Of Stargazing and Rocket Ships.

Dear Summer School parents, It was quite cool and cloudy in the morning, so we decided to have our water play moved to tomorrow, if Mr. Sun is out. We were a little bit sad about it (as we waited for so long to have our water play fun), but what we saw on the table in the morning lifted our spirits up.  First, we saw our Tanabata decorations we made yesterday, and the teachers told us we could finish them today. They helped us cut up some origami paper, unfolded it and we were surprised to see that it turned out to be a lantern! We then attached it to our “bamboo sticks”, together with ribbon. We were done! We’re all set for the Tanabata celebration tomorrow.  Secondly, we saw some toilet paper rolls, which we found puzzling. What are we going to do with them? So with the teachers’ help, and with a little imagination- ta da! We made a pair of play binoculars! We covered the rolls with origami paper and used some colourful cellophane to cover one end. We added some string too so that we can let our binoculars hang around our necks like a necklace.On the other table, we had some felt picture pieces. It was interesting using them to create one big picture! Maybe next time we can use them to tell stories, or for pretend play. We also played with some toys on the carpet. We tried to build our own cars and motorcycles using screws, screwdrivers, and wooden pieces. We also took out some kitchen plates, bowls, and toy food, and played house. We took turns being the mommy, daddy, and baby. After our free play time, we had to clean up. Before snack time, Pauline took out her ukulele, and we sang and danced with her. Pauline then asked us if we remembered the Tanabata story, where the man and woman were separated and could only see each other once a year. Then she asked us again, “What if it was us who got separated from our moms and dads for a long time? What are the special things we will do for them when we see them again?” We came up with answers such as: 1.We would prepare flowers and gifts for mom or dad. 2. We could go to somewhere special with them. Pauline and Liezel then told us that we should make each moment count whenever we are with the people we love, and that we should always shower them with hugs, kisses, and tons of “I love you’s”! After snack time, we headed to the park. Liezel was so funny, as we played “What Time is it, Mr. Wolf?” with her. She let us chase after her, and we had fun running away from her when she pretended she was the Wolf. We had our circle time when we got back from the park. Darren read “Roaring Rockets” to us; it was all about a bird, rabbit, and a mouse who are astronauts, and they rode a rocket ship to outer space. The book explained to us what happens during take-off and landing. We also learned how quiet it is in outer space because there is no air; that’s why astronauts need their special helmets to breathe. Oh, and everything becomes weightless in space! You can float around inside the spaceship, so that’s why we need seatbelts- just like inside the car! Afterwards we lay down on the carpet with our heads together and pretended to look up at the sky with the binoculars we made in the morning. Lo and behold- we saw a rocket ship soaring in the air! Wow! That was so cool (even though we know it was Darren holding up the rocket ship made out of toilet paper roll, and he was making it fly around, hihihi). Maybe tonight we can use our binoculars again, and, who knows? Maybe we can see an alien amongst the gazillions of stars in the sky- just like what we read the other day! All in all, we had a great day today. Hopefully tomorrow, we can finally have our water play fun. Oh, and we would be happy to report back tomorrow if we do find some aliens tonight- or another rocket ship- with our binoculars…………….

All our love, Darren, Pauline, & Liezel