tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189359325422571362024-03-05T12:23:42.224+08:00Itchy.FingersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-89826818386450762892015-06-05T18:25:00.001+08:002015-06-05T18:37:48.754+08:00Dinosaurize Me! at Plaza Singapura this June Holidays!It's the school holidays and dinosaur season! Okay wait, I don't mean our kids are dinosaurs...or maybe they are in their little unique way!<br />
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There are a couple of ongoing dinosaur events happening around us on this tiny little island, and if you have children interested in dinosaurs the way mine are, then you absolutely must check out DINOSAURIZE ME! at Plaza Singapura just because it's the best one yet! </div>
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You cannot miss the gigantic Argentinosaurus the moment you step foot into Plaza Singapura, because it;s feet are huge enough to crush you, and it's goes up as tall as three floors high! There are many ongoing activities for children going on at the atrium, and I actually sneaked up to the third storey while my kids were immersed in their activities to take this picture!</div>
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Let me introduce to you this replica of the gigantic specie. He is the Argentiosaurus, and no prizes for guessing where he originated! He may look huge, but he is pretty harmless as he is a herbivore! How do I know all that? Well there are shows every weekend that teaches you about the facts of dinosaurs. For a twenty-something year old, I actually learnt a lot from the show, and came home relishing what I've learnt! Don't even mention my kids, dinosaurs are all they talk about now that they know more about these creatures!<br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #666666; font-family: univers_condensedmedium, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;"><b>Timings: Saturdays & Sundays, 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:30 pm</b></span><br />
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Also happening at the atrium are workshops for children, facilitated by the Science Centre who is in collaboration with Plaza Singapura for this event. Hence, you can be assured that all the workshops are done pretty well with good facilitation by the staff. Each workshop cost only $5, and the kids get to bring home the crafts they made, so it is pretty worth it if you ask me!</div>
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The first booth the kids tried out was the <u><b>dinosaur fossil crafting booth</b></u>, where children got to try out using clay and mold to make their own clay dinosaurs. I recommend doing this craft first because it takes around half an hour to dry up and harden, and once the kids are done with the other booths, it would be just nice to collect the ready made mold. This workshop is best suitable for preschoolers, as it is sensorial and easy to do for those tiny fingers. </div>
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The second booth the boys tried out was a <u><b>geological timeline activity</b></u>, which involved a lot of cutting and pasting and is best suited for slightly older aged children since apart from the cutting and pasting, it would be better if they actually knew the dinosaur time zones. My boys knew nothing about the timeline of dinosaurs but enjoyed themselves nonetheless, because they enjoyed seeing it come to live when everything was done. It was like a hanging mobile, which we have now hung up in the boys' room. </div>
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The last booth is a superbly interesting one. It is the<b><u> Dino Stop Motion workshop</u></b>. At this area, my kids were given a printed paper of dinosaurs to color, which they did. After which, they had to cut their individual dinosaurs out and place it on a given background to tell a story. The facilitators will then use the mommy's handphone to download an app called Stop motion, which they will use to record the storytelling process. This workshop was by far the coolest one, as kids got to use their imagination and story-telling skills to tell their own unique story!</div>
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This was my kid's story: All the dinosaurs moved away from the volcano except two of them who decided to play near the volcano, when it erupted and they got into a lot of trouble thereafter!</div>
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If that was not all, there is also a fossil digging sand pit that kids can pretend play as a paleontologist, and dig to their hearts content! My kids spent the longest time here, and even made friends to construct the dinosaur after finding all the bones. Definitely can't go wrong with the messy play with these guys!</div>
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I highly recommend bringing your kids down to Plaza Singapura for this fun-filled Dinosaurize Me! event at the atrium because it is really that fun! My kids spent a total of close to four hours, in a mall, which is almost hard to believe because they hate malls, and would rather run wild outdoors. </div>
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To find out more information on DINOSAURIZE ME, visit <a href="http://www.plazasingapura.com.sg/en/happenings/?promoid=malls.sg.plaza-singapura.ps-dinosaurize-me">here</a>!</div>
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There is just two more weekends left, as the dinosaurs leave us on the 14th June, so be there or be square!</div>
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<b><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #666666; font-family: univers_condensedmedium, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;">When: 29 May to 14 June 2015</span><br style="background-color: #eeeeee; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: univers_condensedmedium, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;" /><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #666666; font-family: univers_condensedmedium, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;">Where: Plaza Singapura, Level 1 Main Atrium</span></b></div>
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The boys could not get enough of dinosaurs, so we continued with some dinosaur activities at home, which I believe could go on for quite awhile!</div>
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<u><b>Build a dinosaur with blocks</b></u></div>
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<b><u>A dinosaur sensory bin</u></b></div>
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<b><u>Dinosaur Mulberry Paint Art</u></b></div>
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And guess what, we did another <u><b>stop motion animation</b></u>, this time with dinosaur stickers!</div>
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Now, go have fun with dinosaurs already!! :)</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-16313491058731506832015-05-18T11:43:00.003+08:002015-05-19T11:06:08.353+08:00Blog Train: If I Were a Time Traveller...Ever watched Back to the Future, where Michael J Fox was still a handsome young lad, and we were in our childhood, and travelling back in time or travelling forward in time seems like the coolest thing to wish for? Yeah, me to, as much as a lot of us do. Wouldn't it be lovely to travel back in time, or maybe even if we don't, just dreaming of travelling back in time.<br />
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<i>What would I change, </i></div>
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<i>what would I do different?</i></div>
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Let's throwback to when I was a teen, many years back. I had the time of my life in secondary school, college, and even polytechnic. I went through each learning journey trying to find my niche. I did very well for my O'Levels so I did not have trouble choosing where I wanted to go to study next. I was hasty enough to choose a Chinese-ed college just because it sounded nice, and it was cool to be studying at the so-said school. After year 1, I did not like it one bit because well, let's face it, Mandarin had never been my thing to ace, and being surrounded with Chinese A-star students was a little intimidating. Furthermore, I did not quite like taking the science route even though I did very well in my math and sciences because it just did not suit the personality that I am.</div>
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So I left, and enrolled into a polytechnic instead. Well, studying in a polytechnic was vibrant enough for me, it was totally fun to be walking in school, hanging out in home clothes and carrying my laptop from lecture hall to lecture hall. There was so much freedom, I absolutely loved school. However, I chose the wrong course. Once again, I thought why not go back to my comfort zone, THE SCIENCES. I took a diploma in Biomedical Science and went on to not working in that industry at all. It just did not fit in with my personality, again. </div>
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I am one to move about, to talk very loudly, to want to meet new people all the time. You can say, I am quite the social butterfly. Staying in the lab, wearing a lab coat, and trying out experiments was just not my cup of tea. It was way too boring for my very energetic pair of legs and my fidgety bum. I was left lost for quite a while and didn't know what career path to take thereafter. </div>
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It was only after I became a mother, that I started sending my child to Julia Gabriel for their playgroup sessions that I saw what I liked. It was also then that I found my Eureka moment!</div>
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I love kids.</div>
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I love movement.</div>
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I love being up and about.</div>
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I love chatting, and talking, and chatting.</div>
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I love being playful.</div>
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All that just pretty much sums up an early childhood teacher in her daily job scope. Making sure children grow up loving their childhood, and learning in the process of it all. I wanted to be that person, who contributed to their fun, and joy, and be part of the wonderment of growing up. </div>
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My second son was but a month old when I enrolled myself into school again. Since then I have not looked back, and I have graduated from my course. I am now a licensed teacher, and I am very happy with my career. The only regret I have was, finding out too late, what my niche was. If only I had known back then, I could have probably advanced in my career quicker than I can now. </div>
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If I could travel back in time to the day I took my O'level results and searched for my career path, I would have chosen Early Childhood in a heartbeat. But you know what, perhaps also, being a mother made me a better decision maker and a more mature learner. So even if I could travel back in time, and turn the clock around, things wouldn't have happened the way I think it would have. <b>Like they say, everything happens for a reason!</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hqqElcZMxgO594yuWNVf6eLD0h7eZ9pK6m7Kv339x577wtUAdYifjpNvZA4a_zTilvzWFYWYXNdnpJnPVdfKZuPgxcGXm4FNTj0jYfQIWCOq6Wp1M5ncqTTbWc2fUXJaRO5P373hjpU/s1600/IMG_3484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hqqElcZMxgO594yuWNVf6eLD0h7eZ9pK6m7Kv339x577wtUAdYifjpNvZA4a_zTilvzWFYWYXNdnpJnPVdfKZuPgxcGXm4FNTj0jYfQIWCOq6Wp1M5ncqTTbWc2fUXJaRO5P373hjpU/s640/IMG_3484.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What would you change if you could travel back in time?</span></b> Don't say I didn't warn you, but the thinking could set you back for a lot of thinking once you embark on it! :)<br />
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<a href="http://www.madpsychmum.com/2015/04/if-i-were-time-traveller-blog-train.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl08Gjzxgaj9WTl2qJ9pQN2cst6eTymLUvJGkBVbBzA5EPJTtMMW3d7Z2yS-d6rkaGGmbgVPH3NsveQ6ntGOgIuTMCH_rx4lNONe25evGoGtq8QUhmVburLAsyyRsbgTINjUs5BLQCZ6pZ/s1600/If+I+Were+a+Time+Traveller+Blog+Button+(3)%2B500x500.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Next up on the Time Travelling Blog train is:<br />
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Jennifer or DinoMama as she is fondly known as to some, is a full time working mum who believes home cooked meals are the best and tries to cook healthy meals for her family as often as possible. When she has done coaching DinoBoy with his school work or not playing & bonding with him, she will be sitting at a comfy corner in the house busy working on something on her crochet hook. One day she hopes she will be able to be a full time stay at home mum where she can fuss over her family 24/7.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-80324174125136342772015-04-06T17:00:00.000+08:002015-04-06T18:42:50.860+08:00Rise and Shine Carnival 2015, come and join in the fun!My family loves sleeping in on weekends, because we usually have late suppers on Friday nights as a way to get all riled up for the weekend. Hence, breakfast is undeniably the last thing on our minds when we go to bed on Fridays. BUT, there is this one event that actually gets us even more excited than sleeping in,<a href="http://riseandshine.com.sg/carnival2015"> THE RISE AND SHINE CARNIVAL</a>!<br />
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The Rise & Shine’s inaugural event is aimed to raise awareness on healthy development of children through good dietary and lifestyle habits after research findings show 1 in 3 children have unhealthy breakfast. The turnout for this event was a success that had broken the Singapore Book of Record for the largest breakfast picnic turnout in 2013 and we are rather proud to be part of such an event that promotes family togetherness and is recognized nationwide.<br />
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Last year, we were up just as the sun was up, and all happy to have a breakfast picnic with hundreds of other families at The Lawn. The Rise & Shine Carnival 2015 is the largest outdoor carnival in Singapore for children and families and the very first event that is breakfast picnic themed. Best part of all, is that there are plenty of activities for children and families to do throughout the carnival, and I promise you, your children is going to need a lot of coaxing when the event ends!<br />
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This year, the Rise and Shine carnival is back for the 3rd year, so you can expect three times more fun, more joy and definitely more bonding between families. It is also held at a much bigger area, the floating platform! While the carnival usually aims for morning activities, don't fret if you think you won't be able to lug the whole family out by the early morning, because activities are extended till 5pm this time around!<br />
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If you're wondering if you should go to this year's Rise and Shine carnival, here are some photos from last year's even that may help with your decision!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9c_2UWYrWScwhMhxxgeBDwqnhDP2DSHXjIsP1fzQVoiblZXnrDYDp-1WHUFXNZrd-Abk7v9T_59J2svpAHU9NQpui16TVIQPmixji2nSz_6NTH_XgqbAuTCU3iaby8FeLJeqnYXmX6A/s1600/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9c_2UWYrWScwhMhxxgeBDwqnhDP2DSHXjIsP1fzQVoiblZXnrDYDp-1WHUFXNZrd-Abk7v9T_59J2svpAHU9NQpui16TVIQPmixji2nSz_6NTH_XgqbAuTCU3iaby8FeLJeqnYXmX6A/s1600/01.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buy your tickets online, and join us!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjom16hA3_-NAjnT6y3QNtv5NLoZHz2nNjTXOKfjp4TIweIpV1r_l-eyfGvFpsVUpEI7SdxDqEO7chta3ELQBb8EaKG5TZ-UxFgHyj7zenHKsV-CdcX8CdwN8PUfNUcHrDnsVN_dcy5_ZE/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjom16hA3_-NAjnT6y3QNtv5NLoZHz2nNjTXOKfjp4TIweIpV1r_l-eyfGvFpsVUpEI7SdxDqEO7chta3ELQBb8EaKG5TZ-UxFgHyj7zenHKsV-CdcX8CdwN8PUfNUcHrDnsVN_dcy5_ZE/s1600/02.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at how many of us are having breakfast together, its really fun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yZ3vSIbqfdSt9-4seA_78YLR0DSyj5aMhet4KqKYzCT8vBEf4cm2lpNuO4WOa7imDFhZVLmy3aNT8sUuHe1invllVzswMkXKuZFkEvmpX1yOs5VgwJaS1NGwzpcT4dJfcRkRS-oyAKI/s1600/03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yZ3vSIbqfdSt9-4seA_78YLR0DSyj5aMhet4KqKYzCT8vBEf4cm2lpNuO4WOa7imDFhZVLmy3aNT8sUuHe1invllVzswMkXKuZFkEvmpX1yOs5VgwJaS1NGwzpcT4dJfcRkRS-oyAKI/s1600/03.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just one of the many activities that the children get to enjoy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptsKxiGpvWAFiV3NboBXlbNItdJAOAqTV7QrRSdl8cIUw5V5_W-Tn08bGCcNw0BqHcJlCp1m_3yGEHgQvLHZooZZnF_Qw9_Ud5QbBXOCsLnreTVJX65Q8QQB00o-OAHxWVGz7bu2e43A/s1600/04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptsKxiGpvWAFiV3NboBXlbNItdJAOAqTV7QrRSdl8cIUw5V5_W-Tn08bGCcNw0BqHcJlCp1m_3yGEHgQvLHZooZZnF_Qw9_Ud5QbBXOCsLnreTVJX65Q8QQB00o-OAHxWVGz7bu2e43A/s1600/04.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone gets a "picnic basket'' of nutella goodness</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8DDaGx5F39VEs5WErzlvfit_FRH_hpeu2lRlWxC2Ry2L4CKLRuYhbfcOoRDnU32edbdKky6z1XS0zxu38vTjy__yIbJ3BxhVaOcQRyuznbDUfCbHeoNWHXyC6XfsOg95Xpttumy75Ub4/s1600/05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8DDaGx5F39VEs5WErzlvfit_FRH_hpeu2lRlWxC2Ry2L4CKLRuYhbfcOoRDnU32edbdKky6z1XS0zxu38vTjy__yIbJ3BxhVaOcQRyuznbDUfCbHeoNWHXyC6XfsOg95Xpttumy75Ub4/s1600/05.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spreadddd and eatttttt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-zl9Q4HPZAdKtEDMGUrEkpV40BxpeWmecxJxz7hoNoVNHvxe2TrZvhE8uGq4ff__xc3ckqoQWviNftL4ZQpYwCIQqOMAoVnuuay5kfktsWR961xdZDwvuO6khl_4O6T9t1VNhKQ0fcY/s1600/06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-zl9Q4HPZAdKtEDMGUrEkpV40BxpeWmecxJxz7hoNoVNHvxe2TrZvhE8uGq4ff__xc3ckqoQWviNftL4ZQpYwCIQqOMAoVnuuay5kfktsWR961xdZDwvuO6khl_4O6T9t1VNhKQ0fcY/s1600/06.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe me, nothing like having nutella goodness on a picnic with many other families!</td></tr>
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This year's highlights include a special appearance by a Manchester United Legend! Some lucky kids might just score a chance to have a friendly soccer match with him! OKay I am a huge Manchester united fan, so this is definitely a plus point for me, remind me to get my boys dressed up in their jerseys for this!<br />
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Other highlights include a Special performance by Angry Birds, kiddy rides, face painting, bubbles party, and a lot of other sports related activities, which I am very excited for because children these days really need to get out there and moving to such fun!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhf7i7Gvw2FJLcr9CUVrCPM7SeqscxKMCHzPsLfjlhVEbEtnXTPyNl2pcKmK3aveS_LrRA67_Ym5qpjk9mZFOqPBTcT8rzhRMc1hR6a4HhIE-diAKNKU6WNauWPTwZsCGjfO0A5sXGlHU/s1600/carnival+poster_FA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhf7i7Gvw2FJLcr9CUVrCPM7SeqscxKMCHzPsLfjlhVEbEtnXTPyNl2pcKmK3aveS_LrRA67_Ym5qpjk9mZFOqPBTcT8rzhRMc1hR6a4HhIE-diAKNKU6WNauWPTwZsCGjfO0A5sXGlHU/s1600/carnival+poster_FA.jpg" height="640" width="452" /></a></div>
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More details about the event:<br />
<b><u>Venue: The Float @ Marina Bay </u></b><br />
<b><u>Date: Saturday, 18 April 2015 </u></b><br />
Time: 8am – 12pm (booth activities will continue to run till 5pm!<br />
Kids have more time to try out games at each booth)<br />
Ticket price: Free entry for kids below 12 years old.
$20/ ticket. Each paying adult will receive a play coupons worth $40 and each family will receive a picnic mat free.<br />
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Visit website for more details: www.riseandshine.com.sg/carnival2015
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Enjoy a special promotion of 15% OFF when you key promotional code ITCHYFINGERS during your purchase! </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 25.2000007629395px;">Also, a chance to get your hands on two pairs of tickets to join us at the Rise and Shine carnival 2015! Just answer a simple question with your email address under comments below, and like our page Itchyfingers Photography on facebook to qualify! Contest ends on <u><b>8 April 2015</b></u>, good luck!</span><script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
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<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-42784418895786203252015-02-03T09:42:00.000+08:002015-02-03T10:30:04.735+08:00Our decision to homeschool.The decision to homeschool. Why and why not? I think plenty of times, I have had people come up to me and ask which school my children attend, and the moment I reply with the word "homeschool", they look at me like I am out of my mind. It is a lesser used word, because the homeschool community in Singapore is a rather small bunch as compared to our western counterparts. Most children start education here as young as 6 months, perhaps not exactly formal education but I know of plenty of parents who start their young in brain training enrichment classes at infant stage. That is how crucial "school" is seen as to most parents here. Hence, my decision to homeschool can be pretty said as frowned upon by those who have not seen the other side of the grass yet, and I am not even convincing them that it is greener!<br />
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My husband and I sat down almost five years ago, and thought to ourselves "what would we do with our children now that we are parents." What were our objectives in life? What did we want our children to grow with? And how did we want our children to be? These questions weren't hard to ask, neither were the answers hard to answer. Yet, what followed through was the hardest part of all. We decided that we wanted our children to grow with the comfort of being themselves, supported by us with love, encouragement and motivation. We want our children to grow up making mistakes, and understanding that it is okay to do so, and mistakes are crucial to learning. We want our children to be accepted and to accept, to love and be loved. We want our children to love life and nature, and be happy and flexible in everything that they do. Lastly, we want our children to love family, to know that family is and will be the only constant figure in their lives. Having these conditions in mind, we knew that it had to be exampled by us, led by us, and guided by us. And, that was how we came to the decision of homeschooling our children.<br />
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Being in the early childhood industry, I have seen how it works and I know how it works. I am not concluding that schooling for the early years is bad, but it is my personal thought that schooling will not be able to help our family achieve the objectives that we have set out for our children.<br />
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<u><b>ONE. we want our children to grow with the comfort of being themselves, supported by us with love, encouragement and motivation.</b></u><br />
In a typical classroom ratio of 1:15, let's face it, teachers will not be able to shower each child with that much love, encouragement, and motivation as compared to if it was one teacher to a child. I know some people would argue that this is not realistic, and it could be indulging the child to have full scale attention, that at the end of the day, the child needs to know that he is not alone and he cannot demand sole attention. Yet, I'd like to indulge my children with this undivided attention, because I believe it is key to building self-esteem and confidence. I can go on and on about my personal beliefs on this but it would come across as too... pushy, so let's just leave it at that. I know for a fact that more often than not, children are imposed to learn in an environment that is accommodating for the rest of the class in a school system and that is something I wish not for my children. Not at this young age at least.<br />
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<b><u>TWO. We want our children to grow up making mistakes, and understanding that it is okay to do so, and mistakes are crucial to learning.</u></b><br />
Once again, in a typical preschool environment, the teaching styles differ from teacher to teacher. So far, my elder son has attended preschool at pre-nursery and nursery level, at four different schools. Don't even ask me why FOUR different schools, but just know that I am always at odds and ends with all the schools he has attended. At age 3, he was taught to color within the lines. NO coloring out of the lines because it is not right. How is not right, why is it not right, I cannot fathom. My husband and I are people who do not conform, we believe that coloring out of lines is perfectly okay because it could be a form of expression, a form of creativity even. And then there was once my son wanted to color an apple purple, but the teacher said it was wrong because apples are supposed to be red, or green. We believe that a child this young should be allowed to free his ideas, explain his thoughts, and art is subjective for all to begin with. One day perhaps my son will look back at his purple apple and say "hey that shouldn't be purple, it should be red!", but let him discover it on his own. I want my children to explore their ideas and thoughts, express themselves, make mistakes and know that it's okay to make mistakes. Self discovery is a very important aspect in my children's youth, and in a typical school setting, let's just say there's very little of that happening.<br />
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<b><u>THREE. We want our children to be accepted and to accept, to love and be loved. </u></b><br />
With the above two points, I think you can see where I am going with acceptance in our local preschool setting. Inclusion has never really been followed through although most preschools actually have that listed in their vision and mission because ultimately teachers lead a very rushed, pressurizing and demanding jobscope and it is beyond their ability sometimes to cater to the whims and fancies and needs of every child, especially when they have 15-25 children under them with no assistant teacher in some situations. Having said that, it all really boils down to the teacher-student ratio, and that is not exactly a very happening ratio in our local context in most preschools, no thanks to overpopulation and the lack of manpower in the teaching industry. I don't know but ultimately, I've always believed that love and empathy starts from home, hence for them to learn to love, they need to be loved first and how better than to have a mother's love whilst being homeschooled. I can hug, kiss, and cuddle them all I want during lesson time, that's just my dream come true. :P<br />
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<b><u>FOUR. We want our children to love life and nature, be happy and flexible in everything that they do.</u></b><br />
Okay this fourth point is actually the most crucial decider that made us want to homeschool. Flexibility. When my children were attending school in the past year, and both my husband and I were working, we led a very rushed life. We rushed to wake up, we rushed through our food, we rushed the kids off to school, we rushed them home, we rushed them to sleep, and the vicious cycle went on and on. And I know too, that they were rushed in school, rushed to complete their art work, rushed through snack, rushed through play and the vicious cycle went on yet again. It is horrible that we rush our children so much that we don't realise how that stops their minds from taking time to indulge, explore, focus and experience and all this plays a huge role in how they are going to grow up in the future. So many people talk about primary school children not being able to focus, not being able to think out of the box, but did they ever retract back to why that happened? One word: rush. It is the killer attitude to growing up if you ask me. As an adult myself, I hate being rushed. I hate rushing. It takes away my opportunity to breathe and take in life as it is. Why do you think we all look forward to holidays and vacations, because that is the one time we are allowed to take time to appreciate and enjoy life the way it's meant to. Let's face it, YOLO.<br />
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<b><u>FIVE. we want our children to love family, to know that family is and will be the only constant figure in their lives.</u></b><br />
For most of us, family time is only most substantial on weekends since weekdays are workdays, schooldays and whatever days. While my children are still young, I'd like their weekdays to feel like weekends too, where they can have fun times with us and not give a hoot to anything else. Family time is so important to us that I don't want to put aside time for them, I want time to focus on them, period. If both parents can't do that, then at least one of us is doing that for these young ones. We could have a duo income family, and lead a very comfortable and luxurious life. One with couple of holiday trips a year, one with excess cash to spend on ourselves and one with enough CPF to retire peacefully. But you know what? Money cannot buy time, money cannot buy flexibility, and money cannot buy family. So we choose to live with the lack of good excess money, and learn to live within our means. You know how children at a young age cannot think abstractly, and they take things literally right? Having a mother or father figure with them at every moment allows them to understand that family is the constant figure in their lives. If they spend more time at a childcare under the care of nurturers, or maids, then they grow up understanding the fact that these are the people that are the constant ones. Get it? No amount of explaining or talking can actually remove that idea or memory because children best makes sense of the world through their own deductions and experiences.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7wbNT54x5cM3xMAw3NaqWzaWX5q3xcaYGVX1BkcHbcOk7adzeucVVgkGGi57pGMh5WvGphkzISOlF6udMyT2BtaF1BkwAGc4LuADXVX-FJ4L5uqMFB75qq8k6EFaLbw5KeTz-gS9HSI/s1600/IMG_3475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7wbNT54x5cM3xMAw3NaqWzaWX5q3xcaYGVX1BkcHbcOk7adzeucVVgkGGi57pGMh5WvGphkzISOlF6udMyT2BtaF1BkwAGc4LuADXVX-FJ4L5uqMFB75qq8k6EFaLbw5KeTz-gS9HSI/s1600/IMG_3475.JPG" height="246" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A snapshot of our homeschool room.</td></tr>
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Anyway, every family works differently, and has different ideologies and aims in life. I am not saying that homeschooling is better than schooling, I am also not saying that being a stay at home mom is more noble than a working mom's job. Like I said, we sat down and considered all these factors before actually deciding to homeschool which works best for our family because of our personal perspectives and objectives. We are very glad we took this route because it saves us plenty of dough too! Sending children to childcare these days are exorbitant, and I know it's never going to get cheaper and it shouldn't too because teachers need to be duly paid.<br />
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We had to get our parents convinced that homeschooling works for our family, because school is often viewed as a very important aspect in the Singapore context. A couple of people around us have given us looks with raised eyebrows whenever we say our children are home-schooled, but it does not faze us. Most importantly, we get to spend time with our children every single minute of everyday, and that is what makes us very happy. I get to wake up and cuddle them in bed for an hour every single day before we get down to playing, eating, exploring, sharing, enjoying. It's beautiful, to be able to take in everyday with my wonderful children while I still can, before they grow up, and you know what they say about growing up. It happens way too fast.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-11504284475083041702015-01-09T07:21:00.001+08:002015-01-09T07:23:44.481+08:00A new year, a new start. Hello, 2015!2015.<br />
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I never looked back since we got into the millennium, but lo and behold it is already 2015. A new year, a new start for most of us. A quick check into all social media accounts, and we see plenty of excited parents gearing up for a new year of parenting, excited children starting school, and not so excited adults starting a new year of work, paying taxes and clocking in overtime hours.<br />
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What does 2015 hold for me? We are embarking of plenty of new journeys here on our end too. The husband has just landed himself a spanking new job that grants him a chance to explore different new opportunities, while I have quit my job to focus fully on the children at home. Yes, we are starting our new homeschool year after being in hiatus for the past two years, thanks to the completion of my studies. I have graduated, can I get a yahooooooo! The kids are super stoked that "school" is now "home" and vice versa. This practically means no more shouting for them to get ready for school, because we learn at our own pace, and have our own goals. Pretty awesome I must say.<br />
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In a glance, we have started of our first week of 2015 right, with time well spent, and memories documented well. I sure hope all of you have had the same fantastic start. I don't know about you, but having a second go at setting things straight always gets me hyped, and the new year never fails to bring me that feeling. I am pretty thankful to have had 29 chances of starting a brand new year, and having a new start. And I am sure that if you are reading this, then you have had plenty of fresh new starts too!<br />
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Sharing our first week of 2015 in pictures, no less,<br />
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If you are wondering what are my new year resolutions, they are pretty simple.<br />
Read more.<br />
Smile more.<br />
Pray more.<br />
Play more.<br />
Dream more.<br />
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Be thankful.<br />
Be grateful.<br />
Be wonderful.<br />
Be attentive.<br />
Be joyful.<br />
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I wonder, What's yours? :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-81381578886256388442014-11-25T18:05:00.001+08:002014-11-25T18:20:36.216+08:00Media Invite: Cbeebies live countdown to Christmas at Plaza SingapuraEvery June and December, I can't help but look out for those mall shows that feature some of the children's favorite television characters live. After all, it is the school holidays and the children definitely deserve some ogling over their favorite characters LIVE instead of just watching them on television.<br />
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Now, one of our favorite tv kid channels is Cbeebies. Why? Because it is British, and also mainly because it has Mister Maker! I cannot think of anyone who does know or like that british arty farty mister, because he is so fun, so adorable and so so creative. A year ago, he came by to Singapore and we watched him at Plaza Singapura. The boys were stoked beyond belief when they saw him live, and this year we are lucky enough to catch him live again, only this time it's live via a special TV link, also at Plaza Singapura!</div>
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Apart from Mister Maker, other Cbeebies characters also appear, and you know what I like best? The flow of characters who appeared on stage caters to children of all ages! Never mind that you have an infant, because he is sure to recognize the good old Teletubbies!</div>
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You have a toddler that has grown out of the Teletubbies, and is also learning his numbers? Well then there is the Numtums that you can catch too! Best part, they sing some really catchy number songs that allow the children to sing along to and learn at the same time, If you happen to be spending at the mall that day, then a $30 receipt will get you an on stage pass to take some intimate photos with these characters too!</div>
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Finally, if you have a preschooler, than of course you have to catch Mister Maker himself! Hosting the show via the special TV Link. I do wished the TV link appearance was a little bigger though, so that everyone could see it. Because the crowd was overwhelming, and most of the kids were too short to actually focus on the screen. But well, still felt awesome to be there anyways. As long as the kids enjoy themselves, really! And we brought home Mister Maker for some inspirational creations too in the comfort of our home which I encourage you to do too, after watching the show. Grab some art supplies and get creative!</div>
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The Cbeebies Live! Countdown to Christmas will be having shows everyday from <b><u>21st November to 7 December</u></b> (except Tuesdays)! Find out more details on the <a href="http://www.plazasingapura.com.sg/en/happenings/?promoid=malls.sg.plaza-singapura.character-show-2014">Plaza Singapura website</a> if you're intending to go, and for their showtimes! With such mall shows, moms like us would not have to worry about keeping the children occupied this holidays!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-4256478152304849122014-11-18T14:33:00.002+08:002014-11-18T14:53:01.773+08:00Three years on, and a new beginning!Three years ago, I made a decision to go back to school. This happened a month after the birth of my son, and I was juggling being a mom to two boys, one newborn and another toddler, breastfeeding full-time, shuttling between school and home, and of course spending late nights doing up assignments and late night feeding at the same time. All this could only really happen, thanks to the endless support from my husband and parents for helping with the kids all through the three years.<br />
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No one said it was going to be easy. It was definitely one of the hardest periods of my life, and I had to make the toughest decisions just so I could achieve what I had signed up for. As if being a mother alone wasn't time consuming enough, I had to put aside time to finish up assignments, group projects, attend class and settle petty group disagreements. It was not just time consuming, but very exhausting at times. Each and every time I had to neglect my children for school, I would feel an inch of guilt creep up my heart. But I kept myself strong because what I was studying, was entirely for them. After all, the main reason for me to go back to school and take this course in early childhood education was because I wanted to homeschool my children, and I wanted to do so with the proper credentials to my name.<br />
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Sometime six months ago, a bigger challenge/dilemma/problem happened. I had to fulfill a six month internship program which meant that I will be sent into the working field while I sent my children for alternative care arrangements. This was the most toughest thing I had to endure because A) I have never left my children under the care of others before, B) and I don't intend to ever do that either. Childcare has never been an option in my books, since I hated the idea of my children spending the entire day (7am-7pm) in a school environment at such a young age. My husband was not so agreeable as well, so we ended up compromising between us both to shoulder taking care of the kids for two halves of the day. We ended up with this arrangement for 6 months while I worked as a half day teacher.<br />
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11am: send the kids to school<br />
1pm: I report to work<br />
4pm: The husband leaves work early to fetch the kids.<br />
5pm: I knock off work and meet them at home.<br />
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Occasionally, the husband sends the kids over to my workplace, then returns to work. Truth be told, this arrangement took a toll not only on our health, but also on his job. After all, he was an employed worker and for him to be ending work early on a daily basis just was not healthy at all. Furthermore, I could not commit to work on my end as well, since I had to rush to and fro to send and fetch the boys. Hence, I wasn't able to come early, or end late for work at any one point of time. Even when I had tons of work pending in my hands.<br />
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Six months of this arrangement had finally ended, and we breathed a huge sigh of relief. I ended work together with the kids I taught on the last day of the term (I will blog about that emotional process sometime soon!) and I am back into the loving arms of my children... and husband. No more worries, no more stress, no more neglect. Work has ended, school has ended, and I am finally back as a mom. A full-time mom, no less.<br />
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Of course, I am not saying being a full-time mom is any easier, but it sure goes easy on the heart at least. I can finally take my boys out for field trips on a weekday with no hurry, no pressure and lots of fun. I can also finally let them play and learn, without having to rush or stop. Our homeschooling flow will be back as we start the new year, and I am definitely looking forward to that with all the new knowledge and skills I have learnt in my three year study course.<br />
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Apart from homeschooling, I'll also have more time to blog (now you know my reason for missing in action!), attend media invites and concentrate on some personal projects I have in mind. It is going to be enriching! I love teaching, so I won't give that up entirely, no. But first, let me be a teacher to my children!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bXIjQoHhDTszwdDMqSN_37IVJaHjJ7Uf2ALye8ddcCVqvmkn9zINyjUyXHB11o7jFtHt3YDpjMFGPQh7hfxO2vx3HBqc6629NzVZusUNClxmcZnxSsJbr-bwMt9jRuRh-57KtYWtvw4/s1600/IMG_8748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bXIjQoHhDTszwdDMqSN_37IVJaHjJ7Uf2ALye8ddcCVqvmkn9zINyjUyXHB11o7jFtHt3YDpjMFGPQh7hfxO2vx3HBqc6629NzVZusUNClxmcZnxSsJbr-bwMt9jRuRh-57KtYWtvw4/s1600/IMG_8748.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gift from my internship supervisor.</td></tr>
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<b>Here's to a new beginning!</b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-81823225324285573172014-08-25T10:56:00.001+08:002014-08-25T11:01:22.072+08:00Shopping for books at the NoQ Store brings about an excitement like no other!I won't deny that I love shopping. I also won't deny that I absolutely go crazy for books. Put this together and you'll realise that I am quite the shopaholic when it comes to books. To put things into better perspective, I have a library at home that looks like this:<br />
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Now you get the idea right? I am always on the lookout for great bargains, and online sites where I can park my bum, and shop to my hearts content. With all the bookstores closing down on us recently, it is really catastrophic for us book lovers to know that there's a shortage of bookshops on our little island. Thankfully though, more online bookstores are sprouting out, and one particular bookstore to keep a lookout for is <a href="http://www.noqstore.asia/">NoQ Store</a>!<br />
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NoQ actually stands for "no queue" and technically, there really is no queue when you are shopping with NoQ because it's an online subsidiary of the Times publishing that we are all too familiar with! :) Apart from that, the online store offers thousands of books carefully divided into our favorite sections for easy selection!<br />
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Recently, I shopped for some books, and here was how it went:<br />
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<b><u>STEP ONE</u></b>: Browse through their mad selection of books. They have different sections for different book genres. Here, you can find me browsing through the kid selection. You can automatically see the highlighted discounts and savings that you will be getting in<span style="color: red;"> Red</span>.<br />
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<b><u>STEP TWO</u></b>: For more information, or even a synopsis of the book, do click on the book and you will be redirected to another page. On this page, you can see a larger image of the book selected, reviews of the book from fellow buyers, and also an add to cart option should you choose to buy it!<br />
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<b><u>STEP THREE:</u></b> If you are tired from all that browsing, there is a SEARCH option where you just have to type in the author or title, and you will be redirected to a result page with all the books. Here, I typed activities and found tons of books I am actually interested to get instead of the initial book I wanted. Sometimes, we all need some ideas when it comes to shopping!<br />
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<b><u>STEP FOUR</u></b>: Once you've add to cart with all your purchases, it's really a no brainer to get to the payment and delivery page. Best part is, you get to shop, and receive NTUC points if you are a member! Delivery takes a little longer sometimes, although they do promise to get your books to you within 3 weeks. But for me, the longer it takes, the more exciting it is to wait for mr mailman to come by with your loot!<br />
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Extra pointers to note:<br />
- Delivery is FREE for purchases over SGD25<br />
- Type in your email address for newsletters emailed to you! I find this really useful because they email relevant book ideas as well as discount codes from time to time.<br />
- There is a chatline box for you to get your enquiries answered on site.<br />
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After <b><span style="font-size: large;">three </span></b>weeks,<br />
Santa came in the form of a courier man who delivered these beautiful books to me and boy, was I a delighted little girl all over again!<br />
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I had a pleasant experience shopping at the NoQ store, and if you would like to shop too, here's a sweet deal for all my readers! Just key in the code, <b>ITCHYFINGERS</b> at the end of the purchase, and you will receive a cool 15% off your total amount. :) Sweet deal, ain't it? There is no reason not to shop now!<br />
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<i>Happy Shopping, and I hope you have a bookalicious time!</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: I was given a book voucher to purchase some books at the store for this review, and all thoughts and opinions are solely mine. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-80431375257541186012014-08-23T19:25:00.002+08:002014-08-25T10:59:49.830+08:00I was at the Rise and Shine Expo, and my kids definitely came home being happier kids!Sometimes I do not know why I subject myself to crazy crowds at fairs, but I am guessing it's because I have this deep love for shopping under one roof. This week at Suntec Convention Center, one of the biggest parenting and educational fair is happening! The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RiseAndShineExpo?fref=ts">Rise and Shine Expo</a> has landed and it's a must-go! They have parenting seminars which you have to register for, and also trial classes for children that may just help you pick and choose what you need for that holiday program. I personally love the fair for all the bargains, and hands on fun that the children get to enjoy.<br />
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Parenting fairs have come a long way. Back then, it's really all about retailing. These days, it's about opportunities for children as organizers strive to plan for children to explore, play, and experience amidst their parents shopping. It's killing two birds with a single stone for me when my children enjoy themselves and I get to run my errands at the same time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwPkp5wyKumbw-XALPfRF2REKAI_gFpfXRlpPRSCFTOtk5lpl5ckEMslsEjt3oM-edsun96ATv-WUYpzG3eYJDqqit2RdKgvK_Kh64CWiXTXUkp5Wql9h1q53tAk5cLr_tg2cMo-sfDg/s1600/RS-Disney-ebanner-20JUN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwPkp5wyKumbw-XALPfRF2REKAI_gFpfXRlpPRSCFTOtk5lpl5ckEMslsEjt3oM-edsun96ATv-WUYpzG3eYJDqqit2RdKgvK_Kh64CWiXTXUkp5Wql9h1q53tAk5cLr_tg2cMo-sfDg/s1600/RS-Disney-ebanner-20JUN.jpg" height="265" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you love fairs too, and have nothing up for the weekend, then do consider bringing your kids to meet-and-greet Sofia the first and Jake from the Neverland pirates at the Rise and Shine fair. Do keep a lookout for some really outstanding booths at the fair, like the Disney baby booth (I'll speak about that in a separate entry) which is crazily pretty and brings back my love for Disney altogether.<br />
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In any case, I think meeting Sofia and Jake is a good enough reason to bring your kids to the fair! They have eighty passes to give out and it is on a first come first serve basis, so make sure you get your lucky hands on them. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-82941742169431209392014-08-14T09:43:00.000+08:002014-08-14T09:57:23.861+08:00Fun for Free SG: Lush greenery at the Sengkang Riverside Park<h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8rem; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #e06666;">NATIONAL DAY BLOG TRAIN HOSTED BY GINGERBREAD MUM</span></h2>
I am a huge sucker for lush greenery and big empty fields. Even better, the soft breeze against dandelions and soft feathery fountain-grass simply brings me to dreamy escapades and beyond! Living in a cosmopolitan city, it's almost impossible to find such heavenly places anymore. It is all buildings and high rise apartments surrounding our 360.<br />
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But living in Sengkang has somewhat led me to believe that there are some well kept "secret" places in Singapore, especially that of where I live in. <a href="http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_visitorsguide&task=parks&id=84&Itemid=371">Sengkang Riverside Park</a> is one of them. Snug in the Anchorvale area of Sengkang, this place is quite a treasure for it's lush greenery, artificial ponds, man-made lakes and big open fields which are perfect for picnics and kite flying. </div>
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I have not been there much, nor have I actually really ventured the entire park because it's HUUUGEEE. You can actually see this park when you drive along the Tampines expressway and across the Jalan kayu flyover. It's beautiful greenery is so inviting that you would almost want to hop out of your car and explore the park. </div>
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The last time we went to the Riverside Park, we actually had a mini picnic party to celebrate my son's fourth birthday and the pictures came out amazing!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUDVRtkuIuovVlP7pMSqy4UjDrWPtyCCdb5JWKJ63g7Gvz6RcY4scIIjgalJXhUoQMoSKJmRgfC0apMfDIZLHEvT6nkJVGcJfXjoxg1uVIcueXQ-EBiVEklvzXkBhrHh1wT2o6R0Odbc/s1600/09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUDVRtkuIuovVlP7pMSqy4UjDrWPtyCCdb5JWKJ63g7Gvz6RcY4scIIjgalJXhUoQMoSKJmRgfC0apMfDIZLHEvT6nkJVGcJfXjoxg1uVIcueXQ-EBiVEklvzXkBhrHh1wT2o6R0Odbc/s1600/09.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the entrance you would see along the road.<br />
This used to be a multi-purpose hall that looks almost awesome for parties and weddings,<br />
but it has been since converted to a cafe.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLpmTdSRwlUGUUeyKq4NBkeoIIje-u77CCcGsTeq7ac6z9RfWkFkUHly6fGXVjXVGWGPJ_GvAKVZj3Jydrnv6bDd8OOlMif5MfQlbq9UCFjuMr1vydzWUY-EBI3jyF-QF7gtCzX3L3k8/s1600/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLpmTdSRwlUGUUeyKq4NBkeoIIje-u77CCcGsTeq7ac6z9RfWkFkUHly6fGXVjXVGWGPJ_GvAKVZj3Jydrnv6bDd8OOlMif5MfQlbq9UCFjuMr1vydzWUY-EBI3jyF-QF7gtCzX3L3k8/s1600/01.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lush greenery that awaits you</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCGAJSH_2xqnNpxXTXTHmYbJ3qpJGAYXrpto8KxJTtJGy6R33gXhGCDq-HwWQUQHi-yLD45ogFyjMwylyjcRnmM20kYG_CsF4zs2lU-L82xcnw7MbC3d9jqsKU5A6WOWTpacOZULkal8/s1600/03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCGAJSH_2xqnNpxXTXTHmYbJ3qpJGAYXrpto8KxJTtJGy6R33gXhGCDq-HwWQUQHi-yLD45ogFyjMwylyjcRnmM20kYG_CsF4zs2lU-L82xcnw7MbC3d9jqsKU5A6WOWTpacOZULkal8/s1600/03.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful plants and leaves surrounds</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKORCvVgwAMdb9lFaDOQ2CapSu2dozIrHkbup6A-30hbKw3Ebr5Sk6UDNGde8mC3qEXsgwPNtHCzdd6vhKw8qZs0J4F9WXLo77jWSOFchGeoagp9V1ckb1wdoCJMBUCokQwdQtIFjmkU/s1600/04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKORCvVgwAMdb9lFaDOQ2CapSu2dozIrHkbup6A-30hbKw3Ebr5Sk6UDNGde8mC3qEXsgwPNtHCzdd6vhKw8qZs0J4F9WXLo77jWSOFchGeoagp9V1ckb1wdoCJMBUCokQwdQtIFjmkU/s1600/04.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect for kite-flying, and senseless running for the kids</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE26B8lnQuSsb8IU3AkV2C1tjnZ1iyrMTKY7x1ZVAGaWHr7scSiIhq3yRKL88YOQyxhyphenhyphenoHyrNCtlWl4q3VtyjwT_SGkxixVpIOyrEoPtr6cFQC982OrsYlPWLEPXRhMt13Vl15MZ3iqGI/s1600/05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE26B8lnQuSsb8IU3AkV2C1tjnZ1iyrMTKY7x1ZVAGaWHr7scSiIhq3yRKL88YOQyxhyphenhyphenoHyrNCtlWl4q3VtyjwT_SGkxixVpIOyrEoPtr6cFQC982OrsYlPWLEPXRhMt13Vl15MZ3iqGI/s1600/05.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The green pathways that are just so awesome</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_yq9yqspRvhuZBgXKTJy4w_sPWuK8eiPR9ipknAHetsQ5HHTcW5Zgl5lowOatxEttc38B9LnPsgovYfbNVfDkl03BhFNp9-i9iAzV30XBBcn_I9FOE3cQeHFbF0NTN4PalEh0txCszps/s1600/08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_yq9yqspRvhuZBgXKTJy4w_sPWuK8eiPR9ipknAHetsQ5HHTcW5Zgl5lowOatxEttc38B9LnPsgovYfbNVfDkl03BhFNp9-i9iAzV30XBBcn_I9FOE3cQeHFbF0NTN4PalEh0txCszps/s1600/08.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I told you, the place is perfect for "bollywood" poses!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF_F8BH5SUnyU0Kjbsayy9YzILx9NZlL4ARfUu7tka_SL7etHALj__-4v24iwYdfn-osj6p__7H-NHUtghOHAd5E7GceWTxK8VO-m2ykEI_qPvWxLMJ1PqTLLiYehEiNMFQoqN_6Xlys/s1600/07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF_F8BH5SUnyU0Kjbsayy9YzILx9NZlL4ARfUu7tka_SL7etHALj__-4v24iwYdfn-osj6p__7H-NHUtghOHAd5E7GceWTxK8VO-m2ykEI_qPvWxLMJ1PqTLLiYehEiNMFQoqN_6Xlys/s1600/07.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And we had a beautifully simple and naturalistic picnic-birthday that special day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sengkang Riverside Park is not your typical park with benches or gazebos, so do bring along picnic mats and sprawl them around the big fields if you intend to go. There are beautiful pathways to take relaxing strolls with your loved ones, and also bicycle tracks for you to explore on the go. It is a park perfect for when the weather is not too hot, and all you want is a quick getaway from the city to beautiful nature.<br />
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To get there, you can take the LRT from Sengkang Interchange and alight at Farmway station. it is just a five minute walk from the station, and it faces the Sengkang swimming complex too! Here is more information about the park on the <a href="http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_visitorsguide&task=parks&id=84&Itemid=371">National parks website</a>.<br />
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<b>Address:</b></div>
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<b><span itemprop="streetAddress" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sengkang Riverside Park</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> (50 Anchorvale St)</span></b></div>
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Next up on the blog train is Winnie from <a href="http://toddlymummy.blogspot.sg/">Toddly Mummy</a>! She will be sharing with you the wonders of our very own East Coast Park on the funforfreesg blog train! Hop on!</div>
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Can’t get enough of FUN FOR FREE SG venues?<br />
Here’s the whole list – 31 days of free fun in Singapore! This list will be updated regularly; you will be able to click on the location to be brought directly to the blog post when it goes “live”:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">1 Aug: </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gingerbreadmum.com%2F2014%2F07%2Ffun-for-free-sg-tiong-bahru-park.html&h=GAQHljhVk&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tiong Bahru Park</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gingerbreadmum.com%2F&h=NAQEw8Nl4&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gingerbreadmum</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">2 Aug: </span><a href="http://www.ourprincessdana.com/2014/08/queenstown-heritage-trail-fun-for-free-sg.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Queenstown Heritage Trail</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ourprincessdana.com%2F&h=dAQFEthvf&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Princess Dana Diaries</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">3 Aug: </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffinallymama.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F08%2F03%2Fjurong-regional-early-literacy-library-funforfreesg%2F&h=BAQFjPrbP&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jurong Regional Library</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffinallymama.wordpress.com%2F&h=GAQHljhVk&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Finally Mama</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">4 Aug: </span><a href="http://www.peipeihaohao.com/2014/08/singapore-maritime-gallery.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Singapore Maritime Gallery</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.peipeihaohao.com%2F&h=hAQFQCM9h&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Peipei Haohao</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">5 Aug:</span><a href="http://kidsrsimple.com/2014/08/05/31-fun-and-free-places-to-visit-in-singapore-singapore-philatelic-museum/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Singapore Philatelic Museum</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://kidsrsimple.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Kids R Simple</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">6 Aug: </span><a href="http://www.gingerbreadmum.com/2014/08/fun-for-free-sg-sculptures-of-singapore.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sculptures of Singapore</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gingerbreadmum.com%2F&h=5AQHQgthi&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gingerbreadmum</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">7 Aug: </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-js-arena.blogspot.sg%2F2014%2F08%2Ffun-for-free-sg-central-fire-station.html&h=8AQHiU5wS&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Fire Station</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-js-arena.blogspot.sg%2F&h=_AQFcO-v0&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Js Arena</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">8 Aug:</span><a href="http://prayerfullmum.net/2014/08/08/fun-for-free-sg-merlion-park-esplanade/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Esplanade + Merlion</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fprayerfullmum.net%2F&h=tAQFSDcMl&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Prayerfull Mum</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">9 Aug: </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.meeningfully.com%2F2014%2F08%2Fbukit-batok-nature-park-fun-for-free-sg.html&h=JAQHLoAgP&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bukit Batok Nature Park</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://www.meeningfully.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Meeningfully</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">10 Aug: </span><a href="http://www.thekamfamily.com/2014/08/family-picnic-at-lower-pierce-reservoir.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lower Pierce Reservoir Park</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thekamfamily.com%2F&h=vAQHKEvCk&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Kam Family</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">11 Aug: </span><a href="http://www.universalscribbles.com/events-activities/kids-stuff/kids-fun-for-free-singapore-i12-katong/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">I12 Katong - water playground</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://www.universalscribbles.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Universal Scribbles</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">12 Aug: </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.madpsychmum.com%2F2014%2F08%2Ffun-for-free-in-singapore-imm.html&h=VAQGuqWK5&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IMM</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://www.madpsychmum.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mad Psych Mum</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">13 Aug: </span><a href="http://amazinglystill.com/2014/08/fun-free-sg-tampines-1-water-playground/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tampines 1 Water Playground</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Famazinglystill.com%2F&h=RAQGiXvSC&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazingly Still</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">14 Aug: </span><a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2014/08/fun-for-free-sg-lush-greenery-at.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sengkang Riverside Park</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> by </span><a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Itchy Finger Snap</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">15 Aug: East Coast Park by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftoddlymummy.blogspot.com%2F&h=aAQGF8oQY&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Toddly Mummy</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">16 Aug: Sembawang Shopping Centre Playground by </span><a href="http://joeycraftworkz.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Joey Craftworkz</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">17 Aug: Animal resort by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Flynnlly.com%2F&h=JAQHLoAgP&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Raising Faith</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">18 Aug: Botanic Gardens by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mumseword.com%2F&h=rAQFJz9NW&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mum's The Word</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">19 Aug: A surprise! by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmummyed.wordpress.com%2F&h=MAQEmhDEX&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mummy Ed</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">20 Aug: MacRitchie trail by </span><a href="http://scrapmumloft.blogspot.sg/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Scrap Mum Loft</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">21 Aug: Road Safety Park by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmiracule.blogspot.sg%2F&h=pAQGMTpgd&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Miracule</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">22 Aug: Marina Barrage by </span><a href="http://www.jbabiesinthedaisies.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">J Babies</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">23 Aug: Gardens By The Bay, Children's Garden by </span><a href="http://finallymama.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Finally Mama</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">24 Aug: Changi Airport T3 by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmotherkao.com%2F&h=rAQFJz9NW&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mother Kao</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">25 Aug: Pockets of Nature by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmakingmum.blogspot.com%2F&h=kAQF8WBM9&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mum in the Making</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">26 Aug: Changi Airport T1 </span><a href="http://growingwiththetans.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Growing with the Tans</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">27 Aug: Pasir Ris Park </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fingspirations.com%2F&h=fAQFUMbtp&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ingspirations</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">28 Aug: Gardens by the Bay Supertree Grove by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmylilbookworm.blogspot.sg%2F&h=vAQHKEvCk&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">My Lil Bookworm</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">29 Aug: Vivocity Play Area by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Famazinglystill.com%2F&h=wAQFZ0SGv&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazingly Still</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">30 Aug: Punggol Promenade + Punggol Waterway by </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chubbyanecdotes.net%2F&h=eAQHqScFV&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Chubby Anecdotes</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">31 Aug: Westgate Wonderland by </span><a href="http://xavvy-licious.blogspot.sg/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #2e57aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Xavvylicious</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-18840403567282996722014-07-18T08:08:00.000+08:002014-09-03T09:33:43.975+08:00"Every Child is A Genius, all you gotta do is awake the genius in him!" A sharing session with Dr Thomas Armstrong.As part of a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RiseAndShineExpo">Rise and Shine</a> blogger, I was privileged enough to be invited to a Hi-Tea Session with Dr Thomas Armstrong during the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/smartkidsasia">SmartKids Asia</a> Event at the Singapore Expo, Hall 5. This event was kindly brought together by <a href="https://www.wyethnutrition.com.sg/">S26</a>, a milk formula brand that highly promotes nutritional values for a growing child.<br />
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Being in the early childhood field, I was very excited to meet and share with someone who had strong perspectives on multiple intelligences in Children. Multiple Intelligence is a theory brought about by Howard Gardner, an American developmental psychologist who believes very strongly that every child has eight intelligences that he is born to be equipped with. I personally am an advocate for every child being naturally smart in his own way, hence I was nodding in agreement to everything Dr Thomas Armstrong mentioned in his seminar yesterday.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip495FULi3TKvlDohDOVBzSGCG2dXDVQNxRy8HUWdlxqVAajszyslY_koo7L_4m0afWklsaOpaKVMzlwh-bWP3qdACmg8nKUe2l9lKEmK3r5NkDkiixxcKtIkNdEGzHiaEm9mCSgmA4zc/s1600/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles-300x298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip495FULi3TKvlDohDOVBzSGCG2dXDVQNxRy8HUWdlxqVAajszyslY_koo7L_4m0afWklsaOpaKVMzlwh-bWP3qdACmg8nKUe2l9lKEmK3r5NkDkiixxcKtIkNdEGzHiaEm9mCSgmA4zc/s1600/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles-300x298.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture extracted from: http://www.getadministrate.com/blog/easily-assess-learning-styles-for-better-student-outcomes/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As you can see, children are born an all-rounder. They may excel in one area, but it is never exclusive to just one area of learning for them. <b><span style="font-size: large;">"Every child is born a genius, but as he grows, this genius in him may be shut off due to many factors"</span></b>. - Dr Armstrong said at the seminar yesterday. How and why are children born a genius? Because all of them have the innate ability to learn without conforming, to explore and observe freely, and to express creatively. Think about it, each time a parent learns of a baby's milestone, we celebrate it yet when they reach a certain age, all this celebrating just ceases.<br />
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<i>Each time a baby flips or rolls over, we celebrate it because he demonstrates physical ability! Now that's Body Smart (Kinethetic), yet when our child is older, we don't even batt an eyelid when he dances to music or learns certain physical moves from a book or the television </i><i>on his own</i><i>. Why? </i><br />
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<i>Each time a baby demonstrates being word smart and holds a book , we celebrate his eagerness to read. Yet as he grows older, we shove aside this WANT to read and drastically changes it into a NEED to read instead. And we do not even celebrate this moment, because it is "required" of him, a growing preschooler. Why?</i><br />
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<i>Each time during meal time, we would gladly allow our baby to feel textures around us and eagerly share the experience with him, "How does the grass feel?" We would even allow them to splash during their bath in the tub and gladly add bubbles to it. We would let them crawl under tables, and climb the table legs while we dine. But as he grows, we would scream at them to get off the mud, as their shoes will get dirty. Don't even dream of stepping on those rain puddles! No climbing that tree! Why?</i><br />
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Most parents should really dig deep down our conscience, as we start to see that the genius in our child is really shut off by our expectations of a child. How a preschooler should conform to behavioral and societal expectations, and ultimately ditch his desiring need to observe, explore and learn at his own capability.<br />
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Shared during Dr Armstrong's seminar session, he mentioned a couple of points that naturally kills the genius in our children, and possibly in ourselves during our growing years too.<br />
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<li><b><u>Home Miliation</u></b>: Children born to this unfortunate circumstance are naturally born to stress, and vices that they may be exposed to (like drugs, alcohol etc). Also, included are children born with poverty. These creates a negative impact to their growing, and may hinder their learning purposes as they grow.</li>
<li><b><u>Dystechia (School)</u></b>: You know how the world is fast growing into one that is competitive and academically inclined. You need to be book smart to survive kind of thing? Yeah, all that kills the genius in the child. How the child is brought up with the pressure to learn, provided with worksheets and tests at even a young age of five/six in Singapore! If a child is slower at grasping the idea of something and cannot catch up with his peers, then he shall be labelled as one with special needs when really, he is just learning at HIS own pace. </li>
<li><b><u>Medio-crity</u></b>: Technology. That about sums up how children conform to things they are exposed to on the media - violence, stereotypical images, insipid language. Technology kills the creativity that children are born with. The media feeds them with idealogies that they should not be exposed to. Technology hinders children from being in a naturalistic environment, which leads to the underdevelopment of certain skills required of a growing child. </li>
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While most Singaporeans generally do not fall into the Home miliation category, we should be most ashamed that a high percentage of our children do fall into the harmfulness of dystechia and medio-crity. A typical Singaporean child enters school at 3, starts doing worksheets by 4 (some even at 3!), and gets tested by 6 just as they enter primary school. I am in the field, I know that this is still happening in preschools around us and I will not deny that some parents are fond of it. In fact, there are children being sent for tuition at six years old just so that they can secure a good place in a good primary school. </div>
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These grading and testings, this need to comply to educational needs in Singapore has got to stop. Because it is slowly and surely killing the child in being the child that he is born to be. I feel very strongly about this because without the understanding of parents, and the society, there is just so much that a preschool educator can do to help maintain a child's right to live in a free and expressive environment. Yes, a child does have his rights, just as all of us adults do. Give them their childhood back, it is irreversible this thing called time. How do we do we present our children with this immeasurable gift of growing? Dr Thomas Armstrong shares some very valid and easy ways to do our part:</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Let Them Play!</span></b></div>
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<li><b>Let children have the freedom to choose. Grant them choices, and let them make decisions. </b></li>
<li><b>Provide for open-ended exploration. We should all increase the guiding, and lessen the instructing. </b></li>
<li><b>Let children be free from judgement. </b></li>
<li><b>Honoring every child's experiences and abilities.</b></li>
<li><b>Believing in every child's genius. </b></li>
<li><b>Supporting children's nutrition.</b></li>
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That sounds relatively easy, yes? I am sure, as parents, all we want is for the best outcome for our children. And while this may not produce genius instincts instantly, we may just see how our child will grow up to be an individual that is confident, respectful and intellectual with years of encouragement and support coming from us. Every child is a genius, believe that and <b>Believe in your child</b>!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h_MmXt2ibQRpAk_TARjK4mgTO7cg9er_SXsS0JAtDpp8zqJq7wDLuWUmJMq4UncADxl-NeuBlwPBdvYECsTWl-Ztg5MIwFdlUHNgZXbvbd0l43yogX-WGpfg7pSA-wFiQN8aPo1GFZY/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h_MmXt2ibQRpAk_TARjK4mgTO7cg9er_SXsS0JAtDpp8zqJq7wDLuWUmJMq4UncADxl-NeuBlwPBdvYECsTWl-Ztg5MIwFdlUHNgZXbvbd0l43yogX-WGpfg7pSA-wFiQN8aPo1GFZY/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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All this was shared in a very interesting and insightful sharing session with Dr Thomas Armstrong over at <a href="http://tablemanners.com.sg/">Table Manners</a>, where bloggers were invited to have discussions and questions over a casual Hi-Tea. The place was cozy and casual enough for us to open up to Dr Armstrong our concerns over our children's learning requirements in a hurried city like Singapore and we definitely were reassured that letting our children purposefully play through their childhood is the right thing to do.<br />
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This event was very kindly brought together by S-26, which is a leading milk formula brand in Singapore. It contains up to 5 times more DHA, 40% more Lutein and 20% more Choline.<br />
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*Based on S-26 Promise GOLD and compared to previous formula. Children learn in multiple ways – seeing, thinking and doing and good nutrition helps support overall growth and development in these 3 key areas. Nutrition plays a huge role in our young children's development, even more so when we advocate higher thinking skills and multiple intelligence learning.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Dr Thomas Armstrong</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.5px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the American Institute for Learning and Human Development, and an award-winning author and speaker who has been an educator for the past forty years. He</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> is the author of fifteen books including <strong>Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom</strong>, <strong>In Their Own Way, Awakening Your Child’s Natural Genius</strong>, <strong>7 Kinds of Smart</strong>,<strong>The Myth of the A.D.D. Child </strong>and <strong>Awakening Genius in the Classroom</strong>. He has appeared on several national and international television and radio programs, including NBC’s<strong> ”The Today Show”, “CBS This Morning”</strong>, <strong>“CNN”</strong>, the <strong>“BBC” </strong>and <strong>“The Voice of America”</strong>. Articles featuring his work have appeared in <strong>The New York Times</strong>, <strong>the Washington Post</strong>, <strong>USA Today</strong>, <strong>Investor’s Business Daily</strong>, <strong>Good Housekeeping</strong>, and hundreds of other newspapers and magazines around the country.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Dr. Armstrong has given over 800 keynotes, workshop presentations, and lectures in 43 states in US and 20 countries in the past 26 years.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-27709022256291029192014-06-25T10:08:00.000+08:002014-06-26T14:51:08.942+08:00Getting to know Vaby, The box of surprises! You are invited to the Launch!<div class="tr_bq">
How many of us moms read reviews off the internet before actually buying something? I actually do that all the time. </div>
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<i>"I want to buy a food product...wait, let me read what reviews it has on the net."</i><i><br /></i><br />
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<i>"Hey, that lotion smells great! wait, let me read what other moms have to say about it first."</i><br />
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<i>"Honey, let's go for a photoshoot to commemorate the birth of our child! Hang on, let me see what other moms recommend first."</i></blockquote>
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More often than not, we wished there was a service that allows us to try certain products and services first before actually trying it out just so we don't end up a victim ourselves, and that we really like what we spend our cents and dollars on. Also, we get to try new novelty products that we probably have never seen or heard before! What if a box contained all that, suited to what we needed and what we wanted. A box of goodies, just for us to sample and try before actually buying the actual product. That sounds just about amazing, doesn't it! Best part, we get this surprise box delivered to our doorstep, I love surprises!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzS_Amf433Jxo_x_ZZlX7n6Zes6SRBkzJaPC0GddkyeshxTQYh4_oz-n8PabOYiGRDsg9hMMK0Cm9dmrT72PonYMzp4w0nkKT-xLM-KdDX6u0M4IJiRdVylCU_xc5Wgw-B8qtYq4sPfMM/s1600/IMG_9542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzS_Amf433Jxo_x_ZZlX7n6Zes6SRBkzJaPC0GddkyeshxTQYh4_oz-n8PabOYiGRDsg9hMMK0Cm9dmrT72PonYMzp4w0nkKT-xLM-KdDX6u0M4IJiRdVylCU_xc5Wgw-B8qtYq4sPfMM/s1600/IMG_9542.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://vaby.com.sg/">VABY</a>, is a brand new service that provides a one stop solution for all baby products and services as well as a new discovery online shopping destination for mums. It is a monthly service that is sent right to your doorstep, and contains products that you may need or wish to try based on the profile that you have given. It's customized to your likes, and your status (pregnant, mom with babies, mom with older aged children) so there's a high chance that nothing gets unused. </div>
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I'll be at the Vaby Launch this Saturday, and I think you'd like to know that their launch is not only for the media, but it is open for all! Just simply indicate your interest by <a href="http://www.vaby.com.sg/account/account.php?action=register">subscribing and signing up as a member</a> (It's Free!) and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vabysg">liking them on Facebook</a>! They will contact you shortly and you will be able to come and join in the fun at the launch, get to see the different products they can have in each Vaby box as well as get a <b>Vaby Box free</b> for yourself to try!</div>
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Join us at the launch, and bring your family down for a day of fun <a href="http://www.rochesterhouse.com.sg/rochesterhouse.com.sg/Playhouse.html">At The Playhouse</a>! The last time we were there, the kids did not want to go back, and we did not want to go back either! See you there!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: I was invited to brunch with the Vaby Team to get to know more of the products, while the children got to roam free at the Playhouse. We were also gifted with a set of Vaby apparels and was compensated for transport.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-59280925557083917492014-06-03T22:31:00.000+08:002014-06-03T22:31:15.378+08:00Sponsored Video: The very precious early years of a child. #helpachildreach5With two young boys at home, you can imagine the amount of germs, dirt and unhygienic acts exchanged between the two. In Singapore, we are blessed enough to have ample liquid hand soaps, sanitizers and antibacterial sprays selling at the supermarket at affordable prices. The children are also continuously reminded in schools to keep their hands clean and are taught the proper way of hand wash. We are luxurious enough to keep ourselves healthy, and illnesses at a bare minimum. Still, the smallest sickly affair gets me all uptight and edgy each time my boys fall ill, especially if it's a virus attained by the overlooking of a simple act of washing our hands. Remember the time both boys were down with <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2013/10/mom-at-war-presenting-my-germinzer.html">HFMD</a>? It took a long order of constant washing of hands with the right liquid soap, and sanitizing with the right anti bacterial sprays before we got over that period. It is definitely NOT something I want to go through again.<br />
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While we are fortunate enough to be able to keep our kids healthy and safe from viruses, children in other third world countries are not as fortunate. Because of their living conditions, many of them as young as infants fall dangerously ill and lose their lives over illnesses like diarrhea and pneumonia. I cannot imagine losing my child over something that could be easily eliminated over simple acts of keeping oneself clean. Which is exactly why I emphasize a lot on hygiene with my children. Nothing can surpass the love of a mother for her child or the sadness of losing a child, especially if we have the power to control such loss.<br />
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<a href="http://www.lifebuoy.com/">Lifebuoy</a> is on a mission lifesaving mission to spread the importance of good handwashing habits around the world. Most importantly, a mission that will help more children reach their 5th birthday and celebrate every child’s fifth birthday, by stopping the spread of preventable diseases which cause 5,000 children under five to die every day.<br />
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In Utari’s village in Indonesia, a tree is planted at a child’s birth. In such villages, many children lose their lives before their fifth birthday to diseases like diarrhoea that could be prevented through washing hands. All that remains, as in Utari’s case, is the tree.
The simple act of hand washing can prevent many life-threatening diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF7oU_YSbBQ">Last year, Lifebuoy adopted Thesgora, India and by teaching healthy hand washing habits, reduced incidents of diarrhoea from 36% to 5%. </a><br />
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This year, they will adopt Bitobe, Indonesia. Watch this video, and you will see just how important a simple act of washing the hands is, and how it can save millions of people especially children just by spreading the awareness.<br />
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Do your part to help children reach their birthday by sharing this video and Utari’s story on social media with <b>#helpachildreach5. </b><br />
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<i>'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,Nothing is going to get better. It's not.'</i></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is a sponsored post by lifebuoy, but all thoughts are solely mine. I feel very strongly for this campaign, and would like to urge everybody to their bit for it. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-79675960089556839542014-06-02T10:16:00.002+08:002014-06-02T10:31:57.307+08:00The Motivation behind the Loss.Last week, I lost a friend. A friend whom every time I blog, I will remember that it was this very place that brought us together.<br />
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Flashback to 2007. She said Hello in the form of an email saying how much she enjoyed reading my blog. It was always a fun read for her to read more about my wedding preparations, how it was like adapting to life after marriage and well being a girl in her twenties. I took pride that I had a fan in my readers and we scheduled a meetup. </div>
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It was the first meet up and very cleverly she chose a place that I continued to enjoy the food for the longest time. Cappadocia at river valley. We met, we chatted, we laughed and we giggled. Since then, we have had many meetups, and we even went for a holiday trip together and we became close as ever. </div>
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She was this bubbly girl that always had something witty, something sarcastic, something funny to say that would cheer me up by a mile. Naz slowly and surely became the sister I never had. Each time I had an issue I could not get around, she was there to knock my head, bring some senses into it, and make sure I problem solved my way though. She is that brilliant a friend, and she was always open about her thoughts and ideas. That alone, gained my respect. </div>
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For the seven years that I have known her, there was never a moment I saw her without a smile, there was never a day she went without being positive, and there was never a day she lived solely for herself. She was all about making her life count by making the people in her life count. Her family, her friends, acquaintances, everybody. </div>
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It was through her that I discovered my love for giving back to the society too. Along with her endless help and advice, I managed to raise almost $10k from my blog platform to help out children in an orphanage. And it was a priceless experience, something I can never thank her enough for in this lifetime and after. She was the most selfless person I knew, and her generosity in wealth and knowledge to the people around her is endless. And I am one of those lucky ones who have benefited from having known her in this lifetime. </div>
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Five years ago when I was pregnant with my first child, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. It has been a long and brave fight for my dear friend, and right down to three months ago, she was still as jovial as ever and still making an impact in many of our lives. Unfortunately her condition turned for the worst in recent months and it was devastating to see her being reduced to a state of suffering, pain and exhaustion. She passed away last Saturday. </div>
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Naz was my first friend I lost through sickness and death. It is a devastating thing to go through. Looking back, I see many footprints she had left for us to remember her by. The wise words she used to say to me which I will remember for as long as I can. She was a teacher for more than a decade, and she had left her legacy in the many teacher friends she had as well as the children she had taught. More than ten years of children who remember her by as Ms Nazlin, the teacher who shaped their future. That in its own right is a huge feat. Because she was someone who advocated being the voices of the children, and being an educator who devotedly worked for the best of children's interests, her legacy remains in me in my teaching journey too. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWY3qIv2TtnCybbWw7B8j146LyGsFvxbuODcEWSqKCgqrj83uz1r0R6ZBwuCFp3AKNyAz7AUxOKqQiOe1pQCbsLVz_S-PWH3h715UuPEvHUhbkENn17QofTbk-8PSu2waUki29R14HB8/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWY3qIv2TtnCybbWw7B8j146LyGsFvxbuODcEWSqKCgqrj83uz1r0R6ZBwuCFp3AKNyAz7AUxOKqQiOe1pQCbsLVz_S-PWH3h715UuPEvHUhbkENn17QofTbk-8PSu2waUki29R14HB8/s1600/photo.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
Naz, this is for you. One day, I will be a great teacher just like you were and I dedicate it all to you my friend. You will always be my motivation to do better. You are dearly missed in presence but never in thoughts because I believe you have etched a deep mark in my heart and mind forever. I love you my friend.<br />
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<a href="http://ajugglingmom.com/category/motivational-monday/" title="www.ajugglingmom.com"><img alt="www.ajugglingmom.com" src="http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj499/Susan_koh/MM-1.jpg" style="border: none;" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-83382685329479945472014-05-29T08:32:00.002+08:002014-06-01T08:54:03.453+08:00SAHM Blog Train: My Cheat Sheet.I have been a stay-home mom since the last trimester of pregnancy with my first child. To date, it's been the longest <i>job</i> I have stayed in my employment history because this is one <i>job</i> I really love. I don't have any complains, perhaps only the occasional grumbles when I have to work overtime through the night. I believe I have found my dream job, and it is a keeper for the next ten years until my little employers move on to bigger things and spending lesser time at home. Till then, I am pretty contented with the <i>job</i>, as it gives me stability, assurance, and endless payment.<br />
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Of course, like any other <i>job</i>, it is an essential requirement to smarten myself up and work smart instead of working hard. In this line, working hard would kill us, more than help us because we require boundless energy and we really need to be apt in time management to help organize and prioritize better. Every day in the <i>job</i>, we need to be quick thinking in order to get things done quick and well. The job scope is pretty endless, but I have learnt my way around it instead of working myself to the bone. Believe me, keeping our minds healthy in this line is the most important thing, because a healthy mind is the only thing that will keep us going and our little employers growing.<br />
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I have myself a little <b>SAHM cheat sheet</b> that I am willing to share with you, only if you promise not to call the social workers on me. I promise you, these little employers are willing parties in my exploitation of working smart. :)<br />
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<u><i style="background-color: #fce5cd;">1. Get them involved in everyday chores</i></u><br />
I have written once before about the importance of <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2013/05/friday-five-and-we-talk-about-child.html">getting the children independent at a young age</a>. This is a key aspect in getting my children involved in everyday chores, and it helps me cut down my work by a great amount. It does not have to be big chores but rather simple ones like:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNdpFgWv3ImfGPA7KaoD-aQm9QXJvXuZRm7wTtHJX9n80JzNWpuYfliNW6gT7CJsAANuBQTZAUNOGQ51VoYbgMPqjDTN7GgSEsEhn3qXyRmT92nvtsdsv43vd2NJKOY63EJLSdhXs48E/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNdpFgWv3ImfGPA7KaoD-aQm9QXJvXuZRm7wTtHJX9n80JzNWpuYfliNW6gT7CJsAANuBQTZAUNOGQ51VoYbgMPqjDTN7GgSEsEhn3qXyRmT92nvtsdsv43vd2NJKOY63EJLSdhXs48E/s1600/12.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>- Cleaning up after themselves once they are done with play. This is very important because we all know that they play 3849585938595 times a day, and we cannot possibly clean up 859593838585 times a day either. So, the best it to let them clean up after themselves and make it as fun as you can each time. Simple things like "Let's see who can clean up the fastest" and singing a clean up song would help these little employers get into groove really quickly. They love challenges so spice things up by issuing a competition between siblings, and it will get the job done very quickly.<br />
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- My laundry of a household of four members can be a crazy mountain in just three days. I don't know how or why, and I am still searching for an explanation but my biggest task to date is figuring out how to do laundry without going bonkers. The washing, the sorting, the hanging and the folding, that alone could take up a whole day without me realizing sometimes. But again, I get my little employers to help out. Things like sorting, and pegging the clothes, they could do and they would do without much complains. Better still, pegging does involve refining their fine motor skills, and sorting does help them cognitively too. So I am technically helping them too!<br />
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- You know how children eat with crumbs everywhere? It happens a lot in my household because my kids are constantly snacking. Biscuits, cereal, crumbs crumbs everywhere. And again, I can't possibly vacuum or sweep a million times a day. Hence, I get them to do it each time they find their own crumbs on the floor. Did I mention, sweeping helps them with the eye and hand coordination too, and building those strong muscles for gross motor skills as well! I cannot emphasize how much I love these double-killing tricks!<br />
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<u><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">2. Pretend toilet scrubbing is part of water play.</span> </i></u><br />
You cannot go wrong with water play and children. What I do is I have indoor water play in our bathroom every week. During this time, I get out a couple of brushes and scrubs instead of the usual water play toys and get the boys scrubbing like Cinderella. Yup they pretty much scrub the floors and the walls, and get extremely squeal-y when the whole bathroom is covered up in foam. This is an extremely dangerous activity given the fact that soap makes the bathroom extra slippery, so please be supervising them the whole time. Best part is, they really enjoy it and the bathroom gets cleaned without me actually having to scrub. You can't help but love having kids when they relief you of chores you hate!<br />
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<i><u style="background-color: #fce5cd;">3. Give them responsibilities and trust them. </u></i><br />
I steal naps from time to time. Especially since my little employers never nap anymore, and I don't really have an explanation on how they can be awake at 7am, and still be running around with energy at 3pm. There are days where I cannot cope with being awake for such long hours, especially if I had been working on a school project or assignment the night before. Hence, I do steal naps. Stealing naps at work may get you into trouble, but in this line, I think my little employers find it as a time to express their freedom! I am very open with my boys, and it helps that my elder child takes instructions really well. So each time I need to take a nap on the couch, I tell the boys that "momma really needs to sleep because I am tired." They understand and will start planning our their free-time from me. I will give my elder son the responsibility to take care of his brother and inform me if he is up to no good. I do not nap anywhere else but close by to them and I don't actually fall into a deep sleep. It's like sleeping but my senses are still aware of the surroundings. I think it's a mother thing, to be able to do a thing like that and it requires tons of training! My elder son actually loves the responsibility and the way I trust him to take care of the house. Mind you, he's only four.<br />
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<u><i style="background-color: #fce5cd;">4. Make going out your babysitter.</i></u><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Some days when I am really tired to do any chores or activities with the kids, I bring them out. WHY you ask me? Because I believe that public spaces may be the best babysitter yet. Bring them to the playground or the park. Find a spot to sit and rest, while they run about and get themselves tired. If you need quiet time, bring them to the library and plonk yourself in a nice couch, while they busy themselves with finding books and reading them. It is free, and it gives you the time to recharge and the children gets to use up their energy really fast too. <i>Pssstttt,</i> they will come home flat out for the night. That is how I get my deserved night rest. More places to venture around Singapore can be found at <a href="http://www.gingerbreadmum.com/search/label/March%20Itineraries">Gingerbreadmum</a> and <a href="http://sengkangbabies.com/playground/fun-for-free/">#FunForFree on IG</a>!</span><br />
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<i><u style="background-color: #fce5cd;">5. Have a support system in the husband.</u></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Before I got married and before I had children, I was very transparent with the husband and I told him I am not his robot nor his helper. Obviously he agreed and that's why we are married. (I would have been a runaway bride if he did not!) More so, we agreed on building a home together, and we both know that it takes more than one pair of hands to make it work. Hence, I am very thankful to have a husband who is my best support system. Not many know this, but I actually knock off <i>work</i> at 7pm. Once he comes home from work, I get to chill out, plonk my feet up the couch and rest. He takes care of the kids, feed them, wash them, play with them. Not that I entirely wash my hands off them, but I generally get rest while he becomes the hands-on dad. So I do really look forward to his return from work, where I get to rest and do other me-time things and then we will put the kids to bed together. And on Saturdays, he takes care of the kids wholesale while I am in class. It is good dad-child bonding, and I get a breather too. Sometimes the husband is ever too ready to help, and we just need to ask. I am thick skin enough to do so, and he loves me enough to do so either. He believes very strongly that by keeping me healthy and happy, I will be able to offer more to the household. Indeed, indeed. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">With that, I have come to the end of my cheat sheet. I hope you have not decided to call social services on me and instead adopt some of them for your own household. Being a stay at home mom is no easy task. It is the most tiring and can be the most daunting job, but its rewards are amazing. So hang in there, you have all the support in me and 30 other moms who have poured their hearts and offered tips in helping you with the journey! Good luck!</span><br />
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Tomorrow we have the wonderfully creative Sarah Lee-Wong of <a href="http://theplayfulparents.com/">The Playful Parents</a> who runs a crazy domestic circus where taming wild beasts is easier than the chores of laundry, cooking and cleaning. The educator-turned-play activist believes that everything in life just tastes better with generous helpings of love and laughter.
Especially when you begin to wonder if you made the right decision to stay home with your children...<br />
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This post is part of a blog train hosted by <a href="http://www.gingerbreadmum.com/2014/05/sahm-survival-tips.html">Gingerbreadmum</a> where 31 stay-at-home moms share their survival tips. In the journey of motherhood, we all need support and encouragement from one another to know that though it's not an easy path but it's definitely worth while and we need not walk alone on our own. You may follow the entire SAHM survival tips series by clicking on this link and bookmarking it, the list of participating moms and their links can be found here:<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-1284146522359480882014-05-11T23:38:00.001+08:002014-05-11T23:38:34.420+08:00Mother's Day with a teaspoon of disappointment, a scoop of gratitude,
and a whole cup of love.It's the second week of May, and a greatly celebrated weekend by all around the world, a day we celebrate having moms and being moms. It is a beautiful day to be on social media to see all the love and celebrations being shared. <div><br></div><div>My son was one of the rare kid who came back from school on Friday without a handmade mom craft. I have to admit that dampened my mood by a mile because this year was the first year I decided to drop the homeschool effort and enrol him into a mainstream school. Lo and behold, not only have his enrollment disappointed me, but I am beginning to question my decision in actually sending my kid to school. </div><div><br></div><div>Believe me, I am not that petty. But seeing everyone speak with pride about their child's self made craft for them all over social media made me feel like the crappiest mom ever. Being one who emphasized in character building in the early years, it is very disappointing to see my son being left out on learning the importance of having and loving his mom. And yet I could not really blame him, because I was the one who decided to put him to school and even chose the school he went. </div><div><br></div><div>Putting my disappointment aside, I trudged on like the mom warrior that I'd like to think myself as and continued my chores like it was a normal day. As I washed the dishes, I heard the children singing to tunes, and that was lovely enough to be grateful to be a mom. I am blessed to be a mom, to two very beautiful boys. </div><div><br></div><div>My day started to turn around for the better as I was brilliantly surprised by the husband and the boys who actually took some quiet time to specially do a Mother's Day craft for me! </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PsuoJUMV6kZcbUDwlEfj0DZP3KqtUARqLole0nVknOFcvVLLEydBWPh0-3wS0OhU3upFBi-055Tj9BfBqOMHwE4UvVsfV52cHiACBBpedRYnNTmTswzuPnDO7MaN67gXqFZXnueB2vg/s640/blogger-image--387218972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PsuoJUMV6kZcbUDwlEfj0DZP3KqtUARqLole0nVknOFcvVLLEydBWPh0-3wS0OhU3upFBi-055Tj9BfBqOMHwE4UvVsfV52cHiACBBpedRYnNTmTswzuPnDO7MaN67gXqFZXnueB2vg/s640/blogger-image--387218972.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>This was the sweetest little gesture from the husband because I knew treating me with a scrumptious dinner and a little gift bought from the shops would have been way simpler than leading the little ones on an artwork adventure. (It was tough on him since I knew he didn't know where I kept my scraps and art materials, and neither was he good at art without the computer!) </div><div><br></div><div>Seeing this, I am comforted by the thought that it really does not matter how the school sees family, just as long as my own family knows the importance of being part of one. My boys wished me a Happy Mother's Day, with two big sloppy kisses across my cheeks, captured by the man who fathered them and has a part to play in granting me this special status of being a mother. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAanUSXdW67P1zzqZI2bQZOQ-Xgk7yQ97i9O5aVmcNmolXUK9pRa1px_Q4rY1oe7pAhseJahqcYq-DSjHQ_8EbEg2Lfw2mbcUQkztHSqzENpb39qxgqq97nY4_CQLgLXhcHUd2G1dXRg/s640/blogger-image--1533523398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAanUSXdW67P1zzqZI2bQZOQ-Xgk7yQ97i9O5aVmcNmolXUK9pRa1px_Q4rY1oe7pAhseJahqcYq-DSjHQ_8EbEg2Lfw2mbcUQkztHSqzENpb39qxgqq97nY4_CQLgLXhcHUd2G1dXRg/s640/blogger-image--1533523398.jpg"></a></div> </div><div>It was a beautiful day, indeed. </div><div><br></div><div>Happy Mother's Day to every woman I know who is one, my own mom, mom-in-law, my mom bloggermates in SMB who are brilliant mothers in their each unique way, and all my friends! Today, we celebrate us, and I would like to tell each and everyone of you, we did well... And we are doing good! ☺️</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-50468111248295823312014-04-22T09:26:00.001+08:002014-04-22T09:27:41.102+08:00The goodness that comes in ways that you may not see yet.I consider myself quite fortunate, for not having to suffer the pain of losing a loved one through sickness or death in the years that I've lived. Except the one time I was a teen and I lost my beloved uncle to lung cancer. But that was a very long time ago, and I was still relatively too young to feel the real pain of loss. Then, even losing a boyfriend was considered painful and heartbreaking. How naive.<br />
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Three days ago during the long Easter weekend, I recieved news that a very close friend, almost akin to a sister, was in a critical condition and things were not looking optimistic for her. This was devastating news to me, and I really did not know how to react to it, than to cry. I think I did just that for the past three days, post visiting her. </div>
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There were many regrets that I had. For not making the extra effort to meet up more, for not doing so much for her since I became a mother, for taking for granted that our friendship is going to stand through time... For... Simply not being there. </div>
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We share a couple of close friends together, and it is due to this sad news that we all reconnected again to come stand by her side through this rough times. And we all felt the same kind of guilt and regret. </div>
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One said "such is the fragility of life, yet why do we not see it till we lose someone dear to us?" </div>
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While family is important, we must realise that friends are just as important. They are a second set of family God has granted us. And it is through friends that we still learn things from to make us a better, wiser person. We have a lot to thank for with friendships, just that we do not often do, sadly. </div>
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One thing that will come out good behind this devastating news is how my friends and I have decided that we should never, ever procrastinate to meet up anymore. We shall not take our friendship for granted. Time can never be made up for. We will always be too busy to meet up, but some days, everything else can take a back seat while we focus on where we were before becoming parents and before our careers took shape. Yes, the friendships that were built and have been there the whole while. </div>
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I pray that a miracle happens and our friend is returned to us in better health, but I also pray that God grants her the best of which He thinks is for her. Whichever, my heart and love is always reserved for this very special person, one whom I'm eternally grateful for knowing and loving. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-68955868513537996752014-04-11T09:37:00.003+08:002014-04-12T02:06:53.287+08:00Part 4: A dress up corner with little space and budget. It's possible!Following the superhero capes that I made, I realized that we fell short of having a dress-up corner for the boys. Yep, you read me right. My boys do play dress up too, just like every other vain little girl, and I encourage that a lot. So much that I decided to find a corner in their room and turn it into a dress-up corner.<br />
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I have managed to scour quite a fair bit of costumes at really cheap prices over a period of two years, so the boys get to have fun with pretend play (at my expense sometimes) where I'll become their patient, patron, victim, and sometimes child. Roles turned around, it's actually quite fun when I am their child, because I get to see the mother I am in their eyes!<br />
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So anyway, I have always been a budget mom when it comes to their homeschooling expenses. Come on, things are not cheap in Singapore especially when it comes to little children! My husband and I used to joke how the younger and smaller the children are, the MORE expensive things are. Like diapers, milk powder, clothes, books, toys, okay you get the drift. This time around, I gave myself a budget of under ten dollars to create a corner entirely from scratch. I think finding that corner of space in my teeny home was harder than actually sticking to the budget!<br />
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Ikea Trofast Storage Container - $3-$7 (Depending on depth)</div>
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Daiso Extendable Rod - $2<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EeBKx5pbEOH07T92GFohmUoXVpnvKETJ4OlaUmebvCPY2LL5ATMIrO5H_wN0svqgzx6YNc_CrMxcPHBv5vY8VVnfkNonlDu2ZSkkpgsFrFh6SLoUvX7XovuaOVjRyaRH9SmerMaF0ZA/s1600/IMG_6582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-EeBKx5pbEOH07T92GFohmUoXVpnvKETJ4OlaUmebvCPY2LL5ATMIrO5H_wN0svqgzx6YNc_CrMxcPHBv5vY8VVnfkNonlDu2ZSkkpgsFrFh6SLoUvX7XovuaOVjRyaRH9SmerMaF0ZA/s1600/IMG_6582.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cowboy (yeeehaaaaa) and a dracula to suck my blood (pun very intended!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="text-align: left;">It is a really simple set up in a really small corner I managed to find in their bedroom between their wardrobes and bookshelf, and it took no more than $10 for me to set that up. The children love the accessibility of the dress-up costumes hung at their height (you can adjust the pole longer or shorter, higher or shorter!) which allows them to dress up at whim! Oh wait, we need a mirror too, that I probably need to get at Ikea soon!</span></div>
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Did I mention, they also love the animal headbands that we bought for $2 at Daiso too? If you have a girl, this dress-up corner is all the more for you, all that is lacking is a vanity table!</div>
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This is part of a series of playroom transformations at low cost, do read <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2014/01/part-1organizing-childrens-learn-n-play.html">part 1</a>, <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2014/02/part-2-of-organizing-our-playroom-we.html">part 2</a> and <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2014/03/part-3-adding-activity-elements-to-our.html">part 3</a> for more ideas! Also, coming up next week, the last and final installment of this series!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-8370381499020320752014-03-20T15:22:00.001+08:002014-03-20T15:33:05.750+08:00Two superhero capes in two days? Supermom to the mission!I am quite the strong believer of the best form of learning is when the children creates the interest themselves. Once the interest is visible, I have to jump in and make the best of their enthusiasm to create a learning opportunity. <br />
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Over the weekend, I witnessed my boys playing superhero with blankets tied around their neck, pretending to be Superman. While it was quite fun and interesting watching them role play together using things they could gather from around the house, I had thoughts running through my mind about how I could actually make their pretend play a tad more fun and personalized.<br />
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That night, I scavenged my house to look for scraps, and attempted to sew. This was not my first time sewing, neither was it my millionth time sewing. I am still a newbie when it comes to sewing. It was just a couple of months ago when I did some masks for my boys that I learnt how to insert a thread into the needle. I decided it was time to brush up my sewing skills, and this time sew for the boys a big bold cape to take their pretend play a notch higher.<br />
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A couple of scraps put together, letters cut, threads sewn, and two nights later, I was finally complete with the capes. Two in all, for both my sons. I hung them up outside their bedroom door, and awaited their surprised faces the next morning. You bet they were surprised, and even more so excited to get into their new gear and be super awesome about it!<br />
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Materials used:<br />
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<ul>
<li>red cloth cut into two, approx 60cm x 40cm</li>
<li>felt for the alphabets or logos if you want it different</li>
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Total budget: Just about <b><i>$4</i></b> for both capes, with lots of spare scraps for the next sewing project! This was totally fun to do, and totally fun to watch. These kids have tons of imagination when it comes to dramatic play, we should really just let them entertain us with their creativity. Beats the television any day, I say!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-84285364856682880142014-03-18T10:48:00.001+08:002014-03-18T15:21:52.218+08:00Part 3: Adding activity elements to our play area!The third installation to our playroom required little effort, a small budget, but provided for lots of fun and learning opportunities at home. We live in a typical four room flat and in my opinion, is too small for a household of two preschoolers who treat every furniture in the home like a playground. Space is so little that we really need to make the most out of everything. EVERYTHING including the door.<br />
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The door to our playroom is also now a felt board. Only because I was walking around the entire room and house looking for a good area to hang up a felt board, and there was none. My walls are filled up with frames of family photos. In the playroom, shelves and cupboards take up all the floor space and at least half the wall space. In exasperation, I decided to use the door as our felt board area, because it was staring at me in blankness! It turned out well, and the boys love the idea of sitting on floor and playing with the door, or playing on the door, or whatever you want to call it. They just love the felt board area being at some unconventional place because it seems so out of this world!<br />
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So there you have it, a felt board done with just a piece of felt (no cutting required if you buy those Daiso ones) and a hot glue gun. You really just have to glue it on, and the door transforms into an activity panel just like that. Of course, I had to add some detailing with foam letters and some ribbon just so it looks pretty-ier.<br />
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My husband came home to this and shook his head silently. I bet he's thinking, <i>"golly, this woman just takes every little bit of everything and makes it into a play area!"</i><br />
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Do read about <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2014/01/part-1organizing-childrens-learn-n-play.html">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2014/02/part-2-of-organizing-our-playroom-we.html">Part 2</a> of organizing our playroom if you wish to see more ideas!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-5063095946215047892014-03-14T11:59:00.003+08:002014-03-14T15:16:04.797+08:00Why I Breastfed For Fifteen Months! (Blog Train)I have written before, about my <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2013/07/the-real-truth-what-every-new-mother.html">breastfeeding journey</a> and how I turned from breastfeeding noob to expert in no time. It is relatively easy to turn into a breastfeeding expert if you put your heart and mind into it and really, if I can do, I am pretty sure a lot of women can do it too. Read my <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2013/07/the-real-truth-what-every-new-mother.html">post</a> on how you can prepare yourself for the early weeks of breastfeeding.<br />
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Today I am not going to share about how or why I went into breastfeeding since you all know that already from the post I have written before. I am going to share about how long I breastfed for, and why.<br />
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With both my boys, I breastfed for fifteen months before I made the decision to wean them off. I did not have a shortage of milk flow, neither did the boys grow sick of my milk. In fact, I breastfed them for so long that it felt so natural to have their faces pressed against my breast, and feel the special bond that breastfeeding had to offer. Each day as they grew, it got harder and harder to make the decision to wean them off. As mothers, all we really wanted was for our baby to stay a baby for as long as possible. Yes, all we want is for them to stay in our arms, without any struggles, and definitely no nipple biting or pulling.<br />
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There were three major decisions that made me pull the plug on breastfeeding at fifteen months, and it pained my heart in both instances when my boys turned of age. I never pumped once in my fifteen months of breastfeeding, and insisted on latching on for every drop of milk they drank, so I think my reasons for weaning them off are legit considering this fact.<br />
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<u>1. The power struggle</u><br />
Both my boys turned into little rascals the moment they turned one. Every breastfeeding session felt like a tug of war session turned nasty. With my first son, he was a big fella and holding him in my arms, and on my lap felt like I was already carrying a ton of weight. This son of mine, is a bigger than average boy, and holding him against my breast for milk literally drained me out energy each time. Well, it would have helped if he was cooperative and stayed still while I breastfed him, but that was not even an option. He would fling his arms, grab at my face, shirt, pants, chair, and whatever he could get his hands on. He would struggle as I held him tight, and he would kick his heels in the air and give a smirk as though this power struggle was fun.<br />
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My second boy was the same, only more active than the first. He was not as heavy nor big, but definitely double the trouble. This little tike hardly could sit through a fifteen minute milk session, because his elder brother would be luring him for some fun, without mommy. I noticed this lack of milk interest came soon after they started walking and then running. Running away from me to be exact.<br />
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<u>2. The Gender Counts</u><br />
If I had a girl, my breastfeeding stint would probably have been a longer one. The fact that I am blessed with two boys, was also a major decision why I decided to pull the plug when they were fifteen months. As children grow, they get more observant, as well start to verbalize their thoughts. As a woman who chose to cover up myself modestly in accordance to religion needs, I also chose to remain modestly dressed the moment my boys started to be aware of the female body. I know people are going to argue with me, that they are my children and I really should not be concerned about being modestly dressed with my own children. Like I said, this is a personal choice.<br />
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When the boys were fifteen months, they became more aware of the world around them. Our breastfeeding sessions started to differ too. Each time they suckled, or drank, their fingers would also travel upward and trace the outline of my breast in fun. I wanted to draw the line, then, that private parts should remain private. They were, after all, learning to explore their own bodies too. And we were teaching them the difference between them boys, and girls. So if not now to extend their learning that boys and girls are different, then when? Again, I reiterate this is my personal choice. Probably, if I had a girl, my breastfeeding journey would have been different with different decisions to consider.<br />
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<u>3. Instilling Independence</u><br />
Lastly, the major consideration that had me wean my children off breastfeeding at fifteen months was the idea of getting my children independent. I am no advocate of attachment parenting, although I still strongly stand firm that I love my children very, very, very much. Just that, different parents have different parenting styles, and my parenting views strongly lean against child independence. Not because I want them off my back, but because I believe children however young loves independence. They love the freedom of exploring by themselves the endless possibilities the world has to offer. By stopping breastfeeding, my children were allowed to sleep, play and feed independently. They no longer had to cling on to me, or feel anxious when I was not around. Of course, if they had wanted to latch on, I would be more than willing to give. But they did not. Children this age actually love being away from us, it gives them the liberty to be themselves but if we did not know when to pull away, then they probably will need us to stay around for much longer.<br />
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My children never cried when I weaned them off breastfeeding nor co-sleeping. It all happened naturally, and I think it is all about readiness that plays a huge factor in getting these done successfully. If your child is not ready, please do not force or impose on him. Let him show you his readiness before you make these very important decisions. My children were ready to move on, and I suppose it was my calling to make it happen.<br />
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They are now 4 years old, and 26 months old respectively. We find different ways of bonding now, like one just has to scream "family hugggg" and all of us would come running from different corners of the house just to give one big family hug. We also bond through play, reading, and sometimes the occasional co-sleeping (as and when the boys feel like). I would like myself to mature as a mother who knows when to let go, so I reckon these decisions were very important and essential to the kind of mother I would like to be to my children.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHCdmS6nK8MvdSqItoSLkQBFGCfFsPj71GnsZzvswe_bp3LxCPkKvGlXzP4DOwy0uDPuKg1wElruaa5oe1rTtbwmJ-qngXPkbfRyrH_CnLKTQj9akKQBS9Z2BzPpSAvtzRarB_FOjWy0/s1600/Summer+-+4e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHCdmS6nK8MvdSqItoSLkQBFGCfFsPj71GnsZzvswe_bp3LxCPkKvGlXzP4DOwy0uDPuKg1wElruaa5oe1rTtbwmJ-qngXPkbfRyrH_CnLKTQj9akKQBS9Z2BzPpSAvtzRarB_FOjWy0/s1600/Summer+-+4e.jpg" height="200" width="189" /></a>Tomorrow, Summer will be sharing her breastfeeding story on her blog <a href="http://www.ahappymum.com/">A Happy Mum</a>. A mother of two lovely girls, Summer is a media executive turned SAHM from Singapore who stepped into the gratifying journey of motherhood during her four-year stay in Sweden. Having stayed in a land where breastfeeding is strongly advocated and where there is no social stigma about nursing in public, she strongly believes that breast milk is one of the best gifts she can give to her children. Read more about her journey on A Happy Mum, a place where she blogs about motherhood, babies, kids, love, DIY crafts, travelling and all things happy.<br />
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Disclaimer: <i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;"><b>*</b>Please note that this blog entry or train is no indicative or judgement of parenting. We intend not to discriminate nor judge, and neither is it</i><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.020000457763672px;"> indicative that longer or shorter breastfeeding means better or poor parenting.</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.madpsychmum.com/2014/02/why-i-breastfed-for-blog-train.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRVIc8zjPSzP7OcUIyRhLpE5nzFfdabdDqH5_lPQe6bPyY_ejoFLm6Br7Tkx-9sDCK1FlmnYH8DXpjYgW22P9_AXJh7aBfRUTqnkxk0Jt55wsBAWXEtJvyAJKj_Nzv0-lplXTElzMY2E/s1600/Why+I+Breastfed+For+(5).jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">T</span></em><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">his post is part of a Blog Train hosted by Madeline at <a href="http://www.madpsychmum.com/">MadPsychMum</a>. Head on over to read the other breastfeeding stories by Singapore Mom Bloggers!</span></em><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-44932093113509863562014-03-13T00:33:00.001+08:002014-03-14T15:16:45.772+08:00A recycling project: The homemade iSpy book.My boys love to play ispy. It's the only game that successfully diffuses tantrums almost instantly. Like if they are having a meltdown in public, all I have to do is say "ispy a red pair of shoes" and they would stop their crying/screaming/yelling immediately and start searching for the red pair of shoes.<br />
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In fact, ispy is such a brilliant tactic to keep children occupied when we are out or even at home because it is hassle free, with no extra baggage at all, and expense free too which makes it all the more brilliant! Apart from off the head ispy fun, I do from time to time buy those ispy books you can get at the local bookstore too, and the boys love them! </div>
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Recently, I had an idea to create an ispy book from magazines that were left untouched at home. We always get those school newsletters, pioneer magazines, neighborhood newsletters and they always just go to waste after a minute of browsing. So I had an idea, and that was to create our own ispy booklets from cutouts of these wasted materials!</div>
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It's amazing how simple pictures can end up being different interpretations of the alphabets! Of course, certain letters are not easy to find at all (like Q, R, G) but with luck, and plenty of time spent analyzing pictures, I managed to find all 26 letters of the alphabet in one sitting, and browsing through 8 magazines. This cost me close to nothing, except for the album I bought from daiso for two buck. And I am pretty sure it's going to do a good job at keeping the children entertained, especially when we are out. Best part? We can always replace the pictures when the children finds it not challenging anymore!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-49222907016384914312014-02-28T11:47:00.003+08:002014-03-14T15:14:32.096+08:00Foodie Friday: A Soho Lunch at the Side Alley.Every trip away from Singapore, we always return with a dish that we rave about, and will haunt us till the next overseas trip. Like a couple of years ago when we were on one of those honeymooney trips to Kata Beach, we had some very amazing grilled calamari. I am not the squid kind of person, but that calamari actually had me try it for the first time and made me fall heads over heels with squid. Then there was the brilliant Rendang Sapi we had at <a href="http://www.comohotels.com/comoshambhalaestate/como-shambhala-estate-bali">Como Shambhala</a> Bali that we fell head over heels over that no other Rendang has been able to beat to date. In Bangkok, we would never forget the club sandwich we ordered in for room service. It tasted so so good after an entire day of shopping! Of course there were the many other Thai food we had during our yearly Phuket escapade too. The last trip down under had us raving about the Beef and Turkey Panini at <a href="http://www.chocolatefactory.com.au/">The Chocolate Factory</a> at Swan Valley.<br />
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This trip to Western Australia was no different. Our holiday had ended two weeks ago, yet we are still raving, craving and salivating for the dishes we each had at <a href="http://www.sohobarandkitchen.com/">SOHO</a>. The husband had Spicy Prawn something topped with lots and lots of cheese, while I had Meatballs Napolitana which was honestly the best spaghetti meatballs I have ever tasted. The beef meatballs were tender, moist and tasty and the spaghetti was just well done. The husband's spicy prawns were really moist, succulent and nice too, I had a couple of noms myself! The best part, the waiters came around to serve mozz cheese in big bowls instead of those tiny shakers. So trust me, they were very generous with their cheese!<br />
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We sat at the side alley instead of the main restauranty area, because we had children and we prefer the outdoors so that the children could be free to explore while we lunched. I liked that they had the alfresco dining option, that came in a side alley that was rustic and so funky. It even had a small side stage that hosted music artists from time to time. That afternoon, our boys were our entertainment for the day. They went up the stage, sang and danced for us while we dined. Now, they can safely say they have tried their thing with singing onstage in a public place and it was not too bad at all!<br />
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I guess even though we missed a chance to dine at Jamie's Italian, we still managed to taste some pretty fine Italian downunder too!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-14138756717098547892014-02-27T11:23:00.002+08:002014-03-14T15:15:19.641+08:00Part 2 of Organizing our play and learn area, we take our Lego very seriously.One of the most played toy in the house would be the Lego. I see the boys constructing something with it everyday, and I thought to myself why not have it in a place where the boys had the most space and could play with it while the husband and I have some television time some nights. So, our lego area is not exactly in the play room, but we allocated some space in the living room for the building and construction fun. This is how it looks like:<br />
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I segregated all their building and construction toys into different boxes and made a Lego table out of our favorite <a href="http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/00193664/">Ikea lack tables</a>. These were very simple to do actually, just hot glue a lego plate down onto the Ikea lack table, and you have a very nice lego space just for the kids! All for just $30. The lack table is only $12.90, and the lego plate costs $17 if I remember correctly.<br />
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I guess when you have an all boy family, you cannot really make do without a building and construction area. It's the boy's favorite place to be at, at any point of the day, and it also allows them to know that different toys allow for different purposes. I would have to say, the train tracks is the next favorite toy in the world, and we have a nicely spaced carpeted area in the living room for them to build the longest of tracks around and under our legs while the husband and I cuddle up to some favorite shows. That is about all the me-time we get, really.<br />
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In an effort to be more organized at home and letting the children have a nice learn and play environment, I am conscientiously clearing up junk and allocating proper spaces for play. Read all about part 1 of organizing the playroom <a href="http://itchyfingersnap.blogspot.sg/2014/01/part-1organizing-childrens-learn-n-play.html">here</a>!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-718935932542257136.post-37447844763729516672014-02-21T03:03:00.001+08:002014-02-21T13:07:09.252+08:00Warning! You could miss a flight if you left it to the husband to be incharge of the flight itinerary.I never really thought the day would come where I would miss a flight. I mean come on, don't these things only happen in the movies? As dramatic as I may be, missing a flight is the last thing on my agenda, especially when a vacation is always the biggest priority in my schedule. Surprise surprise, I can now list "missing a flight" under the craziest things that happened before I turn thirty.<br />
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We had a family vacation planned for the beginning of February, and everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I had a school assignment due the day before our flight, and I was up to my neck finishing work up amidst packing for the family. It was mayhem in the household that very night, as I rushed from place to place to settle last minute stuffs while stuffing socks, clothes, undergarments, toys to keep the children occupied into the luggage. All this happened while the husband very coolly informed me that our morning flight was delayed. While I settled all the back end stuff, I left the plane itinerary as well as our travelling itinerary to entirely to the husband, assured that he would not make a mess out of it. After all, getting the flight time right was relatively easier than packing for the two children right?</div>
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Wrong. </div>
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The morning of our flight, I jolted out of bed when I saw that it was already 10am. The husband was first to wake, and was in the kitchen feeding the cat. The children was still asleep at the time, and I was almost frantic to know that we had an hour to get ready and leave for the airport. I panicked and asked the husband "it's 10! Why didn't you wake me up?" His reply? "Relaxxxxxx, our flight is at 1330. And he was relatively still very calm. </div>
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I got the boys ready at the speed of lightning and called for a cab to pick us up. The husband then dropped the bombshell that we needed to drop by the moneychanger to get some currency before heading to the airport. Tick tock. Tick tock. By the time we reached the airport, it was 1230. Yes, and our flight was at 1330. Technically, we needed to check in at least an hour before the flight time right, so technically we were still on time right?</div>
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Wrong.</div>
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The husband (I could so strangle him for this) saw the delay to be till 1330, when it fact it was for a 1310 flight. Which meant... We were late for check-in... Which meant we could not board... Which also meant we missed our flight. </div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The lady at the counter refused to check us in, the pilot rejected our pleas, and we were at our wits end. The husband frantically went from counter to counter to check for the next available flight by any other airline and i</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">t felt like an amazing race moment if you ask me, only that we were not in a race for a million dollars, and no one was willing to help us at the time. The only glimpse of hope was to book for a budget flight flying to our destination in three hours, but it would cost us 1.5K for one way tickets. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">1.5k? I said no way, hosei. Until the kids came up to us, and asked how long more till we board the plan, totally unaware of the stress we were facing. How could we bring them home with their packed luggages when they were excited for this trip for the longest time ever? I couldn't do it, and neither could the husband. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">So we burnt our pockets, and paid for it. We went on with the vacation, $1500 poorer... $1500 above our initial set aside budget. It was a very painful price to pay for a stupid, silly mistake. I hated the husband for killing our shopping budget for a stupid mistake, yet this experience also made me realize how patient I could be with someone I truly loved. I mean I could have killed him for it, it could have started war between us, but you know what? It didn't. We hugged and cried, and knew that we were in this together. Through thick and thin, even if it cost $1.5K! We went on the flight, stronger than ever, and enjoyed our trip, more than we expected. :) </span></div>
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