Saturday Science: Torchlight, Tissue and Canister

Children never fail to amaze me. Their little brains are just so absorbent and with their curious nature, they see so many possibilities that my jaded eyes simply do not.

I was having my lunch earlier and left Dumpling to her own devices which usually would mean she would be reading,building something or drawing / doodling.

She was quiet for such a long time and I got a bit suspicious. I saw her pottering around packing these into a plastic bag. She then told me she is doing an experiment.

She shone the torchlight through the canister and the tissue and proclaimed that the light is 'blur'. Riding on the moment, we discussed why that was the case and where else can we shine on that allows light to pass through. 'What if it went through a prism?', I asked.

She remembered our unit study some weeks back and could explain to me how the ordinary light would pass through and that it would then be 'split' to form a rainbow.

We love science and I love that we are able to explore, investigate and discuss. Even with simple items from home. Do you perform simple experiments with your kids too?

Foodie Fridays - Thai pancakes

I had so much good food in Thailand and took so many shots that I thought it would be good to start with something simple. :)

I am not a pancake person but I am definitely a cheese prata person. When I am in Phuket / Krabi, one of the simple pleasures that I enjoy is their version of 'pancake'.

Made with a simple batter, it's spread thinly over a pan and the 'filling' is added. Served with a wide range of savory and sweet choices - chocolate banana, strawberries, peanut butter, egg and cheese, etc., the options are just mouth watering. ;)

These are sold in carts peppered along the beaches and the prices are quite similar between the various vendors.

A Man and a Woman, a Mum versus a Dad

I think that the husbands of Type A personality wives may have it tougher. After reading Justina's post, it made me ponder over the subtle differences in parenting styles. 

As you know I am a typical Type A. Full of energy and I need to potter around because I just cannot stand the thought of "wasting" time doing well, simply nothing. As a friend aptly puts it, even the style of Yoga that I prefer is the high intensity type - one breath, one movement. LOL

Because of this, I am very anal over some routines and the poor hubs had it hard initially when he could not understand why I am so insistent on so many seemingly "little" issues! Here's a look at our "differences":

Me	The man
1. Honey, she needs to go down for nap. STAT! Otherwise, she’d go down late tonight and the cycle repeats itself the next day. And, it will be a vicious cycle!	1. It is ok. She can always sleep in the car and if she did not rest enough, well, then she will know better the next time.
2. Oh dear, you gave her this soup? Herbal chicken soup? This same one with alcohol in it? *face palm*	2. Oops! It is yummy so I thought she should try it. (Dumpling was laughing a tad too much and singing off key in the background by this time. And yes, it is the alcohol in the soup because IT HAPPENED A SECOND TIME!)
3. OK, enough, the Lego set is meant for her. It is her birthday gift!	3. But I am just demonstrating and showing her how to put the pieces together!
4. And the song choices… where do I start? It does not even spell the words right!?!?	4. (both singing to the car stereo) L.U.V Madonna, Y.O.U you wanna????

The piece that topsit all? Our definition of meals… 

Disclaimer: Dumpling was not harmed in any way by the hua tiao jiu in the herbal soup though mummy Sue may have been traumatized by her off pitch key.

7 pleasures and a little me time in the land of smiles!

We were on a short vacation last week and returned yesterday. Before I headed for the vacation, I was already telling the hubs that I want to do something for myself and also spend some quality family time. 

We were at the Marriott at Mai Khao Beach and it was absolutely beautiful. As we had reinforcement (read: gramps and our helper), it was a good time for me to head out, explore, have some me time and also some quality family time. 

Here's my list of 7 pleasures to share, from the land of smiles! 

1) Appreciating nature, culture and the wonderful works of God. 

This was a sunset view at Marriott where we watched the lighting ceremony (hence the silhouette of the dancer)

2) Taking care of myself through exercising. 

I joined the resort's classes for Yoga, water aerobics (in the pool below) and did some laps when I could 

3) Shopping and window shopping :D

4) Spending time laughing, chilling and just hanging out with Dumpling

5) Lounging by the pool and getting a much needed tan! 

6) Ahem... errmmm... appreciating the food? 

(And all in the name of "research and sharing" for Jennifer's Foodie Fridays!) :p 

7) And finally, having a massage done and listening to the lulling sounds of the waves, by the sea :)

Linking up with Adeline

Next step into our phonics journey ~ Jolly Phonics!

I have not blogged for quite a while on our homeschooling journey. Mainly because Dumpling and I are doing 'lesser' activities but more focused and more in depth now that she is older and we are able to discuss more. 

We are very blessed because Dumpling caught on phonics when she was loads younger and was reading independently around 2+. Once a child is able to read, everything else becomes easier.Here, she does her read aloud on one of her favourite series Mr. Men where she read Mr. Impossible for the first time. 

She is now able to attempt Math questions on her own too. I'd sit next to her and I would encourage her to attempt the questions before I check it. Here's one of her favorite activities on logic:

Hence, reading is an important skillset to develop as it does 'overlap' into other disciplines since one would need to for instance to read the instructions to be able to attempt the questions.

With her grasping the oral part and reading well, she started to create and tell her own stories. Then she started to attempt short phrases. Hence with phonics, it helps her along as she is able to 'sound out' and form the words she wanted to write.

When she was younger, we were using Letterland. Now, we are using Jolly Phonics at home. Jolly Phonics teaches both sight words and phonics and I like that there's a continuation into Grammar for Dumpling. She is at a stage where she is ready for more and the 'system' is able to support her into setting her path for Primary One.

For the kinesthetic learners, Jolly Phonics would come in handy as it offers "actions" to go with the letter sounds. Being able to read is different from being able to recall and form words / spell out. While Dumpling can already read, when we first started, I still went ahead with revising all the letter sounds just to start off. This is because what was useful for us was the grouping of the letters, the 'system' does not start with "a" but into the letter groups below:

With this unique grouping, it allows for "blending" straight from Group 1 which is different from some of the other systems out there. At a later stage, the system also teaches alternative spelling which yet again, was a useful progression for us and for kids who are ready to move beyond the basic individual letter sounds. 

On the homefront, as Dumpling was ready, we also embarked on sight words and she has able to form words and started to write short sentences:

(picture above: 'play' with 'ay' as one of the alternative spellings)

Above shows a simple activity extended from after reading Mr. Bounce. She loves these sort of word formation / spelling exercises. I like using this series as it enables us to build on her vocabulary using funny and simple stories based on the personalities of the various characters. :) And of course, we are complementing the phonics bit with other homeschooling efforts to continue to build on her critical thinking skills and her general knowledge.

One of the resources which is helpful is the letter song and you can search for these on Youtube. Additionally, if you are not against using the PC / laptop to do short bursts of activities, one of the resources which Dumpling enjoys is the phonics games CD. Here's a video from a few months back on CVC. When the answer is wrong, the acorn does not drop into the basket. This is just one of the many games the CD covers.

Progressing on from there, Dumpling has been moving along steadily on building up her phonological awareness and here's another clip to share. This was taken after reading Mr. Impossible where we started with a simple CVC blend before working on vowel patterns and then sounding out a longer word - 'habit'. 

So far, I am thankful that the phonics journey has been useful for us. With the concept of phonics, she is able to sound out words that she is unsure of. We are happy to have embarked on Jolly Phonics and Grammar for Dumpling's next phase in the English language. Though at times, it is tiring to homeschool after work / a full day of activities, I am happy to see the little one enjoying her journey and progressing well so we will continue to strive on.

How's your phonics journey? What are you using and how have your experience been? Would love to hear from you. :)