Crafts: Projects for January 2011

Paper Plate Frog - Yet another froggy craft - we did it on a whim because Ian was begging to make a frog again.  This time, we made a different version from the previous one that we did last month, with a small pocket to hold things.  Firstly, I cut up a paper plate into half, and let Ian paint one and a half paper plates in green.  When the paint was dried, I let Ian paste the eyes and helped him paste the tongue and 2 paper plates together.

Rocket - Since we did not have any towel roll on hand, we used 2 toilet rolls to make the body of the rocket.  Ian got to stick the 2 rolls together using scotch tape.  Next, I cut out a piece of construction paper and let Ian stick them to the toilet rolls while helping him to hold the parts together.  Then, I made a cone for the top of the rocket and also cut out triangles for the "stand".  Ian enjoyed playing with the rocket for a few days, until Daddy made him keep it in his box of crafts. :)

 

Hand-print Flowers - I traced Ian's little hand onto a piece of construction paper and cut out the template and also a small leaf.  Then, I let Ian stick the flower and leaf onto an ice-cream stick.  As it was a simple project, Ian demanded to make a few more flowers, so there they are...

Shoes - This craft was created from a book of punch-out templates.  It was super easy - just stick the strap onto the "sole".  

Paper Plate Crown - Ian actually painted the paper plate in December, but as our pen knife was missing, we never got to complete it until we bought another pen knife this month.  I helped Ian cut up the middle of the paper plate and showed him how to bend the triangular part upwards.  He was not very interested in it though.  For this craft, I got to use my scrapbook punches - Mickey Mouse and heart.  Ian attempted to punch a heart shape, but he did not have enough strength to press it down.  I pasted double-sided tape onto the back and let Ian stick the punch out shapes onto the crown.

An Early Birthday Gift for Ian

Ian loves to play with our iPhones and I feel rather perturbed whenever he watches random videos on YouTube.  Hence, I decided to get him a gamester of his own whereby he only gets to play educational games. 

Purchased the bundle set of Leapster 2 from the Leapfrog website (USD$91.75 with tax).  The box was rather big to my chagrin, but upon opening up the package last Sunday, I guess it was pretty acceptable because the items filled up most of the space.  The case alone was pretty bulky.  As I have researched, the price was not the cheapest around, but to get the best deal might take me another year of waiting.  That was why I took the plunge.  It would be an early 3rd birthday present for our little one.

Ian was extremely curious with our new purchase when he found them lying on the floor.  He could not help going over to study the boxes.  It took us some time to set up the system because it required an installation of the accompanying CD, and also to set up the profile with Leapfrog.  Once it was ready for play, Hubby showed Ian how to use the system.  He started with the Thomas and Friends cartridge first and now is able to accomplish some simple tasks in the games. 

First Speech & Drama Class

As Ian starts his N1 class this year, we are pleasantly surprised that he is now eligible to join a series of enrichment classes available at his childcare.  We enrolled him for 2 classes - English Speech & Drama (conducted by Julia Gabriel), and a music class (conducted by Opus One).  Unfortunately, only the former have enough students to start a class.

Today marks the first lesson in English Speech and Drama.  I went slightly earlier to see how the class was, but unfortunately, as I approached the glass windows, I thought Ian had spotted me and hence had to withdraw myself.

Hopefully, he will be able to benefit from this class, which was recommended by many people we had asked.

Collectibles From SG Mint

We made a trip to the Singapore Mint booth at AMK Hub this morning to get the collectibles for the year of the Rabbit. It was a shame that the $1 gold coin that we had previously gotten for Ian had been sold out long ago. Hence, we ended up getting 1/25oz gold medallion and the Hongbao coin set.

1/25oz gold medallion

Hongbao Coin Set - 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1 and a scallop-edged $5 coin.  Mintage: 60000pc

Junior Engineer At Work

I was engrossed in watching a TV drama, and to my surprise, Ian built this little "machine". Hubby, who had been playing with him, said that he did not help Ian in making it.

It looked like a helicopter wanna-be, but Ian said it was an airplane? Watch how he enjoyed playing with his own creation...

Come, Rabbit Year... First, We Shall Keep Your Stamps

Courtesy of Hubby who made a special trip down to the post office today to get this on my behalf...(Thanks Hubby!)

Our collection - a First Day Cover, collector's stamp sheet (with metallic finish and morphing effect), and a set of new stamps (which I had omitted to get for Ian in 2008).  The only thing different for the Rabbit Year collector's sheet from the Rat Year was that now the stamps had a metallic coating which I thought was nice.  However, I could not tell how the morphing effect worked this time by looking at the stamps.  As a bonus for making a trip down, we also got to collect the ang pow packets.  Compare with the set that we had gotten for Ian here.

Our next target for collection would be the Singapore Mint coins, but unfortunately, the $1 gold coin had already been sold out long ago last year.

Crafts: Projects for December 2010

Paper Plate Pig - Yet another piggy project we had done together, after the disastrous 3D one that we did a few months ago.  I had also wanted to remind Ian the effect of mixing white and red colours.  Ian painted the 2 paper plates, after which I traced out the ears, nose and legs for him to cut out.  When the paint had dried, I showed him how to paste the parts together, and helped to draw the eyes and nostrils, and put on the tail.

Paper Plate Frog - I had originally intended to make a crown with Ian, and since there were some leftover yellow paint afterwards, I mixed a little bit of blue paint to turn it green.  I wonder whether this mixing had registered in Ian's mind, as it was not our first attempt?  Ian had more fun with painting yet another paper plate.  After the paint had dried, I traced out his little hand and did the cutting as it might be tough for him.  He got to paste the legs and eyes, while I helped him with the chenille stem as it was tricky to make it stay in place. 

Santa Claus Hat - A craft that we did out of a whim on Christmas morning.   I thought that it was pretty boring for Ian to be idling on this day and quickly found this neat craft from the internet.  First, I made a cone out of a piece of red construction paper and stapled it in place.  Then, I cut out the face and belt.  Ian got to paste on the face and I helped with the belt as it was a little challenging for him.  We used the leftover cotton wool (since Ian was born) to make Santa's little hat and beard.  He enjoyed pasting the wool onto the face.  It was kind of regrettable that the hat was a tad too small for Ian to wear properly, but that was the largest piece of red construction paper we had at home.  Nevertheless, he loved his new little hat!