K is for Textured Kite

Another Kite craft we did last week for Letter K. We did a kite with 4 different materials.

What You Need:
Construction paper
Marker to draw a kite on paper
4 types of different materials for them to paste on the kite.
Glue

The 4 materials I chose were:

• Glitter Foam (rough)
• Corrugated Paper (uneven)
• Tracing Paper (smooth and transulcent)
• Hearts Sequins (Shiny)

I cute the glitter foam and corrugated paper into triangles for them to paste on the kite. I let them explore the different textures.

We then pasted triangle cut out from tracing paper. We also revised the shape, Triangle.

The sequins next.

Let dry and let them touch the different textures again when they dry.

K for Kite

 

Our Letter of the Week was K last week and this is the craft we did for Kite. 

What You Need:

Sandpaper

Paint

Hole Puncher

Strips of Crepe Paper or Ribbons or Tissue Paper

Marker

I drew a Diamond shape on the sandpaper. We talked about the shape of the Kite. (Diamond was the Shape of the Week) And I let them use finger/hand paint on the sandpaper. We also talked about the texture of the paper as they did that. 

They got bored with finger painting and asked for Cars. Their wish was granted and they enjoyed rolling their cars over the sandpaper. It was great as they could feel the difference when they roll the car on the sandpaper and on the newspaper. It was interesting to see them exploring with their cars. So, remember to listen to your children, they give you the best ideas!

That's Y's finger pointing to the Kite done by his Brother. They know which is their work! Once this is dried, punch hole on the top and bottom. Attach ribbon/string on top and crepe ribbons at the bottom. They can hold the top ribbon can start running around. However. as the sandpaper is a little heavy, it can't really "fly".

Drumming Fun

This craft can be found at No Time for Flash Card. I find this craft very suitable for young toddlers. My boys are now 20 months and this is perfect for them.

What You Need:
Milk Tin or any tin/container
Dark colored paper to cover the milk tin
Tracing paper or tissue paper in another color. I cut out diamond shapes as we are learning Diamond this week
Glue
Chopsticks as drumsticks

The boys started applying the glue on the milk tins

I pasted the Black construction paper and they pasted the diamond shapes paper on it

They started drumming in the afternoon when the glue dried.

They even explored the two sides of the milk tin because they make different sounds. We also use our hands to tap on the drum.

I like crafts that double up as a toy! They have a new toy and they are still playing with it today after making it yesterday.

Bus Themed Craft

My boys are very crazy over transportation, cars, buses, train, etc. So, I did a bus themed craft with them. I printed the template from First School.

What You Need:
Construction Paper
Cut out bus template
Glue

It's so simple, I trace the windows on the bus body to guide them a bit with the pasting. Older kids can do without this. We counted the windows as well. We talked about the parts of the bus when we were crafting.

Y, applying glue on the bus body

K, still trying to apply glue though he is done with his craft. 

The boys loved their cousins a lot. They refused to nap and keep asking for their cousin on Sunday. So, we decided to bring them to my mum's place where the cousins gathered. I asked the boys if they would like to give the bus craft to their cousin as a present and they were happy with the idea. I want them to learn the art of giving. They loved this craft they made so much but they were willing to give. Till today, they were still saying, "Gor Gor... bus...". Seems like they were telling me that they gave their bus to their cousin and that's so sweet.

K, in the lift, excited about giving his bus craft to his cousin.

K, passing his present to his cousin. My nephew was so surprised and happy to receive the gift.

Sensory Craft Beads

What You Need:
Craft Beads
A big container to contain the craft beads
Containers of different sizes
Scoops/cups/spoons of different sizes and design
A Funnel
Magnet letters for some letter hunt fun

Preparation:

• Pour the craft beads into a big bowl or bin

•  I put some magnet letters in the bowl and they sink to the bottom. The boys were surprised to find some letters at the bottom of the bowl.

• Have some containers of different sizes and add a funnel for them to pour the beads into. Prepare different types of scoops/cups/spoons for them to start pouring.

Y busy pouring

 Tips:
 Always check how breakable are the containers you offer to your kids. I was careless. I wanted something tall and heavy so the container won't fall easily but I didn't test if the container is safe enough and Y broke it, very easily. We had a hard time trying to get the boys' hands off the glass bits and cleaning up.

Accidents happen, though this could and should have been prevented but the boys still had fun with this sensory pouring activity with some letter surprise.

Club Med Bintan

I can't say it was a great trip but I can't say it's all bad too. It was just very stressful during the nights and the first day was bad because I think we made a mistake of not preparing them well enough for the trip. We should have explained to them before hand what is a vacation and what can they expect from a vacation. But overall, other than very bad nights where they took turns to be in my arms most of the time, I think they enjoyed themselves.

K, playing with his car on the ferry. They are very into Cars, Buses and Train.

K, enjoying his bus ride.

We took a walk around the resort when we reach there and this is Y, enjoying his walk.

The boys enjoyed watching the children rehearsing on the stage. Y's eyes were still fixed on the stage when I grabbed him for a photo.

After a tiring day of no naps. Y was overtired and kept crying. I had to carry him from 8 plus onwards and he only fell asleep at 11 plus at night. K was also crying before that. Then Y woke up at 5 plus in the morning. Then he found that the door was fun when the sun came up. This is his highlight of the trip.

Look at that happy face.

Not long after this, there was a round of struggle as he found that slamming the door is fun.

Y had to take a nap as he woke up so early and we were unable to make K sleep as he woke up much later. I thought it's pointless for him to stay in the room and got his Dad to bring him to the beach. The beach is something Y missed out a lot because it rained in the afternoon and we didn't get to go to the beach and the sand was still wet from the rain the next day.

There was no playground at the resort but there was a playroom. As it was raining, we brought the boys down and they were thrilled to see these cars.

Y in Blue and K in Red

Our 3 days 2 nights Bintan trip ended the next day with a walk down the beach.

Lessons I learnt from this trip:

• Prepare your children for the trip. Show them pictures, talk to them and tell them what they can expect. 
• Never skip a nap.

Playing Catch Up

Had been bugged by a powerful flu bug which left me bedridden for a week after the trip. I'm playing catch up here on my post. Please bear with me and thanks for dropping by!

Playschool @ Home - July Week 4

Letter of the Week: H
Vocabulary: House, Hug
Song: Let's Build a House.

Theme of the Week: Pirate Adventure

The letter of the week was H but they didn't seem very interested in doing letter activities last week. I'm thinking of coming up with more interesting alphabet crafts or other letter recognition activities with them as after so many weeks, they don't seem to be very interested in pasting things on the letter cut out.

We did more playing, as usual...

They helped out with the housework. K wiping the mirrors.

And Y sweeping the floor.

They learnt the word "push" and "pull" and they practice saying it while pushing and pulling the drawers. They can read these 2 words and I'm so thrilled to hear them read. I let them play with these plastic drawer unit but not the wooden ones.

I put out 3 colored plates with a box of poms poms. They were more interested in their other toys then but when I left the room and went back, I was surprised to see K sorting the poms poms all by himself and he FINISHED the whole box! I took the pictures secretly as I didn't want to distract him. 

They were guinea pigs for their grandmother to practice her hair cutting skills. My Mom has a sudden interest in hair styling and she was very eager to try it out on the boys. This is K, he seems to know my Mom is not a pro with a look of apprehension on his face .