Giveaway – The Three Billy Goats Gruff《三只山羊》!

If you have watched the English interpretation of The Three Billy Goats Gruff last year and loved it, this will be one for the calendar in 2016! The Little Company (TLC) kicks off this year’s lineup with the Mandarin interpretation of hugely successful English production of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

If you have read my previous post on TLC, to date, my personal favourite is Mandarin version of The Three Little Pigs in 2013 and it still is! And with TLC doing 1 or 2 Mandarin productions in a year and continued emphasis of bilingualism and the importance of Mandarin, if one has to pick and choose which shows to attend , this is a clear favourite. The Three Billy Goats Gruff《三只山羊》is adapted in Chinese by Danny Yeo who also did The Three Little Pigs’ adaptation in Chinese! Will it be my new favourite? Even I am totally looking forward to this!

Just a list of the TLC’s productions this year (start planning your kids’ theatre calendar this year!)
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Mandarin)

18 Feb – 25 Mar 2016

Recommended ages: 5 – 12 year-olds

Hanuman

1 Apr – 30 Apr 2016

Recommended ages: 7 – 12 year-olds

The Three Little Pigs

11 Aug – 25 Sep 2016

Recommended ages: 2 – 6 year-olds

Charlotte’s Web

28 Oct – 11 Dec 2016

Recommended ages: 5 years and above

The Three Billy Goats Gruff 《三只山羊》 (羊老大、羊小二,小咩咩) are a close-knit bunch who graze happily together with their caretaker, Little Bo Frilly. The goats were faced with a horrible drought and they started to run out of food. So they made a decision to cross the bridge to the other side of the valley in search for food. At the bridge, lies a frightening troll that loves to feast on goats (given my experience from the English productions, some younger kids are afraid of the troll, hence, you may want to abide by the recommended ages or not sit so close to the stage)

Not forgetting what TLC does best, are the many catching songs that accompany the production. I do hope that TLC volume 3 will come out soon to incorporate the songs from the 2015 and 2016 productions. I would love to have the songs played in my car to sing with my kids after watching the productions !

A well known fairy tale where most kids already know the story line, so for many young kids who are weak in Mandarin (my kids included), they will be able to follow the storyline even though it is told in Mandarin and still enjoy themselves as well (instead of being “lost in translation”)

The Three Billy Goats Gruff《三只山羊》 will be staged from 18 February to 26 March 2016 at KC Arts Centre – Home of Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) (previously known as the DBS Arts Centre )

The Little Company’s The Three Billy Goats Gruff《三只山羊》

Thursday 18 February to Saturday 26 March 2016
Mondays to Fridays: 10am
Sat: 11am and 2pm (note there are no shows on Sunday)
Venue: KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT

Recommended for children age 5 and up.

Tickets priced from SGD25 and up are available from SISTIC Agent (list of agents), through Sistic Hotline (Tel: 6348 5555) SISTIC Mobile App or SISTIC Website. For information on applicable discounts: visit this website.

Hence to kick start my blog as well for 2016, GIVEAWAY of a Family Package of 4 Category One Tickets (worth SGD129) to watch ’The Three Billy Goats Gruff《三只山羊》’ on Sat, 20 February 2016, 2 pm.

1. Liked mypreciouzkids.com on Facebook

2. Liked Singapore Repertory Theatre on Facebook

3. Liked, shared and tag 5 friends who are new to mypreciouzkids using this Facebook post. Pls comment “done” on the same post for my easy tracking. Do set your post to PUBLIC so that I can verify your entry. Entries that are not shared publicly will be disqualified.

I will be picking the lucky winner using random.org . The giveaway closes on 17 Jan 2016, 2359pm (SUN).

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Giveaway & Review – introduce science fun to the very young by The Young Scientists and Junior Young Scientists

Truth to be told, I have not heard of these range of very informative and colourful science magazine until a mummy friend told me that there are science magazines locally published which cater to kids as young as 4 years old. And you can get it from Popular book store or at Popular fair…ok I should start spending more time at Popular and its book fair..but science for a 4 year old…is it abit too young?? Would they be able to understand?? I was quite skeptical until I saw the magazines myself.

Science is a subject only taught from p3 onwards (not even p1) and it is definitely not the easiest subject to be taught(IMHO) (more so for parents to teach science in a home setting but it is the most interesting subject for me in school. Frankly thus far, I have been “reinforcing” the core subjects -English, Math, Chinese especially for the p1 going boy as I refused to believe in p1 preparatory classes (on hindsight maybe I should have outsource it given that the 2 younger ones are seeking more attention from me). Science is often an after thought as it is not a subject for the first 2 years of primary school (still have time kind of mentality). However, science can be a very interesting subject especially for kids who are not so much into languages. And any early exposure can only do a whole world of good!

Young Scientists Pte Ltd (the publisher of the magazines that I will be reviewing) is the pioneer in creative publication of science in comics style. Through this style of magazine (comic strips), it hopes to stimulate young children’s interest in science. The magazines are currently being distributed in Singapore, Malaysia, HK and India.

Junior Young Scientist is meant for kids age 4 to 7 years old and The Young Scientist is for p1 and above. The Young Scientist is divided into different levels , Level 1 for p1 and p2, Level 2 for p3 and p4 , Level 3 for p5 and p6 and Level 4 for lower secondary. I will only focus this review on the Junior Young Scientists and The Young Scientists level 1 as they are suitable for J and C.

Junior Young Scientists is recommended for kids from age 4 to 7. It comes in a pack of 5 issues. All the various packs and edition for this series, you can find it here.

Each magazine has 3 stories and each story comes with a page of pre-story to introduce the content of the story.

The magazine boast big texts and colourful illustration which captures young kids’ attention easily. It is done like a comic strips with speech bubbles and makes me realise I seldom have such book of such nature (ok my kids do not own any comic books) And these magazines are the best kind of comic books that I can introduce to my kids. In between story time section, there are also game time which has activities such as colouring, matching, maze, etc before proceeding to another story. Each issue has a good amount of information through its story and interesting facts which are simple to understand for the age group from 4 to 7 years old. Nothing too “chim” and general knowledge on plants, animals, weathers, body parts can be easily introduce to the kids at a young age. I wish I know of these series when J was younger! One can use these short stories as bed time stories as well as it is not too lengthy nor wordy. It is also good for role playing for kids who can read to promote parent and child bonding.

However, I did find it a tad too simple for J who is 6 plus year especially the activity pages which are more suited for C. Nevertheless there are some information that are new even to J like meat eating plants like the pitcher plants etc. For now, J reading mainly from The Young Scientists level 1 while the Junior Young Scientists issues “belong” to C.

The Young Scientists (Level 1) structure is different from the simple structure of the Junior version. It comes in a pack of 10 issues. All the various packs and edition for this series, you can find it here. It covers a diverse range of information using comic to let readers absorb new and fun facts. There are many little facts at the bottom of the page to enforce the information on the comic strips. Besides that, they also point the parents to information on the youtube that can reinforce the learning. Unlike the Junior version, there is no activity pages. But for a 40 plus page magazine, every issue is packed with a whole lot of information. Very compact and easy to understand especially for information that J is not familiar with. However, I do wish there are some activities like crossword puzzles, filling of blanks to reinforce what has been read.

The Junior Young Scientists are priced at SGD 20 per pack which contains 5 issues while the Young Scientists are priced at SGD 55 per pack which contains 10 issue. Do check their website as they have promotions and currently the 2015 collector’s set are at 15% discount.

You can also purchase at all Popular or MPH bookstores.

You can actually keep the magazines (just like story books) for the younger kids in future. It is not like your typical magazines where you read and probably will recycle/throw. It is more like a book which can be passed on to the younger siblings or friends with younger kids. I am sure in time to come my home will have many issues of both the Junior Young Scientists and The Young Scientists. You can also start an annual subscription for 2016 issue through the website as well. There will be a total of 10 magazines which means 1 magazine delivered monthly from January’16 (#153) till October’16 (#162) 2015 (10 issues) at SGD 55. Not sure about your kids but my older ones love receiving mails in their name.

The publisher has kindly provided me 1 set of Junior Young Scientists and 1 set of The Young Scientists to be given away to my readers. I hope your kids will like the magazines as much as my kids. The usual drills of my giveaway……

1. Liked mypreciouzkids.com on Facebook

2. Liked The Young Scientists on Facebook

3. Liked, shared and tag 5 friends who are new to mypreciouzkids using this Facebook post. Pls comment “done”on the same post for my easy tracking. Do set your post to PUBLIC so that I can verify your entry. Entries that are not shared publicly will be disqualified. Please state which set you prefer.

I will be picking the lucky winners using random.org . The giveaway closes on 29 November 2015, 2359pm (SUN).

Disclosure: I received a set of Junior Young Scientists and The Young Scientists for the purposes of my review. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

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Giveaway – Treasure Island by Singapore Repertory Theatre

I am a big fan of Singapore’s local productions of children’s theatre in particular SRT’s The Little Company (“TLC”). I started patronising TLC since 2011 when J was just over 2 years of age and our first very show was Jack and the Beanstalk and my personal favourite is the Chinese productions of The Three Little Pigs in 2013, I was totally mesmerised by the charisma of the “wolf”.

Besides being competitively priced, I preferred local productions as they have a local twist to their interpretations and we do have many very talented local actors and actresses in Singapore. And they have many catchy songs which they have complied into CD which can be purchased at DBS Arts Centre!

We have watched many productions from TLC be it English and Chinese and they never disappoint. They are entertaining , comical and I being an adult also will not stop humming the songs after the show so I really enjoy having the TLC CD Vol 2 in my car player.

For their final production this year , it’s the adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island .

Treasure Island’ follows the adventure of Jim Hawkins, a lion-hearted 13-year-old girl who receives a treasure map from a kooky old seaman. Jim is tasked to help find the hidden treasure, but the road to riches is never smooth sailing. In the original story, Jim is a boy but TLC’s interpretation of Jim as a girl proved that there is no feat to great for boys or girls.

I can’t wait to go on a theatre adventure with J , especially for a treat for him before he embarks on his formal schooling next year!

photo credit: Singapore Repertory Theatre

‘Treasure Island’ will be staged from 30 October to 13 December 2015 at DBS Arts Centre – Home of Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT).

The Little Company’s Treasure Island

Friday 30 October to Sunday 13 December 2015
Mondays to Fridays: 10am
Tue (10 Nov): 11am
Sat & Sun : 11am and 2.30pm
Venue: DBS Arts Centre – Home of SRT

Recommended for children age 5 and up.

Tickets priced from SGD32 and up are available from SISTIC Agent (list of agents), through Sistic Hotline (Tel: 6348 5555) SISTIC Mobile App or SISTIC Website. For information on applicable discounts: visit this website.

And for the biggest giveaway on my blog, a Family Package of 4 Category One Tickets (worth SGD153) to watch ’Treasure Island’ on Sat, 21 Nov 2015, 11a.m.

1. Liked mypreciouzkids.com on Facebook

2. Liked Singapore Repertory Theatre on Facebook

I will be picking the lucky winner using random.org . The giveaway closes on 15 Nov 2015, 2359pm (SUN).

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Review & Giveaway -small in size, but BIG in FUN at Little Planet Playland

Mypreciouzkids have probably been to almost ALL the playgyms in Singapore, …you name it , they have properly gone there…Amazonia, Kids Amaze, Happy Willow, Petite Park, Hokey Pokey, Polliwogs, Fidgets, Go-go bambini, Cool-de-sac, the defunct Peek-A-Boo (this is one of the few closures of recent years and a personal favourite of mine as all my kids goes there when they turned 6 months old, its like a rite of passage for me as it was the first ever gym I had ever visited with my first born, and now baby C wouldn’t be able to go as it has closed down), etc.

I generally do not like to “indulge” them in indoor gyms, so they only get to do if its a birthday party celebrations or if its their birthday itself and outdoor activities are not ideal due to rain or haze. As a mummy, I preferred that we visit a museum (because its free and airconditioned) to any random play gym as it is not cheap bringing 3 kids and me having to crawl up as my 2 year old need some watching over still. So a playgym is not my preferred choice.

So I decided that children’s day was the perfect day to indulge them. Their child care was closed the day prior to children’s day and given the haze situation was still uncertain, I decided that visiting an fully air-conditioned play gym will be the safest bet!

The Little Planet Playland (“LPP) is the latest playgym in the saturated but lucrative Singapore market. It caught my eye as it is not the same as the typically run of the mill playgym. Not quite Hokey Pokey (there isn’t a single ball pit at LPP), not quite The City (too job-centric pretend play), not quite Royce Kids Gym (there isn’t abundance of toys), not quite Cool-de-sac (I get quite lost in their focus) …Let me introduce you to the different sections of LPP. The playgym isn’t big, sort of the kind where you see it all , which is good if you have a toddler which you need to have a watchful eye over (and on lazy mummy days which you just want to sit and relax at a corner), but there are many interesting sections which sustained their interest for hours (quite unlike all the other gyms that I have visited with my kids for the past 5 years!)

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the farm & garden

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kitchen/cooking

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bakery/market place

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castle/throne (there is a castle playground , not in pic)

fishing/sea

Mypreciouzkids were greeted by a colourful rainbow and balloons at the entrance which can be usedd for group photo taking when you have parties etc. As the kids were fooling around in the box/basket, C accidentally knock on a piece of the “wall”, and we discover that it was like a tiny trap door that links to the party room! That was a pleasant surprise to little party goers and definitely the birthday kid!

The first section that caught their eyes was the garden patch! It is filled with cassia seeds which I found out that it is safe if accidentally swallowed. You can “plant” root vegetable in this section or over at the farm area. The farm area is complete with the cutest wheelbarrow and hoe. This is the first time mypreciouzkids did pretend play in this manner ie farmer/gardener. And small J was most happy scooping and pouring the cassia seeds.

The next section that J and C ventured to was the castle area complete with a castle mini playground and 2 royal thrones with some costumes. C was donning two of her favourite costumes throughout our almost 3 hours play there!

The section they didn’t really spend much time as the kitchen area, probably stemming from the fact, we have something similar at home.

Then they also love the fishing area, with the cutest Melissa & Doug fishing rod with magnets at the ends and fishes and sea creatures all over the “sea”. They even have baskets to contain their catch!

And these is the part they looovvvvveeeee the most!

The marketplace and bakery section! The closest thing we have to the marketplace is the super market at The City or Kidstop (which is bigger complete with cashier etc). My only wish is that there is check out counter with bags etc to make the overall buying/marketing experience more real! The market comes complete with the Melissa & Doug trolley and very real fruits, vegetables, seafood , while the bakery has little trays and tongs just perfect for little hands (great for motor skills as well). The marketplace is great for small J going through the all the types of fruits and vegetables there just like what we do when we go grocery shopping at NTUC!

And small J’s favourite is the bakery, he played there the longest. Using the tongs, he tried to pick up a variety of bread and cakes and then sorting it back to its original rack. Sometimes, attempting to eat it or feeding me as well.

Check out how real the bread is! Small J almost had a bite until I had to quickly stop him…he even attempted to “eat” the sprinkles off the swiss roll!

If you are ever in Orchard, needing to put the kids somewhere while you shop, do drop by for a visit!

LITTLE PLANET PLAYLAND

176 Orchard Road, #02-21
The Centrepoint
Singapore 238843

Telephone: +65 6268 6595

Fax: +65 6268 6596

Email: contact@littleplanet.com.sg

Sunday to Friday: 10am – 7pm
Saturday & Public Holidays: 10am – 8pm

WEEKDAYS:

$25 per child (>1 year old) for unlimited play
Free entry for children <1 year old

WEEKENDS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:

$25 per child (>1 year old) for 2 hour play
Free entry for children <1 year old

You can also check out their party packages here

LPP is also currently having a fantastic promotion on their membership package which is currently at a 20% off discount which works out to be $200 for 12 play sessions, which is about $16.60 per session (vs $25). This is great savings especially for parents like me who have many kids!

IMHO, I really think that this place is perfect for birthday parties for young kids from age 1 to 3 and their older siblings so long they are below 7/8 years old. My 6 year old does enjoy his time doing a lot of pretend play and playing with his siblings.

And Jane, the lovely owner behind LPP has kindly sponsored 3 gym passes to 3 very lucky kids to become a farmer, gardener, cook, fisherman, knight/princess, etc all in 1 visit!

1. Liked mypreciouzkids.com on Facebook

2. Liked Little Planet Playland on Facebook

I will be picking the 3 winners using random.org . The giveaway closes on 25 Oct 2015, 2359pm (SUN).

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored review. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

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Review & Giveaway – personalised labels from Muakids

I have never used iron-on labels before…yes, like never ..and my eldest will be graduating from preschool in 3 months time. I don’t know how I manage to survive preschool years without iron on labels but i did. The idea of having to iron and hoping that the labels stayed on for a long time doesn’t seem something easy to me. Instead, I decided to do the easy way (which is actually harder on benefit of hindsight), I sewn some markings on the collar of my pre-schoolers’ uniform. I am really thankful that the teachers at the child care have put up with me for so many years, sewing some “symbols” on their uniforms. Frankly, who can decipher any of the symbols? …and to sew all 9 characters of my girl’s name is not something that i want to endeavour as well.

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sewn “symbols”

Then came the pretty labels from Muakids. I met Jocelyn at a Sassymama monthly gathering function and she even gave sample labels to all attendees. At the same time, I was looking for labels for my p1 going son and I saw how pretty the labels were . She created Muakids (Muak is the sound you make when you kiss somebody. Muakids can infer as Muaking our kids) after she started creating labels for her eldest child and had not look back ever since. Muakids stickers can be applied to almost anything as they are Waterproof, Tearproof and Weatherproof. I did do a quick check on the markets of the pricing for such labels, and Muakids pricing are one of the most competitive in Singapore especially if you are getting the value packs.

I received a mixture of labels from iron on labels, skinny labels , deluxe labels, dot labels, shoe labels and bag tags from the Jocelyn for my primary 1 going son and my preschoolers. For some one as clueless as me as to what labels you need for primary 1, just choose the school pack under the value pack category. It will pretty much give you a mixture of labels of different sizes good for primary 1.

lovely labels and bag tags from Muakids

Before creating the sticker labels , we will have to select the design on their website. This is a pretty straightforward process. I just ask my kids which colour and icon they prefer, as the font I will choose for them! So the kids were pretty excited to see the labels in the colour and icon that they have chosen when it arrived at my home!

And there is free delivery for every order irregardless of total order value!

Iron on labels

I was most excited to try on the iron on labels first. I bet that my child care teachers will finally be relieved of the guessing work from my style of “labelling”. With a set of instruction and a spare baking paper as part of the iron on labels pack, I tried on the preschoolers uniform. well, it is pretty easy actually. It actually fast as well. Ok its not rocket science after all….

iron once so that surface is flat and without any crease
place iron on label face up
place baking paper
iron for a good 30 second
remove baking paper after iron on label has cooled down

Let me show you the before and after photos of my pre-schoolers uniforms and iron on labels are really the way to replace conventional label by sewing! The uniforms are been given new lease of life! The best part, my kids were so happy seeing their names on their uniforms and are very happy donning their “new” uniforms.

After being more skilled in doing the iron on labels on the old preschooler uniforms (must test run a few times in case I burn the new school uniforms), I dared to try on my son’s new crisp uniform and PE shorts. I had the uniforms purchased ahead of schedule because I heard there is a snaking queue to buy uniform on the designated day. I rather purchased the uniforms at my leisure and try the sizes under no time pressure etc. (some mummies say its too early to buy as there is a few more months to go, but for me my son has been wearing the same childcare uniform from N2 to K2..I dont think 3 month will make any difference) So I got them from the uniform supplier directly, but I realise that I couldn’t buy the PE shirt (I couldn’t purchase the PE shirt yet as my son has not been given the house colour) . Nevertheless, I did let J tried the sizes so i can just purchase the PE shirts without trying once i received the designated house colour on orientation day. I feel so much satisfaction from labeling J’s new uniforms that I cant wait for the school term to start! And all it took was like 30 seconds per each label, that is definitely faster than i can ever sew 1 “symbol” previously.

Bag tags

I am sure there are kids who carries the exact same model and colour bag as J. So with a bag tag, J can clearly differentiate his bag from the rest. If you have missed the review of the ergonomic school back pack from IMPACT, you can read it from this post. I am actually worried that J is so careless and nonchalant about his belonging that he brings the wrong bag home.It is no longer child care days where teachers will take care of the items for the kids etc.

Shoe labels

I always admired the memory capability of preschool teachers and the assistants/aunties.They know which shoes are for which kids especially the younger ones who cant really talk etc. But with the shoe labels, there is no guessing work needed and my kids loves seeing their names everywhere on their belongings. Perhaps with labeling, they will be more protective of their own belongings (my wishful thinking for now). Please note every shoe label come with a clear protective stickers to further protect the shoe labels ( i nearly threw it away unknowingly).

And for all the other labels , you can pretty much label anything you (your kid) fancy……water bottles, books, pencil case (even pencils using skinny labels), snack containers, lunch boxes,

And I am saving most of J’s labels for his primary school’s textbooks and stationery. On the same note, there will be a Popular book sales in early December for you ( I will shared it my FB page) to stock up on stationery in preparation for p1 and extras in the events the kiddo loses most of it in the early months.

And here something I am thinking of getting in the future, multipurpose labels for labeling birthday goodie packs or even teachers’ day gift! And Muakids has gift voucher as well which can be given as birthday presents for those who are out of ideas what presents to buy.

photo credit : Muakids

And here something for mummies of primary 1 school going kids who are clueless about how to label for p1 kids’ belonging next year (only 3 more month to go…i am sure first time mummies are more kan cheong that the kids themselves), Jocelyn has kindly offered 5 set of school packs which consist of 20 Skinny Labels, 13 Basic Labels, 10 Deluxe Labels, 6 Dot Labels and 6 Multi-Purpose Labels to start the 2016 academic year (those who has no primary 1 school going kids, this pack is also good for preschoolers as well)

1. Liked mypreciouzkids.com on Facebook

2. Liked Muakids on Facebook

3. Liked, shared and tag 5 friends who are new to mypreciouzkids using this Facebook post . Pls comment “done” on the same post for my easy tracking. Do set your post to PUBLIC so that I can verify your entry. Entries that are not shared publicly will be disqualified.

I will be picking the 5 winners using random.org . The giveaway closes on 18 Oct 2015, 2359pm ( SUN).

Disclosure: I received 3 set of labels/bag tags from Muakids for the purposes of my review. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

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Review & Giveaway – A revolutionary square milk bottle by Hegen ( yes, you heard me right, square!)

I have a love-hate relationship with milk bottles. When I had my first baby, J , I was inexperienced in latching and he had jaundice. So due to poor latching technique and advise from PD to go on 72 hours formula milk to conclude it is breast milk jaundice, he took to the bottle at an early age. Even though I managed to train him to latch fully at 3 months old, once I went back to work, he clearly preferred the bottle over latching. Hence, J took any bottle and any teats readily over latching.

When it came to the subsequent babies, I was adamant that latching is the convenient way (and lazy way, no washing, no pumping, no sterialising) especially with more kids to take care off. So there was no bottle for the first few months so as to reduce nipple confusion (I had my mum feed milk using a syringe). And when its time for me to return back to work, C and small J would refuse the bottle and latched extensively when I am home. I changed several bottles and teats for them until i found one that they didn’t mind so much.

Now that baby C is the fourth child, I was more relaxed in terms of bottle feeding even though latching will still take precedence. But I still waited till baby C is past 1 month before introducing milk bottle proper.

I was introduced to this range of revolutionary milk bottle created Singapore mum of 4, Ms Yvon Bock. I am sure she fully understand the challenges of breastfeeding in the Singapore context. And her brainchild created this set of revolutionary milk bottles so that mothers can carry on breastfeeding for as long as they want. The bottles are designed to minimise spillage and wastage as every drop of liquid gold is precious. And the bottle can be converted to snack containers once the baby outgrow the 150ml bottles, how ingenius!

photo credit:Hegen

I was so excited when these arrived at my home. I love pink packaging and the packaging for teats has the prettiest pink hue (ok, not a good reason to buy) but wait till you learn about the great features of this range of bottles!

photo credit: Hegen

PCTO Innovation

One of the benefits of Hegen is the Press-to-Close, Twist-to-open. This feature set them aside from the conventionary milk bottle. This revolutionary innovation means there is no screw thread closure. In order to open, it has to be snapped on and twisted off to minimise spillage. You can even use a single hand to open. (when you need to carry baby to make/warm milk)

Its SQUARE!

It is supposedly easy to hold for baby’s hands due to its revolutionary shape, however baby C has yet to show ability to hold bottles, so I cant vouch for this for now!

Ease of washing because its square

One of the main reasons for me being so insistent on latching the baby is simply because I am lazy. I am lazy to wash the pumps, the bottles etc. I dislike using the bottle brush cleaner to clean the milk bottles as I feel it is such a chore. So when I saw Hegen bottles, finally some one has cleverly invented a milk bottle that doesn’t require bottle brush for washing. I can have my whole hand with using a normal dish washing sponge to clean the milk bottle. Good riddance bottle brush cleaner!

Stackable breastmilk storage

The storage lids are made so that it is stackable and it can also be connected to ensure minimal use of space in the fridge/freezer. For mummies with poor organisation skills like me where my EBM bags are in different forms and sizes, this makes breast milk storage so tidy and neat!

photo credit:Hegen

Off-centre teat

Though it takes some getting used to, to insert the off-centre teats into the square bottle rim as compared to the usual round rim (as there is only 1 right way), the teats are created off-centre to enable baby to feed from a more upright position. This claim to lessen the risk of milk back flow which may cause mid-ear complications. The teats comes in slow flow, med flow and fast flow.

Same bottle for storing and feeding breast milk

The same bottle is use for storage and for feeding. That cuts down lots of washing time as there are less bottles to be washed and sterialised.

Push buttons on storage lids

I was also wondering what are the buttons for. With the buttons, you can interconnect the storage bottles, and you can transport many bottles at one go instead of fumbling with many round bottles from the fridge to the cooler bag. This is great if you need to “transport” baby and milk to infant care or care giver. That is another great idea to help careless mummies who need to pack baby and milk to go in the mornings!

Minimal bottle changing

Under international standards for feeding bottles, it is recommended to replace feeding bottles every 6 months. However, our Hegen bottles are designed mindful of sustainability and made to last. Hegen bottle is made of Tritan which is one of the safest and most resistant materials in the infant care industry. Hegen bottle is also uniquely designed without a bottle neck hence no need of any special brush which reduce the likelihood of scratches and abrasions on the inner surface of the bottle.

Currently these are price list of the bottles

Product Description	Price
Hegen PCTO™ 150ml/5oz Feeding Bottle	$24.80
Hegen PCTO™ 150ml/5oz Feeding Bottle (2-pack)	$42.80
Hegen PCTO™ 240ml/8oz Feeding Bottle	$26.80
Hegen PCTO™ 240ml/8oz Feeding Bottle (2-pack)	$46.80
Hegen PCTO™ 150ml/5oz Breastmilk Storage (6-pack)	$49.80
Hegen Slow Flow Teat (2-pack)	$12.80
Hegen Medium Flow Teat (2-pack)	$12.80
Hegen Fast Flow Teat (2-pack)	$12.80

Hegen adaptors/connectors are targeted to be ready by 4-6 weeks’ time by October. They will be sold separately.

Hegen is currently available at the following locations:

Takashimaya Department Store (Children’s Department, Level 4)

Motherswork Stores Islandwide (Great World City #02-16, Tanglin Mall #03-11C, 112@Katong #03-33, Marina Bay Sands #B1-58)

Motherswork Online Store

The kind folks at Hegen has kindly sponsored 2 sets of limited edition SG50 Hegen PCTO™ 150ml/5oz Breastmilk Storage (2-pack) up for grabs, for 2 of my readers.

Even for mummies who are no longer breastfeeding, the storage bottle is great for snacks and it is stackable!

photo credit: Hegen

1. Liked mypreciouzkids.com on Facebook

2. Liked Hegen on Facebook

3. Liked, shared and tag 5 friends who are new to mypreciouzkids using this Facebook post . Pls comment “done” on the same post for my easy tracking. Do set your post to PUBLIC so that I can verify your entry. Entries that are not shared publicly will be disqualified.

I will be picking the 2 winners using random.org . The giveaway closes on 27 Sept 2015, 2359pm. The winners would be required to collect the prize at one of Hegen’s retail outlets. Detail of collection will be advised later by Hegen’s representatives.

Disclosure: I received a set of bottles/storage containers/teats from Hegen for the purposes of my review. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

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Review and Giveaway …..totally WOW-ed by Zoom Park!

Given that my kids have visited other trampoline parks before (ie the first to introduce trampoline park in Singapore was AMPED), we do have certain expectations of a trampoline park.

With a number of trampoline parks in Singapore, I wonder how Zoom Park measured up as they claim to be the largest in Singapore.

It is housed in a huge single storey building in Pandan Gardens. Upon entering, there is an area with a small cafe selling drinks and snack bars.

One of the pre-requisites for entering is to have anti slip socks. I guess most people don’t really owned anti slip socks, but it is available for sale at SGD 2 a pair. And they have really small sizes even for small J!

It being a weekday when i visited there were hardly any crowd…just 2 other families were there…so we practically had the whole park mostly to ourselves.

Upon entering there was 2 pits for kids to just “jump” in just next to the sitting area/cafe.

There were many different sections. Besides merely jumping areas, they have incorporated dodge ball, basketball, rock climbing, foam pits into the different sections of the park. So it is not just purely jumping on a trampoline or jumping into foam pits, which i thought was way more fun than AMPED.

basketball

extreme dodgeball

foam pits

rock climbing

dodgeball

area for kids above 1.2m

My kids were practically all over the park trying out different sections. My 6 year old loved the slam dunk area and the rock climbing while my 4 year prefer the foam pits to jump into. As for my 2 year old, it is his first time doing this (though he did go to AMPED before at 11 months but that is not counted as he couldn’t even walk then), so he was happy just jumping and running around and also falling down. He fell down a couple of time on the padding between each “net”. As it was padded, he didn’t get injured though he does whine but i know he is not hurt at all. He learned to avoid the padded area to minimise falling but also learned to pick himself up after falling.

One thing I didn’t quite fancy was due to the vast space, it can be warm at some areas. The place had those super huge fans on the ceiling but it is not switched on as it will make it even warmer than cooling it down. The place had few portable air coolers in the park and the owner will be bringing in more air coolers to bring down the temperature.

My only gripe was it is a tad far from my house, I wish they could open another park nearer to my house. This is probably one of the best way to expend my kids excess energy.

And my 3 kids slept earlier and really well that night…i wish every bedtime is like that!

Zoom Park Singapore
200 Pandan Gardens,
#01-14
Singapore 609336
Tel: 6334-4615

Park Opening Hours:

MONDAY

3pm to 9pm

TUESDAY TO THURSDAY:
10am to 9pm

FRIDAY AND EVE OF PH:
10am to 10pm

SATURDAY:
9am to 10pm

SUNDAY AND PH:
9am to 9pm

For pricing, do check it on in this link.

Zoom Park Asia has kindly offered 4 free 30 minute passes to my readers.

1. Liked mypreciouzkids.com on Facebook

2. Liked Zoom Park Asia on Facebook

3. Liked, shared and tag 5 friend using this Facebook post

I will be picking the 4 winner using random.org . The giveaway closes on 2 Aug 201, 2359pm.

They are having a promotion for their Facebook fans whereby there is a free 30 minute extension for every 1 hour purchased. Especially those staying in the west, do check it out, it is way more fun that indoor playgrounds!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored review. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own

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Review and Giveaway: Worry-free luxury from Original Sprout – to me its just heavenly

The kind folks at Original Sprout send me a package right after I informed them the birth of baby C. The very next day , this was sent to me. (Its always nice to hear door bells bringing gifts for the newborn to break the monotony of staying confined at home 24/7.) Baby C is so blessed to be trying out this range of worry-free luxury.

Previously, I have used California Baby and Mustela for my newborns. I think being newborns they should only get the best in skin care (I dont really care about the price as the baby’s consumption of skin care is low especially with the cases of Johnson & Johnson) Most importantly it must be gentle and chemical free for their delicate skin.

How does these range compared to those i have used before?

Baby C started using the Hair and Body Babywash since he returned from hospital.

Here’s the baby C all ready for bath time…

As my mum worked up a lather, i can smell a very sweet and heavenly smell. According to the label on the bottle, its a mix of Calendula, Cucumber, Rosemary and Arnica. It is easy to rinse off on hair and body leaving the body feel clean and soft and smelling so good! (newborns smell great to begin with). According to the label, this wash is also good for clearing cradle cap and dry scalp. My other kids had this and i had to buy special hair shampoo to help manage the cradle cap. Crossed fingers for now baby C doesn’t seem to have it, but if it ever occur, i hope this wash will clear it too!

After bath, baby C tried the Scrumptious Baby Cream which leave the skin soft and moist. It doesn’t leave an oily residue on the baby nor on my hands. And similar to the wash, it smell heavenly.

My 4 year old girl uses the Natural Shampoo, Deep Conditioner and the Miracle Detangler for her long locks.

The shampoo is non-drying and with a small application of conditioner, her hair is soft and smooth. Frankly, there really isn’t a need to use the Miracle Detangler as the shampoo and conditioner make the hair really easy to comb. I only use it in the morning (as she has a messy hair after waking up) before tying her hair for school so that its easy to comb n tie.

Original Sprout is currently available at Watsons, Kiddy Palace, Motherswork and 1010 Mother & Essentials.

Disclosure: We were given Original Sprout products to review. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions here are our own.

In celebration of baby C’s full month, the good people at Original Sprout have kindly sponsored a hamper worth more than SGD 50 consisting of the products below:-

– Hair & Body Babywash 12oz (worth $25)

– Scrumptious Baby Cream 4oz (worth $16.90)

– Miracle Detangler 4oz (worth $16.90)

– Natural Shampoo 1.25oz

– Deep Conditioner 1.25oz

And the hamper will be hand delivered to the lucky winner! (Singapore address only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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OhmSantih Yoga – kids yoga is so fun! and a giveaway

I started yoga 6 years ago as I embarked on my first pregnancy. My gynae told me that there are 2 exercises which preggers can do which are yoga and swimming. And I am very sure I will want a natural birth and want the labour to be as fast and “painless” , I decided to be very active during my pregnancy (even more active than when I am not pregnant). And that was how my journey with yoga began. And after delivery, I will go back to yoga and went on to challenge myself for hot yoga and vinyasa classes. And whenever I get pregnant, I will indulge in my pre-natal yoga again. I cant say how much yoga has help me through 3 natural births but what I know yoga is one of the best forms of exercise at least for the lazy me who hates to run on the threadmill or do weights etc. It untied knots and stiffness better than even Thai massage! And hot yoga is even better than just being in a sauna. I normally do lunch time yoga, after yoga and a light meal, I feel refreshed for the second half of the day!

I even did a pre natal yoga photoshoot during my last pregnancy to commenrate my fantastic 5 year journey with yoga!

This brings me to OhmSantih Yoga. I have been on a lookout for kids yoga as I enjoyed it tremendously personally and wish to introduce it to my older kids. My kids even can do simple poses especially the tree pose as they are used to see my do it occasionally! I was invited to an adult and kid yoga session with OhmSantih Yoga in partnership with Familicious SG.

OhmSantih Yoga was found by War War Lwin Tun who discovered the benefits of yoga as a mean of healing and a respite from the corporate life. The yoga studio is located at Kampong Glam neighbourhood, along the shophouses at Bussorah Street. It conducts classes at its 1600 square foot space comprising 2 studios and shower facilities.

My girl was thrilled to be following me for yoga for the very first time.

First, an introduction to yoga and its benefits to kids , and boy to they have the cutest yoga mats for the kids, I hope mine was as sunshine-y and as flowery as the kids’.

Some of the benefits of kids yoga:

Teachers and kids co create the storyline
Enhances flexibility
Strengthen body systems
Increases focus and awareness
Relieves stress and anxiety

In order for me to review both the adult yoga and kids yoga, I did half a session of adult yoga and continued with observing my girl at her kids yoga class. Both classes last for 1 hour.

As the adult class were mainly consist of beginners with no familiarity with yoga, Teacher Betty was slow and patient in explaining the poses etc to the beginners. It was done in a non-airconditioned environment (but not hot yoga type) and the class is kept to the maximum of 6 adults. As it was a beginner class, it was a good introduction to those who has not tried yoga before as the teacher and student ratio is low as compared to big operators like the one I go to, Pure Yoga, we have minimally 30 to 1 teacher. This is very important for beginner as the teacher is able to correct the poses of each student. Both kids and adults classes are based on a structured curriculum but at the same time, the instructors make necessary tweaks so that the instructors are teaching as how it is applied to the students’ individual needs, therefore it’s very customized. This is also the utmost reason why the classes are kept to 6 students.

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photo credit: Ohmsantih Yoga

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photo credit: Ohmsantih Yoga

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photo credit: Ohmsantih Yoga

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photo credit: Ohmsantih Yoga

I was more keen in being part of the kids yoga class as I have no idea how it is being introduced. From the initial photos taken (when I was in the adult class) , they started with some simple warmed up poses and exercises.

And the story telling began by Teacher Penny, who interweave yoga poses with the storyline of her story. Like when the king went to Egypt he saw pyramids, and the teachers slowly guide the kids into a triangle pose.

And the king feast on the table and the kids were taught the table pose. In order to capture the attention of the kids, the story was interesting and sometimes the kids get to have a say in the story too.

Every pose has a story so that they can go into the pose as part of the storyline. This kept their interest and attention in doing the poses for 1 hour.

1 hour passed by so quickly, before long, the kids were brought to the corpse pose in a dimmed condition. As fidgeting as they are, they couldn’t really stay still in their corpse pose but they were resting on their mat for good 5 to 10 min.

The session ended with a Q&A session of the story that Teacher Penny has narrated and little button badges were awarded as encouragement to the little newbies!

And does my girl enjoy it? As we make our way to our car, she asked me if she can come for class again? I definitely bring her again as I heard there are classes whereby both adult and kids are at the same timing. You can drop of the kids and still do a session yourself at the same time. This is such a perfect arrangement for busy mummies who need to do some workout and yet the kids are taken care of!

Ohmsantih Yoga has kindly sponsored a free kids yoga class (worth SGD 45) to a lucky reader. All you have to do is to follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below.This giveaway is open to anyone residing in Singapore, and will end on Thursday , 18 December 2014, at 2359h. The minimum age for kids yoga is 3 years old and the class must be completed by 31 Jan 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: We were invited for a free session of adult and kids yoga class. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own

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My Home (bilingual picture book + activity book) – a highly recommended bilingual local context picture book and my blog’s very first giveaway!

I am guilty of not buying enough Chinese book for my kids’ home reading. I am not very conversant in Chinese myself, hence, I find it difficult to curate good Chinese books for the home library. My criterias are not too many Chinese words in a page (if it comes with Hanyu Pinyin, great!), big font for easy reading so that it doesn’t scare early readers away and colourful so that my kids get interested in it

It is not easy to find local Chinese book written in local Singapore context. It is not easy to find book which has both English and Chinese and Hanyu Pinyin all in the same page and to add to that, it has the bonus element: the lift the flap pages which are favourites for toddlers who are starting to show interest in books (remind me of the fisher price board books with many flaps that my kids own). This book seems to have it all! Sound too good to be true…check it out below…

My Home’ Picture Book

photo credit : wild crane press

When I brought the book out for the reading pleasures of my older 2 kids aged 3 plus and 5 plus. My 5 year old quickly read the Chinese words to the best of his ability, sometimes looking at the hanyu pinyin for guidance. And of course the English words are simpler to him. So his 3 year old sister sat beside him and listened as he read both the Chinese and English. She was very attracted by the colourful illustrations and funny storyline. And the lift the flap feature will good to attract younger kids of ages 2 to 4 just like how much my kids love their Fisher Price lift the flap books! Just that the flaps are not as durable as the Fisher Price board books so I have keeping this book away from the hands of my 18 month old for now! But it is not before long I will sit with my youngest to go through the book to give him introduction to Chinese.

The story is narrated by Jason who is looking for a play mate and his little adventures or misadventures at home like stumbling into his father in the bathroom and when he entered the kitchen, he was tasked by his grandma to look for radish! And Jason goes beyond home to common facilities and surroundings found in the Singapore neighbourhood.

“My Home” Activity Book

This set came with “My Home” Activity Book. Which kids doesn’t like stickers, with the guidance of the brother, both completed the sticker based activity quite quickly. What I love what the pages showing the different sections in the home and the key items found in that section. It has both Chinese and English which was perfect for my girl who has started to show more interest in the Chinese language of late. So she was cooperative in dictating after me all the key items.

The activity book even exposes the kids to the void deck, community centre, multi-storey car park which is very local and easily to relate to by kids growing up in Singapore.

Even after the activities in the book are completed, the activity book is a keepsake a it is a mini English-Chinese dictionary for things found at home and in the community which is very useful for younger kids between 2 to 4 years old.

For those who are interested in purchasing the books, the books can be bought separately. But it is much cheaper if it is bought as a bundle.

This book set is now available at MPH, Times, Kinokuniya, Booktique, Junior Page, Union Books, Maha Yuyi and Music Book Room.

For those busy mums and online shopaholics like me, you can also shop online at Wild Crane Press.

They are currently running a promotion to celebrate the launch of their new website, they are offering 10% storewide discount on all items purchased! You can also sign up as a member and today and enjoy a further 15% discount!

At the same time do check out the other books are they carried. I am eyeing on the Wolf Series for my 5 year old boy!

My first ever giveaway

Wild Crane Press has kindly sponsored my first ever giveaway to officiate the launch of my own domain and my Facebook page. They have generously offered to give away THREE sets of the ‘My Home’ books to my readers! All you have to do is to follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below.This giveaway is open to anyone with a Singapore address, and will end on Sunday , 7 December 2014, at 2359h. Winner will have to collect the book at their office.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: We received this book set for purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

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My Preciouz Kids

Sharing the fun, the fashionable, the functional for kids in Singapore through the eyes of my precious kids!

giveaway

Giveaway – The Three Billy Goats Gruff《三只山羊》!

Giveaway & Review – introduce science fun to the very young by The Young Scientists and Junior Young Scientists

Giveaway – Treasure Island by Singapore Repertory Theatre

Review & Giveaway -small in size, but BIG in FUN at Little Planet Playland

Review & Giveaway – personalised labels from Muakids

Review & Giveaway – A revolutionary square milk bottle by Hegen ( yes, you heard me right, square!)

Review and Giveaway …..totally WOW-ed by Zoom Park!

Review and Giveaway: Worry-free luxury from Original Sprout – to me its just heavenly

OhmSantih Yoga – kids yoga is so fun! and a giveaway

My Home (bilingual picture book + activity book) – a highly recommended bilingual local context picture book and my blog’s very first giveaway!