Showing posts with label Blog Trains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Trains. Show all posts

Monday, May 18, 2015

Blog 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.

What would I change, 
what would I do different?

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.

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. 

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. 

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!

I love kids.
I love movement.
I love being up and about.
I love chatting, and talking, and chatting.
I love being playful.

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. 

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. 

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. Like they say, everything happens for a reason!



What would you change if you could travel back in time? 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! :)



Next up on the Time Travelling Blog train is:



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.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Fun for Free SG: Lush greenery at the Sengkang Riverside Park

NATIONAL DAY BLOG TRAIN HOSTED BY GINGERBREAD MUM

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.

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. Sengkang Riverside Park 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. 

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. 

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!

This is the entrance you would see along the road.
This used to be a multi-purpose hall that looks almost awesome for parties and weddings,
 but it has been since converted to a cafe.
The lush greenery that awaits you
Beautiful plants and leaves surrounds
Perfect for kite-flying, and senseless running for the kids
The green pathways that are just so awesome
I told you, the place is perfect for "bollywood" poses!
And we had a beautifully simple and naturalistic picnic-birthday that special day.
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.

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 National parks website.

Address:
Sengkang Riverside Park (50 Anchorvale St)

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Next up on the blog train is Winnie from Toddly Mummy! She will be sharing with you the wonders of our very own East Coast Park on the funforfreesg blog train! Hop on!

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Can’t get enough of FUN FOR FREE SG venues?
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”:

1 Aug: Tiong Bahru Park by Gingerbreadmum
2 Aug: Queenstown Heritage Trail by Princess Dana Diaries
3 Aug: Jurong Regional Library by Finally Mama
4 Aug: Singapore Maritime Gallery by Peipei Haohao
5 Aug:Singapore Philatelic Museum by Kids R Simple
6 Aug: Sculptures of Singapore by Gingerbreadmum
7 Aug: Fire Station by The Js Arena
8 Aug:Esplanade + Merlion by Prayerfull Mum
9 Aug: Bukit Batok Nature Park by Meeningfully
10 Aug: Lower Pierce Reservoir Park by The Kam Family
11 Aug: I12 Katong - water playground by Universal Scribbles
12 Aug: IMM by Mad Psych Mum
13 Aug: Tampines 1 Water Playground by Amazingly Still
14 Aug: Sengkang Riverside Park by Itchy Finger Snap
15 Aug: East Coast Park by Toddly Mummy
16 Aug: Sembawang Shopping Centre Playground by Joey Craftworkz
17 Aug: Animal resort by Raising Faith
18 Aug: Botanic Gardens by Mum's The Word
19 Aug: A surprise! by Mummy Ed
20 Aug: MacRitchie trail by Scrap Mum Loft
21 Aug: Road Safety Park by Miracule
22 Aug: Marina Barrage by J Babies 
23 Aug: Gardens By The Bay, Children's Garden by Finally Mama
24 Aug: Changi Airport T3 by Mother Kao
25 Aug: Pockets of Nature by Mum in the Making
26 Aug: Changi Airport T1 Growing with the Tans
27 Aug: Pasir Ris Park Ingspirations
28 Aug: Gardens by the Bay Supertree Grove by My Lil Bookworm
29 Aug: Vivocity Play Area by Amazingly Still
30 Aug: Punggol Promenade + Punggol Waterway by Chubby Anecdotes
31 Aug: Westgate Wonderland by Xavvylicious