How to make a paper fortune teller

I remember playing the paper fortune teller game as a little girl. I enjoyed the game very much. However I had forgotten how to fold the paper fortune teller. So how do I teach the kids to fold and play with it?

Very easy. I look to the internet for answers naturally. :) I will give you links to the useful resources I found on how to make a paper fortune teller at the end of this post. Meanwhile, I shall post some photos and talk about the fun my kids had making and playing with their paper fortune teller.

Hidden behind each of the numbers is a fortune or an answer to your question about anything you want to know.....

The kids enjoyed colouring the flaps and decorating it with stickers etc. They also enjoyed thinking up of and writing silly notes or fortunes hidden behind each number.

They enjoyed playing the game very much. Asking silly questions and revealing the ridiculous answeres they had thought of made them roll over with laughter over and over again.

Here are some useful links for those of you who may be interested to make a paper fortune teller.

1. Origami Fortune Teller from Enchanted Learning - This is for those who enjoy reading and looking at step by step instructions.
2. How to Make A Paper Fortune Teller on YouTube from User Miamiflip - Great for those who prefer video instructions instead
3. NiHao Kailan Foldable Fortune Teller - This one is a printable from Nickjr.com's Make & Do Activities. It is lovely to look at, very bright and cheery. Great for little ones. However, older kids may prefer to DIY. There is more fun, pride and satisfaction in folding, designing and creating the fortune teller from scratch. It is very simple to fold.

That is all the resources you need. All you need is a piece of paper, pen and colour pencils so why not start folding now. The kids will certainly love it. Let them come up with the answers or "fortune" and write it down themselves. It is good practise for children just learning to write. It is also good for those just learning to read and if you make the kids spell the colours and numbers to reveal the "fortune", in no time at all they would have learned how to spell the words without even realising that they were learning them. :)

It is also great to entertain the kids during a car journey for example.

However, take note, that the kids can remember the answers hidden behind each number very quickly. So we folded several, so that they won't cheat.... ;)

She is starting to care about her appearance

Yesterday my girl told me....

"Mummy, I think I don't look nice with my specs and my hair in a bun. That is why I don't want to join the storytelling competition. I don't want people to see me."

She thinks that all her friends look nice with their hair in a bun accept her. She says that when she looks at herself in the school toilet mirror, she thinks she does not look nice. However she thinks that she looks nice when she leaves her long hair down at home.

"Mummy, I think I do not look very nice that is why I do not have many friends."

I think now is about the time that a child gets conscious about their appearance and the right time to tell her that it is what is inside that counts. I did just that by telling her the story about two story tellers. One who does not look very nice but captures everyone's attention and hearts with her fantastic storytelling and the other beautiful one who just stands on stage and gets tongue tied. Which one is better?

At the same time I assured her that she looks nice with her specs and hair in a bun but she looks even nicer with her hair down, that is all. I also reminded her that kind and friendly people have more friends, not people who look nice and if people makes friends with others just because they look nice then they are not very nice.

"But mummy, I make friends because they look nice."

I reminded her that she should not choose friends based on looks alone.

Parenting a school going child is just as challenging as parenting a toddler or baby that she once was.

Family Bonding Moment

The whole family enjoys computer games. The girl, the boy and even mummy and daddy.

Sometimes we have a family bonding moment when we play pc games together. One would play while the others watched and gave advice and strategies. Then we switch players. Each one having a go or a turn to play.

Occassionally two can play at a game together, with one steering the movements and the other one hitting other keys.

Then we one of us wins, the others shout out words and cheers of encouragement.

Rather silly but we all enjoy it and it is fun to discuss our game afterwards.

What is your family bonding moment?

Our mummy is a nurse

Our mummy is a nurse, our personalized nurse who is always available 24 hours a day. At the moment this aspect of mummy's job is top priority.

We are down with a cough and cold, you see. In addition, one of us has a fungal infection on the finger and a flare up of sensitive nose problem and another one of us has a flare up of excema behind the ears and lots of wax build up within the inner ear.

So mummy must remember what medicine must be taken once a day, 2x a day and 3x a day. Mummy must remember which medicine must be taken before food and which after. Mummy must also remember not to mix up our medication. This is very important as our dosage is different even though the medicine looks the same.

Also, each night after giving us our medication, mummy must remember to pour solution into a pair of ears, spray nasal spray up a pair of nostrils and apply cream on our fingers and behind our ears. Mummy must remember not to mix up our nostrils and ears.

Mummy is getting old. She cannot remember everything. She took almost an hour looking at all our medication and writing down what must be done at what time so she won't forget!

Gender Stereotyping

Boys are harder to look after. They are slower. They are harder to toilet train. Boys will be boys. They are just naturally more naughty. Blah blah blah. You hear a lot of these sorts of statements. My boy shows me that they are just stereotyping and need not be exactly true.

My boy is rather easy to look after. He is an affectionate little boy. Always ready for hugs and kisses and he tells me "I love you very much" with a big hug whenever he feels like it.

It was really easy to toilet train him. It only took 10 days of daytime training and after that it was smooth sailing all the way. I did not even have to train him at night. He became naturally dry at night with the daytime toilet training.

He is not a naughty boy. He is very good. The little girls in his class like him a lot. Oh he is not sissy. He likes guns and Ben 10 and cars like any other boy but he is a little gentleman. He does not push, grab or fight though he may put his hands on his waist and go hmmmph! and put on his most angry face at times. That is why the girls like him, I suppose. They like to give him little love notes.

He is very good and independant at doing his homework too. When it is homework time, he will take his books out from his bag, do it himself (with the occassional grumbling, dreaming and balancing and playing with his stationaries), then he will keep his books all on his own without much supervision.

We are currently revisiting our rewards system and oh boy what a big difference a little motivation can do. He will help me make the beds. After his homework, he will keep away his books and open up the piano and practise on his own. After that, he closes the piano and gives it a wipe with a soft cloth.

My girl on the other hands prefers to play with intelligent thinking toys rather than dolls. She does not like Barbie at all. But that is another story for another day.