[ HoLidaY caMp daY 3 - 5 sePteMbEr 2007 ]

Activity: Children's Treasure Hunt

Oh dear! Sara, the forgetful dinosaur has left some eggs in the Singapore Botanic Gardens and she couldn't find it anywhere. She was getting very worried and she needed some help in finding all the eggs. But WHO could she ask?

Of course! They were Jason, Justin, Brandon, Jolene, Julia, Roxanne, Manfred, Irina, Megan, Miah, Samuel, Ashley, Shu Yi, Wen Pei, James and Vanessa!

During this guided tour, the children would discover some interesting members of the plant kingdom as they helped Sara to find her missing eggs.

******************************************************

On the bus ride to Singapore Botanic Gardens

Wen Pei

Jason

Roxanne

Brandon

Vanessa & Julia

Justin & Jolene

Megan & Shu Yi

James & Ms Nisha

Manfred & Irina

Samuel & Miah

******************************************************

Singapore Botanic Gardens ( The Green Pavilion)

Uncle Joseph was welcoming the children to Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Miah & James were paying close attention.

Uncle Joseph was surprising the children with Sara the Dinosaur's badge.

The children were getting anxious to write their name on Sara the Dinosaur's book.

Irina & Manfred were getting ready to write their names.

After writing their names, the children were waiting for Uncle Joseph's instruction.

Uncle Joseph was reading the story of Sara, the forgetful Dinosaur to the children.

The children were listening to the story quietly.

******************************************************

Singapore Botanic Gardens - The children took a walk by tracing the roots of a BIG tree.


Megan, Jason, Mandred, Jolene, Julia, Irina & Wen Pei

Uncle Joseph & the children.

Jason

Manfred

Irina, Jolene, Roxanne

******************************************************

Singapore Botanic Gardens - The children did tree rubbing.

James & Julia

Ashley

Megan

Julia, Vanessa & Irina

Miah

Wen Pei, Jolene & Ashley

Jason

Uncle Joseph & the children

******************************************************

Singapore Botanic Gardens - The children drew 'Cannon Balls' on their tree.

The children

Julia

James

Vanessa

Samuel

Manfred & Shu Yi

Miah

******************************************************

Singapore Botanic Gardens - Children's Treasure Hunt

The children were all ready to look for Sara's eggs.



Mission completed!

******************************************************

For parents:

It was absolutely a perfect day to go on an excursion. We were blessed with good weather, warm sunshine and cooling breeze. Hurray!

After our scientific experiment on 'Volcano's Eruption', we ate some egg mayonnaise sandwiches before boarding the bus to go to Singapore Botanic Gardens.That really gave us all the energy we needed!

It was a short bus ride to Singapore Botanic Gardens but the children couldn't contain their excitment at all. Like the previous excursion, they kept on asking, "Are we going to reach soon?" And my answer, "Definitely! In a jiffy!"

Uncle Joseph recieved us at the Green Pavilion when we arrived at Singapore Botanic Gardens. He brought us to sit down at a cooling spot of the Pavilion and began to brief the children on the coming attractions. Uncle Joseph built rapport with the chidlren very easily because he was like a Santa Claus, giving out a lot of goodies for them. Each child receives a Sara the forgetful Dinosaur's book and badge, a set of crayons and not to mention their favourite sweets. No wonder, he was so popular!

Next, we embarked on the guided tour around Singapore Botanic Gardens. There were 4 activities wating for us, including a walk on the roots of a GIANTIC tree, tree rubbing on a HISTORIC tree and drawing 'cannon balls'. OH YES! And finding Sara's missing eggs!

GOSH! The children have managed to complete ALL the above activities effortlessly! And the bonus was they have learned something new about plants as they went through this treasure hunt. Not only that, they also practised their gross motor skills in balancing when they walked on the roots of the tree.

It was indeed a very enriching and entertaining way to acquire knowledge. While enjoying themselves, the children were also engaged in learning. It fits perfectly well with this idiom that says, 'One stone kills 2 birds'. Isn't it? You bet!

Cheers
Angeline

[ HoLIdaY caMp daY 3 - 5 SePteMbeR 2007 ]

Activity: Volcano's Eruption!

Bubble, Bubble, Bubble.
See the Volcano!
Bubble, Bubble, Bubble.
Hear the Volcano!
Bubble, Bubble, Bubble.
See the Volcano!
Lava spilling out, again and again.

An action song by the famous group Hi-5 and it connects perfectly well to the scientific experiment that the children had conducted. Using household cooking ingredients like bicarbonate soda, vinegar and red food colouring, the children created red bubbling lava spilling out of their volcanoes!

******************************************

Isn't it amazing? The children used materials, such as plasticines, glass bottles, styrofoam boards, masking tapes and recycled papers, to build their own volcanoes from scratch! Let's take a look together!

Ashley

Julia

Megan & Julia

Jolene

Shu Yi & Wen Pei

Brandon & Jason

James & Miah

Irina & Megan

Wen Pei

Roxanne

Shu Yi, Wen Pei, Brandon & James

Irina, Megan & Julia

******************************************

Now, it's time to see and hear the volcanoes erupting!
Ready? 1-2-3!


Justin

Jolene

Jason

Shu Yi

Brandon, Irina, Megan & Julia

Ashley, Samuel, Manfred & Wen Pei

An example of the experiement

******************************************

For parents:

This scientific experiment gave young children a new avenue to explore the amazing world that they live in. It helps them to assimilate the newly acquired information and also gains hands-on experiences at the same time.

Language & Literacy also come into play during this experiment. For the younger children, they picked up new vocabulary, such as 'volcano', 'eruption', 'lava', 'molten substance', 'bicarbonate soda', 'vinegar' and 'food colouring'. The older children were able to reinforce their concepts of 'letters and phonics'. For example, when I asked them to name words that starts with the letter as 'Volcano', most of them raised their hands and answered spontaneously.

Naturally, ALL of them were extremely excited throughout this experiment. They were eager to see the reaction between the bicarbonate soda and vinegar. When I asked questions to stimulate their logical thinking, most of them applied their inference skills adeptly. For example, their answer was red when I asked them to predict the colour the lava that would flow out from their volcanoes. Bravo!

Lastly, nothing makes learning more interactive and motivating for young children than engaging them actively in experiences that interest them.

Cheers,
Angeline