We had very fond memories of our first ACT 3 workshop last year entitled Jelly, Wobble and when I saw a similar event happening this year, I knew my kids had to do it again!

Once we stepped into ION Art Gallery , the location for SWEET, we kind of forgotten that we are for a workshop. We thought we were invited to a birthday party all decked in candyland theme. As we are arrived earlier, we spend the time taking photos as everything was so SWEET and pretty! Sorry for the photos overload , but it’s just too pretty not too share.

A wall of doughnuts, a wall of inflatable giant cupcakes, a cake as tall as the kids and a ice cream making shop. I just got so inspired to do a similar theme for my girl’s birthday party next year complete with an ice cream parlour….. Sorry, I digress….back to the workshop proper. For this year’s session, the storytelling session was brought to the beginning of the session instead of towards the end. As it was a workshop inspired by the story of Charlie and the chocolate factory, the story teller narrated the famous story by Roald Dahl in 20 minutes. It was a good introduction to kids who are not familiar of the story which has a movie made for it as well. J has not read it before and its time to get add this book into his bookshelf!

Parents were invited for the story-telling session. There were lots of interaction with the kids and the sound effects accompanying the story-telling session make it more interesting, not a dull moment.

After the storytelling session, the parents are asked to leave the venue so that the kids can be rotated between the different stations for their activities. (yay! me-time and shopping time at ION!) I do not have photos to share or much to review so what I gathered were what the kids told me or from their website. The remaining 1.5 hours were divided into an art and craft session to create colourful lollipops ,  ice cream making session which is THE highlight (and they get to eat it thereafter, I was told its Vanilla ice cream) and a drama workshop where the kids can choose to act out their favourite ice cream where they learn to move and physicallise actions through creative expression.

Once again, I am a big fan of the drama classes by ACT 3 especially their holiday camp. However, as a full time working mum, in order to send my kids for it , it would be mean that I had to take 5 days of leave to ferry them to the camp. That is why I especially like this genre of workshop which is a 2 hours session broken into 4 different components comprising a story telling session, art and craft session,  gelato-making session and a drama workshop. Perfect for time-pressed mummy like me and my kids still get a SWEET flavour of a drama class with ACT 3 and some inspired art and craft thrown into it. The kids remembered Princess Lolly in Jelly, Wobble fondly and told me she turned 90 this year (because last year was her 89th birthday). And this year they will remembered Charlie and his adventures and the ice cream they made and tasted!

The workshop runs till 5th June and happens only once a year in June. This year it is incorporated as part of the Art3i Festival which you can read more about it here. I really hope that ACT 3 can do a similar workshop for the December holidays! Oh, and while  I was at ION ART, I discovered that you can actually take the lift next to the gallery all the way up to the 55th floor for ION SKY which is an observation deck and its FREE!  Do bring the kids for a walkabout if you are there for the afternoon session before the workshop or after the workshop. Opened every day from 3 to 6pm.

ION Art Gallery, ION Orchard

SWEET has been incorporated as part of ACT3’s newly launched  called ACT3i Festivalcoincidentally during the June school holidays (24 May to 5 June) whereby they have brought in 6 international and inspiring theatre performances that will include works from Singapore, Italy, Sweden, Argentina, the U.K. and Canada for kids age 2 to 12 years old.

For more information on how to book, please see link here.

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

My (my kid) first ever Cold Storage Kids Run (CSKR) was 2 years ago when they held it for the first time at The Meadows at Garden by the Bay. J was 5 and it was his first ever outdoor run. Being my first born, I was anxious whether he is able to run continuously or give up or struggle to the finishing line. But all my fears were unfounded …he totally nailed it though we did not have such a good experience at the holding area which was situated on a slope etc. Till today, we had very fond memories of our first born’s first run!

2 years on, being my second time joining, I was very confident that even my 3 year old will be able to do the 800m walk/run – speaking like a very experienced parents – seen and done that. The only child I excluded was the baby who is 11 months old (who needed to be in a stroller category – and he hates the stroller).As the kids outnumbered the parents, it was difficult to manage so many kids with different race start timing , so we decided to just run with 3 instead of 4. It is my girl’s first CSKR and she has done a 5km Tom & Jerry run before , so i am pretty sure she will nailed this too.

We woke up real early on a Sunday morning, 6am to be exact as J’s flag off time was 7.20am for the Boogey banana sprint category. So we left the house when the sky was still dark (only other time we had to wake up so early is when we have to take an early flight) and there was a slight drizzle on our way to the venue. It was a good decision to take a cab to the venue as we did not have to search for parking and walk to The Meadows. This was the scene that greeted us upon arrival, gloomy and some earlier race categories (the older kids) had commenced despite the slight drizzle. But the sky and weather outlook didn’t dampen my kids’ spirit any bit, they were raring to run despite being pulled out from bed at 6am!

These scene lasted til ard 7ish am and clear skies beckon. 

With their race bibs pinned on, they are all set to run!

While waiting for their respective race time to start, we had free Vitagen, milk , bread etc.

Then the kids played some game booths near the holding area in line with the theme this year , Eat Healthy , Get Active. As you can see from the later photos, the gloomy overcast cleared up and it was bright and yet the weather was cooling.

Due to the drizzle, there was a delay in J’s start time as there was race re-routing to ensure the safety of the runners or should i called them the sprinters. It is especially crucial for the sprint category as they are running alone  (without parents) and are supposed to clock their personal best.

And J was done with his run! Easy peasy to him though it was a huge regret that he dropped the championship chip (which records the race time), so we didnt really know how long it took to complete 800m. But I must give him props to be running alone for the first time together with all the other 7 and 8 years old!

Next up , going for his first run ever, my super star of the day , small J at 1 month shy of 3 years old!

I must say he is the most enthusiatic of my 3 kids. And guess what 800m was too short for him. After the race as we make our slow walk to Bayfront MRT, he told me he wants to keep running. I shall feedback to the organiser to have a longer run next year 😛

And finally, it was missy turn. I was to accompany her for her category and she totally outran me. Never mind, then I was jogging and toting my DSLR but even if i had nothing, she will totally outran me. She keep looking back and making sure I was not too far back. 🙁

cutesy apple balloon

Tips for new joiners next year!

1. If you are joining in the fun run and you have kids in different race categories, the organisers are pretty fine for the different kids in different race category to run together coz hey its for fun! We should have run as a family too! With some exceptions though …read point 4.
2. The 3 Gen Family run is also a good category to join as a family. In event, that one of the generations is absent on race day, no worries, the organisers are also happy for the remaining participants to run as well all in the name of FUN!
3. From my own experiences and my friends, 3 years old is THE BEST age to start them as some 2 years old may still need to be carried at some part of the race etc (super good workout for parents). After saying this, I will still try baby C next year by that time he will just turn 2 for the fun run, perhaps some kids are just born to run!
4. Even if you are late for your flag off time, you can join the next flag off. Only the sprint category cant join the fun run category vice versa.Only one category where it is pretty strict for safety reasons, the stroller fun category whereby only strollers are allowed. So if you missed that, you won’t be able to join the other race category.
5. And if you are like me, daddy was running with small J, and myself and C was about to start my race at the holding, what happens to J? The organisers are also happy for J to have another go.
6. Dont worry if you didn’t manage to feed the kids due to the early start , there are milk and bread given by the sponsors at site. But do not overfeed the kids, I have seen some kids vomitting at the end of the race.

That is why the organisers are very mindful to keep the the race crowd to a mere 5,000 so that there is no overcrowding and every one will have a pleasant race from the 6 months old to the 12 years old!

People do ask me why do people who join the CSKR pay to “torture” themselves, needing to wake up real early on a Sunday morning,  having parking issues, braving crowds and then the kid just run for less than 10 minutes max.

My short and sweet answer, it is a great family bonding event and great outdoor activity for the kids. It is just not so fun running on your own sometimes. The crowd and all the other kids make the whole running experience more fun. It is like marathon Kidzania-style. The kid get a feel what is like being in a marathon and cheered at the finishing line.  And hopefully this is a start to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for the kids too!

If I had one feedback, I wish the race was a tad longer in distance. I am sure many kids can even do double that distance too! I am sure CSKR will be one great childhood memory for my kids! How often do we get to run as a family on a Sunday morning!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored review and hope to be invited again next year, I promise I will bring all 4 kids down. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

Last week was the opening week for the most highly anticipated kids edutainment facility in Singapore, Kidzania. After years of anticipation, Kidzania is finally  opened its door with many corporate partners, local and international brands. My girl and I were invited by Seriousaboutpreschool’s first outing to Kidzania.

Last year, I have done a review of Seriousaboutpreschool’s online portal and its launch party which can be found in this post. If those are not familiar, Seriousaboutpreschool is a One-Stop Portal for parents to find enrichment courses, holiday programs and group activities for their pre-schoolers 0-6 years old. This is a wonderful portal for first time parents or parents who are looking to the most suitable enrichment centre for their child. For parents who have tried some of the enrichment centres, they are able to share their experiences and be rewarded! Parents can register for free here. Some of the rewards for parent’s review includes passes to Explorer Kids, Pororo Park, Hokey Pokey, Cool De Sac, Port of Lost Wonders and sticker labels from my favourite label maker, MUAkids (my review here)

Do note that this is not a complete post of Kidzania as it will require a very very long post.

the privileged kids who get to visit Kidzania on its opening week!

Something that is very close to my heart is photography. If I can have an alternative career, I will probably be a free lance photographer. So it thrilled me to see photographer (or photojournalist to be exact) as an occupation that the kids can partake at Kidzania. Canon Singapore is one of the corporate partners in Kidzania. They manage 3 locations in Kidzania of which 2 are for printing of photos taken by the roving Canon photographers (one located inside and one located outside at the ticketing counters). 

This is where you get the photos taken by the Canon photographer printed at the end of the day

The final location where Canon can be found is where budding young photographers can try their hand in being a photojournalist using a DSLR or a digital camera for the younger ones.

Canon imaging academy

There are two job offerings at the Canon which are photography student and photojournalist. It is suitable for kids aged 4+.

The kids trying their hands on the DSLR. This is such an opportunity as I will never let my kids touch my DSLR. I used a Canon DSLR myself for the past 7 years!

Next, they will be brought around Kidzania snapping pictures as tasked by the “employer”. And in return they get to earned Kidzos which are salary in the adult world.

For the all other “jobs”, feel free to have Canon photographers take lots of photo of your child in their uniforms. At the end of the day, you can purchase them at the Canon photo both. After SGD 60 , you can buy back all digital copies (max of 15 photo per family) which I thought was a good deal especially if there is more than 1 child. There are some occupations like the first officer, baby expert etc that parents can’t even take the photo from the outside as the pretend play facility is above ground.  These are some photos purchased at the Canon booth after a day of “hard work”. 

Thank you Seriousaboutpreschool for the super fun day at Kidzania!

Disclaimer: We were invited to join in this outing with Seriousaboutpreschool. All opinions and photos are solely ours. 

For the very first time,  I have attended one of  The Little Company’s(“TLC”) productions not knowing what to expect. Ever since the first time I watch TLC’s production, I have been very familiar and comfortable with what to expect and most instances the story line as well as they are mostly based on popular children’s stories.

Hanuman , The SuperHero  Monkey is a collaboration between TLC and Imitating the Dog from the UK. They have  chosen Monkey theme based story as this is the year of the Monkey. Last year being the year of the goat, they had the The Three Billy Goats Gruff!

For the first time, the first thing I did once I took my seat at the auditorium was quickly go through the story line with my kids especially my 7 year old. I worry he will be lost as he is not familiar with the story line and cannot appreciate it much. As for my 5 year old, I am quite sure even after I have narrated the story line, I will confuse her more, so I chose a different approach, ie just let her watch.

The story begins with the abduction of Sita, who is the wife of Rama. She was captured by the Demon King, Ravana. 5 years later, Rama looked for his childhood friend Hanuman to help him rescue Sita who once had super powers. Little does Rama know, Hanuman has lost his super powers  as he has misused them to his own benefits and caused disturbances to old folks and the weak. Rama had Hanuman put together a  team to rescue Sita. And together with Stacey, Riley , Millie and Taylor, the five monkeys form the Super Hero Monkeys who will trained to rescue Sita.

After a feast of banana smoothie before the rescue mission, Hanuman confessed to his team that he did not have any super powers.In his dream, he met a vulture called Sampati who told him if Hanumna employs his powers to achieve good, the super hero powers will return to him. The morning after, not only did Hanuman found inner strength, the other monkeys were also impressed by Hanuman’s change and powers. Together they flew to Lanka.

Sita has been kept captive in the city of Colom in Lanka.  Like in all stories, the good defeats the evil and order is restored. I shall not elaborate further especially for those who are going to catch the show.

Imitating the Dog (UK)  is the creative brains behind of all the visual spectacles and sound effects that is seen and heard throughout the show. They used the power of projection, sound and animation to create a whole new experience even for regular theatre goers like me and the kids.

Even at the very beginning, they created an opening scene whereby each character was introduced and their names projected on the stage. Super cool effects! Just the opening credits in movies. How they move the props around the stage was seamless and effortless to create the opening scene and introduction to each character. Then, the story begins with Rama (projected on screen) narrating the introduction and how his wife was abducted by the evil Ravana. I have not really seen the cast in regular TLC productions before, and I would say they made a commendable effort for their first outing with TLC.

TLC productions are well known for their songs. There were some songs in this production and a theme song with a easy sing-a-long chorus but it is not quite at the same standard as typical TLC productions. That said it was a commendable effort given that they have to act , sing and interweave their movements with all the animations and computer imaginery projected on the stage.

All in all, with the collaboration with a foreign creative partner, a whole new dimension was brought to children’s productions. Rama appeared as a projection on the stage instead of an actual person, a clever use of props  and animation to “voice” Sampati , the vulture who appeared in Hanuman’s dream and mostly important, the portrayal of evil Demon King , Ravana. Catch the show to see how all the characters are represented in a unique way through special effects and animations supported by a real life cast. If regular TLC has become too predictable in form and story line, do catch this to see for yourself the new genre of children production using animation and technologu.

As for my kids, there were more questions asked as it is quite unlike what they are used to see in TLC productions. How did Hanuman defeat Ravana? How did they have moving eyes and talking mouth projected on the stage?

Take a sneak peek at the trailer of this production, for those who loves comic books, superhero and curious to see how digital animation is being used for theatre productions, this is The show for you.

Hanuman – The Superhero Monkey

1st April to 30th April 2016 

Disclaimer: We were given tickets to the show for reviewing purpose. All opinions are solely ours, and all photos specified are credited to Singapore Repertory Theatre.

In recent years, there are many kids related run events throughout the year. There are many themed runs too which attracts the young and the young at hearts. The most well known of all  and one that have been around for the probably the longest time, being in its 9th installment is Cold Storage Kids Run. The run will held at the The Meadows, Gardens by the Bay on 22 May 2016 (Sunday). This run will also feature a sports-themed family carnival.

For the first time, the run will have two child celebrities as ambassadors – Iryan Fandi and Abbie Rose Humphreys. In the recently concluded 2 day road show and pre registration event, the two ambassadors conducted a football and a workout clinic respectively inline with the theme ” Eat Healthy, Get Active”.

Abbie Rose Humphreys

Iryan Fandi

There are the race category. Big J being 7 , he can either join the Happy Grapes family fun run or the sprint category (which will be timed). For younger kids, it will be a fun run categories. In the past years, the number of participants was at 6,000. For these year, they have kept it to 5,000 so that this will be a more pleasant and enjoyable run for all! And this is probably THE only run that all my kids can participate in at same time!

Early bird discounts are from now until 23 March,

Registration Fee:

Sprint $35 (Early bird $32)

Family Fun $44 (Early bird $40) (Includes Jolly Kiwi Chase and Stroller Chase)

Do key in promo code: REFBLOGGER16 for a further 10% discount especially for mypreciouzkids readers. Good till the end of registration period!  And if you registered before early bird period ends, it is 10% discount off the early bird discount price!

Cold Storage Kids Run 2016
Date: 22 May 2016 (Sunday)
Time: 7am to 12pm
Venue: The Meadows, Gardens by the Bay
Registration Fees: Click HERE
Registration Period: Now until 3 April 2016 or when the race capacity of 5,000 is reached, whichever is earlier. Register online via www.kidsrun.com.sg.

Do follow their facebook to get first hand info of the run.