The crazy fun games you guys play

Your heart of gold

Dear Theo my son
So many days you both love to play while you have your meals. Today it is no exception. You both started out eating heartily, then slowed down & became playful.

I warned you both to keep an even tempo while you eat. You should enjoy your food while you talk but not play.

So mummy was really really upset. I disciplined you both. I called for the last one to finish to do the dishes.

After I'm done with my shower, you told me "mummy, Elias is the last to finish but I help him do the dishes."

I was secretly expecting that but I did not give a clue. I asked you why did you do that. You said "because Elias does not know how to do it."

That was very kind, Theo. That was a heart of gold that does not despise those that is punished. Instead of just thinking of yourself, you went the extra mile, took the initiative to help your brother out. I thought this was highly commendable. So I was proud of you today.

I remembered you became friends with the Chinese class naughtiest boy too. And you were not influenced negatively, instead you reached out & be his friend. That was the work of your heart of gold which God gave.

Treasure it son, you have a great purpose in the Lord!

Love,
Mummy

Sharp eyes saved lives!

I (Theo) spotted massive blobs of dirt in Elias ears one day and alerted mummy. Thank God it was then we discovered Elias's ears badly needed cleaning!

Recently  I (Theo) spotted a wasp nest in our Living room. We left it long enough before the little worms had chance to grow fully into adults. Mummy was feeling really squirmish about the whole thing! I remembered mummy grabbing me & screaming when she saw a lizard at Botanical Gardens one say & she scared me till I cry! What an endearing mummy I have. :)

~by mummy on behalf on Theo :)

FIAR - Papa Piccolo

Both boys are having heaps of fun learning about Italy.


Main theme
Father's love for the family:
God our heavenly father & our earthly father
Adoption : kids & Pets
Visits: Singapore River, SPCA

Country
Venice, Italy

Music
Vivaldi - Four Seasons 

Menu
Chicken Bruschetta
Home-made, kids-friendly Tiramisu

Art
Drawing reflection
Identifying shape of map
Designing venetian mask for carnival

 

 

 

  

Theo's version. Mummy likes the vibrant colour and how houses are spaced out from each other. That means when we play our trains or make alot of noise at home, we won't be disturbing our neighbours. 

Mummy's version - (don't really look like buildings in Venice in her opinion, likely her dream house.)

 

 

Venetian mask for the Carnival! Anybody wants to go with me? Actually I think the actual party mask that Venetians wear looks really scary. So I am not keen to make one. Then I saw all the materials and all the masks my friends made. Everyone chose to do this over painting or creating little Venice. When they all left to go home, I created one of these. These are not so dramatic although mummy loves those. I wonder what mummy sees in them. 

 

 

Creating leaning tower of Pisa with lots of cucumber and tomatoes. That means we had to eat the rest and drink lots of green and orange food for the next few days so those food don't go to waste. Still it was an excuse to play with food, for once! 

 

 

My friends thinks Venice is shaped like a whale or dinosaur or elephant or a fish. I chose to create little Venice with clay. And this is just what we did!  Mummy says I am so dilligent, painting the gondola after my friends went home and then woke up from my nap to finish it. First we drew the outline of Venice then we created the land and sea. Putting on clay for little 6-7 year old fingers doesn't come as easy as mummy thought it would be. Mummy taught me how to press, pinch, pull and create the difference between land and water. Then we cut out the gondola from here and laminated the gondolier. Ta-da!

 

 

 

Tiramisu

This is where mummy got the recipe from, she modified it slightly. Mummy scraped white chocolate and was going to use raspberry and blueberries but can't find organic ones, so we just make do with organic strawberries. I helped to mix all the ingredients and stirred the batter and put the strawberries in the cup. Poor Elias was down with hive and was in so much discomfort he can't help. Mummy wanted to find prettier cups for the parfait but can't find them in so short a time. She said we will have to look out for those in the future. I told mummy I love baking and creating food with her.  I wonder when and what can we bake or make next time. This is extremely easy to make, except that mummy have yet to master whipping up egg whites to a peak. While beating the batter, some of the batter flew out of her bowl and mummy laughed. Mummy said after she beat the egg whites for 15minutes and it is still flat, she threw away the egg whites and just stuck to the recipe and used the egg yolks instead. It tasted nice, but mummy is says she wants to try again next time. I helped mummy wipe up the surfaces of our counter top, the kitchen floor and the chair. I am happy mummy don't mind the mess. Yummy Tiramisu, I had 3 cups and want more!!! 

http://www.chowbellakids.net/blog/happy-valentines-day-tiramisu-just-for-kids

The result is a delicious child friendly recipe that replaces rum and espresso with chocolate milk and instead of chocolate shavings we now use chocolate chips. The recipe was tested at a kids cooking camp recently with rave reviews. In fact our campers chose to make this dessert for an Iron chef challenge and threw in some strawberries as a garnish

Tiramisu (for kids)
Serve fresh berries as a garnish. We used strawberries in this photo. Blueberries and raspberries go well too.

 Serves 6

What you need: 

•           6 egg yolks 

•           3 tablespoons sugar 

•           1 pound mascarpone cheese 

•           1 1/2 cups chocolate milk

•           24 packaged ladyfingers 

•           chocolate chips for garnish

What you need to know:In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of chocolate milk and mix until thoroughly combined.

In a small shallow dish, add remaining chocolate milk. Dip each ladyfinger into espresso for only 5 seconds. Letting the ladyfingers soak too long will cause them to fall apart. 

Place the soaked ladyfinger on the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish, breaking them in half if necessary in order to fit the bottom. 

Spread evenly 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers. Arrange another layer of soaked ladyfingers and top with remaining mascarpone mixture. 

Cover tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours

Before serving, sprinkle with chocolate chips.

  

FIAR - Night of the Moonjellies

FIAR is such a wonderful literature program. We are certainly happy to have waited to do this so we can take advantage of all that the program has to offer.

We are finally rowing from country to country! Theo coloured all the story disks and we'll have them up one by one with its corresponding stories.

Here's what we did for "Night of the Moonjellies"

Homeschool journey

We will be applying for CE application this year. This would mark the beginning of a milestone for learning. We are thankful for the past years of playing, learning, growing in various lifeskills, and enjoying childhood as much as we can. The gift of being a child is priceless. Jesus loves the little children and he beckons to them. Jesus even encourages us to be like little children in order to enter his Kingdom.

Even though we will have challenges from time to time, we hope that the boys will never lose sight of being a child. Keep being child-like, sense of wonder and awe.

Education:
To Know God, love him and enjoy his love forever.
To grow up to become the man God created him to be
To fear God and love his Word
To flourish in God-given gifts and talents, and to bless the community
To delight in learning and be able to have time to pursue one's passion & go the extra mile
To love people, love animals and love the earth
To grow in character, stature and wisdom
To bond with family members
To learn service in the community and adapt cross-culturally

Our curriculum:
Language Arts - Charlotte Mason; Transcription (Copywork), Daily Reading, Daily Read-alouds, Reading Made Easy
Chinese - Story books, poem recitation, songs, reading & writing
Math - Math U See
Science - Usborne Activities Vol 2
, Apologia Geography - FIAR
, A Child's Geography:Exploring His World Music - Piano & Composer Studies
Art - Artistic Pursuits
Nature - Charlotte Mason; Keeping a nature Journal, Nature walks, Eating outdoors
Devotion - Devotion & Social Grace


Lifeskills & Leisure:
Chores
Baking
Soccer, Swimming, Cycling & Outdoor play