14.10.11 - Crayon rubbings art

We tried out the crayon rubbings activity taught in Saki Sasamori's book "That's Easy - Art Guidebook" that we borrowed from PSN library. The boys rubbed crayons on various surfaces / textures.

Rubbing on a lego baseplate

On the side of a basket tray

On a washing board

On a 'tudung saji'

On a badminton racket

We cut out the rubbings into various shapes. S arranged them and pasted them onto a large flipchart paper to represent buildings, etc. . 

E outlined the pictures with marker pens.

Buildings with a ferris wheel on the bottom left, a pond in the middle and zebra crossing on the right. 

11.10.11 - Floating book store aboard Logos Hope

We made a trip to the Port Klang Cruise Centre to visit MV Logos Hope and its floating book store. The book store claimed to have more than 5000 titles. The journey was very long, around 1.5 hours away. Those in Penang were luckier, they didn't need to travel so far to see Logos Hope.

MV Logos Hope is operated by a German charitable organisation GBA ships e.V. and started operations in 2004. The ship had since travelled around the globe not only to spread the word of knowledge through books but also to carry out community projects, especially in third world countries.
Source: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/goarfloat/Article/#ixzz1cvzHMIxJ

The kids played while waiting for the doors to open at 10 am. 

'

'Balancing' on a beam

The ship from afar

We had to walk a distance to the ship

See the 3 smaller boats up there?

We sat down for a short briefing before going to the bookstore

The floating book store

The cafeteria

It's a pity we weren't allowed to tour the whole ship. That would have been more interesting. While walking back, outside the ship, we saw 2 children sitting on a swing on the top deck of the ship. S wanted to go back there to play, but we weren't allowed into that section at all. They must be the children of the volunteers aboard the ship.   

8.10.11 - Camping @ Putrajaya Wetlands

We went camping overnight at Putrajaya Wetlands with some friends. This was the boys first time sleeping in a tent and our first time camping as a family. The signage to Putrajaya Wetlands (after Taman Botani Putrajaya) was misleading and we ended up driving around the large lake for 3 times and spent around 35 minutes lost in Putrajaya. The 2 signboards stating "Pusat Rekreasi Air Taman Wetlands" and "Taman Wetlands" do not lead to the Taman Wetlands itself. Imagine that! A few of us got lost as well.

Camping fees: RM20 per head (20 pax or more)
                      RM25 per head (less than 20 pax)
                      Fee for children 6 years old and below
Tent rental: 2 man tent = RM10
                  4 man tent = RM15
The fee is for 72 hours stay (3 days)

My camera strap broke while I was entering the toilet and my camera fell with a loud crash to the tiled floor and wouldn't work after that. The photos posted here are from my friends' cameras.

The toilet and bathroom facilities were very good. There was even a kitchen with tables, chairs and plug points. Campfire is allowed, so at night, some of us cooked our dinner over the fire.

The campsite

 The children went exploring

Toilet and bathroom facilities were very good

It was very humid and we kept perspiring. I took a shower at 11.00 pm and it felt really good. The air only got cool at 11.30 pm. It was nice to sleep outdoors and breathe the clean and cool fresh air at night. 

7.10.11 - Magical Farm Playbook

The boys made a farm house with their Magical Farm book that I recently bought from the Big Bad Wolf sale for RM20.

6.10.11 - Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

I bought many children books at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale. I took quite awhile to open them because they were wrapped in plastic. Here are some of the pictures.

RM10 each

RM10 each

5.10.11 - Playdate

During our learning playdate, the kids made sandwiches for their lunch. One benefit of this was that S emulated the kids who made and ate their sandwiches. Before this, he refused to eat cherry tomato, cucumber and sandwiches before this. A breakthrough! 

Spreading cream cheese spread on his bread

Enjoying his sandwich

4.10.11 - Planetarium Negara

After a span of 6 months, we went to Planetarium Negara again, to check if there was anything new. The boys and I love space exploration have read many books and watched videos on it. This week was World Space Week and I had expected some events planned out. When I checked Planetarium Negara's website a day earlier, there was only a statement that they may be events carried out in conjunction with World Space Week. However, when I went there, there wasn't anything new nor any event during that week. It was exactly the same as the time we went in April.

I later found out that some events were held on 15 - 16 Oct, and I missed them. The problem is, Planetarium Negara doesn't send out emails regarding these events and I have to keep visiting their website for latest updates. It doesn't take much effort to keep in touch with members of the public by publishing updates on events on social networking sites such as Facebook, or to their mailing list, but they don't seem to be doing that. How can we nurture the children's interest in space exploration if members of the public aren't aware?

Mars rover

Vertical sleeping bag

Toilet bowl

Grabbing a toy using a glove - how it feel like to grab something whilst wearing a spacesuit / glove. 

Inside the capsule

We also bought tickets to watch Solar Storm at 11.00 am. It was not an interesting show at all - I can't even remember what they were talking about. I preferred the show at 12 pm - "Dawn of the Space Age" which we watched when we were there in April. It was very touching learning about the close shaves the astronauts went through. However, I'm disappointed that Planetarium Negara doesn't have new shows. It's been 1.5 years since I first visited Planetarium Negara and the shows remain the same.

3.10.11 - Cycling @ Kiara Park TTDI

A day earlier, we bought a new bicycle for S as he had outgrown the earlier one. In the morning, I brought them to Kiara Park to cycle. It was a suitable place for cycling as cars were not allowed inside.

We also had a breakfast picnic there

29.9.11 - Children's Theatre @ Actors Studio

We attended a Children's Theatre by Actors Studio at Lot 10. It was play about Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Bean Stalk. It feature Az'farr Baginda, Shahila Johan and Sham Sunder Binwani. They took on multiple roles.

The stage

I like it that he actually prepared the children for what was to come next - that he would be wearing a wolf's mask and playing the big bad wolf. 

Interactive - Little Red Riding Hood giving out flowers to the audience in the front

Jack bringing the cow to the market

Climbing down the beanstalk

The shows were fun, but the play seemed very short, as only certain parts of the story was emphasised.

28.9.11 - Cutting hair

My boys still do not want to visit the barber. Hence I have to take on that role. I found the perfect material to make the cover for my boys when I cut their hair. Can you guess what it is? It is umbrella cloth. I used part of the umbrella cloth from an old umbrella to mend the holes in my tent. The remaining cloth was used as a cover for cutting hair. It was perfect because the umbrella cloth was circular.