Showing posts with label Craft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craft. Show all posts
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Singapore Skyline theme crafts
With more iconic building sprouting out at marina, our Singapore skyline has taken on a new distinct character. Let the child enjoy the magnificent night light & create his own skyline on his own. Create fireworks with glitters against dark sky. Understand the geometry of flyers (introduce some maths concept of dividing a circle). Not forgetting the super cantilever skygarden of marina sands.
Tissue Box Crafts
Tissue box is one of the most versatile and easily available craft material. From monsters to room deco, from treasure chest to musical instruments. All you need is a pair of adult scissors, coloured papers & you are ready to embark on a journey to create it with your child!
The child can have lotsa fun playing the new toy he has created. Trust me, it beats any electronic game that you can buy from the stores!
The child can have lotsa fun playing the new toy he has created. Trust me, it beats any electronic game that you can buy from the stores!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Happy Birthday Singapore
As expected, we were not successful in balloting for NDP tickets. We watched the show live at the comfort of our living room while the children draw. Earlier in the day, we baked some cupcakes & sprinkled colourful chips like fireworks. While gorgor drew his merlions (both real & cute versions), mei continued with her toilet roll painting.
Happy Birthday Singapore!
Happy Birthday Singapore!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
The Default Activity
As soon as they can sit still, my kids have been doodling and crafting. We maintain a constant supply of pencils and papers at easily accessible locations at home.
Painting requires more help, eg. Cleaning the brushes, changing water and mixing colours. As they grow up, they are able to paint on their own without much help. I just need to lay some newspaper on the floor and bring out the art supplies.
Mei likes to mix colours and paint on toilet rolls. I think it's the texture of the toilet roll which is slightly thicker than normal paper and the shape of the toilet rolls that makes it interesting for her. She will hold on to the roll, paint as she turns. She will use her favorite pink and explore new colours by mixing pink and beige, red and silver etc. It's sheer joy observing her paint toilet rolls. It must be therapeutic for her.
Painting requires more help, eg. Cleaning the brushes, changing water and mixing colours. As they grow up, they are able to paint on their own without much help. I just need to lay some newspaper on the floor and bring out the art supplies.
Mei likes to mix colours and paint on toilet rolls. I think it's the texture of the toilet roll which is slightly thicker than normal paper and the shape of the toilet rolls that makes it interesting for her. She will hold on to the roll, paint as she turns. She will use her favorite pink and explore new colours by mixing pink and beige, red and silver etc. It's sheer joy observing her paint toilet rolls. It must be therapeutic for her.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Characters come alive!
What has Ben 10 and Disney Princesses have in common? They are characters that my kids like. Recently, I picked up a few Ben 10 & Disney Princess activity books from Popular bookstore. At least I don't have to "force" them to do assessment books at this age.
The Ben 10 sticker book comes with many scenes for the child to paste the selection of Ben 10 aliens. It is actually too simple for a P1 boy. But I must say the drawings are captivating. Instead of pasting stickers, I suggested we recreate the scene from Ben 10 using tissue box. He chose a scene of a car wreck and narrated the scene in his own words. I helped him cut out the box and he pasted the blue and black paper as sky & road respectively. The fun part was using all his toy cars, crushed paper, chopsticks and Ben 10 alien toys to create the fighting scene.
While gorgor was making his "Ben 10 comes alive", mei requested to recreate a scene from Aladdin's magic carpet ride. We didn't have Aladdin & Jasmine characters. So we made do with hello kitty figurine pens. She sang the song "A Whole New World" while playing with the magic carpet (which was a souvenir pouch from a recent wedding dinner I attended).
That is precisely why mei resisted cookie cutter type art class. We can have a freeplay and not be constrained by the timing of the art lesson. In fact, on the very next day, they each created another craft as a extension of what they have done.
The Ben 10 sticker book comes with many scenes for the child to paste the selection of Ben 10 aliens. It is actually too simple for a P1 boy. But I must say the drawings are captivating. Instead of pasting stickers, I suggested we recreate the scene from Ben 10 using tissue box. He chose a scene of a car wreck and narrated the scene in his own words. I helped him cut out the box and he pasted the blue and black paper as sky & road respectively. The fun part was using all his toy cars, crushed paper, chopsticks and Ben 10 alien toys to create the fighting scene.
While gorgor was making his "Ben 10 comes alive", mei requested to recreate a scene from Aladdin's magic carpet ride. We didn't have Aladdin & Jasmine characters. So we made do with hello kitty figurine pens. She sang the song "A Whole New World" while playing with the magic carpet (which was a souvenir pouch from a recent wedding dinner I attended).
That is precisely why mei resisted cookie cutter type art class. We can have a freeplay and not be constrained by the timing of the art lesson. In fact, on the very next day, they each created another craft as a extension of what they have done.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Child-led Activities
The learning environment must be equipped with accessible materials for the child to explore at all times. When they were younger, activities need to be closely supervised, especially those involving cutting. Now that they can use the scissors safely, we have designated areas for art supplies and stationary within reach.
We don't start with a specific theme but discuss what is to be done and what materials are required. Parental intervention is left to the minimum unless the child needs help in a specific area.
Yes, we keep a constant supplies of toilet rolls, tissue boxes and bottle caps. They are about the most versatile materials which can be used to make about anything the child can imagine.
When they were younger, I had to research on themes and simple instructions will be given. If the task is technically too challenging, they can follow standard "templates" and add colours and decorations to their creations.
The artwork are usually displayed for a period of time until a new piece takes over. Before they are thrown away due to limited storage space, we take photos to document the art pieces. The children enjoy looking through their archives of artwork. It is surprising how much they can remember about the process and the thoughts behind even if it was done sometime back.
Our children have started formal school with structured curriculum. Home activities are meant to supplement and enrich their learning experience. They can decide what they want to explore and learn in a relaxed environment, instilling independence as well as collaboration depending on the activities chosen. They learn to communicate their needs and ideas. They take ownership of what they have done and learned.
We don't start with a specific theme but discuss what is to be done and what materials are required. Parental intervention is left to the minimum unless the child needs help in a specific area.
Yes, we keep a constant supplies of toilet rolls, tissue boxes and bottle caps. They are about the most versatile materials which can be used to make about anything the child can imagine.
When they were younger, I had to research on themes and simple instructions will be given. If the task is technically too challenging, they can follow standard "templates" and add colours and decorations to their creations.
The artwork are usually displayed for a period of time until a new piece takes over. Before they are thrown away due to limited storage space, we take photos to document the art pieces. The children enjoy looking through their archives of artwork. It is surprising how much they can remember about the process and the thoughts behind even if it was done sometime back.
Our children have started formal school with structured curriculum. Home activities are meant to supplement and enrich their learning experience. They can decide what they want to explore and learn in a relaxed environment, instilling independence as well as collaboration depending on the activities chosen. They learn to communicate their needs and ideas. They take ownership of what they have done and learned.
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