Welcome back!

Wow, I've certainly been favouring Mini Makers' Facebook page in recent months, haven't I? Apologies for the long absence - I'll try to make sure that I post all session info on here as well as on Facebook. The main reason for the favouritism is that I can post photo albums of the Makers' work on FB - check them out on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mini-Makers-Penang/142980229107644 Orla's now in Tenby's nursery class across the way from our usual room, so I no longer have my own Mini Maker to occupy on Wednesday mornings! Miss Abigail is now using the room to teach her Bahasa Malaysia lessons, but has kindly volunteered the continued use of the classroom for us. I'd like to get an indication of who is still interested in attending, as I know a number of Makers are now in school or moving on. Please email me or post on our FB page to let me know if you'd like to come along. I'm planning to run sessions until Christmas to see how it's going... Thanks! Ginnie

Mini Makers moves to 1st Wednesday...

Because of the sad demise of Football Fun and reinstatement of two Hostie sessions per month, Mini Makers is moving to the first (and third, if there's demand for it) Wednesday of each month. That means this week, Wednesday 1st June, is our next session! EEK! Time for me to get busy... See you at 10.30am!

Beetles and Butterflies!

Who remembers making cards with scrunched up tissue paper when they were little? I bet that every child who had access to PVA and yellow tissue paper made an Easter chick at some point in their formative years... We decided to use this technique to make May bugs to brighten up mummies' plant pots on one of the hottest mornings we've had in months!

After choosing a beetle or a butterfly outline, the Mini Makers enlisted their mummies' help to cut out the shape. There was lots of fun to be had scrunching up a rainbow of tissue paper, pasting plenty of glue onto the cutouts and creating bright and beautiful bugs with the tissue balls.

Time for a thirst-quenching drink and a snack while the glue dried out - then Anna helped everyone to tape a chopstick to the back of their bug, ready to stick into the soil of a potted plant when they got home.

Jack absolutely LOVED his butterfly!

May Mini Makers...

Mini Makers will meet on Wednesday 11th May at 10.30am until 12pm... Join us at Tenby School in old clothes or an apron, and prepare to get a little bit sticky!

Easter Bunny visits Penang...

Our Easter session may have been a little premature due to holiday commitments, but it certainly didn't mean that the Mini Makers were any less excited about the impending visit of the Easter Bunny... everyone was eager to make a special Easter basket in anticipation of his visit!

Lots of cutting and sticking of paper shapes, and drawing and colouring ensued (including a request from one child for Mummy to draw a crab!), followed by scrunching tissue paper to make a cosy nest for little eggs. By the time they'd completed their baskets, pulled out the playdoh and run around outside for a while, the Makers were delighted to feast on the mini eggs the elusive Bunny had slipped into their baskets.

Mini Makers' next session...

Due to Easter holidays affecting the second Wednesday of April, we're moving next month's Mini Makers session forward...

Come and join us for some Easter crafty fun on Wednesday 23rd March! 10.30am-12pm at Tenby International School, Lorong Burma.

Hope to see you there!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

After an initial panic that no-one was going to make it - lots of relatives in town and hand, foot and mouth stalking the nurseries of Penang! - we had a great turnout. Twelve little Makers arrived with mummies and younger siblings in tow, all eager to get creative - and messy!

Taking our inspiration from forthcoming St Patrick's Day, the little artists produced their own interpretations of a rainbow, daubed on half of a paper plate. They got stuck into the play dough while their colourful creations dried outside in the sun, before adding the final touch - bright and cheerful crepe paper streamers, glued to the bottom of their rainbows.

"May your thoughts be as glad as shamrocks,
May your heart be as light as song,
May each day bring you bright, happy hours,
That stay with you all the year long."

We're on Facebook!

Add Penang Mini Makers' Facebook page to your groups to keep up to dates on what's happening!

Welcome to Penang Mini Makers!

Looking for somewhere your little one can experiment with colour and textures, get creative and imaginative and get messy without 'redecorating' your own home?

Mini Makers is a new community arts and crafts project for toddlers, supported by Tenby International School, which will run on the second Wednesday of each month from 9th March 2011. The sessions are run by me, Ginnie o'Farrell, mummy to a very creative two year-old! Each session will run from 10.30am to 12pm, including cleaning up time, and will incur a small charge of 5-10 RM to cover the cost of restocking consumables.

TIS has provided a room for us to work in, and funded the cost of setting up with good quality materials. There is an area for babies too young to join in with art activities to play and a fridge for storing drinks, baby food, snacks, etc. If you have any toys to contribute to the babies' toybox, they are most welcome! The school is located at 21 Lorong Burma, between Kelawai Road and Gurney Drive and the room will be signposted for the first few sessions.

The sessions will include one focused activity - making a decorated paper hat, an Easter card or a basic stick puppet, for example - and independent play time, offering crayons and pencils, paint and playdoh.

There is also an opportunity to run a Book Exchange from the sessions - many mummies have lamented that there is no decent children's library in Penang, so why not bring along one or two books to share? They can be new, outgrown, secondhand, unwanted gifts - and you can borrow as many books as you bring in.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday 9th March!

Ginnie