WEEK THREE - 5 AUGUST 2016

The last day of Summer Slam 2016 and we ended it as we started it - with a bang!

First, and while waiting for Uncle Suhairi to come in, the children started preparing for the picnic we had planned to end the day with.  Using cookie cutters, they cut out the bases and tops of the pies which were our cookery project today.

Then it is off for some dancing with Uncle Suhairi - mixed genre dancing, that is!  After some stretches to limber up, it is Zumba, Hip-Hop and Disco Dancing - the three styles the children learnt through the weeks of Summer Slam.  They had a blast, keeping up with the 'quick changing' steps! Some cooling down and stretching exercises followed.

Snack and water break over, it was back to preparing the special pie - vegetarian and non-vegetarian.  The children peeled and mashed potatoes, added milk, butter and salt to it and cut the sausages (this was done by the non-vegetarians).  The pie shells were then filled with the mash, with mixed vegetables and shredded cheese for the vegetarian pies and with added sausages for the non-vegetarian ones. Off to the oven these went for baking.


As the delicious smell of baking pies wafted through the air, the children sat down, hungry, for their lunch.  Something sweet happened at lunchtime - instead of coming to the resting room for a story, Sophie stayed with her younger friend to help her finish lunch.  Well done Sophie!

'Crepe Paper Transfer Art by the Summer Slammers of 2016'

As usual, Aunty May came with her tablet to read a story - continuing with the adventures of the Rainbow Fish.  The story was entitled 'Rainbow Fish to the Rescue' by Marcus Pfister - a sequel to his multi-award-winning book 'Rainbow Fish'.

After a short rest, the children put the finishing touches to the 'crepe paper transfer' art project. Doesn't it look like an abstract stained glass painting?

And then it was time for the finale - 'wall painting' to music!  We had quite a good turn out from our parents, some participated in painting the wall, while others help their children to paint.  We all had a great time!

It was a hot day out and for a little respite from the heat, everyone sat down on the turf for some ice cream and the beautiful pies the children made for tea.

As we said, Summer Slam 2016 ended as we started it, with a lot of fun and excitement.  Clutching their art projects dearly, the Summer Slammers headed home, with big grins!  As one parent put it "It is a good programme, we will definitely join again next year!"

So until our next blog, we wish everyone a fantastic weekend.  Looking forward to seeing the children when school resumes, it is bye for now (oh... and our gallery of pictures will tell the tale of the day!). 

From Rumeshi and Yan Mei, with May, Suanne and Dennis

WEEK THREE - 4 AUGUST 2016

The game of Tic-Tac-Toe (or Naughts and Crosses) - most of us have played this game when we were younger with pencil and paper (and it was a way our parents kept us engaged!).  Well, today we played the game on a larger scale, with paper plates and the 3 x 3 grid marked out with tape on the floor.  We made up two teams, and each team attempted to outwit the other by trying to be the first to place three paper plates with the same markings in a straight row.  Great fun and the day started on a high note.

The cookery project was conducted by Yan Mei Lao Shi.  We made dumplings to eat with our lunch (ingredients - cabbage, carrots for the vegetarian, as well as chicken sausages for the non-vegetarian).  Lao Shi introduced, via media, the origins of dumplings, how it is prepared and cooked. Ours was cooked in boiling water today.  The children grated carrots and, for those who were non-vegetarian, cut the sausages.

While this was going on,  others 'shadow sketched', in pairs, under the sun.  After a brief explanation of why a shadow is cast, the children drew the shadows of objects we placed on a table, with the sun behind it.  (In the midst of it, the sun went behind the clouds, and a song was needed to bring it back out!)  They then coloured the sketches which will be sent home to you tomorrow.  Then we drew Dennis' shadow on the grown with chalk!

Lunch ensued and after lunch, Aunty May told the story of the 'Rainbow Fish'.  After that, it was the quiet time, and those who needed it, napped, while others chit-chatted.

We did an interesting piece of art today - 'tissue (or in our case, crepe paper) transfer art'.

Method:
1. Wet an art canvas.
2. Tear/cut pieces of crepe paper into different shapes and sizes.
3. Place these pieces on the wet canvas and spray water on the crepe paper
4. Let the colours of the crepe paper 'bleed' onto the canvas.
5. Dry and remove the pieces of crepe paper.

Voila! - A gorgeous piece of artwork resembling stain glass.  It was a collective piece of work and will take pride of place in our school when completed.  A photograph of the finished piece will be included in our gallery tomorrow.

And now for the sport of the week - basketball.  The children first watched a short video of a basketball match.  Then, with Dennis as the referee, a 'high decibel' basketball championship was soon underway, with Team Yan Mei and Team Rumeshi competing for the title of Summer Slam Basketball Champions!  The score at the end was a close 8 points to 6, but more importantly, the children participated as members of a team.

All in all, we believe the children had a fantastic day today.  The photos in our gallery will give you an idea of what went on.  We hope you will enjoy them.

One more thing - please let your children wear the red Summer Slam t-shirt to school tomorrow.

With that and a very good evening to you,

Rumeshi and Yan Mei
With May and Dennis

WEEK THREE - 3 AUGUST 2016

We are at Week Three, Day Three of our Summer Slam 2016 programme and the children continued having a great time.  The day started a little rainy, though it cleared up soon to be pleasant and mild.

For a fun start to the day, we played a game which tested our stereognostic sense.  With blindfolds on, the children felt for objects in a box.  The goal is to name the objects before taking off their blindfolds. Needless to say, everyone had a great time and, we achieved our goal.

Next, Suhairi, our 'disco dance master' came for a session of energetic disco dancing to Earth, Wind and Fire's 'Boogie Wonderland'.  With an arm roll to the right and then to the left, and a tap of the toes to the rear, right hand up and then left hand up - the children kept up with the movements and had a blast!

After the cooling down exercises, it was time for a snack and refreshment.

We conducted a science experiment this morning - "How does water move up a plant?" (Biology) We first explained the process of capillary action through media.  With some food colouring and some white flowers, we showed that the coloured water moves up the stem of flowers causing the petals to change colours.  We left the flowers to absorb the coloured solution overnight, and the children will be able to see the full effect tomorrow morning.

Lunch followed, and Aunty May was back, with a book about the history of cars.  We spoke about Italian Leonardo da Vinci's plans for a vehicle that could be driven by clockwork, drawn up in the 1400s, a wind-powered tricycle, the steam passenger coach designed by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney in the 1700s and the first racing cars. The book was a little too lengthy for one sitting so that we will continue it later.

It was quiet time after that, some children rested, while others play board games.

Then it was onto our food project, and the children made their snacks - fruit kebabs. Rumeshi introduced fruit from a nutritional perspective.  The children made up kebabs, choosing their desired fruits - apples, kiwis, strawberries, mandarin oranges, all prepared by their hands; from cutting the apples and kiwi fruits to peeling the oranges.

Basketball - Our sports for the week and the children had their second session of physical activity for the day.  Dennis provided a recap of the positions and scoring system.  He went on to present the rules of playing basketball, what a foul is and the different ways of shooting the ball into the basket.  We ended the day with the children taking turns to shoot the basketball at the hoop!

We will be bringing you more tomorrow, and as always visit our gallery for more photographs of today's activities, it is a good evening to everyone.

Rumeshi & Yan Mei
With May and Dennis

WEEK THREE - 2 AUGUST 2016

Continuing on our artistic theme, the children started the morning flexing their artistic muscles, some completing the decoration on a card that was launched yesterday, others trying their hands on piping a cake.  The room was quiet with concentration as the children were each fully engaged with the activity on hand.

Then it was the big reveal!  Aunty May was ushered into the room to find that the children created a birthday card and finished a birthday cake for her.  While Dennis played on his guitar, everyone sang 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to her.  Here is the link to the video of our rendition of this time-honored song.  Then all of us tucked into the yummy cake with yellow and green butter icing and silver sprinkles.  The cake was finished in no time at all with the children going back for seconds!

Next, Lao Shi Yan Mei and Rumeshi did a presentation on the 51st National Day of Singapore.  They used the decimal system to illustrate the difference between the year of independence, 1965, and this, the 51st year, since!  Then we spent time identifying Singapore on the Puzzle Map of Asia, explaining that it is an island, pointing out the longest river - the Kallang River, speaking about the significance of the national flag (geography) and showing Singapore's National Flower - the Vanda Miss Joachim (botany).  We played the National Anthem to which the children stood at attention.  They also heard the story of how modern day Singapore got her name as the Lion City (Singa-Pura).  Source of information is from Wikipedia

Lunch followed and after that, the children rested.

The afternoon saw one group painting, inspired by Matisse and Van Gogh, while others, did a self-expression!.  The children also 'painted' fireworks (they used the inside of toilet tissue rolls and paint), creating some very beautiful designs!

Sports - Today, more was spoken about basketball - the special names of the positions the players take, the court and the scoring system. 

Then it was for some robust physical activity with the drills in the crossover dribbling maneuver.  The children had a great time learning to dribble in-between the cones.

All in all, there was a lot happening today; for the creative mind (painting, frosting, making a craft) and the physical body (basketball).  We look forward to more exciting activities tomorrow.

You can see more photographs of what happened today from our gallery.

Rumeshi & Yan Mei
With, Dennis

WEEK THREE - 1 AUGUST 2016

Welcome and Welcome Back!  It’s Week Three of Summer Slam, and we continue with more
creativity and fun.

Our four new friends who joined us this week were given a tour of the different rooms whilst Yan Mei Lao Shi read a Chinese story to the children about the different uses of a lotus leaf – as a cradle for a water droplet, as a take-off and landing ramp for a dragonfly, as a performance stage by a frog and as a summer hat for a child.  Can you think of more?

The children then went off for some cardiovascular activity with Suhairi, our ‘dancercise’ master.  With his usual bounce, Suhairi came in for some disco fun with a single side step to left and a double side step to the right, tap to the front and tap to the back, hands on the hip and the other in the air (ala John Travolta) and the children were soon dancing (and posing) to ‘Night Fever’ by the Bee Gees.

After a short interval to refuel (snack and water), the children were brought into the world of artists and art forms, with Henri Matisse and Claude Monet taking centre stage, in our discussions.

We read a story about Monet (with a child – Ishan, likening that acquaintance to that, with his father!) and used the Puzzle Map (a Montessori geography material) to identify the places of birth of both artists.  We discussed the different kinds of colouring materials (oil paints, watercolours, markers, crayons, colour pencils and chalk) and the applicators (brushes and, surprisingly from our recent art activities, the children recollected straws, forks, cotton buds, fingers, also threads, balloons, bubbles and the list goes on).  The children felt canvases made from cotton and of linen as we introduced them  (a sensorial experience for them).

Taking off on another tangent of creativity (with scientific applications) – we presented a magic trick, with a cup, sponge, water and a piece of ice.  We revealed the secret of the trick to the children and asked that they tried it on their families when they got home.  Shhhh … it stays a secret until they’ve had a chance to practise it!

Lunch followed, and it was Aunty May’s time.  Carrying through with the theme of artists, she read a story about Pierre Auguste Renoir (another impressionist and a friend of Claude Monet).

Time for siesta and then it was off to the activity of actually applying paint to canvas.  Two children gave us their interpretations of Monet’s Sunflowers and Matisse’s Snail, while another two painted their art pieces (one with a nail brush).  Another group of children was making a birthday card with Lao Shi Yan Mei.

Sports - It is basketball this week, and we presented it as follows:

1.       The founder, James Naismith (source: Wikipedia) was a Canadian sports educator (Canada was pointed out on the Puzzle Map) and in 1891 he invented the basketball game (using the decimal system – subtraction as a guide we presented the number in a way the children can understand)

2.       The objective of the game

3.       The ball - we showed the geometrical solid for it (sphere)

4.       Shape of the court (the geometrical shape of a rectangle)

5.       Number of team members

       We will cover the following tomorrow:

1.       Special names assigned to each player

2.       The equipment used

Then the children practised the chest passing drill.  We look forward to some more from this exciting session tomorrow.

For those who have been reading our blog over the last two weeks, you would have noticed a difference in the style of writing.  That is because our resident blog writer is currently on vacation and we wish him a well-earned rest.  We hope you will find our blog just as informative.

Here is the link to our gallery of photographs.

Rumeshi and Yan Mei

With May and Dennis

WEEK TWO - 29 JULY 2016

TGIF?  Well, sure, we do understand! So we will keep it light and easy.  After all, we did say a mouthful yesterday.  Here we go with the happenings for Friday, the 29^th July 2016! 

Based on our estimate of time, that the children would need to cook a nutritious and wholesome meal for themselves, we did not plan too much for this morning save for the cookery project and, putting the finishing touches to our jewellery collection and objets d’art that were made from ‘salt dough’!

So, as soon as we assembled the ‘Slammers’ out came the dhal that had been soaked overnight and with it, the other ingredients for the grand repas! The children had already been presented with flour and salt (through the salt-dough moulding project), so we went on to introduce garlic, onion (speaking about bulbs), coconut milk (its origin, and usefulness and how the coconut palm offers us nutrition to shelter (covering the botany angle).  Then, the contributions from dairy – ghee (clarified butter) and yoghurt.  As always we included media to explain, e.g. how yoghurt is made commercially and used our classroom approach, to provide as much salient information as available.  We have to say, albeit the age differences in our group, the younger children do listen to all that is presented, with rapt attention!

Now hang on, we were short of something to achieve ‘mise en place’ .  Chefs help!  Oh yeah, perhaps the disputed king of South Asian aromatics, the famed curry leaf!  Lo and behold, there grows a healthy plant in our garden (well, seemingly so, despite the constant fumes from good old Mountbatten Road!), offering plenty of leaves for our purpose.  The children were shown to pluck the leaves and they did just that.  Then we rolled a leaf in our palms to inhale the unique fragrance that exudes from crushed curry leaves.  Mmmm makes us hungry, just writing about that experience.  Very few will resist the irresistible aroma of curry leaves being tormented by hot cooking oil.  Go on, give it a shot if you have not experienced this!  We also spoke about the health benefits that the curry leaf offers.  You may find this link useful;  https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-curry-leaves.html  That done, it was back to our activity area to begin preparing the meal. 

Here are the stages for making the flat bread (sort of a deviation from the traditional Naan)

Adding, water to flour, followed by ghee and yoghurt to the mixture.

Next, mixing dough with a spoon and shaping by hand.

Finally, rolling out the dough with a rolling pin and presenting to the adult for cooking

Making dhal:

Adding pre-soaked dhal to water and bring to boil.  

Adding salt, turmeric and curry leaves to the dhal.

In a separate pan, heat some oil, add garlic and onions; fry until fragrant

Add to fried items to the dhal mixture

Stir, add coconut milk and simmer for a while

Having thirds!

Lunchtime was almost eerie, well we say this for lack of a better word to describe to you, the silent eating that went on without the usual banter!  The children loved the food with no exception and whacked all of it, even going for ‘thirds’!  It was a gratifying experience for us!  We were not entirely sure if everyone would like the aromatics and flavours that we used in the dhal but they did! 

Commerce:  we are pleased to announce the opening (and closing) of the ‘Wham Bam Naan Shop’ at 11 Broadrick Road.  No kidding – the children made a board that told the name of the shop and then canvassed business with whoever wanted to place an order.  Coincidentally, we were scanning Uber eats at that time!   Sales pitch was made and the order taken down with $5/= demanded (sort of pricey!) for an unrestricted portion!  Out went what we were browsing and up came our hands exclaiming, “me”, “me” “me”!  Service was made to our desktops with a flourish!  The ‘naan’ was superb despite being made without a ‘Tandoori oven’ and the dhal just delicious.  We have some seriously talented cooks within our Summer Slam group!  Well done, children!  Yummy meal concluded, it was time to stretch out and allow the belly to ‘normalize’.

Today, as our Friday treat, we watched ‘Mine-O-Saur’ a media clip about sharing!  Some dozed some didn’t! 

After what we thought was sufficient for the heavy meal to digest, we began to prepare for an active end to a very enjoyable week with a ‘Hip Hop’ session presented by the dance master, ‘Suhairi’!   To ‘Worth it' by Fifth Harmony; we did some moves that were certainly, worth it – in terms of learning the dance steps and burning off the lunch!  An impromptu performance came about as some children danced for their friends.  It didn't take too long for the rotation to begin - performer became the spectators and vice versa! We all had a good time and the day ended on a high note.

We hope that the salt dough mouldings the children brought home today, thrilled you!  Here’s an invitation – please take a photograph of you and your child wearing his/her creation, showing the ‘bling’ sides as much as possible, matching that with what you have, and send us the picture.  We will post it on our FB page with pleasure!

Have a safe and fabulous weekend everyone, thanks for enrolling your child in Week Two of our Summer Slam!  We hope they had a grand time and experienced much!  For more photos, you can visit our gallery through this link.

Week Three begins on Monday, 1 August 2016.

Rumeshi & Yan Mei

With May & Dennis

WEEK TWO - 28 JULY 2016

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard.  Today we shall be travelling via ‘Charades’ using ‘Pictionary’ for navigation!  Now, did that make sense to you?  Well, it did to our Summer Slammers, and this is what happened: the children read words on slips prepared by the teachers, in English and Chinese, and then at the easel, they drew what they read.  Interpreting the drawing, the rest of the children had to guess the word.  Hoots of laughter all round as the children delighted in the faux pas.  Our motive was to achieve an energized start to the day which we did!  Yay!

Presented with much ado – the flamboyant ‘carrot’!  This was a combined presentation of botany and nutrition.  We identified some of the countries that produce it, the largest being China, Russia and the USA, located them on the world map, then spoke of its nutritional value.  As a child, were you led to believe that eating more carrots would make you run as fast as a horse?  Then we went on about the benefits that eating carrots provides to the human body including, the possibility of enjoying a glowing complexion.  Further mention of its presence in some food and beverage product, e.g. carrot juice and carrot cake was made.  To end the topic, we all washed the (baby) carrots to prepare them for snack.

Tinikling from the Philippines was repeated, to reinforce the steps.  There was a marked improvement in the children's ability, to step in and out to rhythm.  Bravo, children!  Using the music played for the Tinikling, we had a little percussion session to reinforce the 3/4 rhythm.  Tambourines and clappers made a delightful noise, with the children keeping to time, rather well!

Lunch was lunch, and we say no more!  But do read our suggestion for tomorrow, in relation to the planned cookery project. 

From Aunty May: “Today, I felt like reading to them in a different way”…from a book about plant life, I spoke about plants on our planet.  This was a lead up to what Rumeshi and Yan Mei were to present – yellow dhal. (A pulse, a lentil legume and a close cousin of the green pea).  We spoke about how plants grow, how birds and insects help to propagate fruits and vegetables.  Everyone understood that we would not have honey without bees.  (Although Mila said "We can grow some more!") One child read a short article about how adaptable plants are – trees and shrubs live on cliff faces, some survive under meters of snow, in raging rivers or beneath the sun in a desert.  Another child read about plants living in ponds, rivers, seas with plenty of nutrients and water – but without much light. We looked at Water Lilies that keep their leaves above water and, flowering plants, submerged in water with their blossoms, rising above the water level to pollinate, such as the famed lotus.

A good rest and off we went into afternoon activity.

We have planned a special treat for Friday to supplement lunch. That is to make, from scratch; flat bread and yellow dhal (lentil) curry.  So, please reduce the quantity of food that you plan to send for your child, and if your child is comfortable about having our planned menu for lunch, you may opt to send just a snack.  There will be plenty to go around.

In that regard, we presented the first step to making the dhal:

The product – yellow dhal, what it is, (shape, colour, feel and, urgh (raw) taste?)  Nah! Experiencing all this sensorially, where it’s from, and its use in some countries, from soups to curries (geography), its roots (botany – further explaining the difference between a tap and fibrous root – can you guess what a lentil plant has?), were all presented.
Varieties and cousins – mung, kidney beans.

At this point, we spoke of preparing the lentils for soaking and eventually cooking.

Step 1: Wash and clean the lentils and for this, those of us native to ‘old-school’ Sri Lanka, resort to a utensil named ‘Na-mbi-liya’.   Made of alloy, grooved on the inside to allow for washing grains (rice included) and freeing them of things you’d rather not have inside you – tiny pebbles, particles, even the odd insect*, this vessel is still used in some Sri Lankan homes today!  Rumeshi's for one, as she lent hers for the project.
*Well that was then, before hygienic and ready-to-cook packaging was available.  Please rest assured, the dhal we intend using has been inspected to ensure that it is safe for consumption.

  

We did our best to provide a village setting!

Step 2: Put lentils in the ‘Nambiliya’ (which Rumeshi is holding), add some water, gently ‘jog' the dhal until all foreign matter is ‘jilted’.

The lentils are soaking away today, and they shall be cooked tomorrow.  More to follow.

Snack time and out came the ‘Strawlly’s’ that were frozen overnight.  Not an icicle was left!  We also chomped on the baby carrots that we prepared in the morning, using chopsticks to pick them up.  So we had our EPL for the day.

To end the session – we played rugby.  We really did – well our pre-school form of it.  Three to a side touch rugby, run to the goal line for a touchdown, and we are pleased to report, the round-robin contest ended with a deserving score for all!  We also did our drills, passing the balls and running with the ball. 

Please remember to have your child wear the ‘Summer Slam 2016’ T-shirt that we provided. 

"The child who wants to walk by himself must be allowed to try -- what strengthens any developing power is practice and repetition..." Dr. Maria Montessori

With that, and not forgetting our gallery, it’s good evening, and out.

Rumeshi &Yan Mei,

With May and Dennis