We are Sewing again

I do not know why but when I saw the princess sewing kit which was suitable for 5+ years old, I could not help but buy it. That was 1 year ago and we only started sewing 10 months ago. What I like about this kit is that it has a safety needle (Tapestry needle) and hence as a parent, one does not need to worry about the child getting pricked by a sharp sewing needle while they attempt sewing. 

The sewing kit

However, I must admit teaching the child to sew is not an easy task. Little One could not understand the needle has to go through one hole and then come back through the adjacent hole from the other side (we were doing running stitches). Little One often sew through the same hole or a few holes down the row. Sometimes, she sewed slip stitches instead. Sometimes, she did not attempt to pull the yarn all the way through the hole before attempting another stitch. Sometimes, she sewed through only 1 piece of felt instead of 2.  Hence, I ended up having to undo her work and let her try again and again.

Her progress after 1 hour of sewing. The eyes and mouth done by me as demonstration. I think the "W"s for the crown are super hard for her to sew.

Another hour of work before we call it a day. This time it is a lot more progress. Notice she pull the yarn real tight!

We continued sewing on and off the following months. Little One was not truly interested in sewing, partly because I kept pointing out her faults. She gave up after some time. It was not until she saw me sewing little stuffs such as flowers and mini stuff toys than she picked up the interest again. That was when she started to request over and over again that she wants to sew again. We even did a test sewing with sharp needle on cards.

So, we start sewing again. When the body of the princess is almost stitched up, we started to stuff the doll. I demonstrated how to do stuffing. This is the fun part and Little One truly enjoy doing this herself!

Put in the stuffing

Push the stuffing in

Using a pencil (crayon in our case) to pushing the stuffing into the 4 limbs

Seal up the head by running stitches

Ta-dah! Finally done in 10 months time! Now she has a new soft toy to play with. I am proud to say she completed 75% of the doll + dress .

Tips on teaching a young kid to sew:

1. Patience, patience and more patience

Teaching children this young is not an easy task. Loads of patience is needed as you guide them along. They would make the same mistakes repeatedly. 

2. Let them make mistakes

Making mistakes is the process of learning

3. Do not give up

Probably they would give up because it may be tedious/difficult for them but you do not give up on them. Sew in front of them, rekindle their interest. They would be amazed with your work to be willing to try again.

4. Get them something cute to sew with

Probably this should be tip no. 1. Cute stuff tends to draw their attention and hence easier to ask them to complete the task.

Report Card:-

Suitable Age Group:- 5 and above.
Difficulty level: 3/5 (Level 1 being no or little help is required, Level 5 being very difficult)
Safety level : 5/5 (Level 1 being very unsafe, Level 5 being very safe.  )
Messiness: No mess
Fun Level : 4/5 (3 for Sewing and 1 more bonus point for stuffing .)

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Anna's Neighbourhood -Introducing Ice Kachang to Little One

We read up the book, Anna's Neighbourhood (one of the book in the EFI early readers series). We decided to explore our own neighbourhood and learn a bit more about ice kachang, the dessert that was mentioned in the book.

We are reading this set of books! It comes with an activity book and a parents' guide

There is a short paragraph in the book describing ice kachang as colourful snow mountain with red beans, yellow sweet corns, soft green jellies and sweet sticky seeds (presume it's attap chee/ seeds of nipa palm). We have in fact eaten this dessert 3 times at different locations ever since we have read the book. Reason being: I can't find soft green jellies in any of these. Do you know of any places that sells ice kachang with all the ingredients as mentioned in the book?

Our last location was at Golden Swallow Desserts in Ghim Moh market. This market will be close end of this month and relocate to the temporarily market across the road.

Little One loves eating ice kachang after being introduced to the dessert. However, due to the huge amount of ice, I have to share with her. Otherwise, she would develop a cough. The ice kachang featured in this picture is bought from, Golden Swallow Desserts, located in Ghim Moh Market, a place which I am familiar with. It has been around for as long as I remember. Coming back to this market always brings back fond memories. I love their Bo Bo Cha Cha and Chendol. The market would be closed by this month's end for renovation. I am not sure whether the owners would move to the temporarily market which is located opposite the current location. Even if they are, I am not sure whether pricing would be the same. If you are around the region (15 min walk from Buona Vista MRT) this weekend, do drop by to the market before it is closed for renovation!

Little One is Sewing

 In April, Little One had a cut on her middle finger and was sent to the hospital by her  uncle and aunty. We decided make a simple card for them.  It is made by using scrape book materials. I get Little One to be involved by selecting the stuff she wanted to put on the card, followed by sewing the words "THANK YOU" on the card.

WARNING! This activity is pretty 'dangerous'. Do it at your own risk!

Write the words and poke the outline using needles. (Do this yourself.)  I am not sure whether crewel needle works but I used my biggest sharp needle. Please don't come after me should the needle broke, bent or whatsoever.

After the holes were done, it was Little One's turn to sew. She was using the same needle. I had tied a knot for her. I need to sit through the whole process to guide and to ensure she does not poke herself.  If your kid had not attempting sewing  with a Tapestry needle (needle with blunt end), I think it is best to avoid this activity. I am not responsible if your kid suffer the same fate as Aurora :P

Sewing in process. I was paying full attention on her and the needle.

Ta-dah! Completed! To cover up the threading at the back of the card, you could cover up with Washi Tapes or decorative stickers.

Report Card:-

Suitable Age Group:- 4 and above.
Difficulty level: 3/5 (Level 1 being no or little help is required, Level 5 being very difficult)
Safety level : 1/5 (Level 1 being very unsafe, Level 5 being very safe, Supervision is required for this craft due to sharp equipment.  )
Messiness: No mess
Fun Level : 4/5 (Sewing is not really her favourite thing, she feels like doing it because she saw me sew.)

I may continue providing Little One this craft to save money on sewing kits. Sewing alphabets seemed to work better on her.

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Little One's Participation in Qing Ming Festival- All soul's day

    清明

清明時節雨紛紛, 路上行人欲斷魂,借問酒家何處有, 牧童遙指杏花村                                     

 - 杜牧

Every Qing Ming or Ching Ming (also known as Chinese Tomb Sweeping Festival), I will recall this poem in my head over and over again. It describes the sorrowful feelings of those who are praying to their deceased ancestors. Every year, I feel the same way.

Usually, Qing Ming falls on 5th Apr, it is on the 104th day from Winter Solstice. What most Chinese do is that they would pray to the ancestors, sweep tombs, make their offerings such as food and wine. Joss money and luxury items such as house, cars (all made form paper) may be burnt to the deceased. The Chinese believe that the deceased would need these afterlife.  In Singapore, land is scarce, cremation is more common than burial. Many cemeteries have given way to redevelopment. Hence, for most Singaporean, prayers and offerings are made at columbarium or temples where the ashes or memorial tablets are kept.

Peck San Theng Columbarium 

Temporary tents are set up for people to make their offerings to the deseased.

This year is special for me because we get to bring little one to pray to our deceased close relatives for the first time. In the past, we have avoided doing so because burning offerings to ancestors can get quite smoky when every one are burning at the same time. It is also not good  for the little one's health to breath in so much smoke. This year, we think it is time to do so. For the first time, little one paid respect to her deceased relatives using joss sticks. I introduced her the deceased relatives one by one. She looked at the urns without asking much questions.

Some of the things Chinese burn for the deceased.

I have once heard if one does not pay respect to their elderly when they are alive, what sense does it make to pay respect only when they are dead? I personally feel the same. Hence, often encouraging our little one to go visit her grandparents with us. By introducing her to our Qing Ming culture, I hope she would be able to appreciate the Chinese culture and remember who her ancestors are. Yes, slowly I would be teaching her about her roots. Who these ancestors are, so that she would remember, without them, there would not be Papa and Mama. Without Papa and Mama, there would not be her.

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Safety first - Let's Teach Road Safety

Road Safety

Traffic accidents happens how and then. I think it is important for pre-schoolers to be aware about road safety at a young age. Below are some pointers how to get a pre-schooler to be aware of traffic rules.

Stop, Look, Listen! 

Since young, I have been teaching little one about road safety. We have read Storytime for 2 year olds (Ladybird story) a couple of time about a particular short story. Mrs Snail and her little baby snails, Dennis and Doreen, intend to eat leaves on the other side of the path. Mrs Snail teaches her children the basic traffic rule. "Stop, Look, Listen." Though her children had been pestering their mother to cross the path fast, Mrs Snail patiently reminded them to stop, look and listen. A simple short story about snails crossing a path is equivalent to how people should cross the road. This is to ensure safety and I see it as an important subject to teach my child that.

My little girl used to attend a childcare centre whereby the entrance of the centre has a couple of blind spots. We have to alight at the bus terminal and there is only one way to get into the centre from the bus terminal and that is to walk through the intersecting junction of the entrance lane for both the drop off point as well as a 2 way lane to and from the car park. We need to be cautious when crossing at the junction so I took it as an opportunity to teach little one the right way to cross the road. 

• Stop!
• Look Left!
• Look Right! 
• Listen at the same time 
• Look Left again!
• When it was safe enough, we could cross.

Little one seemed too young to understand then. Nevertheless, I repeat the whole process almost every day to her how we should cross the road. Hopefully, I manage to dwell some information into her.

No chasing at the bus stop

My little girl was so fond of  trying to get me chase her at the bus stop that I have to let her know firmly that it is a dangerous thing to do. I seriously can't remember how many times I have to shout at her not to do that. I am glad that message has finally registered in her brain.

Holding hands as we cross

So my next absolute rule is to stay away from the road and carparks. Yes, even car parks are not safe. There are moving vehicles. She has to hold my hand or papa's hand whenever we are crossing the road or car parks.

Standing next to a parked car

When she was older, I had her standing next to a parked car and told her that the car was so big and asked whether she was able to see the seats of the car from where she was standing. She said no. Since she was not able to see the inside of the car, likewise the driver in the car may not be able to see her. Using that as an example, she is not to play on the road , car parks and even bus stops because the driver may not see her.

Red means Stop! Green means Go!

Next on the list was teaching her how to read the traffic lights by using the above simple sentences.
She love it when she activates the push button on the traffic light pole before each crossing. She loves it best when it starts blinking. That is because I told her some lame joke that the traffic lights seems to be calling her uncle because it sounds like 舅舅 (uncle) when the green man is flashing. Well, lame it may be but it got little one's attention. From then on, she understands, when the traffic lights starts to sound, it is an indication she has to cross faster. 

Then again, I would remind her to look out for vehicles even when we are using the signalised pedestrian crossing because not all drivers adhere to traffic signals.

When the zebra crosses

When using the zebra crossing, adapt the concept of stop, look and listen.

Do not retrieve fallen objects on the road

Little one was wearing a hat when a blast of wind blew her hat to the floor. She immediately retrieves it. After which we were walking on a narrow pavement near the road. It suddenly dawn on me that I should teach little one not to retrieve fallen objects on the road. I immediately inform little one that should her hat be blown away by the wind to the road, she is never to dash across the road to retrieve it because it is a dangerous thing to do.

Do not Jay walk

Last but not least, do not jay walk. Show good example to your kids and they would follow the same.