Mega Bugs

Since we are currently in the midst of a bugs theme for our reading corner, I thought a trip to Megabugs Return! at Science Centre Singapore would be very apt. And why not make it more fun by having a playdate there? So a playdate we had, with Sha and Sya.

Entrance to Megabugs exhibition

It was the little girl's first trip to the Science Centre, with more to come I hope. For me, every trip to the Science Centre, either on my own or with students, reminds me of my primary school days. I had a wonderful form teacher from P4-6, who was also the teacher in-charge of the Science Club. She used to drive a few of us in her car, back then when it was possible without all the red tape now, to the Science Centre after school so that we could do our Science projects for the Young Scientist cards. 

I'm very, very sure that my passion for Science started then and it was because of an inspirational teacher who went out of her way. Mrs Angela Khoo, I still remember you after more than 20 years! I'm looking forward to the day when I can show my 11 badges and certificates for having completed 11 of the Young Scientist cards. Back then, there were only 12 cards to complete, unlike now. Yes, I'm very proud of my badges till now!

Returning from memory lane and back to Megabugs. We saw giant bugs (what else?), both static and animatronic, and of course, the little girl wanted to touch them all. There were signs everywhere not to touch the exhibits but what's the fun of just looking and not touching, right? It's not like the mega scorpion would sting or something. Not all children are visual learners.

Big bugs everywhere

When the little girl met her friend, she was busy colouring some bugs at the colouring booth. She joined her for a while, but then got distracted by the mega bee, praying mantis and grasshopper nearby. I overheard a parent telling her child that she could take some colouring pages to colour them at home. Even free colouring pages have to take home, huh? No wonder there were very few left.

Colouring together

Apart from the giant bugs, there were some live ones in glass enclosures - Madagascan hissing cockroaches, crickets and stick insect. I was happy to point out the stick insects to the little girl and how they blend in with their surrounding to escape detection from predators. She had asked me about the insect before when she saw it a book. I can't say I was as excited about the hissing cockroaches but I didn't want to show it. The little girl was the least bit scared. She asked if she could touch them. Yikes!

There were big informative panels on the life cycle of insects too. I didn't know that a 4-stage life cycle (butterflies, mosquitoes) is known as a complete metamorphosis while a 3-stage cycle (grasshopper, cockroach) is known as an incomplete metamorphosis. Hey, I learnt something new after teaching about life cycles for ten years!

A complete metamorphosis

Then there were the preserved insect specimens on display which again reminded me of my primary school days. One of the projects for the Young Entomologist card was to make an insect display with, I can't remember, 10 or 20 insects. So I did just that in a big Rocher box, complete with cotton wool to lay them on and pins to stick them down. I think I was one of the very few who was admiring the specimens. Even the little girl wasn't interested in them.

Bug specimens

I think the highlight of the Megabugs exhibition for the little girl was crawling up and down a carpeted slope like a fly. The two girls were totally hogging the place and were at it for quite some time. There were 2 pairs of "fly shoes" with Velcro-like material at the bottom for them to hold onto as they crawled up and down the slope. The thing is, we didn't even have t tell them what to do with those "shoes". They figured it out themselves and had lots of fun and giggles together. Watching them play just warms by heart.

The cutest flies around

Then we went to the Omni Theatre to watch an IMAX movie, Flight of the Butterflies. Although all three toddlers fell asleep halfway through the 40-minute movie, but the mummies enjoyed it tremendously. It was a moving story of the greatest and furthest migration on Earth, that of the Monarch butterfly. I don't know about Sya, but Sha and I definitely teared during the movie. If you happen to be at the Science Centre, this movie is a must-watch.

After their nap in the theatre, they were rejuvenated and continued playing outdoors. Thankfully Sya had told us about an outdoor trampoline and so we headed there for some jumping around. Then we went to an open space where the girls had a sing-along session with Sha with a bugs theme. Sha is definitely one creative mummy when it comes to on-the-spot lyric making, unlike unmusically-talented me. 

Singing together

After singing, dancing and running around, the little girl didn't want to let go of Sha's hand. She kept calling her, "Aunty! Aunty!" and asked to hold her hand or be carried by her. I love that she interacts not only with the kids, but with the adults that she's familiar with too.

Not wanting to let go

Now that we know of the fantastic outdoor play area at Science Centre, we will definitely be back. It would be nice to see the water wheel in action (the water source had been turned off then) and explore more of the area. In fact, we didn't enter the main Science Centre building at all so a few more visits are definitely in order for us to look at the exhibits, run around outdoors and get soaked at the water play area. Science Centre playdates, anyone?

Blue House

Earlier this week, the little girl had a playdate at the atelier at Blue House with her little friends. The PSI level was starting to soar that day and I was in two minds if we should leave the house and go ahead with the playdate. But then I was curious to see the place as I knew that the atelier was Reggio-inspired, and so we went ahead and I'm glad we did.

The playdate was for a one-hour free play and discovery at the beautiful and spacious atelier at a special price of $15 (usual price is $18). There were many areas for toddlers to safely explore and experiment on their own which is just what I love.

Exploring an overhead projector and seeing the images on the wall

 Making shadows on the wall

Experimenting with a bouncing basket 

Playing in a mirror tent  

 Testing the wooden ramp with different vehicles

Catching bubbles at the end of the session

One hour was too short to explore all areas but that was the last session of the day. There were other areas that she didn't get to explore and a few that she did but I didn't take any pictures. I know she could easily spend 2-3 hours exploring the atelier but at $15 an hour, and that is the promotional rate, it is on the steep side. And the next time we are there, we would have to pay the lifetime registration fee of $50.

I don't like to rush the little girl when she's playing and I know that day when it was time to go home, she wanted very much to continue playing. In fact when I wanted to leave, she rushed to the wooden ramp to touch the vehicles again as I think it's one of her favourite spots. Her other favourite activity there was slotting straws and bottle caps into containers. She does that at home a lot and I would have thought that she would do something else when she was at the atelier.

So as much as I love the place and its many invitations that pique the children's curiosity and encourage free play and exploration, I doubt I would be a regular there. The place is far from home (half an hour by car) and like I mentioned, the hourly rate is rather steep. What I would do though is try to create some of the invitations at home like the ramp for her to play with her construction vehicles. Wish me luck!

Marine Reading Corner

We had recently completed a month with our marine reading corner, our third themed corner so far. All praise be to Allah for giving me the inspiration and guidance thus far for coming up with the ideas for our reading corners and the related activities. All knowledge comes from Allah and I am truly grateful that I get to learn so many new things with my daughter and share my love for animals with her too.

For the marine reading corner, I had included fiction and non-fiction books, Islamic books, peg puzzles, wooden lacing beads, and marine and coral Toobs (What would I do without Toobs?) This time, I decided to prettify the reading corner with a light aquamarine table cloth, which is actually one of my shawls that was given to me by my BFF, Hil.

A look at our initial set-up

Waking up to the marine reading corner

Immediately attracted to the marine peg puzzle

Trying to lace the wooden beads

Animating the pop-up penguin with a Toob

I had wanted so much to go to the S.E.A Aquarium with the little girl as part of the theme but our plan didn't fall through. But Allah is the best of planners and I believe he gave us something just as beneficial without us having to leave the comfort of our home. We hardly watch TV at home but lately, we've been hooked on animal documentaries. It started when I turned on the TV one night and a marine documentary had just started. I spent most part of the hour just awestruck and amazed at the beauty of Allah's creations. I think I was more excited than the little girl!

For that first documentary on BBC Knowledge, we saw penguins jetting out of the water like torpedoes and landing squarely on their feet, walruses basking in the sun like what they do best, and a group of dolphins swimming and jumping in unison. But what blew my mind was an orca, also known as killer whale, jumping high out of the water, catching and gulping a sealion in mid-air, before splashing back into the water. And it was in slow motion! If that was not awesome, I don't know what is. Somewhere near me, I could hear my hubby going "Wow!" and then I was excitedly asking the little girl, "Did you see that? The killer whale just swallowed a sealion!" I'm sure I wouldn't see that at the S.E.A. Aquarium.

Going for the kill

In another documentary, also on BBC Knowledge, we learnt all about whales. It was really timely as we had read about sperm whale, blue whale, narwhal and humpback whale, and to see them in action was nothing short of marvelous. I had also been following Stories of The Prophets by Mufti Ismail Menk on YouTube and that very night, it happened to be the story of Nabi Yunus (as) who was swallowed by a whale. 

So the very next day, I decided to read the story of Nabi Yunus (as) to the little girl. In the book, Quran Stories for Kids, that I got at Wardah Books, it was said that it was likely a sperm whale. That makes sense as sperm whales dive deep into the ocean to look for giant squids. If they can eat a giant squid, swallowing a man would not have been a problem. After reading the story, we reenacted the story at her water table with a plastic boat, some beads that could be thrown off the boat, and a sperm whale Toob. I then let the little girl paint some whales.

She calls it "mummy whale and baby whale"

Sometime during the month, I realised that we have a bottle of wooden marine animals that I had bought at Growing Fun. They could be used for stacking into a tower, as play materials in dry medium like sand or styrofoam beads, or any way you want to. That's the beauty of open-ended manipulatives. Them being wooden is an added bonus.

If you can name them all without looking at the guide, you are a genius

I had printed some marine colouring sheets and we had great fun colouring them. I used the pronoun "we" as I was busy colouring too. I've always found colouring to be therapeutic and that was before I found out how great colouring is for handwriting. Colouring is just awesome. As you can see from the picture, our mini art caddy is made up of repurposed plastic cups and cup holder from McDonald's.

Marine colouring pages

Colouring a penguin

Here's another look at the reading corner before I took it down. The George Luck puzzle was replaced with a fish colour matching peg puzzle as the former was beyond her ability for now. I had also included new books that I had purchased during the month.

We had a glorious month reading books, doing activities and watching shows related to the theme. Watching Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales was one of them. We have changed to a new theme for the month so watch this space to read up about it!

Fruity Salad Party

This is long overdue as I have been procrastinating. Well two weeks ago, we were invited by Ren to a fruit salad party as a finale event to their fruity fortnight. I didn't know what to expect as the only parties I know are birthday parties but knowing what a creative mummy Ren is, I was undoubtedly excited. As for the little girl, she was none the wiser. All she knew was that she was going to meet her little friend.

When we reached Ren's place, the little girl took a look in and she immediately wanted to start playing, with shoes still on. But we had to go to a fruit stall to buy some fruits for the party, which was part of the plan. And so we took a walk to a fruit stall which was about ten minutes away. At the stall, the girls received some fruit cards and were tasked to look for the fruits. In the end, we bought quite a number of fruits including watermelon, grapes and strawberries.

Choosing some grapes

Enjoying a banana before leaving the fruit stall

On the way back, the girls made a stop at the playground for some sliding and running around, and cooing at a chubby baby for the mummies, before heading back. Ren went on to cut the fruits and I was supposed to read to the girls. Tried as I might, with my best reading voice I could muster, and I've had a lot of practice at home with the little girl, but they were not interested in the story. They were busy playing at the light panel with some coloured, translucent materials. So I gave up and watched them play. Soon after they went on to the chalk and drew on the concrete flooring of her house.

When the fruits were cut and ready for them, they sat at a low table with fruity bibs on and their own butter knives to slice and chop the fruits into pieces. Watching them was so hilarious as it was so obvious that they are polar opposites when it comes to neatness. My girl's side was clean and neat with barely a drop of fruit juice on the table while the opposite side had some juice and pieces of fruit on it. And my little girl kept going, "Uh oh!" while pointing to the mess. 

Ren reminded me of when they were much younger and she had prepared a bowl of yoghurt for them to play with. After a short while, one girl was covered in yoghurt and eating yoghurt while the other was spotless and playing with some ice and tinsel. No points for guessing who is who! Looks like they haven't changed much.

Spot the neat freak

After all that eating, they moved on the light panel again for some experimentation with orange (I think!). Ren had covered the light panel with a plastic sheet and her little girl gamely played with the fruits and containers. Then they had a fruity water play with some plastic fruits in a baby tub. Who needs a water table when you can repurpose an old infant tub that's just collecting dust, right? They were at it for quite a while. And when they were done, they helped to wipe the water on the floor. I kid you not! When our little girls frequently see us wiping tables and floors, they are bound to want to help along too.

Fruity water play

We totally overstayed that day as the little girl didn't want to go home. After her bath, she wanted to continue playing in the playroom and it was especially hard to tear her away from the kiddy car. And every once in a while, she had to check on the cats to see how and what they were doing. Not to mention, she was really enjoying the curry puffs and cakes too. So with the three Cs that she loves under one roof - cake, car, cats - I couldn't blame her for not wanting to go home. We had so much fun! Please invite us again!

Pesta Buku

Pesta Buku Islam 2013 started on 31 May and ends tomorrow, 9 June. I managed to go to the book fair only yesterday after I had seen what my friend Sha had bought at the fair. I've been wanting to get some puzzles for the little girl for solat, wudhu' and hijaiyah letters and I heard I could them at a discount at the fair. Alhamdulillah, I managed to get two of them from Sim & Di at $10 each. Their usual price is $15 each.

Huruf hijaiyah puzzle

Solat puzzle

Isn't the hijaiyah letters puzzle just lovely? The ones I've seen before were simple ones with the letters just arranged horizontally without any designs. And the little girl just loves puzzles so what better way to teach her solat and hijaiyah letters then with puzzles. But I'm still trying to get the one for wudhu' and have placed an order with Sim & Di. I also saw something else which caught my eye - hijaiyah letters and Arabic numerals on magnetic foam. Now I have more playful learning materials for the little girl!

Hijaiyah letters and Arabic numerals on magnetic foam

Then at Buat Si Manja, I found some Islamic books in Malay and English for the little girl. The Malay books were at 30% off and the English ones were at 10% off. Fantastic! I especially love the Muqaddam, which contains surahs of juz amma, with pictures. Each ayah is accompanied with translation in Malay, English and Jawi, and the book was only $7 after 30% off. 

Books from Buat Si Manja

I've been reading short surahs to the little girl but so far the ones I printed and made into a file, and the book that I have, don't contain pictures at all. Not that you need pictures to read surahs of the Quran, but when you are reading with a 22-mth-old girl, pictures really help to capture her attention and interest. 

Just today, when I was reading the book after Maghrib, she sat on my lap and asked about this and that while pointing to the pictures and I tried to explain a little of the surah before reading it. Of course it means that I myself have to brush up on my knowledge of the surahs and Alhamdulillah listening to Brother Nouman Ali Khan's tafseer of juz amma has really helped a lot. May Allah guide me during my journey of nurturing my daughter.

Watching Tiddler

Remember I said that we did so many things last week? Well, I still have not finished writing about them all. So last Wednesday, we got to watch Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales by Scamp Theatre at the Singapore Repertory Theatre! I was delighted when I found out about the performance about a month before the shows started in Singapore. 

I would have wanted to get the $58 tickets because I knew the little girl would absolutely love it since Tiddler is one of her favourite books. We read it almost every day, sometimes 2-3 times a day. And the stories that were acted out - The Smartest Giant, A Squash and A Squeeze and Monkey Puzzle - are among her favourites too. Alas, tickets were on sale since January and most good seats for the $58 tickets had been snapped up so we settled for the next category.

The performance was totally more than I had expected. In fact, I didn't know what to expect. When we reached our seats, I saw a stage with some props like wooden ladders, wooden beams, wooden crates, rattan baskets and some pieces of cloth. I thought that was for the opening story and there would be other props but boy was I wrong. Everything they needed was already there on the stage, in baskets and crates, with ladders and beams that were repurposed for different scenes and simple items like pillows, bags and umbrellas used in absolutely creative ways.

And the three actors, with simple costume changes and clever use of voice with puppets and songs, coupled with some nifty dancing and coordination, really entertained us. They were superb! There were so many clever scenes that totally amused me, like the scene at the shop when George the Giant was shopping for some new clothes. Hubby said he liked their version of A Squash and A Squeeze the most. 

For me? My absolute favourite was for, what else, Tiddler! I was mersmerised when they acted out the part where Tiddler was thrown out of the fishing boat and it was lost in the sea where "strange lights glimmered". The strange lights were supposed to come from deep ocean fish like the angler fish. The lights were off for a while and with simple cardboard fish on sticks and flash lights, they did a magical scene. It totally inspired me to do the same at home for the little girl.

The actors

I wasn't supposed to take a picture, but I did. I couldn't resist! I had wanted so much to take pictures when they were performing Tiddler especially but a staff was looking out from behind for cameras. So when the show was about to end and they were taking their bows, I had to snap a picture. Leaving without taking a picture would have been unthinkable! Haha! I do hope they'll be back soon to do other stories by Julia Donaldson. I am in love with her stories.

 Reenacting Tiddler

This was something we had done in the past. Since the little girl loves Tiddler so much, I decided to reenact the story at her water table with a plastic boat, her marine Toob toys and a netted drawstring pouch to represent the fishing boat, fishing net and all the animals and the diver in the story. She enjoyed catching and releasing the animals from the net the most. I'm sure she will love it when I take her to the S.E.A. Aquarium!

Polar Bear

I was disappointed when I found out that there were no more polar bears at the Singapore Zoo but I don't have to be upset anymore! The new Frozen Tundra opened just a few days ago at the zoo with the highlight being the polar bear, Inuka. The Frozen Tundra itself is not very big and there were only two other types of animals sharing the space with the lone polar bear - wolverines (not the X-Men type) and raccoon dogs. 

When we first met the polar bear, it was sprawled on its belly at its outdoor enclosure. I wondered if it was because of the heat as the enclosure wasn't air-conditioned and only part of the top was covered with a black net to block out the sun's rays. But what about the intense heat here in sunny Singapore? Aren't polar bears supposed to live in arctic conditions with sub-zero temperatures?

I looked at the sprawled polar bear and felt sad for it. It was designed to withstand cold with its black skin, hollow fur and thick layer of fat, yet here it is in sunny Singapore. I pray that it's not suffering just so that we could have a new exhibit at the zoo.

When feeding time came, we saw the zookeeper drop some food into the enclosure and the polar bear standing on its hind legs to get its food. That was quite a spectacle since the polar bear looked really massive when it was on its hind legs. We made our way to the amphitheatre, thinking that a show would start soon, with the polar bear diving and swimming away in its spacious pool.

But the polar bear sat at the corner and wasn't the least bit enticed by the food that was dropped into the water. The zookeeper kept talking about polar bears to keep the audience entertained but there was no show at all. The polar bear wasn't in the mood for a swim and there was nothing they could do about it. And so the show ended and we were aghast. That was it?? 

The little girl and her two little friends were not perturbed at all. And that's because there were not expecting anything at all, unlike us adults who are always full of expectations. They were having their own fun amongst themselves and enjoying their snacks. We thought, what the heck, might as well sit down for a while for a rest. 

Just as the crowd had dispersed, what do you know, the polar bear dived into the water to get its food! We rushed down to the huge glass panel to see it up close and what a show we got. For at least ten minutes, the polar bear swam round and round the pool, swimming right next to the glass much to our delight, then later on swimming right up to the glass before stretching up to its full height to come up for air. Subhanallah, no words could describe its grace as it was moving in water, and this is the animal that is known as the most fearsome predator on ice. How grateful I was to have met it up close. I was very sure I was more excited than the little girl.

The graceful giant

Even later on, I was still enjoying the experience when I thought about it at home and I totally know why. I was thinking of Dec 2007 when I was at Tierpark Hellabrunn, the zoo in Munich. Not only did it snow suddenly, and I took off my gloves to catch snowflakes in my hands for the very first time, but I was also walking around alone at the zoo while hubby was at work. 

Most animals, like the big cats, were in their winter indoor enclosures, but not the polar bears. They were in their usual outdoor enclosure. I remember that one was pregnant and the other, or was it the same pregnant one, was going up and down its icy slide. Again and again it slid down, as if totally relishing the falling snow. I stood there, alone and freezing, not feeling lonely at all despite of my apparent lack of company at an empty zoo, watching and taking a video of them. That moment, and that day at Tierpark Hellabrunn, will forever be in my heart and in my mind. 

Puzzle Crazy

We did so many things this week that I don't know where to start. But I shall first write about the little girl's craze over puzzles. Many months ago, before she could even walk, I had bought those jumbo knob puzzles from Melissa & Doug. She removed the pieces, tried to put them back, couldn't get them in, then lost interest. But the puzzles were always there, within reach, just in case she wanted to try them again, but I'm usually the one putting the pieces back in after she'd removed them.

Then about 2 months back I think, when she was 19 months old, she went to the knob puzzles as usual and removed the pieces. It was a three-piece puzzle with an elephant, a lion and a giraffe. I told her that the animals wanted to go home and asked her to send the animals home. I don't know if it coincided with the fact that we had started going to the zoo at about the same time and had seen those animals. In any case, she picked them up by the knobs, and successfully put them back in! 

Since then, there is no turning back. She plays with her puzzles every single day, especially when I'm dressing her up after her morning and evening bath. She has outgrown those knob puzzles and moved on to chunky puzzles from Melissa & Doug. She does each of them twice or thrice before moving on to the next one. Although we have six of these, they seem to fly by really quickly. I have a dinosaur one which I'm waiting to open when the need arises.

Playing with her chunky puzzles one afternoon 

I have a magnetic bugs puzzle from Melissa & Doug too which is more challenging for her. She will remove the pieces with a magnet but putting them back in is not as easy as they don't come with a matching picture below them on the board so she very much has to do it based on memory or with my help. 

Recently I had bought some peg puzzles for her too for her to practise her pincer grip. She has a marine one from Melissa & Doug and two big ones - alphabet and numbers - from Mothercare. The ones from Mothercare are such a steal as they are at $15 each before discount. The big alphabet and number puzzles from Melissa & Doug are not only double the mass, but double the price too. Yup, comparing prices is very important for a part-time working mother like me. No more spending without batting an eyelid like in the past.

Alphabet puzzle with pictures below the pieces 

Number and shape puzzle

She can do the number puzzle more independently now but still needs help with the alphabet puzzle. I try to give as little help as possible, something like "W is for whale" and then she'll look for the whale and slot in the piece. With all the other puzzles, except for the alphabet one, I try to make it more challenging for her by putting the puzzle pieces upside down, on its side, or facing down. She's not ready for the more complicated George Luck puzzles so I'm really wondering what else I can do for her now since she loves puzzles so much. I've tried giving her two-piece animal matching puzzles to do and she seemed to like those too. I guess it's time to move on to new types of puzzles to continue stretching her ability and sustaining her interest.