Sue’s Splashy Surprise

02/12/25 • 7 min

Have you ever dreamed of building your own fishpond? Today on Newsgram we dive into Sue’s Splashy Surprise by Mamimo Chan. This episode explores the heartwarming tale of family teamwork, childhood adventures, and the traditions that turn simple moments into lifelong memories. From the small victory of starting a lawnmower to the excitement of building a fishpond with her siblings; experience the thrill of watching the water flow, the joy of seeing pet fish play, and the suspense of an unexpected challenge. Can Sue save the day? Tune in and find out!

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Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

Today’s episode is dedicated to anyone who has ever taken on the challenge of finding fun and engaging activities for children. Anyone can turn on the T.V. I’m talking about parents, grandparents and even babysitters brave enough to get the children in their care involved in baking or building a volcano or some other science experiment, taking a trip to the museum or even building a birdhouse. These kinds of activities are not just fun but they activate a Childs natural curiosity. Something Mamimo Chan says is very important and one of the key things she sees when interacting with children.

Mamimo Chan – When I interact with children, I see in them a lot of curiosity, a lot of wanting to know more and explore the world. And that’s what I always incorporate in my teaching during my education year. And at the same time, I make sure that the children enjoy the process. So that is something that I weave into the book to kind of give the children the curiosity of what’s happening at the same time to have the courage to explore the world.

Mamimo Chan is a mother of four, a grandmother and an educator with over thirty years of experience. She’s also author of Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure — where Pondering is a double entendre.

Mamimo Chan – The title speaks a lot about what’s happening in the book as well. A pondering adventure. It requires the making of a pond in the book. It teaches about the capillary action, of how we are actually taking care of the fish in the pond. But it’s also a pondering adventure for Sue because she realized that at times she made mistakes along the way and with that mistake, how is she going to actually save the day? So it is pondering in the sense to Sue because she has curiosity, she wants to explore. By the same time, she probably understands now that she needs to have certain steps, instructions taken well and at the same time to make sure that the fish are safe. So she saves the day with the adventure.

The wordplay in Pond-ering reflects the book’s blend of curiosity, learning, and family teamwork. As Sue and her siblings build their fishpond, they learn life lessons along the way—all while introducing young readers to science in a fun and accessible way.

Mamimo Chan – I feel that really, you know, in this very fast-paced society that we’re in now, brought about with technology, we mustn’t forget about the basics of our being. Our being came from a family. And to us, family is really very critical in how we grow up. And the polarity of growing up together in a family, but at the same time, giving the independence to the young children when they’re growing up so that they make decisions and they actually will explore the world. They can have different experiences and they may make mistakes along the way. But that is part of their learning journey.

Mamimo’s ideas about family trace back to her roots in Singapore. The book’s illustrations are inspired by her childhood home in 1970s Singapore.

Mamimo Chan – The Illustration is my original home, my first home. And I had a photograph of that captured in the year of 1970s in Singapore. We don’t quite see such homes around us anymore because we have developed very quickly over the past 50 years. And as a result, I wanted to be captured and put in a book. I have a granddaughter now, and I would love that this book becomes something that is a legacy for the family so my granddaughter will know that, oh, th...

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Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

Mamimo’s ideas about family trace back to her roots in Singapore. The book’s illustrations are inspired by her childhood home in 1970s Singapore.

Previous Episode

Have You Ever Seen a Rainbow Dance?

Sonja Wilson had a profound spiritual awakening after driving through both ends of a rainbow. It led to her enlightenment and writing gift. Her book of poetry “Have You Ever Seen a Rainbow Dance?” Is our focus today.

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Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

We all find inspiration in our own unique ways. For many of us, it can be found in our personal experiences, our conversations with others, our struggles and achievements. Maybe you find inspiration through journaling, listening to music or meditating. For Sonja Wilson it was an up close and personal encounter with one of natures most beautiful spectacles.

Sonja Wilson – I was in a car, and I was driving a car that needed repair. So the windscreen wipers weren’t working. And as the rainbow appeared across the road, the wind shifted, and I went through it. And it did a dance on my dash. It was just the most magnificent feeling that you could ever experience. And then I turned the corner as I had gone out of the rainbow, and I went through again. And it just gave me an opportunity to take everything in. And ever since, I’ve just been appreciating everything I have and everything the world has to offer. And I see the world in a very different way to most people.

If you’ve ever been through a profound experience like this it can definitely be life changing. These kinds of events tend to shift our perspectives, reshape our values, and they can open our minds to new ways of thinking. For Sonja it helped to redefine her faith and lead to enlightenment.

Sonja Wilson – Spirituality is about everything that isn’t material. It’s about life. It’s about why we’re here. It’s about our purpose. It’s about everything that isn’t material. And that’s what’s in the pot of gold. And the pot of gold, what applies to one applies to all. So the fact that I’ve been enlightened is everyone’s destiny and everyone’s journey. And for example, we’re supposed to live forever, but that seems like an unachievable goal. In actual fact, it isn’t. It’s inevitable because of evolution.

Sonja has had many profound experiences that have shaped her perspective and the culmination of them is now available in a her book “Have You Ever Seen a Rainbow Dance?: A poetry and song book”, twenty-five years in the making where her spiritual insights extend beyond personal enlightenment—she also reinterprets biblical history

Sonja Wilson – Well, the main thing I wanted to address is enlightenment. The greatest enlightenment in the book is the fact that Jesus Christ was actually originally Adam. So Jesus and Mary were originally Adam and Eve. And even Adam and Eve, they weren’t respected because they sinned and cast us into hell. But the fact is that this is a step that we had to take in order to create a perfect world. So we should be celebrating them, not looking at the negative, but looking at the positives that they left behind and worshipping them, not just Jesus, but Jesus and Mary, Adam and Eve, and God. When I looked into Christianity, it was all about Jesus, Jesus, overkill on Jesus, where I really wondered where the worship of God was. And that’s where I’m from. I don’t follow religion. I respect all religions and learn from each and every one of them. But I follow God. And that’s what I want to teach people to take away from this and my books.

Her journey hasn’t been without challenges. She’s faced mental health struggles, but her faith has been the guiding light that helped her through these challenges.

Sonja Wilson – I suffer from manic bipolar, and I had 13 nervous breakdowns. And each time, the enlightenment was the one thing that carried me through. And I was able to appreciate, even at the worst of times, everything that I did have and everything that I was receiving. So I’ve learned to appreciate the negatives and the positives, and see both of them, and see a world that I didn’t see when I was younger. I know what it’s like to feel like, does God exist? And all the questions. And because I asked so many questions, I got all the answer...

Next Episode

Teens A League of Their Own: Cookbook

This edition of Newsgram highlights a unique cookbook designed to bridge the gap between young aspiring chefs and complex adult recipes. Teens a League of Their Own was inspired by Christine Burton’s experience working with students of all abilities who loved watching cooking shows but struggled to follow traditional cookbooks. By simplifying instructions into easy-to-follow, step-by-step formats, this book empowers young cooks—some as young as four or five—to confidently navigate the kitchen. With 200 tested and photographed recipes, this cookbook is more than just a guide; it has the power to shape future culinary talents.

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Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

Have you watched a cooking show? I’ll bet you have. One of the top rated shows on Netflix is the Great British Baking Off. We are fascinated by chefs, cooking and baking shows. I think it’s because there is something highly satisfying about watching simple ingredients turn into something extraordinary. Then add creativity, competition, and a universal love of food, and you’ve got a recipe for satisfaction on multiple levels. Whether it’s a fiery, spice-packed meal (my personal favorite) or the comforting sweetness of a homemade cake, food has a way of stirring emotions and memories. It reminds us of home, of adventure, of love.

Is your mouth watering yet? Well let me introduce you to a refreshing summer treat called Watermelon Pico de Gallo. It’s a simple recipe that combines watermelon, honeydew, cucumber, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, basil, mint, some honey and lime. It is the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and fresh. One bite, and you’ll taste the magic.

Christine Burton – If you really want something different for the summer, mix up your melons, watermelon, honeydews, anything, just you put it all in there. But when you’re following the ingredients, it’ll say for a crowd. But if you only want to do it for one person, take a couple of little pieces and just do a separate little bowl for yourself and just, you know, chart it down.

That is Christine Burton and she’s responsible for this recipe and many, many others – 200 to be exact – and they make up a new book called Teens A League of Their Own: A Perfect Culinary Blend Cooking and Baking Recipes and I think you are going to love hearing the backstory on this book.

Christine Burton – I worked with kids in grades kindergarten all the way through the charter school after high school, and the ones that are still trying to get their GEDs. I worked with a lot of the disabled, the anger management, and I was there to assist these kids daily in the majority of their classes. One in particular was the cooking class, and I would hear all kinds of stories from during the day, and they wanted to help, and some teachers wouldn’t let them help unless they had someone. So we went, and I started helping them there, and they got to love it, and then they started asking, oh, I wish there was a book on the market that had stuff other than celery and peanut butter, stuff like that, and they wanted more adult recipes. The high school kids wanted to challenge themselves, and the younger kids, which to my surprise, the four and five-year-olds were the best. They wanted to help mom and dad out.

So she went about creating various recipes that went beyond the simple, non-cooking recipes that she mentioned earlier and testing them out with the kids. She knew was onto something when the kids were able to read the recipe and create their own dishes. One of her most rewarding success stories involves a student on the Spectrum.

Christine Burton – I became friends with one of them and would go to his house. And I knew him from like third grade, but we’ve been in high school now. And so we went and I would write the recipes, which was like we made noodles. And his mom thanked me very much after, because he loved making noodles. He could just pat them down and cut them the way he wanted them. But then he always wanted them, if you know autistic, they always want to keep doing the same thing and everything. And I thought, Oh shoot. So the mom said, Oh great. You know, but the kid loved it. And then he wanted to make lasagna. So he had company coming and I taught him how, and then I said, would you like to have me help you make another pan? And he said, Nope, go away. And he wanted to do it himsel...