Revolving stars

As a parent living in Singapore, I’m always on the lookout for fun and engaging activities for my kid that won’t empty my wallet. Luckily, Singapore is bursting with family-friendly places where we can create wonderful memories without spending a dime. Join me as I share some of our favorite free activities that are perfect for kids! Gardens by the Bay: A Magical Experience One of our first stops is always Gardens by the Bay . Even though some attractions charge admission, the gardens themselves are free to explore. My kids absolutely love wandering through the Supertree Grove, marveling at the towering structures that look like they belong in a fantasy movie. We often bring a picnic to enjoy on the lush lawns, and watching the evening light show is simply magical. It’s a wonderful way to introduce the kids to nature and inspire their imaginations. There are also other activities that are organised throughout the year, so do check out their website for the most updated info! P.S: We we...

 While packing the house a few days ago, I found this set of Beginning Readers that was hidden in one of the cupboards. I flipped through the set of books and they are very decodable for toddlers who have started learning the CVC words! Hunter is able to read some of the books by himself, with the exception of tricky words such as "the". I find that it is a good supplement for the phonics class and will be continuing to practise reading with Hunter using this set.

Today, I am going to share my review of the phonics enrichment school that I have been sending Hunter to since start of July 2023. To give you the background, Curious Thoughts Academy (CTA) base its phonics classes on Jolly Phonics, and is located in Bugis.  I first got to know about CTA when they launched their phonics workshop. Being the ambitious mum, I thought that I could save some money and teach Hunter phonics by myself. After going through the workshop, I realised the amount of work I have to put in to curate the materials, and I decided that it is best left to the experts and I would just revise the contents with him at home during the week. Below are the information from CTA. They run the classes by terms and classes are tagged by levels.        Price List for 2023                         Hunter is currently in Intermediate phonics and will be advancing up next year.  I love the approach ...

Raising kids in Singapore is atrociously expensive, so I would like to share what I do with Hunter on weekends and weekday nights to keep expenses down while limiting screen time. We try to do a variety of activities to make things interesting. 1. Paper cutting I got the divider papers from my company when they decided to discard the old documents. Hunter enjoyed this activity a lot after I got him the left handed scissors . (Apparently, cutting with a normal scissors is very painful for him as he would keep complaining that his fingers are unable to control the scissors)   2. Outing at Utown (NUS) This is probably the most underrated gem in the west. We like to go to Utown on the weekends to have a picnic and play with balls. And the best thing is that there is no crowd to contend with. It is also very kids friendly as there are 2 foodcourts nearby with toilets and water coolers all around. For adults, there is a Starbucks for your caffeine fix. 2. Outing at Singapore Botanic Gard...

My cousin and I planned to go to the Istana for a play date, but when we reached, we nearly fainted when we saw the queue. We unanimously agreed that there is no way the two little kids are going to wait in the queue quietly, and hence, we decided to change location. Since we were around the area, we headed off to The Joy of Toys. We were surprised that the main area was already full (at 10plus in the morning) so we paid for the entry to the Riding Room.  We were worried that the two kids would be bored after a while, but no! They stayed through the whole hour. Pretty amazing for 3 years olds. Me holding on to Hunter because he tried to ride the zebra There are two sizes for these animal rides. Carrying the big stuffed toys around All in all, it was worth it for $8 an hour. Both parents could also enter, and there were no additional charges. For more information, you may wish to visit their website .   

 Being a full time working mum, time with my boy is really precious. On weekday nights, I will try my best to revise what he has learnt in school/class for reinforced learning. Our weekday night routine (example) Depending on days, sometimes activities would stretch because Hunter was moody etc. 6.40pm: Reach home and have dinner with family. 7.00pm: Shower 7.20pm: Desk time - Min. 3-5 questions/exercises (max 2 pages) example of desk work 7.50pm: Games/activities to reinforce concepts/words learnt DIY games/activities 8.15pm: Independent play Example of independent play 8.40pm: Child-directed activity 9.10pm: Bedtime reading Assisted reading Hopefully this would be helpful for those who have asked about weekday night routines at home :)