Starry Playdate

On 24th April, we got the chance to watch a play, How to Catch a Star, which was based on the beautiful book by Oliver Jeffers. Alhamdulillah for the front row seats at school booking price which was about 50% off regular ticket price. 

Although the set was colourful and the children enjoyed the water squirts very much, I was surprised at the lack of songs. And I also think that the jokes were too slapstick for my liking. I guess they were okay for young children and they had to incorporate some jokes to lengthen the play to about an hour. But do they have to be slapstick, Charlie-Chalpin kind? That was my third theatre play so far and I still think Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales was the best, followed by We are Going on a Bear Hunt which was highly entertaining.

A jump shot of the three actors

Although photo-taking was not allowed, I sneaked a quick picture at the end. I just aimed and clicked with my phone without much look at the screen. Later on when I took a look at the picture, I was surprised that not only was the picture so clear, I had also taken a jump shot of the three actors! What are the odds!

Since the play perfectly fitted into our current Outer Space theme, I thought it would be great to have a starry playdate as a follow-up to the play. So I invited a few of the little girl's friends, ordered some food from Roses & Cream, and thought of a few activities for the little ones that suited the theme.

Book-reading of How to Catch a Star

On the day of our starry playdate, we started with some free play for the kids and food for the mummies and daddies. The sweet treats like apple crumble and brownies were just perfect to start the playdate. Then Shairah came with a tray of star-themed fruits and snacks for the little ones. That was the icing on the cake for our star-themed playdate.

Our sparkly star wand

We started our activities with a book-reading of How to Catch a Star. I had a glittery star wand with me which the little girl and I had made earlier in the week. But halfway through the story, she decided to kidnap the star and I made do with another glittery star which was hanging with the other planets. After the book-reading, the children got to make their own star wands with glittery paint.

Painting in progress

I had cut big stars for the children. Each child was then given paint of two primary colours (red and yellow; blue and yellow; red and blue), together with glitter and pearl paints. They got to choose a coloured ice-cream stick too for them to stick to their painted stars, followed by googly eyes for their stars. 

I love how the colours mix with the glitter and pearl

Choosing to paint with her ice-cream stick

Time to clean up

For the next activity, the children started with pasting stars on a blank piece of paper. Then after they had pasted their stars, they each received a hairy, bouncy ball and some paint. They could bounce the ball into the paint then bounce it on their paper. There was so much bouncy fun!

Pasting their stars

Bouncing and dabbing away with their balls

After they had covered their papers with paint splatters from the hairy ball, they removed the star stickers which they had pasted on earlier. What they got from their sticker-resist art was a series of stars amidst a splatter of colourful paint, forming a constellation. 

Posing with his work

Their colourful constellations

Then it was break time. Rrriiiiiing!!! The children had some of the star-shaped snacks before running away for more free play. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the food tray before the kids attacked it, especially the crispy wanton skin stars which the little girl kept to herself and probably finished it all. There was an assortment of star-shaped delicacies, fruits and fruit kebabs not only for the children, but for the adults to enjoy too.

Seeing stars in a food tray

After break time, we rounded the children again for the last activity for the day. I had wanted to do star stamping but then I had kept and washed all the brushes and palettes so five minutes before the activity, I decided to do something else. I took out some black papers, glitter glue, and foam stars for the next activity.

I gave each child a piece of black paper and asked them to squeeze the tubes of glitter glue onto their papers. Then they spread the glue around on the paper with their hands before pasting some foam stars on the glittery surface.

Pasting her foam stars

The little girl's finished work

Their glittery galaxies

Sparkly star wands, colourful constellations and glittery galaxies

Happy children with their art works

Then it was time for more free play for the children. While I rested and ate more food, I remember the children were standing around the activity cube, singing Happy Birthday again and again to Aunty Shairah. And as usual, the little girl was enamoured by her favourite baby, Aludra. 

Free play

Alhamdulillah for a great start to our Outer Space theme. When I was in primary school, I remember reading up about constellations and astronomers to do projects for the Young Astronomy card. And when I was in university, I read up about black holes and string theory as I was fascinated with the universe. And as a teacher, the closest I got to astronomy was teaching my students about the phases of the moon, which sadly is out of the primary school syllabus now.

Preparing for the theme has reignited my interest in the stars and the universe. After all, we have been told to look up at the stars to reflect on His Signs. If we only stop to ponder at the innumerable number of stars and galaxies that are in the universe, we would realise how small we really are. Yet anyone who calls out to Him, He will definitely answer. Subhanallah. 

And it is He Who has set the stars for you, so that you may guide your course with their help through the darkness of the land and the sea. We have detailed Our Revelations for people who have knowledge. 
[Quran, 6: 97]

Indeed your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and then He rose over the Throne. He covers the night with the day, which is in haste to follow it, and has made the sun and the moon and the stars subservient by His command. His verily is all Creation and Commandment. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds! 
[Quran, 7: 54]