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5 places to check out this June holidays

May 18, 2013

The kids have settled well in kindy and absolutely look forward to the routine on week days where they bus to school, go to school, then come home for more homelearning with me. The June break is approaching in two weeks. I don’t know how to break the news to them that we won’t be going to school for one whole month.

I know for sure they would miss going to kindy and being with their friends. I need to have a good range of activities to cover both indoor and outdoor learning, just so I can maintain my sanity and at the same time have them engaged in learning and expending their energy.

Staying home every day is out of the question and we would need to head outdoors, that’s for sure; and it would be best if going out wouldn’t cost a single cent!

I’ve compiled a list of places to go this June. Here are some places we would be checking out. Feel free to use my list (except for #5, I guess).

1. Learning and exploring with Playmobil: Time for a PLAYful holiday at Sentosa, 1-30 June from 11am to 7pm daily at the Imbiah Lookout

We’ll definitely be checking out Storytelling Comes Alive! which we missed last year. This is going to happen every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in June at 11.30am, 3pm and 5pm.
There’s also a special Playmobil theme Puppet Musical, which will be staged live every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 11.30am and 5.30pm.

2. There’s gonna be a one-for-one admission offer at the Jurong Bird Park this school holidays. We thought since Nat is now saying the word “bird”, Becks adores penguins and Ben has been bugging us to bring him to the Bird Park, we’d make use of this offer.

Flash this coupon to get the buy-one-get-one-free deal from 24 May to 30 June.

3. It’s Children’s Season again at the museums, and now that the kids are a little older to start appreciating history and some social studies, we are going to be making good use of free admissions to all the 8 museums starting 18 May, all year round. First stop: the Army Museum of Singapore, since my Ah Boy Ben loves soldiers and weapons.

Children’s Season 2013 @ Army Museum of Singapore starts from 18 May to 30 June (10am – 6pm, Tuesdays to Sundays). It costs $3 per child (6 – 12 years old) and $5 per adult to enter. Activities are free of charge, but my main gripe is that the museum is located in good ol’ Planet Jurong.

4) Another place we would try to make time for this June is the National Museum. Storytelling will be happening at the Concourse and Craft Zone every Monday and Wednesday (10am and 11.30am) and every Saturday and Sunday (10.30am and 1.30pm). What better way to intrigue the little ones with exciting and dramatic tales of Singapore’s past!

5) And we’d better be redeeming our complimentary hotel stay at MBS before it expires. I am probably the last and only person in Singapore who’s not yet been IN the infinity pool. We got this complimentary stay for buying a Philips Saeco expresso machine last year when our trusty old Saeco gave up on us. It was probably overworked making too many cups of coffee over the last few years since we had kids! We’ve been NOT wanting to do any more staycations since the last one completely exhausted us more than it refreshed us, but I guess this is one thing we have to do next month. The best part is, it’s free (infinity pool, here I come!); but I’m not sure how happy I am at the thought of being stuck in a hotel room with three children at night.

There you have it. 5 places to go this June for the Kao kids. Have you had yours planned?

Linking up with:

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Going Out!

Of cars and big dreams at the Volkswagen Family Weekend

May 14, 2013

My fourth Mother’s Day was a really special one. On Sunday, we were invited by Rise and Shine, in partnership with Volkswagen Singapore, to join them at the Volkswagen Centre at Alexandra Road for the Volkswagen Family Weekend. And so, I spent this special day with my kids in a car showroom.

The fiesta had an exciting line-up of activities for the whole family, including a creative colouring corner, trike rides, golf trials and a crafting booth for Mother’s Day cards using food art. There was also a Mom’s Pampering Corner tucked at a quiet corner of the showroom, away from the noise and crowd, with cushy couches and massage equipment for tired mothers to catch some shut-eye.

Ben and Becks had a fun time colouring, going on a trike race and having a go at putting at the KinderGolf’s mini golf corner. The littlest one busied himself too, talking on the “phone”, and going round gesturing for – ah yes, the love of his life right now – balloons! This little pumpkin adores balls, balloons and all things round to the point of yelling for them even in his sleep, so being there on Sunday was heaven for him. Thanks to the friendly folks at Volkswagen who kept giving him balloons, that boy collected a total of 11 that day. We had to deflate all of them, much to his dismay. We wouldn’t be able to get into the car otherwise!

We didn’t get to do any food art by Nutriville (the folks packed up for the other showroom at MacPherson by the time we headed over), and I didn’t get to sneak away to the pampering corner either. But I must say, the activities for the kids at the Volkswagen Family Weekend were indeed well-organized, engaging and meaningful. The food was tasty too, and thank God the organisers remembered ice cream! Ben and Becks had a few scoops that hot afternoon, complete with plenty of rainbow sprinkles to make their day.

But those weren’t the highlight of our day.

What was? Roaming about the spacious showroom, getting into cars and pretending to go on joy rides, that’s! Ben and Becks were thrilled to see so many cars, from the Golf to the Cabriolet; they climbed into each one, took turns to “drive”, navigate, and took each other to explore places unknown, and I savoured every minute being in their “journey”, entering their world of pretend play.

Ben: Ok, now I drive, so you must buckle.

Becks: Ya! If not, police will catch!

Ben: We will now go to a faraway place. Very, very far. So far nobody will know, ok!

Becks: Yay! Drive!

Ben: Vroom…. vroom… (turns to the backseat to look at me while moving the steering) Hey Mama, when I grow up, I will buy this sports car, ok?

Me: Oh wow! Yes, you do that. Can I be your passenger then?

Ben: Of course, la. I will fetch you everywhere you want.

Me: I’ll be an old woman by then. Are you sure you still want me in your sports car?

Ben: Mama, of course! I’ll just drive very, very slowly for you!

We had many of such conversations that afternoon, and the kids took me to “places” I never knew existed and worlds I could never have imagined, at the same time always assuring me that they would always want me in their car, no matter how old I grew.

When it was time to test drive the Volkswagen Sharan, the kids were so exhilarated they actually thought we’d be driving it home. They went in to the spacious car, sat on the child seats, and screamed ‘Yay, new car, wohoo!‘, like it was the best day of their lives. I had some difficulties explaining the concept of test driving to them before they realized that we weren’t going to drive the Sharan home. How hilarious.

The 7-seater 2L Sharan was a testimony of German engineering genius with its powerful turbo engine, sophisticated dashboard and sleek design. The drive was smooth and comfortable, and we could definitely have three child seats in the car, one for each kid. There was a sunroof that awed the kids much, and in the evening when we test drove it, we could look up and gaze at the clouds in the sky without having to squint. But the thing with MPVs is that in order to have boot space that can fit our huge ass Graco twin stroller, we would need to fold down the back seats. This means we can never fit the helper in the car. Which is a total bummer because we would always need the extra pair of hands going out with three kids.

I know, I know. We should be driving a bus. The Volkswagen Van is a tempting idea.

Still, the ‘Carrier of Kings’ (what Sharan means in Persian) was quite a breathtaking ride for the kids compared to our humble sedan, and the kids were a little sad we weren’t taking it home. Ben kept asking me if the car was a hundred dollars when I told him the car was expensive and to buy one required a lot of thought and some financial planning. A hundred dollars is like the biggest number in my boy’s mind right now, which made me laughed out so loud – if only we could all buy cars for a hundred bucks.

I wouldn’t trade Mother’s Day spent at the Volkswagen Family Weekend even for a hundred bucks. To be with my little ones, to go on some exciting make-believe adventures and to dream some very big dreams together, that’s what money cannot buy. I’m looking forward to the day I would be ferried around by Ben in his sports car. Till then, thank you, Rise and Shine, and Volkswagen Singapore, for the kind invitation to spend this special day this way.

*This story was brought to you by Rise and Shine, in partnership with Volkswagen Singapore.*

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Going Out! Motherkao loves...

Make a bus fun?

May 9, 2013

I’ve been bus-sing with the kids every day and getting a lot of stares.

Every day, we walk to the bus stop behind our place to take a public bus. The wait is usually short if we catch it on time; we’d have to wait in the sweltering heat for a good 12 minutes before the next one comes if we don’t. The ride is 15 minutes and the walk to kindy is usually another 8 minutes.

I do this fives times a week, rain or shine, to save money on school bus. I’ve recently started babywearing Nat and bringing him along because the house needs to be cleaned, his lunch needs to be cooked and he can no longer entertain himself while the helper does all that because of his severe separation anxiety. He starts wailing when we leave, and the helper can do nothing except to carry him till I return.

So picture a frazzled mother with a baby in a carrier, a bag on her shoulders, two schoolbags on her arms, holding hands with two children. When I get up the bus, my son taps the EZ link card for me and we struggle to find our balance on a moving vehicle to get a seat – er, no – three seats.

When we get our seats, I’ve to constantly stop the kids from morphing into gibbons.

Then when I look around, I see everyone staring at me. We usually sit at the back where the seats face each other, and I find myself an object of scrutiny by many pairs of eyes.

They look at me. They look at the children. They look at the baby. Then they look at me again.

On rare occasions, some elderly folk would give me a sympathetic smile, but most of the time, everyone just stares at us.

Do you know how impossible it is to get children to sit still and keep quiet for more than 5 minutes? You should have seen the kids on their first few rides – they were too loud, too fidgety and too noisy. They sang ‘Wheels on the Bus’ the whole time, and I could do nothing to contain their excitement.

What’s even more embarrassing: once the bus driver stopped the bus and scolded Ben for kneeling on his seat, instead of sitting down properly.

So here, I have a proposal for the authorities and the bus companies. How about having a little play area for young children on the bus and have just a couple of them ply through some major routes at specific times, say late mornings, after peak hours?

Image taken from http://www.absolutelimos.ie/our-fleet/the-kids-play-bus/

Or how about having some of our buses turn into some major playground fun like the Kids Play Bus in Ireland? Way too cool huh!

Image from http://www.absolutelimos.ie/our-fleet/the-kids-play-bus/

A small kids’ corner will certainly be free entertainment for anyone on the bus. It’s better than frantically scrolling our phones and doing damage to our eyes. It gives tired mothers some breathing time and perhaps, even ten minutes of shut-eye. It gives the young ones an outlet to expend their energy while on the move.

Heck, I don’t even mind paying more to get up on this bus.

Just suggesting.

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Homelearning fun Product Reviews

Castle painting fun with CraftPlay [+Giveaway]

April 26, 2013

The kids don’t do much art and craft, thanks to their not-so-artsy mother that is me. I know they love to, and want to paint, draw, craft, and make a mess without needing to hear much nagging and screaming from their mother who has some obsessive compulsion to keep everything clean.

So I introduced them to their Art Buddy, whom the affectionately call QX jie jie. She comes occasionally to do art with them, while I hide in a corner and bite my tongue, and refrain from taking out the broom and mop to clean up the mess they are making while they are at it.

Last week, the kids had a CraftPlay date with QX jie jie . The folks at CraftPlay kindly sent over their Out of the Box Castle so the kids can have some painting and decorating fun. It was supposed to be a project with their new BFFs from kindergarten, but the other kids haven’t been feeling too well, so we thought we’d just go ahead on our own.

CraftPlay Out of the Box Castle Instructions

Instructions for Out of the Box Castle

The package came together with packets of paintbrushes and roller sponges, and the kids couldn’t wait to start working on the castle made of recycled box materials. I decided that they should each take individual pieces of the castle tower, walls and gates to paint, instead of assembling the castle first, and paint away they did, with the help of QX jie jie.

Let’s start painting!

And of course, at four and two half (and the baby at 14 months), you wouldn’t expect these kids to stay focused painting nor expect that they decorate the castle with funky designs and patterns. They were up clowning about after five minutes of serious painting, and started rolling paint on each other’s legs, toes and hair. That is the fun of art and craft to them.

Painting legs and toes is fun too!

When the paint dried up, I tried to assemble the castle but to my dismay, it was not as easy as I thought. We probably used the wrong type of paint and some parts of the cardboard were too wet when the paint went on initially, that the corners were torn even when the paint dried.

The paint was initially too watery!

Painting completed!

I spent a good hour trying to put the pieces together but the “tongues” that I inserted into the different slots kept coming out. I got desperate after getting nowhere near to assembling it after half an hour, I started taping the folded parts so they don’t come off. The kids only hung around to watch for a grand total of 7 minutes, and then got very impatient and kept singing me the same refrain,“Why the castle still not ok, huh?

So after one trying hour of putting it together, I gave up and told them, “Nah, this is the castle. It’s supposed to look pretty and all, but well, Mama just can’t assemble it without getting frustrated.” Now you know why art and craft is my least favourite subject in school. I’m totally NOT good at this at all!

Assembled with the help of tape!

This is how it should look! Image from CraftPlay.

Still, the kids were happy and started to find uses for this piece of artwork they’ve created – they started throwing their baby brother’s balls into the castle towers like those Uncle Ringo games they play at pasar malam. And then they went on to spend an evening with the cardboard castle, perfecting their aiming and laughing away.

Ready, aim, throw!

Thank you, CraftPlay, for those few hours of fun. Though it wasn’t too much fun for me putting everything together (ok, it’s me and my fat fingers!), my kids had a good time painting and playing!

Here’s a giveaway, so you can have some painting fun too!

I’m sure you can do a better job than me assembling the castle – how idiot-proof is that, right? – so here’s a chance to win an Out of the Castle (more castle types here) worth $17 for some hours of crafting and painting fun. Simply LIKE CraftPlay’s Facebook Page and leave me a comment with your name and email address. It’s that simple! Giveaway ends 1 May 2013.

UPDATE: Congrats, Chuyan! You won the Out of the Box Castle! Happy painting and crafting! A big thank you to all who took part!

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Learning fun! Reviews

So much fun at Gymnademics!

April 16, 2013

Ever since I stayed home with my three kids, the youngest has been getting the shorter end of the stick. There’s a whole lot of homelearning fun but the activities I planned hardly included him. Well, I did try to get Nat to do some art until he decided it was better to lick the brush than paint. I read flashcards to him every alternate days and an occasional storybook, but that’s really about it. He has about half an hour of playground fun with Ben and Becks daily, and then stays home for most parts of the day with the helper while they are at kindy; not that fun if you compared it with the things he used to do at infantcare – crafting, singing nursery rhymes, playing masak masak, cutting cheese, squeezing cold toothpaste and chasing bubbles, balls and balloons – with ten other babies his age.

So when Baby Nat was invited by Gymnademics to attend their Pre-Fellow weekly lessons for a term, I couldn’t be happier. Finally, he was going to get some engagement, stimulation and much needed physical exercise beyond the confines of our home and the playground downstairs.

Gymnademics is the first and only intellectual enrichment and gym centre in Singapore that is affiliated with the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP) in Philadelphia, USA. IAHP is founded by the guru of flashcards, Glenn Doman, and is a non-profit organization that does research on how to develop and enhance a child’s brain growth through a combination of physical education and intellectual stimulation.

At Gymnademics, classes are built upon the concept of purposeful play, because play is a child’s natural way of exploring the world. This sets a strong foundation for a lifetime of discovering and learning for children.

If you’re telling me that Nat would get to learn, play and exercise all at the same time, I’m saying yay all the way.

The Pre-Fellow class Nat is attending now (suitable for 1-2 years old and parent-accompanied) encompasses three core components – intellectual, physical and social. Each lesson lasts 1 hour 15 minutes. The first 15 minutes is free play, getting used to the environment and warming up to teachers and friends, and the subsequent hour is packed with 10 activities, lasting 10 – 15 minutes each.

Running freely at the Gymnademics Studio

Exploring gears with friends

Some of the things Nat does in class include:

Reading aloud (ok, not yet, so I read aloud after Teacher Selene instead) word cards, encyclopedic cards and picture cards

These help to stimulate his visual and auditory pathways. There are also stories and music to make learning fun for both parent and child.

Learning about the different types of dance

Getting acquainted with Claude Monet

Getting acquainted with Pablo Picasso

Gym activities that focus on balance and mobility, and at the same time develop his manual and tactile competencies

Nat’s favourite so far is the gym circuit. He has a skip in his step when it’s time to go on the obstacle course.

Learning to balance on a beam

Swinging on a trapeze

Fruit relay: learning to run in a straight line and putting fruit and veggies from one basket to another

Activities that teach social behaviour and encourage the development of his fine motor skills

With Teacher Selene’s help, Nat learned to tie a knot to string a bell. On another occasion, Nat learned to use his thumb to peel off tape so he could stick some shapes to make a paper plate pizza.

Tying a knot for the bell

What I especially appreciate about the programme is that Gymnademics provide a Parent-Child Bonding Package after each lesson. The package includes materials used in class, as well as extra activities that parents and the whole family can engage in to reinforce what the child has learned that week. This means that I can do things with Nat without having to specially plan for it, and he gets some homelearning fun together with me as well.

It’s been two lessons so far (one trial lesson, plus his first lesson last week) and Nat has shown me that he has enjoyed every lesson thoroughly. The range of activities they do in class with children his age within that one hour is indeed impressive and tremendously engaging. At home, I sing him the songs he sings in class and he starts jiving and grooving. I show him flashcards and he readily sits himself in front of me to babble and point. I am sure he looks forward to his Gymnademics lesson every week. Do follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to find out what this little fella is learning and how he is progressing.

If you’d like more information on the programmes in Gymnademics, you could connect with them on their Facebook page or check out their website here.

More details:

Gymnademics Early Enrichment Centre is located at SAFRA Toa Payoh 293 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #02-01 Singapore 319387

Tel: 6259 0307 | 8518 7910 | 9651 9331
Email: info@gymnademics.com

Disclosure: Nat and I were invited to attend the Pre-Fellow Class at Gymnademics for review purposes. All opinions here are Motherkao’s own.

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Family life as we know it Re: learning and child training

The long March

March 31, 2013

March has been a month of madness, and I am quite glad it’s over.

I began the SAHM gig on 1 March with three kids who clocked their last day in full-day childcare and infantcare on 28 February. There would be no more alternative caregivers from that day henceforth. The caregiver was to be me. The alternative option now, well, would still be me.

I spent the first 24 days of March being mother, teacher and trainer. The first few weeks were spent getting used to seeing each other every waking minute and unlearning some very bad habits that’s not been corrected by a full-time working mum who at times chose to indulge her daycare-going children. Habits such as not responding immediately when a parent calls, sleeping too little, bargaining too much and mucking around too often at mealtimes.

The first few weeks were also spent trying to find the groove of things and learning not to fly into a rage every time a child misbehaves. This I have MUCH to learn. The kids have figured how to press my buttons – and what buttons to press – and I’m still trying to figure out how not to react.

Amidst the getting used to, we had some fun times. There were more stories told, more artwork done, more outdoor trips made and more values taught. More than I ever did in all the years as a FTWM.

Funnily, the kids became clingier, and stuck stickier than glutinous rice balls. They barge into the shower, interrupt my meals, and demand to see me the first thing they wake and the last thing before they sleep. I’m not too sure if this is a good or bad thing, but it’s practically left me with no space to breathe. Someone please tell me that the feeling of suffocation may eventually lead to ecstasy, yes? no?

On 25 March, we made some adjustments and started a new routine. I can no longer call myself a homeschooling mum now, because we have decided that the kids would go to the church kindergarten 20-minute away from our place by bus for a three-hour daily programme, just so that they can socialize, and just so that I can have my sanity break.

Initially, I wanted to keep them at home without the option of school or enrichment. I wanted to stay home and homeschool them. This soon became not too dandy an idea because they started to miss having friends around to play with and I started morphing into a monster mum who is frazzled and snappy.

So I worked out a new routine every day whereby they would have blocks of 15-minute learning with me before they go to kindy and when they returned, which I call “lesson block”; I do my homeschooling curriculum with them and pack each lesson block with a quick activity in tracing, reading, colouring, flashcards, Logico, counting, exploration and teaching a readiness skill. Apart from needing to settle into their new environment and getting used to not having me around for three hours, the children are much happier with this new routine. They look forward to taking the public bus with me daily, and making that slow long walk from the bus stop to kindy. We take time to chat, sing and look at the little things around us on our way to school, something we never really did rushing every day when they were sent to daycare.

Best of all, they look forward to learning with me, because every day I hear them say, “Can we please have some lessons now?”

It’s going to be a crazy month in April, I know it. But I’m sure it’s also going to be excitingly fun!

March madness: Lots of bubble play

March madness: Go-karting fun

March madness: Sandplay at Bishan Park

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Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids Thunderstorm days What to Expect... As a Mother

Mom, interrupted, Part 2

March 8, 2013

We haven’t been doing much homelearning these days. Murphy is quite the chap that’s been sticking around here lately, with the Kao kids taking ill, one after another.

First up, a case of vomitting, high fever, cough and runny nose, needing meds like Rhinatiol, Motillium and Adezio for almost a week.

Then someone had bronchitis and needed Flixotide, Combivent and Sodium Chloride in mist form thrice a day through the nebuliser.

Today, another kid threw up like clockwork and yet another epsiode of stomach flu has begun.

This whole week alone, the kids are finishing up the Paracetamol Suspension faster than I can pronounce ‘Paracetamol’, not to mention tissue papers.

With the remaining energy that’s left, we’ve only managed to go downstairs for mini explorations to search for critters…

Play ball with the baby who adores all things round every waking minute…

As well as try a few of the many craft materials in February’s Toddibox (review on that later!)…

It’s been quite a manic month, this March. I need to be showing Murphy the door.

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Family life as we know it Going Out! Happy days The Kao Kids

Rise & Shine, it’s picnic time!

March 5, 2013

We had a lovely breakfast on a lovely Sunday morning against the Marina Bay skyline at The Lawn.

The sky was clear. The weather was cool and breezy. The kids weren’t too cranky despite having been ill for the last two days.

I made some ham and cheese sandwich and the wonderful grandparents and aunt got up early to join us, not before going to the market to get some vegetarian beehoon, and we had ourselves a hearty, healthy meal while being part of the largest breakfast picnic turnout in the Singapore Book of Records.

The kids had a ball chasing flying balloons, shaking hands with stilt walkers and mascots and jumping on bouncy castles.

When it wasn’t too crowded and we needn’t queue, Ben did his sports try-out and had some fun batting a ball for cricket. Becks and Nat were just too happy munching on the free samples of rice krispies and cornflakes from Kellogg’s, and drinking Ribena.