Author: Christy @ Kidsrsimple

List of Ideas For Bringing Kids Out During School Holidays

List of Ideas of Bringing Kids OutMy favourite source of school holiday fun is none other than Cheekiemonkies blog. So many of my inspiration come from his information sharing. When it comes to what to do with the kids during school holidays, I will start planning as early as during exams period. I want to ensure my kids are not deprived of playdates or outdoor activities even though I am working full-time. So, I will take off from work and bring them to interesting places to play.

Some of my friends around me also ask me for ideas and the funny thing is: it is relatively easy to rattle off a list to them which some we have tried and loved. But when it comes to my own planning, I have much consideration to suit all my 3 kids with their different age groups. The solution is really to separate one-to-one date with each of them or combination of 2 kids while one kid is with the daddy or find a place that suit all 3 of them.

Since I am searching for ideas, I will also share them on this post for my future reference and of course I hope you will find them useful too. I will be updating this list as and when there are new places that come to mind. If you have more interesting places to recommend, I welcome you to leave your comments and I shall add on to the list.

I have categorized into Indoor Places and Activities, Outdoor Places and Activities and Home Activities. I try to list most of the activities to be valid throughout the whole year round and not just customized to holiday periods. For those that are happening only for a short period of time, I will be updating this list regularly.

Indoor places and activities

1. Safra Punggol Splash Indoor Water Playground

Read review here.

2. Children’s Seasons (annually)
Date: 28/5 – 31/7
Suitable for age: 3-7yo

Website: http://www.museums.com.sg/programme-and-exhibitions/childrens-season-1

3. Imaginarium at SAM @8Q

Read review here.

4. Movies
If you have Safra card, then you must watch a movie using its 1 for 1 promotion on weekends! Promotion ends 26 June 2016.

Website: http://www.shaw.sg/sw_cinema.aspx

5. Kidzania

Book online is cheaper!

Review: http://www.cheekiemonkie.net/2016/04/kidzania-singapore-ultimate-activities-guide-review.html

6. Playeum

Do you know that Groupon or Deals.com have discounts for Playeum entry from time to time?

Website: http://www.playeum.com/

7. Bowling

Do call up and ensure the bowling lanes have kids bumpers, and most do!

Website: http://www.superbowl.com.sg/toa-payoh

8. Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Read review here.

9. Theatres for Children

Act 3i Drama for Children (currently showing in May/June 2016)

Website: http://act3international.com.sg/act3ifestival/

10. National Gallery of Singapore

Website: https://www.nationalgallery.sg/see-do/tours

11. ArtScience Museum

Some past exhibitions

Future World

12. Philatelic Museum (Stamp Museum)

Read review here.

13. Trampoline Park, Kaboodle

Website for Kaboodle: http://www.kaboodlekids.com.sg/

14. Esplanade Pip’s Box

Read review here. Continue reading “List of Ideas For Bringing Kids Out During School Holidays”

West Coast Park Playground – Awesome!

It’s been a long while since I last share on the awesome playground in the East: Pasir Ris Park Playground. Now it is the turn for the equally awesome and huge playground in the West: West Coast Park Playground! It really caters for everyone: children, teenagers, adults and elders. Come here for the Play Area, to Skateboard, Roller Skate, Cycling, Frisbee, BBQ, Bird Watching, Kite Flying, Jogging or just a leisure walk to relax and chat. I am so proud of Singapore’s fun and free places to bring our kids to and perfect places for multi-generation bonding. You really cannot miss this one!

West Coast Park Playground is comparable to the one in the Pasir Ris Park in size. Something different is that there is a Mac Donald’s here which could get very crowded on weekends.

Let’s see what are the fun activities to be found here that Pasir Ris Park doesn’t have or have but slightly different.

Zipline Flying Fox

Who can resist this one? When we were there, there were parents on both sides who took turns to help the children to climb onto the tyre and give them a little push to zip across to the other side. It is an unspoken teamwork and all parents who were there were happy to help ensure safety of all the children. I see gracious parents here and such gestures create a happy playtime for everyone.

Zipline Flying Fox

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Balancing obstacles

There are many balancing fun for the children here. All in different levels of challenges. No wonder my kids went again and again to perfect them. Some may be too challenging for little ones. Like my toddler, who definitely needed some help and his elder siblings were happy to go through the obstacle for the nth time. Continue reading “West Coast Park Playground – Awesome!”

April – what goes on in our lives

While I dreaded my examinations in my school days and celebrated the end of it after going through 16 years of being a student, and more than a hundred of examinations, big or small, I have never thought I would be going through it again. Many of you should know by now that I used to be a laid back mum, learnt my lesson, and become a not-so-laid-back-mum. So, naturally, I am doing what many other parents are doing: mugging for examinations along with my children. Ok, maybe mugging is a strong word, let’s just say, reinforcing the basics but at a more intensive pace.

So, April is about preparing the kids for the examinations. Primary school students are too young to know how to prep for exams, aren’t they? I remembered I did not really study for my examinations prior to PSLE. With my wealth of experience, I decided to go through the process of this preparation with the kids, hoping to slowly let go, and let them learn how to revise on their own gradually. As much as I hate it, in this aspect, I belong to the helicopter parent for now. You will be surprised at how at Primary 5, the English examination paper is really quite tough. I need to check the dictionary or sometimes google up the word when the dictionary hasn’t got the word! And we are talking about the Oxford dictionary! And yes, we are talking about primary school standard!

Because of the exams prep, I have been neglecting my toddler as my short hours after work are totally consumed by teaching the 2 elder kids. I know it affects him because he has not been looking at me when I leave the house for work and when I come back home in the evening. All these gestures make my heart ache. I feel so guilty and really hope to make up for it after exams. Bear with Mama ok, baby?

So, while exams are important especially for my gal who is doing PSLE syllabus, I still try to strike a balance on revision and play. I don’t believe in mugging for the examinations for every waking moment. So, we brought the kids out for our usual weekend routine.

Safra Punggol – Little Explorers

Perhaps I am one of the rare parents who give the kids an exam break. On the weekend before the exams, we brought the kids to Safra Punggol for a day of fun.

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kidsrsimple.com Continue reading “April – what goes on in our lives”

ACT 3i Festival for Children 2016 {Giveaway}

Have you brought your kids to plays and dramas before? If not, then you can seriously consider going to one. Nowadays, as opposed to our times when we only attended our first drama in Jubilee Hall in Secondary school, kids as young as 1 year olds are already going to numerous plays in town. The best part is these dramas and plays are targeted for the young kids and hence are engaging and sure to captivate their attention. Commercialized or not, our kids really start young in performing arts appreciation. So lucky they are!

This May, after the kids’ examinations, we are going to catch our first play of the year. This is part of the ACT 3i Festival for Children series of plays. ACT 3i (Act 3 International) is Singapore’s leading Arts company for the young. This year, they are launching a brand new ACT 3i Festival for Children dedicated to children from 2 to 12 years old. Packed with exquisite, high quality and awe-inspiring theatre performances that will include original works from Singapore, Italy, Sweden, Argentina, the U.K and Canada, an artfully curated visual arts programme, as well as Conviviality Sessions led by Children’s Theatre artists that are aimed at educators and parents, ACT 3i Festival for Children aims to be the frontrunner in arts enrichment for the young.

All On A Summer’s Day

All on a Summer's Day

Sounds familiar? Yes, it is a tongue-in-cheek adaptation of the Shakespearean classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Written and directed by notable Children’s Theatre director and writer Vicky Ireland, this festival opener will feature a cast of professional actors from Singapore. Originally commissioned Continue reading “ACT 3i Festival for Children 2016 {Giveaway}”

What we did at Safari Zoo Run

On 29 Feb, we ran our first Family Run at the Singapore Zoological Gardens. While we imagined that we would be slow jogging for the entire 2.5 km, we were proven quite wrong. There were many participants and since this was a family fun run, strollers were allowed and we ended up strolling even from the start of the run. However, as the animals came into sight, many started to stop along the way and we eventually had a good and fun distracting slow run. While Master 9 was irritated at first by not being able to run as fast as he liked, the crowd tapered in and he was able to run, dash, walk and then took turns to push the empty stroller.

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This run’s biggest draw is certainly being able to jog by and say hi to giraffes, lions, zebras and many more. There are so many runs in a year, I am beginning to appreciate the unique theme of each run. I must say Safari Zoo Run is attractive to kids because of the animals. Each participant who signed up for this run would be entitled to enter the Zoo and River Safari on that day at no added cost, plus 50% off Night Safari entry. That also explains the more costly run fees. But if you do your sums well, it covers the cost of entry together with the run and then it doesn’t seem so expensive after all. Continue reading “What we did at Safari Zoo Run”