Love Creative Play Time with Our Kids

Playtime is rare with Mummy around, because Mummy is always busy with work even when she’s at home in the evening. But when Mummy do sit and play with the girls, they immerse themselves 101% and do all kind of silly things together. Now that Ayra is 5 and Zara is 3, both of them love creating their own stories and imaginative play. Mummy loves watching the show unfold in usually the most unimaginable way. The sky is the limit!

There are plenty of toys around the house, and Mummy does splurge a little too often showering the girls with new toys. Probably due to the guilt she has deep inside since she doesn’t spend as much time as she wished with the little ones. To keep them occupied and engaged, she buys toys and fun things for them.

One of the most common things she buys is building blocks from LEGO® , which the father get rather annoyed at. Because he hates stepping onto bricks around the house! But the girls love them, especially Ayra as she is now able to build a set on her own without any help. She will open the box, pour out all the bricks, look and follow the pictorial instructions and start building. Like this new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playset, she built it all by herself in less than 10 minutes.

LEGO Duplo Building Better Play - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Set — Following instructions and building her own play set. Zara helps along too.

After building the set, she’ll start to play and engage with her younger sister. Of cos, they do fight at times and snatch pieces from one another, but nothing stops them from fun play time. Mummy finds that she needs to learn such quick forgivingness from the girls. Adults tend to hold grudges longer, which is really unhealthy.

This new play set in the house is from the Disney Junior collection, LEGO® DUPLO® Mickey Mouse & Friends Beach House (10827).

Get your child sit Donald Duck in the speedboat and pull Goofy along on the wakeboard, while Mickey Mouse uses the camera to take pictures from the deck at his Beach House. Little Disney fans will love building and rebuilding this model with a fun vacation theme and creating their own role-play stories. This set comes with 3 LEGO® DUPLO® figures: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.

Accompanying the LEGO® DUPLO® sets, parents can now watch the LEGO® DUPLO® Buildling Better Play videos which were recently launched on YouTube. This series features 12 episodes led by child development experts who share useful information for parents – from building toddler confidence, social play and sharing, and developing motor skills with play, to making playtime feel special.

The Loving Mum has approved the play of LEGO® and LEGO® DUPLO® in the house and has been one of her choice gifts for children of her friends and relatives. For those searching for toys to give kids and has run out of ideas, you’ll never go wrong withLEGO® DUPLO® for the little ones and LEGO® sets for those 5 and above. Now you know what to get for the two girls for Christmas ya?

Now watch the two girls at play with their new LEGO® DUPLO® set…

June 4, 2016

Meet The Angry Birds in Singapore

It’s fun for the whole family this GSS at Suntec City. Catch Red, Bomb and Chuck in an entertainment extravaganza of The Angry Birds Movie themed activities!

We were there the entire day, jumping once in the early afternoon and then once more after we were done shopping and redeemed our Play Passes.

The girls were afraid to slide down the tall slide and Ayra even cried when she finally reached the top of the island for the first time. Lucky us, the event crew on duty that day were very helpful and friendly, one of the managed to bring her down the slide and comforted her. After some encouragement the two girls were climbing up and sliding down like a pro, they didn’t want to get out once they were warmed up. Looks like we’ll likely be back again since I’ve got some more shopping to be done at Suntec City.

ANGRY BIRDS ISLAND AT NORTH ATRIUM
27 May – 26 June 2016
Bird Island features carnival-style games with attractive prizes to be won by high scorers, complete with a 4m high bouncy inflatable for the little ones to bounce to their hearts’ content.
Three play passes are redeemable with a minimum spend of $50.
Venue: North Atrium
Time: 12PM – 8PM daily

MEET THE ANGRY BIRDS
2 June – 12 June 2016
Photo opportunities abound when you meet* Red, Bomb and Chuck from The Angry Birds Movie!
One pass is redeemable with a minimum spend of $50.
Venue: North Atrium
Thursdays & Fridays: 1PM & 7PM
Saturdays & Sundays: 1PM, 4PM & 7PMTerms and conditions:
Sign up as a Suntec Rewards member for redemptions. Maximum of 3 combined same-day receipts. Maximum of two redemptions of play passes per shopper per day. Maximum of one meet and greet pass redemption per shopper per day. Limited to 50 meet and greet passes per session. All redemptions are first come first served and whilst stocks last.

May 10, 2016May 10, 2016

Activities for Kids at SAFRA Punggol Clubhouse

Whenever there is opportunity to bond with Zara one-to-one, I would try my best to treasure it and enjoy as much as I can. That’s what we did couple weekends ago at SAFRA Punggol – experiencing how a “Little Punggol SAFRA Explorer” was like.

It was time for Zara’s nap but I thought the activities and my companionship would keep her awake and excited. It was so at first, but it didn’t last.

We arrived way too early at SAFRA Punggol, me alone with Zara. The place was packed on a Saturday afternoon – with families and lots of kids! We waited around the lobby area and I could sense the sleepiness kicking in for Zara as the clock ticks by.

We were both relieved when we finally got the activities going together with other family bloggers.

First stop for us was at ARTARY at Level 4 of SAFRA Punggol. ARTARY provides art classes for kids and their space is very nicely done up! Love the interior and how the wall murals make the whole place very whimsical and fun.

With just less than an hour for this activity, we did our best to create our version of Sunflowers (or “whatever flowers” in our case) by Van Gogh. This was the first time Zara got to do painting work in a classroom setting. I must say her attention and focus was much better than I’d expected. Well I was admiring her concentration with the task on hand until she got bored and tired.

Once we’re done painting and got ourselves washed up from all the paints, we headed down to Pizza Hut for a special pizza making session. By this time (around 4pm), Zara’s level of tolerance is almost zero. She refused to walk, refused to wear the Pizza Hut chef hat, refused to take photo… she was just not ready to cooperate at all.

Until Ah Ma (grandma) came along.

This girl of mine is also Ah Ma ???. She adores her grandma and would do anything and everything as long Ah Ma is with her. Just look at that smile on her face! It was a relieved for me really, because I was super famished and tired by that time. I was happy to just hang around while Zara enjoys the rest of the day with her grandma at SAFRA Punggol. I took a back row seat being the photographer and videographer for the day.

Note: Pizza making session is still not available at Pizza Hut SAFRA Punggol at time of this post. You can contact them to enquire about events should you be keen to find out more.

While our pizzas were being baked in the oven, we headed to the highlight of the day. SPLASH!

When we shared about Splash@Kidz Amaze a year back, that post brought our entire site down because everyone was excited about the first and only indoor water playground in Singapore! We were looking forward to checking the place out since then, and finally we got to step into the real thing! But guess what?

Zara fell asleep!! This poor girl was totally exhausted after all the fun and lack of nap that afternoon, she knocked out after making her jellyfish art and craft. By the time she woke up, it was almost 8pm and the cranky just-woke-up-girl spent less than 10 minutes in the water. I was very upset for her, she had been looking forward to splashing at the playground for a very long time.

If you’ve not been to Splash@Kidz Amaze yet, this video you got to check out.

We will be back soon on a weekend evening, because that’s when the magic and music kicks in. Can’t wait to get splashed and have a hell lot of fun and wet time with my girls. Pricing and party packages at Splash@Kidz Amaze available on their website.

Here’s the list of other activities and things you can do at SAFRA Punggol:

Bikes @ Waterway
EnergyOne
Games Room
Manekineko (KTV)
Member’s Lounge
Yoga Inc.
i Darts LAVA (opens early May)
Orchid Bowl (opens 5 Jun)
The Spa by The Ultimate (opening date to be confirmed)
Artary
BazGym Gymnastics School
LCentral English
NurtureStars Preschool
Splash @ Kidz Amaze
StepUp Learning & Dance
Tien Hsia Language School
Yamaha Music
Stamford Education (opens 1 Jun)
Taekwondonomics (opens 1 Jun)

And with so many activities and families, there must be food too! Here are the dining options available at SAFRA Punggol:

issho family restaurant
Pin Si Superior
Pizza Hut
Siam Thai Tuckshop
Nom La La by Bakerzin
Jack’s Place (opens 30 Apr)
Culinary Experience Studio Powered by Bosch (opens May)
Heavenly Wang (opens early May)
McDonald’s (opens 15 May)

SAFRA Punggol is located at 9 Sentul Crescent, Punggol, Singapore 828654 next to Punggol West Loop – PW1 Sam Kee LRT station. You can also take a stroll from Punggol MRT station, which will take approximately 6 to 10-minute.

April 29, 2016April 29, 2016

Kiddet – One App. Countless Experiences For Your Child.

“Why isn’t there an app that allows parents to find, book and review classes and activities for our kids?”

That’s the question I had wanted to solve more than one year ago. I even had got the concept, user-experience, business model and all drawn out in my journal. But that’s where this idea stopped.

When I was first told about Kiddet through a friend… “That’s EXACTLY what I wanted to start!“. Of course I had got to meet the founders behind this app and find out more. I shall keep their identity a little mystery for now.

Kiddet is now available for FREE download on the Apple and Android Play stores.

Expand your child’s universe with fun learning activities island-wide. Kiddet connects you to the most exciting educational activities in Singapore.

I’ve been eyeing a few classes and activities to bring my girls, and I thought I should share them here with you too. Cos you don’t want to be the last to learn about the next coolest app for parents in town right?

5 Activities To Check Out & Book on Kiddet

Bounce Kids Dance Choreo Class at Kulture Studio

I’ve passed by Kulture Studio many times but never got a chance to step in yet. This Bounce Kids Dance class looks super fun and cool! Even I want to go jump and bounce to the tunes! Just check out the video below, super fun right?

Kulture Studio is the first to offer Bounce fitness programme in Singapore. Their Bouncefit classes are conducted via the accredited Jumping syllabus that combines fast and slow jumps, a variation of traditional aerobic steps and dynamic sprints, as well as “power sports” elements. This complex workout guarantees a full body strengthening after every jump. A great workout for kids 6 to 12 years old.

Trampoline Family Package for 2 Adults and 2 Children

If you prefer to jump and bounce together with your kids (without the music though), you can book for this Trampoline Family Package at Zoom Park Asia on Kiddet. We’ve not been there yet, this is one I’m going to book over this long weekend because Kiddet is giving away free 50 Kredits when you make your first booking from now till May 1st. (50 Kredits is approximately S$10 in value.)

Dramahaus at Trehaus

For families with younger children, you might want to search for “Trehaus” in Kiddet. They have a few interesting classes for babies 6 months to 6 years old. Dramahaus is where your child will let her imagination soar beyond their immediate sensory environment and into something new in their mind’s eye. Through stories, poems and rhymes, plenty of creative drama activities and they’ll get to develop their speech too.

Come in, Discover & Explore

Or if you prefer free play, you can check out Blue House Infant & Toddler Atelier at Clarke Quay. For 125 Kredits, your child gets 2 hours of free-play discovery and exploration of the Atelier, including materials. I’ve not been there personally, but from Tjin’s experience this place looks like a great place for kids 3 years and below. And super nice for photo taking too!

Workshop at The Little Things

One other recommended activity is for parents who want to spend some time together with your children. This parent-accompanied toddler workshop by The Little Things might just be the place to bake your first cookie with your toddler (without creating a mess in your own kitchen!).

Bonus 50 Kredits now till May 1st!

I’ve downloaded the app and purchased my Kredits. Now which activity should I book for my girls? Anyone wanna attend some classes together?

Kiddet is now available for FREE download on the Apple and Android Play stores.

April 27, 2016

We Checked Out the Refreshed eXplorerkid E!hub Downtown East

Sand Play at eXplorerkid E!hub at Downtown East by The Loving Mum

It’s been almost 2 years since our first and only visit to eXplorerkid E!hub at Downtown East. We were unimpressed and disappointed at the condition it was in then. Fast forward to today, NTUC Club finally opened their revamped eXplorerkid E!hub and we just had to go check out what they had done.

Brand New and Refreshed Toddler Play Area

The last time we visited, Zara (13+ month) didn’t have anything much to do at eXplorerkid E!hub, but now they have got a whole new area setup just for toddlers below 4 years old. The play area was spacious and filled with variety of activities. There are pretend-play houses, a ball pool, tree slide and some big foam building blocks too.

There’s a smaller play structure at the corner beside the toddler play area. Do be careful when playing in this structure especially the tube slide. Ayra got a bad abrasion when sliding down and she was too afraid to step into it again. Also overhead a mum saying her son knocked his head while sliding down. Hope eXplorerkid will look into correcting this problem area to make it safer for children to play.

Brand New Addition of Sand Play

This has got to be the most favourite play area for the girls. They didn’t want to leave once they started touching those kinetic sand. Yes you hear me right! It’s lots and lots of kinetic sand play, even I couldn’t resists playing with it.

Addition of Lower Level Adventure Highlands

Previously there was only Adventure Highlands and for kids above 110cm in height only but now even those below 110cm can test their confidence at the lower level of Adventure Highlands. Both Ayra and Zara completed the challenge and I’m super proud of them. Ayra who is still very timid and shy took a little more push and encouragement with lots of support from the helpful staff, while the gurang Zara conquered the entire course with ease (well most part of it).

See them in action in the video above. Do note that additional charges is payable for play of Adventure Highlands.

Smaller Lit Ball Pool

eXplorerkid downsized their Lit Ball Pool to make more space for the toddler area, but still the ball pool is big enough for all the kids to enter for some fun. Though I wished they had thrown in more balls too make it fuller and more fun to dive into.

The Same But Cleaner Mega Play

The Mega Play structure is the same one but now cleaner. The wear and tear is still pretty bad but the structure is still standing strong and well despite the years of continuous play by so many kids (and even adults).

eXplorerkid also added a baby changing room with wash basin inside the playground, though still a little bare, I hope they’ll add a nice sofa and some picture frames to make the place more conducive for parents to use it.

eXplorerkid E!hub is located at Downtown East
1 Pasir Ris Close, 3rd floor
Singapore 519599
Opening hours from 12pm to 9pm daily
Admission and Play Rates available here

January 21, 2016January 21, 2016

Big Blue Sponges Make Great Imaginative Play at Kaboodle Kids

Yes, we had so much fun playing in a sea of blue sponges (foam blocks to be exact) at Kaboodle Kids some weeks back, and we’ve got passes to share with our readers!

Kaboodle Kids is Singapore’s first and only indoor playground that uses Imagination Playground, these includes bricks and cylinders, accented with chutes, channels and parts that suggest motion or connectivity. They inspire children to design their own inventions, environments and activities.

This greeted us that morning when we arrived, built by the experts at Kaboodle Kids.

When we arrived at Kaboodle Kids at East Coast Big Splash, the pieces were built and they place look so fun! Both Ayra and Zara were excited when they saw what was waiting for them, and went straight to play mode the moment they got their socks on and hands sterilised.

The girls started pushing blocks together and then this was formed. Some obstacle course or sort perhaps?

These modular, rectilinear parts are easy to stack, line up and move around. The kids and parents who were with us that day at Kaboodle Kids enjoyed endless play with these blue blocks! Most importantly, everyone were engaged, active and had lots and lots of fun. Both my girls were super tired after 2 hours in there but they refused to leave.

What I love about this play system is that my girls can do whatever they want in there and I don’t have to keep close to them to ensure their safety. The space is designed such that parents can just sit and chill along the long stretch of seats and watch the kids play. Or we can join in the building and playing fun! The girls were kept busy the entire time we were there and I didn’t have to encourage them to try out anything, they just go around doing their own things with their own imagination. I was very impressed that these blocks are able to maintain their interests for that long. If only our home is big enough! LOL!

These blocks make good resting beds when they get tired. Obviously need sleep but they just didn’t want to leave!

See some of the things we did in the video I compiled from that day.

I do hope they start another outlet soon where it is more accessible by train, I would bring my girls there often for sure!

A well thought out party room at Kaboodle Kids! With a washing sink, whiteboard walls for decorations and creative drawing, basic party ware and accessories too.

They are currently having a promotion for party room booking, check their Facebook page for details.

Kaboodle Kids also has a party room where you can bring in your own food and beverages or they provide catering options too. That day, we were treated to super yummy food from one of their caterer, Pondok Gurame Indonesian Restaurant located at Big Splash too. The kids and the parents all enjoyed the food served, it was delicious!

A different kind of kids meal and it was so good! Better than the usual party food.

And finally you can get decent and delicious adult food at kids party! This one was amazing!

If you have not heard or been to Kaboodle Kids, here’s your chance!

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We’ve got 10 play passes to giveaway to our readers and fans. Each play pass entitles ONE child and TWO adults for unlimited play on weekdays and 2 hours of play on weekends/public holidays. Play pass is valid till 31 March 2016. To win yourself one, simply follow these steps:

Tell us why you want to bring your child to Kaboodle Kids on THIS POST on Facebook page.
Share this giveaway with your friends by tagging them in your comments or sharing the post with your friends on Facebook.
You got to be a fan of The Loving Mum and Kaboodle Kids on Facebook or follow @claudia10 on Instagram.

Giveaway ends 31 January 2016. Winners will be contacted via Facebook.

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Awesome fun time at Kaboodle Kids with Singapore Parent Bloggers! Find out more about us at http://singaporeparentbloggers.com.

About Kaboodle Kids

Started in 2014, Kaboodle Kids uses Imagination Playground to encourage children to develop their imagination and creativity, as well as nurture their emotional, physical, social and cognitive development through play. Kaboodle Kids offers great parent-child bonding through play, and believes that children should not be too fixated on academic achievements and also make time for creative play. For more information, visit www.kaboodlekids.com.sg and check out Kaboodle Kids on Facebook.

December 15, 2015December 22, 2015

Family Time Indulging Yummy Wings, Sushi Making and Creative Session at City Square Mall

And we are back to City Square Mall again! Not just cause we were invited to, even if we aren’t invited, we go there almost every month on our own. Because its just so convenient getting there by train from home. So what got us all excited this second round of fun trail around the mall? Because we were in for great family time indulging yummy wings, sushi making and a creative session at City Square Mall.

First stop: to fill up our tummies!

It was my 3rd time at Wingstop and I knew exactly what I wanted to order form their menu. But that day, even before we arrived, they have everything planned out for us. And boy the amount of wings that were served stopped my pumping heart. We almost had all their 10 flavors served in the same sitting, I had to stop them from pushing out more when our tables were already filled. Can you spot which are our favourites?

When I crave for wings, there are only 2 places I would go to and Wingstop is one of them. Just because I cannot get enough of their Mango Habanero and their limited time only Kacap Manis! And we will always order their fried mushrooms too because they are super juicy and nice.

Do you know?

Wingstop is originated from Texas in 1994 and has more than 700 restaurants open across the United States, Mexico, Russia and Asia which includes Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and the UAE.

Wingstop is widely known for freshly made, piping hot chicken wings that are sauced and tossed in your choice from their 10 mouth-watering flavors. They offer two variations for their wings – Classic Wings with no additional flour batter or breading. Just skin-on wings fried to perfection, sauced and tossed. And the Boneless Wings, 100% succulent boneless leg meat lightly breaded and fried to be crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

For those who likes to get all messy and finger-licking goodness, go for their Classic Wings. For those like me who prefer to keep our hands clean, I’ll go with the Boneless Wings every time!

Wing Stop at City Square Mall, Basement 1

After we got our tummies VERY filled, we proceeded to the upper level for our very first sushi making workshop with Genius R Us. That was the first time we headed up to that level at City Square Mall. We usually end our shopping at level 4 for Daiso, quick munch at the food court and then some play time at Time Zone.

Genius R Us is an enrichment centre that offers children unique learning experiences through Kidz Can Bake!, Tots Can Bake!, and Kidz Can Craft! series of workshops and concept birthday parties. Their workshops are tailored to bring out the genius in every child and orientated towards uncovering the child’s innate talents through the process of creative learning and self-discovery.

Set up in 2002, Genius R Us have been actively engaging the community and to date, they have created learning experiences to more than 75,000 happy children through their many workshops and camps.

Our experience that day was with their mini-workshop series for Sushi Making. We took these…

and made them into these!

Yes all 5 of us made our own sushi boxes that day. And the girls sure had fun creating and learning the steps. They don’t normally eat sushi but that day they ate those which they made on their own! I was surprised!

Guess they wanted to enjoy their fruit of labour after all the hard work they put into making their sushis.

There was also a party happening that day and I got to take a quick shot of their party room setup.

If you are keen to find out about their workshops and party packages, go check out http://www.geniusrus.com/.

And last but not least, we had an hour of hands-on painting and colouring class with Global Art at level 4. They just moved in not long ago and already have got many students signed up for classes. If you are interested in their programs, can check out http://www.globalart.com.sg/.

That day the big girls got to try our hands with acrylic painting with palette knife while the little girls explored shading and doodling with their instructor. It was an hour of fun yet stressful time for the big girls as we were unsure of what we were doing since it was the first time we tried this style of painting.

The little girls doing their own pieces of art.

While the two big girls struggled with their palette knifes and got their hands all stained with acrylic paint.

After trial and error and lots of touch-up, we were all very happy with our pieces of art! It was in fact not so bad and of course the instructors were all very proud of our creations. big grin

It was indeed an awesome family fun and bonding time that day at City Square Mall. A different experience from our usual shopping and eating and rushing kids out of toy stores kinda day.

Thank you City Square Mall and the above mentioned tenants for hosting us that day. We will be back!