Keepsake of children drawing

I love Sophie's depiction of people and wanted to create a keepsake of her drawing at this age. I also love making small surprises for the family, so I decided to turn one of Sophie's drawing of daddy and turned it into a pillow case for my husband.
He adored it so much and suggested that we do a series of her 'Picasso' people onto pillows for the family room sofa set.

I traced her drawing on a cloth and used embroidery thread to sew the traced lines. After that, I used some fabric cloth and sewed a simple pillow case.

It took me 2 hours in actual work but with taking Luke for a walk in the park and feeding ducks, lunch and putting him to nap, I took a total of 6 hours from start to finish. I guess I just had to be patient and do it in small steps.

It was an enjoyable experience for me and I know it means a lot to Sophie and daddy too.

Big picture

Feeling down and dreary about being a full time mom?
Here's a quote I picked up from the book "The parenting book" by Nick and Sila Lee
"Parenting requires seeing the big picture.  And every day makes a difference to our child's development and wellbeing"

To all parents out there,  HANG IN THERE!

Living in Shanghai

Shanghai! We've been here almost 2 months. Our art supplies have not arrived and we have been taking time to enjoy our surroundings. Our complex is lovely! It's like an adventure every time we head out.

Exploring and admiring God's work. What a treat!

I hope to share more photos and inspiring activities during our stay here.

Keep checking in! Cheers. 

Healthy snack for the soul

Blueberry soy muffin for a healthy afternoon tea.

I have been looking out for healthy snacks for the children and wanted to use what we had in our pantry instead of going to the grocery...again.
With coconut oil, blueberry, 1 egg and soy milk, and little time, I decided muffins would be best.

Recipe for 7 muffins as follows:
Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Wet ingredients:
1 egg (room temperature)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C soy milk
1/4 C coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 C fresh blueberries
Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven 200 degree Celsius.
Line muffin tray with muffin case or spray with non stick spray.

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl,  whisk together egg and sugar until combined. Add in oil, soy milk and vanilla extract. Mixture will be pale yellow.
3. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients in 2 batches. Batter will be thick and lumpy.
4. Fold in blueberries
5. Pour batter into prepared muffin tray, filling all the way to the top. Top with sugar sprinkle if preferred.
6. Bake at 200 degree Celsius for 5 mi s then reduce to 180 degree Celsius for another 10-15 minutes until tops are slightly golden. Test for doneness. 
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before enjoying it.

Sophie totally enjoyed it and had 2 muffins at one seating. Wow!
Perhaps the next time, I'll bake with her as this is really easy for a toddler to have some sensory play and learning about food.

Independent play

Getting a 3 year old to follow instructions is a challenge. But a little preparation goes a long way. We did a simple activity to make bubbles.
A little preparation on my part - no more than ten minutes. Setting up the props such as bottles for water, golden syrup, dishwashing liquid, cups, bowls and tablespoon.  Did a visual presentation on a board with the steps.

When Sophie saw the set up, she was excited and ready to start. I gave a simple explanation on what she was going to make and the materials that we had. Showed her the visual aid on the board and it was self start. It's a simple activity that builds independence, counting and measuring, motor skills to pour and mix and sensory when the solution is done.

The results were encouraging and I intend to try other activities such as making puffy paint and slowly moving to making her own muffins by herself. 

Children need to be in control and this is an activity that gives them that!

DIY Stamps

Some time ago, I was into making my own stamps for Sophie to play with. Simple shapes that she can identify with and not have to spend lots of money on stamps. Art stuff are expensive here in Singapore!

So, I went to a thrift store and got some wooden blocks and some craft foam. Cut out the craft foam according to the shapes and sizes of the blocks that I like to have. Used a hot glue gun to adhere the craft foam to the wooden blocks.

After that is done, I drew the shapes on the opposite end of the foam and painted it so we know what shapes we had.

You could either use an ink pad or paint.  I chose paint because Sophie tends to move from color to color and I didn't want the ink pads to have mixed colors. She ended up with finger painting after the stamping session.

Supplies:
Craft foam
Wooden blocks of different sizes
Scissors or craft knife
Glue gun
Paint

All in all, we spent less than $6.00 and there were plenty of craft foam and wooden blocks left to make more in future.

Vibrant edible paint

My one year old loves putting things to his mouth. While I know most paints for children are non toxic, I wasn't quite comfortable with him eating huge quantities if it happens. I found a site for homemade edible paint using cornstarch, water and food coloring. This was good for us and I made a small batch to try out. It turned out really well in terms of color and my three year old ended up with all the fun as the little one was napping. 

I picked 3 colors that complemented each other. Pink, blue and yellow. While playing, she discovered green, orange and purple.

We used aluminum foil instead of paper as that is sturdier than paper and it reflects the colors very well under the afternoon sun. 

Overall, Sophie had a fantastic time. Can't wait for Luke to wake up and try this out.

I experimented a little for the paint to get the right texture that I wanted. 

2 cups cornstarch
1 cup cold water
4 cups boiling water
Food coloring (I used wilton food coloring gel)

Stir 1 cup of cold water into the cornstarch.  Pour the hot water cup by cup and stirring between each cup.
Try to achieve a custard like texture. If it fails, put it under stove,  medium heat for 1 minute and the solution should thicken.  Stir out any clumps.
Pour into bottles and add coloring of your choice.

Adapted from this site.

Building 'blocks' using canned foods

Building blocks with stuff from home. Our household has a few canned food such as baked beans,  tuna,  tomatoes, etc. Luke prefers playing with these canned food over the wooden blocks. Perhaps these cans are different in sizes, shapes and weight. He fiddles with them, rolls them around and sometimes drops them to hear the sounds it makes. Thought this is a quick way to keeps young ones entertained for a while and also introducing them to different attributes of the objects.  What items do you use for building blocks other than wooden ones?

Pink Friday! Play dough fun

Sophie loves play dough and she loves pink! What a better way to spend a Friday afternoon playing with this while Luke is napping. 

All supplies can be found at home. It's homemade play dough (not gluten free)

Recipe for play dough as follows:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
1/3 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tar tar
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Sprinkle of cinnamon powder (optional)
Food coloring (your choice)

Combine all ingredients (except food coloring) into a pot and turn on the stove. Stir the mixture until it clumps up and forms a sticky dough (about 3 minutes)

Remove the dough and let it cool a little. Divide into portions and add coloring of your choice.

We usually play the dough in a tray and add a few items (rolling pin, beads, goggle eyes, etc) for her imagination to have free play.

Do share with me ideas on setting up a play dough activity that will entice your child to play. Cheers and have a good weekend!

Alberto Giacometti inspired sculpture

This was a fun project for me instead of Sophie. Perhaps an older child will enjoy it better as it requires patience and certain dexterity.

Supplies:
Pipe cleaners
strips of aluminium foil
A ball of paper (for the stick man head)
Play dough or blue tac

Steps:
Take 1 pipe cleaner and make a loop in the center for the head. This piece will make the head and the arms

Take 2 pieces of pipe cleaners for the legs. Use the arms to secure them tightly. Twist the 2 pipe cleaners a few times to make the body.

Put a ball of paper in the loop and start using the strips of aluminium foil to wrap it.

To make it stand, attach balls of play dough and wrap the foil around. It is quite challenging making it stand after a few tries, it will find its equilibrium.

Watercolor spray artwork

I love watercolor. Liquid watercolor especially! There are lots of art activities that can be done with it and today, we did a simple one. Dilute the liquid watercolors in spray bottles, set up paper and start squirting away.

Supplies:
Spray bottles (clear ones are preferred)
Liquid watercolors (your choice)
Butcher paper
Scissors
Tape or peg

We had a splendid time spraying away and what's best is we are going to use these as wrapping paper afterwards. 

DIY story telling board

Sophie has a wild imagination and we love making up stories. I decided to make a story telling board with some stickers, magnet sheets and a white board. I stuck the stickers to the magnet sheet and cut them to size. Voilà!

We could also draw on the board and have the little magnets placed on it to tell a story.

I may try one with a tea party or dress up doll version.

I think it makes a great start for story telling and also quiet time activity for toddlers. 

Happy to hear your views. 

What's your family motto?

I've been meaning to do this....a family motto or values that are important to us. Here's a sample of what I've done up so far. Working on finalising it and will bring it to the printers to blow it up and perhaps frame it for the family dining area. Do you have one for your family? I would love to hear about it.

Emotional state of mind

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Giving Tree (Story, Art, Learning)

The Giving Tree

By Shel Silverstein

I love this book. We have been reading this book fairly often over the past one year. It’s a simple and heartwarming story about a tree’s unconditional love for a boy when he was little till he turned old.

 

This week, I decided to use this book as a starting point for art and some learning time for Sophie. I drew up a tree on a large piece of paper and labelled it with the different parts of the tree. Placed a palette with green and yellow paint and a couple of brushes. When Sophie was up from her nap and saw it, she went straight to it and started painting away.

We talked about the different parts of the tree such as the roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits and animals that live in trees. We also looked at the papaya tree that we had planted together. I have one that we planted months ago and another a couple of weeks ago. We planted these trees from seeds. In this way, Sophie was able to see the stages of a plant. Papaya seeds are really easy to grow in Asia. I repurposed an old milk carton to germinate the seeds. We watered it everyday and within 2-3 weeks, we saw the sprouts peeking out of the soil. It was a beautiful sight. In another month or two, when the plant is slight bigger, we will plant it into the garden. And with the repurposed milk carton, all we need is to cut up the carton and put the soil and plant into the ground. In this way, we avoid hurting the roots of the plant.

In the next week, I plan to dig deeper into this subject. We will make a trip to the botanic gardens to do tree bark rubbings, leaf printing, create a little catalog of the trees that we have seen.

 

Stay strong, stay calm

Building blocks

Free play with building blocks are great for creativity. Sophie is at an age where she wants to build cities with the blocks whereas Luke just simply loves to knock them over.
No building blocks? Cardboard boxes and toilet rolls would also do wonders. The sky is the limit when it comes to children's imagination. 
I just look forward to more cities.

On the subject of Easter

 

 

All the easter bunnies and easter eggs are out at supermarkets and malls.  I am just wondering how to tell Sophie about Easter and the true meaning of Easter. Do share with me what you'd do. Likewise, I will be posting on my thoughts shortly.



 

 

Between Parent and Child

On my kobo library. Hoping to complete it in the next two weeks. Happy to hear your thoughts on this book.

‘If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others’ – Haim Ginott

rest

rest.rest.rest

It’s hard to find rest when we spend the whole day caring for little ones, family and furry friends. Finally when the day ends, it’s great to sit down and have cup of good tea. Received a fabulous surprise from my husband when he returned from Tokyo this week. This is a wonderful sakura white tea from Mariage Frères.

 



Painting on umbrella

 

More often than not, we find ourselves painting as it’s one of Sophie’s favorite activities. So, on this very hot day, we decided to paint our little transparent umbrella bought from a thrift shop (Daiso). We then wait for a rainy day to bring out this umbrella to let the rain wash it off and admire the beautiful colors run off. We used Crayola washable paint for this little activity.

 

 

Bible verse of the day

This verse came so timely. I was just telling Sophie last evening that Jesus loves all the little children of the world. He would watch over her while she slept so she needn't be afraid of the dark and sounds outside her room.

When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Mark 10:14) Bible Verse of the Day http://bit.ly/BibleDailyApp

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. (Psalms 107:21) Bible Verse of the Day http://bit.ly/BibleDailyApp

Renew

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10) Bible Verse of the Day http://bit.ly/BibleDailyApp

Homemade teepee/tent on a scorching day

This is a simple idea for wet days and really hot days (impossible for outdoor play). We just took some large cloths (I used muslin and also a quilt blanket) and pegged it over a couple of dining chairs. The kids had fun playing peekaboo and hiding in there.  We moved this over a carpet so the kids could be more comfortable. 
This makes good sensory play if using different fabrics.
Hope you enjoy this simple idea.

Ocean Sensory Play

Ocean sensory play

I have been unsuccessful at making homemade slime for my daughter and then I decided that the texture of jelly could pass off as slime somewhat. Be prepared for real mess. So pick a place where you can clean up easily. We did our ocean sensory play at our backyard.

I tried out 2 versions of jelly. One using gelatin powder and another using koniyaku jelly powder. The former gives a softer texture and the latter a very firm texture.

Then I tinted the jelly with blue food coloring to mimic the sea and threw in some toob ocean toys, some pebbles and sea shells. Sophie had an enjoyable afternoon cutting, squeezing and throwing the jelly around. She also decided to add water into the tray and it made it look even better! We also included some rice to mimic sand.

We had so much fun that we did a second batch for the following day for a playdate activity. The kids enjoyed it thoroughly.

Some fun tips:

 

1.   In the jelly tray, put in some toys, pebbles and shells so that the kids and dig them up.

2.   Give them some water and this really makes the play super fun

3.   You do have to prepare the jelly in advance so that it is sufficiently firm

4.   Perhaps throw in some artificial flavors to create a nice smell

5.   Make it educational and talk about the ocean animals, fish, corals, how shells are formed, etc.

If you have more ideas for this sensory play project, please feel free to comment.

 

Welcome

Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.

Kay Redfield Jamison
Contemporary American professor of psychiatry

Welcome to Tinyminds@play. 

This space is dedicated to the activities that I have done with my two young children and that they are simple for you and your family to also implement and enjoy the journey. I hope to grow this space such that it inspires creativity and provides an avenue for positive mindset when nurturing our little ones. It is a challenging journey and we always need some encouragement from others that we are not alone. 

Yours sincerely

Sharon

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12