Out in the real world

We went to Pasir Ris Kid's Kampong in the morning at Pasir Ris Farmway. There were lots of pets at the kid's kampong like hamsters and rabbits. It also has a longkang fishing facility for kids. We paid $10 per person to have 1 hour of longkang fishing, 2 packs of animal feeds, 1 ice cream and 1 bottle of mineral water. Don't expect the guppies to jump into your net magically. They are not stupid. It took me quite some time to catch some. I guess they must have been traumatised by the throngs of kids who wanted to catch them and recognised the nets already.

After filling our buckets with the guppies, we proceeded to the pet area to take a look at the rabbits, ducks, tortoises and other small animals there. We also fed them the animal food we got initially. There was a pond which was crowded with kois and they scrambled to us whenever we are near. They must have been terribly hungry! We spent almost 2 hours there before we dropped by nenek's place. We didn't bring any guppies home although we could because that would mean we have to get a tank for them. I wanted to but Ibu was against the idea. We enjoyed our ice cream at the provided table and chairs before we marched to the nearest bus stop which was very, very far.

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I woke up really really early this morning and helped Ibu make some pancakes for breakfast. They weren't really ordinary pancakes because they don't look like normal round pancakes. I found a pancake art site called (Jim's pancakes) while surfing the internet recently and thought it would be nice if we can also make one. And check out this website too for pancake art inspiration! Of course, mine are nothing compared to the professionally-done ones. I started with very simple designs like a cone with 2 ice cream scoops and a butterfly. I am very sure I can come up with more complicated pancake designs next time!

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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We just had a birthday party (also a hari raya gathering) for me and adek yesterday. Everyone in the family was invited...unty, mak Ngah, mak Long, tok, nenek, Abang Alif. We had a carnival theme so everything was very colourful! We issued tickets to the guests and played some carnival-themed games although the only people who participated were me and adek. hehehe. Abang Alif was too shy to join us.

Ibu baked some cupcakes for us this year because the family is not a big fan of cakes especially frosted ones. There were also some macarons and m&m cookies for the guests. The macarons were a hit because there were quite yummy! I wish Ibu had made more because everything was gone at the end of the day...oh well, maybe next year. Although it was a really small party, we sure had fun because everyone was there to celebrate it with us!

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We built a cardboard foosball game for the global cardboard challenge meetup last week at the Botanic Garden. It's a foosball game made entirely with recycled materials. We got a cardboard box from the bubble tea shop near our place, some toilet paper rolls, disposable chopsticks and a few cardboard cutouts. What exactly is a cardboard challenge?


The cardboard challenge is an annual challenge that invites kids around the world to design and build awesome creations using cardboard, recycled materials and imagination. The challenge culminates in a Global Day of Play on October 5th, marking the 2nd anniversary of the flashmob in the "Caine's Arcade" short film, bringing communities together to celebrate the creativity and imagination of children around the world. Well, that's what google says about the cardboard challenge event.


I saw what the other kids did for the challenge at the event and they were awesome! There were carnival-like games to try like mini cardboard golf. There was even a submarine made entirely out of cardboard. It was so popular that we didn't manage to try it at all. Our favourite was the vending machine which dispenses cold drinks when you insert the required coins...just like the real thing! It rained for a moment but everyone managed to bring the cardboard creations to the nearby shelters. We continued to try everyone's cardboard creations till the rain stopped. What an amazing and creative day!

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Don't you just love to pop the bubbles of a bubblewrap? Well, we usually do that but we did some painting and printing this time. First we painted the wraps with whatever colours we have in our stash. Then we pressed them onto our drawing papers for some cool bubble patterns. Adek couldn't keep herself from popping all the bubbles so she got a more splattered effect. We found out that the wetter the paint is, the better it is. We will probably do with more colours to get more variations rather than just mix them together next time!

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It's amazing what one can do with limited resources. Ibu gave each of us a black paper, some white paint and a few cotton buds. Adek drew a creature which looked like an octopus while I drew a house with some clouds and a tree. You don't have to be an artist to draw like one!

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This is our first storytelling session on board of the SMRT Train. Participants listened to a few stories while the train move from Ang Mo Kio-Woodlands and back again. Ibu managed to get slots for us on the last weekday of the September holiday.


We arrived early for the registration but it was already quite crowded. The queues were moving pretty fast but it was a rather long wait to board the train. Adek and I were put in the 6-9 years old group even though adek is supposed to be in the younger age group. We were advised to sit together so that we won't get lost after the storytelling session.


We finally boarded the train half and hour later and met our storyteller, Mdm Juriah. She started the session with Fox's sack when the train started moving. It's about a cunning fox who hid a bumble bee in his sack. When a woman lets out the bumblebee that he had put in his sack, the fox replaced it with a rooster, a pig, and finally a little boy. A very lively story which made us laugh. The next 2 stories were pretty boring. Adek was a bit bored already and she started to do her 'monkey' act. hehe. The event was ended with a share-a-riddle session and everyone was given a colouring worksheet. Hope to join another session again next year!

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Oh, lookie! Someone has made her legs as a canvas. hehehehehe.

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We played with bunga api (sparklers) on the eve of Hari Raya for the first time and it was great fun! At first we were scared but we braved ourselves and waved the sparklers merrily. It's safe if we don't hold them near ourselves. They are like flowers shining bright and they made such a beautiful sight! You know, it wouldn't be that much of a Hari Raya without these sparklers and it's just one of the ways to get ourselves in the mood.

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Every year, Nenek Ros will sew our baju kurongs. This year was no exception...Alhamdulillah (can save $$$)! Adek and I really really love this year's chic baju kurong. Thx, Nenek!

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Ibu decided to make our own kueh raya for the very first time this year. There will be peanut butter cookies and m&m cookies on out list. The rest will be keropoks and nuts and more keropoks! Actually we have already started making our own raya cookies last year but we got stomach flu a day after making a batch of cookies and ended up lying in bed till raya. Hopefully this Raya will be better for us. Ameeeeeen!

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It was raining really heavily when school ended just now. As usual Ibu will bring my pair of rain boots to be worn so that my school shoes won't be wet. I also wore my raincoat since it's so troublesome to carry an umbrella with the wind blowing hard on you. I took the chance to look for muddy puddles to jump in them! I always look forward to muddy puddles after it rains...hehe. Ibu told me that rain carries great importance for all livings things, including us!

"And We send down from the sky rain chartered with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests."(Al-Quran 50:9)

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I went for my first tooth extraction last week. Well, it's not only one tooth...I had 2of my teeth extracted! It was a pleasant experience although I admit I was feeling all jittery before the extractions. The clinic was kids-friendly and there was a play area for little people to play. We waited for a while before a lady dentist introduced herself. The dentist was a very friendly lady who helped me calm my nerves. She asked me a few questions before she proceeded. She injected my gums to make them numb first. Then it was over that I didn't even feel a thing. Phew! That wasn't so bad, I thought to myself. My gums didn't bleed as I had imagined them to be because she used a new technology to 'seal' the holes where my teeth used to be. The only 'holes' were in my Ayah's pocket. hehe.

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There are tons of things to do everytime we are at our nenek+atok's house. We did a pillow fight apart from the usual painting and plant-watering activities. It was fun fun fun especially when there were lots of pillows around. Of course I had to be careful not to hit adek too hard (although she doesn't seem to mind...hehe).

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