CNY 2010 celebration

Our family is getting bigger - and we had a joyous, noisy and fun-filled Chinese New Year celebration on February 25, 2010.

We celebrated the Year of the Tiger, a girl's 6th birthday as well as a colouring competition organised by Luna, Staedler.

Soya Beans and Green Beans (3 & 4 year-olds angels)

Red Beans (5-year olds angels)

Navy Beans (6 year-olds)

Waiting for the game to begin....

The best of friends!

Quick, pass the orange!

Why isn't it my turn yet?

Auntie Audrey telling us the way to colour.

Peace! We are working on our masterpiece!

Hard at work!

Ah ... it's more comfortable this way.

Hello! Look at my picture.

Deep concentration!

Now - celebrate with the goodies!

Yummy, yummy!

Thanks for the sweet memories, children. I love you all!

CHINESE NEW YEAR song

This is a session that Mr Victor Tan did with the children today. They can sing better than me!

Sorry about the videography. This is taken from a 9-year old camera and I am still learning the ropes! Very archaic camera, hence the blurry picture.

Another amusing snippet

We were discussing about personal safety and being wary of strangers. I asked the children what they understand by the word "stranger".


Teacher Yvonne : Who is a stranger?

HL : A stranger is a bad guy!

LWK : A stranger is a robber. We must call the police when we see a stranger.

CKV : No, a stranger will catch you and cut up your legs.

CYS : Last time, a stranger steal my daddy's car.

CKV : Yes, a stranger also steals money.

LWK : A stranger is like a bad guy, but actually not.

ET : A stranger will take you away from Daddy and Mummy and make you work like a maid!

When I heard this definition, I nearly died laughing. I know that a maid's work is not easy, but to equate a stranger to working like a maid is really unexpected. I wonder if my two maids are working so hard that ET actually feels bad for them?

Anyway, I explained that a stranger is someone that we do not know. He can be good or bad, but if we don't know the person, it's better to run away from him. Most seem to know that they cannot accept gifts or treats from strangers. It is our duty to protect our children especially in this present society.

Teacher, how many husbands do you have?

This is a funny incident which I would like to share with you.

MJ and I were sitting down and he looked at the two rings at my fingers. He stared and stared at them and then he asked,


MJ : Teacher Yvonne, who gave you the rings?

TY : My husband. (he's matured enough to understand the meaning).

MJ : Why did he give you two rings?
(prior to this, he told his mother about my two rings and he wondered if they were given by two husbands!!!)

TY : Because he loves me!

MJ : How many husbands do you have?

TY : I have only one husband and both rings are given by him.

MJ : My mummy has only one ring. Why you have two?

TY : Well, my husband gave me one before we got married and one more when we are married.

MJ : (very deep in thought, then he breaks into a smile). Next time, when I grow up and marry CL, I will give her two rings too! One before we get married and one when we marry - just like Teacher Yvonne.

I burst out laughing. MJ is indeed observant!!! Lucky CL - she'll get two rings and her sister will only get a silver ring from another admirer. Children - they observe, adapt and emulate, so we have to be careful with what we say and do.

Photos, finally!!!

It has been a long one month, and finally last week we managed to take the photos of the children for our Birthday Chart.


How was the first month? Challenging, actually as the family of Little Beans is much bigger compared to last year. Especially so with the 3 year old group. We started last year with only 3 children, with a teacher and two assistants. This year, we expect to start off with only 5, but happy to say that now we have 10! Unfortunately, there is only a teacher and an assistant. Needless to say, things were a little chaotic. The children could not settle down that easily - we practically had our hands full! Must look for another assistant after Chinese New Year...


Now, things are more settled now, but two or three children still cry in the mornings. However, they are not fearful of the school, their friends or the teachers. They are still very much attached to their Mums and Dads and are not willing to let go. Once Mum and Dad leaves, they are able to join in the activities cheerfully! They may seem hysterical to you early in the morning, but they seldom cry in school. No worries, Mum and Dad, your child is in good hands!!!


However, I wish to note that the settling down or transition period is very important. In Little Beans, parents are welcomed to accompany their child for as long as they wish. We want the child to feel secured, safe and comfortable. Please don't bring your child and leave immediately. He/she will be abandoned and this is not good for his/her emotional needs. Spend at least one to two hours with you child at school (no matter how busy you are) - you're telling your child that this is a nice place to be and not somewhere that you want to get away from as fast as you can.


Just imagine yourself in a new work place or new country - all alone. How would you feel??? Of course, there must be a time to let go. Once you are comfortable with us and know that your child is well-taken care off, you can leave him or her with us. He/she may still cry but as long as it's not out of fear, your child will be OK.


Back to the photographs - children just love to take pictures. And, they are so natural. They posed and smiled for the camera even though they may be crying perhaps 5 minutes ago? Enjoy some of the photos as we prepare to put them up in our classrooms!

AESTHETICS IN NATURE

As I was watching the children during sand play last Friday, I remembered Andy Goldsworthy. I learnt about him when I did Aesthetic in Children's Art as part of my Master in Education programme. Goldsworthy is a famous British sculptor who uses nature (including sand) as his canvass as well as medium of art.

I am sharing my journal entry here to give an insight on the beauty of nature and how we can encourage our children to appreciate it. There are many activities we can do with the leaves, pebbles, flowers, sand or even twigs around us. Guess we just need to be more creative!

(Unfortunately, I don't know how to copy the pictures in my journal. However, I've uploaded some of his beautiful creations here. I've also included a website which explains his sculptures in greater details and you can find many, many breathtaking, yet ephemeral sculptures here. Just click on the title Aesthetics in Nature and it will link you to the site. Or just type Andy Goldsworthy and search for him in Google Search!)

April 25, 2009 9.20pm
Andy Goldsworthy : The Beauty of Creation


Andy Goldsworthy is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist living in Scotland. He produces site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He uses natural and found objects to create both temporary and permanent sculptures which draw out the character of their environment.

The materials used in Goldsworthy’s art often include brightly-coloured flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pinecones, snow, stone , twigs and thorns. He often uses his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange most of his materials.

As most of his works are short-lived and transient, he takes photographs of each piece. According to Goldsworthy, “Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its height, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit.”

Among some of Goldsworthy’s creations is one made up of rowan leaves arranged to create a hole. The second picture is that of pebbles around a hole. The two pictures are similar in the sense that there is a value of light and dark; the gradations of light and dark on the surface of the objects.

What does the hole represent? We are curious to know what lies in the hole. There is an aura of mystery surrounding the hole.

Goldsworthy also works with sand. There are structures that he has created along the beach. These structures are definitely ephemeral as the tide will wash away his creation.


We can encourage our children to work with sand. They can build sandcastles on the beach and sand box or making lines on a bed of sand with their fingers. They can enjoy the feel of sand with their bare hands, explore the movement of sand as they glide through their fingers as well as observe the transience of sand as a medium of creation. They feel the difference between wet sand and dry sand and how the wet sand holds shapes better that the dry one.


Another beautiful creations are pebbles which are carefully broken and scratched white with another stone. While it may be difficult for young children to break the pebbles or scratch off the colour, they could be encouraged to explore the texture, look at the differences in colour, size and shape and to build a collage of pebbles in the garden.


Another creation which I like is the making of a rainbow. This is a very simple creation that enthralls the children. I have done this in my school and the children just loved the rainbow projected on the wall, the paper as well as on themselves!

Goldsworthy created his rainbow by hitting the water with a large stick. I created the rainbow with a mirror, a shallow basin of water and the bright, bright sun!

OUR TASTEBUDS

We are doing a theme on My Senses and on Friday, we let the children try an array of food with different taste. Of course, we have the sweet chocolate and candies, the salty water and fried egg, the sour vinegar solution and orange as well as the bitter bittergourd.



The children were eager to try, but many did not expect the outcome especially when they tried the vinegar solution and bittergourd.

The younger children did not hesitate to spit out the bittergourd. The older ones were afraid and forced themselves to swallow their potion. Lokk at Jasmine and Cheryl's faces as they forced themselves to eat the gourd!

The sour/sweet orange. Most love it!

The bittergourd - well, the children's reaction let you know the verdict!