School Mid-term Break

School mid-term break is in for 2 weeks starting yesterday. As both my hubby and I are unable to take the little guy away for a family holiday for now, we have made some plans for the little guy.

Here’s something we found that is good family activity – Origami!

Origami (Japanese: 折り紙; ori, to fold, and kami, paper; "folding paper") is the Japanese art of paper folding. The goal of this art is to create three-dimensional paper figures using geometric folds and crease patterns. Today, origami refers to all types of paper folding, even those of non-Japanese origin. 

I found in my ‘treasure box” a stack of colour origami papers which is approximately 6”x 6” that I bought from Daiso (a slowly gaining popularity, RM5.00 per item concept chain store).

And, we found a helpful friend in Youtube! The little guy followed the video and made a butterfly himself!

To start off, here’s one of a simple jumping frog that kids love, especially toddlers…


And this is what he did with his Dad this afternoon,

Origami fireworks

Kids love origami. We started origami as a family activity when the little guy was just 2+, showing him and then teaching him how to make a ball, a simple boat, a jet-plane and a crane.

Some of the stuff he has done when he has the time.

You may want to read more about the benefits of origami. Here’s what some experts say about origami.

Origami builds fine motor skills and is a fun family craft. It can help develop fine motor skill.

…and in the medical field,

“..Many therapists use paperfolding in their fields of medicine. Physical therapist use origami as a fun way to exercise hand muscles that they are trying to rehabilitate. People who suffer from arthritis or other physical problems also report that as they fold origami figures, the muscles in their hands are strengthened. Psychologists, as well, are using origami in their medical field. They have found that the coordinated work of both hands when folding origami helps with the development of motor skills, as well as attention, memory, and imagination processes. The folding of origami can also be helpful to some people because it can be a tool by which they can relieve stress” Extracted from http://library.thinkquest.org

Check this up, at RachelKatz's site and if you want to know more of the history of origami.

The crane is perhaps the most popular origami model, click here for a tutorial. Make this a fun family activity this school holiday with your kids.

The Crane is a symbol of peace…

A visit to the local shopping mall, Sunway Pyramid last month, we saw many paper cranes folded by customers and visitors, to let the Japanese know that we understand, we care and we sympathise with their loss in the recent earthquake that devastated the north-eastern coast of their largest main island, Honshu.

TO JAPAN WE CARE @ SUNWAY PYRAMID

According to a well-known Japanese legend, a thousand origami cranes will make wishes come true and the messages written on the wings will reach the desired person.
This initiative is supported by the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (JFKL).

If you are keen, you can visit your local bookstore for some books on Origami and you can also order some good ones from Amazon.


































You might like this:
Holiday Fun Stuff


Have a fun school break!

Mom is unique!

I received this in an email and thot it'll be nice to share with you.

WHEN I CAME DRENCHED IN THE RAIN…………………

BRO SAID : “ WHY DON’T YOU TAKE AN UMBRELLA WITH YOU?”

SISTER SAID:”WHY DIDN’T YOU WAIT TILL IT STOPPED”

DAD ANGRILY SAID: “ONLY AFTER GETTING COLD YOU WILL REALIZE”.

BUT MY MOM AS SHE WAS DRYING MY HAIR SAID”

“STUPID RAIN”

                                                                                       

 THAT’S MOM!!!

I never thot of this until I saw this email that made me think…how special Moms are! This sets Mom apart from the rest of the family…lol! Moms are ever-protective of their children and most times, they will blame the sun or rain or whatever but not their precious kids! :-)

Ear Infection (Part II)

A visit to the ENT confirmed a redness in his eardrums. The diagnosis is done with the help of a tiny camera inserted into the ear. The doctor also confirmed it’s not a swimmer’s ear where the canal (from ear drum to outer ear) is dry.

The doctor prescribed Zyrtec and Augmentin (antibiotics) to help clear the Eustachian tube. Unfortunately, this did not go down too well for Max. For over the next few days, he has severe diarrhoea and purging. He has described his tummy as, “…like a washing machine, it’s churning!” He felt nauseous and vomited. He emptied his stomach's content in his bed 2 nights in a row. While his ears were healing well, his gastrointestinal tract was in quite bad shape.

He has poor appetite, soiled his briefs because he couldn’t reach the bathroom on time and lost 2kg in weight. He called me to pick him up from school while lessons were on…sigh!...he missed a few days lessons. Never mind that but his self-esteem has taken a bad knock, he lost control of his bowel movements! It is embarrassing to soil his briefs at his age! :-(

Over this period, we ensured that he is not dehyderated, gets a good balance of fluid and mild juices and his electrolyte drinks. As his paediatrician had previously advised, the situation can be helped with replenishment of gut/intestinal flora with good & friendly bacterias to restore normal bowel functions.

He’s smiling again when he saw his favourite Yakult!

  

His paediatrician has given the go-ahead for 2-3 small bottles a day till his bowel functions normalises. That really brought a big smile in the otherwise glum face! Poor kid! Sigh!

These juvenile illnesses suffered by young ones really tear at their Mommies’ hearts! But it’s part of growing up…

Ear Infection (Part I)

Max is very prone to middle-ear infection.

I found him curled up on the sofa, faced flushed, forehead warm to the touch and moaning of pain his left ear. He was having a stuffy nose (runny nose). His lips were bright shade of red. Sigh! Ear infection again!

This time, I quickly took him to his paediatrician who gave the expected diagnosis. His paediatrician prescribed Sedilix and Progesic for his throat/nose and pain. I like this paediatrician who does not prescribe antibiotics unless very necessary. It is important to stay with the same medical practitioner, that is if you are comfortable and satisfied with him/her over the years.

When the pain persisted after five days, I decided to take him to an ENT specialist. Now this may seem like “…do u need a specialist for an infection! 8-0” We thot it may be a good time to establish a relationship (@..@) with an ENT doc since the little guy is so prone to ear infection and we wanted to get him assessed. He seems to be getting ear infection once a year and each time it happens, his hearing is affected. It will definitely affect his lessons because recovery may take 2-8 weeks!

(chart featured in MyChildHealth)

Meantime, his class teacher was kind enough to ensure he is seated right in front of her and also notify the rest of his other teachers, of his medical condition till recovery.

We have always made sure that he drinks plenty of water but while he is in school…he may have forgotten. We also ensure his diet has less of fried or deep-fried food, make sure he eats plenty of fresh fruits and avoids getting a cold.

So, it is a very good practice to get small children to have a habit to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

If you have toddlers or young children, you may want to read up to keep informed.

Here are some informative sites:

My ChildHealth

Kids Health

Baby Center