The Js Arena | A Singapore Parenting & Family Lifestyle Blog

Earth Day Recycling Activities for Kids

2018-05-30T10:58:00.000+08:00

Our learning theme for Apr/May is all about Earth Day. While last year we focused on pollution, this year we focus on the 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

This year, we decided that we are going to make some simple games out of these recyclables. Rubbish also can be turned into toys!

Here is a short video of the games that we made. (psst.. if you like this video, please like, share and subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Thanks a lot) Enjoy!

Books

These are the books on our shelf - All about Earth Day and Recycling.

Reduce

Firstly, we discuss about pollution and sort the different kinds of pollution using the cards that I printed and laminated last year. I printed these from Every Star Is Different.

Then, we talk about how we can reduce pollution. Using the printouts from Every Star Is Different again, we talk about whether the daily activities we do are creating pollution and what we can do to reduce the pollution.

We also went on a neighbourhood walk and help to pick up rubbish in an attempt to reduce the trash in our surroundings.

Reuse

From the books we read, we talk about how we can reuse the resources we have at home. If we reuse them, it will reduce the amount of trash we throw out. Some of the examples that the boys thought of are using both sides of a paper, donate toys, clothes and books to others who need it more, reuse plastic bags as trash bags and reuse recyclable materials to make new things. And that's what we do! We made some games using recyclables.

The easiest game is creating a puzzle using cereal box. Simply cut up a cereal box into pieces and let your child complete the puzzle.

We made this fun rolling game using the cover of box and paper rolls. I wrote some words about recycling on the paper rolls and the boys will say out the words when the ball roll through the rolls. This works on hand-eye-coordination and balancing.

Next, I used an egg carton and wrote numbers on it. I gave the boys some ping pong balls and they tried to bounce the balls into the carton. They then wrote down the points they got. They got to work on number recognition, number words and addition. It was absolute fun!

On the other side of the egg carton, I wrote chinese phrases. When the ball got in, they will have to read out the chinese phrase, eg '石头'. What a fun way to learn chinese!

Recycle

For recycling, I setup a recycling centre sensory bin. I printed out pictures of things that are commonly found in trash and put these in a bin of kinetic sand to mimic a landfill.

I told the boys we are on a mission to find the trash and sort them into bins named 'Recycle', 'General Waste' and 'Donate'.

When they are done sorting, they will put the 'Recycle' bin onto the truck and drive it to the Recycling Centre. Here, they will sort the recyclables into 'Paper', 'Plastic', 'Metal', 'Glass' and 'e-Waste'.

During our activity, we had some discussion about what can be recycled and what should be trash. Even I'm not too sure about what are recyclable or not. NEA has a list of what are the items that we can recycle here.

The pictures of the items for this activity are from here, here and here.

A Visit to the NEWater Visitor Centre

We also visited the NEWater Visitor Centre to learn how water is recycled in Singapore.

That's all for our Earth Day Recycling activities. You can catch these activities in action in the video below.

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Easter Learning Activities for Kids

2018-04-30T00:37:00.000+08:00

Easter marks the beginning of spring and life. Although we don't celebrate the festival, I still did some Easter learning activities with the kids, because there are so many fun activities associated with Easter! One thing that can't be missed is definitely hunting for Easter eggs.

Here is a short video of the activities that we did. (psst.. if you like this video, please like, share and subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Thanks a lot) If you would like any of the printables that goes along with the activities, you may download them at the end of this post.

Easter Egg Hunt

Both Big J and Small J love any activity with movement, so the Easter hunt is undoubtedly their favourite among all these activities. To include some learning element, I hid magnetic letters in the plastic eggs and hid them around the house.

The boys then went hunting for the eggs. After they have found the eggs, they get to crack them. Small J is to write down the lowercase letters of the letters he found, while Big J needs to write down two words that begins with that letter. If you are interested to get the printable of these recording sheets, please scroll down for the download link.

There were lots of laughter and fun while hunting for the eggs. Of course, there were some cries too, because someone collected lesser eggs than the other.

Easter Sensory Bin

Both the boys love sensory bins, so I obviously have to create one for our Easter-themed learning too.

I filled a big bin (this is the SAMLA Box from IKEA) with plastic eggs, pom poms, an empty egg carton, some bowls and tools for them to handle.

They filled the eggs with the pom poms and then cracking the eggs again. They did lots of scoping and pouring, tried to stack up the eggs to build a tall tower and many more! Using the tongs and chopsticks is good for strengthening their fine motor skills. They also pretended to cook up a meal for their soft toys.

They also did colour matching and counting the number of pom poms to put in the eggs. We did everything in English and Mandarin.

Easter Geoboard

A geoboard activity which the boys need to form the Easter theme pictures using loombands while observing the photos. There are pictures of bunny, flower, eggs and carrot. I have include these cards in the download link below.

This is a very quiet, sit-down activity which I thought my active boys will not like. Surprisingly, they actually like this! I guess it must be quite therapeutic to stretch the bands and see the image forming before their eyes. Stretching the loombands is also a good way to strengthen the little fingers.

Bunny Clip & Sequence

Small J is currently working on his teen numbers and fine motor skills. So I created this simple sequence and clip activity for him. I printed the bunnies on colour paper, attached them to wooden clothpegs and wrote the numbers on the bunnies. He will need to sequence and clip the bunnies onto the container.

These cards are so versatile, you can use it with whatever skills your child is working on, such as sightwords, vocabulary or chinese words.

Here's a tip, use permanent marker to write the number on transparent tape and stick it onto the laminated bunnies. This way, the ink will not come off when your child is handling it. After you are done with the activity, simply tear of the tape and it can be reused again.

Easter Addition

This is a simple addition practice using plastic eggs and pompoms. Small J is learning about simple addition and this is a good way for him to visualise how it is done.

Here's what he needs to do. He will fill both the top and bottom part of the plastic egg with some pom poms. Next, he count the pom poms in each halves and write down the number on the recording mat. Then he will combine the two halves and count the total number of pom poms and record it on the sheet. This helps him to better understand what an equation means.

Stacking Easter Eggs

Another fun way to use the plastic eggs is to stack them up and see how tall a tower you can build before it topples. This game always ends in laughter.

I hope you and your child will enjoy these activities. Do bookmark them for the next Easter! If you are interested to do these with your child, click on the photo below for the link to the download. Don't forget to tag @TheJsArena on social media to share with me.

Individualised Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre

2018-04-28T21:53:00.001+08:00

In my previous post about Self-Directed Learning at Eye Level, I mentioned how the expectation of education has changed since the past. Students now, are expected to be self-directed in their own learning, ie questioning, thinking and be responsible for their own learning. For self-directed learning to work, students need to work at their own pace and be self-motivating.

However, the method of teaching in most schools has not changed much. It is still mostly teacher-led and directed and students are grouped according to their age. This means students of the same age are expected to learn the same things at the same level. Nevertheless, some of these students are capable to achieve higher performance but they are not given the chance to do something more challenging. On the other hand, there are also some students who have a weaker foundation and need more support but there are not enough resources and time given to them to learn at their pace.

“Eye Level is based on an educational principle where students learn at their own pace. When a teacher understands the learning needs of a student, the teachings are most effective.”

At Eye Level, they understand that each child is different and have their own abilities. That is why Eye Level offers an Individualised Learning Programme that is built upon the unique learning abilities of each individual.

Diagnostic Test

Every student that comes to Eye Level goes through a Diagnostic Test. The test helps to determine the right level the student should begin at - not too easy, not too difficult. This Right Starting Point provides the confidence and motivation for the student to progress. At the same time, it also presents some challenges for the student to learn more and advance through the curriculum.

Systematic and Progressive Curriculum

Once the initial starting point is determined, the student will learn and progress through a Systematic and Progressive Curriculum. The curriculum is divided into levels and each level will have a certain number of booklets focusing on different learning concepts. As the student progress through the booklets, new concepts are built on the strong foundation that the student has already mastered in earlier booklets.

Excerpt from Level 2 Math: Subtle increase in difficulty from pictures to dots

At the end of each level, the student will go through a Level Test. This test aims to assess if the student has fully understood the concepts before moving up to the next level. The student may be asked to repeat some of the booklets if he needs more help with that level.

At times, this reinforcement is done even before the Level Test. This is to ensure that the student understands the right concept and methodology before progressing to more advanced concepts.

As you can see from the evaluation results above, the test is very systematic. It lays out which of the concepts that are being tested and how well the student should be doing. It also marks out very clearly when a student needs to do a repeat of the booklets.

The progress of each individual student is individualised at his own learning pace. Fast-learners can breeze through the programme without being pulled back by weaker students. Students who need more support can also learn at their own comfortable pace.

Feedback

At the end of every quarter, there will be a Parent-Teacher Conference. During the meeting, the teacher shares with the parent about the progress of the student, the upcoming plans for the student and to address any concerns that the teacher or parent might have. The teacher will also give suggestions as to what the student or parent can do to improve, not just academically but also the learning attitude. As each student is unique, the feedback from the teacher is also tailored to each individual.

If you would like to find out more about the programmes available at Eye Level Learning Centre, do check out their website. You may also read my other posts to get more information about Eye Level:

Eye Level Math - Learning From The Child's Level

Eye Level Math - Update #2
Eye Level Math - Update #3
Self-Directed Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre
Individualised Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre

Eye Level has 20 learning centres in Singapore. Find a centre near your home here.
Web | Facebook

Eye Level @ Jurong West

Address: Blk 960 Jurong West St 92 #01-182 (Upper Level) Singapore 640960
Contact No: 6686 2328
Email: Jurong.West@myeyelevel.com

Disclaimer: We were sponsored complimentary lessons with Eye Level Singapore to try out its Math programme for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

Self-Directed Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre

2018-02-23T11:23:00.000+08:00

Education nowadays is very different from my time. Teachers are expected to teach less but students are expected to learn more. More often than not, students are expected to experience and learn by themselves. In fact, becoming a self-directed learner is one of the outcomes of the 12 competencies of education as stipulated by MOE. It says: "A self-directed learner who questions, reflects, perseveres and takes responsibility for his own learning."

Source

At Eye Level, they pride themselves on providing an Individualised Programme and a Self-Directed Learning Environment for students of different learning abilities. They also nurture students to become Problem Solvers, Critical Thinkers and Lifelong Learners, which are important values in the global environment.

I have already shared about Eye Level's Individualised Programme in my previous posts. Today, I'm going to share a little more about how Self-Directed Learning looks like at Eye Level.

Right Starting Point

In learning, I believe in guiding the child at his learning level. If we are giving the child something that is too difficult, he will lose interest and motivation very quickly.

Every student that comes to Eye Level is required to go through a Diagnostic Test. This test helps to identify the right level that the student should start at. Usually, this is a level that is not too difficult nor too easy. Since the starting point is at the student's learning level, it provides confidence and helps to motivate the student to learn more. From this point onward, learning progress is based on the individual learning pace and motivation.

Seating Arrangement

Each student is seated at his/her own Self-Directed Learning Desk. This seating arrangement is specially arranged to reduce distractions, improve concentration and develop self-directed learning habits. The teacher is seated at a designated coaching space that is separated from the students’ learning space. This arrangement allows 1:1 Individualised Coaching and Self-Directed Learning to take place at the same time.

1:1 Individualised Coaching

As each student is learning at their own individual level, it is not possible for the teacher to teach everyone at the same time, like in traditional classrooms.

At Eye Level, the separation of the students' learning space and teacher's coaching space is optimal for a 1:1 Individualised Coaching. A student will receive 1:1 coaching at the teacher’s table, while the rest are doing individual learning at the student's desks. When this student is done with the teacher, he will return to his desk to practice what he have just learnt. When a student has a problem, he will have to take the initiative to approach the teacher at the teacher’s table. This 1:1 approach allows each student to learn at his own pace. It also decreases distractions to other students who are still doing their work.

In traditional classrooms, some students might be shy to voice out their questions in front of a whole class. He will be losing the opportunity to clarify any doubts and be left out by the teacher. Eye Level’s unique 1:1 coaching approach encourages students to ask questions if they have a problem and hence the teacher is better able to monitor the progress of the student.

Optimised Learning Environment

You may question, "I can also teach my child at home and get him/her to practice on the assessment books." I have been doing home-learning with the boys and I must say it is not easy. Sometimes, we might be busy with other stuffs to answer the child’s questions, sometimes we might be lazy, or sometimes we might not know how to teach a certain concept. It is quite different when they are in the learning center. The environment is conducive for learning, teachers are readily available to ask for help and peer model from other students will give the student the confidence and motivation to learn.

Remember, self-directed learning is not:
Giving a piece of work (which might not be the child's learning level),
letting the student to work on it alone (with no help readily available)
while some other students are talking or siblings are playing in the background (an environment with distractions).

Eye Level Math - Learning From The Child's Level

Eye Level @ Jurong West

Address: Blk 960 Jurong West St 92 #01-182 (Upper Level) Singapore 640960
Contact No: 6686 2328
Email: Jurong.West@myeyelevel.com

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First Week of School 2018

2018-01-10T08:50:00.000+08:00

So, the first week of school just whizzed by! It wasn't too long ago that I was still so excited about the boys going to their new school. Most excitedly, Big J is starting on his Primary 1 journey!

Getting the stuffs ready the night before the first day of school

Talking about Big J's bag, when we brought him to get a new bag for Primary 1, he chose this very plain one. We thought he would chose those with cute, adorable prints, but he said, "I'm Primary 1 already, I don't like cartoons anymore, I want something that is plain." We were shocked! But, he is still watching his cartoons and asking us to buy toys. Duh!

First day of school! Look at how excited they were.

For Big J, the first day was spent getting to know about the school, teachers and friends and also getting used to the routine in school. A pity that parents don't get to observe how the kids are getting on in their class. Parents need to stay on in the hall for a briefing while the kids go back to their class. Then, it's recess time, the most exciting time for parents cos we get to see our kids again!

Parents stood at the perimeter of the canteen to look at their children. It was quite a messy scene as parents were eagerly looking for their precious little ones. Big J bought some sushi and that became his favourite for the next couple of days.

As for Small J, although he is attending a new kindergarten this year, he is already all familiar with the school as it was KorKor's kindergarten for the past two years. He spent the day getting to know his teachers and friends. They played some games and did some crafts. The years before primary school are always so fun! How I wish that primary school life can be more play-based too.

The biggest change we have to get used to is waking up early in the morning. Though the boys are early risers on weekends, they can't seem to turn on this power on weekdays.

Small J asked, "Why we need to wake up in the middle of the night?"

I usually get them to bed by 8.30 or 9pm the night before, but they still have trouble waking up early in the morning. Poor Small J has to wake up early too even though his school starts at 8am, cos we have to leave the house together for Big J's school.

While Small J is happily enjoying and playing in school, Big J just received his spelling list for both English and Chinese subjects. So stressful isn't it?

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New Year's Activities for Kids

2017-12-27T21:49:00.000+08:00

2017 is coming to an end soon. Big J will be embarking on a new journey as he enters Primary 1 next year. Small J will be attending a new kindergarten in 2018. With so many changes to come for the new year, we hardly have time to do much learning activities. I remembered we had a blast in 2016 to welcome in the new year. So, here are some activities that we did in 2016 to welcome the new year. I hope these will be inspiring to you to do some New Year's activities with your kiddos.

A Year in Review

The first activity we did was to review the events that had happened over the past year. I printed the photos of some of the significant events that took place during the year and wrote the date and event on the back of the photos.

Then, I hid the cards around the house and the boys set out to find the cards.

After they found the cards, they sat down and looked at the pictures. We had lots of fun recollecting our memories.

I have them picked out a photo which they really like and record it down in their journal.

Fireworks Art

How is it a New Year party if there is no fireworks? I cut up some toilet paper rolls and flatten it so that it looks like fireworks. The boys used it to print the fireworks on the a big piece of paper.

New Year's Countdown Party

And here comes the best activity, a New Year's Countdown Party! In preparation for the party, we made our party hats and party pops. I drew out the party hat on a drawing paper and the boys were free to decorate it.

We also made party pops using a plastic cup and a balloon. They cut out the confetti from colourful tissue paper. They filled their cups with the confetti, countdown from 10 to 1 and pull the balloon. Happy New Year!!

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Eye Level Math - Update #3

2017-12-15T11:28:00.000+08:00

It has been about 6 months since my last update about Big J's progress with Eye Level Learning Centre. He has now progressed to Level 5 of the Eye Level Math programme.

For the past few months, he had lots of practice on addition, subtraction and number bonds. The Systematic and Progressive Approach ensures that he has a solid foundation in numbers before he moves on to addition.

With ample practice in addition, he moves on to subtraction.

And when his addition and subtraction concepts are well-understood, number bonds are introduced. I like how they introduce this concept in a visual and fun way, before it goes on to the normal number bond presentation.

As for the Critical Thinking Math (CTM) portion, he is still enjoying it very much. He continues to learn more about patterns, shapes, geometry and comparisons. These critical thinking skills helps to build up logical thinking which will be very helpful when he proceeds on to primary school, especially in heuristic math.

During this period, he also completed his first sticker board and was so excited to exchange it for his first reward! In fact, he also completed his second sticker board and decided to accumulate more sticker boards to exchange for a higher tier prize.

Here's a photo of him doing his work independently while the teacher is guiding another student.

Eye Level Math - Learning From The Child's Level

Eye Level Math - Update #2
Eye Level Math - Update #3
Self-Directed Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre
Individualised Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre

Eye Level @ Jurong West

Address: Blk 960 Jurong West St 92 #01-182 (Upper Level) Singapore 640960
Contact No: 6686 2328
Email: Jurong.West@myeyelevel.com

Eye Level has 20 learning centres in Singapore. Find a centre near your home here.
Web | Facebook

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My Little Climbing Room

2017-09-28T22:30:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, we were invited to a media preview of My Little Climbing Room. As the name suggests, it is an indoor playground where little ones can do lots of climbing.

The room isn't really that big but there are enough activities to keep the kids occupied for the whole session of 90 minutes. And there are activities to keep both the older and younger kids busy!

Before You Start

Upon arrival, parents and children will be given a tag and be shown a safety video. Kids will be given a set of challenge card, and upon completion, they can exchange it for a small gift.

There is a shelf where you can leave your bags. Beside it, is a small bench for anyone to take a rest.

There are also instructors around to guide and help. Here, Big J is putting on his harness with the help from the instructor. For safety, every child must wear grip socks and it is recommended to wear long pants. Parents must also accompany and supervise their child while they are climbing.

After getting ready, it is time to explore the place! Each session last 90 minutes, with 30 minutes of free-play, 30 minutes of group games and followed by another 30 minutes of free play. On weekdays when it is unlimited play, group games will be conducted every 2 hours.

AR Wall

This is the favourite wall for Big J. He will need to climb up the wall to tap the white dots. There is a timer to record the time taken to tap all the dots. He keeps going back to this wall, because it is interactive and he has to do it as fast as he can. I think it will be more fun if the position of the dots can change after each round.

Obstacle Wall

At this wall, the child will have to climb their way through the obstacles of hula hoops and poles.

Number Wall

This is another interactive wall. The child will spin a number and climb up the wall to touch the corresponding number.

The above three walls, AR wall, Obstacle wall and the Number wall, are catered towards the younger children, who might be afraid to climb or scare of heights. These walls are shorter and the holds are closer together to suit the children's smaller built. They are also highly interactive to motivate them to give it a try. As they become better at it, it helps to build up their confidence to try out the higher walls.

There is no need for the child to use a belay for these walls and there are safety mats below to cushion the child. Parents are encouraged to hold on to the child for safety purposes, especially if the child is still not familiar with climbing. Big J likes jumping down instead of climbing down, and I don't have to worry much because the safety pads here are quite thick. Though I still nag at him for jumping.

High Wall

I especially love the vibrant colours of these wall. There are four 4-meters high wall that challenge the more daring kids. Remember the challenge cards that I mentioned earlier? These are the walls that the child will need to conquer to complete the challenges.

At the side of each wall, there is a challenge card which suggests different ways of play and difficulty levels.

Among the four walls, the red wall is the easiest. Even Small J, who is 4 years old, can climb all the way to the top, of course, with daddy holding on to the rope at the bottom. Initially, I was wondering why is it not the instructors holding the rope. Then they say, this is actually for the parents and child to bond. Instead of sitting at one corner, looking down on the phone, parents are encouraged to play together. If you need help, the instructors will be most happy to help.

Big J has no problems with all the walls. I didn't know he likes rock climbing until we visited this place. He thoroughly enjoyed the whole session!

Because, you have been seeing too much of the back view of the kids, here is one with the front view. This is a great spot for photo-taking!

Hangout Zone

If your child is tired from all the climbing, they can hang out at the monkey bar or do some swinging on the wreaking ball.

Or if they are not interested in doing any climbing, they might want to try some of these wheelies or try balancing.

For younger siblings, they have some simple toys, such as cars and a play kitchen, to keep them occupy while their older siblings climb,

Group Game

The session also includes Group Game which involves all the children. After the first 30 minutes of free-play, the climbing walls are closed and children will join in the group game. We played a game of Shark Attack!

When the lights in the room is blue, the children will pretend that they are fishes swimming in the ocean. They will be free to run about.

And when the lights turn red, the shark will come out and the fishes (children) will need to quickly climb up the wall to escape from the shark. The children were so excited that the room was filled with their laughter and screams.

After 30 minutes of group game, the children are go back to their climbing activities for another 30 minutes before the session ends. On weekdays, when it is unlimited play, group game will run every 2 hours.

Before leaving the place, don't forget to check out the photo wall to redeem your free photo printout!

Safety

My Little Climbing Room provides a safe and comfortable environment for children to do rock climbing. Each session has a max capacity of 15 kids so that there is no overcrowding. Each child must also be accompanied by an adult.

Some of the safety precautions they took includes adding a slow release pulley at the top of the wall so the descend is more controlled and requires less effort to hold. There are also safety mats in place to cushion your child. I can say these mats are quite thick and my active boys have no problem falling onto the mats. Their instructors are also present to supervise the activities at all times and to render any help.

The climbing walls are built by Climb Asia, the top wall builder in Singapore and parent company of Climb Central. And it is also built to the same safety standards as regular climbing walls for adults.

It is recommended to dress your child in long pants and comfortable clothing without any hard or sharp objects on them. All climbers are also required to wear Grip Socks. For hygiene purposes, everyone else are required to wear socks. There are socks for sales at the counter if you forget to bring one.

One of my biggest concern doing rock climbing is safety, so I am glad that My Little Climbing Room put in their best effort to ensure that our children can play in a safe environment.

Admission Fees

Each session has a capacity limit of 15 children. So be sure to make your booking online before visiting the place.

Grand Opening

My Little Climbing Room is having their grand opening is this coming weekend, 30 Sep & 1 Oct 2017! For that, they are having a special promotion. As they have a max capacity of 15 kids per session, do book early to avoid disappointment!

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to My Little Climbing Room, we have 2 pairs of entry passes to give away to 2 lucky readers! (Each winner will get 2 entry passes)

Simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter below to win! Giveaway ends Sunday, 8 October 2017, 11:59pm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions:

1. Giveaway ends on Sunday, 8 October 2017, 2359 hours (Singapore time).
2. The 2 passes are to be used on the same time slot.
3. Validity of the passes will be till 31st December 2017.
4. Open to Singapore residents only.

5. All entries have to be completed. Incomplete or invalid entries will be disqualified without notice.

6. Limited to one winner per household.

7. Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Instagram.

8. We reserve the right to amend the terms and conditions without prior notice.

My Little Climbing Room

Opening hours:
Thursday & Friday: 2pm - 8pm
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday: 10am - 8pm

Address:
Promenade @ Pelikat
183 Jalan Pelikat, #B1-101 Singapore (537643)
For more information on getting there, please check here.

Contact No: 9726 3650
Email: contact@mylittleclimbingroom.com

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Disclaimer: We were invited for a media preview of My Little Climbing Room for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

POSB Smart Buddy Programme

2017-09-27T10:04:00.002+08:00

Did you read about the news that primary school students can now use a smart watch to pay for their purchases in school? When I first read the news, I was quite skeptical of the idea. Firstly, I am not a techie person. Secondly, I believe that young children learn better with hands-on experience using real cash. Lastly, what happens when the child lost or misplaced the watch? As a first-time parent of a child starting primary school next year, I already have a lot of worries, now I still have to teach him how to use the watch responsibly?

When I received an invitation to learn more about the POSB Smart Buddy Programme, I wasn't sure if I wanted to attend, because it is like contradicting to what I had previously thought of the programme. Anyway, the primary school that Big J is attending next year is one of the pilot school on the programme. During the school open house, we had already seen the students using the watch to buy their things. Big J was saying that he wants to have the same watch so it is easier and faster for him to buy his food during recess. So I thought it's better for me to find out more about the Smart Buddy Programme. I'm really glad that I went with an open heart and some of the concerns that I had are actually not that serious.

What is the Smart Buddy?

The Smart Buddy is the world’s first in-school savings and payments wearable on your child’s wrist. It is not only a watch, it also allows your child to tap to pay in school and at selected merchants, check on balances, and track fitness levels. The watch is link to the Smart Buddy App, where parents can mange the daily allowance, monitor the transactions the child has made and more.

Source: POSB

How it Works

Since this programme is targeted at primary school students, the watch is made to be very simple and easy to use. Students just need to check the amount is correct before tapping to pay. They can also check how much they have left at the balance checking kiosk in school.

For the parents, they will be notified of the transactions their child has made via the Smart Buddy App, real-time!

Source: POSB

I recently let Big J tried out his Smart Buddy at Popular Bookstore and everything is so simple!
1) Pass your items to the sales assistant
2) Check that the amount shown is correct
3) Tap and you are done!

Testing out the POSB Smart Buddy Watch at Popular Bookstore. It is so simple! 1) Pass your items to the sales assistant 2) Check that the amount shown is correct 3) Tap and you are done! . Because everything is so easy, spending money is easy too. Luckily, I can set a limit to the amount of pocket money he gets on the Smart Buddy App, so he won't overspend. Of course, we also need to spend more effort to teach him about the value of money, how much he can spend and the value of savings. . For more information, check out https://www.posb.com.sg/personal/deposits/bank-with-ease/posb-smart-buddy?pid=sg-posb-vanity-deposits-smartbuddy . . . . . . #posb #posbsmartbuddy #smartbuddy #mediainvite #sporemombloggers #sgparentbloggers #sgkids #sg #sgig #sgparents #sgblogger
A post shared by Jolin (@thejsarena) on Sep 17, 2017 at 2:19am PDT

Features of the Smart Buddy

Easy Setup of Allowance

Parents can easily set up how much allowance they want to give the child. They can choose to give more on certain days when there are extra activities in school. Parents are also able to change the allowance limit instantly if the child needs any emergency money. This means parents won't have to worry about forgetting to give allowance or having to rush down to the school if the child needs extra money to buy something urgently.

Tracking of Expenses

Parents are able to track and monitor how the child is spending his allowance. Children will not be able to say that they have eaten their food when in fact the money is spent in the bookshop. At the end of the day, parents can also use this to discuss with the child if they had spent their money wisely. I feel that this will place some sort of responsibility upon the child as he/she have to be accountable for where the money was spent. If there is not such record, the child will most likely to say that he has forgotten where the money went.

Source: POSB

Auto Savings

The allowance left over after each day will be the savings. At the end of each month, these savings can be automatically transferred to the child's ePOSBkids Account, if the child has one. For children who do not have the ePOSBkids Account, parents can also deposit the amount of savings shown in the app into the child's account via ibanking. This means that parents do not need to lug a big bag of coins to be deposited into the child's bank account.

Source: POSB

If you are familiar with with National School Savings Campaign, the Smart Buddy also offers digital tracking of the POSB Smiley Stamps. Students can purchase the digital stamps from their bookshop using the Smart Buddy and upon completion of the stamp card, the stamp savings will be automatically deposited into the child's ePOSBkids account. No more worrying that the card will go missing again!

Safe

Remember I mentioned earlier about my worries of the watch getting lost? Parents can immediately disable the watch through the app in case of theft/loss of the watch. And if the watch is subsequently found, the watch can be enabled again.

Source: POSB

Health Tracker

Other than being a watch and payment option, the Smart Buddy also works as a steps counter to track calories burnt and distance covered. Big J has been wearing his Smart Buddy because he wants to record how many steps he took.

(Upcoming) Location Tracker

They are already testing the possibility of including an in-school location tracker and a bus tracker. This allows parents to track the child's location when they are in school and also when their child boards or alights the school bus.

Source: POSB

How to Get It

Smart Buddy is only available for primary school students whose school is on the programme and it is FREE! Currently there are 19 schools on board the programme. You may check the list of participating schools here. The school will be sending you details of how to register for the programme. For parents, you will need to have a new/existing POSB Savings or DBS Savings/Current Account, which will be tagged to your child’s watch. You're also encouraged to register your child's ePOSBkids account for the auto-transfer of monthly savings.

Verdict

So have my questions been addressed? I would say yes and it has opened up new perspective with regards to learning about using money.

Firstly, the Smart Buddy is an alternative payment option available to the students. This is not a compulsory programme and parents can decide if they want to let their child use the Smart Buddy or the real physical money. Parents can also choose to let the child use the Smart Buddy on certain days or when the child is older, like from P3 onwards. This means the child can still learn how to count physical money and be exposed to the fact that Singapore is moving towards a cashless society as part of the Smart Nation vision.

As for learning about the value of money and saving, it doesn't have to be done by only using physical money. The tracking of expenses and savings function of the Smart Buddy serves as accountability of the child's spending. He will have to be responsible for how he spends his allowance because everything is tracked and he can't lie about it. As parents, we also need to spend more effort to teach him about the value of money, how much he can spend and why it is important to save.

The Smart Buddy is very easy to use. There is no need for the child to fumble for coins and figuring out the change to get back. I'm sure many children face the problem of forgetting to get back the change. This means that Big J can buy his food faster and has more time to eat. This is one of my worries that he will not have enough time to finish his food during recess time. Because everything is so easy, spending money is easy too. Thankfully, I can set a limit to the amount of pocket money he gets on the Smart Buddy App, so he won't overspend. And during times of emergency, I can also easily give him extra allowance via the app.

I also do not need to worry too much if the Smart Buddy is lost because I can easily disable the watch via the app. At the most, I will only lost the amount of allowance for that day.

Lastly, as with all new initiatives, there are bound to be people who accept it and people who reject it. As part of Singapore's Smart Nation vision, it is inevitable to avoid technology completely and children actually catch on technology faster than we adults do. What we can do is to embrace it and guide our child along and learn together.

POSB Smart Buddy

Web: www.posb.com.sg/smartbuddy
Email: posbsmartbuddy@dbs.com

Download the Smart Buddy App at:
App Store | Google Play

Disclaimer: We were invited for a media preview of the Smart Buddy Programme for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

National Day Activities

2017-08-25T01:56:00.003+08:00

August is a month of celebration in Singapore because it is her 52nd birthday! Happy National Day!!

It has been a period since we did any themed learning. Frankly, it takes lots of time and effort to plan and prepare any theme activities. But since National Day is a day that is widely celebrated in Singapore and it provides opportunities for the kids to learn about Singapore, I decided to just do it! Fortunately, the boys are keen to learn more about this topic. If you have been following me on Instagram, you would have seen me posting the activities we did. So, do follow me on Instagram to have a first glance at our activities before they make it to the blog.

Books

These are some of our reads for National Day, which I borrowed from the library. We especially like 'Rhyming Around Singapore'. It has rhymes that sing along to the tune of nursery rhymes that we already know but with a twist to the lyrics to make it more Singapore style.

Singapore Flag

The first week, we focused on the Singapore flag. Small J has been seeing the flag at many places and requested to make a flag. So here we go!

I looked up some information on the Internet about the Singapore flag and its significance and made some cards for our discussion. If you want a copy of these cards, continue reading! I got this pocket chart long ago from Taobao. You may search for 'pocket chart' on Amazon, Taobao or EzBuy.

1. S-I-N-G-A-P-O-R-E

After learning about the flag and its significance, we get down to some hands-on activities. Since we are learning about Singapore, of course we need to learn her name! We chant along to the Singapore cheer S-I-N-G-A-P-O-R-E and it definitely makes remembering the spelling easier.

2. Tissue Paper Craft Flag

Next, we start making our flag. This time we settled for a tissue paper craft. We cut the craft tissue paper into small squares and crumble them into small balls. This is great for fine motor and patience as they need to crumble each squares one piece at a time. Then, we stick the balls onto the flag template and it's done!

If you need more inspirations, here is another flag that we made a couple of years. It's a flag that's made of hearts!

3. Rescue the Stars from the Stormy Sea

Do you know that each star on the flag has its meaning? We talked about what they mean and did some stars activities. We also listened and sang a song 'Five Stars Arising' and discuss how Singapore has developed and progressed since the chaotic times.

Next, we are on a mission to rescue the stars that are stuck in the green stormy sea (in relation to the song we just sang).

I hid these mini stars linky (from Daiso) in Theraputty. Theraputty is something like playdough but is is firmer and has more resistance. We bought this from Big J's therapist when he was working on his fine motor. You can buy this from Amazon. If you don't have that, playdough is a good choice too!

The boys will need to stretch and pull the putty to dig out the stars. Great for fine motor skills and hand strength!

To extend the activity, Small J worked on counting and sorting the stars by colours. Big J worked on counting, addition and spelling the number words.

4. How many Stars can you Catch?

Another star activity that is so simple! The boys will grab a handful of stars from the box, count how many they caught and record their answers.

5. Labeling Parts of the Flag

As a recap, we made use of the word cards and the flag we made and did a labeling activity. I'm surprised that Big J has no problem with both the English and Chinese word cards!

Independence

Next, we learnt about Singapore's Independence. We watched a video on YouTube about this very important day in her history. We talked about how days were like during those times, how Singapore is a multiracial country and why is it important to maintain racial harmony. Just right, it was racial harmony celebration in school too!

1. The Pledge

How could we miss singing the National Anthem and saying the Pledge? Big J says the pledge has the words of the stars' significance which we learnt the previous week. How observant! I also tried introducing the Chinese version of the Pledge to them. We also sang 'We Are Singapore' because it has the song version of the Pledge in it.

This book '信约' is a very good book to explain the Pledge. It has photos of stamps with pictures that represents the meaning of the Pledge.

2. How Old is Singapore?

Singapore gained its independence in 1965, so how old is she now? I cut strips with the years passed since Singapore's independence. Big J have to arrange them in ascending order onto the hundreds chart. Then he counted how many years. Singapore is 52!

Small J put the stars on the chart and counted till 52.

Attractions in Singapore

Next up, we are learning about the places of interest in Singapore. I looked for pictures for these places on the Internet and printed them out. I picked places that we have been to and the boys talked about the places with much interest, bringing back memories when we visited those places. We also check out the places using the Internet and Google Street View. The boys did a matching of the name of the places to their photos in both English and Chinese names.

1. Changi Airport

Following our learning of the landmarks in Singapore, we choose to explore more about Changi Airport. Here we made a model of the air control tower. We discuss what we can see and do at the airport and look at the photos we had taken at the airport.

And because Terminal 4 is about to operate soon, we visited it during the open house. The boys thought they were really going on a flight and were disappointed when we didn't board any plane in the end.

2. The Merlion

Another well-know icon of Singapore is the Merlion! The boys punched out paper cut outs and stick them onto the Merlion's body as scales. Then we tore some flyers into strips and stick them onto the Merlion's head as hair. We also make fireworks as the background using paper rolls. I really love the colour of the final work! The Merlion template is from here.

Coconut Agar Agar

Small J received a 'Let's Celebrate National Day' book from his preschool. He has been bugging me that he wanted to make the Coconut Agar Agar shown in the book.

We went to the supermarket to get the ingredients. I asked Big J to look at the recipe and get the ingredients we needed. Giving them something to do really makes the grocery shopping trip more enjoyable and peaceful.

When we reached home, we got started with the recipe. Big J read out the steps and the boys took turns to mix the ingredients.

I ever tried getting Big J to help out with some simple preparation of meal but he was quite uncooperative. This time, since they choose to make this together, they were naturally cooperative. Of course, I did 'threaten' that we will have to stop if they don't listen to instructions.

Then, it is tasting time! The boys were so excited because they can finally eat the agar agar they made. I have to say that the agar agar didn't really taste great. But we had fun making the agar agar together. It's the process that's more important right?!

I hope you enjoy these activities as much as we do. Although National Day is over, you can save these for next year! Or these can be used for a Singapore themed learning.

Over at Instagram, I am greatly inspired by a group of homelearning mummies who also shared their learning activities about Singapore, do check them out!
@playlexue, @happytotshelf, @ourlittleplaynest and @2mamas4kids

If you are interested in doing some of these activities with your child, here's the download of the activities.

Click here to download 'National Day Activities'

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A Science Escapade by Cognitive Whizz

2017-08-17T11:12:00.000+08:00

I have always wanted to expose the boys to science and do some fun science experiments together. But blame it on my laziness and poor science knowledge, I hesitated. Fortunately, science is all around us. So, there are plenty opportunities to explain why things happen and the science behind it. Real life application you see.

Do you know that science can occur in fairy tales too? Fairy tales are always so magical and fascinating but there are actually science concepts behind the magic! Big J was thrilled when I told him he's going for a science class, with a fairy tale twist!

A Science Escapade!

We were invited by Cognitive Whizz to try out its holiday science program during the June holidays. Held at BrainFit Studio, 'A Science Escapade!' is a 4-day program that integrates fairy tales and hands-on science experiments. Using stories that children are already familiar with, they will need to help the characters in the stories to overcome challenges with the help of science. Through the fun and engaging hands-on experiments, children will develop problem solving skills, critical thinking skills and of course understanding of the science concepts!

Big J enjoyed himself so much during the 4 days and I'm excited to share with you what went on in the class! First up, here are the highlights for the 4-day program. I'm quite amazed there are so much to learn from a simple fairy tale.

Each lesson lasts for 3 hours. Each day, the children will be introduced to a fairy tale and carry-out 3-5 interesting experiments to learn about the science concepts. Real life examples are also introduced to show how these science concepts can be applied to our daily life. I can assure you that your child will be busy thinking and engaged every minute in the class! Let me bring you through Day 1 to have a feel of the program.

How Are You Feeling Today?

The session started off by asking the children how they were feeling. I think this is a very clever way to get the children to start interacting. It is also a way to provide assurance to the children that their feelings are being acknowledged.

On each day, the children were introduced to four new words to describe happy, sad, angry or scared. By day 4, they have learnt 12 new words to describe their feelings!

I am overjoyed to learn about science!

Fairy Tale Time

Next, it is story time! Look at the children listening attentively to the story of Hansel and Gretel. As the story was read, Teacher Denise related the emotions, that the children had learnt earlier, to what the characters experienced.

Science Time!

After reading the story, here comes the interesting part. Teacher Denise told the children that the wicked witch is chasing after Hansel and Gretel. She asked the children how they can help Hansel and Gretel escape more quickly. The children started suggesting them to drive a car, ride a bike or even take a rocket to escape from the witch!

The teacher showed the children some pictures of vehicles and asked what they have in common. Almost immediately, majority of the children said 'Wheels!'

Teacher Denise then took out a balloon racer without wheels and demonstrated that it doesn't move well due to friction between the cardboard and the table. The children said that the racer needs wheels! After attaching the wheels, the racer was able to move smoothly. She then explained that the contact area between the car and the table is now smaller and hence less friction. Therefore, the racer is able to zoom away!

Through this experiment, children learnt about the first science principle for the day:

"Friction acts in opposite direction of the moving object. The bigger the contact area, the greater the friction. Wheels reduce the contact area, hence lesser friction."

The children were broken up into smaller groups to build their very own balloon racers and get some hands-on experience to learn about friction. Each group has about 4 - 5 children to a teacher. The teacher guided the children along patiently.

Here's Big J trying to blow a big balloon to make his balloon racer move fast!

After the fun, the children are invited back to their seats to complete the worksheet to reinforce their learning. The booklet is fully coloured to attract the children's attention.

After this, Teacher Denise continued to introduce the children to the next science principle:

"Newton's 3rd Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Again, she brought the focus back to the story of Hansel and Gretel. The children were asked which direction should the racer be facing to escape from the witch. They first placed the balloon facing the witch and realised that the racer ran towards the witch and the witch caught them! So now, they placed the balloon with the straw end facing the witch. The air from the balloon escaped through the straw, blew up the witch's hair and the racer got away!

More real-life examples were given to reinforce their learning. For example, when riding a scooter, we kick our feet backwards so the scooter can move forward!

The last science principle the children learnt was about Energy Conversion:

"Stretching something elastic stores potential energy. Anything that is moving has kinetic energy."

The children were asked why the racer is able to move despite not having any petrol. Teacher Denise shared that potential energy is stored when the elastic balloon gets inflated with air. As the air escapes, the stored potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, zooming the racer away.

To recap what they have learnt that day, the children were asked to pretend that they were snakes slithering on the ground. They realised that they were moving slowly due to friction. Then they were asked to pretend they were horses galloping. They were able to move fast because the contact area with the floor is smaller and hence less friction.

Next, they had a game of tug-of-war. The children were divided into two teams, one representing friction and the other non-friction. The non-friction group realised they could hardly move when there are equal number of friction members. However, when the friction team got smaller, the non-friction team could move more easily! They observed that it is easier to move when there is less friction and that friction acts in the opposite direction.

As a finale, the children had a racer race to see whose racer will go the furthest. They tried to blow big balloons so there is more potential energy to be converted to kinetic energy for their racer to go far!

Parents' Update

At the end of each session, parents are invited into the room for a parent briefing. Teacher Denise will share the key highlights of the workshop, the experiments and activities done and what the parents can do at home to reinforce the knowledge with the children.

She will also follow-up with a very detailed summary of how the day went via WhatsApp. The summary even includes snippets of conversations that the children had said in class. How comprehensive!

Verdict

Big J has definitely enjoyed the workshop! He also learnt many science concepts and he is able to apply what he has learnt to real life situations. For example, he was telling me to fill up glass bottles with water so he could make music. He also said he wants to do some of the experiments again.

I really love that the workshop is highly interactive and provides many opportunities for the children to do hands-on learning. I believe that kids can learn better when they are able to touch and see what is happening. There were many useful examples given to allow the children to understand the concepts. Instead of just giving them the information, the activities allow opportunities for the children to observe, hypothesize and form their own conclusions!

The small group learning was well carried out. The teachers are helpful and patient while guiding the children.

Another feature that I like is the parents' update. I don't think there are many workshops around that provide such a detailed update than 'A Science Escapade'. The teacher even went the extra mile to note down what individual children said and pass on this information to the parent. Parents like me will be assured of how the child is doing in class. They also provide notes as to how parents can further reinforce the learning at home, perfect for parents like me who struggle with science!

Do note that what I have written above is only for the first day of the workshop. In the subsequent three days, the children continued to explore more interesting science concepts about Density, Oxygen and Sound & Light. Each day is filled with many fascinating experiments and activities! While I was waiting outside the room, I could hear the joyful laughter of the children and that shows the children really love the workshop!

If you are interested to sign up for the science workshop during the next school holidays, do keep a look out on Cognitive Whizz's Facebook Page. I heard the next workshop will be in the November / December holidays.

Cognitive Whizz

Contact No.: 9009 7086
Email: info@cognitivewhizz.com

Facebook

Disclaimer: We were sponsored complimentary workshop with Cognitive Whizz to try out its 'A Science Escapade' holiday program for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

[Tips] My Cleaning Routine + uBook

2017-08-11T23:55:00.001+08:00

When it comes to household chores, it is a never ending struggle, especially with two young kids at home most of the time. Over the years, I have come to realise that the best time to tackle the household chores is in the morning when the boys are in school. That also means I have only about 2 hours to finish what I need to do before fetching them from school. This includes chores, meal prep and homelearning prep. The afternoons are spent playing, homelearning and going for classes. I also try to squeeze all the chores to the weekdays so the weekends is freed up for outings and family time.

Today, I am sharing 5 tips that I found useful in making full use of my morning time to get the house at least 'clean enough'.

1. Cleaning Schedule

Before I realised the pros of having a cleaning schedule, I simply did my chores based on my feelings. Sometimes I would spent time thinking what I need to do and ended up scrolling on social media. Sometimes, I don't even have the motivation to start at all. On some days, I just want to get all the chores done and try to squeeze as many cleaning into the day as possible. At the end of the day, I felt burnt out and this was not sustainable.

Then, I realised that a cleaning schedule can help to make things easier. It allows me to quickly know what I need to do each day, so I do not need to spend so much time thinking what needs to be done. Having a list also gives me some sort of motivation to get things done.

Here's my simple daily cleaning routine. To make it less over-whelming, I only include the chores that need to be done on a regular basis in the morning. So, I just need to look at the list, get the chores done and I am done for the day!

2. Doing Laundry First

On laundry days, the first thing I do upon waking up is to throw a load of laundry into the washing machine and get it going. While I am busy with the morning routine and getting the boys ready for school, the clothes are being washed! By the time I got back home from school, the laundry is done and ready for me to hang them up to dry. We don't have a dryer, so I always pray for good weather when the laundry is out drying.

3. Swiping

Staying in the western part of Singapore means our house getting dusty quite easily. Just vacuuming is not enough as the floor still feels dusty. That means I will need to mop to wipe up all the dust. No way am I going to have the time to do both vacuuming and mopping everyday!

Swiping is what I call the combination of sweeping and mopping. I'm totally in love with the Super Mop from 3M. It can be used wet like a mop and picks up dust effectively. Which means I can have clean floors with half the time! It takes me about 30 minutes to swipe through the whole house.

4. Clean Up After Using

There are also some essential chores which need to be done everyday which I did not include them in my morning cleaning schedule because these are chores that we do after we are done using. Examples are wiping down the kitchen counter and washing of bathrooms.

For the kitchen counter, I will wipe down every time after our lunch. I do not need to cook dinner as we are blessed to be able to have dinner over at my mum's.

For the bathrooms, we only use the common bathroom and seldom use the master washroom. Hubby make it a point to wash the common bathroom everyday after his shower. Families with young boys will know how badly they aim.

This habit of cleaning up after using saves valuable time as we do not need to specially set aside time to get these chores done.

5. Get a Part-Time Helper

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, time just doesn't seem to be on our side. In this case, one might want to consider getting help from other parties. When Small J was still a baby, we did engage a part-helper to help out with the chores. I was too overwhelmed with nursing, taking care of a small baby and a young preschooler. Having an additional help really helps to calm down the chaos at home and we are able to spend more time with the family.

I have mentioned in a previous post that we are using the services from uBook. (Read more about our experiences here). Ever since I have engaged the help from uBook, my household chores load has been reduced. My friendly helper will come over once every two weeks to help with the more time consuming chores.

My biggest relieve is having uBook to help me with my 2 weeks load of ironing. (I really dislike doing ironing!) Previously I have to do this over the weekend or at night and I'm really relived that I do not have to do a huge load of ironing now.

Apart from ironing, the helper also does all the basic cleaning, such as vacuuming, mopping, dusting and cleaning out both bathrooms. Of course, she also helped with the wiping of shelves and the higher cabinets. This means that I can take a break from my daily cleaning when help is here!

As I mentioned above, we only clean the common bathroom on a regular basis. For the other bathroom, we seldom use it and it is usually dry. For that, I will leave it to uBook to clean it once every two weeks. Once a month, I will also ask the helper to help with the cleaning of the windows and grills. Last time, we only do this once every 6 months!

For the past few months, I had experience with different helpers from uBook. They are friendly and reliable. During their first visit to my house, I only need to inform them what are the chores that need to be done, tell them where the cleaning tools are and they will get cleaning straight away. At the end of the session, the chores are done and my house gets cleaned!

Getting a part-time helper is really useful for tackling the more time-consuming chores and chores that are not done so frequently. If you are interested in getting a part-time helper, do check out my previous post to find out more about uBook and the services they provide.

When it comes to household chores, what is your strategy for handling the never ending work?

uBook

Operating hours: 8am to 7pm
Contact/SMS/Whatsapp: 9898 7339
Email: enquiry@ubook.com.sg
Web | Facebook

Disclaimer: We were sponsored cleaning sessions with uBook for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

Eye Level Math - Learning From The Child's Level #2

2017-06-14T00:20:00.000+08:00

It has been two months since my last post about Eye Level. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, it is really not easy to find a class that caters to Big J's learning needs. Most learning centres group the students according their age and teach the same curriculum to the whole class. I am really glad to find Eye Level because they offer an Individualised Programme that allows children to learn at their individual learning level.

Here are some updates about Big J's progress with Eye Level. During these two months, we had our first Parent-Teacher Meeting. The teacher told me the progress of Big J and the plan for future months. She also shared the areas that need improvement, such as his attention span and handwriting, both of which I know is a big challenge for him.

Apart from the academic progress, Eye Level also believes in encouraging the students to become Self-Directed Learners. This is a life-long process and to become a good learner, there are some values which are important. Specifically, Eye Level @ Jurong West has this monthly 'report book' that reviews how the child is progressing based on the values of Politeness, Responsibility, Independence, Discipline and Enthusiasm (PRIDE). I feel that this is something that is different from the top-notch learning centres which are more focused on the academic chase.

In my previous post, I mentioned that the Math curriculum consists of two parts, Basic Thinking Math (BTM) and Critical Thinking Math (CTM). BTM focuses on understanding the basic mathematical knowledge and skills, and covers the following areas: Numbers, Arithmetic, Measurement, and Equations.

When Big J first joined Eye Level, he started at Level 2 Math, which focuses on numbers up to 30. During the beginning, there was a lot of repetitive work and progress was quite slow. I saw the same concepts through quite a number of booklets. It was always counting and sequencing numbers up to 30, counting up and counting down. Big J was complaining "Counting again?". However, the colourful pictures did make it less boring.

When he finished Level 2, it was time to take the Level Test. He has no problem with the test and proceed on to Level 3. He was very proud about it and came out of the room saying "Mummy, I'm doing Level 3 now!"

Then, he went on to learn about numbers to 50, 100 and even up to 120 now. The progress for the bigger numbers is indeed faster. This is because he already had a strong foundation counting and working with numbers up to 20 and it becomes very easy to apply the same concepts to the larger numbers. This is how the Systematic and Progressive Approach helps him to fully understand the concepts before learning more complex concepts. I call this 'Slow but steady'! Very soon, he will be learning addition!

Counting by tens

Place values

Numbers to 120

As for the Critical Thinking Math, he is still enjoying this portion! CTM helps to develop advanced application and problem-solving skills, and covers the following areas: Patterns and Relationships, Geometry, Measurement, Problem Solving, and Reasoning.

He continues to work on more complex patterns, shapes and visualisation. These critical thinking skills helps to build up logical thinking which will be very helpful when he proceeds on to primary school, especially heuristics math.

Big J is close to completing his reward chart and is excited to get his prize!

Back at home, he is also more independent in getting his homework done. Although he still whines a bit, he knows he still need to get it done whenever I said 'It's time to do your Eye Level homework.' Thank you to Eye Level for helping him along with his Math!

To read more about my first introduction post about Eye Level, please click here.

Fees

Apart from Math, Eye Level also offers a English programme:

Eye Level English (suitable for age 3 to 14)

Eye Level English starts at the basic motor skills needed for reading and writing, goes onto the building blocks of grammar and phonics, and then to the more complex concepts that allow the development of communication skills and content knowledge. The key language skills to be developed are listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Using a thematic and integrated approach, Eye Level provides students the confidence in learning English through its systematic language acquisition programme.

Eye Level Math (suitable for age 4 to 14)
Eye Level Math takes the student through a continuum of study areas covering basic skills, as well as advanced concepts and applications. Each level emphasises critical thinking through reasoning skills that students can apply to everyday life.

If you are interested in finding more about Eye Level, do check out their website. You may also email or contact the individual learning centres to find out more about the curriculum or to schedule an appointment to visit the centre. Find a centre near your home here.

Check out my other posts to get more information about Eye Level:

Eye Level Math - Learning From The Child's Level

Eye Level Math - Update #2
Eye Level Math - Update #3
Self-Directed Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre
Individualised Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre

Eye Level @ Jurong West

Address: Blk 960 Jurong West St 92 #01-182 (Upper Level) Singapore 640960
Contact No: 6686 2328
Email: Jurong.West@myeyelevel.com

Eye Level has 19 learning centres in Singapore. Find a centre near your home here.
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DIY Terrarium - Masons Home Decor

2017-05-22T22:50:00.000+08:00

I have always wanted to grow some simple herbs or vegetables in our own home, but I do not have green fingers. Most plants that landed in my hands died. When Masons Home Decor approached me to review their Premium DIY Terrarium Kit, I was worried that the plants will not last long. However, I read that terrariums survive pretty well and are low maintenance. Hence, I took up the challenge. Furthermore, it will be a good bonding activity with the kids.

Everything arrived in this big box...

...with all the tools and accessories required to put together the terrariums. It comes with two big glass jars, shovels, decorative pebbles, terrarium soil mix, activated charcoal, water spray bottle, some decoratives and 9 small pots of succulents and plants.

It even comes with a guide on how to make the terrarium. It is as easy as 1-2-3!

Both Js are eager to start making their own terrariums. Let's get started!

Step 1: Cover the bottom of the jar with some small pebbles to provide drainage. Done!

The steps are really easy to follow. Even Big J has no problem following and reading the instructions.

Step 2: Put a layer of activated charcoal. Done!

Now comes the messiest part of the whole making process. I actually get quite bothered to see the soil falling all over the table and on the floor. And with the fan blowing, the soil is flying all over the living room! Nonetheless, the boys had fun scooping and pouring the soil into the jars.

Step 3: Fill your jar halfway with soil. Make a hole in the soil and put in the plant.

When we were about to put in the plant, we realised that the roots of the plant is taller than the soil we had in the jar. So we tried to add more soil to try to cover up the roots. Then, we realised that we need to brush off the excess soil from the plant before putting them into the jar, otherwise it will be too big for the jar. So through much trial and error, we finally put in the plant properly.

After all the plants are in, here comes the most therapeutic part - decoration! I can feel my anxiety from earlier going away as I slowly decorated the terrarium.

Step 4: Decorate the surface with pebbles and decorative accessories as to your liking.

Ta-daa!! Our finished product!

Here's a close-up.

We had so much fun making this terrarium together. Just nice that we were doing some Earth's Day activities during the week when we made these and the boys learnt about how planting can help to save the Earth. The process also reminds me that it is inevitable for some messes when we are creating memories.

Here are some tips if you are keen to make your very own terrarium:

1) Get something to contain everything you need, including the mess. You can do this in a huge tray or even with the cover of the big box that the terrarium kit comes in.
2) Cover the floor of the work area with newspaper so that it is easier to clean up.
3) Do not have any fan blowing at the working area.
4) Plan how you want to put the plants into the terrarium and how you want to decorate them before you get started.

If you are interested in making your own terrarium, do check out Masons Home Decor. I think this makes a great gift for any occasions! Apart from terrariums, Masons Home Decor also carries a variety of home decor products, party supplies and seasonal decor.

Masons Home Decor

Address: 14 New Industrial Road #05-02A, Hudsons Industrial Building, Singapore 536203
Contact No: 6285 2815
Email: hello@mason.com.sg

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Disclaimer: We received a complimentary Premium DIY Terrarium Kit from Masons Home Decor for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

Pretend Play @ The City, Liang Court

2017-05-15T11:43:00.000+08:00

When Kidzania first opened, we wanted to bring the boys there. However, after reading reviews of the place, we felt they were not suitable. They are not that patient to wait for their turns and might not be able to fully follow the rules and instructions compared to other older kids.

If you have a child who is keen in pretend play but is too young for Kidzania, you might want to try out The City. Designed for 2 to 8 year-olds, The City is an indoor playground that allows children to try out the different occupations in a city.

Let's find out what are the jobs available at The City!

Police Station

The police station comes with the police uniform and police cars. This gotta be my boys' favourite station, not because of the dress-up but because of the police cars!

Children can ride the cars around the track and pretend to be police chasing after thieves. Do keep a lookout for these cars if your children are playing around the area as the cars can get pretty fast. The staffs do go around telling the drivers to be mindful of the speed, but when cars and boys go together, it's fast and furious! Unfortunately, Big J really got into an accident and bump into one of the staffs. So sorry about that!

Supermarket

The supermarket is the biggest play area at The City and is also the favourite of almost all the children who visit the playground. The mini trolleys, real packaging of the goods and being a cashier make the experience so real.

What I like about the supermarket is the use of the real packaging of the food and products, just like shopping in a real supermarket! It also raises the awareness of recycling to the children.

In the supermarket, the child can be a shopper. There are shopping lists which the child can use to purchase items. Prices of the items are placed near the items so the child can learn about money and budgeting.

Apart from being a shopper, the child can also choose to be a cashier. Here, the cashier will scan the items, input the price into the cash register, total up the purchase and bag up the purchases with the recycle bag. The shopper will pay for his purchase with 'City Dollars'. How real!

The Heroes

In the Heroes area, the child can use the foam blocks to create whatever they can imagine. This is where the child can be his own hero of his city, building the city of his dream.

To add an educational element, there are pictures cards which challenge the child to build a structure as seen in the picture. Staffs will be around to guide and help the child.

Of course, you are free to let your imagination run wild and build your own city or even to destroy them.

Together with the help from Daddy, the boys built a car fortress! The boys had great fun hiding inside the car and scaring each other as they jumped out of the hole.

Classroom

In the classroom, there are educational toys such as construction toys, puzzles and letter games. Children can pretend to be students or even teachers.

There is also a world map in the classroom. There are some activities written on the board that encourage your child to learn about the world.

Post Office

Next up is the post office. Here, the child can write little postcards as send it out. Crayons, stamps and cards are provided.

The child can also pretend to be a postman. Here's Small J collecting the postcards from the mailbox and sorting them into the different slots at the post office.

Clinic

For children who like playing doctor, they will enjoy the clinic. There are some dolls and soft toys which the children can pretend to give them a check-up. There is also a huge poster on the wall showing the parts of the body.

Salon

There is also a salon where children help to dress up the dolls with accessories. My boys have no interest in this though.

Cafe

In the middle of the playground is the pretend cafe. It comes with a kitchen which is well-equipped with pretend food and equipment. There are also tables and chairs for the customers.

A menu is also provided to make the dining experience more realistic. The child can take order from the customer and prepare the food for serving.

Dress Up

If your child loves playing dress up, there is quite a variety of costumes, from princess to superhero, over here.

Facilities

Like most indoor playgrounds, The City has a lounge area for parents to sit back and relax. They do not serve hot food but has some simple snacks and drinks for sale. Free WiFi is also available. However, do note that there is no nursing or changing facilities available in the playground.

There is also a party room if you are looking for a place for birthday celebrations. Check out the birthday packages available here.

Verdict

We visited The City on a weekend and spent about 2 hours there. For my energetic boys, they enjoyed driving the Police car, playing at the Supermarket and building and destroying towers at the Heroes area.

I really like the use of real empty packaging for the supermarket which makes the experience more realistic. Apart from just normal pretend play, The City also adds on an educational element to the play. For example, learning about money at the supermarket, body parts and personal hygiene at the clinic, construction and imagination at the classroom and heroes area and many more. There also have staffs who go around 'popping' in and engaging with the child in their play.

If your child really likes pretend play or enjoys dressing up, they would definitely like The City. I think this is will be a good place to try out pretend play if your child is still too young for Kidzania.

Admission Rates

Children can enjoy unlimited play time on Weekdays and 2 hours playtime on Weekends, Public Holidays and School Holidays.

Babies under 1 year: Free (if accompanied by a paid sibling)
Under 2 years old: $18
2 years and above: $22
Adults: Free

For more information about membership and package promotion, please refer to here.

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to The City, we have 2 entry passes to giveaway to 2 lucky winners (1 pass per winner)!

Simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter below to win! Giveaway ends Sunday, 21 May 2017, 11:59pm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions:

1. Giveaway ends on Sunday, 21 May 2017, 2359 hours (Singapore time).
2. Open to Singapore residents only.

3. All entries have to be completed. Incomplete or invalid entries will be disqualified without notice.

4. Limited to one winner per household.

5. Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

6. We reserve the right to amend the terms and conditions without prior notice.

The City

The City Flagship (Liang Court)
Address: 177 River Valley Road, #03-04A Liang Court, Singapore 179030
Opening hours: 10am to 7pm, Daily
Contact No: 62506507

Email: info@thecity.com.sg

The City @ Katong
Address: 112 East Coast Road, #03-31 i12 Katong, Singapore 428802
Opening hours: 10am to 7pm, Daily
Contact No: 64441520

Email: katong@thecity.com.sg

Web | Facebook | Instagram

Disclaimer: We were invited to The City for a play session for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

uBook - Your Part-time Helper For The Daily Household Chores

2017-04-10T02:51:00.001+08:00

Picture this: Laundry lying around, toys thrown all over the house, sink that always seems to have some dirty dishes in it and there is always a layer of dust on some shelves and cabinets. To be honest, our house is not in a spick and span condition most of the time. In fact, if anyone wants to visit our house, we will be busy doing some last minute ~~hiding~~ clean up before welcoming anyone.

Furthermore, with two young children at home, it is really difficult to keep things clutter free and tidy. You know it! Just minutes after tidying an area, a kid comes along bringing out his toys and starts playing on the floor, often forgetting to keep everything back after playing. Sometimes, I could be in the midst of doing housework when one of the boys decides to ask me to read or play with him.

'Please excuse our messy house, our kids are making memories.'

At times, I wish I could just drop all the housework and just spend time with the boys. Of course, that is not possible. So how do we manage everything? My tip is to close one eye, occasionally, both eyes. I do not want to spend my precious time and energy on housework, so I make do with things just being ok. It is ok to have laundry lying on the sofa for a few days when I am busy attending to sick children. It is ok not to vacuum the floor every day when we have a busy schedule to keep to. It is ok to leave some dust on the high and difficult to reach shelves and cabinets when the kids can’t reach these dusty areas.

An easier method to tackle the housework is to engage external help. However, getting a stay-in helper is not something that we, as a single income family, can afford. I also do not feel comfortable to have someone else living together with us. Furthermore, if I am staying at home, I should be the one cleaning up the house, isn't it?

Another alternative is to engage a part-time helper! About half a year back, I got to know about uBook and was offered an opportunity to review their service. I was so happy because that really took a big load of my housework load and I got to spend more time with my little ones.

What is uBook?

uBook is an online portal offering part-time cleaning services. You can choose to book a cleaner on an ad-hoc or recurring basis. For a fee from $20/hour onwards, a cleaner will come by your house for some basic cleaning. These include wiping and dusting of surfaces, vacuuming and mopping of floors, cleaning of toilets and shower stalls, making of beds, washing dishes, tidying clutters in a simple manner, etc. You may also add on additional cleaning hours for the following extra services: ironing, cleaning interior windows, fridge, cabinets, oven, etc. For more information on the services provided please check here.

How to book?

It is very fast and easy to book a uBook helper online! Just go to uBook’s website, click on ‘Book Maid’, fill in the form and submit it. Payment is done securely online via credit card and payment will only be deducted after the cleaning job is done.

Three days before the cleaning day, a reminder is sent via SMS and E-mail to remind you of the cleaning appointment.

Service review

Every alternate week, a helper from uBook will come over to our house to help out with the housework load.

Of all the housework chores, ironing is something I don't really enjoy, especially hubby's working shirts. I have a tendency to pile up the clothes until hubby starts saying he has no clothes to wear. Oops!! I'm so blessed that I have help from uBook for these couple of months and I'm able to take a break from the ironing.

Apart from ironing, which is an add-on service, uBook also helped me with the basic cleaning, such as washing the two toilets, vacuuming and mopping the floor and wiping of surfaces. I'm surprised that the helper can finish all these within 3 hours, sometimes even earlier! If it were me, I am sure I will not be able to finish all these within the stipulated time, because I will be distracted by the kids and social media.

Having someone to help with these regular cleaning means I can use the free time to clear some of the long outstanding tasks on my to-do-list. For example, I managed to declutter our home learning cabinet, clean out the medicine box, packed away the clothes which the boys have outgrown, etc. It also gives me the motivation to put in more effort in maintaining the tidiness in the house, such as our dining table which more than half of its surface was used as a drop-off area for all kinds of stuff we brought in. Now it serves as our real dining table and work area for the boys.

While the helper is here, I use the time to play and learn with the boys. I'm really grateful that uBook helps me with my housework so that I can spend more time on things that matter more.

When it was near the Chinese New Year period, I requested for another add-on service, cleaning the windows. In past years, I will be slogging to declutter and clean the house up till the last minute before the festival. This year, I had the help from uBook, which makes spring cleaning so much easier and faster! Since they had taken care of the regular cleaning, I was able to concentrate my efforts in decluttering!

There were a few occasions when I need to leave the house to run some errands and I am assured by uBook that I can safely leave the house to the helper and run along with my errands. Frankly, I was quite worried about this. What if something goes missing or something happened? uBook assured me that stringent checks are conducted on their helpers - they interview them in person and must pass criminal records checks. This is to ensure a safe and reliable helper for their clients. Indeed, when I came home from my errands, the house was tidied up and nothing valuable was missing.

Over the past 6 months, we were assigned with different cleaners to let us have a feel of how different cleaners worked. I really like a few of them and I requested if I can have the same helper for future cleaning. 'Sure!' was the reply from uBook. Since each cleaner is different, their working style is also different. Some like to do the ironing last while some like to do it first. Some like to clean room by room while some like to do the same chore for the whole house first. Some are very detailed with the cleaning while some try to get as much cleaning done as possible. It was entirely fine for me as long as they can finish everything.

Overall, the whole cleaning experience was great. My house gets cleaned and ironing gets done. There were a few issues with punctuality due to bad traffic conditions. I am ok with that since I will be at home anyway. However, this could be a problem for customers who have a very tight schedule. The helpers are friendly and reliable. I only need to brief them what need to be done, provide them with the cleaning tools and they get started right away. After the cleaning session, uBook also contacted me to ask if the cleaning session was fine and if I have any feedback so that they can improve their service in the future.

I am fortunate that uBook has offered to help me out on the housework chores front. This has given me some relief from the daily never ending housework. At least, I do not need to do heavy cleaning on that particular lucky day when uBook comes by.

uBook

Operating hours: 8am to 7pm
Contact/SMS/Whatsapp: 9898 7339
Email: enquiry@ubook.com.sg
Web | Facebook

Disclaimer: We were sponsored cleaning sessions with uBook for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

Eye Level Math - Learning From The Child's Level

2017-03-26T23:39:00.001+08:00

If you have been following me on Instagram, I have been sharing that Big J has been going for math lessons at Eye Level.

Happy face going for his lesson at @eyelevelsg. I had a hard time looking for a suitable learning center for Big J due to his active personality and slower learning pace. . What I like about Eye Level is that they start from the child's individual level instead of giving him a 'one-size-fits-all' curriculum. The teaching style is individualized so that the child is learning at a comfortable level and not feel stressed. . . . . . . #eyelevelsg #eyelevelmath #enrichment
A post shared by Jolin (@thejsarena) on Mar 8, 2017 at 4:52am PST

Today is Eye Level day. . Big J has been doing math at @eyelevelsg for more than a month. Although he did not have any miracle improvements, I do see small improvements. He is more willing to sit and complete his work and can do his work independently. (Last time he always asked for help for every questions, I have to sit beside him and teach him.) . I really like the way they guide him at his learning level. His learning is slower than most and it is not easy to find a center that caters to his needs. He is currently working on numbers 11-20 and he can count so much better now. Slow and steady!
A post shared by Jolin (@thejsarena) on Mar 22, 2017 at 1:05am PDT

Big J's learning development is slower than most of his peers. Math is one area that is challenging for him. I have tried looking for a suitable learning centre for him but it is not easy. Most of the typical classes group the students by age and lessons are conducted based on a 'one-size-fits-all' curriculum. Since Big J did not have a strong foundation, he is not able to keep up with the class. Being an active and curious boy, paying attention is not something that is easy for him. The big class size of typical enrichment centres is thus not suitable for him.

When I received an invitation from Eye Level to review their programme, I was quite hesitant because I wasn't sure if it would be suitable for Big J. I took a look at their website and realised that they offered an individualised curriculum catering to children of different abilities. This is something that I have been looking for! So, that is the start of our journey with Eye Level.

The Environment

Eye Level currently has 19 learning centres in Singapore. Coincidentally, there is a centre near where we are staying, the Jurong West branch. Apart from the waiting area, there is a reading corner filled with lots of books. The students are welcome to read the books while waiting for their parents. They could also borrow them home if they wish.

Behind these colourful doors, are the classrooms where the students will be learning. Eye Level @ Jurong West has just underwent an expansion. The center and classrooms are now bigger.

Individualised Programme

Big J's journey with Eye Level started with a Diagnostic Test. The diagnostic test serves to understand the child's ability and learning needs. This determines the suitable level where the child will start on the Eye Level curriculum. The centre manager shared with me that this test allows the child to learn at a comfortable level - weaker students will start at a lower level to build up their foundation, while more advanced students can learn at a faster pace. Children with learning difficulties will also benefit as the program is catered to their learning pace.

After Big J is done with the test, the teacher explained to me about the results. He was recommended to start from level 2 which focuses on numbers up to 20. I thought he will be at a higher level because he has no problem counting and recognising the numbers up to 100. However, the teacher explained that his foundation for the 'teens' numbers is not really that strong, and having a strong foundation is important for more advanced math concepts.

Since the students in a class can be of different abilities and age, the teacher to students ratio is kept low to ensure an effective learning environment. Instead of teaching the same concept to everyone in the class, the teacher is able to provide more attention and guidance to each individual student. For students between 3 to 6 years old, the ratio is kept at 1:5 and for students from 7 years old onwards, the ratio is 1:8.

Systematic and Progessive Curriculum

The Eye Level Math Programme adopts a systematic and progressive approach to help students master math and critical thinking concepts. The curriculum is divided into levels and each level will have a number of booklets focusing on different math concepts. During each lesson, the student will be required to finish these work booklets. As the student advances through the booklets, there are subtle increases in difficulty. At the end of each level, there will be an assessment to gauge if the student has fully understand the concepts before advancing to the next level. In some cases, students might be asked to repeat the level if the foundation is still not that strong.

The Math curriculum consists of two parts, the Basic Thinking Math (BTM) and Critical Thinking Math (CTM).

BTM focuses more on understanding the foundation of mathematics and covers the following areas: Numbers, Arithmetic, Measurement, and Equations. The picture below is the first Basic Thinking Math booklet that Big J did. It started with cute pictures to capture the child's attention and get them interested in doing the booklet.

As the booklet proceeds, the pictures are replaced with dots. The activities in the booklet tend to be quite repetitive. Some students might be turned off by the repetition, but practice makes perfect.

Each new booklet adds on new concept subtly. There are also plenty of opportunities to review concepts learnt in previous booklets.

Next is the Critical Thinking Math. CTM helps to develop problem-solving skills and covers the following areas: Patterns and Relationships, Geometry, Measurement, Problem Solving, and Reasoning.

This is the portion that Big J really like because he thinks that it is fun work rather than the boring counting and numbers. So far, he has been doing quite a bit of patterns, matching and visual perceptions activities.

Learning manipulatives, such as this blocks and shapes, are also used as a teaching tool.

The students are expected to finish one booklet of Basic Thinking Math and one booklet of Critical Thinking Math during each lesson. For homework, students are given another booklet to complete at home. You can take a look at the samples of the worksheets here.

Self-directed Learning

Another philosophy of Eye Level is they encourage Self-directed Learning. A typical day at Eye Level begins with the student arriving at the centre and getting his own personal folder from the shelves. Inside the folder, the teachers had already prepared the booklets that the child will be doing during the lesson.

The child will then find a seat and hand in his homework to the teacher for grading. The teacher will then explained the concept of the day's booklet and the child will have to finish the booklet independently. Of course, the teacher will be nearby to guide and answer any questions the child has.

This is how the class layout looks like for the lower level group. Since these students usually need more attention and guidance from the teacher, the students are seated around the teacher.

For the higher level group, the students are expected to be more independent and disciplined. They will be seated at their own workstations to complete their work. The teacher will be at the table nearby and students will have to approach the teacher if they have any difficulties.

Eye Level has a reward system to encourage the child to learn. Once they have collected all the flags, they will be able to exchange it for a present.

A normal lesson takes about 35 to 45 min. But that doesn't means that the student will have to leave if he has not finish his work when the time is up. Similarly, if the student is able to complete his work quickly, he will be allowed to leave earlier. The student will be responsible for how fast he wants to finish his work - finish faster means more time for play, finish slower means having to stay on longer.

Two Months On... What We Like

Big J has been with Eye Level for close to two months. Although I do not see very huge improvements in terms of his independence and self-learning, I do see improvements on his math knowledge. I believe that to nurture the child to become a motivated self-learner, is a long process and requires lots of help and guidance from the parents and teachers. It is not something that can be done in a short one month plus period. Although he still talks a lot while doing his work, he knows he has to complete his work when we guide him back. Previously, he needs to ask if he is correct after answering each question. Now he knows to finish his work before asking me to check through.

As for his math skills, he has improved a lot on his critical thinking and reasoning skills. I attribute this to his love for the Critical Thinking Math. When he is interested in something, he can learn it very fast. For his Basic Math skills, he is now faster in counting. In the beginning, he really counted the dots one by one. Now, he could see it as rows of 5s and 10s and count much faster.

What I really like about Eye Level Math is the individualised curriculum which starts teaching from his eye level. This allows him to learn at a pace and level that is comfortable to him and not feeling too stress.

The blend of BTM and CTM is also interesting to me. I feel that this is very suitable for pre-primay level as the combination is useful for the child's developing brain. The systematic and progressive curriculum helps in building a strong foundation for learning more complex concepts. The booklets are also very colourful and have cute pictures to make the learning more fun.

Fees

Apart from Math, Eye Level also offers a English programme:

Eye Level English (suitable for age 3 to 14)
Eye Level English starts at the basic motor skills needed for reading and writing, goes onto the building blocks of grammar and phonics, and then to the more complex concepts that allow the mastery of verbal and written communication. The key language skills to be developed are listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Using a thematic and integrated approach, Eye Level provides students the confidence in learning English through its systematic language acquisition programme.

You may also read my other posts to get more information about Eye Level:

Eye Level Math - Learning From The Child's Level

Eye Level Math - Update #2
Eye Level Math - Update #3
Self-Directed Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre
Individualised Learning at Eye Level Learning Centre

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Eye Level, we are giving away a One-month Complimentary Lessons (once a week for either English or Math) for 5 lucky winners. Do note that this is only applicable for the Jurong West Learning Centre and subjected to class availability.

~~Simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter below to win! Giveaway ends Sunday, 2 April 2017, 11:59pm.~~

~~a Rafflecopter giveaway~~

~~Terms and Conditions:~~

~~1. Giveaway ends on Sunday, 2 April 2017, 2359 hours (Singapore time).~~
~~2. Giftaway promotion not applicable for existing Eye Level students.~~
~~3. Subjected to learning centre's class availability.~~
~~4. Only applicable to Jurong West Learning Centre.~~
~~5. T&C subject to changes without prior notice.~~
~~6. Open to Singapore residents only.~~

~~7. All entries have to be completed. Incomplete or invalid entries will be disqualified without notice.~~

~~8. Limited to one winner per household.~~

~~9. Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.~~

~~10. We reserve the right to amend the terms and conditions without prior notice.~~

Eye Level @ Jurong West

Disclaimer: We were sponsored two months of lesson with Eye Level to try out its Math programme for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

LOL Playland @ JCube (Jurong East) (Ceased Operations)

2017-03-06T16:13:00.000+08:00

When My Little Giant opened at Big Box, we were elated because, frankly, there were not many choices of indoor playground in the west area of Singapore. A few months later, another new indoor playground, LOL Playland, popped up at JCube. Together with the free outdoor playgrounds at Westgate, JEM and IMM, there are now so much choices for those living in the west. Cheers!!

LOL Playland is located within JCube, which is near Jurong East MRT Station. Located on the third floor opposite the ice-skating rink, LOL Playland is not those super big indoor playground. Although it is not as big as the main players in the indoor playground industry, it can still provide lots of fun for the children. Not forgetting, there are also advantages of playing in a smaller playground.

Active Play Gym

The main play area in LOL Playland is this 3-storey active play gym, which provides lots of climbing opportunities for the little ones. A problem faced by most parents who follow their children through a climbing structure is having to bend low. However, the height here is quite comfortable for me to navigate the gym.

The main highlights here are the slide and trampoline, which my boys absolutely enjoyed. They had slide down and jumped infinity times on these.

Toddler's House

Next to the main active playgym is the Toddler's House, which is a two-storey play structure catered for the toddlers. On the lower floor is a pretend play cafe / supermarket. When the area gets too messy, the staff came over to tidy up the play area. There are also some activity boards on the wall that help to develop the kids' fine motor skills.

Going up to the second level is a small ball pit and a mini slide. Do note that the steps to the second level is quite cramp for adults.

Pretend Play Houses

Beside the Toddler's House is three pretend play houses to promote creative thinking and social skills. There are matching uniforms and vehicles to complement the different occupations.

The boys had a great time pretending to be a doctor, policeman and firefighter.

Other Activities

Apart from all the play activities, LOL Playland also has activities that are more calming. There's a small reading corner, but the selection of books is quite limited. There are also board games which you can borrow free of charge. You only need to leave a deposit of $20 which will be refunded upon returning the game.

LOL Playland also has some craft activities for the kids to do.

Baby Play

There is a playpen for the small little babies. Although there is not much toys here, it provides a safe enclosure for the babies. This makes it easy for parents who want to bring their older child to the playgound but still have a small baby to look after. Babies less than 6 months old are entitled to free entry.

There is a simple diaper changing station in the party room.

Other Facilities

Like most indoor playgrounds, LOL Playland offers party packages too. More details of the party packages here.

Free Wi-Fi is also available in the playground.

Usually when we go to a indoor playground, we usually carry our bags with us because I'm not willing to pay for the locker. The good news is, LOL Playland provides FREE locker! You only need to pay a $2 deposit for the key, which will be refunded when you return the key. How nice! I don't have to carry my heavy bag around.

Most indoor playgrounds have an elaborated cafe. Unfortunately, LOL Playland does not currenly serve cooked food as they are still in the midst of training staffs and obtaining the necessary licence. However, they are definitely considering serving cooked food in the near future.

Verdict

What I really like about this playground is its size. It is big enough for the boys to play and small enough for me to monitor them without having to go into the play area with them. I also feel safer for the boys as the area is quite contained.

The height of the climb structure is also a comfortable height for adults. I do not need to bend low while following the boys through the gym, which is a bliss for my back. I also like the provision of lockers and Wi-Fi. Together with the comfortable size of the playground, I can really sit-back and relax while still keeping a safe eye on them.

Although my boys are not really into crafts, I like that LOL Playland offers crafts activities so that children are playing and learning at the same time. They also have extra activities according to the festivities or holidays. We went during the Chinese New Year period and they had an angpow hunt game. The boys enjoyed hunting for the angpows to win prizes!

This coming March holidays, there will be a line-up of fun activities too. For more information, do check out LOL Playland's Facebook Page.

Here's a video of the boys having fun at LOL Playland. Enjoy!

Admission Rates

Children can enjoy unlimited play time during non-peak periods (Monday to Friday, excluding School Holidays and Public Holidays) and 2 hours playtime during peak periods (Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays and School Holidays).

I would highly recommend the Family Membership as it is only $60 for the whole family. This is very worth it if you have more children. Just the free passes are enough to offset the $60 membership fee.

Promotions

For the month of March, LOL Playland is having some promotions. Do check the details on their FB Page.

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to LOL Playland, we have 5 play passes to giveaway to 5 lucky winners (1 pass per winner)!

Simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter below to win! Giveaway ends Sunday, 12 March 2017, 11:59pm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions:

1. Giveaway ends on Sunday, 12 March 2017, 2359 hours (Singapore time).
2. Play passes will be mailed to winners via normal mail. Both LOL Playland and The Js Arena will not be responsible for any lost mails.
3. Play passes are valid until 4 May 2017.
4. Open to Singapore residents only.

5. All entries have to be completed. Incomplete or invalid entries will be disqualified without notice.

6. Limited to one winner per household.

7. Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

8. We reserve the right to amend the terms and conditions without prior notice.

LOL Playland

Address: 2 Jurong East Central 1, #03-04/05, JCube Shopping Centre, Singapore 609731 (Near Jurong East MRT Station)
Opening hours:
Monday - Friday: 11:00 am – 09:00 pm
Saturday - Sunday & PH/School Holiday: 10:30 am – 9:30 pm
Contact No: 6904 4383
Email: hello@lolplayland.com.sg
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Disclaimer: We were invited to LOL Playland for a play session for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

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[Giveaway] J.Oil - A Very Special One Drop Christmas Bazaar

2016-11-23T23:00:00.000+08:00

Many of you may not know, but I have been using Young Living Essential Oils for a few years. I have so much to say about how using these oils have improve the overall health and lifestyle of our family. Of course, I can't say that these are miracle oils. It is not something that you use and will be fully recovered the next moment. However, over the long term, I can really see and feel how the oils have contributed to our better health.

Here are some of my favourite essential oils and how I have been using them.

Lavender: This is the first oil that I used when I first started on my oiling journey. I was clumsy and burnt my hand while handling the baking tray. Immediately, I dripped some lavender onto my fingers and after a few rounds of oiling, my hand was starting to feel better. It wasn't painful anymore. The most amazing part, I didn't develop any blisters from the burn and there wasn't any burnt marks too! Lavender has become my favourite oil for burns, falls and mosquito bites. The smell is very pleasant too.

Thieves: Thieves is useful in supporting the immune system and good health. I apply this on the soles of my kids before they go to school or playgrounds.

Purification: When the kids get bitten by mosquitoes, I will apply purification to cleanse and soothe the bites. This is a must bring when we go outdoor. During the haze period, I will also diffuse purification in our room to purify and cleanse the air.

If you wish to know more about Young Living Essential Oils, feel free to drop me an email or message.

J.Oil

This coming December, a Singapore essential oil community, One Drop, is bringing you a Christmas bazaar that will leave you giddy with delight!

J.Oil

Date: 3 December 2016

Time: 12pm - 6pm

Location: Park Hotel Alexandra Botanique Room
Price: $10

Here's what you can expect from the bazaar:

Expect more than 15 local traders bringing in their very special items - some personally crafted, some sourced carefully around the world. There are plenty of quirky and beautiful items that will make one-of-a-kind gifts for Christmas. And yes food items too - so yummy you will not resist!

There will also be a total of 6 FREE essential oil and lifestyle workshops guarantee a value-added experience as you shop. More information about the workshops, please check here.

Do your bit for charity. 100% of the collected entrance fees will be donated to One Life Global Charity to fund a project to buy medical and trauma equipment for children in Syria affected by the on-going civil war.

Find out more about the event line-up and buy your tickets here.

On Site Promotion

There will be a special onsite promotion on the day of the event for new members who wish to sign up with a new Young Living account. There will also be having a special NingXia Red promotion on the event day.

New members who sign up on-site will receive:

1. 5ml bottle of Lavender essential oil

2. Free copy of Live Alive Book - Only for new One Dropper members

In addition, if you sign up as an Essential Reward Program member under me and quote #1554986 as your enroller and sponsor, you will further receive:

3. 15ml bottle of Lemon or Lemongrass essential oil
4. Free Zyto Scan. This scan can recommend the essential oils which our body needs. You can read about Motherkao's experience with Zyto Scan here.

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to J.Oil, we have 5 pairs of tickets to giveaway to 5 lucky winners (1 pair per winner)! One of these 5 winners will get to win an additional 1 bottle of 5ml Black Pepper essential oil. More information about the uses of Black Pepper can be found here.

Image credit: One Drop

Simply follow the instructions below to win! Giveaway ends Sunday, 27 November 2016, 11:59pm.

1. Like The Js Arena on Facebook.
2. Leave a comment on this Facebook post stating when J.Oil is happening and tag 3 friends. You are most welcome to share the post because good things must share!

Terms and Conditions:

1. Giveaway ends on Sunday, 27 November 2016, 2359 hours (Singapore time).
2. Open to Singapore residents only.

3. All entries have to be completed. Incomplete or invalid entries will be disqualified without notice.

4. Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

5. We reserve the right to amend the terms and conditions without prior notice.

If you would like to increase your chances of winning, check out these blogs too!
Xavvy-licious
Mummy Ed
Rayconniebaby
My Oily Fun Scoops

Disclaimer: We were gifted free tickets to the event. No monetary compensation was involved.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to share it with your friends. I would be glad if you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram.

3D2N Malacca: Jonker Street

2016-10-05T22:29:00.004+08:00

After being on the road for about 8 hours, we finally reached our apartment in Malacca for our 3D2N stay. We dumped our luggage, explored our apartment for a while and were off to Jonker Street for some food. Read more about the apartment we stayed in, The Shore Residence.

Let's start our walk down Jonker street, one the most crowded and happening street in Malacca when dusk falls. Every Friday to Sunday evening, the road will be closed to vehicles and the street becomes a night market.

The center stage greeted us as we stepped onto Jonker Street. When the night comes, there will be people singing karaoke on the stage!

Our first stop is Bibik House. We heard reviews that their pineapple tarts are good and decided to get some. However, after tasting I personally feel that it is over-rated. I prefer those melt-in-the-mouth type that we get in Singapore.

It was about 5pm when we reached there are there are still cars driving along the street. But come 6pm, the road will be closed and stalls will be setup along the street for the night market.

Jonker 88

Address: 88, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

We had a proper meal at Jonker 88. From our research, this is a must-try place at Jonker Street. It is recommended for its Chendol and Laksa.

From the outside, the place looks small. However, when we stepped in, the place is quite long and stretch all the way inside. This is a common feature of the old houses in Malacca. The place also has a lot of vintage stuffs, from old coins to vintage posters.

It was quite crowded when we reached there and we took a while to find a table. Fortunately, the turnover is quite fast, just that there were a lot of people standing around trying to find a table.

Everything is self-service here.

We ordered some of the must-trys, Baba Laksa, Nyonya Assam Laksa and Chendol! We also ordered a bowl of soup noodles for the boys as they can't take spicy food.

The Nyonya Assam Laksa is sour and spicy. I did not have a fancy for this as it was too spicy for me.

The Baba Laksa has coconut milk added and taste like our local Singapore laska. I prefer this more.

We didn't managed to take a photo of the Chendol as it was quickly gobbled up. Chendol is a must-try at Malacca and there are many shops that sell chendol along Jonker Street. The chendol at Jonker 88 is not bad but I feel the one at East & West Rendezvous is better.

San Shu Gong

Address: 33, Jalan Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

After we finished eating at Jonker 88, the road is closed to vehicles and stalls has started setting up. Before I show you the sights of the night market, let me bring you to San Shu Gong first.

Right outside San Shu Gong, there is this street performer who charges RM2 for people to take a photo with him. I thought this was interesting and took a photo from afar, not thinking much about it. Then as we were about to enter San Shu Gong, he asked for payment from me for taking a photo of him. So beware if you are not intending to take a photo with him, don't even try to take a photo of the surroundings with him in the picture.

San Shu Gong is a shop that sells a variety of local produce. This is a one stop place for you to buy some local food and snacks back as souvenirs. Best of all? It has air-con! A place to relax and escape from the heat.

We tried a sample of the Essence Lime with Liquorice (陈年老桔). The drink is very refreshing with a sweet, sour, saltish taste. In the end, we bought a few bottles home.

We can see jars of the 陈年老桔 around the shop. Not sure if these are only for display or is there anything inside.

There is also a counter where you can buy drinks and some light snacks and enjoy them at the tables upstairs.

Jonker Street

As night falls, Jonker Street becomes alive with stalls setup along the road. There are lots to see and lots to eat.

There are many stalls selling these cute little things. From stools, key chains, ornaments, kids toys to household items.

Of course, there is no night market without food. These baked quail eggs are delicious! It is quail eggs with pieces of hotdogs. It goes for RM 4 for a stick and RM 10 for 3 sticks.

BBQ stick and more eggs food.

These beautifully decorated trishaws are a common sight in Malacca.

We were walking when suddenly Small J stopped and looked at these magnets with much interest. He even told us that he wants to buy them.

These drinks in strange bottles. Would you dare to drink from a baby's bottle?

More food....

Another must-get at Jonker Street, durian puffs! The puffs are filled with durian cream custard and you need to eat them in one mouthful. 6 pieces for RM 10.60.

Oldies ice-popsicles! Anyone still remember this?

The crowd getting bigger and bigger as it gets darker. Parents have to be take note of your kids and belongings as the place gets really crowded.

There are also interesting activities going on in the 会馆.

We were back at the center stage. Big J is talking to the clown.

Uncle singing karaoke on the stage.

The boys were getting more restless and cranky as it was past their sleeping time, so we decided to call it a night and went back to our apartment.

3D2N Malacca Itinerary

Stay: The Shore Residences

Day 1:

Singapore - Malacca - Jonker Street
Jonker Street

Day 2:

Exploring the Heritage Area - Eating and feasting in the area

Day 3:

KL for prayers - Home Sweet Home

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Workboxes #1

2016-09-30T23:41:00.000+08:00

I have been feeling guilty that I am not able to spend as much time on teaching Small J. He is 3 years old but he still doesn't know his colours, letters or numbers. He will be going to nursery next year, and being a kiasu mum, I hope he will at least know some of these concepts when he starts school.

I have decided to start homelearning with him and hopefully he will love this as much as playing with his trains, cars and balls.

Part of my plan is to set up workboxes for him to work on. We call it playboxes instead. These will mainly focus on fine motor skills which is so important for preschoolers. Another plan for these workboxes is for Big J to fine tune his fine motor skills. Unfortunately, Big J has some issues with his fine motor skills and so he really needs a lot of practice.

Here are our first workboxes:

Inserting Small Counters Into Slots

This is a very simple one. He will need to insert the small counters into the slots on the box. The box was actually wrapped and each slot has a colour to match to the counters. But the boys ripped out the wrapper before I could take a proper photo. The counters are from Amazon.

Sorting Items By Size

That particular week we were learning the words 大, 中, 小 during our Chinese lesson, so I set up this basket of stuffs for the boys to sort according to size.

Blocks Counting On Truck

The template of the truck is from The Measured Mom. This is one of my favourite educational website for learning resources. The blocks are from Amazon. The boys will need to pick a number and load the required number of blocks onto the truck. Big J is working on numbers to 20 and Small J is working on numbers to 5.

Screwing Bottle Caps

I prepared 5 bottles of different sizes and the kids need to match the bottles to the correct caps and screw them on. I thought this is will be a very easy task, but I realised that Small J is not screwing the caps the correct way. Instead of turning the cap to close the bottle, he turn the bottle.

Sorting By Letters

This box was set up with Big J in mind. He knows all the letter sounds and totally breezes through this. For Small J, we only did one letter at a time and I say the name of the pictures with emphasis on the beginning sound for him. You may get this from The Measured Mom again.

Waterplay With Gems

We also did a waterplay with glass gems and plastic pebbles. The boys scooping, tonging, pouring, counting with these. I am glad that the boys are better in controlling themselves while doing waterplay. Instead of splashing and pouring the water all over the floor, they are now able to sit and play nicely.

For those interested, the dark blue glass gems are from ArtFriend and the light blue ones are from Daiso.

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My Little Giant @ BigBox (Indoor Playground)

2016-09-25T01:06:00.000+08:00

Hooray for those living in the west! A new indoor playground has just recently popped up at Jurong East. Located at BigBox, My Little Giant is the latest indoor playground that has just opened.

Update:
My Little Gym has announced their official pricing, Check out the end of the post for the fees structure.

~~Since it is newly opened, My Little Giant is offering a special opening rate - $12 for Monday to Thursday and $16 for Friday to Sunday, Public Holidays and Eve of Public Holidays.~~ Children below 3 years old pay half price. I would say that the price is very reasonable. And the best part? It is unlimited playtime on all days!! This promotion is valid till 30 September 2016, so do check it out quickly!!

We checked out the place and the boys definitely had a wonderful time. There are 3 levels of play with lots of activities for everyone. I said everyone because not only the boys, Daddy J and me enjoyed the playground too. Parents however, have to be prepared to walk bending down or kneeling down if you want to climb the structure with your kids.

Kids Arcade Entertainment Centre

As with all indoor playground, before we can jump into play, we need to remove our shoes. The shoes area is just beside the playground.

As we walked towards to shoes area, we saw something like an arcade for the kids. There were some game machines, ride-ons, a carousel and a train. There are also some excavators which is like those from Diggersite. However, these are not included in the tickets to My Little Giant. You will need to pay separately for these.

Ball Pit

After settling our shoes, we proceed to the entrance. Before entering, we were given a tag which can be used for re-entry.

Upon entering, the first thing we saw was the ball pit. This is every child's favourite. Leading to the ball pit is the big white slide (more about this later).

At one end of the ball pit, there is this structure that blows air out of the holes. The boys were fascinated to see the balls floating and trying to hit and catch them as they fly.

Of course, lying down in the ball pit is a must-to-do!

The Big White Slide

At the other end of the ball pit, is the big slide which starts from the third level of the play structure. A word of warning, this is not for the faint-hearted. Although, it doesn't seem very high, it is very slippery and it goes very fast! I went a few rounds with the boys and I felt quite frightened as I sit waiting for our turn to go. However, I really enjoyed the ride down. Another word of caution, do make sure that there is enough balls at the bottom of the slide to cushion your fall before you slide. Small J went once and hit his head on the slide at the bottom because there wasn't enough balls to cushion as he slides down.

The plus point is they have two staffs to tend this station. One at the top to control the queue and one at the bottom to push the balls to the slide.

Big J was initially very reluctant to go on the slide as he thought it is very scary. The very friendly and helpful staff actually slide down together with him for quite a few rounds!

At the end, he was able to slide down himself with the help of the sliding sack. In his words, this sack helps to protect him.

Toddler Area

As we move further into the play structure, there is an open area for younger children. There are some rocking horses, see-saws, car ride-on and mini gym balls for the little ones to play. Do note that this area is quite dark as this is the most bottom level of the play structure and is not as bright as the photos showed.

The open area is shown in the background of this photo. The ball pit is at the far right corner and the trampoline is on the left. The rest is open space and stairs that lead to the second level.

Trampoline

In the far corner of level 1 of the play structure is a trampoline. Jump, jump, jump!!

Climb Climb Climb

Proceeding to the next two levels, this is where all the climbing starts. Parents, be prepared of lots of back-bending exercise! There are lots of climbing up stairs, through obstacles and tunnels.

Bounce Bounce

Ok, I have no idea what is the name of this structure. Let's call it bounce bounce. Children can sit on it and bounce away.

Air Guns

Also located on the second level, are the air guns. If I remember correctly, there are about 8 or 9 air guns. What I like about this the balls are shot at an enclosed area so we don't have to worry about flying balls hitting us. However, the downside is, the balls are mostly stuck in the middle of the net and there are not much balls at the side of the net for us to take. I also feel that the guns are positioned too high or perhaps these are meant for older kids?

Small Slides

If your kids can't take the big slide, there are also some smaller slides which they can try. These are located at level three of the play structure and are safer for younger children. Apart from these two, there is also a spiral tunnel slide which I didn't managed to take a photo of.

Mini Train

Located on level 3 is a mini train. Your child will need to turn the handle in a cycling manner to drive the train. Unfortunately, the handle is quite difficult to turn and requires lots of strength. As you can see from Small J's expression, he is using all his strength trying to drive the train.

Verdict

Considering the promotional price, My Little Giant is definitely worthwhile to visit! There are lots of fun activities to occupy the kids and they had so much fun! Not forgetting that it is for unlimited playtime, weekends included! We played for about 5 hours and took a lunch break in between. As the place is new, everything is new and clean! The staffs were also very friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back again.

Here's a video of the boys in action.

Fee Structure

Unlimited playtime on all days!! I would suggest to go on a weekday as it is cheaper and less crowded!!

My Little Giant

Location: BigBox, 1 Venture Avenue, Singapore 608521

Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm daily

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Shopping At Agape Babies

2016-09-02T01:45:00.001+08:00

If you are a soon-to-be mom or a mom with kids, you should bookmark Agape Babies right now. With over 250 brands and more than 6,000 products, Agape Babies is your one-stop online shopping portal to get all your baby and mommy needs.

Two years ago, I did a similar review of Agape Babies. Since then, they have further expanded their line of products to include more brands and products. From milk powder, diapers, organic food, toiletries, baby gears, books, toys to mommies' needs, you can find anything you need for babies and moms. They have also included popular brands such as Jujube and 3M.

The products are nicely categorized so you can find the things you need easily. If you already have something in mind, you can key the item name into the search box to find it easily. For those who shop frequently on mobile, their mobile optimized site is very user-friendly and feels like an app.

Shopping on Agape Babies is easy and fuss-free. The only headache you might have is there are so many things to choose from! Spot something you like? You can add the item to cart directly and then continue shopping. Or you can also see the item details when you click on the item you are interested in.

Once you have finished shopping, payment is a breeze too. Just click to view your cart and you can proceed to checkout.

The checkout process is super fast too - just one step! This is unlike other online shopping portal which brings you different pages before finally paying. On Agape Babies, you fill in your address, shipping method and payment method all in one page.

After doing some internet banking verification, your purchase is done! Now, sit back and wait for your items to be delivered.

Delivery is very fast too. They strive to get your order delivered the next working day*! (Terms and conditions apply. Check here for more details.) How efficient is that! No more worries about running out of milk powder, milk bags, spoil spare parts, etc. If you spend more than $80, you can enjoy free courier delivery service.

If you don't wish to pay for delivery or when you need your items very urgently, you can choose to self collect at 3 convenient location points - Newton, Sengkang and Old Airport Road. More details here.

I placed my order on Thursday night after the boys are asleep. (That's the advantage of online shopping. I'm able to shop in the comfort of my house, munching on some snacks while browsing around.) Since this is considered a Friday order, I thought I will only be able to receive my items after the weekends. But I received a notification that delivery will be on Saturday! Hurry for presents arriving earlier! The delivering company also sent SMS notifications informing that they will be doing the delivery on that day. And true enough, my parcel arrived on Saturday morning.

Unboxing time...

Here are what I have gotten. A puzzle for Small J because he's recently very into puzzles. More Letterland books for Big J because we really like the Letterland series. I am also hoping to start teaching Small J the letter sounds using Letterland soon.

Promotions

First time customers get $10 OFF or 10% OFF, a FREE gift (Choose either Mustela Trial Kit OR 1 tin of Bellamy’s Organic Milk Formula Stage 2 400gm) and next day delivery on their first purchase. Terms and Conditions apply. Check here for more information.

Discount Code

Quote 'thejsarena5%' to enjoy 5% discount on your purchases. Kindly note that it excludes milk, diapers, wipes, Medela breastpumps, JuJuBe, sale and clearance categories. This code is valid from 2 Sep 2016 till 23 Sep 2016.

Agape Babies

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Disclaimer: We received some shopping credits from Agape Babies for the purpose of this review. I paid for the excess out of my own pocket. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

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BookBuddy - Your Solution to Good Reading Habits

2016-08-19T18:11:00.001+08:00

Does your child wear glasses? At what age do they start wearing glasses? Children nowadays start wearing glasses at a very early age. Children are going to school at a much younger age, doing a lot of reading and writing work. Furthermore, with the advancement of technology, it is inevitable that children are exposed to smart devices. It is therefore, very important that they develop good reading habits at a young age.

Do you know? "Singapore is the world's #1 for the prevalence of childhood myopia

in seven to nine year olds." - HPB

Good Reading Habits

While having a love for reading is a good thing, having poor reading habits will increase the chances of developing myopia. So what can we do to ensure good reading habits?

1. Reading at a safe distance

2. Ensure sufficient lighting

3. Taking a break after 30 minutes of reading

4. Engaging in outdoor activities

For adults, these habits might seem easy to keep to. However, it is more difficult for kids to keep these in mind. Most often, we need to constantly remind them not to go too near to the book or device or have a hard time telling them to take a break from reading.

BookBuddy

If you are facing the above problems, BookBuddy is the solution!

BookBuddy is a smart bookstand that helps children to develop healthier reading habits. With the use of smart sensors, it can reminds your child of the good reading habits that they need to follow.

Smart Sensors

BookBuddy is able to help children develop better reading habits through the use of smart sensors.

BookBuddy has a Distance Sensor that is able to detect the reading distance. When the child gets too near to the book, BookBuddy will start to beep, reminding the child to move back. The beeping stops when the child move away to a safe reading distance.

At the end of the retractable arms are two Light Sensors. These sensors are able to measure the lighting conditions. When the lighting is poor, the green LED will start blinking.

The Reading Timer will alert the child to take a break after 30 minutes of reading. The red LED will light up.

Ergonomic Reading Angles

As a book stand, BookBuddy has two reading angles which are ergonomically designed for reading. The lower angle is for writing but I feel that the retractable arms somehow block the hands while trying to write. I think this is a good level for doing referencing or copy work.

The other higher angle is suitable for reading. It supports the book in a more upright position. Do you know that when you are reading at the table, your neck and body will bend over when trying to read? With the book in a upright position, you will be reading in a proper posture.

Retractable Arms

On both ends of the BookBuddy there are the Retractable Arms. You can extend or decrease the length of the arms to firmly hold down pages of all sizes.

I tried using a thick cookbook on the BookBuddy. The arms are able to hold down the pages firmly and able to hold the weight of the book. Great for using in the kitchen when I need to refer to recipes while cooking.

See... it can hold a tablet too!

Page Extender

Have taller books or paper? BookBuddy features a Page Extender to support taller books or paper. This is especially useful for paper so that it will not flop over.

Lightweight and Portable

When I first received the BookBuddy, I was surprised that it is very light. This makes it easy for children to carry it around. Its dimension is 23 x 17 x 2 cm, smaller than A4 size and only weighs 290g.

BookBuddy runs on 2 AAA batteries. Do note that the battery cover is easily taken out, so when using with small children, please supervise them in case they open the cover and take the batteries out.

Verdict

When we first started using BookBuddy, the boys were super excited, especially Big J. I first started using it without the batteries, ie not using the smart sensors. Just using it as a book stand is enough to arouse their interest in reading! They are always asking to read with BookBuddy.

Then when we started using it with the batteries, they got even more excited! The boys are too excited with the beeping sounds that they sometimes purposely go near the book, just to trigger the beep. Since they keep doing that, I honestly feel that the beeping sound is quite annoying. However, that is because we are not using it the proper way. I hope the boys will wear off this novelty soon and not pay so much attention to the sounds. That said, the persistent beeping sound definitely does a good job in reminding the reader to maintain a good reading distance. Of course, you can turn off the power when you do not need the proximity sensor. Or perhaps this will be more suitable for older children who has better control of their emotions.

I also realized that our lights are not bright enough for reading. Oops! The LED light keeps on blinking when we use it at night but it is fine during the day time when we are doing our work near the windows. Time to buy a reading light.

Like I mentioned earlier, the battery cover opens very easily. Since Small J is quite young, I have to supervise him when he is using the BookBuddy. I wish that the battery cover has a screw to secure it for safety reasons.

When I first get a feel of BookBuddy, I thought that the plastic feels quite flimsy, like it will break if we drop it or when we get too rough handling it. However, it has no problem holding thick and heavy books as I pointed out earlier. Of course, this is why it is lightweight and portable so that it is easy and convenient for children to use. Nobody would want to carry a heavy bookstand around right?

Overall, the boys are really happy with their new buddy in their reading corner. I'm really happy that this has increased their interest in reading and also teaching them the importance of maintaining a good reading posture. Here are some photos of them reading with BookBuddy.

BookBuddy is retailing at S$84.90. There are 3 colours available, Groovy Green, Brainy Blue and Perky Pink. It is available at their online store.

For more information, do visit BookBuddy's website:
Web | Facebook

Here's a video of BookBuddy!

Function of BookBuddy from Crymson Lifetech Pte Ltd on Vimeo.

Disclaimer: We received a complimentary BookBuddy for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions, texts and photos are mine, unless otherwise stated.

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July 2016

2016-08-11T11:37:00.001+08:00

My monthly updates has been put on hold for almost a year! Gosh... how fast! I have decided to restart this again but I'm not sure how long I can persevere because time is so limited.

So, these are what went on for our July...

First up, it is Small J's birthday. Technically, this happened in June. However, since it is at the end of June, I want to include this otherwise he will have no documentation of his birthday on the blog.

The boy has grown a lot over the year, although he has his temper sometimes. I just want to wish that he will grow up healthily and happily! As usual, we had a simple family affair birthday celebration. As I am writing this, I re-read his second birthday post and I am feeling so guilty that this year's post is so short! Forgive me baby.

We discovered Tuk Tuk Cha in our neighbourhood shopping mall! The milk tea is really da best! The tea is flavourful yet not overly sweet. The waffles are cripsy on the outside while the inside is soft and fluffy. The matcha ice-cream totally compliment the sweet red bean very well. The downside, the boys didn't sleep until super late! Think it was due to the power of the tea and matcha.

Dessert for the night. Thai Milk Tea and Toast with Matcha Ice-cream. #tuktukcha
A photo posted by Jolin (@thejsarena) on Jul 3, 2016 at 5:27am PDT

The latest activity in our house, a box for the boys to play house, hide-and-seek and draw and paint. Till this date, the box is still standing strong.

Good morning! 🌞 We are going to paint the town red this weekend! A bless weekend to everyone! 💗🎉
A photo posted by Jolin (@thejsarena) on Jul 8, 2016 at 7:39pm PDT

We visited the Singapore Sports Hub to find out more about the family activities they have in store for the public. If not for the fact that we stay super far from the Sports Hub, it might be our favourite hang-out place.

Had a great day at @sgsportshub exploring the different activities for kids and families.
A photo posted by Jolin (@thejsarena) on Jul 9, 2016 at 11:59pm PDT

We had so much fun posing and taking photos at Alive Museum. It is so much fun than our first trip there because the boys are more interested in posing, unlike the first time when we spent more time chasing after them. This gotta be my favourite art piece because I got to experience our proposal all over again! Lol!

It's a proposal all over again!! With a little lightbulb in between. . . . . . . . . Check out some of the new exhibit at Alive Museum! For a limited time, you can purchase your tickets online and enjoy 40% off prices. That is $15/adult and $12/child. #alivemuseum #alivemuseumsg #iamalive2016
A photo posted by Jolin (@thejsarena) on Jul 15, 2016 at 11:01pm PDT

I also brought the boys to Future World at Art Science Museum. OMG... we didn't even finish exploring the whole exhibit because they spent so much time at the first part of the 'playground'. We will definitely be back again! Just in case you guys don't know about it, there's free entry for kids on every Fridays.

Going up and down the slide for infinity times

Building a house

In July, we had a very special visit to the Egg Farm! The farm tour was organised by Singapore Young Farmers. It was a very rare and valuable experience because the farm is not open to the public and special access to the farm requires AVA’s approval. Although we didn't see the chickens, we did see how the eggs are processed and pasteurized in the hi-tech farm. It was also an eye-opener for the kids. Do join the mailing list of Singapore Young Farmers to keep updated of future farm trips.

The tour started with an informative briefing by the representative from N &N Agriculture Farm.

Eggs fresh from the chicken house

Closer look at the eggs

The boy with mountains of eggs

All dressed up to see the pasteurization process

Enjoying some delicious tamago eggs at the end of the tour

Since our boys are always full of energy, we brought them to Amped Trampoline Park. Big J can still remember the first time we were there. Last time, Small J could only sit around but this time he joined in the climbing and jumping! Haha..we had so much fun but I think we ended up feeling more tired than the boys.

We ended the month with some cheese tarts from Bake! It is our first time trying these yumilicious tarts and I am so glad that we didn't have to queue hours for it. It took us about 30 minutes to get them. Unfortunately, these were too expensive for us to eat regularly, so it remains as a once in a while treat!

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