Crafting at the Kindergarten: Schultüte

Soon I will be going to the first grade in school. And I am quite excited about it. Why? I will tell you all in a short while. There has been a lot going on and so many things have happened since my last blog entry. But I need more time to write about them one by one so for now, I will talk to all of you about one of the things me and my mom did at the Kindergarten in preparation for my going to school in September. Wow, time does fly so fast....

But first, what is a Schultüte? It is an old school tradition here in Germany wherein the first grade children receive a school cone on the first day of school. "At first the practice of the school cone, which did not spread to other parts of Germany at this time, was to not give the bag to the kids directly. Marked with the students' names, they were taken to the school by parents or godparents and in a ritual, reminiscent of the Mexican piñata, hung on a metal "Schultüten-Baum" (School cone tree) from which each child had to pick their cone, without breaking them. The story told to the children goes, that there is a Schultütenbaum growing at the school, and if the fruits (the Schultüten) are ripe and big enough to pick, it's time to go to school for the first time." Originally, it is filled with sweets but as the years went by, it became filled with more practically gifts like crayons, CDs, small toys, and even clothing articles.  

Some details of my school cone: the shiny pegasus horse,
the flower with the lady bug, the crepe paper cover.

Me and my Mommy. We are proud of our beautiful craft!

And what about my Schultüte? Well, It has a horse motif since I am at the moment crazy over horses, the magical ones in peculiar. I enjoy My Little Pony and Fillys a lot so that explains the horse motif. The main figure is a pegasus horse which mommy traced on a glitter paper from a drawing and then we cut it out and glued it on the cardboard cone. Since Mommy came in a bit late, we had to hurry up so to make it more interesting, we made different colors for the wings and for the mane of my pegasus horse. Then I put in small flower details with topped them with wooden lady bug figures. We added some more shaped glitter stones to make it more attractive. My teacher then helped to put in the pink crepe paper around the wide opening of the cone: this will serve to hide the contents of the Schultüte later on. And voila! My Schultüte is finished... I wonder what surprises my parents and other relatives will put inside as gifts for my going to school. Perhaps small, cute stuff for school and sweets too. That is what I am more excited about. 

Or maybe I can make a list of the things that I wish my schultüte will contain? Hmmm... What do you think shall they be? Keep a look out for my next post to find out! :)

Tweet

Self-Expression Through Dance

As a parent, it is important for us that our children are able to express themselves well in a confident manner. Helping them to build this trust in themselves and nurturing their ability to express it is essential in their growing up years. So how do you become instrumental in this one?

Allow your child to engage in dance activities or classes. You will find that their shyness will slowly go away as they try to move up to the beat and rhythm of the music. If you are afraid that your child is not comfortable in his or her street clothes, then by all means find appropriate dancing clothes for her. You can find good gymnastics leotards among others at DanceMania. These will help your child to move freely and actively.

It is also important to ask your child what kind of dance he or she is interested in. It would be a bad idea to enroll him or her in a jazz class if their interest is in hip hop or ballet. It's like throwing them in a pot of boiling water.

Look for good reputable dance schools. If you want your child to have a feel first of what the class would be like, find schools that offer 1-2 trial classes. You will know it would be all the effort and money if you see your child's smile on her face and making new friends. Show your child that you are willing to support their passions and interests. And they will love you more for it! :D

Tweet

Threading The Fuxipfad in Mainhardt

One sunny autumn day, we went on a short hiking trip at the Fuxipfad in Mainhardt. It was a very interesting hiking trail, with different stations at various locations that is perfect for educating children about nature. It highlighted the animals and plants that can be observed in the area. 

Off for some adventure at the Fuxipfad. Thank you for the hearty welcome Fuxi!

I learned a lot of things on that day like how dead things, like dead tree trunks, are a source of life of other organisms like mushrooms. And how ants also help in decay process of dead leaves and trees. I also learned how important trees are in keeping water in the ground.

Mushrooms growing on the stump of a dead tree trunk.

I also got a chance to learn the organisms living in the creek, like the different fish and crawling insects, and birds too. There was a very interesting photo board that looks dark but they become clear when you insert and move the "flashlight", which is a metal plate. 

There was also a picture puzzle that shows what kind of tree grows in the area and some facts about them.

Daddy explaining to me the names of the trees and other facts and how their trunks look like. 

After completing the trail, we stopped for a bit at the children's playground which was already empty since it was already dark and then we went to a restaurant to fill our hungry bellies. We got the "Fuxi Meal" but that will be another story. :) 

Tweet

Creating A Magical Christmas for your Kids

Christmas is the most exciting time of the year for our little ones. I still look back fondly on many of the Christmases I experienced during my childhood, hoping that one day my daughter will do the same. Come December, I’m going all out to make sure that this year is the most magical Christmas yet. Here’s how I’ll be doing it…

Create your own grotto 

Half of the magic of visiting Santa Claus is experiencing his glittering, Christmas grotto. This year, I’m going all out with decorations that are sure to make Santa jealous!

Every year I face the same struggle with my Christmas lights as I remember they aren’t quite as long as I’d like them to be. This year, I’ll be using one of those no fuss pre-lit Christmas trees to keep stress to a minimum. I really want my tree to be amazing this year, so I’ll probably buy some new tree ornaments to complement it. I’ll have the stuff my daughter has made at school on display too, to avoid making my living room too much like a show house.

Leave traces of Santa 

Obviously… I will be leaving the standard bitten cookie and half glass of milk on Christmas Eve as proof of Santa’s arrival, but I’m thinking of going a little further this year.

One thing I’ll definitely be doing is leaving Santa’s footprints on the porch. Using a pair of boots and icing sugar, the discovery of snowy footprints are sure to heighten my daughter’s excitement. If we’re lucky enough to have a white Christmas, I’ll leave sleigh prints in the drive too.

I also read online about one mom who leaves a swatch of red felt for their children to find, as if Santa has had to leave in a hurry, which I may also try.

Christmas stories 

Like most parents, I often read my daughter a bedtime story on an evening. It’s a great way to spend some quality time and soothe her off to sleep.

The 1st of December will see me swapping her everyday storybooks for Christmas themed ones. My local library is sure to have a range of books that will see us right through to Christmas Day, and I might even pick some up from Amazon. It’s a sure fire way to get her pumped for the big day.

Tweet

Scribble Cards For "On The Way"

Does your family like to go on roadtrips? What do you usually do to keep your little ones from getting bored along the way?

I may just have the answer to that! The scribble cards for "on the way". Actually, I just translated it in the best way I can. :-) It is actually called "Kritzelkarten für unterwegs" but its English original name is "Usborne Activity Cards Holiday Doodles".

This handy and small activity box is composed of 50 doodle cards that encourages children to add details to the pictures and even to answer some easy mazes. There is also a special pen with which to doodle on the card. So whether you are in the car, in the plane or in the train, or even at home when it is raining and too wet to play outside, you will never get bored. You could let your imagination run wild and these set of cards allows you to be more creative as you try to continue on with the drawings.

Like drawing the earrings on this woman's face:

To putting in the decors and creatures in the fish tank:

I guess it will be more interesting if the pen comes in different colors too!

Tweet

Exploring the Animal Kingdom With Tiptoi

I enjoy going to the city library. The new one along Mailänder Platz is a very modern one and it has got an entire floor for the children's section on the 2nd floor! What I love about this section is that we are allowed to make some noise... but not the annoying kind of noise. We can ask questions, ask our parents to read a book aloud to us or play some educational board games.

On my latest visit to the library, I was in the mood for some animal adventure and so I took the educational gameboard Adventure Animal Kingdom (Abenteuer Tierwelt) from the shelf and my Mommy got the Tiptoi pen from the librarian.

It is a game with four levels of difficulty: green, red, blue and yellow. It was easy to play the game. I choose the green and red levels. For the green level, I just had to tip the pen onto the animal cards that look like puzzle pieces and listened to the general information about the animal. There are cards that have paw prints logo on them and/or sound logo on them. The paw prints are for the red level I think and you will try to match the paw print from the round cards to the type of animal. You can use the pen to help you find the right animal with the corresponding print as it will tell you what animal it is and then some more additional information. As for the sound logo, it allows you to learn what kind of sounds animals make. It helps you identify (if you are in the zoo, for example) what kind of animal it is just by listening to the sound it makes.

It really is an interesting game. This is a great gift for children who are in the early stages of school as a supplementary learning material. Just a good way of confirming that indeed learning can be FUN! 

Tweet

Water Fun!

Hello everyone! I am back from my summer vacation and baked at that! I had a wonderful time with my family. We went on a five-day vacation in Lake Garda in Italy, about six and a half hours drive from where we live. The long drive was worth it though! You'll find out why from the photos.

As you may all well know, I love water. We go swimming at the swimming hall near our place at least twice a week. Maybe because I was born in the month of the water sign? Or maybe because of the summer heat... who wouldn't want to dip in the pool in these warm days right? Whatever the reason, I just love having fun in the water. I feel so free whenever I am in, near or surrounded by water.

With my Mommy... :)

He will always catch me when I fall... The slide was great!

"Mommy let me steer the boat this time. You pedal... "

The water is really good! Not so warm and not so cold either!

Swimming with daddy while mommy steers the pedal boat in our direction. 

Swimming in the lake... it was so much fun!

"Can I go for another round in the slide?"

Going up and ready to slide again!

Pretending I were a pirate! Ahoy pirates!

Trying to build a sand castle to no avail... Hehe! :)

So there, I hope you enjoyed my photos as much as I enjoyed being in the water.

Tweet

The Photographer In Me

One fine sunny Sunday, my mommy and daddy and I decided to stay for a while at Schlossplatz after hearing mass. We first had lunch at our favorite Bistro Terrazza and then when it was not so hot anymore, settled ourselves comfortably at the castle grounds. There was a jazz concert going on and although we couldn't hear much of it, we tried to listen and relax to the music anyway.

I was getting bored because I did not understand what jazz music was and so my mommy asked me to take some pictures using her smartphone and then after every shot I made, I showed to her the result. She initially wanted me to take photos of things that had the color of the rainbow but since it was difficult because the flowers in the garden only had purple, white and pink, she asked me to take photos of specific stuff.

Here are some of my shots:

A bike

Purple flowers

Dark pink flowers in bloom

So what do you think of my photos? Do I pass? :)

Tweet

Discovering Ballet and Loving It!

It'e been four months since we arrived in my parent's home country and I can say that I'm really enjoying my stay here so far. Ballet is what's keeping me busy now that school is over (school here officially ends in March). 

I am now having my summer ballet workshop three times a week, and acting and voice classes twice a week at LCB Performing Arts Center Foundation Inc. Their dance studios are located at 48 Villamor Street, Barrio Obrero, Davao City. We are now practicing our ballet recital piece for the upcoming show in May 19, which is entitled Broadway Musical Montage. I am also learning some songs from the musical Annie which we will sing during the show in May. Although my english is not yet so good, I am able to memorize the words since my mommy also made it a point to learn the song so we can practice at home. She is very supportive of me and I am thankful for that. I just wish my papa can see me performing on stage in May but since he is in Germany, he will have to wait for the video that mommy will be making.

I am just so excited... I can't wait for May to come so I can perform on stage and also come to my daddy in Germany!

Tweet

Face Painting and Me

According to Wikipedia: Face painting is the artistic application of cosmetic "paint" to a person's face. There are special water-based cosmetic "paints" made for face painting...

I really enjoy getting my face painted.. On various occasions, I would excitedly line up to have my face painted. The first time I had my face painted was on my 3rd birthday celebration at the Kindergarten. I remember I had a two pink hearts painted, one on each cheek. I was so happy with the results.

The second time I had my face painted was when I was sick. Mommy wanted to cheer me up so she painted a butterfly on my face.

The latest one was done by a professional make-up artist and it was for free! I had it during the Kinder Festival in Stuttgart last July. The kind lady painted a beautiful butterfly on my face. The best part was that I had glitters too! I never wanted to wear it off.

But of course, face paints only last a day... they are not really meant to be worn every day. After all, another occasion will surely come when I can get another face paint again. I look forward to that day...

Tweet

Strawberry Picking

Last July, during our camping trip in Südsee Camp, I was able to experience another FIRST: Strawberry picking. It was my first time to go and I really enjoyed it, even though I was accompanied by a friend of Mommy's and the camp caretaker. And that's when I really enjoyed eating strawberries so much.

Mommy asked her friend to take some photos of me while picking strawberries. It was my first time after all, something that is worth documenting, at least according to my Mommy. We went to this strawberry farm just near the camping resort. And the strawberries were really sweet and you can eat as many as you want, FREE. You will need to pay for what's in your basket though. Hihi!

Here are some of the photos that Auntie Nora took:

At the strawberry field. Reminds me of the cartoon series Emily Erdbeer.

You see some of the strawberries are not yet ripe. 

You are only allowed to harvest the red ones and I guess I was doing pretty good at it!

Picking up strawberries can be very tiring. Time to take a break and taste the strawberries for myself! I was more busy eating than filling the basket. Hihi!

Finally filled the basket with strawberries! Of course, Auntie Nora helped me fill it!

Tweet