If you are a mum with toddlers, you should be familiar with the term lapbook, playbook, busybook, quietbook. Basically they are cloth book or paper books with fun activities for curious minds to touch and feel and move around on the pages. Still clueless? Then the below photos should be able to give you an idea!
If you are a mum with toddlers, you should be familiar with the term lapbook, playbook, busybook, quietbook. Basically they are cloth book or paper books with fun activities for curious minds to touch and feel and move around on the pages. Still clueless? Then the below photos should be able to give you an idea!
The clock has movable hands and velcro-ed numbers to be used for teaching time. The shape sorters on the right has a zipped pocket to store the shapes.The pizza has detachable slices and the toppings on the right can be put on the pizza.These lollipops can be slotted into the pockets and can be used to teach colours and fruit names. The tree on the right can be used to tell a story.The doll’s hair can be untied and braided. Younger kids may find this challenging but will be good to teach little girls to braid hair. The shoes on the right is good for teaching pre-school kids to tie shoe laces!
We received a Super Fun Play Book during Christmas and it came at an appropriate time as a surprise gift for Master 5. You may think that my boy is overage for this book, but the moment it arrived at my doorstep, Missy 12 was the first to flip through the book and play around, brushing the doggie’s fur and moving every movable parts including the zip and hairbands. Well, even I find my itchy fingers pulling the shoelaces out and tying them back again. I think it is human nature to explore the book which is really meant for all these finger actions to train fine motor skills.
There are 12 pages of activities in this Play Book and each of them is equally engaging. This Play Book is meant to help develop fine motor skills, enhance hand dexterity and encourage creativity. There are many detachable pieces with velcro behind to allow the child to “paste” the pieces around and it could even be used to tell a story. Not only that, it is light weight, with a handle to carry around and it is great as a travel companion. The only downside is that you have to be careful not to lose the detachable pieces.
You will be pleased to know that the Super Fun Play Book has undergone stringent tests and conforms to the European standards of EN 71 (which is the safety requirements for toys, especially those sold in EU) as well as ISO 8124 (The requirements in ISO 8124-1:2014 apply to all toys, i.e. any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children under 14 years of age.).
I like the Vision of this company too. Yes, a Play Book company has a serious Vision as well!
” We are committed to the ethical sourcing of our material and work closely with handicraft producers and traditional master embroiderers to ensure that our products achieve the finest level of quality and workmanship. We cultivate and develop homegrown talents and skills of the underprivileged and promote their welfare by maintaining fair labour practices.”
The Super Fun Play Book has just got an award from Tillywig Toy Award too!
DISCOUNT CODE
The Play Book makes a great gift for birthday and special occasions. The cost of one Play Book is USD 58. Delivery is within days of purchase, good for last minute gift ideas! If you are planning to get one, please use the discount code below which is valid till 28 Feb 2017:
kidsrsimple
and you will get USD10 off the purchase at checkout!
There will be 2 ways to purchase online via the different links, mainly one in USD and one in SGD at local online retailer: SmartMama Price – USD58 before discount Owl Bliss LLP Price – SGD89 before discount
Disclaimer: This is a product review and we were given a Super Fun Play Book to share our play experience.
I used to print out photos and put into self adhesive photo albums and add in some keepsakes like the hospital delivery mum-and-child wrist-tags and ultrasound photos. It took a lot of time to develop the photos, arrange manually, and re-do the arrangement if I had missed a page or left with a couple of photos in the end not knowing what to do with them. The cost of developing photos and buying the albums were not cheap. And the albums are really bulky.
When I chanced upon PhotoBooks at a roadshow, the PhotoBook displays had me sold to the idea and since then, I have been developing PhotoBooks instead of doing up albums. The advantages of PhotoBooks are aplenty!
I used to print out photos and put into self adhesive photo albums and add in some keepsakes like the hospital delivery mum-and-child wrist-tags and ultrasound photos. It took a lot of time to develop the photos, arrange manually, and re-do the arrangement if I had missed a page or left with a couple of photos in the end not knowing what to do with them. The cost of developing photos and buying the albums were not cheap. And the albums are really bulky.
When I chanced upon PhotoBooks at a roadshow, the PhotoBook displays had me sold to the idea and since then, I have been developing PhotoBooks instead of doing up albums. The advantages of PhotoBooks are aplenty!
Advantages:
1) Arrangement of photos is easily done by clicking on the computer software.
2) No need to make multiple trips to the photo shop and Popular bookstore to buy albums.
3) I can shut off my computer if I am doing halfway without stacks of photographs lying around on the floor.
4) I can add interesting masks, decorations, cute pictures and nice texts on PhotoBooks.
5) PhotoBooks are slim and do not take up much space.
6) I can duplicate PhotoBooks and gift to parents and friends. I had duplicated 3 PhotoBooks as Christmas gifts to my parents and my in-laws for a common family trip. I find it a very meaningful gift especially when our parents usually do not print out photos on their own.
Adding Masks to one of the picturesAdding page layout to this page
The cost of PhotoBooks varies with different PhotoBook company. The earlier PhotoBooks that I had bought were pretty affordable. They had promotions and it worked out to be about $68 for a 40 page soft copy photobook. The app was user-friendly but the photo quality was not so good.
Then I had a chance to review Canon HD FotoJournal (PhotoBooks) and I must say that I am totally impressed with the quality of the prints and the quality of the pages! I am not saying that because this is a sponsored post, but it is every bit the truth!
I had done up 2 PhotoBooks from the Canon FotoJournal app. One is a square 10″ x 10″ Softcover PhotoBook and the other is a Landscape 8″ x 12″ Softcover PhotoBook. Even though it is stated as softcover, it is really a good quality hard cover!
For the square 10″ x 10″ PhotoBook, I use it to compile my Master 5’s birth to 4 yo photos. As it always happens when you have many kids, the first 2 kids’ albums were completed way before they reached 2 years old and my Master 5 only has his first one done up last month!
With the landscape 8″ x 12″ PhotoBook, I put together the photos from our Malaysia Road Trip that we went last June.
Steps in doing up a PhotoBook with Canon HD Fotojournal:
1. Choose a PhotoBook – visit Canon eshop to buy the PhotoBook size and type you like and you will receive an email from Fotohub that provides the voucher code for printing the PhotoBook.
2.Download PhotoBook software – download the FotoIdeas software
3. Create PhotoBook – There are many templates, layouts, masks, decorative stickers and etc to explore. You will be having fun exploring on each of them.
4. Choose and edit Photos first– Before importing photos into the software, I will choose the photos I want in a folder and edit them one by one. Canon software has simple editing functions too.
5. Install your favourite fonts– Ensure you have your favourite fonts downloaded in your computer so that you can use them on the PhotoBook.
6. Arrange Photos – Once photos are good to use, I will arrange the photos on the cover, on every page till the last back cover.
7. Decorate PhotoBook – When Layout of photos are done, I will then decorate each photo and each page.
8. Save– Do remember to save if you are leaving it halfway done to do other things.
9. Send for printing – Send to FotoOutlets or Foto Online and they will prompt you to enter the voucher code that you had previously received.
10. Check the preview– An email with a pdf preview will be sent to you to vet through your masterpiece and if you are satisfied, click “confirm” or if not click “disapprove”. I like this function as it will show you how the end product will look like. Done!
Be prepared to spend a few days working on one PhotoBook. It takes some effort and time to complete one but it is definitely worth it as you will be showing off the PhotoBook to friends and relatives and reminiscing the moments with your kids.
As compared to my earlier PhotoBooks, Canon HD Fotojournal definitely produces better quality pictures in high resolution. The pages are really thick! My old PhotoBooks have decent pages that are similar to those high quality brochures, but Canon’s pages are thicker than my old PhotoBooks’ soft cover pages! You can imagine that the so-called Canon softcover is actually more like a hard cover!
Look at the thick pages and the front and back covers!
Because of this, each page is also waterproof too. As we accidentally spilled some water on the pages, the water did not seep through. Each PhotoBook comes with a casing to protect the book. My old PhotoBooks only provided a transparent self adhesive wrapper.
The software is easy to use although I would love to have one preview button to preview my progress instead of waiting for the finalized preview version. The rest of the features are useful especially the layout function. When I find myself out of ideas, I would simply drag the photos I want on a page and drag the layout and drop on that page which will automatically arrange the photos in the chosen layout format.
With better quality pictures and pages, the price naturally is steeper than all my previous PhotoBook purchases. The price of the Square 10″ x 10″ is $125 and that of Landscape 8″ x 12″ is $75, both consist of 20 pages.
If you have never tried your hands on a PhotoBook, perhaps, you should really start one soon! Printing family and kids’ photos out onto a book is definitely a worthwhile activity to work on instead of keeping the photos in our hard disk. What’s more, it makes a really meaningful gift to loved ones 😃
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Canon. We were gifted vouchers for 2 PhotoBooks for the purpose of this review. I spent many late nights and early mornings to do up the PhotoBooks, so all opinions are definitely 100% mine 🙂
This year my Chinese New Year (CNY) preparation starts early. I have already bought all my clothes in one shop during the Christmas season sale. And I got a $100 voucher from the same store to shop for my kids’ clothes at another popular kids’ brand. I am almost done in new year clothes even before 1st day of 2017!
As for spring cleaning, I have started 2nd half of last year and I am pleased to declutter lots of stuff, donating clothes and toys, selling some big items on Carousell, gift hands-me-down to cousins and friends, and throwing off things that we will never touch and not good enough for others.
The next thing on my list will be on CNY decoration. We have the pussy willow on most years just like we have Christmas tree put up every year. This year, we will be getting a fresh flower floral display from Floral Garage. Since the flowers are fresh, we have made arrangement to have it deliver nearer CNY. I am really looking forward to receiving it! Fresh flowers for the New Year will certainly add a festive fresh breath to the house!
Below are some of the flowers that I find from Floral Garage that are quite suitable for Chinese New Year:
Floral Garage is an online florist that was set up only in 2015. What you can find in their online shop includes bouquets, flower arrangements for all occasions, hampers, party supplies for birthdays, weddings, tassels, garlands, etc.
They have recently launched their CNY hampers on their website on 9 Jan. There is a variety to choose from of different prices, such as Treasure Chest Hampers, Evergreen (Pyramid) Hampers, Mandarin Orange Hampers and Basket Hampers which includes flower arrangement. If you order before 25 January, you can enjoy storewide 20% off too! For corporate customers, if they register for free for their corporate accounts, they can have 11% off for all their staff.
LIFETIME STOREWIDE DISCOUNT CODE of 15%
Guys, if you are reading this, take this quote down and jot in your phone! This will save you some money for that special occasion!
Just quote:
christyXFG15
…………………………………………………………………….
GIVEAWAY OF A CNY HAMPER WORTH $128!!
Includes:
1 x New Moon Razor Clams 425 g
1 x New Moon Limpets 425 g
1 x New Moon Top Shell 312 g
1 x Hock Hua Dried Mushroom 250 g
1 x Ban Yuan Ginseng Jujube 180 g
CNY Artificial Flower and Decoration Packaging
Complimentary Card Note
Free Delivery
Floral Garage is giving one lucky reader The Imperial Treasure Premium CNY Hamper worth $128 which will be delivered to the doorstep!!
Steps to participate:
1) Leave a comment on the facebook post telling me one bonding activity that you do with your kids for CNY.
2) Tag 5 friends along with your comment.
3) Sign up to follow my blog via email, please refer to sidebar of blog page (on computer) or endbar (on mobile). Do remember to tell me in the facebook comments that you have done this step and your email address so that I can look out for it.
Giveaway ends on 19 January 2359 and will be announced on facebook and this post on 20 January.
Congratulations to Kristina Ongdee in winning this fabulous hamper from Floral Garage! The organizer shall be contacting you for the delivery of the hamper. Thank you everyone for participating! For those who did not win in this round, stay tune for the next giveaway! Happy New Year! 🙂
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. I am glad to be able to reward one of my lucky readers with a giveaway for CNY! Hope you are already preparing well for the festive day! 🙂
I started to do some serious typing, and realized that typing directly on the laptop is not as ergonomic as the laptop stand is made out to be. My arms are tilted upwards and I find my elbows hanging in the air while I type. Instead of having the ergonomic position of putting my arms parallel to the desk and type, I am hanging in mid-air to type. So for this, it was creating some shoulder pain after typing for some time.
There are many Ergonomic products out in the market. While I do not purposely choose Ergonomic school bags or buy Ergonomic writing desk, I do take care of my sitting posture, the eye level angle on the top of the screen, the distance of keyboard and how my arms are in parallel to the desk. After all, I am sitting down at my desk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week! Also, I had completed a Workplace Ergonomic Online Training at my workplace, so I am trying to remember to stretch and take my eyes off the screen every half an hour or so. Easier said than done though, but I am trying!
So with this chance of reviewing the ErgoSilver Laptop Stand at home, I am happy to accept the invitation to do a review. The frequent laptop user is really the hubby who reads Chinese stories online late into the night, follow by me who blogs in the wee hours of the night or morning and then my children who watch Tayo, The Little Bus, Pororo or China’s Voice on my laptop. It is important for them to place their eyes at a correct eye level so as not to strain their necks with their heads tilting forward. With every inch that your head is tilted forward, it adds a 4.5kg to the weight that your neck is holding up! The neck, head and shoulders are constantly pulling up your head. This muscle strain will produce lactic acid and will cause burning pain and cramping. So over time, shoulder ache will be experienced and a series of problems will come along.
The hubby and kids were the first to use the ErgoSilver Laptop Stand. They love it because it is portable. For the first few days, I had seen the laptop stand everywhere in the house. On the bed, on the dining table, on the coffee table and even in the toilet! We love the sleek design where you can hide the cables at the bottom or behind the stand. The weight of it is heavy enough to not topple over.
Then it was my turn to use the laptop stand for blogging. Initially, I loved that it raises the height of the laptop to my eye level. However, I wondered if placing on the work desk will be too high for the kids. Nevertheless, I always see them putting on a low table or the bed, so that level is comfortable for them while they lean back to watch their shows.
I started to do some serious typing, and realized that typing directly on the laptop is not as ergonomic as the laptop stand is made out to be. My arms are tilted upwards and I find my elbows hanging in the air while I type. Instead of having the ergonomic position of putting my arms parallel to the desk and type, I am hanging in mid-air to type. So for this, it was creating some shoulder pain after typing for some time.
Maneuvering the mouse was not so ergonomic too. I have to constantly bring my right arm down to the desk level to move the mouse around as opposed to the ergonomic position of placing the mouse at the same level as the keyboard with arms at 90 degrees to the position of the mouse. After some time, I gave up and decided that perhaps an external keyboard will be best suited for this laptop stand to achieve its purpose.
Having an external keyboard will be perfect for the best ergonomic position and the laptop stand’s design is good for putting a keyboard directly below the stand to save space too! It really is good in raising the laptop to the eye level.
Hence, if you are considering to purchase the ErgoSilver laptop stand, do check that you have an external keyboard to use with it.
As I am a lazy person and much prefer to carry my laptop around the house to work anywhere without lugging an external keyboard, I am happy to let the hubby and kids continue to use the ErgoSilver Laptop Stand instead.
When I gave my feedback to the ErgoSilver folks, they recommended the Laptop Riser for those who want to type on their laptop directly. This riser allows you to type on your original keyboard while raising the top of the screen to your eye level. As the screen is slanted backward, the riser does not need to be as high as the laptop stand itself. It is also extremely portable and lightweight so you can carry your laptop around.
For more information on ErgoSilver, you may visit their website here.
Disclaimer: I received the ErgoSilver Laptop Stand for the purpose of this honest review. As you can see that my review is not 100% positive, nevertheless the folks at ErgoSilver are open to my honest review even if it contains negative feedback! All opinions are purely my own and different people have different opinions. I am glad that the sponsor has a positive attitude towards receiving feedback from customers, regardless good or bad or like this one, publicized in a blog post 😃
There is one concert that you MUST bring your kids to watch and this is Ding Yi Music Company re-enacting the legend of Sisters’ Islands with the music collaboration of Sand Art and Javanese Dance performances! The performance includes multiple art forms – With music, sand art and javanese dance. It’s suitable for the whole family!
{Media Invite + Giveaway}
Ever since we were impressed by the successful performance of the Young People’s Concert by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra which incorporates the beauty of Pulau Ubin, we had total full confidence that music performance along the line of immersing in different forms of art, dance, nature and a story will captivate us alike.
There is one performance that you MUST bring your kids to watch and this is Ding Yi Music Company re-enacting the legend of Sisters’ Islands with the music collaboration of Sand Art and Javanese Dance performances! The performance which includes multiple art forms is suitable for the whole family! Yes, kids, adults and elders too!
Think of Ding Yi Music Company, the first Chinese chamber music ensemble in Singapore, with its distinctive approach to composing and interpreting a wide repertoire that ranges from traditional Chinese music to contemporary and even cross-genre works.
Think of Sand Art performance by the celebrated artist, Mr Lawrence Koh, an international sand art virtuoso and multi-disciplinary artist specialized in both visual and performing arts.
Think of a Javanese dance performance by Mr Garrett Kam, an accomplished performer and choreographer of classical Javanese dance in the Yogyakarta court style.
Think of the same great conductor, Mr Quek Ling Kiong, who is now my favourite conductor after seeing his friendly and creative engagement with the kids in the Young People’s concert. Mr Quek is currently an adjunct teacher at the Lasalle College of the Arts and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Music Director for Singapore Management University Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra and Conductor for Singapore most acclaimed Chinese Chamber ensemble the Ding Yi Music Company.
Think of all these put together, and I am already looking forward to how the performance will wow my kids and myself!
This performance is named as Of Music and Art: The Legend Retold, which aims to transport audience to the shores of Sisters’ Islands to relive the tale of the two fateful sisters.
I want to bring the kids to more of such performances to let them start appreciate orchestra, chinese instruments, chinese music, and at the same time enjoy the performance side of it.
There is only ONE performance, so hurry! Details as follows:
Date : 3 Dec, Sat Time : 7:30pm Duration : Approximately 1 hour, without intermission Venue : Esplanade Recital Studio Ticket price : $25
*There is also a workshop with limited seats available on 30 Nov, 3-5pm, with artists – Ding Yi musicians and Javanese dancer Garrett Kam (open to those who purchase 4 tickets and more). This workshop will bring participants through Javanese dance moves and its musical influences. Interested readers can drop an email at khaihong@anticsatplay.comfor more details.
GOOD NEWS IS I HAVE
5 PAIRS OF TICKETS
TO THIS PERFORMANCE!!!
How to enter this giveaway:
Tell me who you will bring to this performance in the comments in the facebook post.
Share the facebook post by tagging 3 friends.
Sign up for my blog post mailing list (See the subscribe button on the right of the blog page)
Giveaway will end by 18 Nov at 12noon. Winners will be announced on this post on 19 Nov.
Look at the thick pages and the front and back covers!
