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April 18 Self-Esteem fof childrenI read this as a background notes for parents at the end of a children's book entitled "Whn I'm Feeling Sad". This note was written by a Mebourne child psychologist. Thought it was very helpful notes.
The greatest gift you can give your child is healthy self-esteem. Children who feel valuable, and who trust themselves have positive self-esteem. You can help your child feel valuable by spending quality time with him or her, playing games, reading books, or just listening. You can also help children feel valuable by helping them discover and become the person they want to be. Success follows people who genuinely like who they are.
However, happiness is more than just being successful. Helping you child gain they self-trust needed to deal with failure, loss, shame, difficulty and defeat is as important-if not more so- than succeeding or being best. When children trust themselves to handle painful feelings- fear, anger and sadness- they gain an inner security that allows them to embrace the world in which they live.
Talking about feelings teachers children that it is normal to feel sad, or angry, or scared at times. With greater tolerance of painful feelings, children become free to enjoy their world, to feel secure in their abilities, and to be happy. April 09 The Hundred languages of childrenThis is a lovely poem about children and how we as adults can sometimes crush their creativity...
No Way: The Hundred is there
The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.
The child has
ahundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and Christmas.
They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of they hundred
they steal ninety-nine.
They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and dantasy
sceince and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong toegther.
And thus they tell the child
the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundrend is there.
- Loris Malaguzzi
*Translated by Lella Gandini
April 03 Potty TrainingAlright...unless you are a parent yourself or you have been involved in a child's potty training, you render this entry totally useless...for those who are going through the ordeal...here's something that may help you(though i have known parents who have tried everything, and nothing seems to work!!). The trick is DO NOT GIVE UP!!! Think of all the money you will save when your child is potty trained and you won't have to buy a diaper ever!!! This link has some useful tips!
Hope this will help!
April 01 Tips with working with children: Cornflour pasteThis is really simple and great tip that i found in a craft book for children. This cornflour paste is really useful and its cheap and easy to make.
Mix about 2 tablespoons of cornflour with enough cold water to form a paste in a saucepan. Add in 1 cup of water and cook on the stove until it reaches custard consistency. Store in the refrigerator. Add to ordinary paint for fingerpainting; add in food colouring and use as an economical extender for apint; use as a paper glue or use in papier mache.
March 28 Children's Book: Love is a Handful of HoneyThis is a lovely story about a little bear and his parents sharing and having fun through his daily activities. Its a simple book which your child can relate to as they are able to see themselves doing lots of these activities like bathing, going for a picnic etc.
The pictures in the book are lovely and the book is made up of short sentences which rhymes. This makes the book really enjoyable to read. As an extension to the story, you may also like to point out to your children the different things that they see in the pictures, like the butterflies, and the food that is in the picnic basket.
As an adult, i'm personally drawn to the book as well as it reminds me that love and joy can be found in the simple daily things, like tapping your toes, playing in a puddle of water or watching the rainbow after it rains. Sometimes, we may be too caught up in trying to buy our happiness through material wealth that we forget that true happiness and joy cannot be bought yet it is all around us, if only we would stop to look around. March 25 Link to inspirational slideshowA friend of mine send this to me and I really liked it so i thought I would put the link here. Hope you all will enjoy it!
March 21 Kids' recipe: Rice Cake SnackI forgot all about this snack that i used to make when i was abroad until i flipped through a cookbook. I use to love eating this and i think the kids will love it too. Its really easy to make as well. You can prepare this within 5 minutes.
Ingredients:
2 rice cakes (you can buy them from most supermarkets. They can be found in the cereal section)
6 teaspoons on peanut butter
1 banana
1 teaspoon of honey
Spread peanut butter onto rice cakes.
Slice banana and spread it on top of the peanut butter
Drizzle honey over banana
If your child is allergic to peanut butter, you may wish to substitute it with nutella and other chocolate spread.
Enjoy!
March 16 Children's Book: We are best FriendsI really like this book about Friends. Its a story about two little boys who were best friends. However, one of them had to relocate to another place. The other little boy was upset because he thought life would be very different without his best friend. However, in the end he made new friends yet still keeping in contact with his old one.
This is a good book to read to your children especially if they are going through some changes like moving house, changing school or even re-locating to another country. Moving on is never easy for anyone, even for adults, much so for children. Its also a great reminder to us that as we move on in our different stages of life, we will meet new people, but there are still some old friends who will be with us no matter what stage of our lives we are at.
March 12 Children's book-Face PaintingI found this really great book cum craft set for face painting at Borders. It cost $7.95 and it comes with a book that teaches you how to do face painting and hand painting as well as 5 face painting pencils plus some accessories.
Its really value for money as the face painting pencils alone would have cost around $15!(They are Lyra brand pencils and are really easy to use! They are easily washed off as well).
Do look out for good buys like this from Borders bargain counter! I usually am able to find quite a few good bargins there. Sometimes these can be kept to be given as a gift. You never know when you will be invited to a birthday party next!
March 09 Recipe for Kids: Bread PizzaThis is really simple to make. A quick snack or even a meal for your child. This is what you need
Ingridents:
A slice of bread
1/2 slice of ham (chopped)
1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste
1-2 button mushroom (chopped)
A few cubes of canned pineapple
1 tablespoon of grated cheddar cheese (or a slice of cheese)
Method:
Pre-heat your over toaster on moderate heat. Put bread on a tray.
Spread the tomato paste over then bread
Add ham, mushroom, pineapple on the bread
Top with grated cheese
Put in the toaster till the cheese has melted.
Remove from the toaster and serve hot.
March 07 Idea for storing your children's art and craftFor some strange reason, I am not able to change the font size of this so here i am stuck with this font and this size...bear with it. Those who you who send your children to sunday school, enrichment classes etc will realise by the end of a school term you will have loads and loads of art and craft and you have no where to keep them (your fridge door is full of little drawings made by your child which can only be recognizable by the love in a parent's eye) and you do not have the heart to throw them out.
One good way to do so is to get a file and file in as many of those flat craft as you can (i.e, drawings, painting and so all). For other craft which are 3-D or disintergrated through the mishandling of it, take a digital photo of it and keep those photos in the file as well.
If you have the time, you may also like to make a scrapbook of your children's craft. You can stick in the photos of the craft as well as tear out a bit of the craft to stick it in the book. If possible, you can also take photo of your child doing the craft. You can label the craft - stating what it was, how old was your child when he/ she did the craft as well as some interesting thing that happened while your child was doing the craft. FOr example, " This little caterpillar was made by Sam when he was 2 years old. While painting the caterpillar, he said the word "caterpillar". It was the first time he said it!.
This will be a great gift for your child in the future and you can keep adding pictures, essays that he/ she has written as he/ she grows older! March 05 Pencils for childrenThese pencils are really great for young children who are learning to write. They are from the brand Lyra, ferby graphit pencil. The triangular-fat shape of the pencil makes it easier for children to grip it. The led of the pencil is also soft enough to write smoothly. I usually buy the shorter ones which makes it easier for the children to hold.
Even though it may be slightly more expensive than normal pencils (it retails between $1.20-$1.75), i think its a good investment as it makes writing easier for them. Its also smooth enough to write that as an adult, i want to use it too!
These pencils can be found at Popular bookshop as well as some shops that sell children art and craft supplies. March 04 Recipe for kids: mash potatoesIf your children like KFC mash, here is a simple recipe for it which is healthier as no gravy (ie no chicken fat) is added.
Ingredients
1 large Russet Potato
Milk
Butter to taste
Method
1.Wash and peel the potato. Place the potato into a pot of water covering the potato and boil till soft (depending on the size about 10- 15 minutes. A fork should be inserted into the potato easily) Salt may be added to the water if desired.
2.Drain the potato immediately. Retain the water if you would like to mash with the water instead of with milk and butter (esp so if your child is allegic to dairy products)
3. Let the potato sit for a minute
4. Mash the potato using a fork or a masher.
5. Add milk to mash till you obtain a nice consistency.
6. Butter or salt may be added to taste.
Variation:
You may like to add a slice of cheese on to the mash and microwave it for 20 secs for the cheese to melt into the mash. Its gives it a nice flavour.
You can also add in some mash carrots to give it a sweet taste.
Recipe for children: Tofu soupI obtain this from a toddler cookbook and added some variations to it.
Ingredients
2 Chinese mushroom (or a couple of canned button mushrooms)
2 slices of ham
1/2 egg tofu(or normal tofu)
30 g of corns/ peas
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of corn starch water
A pinch of salt
Method:
1.Cut off the stems from the mushrooms(not necissary if you are using button mushroom). Chop mushrooms, ham and tofu into small pieces.
2.Blanch the corn and set it aside
3.Boil 1 bowl of water in a pot, add mushrooms and soy sauce and cook till mushroom are soft
4. Add tofu, ham, corn and cook for 10 minutes, drizzle in corn starch water and seacon with salt
Tip: This soup will be tastier if you cook it in home-made chicken broth. You may also like to use canned broth but that may be too salty for children.
Hope the kids like it!!
February 25 Craft Idea: Play DoughHere is a simple recipe for play dough. This can keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for a week
Mix the flour, salt, water and oil in a bowl until it forms a dough. Add the food colouring and the essence into the mixture. (The essence will keep the dough smelling nice after all the little hands have worked through the dough). Variation: You may want to add the following to make the dough more interesting: Fairy play dough :add in glitter Textured/ scented play dough: add in some tea leaves Other scented play dough: add in some coffee powder/ spices.
Note: 1)You may want to add in more oil if you feel that the dough is too dry. 2)The dough may feel a little hard and dry when you first take it out of the fridge. You may like to kneed it a little first before adding more water or oil. Have fun!The kids can make their own playdough and its cheaper and safer than commerial ones!
February 23 Children's book: Too little to loveThis is another of my favourite book. I read it and fell in love with it. The story is about a little mouse who is in love with someone whom the readers do not see . As little mouse is too tiny and the one whom he is in love with is too tall, he tries means and ways to get to his love. He stands of various objects to reach her but fails. When he was feeling dissapointed and disheartened, his love saw him and bend over to give him a kiss! The books ends of with the line..."which goes to show you are never too little to love!"
This book is great for little children and even adults who may sometimes feel that we are too small to do anything!Yet this is a great reminder to me that no one is ever to little or to big to give and receive love. A real "feel good book!"
February 15 Children's Book: Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do you See?Another lovely book from Eric Carle and Bill Martin Junior. Those of you who are Eric Carle fan will be familiar with the book Brown bear Brown Bear what do you see? Well this is a companion book to that "Brown bear" book which started Eric Carle's career as a writer of Children's book.
This book is great for young children who are learning colours as each animal colour is stated in the book and has a corresponding illustration to it. The book has a wonderful rhythm to it and because the line "....what do i see? I see a ...looking at me" is repeated throughout the book. Children will be trilled to bits and will want to read it over and over again.
The book has a convservation message to it as well (all enviornmentalist will be delighted to know) as all the animals featured in the book are endangered animals (I never knew there was such a thing as a Macaroni Penguin till i read the book!)
What i love most about it is the last page of the book where a dreaming child when asked the question, what did he see, his reply was " all the animals will and free!" February 14 Chinese New Year Party for KidsChinese New Year is just around the corner. I thought it would be helpful to have some handy tips ready to entertain children who may come to your home to visit during the festive season Food: As children most probably have been stuffing their faces with candies, chocolates and all those fried stuff and cookies, I think parents will appreciate if you will serve some healthier alternatives like 1) Raisins 2) Fruits (like apples, watermelon etc-not too much mandarin oranges as they are deemed “heaty”) 3) Fruit loops/ corn flakes 4) Cheese slices (use a cookie cutter and cut out different shapes- pigs will be a favourite this year) 5) Steam corn with a little melted butter (you may wish to buy the frozen corn and just pop it in the micro-oven) 6) Cucumber/ carrot sticks with a salsa dip
Drinks: Instead of soft drinks, you may like to serve these 1) Fruit juices 2) Blend fruits like strawberries, kiwi etc and freeze them. Add them in home made lime juice (the kids will be trilled to see “colored-ice cubes”) 3) Home made barley Hope you all have a wonderful Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year Craft: Pinky the PigHere's something to keep the children entertained during the festive period. This is especially so if you are having a Chinese New Year Party at your place and there will be a couple of kids around. Great to keep the kids entertained while the adults enjoy their game of majong etc etc.
Here's what you need.
1) Light pink construction paper
2) Dark pink construction paper
3) Ice-cream sticks
4) Black dot stickers( available at most stationary shops)
i) Using the light pink construction paper, cut out a large circle (about the size of a mug ).
ii) Cut out a pair of ears, an oval shape for the snort of the pig
iii) Stick 2 black dot stickers on the snort .
iv) Stick the snort on the light pink paper. Add the ears and eyes(black dot stickers)
v) Stick the pig onto an ice-cream stick.
You may also like to vary the features, colours etc to make different sort of animals.
Have fun creating these for the kids!!
February 07 Craft Ideas: puppet on sticksThis was something that I did with my sunday school class when we were teaching them about God giving us a family. Its really simple activity which the kids enjoyed and we were able to find out more about their families in the process.
What i did was to pre cut out the circles for the head and pre-tied pieces of yarn together (long for female and short for male). Then we went around and asked the children how many members there were in their families and then they proceeded to make the puppets according to how many memebers there were in the family.
It was great fun and the kids were able to tell us things like " I have a sister but she has short hair so i have to give my sister puppet short hair!" or "Daddy wears glasses so i need to put on glasses for him". I was really amazed at the creativity of the children and how they tried to make the puppets look as much like their family memebers as possible. It helps build up their language abilitiy as well as help us learn a little more about their families.
This is a really simple activity which can be extended to making animals etc. Its really simple. The materials needed are
1) Pre-cut circles for the head
2) Yarn for the hair
3) Ice-cream sticks
4) markers
5) white and black round stickers (for the eyes)
This is what some of the kids did! |
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