ZooMoo's Chinese New Year Paper Plate Rooster Craft Activity

Spot the two paper plate roosters! Aren't they cute?

Last year, ZooMoo Asia sent us a box of Thanksgiving pinecone turkey craft activity. For this Chinese New Year, they sent over this box of paper plate rooster craft activity. I love their creativity!

Materials and instructions are from the ZooMoo craft box.

Materials:

Paper plate
Red, orange, and purple feathers
A pair of googly eyes
Orange felt fabric

Red felt fabric
Scissors
Glue

Instructions:

Step 1: Fold the paper plate in half.

Step 2: Glue the googly eyes to both sides of the paper plate, near the tip.

Step 3: Fold the red felt paper in half and draw the comb of the rooster on the red felt paper and cut it out accordingly into two symmetrical pieces.

Step 4: Glue the rooster's comb to the top of the folded paper plate on both sides.

Step 5: Fold the orange felt paper in half and cut out two triangle pieces.

Step 6: Glue both orange pieces on both sides of the paper plate to form the rooster's beak. Put a little bit of glue on the tips so that both pieces stick together.

Step 7: Fold the red felt paper in half, and using your thumb as a guide, trace the outline of your thumb. Cut out the shape accordingly into two symmetrical pieces.

Step 8: Glue the both pieces below the beak to form the rooster's wattle. Put a little bit of glue on the tips so that both pieces stick together.

Step 9: Cut a small slit on the top back of the paper plate.

Step 10: Apply some glue to the stem of the feathers and slide them through the slit. Arrange the feathers accordingly.

Step 11: And there you have it! A festive paper plate rooster for Chinese New Year!

Thank you ZooMoo Asia!

0

ZooMoo's Pinecone Turkey Craft Activity

Thank you ZooMoo Asia for sending over this craft box featuring a turkey for Thanksgiving Day! My three-year-old and I have a great time putting these two turkeys together. ;)

Materials and instructions are from the ZooMoo craft box.

Materials:

Pine cone

Red, orange, and purple feathers

A pair of googly eyes

Orange felt fabric

Scissors

Glue

Instructions:

Step 1: Apply glue to the back of the googly eyes and stick them on the tip of the pine cone.

Step 2: Cut a small triangle from the orange felt fabric.

Step 3: Glue the orange felt triangle below the googly eyes.

Step 4: Apply some glue on the back ridges of the pine cone.

Step 5: Poke the stem of the purple feather into the ridge of the pine cone. Make sure it is centered.

    

Step 6: Place the red feathers on both sides of the purple feather, and the orange feathers on both sides of the red feathers.

Step 7: Cut two small turkey feet from the orange felt fabric.

Step 8: Glue the felt turkey feet to the bottom of the pine cone.

Step 9: And there you have it! A Pine Cone Turkey for the holidays!

Tada!

5

Providing more play activities for my three-year-old

It's widely acknowledged that play has positive effects on early childhood learning and development. Research shows that play contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children as well as providing ideal opportunities for parents to engage with their children.

This full report offers a very in-depth read: The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. You can click on the link to read the report.

I'm facing some challenges when it comes to providing sufficient quality play activities for my toddler.

First, I'm heavily pregnant and exhausted most of the time, so it's kinda difficult to prepare different kinds of activities for him.

Second, in this multi-screen era that we are currently living in, to be realistic, giving in to smartphones and TV is a somewhat useful solution. However, finding a balance in digital parenting versus traditional play can be tricky.

Third, we are a household of two working parents without grandparents or stay-in helper or extended family members who can watch over our child. So, after working the whole day, we can be quite tired and sometimes the last thing we want to do is to play with him. Sigh.

However, we still try our very best to give him hands-on play activities besides screen time. You can browse through the album below to see the activities:

The album below is about the Play Subscription (Trial Package) by Ele Boo which I have blogged about.

0

How to win digital parenting

Recently, I attended a panel session organized by ZooMoo, a television channel for preschool children featuring animals. Topics discussed were about finding a balance in digital parenting and the challenges of raising children in the digital era.

Given the multiscreen era that we are currently living in, it is unsurprising that learning how to 'unplug' is a test for most people, i.e. parents and children alike. To be realistic, keeping away from technology might not be feasible in today's circumstances, so we need to find ways to balance our time spent on screens.

In a recent article by New York Post titled It's 'digital heroin': How screens turn kids into psychotic junkies: Many parents intuitively understand that ubiquitous glowing screens are having a negative effect on kids. We see the aggressive temper tantrums when the devices are taken away and the wandering attention spans when children are not perpetually stimulated by their hyper-arousing devices. Worse, we see children who become bored, apathetic, uninteresting and uninterested when not plugged in.

In our current tech-filled society where screens are ubiquitous, with digital temptations everywhere, plus the dangers of crossing the line into full-blown tech addiction, here's what we can do.

1. Redefine the concept of balance

Technology plays a big role in our lives, so it is impractical to remove screen time completely. The key is mindfulness of using it. Instead of setting parameters on the amount of time allowed, the smarter approach is to know what content our children consumes and how they react to it. 

"Parents need to be the gatekeepers for their children's time and activities spent on screens. Similar to any other activity such as play time, children do not know when to stop and are likely to be upset when they are told to. It is about understanding your children and what works for them," said Dr. Shen-Li Lee, parenting expert and author of Brainchild.

"Screen time is not necessarily a bad thing as it can be used as an educational tool or part of bonding time. My girls and I enjoy watching ZooMoo and learning about the animals together," said Aishah Sinclair, celebrity mom of two, radio DJ, and ZooMoo brand ambassador.

The main consensus is that consuming digital media in moderation is key.

2. Parents as role model for healthy digital habits

Throughout the early years of development, children learn through imitation — as we know from Social Learning Theory, "monkey see, monkey do". Watching their parents, i.e. that is us, practicing a well-balanced screen time routine will have a positive impact on our children.

Outside of the allocated screen time, we can set a time to read books with our children or play Lego with them or just be with them sans the screen. We can also bring them out for outdoor activities, trips, getaways, etc. Eat dinner with our children without any electronic devices at the table — just as Steve Jobs used to have tech-free dinners with his children.

As parents, we are our children's role model for them to understand and emulate. Remember, "monkey see, monkey do". We have no one but ourselves to blame if our children turn into screen junkies.

3. Content that matters

Restricting technology may not be the best way to navigate the digital space. Dr. Lee cited an example that although PC/video games are often associated with the negative effects they have on children, there is some underlying value for their development including problem-solving skills and creativity. In addition, depending on the type of game, they can also be exposed to real-life scenarios such as trading.

Similarly, ZooMoo's approach to content aims to provide a safe environment for children to learn through animals and the world they live in. Through collaborations with child and educational experts, the content curated and format of programming is designed to entertain while stimulating young minds and bodies.

"As a channel that believes in the power of technology, we embrace it and encourage children to be exposed to it from a young age. It is not something that can be avoided as a child grows up and conditioning them in the proper use of technology early would be beneficial," said Catherine Nebauer, General Manager, ZooMoo Networks for Australasia.

The consensus is that as parents, we should not let our children watch whatever content they fancy. When it comes to content, we need to play an active role in monitoring and setting boundaries regarding what they watch. In fact, we can watch together with them and this can be great for bonding time too!

In this age of the digital world, there is no way to implement a total black-out on technology. Rather, just like any other activity, there is a suitable time and place, and it is up to parents to find ways to balance quality time both on-screen and off.

19