Monday, June 14, 2010
Noisy grasshopper
This is one noisy grasshopper. Can you belive the sound it makes?
Termite trail. The forest was full of them.
piate toie
every time we got into a car/ taxi/ van, sophia would ask
"piate toie"
I would say "Ok. once upon a time, there was a"
"Ada piate"
"Ada pirate"
"Anchali piate"
"Anjali pirate"
"shapia piate"
"Sophia Pirate"
"Mummy pirate", Anjali would pipe up
"yes, and mummy pirate. And they all went in a"
"Boat!" (Sophia)
"In a boat. How did they go in a boat?"
"yo yo yo boat!"
"Row row row your boat. And they all went into a jungle. And what did they see there?"
"Lion"
"ok, lion. And then?"
"kiger"
"tiger and then"
"anai"
"And elephant"
And so the story will go on, for the duration of the journey or until the girls got distracted my something else.
"What do the girls understand by the term pirate?" asked husband "Other than it being a big word adjective that they can add to their and other names to look pretty?"
Once Anjali didnt want an "Ada piate, Anchali piate" story
"Mummy, I want a eal piate stoie", she said
"I am telling you a real pirate story"
"No. But I dont want the pirates to be persons"
"Ok. so once upon a time, there were five pirates"
"No. six pirates" (Anjali)
"I thought you want me to tell a real pirate story?"
"Yes. but I want to tell you the number of pirates"
"piate toie"
I would say "Ok. once upon a time, there was a"
"Ada piate"
"Ada pirate"
"Anchali piate"
"Anjali pirate"
"shapia piate"
"Sophia Pirate"
"Mummy pirate", Anjali would pipe up
"yes, and mummy pirate. And they all went in a"
"Boat!" (Sophia)
"In a boat. How did they go in a boat?"
"yo yo yo boat!"
"Row row row your boat. And they all went into a jungle. And what did they see there?"
"Lion"
"ok, lion. And then?"
"kiger"
"tiger and then"
"anai"
"And elephant"
And so the story will go on, for the duration of the journey or until the girls got distracted my something else.
"What do the girls understand by the term pirate?" asked husband "Other than it being a big word adjective that they can add to their and other names to look pretty?"
Once Anjali didnt want an "Ada piate, Anchali piate" story
"Mummy, I want a eal piate stoie", she said
"I am telling you a real pirate story"
"No. But I dont want the pirates to be persons"
"Ok. so once upon a time, there were five pirates"
"No. six pirates" (Anjali)
"I thought you want me to tell a real pirate story?"
"Yes. but I want to tell you the number of pirates"
Reading with Anjali
On the train back, Anjali slept from 3pm to 5pm and Sophia slept from 4pm to 7pm. As we arrived in Singapore at 9pm (as opposed to the expected 7.45pm) there had to be some way in which we could kill the intervening hours. We read karadi rhymes. One of the songs in karadi rhymes is the song of bhootaramji and the puppy's tail. Each time I opened the page, Anjali would ask
"Mummy, why bootaramji is here?"
So I made up a story about genies who lived in crystal palaces and how an earthquake came and shattered the palaces. The genies with their broken hearts stayed in all the nooks that they could find - lamps (like Alaadin's genie) and bottles (like bootaramji). I must have repeated the story about fifteen times so far.
We then read Valmiki Ramayana - a version from Amar Chitra Katha. I think Anjali enjoyed it. It was a rather comprehensive edition, and Anjali was already familiar with some of the short stories in it - like Surasa and hanuman setting fire to lanka, the kidnapping of Sita etc. We did the story quickly once and then some parts of it slowly.
"Mummy, why bootaramji is here?"
So I made up a story about genies who lived in crystal palaces and how an earthquake came and shattered the palaces. The genies with their broken hearts stayed in all the nooks that they could find - lamps (like Alaadin's genie) and bottles (like bootaramji). I must have repeated the story about fifteen times so far.
We then read Valmiki Ramayana - a version from Amar Chitra Katha. I think Anjali enjoyed it. It was a rather comprehensive edition, and Anjali was already familiar with some of the short stories in it - like Surasa and hanuman setting fire to lanka, the kidnapping of Sita etc. We did the story quickly once and then some parts of it slowly.
The starved kid
The thing that the kids missed the most in Taman negara was the food. It was far from satisfactory and while travellers home was a very nice hotel in that we could make our drinks and use the kitchen as need be, the lunch and dinner were sadly lacking in vegetables and fruits, which they made up for in the amount of oil. Husband felt it most acutely and by the second afternoon was sorely missing my cooking (which says something)
But no one missed patti's food more than Sophia who, when asked for what she wanted to eat, kept asking for "idli and dosai"
On our way back, we took a number of sandwiches, packet soup and milo for the girls on the road. Now, Anjali is perfectly happy with sandwiches and currant buns. She takes after husband, who, in the absence of good food would simply eat bread and milk. Sophia is a little more hard to please.
Our train was delayed for a couple of hours due to some fallen log and by the time we reached woodlands, the last sandwich had run its course. I was carrying Sophia in my hip and holding Anjali's hand while husband grappeled with the luggage while we entered the immigration.
"Here is the queue for Singaporeans and PRs", I said, pointing to the signboard.
"Mummy! Pulau! eat!" Said Sophia.
It took me a while to understand that she had misheard PR to be Pulau.
"Sorry baby. Its not pulau, its PR"
"huh! Mummy, idli, dosai!!"
"You poor starved baby!" Luckily patti had arranged for idlis to be on teh table when we got home, so Sophia had her idlis before bed. i suppose she will have dosais.
Anjali wanted mushroom soup. I gave her some instant cambells soup in the train which she didnt like at all.
"Mummy, I like your mushroom soup. can you make me some?"
So this mornign, i made up some mushroom soup. She would have it for dinner.
But no one missed patti's food more than Sophia who, when asked for what she wanted to eat, kept asking for "idli and dosai"
On our way back, we took a number of sandwiches, packet soup and milo for the girls on the road. Now, Anjali is perfectly happy with sandwiches and currant buns. She takes after husband, who, in the absence of good food would simply eat bread and milk. Sophia is a little more hard to please.
Our train was delayed for a couple of hours due to some fallen log and by the time we reached woodlands, the last sandwich had run its course. I was carrying Sophia in my hip and holding Anjali's hand while husband grappeled with the luggage while we entered the immigration.
"Here is the queue for Singaporeans and PRs", I said, pointing to the signboard.
"Mummy! Pulau! eat!" Said Sophia.
It took me a while to understand that she had misheard PR to be Pulau.
"Sorry baby. Its not pulau, its PR"
"huh! Mummy, idli, dosai!!"
"You poor starved baby!" Luckily patti had arranged for idlis to be on teh table when we got home, so Sophia had her idlis before bed. i suppose she will have dosais.
Anjali wanted mushroom soup. I gave her some instant cambells soup in the train which she didnt like at all.
"Mummy, I like your mushroom soup. can you make me some?"
So this mornign, i made up some mushroom soup. She would have it for dinner.
Swimming in the river
One of the activities that the girls enjoyed very much in Taman Negara was river swimming. They got around an hour of river swimming every afternoon that we were there.
I loved swimming in the rivers. It is so different from swimming in the sea. Tembeling river was a paradise - calm waters, very little current and shallow waters with gently sloping beaches. Bathing in the sea makes you feel dirty after that, and itchy. But bathing in the river is wonderfully refreshing.
Anjali enjoyed swimming in the river. The first day, she was playing in the shores mostly with her feet in the water. The second day, she wanted to learn to swim, and after spending a some time in the water, she went to playing with the sand and river rocks with another young boy who was also playing there. By the third day, she was unstoppable, running along the beach, unmindful of the other swimmers, and of the various obstacles, Splashing all the other children and also our guide - with whom she was fairly comfortable - enough to be left alone for a few moments with him. Six months ago she would have raised a holy tantrum to be left alone with a stranger. But the lure of a cave adventure was too strong.
Sophia also loved swimming. As she is competitive and wants to do everything Anjali does (unmindful of the fact that she is half of Anjali's size and that she cant sit down in deep water). As a result, she swallowed several mouthfuls of river water before conceeding that she could not really go by herself in the river and allowed husband and me to help her. Sophia has a preference for Self initiated and independent exploration and holds a grudge against people who dont let her do this.
I loved swimming in the rivers. It is so different from swimming in the sea. Tembeling river was a paradise - calm waters, very little current and shallow waters with gently sloping beaches. Bathing in the sea makes you feel dirty after that, and itchy. But bathing in the river is wonderfully refreshing.
Anjali enjoyed swimming in the river. The first day, she was playing in the shores mostly with her feet in the water. The second day, she wanted to learn to swim, and after spending a some time in the water, she went to playing with the sand and river rocks with another young boy who was also playing there. By the third day, she was unstoppable, running along the beach, unmindful of the other swimmers, and of the various obstacles, Splashing all the other children and also our guide - with whom she was fairly comfortable - enough to be left alone for a few moments with him. Six months ago she would have raised a holy tantrum to be left alone with a stranger. But the lure of a cave adventure was too strong.
Sophia also loved swimming. As she is competitive and wants to do everything Anjali does (unmindful of the fact that she is half of Anjali's size and that she cant sit down in deep water). As a result, she swallowed several mouthfuls of river water before conceeding that she could not really go by herself in the river and allowed husband and me to help her. Sophia has a preference for Self initiated and independent exploration and holds a grudge against people who dont let her do this.
Kutti obeler
We just returned from Taman negara. it was a wwonderful 4 days, and the girls really learnt a lot. Husband feels that we ought to go back again (an organized IEP trip perhaps). The photos will follow shortly, but here are some anecdotes.
Anjali, owing to the many hikes to Bukit Timah hill and in Yercaud, has developed a nice passion for monkey like exploration. She was in her element in the forest - unafraid of the night walk, bravely climbing up the staircases made of roots, balancing on the canopy walkway, swimming in the caves and the hightlight of the exploration was a dark cave which Anjali had to frog march (husband had to slither through like a snake) and mummy and Sophia had to stay behind as it was way to complicated for Sophia. She earned her title of explorer.
As Anjali walked, we would praise her efforts
"Anjali, You are a big explorer"
Sibling competitiveness would kick in
"Shapia!!"
"What about Sophia?"
"obeler"
It took us a while to figure out that Obeler means explorer.
"What kind of obeler are you?"
"tutti obeler!"
Anjali, owing to the many hikes to Bukit Timah hill and in Yercaud, has developed a nice passion for monkey like exploration. She was in her element in the forest - unafraid of the night walk, bravely climbing up the staircases made of roots, balancing on the canopy walkway, swimming in the caves and the hightlight of the exploration was a dark cave which Anjali had to frog march (husband had to slither through like a snake) and mummy and Sophia had to stay behind as it was way to complicated for Sophia. She earned her title of explorer.
As Anjali walked, we would praise her efforts
"Anjali, You are a big explorer"
Sibling competitiveness would kick in
"Shapia!!"
"What about Sophia?"
"obeler"
It took us a while to figure out that Obeler means explorer.
"What kind of obeler are you?"
"tutti obeler!"
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A sheep made a wish
Last night i was reading to Anjali a story about a sheep having granted a wish from a fairy. I told her
"if I had a wish, I will wish that i am always happy. What will you wish for"
Anjali thought a moneht
"I will wish for...."
Her answer was not unexpected, but took me by surprise that it comes from such a young kid.
"I will wish for that my mummy will not scold me anymore"
"if I had a wish, I will wish that i am always happy. What will you wish for"
Anjali thought a moneht
"I will wish for...."
Her answer was not unexpected, but took me by surprise that it comes from such a young kid.
"I will wish for that my mummy will not scold me anymore"
Snail trail
Encouraged by a post in Filth Wizardry, the girls and I tried snail painting yesterday. We took some food coloring with us and, as it had just finished raining, found a large bunch of snails in the grass. We took about four of them, dipped them into colored water and left them on paper.
We waited about five minutes, and the snails didnt move. Anjali and Sophia began to paint with the remaining food coloring for about ten minutes, coming up with a marvellous watercolor. The snails still didnt move. I looked and saw that they were just coming out of their shells. We went for a couple of rounds, up to visit the hansters and then to the playground for a bit. After that, we went home to take a bath before coming out again to check on the snails.
They were still sitting put. Husband had several theories (he was not very supportive of the snail painting in the first place because he felt it was a sort of snimal cruelty - though the food coloring is non toxic). one of husband's theories was that the paper absorbed the moisture that was in the snail shell and therefore the snail couldnt move. As it had been over half an hour, we took the snails out and pt them back on the grass.
Then we noticed something strange. Where the snails had been, there were holes on the paper - rather like burn marks (but without the brown).
"Why are there holes?", I asked
"Maybe they secrete something toxic", husband said
"but we let the girls carry them around", I said, a little concerned
We didnt say anything for a bit but watched while Anjali "rescued" the snails by taking them out of the pavement and putting them back on the grass.
"Snails cant be toxic", I said. They are supposed to be friendly to farmers.
We looked agian at the holes on the paper. Then husband exclaimed
"They have been eating the paper", he said. "Its cellulose, you know". They have been going round and round and eating the paper. thats why they have not moved.
Interesting. maybe we'll try it again at some time. I wonder however, how the guys in filth wizardry got such a beautiful line though
We waited about five minutes, and the snails didnt move. Anjali and Sophia began to paint with the remaining food coloring for about ten minutes, coming up with a marvellous watercolor. The snails still didnt move. I looked and saw that they were just coming out of their shells. We went for a couple of rounds, up to visit the hansters and then to the playground for a bit. After that, we went home to take a bath before coming out again to check on the snails.
They were still sitting put. Husband had several theories (he was not very supportive of the snail painting in the first place because he felt it was a sort of snimal cruelty - though the food coloring is non toxic). one of husband's theories was that the paper absorbed the moisture that was in the snail shell and therefore the snail couldnt move. As it had been over half an hour, we took the snails out and pt them back on the grass.
Then we noticed something strange. Where the snails had been, there were holes on the paper - rather like burn marks (but without the brown).
"Why are there holes?", I asked
"Maybe they secrete something toxic", husband said
"but we let the girls carry them around", I said, a little concerned
We didnt say anything for a bit but watched while Anjali "rescued" the snails by taking them out of the pavement and putting them back on the grass.
"Snails cant be toxic", I said. They are supposed to be friendly to farmers.
We looked agian at the holes on the paper. Then husband exclaimed
"They have been eating the paper", he said. "Its cellulose, you know". They have been going round and round and eating the paper. thats why they have not moved.
Interesting. maybe we'll try it again at some time. I wonder however, how the guys in filth wizardry got such a beautiful line though
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Girls evening out
The girls and I had a perfectly killing evening out yesterday. husband was a mite late from work, and I had several errands to run. Anu and her parents were visiting, but they were not to be expected until half past seven. Anu's clock usually runs a bit late, so I felt it would be safe to run errands till around 8pm.
We went to West mall. Sophia needed a pair of shoes for the upcoming trip to Taman Negara. I still needed several miscellaneous supplies (milo, baby cereal, more cambells soup, incase the food at the chalet is not suitable for the girls and we had to resort to pasta). We stopped at the shoe shop, where, while waiting to be served, the girls amused themselves by trying on the various flipflops and shoes (even those that were three inches too big)
After the shoe shop, we stopped at udders for icecream. A lady at the next table had triplets (three year old triplets). My girls and her boys were doing some sort of interactive parallel play, while we stayed for over half an hour eating one small scoop of icecream. Sophia then decided it was an amusing thing to do to take everyone's handbags. The girls set up a kind of game where Sophia would take away the handbag and Anjali would return it.
This happened while by back was turned for a minute when we packed up the left over icecream.
In a way the outing was significant because it is my first real proper outing alone with the two girls without husband or patti helping out. I think it marks some responsibility defining moment in my maternal career, though I cant really articulate how.
We went to West mall. Sophia needed a pair of shoes for the upcoming trip to Taman Negara. I still needed several miscellaneous supplies (milo, baby cereal, more cambells soup, incase the food at the chalet is not suitable for the girls and we had to resort to pasta). We stopped at the shoe shop, where, while waiting to be served, the girls amused themselves by trying on the various flipflops and shoes (even those that were three inches too big)
After the shoe shop, we stopped at udders for icecream. A lady at the next table had triplets (three year old triplets). My girls and her boys were doing some sort of interactive parallel play, while we stayed for over half an hour eating one small scoop of icecream. Sophia then decided it was an amusing thing to do to take everyone's handbags. The girls set up a kind of game where Sophia would take away the handbag and Anjali would return it.
This happened while by back was turned for a minute when we packed up the left over icecream.
In a way the outing was significant because it is my first real proper outing alone with the two girls without husband or patti helping out. I think it marks some responsibility defining moment in my maternal career, though I cant really articulate how.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sound garden progress
This was sort of inspired by Filth wizardry's Sound wallI wanted something for the girls to beat and drum, after Sophia's enthusiasm with the playeum's percussion, and I didnt want it to be a toy that we had to put away. This set up was ideal. Here are the components
1. old tins to bang/ beat
2. Set of lids glued on cardboard (also for banging)
3. A cookie tin filled with nose makers
4. Old wind chimes
5. A holder to hold chopsticks that the girls can use for the beating process
i have some coconut shells, a jingle toy, an old drum and some maraccas that i want to add to it.
Colourful journeys: Monkey see, monkey do
perhaps, the highlight of the day was the show of the capseller and the monkeys - a story time interactive puppet show that was put up by two very gifted young men (Reuben and Mark). With a combination of sing along and story telling, they brought the children into a very absorbing world of stories. We met Ohviya at the story time. They hadnt realized that it was for babies and hadnt brought Vedika along.
The girls were extremely taken in by the show, and if I am not mistaken we will be keeping an eye out for following this pair of artists in their journeys.
As part of their story, the monkey, who would at some time in the soty be stealing the capseller's caps, was looking for friends.
"Those who want to be the monkey's friends, please put up your hands"
Anjali put up her hands and got picked up by the monkey!
The monkey made her do several tricks - scratching, jumping etc, before giving her a pair of ears
Here are some videos (though the camera ran out of batteries, as cameras are often apt to do.)
Anjali was thrilled at being chosen to be a monkey. She came back to me after the show, all excited
"mummy!, The monkey put a hat on me when i was sleeping!!"
Patti says that she is so thrilled to be a monkey that she has been climbing the furniture all morning, saying that she is a monkey
Colourful journeys: The interactive story land
The story land was an area with a huge feltboard and lots of characters, blocks and puppets for playing. I loved the costumes (Can i design some for the girls?)
They had a good time, barring the time when Sophia's diaper leaked.
The problem with me is that whenever I see something interesting, I want to do it myself for the kids at home. Ofcourse, some things like the tunnel and teh sound garden are easy to do. But a costume and puppet theatre, especially one involving a giant felt board will be a heavy tradeoff for the time consumed. And then what puppets should I put there and what story would they enact?
More importantly, which part of the house will the theatre be, and which wall will need to be transformed? It will be dinteresting, no doubt - but such an activity requires planning.
Colourful journeys: The national museum part 1: Shiro and the cherry blossom
The national museum has a set of exhibitions for children over this week and next weekend. We happened to visit there yesterday, after the brunch. Dhana accompanied us. Dhana was having a rare bout of free time given that Vishnu was overseas and Ramesh was working and she wanted to relax the time off by spending it with the girls. Ofcourse, doses of the girls can be extremely relaxing.
We decided to watch Shiro and the cherry blossom. It was a nice show and Sophia, who was sitting on my lap really enjoyed the cat in the show, and kept calling it meow in very loud voices. i think Anjali enjoyed the show as well, though she was a bit let down as we couldnt get tickets near each other and she had to sit with husband. She was a bit upset about it as the story was a little emotionally charged and she prefers holding my hand during such scenes.
We decided to watch Shiro and the cherry blossom. It was a nice show and Sophia, who was sitting on my lap really enjoyed the cat in the show, and kept calling it meow in very loud voices. i think Anjali enjoyed the show as well, though she was a bit let down as we couldnt get tickets near each other and she had to sit with husband. She was a bit upset about it as the story was a little emotionally charged and she prefers holding my hand during such scenes.
box house puppets
It was a free show and since the girls were so crazy about puppets, we felt it was a good idea to take them. We sat through two stories - one was a interpretative rendering of the queen of hearts from Alice in Wonderland. Anjali didnt like the story too much, though I liked it. This was because the queen of hearts kept crying and ordering people's heads to be cut off. She also wanted to take my nose - at which point Anjali began to cry.
I convinced her to sit through another story where we sat through a telling of hansel and gretal where gretal ate a candy witch. Anjali liked that one very much.
As for Sophia, i asked her
"Did you see a puppet show?"
And she said
"isa, biny, chico, dora dora, boosh, thofolo, pooh, pidet"
These are, ofcourse, the puppets that we feature in our home theatre
Vivo is itself a nice place because of the rooftop piha beach
Husband and the girls apparently saw a real pirate ship with pirates on top, but ofcourse no one invited me to take a peek
Powder fun
On saturday, Anjali discovered the stash of dusting powder that patti kept for the kids. I dont keep powder within the reach of the kids, as I seldom use it for them. patti uses powder often, adn she had a big box of johnson.
So Anjali opened the powder box, put a bit of powder on herself and a bit on Sophia and went around. I was doing something else and by the time I got back, Sophia had gotten her hands on the powder box. This is what the floor in patti's house looked like
We decided to let the girls play a bit with the powder, and this is what they looked like
Even thattha was not spared
he is trying to have a serious conversation while (cant say which imp) is puttiong powder on him.
So Anjali opened the powder box, put a bit of powder on herself and a bit on Sophia and went around. I was doing something else and by the time I got back, Sophia had gotten her hands on the powder box. This is what the floor in patti's house looked like
milk paint
when Sophia knocked over husband's cup of milk last wednesday, we decided to let the girls play in and with it first before cleaning it up. I put some red and blue colors in the milk and the girls painted a bit (We took their clothhes off so as not to stain them). They also painted me and husband and ended up being very sticky when all was said and done.
I gave the girls some old towels and a bit of water to clena up - which they did enthusiastically. Atleast Anjali did. Sophia discovered that the towel absorbed water from the pail and she made me squeeze water about a million times to discover absorbtion.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Imagination, creativity and solutions
Some of us spend all our lives figuring out the mechanisms of creativity and imagination. Here are some examples of how they are generated in a three year old. Does the SIAM model explain these?
At night
Anjali: Mummy, I dont want to sleep
Me: the lights are off, its past ten O clock and you must try to sleep.
Anjali: Mummy, the lights in the hall are on mummy.
Me: Thats because Anu aunty is packing to go to Malaysia.
Anjali: I want to play with Anu aunty
Me: Anu aunty will come back on Sunday and then you can play with her.
Anjali: Why Anu aunty will come back on Sunday?
Me: Because Anu aunty's mummy and daddy will come with her and stay at our house.
Anjali: Why Anu aunty's mummy and daddy will stay at our house?
Me: Because they need a place to stay and our house is big.
Anjali: Why our house is big mummy?
I wanted to say "because daddy wanted a big house". Then i reconsidered
Me: Anjali, look at you - see how you are growing. You will soon be as big as an oak tree. Ad then you'll need your own room. And Sophia will be as big as a maple tree and she'll need her own room. So we need a big house.
Anjali: But me and Sophia will cuddle up in the same bed. And percy will cuddle up with us. Because percy will be cold!!!! heee!!!
===================
Anjali: mummy, i want yakult.
Me: There is no yakult in the fridge.
Anjali: Why mummy?
Me: Because you finished all the yakult yesterday.
Anjali: Mummy, can you buy me more yakult?
Me: Ok. Tomorrow I'll buy you more yakult.
Anjali: Can you buy me more yakult now?
Me: No Anjali, the shop is closed.
Anjali: Why the shop is closed mummy?
Me: Because the shop uncle has gone to sleep.
Anjali: Then we should call a fairy to get us yakult
Me: How?
Anjali: The fairy will open the door.
Me: How?
Anjali: With a wand mummy!!
Me: But who will we give the money to?
Anjali: To the fairy
Me: No Anjali, the shop uncle will be sad if we go and take yakult from the shop when he is sleeping.
Anjali: Why mummy?
Me: Will you like it if a fairy came to our house when you are sleeping and used a wand to take your garfield away?
Anjali reflected: No.
Me: Thats why.
She seemed to accept it, though she asked for yakult again first thing in the morning.
At night
Anjali: Mummy, I dont want to sleep
Me: the lights are off, its past ten O clock and you must try to sleep.
Anjali: Mummy, the lights in the hall are on mummy.
Me: Thats because Anu aunty is packing to go to Malaysia.
Anjali: I want to play with Anu aunty
Me: Anu aunty will come back on Sunday and then you can play with her.
Anjali: Why Anu aunty will come back on Sunday?
Me: Because Anu aunty's mummy and daddy will come with her and stay at our house.
Anjali: Why Anu aunty's mummy and daddy will stay at our house?
Me: Because they need a place to stay and our house is big.
Anjali: Why our house is big mummy?
I wanted to say "because daddy wanted a big house". Then i reconsidered
Me: Anjali, look at you - see how you are growing. You will soon be as big as an oak tree. Ad then you'll need your own room. And Sophia will be as big as a maple tree and she'll need her own room. So we need a big house.
Anjali: But me and Sophia will cuddle up in the same bed. And percy will cuddle up with us. Because percy will be cold!!!! heee!!!
===================
Anjali: mummy, i want yakult.
Me: There is no yakult in the fridge.
Anjali: Why mummy?
Me: Because you finished all the yakult yesterday.
Anjali: Mummy, can you buy me more yakult?
Me: Ok. Tomorrow I'll buy you more yakult.
Anjali: Can you buy me more yakult now?
Me: No Anjali, the shop is closed.
Anjali: Why the shop is closed mummy?
Me: Because the shop uncle has gone to sleep.
Anjali: Then we should call a fairy to get us yakult
Me: How?
Anjali: The fairy will open the door.
Me: How?
Anjali: With a wand mummy!!
Me: But who will we give the money to?
Anjali: To the fairy
Me: No Anjali, the shop uncle will be sad if we go and take yakult from the shop when he is sleeping.
Anjali: Why mummy?
Me: Will you like it if a fairy came to our house when you are sleeping and used a wand to take your garfield away?
Anjali reflected: No.
Me: Thats why.
She seemed to accept it, though she asked for yakult again first thing in the morning.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
When mangala came yesterday
Mangala and Michael were over last evening. I hadnt seen Mangala in over five years, since before husband and i got married, and it was a pleasant surprise to see her. I was also surprised at how much Anjali took to her and Michael. She was looking forward to the visitors all evening, and a few minutes before they were due to arrive, she asked me
"Mummy, where is my gruffalo mask?"
Accordingly, the gruffalo mask was procured, and Anjali stood at the dorway saying
"I am going to scare everybody"
I was holding a puppet show for the kids with Julia donaldson's soundtrack running in the background (Sophia goes crazy every time i do O a funny face) when they arrived. Anjali immediately tried to scare them with the gruffalo mask.
So, we served cutlets and dips and badham kheer and Sophia sat on my lap
"this"
This, turned out, after many trials and errors, to be badham kheer (which she doesnt usually drink but wanted when she saw the guests drinking it.)
Then it was
"dodurd"
which turned out to be yogurt dip. So Sophia ate dodurd. After that, as we were sitting on the dining table, she went
"manana"
"Mummy, I also want a banana"
I opened up the two last bananas on the table. Sophia ate half and Anjali ate a quarter.
"I am the dustbin, you know", I told Mangala, as i finished up the two bananas.
As we were talking, Anjali and Sophia did cutting, taping (at the playeum, the girls obtained a nice tape dispenser with a plastic cutter and baby scissors)
As Mangala and Michael left, Anjali demonstrated her bicycle. Husband then carrie dher to show how she could swim (I think it had something to do with her pretending to be a fish - when I was showing Mangala the house she went around, carrying a lion and shouting "I am a lion" and then she went into the bedroom and reappeared carrying a scissor box and shouting "I am a baby scissor box!"). Sophia immediately said
"amma taie"
whereupon it turned out that she too wanted to swim.
"Mummy, where is my gruffalo mask?"
Accordingly, the gruffalo mask was procured, and Anjali stood at the dorway saying
"I am going to scare everybody"
I was holding a puppet show for the kids with Julia donaldson's soundtrack running in the background (Sophia goes crazy every time i do O a funny face) when they arrived. Anjali immediately tried to scare them with the gruffalo mask.
So, we served cutlets and dips and badham kheer and Sophia sat on my lap
"this"
This, turned out, after many trials and errors, to be badham kheer (which she doesnt usually drink but wanted when she saw the guests drinking it.)
Then it was
"dodurd"
which turned out to be yogurt dip. So Sophia ate dodurd. After that, as we were sitting on the dining table, she went
"manana"
"Mummy, I also want a banana"
I opened up the two last bananas on the table. Sophia ate half and Anjali ate a quarter.
"I am the dustbin, you know", I told Mangala, as i finished up the two bananas.
As we were talking, Anjali and Sophia did cutting, taping (at the playeum, the girls obtained a nice tape dispenser with a plastic cutter and baby scissors)
As Mangala and Michael left, Anjali demonstrated her bicycle. Husband then carrie dher to show how she could swim (I think it had something to do with her pretending to be a fish - when I was showing Mangala the house she went around, carrying a lion and shouting "I am a lion" and then she went into the bedroom and reappeared carrying a scissor box and shouting "I am a baby scissor box!"). Sophia immediately said
"amma taie"
whereupon it turned out that she too wanted to swim.
homemade magnetic ball tunnels
For a long time, i have been meaning to make a water wall. A few factors have detered me from it. Firstly, it has to be made in the bathroom or outside. Putting the water wall in the bathroom means confining playing in it to bathtime alone. Putting it outside would mean lugging bucket fulls of water outside when the kids want to play in it, and also to sweep the water away after the kids finish playing so that no one will slip on it.
I still havent given up on the idea, but need time to consolidate and come up with a plan.
However, in the meantime, the magnetic ball tunnel boards gave me an excellent idea for the kids to explore how objects move in tunnels. So I worked on it and this is what we came up with.
Anjali has a good time engineering the balls to flow through the "tunnels", but the problem is that we often dont catch the ball and it rolls under the fridge. I want to sort of get over it by making several small balls out of playdough/ aluminium foil. But the problem with these balls is that they dont roll. The best bet for balls that i have currently is the little plastic easter eggs that Anjali brought back from school. We have some marbles, but I am worried that they will get all over the floor, and also that they are heavy. I tried an avocado seed, but it was too heavy and when it fell, the force of the fall knocked over the little red pot.
Maybe I should do something like the science center and put a longer container at the bottom for the explicit purpose of catching the balls. But what do I use for it??
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday at the playeum
We organized an IEP trip to the playeum. It was a great attempt by the southwest CDC to get children to explore. Here are some of the activities that the kids participated in
Anjali's headdress (Sophia had a blast moviong the collage materials from one pot to another and pouring sequins all over the place - but refused to wear her headdress in the end)
Sophia and patti explore the percussion section, which was a lot of pots, pans and drums. Sophia enjoyed the drums. Even after we got home, she kept enthusiastically miming drumming. I guess I can set up something like this at home. For a while, i have been inspired to create a sound garden where the children could bang and toss to their heart's content. Now may be a good time to scourge out old pots, pans and cups.
This is one of many cardboard houses. Sophia promptly got in to play her favorite "house" game
That sure looks bulky!!
Drawing on the hourses
When the children needed a break from the craft, there was always the sand pit to explore
The boys, especially appreciated having the opportunity to play outdoors. jayanthy and some of the parents set up a frisbee game going which the boys keenly enjoyed.
The children take up their positions
How would it be if we did this as an activity - As a preparation, I could get large mahjong papers and make wax/ same color crayon drawings on them, a scenery, a cartoon character, or something. Then I could give gigantic amounts of paint to the children and ask them to paint the whole sheet and discover what is hiding under. I wondr if this could be an activity for the IEP camp. I have done some mini crayon resists of her favorite characters with Anjali and she generally likes to do them. The trick ofcourse will be to use some very thin colors. Tempera paint needs to be watered down or else the crayon wont be able to resist it sufficiently. This, I think was a mistake made by the playeum people, their tempera paint wasnt thin enough, and the kids had to wipe it a little.
Origami
We rounded up the day's activities in a typical IEP fasion with circle time. The reflections were rather short, and the kids were busy eating, but we did feel that it was an afternoon well spent
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)