Gone fishing (Our DIY fishing game)

We've been learning about the ocean for the past week or so, and we've been fishing!  A friend shared an idea for a fishing activity on her Facebook page, and I thought it was great, so here's our own version.  All you need would be a magnet, which you need to attach to some yarn:

I was afraid the magnet might come loose, so I wrapped it in netting (from those bags of garlic?),
and tied that up.

Then just tie the yarn to a stick (or even a disposable chopstick):

We used a twig we found during our walks.  It was peeling and quite rough,
so I wrapped it up using some ribbon recycled from a gift.

Then print and laminate some fish (I got mine from here), and attach paper clips to them:

And have fun catching them, without having to deal with fishy smells or worms!

I used the remaining part of the garlic bag to keep the fishes. :)

Its been keeping the boy busy for the past few days.  Even I am having fun catching fish!

Thankful Tuesdays: Jumbled

This week, we are thankful for the tumble and jumble of everyday life.  For quiet moments...

... and crazy mornings (some jumping on the bed and bumps and knocks included).

For food that fill our tummies, from squishy, messy purees:

This little boy has sprouted his 3rd and 4th incisors.  We're glad he's been eating much better this week.
He simply loves his blueberries!

... to yummies from friends:

Dumplings!
From a rather new-found friend, who also helped us to get a whole load
of Asian food as well.

And this came in the mail, and went into the pot pretty quickly!

... and even mish-mashed lunches!

Junior J prepares lunch for me almost everyday,
and leaves it on the dining table for me.  

For growth, from clothes that no longer fit:

I recently packed baby J's clothes and passed a whole pile to a friend who's expecting.
I always feel nostalgic packing up those little suits

... to the summer scarlet bursts of poppies in bloom along golden fields of wheat:

... and the ripe sweetness of berries and currants in season.

Above all, we are thankful for all that God has provided, and how He watches over us through this tumbling and jumbling.  What are you thankful for?


<center><a href="http://makingmum.blogspot.com/search/label/Thankful%20Tuesdays"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5TFIcFuNJ5fKnlD-Tueh7MbfoDLmkSiccVSG2aiAiPYVekzcr_NCpGbYT5JnktxjM3CNMDiG4PVEmp73HoRmyUEHOLWgVH4cZSe1KPPqHqPAJek4y__ytX8EKZASnKRFlM1ZcE6idaFk/s260/Rainbow.jpg"/></a></center>

Monday Made: A page and some playdough

Hello!  Remember this album for Junior J?  I admit I've not filled up most of the pages yet.  So over the weekend, I took a little bit of time and did one page (yup, one page, but better that nothing!): 

That yellow flower reminds me of dandelions, which he loves to pick!

The pictures on the stamps are significant: He loves to pick daisies, and likes to chase the birds and rabbits!

That's the boy pretending to be a spinosaurus, complete with spines attached to his back!

I'm so glad I managed to scrap a little.  Those months seem to fly by and the boys are growing up way to fast!

Oh, and we made some home-made playdough too.  Here it is waiting for Junior J to mold in the colour, if he's game to:

Here's to a blessed week ahead!

Bento Boxes: Learning about countries

Breakfast over here is rather boring.  Most days, I find it hard to crawl out of bed early, so usually we keep the first meal of the day simple.  Junior J usually ends up eating cereal with fruit and milk, and he seems quite ok with it.  However, I thought I'd try to put in a little more effort in giving him more variety, and couldn't resist tying up some of his meals to what we've been learning during the week (this time we've been exploring the book "How to make an apple pie and see the world"):

:: Day 1: Italy, wheat.

:: Day 2: France. 

I tried making an Eiffel tower, but it was a little tough doing it with rice!

:: Day 3: Jamaica, banana boat.

This was his dinner: fried rice topped with omelette, seaweed and beans.

:: Day 4: England, milk.

:: Day 5: Sri Lanka, cinnamon and elephants in rainforests...

We had spaghetti bolognese for dinner, along with baked bell peppers.
I wanted to make a bento with the Sri Lankan flag, but the sword-holding lion
bit was just too hard to make!

:: Day 6: Vermont, USA.

Each time Junior J got a flag (I printed them from here), he would get to find the country and stick the flag up on our world map: 

I'm hoping to add loads more to this flag collection, will see how it goes!  Oh, and meanwhile, if you're in need of breakfast ideas like I am, do stay tuned for a yummy breakfast series by blogger moms starting 1st Aug!  Blessed weekend!

Thinking Thursdays: How to make an apple pie and see the world

We've finally gotten off our lazy butts and started learning with the Five in a Row series!  The first book we plunged into was "How to make an apple pie and see the world".  We didn't manage to do most of the recommended activities, as we were rather busy working on the museum.  However, we did explore various aspects of the story by reading other books:

:: Italy: We read "The Famous Nini".  Its a quirky tale about a cat in a cafe, and is a little far-fetched.  However, its still a heartwarming tale, and helped to introduce various aspects of Venice to the little boy, from Verdi to gondolas:

:: France: I decided to use "Anatole" for this round, and leave "Madeline" for another time.  I love how the illustrations are done in the colours of the French flag, and of course, Junior J cannot resist any story on mice and cheese (which are two of his favourite things!).

:: Sri Lanka: We didn't have any books on Sri Lanka (we miss NLB so much!), but read "Rainforests":

:: Making flour from wheat: We read "Pancakes, Pancakes" to explore further the process of making flour from wheat, as well as explore the sources of other ingredients.  And we also made cookies together, where the boy got to weigh the ingredients and shape the cookies (couldn't make apple pie since I don't have any baking tins!).  We've also managed to spot quite a few fields of wheat the past week!

:: Subtraction: I simply love Loreen Leedy's books, because she manages to take dry topics like math and make them a whole lot more interesting.  This round, we explored subtraction using "Subtraction Action"...

... and practiced it at random times during the day.  One of the days, the boy went around giving "tickets" to his museum to us and his animals, and started calculating how many tickets he had left after he gave tickets to this dinosaur or that animal!

It was quite a fun week!  Stay tuned tomorrow for more activities, but this time related to food!

Thankful Tuesdays: The power of presence

Someone recently shared this post, and it bothered me alot.  Bothered me because I was also guilty of being distracted.  Not just distracted by my phone (or perhaps laptop), but of mentally not being there, right here, right now.  You know how it is, when the little boy is telling you his story, and you are going "uhuh", while thinking of how to cook lunch in 15 minutes.  Or how I keep saying "later, when we have time", while juggling baby and a plate of food.  Or how I tend to nag and stop some forms of play because of dirt, or sometimes, because I just feel tired.  Distracted mothers can certainly be a drag!

After reading that mother's story, I decided I needed to be present.  To try to pay attention when someone was speaking (even though it was just a long-winded make-up story of a badger fighting a tapir).  I switched off all my Facebook and Instagram notifications, so that I would be less tempted to check my phone (and here are more tips from another mother on unplugging), and stopped using my laptop totally when the kids were awake.  Those are small steps, and I'm slowly getting there.  Meanwhile, we are having more crazy games (like throwing soft blocks in a "block fight") and doing more singing and dancing.

And we're trying, not just to be present, but to also to celebrate each little moment in the mundaneness of it all.  After all, each day is one that God has made.  Shouldn't we rejoice for each and every day that we are given, and be thankful for the moments that each day brings?

So we're trying to make it a point to sit together and chat during dinner, and are attempting not to be so distracted with having to feed both kids and getting baby to bed.  And we officially opened Junior J's natural history museum with a bang, with red ribbon cutting:

... by a VIP wearing a hat with German colours, to the cheers of our many animal guests:

... and ended off the ceremony with cookies that we baked together.

So I am thankful.  For each new day.  That we have this opportunity to be present for others.  That we can celebrate little moments, share small joys and savour milestones.  For others who are trying to be present too, and sharing their stories.  

What are you thankful for this week?


<center><a href="http://makingmum.blogspot.com/search/label/Thankful%20Tuesdays"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5TFIcFuNJ5fKnlD-Tueh7MbfoDLmkSiccVSG2aiAiPYVekzcr_NCpGbYT5JnktxjM3CNMDiG4PVEmp73HoRmyUEHOLWgVH4cZSe1KPPqHqPAJek4y__ytX8EKZASnKRFlM1ZcE6idaFk/s260/Rainbow.jpg"/></a></center>

Monday Made: The Natural History Museum

Guten Tag!  For the past week or so, big boy and I have been working on this box (or rather, its half of a huge box that contained our sofa bed), and transforming it into a natural history museum.  We made a curtain for the entrance using strips of crepe paper:

And got messy with paints to make a welcome mat:

I used scotch-tape to form the letters, and Junior J got to paint all over the mat.  Then he was given a wet wipe to wipe away the paint to reveal the letters!

Then we got busy tiling the floor (since many of the museums we've visited have lovely mosaic tiled floors):

I cut out varying shapes from contact paper, and got him to stick down different coloured pieces of construction paper, while I cooked lunch.

It took 4 days for us to finish the floor!  He had great fun finding different
shapes, and experimenting with folding the papers to see what other shapes
he would get.

Now the whole floor is tiled, and also protected from spills thanks to the contact paper. :)

We then made a "raining rainbow" (that's what he calls it) for the back wall of the museum:

We just painted clouds (first the primary colours, then mixing to form the secondary colours), and dripped paint down from the clouds (the paint must be really watery for this).  He got really excited to see all the paint dripping down!

And to house some exhibits, we made shelves for the walls:

The shelves are made from cereal/rice boxes, and painted by the boy.

This one was our attempt at doing marble art.

And finally, we made and decorated a sign for the museum:

I held his hand to write the words (he insisted it had to be based in Germany!)
and left him to decorate the sign.

And there you have it, our very own Natural History Museum, all ready for visitors!  Hurry down to visit today, entrance is free for a limited period of time!