Book Box Thursday: Doctor De Soto

Stories aren't just for reading. They can be great for teaching little kiddos about life, values or even daily habits. The latest book that we have been reading has given me the opportunity to open the world of… well… teeth to her.

Imagine a little mouse, who's the best dentist around, who is able to ensure that his patients don't feel any pain at all. Isn't that just awesome? That's the expertise of Doctor De Soto, the main character, and name of the book by William Steig. Every animal, big and small, heads to Doctor De Soto to solve their toothache problems, using his regular dentist chair or a ladder, or even a hoist pulled by his wife to lift him up to his patient's mouth.

Why? It's because he is a tiny mouse. This is also the reason why he absolutely refuses to treat animals such as cats and foxes, animals which have a taste for mice. A fox, however, does turn up in terrible pain, and the kind-hearted Doctor de Soto does treat his toothache. But, the fox is constantly tempted to eat the tiny dentist and his wife. And when the fox finally decides to eat them, the Doctor and his wife cleverly found a way to prevent the fox from eating them - by applying a 'secret formula' that makes the fox's teeth stick together. 

Compared to the previous books that we've shared, EV's response to this title was rather muted. But it was still a story she gladly listened to while mummy read to her. What I liked about this book is the illustrations. There is always so much happening. This usually results in many discussions of the pictures themselves. For example, a picture of Doctor De Soto being hoisted up to treat the teeth of a donkey can lead to a discussion about pulleys and the concept of gravity. This also helps to develop visual literary, an important aspect in today's world.

The most important learning that this book gives is about teeth, or rather, the importance of taking care of one's teeth to avoid getting toothaches. And we did some home learning activities with this theme.

Activities

Besides discussing topics such as what caused the fox's toothache, and how to avoid it, we also made a teeth craft to reinforce the importance of teeth care. 

Here's what you need:

Recycled egg cartons

White paint

Red cardboard paper

Bits of felt, in different colours

Firstly, I got EV to paint the recycled egg cartons. Then I glued them to some red cardboard paper to resemble a set of teeth. Then I stuck bits of felt in green, yellow and brown between the 'teeth'. These felt are food such as vegetables and meat.

Then using a Q-tip as a 'toothbrush', I got EV to 'brush' the teeth to remove the food bits. This is meant to reinforce the idea that food we eat do get stuck on our teeth, and the reason for brushing one's teeth.

EV does brush her teeth, but sometimes, she does get a little lazy. It's fine to keep reminding EV about brushing her teeth, but nothing beats actually showing her and letting her see with her own eyes. I think that this teeth craft has done well in reinforcing that.

Even AA had a go at it too.

Stay tuned, as we will be another of our favourite books in the next Book Box Thursday. Till then, have fun reading as a family!!

Disclaimer: We received a copy of Doctor De Soto from My Imagination Kingdom. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and images are my own.

Japanese Tamagoyaki

I love cooking food that my two kids love. For EV, it’s dishes that contain ham, mushrooms or cheese. For AA, he has developed a love for eggs, in different styles. As I discovered, he adores eggs done in the Japanese style the most – tamagoyaki, chawamushi as well as the fried eggs found in Oyako Don.

So the skills I learnt from Chef Takashi Nakaya at a Japanese cooking workshop comes in handy (Read about it here). I can now make him Japanese Tamagoyaki any time of the day. Though, the allure of eating tamagoyaki in a Japanese restaurant, taken off a moving belt, still appeals lots to him.

Here’s what you need to make a perfect Tamagoyaki. Usually, it is made using a special rectangular omelette pan, but a regular round frying pan can be used instead. The trick is in the rolling of the egg. 

Japanese Tamagoyaki (omelette)

Ingredients

3 eggs

2/3 tbsp soy sauce

2/3 tbsp sugar

2/3 tbsp mirin

Method

1. Beat eggs, add sugar, mirin and soy sauce. Mix well.

2. Add the ham and cheese and stir the mixture lightly.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan on medium heat. Drain extra oil into a small bowl for later use.

4. Pour a tablespoon of the egg mixture, or enough to make a thin layer, in the pan. Cook until half done then gently roll the egg from one side of the pan to the other, folding the egg as you progress.

5. To help in the rolling, use a ladle and spoon together.

6. Add more oil if necessary and spread over the pan. Pour another scoop of the egg mixture in the pan, tilting it so that the mixture flows under the rolled egg. Cook until half done and roll this egg layer over the previously rolled layer, moving in the opposite direction so that the omelette becomes thicker.

7. Continue frying and rolling the layers, until all the egg mixture is used.

8. Cook the omelette on all sides until slightly browned. Serve.

Here's the final dish - Japanese Tamagoyaki.

Then I thought: why not add a twist to the Tamagoyaki by adding any ingredients to my family's liking.  Just for EV and AA, I added a little twist of my own, by adding some ham and cheese. 

And there you have it! A perfectly rolled Tamagoyaki, with ham and cheese. Enjoy!

Linking up with:

This is part of a 'What's Cooking' blog train / party where, together with some blogger mummy friends, on the second week of each month (from Sept - Nov), we will be bringing you home recipes featuring different 'cuisines'.

Next up on this blog train is Jennifer Lim of DinoMama. A mother of one, she will be sharing with us the secrets of making a popular Japanese sponge cake using just a few ingredients

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Wordless Wednesday: Dedicated to my son Aaron

Linking up with

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you. 

Peeling mushrooms

EV loves her mushrooms. Any type, any size. Just rice and a plate of fried mixed mushrooms is enough to satisfy her.

So one fine day, I got her to help peel the topmost layer off some fresh mushrooms. She was reluctant to do it at first, but she must have seen how much fun I was having, then she got into it very quickly.

Sometimes, she needed some help in getting the stalks out nicely, but other than that, she did quite well.

She wanted to do more, but I didn't have any left for her. We practised counting with the mushrooms, and even made a little star.

This activity is good for building practical life and fine motor skills.

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Thank you for reading. If you like this post, please do connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so I can share our fun adventures, thoughts and exploits with you.