I have always been keen to expose the older kids to pottery and clay. It probably stemmed from my own interest of knowing how it is done and the experiences of throwing at the potter’s wheel. J and C had their first very pottery making in Ubud, Bali with Susan Kohlik who owned Sari Api, which is actually quite well known (it will definitely appear when you search for things to do with kids in Bali). They had great memories of that experience and patiently awaited for their completed products after our trip (took more than 1 month plus for postal delivery).

these pieces reminded them of their first pottering making experience and Bali

After that wonderful experience in Bali, I started to look around for something similar in Singapore. My search brought me to Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle which organises kids (parents accompanied for younger kids) workshop on weekends, public holidays and school holidays (they are contemplating organising more weekday workshop classes during the school holidays). They even owned one of the last 2 surviving Dragon Kilns in Singapore for firing masterpieces done by master artists. Frankly i have not seen something quite like this , so it was an eye opener for me as well. As there wasn’t a tour of the dragon kiln, I am not able to explain in great details but I can share photos of the kiln. This is how the ceramic pieces are fired in the olden days before the modern electric kilns.

Like Sari Api in Ubud, Bali which was located in the middle of greenery and “in the wild”, Thow Kwang was similar but much larger as it houses their retail segment at the place.

lots of knick knacks

doesnt this place look like the good old kampung

Our instructor for the day and most kids workshop is Stella, an extremely passionate and well-liked young lady who is contributing her effort to preserve the family business and introduce pottery to the younger generation and public. There are 2 segments to the kids workshop – hand building and potter wheel. The most updated workshop timing and prices can be found on their facebook page.

We signed up package B which takes a minimum of 2 hours which I believe all the other participants also signed up the same on the day we went. Firstly, Stella did a demonstration of our hand building craft – a ceramic container/pen holder. Hand building techniques to mold clay is perfect to train kids’ motor skills.

Paints for glazing and tools required for hand builing

They spend a good 40 minutes building up the different layers of the ceramic container and its up to each creativity how they want their different layers to be. After that, their craft work is left to dry before glazing.

While their “masterpieces” are left to dry, Stella brought us to the potter wheel studio. Firstly, Stella demonstrated the art of throwing at the potter wheel. She make it look so easy and effortless. The kids were eager to try it after obtaining their aprons and  a block of clay each. There are more than 10 potter wheels to try on. As the potter wheel can rotate at different speeds, adult supervision is required for younger kids as it can get quite dangerous.

the potter wheel studio

Of course, neither of us including myself successfully form anything from the block of clay that was given. I tried the potter wheel for the very first time and it was difficult with a capital D. It may look easy when Stella demonstrated but it takes years to reach her standard. Hence, every participant will be guided by Stella to throw a bowl at the potter wheel to take home after firing.

A video of this experience, can be found here.

After finishing their turn at the potter wheel, their hand building masterpieces are ready for glazing. They can choose a variety of colours and paint to their fancy.

The workshop fee includes the cost of firing their masterpieces. It takes about 1 month before you can return to collect the fired pieces. Attending the pottering making workshop at Thow Kwang is not just about learning about molding clay or throwing at the pottery wheel, but it is also an appreciation of the industry and an art that the founder and its family members wish to promote for the younger generations. I do hope that the 75 year old Dragon Kiln will be preserved for a long time to come. As I had to rush to feed the kids for lunch and the travel time back home, I didn’t linger much longer. I wished I had more time browsing through their finished pieces for my home decor or as gifts and for the kids (as retail pieces are fragile pieces so its not such a good idea with kids in tow), my friend told me there is an Eco Garden just next door. Though it was a long drive to this little heaven away from the hustle and bustle of the city, it was worth it! For a good 2 hours, I literally forgot that I was in Singapore but reminiscing my time in Bali as a tourist and the fresh air (thank god, it was before the haze). The next time I return to collect the masterpieces, I will definitely set aside time to browse through the retail area and maybe get some fresh outdoor air next door (haze haze, pls go away).

And you can also throw kids’ birthday parties at Thow Kwang, for more information, do PM their facebook page, Stella will be able to assist from there on.

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

I had come across Bubble Bump and I thought (first impression) it looked rather silly for adults to be donning bubble suits and having a game of soccer. I am not quite sure of the fun factor until I myself had a try on Sunday afternoon at a Little Day Out event. I will go into this later in this post of my personal experience.

I was lucky enough to score some passes for Bubble Bump event organised by Little Day Out and met the kind folks behind this very informative portal, Geraldine and Lester. They have organised a 2 hours session of Bubble Bump and Pool Ball for some lucky families to enjoy on a Sunday afternoon at Kovan Sports Centre.

There was a short brief session on how to wear the bubble suit and how to stand up after a fall, and a short warm up session.

As Bubble Bump has a certain minimum height requirement, I hesitated if I wanted to bring the kids and be disappointed if they cant play, but curiousity got the better of me, so I decided to give it a try. who knows, they may be able to enjoy it.

True enough, even though J was allowed to play (ie need to be taller than the bubble ard 1.1m to 1.2m  tall but the bubble suit was a bit heavy for him to handle.

So they switched their attention to pool ball also part of Bubble Bump Singapore. It is pool played soccer style, the numbered soccer balls are to be scored according to its number order. For young kids which may find it to difficult to grasp pool game concept, they quite happy with just free play and just scoring goals into one of the 6 “holes”. The bubble bump staff even invited games which are more suitable for their age group like colour recognition and even mathematics , and see which child can grab the most number of ball! (great for kids birthday parties). I must say that J and C totally enjoy the variety of games at the pool ball section.

While they were happily playing at the pool ball section, I decided I  should give it a try at the Bubble Bump. It is also played like a game of soccer, divided into 2 halves of 5 minutes each. So carry the bubble suit, I was trying to navigate my way (I had to see the bubble) into scoring the goals. The fun part is when you bump into each other just like bumper car concept. Each half is short as it is quite hot to be donning the suit. I can see why this is a perfect corporate team building event with fun factor involved!

The younger kids got their chance to be in the bubble and be rolled around. It feels pretty much like the Zovb ball which originated from New Zealand where the person goes into an inflated ball and roll downhill. (we have that in SG now, this was the one with the longest queue at the SEA games carnival in June). So both J and C got braver with each attempt, and hence they rolling at a faster speed each time and kept asking for more! You can see sample video in this link!

Bubble Bump operates at 3 locations namely The Cage, Kovan Sports Centre and Zion Sports at Tiong Bahru. for more information , do visit their website for more information on corporate events and birthday parties.

On a side note, a shout out to an awesome compilation of fun activities in Singapore by Little Day Out , if you run of out ideas of what to do a day out with the kids or even this coming Friday after the parents have done their duties as Singapore citizens!

LITTLE DAY OUT’S BEST 50 DAYS OUT WITH KIDS IN SINGAPORE 2015

I have never planted anything in my life or maybe I have but the plant didnt last very long. I believe that I do not have any green fingers and have no love for plants or gardening. However, I do not want my kids growing up like me having no love for plants and gardening. And the in thing now for urbanites are terrarium as there is little maintenance required to keep the plant alive. A terrarium is a low-maintenance miniature garden inside a clear glass case.And kids as young as 4 years old can also indulge in terrarium making as well (with some supervision of course). Hence, stemming from my own interest of wanting to know more about terrarium and to have some parent and child bonding time with J and C, I signed them up for a terrarium workshop with The Plant Story which is situated at Hort Park itself, how apt, a nursery cum cafe in the middle of a park.

To begin a terrarium session, the participants ie my kids have to choose a DIY Kit (they have mainly glass terrarium which is nicer than acrylic but for kids, they really need to handle with care and supervision).

DIY kit comes with all the basic materials (plant inclusive) for you to assemble your own garden in the comfort of your own home with instruction included which cost from SGD 45 onwards for the small glass jar. You can also pay for workshop fee of SGD 10 to have some one guiding you in the terrarium making process at the shop which was what I choose.

making a rainforest terrarium

After selecting their jar, they were brought to a table with a huge selection of coloured sands to begin their session.

The first layer being the drainage layer, the kids can choose coloured sands to fill the bottommost layer.

pretty coloured sand

guided workshop

After filling 2 layers of coloured sands, they used a compactor to “‘compact” each layer so that the layers can stay in place. Thereafter, another layer of grey sands which are larger than the coloured sands are added into the jar.

using a compactor

The next layer will be the soil.

The next step, which is to plant the actual plant into the soil layer. This is pretty difficult as I too as an adult find it difficult to nicely cover the roots in soil especially in smaller jar like the one that C chose.

Another thin layer of coloured sand is placed over the soil after planting (mulch layer). A piece of charcoal is placed inside to absorb excess moisture and purification purposes. And some stones for decorative purposes. You can also purchase decorative murano glass figurines to beautify the garden.

And finally a few squirts of water …..and we can cover it. And we have successful made a terrarium!

The experience doesnt end there. The kids/I will have to maintain the terrarium at hom. On a weekly basis, open the lid for a couple of hours. You only need to water the plant once a month and do not to place the terrarium in places with direct sunlight. I really hope that the plants will thrive under my kids /my care. For now, the terrariums are sitting very prettily above my shoe cabinet near my front door. In the event, the plant do not thrive under my care, I can always go back to A Plant Story and pay for the sand and plant cost to redo the terrarium as I/my kids already know the basic steps of making a terrarium.

And the DIY kits make great gift for kids and adults too!

The Plant Story
HortPark, 33 Hyderabad Road
(Off Alexandra Road)
#01-01 (Beside the Lawn)
Singapore 119578

Telephone:
+65 9722 0438

Email:
ihaveaquestion@theplantstory.com

Opening Hours:

10am – 7pm
Closed on Wednesday and major PH

Mypreciouzkids love hands-on activities, be it arts and crafts, baking and they even had a pottery making season at Ubud, Bali recently which they absolutely love.

I feel guilty of not indulging them in such hands-on activities be it in a home setting or outside attending workshops/classes

I chanced upon soap making workshop which is suitable for both kids above 4 years old and adults. Soap Ministry was previously located at Orchard Central and now they have a brand new shop at Liang Court on the second floor which could accommodate up to 50 participants at any one time and even host birthday parties. In fact, they just opened their new outlet a few days before our visit.

There are several methods of soap making such as Melt and Pour Method , Cold Process Method, Hot Process Method and Rebatching Method. For beginners and kids, they will be making soap using the Melt and Pour Method which will be shown step by step and in picture in this blog. The Basic Workshop (SGD 48) and the Basic Upsize Workshop (SGD 86) use the Melt and Pour Method. The difference between the Basic and Basic Upsize is that instead of a 250g soap base with 1 colour choice in the Basic, the Basic Upsize give a 500g soap base and 2 colour choices hence more soap (and 2 layer coloured soap) will be produced at the end of the session. The soap making process is entirely the same.

Step 1: Cut

There are 3 different type of soap bases that Soap Ministry carries – Goat Milk, Baobab extract (with honey, macadamia nut oil and shea butter )and Centella Asiatica Clear (each base give different benefit to the user of the soap, for eg Goat Milk base is very multi-nutrient, baobab is most moisturising perfect for dry skin and eczema, Centella Asiatica is for healing and firming by stimulating collagen production)

This is the setup and tools required by each participant for the Basic/Basic Upsize workshop.

The first step is to use the special knife to cut the soap base into small pieces.

The “knife” isn’t sharp however we must ensure that both hands are always on the wooden handle during cutting.

Step 2 :Melt

After that, the smaller pieces are transferred to a stainless steel jug for melting over a hot water bath.

Step 3: Measure

Firstly , the kids need to prepare a Glycerin mixture. The kids are introduced with a measuring scale and how to use it. They then squeeze 8g of glycerin into a heat safe plastic jug and along with some Vitamin E (to preserve the soap up to 1 year)

Thereafter they have an option to add 3 items, which are herbs, essential oil and colouring. (for workshop, there are 12-15 types of herbs and essential oils to choose from lists shown in pic which is for retail).

the different kind of herbs that can be added into the soap which will give the soap a brownish hue and little speckles

the different herbs and its benefits

soaps with herbs added

the variety of essential oils

essential oil and its benefits

The colouring will be the primary colours – yellow, red and blue. Kids will also learn about the different colour combinations like blue and red makes purple.

Using another small measuring cup, add the selected essential oils (and herbs which will make the soap more brown) and then the selected colouring. (if they are doing the basic upsize which allows for 2 colour selection, 2 portions of glycerin mixture and essential oil is prepared).

adding essential oil using pipette (like some science experiment) great for finger motor skill

adding colouring into the glycerin/vitamin E mixture

They repeated the same process using different measuring jugs and cups for the second colour mixture.

In between step 3 and 4, the kids were brought to select their silicon soap mold. There are more than hundreds of soap molds to choose from :- animals, cartoon, big, small and even merlion molds!

many drawers where the molds are kept

Step 4: Blend

The melted soap base is removed from the hot water bath and pour into the glycerin mixture.

And stir from bottom to top to mix the glycerin mixture with the melted soup base. Essential oil is added into the mixture, and then stir from top to bottom to blend the oil into the mixture.

Step 5: Pour

As the kids were making 2 colour layered soup, they only have to fill half of the mold using the first colour mixture. 

As air bubbles tend to rise to the surface of the soap, ethanol is being sprayed to remove the bubble. And the soap is left to harden. You can pop it into the freezer to expedite the hardening process.

Repeat the same process for the second layer/colour (for basic upsize workshop)

mix 2nd portion

pour to fill the remaining half of the mold

Step 6: Wrap

Once harden, the kids removed the soaps from the molds and wrap with cling wrap and a sticker! And that is enough soap for 1 year , I trust..and these are soaps made from natural ingredients sans chemical.

The soaps can be kept for 1 year. If kept longer, the soap will lose its benefits and cleansing properties.

What I really like from this workshop, for the price you pay not only you gain the experience of making soap, you get to bring back the soaps that you made which can last you very long. And these are good quality soaps. A quick check at the shop , a small bar of handmade soap can cost as much as SGD 18.

some of the ready made soaps

Handmade soaps are free from any chemicals, hypo-allergenic, bio-degradable, SLS free, Paraben free and eco-friendly. These are the best soaps for sensitive and eczema skin.  By using herbs and aromatherapy oil, the benefits ranges from relieve aches, relaxes the mind depending on the herb and oil of choice. You can consult the trainers to suggest suitable herbs and oil combination to be blended with the soap base to suit for your needs.

Birthday parties

They will cater for private events like birthday parties for a minimum booking of 8 basic workshop. There is no additional venue charges and you can bring in your own food and cake.

Charity events/CSR efforts 

I am pleased to hear that Soap Ministry are supporter for charitable events and CSR efforts. Customers who wish to make soap for charitable causes can approach Soap Ministry (with proof to charity event details and documents) to obtain a discount which equate to supplier price. Soap Ministry will also do a shout out to its 3000 Facebook fans to create more awareness of the charity event.

Breast milk soap

Breastfeeding mothers can bring their frozen expressed breast milk ( for processing into breast milk soaps for mother and baby at cost ranging from SGD 75 for 500g of soap to SGD 240 for 2kg of soap. The method of making breast milk soap is the cold process method which involves a 2 month period of “curing”. Besides breast milk, avocado oil, palm oil, shea butter and lavender essential oil are the other ingredients in making one of the most moisturising and nourishing soup ever. For baby’s use, lavender essential oil is omitted. I did a smelling test of both mummy and baby soup. The mummy soap has a very nice fragrance from the lavender essential oil while the baby soap is unscented (there is no the fishy smell of frozen EBM).

Some of the benefits of breast milk soaps are preventing eczema in baby, promote healing and relief to diaper rash, boost baby’s immune system and for mummy’s,  moisture and soften skin, promotes healing to cuts, infections and lighten pigmentation on skin.

1kg (using 500ml BM) and 2kg (using 1000ml of BM ) of breast milk soap

Soap making at home

You can also make your own soap in the comfort of your home. Soap ministry sells starter kits with materials to start you off on your own soap making. Once you have run low of any of the ingredients, you can purchase them at the shop, from oil base, herbs, essential oils, even cling wraps for the finished products. If you do not wish to do at home, you can also use the facilities and tools at Soap Ministry at an affordable fee of SGD 10 per hour (this is applicable to customers who have attended at least 1 basic workshop and ingredients have to be purchased from Soap Ministry) Customers can keep their unfinished ingredients in the cubicles provided at the back of the shop.

Lifetime membership

Once you have attended any workshop, you will get a lifetime membership which will entitle you to 10% discount on purchase of products and ingredients. For the home soap making kit, there is a 15% discount.

Current opening promotions

And here taking the opportunity to wish all my readers a wonderful long weekend ahead and enjoy the jubilee celebrations!

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