MotherKao - 33/59 - Motherkao

Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Product Reviews

All in the picture again, thanks to Natsuki Photography

October 11, 2013

It’s always nice to have every member of the family in the pictures, and we were given an opportunity to smile for the camera again as a family last month at the Botanic Gardens, this time with Natsuki Photography which invited us to review their photography services.

I was initially a little hesitant to venture outdoors for a family photo-shoot. We’ve done an outdoor shoot once at Lower Pierce Reservoir (with an established company that boasts of having served big names and brands as their clients) and let’s just say the experience was extremely unsatisfactory and unpleasant. It was the combination of mozzies and unknown insects, an unenthusiastic and amateur photographer, plus the intense humidity which made everyone look unhappy and cranky in the photographs that made me decide that venturing outdoors ever again to pose for the camera – anyone’s camera – would be a bad idea.

Natsuki, the photographer behind Natsuki Photography, did suggest that we could have our photo-shoot taken in the comfort of our home. It sounded like a fantastic idea, but who was I kidding? I took a good look at our humble 5-room flat and there on every wall in the living room hung our homelearning activities, colouring sheets and posters of every kind. There were toys and playmats on the floor and absolutely NO corners at all to sit / stand / squat / sprawl for any photo. Even our lovely white sofa now has blue ink scribbled all over it, thanks to the littlest one. So it was a definite N-O to our house as the location for the shoot.

Then I saw how the other mom bloggers from SMB were having so much fun with Natsuki Photography at their outdoor photography sessions and decided that it might not be so bad after all. They certainly didn’t look like they’ve got to fend off insects and had to deal with cranky kids. So Natsuki and I made arrangements for a shoot at the Botanic Gardens at 5pm on a Sunday last month. I was hoping that 5pm on a Sunday in September would mean cooler weather, fewer people and mozzies that would have been fully fed by the crowd that hung around earlier in the day.

We decided to go all colours as a family since taking pictures at the Botanic Gardens would mean we would be against a mostly green backdrop. We brought bubble guns, fish feed, well-rested kids and an enthused anticipation of being able to run and play freely as a family – and this was the result:

The kids did take sometime to warm up to Natsuki and her assistant, and initially they too seemed unsure as to how to handle the three of them, who couldn’t wait to run and play and chase each other. But it soon got better as we made small talk and looked for squirrels together. Natsuki made some suggestions as to what we could do for the camera, and we all ended up with a smashing fun time throwing the kids up in the air, smooching them silly and literally letting them roll on the grass.

I liked that she was able to capture many a priceless moment of the gleeful expressions of the kids.

And this has to be my favoritest picture ever – the three kids grinning at, erm, I couldn’t even remember what:

It was amazing I didn’t return home that day with cranky, sticky and whiny kids like the last time. Venturing outdoors to have our pictures taken wasn’t such a bad idea after all!

*And just for Motherkao’s readers, enjoy this special offer from Natsuki Photography just by quoting “Motherkao” when you engage their services*:

Get a 5% discount off packages when you quote “Motherkao” when you make your booking! One of the services that Natsuki offers is 1-2 hours of outdoor photography or photography in the comfort of your home, which includes ALL photographs in high resolution to be returned, 25-50 specially retouched photographs, a personalised digital photo-slideshow and all soft copies in DVD with customised cover
You’ll also get an exclusive online preview of your pictures so you can request for touch-ups and editing, and registered mail delivery of the photos in soft copies.
For more information, check out Natsuki Photography’s website here or contact them via email at natsukiphotography@hotmail.com

Disclosure: We were invited to review the services provided by Natsuki Photography and did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. All opinions here are my own.

P/S: I especially appreciated the fact that I could get ALL the photos back. You know, those NG (No Good) takes of you and your kiddos blinking / scratching / looking away – yea, those! Not many photographers offer this, and would charge you for the extra photos you want. I’ve often wondered why they would want to keep them for, especially NG takes – ya, maybe they delete them – so why not give them ALL to me? Well, Natsuki did. Check out some of our NG shots for a good laugh!

0 Comments

Becks Kao Ben Kao Family life as we know it Parenting 101

The strangeness (and kindness) of strangers

October 9, 2013

My kids are well trained in Stranger Education. They are wary by nature, so it’s not difficult at all to teach them the basics. Never talk to strangers. Say hi only when Mom and Dad tell you to. Familiar faces around our estate are ok – you can wave or smile or say hi, but never tell them where you live or open the door to let them in. Never accept chocolates and candies from people you don’t know. Never follow anyone who tells you that he knows your mother or father. If anyone tries to take you by force, scream as loud as you can.

The kids still get waved at and Nat gets stroked and touched by random strangers a lot, especially when we are on board the bus on our way to and from school. I usually tell them to be polite and smile because it would make their day, especially the old folks that try to befriend them. But they usually go, Huh why… they are strangers what.

Today, on the way to school, an old man who was sitting opposite us on a single decker bus couldn’t stop waving at Becks. He was unkempt and had the most eerie toothless grin. Becks was, of course, beyond horrified and refused to look at him. I didn’t insist she smile or wave. I made her and Ben put on their sunglasses and look out of the window.

Very unfriendly mother here, I know.

When we were preparing to alight, the man was still waving. He kept smiling and his toothless grin was now beyond eerie. It was annoying. We got down the bus, and boy, was I glad for sunglasses.

When we reached kindy, Ben exclaimed that he had lost his toy cow. He’s been taking one animal from his stash of animal toys to school every day to show his Chinese teacher because he’s learning about animals this term. I know it is a bad idea – to allow a four-year-old to be always bringing something to school – but I couldn’t deny him of that enthusiasm he suddenly found in learning Chinese. So I let him bring one out, provided he held on to it and not lose it.

We searched for the cow in his bag and couldn’t find it. He must have left it on the bus! I proceeded with a lecture on taking care of things and expressed my anger at his irresponsibility. So off to school he went, and in a huff I left, only to meet the same toothless, eerily-grinning old uncle as I crossed the road. He smiled at me and this time, he waved and spoke. He said he found the toy which we left behind and passed it to someone in the church. He asked me to hurry back to get it. I thanked him and asked if he had specially alighted and walked all the way back just to return Ben’s toy. He smiled and said in Mandarin, “It’s ok, I can wait for another bus.”

I ran back with the baby. There was no one in sight back at the kindy. I searched for the cleaners who usually sat at the pews facing the road – nope, no one around. Then from a distance, I saw Ben’s toy cow standing on a table, in the middle of nowhere. There it was, thanks to the kindness of a stranger.

When I left the kindy the second time, I walked past the uncle again who was still waiting for a bus. He had alighted, walked a bus stop back just to return a masak masak that belonged to a child he didn’t know (who has a mother that judged his appearance and sister who didn’t wave back). I apologised for his inconvenience and thanked him again. He said he found the toy after we alighted and thought my child would definitely want it back. And so he did what he did.

And I did what I had to do. I made Nat call him ‘Uncle’ and had the baby hi-five him to make his day. I hope it made his, because the kindness in his strangeness certainly made mine.

4 Comments

Going Out! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Pseudo Holiday at Fassler Gourmet

October 9, 2013

Ever since we discovered this gem of a place at Woodlands where we can get frozen salmon, cod, prawns, lobsters, crabmeat, scallops at factory outlet prices, we’ve been going back to restock our freezer every half a year. We even bought another freezer just so we could stock up! At Fassler Gourmet Singapore, their Atlantic Salmon and Salmon Trout fillets are cut fresh every day. Their black cod fillet is $55 for a 500 gram pack of three, and the reason why my kids have extremely expensive taste buds. Ever since birth, they’ve eaten the best (and most expensive) fish – the cod and threadfin – that our land could sell they absolutely refuse to eat anything that tastes unlike what they are used to eating.

I figured a trip down to Fassler would definitely save me the need to explain to the kids why I don’t buy their favourite salmon, cod and scallops from the supermarket and wet market. Yesterday, we decided to take the kids to Fassler to let them experience the cold in their walk-in freezer, and to see for themselves where Mom and Dad get their favourite seafood.

It was their first time there, and they were thrilled! Becks loved it, surprisingly; she loved the cold and was the only one who was functioning and not wanting to get out.

We stocked up – ooh, fresh salmon, cod fillets, scallops, tiger prawns! And bought enough clam chowder (which the whole family absolutely loves!) to last us till the end of the year!

I say, this is a good place to practise getting used to the cold should we ever wish to go backpacking to Iceland when the kids are older!

1 Comments

Becks Kao Ben Kao Getting all sentimental now Going Out! Happy days Nat Kao The Kao Kids

Happiest Children’s Day

October 6, 2013

I’ve been a mother for about four and a half years now, but this is the first year I celebrated Children’s Day with my kids.

Children’s Day is a special day; it’s recognized on various days all around the world to honour children globally. As a child, the day was nothing fantastic really; all I could remember was Sharity Elephant and how important it was to give all my pocket money to the less fortunate. It’s not that I didn’t want to give. It was just not a special day at all. But now that I am a mom, it’s especially meaningful for me because I now have the opportunity to celebrate my children. It’s even more meaningful as a stay home mom; in previous years, I had to work on this day and the kids attended childcare and celebrated the day with their teachers. But this year, with no work and no childcare, I could spend this day giving thanks for Ben, Becks and Nat – the loveliest children that God has sent into my world – and remind myself that these children are unique individuals created by God for a purpose. And that despite the blood, sweat, tears and living on the brink of insanity every day, mothering them has been my greatest honour and privilege.

This year, we had a celebration together. With cupcakes. Ben and Becks were like, Huh, how come there’s cake? Whose birthday is it, Mama? Why are you making cake?

I didn’t explain much as to why there was a cupcake made specially for each of them except to sit them down and sing “Happy Children’s Day to you, Happy Children’s Day to you, Happy Children’s Day to my children, Happy Children’s Day to you!” and had them blow the candle, which they did with much delight. The cake ritual was more for me than for them – because I wanted me to have that realization sink deep that one day they wouldn’t be so children anymore to want to blow a candle for no reason and eat a cupcake Mama made.

Some day they will grow up.

In the evening, we met with some friends and their lovely children for a picnic against the gorgeous city skyline of Marina Bay at the Marina Barrage to continue our celebrations. The kids ran and played and laughed as the adults picnicked away (and overate). I am sure that deep in our hearts we were all grateful for our beautiful, healthy children who were running after kites, playing ball and squealing at bubbles as we sat there watching them.

There’s just so much to celebrate, and while I know we don’t have to wait for Children’ Day every year to count our blessings, this time every year should be an extra special day for every kid to have a blast and for the mother to sit back, enjoy her kid(s) and repeat this ten times to self:

The insanity is worth it.

0 Comments

I can't categorise such entries

The day I almost fainted by the kerbside (with a baby and two bags of groceries)

September 30, 2013

Today started as it always did on a Monday. Kids woke up, had breakfast, left for kindy. I did what I always do too: had breakfast, chatted with the kids for a bit, prepped them for school, and bused all three of them there. For many months now, I have been taking Nat along; we spend time together walking in the mall and learning at the supermarket, pet shop and departmental store at Nex for a good fifteen minutes every day before we head home for a nap and lunch.

So Nat and I headed to the supermarket today because I wanted to make aglio olio and chicken soup for dinner. There was nothing left in the fridge, so I grabbed a pack of celery, baby carrots, chicken, wild rocket, some tomatoes and two packets of instant spaghetti. On my way to the bus stop, I grabbed lunch for the maid, Nat and myself at Food Republic.

We hopped on the bus after waiting for 5 minutes and this was when it started: an excruciatingly stabbing-belly-aching-knotted-feeling kind of pain that told me I needed to find a toilet immediately or else. Nat had just fallen asleep on the Beco and I was carrying close to 3kg worth of groceries in weight, plus two styrofoam packs of hot food.

I got down the bus (couldn’t sit anyway) and decided I needed to flag a taxi that could blast me home quick. I was writhing in pain and perspiring profusely. I felt the knees go weak and the ankles on the brink of giving way.

There was no cab in sight; it was lunch time. I waited and waited and waited, all the while feeling like I was going to faint from the pain. It was either that or be totally humiliated by the kerbside sh**ting in my pants with a baby and two bags of groceries. No way were these options options, so I prayed and prayed that a taxi would appear right before my eyes.

When it finally did after God-knows-how-bloody-long, I was all pale and weak (I caught a glimpse of myself on the rearview mirror, yes I did). The taxi zoomed us home and I literally threw everything down (except Nat, of course) and found my place of relief.

Thank God.

This is my most embarrassing post yet. But this needs to be up, nonetheless. Oh, the things I go through for the kids.

0 Comments

Going Out! Homelearning fun Learning fun!

S is for… so many things!

September 24, 2013

We love the letter S and had so much fun learning things that start with this letter. First, there were the sensory bins, which I wrote in an earlier post here.

Sensory farm bin with yellow dhal beans

S is for seeing colours

Then we met the colourful animals from the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. There were so many activities that accompanied our reading of this book! I found tons of free printables from this website, and the kids coloured the animals, coloured by word, traced, and matched the book characters to the real animals.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? Activities

Using the printables, I also modified some tasks and created a Velcro board of this:

Matching the correct picture to the words

And this:

For this task, the adjective (colour) is missing and the kids's gotta match the correct word in the blank

For this, the adjective (colour) is missing and the kids find the correct word to fill in the blank

These activities were created mainly to help Ben learn all the words associated with the animals and colours in the book by sight. Becks could also attempt it correctly after a few tries by sounding the beginning sounds of the colours and matching the words by sight.

We read this book so many times such that Becks could read the book by memory just by looking at the pictures! Here is a picture of her reading it to her littlest brother:

Becks reading to Nat, who incidentally is into pretending to be the animals from the book

S is for Sheep

We then moved on to another book, this time involving a whole lot of SHEEP. Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox has got to be Ben’s favourite book. He’s learned by sight all the vocabulary (adjectives) describing the sheep using the word cards I created:

Word Cards for Where is the Green Sheep?

I got him to search for the specific word card when he sees / hears the word as I read the story out loud. After two rounds, he was able to identify all the words, learn their meanings and understand the concept of opposites. He was able to read the book by sight after two lessons with the story, and as he read, he was able to dramatise pretty well whenever there were exclamation marks, question marks and capitalization. This book by Mem Fox is a really good resource for teaching preschoolers, I tell you. I covered opposites, sight words, colours and punctuation just using this book alone.

I followed up with a drawing activity by printing a picture of a sheep and getting the kids to copy the image and then colouring it. One of the things I learned about teaching children art is to make them copy A LOT (that’s how I started too, as a kid). They learn first by copying, and when that builds their confidence, they can start drawing from memory or with their imagination.

Drawing and colouring sheep

S is for Sticker fun on Suitcases

Last year, AMK Hub was giving out cardboard suitcases as freebies for a certain amount spent at the mall, and since we grocery-shopped at the NTUC there a lot, we managed to redeem two of those pretty yellow cardboard suitcases. So this month, I took them out from the store room and got the kids to personalize these suitcases with stickers, and they had a lot of fun sticking and decorating.

Stickers show off!

Personalising their suitcases with stickers

Nat also had some sticker fun in the form of peeling off washi tape:

Peeling off tape in some washi tape fun

Peeling stickers is one great exercise for preschoolers to develop finger strength. The repetitive picking and pulling motion helps strengthen the tiny muscles throughout their fingers; these tiny muscles extending from the tips of their fingers to their hand are going to be the ones responsible for helping them write their letters, tie their shoes laces and brush their teeth. Finger strengthening activities like this can help increase their dexterity and coordination.

S is for Sequence

Becks is now learning to identify numbers and for her math activity, I wrote the numbers 1 to 10 on these colourful cards I got from Popular and had her arrange the numbers in ascending order:

Getting the three-year-old to arrange numbers in ascending order

We practised several times until she was confident and didn’t have to keep asking me.

For Ben, he learned simple addition with ‘plus 1’. I got the idea from this mom blog: initially we did some counting with our dinosaur counters, and when it got ridiculously tiring to count, I told him to apply common sense – that as long as it’s any number plus one, the answer to the equation will always be the next number in its ascending order. Why, he had so much fun we could go as far as 898+1 soon after that!

Simple addition of ‘plus 1’: no problem now!

The kids also learned patterns and sequencing using the Three Bear Family Counters and Three Bear Family Pattern Cards I bought from The MindStore. The bears in different sizes and colours were a lot of fun; though at 3 years old, Becks had some difficulty completing the more difficult sequences and started playing Goldilocks instead.

Becks trying to help Ben complete the pattern

We also made a little ‘Beginning-Middle-End’ Book using printables from our Hands On Homeschooling curriculum, which had pictures of things growing / developing / moving in sequence. I zapped the printables, cut out the pictures and got Ben and Becks to do the arranging and pasting on their own:

Order the pictures according to beginning, middle, end: how a plant grows and we make a snowman

Putting the pictures in order according to the beginning, middle, end: how a plant grows and how we can make a snowman

Ordering the pictures: how ball travels to the hole

Putting the pictures in order: how the golf ball travels to the hole

S is for Scooping

I didn’t forget the littlest one and this month he did lots of scooping every time the older kids were doing their homelearning. I gave him a scoop, and got him to scoop what I placed in front of him – apples, balls, trinkets, animal figurines, whatever.

He’s a pro scooper now, my Little Nat!

Scooping scooper scooped some apples

S is for SEA Aquarium

To round up our learning, we visited the SEA Aquarium and got acquainted with marine life and the fascinating underwater world.

The SEA Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa
Photo credit: Fatherkao

And I was wishing that I was scuba-diving instead.

Now that, which incidentally also begins with the letter S, is one of the so many things I must do. How I miss compressed air and being underwater.

Nope, not diving any time yet; but yes Nat, you can spread your hands out and glide with the manta underwater!

Oh the things we have learned with the letter S! We bid it goodbye this September and will be w-w-wandering to a w-w-world where W rules!

1 Comments

Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Nat Kao Product Reviews

Gumigem Teething Necklace Review [+Giveaway]

September 23, 2013

Nat’s not exactly a gnawer, and he’s breezed through his teething now at 19 months, unlike his older sister who’s given me a bit of hell when her teeth broke through. Still, I hate to sling something over my neck only to have the littlest one, who’s so used to being worn in the Beco, tug and yank and put my costume jewellery in his mouth.

For that reason, I have not accessorized for the longest time.

Then I heard about Gumigem, a wide ranging line of award-winning, baby-proof, mommy jewellery that promised to make me look like a fashionista mom. Forget fashionista, I say – show me the baby-proof! I was really curious to see how an accessory that’s to be worn over my neck would be baby-friendly and yet stylish. I was offered my choice of their award-winning teething necklaces for review and so I browsed away at MamaLavie and finally decided on this:

Gumidrop Pearlberry SGD $34.90

Each item of Gumigem jewellery is made from silicone, which is the same material dummy teats are made of. The baby-proof part comes in the form of the silicone being free from BPA, PVC, Lead, Latex and Phthalate, meeting all required standards, which means it is all non-toxic and washable. When my Gumidrop Pearlberry arrived, I gave it a good wash with baby soap and slung it over my neck:

Looking like a fashionista mom already with Gumigem’s Gumidrop Pearlberry

My first thought: Why didn’t I get to know of this when Becks was teething and giving me a terrible time? I would have had teethers readily available for her in the form of these “pearls” and “gemstones” and wouldn’t even need to worry about them dropping, since I would be wearing them. Heck, I might even buy ten of those Bubba bangles and wear them on my wrist to save her (and myself) from those teething pains.

And my second thought: The necklace is indeed very, very commonsensically designed.

Each Gumigem necklace is fastened with a breakaway clasp, so if the little one decides to tug it, there is no discomfort for the wearer at all because it will come undone and not create discomfort for the neck. Every bead and pebble is also kept in place by knots in the cord, which means that nothing slides up and down and traps tiny fingers.

Clearly, Gumigem has designed their accessories to allow an otherwise frazzled looking, disheveled, baby-wearing mom to dress up any outfit with ease. The colours are vibrant and a lovely shimmer; there are no hidden parts and they are easy to put on. No hooks, no clasps, no icky bits that “eat” into your skin.

For Nat, since he’s past his teething woes, this piece of jewellery serves as an excellent distraction and keeps him fairly still. I’m very glad that whenever I am wearing this and nursing him outside, I don’t have to deal with all the lifting up my blouse, scratching my navel and yanking my clothes.

Stylish accessory and safe distraction: Nursing in the car is no longer a nightmare

All hail the genius who thought of this brilliant idea: stylish jewellery solves teething woes and itchy hands.

*Giveaway: A Gumigem Neclace and 3 x SGD$10 coupon code! *

I’m hosting a giveaway for a Gumigem Gumidrop in Jellybean and 3 x SGD$10 coupon code for four lucky readers!

A gorgeous teething necklace up for grabs: Gumidrop Jellybean (SGD$34.90)

Simply fill in the Rafflecopter widget for your chance to win – it should direct you to leave me a comment telling me why you need this piece of accessory / how this piece of accessory will help with your teething baby! Giveaway ends 30 September 2013.

Click on the Rafflecopter widget here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you’d like to purchase the brilliantly-designed, baby-proof teething jewellery, there’s a 10% discount code for all Motherkao readers. Key in the code MOTHERKAO before checking out. Check out the designs here.

And the WINNERS are…

Necklace: Adeline Tan
3 x S$10 voucher: Arsheitha Ganesan, Edlyn Giam, Huimin Faith Su

Congratulations, and thank you all for participating!

Disclosure: I received the Gumidrop Pearlberry for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

8 Comments

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts

I Theatre’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales Giveaway

September 22, 2013

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching I Theatre’s Hey Little Mousedeer! sometime in August, and are very thrilled that I Theatre will be transforming the stories of Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, The Valiant Little Tailor, Little Red Riding Hood and others into a full-scale Broadway-standard Musical through drama, music, puppetry and song! Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm’s fairy tales have fed the imaginations of generations of people young and old for 200 years and still counting, and this November, under I Theatre’s artistic brilliance, a selected few of this classic collection of tales will be reinvented for the Singapore audience.

We can’t wait to catch this production and enter into the fantastical world of talking and singing beasts, princesses, magic and mystery, heroes and villains. The kids haven’t had fairy tales read to them much yet (unless you count Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears), so they will definitely be in for some surprises (and I will definitely blog about it, hurhurhur). We are also looking forward to hearing some brilliantly composed music by Bang Wenfu. We thoroughly enjoyed his compositions in the last production; the kids still can’t get the ‘One silly crocodile swimming in the river’ tune out of their heads and sing it every time they see a croc on Animal Planet!

So here, on the blog, I’m hosting a giveaway to catch Grimm’s Fairy Tales by I Theatre with your family! Up for grabs is a set of 4 family tickets to catch the production on 3 November 2013 (Sunday) at 5pm at Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library Building.

I have 2 sets to give away and each set of family tickets of 4 is worth $121.60.

Simply do the following:

1) ‘Like’ Motherkao’s FB Page and I Theatre’s FB Page

2) Leave a comment here on the blog with your name and email address

And that’s it! A randomizer will pick 2 winners for this giveaway which ends on 1 October. Winners will be announced by 2 October and I will be mailing the tickets to the winners via normal postage, so this giveaway is open to Singapore residents only. Please also make sure you and your family can make it for the mentioned show time before participating in the giveaway!

More details:

Grimm’s Fairy Tales will be staged by a very talented team of performers from 1 – 17 November 2013 at Drama Centre Theatre, National Library. The production is 90 minutes plus a 15 minutes interval, and is suitable for ages 4 to 16 and families.

Tickets can be purchased from SISTIC.

UPDATE: Family Tickets Giveaway WINNERS

Thank you all for your participation! The response was overwhelming, and unfortunately, I can only pick 2 winners for this giveaway.

Congrats to Agatha and Serene! We’ll be in touch!

25 Comments

Becks Kao Happy days Motherkao loves...

I was never a fan of pink

September 20, 2013

Before I had a daughter, my wardrobe consisted of autumn colours and I would usually be seen wearing black, white and grey.

Then my daughter came along and changed that. I started liking colours because she loved colours. First she was crazy about all things pink. Then she was into the colours of the rainbow, and now her favourite colour is green.

And just like that, very unconsciously, I started liking the colours she liked. The kids hate it whenever I wear black or white. I don’t hear their usual “Mama you’re so pretty!” whenever I am dressed in those colours. That is why I now wear colourful tops, have green nails and a metallic pink handphone cover.

I’m writing this just to say that if I didn’t have this baby girl in my life, the colour I’d most probably want my KitchenAid to be would be black or silver or white.

But no, I have a little girl who’s my only daughter, and she’s coloured my world much. That was the reason why I was found at Best Denki yesterday swooning over this pretty baby in Limited Edition Raspberry Ice:

And someone loved me enough to get it for me in a heartbeat so Baby Girl and I could go “waaaaa” when it was placed on our kitchen top.

Life should be this colourful always.

2 Comments

Becks Kao Ben Kao Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Reviews

heART Studio’s Little Masters Workshop Review

September 19, 2013

During the September holidays, Ben and Becks were invited to heART Studio for their Little Masters “Monsters” Workshop Holiday Programme.

I’ve finally found a place who would take in kids their age for art class on an ad-hoc basis. I was a little worried initially if Ben and Becks would do ok in a 2.5-hour drop off class – you know how sticky and whiny they can be without me – but my worries were unfounded because of three impressive factors: experienced teacher, small class size and engaging tasks broken down into parts suitable for young children.

For two and a half hours (including a short 15-minute snack break in between), Teacher Syafiq and his assistant were able to shuttle around effectively to guide the class of 6 children, all aged 3 and 4. Under the teachers’ guidance, they were given clear instructions and specific tasks throughout the session.

I was peering in from the window and this was what I gathered they did for the entire workshop: choose monster, learn about colours, choose background colour, paint background, dry background with hairdryer, paint monster in parts (head, body, eyes, teeth, etc) under guidance – teacher outlines and gets child to paint inside the lines, dry what they’ve painted in parts, and wa la!

Ben and Becks chose a monster and then proceeded to paint part by part

Ben and Becks chose a monster and then proceeded to paint it part by part

And this was one of those very rare times I saw how focused and engrossed my little girl was!

Monsters on canvas, that’s what they got!

Ben with Teacher Syafiq, who was extremely patient and encouraging, and very good with kids!

The little painters and their masterpiece

Ben and Becks loved what they did at the workshop and couldn’t help but to show off their masterpiece the whole day long. They came home and told Fatherkao, Little Nat and the helper that “we painted all this by ourselves, you know” and wanted to display their monsters prominently for everyone to see. They can’t wait to paint again, and are looking forward to doing more art pieces next holiday!

I’m just really glad that had a good time and I didn’t have to clean up any mess.

heART Studio LLP is located at 101 Soo Chow Walk Singapore 575385 |Tel: (65) 6554 7563 | Fax: (65) 6554 7562 | Email: info@heartstudiosg.com | Website: www.heartstudiosg.com

Disclosure: Ben and Becks were very kindly invited to join the Little Masters Workshop in September. We received no monetary compensation for this post and all opinions here are my own and based on the kids’ experience at heART Studio.

0 Comments

Older Posts

Newer Posts