Singapore Archives - Page 12 of 13

Rise and Shine Expo – 2 great workshops worth going to + Giveaway #01

In our family, we speak Chinese 90% of the time. As a result, our kids are strong in this language that many kids here are struggling with. However, in Singapore, we have to be bilingual and are taught English and Chinese since young. English, being our teaching medium, is extremely important in getting good grades in schools. Without a good English foundation, students will struggle to understand Mathematics problem sums and tackle English comprehension questions.

Recently, my 8 year old girl is losing marks in her test papers due to her weakness in the English language. She does not have full understanding of the questions. It is not easy to be equally good in 2 languages and I do empathize with her. I take a partial blame too that I do not speak much English at home. I always believe my kids can pick up English in school easily since they interact with mostly English-speaking classmates daily. I read to them since they were babies and am still reading to them. Perhaps they are not reading enough on their own. Despite being worried about their English standard, I have never regretted speaking Chinese primarily at home. I take pride that their Chinese is strong as Chinese is indeed a very difficult language to master. It is important to speak well since it is our Mother Tongue.

So, when I knew about a workshop where the famous speaker Dr Thomas Armstrong is going to share tips on teaching everything from phonics to reading comprehension using brain strategies, I was curious to find out if there are ways for me to help my girl with her comprehension skills. This workshop is held in conjunction with the Rise and Shine Expo which will span across 3 days of exciting kids’ activities, premium brands and workshops for parents from 27-29 Sept 2013. This speaker is an award winning author of “Nurturing Multiple Intelligences in Children”. I have extracted some details to this workshop here:

Workshop with Dr. Thomas Armstrong: The multiple intelligences of reading and writing: making the words come alive!

This workshop will show parents how to help children develop literacy skills by linking words to images, music, logic, emotions, physical expression, social context, oral language, and nature. Dr. Armstrong draws upon recent neuropsychological research in showing how reading and writing skills are whole brain activities, and he provides practical tips and suggestions for teaching everything from phonics to reading comprehension using whole brain strategies.

This workshop is for parents with children from 3 to 12 years old who want to lay strong foundation in their kids in reading and writing using the concept of multiple intelligences.

Speaker:
Dr Thomas Armstrong
Award Winning Author and Advocator of Nurturing Multiple Intelligences in Children

Dr Thomas Armstrong is the author of fifteen books including Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, In Their Own Way, Awakening Your Child’s Natural Genius, 7 Kinds of Smart,The Myth of the A.D.D. Child and Awakening Genius in the Classroom. His books have been translated into twenty-six languages. He has appeared on several national and international television and radio programs, including NBC’s ”The Today Show”, “CBS This Morning”, “CNN”, the “BBC” and “The Voice of America”. Articles featuring his work have appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, Investor’s Business Daily, Good Housekeeping, and hundreds of other newspapers and magazines around the country.

Date: Sat, 28 Sept
Time: 2.30pm – 4pm
Venue: Room 305, Suntec Convention Hall

To register for the workshop, please click here.

Price: $20

Early bird discount by 2 Sept: 10% off
Group booking: 3 or more in a group enjoy 50% off
PAssion Card holders: 1 for 1 signup (partner attends for free)

For more details on this Rise and Shine Expo, click here.

I would encourage those parents who are keen to help on their children’s language development to attend this workshop.

Being a Rise and Shine partner blogger, I am entitled to give away 5 pairs of tickets (worth $20 for each ticket) to my readers for this workshop. If you are interested to know how this workshop can benefit the reading and writing skills of your child, please do the following:

1) Like Kids R Simple and Rise and Shine facebook fan pages

2) Leave a comment below with your email address or on Kids R Simple facebook page (If you are not comfortable with leaving your email address, please message me via facebook)

3) The closing date for enrolment of giveaway is on 6 Sept 2013.

Good luck!

This is the first part of the Rise and Shine Expo Giveaways.

Stay tune for the second giveaway…

Experiencing the University Hostel Life

NUS Kent Ridge Hall in the old days
Photo: https://kentridge.nus.edu.sg

Last Monday morning, as I was walking to the MRT station, I was stopped by a young lady holding a can tin. A quick look at what’s written on the tin, I saw the word “NUSSU flag day 2013”. Ooh.. So this is my alma mater having its annual Rag and Flag event at the start of its varsity year. Without hesitation, I put in whatever coins I had and got a sticker for my donation. I asked the young lady if she was a freshee (a term for freshman) and asked which hall of residence she came from. Her reply, “Sheares” came with a smile as she must have gathered I was an “oldie” senior from the familiar terms I used. I always enjoy meeting these freshees from NUS (National University of Singapore). It reminds me of the exciting and vibrant life I had in those varsity days.

In the university days, I stayed in the Kent Ridge Hall (short for Hall of Residence, which is a student hostel). Hall days were busy, happening and fully packed with Hall activities. It was a big contrast compared to those student days in formal schools prior to varsity entry. Living away from home does give you a sense of freedom to do whatever you like and have a chaotic lifestyle.

800px-NUS__Ridge_View_Residences_4__Nov_06 — NUS Kent Ridge Hall among the beautiful greenery
Photo: https://kentridge.nus.edu.sg

Staying in the Hall, you have to be really involved in the Hall activities to be really experiencing the exciting Hall life. Just staying in your room and going to lectures and tutorials and back to your room to study and sleep aren’t going to let you make more friends and enable you to discover yourself.

I was active in my Hall. I took part in Rag and Flag day as part of the freshman orientation. We had to build a large float out of various materials by hand for the rag part and asked for donations to welfare beneficiaries on the flag day. I was part of the rag dance too.
All of us were encouraged to join inter-Hall and even inter-block competitions. Each Hall had about 5-6 blocks of residence. I played Netball, Handball, Hockey, Basketball, joined Cheerleading team, volunteered at NUH (National University Hospital), was in block committee, joined lantern festival performance and others that I couldn’t remember. We had many committee meetings that continued late into the night. Some meetings were even scheduled at 12am and they were the norm!

By the time you read here, you must be wondering where’s the time for study? Ha! That’s the interesting part of staying in the Hall. As most activities started in the evening time, many of us studied hard and studied smart in the day. Since time was limited, you just had to be focused and be as efficient as possible when you attend tutorials and lectures. During examination period, Hall activities were minimal, allowing hostel students to concentrate and prepare for the papers.

I had fellow peers who played hard and studied hard. I had peers who skipped tutorial classes and slept in lecture halls too. Most of us survived alright and some even made it to the Dean’s list!

If anyone were to ask how were my University days, it would always bring back Hall days memories and not much on the academic part. I learnt many things in what I could not have if I did not stay in the Hall and opted for the comfort of my home. Learning to stay away from home for the very first time of my 19 years of life was interesting, exciting yet needed much discipline. I missed home terribly and looked forward to Friday nights to return home, and dreaded going back to my Hall on Sunday nights. However, there was much learning that overrided the cons. I learnt to manage my time well in order to juggle my studies and Hall activities. I learnt that efficient meetings were essential as time was too precious to waste. There were many international students and I learnt to get along with them, accepting differences among us. I got to know many wonderful seniors who were really helpful in guiding me along in relationships, peer pressure, academic, to state a few. These seniors were selfless in imparting knowledge and advice. With the countless involvement in activities, we picked up skills and essentials of EQ through getting along with peers, sportsmanship and teamwork.

In Hall days, we had endless block parties, competitions, make-shift stage concerts, as well as performances. We had great fun cooking together, training hard for sports, rehearsing for cheers and dance and had good laugh over humorous skits put up by people whom we never knew had such talent!

Many relationships began in the Hall. We heard of so many love stories, romantic and lousy ones. In my block, we knew of the “time of the day” when loud music would be played for a good 20 minutes and had good guesses of what went on in these rooms. Some didn’t even bother playing loud music nor off the lights, while the rest of us enjoyed a good show after dinner from the opposite block. There were some peers who played so hard, partied late into the night, took part furiously in all kinds of activities, and forgot why they were there. Of course, many great friendships were fostered as we passed each other by along the corridor, chatted in the laundry room with each tugging our laundry basket, getting to know more about the neighbours as we ate together in the common hall, and found like-minded friends when we went together for late night suppers. Those were the carefree varsity Hall days.

For friends and worried mums who always asked me about the decision to stay in the University hostel, I would say the experience is valuable and hard to replicate elsewhere if you pass this stage. It’s the best age to enjoy company of similar age peers, best time to try out all kinds of activities, best experience to party hard and study hard and best way to discover yourself! There was definitely no regrets for me. I will be full of support if my children were to ask for my opinions to stay in a University hostel come 10+ years from now. Wow! And that sounds pretty soon!

Have you stayed in a student hostel before? Share with me your experience!

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Singapore celebrates her 48th birthday on 9 August. Every August is a full month of celebration for Singapore’s Birthday. Everywhere is full of buzz and almost everything is themed in red and white which are the colours on the nation’s flag. You can see banners on the streets wishing Singapore a happy birthday. We have Singapore flags that line along the roads and flags that are hung outside many household units. TV commercials play Singapore National Day songs. Shopping malls are full of sales to ride on the celebration mood. In schools, the students are taught national day songs and art lessons topic revolves around the Singapore birthday theme too.

My girl, XX and boy, YH are also much caught up in the nation’s birthday celebration mood. And it’s no wonder! How can anyone not be? Here are their “masterpieces” dedicating to our dear nation.

I am very happy that my kids take an interest in the nation’s celebration. Patriotism is built from young. Although Singapore is a young nation and yet to have a rich history and deep culture, it had come a long way of nation building. Being a Singaporean, I am proud of the Singapore story. No matter what may come in the future as my kids grow up in a globalized world, I would wish that they will be proud to be the true born and bred Singaporeans, and proud to call Singapore their HOME.

Baby YT waving the Singapore flag excitedly!

Happy Birthday Singapore!!

Celebrating Singapore National Day on Baby Day Out

Singapore is celebrating her 48th birthday on 9 August come Friday. It’s the first time baby YT is celebrating National Day. When I came to know NTUC U Family is organizing a Baby Day Out @ The Lawn to celebrate the nation’s birthday, I signed up for it without hesitation.

On 3 August, we planned the day to be a national education for our little ones. We started with going on the Singapore River Taxi Cruise which is in fact a boat ride, to bring us on the Singapore River tour around the must-see landmarks in Singapore. XX exclaimed it’s the first time she’s on a boat. I smiled and reminded her first boat ride was in Sydney when she was barely 3. Hmm… Maybe it’s not such a good idea to bring kids overseas when they’re too young. They cannot remember much except for the memories on an album.

The boat ride started at Clarke Quay “jetty”. Clarke Quay is a beautiful and happening day and night entertainment hotspot with many restaurants and pubs lining along the Singapore River. In the early days where the Singapore River was the centre of trade, it was a place where the commercial took place at the Boat Quay and goods transferred upstream to Clarke Quay. Thanks to the Singapore government revamp of Clarke Quay from 1977 to 1987, you can now get a beautiful river view with Singapore’s night lights in the background as you wine and dine with your friends and family along the river bank.

The cruise ride went on to Boat Quay which is right at the heart of our CBD (Central Business District). Boat Quay was a place of early Chinese settlement designated by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1822. It then flourished into an important trading area on the north bank where the Europeans had their offices, houses and government buildings. I love the sky scrapers that spruced up along the side of the river bank, the old parliament house and the historical suspension bridge, the Cavenagh Bridge. Over here, restaurants and pubs line the river bank too.

Next, we cruised on to the Marina Bay area. There, you can have a magnificent view of Marina Bay Sands, Singapore’s famous iconic hotel and casino. As that day was the final full-dress rehearsal of the National Day parade, we had an eye feast of the air show of helicopters and fighter planes as they zoomed past us overhead as our boat passed by the parade area. We could see a sea of red and white donning spectators (the Singapore flag is in red and white) as they cheered on the parade, waving the little national flags excitedly.

The taxi ride would have continued on to the Merlion Park, but we alighted at Fullerton as we were going to our Baby Day Out event. For more information on the Singapore River Taxi Cruise, visit here.

When we arrived at The Lawn, many people were already relaxing on the orange picnic mats sponsored by NTUC U Family. There were many games booths for the little ones as well as stage activities. I contemplated enrolling a baby race for Baby YT, but decided against it as kel reminded me that while YT can perform a perfect commando crawl on the stomach, it’s no speed compared to the real baby crawl on all fours with bottoms up. Alright, we’ll not subject him to stress competition. Instead, kel and I splitted to join the snake queues for the kids’ games.

Here's the keychains with the Singapore flag! — Here’s the keychains with the Singapore flag!

We were just in time when the emcee on stage asked everyone to rise up for the National Anthem “Majulah Singapura”. Everyone stood up and we all sang the National Anthem loudly. YH could not sing very well as he is still in pre-school which does not require them to sing daily. XX, however, sings the National Anthem everyday in her Primary School. Of course, kel and I were proud to sing the National Anthem too. After that, we recited the Singapore Pledge. I do not think any true born and bred Singaporeans will ever forget The Pledge. We are so familiar with The Pledge, I think we can recite it in our sleep.

We are proud to be Singaporeans! Here we are, reciting The Pledge!

Throughout the event, we could hear the actual preview of the National Day Parade opposite us on the Floating Platform. We sang along to the national day favourite songs, “Stand up for Singapore“, “Count on me Singapore“, “We are Singapore“, and “One People, One Nation, One Singapore“. I told XX that the first time these songs were sung, I was about her age, 8 years old. Till now, Kel and I could sing these songs without missing a beat. Those were the days where the composers wrote spectacular national day songs that lasted for generations.

YH with his toothless grin holding the Singapore flag. This photo is taken with my antique flashless Galaxy S1, hence it’s a bit dark.

At exactly 815pm, we were treated with a spectacular fireworks show right in front of our eyes as we relaxed on our picnic mats. Baby YT was woken up by the loud fireworks and despite my hand over his chest, whispering to pre-warn him, he still cried. Well, it’s expected and worth remembrance for his first fireworks show. Everything is always a first for Baby YT. Meanwhile, XX and YH were ecstatic and jumped up and down and clapped happily when they could make out the crescent, the stars, the heart-shapes, even mushrooms in the fireworks display. The fireworks lasted about 10+ minutes with a medley of national day songs including Stephanie Sun’s “We will get there” and then the finale came with a non-stop burst of fireworks lasting almost a minute to the song of favourite Kit Chan’s “Home“.

XX and YH enjoying their picnic while waiting for the fireworks.

We enjoyed ourselves very much at the Baby Day Out, in particular, the fireworks. As we walked to the train station, we sang along to the song of “Count on me Singapore” once more, together with all the spectators leaving the event. It always touches me to hear Singaporeans sing the national day songs in unison. Next year, I promised XX and YH that we shall try our luck to get the National Day Parade tickets. Watching live parade is unforgettable. It’s bound to set off the patriotic spirit in all of us and reach a high on our love for Singapore!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Majestic – Boat Quay by Manita Goh (500px.com)

I remember the day my son got lost: Weekly Writing Challenge

I remember the day when my son, YH was lost in the shopping mall. It was a frantic search for him. He was only 1+ years old then.

We went to an arcade (an entertainment centre) in a shopping mall. My girl, XX, 3 years old then, was playing at some kiddie station. YH was stomping on some step-on-the-buttons station a metre away. We have 6 adults, kel, me and the 4 grandparents around these 2 toddlers. The adults were chatting away while keeping 12 EYES on the kids. The arcade was noisy as usual, a mix of lousy orchestra playing game station music. The little ones were having great fun hitting buttons and stepping on gears away with no tokens being deposited into the machines.

YH was walking about and running his unsteady steps from one station to the next. Everything seemed normal till I suddenly realized that in my sight radar, there was only one toddler moving about. Where’s the other one??

For what seemed like 5 hours, the next 5 seconds were a frantic scatter of all of us searching for YH. My first thought was to run to the main entrance of the arcade in case he ran out. But my worse fear was him being kidnapped by somebody. I imagined a man carrying him with one hand over his mouth while my boy struggled and cried. This thought made me crazy! Then, alas, kel came looking for me 5 minutes later, and told me YH was checking out some station behind a drop down curtain! Whew! I let out a sigh of relief! If you ever have such experience of finding your child lost, you would have been able to imagine my roller coaster emotions! Hearing the good news, I ran back to my dear boy and hugged him tightly. I fought back my tears.

The whole episode was only about 5 minutes but it could have been forever if he was really kidnapped away! Having many people around with 12 eyes on the kids is not as safe as you think it to be. I would have thought you are looking after the kids and you would have thought I am looking after them. In the end, nobody is actually paying attention to the kids’ whereabouts! This incident took place in our home country, Singapore which is one of the safest country in the world. Yet, as parents, we cannot let our guards down when it comes to kids’ safety. Even till now, YH who is already 6 years old, still wanders off in the crowd. It always drives me crazy to search for him. XX will always tell us where she is going if she is going to be out of sight from us. Boys being boys, will always need that extra attention, but I will not let my guard down for my girl too.

Have you ever encountered such a frantic experience of searching for your kids? Share with me!

This post is written in response to Weekly Writing Challenge: I Remember

Check out other great posts here:

Related articles