We would read comics at some point in our lives; I did when I was in my teenage years, Daddy did too. Cheryl also has her favourites as well. When I saw that there was a manga drawing workshop being organised by Artistori, an art enrichment centre, I immediately signed her up for it.

For a good 4 days, C spent 3 hours each morning learning how to draw manga. Her takeaway from the class - she knew that there was a great focus on the facial expressions of the characters, she learned that light and shading gives the characters different looks and dimensions. Oh, the eyes, she learned to draw soulful, expressive, and sparkling big eyes.

These pictures were taken by Teacher Vernon - he was the one who taught the class. 

She enjoyed herself immensely and even though she had to wake up at 7 am each day to get ready for the 1.5 hours of peak-hour traveling, she took it in her stride. I guess, we call that passion. :)

My colleagues had put together a Learning Journey for our CCA groups and I decided to take C along since she had a day off from school. The earlier part of the morning was spent at the Peranakan Museum and we were given a guided tour around the place.

The highlight of the Learning Journey was definitely the trip to Kampong Glam at Bukit Merah where the girls got to flip roti prata.

 It was lunch to settle the hungry stomachs before the session started.

The girls were given a brief history of the origins of roti prata before they started.

There was a master chef who went around ensuring that the girls had flipped correctly.

The teachers got their hands dirty too. :)

To end it all, a prata buffet! These were not the prata the girls flipped just now. They tried prata of different flavours; some were pretty exotic like durian prata, chocolate prata and prata bomb.

Needless to say, C had a wonderful and enriching time. My students took care of her and she chatted with them like they were old friends. :)

We are into drinking tea these days... :)

And what better way to start with a session at the Tea Chapter. I came here way back during my schooling days and as I stood at the door way, fond memories of my classmates returned. Honestly, this place hasn't changed a bit.

The session started with an elderly gentleman giving us a briefing on the history of tea and tea brewing. We were given an insight to the different types of tea available and how drinking certain types of tea is beneficial to our health. He showed us the proper manner to brew tea and then we had a chance to do it ourselves.

We also ordered some snacks to go along with the tea.

  

the children having a go too. :)

After the session, C smiled and said she had enjoyed herself and more importantly, enjoyed the tea. :)

We never knew we could make our own; as in make it using simple, inexpensive ingredients. But this trip to make our soap was an eye-opener and it was thanks to Aunt Ven who signed C up for the session.

These elaborately hand crafted soap greeted us when we arrived. They were so realistically looking it was really difficult to tell them apart from the real deal. 

The tools and materials they needed for the session. 

After the large blocks were cut into smaller pieces, the children had to melt them down into liquid.

Then it was choosing the scent they wanted for their soap. It wasn't an easy task because the children had to choose between many different essential oils and they also needed to measure the oils accurately.

As C and B had chosen for their soap to be layered, they also needed to choose scents that complimented each other. 

Choosing the moulds took up a lot of time as well as the children went through the different drawers and scrutinized every single one before deciding on the ones they wanted.

Next, after the melted soap pieces were mixed in with the colours and scents, they were gently poured into the moulds and put into the refrigerators.

 

Jing Heng's creation.

Brion's work.

C's.

Our favourite pieces.

The children were of course beaming with pride after they saw the products.

We couldn't resist. :) 

There were so many pieces of soap that we left a piece each in our wardrobes. Both toilets were also not spared. Then we also had one in our car. Yesterday, C gave Grand Mummy and Aunt Jules a piece each too and we used the largest block on ourselves.

Cheryl has always enjoyed Josiah's holiday programmes and she asked me if she could attend this year. I know that Josiah still accepted children up to ages 9 so we didn't hesitate in signing her up.

Cheryl learned how to make many traditional cakes and food. This was epok epok and kueh pisang. She liked the epok epok a lot but saved 2 for Daddy and me. 

Nasi lemak and onde onde were some other food she came back with. She commented that cooking nasi lemak was an easy task because she followed instructions and had a recipe to follow. 

Cheryl loved the dessert, bubur chacha. She particularly enjoyed cutting up the ingredients. However, she didn't like the yam. "I like getting my hands dirty!" C said. Looks like she will enjoy cooking in the future. 

C making huat kueh! 

Cheryl loved to play Congkak with her friends. This set of congkak is rather modern looking. A more authentic looking congkak would look like this and it's usually played with marbles.

She also played other traditional games like hopscotch and chapteh.

Cheryl made her five-stones and learned to play them too! She was also introduced to yet another traditional game, chapteh.

The children made and painted their own kite which they flew when they went out on an excursion. C's kite!

Some other craft that C made: a fabric bowl.

and decorated a jar with spices. 

C made and painted her own kampong house as well. 

Josiah took the children out to the last surviving kampong in Singapore and it was really an experience of a kind. C commented that the houses were different and that there were no tall buildings. There was also a lot of space for them to run around too. 

It was a fun-filled week of activities and like the past, C had a joyful time with her teachers and friends. When the programme came to an end on Friday, C said that she would like to sign up for the year end programme. :)