Science Experiment - Children holding hands

P has another simple science experiment whereby he used a cloth and rubber band to cover up the lid of a half-filled plastic bottle. Then he inverted the plastic bottle and showed me that the water did not drip.

He explained that the water molecules were like children holding hands. On the other hand for the cloth, the spaces between the cloth molecules were tiny. So the children holding hands could not get out of the "doors".

I asked him if water would drip if he were to squeeze or shake the plastic bottle. He nodded his head. I added that it was the same as if we were to give the children holding hands a push, they would be able to get out of the door.

Science Experiment - Cornstarch

This is P's experiment to investigate the "cage" molecule structure of cornstarch.

First picture shows cornstarch powder mixed with water.

Second picture is P's fingers pinching a lump of cornstarch mixture. If you were to do it, the lump felt powdery like cornstarch in solid form.

Third picture shows a lump in solid form.

In terms of the explanation. The cornstarch has a "cage-like" molecule structure. So when one squeezes the cornstarch solution, the water molecules get squeezed in the cage. The resultant molecules line-up is similar to that of solid.

Raise-a-Reader Workshop - The Primary School Years

I have just attended the Raise-a-Reader workshop to enlighten and educate parents on how they can play a supporting role to raise the reading levels of children. Here are the key learning points.

General Comments

It was a very information-packed session and it spanned 2 hours. The speakers obviously have done much research and put together a very comprehensive information package for parents to refer to after the session. However, due to the very wide range of topics covered - almost too exhaustive for me - it was a challenge to remain attentive throughout the entire session. The speakers did try to engage the audience by asking questions but there was limited response as the question only called for a one-liner kind of answer.

Perhaps, the speakers could divide the audience into groups of 5 and allow them to discuss about the challenges that they faced in raising a reader in their child. Afterall, the maximum number of audience was 30 and this breaking up session will enable parents to network and learn from others. This would also promote more response with the speakers as the audience would find "safety-in-number".

Key Learning Points

The speakers shared about three categories of readers - namely, Emergent, Early and Fluent Reader. To nurture the spark in reading, do turn off the television and other distractions and be familiar with the stories that your child would be reading. For those who are reading bedtime stories to their children, be anitmated in your story telling. Encourage your children to read through leading by example and have a little library corner at home.

For those with emergent and early readers, you can start with books on rhyming, engage in reading activities with your child, play word and sound games. Do visit the library and bookshops and allow your child to choose the books. Allow your child to ask questions anytime during the storytelling sessions and not for questions to be raised at the end of it.

I particularly like the recommended booklist for the different categories of readers. As a rule of thumb, emergent readers would be around age of 6 to 8 years old. Early readers in the 8-10 age group and fluent readers would be those aged 10-12.

Books for The Emergent Reader
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin (JP MAR-[BA])
- Chicka, Chicka Boom, Boom by Bill Martin (JP MAR)
- Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley (JP RIL)
- Who Took The Cookie From the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass (JP LAS)
- Dr Seuss, the Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss (JP SEU)


Books for The Early Reader
- Are You My Mother? by P.D Eastman (JP EAS)
- Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel (JP LOB)
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura J Numeroff (JP NUM)
- Amelia Bedelia (Highly Recommended) by Peggy Parish (JP PAR)
- Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (JP 582 CAR)

An example of Word Game (taken from Riddle Rhymes by Charles Ghigna, J 818 GHI) which the child would enjoy:

Here I sit upon the shelf.
I'm not a toy. I'm not an elf.

Yet I can take you far away.
To any place, night or day.

We'll travel to each foreign land.
Yet I will stay right in your hand.

My Friends and I, you will see,
Are full of facts and fantasy.

So pick me up and take a look.
Now you know - I am a ...... BOOK.

Other resources which you may be interested in would include searching for relevant materials using the keywords "kids crossword" and "enchanted learning".

Books for The Fluent Reader

What I find most heartening here is that a fluent reader does not agree with everything that is read. So the fear about the fantasy element in books such as Harry Potter may not be well-founded. But each child is different, as parents, we need to also monitor the child's behavior and prescribe the action needed accordingly.

Some recommended books include:
- Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown (JS BRO)
- Two Times the Fun by Beverly Cleary (JS CLE)
- The Genie in the Book by Cindy Trumbore (JS TRU)
- Revolting Rhymes (Highly Recommended) by Roald Dahl (J 821 DAH)

Parents can also google for American Library Association for recommended booklist.

Reluctant Reader

The most challenging type of readers would be the reluctant readers. They tend to say "I Can't", "I Don't Know How", "I'd Rather", "I Don't Care" and etc.

To encourage them to read, we need to be creative. Does a book necessarily mean one with words? No! There are currently pictorial books for children that would tell a story without words. Magazines and graphic novels are books too! Unlike the yesteryears where graphic novels or comics as they are also known, were plagued with bad English, today, they are pretty well-written.

Follow the interest of the child. E.g. if he likes cars, get books or magazines on cars. While majority of children enjoy visual learning, some would prefer sound and action. So we can try audio books and engage in physical activities such as acting out the scene in the book.

More Resources

For those who are interested to know more, you can access www.pl.sg for a copy of "Reader Profiling" brochure.

I find this piece of information the most useful, we can access a list of e-books from the NLB e-sources. It is at http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Click on Register on the left menu. Afterwhich, you can log in and click on Browse - For Children and access the TumbleBook Library (Story Books) for P1 to P3 pupils, Tumble Readables (Chapter Books) for P4 pupils, Tumble Readables (Middle School Readers or YA/Teen) for P5 pupils and Tumble Readables (Children Classics) for P6 pupils.

I hope you will find the above materials useful. I am going to the eresources now...

Stories for Primary 2 Children (4)

Ruminants

Some animals cannot protect themselves against their stronger, fiercer and faster predator. As these animals cannot move quickly, they have a special way of eating. Whenever they find somd food, they run away to hide after swallowing the food quickly without chewing it for fear of being attacked. Once safe in their hiding place, they will force the food out from their stomachs, biting it over and over again, chewing the food at their leisure. This is called chewing the cud and animals that do this are called ruminants.

One such ruminant is the cow. Its stomach has five parts. Each of these parts does something different to the food.

Another ruminant, the camel, has three parts in its stomach. It uses the first to store food while grazing in the field and to form the food into cud. In the second part is the digestive juice while the chewed cud is digested in the third.

Source: Adapted from "Tell Me How?" By Chanceller Press
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A Shopping Trip

Mrs Lee wanted to buy new clothes for her children, Mei Mei and Tze Min, as they had outgrown their old ones. She wanted to go to the mall because there was a sale on. Mother knew that the mall was especially crowded on weekends so she wanted an early start.

Mrs Lee and her children had breakfast. Then, the children got dressed. The thought of open spaces to run around and the numerous toys to play with was too much for the children. The children jumped up and down in the car and squealed in delight when they reached the mall. Mrs Lee reminded them they would only get new clothes if they behaved.

The Lee family spent three hours in the mall. IT was a more worthwhile trip for the children than Mrs Lee. Tze Min had two new pair of pants and three shirts, while Mei Mei had two pretty dresses. Mrs Lee ended up with a dress. Before they left for home, Mrs Lee bought chocolate ice-cream to reward her children for their good behavior.

Tze Min and Mei Mei had a tiring but memorable trip.
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Father and Son

Mr Chiam came home from work late, tired and irritated. He found his five-year old son, Calvin waiting for him at the door. Calvin asked him how much he earned an hour. He told Calvin that he earned twenty dollars an hour. Calvin lowered his head sadly. Looking up all of a sudden, he asked to borrow ten dollars from Mr Chiam.

Mr Chiam was furious. He scolded Calvin for being childish and sent him to bed. Calvin quietly went to his room and shut the door. After about an hour, Mr Chiam had calmed downa nd thought that he might have been too hard on his son. Mr Chiam went to Calvin's room and opened the door. He apologised to Calvin and gave him the ten dollars he had asked for.

Calvin sat straight up smiling. "Oh thank you, Daddy!" he yelled.

Reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled notes. Calvin slowly counted his money, then he looked up at his father.

Calvin said, "Daddy, I have twenty dollars now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."
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Stories for Primary 2 or Grade 2 Children (3)

An Old Man, A Donkey and A Dog

A long time ago, there lived a poor old man who had no wife or children. However, he had two good companions, a donkey and a dog. As the old man was very poor, the donkey and the dog often had to go without food.

The old man, the donkey and the dog would travel across the land and up into the hills, searching for gold in the ground.

One day, they arrived at the top of a hill. The dog stood still. It lifted its paw to pat a spot on the ground. The old man bent down and dug into the soft sand.

With a loud cry of joy, the old man threw his spade on the ground. What he found made him very happy. He loaded the gold onto the donkey's back. The three best friends walked down the hill and into the village. Never again did they have to go without food.
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Butterfly

Butterfiles are insects. They are noted for their wings which are often colourful and bright. Butterfly wings are different from bird wings. Bird wings are made of feathers, but butterfly wings are made of tiny overlapping scales.

A butterfly has an interesting life cycle. It starts as an egg. When it is born, it is what we called a catepillar. Each caterpillar then moves into a cocoon and becomes a chrysalis. When the insect comes out of the cocoon, we call it a butterful.

Butterflies can be found almost all over the world. There may be as many as twenty thousand different species of butterflies. Butterflies usually feed on flower nectar.

Butterflies symbolise different things in different cultures. Some people say that when a butterfly lands on you, it means good luck. Other people may say that they have "butterflies in their stomach" when they have to sit for an examination that they are not prepared for.
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Stories for Primary 2 or Grade 2 children (2)

A Bad Dream

Sometimes when I am very tired and fall asleep, I have frightening dreams of monsters and wild animals chasing me. I had one of the most frightening dreams recently that I thought it was reality.

I dreamt that I was in the school field with my classmates during recess. We were playing football and laughing happily together. Suddenly, all my friends disappeared and I was alone. The field was covered with thick fog and it became very dark and silent. I began to call for my friend in fear, but the strange thing was that no sound came out of my mouth.

Then, I saw a tall and dark shadow floating towards me. I tried to scream but again, no sound came out. I tried to run, but my legs became as heavy as a log and I could not lift them from the ground. The dark shadow began to drift closer towards me. It began to laugh at me. It was a loud, horrible laughter. I struggled again to escape from it. Suddenly, I felt a pair of cold hands, grabbing me.

Fortunately, I woke up at this point and saw my sister using fingers to splash water at my face.
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The Star Llama

Once, there was a young boy. He had no family except for his animal, an old sheep. Each day, the boy and his sheep would walk many miles, looking for a home. Each night, they would curl up together and sleep.

Once starry evening, the old sheep died. The boy buried his friend next to an icy stream. Then he sat under a tree and cried. He had no family and no home. The boy cried for a long time. There was no one to comfort him.

Suddenly, the sky filled with bright light. The boy held his breath. He was afraid to move. One bright star fell to the ground. Slowly, the star took the shape of the old sheep. She bent her head and drank from the stream. She looked at the boy and smiled. As she jumped back into the sky, bits of wool fell. As the sun began to rise, the boy picked up the soft, warm wool. It glowed in his hands like starlight. He carried the wool to the city and sold it. With the money, he bought a house and two young sheep. He never forgot the star sheep. He was never lonely again.

Source: Adapted from 'The Star Llama and Other Stories"
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Stories for Primary 2 or Grade 2 Students 1

Examination is over. Now is the time to interest your child in reading. I have some stories re-written as well as some journals which I have written together with my boy. These little stories are suitable for Primary 2 or Grade 2 children.

As you read with your child, I will like to suggest that your child to have a little jotterbook to jot down the phrases which interest him or her. The jotterbook will serve as a phrase/ word bank which your child could read in leisure. This will help your child build up his or her vocabulary and improve his or her language skills.

For words that are unfamiliar, he or she could then check up the meaning and pronunciation later. Such an approach will not diminish the joy of reading, yet at the same time capitalise on the opportunity to learn and expand the mastery of the language.

You can further double the fun by drawing the characters or scenes as described in the story. This will make learning more memorable and exciting.

Enjoy!

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The Magic Kettle

Once, there was a monk who bought a beautiful tea kettle. He filled it with water. He was abut to set it on the flames when the kettle cried out, "Too hot! Too hot!"

The monk was frightened out of his wits. He quickly gave the kettle away to a poor man.

That night, the poor man was awakened from his slumber. He heard a scratching noise. The kettle had grown a head, four legs and a tail! It said, "I am called the Tea Kettle of Good Luck. I am actually a squirrel in disguise."

The tea kettle performed acrobatics for the people. The news of the amazing kettle spread far and wide. The shows were always packed.

The poor man had become wealthy. He said to the kettle, "You have certainly earned your name 'Tea Kettle of Good Luck'."

The next day, the poor man went to the monk. He gave him half of his money and the kettle. He said, "It is to you that I owe this fortune. Thank you."

The monk placed the kettle on a special shelf. It was his treasure.

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The Singing Donkey

Long ago, there was a small town called Devpur. A donkey named Dhola and a fox named Fiji lived there. They were very good friends and met every night to look for food.

One night, they came upon a cucumber farm. Dhola ate the juicy cucumbers while Fiji gobbled up chicks at an animal farm nearby. At the break of dawn, they returned to their homes. Since then, they did this every night. The thin and weak Dhola soon looked bigger and stronger, thanks to the cumcumbers.

One particular night, Dhola was in a cheerful mood after his dinner.

"I'm in the mood for singing," he told Fiji.

Fiji smiled and said, "My friend, don't start singing now or we would wake the watchmen up. We are stealing their cumcumbers and we would be inviting trouble by singing."

Dhola was furious.

"You are plain jealous! You do not think I can sing, do you? Well, listen to this!" Dhola exclaimed.

Upon saying this, Dhola started to sing at the top of his voice. The silence of the night was broken by Dhola's loud braying sounds. The watchmen who were fast asleep were awoken by them. Armed with their sticks, they ran after the donkey.

Source: "Singing Donkey" at Pitara Kids Network@http://www.pitara.com

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Caught Redhanded

John turned the door knob as quietly as he could. He had been playing basketball with his friends at the basketball court and had totally forgotten about the time. He only knew it was late when it became dark. John was worried and he hoped that his mother would not reprimand him for coming hom late. He moved stealthily into his room but the lights came on in the living room.

"You are late again!" a familiar voice said furiously.

John knew that his mother, Mrs Lim, had been waiting for him. He lowered his head and froze. He knew that he was in trouble.

"Why are you late for dinner again? This is the fourth time this week that you are late for dinner."

John tried to find excuses but he knew he could not escape this time.

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