Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

[Monday, 15 Feb, 7.45pm, second day of CNY and this was what I saw when I looked up to the sky. I like!]

It’s Chinese New year! And each country celebrates it differently.

Our uncle and aunt in the snowy and cold Netherlands cooked some meals and had a nice get together with friends at their home.

We made international calls to our relatives in Indonesia and we were told that it was totally festive back there in Jakarta.

Restaurants were fully booked (and charged higher rates). Shopping malls were very crowded and organised different CNY programmes!

[The fountain at Bugis Junction was all quiet on the first day of CNY]

Well, it’s kind of the opposite here in Singapore.

MANY places are closed (at least on the first day of CNY). The streets are quieter too.

[Except for Sentosa … I heard the newly opened Resorts World Sentosa was PACKED during those CNY days. Yet to check that out myself!]

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We have no families to visit (or get together with) here in Singapore, so we spent our CNY days with friends.

Kids had a good swim with many other little ones.

Some thirty to forty of us cooked some yummy steamboat food.

A group of us went to East Coast Park, cycled and roller-bladed, and ate junk food.

Oh, we tried to fly a kite too!

[It was 1pm and the sky was very glary. This shot was ‘unintentional’ as I sort of estimated where the kite was without looking at my Canon Ixus’ LCD screen. I like how the shot turned out though!]

Our colourful kite from Cotton On sort of ‘crashed’ to the sea side after a few good seconds though. Oh well. Gotta try it again next time!

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Many people asked : What else can we do during Chinese New Year holidays, anyway?

Now I hope I can get some ideas from others too.  Please do share …

It’d be a great reference for many others when CNY comes again next year!

Thanks everyone!

With so many red packets lying around this Chinese New Year, we knew we just ‘had to’ recycle them.

And so we made our own ‘hongbao binoculars’.

A personal request by Vai.

What we did:

– Cut out a few red packets (note: you may want to mix the plain ones and the ones with patterns)

– Let the kid randomly stick them onto two toilet paper rolls, covering all surfaces

– Tape both toilet paper rolls together with sticky tape

And that’s it!

It’s simple and so quick to make.

Happy crafting, everyone!

Gong xi … gong xi …

We’re staying put this year. No trips to Indonesia. No family members coming to Singapore. Just us – and our friends – in sunny Singapore.
 
We’ve scheduled some activities for the long weekend though (note: Monday and Tuesday are public holidays here in Singapore) and we look forward to that!

Anyway.

Here’s wishing you all *roaring* great things in the year to come!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

[Vai kept giving me this ‘face’, as if he’s about to squash the oranges with all his might!]

[Photo]
Late afternoon today at Vivo City. One of my ‘against the sunlight’ experiments, taken using my Canon Ixus.

Yep, you read it right.

Synthetic Ice Skating Rink.

Singapore’s first.

Last Friday I was invited to the media preview of its launch at Stamford American International School‘s campus at Lorong Chuan. The event was organised during both kids’ school hours, and so I went to check it out by myself.

At the event, the school (SAIS) explained how it’s working in collaboration with the Singapore Ice Hockey Association (SIHA) and it hopes that with the trial of this technology it can make ice skating and ice hockey more accessible in tropical Singapore, other than allowing quality ice sport programs to students too of course.

It’s made of high-tech polymeric compounds which closely mimic the performance of real ice. We also learned how synthetic ice is suitable for Singapore’s tropical climate as it does not require a climate-controlled environment and is much easier and cheaper to maintain compared to real ice surfaces.

Which, I guess, explains why the ice skating rink is OUTDOORS!

We watched some students played ice hockey on it, AND towards the end, it’s time for us to give it a go too, if we’re keen, that is!

Well, I’d sure love to check it out.

I’d like to know what the surface is like and how it feels to ice skate on a synthetic ice rink. Anyway, I was already there, so I might as well try it.

The thing is, no other members of the media gave it a go, EXCEPT for another parent blogger, Ed! Phew! Was really glad that he came that day as I wasn’t keen to go for it ALONE!

AND, so what do I think of it?

The surface looks and feels like cutting boards (you know, those white-coloured boards!). It’s not slippery compared to skating on real ice, so you’d need to give yourself an extra ‘push’ to move around (of course, you don’t think about the whole ‘gliding’ thing when you’re already in the rink because you’d just go from one point to another and enjoy the experience!)

Now here’s the good news!

You’re invited to try out their new rink too over the next two weekends!

Here’s more info.

> You’d need to pre-register via their online booking system, and the cost per half hour time slot is S$10, which includes skate rental

> These are the dates and available time slots:

Saturday and Sunday, 13-14 February
Saturday and Sunday, 20-21 February

2:00- 2:30 pm
2:30 – 3:00 pm
3:00 – 3:30 pm
3:30 – 4:00 pm

> The four, half-hour slots per day are available on a first-come-first-served basis through registration. Limited space available! Click HERE to register online!

> Call SAIS with any questions at +65 6602 7247 or email: reception@sais.com.sg

[With the Singapore Ice Hockey Team players and Ed]

> Venue: Stamford American International School (11 Lorong Chuan)

> You’d need to bring your own socks.

> It’s not a ‘must’ to wear gloves, but you’re most welcome to put them on for safety reasons.

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Go and check it out!

Have fun!

Between my two kids, Vai has always been the one who’s more comfortable with his large motor skills.

He likes to tumble, jump and climb.

Since he was a baby.

We notice from early in the beginning how he’s quite a natural when it comes to such physical activities, and so we let him explore it further as we go through our day to day activities (with reasonable care and safety measures kept in mind, of course).

He started climbing onto our furniture when he’s about 9 months old.

He’d jump off from our bed to another spring mattress placed next to it once in a while.

Together with his sister, they’d wobble while trying to walk on the ‘concrete beam’ on their way to school or the market.

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Anyway. Today I’d like to share with you a list of suggested activities (for those between the age of one to six) that can further encourage the development of little ones’ large (gross) motor skills (adapted from an article by the University of Missouri)

Here they are:

One- to 3-year-olds

– Provide pull toys that make noise. Encourage your child to walk forward and backward while pulling the toy
– Help your child walk up and down stairs
– Help your child jump off the first or second step
– Help your child jump over a small object such as a book
– Provide opportunity for your child to climb up and through things. If there is a playground with appropriate equipment nearby, it would be the perfect place
– Provide both large and small balls for throwing and kicking

[They’re both obviously inspired by Vai’s session at The Little Gym!]

Four- to 6-year-olds

– Have your child walk along a line drawn on the floor — a good way to learn balance
– Provide a mat for tumbling play such as rolls and somersaults
– Play catch with your child — this provides throwing and running practice. Start by using a large ball. Once your child can throw and catch it, try it with a smaller ball then another ball a size smaller and so on
– Tossing balls or bean bags into a container will develop your child’s aim. As skill improves, use a smaller container or increase the distance to it

And oh one more thing, I truly believe that our reaction towards our kids’ activities does have a huge impact on them too. Click HERE to read about what happened to Vai when he tried to climb a tall umpire chair last year.

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[Listening to teacher Amy from The Little Gym]

Anyway.

Last week Vai’s friend, Caden (the one in green top), invited him to his weekly gym session at The Little Gym at Forum Shopping Centre *Thanks again, Caden!*

It was Vai’s very first visit to such gyms and he was SO excited and enthusiastic throughout the session! Haha. You can totally tell! He was always jumping, tumbling and hopping!

I’ve uploaded the video on youtube.

Click HERE to watch the clip!

We went to the Singapore Airshow 2010 yesterday.

All four of us.

We hopped on the free shuttle bus from Changi’s Terminal 3 early in the morning, and were basically there for a good three hours.

And it was a REALLY HOT day.

We left our DSLR at home and traveled light, bringing along just our Canon Ixus 970IS.

Here are more photos!

[Were offered lots of pamphlets at the entrance but we took only what we needed. Didn’t wish to contribute to unnecessary paper waste]

We went to the Airshow two years ago too! (click HERE to read my post on it).

Vai was 1.5 years old and Anya was not even 4 at the time … and compared to our experience yesterday, it was more ‘inconvenient’ then simply because the kids were way too young, I think.

This year the kids are older and it was better for us. And I came more prepared too.

Hats, sunnies, an umbrella and sunblock cream … checked!

Water bottles … checked!

Snacks and pasta for lunch … checked!

The weather was REALLY REALLY HOT yesterday, and so the kids and I went to the air-conditioned trade exhibition area while Wilson and his friends went to see the planes and jets.

[I like this shot! Hehe. This photo and the two shots above this one were taken by Wilson]

There’s a Butterfly Garden in there (exhibition by Changi Airport), and so we checked it out too! (Took photos with my camera phone. Yet to download those!)

I was most impressed with one pilot who happened to walk by, stopped to approach Anya and Vai (who at the time were busy with their bags while sitting on the carpet) and gave them an apache and F-15 pins! (I learned afterwards that apparently such pins are collectibles and can’t be ‘bought’ out in the market!)

I took a photo of the kids and him with my camera phone, but I forgot to ask for his name and which fighter plane he’s about to fly at the aerial show! DUH!

We sat on the HOT ground while waiting for the aerial show to start at 11.30am.

So.

How’s the Airshow, someone asked.

Well. To me, the overall crowd control and management was MUCH MUCH better than two years ago! Everything was in good order, ie. how the shuttle buses were arranged, the walkways, the queues, etc. BUT, I wasn’t totally wowed by the aerial show. I guess we all looked forward to more aerial acrobatics, with more than two planes up in the sky. Wilson wasn’t too happy about the ‘missing’ black knights as well.

And what can you do when you’re not that interested in the happenings up in the sky?

You can always bring along a little journal and pen down your thoughts on it! Which was what Anya did yesterday!

She wrote in her own words some 3 to 4 pages of what she thought and saw that day.

I like.

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[Extra Notes]

– Drink lots of water and put on some sunblock. We felt ‘heaty’ after going to the Airshow, but we’re at least not sun-burned nor dehydrated

– Expect quite a lot of walking (and queuing, if you plan to take photos on the planes) at the Airshow

– Other recommended things to bring along if you’re coming with little ones to the Airshow are:

> Umbrella
> Hat
> Sunblock cream
> Sunglasses
> Snacks and perhaps, lunch
> Water bottles (I froze two milk packets overnight and it was nice and cold when we drank it at the Airshow!)
> And of course, a camera!

Last week I posted an entry about some Ticket Giveaways to see the upcoming exhibition ‘Treasury of the World’ at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

And here are the winners:

1. Andrea
2. Leone Fabre
3. Tommy

CONGRATS!!

I’ll be in touch soon to let you all know more about how to collect your tickets.

Have a fantastic time at the Museum!