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Everyday fun! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Reviews The Kao Kids

Going on a plastic fast, and playing with traditional toys

September 2, 2014

It’s not every day you get invited to a toy store and go behind the scenes to learn how it operates.

Zero2Six_Behind the scenes_1

Excited kids pretending to buy this and that

Zero2Six_Behind the scenes_2

Cashier Ben at your service – how much is the white tiger in the window?

Zero2Six_Behind the scenes_3

Cashier Becks tells you everything is free ! (hurhurhur)

Zero2Six_Behind the scenes_4

Cashier Nat only accepts cash

It’s not every day you get invited to a toy store and get a glimpse at some of the most exquisite toys it imports and sells.

Zero2Six_Toystore_1

An impressive range of traditional educational toys that develop cognitive skills, 3D imagination and logical deduction

Zero2Six_Toystore_2

Petitcollin dolls: phthalate free, vintage handmade collectibles with handsewn clothes (I’m a doll-lover myself, so this cabinet was fascinating for the girl in me – oh the details on their faces!)

Zero2Six_Toystore_3

Vilac, the oldest toymaker in France: they’ve been making traditional wooden toys in a factory set in the Jura Mountains and their wide range of handmade toys include building blocks, wooden cars, planes, and automobiles, tea sets and musical instruments all handcrafted using high-quality wood and a unique lacquer formula

Zero2Six_Toystore_4

More charming collections displayed all around the store

It’s not every day you enter a toy store and find that practically nothing there calls for your concern – with regards to toxic materials and hazards – because you know, as a mom, you raise your eyebrows when wooden toys have labels that read ‘Made in China’. Almost every toy there is either Swiss-made, German-made, French-made and at the very least, handmade.

Zero2Six_Toystore_5

Pizza-making and animal farm play that’s safe for little hands

It’s not every day you get to play with the lightest modelling compound in the world, and shape things with a dough so fluffy and soft, and never dries out.

Zero2Six_Toystore_6

Ladies and Gents, this is Bubber, the award-winning, lightest modelling compound on earth!

And it’s not every day you get to walk home with toys from the store with compliments from the store itself. Just look at these beaming children.

Zero2Six_Toystore_7

Happy kids to receive presents specially handpicked for them

And for many days, these toys kept the Kao kids going on their plastic “fast”. Yep, you heard that right, these kids’ mother decided that they’ve been touching plastic way too much, and issued them a challenge of finding creative ways to play with their new wooden toys.

So besides going fishing, using the xylophone for every pretend-play royal proclamation of Princess Becks’ arrival, and assigning animals to their barns to the tune of ‘Old MacDonald’s’, the Kao kids have got the texture of wood incorporated in their play, which is a good change from their usual sensory experiences with plastic toys.

Zero2Six_Melissa&Doug Toys_1

Ben’s going to fish, Nat owns a barn, and Becks get a xylophone that the boys would have to play for her when her royal highness deems it fit!

Zero2Six_Melissa&Doug Toys_2

Play time!

A whole new dimension of fun to be remembered for a long time!

~~~

Zero2Six is a toy store launched in 2010 by a concerned mother with a single vision – to bring in award winning traditional toys that are unique, educational, eco-friendly and fun for children in an age where digital products are increasingly encroaching into a child’s playtime and development.

Zero2Six toys are sourced from premium toymakers in Europe and USA that have passed the highest safety standard tests worldwide and made with the finest natural materials. They are exceptional in quality and educational value, and made by some of the world’s oldest toymakers in the world who still believe that a handmade toy is a craft and not a commercialised product.

Zero2Six can be found at Katong I12, Mandarin Gallery and Jem. Connect with them via FB at their FB Page here.

~~~

Disclosure: We’ve been invited by Zero2Six for a behind-the-scene toystore experience. The toys in this post have been specially handpicked and sponsored by them. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are our own.

Enrichment Learning fun! The Kao Kids

Rise & Expo: Giveaways, a discount code and more

August 13, 2014

The Rise & Shine Expo is back this year, and it’s promising to be bigger and even better, with double the size of 6,800 square metres as compared to last year’s and plenty of shopping fun, enrichment trials and entertainment.

R&S_A3 Disney Poster 08JUL

Rise & Shine 2014 is happening next weekend from 22 August to 24 August 2014 at Suntec Convention Hall 401 – 404, and just like last year, this is one event that can proudly claim to be the only parenting event in Singapore dedicated to nurturing our children holistically. We still have fond memories of drawing and colouring fish in “Colour My Feeling” last year, the first record-breaking colouring contest in Singapore, and spending a couple of hours visiting booths and meeting mascots.

Ben and Becks a year ago, at the Rise & Shine 'Colour My Feeling' Colouring Contest

Ben and Becks a year ago, at the Rise & Shine ‘Colour My Feeling’ Colouring Contest

Where I also got to judge entries from a different age category

Where I also got to judge and pick the winning entries from a different age category

Once again this year, we can all expect a fun funfair and lots of booths offering exclusive discounts on enrichment classes, preschool programmes, toys, books, children apparel, organic food products, as well as an enriching event packed with parenting workshops and trial classes for craft and cooking, sports, the performing arts, as well as literacy and academics offered throughout the weekend. There are also stage programmes and fun activities lined up for the kids too throughout the fair, so it looks set to be a weekend that’ll be meaningfully fun!

As Rise & Shine’s partner blogger, I’ve been given the privilege to:

  • Host 2 trial passes for 2 classes of my choice

—  I chose sports trials at Ready Steady Go Kids, a multi-sport and exercise programme (with 3 trial time slots to choose from) and Krav Maga Self Defense System, a practical self-defence system developed in Israel (with 6 trial classes to choose from)

— Usual price for a trial class: SGD10 + $50 worth of goodie bag

— Usual price SGD15 for single, SGD 20 for couple

So…

If you wish to utilise the discount, enter MOTHERKAO in the Promotional Code when you register for the 2 programmes I’ve chosen. The same promo code applies to the parenting workshop.

Or…

Participate in the giveaways here on this blog using the Rafflecopter App! (Ends 18 August, 12am)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s going to be an exciting weekend for the young and old, so see you at the Rise & Shine Expo this year!

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Science, and Science Centre fun! [The Second Part]

July 15, 2014

Imagine stepping into a 3000 square metre indoor playground with interactive zones inviting you to play, play, play – and not stop. And while you play, play, and play, you’re actually learning about science in fun and engaging ways.

Yep, that’s KidsSTOP for you.

KidsSTOP_Entrance

I think if there was such an edutainment centre when I was a kid, I might have been more curious and wanting to explore more as a child. I certainly hope that being there at KidsSTOP would do that for my kids – getting them all curious and making little explorers out of them.

KidsSTOP has FOUR interactive zones designed to engage young children’s imagination and creativity, while encouraging hands-on learning. The zones are IMAGINE, DISCOVER, EXPERIENCE AND DREAM.

Within the IMAGINE Zone, there’s the Built Environment, a recreation of a building site, Dino Pit, a detailed replica of an excavation site, dino “bones” included, and Supermarket, where the littles ones get to grocery shop and play cashiers. This zone gives shape and form to the most creative ideas in a variety of fun settings.

The DISCOVER Zone feature exhibits that answer all the big questions relating to things like nature, flight and space, the solar system and the human body.

The EXPERIENCE Zone, tucked behind the Omni Theatre is the place to get close to nature (Critters, Virtual Pond), as well as immersing oneself in behind-the-scenes production like a budding filmmaker (Kiddie Theatre).

And lastly, the DREAM Zone allows children to explore the depths of their imagination, and opens up the world of infinite possibilities – and that we’re talking about a two-storey Big Dream Climber that leads to a secret music room, a Giant J slide that lets anyone free fall and a Small World that brings LEGO bricks larger than life.

Park Map of KidsSTOP screen-capped from http://www.kidsstop.edu.sg/park-map

Park Map of KidsSTOP screen-capped from http://www.kidsstop.edu.sg/park-map

While I like everything organised and categorised systematically for clarity and purposeful learning, at KidsSTOP, I forced myself to tell the kids to explore whatever they want, however they please and whichever zones they were inclined to (except the sand, for there was no spare change – of clothes, that is). Whilst I would love that they take time to go visit one exhibit systematically after another, read whatever information was presented to them while at that and internalise the concepts to build on existing knowledge, I know full well that my kids are only 5, 4 and 2 which means I had better keep my ‘teacher tendencies’ under control.

They are here to play, was what I constantly reminded myself. Let the learning happen organically.

So no surprises at all who hung around where and lingered around what.

With my littlest, who loves balls, he was found transfixed and completely fascinated at Built Environment.

Nat at Built Environment, engrossed in getting all the balls into the tube

Nat at Built Environment, engrossed in getting all the balls into the tube

The little girl was found – make a guess – talking to herself and cashiering at the Supermarket like a pro.

Cashiering like a pro

Cashiering like a pro

Of course, once in a while, inspiration struck and she decided she wanted to fly to the moon.

Fly me to the moon

Fly me to the moon

Otherwise, she was often found checking the seasonal prices of red peppers and tomatoes again and again.

Scanning tomatoes

Scanning tomatoes

And my five-year-old? He couldn’t be contained within exhibits. There was a world up there to explore.

The Big Dream Climber: Ben spoke of a magic place after you've reached the top and there are instruments to make music there!

The Big Dream Climber: Ben spoke of a magic place after you’ve reached the top and there were instruments to make music there!

The kids also took turns to check out the Human Body exhibit, and it appears that Ben might have a keener inclination to be a surgeon in future. He was so focused taking out organs and putting them back, then suturing imaginatively, like a pro.

Do not disturb: Surgeon at Work

Do not disturb: Surgeon at Work

What about me? Did I just sit around and watch the kids or try to catch a nap while the kids play? Well, I did want to do that. But something was beckoning me.  This thing called the Giant J. I challenged it at 5 metres. Any higher I might pass out hanging on the bar up there.

Mama at Giant J

Mama at Giant J. Photos of me on the slide were made possible thanks to Andy from Sengkang Babies

And it was incredibly, exhilaratingly FUN!

And I'm free... free-falling!

And I’m free… free-falling!

Another place where the Kao kids spent a really long time at was here:

In a room called 'Critters'

In a room called ‘Critters’

Because how much do my children love animals? SO MUCH.

And here as well:

Learning volume through shapes

Learning volume through shapes

This was where I watched with fascination and wondered how long these kids (including Sengkang Babies‘ Boon Xin) can pour and pour and pour and pour those green beans.

Apparently, for very, very long. So much so that they didn’t want to leave.

Until I had to distract them with other things in the room, like this – which then got the boys interested..

There's something to learn from this - just that I don't know what!

There’s something to learn from this – just that I don’t know what!

And this, which got Becks excited for a while.

At Kiddie Theatre, kids can build LEGO at designated corners which would then be captured like an animated film!

At Kiddie Theatre, kids can build LEGO at designated corners which would then be captured like an animated film!

And then it was back to, Can we go climb the Big Dream Climber? Can we go play at the Supermarket? Can we go pour the beans? all over again.

I tell you, this place is where the kids CANNOT STOP.

KidsSTOP equals cannot stop playing. Cannot stop asking Mama if they can go here and there and back to here and then again there. And then repeat ten times.

You can imagine how difficult it was to get all three kids out of there.

KidsSTOP: Where the play never stops

KidsSTOP: Where the play never stops

And it’s no wonder that they have to operate by stipulated sessions at KidsSTOP. On weekdays, the 1st session starts at 12pm and ends at 3pm (last admission 2.15pm), while the 2nd session starts at 4pm and ends at 7pm (last admission 6.15pm). On weekends, the 1st session is from 10am to 2pm (last admission 1.15pm), and the 2nd sessions starts at 3pm and ends at 7pm (last admission 6.15pm). Your admission ticket only allows you to go for ONE SESSION.

Clearly, at KidsSTOP, no hogging is allowed, which is brilliant because all kids get a chance to play and the crowd is kept at a manageable capacity.

We’ve had ourselves a truly enriching and enjoyable time at KidsSTOP, and the kids have been begging to return to play some more. When we left, we saw a birthday party group arriving, and found out that KidsSTOP also has birthday packages! It will be really fun to dream up a party here soon enough, so that, plus the Giant J at 6 metres are reasons for me to plan our return. The kids also made me promise that the next time we go, I’ll allow them to play at the Dino Pit and will not forget to bring a change of clothes for them!

More details:

Disclosure: We were invited to KidsSTOP as part of a Blogger’s Invite. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are our own.

Read the First Part of our fun here.

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Science, and Science Centre fun! [The First Part]

July 15, 2014

Science as a subject was something I couldn’t exactly grasp. Well, maybe because logic is something alien to me in the first place. And don’t even get me started on how to explain scientific concepts to my children.

I don’t, that’s why my finger is always pointing to their father whenever Ben or Becks asks me the big ‘whys’.

Having said that, I believe in purposeful and experiential play for the kids so that when the day comes when they have to learn a scientific concept, their sensory and playful experiences can quickly help them connect, leading to the Eureka moment.

So when the Singapore Science Centre invited us to experience the Singapore Science Festival 2014 last Saturday, we were all ready to get for ourselves as many experiences and interactions relating to the wonderful world of science as possible.

FIRST STOP: Science Ahoy!

Science Ahoy! is kinda like your geek funfair. You enter it (Annexe Hall 1) taking on the persona of a sailor, and for SGD5 get a survival manual which would help you stay alive in the event of a  shipwreck.

Ahoy! mateys, let's be learning us some science!

Ahoy! mateys, let’s be learning us some science!

You get to learn through engaging activities in the form of stations, and at each station, explore a specific concept that would increase your chances of survival, like using the sun to tell time, boiling psyllium seed husks to make a marmalade substitute, learning the link between buoyant forces, water tension and gravity to move a boat, using area and perimeter to encrypt messages, and understanding why sometimes we can feel the earth moving.

Ben and Becks had a go in making the cross section of the earth. They were given a plastic bowl, some crushed papers, plasticine, a marble and pieces of blue and green felt. With that, those little hands were guided to make the inner and outer core of the earth, its mantle and crust. They learned from this activity that the thickness, state of matter, temperature and materials that make up the layers of our Earth are different! What a clever way to teach these little curious minds!

Science Ahoy!_Cross Section of the Earth

Busy little hands, focused in making a model of our Earth

Cross-section model completed!

Cross-section model completed!

At another station, Ben and Becks were given a challenge with plasticine. They were asked why despite being the same weight, one plasticine floated around in the water steadily and the other sank.

Quiz time: Mr Sailor asks the Kao kids THE question...

Quiz time: Mr Sailor asks the Kao kids THE question…

...How can we make plasticine float?

…How can we make plasticine float?

When we learned that the secret was in its surface area, all of us (including me) got busy moulding our ball of plasticine to make it buoyant. What fun to experience the concept of buoyancy this way!

Little hands getting busy again

Little hands getting busy again

Buoyant at last: It's in moulding the shape with a big enough surface area to keep out the water!

Buoyant at last: It’s in moulding the shape with a big enough surface area to keep out the water!

At yet another station, we were told that the rats have infested the kitchen and the oranges and sugar sacks were gone. With some psyllium seed husks, water and food colouring, the kids concocted jello-like marmalade, and had lots of fun feeling its texture. Who says we can only make jam with sugar and fruit?

Gooey Marmalade

Gooey Marmalade

Touching and feeling what gooey marmalade is like!

Touching and feeling what gooey marmalade is like!

Every kid loves slime. Every. This was one of the most crowded stations that morning.

The kids got excited with jello!

All the kids got excited with jello!

I loved it that despite this being a learning festival for primary school children, the people from the Science Centre and A* STAR, the co-organisers of the festival, were all together so encouraging and patient in getting my young ones to try the activities, as well as explaining to them the concepts in very simple, layman terms. Although my kids weren’t keen enough to go seek out the answers for the other two more challenging activities – the math cryptography and the sun-dial making – I was already very pleased that the Kao kids had acquired for themselves invaluable experiences that would be stored for later use.

  • Science Ahoy! is on daily from 9.30am to 6pm, from 11 to 18 July. The recommended time for this is 90 minutes and the $5 fee does not include admission into Science Centre. Accompanying adults go free though.

SECOND STOP: Human Body Experience (HBX)

Yes, to enter the exhibition, you get swallowed first

The Human Body Experience: yes, to enter the exhibition, you get swallowed first

We’ve seen ads publicising this experience, and the kids were actually very frightened by the thought of being “swallowed alive” by such a huge human mouth. We’ve been told in advance not to come in high heels and to be prepared for a fully immersive experience in terms of sense, sight and sound, and to be ready to crawl  and move around a lot.

The journey began with us being “swallowed” by the mouth and sliding down the oesophagus – taking us inside the human anatomy through organs and muscles and the nervous system. We became explorers inside the five main systems of the human body: the circulatory, digestive, immune, nervous and respiratory systems.

It was very intriguing indeed. How wonderfully made we are, and how much detail goes into creating our bodies! I don’t know about you, but it’s in times like this I wonder, how can anyone not believe that there’s a God who made us? There wasn’t any science I could teach my kids and many things were too complex for my preschoolers to understand. I couldn’t answer Ben when he kept asking me, “What’s this? Where’s this? What is this supposed to do?”. I had no simple and clear explanation for my preschoolers when they asked me why there is electricity zapping through the brain. Or how our bodies fight germs. Or why our bones are strong enough to hold up our organs and all. Ben also asked why our intestines are so long and yet can fit snugly in our bodies.

Most of the time, with those questions, I actually answered, I don’t know. God made it so.

But one thing I could tell them for certain that day was: Look at how good God is in making you!

Many things to see, learn and explore! Unfortunately, it was pretty dark and I had to mind the kids, so I gave up on pictures.

Many things to see, learn and explore! Unfortunately, it was pretty dark and I had to mind the kids, so I gave up on pictures.

Particularly unforgettable: being suddenly sprayed with mist as we walked through the stomach (to simulate bile) and having to wobble to keep our balance and being all squashed at the interior of the intenstine. The squeezing and squishing took a toll on the little girl towards the end of the journey that by the time we were reaching the anus, she was all shook up and crying. So for the faint-hearted, I’ll have to say, HBX may not be suitable for you.

The boys loved it though (yes, Nat enjoyed the experience!) and so did I, and we wished we could experience again, the next time more slowly and calmly. We were rather frantic given it’s our first time!

  • The Human Body Experience is at Hall B in Singapore Science Centre. Admission rates to HBX and Science Centre is SGD20 for adults and SGD15 for children aged 3 to 12 years old.

THIRD STOP: KidsSTOP

If you haven’t already heard, the first of its kind edutainment centre to engage children from preschool to lower primary levels in science is now here. Occupying over 3000 square metres, science can be explored here, playground style. This is like the kid’s version of the Singapore Science Centre (which would probably only start to make sense when you are in Primary 3) and is built especially for children 18 months to 8 years.

KidsSTOP_Entrance

This is one place that makes me wish I was a kid again

My kids loved KidsSTOP. I loved KidsSTOP. We had so much fun and it was a place where my kids didn’t want the fun to stop.

Find out how much fun we’ve had for ourselves at KidsSTOP in the Second Part to this post.

Details on admission charges to KidsSTOP can be found here.

Disclosure: We were invited to the Singapore Science Centre for a Blogger Preview. All opinions here are mine. The fun we had was also ours. The risk we took was also our own. We survived being swallowed and subsequently “passed out” to bring you this story.

(Self) Examination Becks Kao Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up

Fixing a problem with ‘Special Time’

June 27, 2014

Ever since I became more of a work-at-home mom than stay-at-home mom, I’ve not really done much homelearning with the kids. I still follow a routine with them, but it’s with less intensity and frequency throughout the day; and instead of creating and designing my own materials, I’m using a lot more stock ones that are available for downloading from the net. I’m also letting them play A LOT more together, now that they are at the age where they love to pretend play. Just recently, I heard someone say “Mama” and “Dada” and they were not calling the husband and me but each other, and it was altogether tremendously amusing.

I also outsource the learning of the Chinese Language to Berries. Ben has been attending lessons since last year, and Becks started her N2 class this year. I’m pretty much hands off in this area.

Until the rude shock yesterday, that is.

So Becks’ teacher informed me that she couldn’t recognise the words she’s been taught when she did a revision test with her. It’s not the first time the teacher’s said it since the beginning of the year, and I’ve pretty much just left things as they were and hoping not to intervene at all in Becks’ learning. But last evening, the test score was 1 out of 20, and it was quite horrifying to know that the little girl doesn’t remember any Chinese character save one since January.

Of course our first thoughts were: Does she have a learning disability? Is she suffering from something we do not know of? Does she have a problem with memory? Is the classroom engaging enough? Does she have attention deficit?

Believe you me, I think any parent would start off with these crazy thoughts.

But any parent who knows their child would be able to pull herself back from this and think about what it is that the child really needs.

I didn’t go all beserk. I didn’t get all anxious (for a while I did, but not for too long, hurhur!) about Becks’ lack of ability to remember. I didn’t go down that slippery slope of reasoning within myself about how she might suffer in primary school. I didn’t run out to buy more Chinese books or videos. I knew that the little girl was sending me a message loud and clear, and if I am not going to “listen” to it, I’m going to be a fool of a mother.

I know my child. I think she’s saying, “Mama, can you also teach me Chinese too?”

Last night, before the kids went to bed, I told them that there would be a new routine when they wake up. They would each get a “Special ‘Learning’ Time” with me for 20 minutes every day when they are fresh in the morning, and we could spend time doing anything that they wished to learn. They know ‘Special Time’ is one-to-one time with me which no one can interrupt, and so using this phrase got them all agreeable.

That was that. I had it at the back of my mind but still went to bed at 2am catching Episode 201 of Running Man.

This morning, at 8.30am, someone tapped me on the shoulder and shouted, “Mama, wake up. We are having special time learning right?”

Right, the ‘Special ‘Learning’ Time’, yes.

It was the little girl who was up and all ready this morning.

And I was right. She was all ready to learn some Chinese and do some flashcard reading on my lap and playing games answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Chinese. I’m thinking to myself, BINGO, isn’t this what needs to be fixed before the problem in the classroom can be? She needs her mother to be involved in every area of her learning too.

Lesson learned: Never dismiss my child as having any problems until I’ve invested good time and energy being involved in her learning. I have to keep filling love tanks and be their cheerleader every step of the way, whether I work at home or not. And those 20 minutes (60 minutes for me) didn’t just make one kid happy, it made all three happy to have some one-to-one time on Mama’s lap – and we’re all looking forward to this routine every day!

Special learning time

Everyday fun! Family life as we know it Happy days Homelearning fun Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

All play, no work, happy kids!

June 24, 2014

Is it the last week of the June holidays already?

This month-long vacation was all play and no work for the kids. Not the child labour kind of work, but I have had grand plans to do lots of revision with the kids like a seasoned, experienced teacher (ahem) that I am so as to help them consolidate their learning.

I had planned to revisit all the 小书 from Berries, test them on all they have learned for Math using pop quizzes, read our graded readers that’s been languishing on the shelves, begging “Read me, read me!” (Poor Peter, Jane, Biff, Kipper and Chip), and introduce some Science concepts through sensory play.

Ah, how ambitious I was.

I started the holidays also prepping this box with a stack of activity sheets for each of the kids and instructed them to go find their folder whenever boredom struck. I told them to be sure to check that box often because they would be finding new things every now and then.

This was called the "I AM BORED" Activity Box

This was called the “I AM BORED” Activity Box

The idea was nothing else but a good idea; the kids couldn’t even be bothered with the box.

I painstakingly washified their names and slotted in things for them to do. Not too fun, apparently!

I painstakingly washified their names and slotted in things for them to do. Not too fun, apparently!

Sigh.

They found entertainment every day with one another in lots of pretend play…

The kids pretended to be pirates and laid booby traps

The kids pretended to be pirates and laid booby traps

Interspersed with unscheduled moments of reading and suddenly wanting to work on some activities…

The boys sharing a moment together exploring a book, which happened all so suddenly. Moments before that they were swordfighting!

The boys sharing a moment together exploring a book, which happened all so suddenly. Moments before that they were swordfighting!

I made this for Nat and he likes doing this (but never gets past more than 10 letters) - this is a matching activity using magnetic letters and a laminated paper letter chart

I made this for Nat and he likes doing this (but never gets past more than 10 letters) – this is a matching activity using magnetic letters and a laminated paper letter chart

Drawing (A LOT)…

They can be playing and laughing, and then suddenly the house would be silent and I would find the kids at their desks doing this!

They can be playing and laughing, and then suddenly the house would be silent and I would find the kids at their desks doing this!

And going out a lot for events, outings and a really nice holiday.

Storytelling at Sentosa Playmobil Event

Storytelling at Sentosa Playmobil Event

At Montigo Resort for our short getaway

At Montigo Resort for our short getaway

At the new Sports Hub watching World Club 10s Rugby

At the new Sports Hub watching World Club 10s Rugby

I think this is the life for any kid, and maybe it was a good thing I got nothing in my list of grand plans done afterall.

Just look at how happy they have been all month long!

Happy kids!

Happy kids!

Becks Kao Ben Kao Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reviews

Cookies, anyone? [Review of Rush-Me-Not Art Studio’s Holiday Workshop]

June 12, 2014

Making home-made play dough has been at the back of my mind for the longest time since I attended a course on teaching children writing. Getting the kids, especially preschoolers who are starting to write, colour and draw, play with dough is one the best ways to strengthen those little fingers.

And so I made a mental note to remember to make DIY play-dough with the kids this holidays and to sign them up for any dough related classes (baking, clay modelling, whatever) at the nearest community club  if it’s affordable.

And then I forgot and it’s now the second week of the June holidays.

Thankfully – and I say it with gratitude to God and to the people who invited us Rush-Me-Not Art Studio asked if we would be keen to review their ‘Sweets For The Sweets’ clay modelling workshop. The workshop promised to be a fun and tactile experience for children aged 3 and above as it would involve kneading, moulding, pinching and shaping clay to make colourful cookies.

And so to Novena Gardens we went on Tuesday. It was a three-hour drop off class and I was told that Ben and Becks would be in good hands. Here at Rush-Me-Not, the teachers and principal firmly believe in keeping classes small so that they can give the children their fullest attention, along with constant positive reinforcement and encouragement so children can pick up art skills in an enjoyable, therapeutic manner.

I didn’t worry much because when I saw the glee in Ben and Becks’ eyes when they found out they were going to be moulding clay and painting on it, I knew they would certainly be having a good time.

And they did. The folks at the art studio sent me these pictures as testament of the learning and fun they’ve had while at the workshop:

Rush-me-not Holiday Workshop_Clay modelling_1

Rush-me-not Holiday Workshop_Clay modelling_2

Rush-me-not Holiday Workshop_Clay modelling_3

On Tuesday, I had two very proud kids. Just look at what they’ve accomplished in three hours!

Sweets for my Sweet

Those little Kao fingers got their much needed practice for their fine motor skills despite their forgetful mother, got their kneading and moulding fix, and their creativity unleashed painting and patterning on air-dried clay. No wonder they were happy and excited the whole day. They would be glad to tell the whole world they made “cookies”, these children.

Thank you, Rush-Me-Not Art Studio, for inviting Ben and Becks to such an enriching workshop. Now at least if we don’t have the time to make play-dough, I would be happy that they did at least mould some clay this June.

And I know I’ll do good to remember the words of Principal Jealina who shared with me that when it comes to art, never rush the children!

More details:

Rush-Me-Not Art Studio is a Singapore-based holistic art studio that aims to provide an inspiring environment to adults and children alike in their exploration of art-making. Having been around for ten years, the art studio focuses on providing quality coaching, quality art materials and keeping class sizes small so that self-discovery, character development, expression and recreation can be experienced through visual arts and the fine arts.

Rush-Me-Not offers a variety of art-therapy workshops for children and parents, as well as regular classes and holiday programmes. They also believe that children can start learning art young, and even conduct Baby Art classes for 2 to 3 year old toddlers! For more information about their ongoing curriculum and programmes, you can get in touch for trial classes via email at rushmenot.artstudio@gmail.com or call them at 6256 1449. Connect with Rush-Me-Not via FB for the latest news and updates on their workshops and activities.

Rush-Me-Not is located at:

  • 273 Thomson Road, Novena Gardens #03-02, Singapore 307644 (Tel: 6256 1449 | 6254 7398)
  • 195A East Coast Road, Singapore 428900 (Tel: 6348 8608).

AND JUST FOR MOTHERKAO READERS, RUSH-ME-NOT HAS A SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR YOU!

Here’s not one but FOUR specials for you:

1) Quote [Motherkao] when calling Rush-Me-Not Art Studio and enjoy a free trial class (worth $40)

2) Sign up for 2 holiday workshops and get to enjoy 5% off the total fees

3) Sign up for 3 holiday workshops and get 10% off the total fees

4) Form your own groups for any holiday workshop with 2 or more friends and everyone gets 10% off the workshop fees

More details on holiday workshops here.

Here’s what’s offered this June holidays:

RMN Workshop 1

RMN Workshop 2

RMN Workshop 3

The holiday workshops run till 30 June 2014.

Disclosure: Ben and Becks were invited to one of the holiday workshops conducted by Rush-Me-Not Art Studio. We didn’t receive any monetary compensation for this but we got lots of clay cookies and some snacks to fill those hungry tums while moulding clay. All opinions here are my own, and after a thorough interview with the two excited and proud participants mentioned.

Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reviews The Kao Kids

Learning how to improve children’s writing at Lorna Whiston

June 5, 2014

In April / May, I was invited to attend a short course for five weeks at Lorna Whiston to learn strategies to teach young children to write.

I declined the invitation at first. For two hours every Monday from 6.45pm to 8.45pm, at the busiest two hours of the peak period at home, I would have to leave my husband and the helper (and then we didn’t have one for a while even!) to handle dinner, tired kids and tuck-in. No mother would want to put anyone except herself through that. Even if it’s once a week. Or for five weeks.

But I eventually accepted the invitation for three reasons. #1: It would be a good break away from the kids at the busiest time of the day (how about you kids learn to handle life without Mama for two hours huh?); #2: I need to acquire more strategies in my arsenal to interest Ben and Becks to start writing (since we’re starting on our reading already); #3: I can’t wait to learn from the experts.

Course title

The five-week course addressed a few key questions: How do children learn? What teaching methodology will best support children’s learning? How do we create a supportive writing environment? How do we get children started on writing?

And when they do pick up a pencil and start to write, how do we develop a wider vocabulary with them? How can we get children to plan and structure a story? What can we do to teach them how to start and end a story effectively? What are the stages of writing development?

Being a home-teaching mom who is actively involved in my children’s learning, especially for the English Language, I do already have some ideas and strategies up my sleeves. Attending this course gave me more ideas, more strategies to tweak and adapt for my own children and helped clarify some doubts I have regarding how children learn.

This writing course was also helpful in that the trainer, the Head of Teacher Development Unit at Lorna Whiston, meticulously planned and customised his sharing to our children’s developmental and learning needs. There were four of us mothers in the course, and we all had children of different ages ranging from two years old to nine. And as we interacted, we discovered our children had different needs and challenges, and as we shared them with the class, Jonathan also provided his expert opinion and shared resources and strategies to help with those challenges.

Lesson in progress 1

Lesson in progress by Jonathan Cooper, Head of Teacher Development Unit

Lesson in progress 2

In class, we learned how to evaluate writing based on a ‘Success Criteria’

It was a suitably tailored course with plenty of interaction.

A good deal of learning and relearning took place during those five weeks for me, and it helped me to evaluate some of the things I’ve been doing with the older kids. The course also reminded me about returning back to the fundamentals of role modelling and reading.

Here are five things I took away from the course, which are particularly needful at this stage of my children’s learning development at 5 and 4 years old:

1. Create a print-rich environment at home

One of the key things to create a supportive writing environment at home is to start by creating a print-rich environment. There should be an easily accessible library, lots of pen and paper lying around, attractive displays of their writings, labels that accompany visuals, word maps and charts, and lots of big books for sharing and enjoyment. Creating this is the first step to get children to associate fun with words and words with fun because the home is now literacy-rich and words are everywhere.

For me, it’s a reminder that I need to constantly create and recreate this at home – even though it means that the house looks like a classroom now. Time to change some of those posters and put up new displays on walls.

2. Don’t stop reading to your child and with your child

Reading to and with our children helps them build their vocabulary. And as long as the child wants to read to, regardless of how old he or she is, we should read to them. When they don’t want us to read to them any more, there should be time set aside to read together.

3. Bring back the play-dough and monkey bars

I hate play dough. I hate the mess it creates and the cleaning I have to do after. But I have to bring it back. Kneading dough actually helps strengthens those little fingers and prepare them for writing. During outdoor play, get children to swing on monkey bars to strengthen their grip and develop those muscles.

Time to bring the dough back for play!

Time to bring the dough back for play!

Ok, time to encourage my monkeys to swing and to make some DIY play dough for the kids.

4. Scribe by highlighting to create storybooks authored by your child

This is one tip I learned which I found especially useful. If our kids can’t write or spell yet, we can still get them to imagine up stories and put them all on paper – with us as their scribes!

I tried this on Ben recently and it was a hit with him. I put some paper with triple lines together and asked him to author a story book. What does he want to write about? Who’s going to be in the story? What’s going to happen? Then as he told me his story, I took a highlighter and wrote out the sentences for him, after which he took over by tracing what I wrote with the highlighter.

Writing his story

Writing his story

A Fun Party by Ben Kao

A Fun Party by Ben Kao

Doing this also allowed him to practise penmanship and learn the basic structure of a story – that every story has a beginning where characters are introduced, a middle where something happens, and an ending. And best of all, he loves writing now, and wants to create more storybooks.

5. Always model. Children need good models.

Children need to see adults write, whether it’s a shopping list, a note for someone or a birthday greeting. When they see that, they wouldn’t be averse to writing so much. Yes, so it’s time to put down the iPad and phone – because typing a text message is not writing – and start picking up pen and paper in front of the kids to scribble something.

Samples of guided writing by different ages shared with us at the course

Samples of guided writing by different ages shared with us at the course

Also, every element of story writing requires specific teaching and modelling. So it’s important to share good stories with children, and possibly even use bad examples to show them what not to do.

Recent reading research tells us that preschool teachers and parents should be systematic and explicit in their support of literacy skills, which means that things should not be left by chance and teaching should also be organised according to developmental milestones. So if it’s time to teach how to start a story, make it explicit and expose the child to as many story starts as possible. Plough through a story to learn vivid verbs if the child is at the stage where he needs more vocabulary to create the element of excitement in his story. Bottomline is: as parents, we need to model, we need to teach. Don’t leave things to chance.

All in all, fruitful learning took place for me for five weeks and I am going to gradually introduce some of the writing strategies to the kids as we chug along in our homelearning journey. If you’d like more information about the adult courses Lorna Whiston runs, you can connect with them on their FB page, visit their website or contact them at 6251 7662.

This was the course I attended

This was the course I was invited to attend

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the Improving Children’s Writing course conducted by Lorna Whiston Study Centres for 5 weeks. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions here are my own.

Ben Kao Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Reading fun

Rainbow Bear’s Dinosaur Discovery by Julia Gabriel [Book Review + Giveaway]

May 29, 2014

Ben is now 5 and can read small chunks of text to entertain and educate himself. This makes me a happy mother because I can pass him a book and he’s pretty much engaged, which frees me to handle the other two who frequently need my attention.

If you pass him a book that interests him, that is.

A while ago, Julia Gabriel Education sent us this:

JGE_Dinosaur Discovery Book and CD Set

Rainbow Bear’s Dinosaur Discovery Book and CD set retails at SGD29.95

No surprise there who jumped for joy.

I very much left Ben on his own with the book while playing the audio. The book and CD set did three wonderful things for Ben. First, it reinforced whatever he’s learned for phonics at kindergarten; second it allowed him to read along with the CD and figure out challenging dinosaur names on his own without my help; and third, the beautifully illustrated book let him do a picture search for things relating to the various blends and digraphs on each page, which is something he enjoys very much.

JGE_Dinosaur Discovery_Ben reading 1

Listening attentively…

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

And while the younger ones could only be engaged for only a few minutes with their shorter attention span, this boy sat in the living room for quite a while enjoying the story.

He loves picture hunts and this is keeping him really focused

He loves picture hunts and this is keeping him really focused

The book got him excited about dinosaurs again. It even has fun facts about the 24 prehistoric animals mentioned in the pages (and I actually thought the names were all made up but I was so wrong!) – which is really good fuel for his imagination and value-adds to his reading. The audio is also great for reinforcing the correct pronunciation with the dinosaurs teaching him the most common sound of each digraph and blend.

If your kids love dinosaurs and are learning how to read, this book and CD set is a good resource to have as they journey towards fluent reading. Plus, the songs and tongue twisters are funny too!

And I have THREE sets of this to give away!

Julia Gabriel Education is giving away THREE sets of Rainbow Bear’s Dinosaur Discovery book + CD set to three of Motherkao’s readers, so you and your child can meet ’em all too!

To qualify for the random draw, simply do the following:

1) Leave me a comment here telling me who you’d like to win this for and what’s his/her favourite dinosaur 

2) LIKE Motherkao’s FB page if you haven’t done so

Remember to leave your name and email address! Giveaway closes on 5 June 2014.

And… WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!

Congrats to Joey, Ooy Yoan and Evan! We’ll be in touch, and I think some little ones would be really excited to meet the friendly dinosaurs in the book!

Dinosaur Discovery Winners

Disclosure: We were given the Dinosaur Discovery Book and CD Set from Julia Gabriel Education. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions here are our own.

Everyday fun! Homelearning fun Learning fun! Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

Food, nutrition & some serious fun in the kitchen

April 26, 2014

This month’s homelearning revolved around food and nutrition, and I also took the opportunity to teach my kids two simple skills: using a knife and frying an egg.

We had some serious (oxymoronic) fun, yes.

First, a tour of the kitchen to learn simple vocabulary for egg frying: STOVE, PAN, OIL, EGGS, WOK SPATULA, WHISK.

Then to get acquainted with all the sharp objects in the drawers so they know to handle them with care whenever we need to use them: (from right to left) PEELER, GRATER, KITCHEN SCISSORS, PARING KNIFE, UTILITY KNIFE, COOK’S KNIFE, CHOPPER (hidden in picture)

Homelearning_kitchen tools_sharp objects

Hold on tight: You know they’re a little bit DANGEROUS here!

Then, it’s tofu cutting time since we were going to be having tofu soup that evening anyway. Ben used the utility knife while Becks held the paring knife. I got them to gently touch the blade to understand the concept of “sharp” and had them dice the tofu with their knives.

Next, three eggs out from the fridge for each kid, and cracked into a bowl. Because it was their first, I held their hands to crack it with them. Got them to whisk, then had them pour a little oil, feel for heat about 5cm above the pan and pour in the egg. Then they scrambled them, served some to their father and savoured the remainder.

Homelearning_egg frying

Scrambling to scramble eggs

On another occasion, we chopped up celery, potatoes and carrots for our vegetable soup. This time round the kids understood that unlike cutting the tofu which was soft and easy, they had to hold on to the vegetables and watch their fingers while they exerted pressure with the knife. I gave the littlest a steak knife and had the helper watch him while I made sure the older two didn’t slice their fingers.

Homelearning_knife skills

Seriously fun to be chopping and slicing

After we were done, we threw everything in water to boil with chicken bones for soup!

I later asked the kids if they liked what they did – and they were very proud to have helped made a part of our dinner that night. What they shared with me made me realise that I’ve got to gradually learn to empower these kids to pick up age-appropriate skills so they can experience a sense of accomplishment.

I followed up with getting the kids to learn the words CUT, SLICE, KNIFE and VEGETABLES. Ben could easily form three sentences with these helping words, like “I cut with a knife.” / “I slice with a knife.” / “I cut vegetables.” I also got the kids to recount their experience by drawing what they did and then put their drawings up on the gallery so they can tell ‘stories’ to their dad when he returned home.

Homelearning_vocab and drawing

Recounting what they did with paper and crayons

We also read some books we borrowed from the library to learn the importance of nutrients for our bodies and our growth. These two books scored with the kids, cos’ we got to sing two very funny songs while learning about good food and our taste buds!

Food books_Singalong

“Fabulous Food” and “I Taste Sing and Read” from NLB

Here’s sharing how to sing the two songs with you:

Song 1 – To the tune of Farmer in the Dell

“What makes bones grow?
What makes teeth grow?
Milk and yogurt, cream and cheese,
Calcium makes them grow.
 
What makes blood strong?
What makes muscles strong?
Fish and spinach, nuts and eggs,
Protein makes them strong.
 
Why can we move well?
Why can we breathe well?
Wheat and rice, oats and corn,
Carbohydrates keep us well.
 
We know what to eat,
We know what to eat.
Fruits, vegetables, bread and meat
Now let’s go and eat!”
***

Song 2 – To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

“Your tongue tells you what tastes sweet
Honey, jam, an ice cream treat
Watermelon, peaches, too
Fresh fruit is so good for you
Your tongue tells a lot, it’s true
Salty, bitter, nasty, too.
 
Your tongue tells you what tastes sour
Vinegar on cauliflower
Grapefruit, limes and sour cream
Citrus-flavoured jellybeans
Your tongue tells a lot, it’s true
You have taste buds, lucky you.”
***

We followed up the taste buds-song with a fun activity of observing our taste buds in the mirror and adding little bumps to a giant tongue – on paper, that is. I wrote the words SALTY, SWEET, SOUR, BITTER and TONGUE so that the kids can repeat the vocabulary that describes taste as they drew on the giant tongue.

Tastebud activity

Come near and the giant tongue will lick you up!

It’s been a tastily fun month, and I am looking forward to enlisting these little troopers in the kitchen whenever I need help!