Free Trials: Is it even worth it?

Recently I won a giveaway for a workshop at Plain as Play. Cos we sort of live pretty far from the place, my transport back and forth was estimated to be around ~$60. Including the lunch we had outside, we ended up spending around ~$100. 

My husband joked that for this unstructured play with no clear deliverables and outcomes, the price of it doesn't entirely justify. This set me thinking if attending enrichment trials to give the child alternative activities are even worth it. 

There were supposed to be 2 activities that day. One was an art collage where he basically pasted cut pieces of cloth on a canvas and another was a threading activity which my toddler had absolute no interest in. I am not sure if it is obvious to you readers but I generally don't force my children against their wishes. They do walk away at events sometimes which explains why we are quite selective who we work with. 

From an economical sense, my husband asked if we just came all the way here to let him paste cloth on canvas. And I was like, yup. Haha. Personally, I found their activities though simple to execute, creative and something I would have never thought of. And...I am highly unlikely to prepare these materials for him at home. 

Overall, my toddler certainly had fun and enjoyed his day out (amidst some melt downs). He was more impressed with the automated dustbin and half the time he was busy finding something to toss into the bin. As you can see, he totally miss the point of the workshop. LOL!

But to all the people who think like my husband...I just want to say a lot of things shouldn't be measured by money. I value more on the experiences and exposures my kids get. Fine, some things just don't work out and turns out to be an absolute waste of resources but hey at least we tried and now we know what the kids like and don't like. It is exhausting to bring the duo out for specific events, but because I don't have that much time with the kids, I always see these as opportunities for the family to do something together. :)

Will I continue to bring the duo for interesting play/ events I see? Of course!

It is ok to be lousy

A while back, I sent my kid to a Gymnastics Trial. It was the first time I sent him for an enrichment-sort-of class. And I realised he was extremely lousy at it. My kid is really tall and bulky for his "month-group". At the class, he was visibly a lot more clumsy and less flexible. He also had a bit of anxiety issues. 

Generally, he does well in his developmental milestone. This was the first time he "faltered". There was a bit of initial disappointment he will never be a gymnast (not that I was), but I managed to laugh it off. Maybe not everyone will be able to get over it as fast, so I thought I would share with you my thoughts. 

I am an absolute klutz and is not much of an athlete. Yes, you see me running and jumping in my athleisure wear. But...I have no natural talent. And it is kinda weird to expect my offspring will acquire some gene which I don't even have to begin with. I don't even have that sort of expectations on myself. Even if we are good in our "hobbies", we might not become professionals. Yes, you get the drift. 

Also, nobody is born to b e skillful in every single thing. My kid is not adept for gymnastics, let's move on. I am sure we will find something he likes and he is good in to build up his confidence. If he really enjoys gymnastics, let's go for it. Who says we can't do something we are lousy in? I myself actually did 2 years of Judo which I absolutely struggled in because I wanted to learn some self-defense.

Note to self: Don't let your competitive, kiasu maternal instincts take over. Let your kid grow like you did. 

Nparks FamilyTrees

Parents with kids below 3 years old, you might be interested in this! Recently NParks launched a FamilyTrees initiative to give Singaporean families the opportunity to plant a tree with their little one to commemorate the child's birth. 

To qualify for tree planting under  FamilyTrees:

• Either one or both parents must be a Singapore Citizen, and;
• Families should have a child under 3 years of age, at the point of event registration, i.e., upon the birth of the child, families will have a 3-year time frame to register for a tree planting opportunity under FamilyTrees.

For those who followed us, you would know this is not the first time we have planted a tree. (You can read about it here.) We more or less knew how it would be like - sweat, potential bug bites with lots of help from the workers so don't worry about not having enough strength to dig a hole. 

The only difference was that the tree we previously planted was very far from home. We wanted a tree that could grow with the kids and had better visibility. With a stroke of good luck, we found a location pretty near our house and because it was under-subscribed, we managed to plant 2 trees - 1 for each kid. 

The perk about being closer to home is that we can invite more family members along and bring our own props (elephant watering can is our own!) :P Just so you know, the website is quite cui and you must really monitor yourself. Don't ganchiong and grab the first slot you see because when it was first launched all the locations were extremely far for me. 

I would have panic-snatch if we haven't went for the first tree planting. Transport cost and far visibility, it is not worth it. So have patience and wait, I am pretty sure this is not an one-off project. 

Public School vs Private School

Based on my kid's school uniform, I guess it is pretty obvious the type of school we eventually sent our kid to. At the end of the day, we decided on that particular school because the parents raved about the school teachers - on how caring they were. (I happened to be there during the parents-meeting day when I dropped by to enquire more.) And that was pretty much the over-arching factor for us. 

We did visit a private preschool and honestly, the facilities were pretty dope and did blow me over. However, the husband noted that the principal was absolutely uninterested in my kid (more interested in my money maybe). There was a lot of emphasis of the teaching curriculum, which the husband felt was overrated since the toddler is too young to appreciate. 

Generally, I also noticed that private schools tend to be located in more inaccessible places (maybe because they want to have a bigger compound). There is also no school bus available. Since the child will be sent on a daily basis to school by his caretaker (the grandparents), the location was quite challenging. We may have to commit ourselves to private car rides daily if we wanted him to reach school on time. 

The school fees was also a lot higher and you can either choose half day/ full day schedules. The husband and I discussed and we thought that since we found a decent public preschool, we should give it a try first. Should it be absolutely unsuitable, then we will find other options. 

I have been quite a hands-on parent. So honestly, the so-called curriculum in my eyes are quite rigid and more boring than my home-schooling activities I have prepared for him. (You can read more about them here.) I don't find it value-adding in any sense. 

Lastly and most importantly, the educators are definitely more crucial in a child's development than the school itself. Also, I intend to still play an active role in my kid's education. So far, I have noticed that the public school has as much updates as a private school and provides pretty impressive programmes. I am not sure if it is the particular school is outstanding or if all public preschools are the same. 

Fancy Facilities of Private School

Busy Book for Little Fingers: Hi Buy Mama

By now a lot of you may know that our little one is homeschooled. Many people have always been asking how we keep our little one "advanced", you can follow us on this series and take some reference on some of the toys, books and stimulation we use so that you can add on to your own curriculum as well. 

I have heard about busy books for the longest time and frankly I couldn't really quite understand the appeal it would have on a child. After watching my son tinkle around with them, I was like wow this thing works. He actually sat for a good 30 mins, ignoring Cocomelon (Well done!) and was just focused on interacting with some of the pages. 

Our Busy Book is from Hi Buy Mama, they basically have 2 versions. One was the Friendly Hedgehog Toddler Busy Toddler ($59.90) which was for the younger kids and the other was the Otterly Fun Busy Book ($76.90). We decided that the Busy Book was more appropriate for him even though he was not even 3 years old because he has pretty much grasped most of the key skills in the hedgehog book.

At about the 22 months old mark, I was planning to inculcate in him a teeth brushing routine, ease him into toilet training, identify colours and emotions effectively. And I felt the Otter Book could help me achieve these aims better. Tip: As parents, I feel we should take the recommended age as a guide and not a firm rule. We need to know what is the current development level of our child and find resources that suits them. 

Our LO definitely had preference on some pages over the others. His favourite include the fishing, teeth brushing and the zipper. If you are training your kid to brush your teeth, I would strongly recommend an interactive book like this. Our LO got so excited about brushing the Hippo's teeth that it was quite effortless to re-start him to brush his own. (Yes, I lost momentum once when I was in first trimester.)

The fishing page with the magnets intrigued him the most. To date, he would still be fishing and "feeding" us his catch. He still haven't quite understand the like and unlike poles of the magnet and would occassionally be frustrated how come he can't catch the fish at times. We have also mastered 2 colours - pink and orange (both in English and Mandarin) and have figured out emotions (this was mainly to reenacting more than the book). Overall, we are pretty pleased with the book and would deemed this as a value for money "enrichment programme".

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Note: For our readers only, Quote "FORFUNK8" and you can can get 8% off!

NParks: OneMillionTree Movement

As a family, we were pretty lucky to get a slot to plant a tree under the OneMillion Tree Movement. It was our first time planting and we had no idea what we were in for. All I knew it was pretty cool to bring my toddler to experience it. Here's some tips to make your planting experience better. 

1. Bring as many people as possible. Tree planting is hard work. Initially Nparks restricted us to 2 pax. As I was expecting and had a toddler in the tow, Nparks was really accommodating on the day itself and allowed us to swap our men in the family to do the hole digging instead. You literally do all the work, this is not a for photos only sort of moment. 


2. Involve the family. I think it was a lot more meaningful because the family was there. Imagine it was me and my kiddo with the stroller. I don't think I would have made it there and we would definitely have a lot less fun.


3. Be punctual and present. There was someone who did not turn up in the end because she forgot about it. So there was this tree which was left hanging and the NParks people planted it themself. I dono whether the person was genuine in the excuse but the chance could have been given to someone who would cherish the experience more. 





4. If you bring a toddler, bring an extra pair of hands. To be honest, this is not entirely child-friendly. There were shovels and my kid watered 6 watering can of water on the grass. My Mum and I basically looked after the kid most of the time. NParks was very welcoming towards him though. He definitely had fun too. 


5. You can't tie stuff on your tree to identify it in future. I actually brought along 2 ribbons for it. Haha. In the end, I just took a photo of the nearest lamp-post and a few photos to mark our tree. We are definitely coming back to see it in 10 years time to see it tall and sturdy. 


6. Wear sports wear, covered shoes and a cap. Bring sunblock too. We were lucky the weather was pretty good that day. There were quite a bit of red ants around the grass (nature, what you expect) and my son freaked out a little. But after a while he sort of got used to it and was running wild like a Tarzan. Hehe. 

*Updated* Home-Education Curriculum

I have decided to set up a whole series on this because I am reaally passionate about this topic. I have met too many parents who are incessantly worried that their children will "lag behind" because they are not being sent to a childcare at 6 months old (which I honestly think is way too young to start "school" if we compare to our overseas peers).

Also, I wanted to assure other parents as long as we put in "thoughtful playtime", our kids will end up acquiring skills that will aid them in their development as well. Our Little One is about 15 months when we were using this set of curriculum and when we visited the PD, he was described as "advanced" so hope this helps!

9am - Wake Up!

9am to 10am - Preparing of breakfast. He either watches us prepare the oats and join in the simple pouring/ stirring activities. At 20 months, we introduced him to the peeling of hard boiled eggs. 

10am to 11am - Morning Stroll at the garden. Usually we take the time to point out to him some creatures and also visit a few shops as we do our grocery run. He would also stop by the laundry shop to watch the machine drum spin (one of his fav. activitiy). 

11am to 12noon - Indoor Activities. Watering of plants and feeding of pet fishes/ Helping with simple housework i.e. vacuuming the floor, hanging of the clothes

12noon to 1pm - Lunch Time. He can't really sit still so this is also TV time for him. 

1pm to 2pm - Bath Time/ Water Play. He either play with bubbles, a bath cloth or bath toys!

2pm to 5pm - Naptime!

5pm to 7pm - Playtime with cousins. His cousins actually live upstairs, so it helps with his social skills. Sometime they will all go to the playground together. 

7pm to 8pm - Dinner. Similarly, this is also TV time. 

8pm to 9pm - Bath time/ Random activities with Mummy and Daddy (it can include chasing us around the house, colouring or setting up the bubble machine at the corridor)

9pm onwards: Story, Song and Bedtime

* Note: The schedule is not fixed and may be shorter or longer depending on his mood of the day. We do invest in quite a lot of toys so that he can have variated playtime. :) You can check out our "Homeschool Curriculum for Singapore" tag to find out where we get some of our resources for the LO. 

iTOTS: Interesting Taf toys

We saw some interesting developmental toys from Taf Toys and thought a review on them for parents would be much appreciated. From my Mummy's chats, I heard a bit of good comments on their products. One being "I kept the toy for 7 years before I had my next kid and the toy is still in good condition. They are expensive but really value for money".

My personal experience has also been good. Apart from looking classy (sorry, but I hate those cheapass shopee/ taobao toys), the finishing is good. Most of the items, we have been using them for a year+ (and probably more with the growing extended family) and they are still in very good condition. 

1. Taf Toys Kimmy Koala Wonder Tissue Box ($39.90)

This toy initially caught my eye because I was sick of our little one ripping out tissues from our tissue box. With this, I hope our kiddo would stop wasting tissue and money, LOL! And I did see a lot prospects in using this same set-up for different play methods. The original play method is to basically load the tissue box with the coloured cloth and textured fabric and get the child to pull them out. 

You can also assist them if they are younger by placing them at the sides if they are uncomfortable with placing their hand into the box. As the cloth is sheer and of different colours, when he is older we used it to teach colours and he would at times place the cloth over his head to experiment looking through the different shades.

For alternative play, we would hide toys within the box and get him to pick them out. There is some element of surprise for him cos he wouldn't know what was hidden. His favourite so far has been us tying the cloth on his limbs and he would try to unpick them himself. I guess it does help to improve his fingers coordination. 

To wash the cloths, I usually toss it into the washing machine along with his clothes. No special care is given but so far the sheer cloths has yet to tear or show any loose threads.

2. Taf Toys North Pole Ball Drop Stacker ($39.90)

This is really ideal if you want to teach the kid on object permanence. My kid honestly plays it like a toy. He would pop the balls in and watch them as they roll out. Although you can actually stack them up so that it becomes a more complex structure, he doesn't really play it that way. It is usually just a 1-storey high box. 

This set comes with 6 coloured balls, with 3 being texture. We actually have like a whole box of balls so sometimes he just use the other balls to keep popping them in and out and watch them roll out of the box. By the way, the bottom of the box has a height gradient, so the ball would always roll out. No disappointment for the little one. 

5 uses for 1 bath toy

I always feel that there is more than one way to play with a set of toys. And the more uses you find for it, the more value for money the set is. Those who have been following me for a while would know I have some obsessions with unicorns and nautical items. Since my child is a boy, I have been accumulating quite a bit sailor-items for him. 

He is not exactly 12 months yet, but he has been quite receptive and curious about a lot of things lately. So we thought it was time to introduce him to more bath toys. B.Toys' Fish N Splish Floatable Bath Boat (S$67.10), apart from being chunky and filling up half our foldable bath tub, everything about it was lovely!

1. Great for Storage

I have to admit I was initially attracted to its looks. All the bath toys can fit snuggly into the toy boat and honestly, it even looks cute as a deco in our toilet. Haha. We don't have a bathtub so if were to use every toy during his bath time, my child would barely fit in. So...I just leave the boat outside and rotate the toys haha. *The boat can float by the way when empty :D

2. One of the toy is a comb!

The set has many toys, and got all grounds covered. You don't have to keep buying different toys. Just one set, bam, you got everything settled! The boat has a mirror at the side. My son's favourite star fish can even double up as a mould should you go to the beach.

If you have sharp eyes, you will notice that one of the bath toy is also a comb. We didn't exactly have a comb for our baby before this, so this was pretty handy. I really enjoy combing his hair now as he frolics around in the tub with his new-found friends. A pretty adorable comb, don't you think? This is one of my favourite piece along with the captain!

3. Water Sensory Play

I am not sure if it is the same for all kids, but mine really love the showering effect. Yes, you can see his grubby hand reaching out even when Mummy wants a clean shot. The set comes with 3 mini pails with holes at the bottom. 

Tip: I find it easier to wash their hair with such toys. The traditional method is to use a hanky. I have tried the hanky method and I think it doesn't wash the shampoo off their hair as cleanly. The hanky method is still the preferred method when they are infants, but when they can sit or are both comfortable with water, I find some pails work better! And after a while, they won't be afraid of showers anymore!

4. Fishing

Not only does my child love this set, I enjoy playing with it too. The hook allows you to fish out some of the bath toys. I have tried showing my child a few times but I think this is too advanced for him now. He just tries to eat the hook and the stick. You can play with them either in water or on dry land. 

5. Picker

Another dry-land game, I also use this set to train my boy to put things in and take things out! This can't exactly act as a sorter, but my child can't sort yet. So this is the closest I can do to get him interested in "sorting" Sighs!

If you are planning to get a set for yourself, 5 uses for the price of 1! :P

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Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Mideer Toys: Part 1

I came across this brand and wanted to share a little more about them because they have quite an interesting variety and the price is really reasonable. Some of the items we receive is still not age-appropriate so we are slowly releasing the goodies to baby. 

1. Mideer Kids Projector Storybook Torch ($17.90)

This is really one of my favourite product from MiDeer. Personally, I think this is a really cool and fun product that can grow up with the baby. It is probably the most appropriate for a toddler because they can sit for a longer period and understand the stories. The torch brings stories alive. There is about 8 pictures for each story and you child can twist the disc and change the picture projected. 

There is also a deck of cards with the stories (both in English and Mandarin) so all the work is pretty much done. Apart from acting as a projector, you can also use it as a torch. My boy is really more like a cat now, pouncing after the projections...hehe! For now, we use the torch to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars" with him in the dark. He can sort of flex his fingers now.. Whee!

2.  Mideer Kids Learning Alphabet Magnets Letter Magnetic Fridge Magnet ($11.50)

If you have a bomb shelter at home, the magnets really spruce up your bomb shelter. I changed the magnetic placards on my bomb shelter to this because this looked less cluttered and made my house less like a childcare. Honestly, it doesn't always looks like that at home. 

Baby loves it, maybe because it is colourful. He will always pluck the letters off the wall. His favourite so far is the skinny iguana, peeping tiger and the blur-looking yak. Sometimes, we would also spell words for him, though the words are pretty limited because we only have a set of alphabets. Would recommend getting 2 sets and maybe another set on numbers!

3. Mideer X Eric Carle Washable Finger Paint ($13.50)

Parents who want to introduce their children into art and paint, you should check this out. It comes in 8 colours and is washable. Currently, we are just using it as paint purely. Basically, we squeeze the colours onto a piece of paper and throw it into a ziplock bag so that baby can use and match the colour. 

The chance of the ziplock bursting is pretty low, but we wanted to be really careful so we got the kids friendly set. Baby doesn't exactly enjoy it for now, but as parents I have to say I did have quite a ball of fun :P

So far MiDeer toys have been really promising, we will reviewing the next few soon, so keep a lookout on our posts!

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Magnetic Learning Placards for the bombshelter ft. Learn & Love

I don't think I am kiasu, but I do believe in putting in place a good learning environment for my child. I am not sure whether it is true, but it is said that the Chinese language is harder to master. And hence, you should speak to the child in mandarin. So far, when it is just us, I communicate to baby in English...oops. But fortunately, my parents, in-laws and my husband speak to him in mandarin. 

I think it is never too early to learn. Don't be surprise but there are already magnetic placards in my home. To be honest, I was wondering what to do with the bomb shelter door. We didn't do any works to cover it so I was considering a mural (which my husband disagrees because the design can't be changed in future). 

This is how my bomb shelter looks like now and I think they look da bomb (no pun intended). The placards are from Learn & Love. They have a few series. Depending on your choice, it can cost between $15 to $22 for more than 20 pieces. In terms of design, my favourites are "The Loving Family", "I want to be..." and "Actions and Activities".

For now, baby is quite young. We would carry him and point to him the words etc. Sometimes, we would also point out other areas such as colour, body parts etc. Apart from mandarin, we would also verbalise to him in English. When he is older, we can probably mess the cards and let him match them back. He can either do it on a magnetic surface or on the floor. 

Surprisingly, my friends are the ones using the cue cards to test each other when they are at my house. To be honest, we haven't been reading/ writing mandarin for the longest time. Yup, these has also ended up as "educational" drinking props. Can't write the word in mandarin, drink a glass! Once we are done with them, we attach them back the bomb shelter door. :P

Pretty good investment for families with young kids if you ask me, not only do the children get to learn. The friends of Daddy and Mummy get to brush up their Chinese a little too!