What have we've being up to for almost a year?

The answer :

1) Having a baby, the 3rd boy addition to our family has been occupying our time most.

2) Mama was and still is busy with networking a.k.a. Facebook

3) House moving

As I am now is transitioning from full-time working mom to work-at-home-mom, I may have more time to write but I just have to do it while everyone is sleeping. Plus, working on my own is not easy as every single thing I have to do on my own. There's lots of homeschool activies we did for the past months, only then it is not being updated for record in here. Will do bit by bit. 

 My 3 bundle of joy and made me busy!

My Boys at Craft with Parenthots

Our family had attended this event last 28th of May at Tropicana City Mall 

(very nearby our house, fortunately. :-D)

It was free entrance workshop that something must not be missed plus the awesome freebies and all the activities catered for the day. Found about this event from Parenthots Newsletter of course. Details of what activites being lined up was being announced HERE.

Let pictures taken for the day do the storytelling, ya! :-D

Baby Loves Nature

The Story Behind this picture : That was the first ever we brought Baby Hambali along with his 5 years old brother outdoor in year 2009. Location : Taman Tasik Seremban. First time experience for Baby Hambali but countless time for his big brother.We did'nt do any specific activity just 'lazing' around there and let Baby Hambali roaming about, crawled under the watchful eyes of both his parents. Just in case, he put every single thing he found inside his mouth! LOL! It could be dangerous! After that activity we made a mental note to do it often for the benefits of our family.

"Reminder for TheHoneybunch Family to live by & share it with others..."

* Picture worth a thousand words *

Tips on Fun Water Play

To get your kids to love water, here's some idea that might be a solution. All these ideas applies to either toddler or preschooler:-

Trips Everywhere during 2010 Hari Raya long holidays

Hanz's : Reminiscence last year long holidays during Raya festive seaon.

TheHoneybunch is back in blogosphere after the loooong silence.

Where have we've been from first Raya to yesterday?

Here are some sneak peaks on few trips we had and activities we've done.

The very First Raya Day. Location : Shah Alam. Hubby's side of family.

10 Ways to grow a happy child

1. Fall in love with your baby by having a positive birthing experience for baby, mother and father right from pregnancy, confinement till the early years.

2. Strengthen that love by breastfeeding your child until he or she no longer needs it.

3. A refreshed mother, thanks to co-sleeping and nursing simultaneously ends to worry less of her child's safety and make her a patient mother!

First Science Trip | National Science Centre

Hanz's : Our family trip sometime in early 2010.

We were at Pusat Sains Negara last Saturday after attended Parent-Teacher's Day of Hanafi's Rehal Class, to fully use the celebration of Kidz Month there. Unfortunately, due to ASTRO CARNIVAL, they cancelled the whole activities lined-up of the day. So we just had a tour inside with ongoing explanation to Hanafi on science concept that suits his preschooler's level. Unable to fit in too much information because of age inappropriateness. So, we treated it as Hanafi's more exposure with application a bit on Science & Baby Hambali's first introduction to science.

Let's just enjoy some of the pictures, shall we?

Cooking exposure for the juniors

Want to introduce cooking to your little ones?

The following are some guidelines how cooking can be done based on Concepts and Skills for each age group.

Quick ideas for Preschooler Homeschool activities

You can do homeschooling for your preschooler & have some get-together activities without cracking your brains too much. Here's some ideas for you.

(1) TOOLS

1. Lots of writing materials in different medium (pen, pencil, magic ink, chalk)

2. Painting in different medium (finger-paint, nature-paint, stencils from vegetables, food colouring made from raw materials)

3. Art & Craft books (cut & paste, origami, many more)

4. Toys with purpose (specific for lesson to be learn). You can even create toys.

5. Television with supervision by parents.

6. Child's tennis or badminton racquet set, ball, balloons, etc.

Family Togetherness Fun Activities

Raising a family today requires lots of energy and effort from parents. The demands of today's work schedules often take parents away from their young children. Little time is spent on activities that promote family bonding.

Today's parents spend less time with their children than their parents did in the past. Without proper guidance from parents or involved adults, many of these children may suffer emotional problems when they grow up. Parents also need to take care of themselves. They need lots of energy to do a good job of parenting. If they are under stress, depressed of physically weak, they will not be able to build a strong and happy family.

Below are some fun activities that help build a strong family.

50 Fun Science Ideas for Toddler & Preschooler

Simple science ideas to use with preschooler or toddlers.

1. Make bubbles: Mix one gallon of water with one cup liquid detergent & 50 drops of glycerine.

2. Jet balloons. Fill a balloon with air & let it go. What makes the balloon go?

3. Nature Walk: Take a plastic bag with you on your next nature walk. Encourage your child to collect leaves & small sticks & put them in bag. Ask your child about each item he choose to put in the bag.

Learning About Dinosaurs

Hanz's : Reminiscence trip done middle of year 2009.

A backdated Chat & 1st attempt implementing the Thematic Approach in our Homeschool.

I was keen on Dinosaur Exposure for Hanafi exactly right after I read an entry in Mummy Intan & Farrahar. They went to the recent Monster & Dinosaur Exhibition, held at Mid Valley last 18th April to 17th May. So, I said to dear hubby, "Let's bring our boys there too!"

Before the trip, I purposely intoduced Dinosaur to Hanafi by using this book....

Benefits & Ideas that parents must take note from Storytelling

Everyone can tell a story and storytelling belongs in homes, schools, in fact in the blogosphere!

(From Wikipedia:-Blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all blogs and their interconnections. It is the perception that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities) or as a social network.)

What do you get from your musings, ramblings, chit-chat or writings in your blog every single day? The list is endless, true? It goes the same with storytelling and you don't even need any cool gadget or special channel to transmit the act. Just one storyteller (the least usually) and another individual or a group of audience. Oh, what they do? The storyteller will tell a story and the other party will listen contently. Simple, right? So, must we forget the act of simple storytelling that apparently having the fate of extinction? Don't you miss the atmosphere whereby there's a cozy time to sit and listen from an enthusiastic Storyteller through the slot of "Dengarlah Sayang", "Tell Me A Story", "Hikayat Seribu Satu Malam" and "Kisah Teladan from the infamous Sang Kancil"? Ask your child, what do they know about the famous Folk Tales such as Si Luncai, Pak Pandir, Badang and the Myths like Hikayat Si Tenggang, Puteri Bongsu, just to name a few?

Why tell stories? I will tell you why by giving you the list of it's benefits.

Baby Sign with my 2 sons

Hanz's Note : Shared about this great discovery formerly in our old blog beginning year 2009 when we started Baby Signing routine late 2008.

We wave our hands when we are leaving and saying goodbye. We raise one finger to our lips indicating the needs to be silence. We nod for 'Yes' and shake our head for 'No'. Simple gesture for universal meaning. Signing brings people closer despite language differences. For hearing-challenged & speak-challenged, signing would be one of the way for them to communicate. But, how about communicating with baby? Baby for sure cannot talk.

Learning to talk is a complicated business. Based on research and findings, average human being can pronounce first true word is at 12 months old or 1 year old. So how do we go about before reaching that age especially it is only word and on building up sentences mostly can be done at 19 months!

This is where signing get into the picture!

What I'm about to do is sharing on my recent discovery and our current daily routine to our baby and to our preschool-aged son as well.