we would repack the toys and hide them back in the cupboard. Without fail, we would then be reading our 'textbooks' when she arrives home from work. I mean, come on, textbooks? She fell for it, so...

It also didn't help when I visited a friend's home during the impressionable age of 7 years old. Her name was Alexandra and her American dad worked for the TNB or something. So, they lived in a huge colonial house and she had a freaking playroom. I remember telling myself that I wasn't going home. She had a toy sewing machine for Christ's sake! When I eventually went home, I declared that my children will have a playroom. So, now you know."

 

The beloved Ice Cream Shop

Image from Google. Now we all want this for Christmas

 So, if you are thinking, stupid, materialistic woman is going to create

little toy hoggers..sorry to disappoint you but

nah-ah, my kids, esp Tiger do not share my obsession.

They both walk in and out toy stores without meltdowns.

I know I am going to jinx myself for saying this but I'll take my chances.
In fact, I don't think I would mind..hihi.

Here's Tiger with his NEW toy

It starts with the beginner stage

  

He told me, "So easy one"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Wait and see first"

 

Muahahaha, challenging leh?

 

I took so many pics of his little hands at work

Not so easy, buddy.

See how the rods are self correcting?

Love the independent work.

Whenever I quote Tiger, you will notice that he speaks in 

a Manglish manner.

Where is my one?

What is this ah?

That is how I speak to him. 

I do it on purpose.

We are not some royal or aristrocrat.

We are simple people.

We are Malaysians.

Speaking in our rojak manner, with three languages in one sentence

makes us unique. I think it is endearing.

Selamat Hari Natal!
 Merry Christmas!
&
圣诞节快乐!

Spooky Halloween Bin

To create this bin, I used:
Instant oatmeal (from apple sensory bin)
Cinnamon sticks (also from apple bin)
Wax pumpkins
Fake spider web
A lil girl and boy for representation of the kids.

I thought it was a pretty neat bin but nope, Tiger created this instead.

I call it the Rubbish Bin

Some shots of them exploring the bin while I just observe.

Again, free play and fine motor is prevalent in a session like this.

Examining the bottom bowl filled with oatmeal

Sweet girl is enamored with the spoon and bucket.

I adore little girls in dresses. 

In Tiger's words, "Mei mei look like princess!"

Disturbing each other is all in a day's work

Exchanging hairbands

Dragon girl loves sensory bins.

Right now, while I am typing this, I have already disposed of this 

oatmeal and the googly eye water beads bin.

We currently have another 3 bins.

I tend to over do Halloween, I know.

Pity the kids :p

1. Super messy Halloween treasures sand bin

2. Orange spider mini bin

3. Shredded paper bin

{pictures later!}

Baby School: Apple Sensory Bin

I feel like such a lucky girl since practically half of the bloggy world is doing Apples Week for fall.

Finally created a bin using oatmeal, which was one I've been meaning to create ever since I read this post by Green and Pink mama 2 years ago.

Yeah, it took 2 years *shame*

 I  The kids love it!

So simple.

So toddler friendly.

Just messy enough without being dirty.

Lovely scent, especially the cinnamon sticks.

 Ingredients:
1. Base: Instant Oatmeal (stolen from Grandma)
2. Cinnamon. I bought a small packet from 99 Market which cost me RM 1 for 10 sticks :) It is labelled Kayu Manis
3. Apples from our play-food.
4. Small plastic 'glasses' from Ikea

This is officially Lil Dragon's first sensory bin.

I love watching the her little hands at work.

She always has a cautious expression whenever she has to share with Tiger.

In case the brother is not in a sharing mood.

See why oatmeal is a good idea? Extra fiber for her.

 

While Tiger was creating some fantastic meal....

 

....she did this,

 and this...

some stomping..

Some sliding...

Tiger joined her in some 'confetti-style' celebration with oatmeal.

Okay la, I joined also.

We cleaned up together :)

The sensation of digging through the oatmeal is a little like playing with sand.

But much gentler.

Have you ever let sand trickle onto the back of your hands?

It is very soothing.

I poured some onto Lil Dragon's hands and feet and she was entralled.

Tiger repeatedly requested to bury my hands.

It was very relaxing before the whole confetti thing.

They scooped, poured, dug, for some practical & pre-writing skills.

New words were: cinnamon, oatmeal, scent, & confetti :)

This was also the first time Tiger completed the clean up for me

using the little broom and dustpan.

Lots of learning activities packed into a small box.

I think we will be playing with this every night.