Simply Lambchops

Homemade Spiderman costume (for girls)

homemade costume Tuesday, September 23, 2014

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K's first typing exercise

all about K Monday, September 22, 2014

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This was part of a Teachers Day event organised by the Parent Partnership Committee (PPC), or more well-known as the Parent Support Group (PSG), from Ch's school. Pre-packed DIY crafts like pop-up cards, lollipop flowers and teabag envelopes were sold by the PPC as part of the Teachers Day celebration, to allow the children to make their gift of appreciation. The children could choose to "mail" their hand-made gifts to their teachers through the PPC Post by dropping them into the red mailbox.

DIY Cardboard Mail Box craft by Simply Lambchops

It all started during the brainstorming session by the PPC committee about the sale of DIY crafts to the school children. Someone suggested a postage service and I immediately volunteered to take charge of making the mailbox. It would be fun making something out of cardboard and it was certainly one way of getting rid of the cardboard boxes I have been keeping in my storeroom for projects like this!

I came across this tutorial by The Busy Budgeting Mama and oh, I love the simple yet classic look of the mailbox! The instructions were easy enough to follow, with pictures and short descriptions of the steps needed.

With a top slit and box drawer added. Oops, a Photobomber!

However when I wanted to paint the mailbox, I realised many of the usual painting media could not cover the colourful print of the cardboard! The glossy surface also made it difficult for the paint to stay on without being scratched off easily! In the end, I tried to spray paint it but I could still see the colourful print through the red layer. I was this close to just pasting red paper all over the mailbox as some of my blogger friends suggested. But I refused to give up. I love the bright red of the spray paint and I was determined to use that (sorry, my stubborn, OCD trait revealed!)

I figured that the glossy surface was the main problem. So, without wasting this big beautiful cardboard, I turned it inside out to expose the matte paper surface. Plus, the spray paint just wouldn't bind to the duct tape. I had to add a layer of masking tape on top of all the duct tape and the spray paint worked beautifully after that.

Ch and L were very fascinated by the completed mailbox and pretended to mail their own parcels and letters. Even the school children were very interested in the mailbox when it was brought over to the school!

Photo by Jo

The mailbox is an excellent toy for children as it encourages creative pretend play among young children. You can make felt envelopes like The Busy Budgeting Mama or just give your children some paper as envelopes. The kids can even do a dress-up play with a mailman-looking shirt! Such pretend play encourages language development as it involves communication skills, as well as social emotional development as the child learns to cooperate and interact with appropriate behaviours while playing together. Lastly, it doesn't cost much to make, and you can engage your child to participate in the crafting process by cutting the tapes (under adult supervision) or painting the box (you can choose to use acrylic paint which is less toxic to children).

If you would like to borrow the mailbox for some pretend play with your child, drop me a comment here.

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A hike up Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Exploring Singapore Sunday, September 07, 2014

If you have not been to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR) or can't even remember when you last set foot there, it's time to visit the nature reserve before it closes to the public on 15 Sept 2014. You still have one more week to catch a scenic walk up to the Summit! The nature reserve will be closed to the public in two phases. The first phase will last for six months for the National Parks Board to carry out stabilisation work of the slopes. After which, the Main Road Trail leading to the Summit will be re-opened to visitors during the weekends. The rest of the nature reserve will be closed for about 18 months for other restorative works to be carried out on the trails and forests. We can also expect a new visitor centre at the foot of the BTNR.

I was happy that Ch's classmate and his dad were able to join our church's Brothers@Walk program to enjoy a Saturday morning walk at the BTNR. We walked along the Dairy Farm loop which was north of the hill. Some parts of the trail were muddy as it rained heavily the day before, and there were many parts with long flights of steps that challenged our physical endurance. I was half-hoping to have a more toned butt and thighs after that step-up workout but it gave me aching muscles for two days instead. The children were much better than many of the adults! The boys, including L, were in front of us most of the time and they didn't even look tired after we reached the Summit. Ch caught up with them eventually and also had commendable performance in conquering all the steps, some of which required more than two hands and a trekking pod to stabilise herself.

Briefing before the hike

Step by step to the Summit!

When we reached the Summit, one of the well-known residents of the BTNR snatched a pack of biscuits from T's bag. The action was swift and deft, and got the children very excited. A few of the adults started shouting to warn the kids to stay away from the monkey. It got very bold and even went to ransack an unattended plastic bag left on the bench by one of our church friends! After that small adventure, a group photo with the iconic rock at the Summit was taken before we proceeded down the hill.

The hike could have been at a slower pace for those who are less physical, so that we could catch our breaths and chat along the way. Also, I had a natural instinct to focus on the forest floor to prevent myself from slipping, and missed out on the majestic view of the tall trees and the fauna above me. Nonetheless, I was rewarded with the smaller details of the forest. There were many rubber seed capsules that had already split open and were strewn all around, tiny yellow fungi with their hyphae sticking up to say hello to their visitors, lots of lichens and bracket fungus, thick carpets of moss on the rocks and plenty of smaller plants.

This beautiful nature reserve is famous for the dipterocarp forest that is found on this hill as such a forest type usually occurs much higher above sea-level. It also contains at least 40% of the fauna and flora of Singapore even though the land area is less than 1% of the country's area. It is also a home to a very rare species of crab - the Singapore Freshwater Crab - that can only be found locally. While walking down the trail, I saw some of the badly eroded slopes that have been cordoned off. This extensive restorative work is indeed much needed to preserve the primary rainforest in our urban jungle.