Out in the real world

I got a chance to participate in the Chocoholics Factory workshop conducted by playeum at the Singapore Science Centre. There were not many kids at the workshop which was good actually. I have to design a small (anything sweet like candy and chocolates) city made up of recycled materials. Well, have you ever read Charlie and Chocolate Factory? This workshop is inspired by that Roald Dahl's story.

The story of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is well known from the beloved children’s novel by Roald Dahl: a poor, malnourished child living in destitute lucks out and finds a golden ticket to visit the magical world of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, after which his life will never be the same again.

I imagined mine to be a city with a chocolate tower with yummy candy buildings all around it. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it but it was an awesome experience.



In the meantime Adek busied herself, exploring the Science Centre with Ibu.

Labels: aisyahSays

Ibu got some snow powder that turns some white powdery substance that looks like real snow when you pour water on it. It doesn’t melt but if it dries out all you do is spritz a little more water on it and soft and fluffy to the touch. And its really messy although it's easier to clean than sand.

Instant snow powder is made of some very large molecules (polymers) composed of repeating units that are hydrophilic, or ‘water-loving.’ Most synthetic polymers are not hydrophilic; plastic soda bottles, PTFE (Teflon®) coatings, and PVC pipe, for example, are not.

As you add water, the powder acts like a bunch of very tiny but very good sponges. When you look at a regular kitchen sponge, you can see the pores that the water fills in; with instant snow powder, the places the water occupies are way too tiny to see, but they’re still there. Fake snow’s chemical name is ‘sodium polyacrylate,’ but the absorbent polymer in disposable diapers goes by the same name, because they have very similar chemical structure. Most people call instant snow by its simple name for clarity. Depending on who you ask, polymer ‘snow’ was first developed either as a blood absorber for hospitals or as a material to use in indoor snowboard parks in Japan. However it was invented, it’s awesome!

Carolyn Leap

Labels: aisyahSays

We had our very first cupcake sale made by us and our little friends! It was such a great experience being entrepreneurs although it's just for a single day. We were unsure of what to do at first but we went with the flow. Our customers, Khadeeja and Maryam, even helped us to sell the chocolate cupcakes. Such a blessing *Masya Allah!* because our hands were just too full when a lot of people wanted to buy the cupcakes at the same time.

The money from the sale will be channelled to the children of Gaza, through Mercy Relief. I don't know what really happened there but Ibu says that there's a war at Gaza and many helpless people like the elderly and children were affected badly. :( We should be thankful that we are living in a safe country like Singapore. I wish all the children in the world will be free from all wars, hunger and all the problems caused by the big people.

Labels: aisyahSays

We made these little brownie-like cakelets again. The recipe's so easy that even we can make them on our own! We absolutely adore these little cakelets (which I call them brownlets...hehehe) and prefer them without any nuts. Since Ayah like his brownies with walnuts, we added some to half a batch. I am sure he'll be very happy about it! They are just so small that you can pop a few at one go.

Labels: aisyahSays

This recipe for corridor paint is so easy. You just add water and colouring to cornflour and you get a batch of creative fun in just a matter of minutes. It washes off very easily (although it leaves some stains on the floor and takes some time to wash it off...eeks!!!) and it's not harmful to the environment because cornflour is all natural and biodegradable. It was love at first sight for us. The colour is just so vivid. Unfortunately Ibu only had a bit of pink left so that's the only colour you see here.

Labels: sarahSays

I helped Ibu bake some choc cakelets this morning for kakak's end-of-year makan-makan party. I just LOVE to measure and mix, pour and decorate! I know it can be messy but the memories and skills learnt are worth it. We then packed them in a box and delivered them to her class (after I did a taste-test of course! hehe). Kakak was very happy to see us and her classmates finished them all up. Alhamdulillah!

We had a mini sandplaydate at nenek+atok's place. Umar was there too so he joined us. We have always been intrigued by sandplay. We dig in the sand, sift it, build with it, pour it, enjoy the feel of it through our fingers and just explore how it moves. There are so many meaningful things we, the small people, can learn through sandplay like physical development, mathematical development, and expressive arts and design. And so much more from just the ordinary sand. Amazing!

Labels: aisyahSays

Ibu recently went for a Montessori Maths workshop and taught me the concept of odd and even numbers. I don't know what the heck they are but well, the cookie crisps were delicious! :D

Give, the clear concept of Even and Odd in mathematics to the children at the age of 4 years old, seem quite difficult. But, there is no doubt that It is considered the best age to teach Even and Odd to the child. The ability to count, to compute and to use numerical relationships are among the most significant gifts to human mind. Without any doubt, that little children are attracted to the science of numbers at the very early age of life.

In Montessori, the child is taken from the concrete experiences and ideas to the abstract one. There is also a progression of difficulty… simple to complex. First, the child uses the material to make his concept clear about anything in mathematics problems, after that he becomes expert in the field of mathematics without using any material. Same like that the concept of Even and Odd is given to the child with the help of home-made as well as Montessori-made material both in the school and at home.

from montessoriexpert.com

Labels: sarahSays

Do you know that you can actually make your own playdoh at home? Homemade playdoh is cheap, non-toxic and lasts a long time! It is really really easy to do because you only need so few ingredients...ermm, except maybe for the cream of tartar. But since Ibu is a homebaker, she already has this in the pantry. yay! We love love love playdoh and I am sure you do too. Here's our favourite recipe!

- 2 Cups flour
- 1.5 Cup hot water
- 0.5 cup salt
- 2 tbsp cream of tartar
- 2 tbsp oil

Mix everything together. You can also divide them to add different colours. Adek chose pink for hers and I chose yellow for mine. And nope, you don't have to put on any hats to make this. hehehee.

Labels: aisyahSays