Mongo Plant Versus Garlic Plant

Two weeks ago, JS was into growing plants and asked if he could grow some flowers. We did not have any flower seeds at home and I suggested that he plant some mongo seeds instead. Yes, for those who are following our blog, we have done this on cotton about a year and a half ago and now, we are doing it in soil and in a proper flower pot. The other reason I told him to grow mongo seeds is that they grow very fast and kids are not very patient at waiting for results. 

So everyday, as we leave the house for school (JS is attending Kindergarten 1 now) JS would look at the plants and say, "Mommy! They are growing!"

A few days after we planted the mongo seeds, I suggested that we plant some garlic. This time, unlike the mongo seeds that showed some growth immediately on the following day, the garlics showed none. 

Two days after we planted the garlics, we went on a short vacation and when we returned, JS saw some changes to the garlic plant and shouted, "Mommy, look! The garlics are growing!"

Now, after half a month, we found some time to do some detailed observations on the plants. We compared the roots and the leaves. The garlic plant showed a lot of roots while the mongo plant has very little and the garlic plant has long leaves while the mongo plant has small leaves. 

More Cravings For Ice

JS is still very much obsessed with ice and a couple of weeks ago, I bought a popsicle mold with the plan of making some fruit popsicles for him. However, before I managed to find some time to make it for him, he already made some for himself. Not for eating, but for play. 

Well, here's what happened. There was this evening when he got hold of the mold which I had taken out earlier that day for JE to play with. He asked me if I could make some ice pops for him but I told him that it was too late and since Daddy and I were engaged in a conversation, he went away and started making it on his own, using drinking water. Soon after, he came to me to ask for more water because he did not have enough to fill up the mold. Since he could not eat the popsicle anyway (the mold has not been washed), I told him to use tap water instead. He happily filled up the mold and popped it into the freezer. 

When he woke up the following day, he immediately went to check whether it was ready and of course, it was. So he and his sister had an early morning ice play, even before breakfast.

Upon seeing how he craved for a popsicle that could actually be eaten, we made some soon after breakfast. 

First, I made him try squeezing some grapefruit juice but it was too  difficult for him so we decided to use the blender. 

He had to peel off the skin and pop the fruit into the blender. Next, we cut some kiwi and put them into the mold. 

Then JS poured the juice into the mold and placed the sticks in place before popping it into the freezer. 

Shortly after lunch, he was able to enjoy some self-made fruity popsicle. The only thing he does not know is that Mommy purposely made him add the kiwis because that would most probably be the only form that he would eat! (Mission accomplished!)

The Apple Tree

While children from some parts of the world such those in the US and UK are having fun with lots of activities related to apples which is being harvested in autumn, here, in Malaysia, my son and I are using the life cycle of an apple tree to study about the four seasons. I have always wanted to do a four seasons picture with JS but on the other hand, I don't think he is able (yet) to relate the meaning of the seasons since we live in a tropical country. 

Fortunately, we have this book about the life cycle of an apple tree that covers all four seasons. It is one of JS' favourite books to read at the moment. With the names of all four seasons mentioned clearly in the book, alongside pictures that shows obvious changes in the tree, it serves as a perfect material for a four seasons picture.

First, we identified the words - winter, spring, summer and autumn in the book and studied the pictures that showed obvious changes in the tree. 

Then we divide a large piece of art block into four sections and started off with winter. 

 Next, we moved on to spring where flowers started to blossom, followed by summer where the flowers fall off and apples started to grow. 

And finally in autumn the apples are ready to be picked and be enjoyed in various ways such as the delicious apple pie. 

Blue Chrysanthemums, Anyone?

I remembered seeing blue chrysanthemums at some flower shops a long time ago. I knew there weren't any blue species around for chrysanthemum but it did not trigger me to find out how they were produced until recently when I came across a post on one of the many pages I Liked on Facebook that shared an interesting experiment on absorption. In that experiment, roses were used. It was mentioned  that this test works particular well on roses and carnations but they are quiet pricy here where we live so we decided to try with chrysanthemum instead.

We got our flowers last Friday and did the experiment. 

We used blue, red and yellow food colouring. 

This was the result after six hours. The flowers in the blue food colouring were obviously blue while the yellow and red food colouring still looked white.  

The flowers in the red food colouring looked a little yellowish after 20 hours or so but the ones in the yellow food colouring still looked the same. 

This is the result after four days. The flowers in the yellow food colouring finally showed some difference and looked a bit yellowish while the ones in red food colouring looked a little more yellowish. It never became red. 

Then we did another experiment where we slit the stem of the flowers into two and put them in two different colours - blue and red. 

We also tried out using green food colouring. 

This was what we observed the following day. Two of the flowers turned blue while the rest remained the same. 

The red food colouring was strawberry flavoured and so, some of the flowers also smelt like strawberries!

Primary and Secondary Colours

JS loves painting way more than drawing and I thought that he would love to use it to learn about colour mixing.This time, we used a lot of paint so that the result would be obvious and looks attractive for JS to remember his primary and secondary colours. 

However, I wanted him to practice using the pencil to draw specific objects so I incorporated the use of colour pencils in this activity. 

First, he had to draw circles using container covers and colour pencils. Each set of circles comprised of a small one and a larger one, and both must be in different colours. 

Next, he had to use a syringe to draw some paint and put them along the circles. 

Lastly, he had to use a cotton bud to mix the colours together. He really enjoyed this part as he tried to guess the secondary colours. 

I wanted him to remember the primary colours that made each of the secondary colours so we wrote them down. 

Sink or Float?

Since JE started on semi solid food, I have lesser time to spend with JS on his daily activity sessions. Thus, I am now doing shorter sessions with him and let him absorb what he learnt on his own afterwards. If he is interested in the project, he would continue to do something with it otherwise, he is allowed to proceed with other activities. 

In this activity, we tried to find out which object would sink and which would float on water. 

First, JS looked for some items for his experiment. Then he had to fill up his sister's bath tub with water and he was ready for his experiment. 

Hmmm.... let's see whether this baking tray would sink or float.

It floats!

After his experiment, he started fishing out the objects using a pair of chopsticks. Upon seeing this, I challenged him to use the chopstick in the proper way by trying to put all the rings into the tub. 

JS trying to use the chopsticks correctly.

Mommy! I can do it!

After playing, he learnt to use the some help to move a tub full of water which is very heavy for him. 

What's In A Jungle?

Here is another project we did using materials we gather from our garden. This time, we made a picture of a jungle. 

After collecting some leaves, soft branches and barks we gathered other materials needed for the project, including two books about  jungle which I wanted JS to use as reference. 

First, he had to go through the books to know what a jungle looks like. 

Then he started by making a big tree. 

After working on the trees, he cut out pictures of animals from some old books. 

This is how JS' jungle looks like. 

Off We Go To Outer Space! (Part 2)

Our second big project for the Outer Space theme is making  constellations. At one glance, it looks easy, but JS spent almost two hours making all the 12 zodiac constellations. 

The stickers were a bit tricky to handle and he had difficulties drawing straight lines using a ruler. 

I made some marks on the pieces of black papers where he is supposed to stick the stickers but I still made him check the pattern from a diagram on the laptop first. This is to give him an idea of what his end result would be. 

JS checking the diagram before putting on the stickers. 

JS putting on the stickers. 

JS drawing lines to complete the constellation.

On that afternoon, we completed the entire project. First, we arranged the planets (shared in the previous post) and then the constellations. 

JS checking the position of each constellation. 

"Found it!"

JS arranging the constellations according to the diagram.

JS studying one of the constellations.

To end the project, we talked about other things in outer space. I took out two other artwork we did that are related to the theme.

The first one is an activity which I categorise as a "quick fix". It is a picture of outer space that comes with pre-cut foam stickers. I call it "quick fix" because I do not need to prepare the materials myself. As simple as it seems to be, I took JS about 90 minutes to complete it. 

The second one is an activity we did months ago when I was teaching him shapes. The picture is based on one of his favourite bedtime stories - Maurice and the Cheese Monster. It is about a Maurice the mouse, a scientist whose latest project is to find out if the moon is made of cheese. 

We had lots of fun blasting off into space in the rocket with Maurice, to check out the moon, the stars and the planets.