Roots

Astrology - what an insight!

2012-01-22T09:34:00.002+08:00

The alignment of stars determined by the time, date and place of your birth told me more about myself than anything else. It was comforting knowing that I behave and think the way I do because it was meant to be.
At times I had felt uncomfortable following the social norm and felt strangely cheated when I followed through something that I knew didn't feel right and was forced into.

I am glad I have been following my intuition lately and getting validation felt extremely good.

I have never been into astrology before.

Reading horoscopes was interesting but was more for the lack of reading materials back when books were scarce and the newspaper was the only printed material around.

I was introduced to astrology by a hs mom who had taken a course in it and said that it had helped her 'decipher' her relationship with her kids and hubby. Knowing their charts enabled her to understand their temperament and character and with that in hand, she went on to forging better relationships and building a closer family unit by knowing what to say and how to treat them.
I was intrigued.
At the same time, DH was at a career crossroad and when all logical avenues failed to help, we seek higher help.

From that one reading, it has helped me feel more at ease with myself. And knowing that I could easily achieve my destiny just by following through my gut feelings was inspiring.

In a nutshell, I need to be illogical.
Hubby needs to be back to nature and is multitalented.
And kids in no particular order....one is filial and will look after his parents, one has healing touch, another should go into non-profit organisations and one will travel far and wide and prosper there.

Reading up on the whys and possible personality traits from the Astrology textbook was very interesting. Especially when the events described actually took place. Knowing why the event unfolded as it did was simply mindblowing.

I will be going to hound my astrologer for another look at her books soon.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

2012-01-22T09:14:00.003+08:00

Whenever I have to wait for DH, I end up in a bookshop and spend my time there browsing through books with the kids.
I read this book to Ean on one such occasion.
Many months later, Ean started chanting " ...we can't go over it, we can't go under it, we've got to go through it.."
I couldn't believe my ears, I read that book perhaps 3x on that one day, ages ago and he could recite the catchy rhyme. Word for word.
I had to get the book for myself.
The very next day, one member of the homeschooling network posted the book up for sale.
What luck!
The book is mine :)
I met up with the wonderful mommy during the Gardenia visit and she refused to accept payment. Oh what generosity!
Thank you, thank you **hugs**

Gardenia Factory

2012-01-22T08:19:00.003+08:00

While staring dreamily at a loaf of bread one day, JY muttered "I would like to see the cooling tower of bread in Gardenia again"

So with a phone call to Gardenia to set up a date, posting the event up on the homeschooling network's facebook page and getting a few enthusiastic families to join in, we were set!

I had my homeschooling family for company that day.

After watching a video on bread making, we were ushered into the factory with a stern warning "No stepping over the yellow line. Do not touch the glass panels"
*To this day, my boys will repeat "Do not go over the yellow line!" whenever they see a yellow line.
The smell as we stepped inside was heavenly and the huge tower of revolving freshly baked bread was a sight to behold.
Each step of the process was labelled alphabetically and easy to follow through. We watched as huge vats of dough were kneaded, cut and plopped into baking tins before being baked in a huge oven. I couldn't take my eyes off the many loaves of bread as it swirled around the cooling tower.
Cooled bread was then sliced, bagged and tagged mechanically.
Rejected bread is packed in an unlabelled bag separately for donation to Zoo Negara.

Snack time
Waffles and coffee was served. Followed by a Q&A session.

Goodie bag time. Gardenia was really generous giving each and everyone of us a loaf of Butterscotch bread, waffles and kaya. Thank you Gardenia.

For more information on how to organize a factory visit, call Gardenia.

Child Led - Conquering Fear

2012-01-21T15:06:00.006+08:00

A kept muttering "I must face my fear, I must face my fear...." as he made his way across the hanging bridge.

No one coerced him into it. He just decided to get up there and conquer his fear one step at a time.

He proudly proclaimed "I was scared but I faced my fear!!" the moment he was on solid ground.

KH on the other hand was not ready to take the challenge of crossing the bridge and when he was forced by a grownup, he clung on to her shirt with his eyes tightly shut and had a harrowing time up there.

"Forcing a child to do something that he is not capable of doing - or should not be doing - at his present developmental age will always backfire. Expecting one's child to fit into a certain situation because other children appear to fit in is unrealistic. Each child develops at his own rate, and each child has his own best style of learning" ..An excerpt from a homeschooling site

To love a child means to treat him or her with respect, patience, gentleness and compassion, and in a way that is consistent with the Golden Rule. Tough love is tough, all right, but it has nothing to do with love....The Natural Child Project

I think children learn better when they learn what they want to learn when they want to learn it, and how they want to learn it, learning for their own curiosity and not at somebody else's order. ....An excerpt from John Holt's book The Underachieving School

PD with A and KH

2012-01-21T14:19:00.005+08:00

It was school holidays and we had KH and A over for a couple of days.

Here are a few of the activities that kept the boys occupied.

The Army Museum - great for imaginative play with real tanks and missile launchers

Slip N Slide in the garden

Hermit Crab hunting at night

Bury treasure by the beach

Look for snails among the rocks

Rock Climbing

Source for firewood and dried leaves, start a fire with matches and newspaper and keeping the flames alive

Making Stone Soup in a sardine can found by the beach

Learn the art of launching stones

Museum Tentera Darat @ Port Dickson

2012-01-12T07:10:00.007+08:00

One of our top spots to take visitors.

During school holidays, booths are set up and an assortment of army vehicles and weapons are put on display. Visitors get to handle firearms under the watchful eye of the army personnel.

Showing the boys how dangerous it can be.

Bomb retrieval robot. Latest model.

Older model

Staircase to underground communist tunnel.

Hanging bridge and lookout tower

The boys got to get inside the humvee. It was so spacious.

Counting bullets.

Being shown how to load the gun.

I can see you!
Binoculars with amazing clarity. Too bad it can't be sold to the public.

Map reading.
The soldier was so willing to share his knowledge.

DH was very preoccupied.

Ean said these were train tracks

The boys discussing the possibility that there is a man hiding inside the camouflage outfit as it moved each time the fan blew in its direction

Ean's fascination with trains

2012-01-12T06:24:00.004+08:00

The only one of my boys who is into trains. After years of transforming robots and kungfu moves, it is a welcome change.

Totally absorbed

He built his own steam works to repair his steam engines

The train at the Army Museum in Port Dickson

Boys looking for the engine's firebox

Ean examining the tracks and the placement of wheels on the rails.
He is always asking what the railway sleepers are for.

Ean would always get his engines to 'couple up'. At the museum he got to see a real coupler.

He now wants to go on a train ride.

While browsing through a Picture Atlas with the boys, Ean's attention was grabbed by the Trans Siberian Railway and he has asked his Papa to purchase tickets from Moscow to Vladivostok.

Ean: I want to go on this train
DH: Ok, sure but how long do you think you can sit in a train
Ean (ignoring the question) : and get a ticket for Joseph and Joshua (his friends)
DH: How about we go to Bangkok by train instead?
Ean, by then, lost interest in his Papa and bounded off to play with his brothers.

Natural History Museum @Putrajaya

2012-01-03T09:14:00.005+08:00

I had a difficult time locating this museum. Why must there be two Precinct 15s in Putrajaya?
After driving around in circles in the wrong part of Precinct 15 and a few frantic calls to the museum to ask for directions, I finally made it there.

Parking was easy enough. 4 vacant lots awaited us beside the building. The exterior of the museum was made up of lovely exposed red bricks . Looked promising from the outside.

The Mystery of the Crocodiles exhibit was on the 1st floor. It was rather disappointing with a few stuffed crocodiles. The boys were more interested in the BBC documentary being shown on hippopotamuses

The kids went Wow! when they saw the Bryde's whale skeleton

This elephant skull was interesting. If you peek at its lower and upper jaw, you can see its huge teeth.

Bats

Taman Warisan Pertanian - Explorasi Pokok Kelapa @Putrajaya

2011-12-29T09:10:00.013+08:00

Off we go for a guided walk through the agricultural park

Zul, our tour guide explaining that the jambu air tree was pruned in such a way to minimize fruiting and maximize fruit quality

I learnt how to differentiate between a cempedak and nangka tree.
Cempedak leaves are hairy

Nangka has smooth leaves

Serai wangi used to ward off mosquitoes

Boys playing soldiers.

They were planning an ambush, waiting for the enemy to emerge from the drain

Zul thumping a nangka fruit - if its gives off a hollow sound, it's ripe.
We were also told that the nangka is the largest fruit in the world and it is the national fruit of Bangladesh.

Harvesting paddy

That whole patch would be able to produce just one bowl of rice!

Sniffing fragant pomelo flowers

Coffee beans

Coconut Workshop
From left(clockwise): lidi broom, coconut fruit, coconut leaves and ketupat

Showing how the 'lidi' broom is made.
First remove the blades of the leaves

The midrib

Tie many midribs together to get a very useful household cleaning device - for washing floors, sweeping leaves and removing cobwebs

Scrapping coconut

Doing it the tradional way.

Fai at work

The 3 coordinators were clearly impressed by this little girl - quizzing her about her schooling and her command of the Arabic language

A rubber tree and its milky white sap

Rubber tapping demonstration

Latex in water

Removing water

Pressing out more water. The sheet is put through the rollers 3x

Drying out the sheets

Taking a peek inside the smoky and hot smokehouse

Rice husker

Paddy farmer

JY's ketupat

Ean unravelling JY's ketupat as I enjoyed my lunch of rice and ayam goreng berempah at the foodcourt

Christmas Cheers with Myanmar Refugees and Rotary

2011-12-29T08:19:00.007+08:00

A Community Project by RC Metro KL
We were ushered in by a very friendly and hospitable Myanmar teenager.

Timetable at the learning centre

The Myanmar kids would come here daily for their lessons conducted by volunteers.

Board games and books

More books.

Always the busiest place - the kitchen

The centre is located a few blocks away from Times Square

Showing Fai where she came from.

Sophia said that she travelled for 7 days in a car with her mother and 3 siblings from Yangon.

Sound system crew

Dancing to Feliz Navidad

Singing a catchy, traditional folksong

Fashion show

Fancy moves were included

After a comic routine by a clown that had the children in stitches, it was balloon sculpting time.

Games to win a packet of sweets and chocolates.
It was organised by the older kids at the centre

Yummy traditional Myanmar food

One of the Rotarians got his friend to demonstrate ice carving.

His tools

Starting with a chain saw to slice away slabs of ice and covering the audience in ice shavings.

Playing with the ice blocks that were sawn off

Ean made a friend

They decided throwing stones into drain was a better pastime than looking at a man hacking at a block of ice

Last few touches

Done!
The Master ice craver is keen to impart his knowledge and would be setting up an ice carving society in Malaysia.

Fai's

2011-12-29T08:14:00.003+08:00

A green elf in its treehouse. Note the blue mushroom.

Two ogres- one big, another small. The big ogre has 4 pets - the big flying pet on the right is a gargoyle and the smaller one on a mountaintop on the left is a harpy

Fai's fruits and vegetables

Discover @ Zoo Negara Part1

2011-12-22T00:33:00.005+08:00

Our fnal zoo trip for the year.
A programme created just for us by Edwina, the zoo education officer.

There were 3 stations set up in the Education Centre.
Station 1 : Treasure Hunt
Each child was given a questionnaire and a pack of animal skulls and footprints cutouts to paste. Hints to the questions were pasted on the wall

Station 2: Pinata
The children had to blow up balloons, secure the balloon onto a string and paste newspapaer all over it.

Station 3: Nasi Lemak

Grab a handful of rice and fruit mixture and place onto a piece of banana leaf

The rice mixture is then wrapped in the banana leaf and secured with a natural string cut out from the midrib of the banana leaf

Sliced papaya and banana

Rice

Packets of 'nasi lemak' ready for the elephants

Papier Mache activity

Dipping torn bits of newspaper into a gluey paste made from flour and hot water

Edwina discussing treasure hunt questions with Han and Ean.
3 years old Ean could correctly identify the giraffe's skull

Ean's completed worksheet.
We were supposed to run around the zoo looking for the answers but the boys decided to complete it in the comfort of an air-conditioned eatery over lunch.

Fai completing his balloon.

Teamwork.

The kids received lots of help from the Zoo Negara volunteers and staff

Ean proudly showing off his packet of nasi lemak for the elephants

In 2 hours, we had a box and a bag full of elephant treats.

Pinatas in a row
Once dried, they will be filled with seeds and nuts and given to the primates.

Discovery @ Zoo Negara - Part2

2011-12-14T07:55:00.013+08:00

Ean: Where is this from? Did the elephant die?
Edwina: This elephant was goring the other elephants in the enclosure, so his tusks were sawn off. However, it eventually grew back.
JY: So poachers don't have to kill elephants to get their tusks?
Edwina: Well they do it because it is easier than sedating the animal

Ean (giving the zookeeper accusing looks) : Why did they kill them?

Zookeeper (smiling): We didn't kill them. They died naturally

Orang Utan's fur

Antlers

Beautiful feathers

Facts, feather and egg of the ostrich.

This feather's taller than me!

Ean was introduced to blue Macaws in the animated movie Rio.
He ran around the room going "Blu"

Han examining the 2m long cobra skeleton

The orang utan is this big!

Board game

Animal footprints.
There was a basket of animal paw prints casted in plaster as well

We then proceeded to the elephants for the final part of the programme - feeding the elephants with packets of nasi lemak we prepared earlier

The elephants were ushered into the pool before the education officers were allowed to wander around the enclosure

hiding the nasi lemak

Splash!

The moment the curators left the enclosure, the elephants trooped out of the pool in search of their nasi lemak treat

Here's one!

There ought to be another one of those in here somewhere...

I smell one up here!

Munch, munch...

Spot 2 green paddy frogs
As always we ended our day at the zoo by the frog pool

My favourite spot at the zoo to unwind after spending hours walking around.

Letting the little fishes nibble their fingers

Harvesting @ Melaka

2011-12-14T07:07:00.005+08:00

Spot the boys.

First harvest of the day, millipedes

I wandered off to the bananas and left the boys to themselves, leaving Fai in charge.

Kongkong had been harvesting since 8am and was now cutting the bananas into combs.

Packing the bananas

Pesticide free okra

JY at work picking out the fat, long ones.

I went to check on the boys as they were rather quiet. I expected Ean to start looking for me after 5 minutes.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were not only contented where they were but they had also set up a harvesting system.
Fai and Ean would scout around for ripe pumpkins.

Then hand them to Han

Han would pile the pumpkins up

And brush away mud and dirt

JY's okra

The boys' pile of pumpkins. They kept asking me how much they earned that day.
Han is tending to his millipedes.

Lunar Eclipse @ Pulau Melaka

2011-12-13T02:34:00.003+08:00

DH had a conference in Seremban, so I took the opportunity to go on a short trip to Melaka with the kids.
Pohpoh and Kongkong decided the bridge leading to Pulau Melaka would be the best spot to observe the lunar eclipse.

We watched as fishermen went out to sea and the bridge gradually filled with anglers as the night wore on.

The boys and Kongkong.
It was a breezy night and clouds obscured the moon at times.

We were there till we witnessed partial eclipse.

The rest of the night was spent gazing at the moon until it turned an orangey-pink at total eclipse

Green Festival @Teluk Kemang

2011-12-13T02:20:00.005+08:00

The first booth we stopped at. PDRM's exhibit of confiscated items.
The boys exclaimed "We have this at home!"
I am not telling what we have.

Indah Water's exhibit. They had a mock up of sewer pipes from the house to the sewerage and a few jars containing sewage water from different stages of treatment.
They had a bottle of NEWater with them to show what can be done with treated waste water.

The boys' favourite booth - searching for turtle eggs hidden in sand

Their prize for locating all the pingpong balls - a sticker

Ean kept going back to the sand tray.

JY volunteered to do henna art for MNS

Mangrove @PD

2011-12-13T01:52:00.003+08:00

A recently discovered spot.
I love the roots, moss, branches and the gnarly tree bark

Ean the Explorer

The boys climbed..

and leaped from rock to rock

The boys with their beach finds

Look what washed ashore

A rock formation that resembles a ship

We were at the beach till sunset

More plasticine creations

2011-12-13T01:30:00.002+08:00

It was one of those days when we had to wait for DH to pick us up.
The boys got for themselves a few boxes of plasticine in an assortment of colours.
While I had a quick snack, the boys entertained themselves with their works of art.

Stick Man

Thomas the Train

In a vegetable farm

Warrior.
This was pasted on the car's steering wheel.

Fraser's Hill

2011-12-12T20:35:00.005+08:00

Our first time up in Fraser's Hill.
Landscaping in the parks and along the roads were beautifully done.

Impatiens were growing everywhere in a variety of colours.

Quaint police station

We drove around and admired the lovely stone houses and gorgeous gardens

We were at a nursery to get some plants when the boys spotted a caterpillar in a drain.
They noticed that it was trying unsuccessfully climb out of the drain. So they decided to rescue it.

Close up of the caterpiller.

Fish feeding at Allan's Water

Tilapia, catfish and carp

The girls decided they wanted to go boating

Waiting their turn

It was a nice family get-together.

Pohpoh and Kongkong celebrated their wedding anniversary
JY got to play Screaming Scrabble with her uncle.
TaiMak was entertained by the antics of her 3 greatgrandsons

Plasticine creations

2011-12-11T16:56:00.003+08:00

Han's

Fai's creatures

GingerBreadMan Camp part2

2011-12-10T08:01:00.007+08:00

By the beach, the boys got ready for their fishing workshop.

Observing little crabs

It started to pour but the kids continued with their crabbing while the men contemplated their fishing nets. they carried on with their plans to lay the nets in the rain.

DH commented that it was remarkable to see how grown men were transformed into boys again the moment the waves hit their bodies as they carried the nets out into the sea.
So if you need to be rejuvenated, go fishing!

Luckily the rain stopped within an hour.
The campers who had been waiting patiently in their cars, got to work immediately.
First, the ground sheets - helps in keeping the base of the tent clean and any ground moisture from seeping in from the bottom.

Tents in a row.

Words of advice from the campers:

4-men tents are too small. 6-men sleeps 4 and a bit of luggage. 8-men is ideal for 2 camp beds and a double air mattress.

place paper pulp egg cartons at the entrance to clean sandy feet

get tents with 2 doors for better ventilation

Preparing the ditch for the barbecue

items required to get the fire going - matches, charcoal, twigs, bits of newspaper or firestarter.
Place twigs at the base of the pit, topped with the firestarter, arrange charcoal tippee-like.
Light the firestarter

Fanning the flames
DH throwing in more firestarters.

More fanning

If fanning doesn't work, blowing helps

More blowing

Trying the get the fire going

DH went from pit to pit to give firestarting tips

Fire, at last

Getting wood for the campfire

Emil who was back for our second camp by the beach, helped to stack the wood

and get the fire going

Food preparation

potatoes cut into chunks drizzled with oil, herbs and a dash of salt, then wrap in foil.
Sweet potato and pumpkin slices to be grilled

Chicken wings, lamb, garlic bread, sweet corn and sweet potatoes

one handy item to bring on a cookout.

Kids in the water

These girls feel the flag pole lacks foundation.

Bonding by the fire

More bonding.
Fai stayed up till 2am to be with his friends and got up at 9am to jump into the sea.
He still had energy after a small breakfast to hike up the lighthouse and down to Pulau Intan

Gingerbread Man @PD Part1

2011-11-30T07:53:00.006+08:00

Thea and Emil started off the workshop with their version og The GingerBread Man. They were supposed to have rehearsed but as they had been out fishing till 1am the previous night, the storytelling session was rather impromptu.

Emil had never heard of The GingerBread Man story and Fai felt he had to help Emil out a bit.

JY handing out gingerbread dough that was prepared by Uncle Danny.

The kids had to roll and cut their cookies. some improvised and created their own designs

Han's Pirate and treasure chest

Gingerbread cookies waiting for the oven.

Cooling in the cake studio

JY's icing. She had to outline all the cookies with her steady and skillful touch. Everyone else had shaky hands and the outlines turned out clumpy and awful.

Such fun!
The colours were amazing - bright and cheerful.

Smoothing out the icing with a satay stick.

JY piping and piping and piping....

Sprinkles!

The kids were so focused the entire workshop. They had so much fun playing with the icing and sprinkles, there weren't enough cookies to satisfy their creativity. They could have continued decorating for hours.

Pregnant Gingerbread Woman

Mommies had fun too

Han's cookies.

Ean enjoying his snack.

A great, big thank you to Teri and Danny for another successful baking-decorating workshop. The support from the homeschooling group has been tremendous. Their keen participation make organising such events a delight.

Outdoor Preschool - Norway

2011-11-30T07:44:00.000+08:00

An interesting concept. I wonder if such an approach is acceptable to parents in Malaysia. It would be wonderful if likeminded parents pool together to create such a setting for kids here to learn from Mother Nature.
My kids are rather reluctant to go to the beach by themselves but enjoy the beach thoroughly when they have friends to share the beach with - building intricate sandcastles using tiny pinecones as soldiers, going fishing, swimming and exploring the shoreline.
Having a group of friends that meet daily to do such activities would be great.

Click here for a look at a Forest Kindergarten in Switzerland

Fishing @ PD

2011-11-25T23:34:00.003+08:00

2 men with their jala (A fish net that is cast by hand. Lots of skill is involved to open up the net into a perfect circle)
Han with a fish net - the scoop and catch type.

Han trying to catch a school of tiny fish.
Ean was walking around with his collection of hermit crabs in the net.

Lala (small clams) that were dug up the previous night for bait

Thea crushing the live bait and Fai extracting lala from its shell

Lala without shell

JY and Emil trying to untangle a messy bundle of fishing line.
Before they could cast their first line, it started to rain heavily.

The kids ran back to the car. The girls couldn't wait to get back home to stomp in puddles.

Wreath

2011-11-25T20:53:00.005+08:00

JY's unschooling friend from Penang came to stay for a few days.

The girls went around the neighbourhood looking for flowers and leaves one evening

Wire was looped about 3x around an 8inch cake tin to get the desired shape and size.

Leaves were then entwined around the wreath loop and secured with short floral wires.

Wreath hoop with leaves.
Now to add the flowers.

Wreath 1

Wreath 2

Han concentrating on his wreath. He was very proud of his creation and paraded around with it.

Homebirth...getting ready with books

2011-11-24T16:46:00.004+08:00

This book came highly recommended.

The only CD I own that prohibits listening in moving vehicles.

Lots of easy to follow instructions and comparison between homebirthing and hospital births.

I especially liked the chapter on the history of obstetrics. It was a very eye-opening read.

For all my babies, I had just followed my obgyn's advice from the first visit to delivery. I was the perfect, compliant, never questioning patient.

"As long as baby is healthy" was my philosophy back then, it didn't matter how I was manhandled, humiliated, cut and sewn up.

With my 5th baby, it has finally dawned on me that I have been a dimwit.

Probably baby No5 triggered some grey cells. Baby No5 is one very strong willed baby. No way will baby No5 be induced into the world without permission.

I have been very fortunate to have supportive homebirth mothers who had willingly shared their inspiring birth stories. I thank them for leading me to homebirthing.

Another highly recommended book.

A homeschooling mother from Holland told me that this book is a 'must read'. She went on to say that all mothers in Holland give birth at home in the presence of a midwife. Only in very rare cases are births done in the hospital. She was surprised that the trend in Malaysia was in reverse.

Vaginal Powers! I am discovering inner secrets.
DH is assigned birth companion and has the two books shoved under his nose at certain chapters that I felt required his attention.
He flipped through Ina May's wincing and grimacing at every turn of the page.
DH took some time accepting the fact that he will be the one receiving the baby. Talking to a homebirth father helped to allay some of his fears. He is still skeptical but has come to accept that his wife is adamant.

Next purchase, the birth ball, a 65cm gym ball and a pool.

Rock Climbing @ Extreme Park Shah Alam

2011-11-24T08:55:00.002+08:00

The boys playing in the nice cool 'cave'. The boys had to keep themselves entertained for 3 hours as JY had signed up for a 3 hour course.
It was hot and sunny out in the rock climbing area, so we took refuge in the wonderful air-conditioned confines of a fast food joint and let the boys doodle away.
Fai's into playing UNO, so we played that as well. And ate lots of fries too.

One of the schoolkids who were there before us, zooming down the flying fox after scaling the wall.

JY and XP putting their gear on

Receiving instructions

JY had on her sandals and was allowed to climb with it. Eventually she found being barefoot made climbing easier.

JY found it exhilarating and challenging especially at the trickier walls where the rocks were far between and she had to leap to reach the next rock.

Next challenge - Rock climbing at Batu Caves.

Canopy Walkway @FRIM

2011-11-19T02:43:00.005+08:00

Our welcoming commitee as we started on the Rover Track towards the entrance of the Canopy Walk
Tickets for the canopy walk had to be purchased at the Information Centre. More info here.

The trek was pleasant on a Sunday morning.

Ean walked most of the way

The weekend crowd.

Only 5 people were allowed onto the walkway at each interval. And we had to space ourselves 4 feet apart.

We could imagine Emil, the German exchange student, waving his hands and singing his national anthem if he were to see this sign. I shall bring him here one day.

Walked up a steep, narrow staircase

Beginning of the walkway

He checked our tickets and ensured we kept our distance

The view was spectacular. If only we had more time to marvel at the scenery.

Lovely timber decking

We were more cautious on the trail down to the starting point. As there were a few sandy and slippery spots.

We were greeted by a wonderful picnic spot at the end of the trail.

Crystal clear water, shallow, sandy stream, huge boulders, devoid of a crowd......perfect!

On the way back to the carpark, Fai looked upwards trying to spot bird's nests and that was when he saw the trees with the Crown Shyness phenomenon - the kapur tree.
I was so intent on reaching the parking lot (it was drizzling slightly) that I had totally ignored the splendour around me.
Fai informed his sister and she pointed to the sky and said "Look!"
Everyone looked up and went "Wow!"

Kacang Botol

2011-11-19T02:33:00.003+08:00

It took a while for the plant to flower. It just grew continuously, creeping upwards until it reached the roof. Then one day, it flowered and we had four angle beans hanging on its vines.

Fai giving his dad a hand.

Stir fried with sambal belacan or eaten raw with a sambal belacan dip...Ooooo Yum!
I am off to get my pestle and mortar...

Korean Fair @ Ampang Avenue

2011-11-19T02:01:00.003+08:00

We were introduced to the Korean hotplate over a portable gas stove and delicious barbecued meat using a Korean marinade during a recent camping trip.
JY has been into K-pop recently.
The moment we were informed of a Korean Fair, we had to go!

Kimchi pancake was being sold in most of the stalls.

The kids got a glimpse of the traditional Korean costume -Hanbok

This looked like fun. Korean kids playing on a wooden plank.

Seesaw - standing up version.

Ampang Avenue had a few Korean stores.

We popped into one and came away with a hotplate and 2 bottles of Bulgogi Marinade.

Deepavali Cheers with RC MetroKL and Sai Ananda Centre @Pulau Carey

2011-11-17T09:08:00.018+08:00

It is always fascinating to see how community projects are carried out

About 300 families who lived in the plantation were invited to the event.

Volunteers sorting out saris and Deepavali snacks to be distributed out

Provisions such as rice and oil would also be given to each family

The families arrived in the back of tractors

Observing prayers at the entrance of the temple

Volunteers from Sai Ananda squeezing lime

A huge tub of refreshing lime juice

Preparing banana leaves for lunch

Slicing green bananas for spicy banana chips

Banana chips

Spices

Huge pots to fill up.

There were about 600 people to feed. We were all hungry smelling the aroma wafting from the kitchen

Mint leaves for chutney

A Rotarian showing off his skills with a cleaver

A huge kuali of delicious curry. Only vegetarian food was being prepared

Good Exercise

Feet apart, bend over , keep knees straight, stretch out hands, fingers out then dig in!

The volunteers came from all walks of life.
All with one common goal - to share a little Deepavali cheer with the families deep within a palm oil estate

Malaysian Endangered Journey - Tiger and Sunbear @Zoo Negara

2011-11-17T07:08:00.007+08:00

Tram ride from the elephant enclosure to the tigers

Meat for the tiger

Chunks of raw meat was placed on a hook and reeled in into the enclosure.
The tiger caught whiff of the meat and leaped at it

An ice block filled with pieces of raw chicken was thrown by the edge of the pool for the tigers to claw and grab

The tiger enjoying an icy chicken treat

Looking at a photo that compared the size of a polar bear compared to an adult human

Han wanting a closer look at cruel animal traps

Getting snared in a metal hoop is very painful as this volunteer found out

In the Education Centre, we untwined gunny rope. The thinner fragments of the rope was used to make props for the tigers.
Raffia string can not be used as it will cut into the animal's skin

Preparing paste out of corn flour for the tiger's prop

Using the paste to stick on toilet roll tubes onto a box.

The kids were asked what animal they wanted to tiger to hunt. The kids said "Tiger!"

So the box was to resemble a tiger and raw meat will be placed within for the tiger to maul at.

Bamboo logs
The sunbear has claws like Wolverine of X-Men and uses it to claw out food from deep within the bamboo

Holes bored into the bamboo log

Stuffing sunflower seeds and raisins into the bamboo logs. These were for the sunbears

The boys trying their hand at boring holes using a hand drill

Concentrating hard at fitting the seeds into the holes

Bread is lathered with honey and stuffed into the bamboo logs. Each slice of bread is separated by a piece of banana leaf.

Parents were ready to take over when the kids lost interest and wandered off

Malaysian Endangered Journey @Zoo Negara - the Majestic Elephant

2011-11-17T06:38:00.006+08:00

We started the visit with the elephants

Edwina, the Zoo Eductaion Officer describing the how the elephant was actually walking on tiptoes

Anatomy of an elephant's foot

Elephant teeth

Difference between asian and african elephants

At the education centre, we made rice balls with raisins and honey

Happily squishing and rolling the balls out

A tub full of treats for the elephants

The zoo keeper threw in the rice balls into the grass clumps. This is to encourage the elephants to forage for food.

More info on how to participate in the Zoo Education Programme here.

Cold Fish and Water Quality @PSN

2011-11-16T19:17:00.004+08:00

The session started with Fish Anatomy.

Live fish was handed out to the kids

Ean taking the temperature of the water and Han examining his brother

Emil counting the number of times the operculum of the fish opened and closed in a minute.
We counted 126x. The fish was hyperventilating, probably due to Ean swirling his thermometer in the water and scaring the fish.

Ean at work

We were given ice cubes to lower the temperature of the water. The respiration rate of the fish was reduced by half.
As more ice cubes were dropped into the water, the fish's respiration rate lowered further until...

By the end of the experiment, most of the fish in the lab was barely moving. Some went belly up.

Concerned kids and parents looking on as the fish was placed into a warmer environment. The fish was not poured into the tank but lowered in its beaker to allow it to acclimatise to the warmer water. The lab demonstartor warned against sudden temperature changes in fish

All the fish revived after a few minutes.
The kids were too fascinated at the condition of the fish to ask why the fish stopped breathing in icy cold water and eventually recovered in warmer waters.

Fai's worksheet

Next experiment was to compare test results of pond and tap water using a test kit

Pour in either pond or tap water. Squirt in a few drops of the indicator solution according to the instructions given and compare the colour of the solution obtained to the reference colour card to determine the pH.
Same procedure for testing of nitrite and ammonia.

Lesson learnt:

Animal testing is heart wrenching

Fibonacci spiral by the roadside

2011-11-16T16:40:00.006+08:00

Our car refused to move and needed black oil badly. DH hitched a ride to the nearest petrol station and the kids tumbled out of the car

The girl in photo above completely disregarded her father's request to stop playing with dirt.
She was completely absorbed in completed the task that she had set out for herself.
Her father gave up after a while and walked away shaking his head.
I was the silent observer with a camera :)

Finally, after she had completed her circle of stones, she got up, dusted her hands and walked away.

It reminded me of Fibonnaci and his magic numbers that occurs in nature.

Did she just express an innate need for some form of mathematical outlet through stones by the roadside?

Do parents unwittingly quell their kids geniuses by thinking dirt is dirty and nothing can come out of playing with stones?

Cold Camping in Malaysia

2011-11-15T23:12:00.005+08:00

The surreal scenery that greeted us early in the morning

DH's first camping trip and he chose to go to a location with temperatures that dipped to 15C.

It was nightfall by the time we got to the campsite, so setting up our brand new 8 men tent was done with torches.

Dinner
The group we were with consisted of experienced campers. One had cycled the globe on his bicycle, the other just came back from Milan, another collected hunting knives and lastly, a fellow homeschooling family who had just taken up camping for a year but is now a veteran at it.

The kids had lots of fun, making new friends and enjoying the cool air.

The mist.
The wind howled throughout the night and at times I thought the tents would be blown off the mountain. The flaps were hitting wildly against the sides of the tent. And due to condensation, water droplets accumulated along the inner layer of the tent. It was a wet, cold, noisy night but the kids slept soundly, packed next to each other in a warm, cosy heap

In the morning, we discovered that the site was littered with pitcher plants,

some the length of our palms. Pitcher plants grew on the ground and among the bushes.

Ean loved the place, especially the hill slope and he spent the morning climbing up and down.

What's in there?

Cupcake Camp @ PD Part 3

2011-11-07T16:11:00.002+08:00

The night was spent hunting for hermit crabs.

One mom managed to observe one run out of its shell and lay a row of eggs.
Roasting marshmallows over the campfire completed the night

Sand play continued after breakfast

Fishermen retrieving their catch

Part of the catch that day was a live bailer snail and a horseshoe crab

Releasing the bailer snail back into the sea.

Cupcake Camp @PD -part2

2011-11-04T00:34:00.010+08:00

Before the event there were lots to prepare.

Sweet corn to wrap in foil for the barbecue later that evening

Ingredients for the fired beehoon

Tomyam beehoon being prepared

The mothers chipped in and lunch for the hungry kids was prepared in a jiffy. With such team work, the food prepared was nothing less than incredibly delicious!
Notable effort award goes to the mothers who chopped 3kg of onions and 3kg of tomatoes. Thank you!

Preparation began early in the morning.
The baking Dad decided to prebake the cupcakes and the cake decorator had help with her fondant

Making small little black beady eyes for the teddy bear.

Ready for the oven

Just out and smells heavenly

Attentive students

Ean checking on the icing

Taste test session

Another taste testing team

Cake decorating tools ready for action

The kids ready for instructions from the 13year old cake decorator

Assembling teddy

Session in progress

The outcome

Cookie session.
The dough was pre-prepared and the kids coated flattened balls of dough with oats

Ean enjoying his icing

The aftermath.

Cupcake Camp @PD Part1

2011-11-03T23:50:00.003+08:00

This camp was a collaboration between 2 homeschooling families. One had a Dad that bakes professionally and the other had a cake decorating daughter. Both families had mothers who were high on pregnancy hormones and the 2 moms put their heads together to organise a cupcake and cookie camp for members in The Malaysian Homeschool Network.

The event started when Emil came to stay with us.

The boys took to Emil, a German exchange student, immediately.
They took out a book about food around the world 'Hungry Planet' and showed what Germans were supposed to eat. Emil took one look at the food spread and said "NO! We don't so much fast food. Look at the amount of beer. That guy must be drunk all the time!"
Emil pointed out what was unhealthy diet, he advised the boys "Don't eat too much junk food"

The other families arrived on a Friday evening, just in time for dinner.

Steamboat dinner.
What a feast we had. Each family brought a little something to dunk into the fish broth.

The boys on the deck.
We had just found a litter of kittens on the deck a few days before and that kept the kids busy while waiting for dinner.

It started to drizzle so we had to continue our dinner indoors

The kids in the playroom.

One family spent the night on the deck without mosquito nets. They came well-equip with 2 camp beds and a double air mattress.

Just before midnight, the adventurous lot made their way to the beach to set 2 fishing nets. The tide was rather high and they had to set the nets nearer the shore.
It is always exciting to venture into the sea at night, especially when you can't see what's ahead of you.
The group came back about 1am.

After a refreshing shower, DH and Emil decided to show off their flags. DH his Jolly Rogers and Emil his German flag. Emil then decided that run around the house singing his national anthem while waving his flag.
Emil took out his photobook and showed us his home near the Alps, white pine trees, snow 4feet high (Emil assured Fai that one day he would get the chance to experience real snow. Fai had been asking to go to a country where there was real snow). He told us Oktoberfest is held in September and the celebrations he witnessed in OneUtama was embarrassing - the men had shorts that were too long and the women had skirts that were too short and it was held in October!

A Piece of String - one great invention

2011-10-23T22:49:00.002+08:00

Just after reading this book all about strings, we stepped out just in time to see a string in action

A bucket of sand being lowered down to the ground floor by a piece of string

Going closer for a better look

Ants book @PSN

2011-10-23T22:39:00.003+08:00

This book that I grabbed off the shelf could have triggered Fai's fascination in ants at Pulau Carey

He observed the ants as they went about their daily routine just like the girl in the book.

He put food out too and watched as they bit out smaller piece to haul back to the nest.
This book was read just once and at least a week before the trip to Pulau Carey.

Ants @ Pulau Carey

2011-10-21T07:19:00.003+08:00

It was a hot day, so we escaped the heat in the oil palm plantation across the road.

We tried looking for scorpions, millipedes, anything that moved but all we could find were ants.
Fai placed bread near the ant hill and waited for ant scouts to discover the food.

A big soldier ant

Fai was fascinated with the ants and refused to leave. He wanted to study them, observe their behaviour.

Driving out we passed a beautiful mansion 'Hatter's Castle'

Saw lots of bee-eaters swooping after insects and caught sight of a flock of raptors soaring the thermals.

Fiddler crabs along the river.

Yakult Factory

2011-10-21T06:30:00.004+08:00

Yakult Factory in Seremban.

The factory's feature wall was interesting, especially since the boys are into flags lately.

During the briefing, Ean got restless and started taking photos

Another photo by Ean.

We were grouped with Mandarin speaking students that day.

We were given a slide show presentation and a short cartoon on the journey of the Lactobacillus Casei bacteria as it travels through the gut.

Fai got himself a notepad when he answered a question correctly which infuriated Han because he didn't get to answer. These Q&A sessions do get the boys frustrated when they can't get the right answer. I had a hard time cheering Han up after that episode.
They still do not go for any games that are competitive and would rather play games that require teamwork.

Fai sketching his boredom away. Bone dragon (top) and skeleton warrior (bottom)

Icy cold Yakult was distributed and we were shown the proper way to remove the straw.

We got to take a look at the factory through glass walls. The boys were most fascinated by the QC lab technician who was busy pipetting Yakult samples into petri dishes.
They got to see:

Yakult bottles popping out of a machine,
huge vats where the bacteria was cultured and stored,
bottles being labelled, filled and sealed
how machines replaced man
how idle the man was - all he had to do was look at the bottles whizz by
how a pipette was used
how agar is used as a medium to grow bacteria. Agar-agar is not just for eating!
how useful a conveyor belt is - not just in a sushi bar
a huge roll of straw

MV Logos Hope @ Port Klang

2011-10-20T15:43:00.005+08:00

The floating bookshop has docked at Port Klang

It was a long walk to the ship. Lucky for us it was cloudy and windy that morning.

The ship up close. Kids were playing in the playground on the upper deck as we walked pass.

Let's all try to navigate this ship.
Ean came to me and said "The ship's NOT moving!!!" "Why isn't it moving??!"

Sleeping quarters.

Safety simulation exercise

We were ushered into an auditorium

And were entertained by a few of the 45 nationalities on board.

The show was full of suspense...

And had nail-biting moments

Fai volunteered to participate in a race. His task was to run down the aisle, retrieve a life vest, and run back.

The ship sails all over the world and we were given a glimpse of the culture and language of 2 of the many ports it docks at - Mexico and Scotland.

Stamp Collecting - a beginning

2011-10-16T02:35:00.002+08:00

After a visit to the National Mail Centre, what better than to introduce the kids to collecting stamps.

First lesson: how to remove stamps from envelopes

Step 1 Cut around the stamp on the envelope

Step 2 soak in water

Step 3 wait till stamps detach from envelope

Step 4 remove stamp from water

Step 5 Leave stamp to dry on a cloth

Step 6 slot stamps into a stamp album

Fai and Han ran off after soaking the stamps, leaving Ean to do the rest.

Gopeng - Gua Tempurung

2011-10-15T15:12:00.002+08:00

First timers and those with young kids chose to go on either Levels 1 or 2.

Fai having been in the cave before opted to go along with his sister and father for Level 4. We had with us head lamps and were wearing either sandals or sport shoes. Fai's feet ended up badly blistered by his sandals, so proper shoes are advisable. Keep your hands free as you will need to crawl and grab.

More info on tours available in Gua Tempurung here

Han and Ean were not keen, so I played by the stream with them

We were joined by those who completed their quick tour of the wonderful cave.

There were lots of fish but were very difficult to catch.

After 4 hours, JY finally emerged from the underground stream. First thing she did was to wash her shoes.

The rest strolled out with clean shoes as they had used the gushing water to wash their footwear before coming out from the cave.

Fai said he had a great time.

They had to crawl through narrow crevices, slide 20 feet down huge boulders, got to see a secret garden and much more.

Here's what DH wrote in FB:

" I encourage all families to go for it, the young ones will like it too. A bit scary, a bit dark, dangerous to some, let some imagination run wild, feel the fresh cold water, wet, dry, muddy, sandy and rocky earth with your bare hands, legs ...and soaked body. Its 4 hours of fun and thrills! Ask for the new extended route also. The feeling of danger is so invigorating. If your life is too safe its time to face some danger for a change. Experiencing team work with strangers and making new friends in the group is a bonus. "

There was a large crowd as it was a national holiday. There were at least 50 in their group and most of them had torches, so it was well lit - like a party in the caverns. Although only one guide was with them, the tour went smoothly with many willing to lend a helping hand.

I was most impressed with a young man who made it through Level 3 minus one leg and using crutches. Salute!

Gopeng -Earth Camp

2011-10-15T14:30:00.007+08:00

photo from Learning Beyond Schooling

We spent the night in a treehouse

photo from Learning Beyond Schooling

The smaller treehouse comes with 2 thin mattresses, 1 light, 1 fan and a tree to hug.

photo from Learning Beyond Schooling

The treehouse up close.

The treehouse was about 8 feet above ground, planks for flooring and walls with gaps big enough for pesky bugs to fly through. Mosquitoes were easily avoided by lighting mosquito coils and some treehouses were lucky enough to have fireflies fly in when the lights were off.

The toilets were fashioned out from water tanks with a hole cut out for the door.

Clean and functional. No complaints from me.

An old derelict building claimed by a Banyan tree

I spent the night getting close and personal with a rubber tree. Tapping scars could be seen on its bark.

Han peeking out.

Luckily it didn't rain heavily or we would have surely gotten soaked.

The kids held secret meetings away from the adults, inspecting each other's treehouse and had a grand time.
More info on Earth Camp here.

Gopeng - whitewater rafting, playing with fire, henna art

2011-10-12T15:52:00.014+08:00

Sungai Kampar - Perfect for whitewater rafting

All aboard!

The lorry that took the group from Earth Camp to Ulu Geroh for the Rafflesia Trail. It was a first for all on board and was very thrilling - especially at steep slopes.

While waiting for the trekkers, the rest of us relaxed by Sungai Kampar.

The boys making sandcastles

Another group with their rafts

Life vests are tricky to put on.

After lunch, JY and Cora started off with water safety tips.

If you fall overboard, stay away from the raft. Kick or push yourself away!

Hang on to my precious equipment. Don't let it float away!

Carrying the raft to the river.

The man with the blue helmet and light blue canoe is the safety marshal that followed them throughout.

JY and Cora body floated down the rapids to a sandy bank around the bend. photo by Amrita

Lie down feet first and let the current carry you away

Catch a rope that is barely visible in the water and haul yourself up.

JY didn't need the rope, all she did was reach out and she was by the bank. The advantage of having long limbs.

How to throw up?

More safety procedure followed

a few more pointers...

And they were off!

After settling in in our respective treehouses, we whiled the time away by the river located next to the Dining Hall. Dinner was a 2 hour wait, so the girls did some Henna art

Han dipped his toes into the cool water

The fathers started a fire to chase the mosquitoes away

Father on left could relive his scouting days.

Cora tried to skip stones.

The fire - mosquito deterrent but attracts children

Multilegged pet from Ulu Geroh

National Mail Centre (Pos Malaysia)

2011-10-12T01:25:00.006+08:00

We were at the National Mail Centre where all the mail in Malaysia gets sorted out before distribution. The visit was made possible because a 7yo inquisitive mind asked her mom what happens when she posts a letter.

Spiral conveyor belt

The centre has been in operation for just a year. It covers 4 acres and has state of the art equipment

The staff were cordial and very informative.

The kids were allowed to stamp a stack of letters.

A mother found the job addictive and was seen happily stamping away when the kids wandered off.

More letters to be sorted. Letters that were of standard size and had the address written in the correct order was easy - just put through a machine that scans the letter and off it goes....

based on the postcode written, letters will end up where it is destined to be

letters for all over Malaysia

Han was fascinated with the sorting machine. It worked so fast!

The screen states 37 403 letters per hour

Letters that were not of standard size were sorted manually

We were given First Day covers as a parting gift. Such generosity from Pos Malaysia.

As we were leaving, sacks of mail were delivered. We didn't get to see many of the machines in operation and were told that a better visit would be at 2pm. A night visit is possible as well.

Horse Carnival 2011 @ Selangor Turf Club

2011-10-09T10:42:00.005+08:00

We managed to catch the opening ceremony at the Horse Carnival.

Acrobatic performance on horses. They were pretty much like Mat Rempits but on horses instead of motorbikes

A band!

A first time watching a live performance by a band for the kids and the second time hearing their national anthem 'Negaraku' being played. They kept asking why everyone had to stand.

Skulls on display.

The horse dentist told us to feel its teeth that were sharp at the edges.

This horse was put down by a shot to its head. We were told it was probably due to a broken leg.

The one and only horse dentist in the country filing down the horse's teeth. Horses in captivity do not have the chance to graze on grass and hence their teeth have the tendency to get sharp at the sides which will eventually cut the sides of their cheek. This will cause the horse to gulp down their food instead of chewing on them and they might end up getting indigestion.
Conclusion: Horses are meant to be wild and free.

Horse's Dental equipment

The pink horse won first prize. Designed and painted by students from my secondary school.

I liked the designs on this horse.

We left after the jumping event and having witnessed rider upon rider trip and fall off their horses, you must have nerves of steel to sit through such a sport.

One competitor fell of her horse when her horse's front legs grazed the bars. She fell on her head, with her head bent towards her chest. She managed to walk out without any aide but she was bleeding from her mouth.

What I found out that day:

the boys have no interest in riding ponies.
Malaysia has only one horse dental surgeon and no one wants to take his place.
Clowns with balloons are very popular with kids.
Clowns are not friendly
JY likes hot bloods - stout, sturdy, broad horses and the more hair the better. ** Oops! It should be cold bloods. The hot bloods are then lean, mean super fast ones

Total Chaos @PSN

2011-10-05T20:23:00.004+08:00

It was one of those days when the kids refused to follow any instructions. They were supposed to be doing some serious investigative work:

Acidity and Basicity of some substances
Testing of starch in food

Han and Ean decided they wanted to do their own investigation

with loads of baking powder

and creating bubbly foam when vinegar was added

their concoction of biscuit bits, sugar and salt floating in water

and scattered litmus paper and sugar all over the tabletop.

ICCA cake competition 2011

2011-10-05T16:25:00.013+08:00

A brief analysis and comparison of the cakes in the annual wedding cake competition by ICCA in 2010 and 2011. Enjoy the visual feast. The creativity of the contestants were astounding.

By Norashikin 2010

A beautiful peacock compostion. She spent the night in a budget hotel with her cake and she said the the journey from Melaka and then through narrow corridors of the hotel was harrowing. The tail and feathers were very artistically done.

By Norashikin 2011

This time her birds were even more intricate. I spent a long time admiring her delicate work of art. She said she spent long afternoons snapping photos of lotus flowers in her kampung before creating her masterpiece. I can imagine her painstakingly piping each and every feather and the care she must have taken transporting it from Melaka. A very inspiring creation.

Birds and feathers will always remind me of Norashikin.

Mama Min 2010

I love her figurines. the bride and groom look so happy

Mama Min 2011

Yet again she impresses with her figurines. This time she managed to inject humour into her wedding cake.

Louis 2010 - 2 entries

This is the first time I have seen the airbrush technique on a cake and it made his cakes very eyecatching. He is obviously a whiz at it. His jellyfish is brilliant! And take a look at the phoenix and dragon - a work of art indeed.

However, the judges were looking for string work and other finer techniques that were lacking in his creations.

Louis 2011

This year he totally abandoned his air brush for string work, some piping and a flower! I was utterly disappointed. I had gone around trying to identify his work and when JY pointed at this cake, I couldn't believe it.

His creative genius can only be unleashed when airbrushing.

JY could see for herself what happens when you abandon your forte - you get something ordinary instead.

Pauline 2010

Her stringwork is amazing

Pauline 2011

Her beauty and the beast figurines were superb.

3rd place 2011

I can't remember the name of the topsy-turvy stuff but it requires turning the cake upside down.

Kevin 2010

Wonderful painted pixies.

Kevin 2011 -2nd prize

Even more delicate stringwork. Every tier had stringwork, at times 2 layers of it with angels parting the strings.

It was so fine and close together. His hands are really steady to have done such a feat.

His little angels were beautifully done.

It took him a month to complete the cake.

2010 1st by Shahril

He deserved it. Beautiful everything! Composition was perfect.

2011 winner from Bangkok.

A surprise win.

JY's entry 2010

Indian wedding inspired. She started her henna piping since then.

JY 2011

This year her henna piping has improved by leaps - it is finer and at parts she tried to make it look 3D.

All was done freehand.

No sketching or templates were used. And she was astounded when someone would even suggest she used a template. The judges told her that they wanted to see a whole cake with just her henna piping as that was her strong point.

Her roses were the best. Paper thin petals, perfectly dusted and simply gorgeous.

She had gone in expecting a placing and was sorely disappointed when she was awarded "Highly Commendable" in a rather controversial judging.

Thanks to the situation we found ourselves in, we could cover a range of issues..

The best one does not necessarily a winner make. Example given by Pohpoh was American Idol winners who were not our favourites
An unfair judging system
I had wanted to ingrain the value of integrity on JY and told her that she had to do all the caking herself. The contest rules stated 'Individual work only'. At the event, JY discovered that a few contestants had submitted cakes done by their team. This was an interesting topic.
Learning from her competitors. Each and every cake entry had their strong points and JY should make an effort to learn from them.
Disappointments only lead to breakthroughs...JY was disappointed for 24hours... she moaned that "she was already 13!! And there was still so much she has not done! She is getting OLD" ...... after a night of heart-to-heart, she regained herself..... and then the breakthrough came...

JY's talent was spotted by a 'Fairy Godmother' who said it would be such a waste to see it go unattended. Fairy Godmother only wanted assurance that JY was serious in caking and if she were she would show her the path to take. And it starts NOW!

Before we could catch our breath, JY was whisked away. JY was one ecstatic girl!

A new chapter in JY's life has begun.

Aquaria - boys day out

2011-09-25T13:30:00.002+08:00

The boys wanted to go to Aquaria but JY was reluctant.
So DH took the boys to Aquaria and I went shopping with JY in KLCC for 2 hours.

For once, we had a blissful time shopping minus the boys running around and hiding under the displays and locking themselves in changing rooms.

Mutant Corn

2011-09-22T08:08:00.003+08:00

We dried and then planted sweet corn kernels from cobs we bought at the market.
The corn that grew were deformed but Fai said they were sweet and devoured everything.
Looks like corn bought market has been genetically modified and not suitable for planting.

Cool DIY Camp Gadgets

2011-09-21T07:20:00.003+08:00

Many thanks to GC for her treasured Girl Guide jamboree notes.

Fai and I pored through it and marveled at the ingenuity and simplicity of the designs.

Why buy a tent when you can make this superb swing shelter. Just drape a mosquito net over to keep out the bloodsuckers.

Fai's sketch of a campsite

Fai was inspired to build a boat from sticks salvaged from the beach.

It floats!

A close-up of his knots and lashings. All self-taught.

Roots

2011-09-08T06:21:00.003+08:00

Erosion + Roots = Art

Even the tree trunk has character

The boys spent the afternoon playing among the roots of this Ketapang tree

and made this tree into their warship. Roots are great for imaginative play.

Pumpkin Harvest @ Melaka

2011-09-03T21:50:00.005+08:00

PohPoh and KongKong got a call at 8am from the middleman "I will be coming to collect the pumpkins at 5pm today!"

So we rushed down to Melaka to experience pumpkin harvesting.

By the time we arrived, the pumpkins had already been placed in piles along the dirt road.

Ean helping to put the pumpkin into a bag. For ease of weighing and collection, the pumpkins were put into sacks.

Fai found parts of a male and female flower.

Fai collecting plants to plant at home

This plant caught Han's fancy. He dug it out and placed in a black planting bag.

Fai's pet millipedes

Pumpkins that were ready for harvest had a dull orange hue.

Unripe pumpkin was green and had a shiny sheen.

The boys could easily identify ripe pumpkins by the end of the day.

Something interesting there, boys?

PohPoh bonding with Ean over pumpkins

Pumpkins ready for collection

The pumpkins were weighed and thrown to the back of a lorry.

OUCH!

2011-09-02T08:37:00.004+08:00

The culprit - smaller stingray in the middle.

4 nets were set, the 2 more experienced fishermen, were summoned back to KL leaving DH to tend to the nets.

DH gung-ho as always went to retrieve the catch with just a pail.

As he tried to pry out the barb with his fingers, the stingray whipped its tail and embedded its barb deep into DH's hand.

The barb is serrated and when he tried to pull it out, he felt an excruciating pain and body went into shock. So he left it there and drove to the Klinik Kesihatan.

The kids were told to wait outside the Emergency Room

The doctor was friendly and jovial. DH had to wait minutes before being tended to. Service here is amazing.

The doctor gave DH a jab of local anesthesia and removed the barb with ease. He has done 3 such cases so far.

The kids comforting DH.

It's time for the pumpkins to 'kahwin'

2011-09-02T08:22:00.005+08:00

The boys giving the pumpkins a helping hand.

Male flower

Female Flower

Remove petals on male flower to expose stamen

Rubbing the insides of the female flower.

Successful fertilization!

Beehive

2011-08-26T20:15:00.002+08:00

After a storm, DH discovered that the bees had abandoned their hive. He cut down the supporting branch and let the boys have a closer look.

The boys spent some time examining the structure and taking a whiff at its sweet honey fragrance. The comb was paper thin and was an amazing piece of engineering with such precision and elegance.

It was rather sticky to the touch but no honey oozed out

Planetarium Negara

2011-08-26T12:39:00.004+08:00

We had hours to while away before DH's meeting ended. So after the rather memorable Bird Park escapade, we headed for the National Planetarium.
We had been reading up on astronomy and the moment Han walked in, he pointed at a poster and shouted "Look, Orion's belt!"

The kids' favourite spot, the anti-gravity room. The floor sloped, so standing still without holding to the sides was difficult.

Sliding out of the anti-gravity room.

Han is inside the sleeping bag

Lots of exhibits to manipulate. If only they were set at kids height or place blocks to stand on.
I had to carry Ean so that he could see what it was that he was doing.

Spacesuit

A nice place to playact.

Observation deck for a view of KL.

Our very last visit to a Bird Park..Ever!

2011-08-26T11:02:00.004+08:00

The kids had just stepped into the free-flight aviary and were happily retrieving the capsule of bird feed from the dispenser when a big pelican jumped onto the low wall next to Fai, opened its beak wide and had half of Fai's head in its beak.

It happened in a split second. The bird let go immediately.
It was a terrifying experience and Fai wanted out. He said he would only look at another bird if it were on tv or in a cage And absolutely NO more bird parks.

A day later, Fai made a sketch of a rather gruesome device

Here it is made out of Lego.

When the wheels are rotated, the hammer falls and pelican gets squashed.

A homeschooling parent recounted an incident that he encountered a few years back, also with a pelican. He said a huge pelican with its wings spread out wide, blocked his family's path. As they circled around it, the bird continued to eyeball them. Such a territorial bird.

So visitors to the Bird Park, beware of the pelican!

Releasing turtle hatchlings at Padang Kemunting Turtle Management Centre

2011-08-26T08:41:00.003+08:00

This event was organised by the Malaysian Nature Society, MNS for its members FOC. Just sign up and be there.
We had time to browse through the exhibits in the centre.

The many species of turtles that come ashore to the beaches in Malaysia.

Grandma and Han taking a look at a turtle with a transmitter

A sample size of 10 hatchlings are weighed and length measured with a vernier caliper.

We were then led to the beach to watch 20 hatchlings being released. We were instructed to refrain from shining and taking flash photography so as to not confuse the hatchlings. The hatchlings went towards the light and swam off into the sea. Hatchlings tend to go towards well lit areas and many have wandered onto roads confused by streetlights.
The rest of the hatchlings would be released on different stretches of the beach.

While the rest of the group were in the seminar room getting a briefing on turtles in Malaysia, DH had an informative chat with a local, Pak, who worked for the Fisheries Dept. and WWF.

The locals find selling turtle eggs to resorts along Pengkalan Balak lucrative and had made efforts to retrieve and save the eggs difficult and dangerous - his fishing boat was torched once and there was an attempt to burn the centre down and staff have been threatened by the locals.

Also he said that if it were not for the efforts of WWF, the turtles in Pengkalan Balak would have been long gone.
Pak would collect the eggs and record the number of eggs and tag on the mother. He is paid according to the number of eggs collected.

Turtles lay their eggs from April to September.

The highest number he had on record was in June.

Each time a turtle lays about a hundred eggs each time it comes ashore and would come again in consecutive nights until it lays about 600 hundred eggs in total.

Pak went on to warn about the beach saying that certain spots are 'unclean'. He pointed to a dark area that was partially lit by a street light. Saying that swimmers can drown barely 5 feet from the shore. He says that whenever a crocodile is spotted, that is an indication that a death could occur soon. There are certain areas along the beach that he would never trespass. Eerie.

We went for a quick bite down the road. Halfway through our meal of ikan bakar, the man at the barbecue pit ran to our table saying a turtle had been spotted. He told us to leave our food and have a look. The kids weren't the least bit interested. Too engrossed in their nasi goreng.
Turtle news travel fast along this stretch, no wonder Pak has a tough time beating the locals to the eggs.

Tornado in a bottle and Water absorption @PSN

2011-08-26T07:48:00.005+08:00

3 experiments were in store for us.

The apparatus we would be using.

All 3 experiments can be conducted at home as all the materials are readily available.

Ean squirting water into a petri dish

Fold paper along the dotted lines

To get a square

Place the folded paper into the water and observe how the paper unfolds as water is absorbed.

Bend at midsection but do not break the toothpicks

Arrange the toothpicks as above. Place 3 drops of water into the centre using a dropper.

Observe.

Fill a canister with water. Do not fill to the brim, allow some space for a few squirts of dish washing liquid.
Add in a few drops of food colouring.

We were given blue colouring. Cover the canister.

Shake and swirl the bottle. Observe the tornado. If the tornado is not visible, add in more detergent.

We had a bonus experiment.

The kids got to see a rubber glove expand using baking soda and vinegar

5 teaspoons of baking soda, a few squirts of vinegar, tie up the end of the glove quickly and Ean had himself a balloon :)

Beach with the boys

2011-08-17T07:15:00.007+08:00

The beach at low tide

Our fire didn't catch and we were out of newspaper. Fai and I figured it was because we needed some dried Casuarina needles as a fire starter, so we walked to another stretch of beach that was lined with Casuarina trees.
When we got back, Han had the fire going. We could hardly believe it.

Han showing how he ignited the fire.
"Flame ON!" while doing his best Human Torch pose.
The first thing he does when he gets to the beach is hunt for suitable sticks for weapons.

Nothing like a fire by the beach.

Ean with his cup of hermit crabs

DH found a marine snails's egg pods that were attached to a scallop shell and had washed ashore.

Roasting sweet corn for a teatime snack

Yum!

Han showing off his moves and bow technique

This one is his bamboo pole Kungfu

Check out the way he gazes into a pool of water, scoops a palm out and scatters the water around him. I asked him why he did that. He said " That is an offering for my Master!"

The Farrier

2011-08-17T06:18:00.003+08:00

While waiting for the farrier to begin, we watched Uncle Nazlan who was back from training for the upcoming Endurance Race - a 120km race that begins at 7pm and lasts till 2am.

The horse was panting hard and sweaty. It was instantly cooled down with scoops of water

Firing up the horseshoes

The farrier shaping a horseshoe.

A closer look at the forge.

The horseshoe was still very hot as it placed onto the horse's hoof to check its fit. It sizzled and gave off lots of smoke but the horse barely flinched.
Shoeing is done every 3 to 4 weeks as the hooves will outgrow the horseshoe and cause it to be ill-fitted.

Grooming KC

2011-08-12T06:24:00.006+08:00

Markings on KC.

JY told me that no matter what colour the horse is, after being branded, its hair coat will turn white.

KC could not be ridden that day as one of his horseshoe fell off.
Check out the difference between its two back hooves.

A closer look at the hoof with a missing horseshoe

We walked to KC's stable and found him lazing around.

A groom led KC to the cleaning area and tied him to the post with this interesting loop knot. He later showed JY how to tie it. Rather simple actually but JY said hers resembles a pretzel rather than a chain.

Since KC couldn't be ridden, JY decided to groom him.

Looks like a bad case of dandruff

She started off with this

and moved on to these two brushes.

While getting groomed, KC nibbled on the wooden post.

KC bending down so that JY can reach the top of its head

JY was having a tough time with KC's mane and tail as it was wiry and got tangled as she combed

After asking for help, JY was handed ShowSheen - a hair polish for its mane and tail. Keeps your horse clean for a week.

Spray a little ShowSheen and combing is a breeze

JY untangling the tail. she intends to braid it the next time.

After an hour of grooming, KC is walked back to its stable.

JY the Speed Demon

2011-08-10T14:06:00.002+08:00

Free go-cart! We were eager for an evening of zooming around the racing circuit.

The drivers being told that there was to be no racing, no crashing into the barriers and they were only allowed 3 laps.
Fai and Han did not get to go on the free rides as their legs could not reach the paddles.

That fuzzy image is JY zooming off at full speed. She turned corners at top speed with tires screeching. DH says she has talent. I think she should only allowed to drive when she turns 40.

She got off the cart and complained about the driver in front of her that was too slow and she was impatient to overtake. Gosh!

Campfire snack

2011-08-10T13:48:00.002+08:00

We had a fire going and the wood were smoldering, just nice for a barbecue. Han must have read my mind as he asked for some food, any food to cook on the fire. The only thing I could offer him was chicken soup out of a can. Han said it was acceptable.

So a pot of chicken soup was placed on the fire.

The boys brought out their books and had a discussion on superheroes while waiting for the soup to be done.

After a couple of minutes, it was supper time - a bowl of steaming hot soup. Ean made roti prata in the kitchen and that got dunked into the soup.

Kebun @ Karak with Homeschoolers

2011-08-10T07:06:00.008+08:00

It was a lovely morning as we departed PD. We gave ourselves 2 hours to reach Karak using the Kuala Pilah - Karak way. A route that we had never used before.

We had underestimated the road. It was a very picturesque journey but the hairpin bends along the Temelong stretch was hazardous. However, we were just in time to see durians being collected in Temelong and had a good time sniffing the wonderful aroma...aaaaaah!

We were late by and hour and a half.

Luckily, homeschooling father who had been into the farm a few years back was there to do a headcount.

Pohpoh and Kongkong led the group into their farm.

We were famished when we arrived at Karak and had a bit of kaya toast and butter with good, strong coffee. Thick slabs of Tatura butter between freshly toasted bread with a dollop of kaya. Just heavenly!

Another hs mom, her girls and her father arrived about the same time and followed us in.

We were in time to see a wheelbarrow being pushed out. The other families were already in the thick of the action.

This mangosteen tree just didn't want to grow up and has remained 3feet high for years.
To look for mangosteens, you would have to lift up its leaves and peer underneath. A good tree for the kids to experience harvesting firsthand, as they are the ones who can crawl under and look for ripe purple fruits.

There's nothing like freshly harvested fruits.

Looking for more mangosteens

Durians.

Durians that had fallen and not picked were eaten by wild boars. Lots of empty husks were spotted under the trees.

While waiting for lunch, the kids played together. We had a sumptuous meal. A big thank you to all.

Washing up after a hearty meal.

Durians waiting to be eaten.

Durian time!

Tom wanted his share too.

Ean got to feed the tilapia.

Pomelo

The nature table with pickings from around the farm.

Looking for rambutans

Using a cutter on a pole is hard work. Spot Fai on the tree.

Lots of teamwork was required.

I, on the other hand, was busy enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Fai still on the tree.
Fai missed Kebun and the moment he alighted from the car, he was all over the dogs and then feeding the fish by the pond, and going around the farm looking for fruits. It looks like I need to spend more time here.

Kebun has been sadly neglected lately, as my parents starting helping out in my brother's banana/watermelon/pumpkin farm. Most of the fruit trees went on strike and didn't fruit. Not a single langsat and yellow rambutan was to be seen. Obviously, the fruit trees feel neglected and need some pampering if we want them to fruit next season.

Picking rambutans that fell to the ground

Singing session. Han and Ean enjoyed it very much. Han and Ean didn't want to step foot outside the house and was happy to stay indoors. Most of the younger kids didn't like the hot sun, the poky grass and curious dogs.

Han looking on as the girls played a hand game

Lost and Found. Bottles washed and air dried. Shirt washed, dried and folded.

Now the tricky part of meeting up with their owners.

Make your own rainbow and rubberball @PSN

2011-08-10T06:23:00.004+08:00

JY, Fai and Han headed down to the 2nd floor of PSN for their workshop on animation.

Ean stayed with me.

DH spent his time in the library, he said he wanted to do some research on the beach and tide.

A splash of colours awaited us in the lab.

He couldn't wait to get started and started fiddling with the test-tubes.

Out two activities for the day - Make our own rainbow and rubber ball. We had done both before during PSN's Science Day but no harm in some repitition.

The worksheet.

Each colour was of a different density. Red had highest density and purple lowest.

Test tube had to be tilted and the solution dripped in slowly to avoid mixture of colours.

Lots of help was given - with a smile. The lab staff were fabulous. Patient and friendly, they even babysat for a while so that a mommy could assist her 2 older children.

Our rainbow in a test tube.

The 2 little girls seated next to me were very curious and asked if the colours could be put in in reverse order, as in from purple to red instead and the answer was YES!
So they tried it out but it was more difficult and the resultant solution turned black -a storm was made they were told. No rainbow :)

The 8year old and 5 year old handled themselves very independently while their mom cared for their baby brother.

Rubber ball was made using white PVA Elmer's glue, water, borax and food colouring

water was added to the glue and stirred.

Then add a bit of food colouring

Add borax and stir till a sticky lump is formed.

Remove the lump. Squeeze and roll into a ball.

Bouncy balls.

The kids had a variety of colours. After the session, they went around and exchanged bits of their balls with others the get a multicoloured ball.
A very fun session indeed.
Thank you Pn Maznah and the rest of your team for making learning science fun.

News from the teenagers doing Animation was not so encouraging.
They found the session too simple as they were taught stop motion. Something the teens had already done themselves - at a higher level.
JY was bored stiff and the other teens dryly commented that they won't attend another PSN workshop again.
However, Fai said he had a good time. So I guess the lesson must have been pitched for his level.
JY said she thought that the programmes would get progressively harder not conversely.
Looks like a serious discussion must be had with the PSN staff in charge of this.

Ice Cream factory visit

2011-08-10T05:48:00.002+08:00

Photo by Ean

It was a hot Wednesday afternoon and it cheered the kids up that they were going to an ice cream factory. They couldn't wait to sink their teeth into some chocolaty creamy ice cream.
It was nice to see familiar faces and a group of happy kids playing while waiting for the programme to begin.
This visit was made possible because a homeschooling 7 year old who wanted to visit an ice cream factory, so her mom organised the trip.

DH caught up with 2 homeschooling fathers who were his schoolmates and that got him into inviting them to my parents' farm - an event that had been pending.

I caught up with a hs mom and plans to PD were made. Events such as these are great for future plans :)

We were treated to a presentation on the icy products that were available and the processes in ice cream making.

Fai saw the section on hygiene and was worried that he had to go through the vigorous routine before the factory tour. Luckily we were told that access into the factory was strictly forbidded and he let out a sigh of relief.

A brief look through a glass panel tour and our guide pointing out what she had shown in her video presentation earlier followed.

The kids were eager for the last bit, ice cream sampling.
Little cups of ice cream in 3 flavours - strawberry, chocolate or vanilla were served.

I found it a treat. The ice cream was nice, cold and refreshing.

Han and Ean wolfed down 3 cups each. They must have liked it too.
But JY and Fai thought otherwise.
Fai came up to me and said that the ice cream tasted like fondant.
In the car, JY commented that she tasted nothing but vegetable shortening.

It was my first factory visit that I had to pay for and I expected more. If you are keen on seeing food processing, I would suggest Gardenia or Vitagen or Boh tea factory. All of which are free.

fruits and veg

2011-07-30T13:11:00.004+08:00

Nangka ripening on the tree. Wait for its distinctive aroma to waft out which signifies that it ready to be eaten.

Freshly cut nangka.
Nangka leaves sticky white sap on the knife as it is cut. It is advisable to coat a layer of cooking oil on the knife, so that the sap can be removed easily later.

Watermelon.

My compost heap is overrun by melons grown from seeds that had been thrown in with its peel.

Pumpkin

Old cucumber.

The plight of the Orang Asal

2011-07-29T03:35:00.004+08:00

It was supposed to be a brief talk about water issues faced by the Orang Asal (we were told they preferred being referred to as Orang Asal rather than Orang Asli), the talk went on the discuss other issues that were faced by them from contaminated water sources, sanitation issues arising from that, deforestation and encroachment and lots more...

The talk was given by a vivacious lawyer, Siti, who does pro bono work for the OAs.

JY who would usually doodle the 1 hour away during her father's Rotary meetings was all ears, mostly due to the passion that exuded from the brilliant speaker.

A series of photos were shown and some of the images evoked very strong emotions.

Suggestions from rainwater harvesting to health clinics were brought up.

In the carpark, DH was presented with a traditional headgear.

One of the OA who came along for the talk showed us his woven bracelet that cannot be removed as it was weaved directly onto his wrist. It took 2 hours.

Another bracelet, this made of seeds.

JY asked Siti for another talk, a more indepth one and was instead invited to tag along with their group of volunteers into the OA village.

Seesaw by the beach

2011-07-25T15:26:00.007+08:00

Our very own seesaw. All materials were found by the beach.
A lot of adjustments were required to get the seesaw going and with 3 boys of unequal weight playing, they soon learnt to shift their position along the log to obtain balance.
A small lesson in physics.

Lunch by the beach

2011-07-25T07:26:00.004+08:00

We didn't have a car, one was in the workshop, the other in Melaka. We hadn't gone marketing, so food was running low. In desperate times, we resort to being adventurous.

We packed our burner, pot, bowls and drinking water and headed for the beach. DH cycled to the village grocery shop for instant noodles and eggs and got ready to cook lunch.
It was a very windy day and the water took a long time to boil, so we started a fire.

With roaring flames, lunch was cooked in no time.

This was my lunch. Super 10, found only in PD and it is delicious. Creamy, gooey with a slight tinge of bitterness....simply heavenly.

After lunch, as the water receeded, we found hundreds of lala or soft clams. The 'kuaci of the sea'.

After a quick rinse, we boiled them in a bit of water and sprinkled in some seasoning.

Lala!

Fai burning a couple of coconuts found by the shore. They gave off a lovely aroma.

Tripod II

2011-07-25T07:09:00.002+08:00

The moment we hit the beach, Fai went in search of wood suitable for his tripod. He found 3 approximately the same height. The much heavier piece kept toppling his tripod, so he had to go wood hunting again.

He found a suitable replacement and Han was enlisted to help support the structure.

The raffia string was found under a Casuarina tree on the way to the beach. there was so much of it, Fai could tie...

and tie...

Tripod II smoking 2 nipah fruits