All Entries in the "Recommendations" Category

Multilingual Books for Children

Fiction and Non-fiction books are common visitors to our house. Every month I try to borrow new books for the boys to read. Sometimes when we do not get around to visiting the library I would let them read the children e-books which I find online.

Children’s Books Forever is a site which I have recently been introduced to. At that website there are many different children’s books which are FREE to download in PDF format. What I really like about the site is that there are books available in different languages like – German, Spanish, French and Japanese among other languages. The books are written by Hans Wilhelms and are catered for readers from toddlers to pre-schoolers.

The storybooks have very colourful illustrations with realistic drawings of animals that are depicted in the various stories.

Ten little bunnies is one of the short stories which I read with the boys. It is a book on counting backwards from 10 to 1 with a twist at the end. It definitely works well as a before bedtime story which you can read to the kids before they drift off into slumberland.

Do check out the site for more interesting online reads for your kids.

Friday Link Edition- Baking Galore

Yes, that Ikura Sushi is actually cake!!

Doesn’t that look absolutely yummy?  I’ve always been fascinated by cake that is made to look like anything other then cake.

I have attempted several time to make 3D fondant cakes and the kids enjoy seeing my creations. However since being back at work I do not have the luxury of time to do any more such creations.

You can see some of my creations over at Bakerymama.

Here is a list of websites showcasing  lovely 3D fondant cakes.

The Cake Blog

The Baking Project

3rs Bakes and Cupcakes

The Journal of a Girl Who Loves to Cook

By the way Ikura Sushi is one of the boy’s favourite Japanese food. Each time we visit a Japanese restaurant they will never fail to order this dish.

Clifford Phonic Fun Reading Program Review

Clifford the Big Red Dog is one of Roy’s  favourite storybook characters.  It is sold by Scholastic and comes in a cute little carrier. This set of 12 short books is currently part of Roy’s  bedtime reading routine.

The progressive reader set brings your through the various adventures that Clifford has gone on with his friend and owner Emily Elizabeth. At the start of each reader there is a note from Emily introducing the various vowels sounds that will be addressed in the readers . New vocabulary that will be introduced is also highlighted.

I like the fact that the reader (parent or child) is introduced to the phonetic vowels and words at the start of the book before reading the story. In most other books that I have come across this information is normally at the back of the book and most of the time it’s importance is sidelined by the story.

With the phonic words like to sound “oo” highlighted at the start of the book coupled with words that incorporate the “oo” sound. There are also words  like  “book”, ” foot”  and ” cooked”  for you to read out to emphasis the “oo” sound. This will help your child recognise the “oo” sound when he hears it within the story.

The font  in the books are rather big and easy to read for young kids. The colourful  illustrations also make reading the book more interesting for these young readers.

Each story book only takes about five minutes to complete which is just the right length for Roy’s current attention span.

I definitely recommend this set of readers if you are in the market for purchasing phonic readers for your child.

Disclaimer: I bought this set of readers off a Scholastic Booklist that was circulated at work last year.  I am in no  way compensated by the company for reviewing this product.

Visit to Bodyworlds at Singapore Science Centre

Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life

Singapore Science Centre

On till the 6th March 2010

Admission Charges: Science Centre + Bodyworlds

Adult: $21 Child $13 ( 3-16yrs old)

* 18% discount if you produce your Passion Card when you purchase your tickets.

On Boxing Day we brought the kids to the Science Centre to view the exhibitions at Body Worlds.  This exhibition has been in Singapore since October.

Body Worlds  had received quite a controversial review due to the fact that they use real human bodies as exhibits. It can be  a rather gruesome site for some and admission to the exhibition did come with a  disclaimer that it may be unsuitable for young kids. Nevertheless we felt that it would be educational for the boys to view these exhibits.

Ryan has been interested in the various parts of the body and had been asking me to borrow more books about the human body from the library.

This was a chance for him to see first hand for himself the various parts of the body and the different systems that made up the body. He kept asking me about how each part of the body interact with the other parts.

Roy too was interested  in seeing the various bones. The giraffe and horse exhibit were the most impressive  to him. He kept on pointing to these two animals and pulling me over to stand next to him at the exhibits. It must have taken years to create these pieces of art as each piece was painstakingly preserved and carved out to represent the various human body systems.

I personally was interested to see the conception of a baby. The showed how the baby looked at 3 weeks , 12 weeks, 4mths, 6mth and 8mths in the womb.  I had a clearer idea on how a baby develops in the mother’s womb and how Ryan and Roy must have looked at those various stages.  It definitely  gives one a much clearer view how the baby develops than through the ultra scan pictures that one views at the gynae.

Here is a short clip which I found on You Tube explaining how the exhibits are made.