Usborne Young Reading Series One: The Dinosaurs Next Door

A very fun and cute book - definitely will get the attention of young children, what more, dinosaurs are every child's (at least for boys) fantasy!




ISBN: 0 7460 4854 8
Author: Harriet Castor
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
Price: RM13.90 (from MPH)

The eccentric Mr. Puff lives next door to Sam in a house full of interesting things. Best of all is teh basket of giant dinosaur eggs - until they begin to hatch. The trouble with dinosaurs is that they grow... and grow. Something needs to be done, and fast!

Cut and Paste 'Flowers in the Garden'

A very simple craft which can easily occupy your toddler (suitable for aged from 2.5 to 4) at least 30-45 minutes.

Get ready some colour papers and and unwanted piece of corrugated cardboard.

Ask your child to draw some big and small circles. Small circles for the petals while big circles act as bases of flowers.

Ask your child to cut out the circles (may not come out as round as it should be but it's fine). And some triangles (as leaves).

You can help to cut some stems and the grass.

Get your child to paste all the pieces together to form what it is shown in the picture.

Later, you can draw some insects as requested by your child (my son asked me to draw a mouse at the left corner - not sure why. You also will notice a ladybird and a butterfly). Get your child to colour the insects.

My son of 6 years old did not seem to be keen in doing this craft - he said it was very girlish. However, my 3.5 year old son enjoyed doing it. Therefore, I have suggested this craft probably suitable for both boys and girls not more than 4.

From Head to Toe

Can you wave your arms like a monkey, clap your hands like a seal or stomp like an elephant?
Yes, you can! Move yourself From Head to Toe.

This is a fun book for toddlers aged 2 to 4. You can do some exercise with your children and act silly.

ISBN: 0140563784
Publisher: Puffin
Auther: Eric Carle



Arch your back like a cat! Kick your leg like a donkey!

Megatron by a 3.5 year-old

Seeing the 'ko ko' drawing Optimus Prime, my 3.5 yr old son also took a pencil and started scribbling on the paper. He said it is a Megatron holding 2 swords. Where are the swords? :) They are the black and brown scribble on both sides of the paper. The drawing was actually pretty nice with the face with eyes and mouth until he scribbled again on the face with black colour. errr.. I m not sure if this is a good pcs of drawing but I am proud of him being so imaginative. I am sure he will get better in the years to come - just like the brother. :)

Optimus Prime by a 6 yr old

My6-yr old is crazy about transformers especially Optimus Prime. He even selected a Night Watch Optimus Prime as a gift for his birthday which is coming up in a few days time.

Above 2 Optimus Prime were drawn without any reference and he did a really good job. He drew one a year ago after we brought him to the cinema to see the Transformer show. See below. I think he has improved tremendously in terms of colour combination and details of drawing.

Interesting Books for Boys!

Usborne Young Reading series - interesting books for boys to read. There are 2 levels to the books - level 1 for beginner and level 2 for advance readers. Not a structured reading series but interesting books for children especially boys to pick up the habit of reading. My boys just love the books. Will share more of each book in my next posts.

Effective Learn to Read Series

This is a very structured and effective learn to read series for young children. The series run from 1a to 12a with stories around 2 children named Peter and Jane. I started the series with my boys as young as 3.5 years old. My elder son by the age of 6, he is now at book 11a. My younger boy of 3.5 yrs old has started book 1a one month ago and now is half way through the book.

Nevertheless it is a very boring series! I will share some more exciting books for boys which can instill their interests to pick the book and read further.