A Day in Kuala Lumpur

Kiddos and friends spent a day in Kuala Lumpur visiting some historical places. We began the journey on LRT to Central Market, where we walked through rain to this old shop (picture below) for a bowl of beef noodles.

This bowl of noodle tasted lovely on a cold morning. It cost RM10 though!

After a hearty breakfast we made our way to Central Market. After window shopping at Central Market we made our way to the new MRT station to get to Merdeka Station. At the MRT station, someone commented, "Wow it feels like Singapore or Korea all of a sudden!" 

At the Merdeka MRT Station, the kids recited the Rukun Negara (National Principles) and we hung around a bit, enjoying the cool aircond!

  

At the MRT Merdeka Station, a photo with the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, “Bapa Kemerdekaan” (Father of Independence) and first prime minister of Malaysia.

Our next place of visit was Stadium Negara, the first indoor stadium in Malaysia, built in 1960. The guard allowed us to enter, and the children loved singing in there because of the echo and the way sound travels. Visiting the stadium brought back memories, such as the time I watched Holiday on Ice with my parents when I was probably about 10 or so.

Batik painting in the lobby of the stadium.

The children were hungry again, and after a big lunch of Nasi Kandar by the roadside near the stadium, we made our way to Masjid Jamek.

Kids at Sultan Abdul Samad Building, built in the late 19th century.

Lots of preparation going on for Malaysia's  60th birthday 

Prime Ministers of Malaysia

We ended the day with ice cream and cold drinks at 7-11, walked back to Central Market and took the LRT home. What an exciting day it was!

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Plant Identification

We joined MNS Flora Selangor group on a field trip entitled "Tree Observation and Identification." It was held at Bukit Cahaya Shah Alam, and the planned walk was to " focus on the observation of identification characters of trees that are currently fruiting and belonging to the family of Dipterocarpaceae (Shorea and Dipterocarpus), Fagaceae (Oak family), Anacardiaceaa (Mango Family), and Rubiaceae (Coffe family)."

The walk was headed by Dr. Jean Weber and Dr. Siti Khadijah, who are to me, walking plants encyclopedias! 
We began by looking for seeds to identify trees, then studying the structure of seeds. Then we were taught how to study leaf structures (the petiole,  shape and veins),  flowers and bark. 

This leaf  has a stipule, and is hairy, characteristic of  Keruing Bulu

Children taking notes and listening intently at the beginning. I said beginning, because about one hour later, they more interested in other stuff like birds poop. ;)

Dr Khadijah. I love how she willingly and enthusiastically answers EVERY question!! I asked if she'd conduct a walk for our Science Coop, and she immediately said YES. It is a rare to find someone who passionate about plants and so willing to share information with children. Looking forward to our  next walk.

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Aquatic Educational Workshop UCSI

Our kids from coop recently emailed  UCSI requesting for a workshop at their aquatic center. They thought it'd be a nice review to all the materials they've learnt about marine science in the past 4 months.

After the session I asked my kids for feedback. Their feedback was that they enjoyed the classroom environment and quizzes. They enjoyed observing the tanks there. However, the found the material taught much too simple and suitable for much younger children, though they stated that it was for older children.  The facilitators (students from the marine and biotech department) were friendly and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, they were mainly biotech students, and could not answer quite a few questions thrown at them.  So perhaps it would have been better if the workshop had been conducted by marine science students instead.

We did pre mention that the kids had already studied a marine science textbook. Perhaps they somehow forgot. After the workshop, we asked if they'd do one that would match secondary level and they said it was possible. So hoping to go back there for a better session. Overall, despite the minor setbacks, the children enjoyed themselves.

Spot the Octopus

Aquatic Junior Educational Program
Charges: Registration (Per child) = RM 10.00

Educational Aquaponic Kit (Per family) = RM60.00   (We found this expensive, and not worth the money, as the children were simply asked to connect a few parts together (two tubes, a small plastic tank and a little motor), given kangkung seeds and two fish. Explanation was very simple and short.

Contact
Jessie Lai <jess_yuensie@hotmail.com>
or 

sudomolie@yahoo.com

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Nel Teaching a Class on Atoms.

Nel's come a long way in co-op, specifically in talking in front of her friends. Year before, she could barely stand and talk, and had to hide behind large cardboards. In this respect, she is like me. I've talked to her about  how I used to be like that, and encouraged her to overcome through baby steps in a safe environment.

So she took the challenge and taught the chapter on atoms at co-op. Most of the time she talked quite confidently and managed the class quite well. Yes, baby steps, slowly overcoming. :)

Creating atomic structures using playdough.

This was a cool experiment. 

1. Prepare yeast by mixing it with warm water, then allow to sit for about 3 minutes.

2. In a different bottle, mix Hydrogen Peroxide (6%) with detergent and some food colouring.

3. Pour yeast mixture into H2O2 mixture and watch the reaction! This reaction actually hit my ceiling fan!!! It was fancy and wonderfully exciting for the kids! So they tried it over and over again!

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Jo teaches on Newton's Law.

This year we decided we'd let the children take turns teaching chapters from the science text book we're using. We're doing a unit on physics and chemistry right now.

Jo chose to teach the chapter on Newton's Law. She basically did her own research and taught the class pretty well.

She ended it with a few experiments.
1)  Swing a clothes hanger around finger with a coin sitting on it. (Objects in motion stay in motion.) The coin will remain and not drop off. (First law of motion and centripetal force.)


2) Place one sheet of newspaper on a long ruler on the edge of the table. Let ruler stick out by about 5cm. Punch down on ruler and see what happens. Did you know air pressure weighs about 2 tonnes?

3) Create own Newton's cradle by using thick ice cream sticks to create a slim, rectangular "cradle." Place marbles inside and test Newton's Law.

4) Balloon race! Design own rocket, stick to balloon. Attach straw to balloon, then slip nylon string through the straw. Tie string across the room and let the race begin!! (Newton's Third Law.) This was fun! :)


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Co-Op Getaway

Our little Science Co-op is now many years old....(I can't recall when exactly we started, for we started and stopped several times before we became committed to it.) Though we are just four families, we make a total of 13 children!! (Thanks to the Ch's..ahem.)

 This year, we were especially blessed because, finally, the Ch's were able to join us. What a blessed time it was! :)

We booked the Lutheran bungalow in Camerons, and so happened no one else had booked a room there, so the entire premises were ours for the three days we were there. The place currently can take a maximum of 28 people (but are in the process of expanding.) We had all our meals out in town, as their pricing for catered meals are a little pricey, and we could eat out for much cheaper.

 Well...while we were there, the children made full use of the compound, playing ball games in the large tennis court, and inventing their own games.

Sometimes they'd explore the little garden patch there or swing for hours while chatting away. Oh my it did them good, coz they all came back with rosy rosy cheeks.

Even the dads went a swinging! which I found quite hilarious.Somehow...you know, three men on swings, reliving childhood? Male bonding I guess.

Night time, the kids planned a midnight feast...and this got them into trouble with the caretaker....!

On the first night, some of us (namely mums) went for a midnight walk in the cool night air, while the dads chatted indoors. While walking we came across these beautiful Birds of Paradise...and wondered why they strangely seemed to have eyes. We walked closer to find snails on the flowers!

On the second day....trusting the children to look after themselves,  we parents snuck out in one van to enjoy delicious scones and tea at the Lord's Cafe Tanah Rata Cameron Highlands. Prices were really reasonable and their strawberry scones were really delicious.

On Sunday, we had the shortest Church service ever. Three of the children played on their guitars and violin to provide music accompaniment while dear hubby song led. The very short sermon was given by Uncle CF....and no sooner than when the last Amen was said to end the service, the children vanished.....out into the open air to play to their heart's content before check out.

What a blessing to spend those few days with co-op. Co-op is kinda like a little "village"...where parents know one another and each other's children. It's where you watch your children grow and learn together...as the saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child."

 Now back home, the children say, "I wish I was still in Camerons." Well...till the next trip.

[The lutheran has a very strict policy of no eating own food on their premises...not even snacks...and they have a rather...errr....[insert adjective] caretaker.... Just mentioning....in case you plan to go with a large pack of children who tend to get hungry very quickly.]

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Learning- Renewable Energy (Sg. Congkak)

Co-op had a lovely outing, where mums got to rest, and the dads took over the teaching for the day!

In the warm morning sun, they learnt about Solar Energy (taught by my dear hubby who did a great job!)  Then they went on to learn about wind energy (taught by another dad), and kids made a model of a wind turbine. As it wasn't a really windy day, they had to use a hand fan to make it move.

That done, (phew so many lessons.....but they were each kept short) we went to the river, where they learnt about water energy. Some of these lessons are repeats, but was worth a repeat, especially since class was conducted outdoors!

fast flowing water caused the attached bulb to light up

Classes done, it was time for the best part, picnic and a swim in the cool water!

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Land Animals

Co-op Science learning has been going great! After completing about 6 months of lessons on forensic science, we moved on to study land animals.

The children did not find this module as interesting as Forensic Science, probably because Forensics involves mysteries, solving them by looking at clues, chemistry etc.

However, we did have several highlights, including :

1) A herping trip with MNS to learn about amphibians and snakes.

2) A trip to the zoo to observe and learn about apes and bears.

.......But before that......can you colour in a panda without looking at it?

AHEM!!!!! 

The poor pandas looked so sad and tired in the zoo enclosure.

3) A project about hamsters in which children created a maze for hamsters and timed how long it'd take them to find food.

First video: First attempt by hamster to find food. It took about 3 mins and 30 seconds.


Second video: Second attempt by same hamster.  Took it less than 30 seconds to locate food!


The rest of the classes were in the form of presentation by the children. They were sometimes nervous, as they were actually teaching their peers. However, most did well for a first try. :)





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Science Fair 2014

Recently our science co-op teamed up with another group to organize a science fair. The science fair was a success, overwhelming crowd. :)

Prior to the science fair, our little science group had spent about a year studying forensic science and wanted to end it with a science fair so the children could showcase what they'd learnt. But since we're such a small group, it was lovely to collaborate with Florence's dynamic co-op group, and that's how the science fair came to be.

Our Forensic Science group of children created this lovely poster.

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Although we had several months to prepare for the science fair, procrastinator me, started working with the children rather last minute...something which I vow  think I'll never do again.

Both Jo and Nel decided they wanted to do different topics. Actually they had no choice. Out of our group of 10 children, in the end only 6 participated in the fair, which meant that each carried the responsibility of presenting one aspect of forensic science.

Jo chose to research Blood Spatter Patterns, and Nel chose to study "The Effects of different solvents on Paper Chromatography."

Jo's Project
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The Science Fair day came, and it was hectic! Thankfully we had set up some of the stuff a night before. During the fair,

I had to help Jo who had too many things going on at her booth, namely:-

                  -a poster on her project (Blood Spatter Pattern),

                  - an experiment on identifying blood type, 

                  -and making gory slime (though most people stayed away from gory and chose happy                          colours.) 

Above is Jo's display board. She typed, designed and organized most of it herself. Well, she learnt the definition of hypothesis, objective, variables, how to run procedures, analysis and how to create graphs. I'm not sure if she still remembers it all now, but I'm sure it's somewhere in her memory. :) What a task for a 9 year old but she did it mostly with zest and zeal.
During her project she learnt stuff such as viscosity, velocity, diameters and circumference, point of impact, angles, analysis of droplets, etc.

The above board was a product of multiple experiments conducted by Jo which resulted in her messing up close to half the entire house with her very messy blood spatter experiments.

Like a true detective, somedays she took her experiment outdoors. Phew for this mummy, and hooray for the ants that get a taste of her syrupy-homemade-fake-blood.

Designing her poster

Apart from blood spatter, Jo spent lots of time creating slime in the kitchen. We made them gory, and they looked like intestines, red-gory liver, oozing blood. She was so ready to sell those. But at the science fair, I think, all but one of her customers, chose to make pretty pink, yellow and green slime. Her booth was popular, and there was a half hour queue for participants wanting to make slime. I had no choice but to help her. Back breaking! 

Jo's Slime booth.

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Nel's Project

Because I had to help Jo, Nel had to handle her booth alone, and she did it well.

               Her booth consisted of :

              -her project display on Paper Chromatography, 

             -a chromatography experiment (analysis of ink content to find pen used on murder scene)

            - and a chromatography art activity (butterfly/dragonfly with patterns from chromatography)

Above is Nel's display booth. And like Jo, she had to type and arrange it all herself. Being mostly a dreamer and one who tends to work more slowly, this was hard work for her. There were all sorts of things she had to learn, from the definition of polarity in chemistry, to discovering solvents, mixing different percentages of alcohol with water to see how it affects chromatography, to discovering molecules and etc etc.  A lot of times we had to read articles and discover stuff together.

Yes, we could've just done the experiment in a basic way and get on with it. But I believe it's more worth it when we discover the Why's and How's behind the experiment. Some information was way beyond her level, and we might revisit this topic again in the future.

 When I asked Nel what she learnt most from this project, she replied "To start way ahead of time...to be more careful when observing, to be more careful when organizing materials and information."

I think that itself made the science project worthwhile. It's not just the facts, but life lessons that come with it. The experiment requires lots of waiting time,..... but at times, she wondered off reading a book, or feeding the strays in the back alley, leaving her experiment far too long. This ruined quite a bit of her experiment, which she had to redo.

When it came to analysis, she found that if she had only organized her tonnes of paper properly, it would have been easier to find information. She spent lots of time calculating Rf factor, comparing results of her experiment.

At one point a visitor spilled some water and ruined part of her experiment which she then had to redo for the third time. Not fun at all. :( She ended up working till 3am for 2 days, and was close to a massive melt down. Lesson learnt...always keep your stuff in a safe place.

During the fair, this child of mine was nervous. She is an introvert, uncomfortable among new people and large crowds. She had to choice but to mend her booth alone, and I'm proud that, hey she did it! and did it well too. :)

 Nel's first visitor, trying out her chromatography art. The three glasses on her left are for a chromatography experiment where visitors analyze three different pens to determine the pen used at the crime scene which our co op set up.

Her booth was popular, and I think she had more than she could handle but handled it well. 

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Lesson I learnt....in the future, for the sanity of parent, have both girls work on similar or related projects to avoid stress and going bonkers, and to save cost.

Lesson learnt by Nel -Work ahead, wayyyy ahead to avoid staying up to 3am several days in a row just before the date of exhibition.  Be careful, and guard experiment results and materials carefully to avoid the stress of redoing the same experiments multiple times! Be patient and observe experiment carefully to avoid spoilt results.

Lesson learnt by Jo - Avoid doing messy experiments in mum's kitchen because it means massive clean up and a roaring mum. Do not be too ambitious, and focus. Observation is very very important otherwise it means inaccurate results which result in redoing.

A note she placed on her poster board. Note...she added "thank goodness my mum's not a neat freak." haha...

Focusing on projects is a great way of learning for us. Although they were science projects, girls had to write/type their projects out. I made sure to check grammar and discuss with them.
Science of course, involves lots of maths. There was also lots of research and reading of related materials. Time management, sourcing for information, comparing, analyzing, reasoning, etc etc. An invaluable experience.

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Finally...although I brought my camera, I didn't get many pictures, and I regret not having time to visit the other booths because we were so busy at our booth. A few random shots i managed to take:

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