Graduating from a Preschool

Most of the children will attend 4 years of preschool before progressing to mainstream.

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Lauren had attended Calvary Baptist Kindergarten since Pre Nursery. I clearly remembered the day where I hid behind the walls and watched her from far. Like most of the children, the separation anxiety was there. It was heart breaking for any parent to see their precious little one crying for them and yet they could not do anything because that was for the best for the children.

Time flies and today is the last day Lauren is going to CBK.  I am very grateful to CBK for nuturing Lauren to who she is today. I have to admit there were times where I would debate with the teacher or principal over matter where I couldnt agree upon but that aside, CBK has groomed Lauren to a confident child with all the important virtues.

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When I was recording the video of Lauren performing today, my eyes were teary. To see who she has become, I am very thankful and grateful.

Before Lauren will embark on to her next journey, I will like to thank all the teachers in Calvary Baptist Kindergarten who had taught Lauren, Mrs Kueh, 优老师, Mrs Cynthia Lee, 翁老师, Mrs Ruth Yuen and Mrs Violet Chua.  Thank you for giving Lauren her wings to soar. I will like to thank her current Principal, Mrs Pamela Chan. Lauren is happy to see you in school everyday. She told me you are always dancing with all the children and that makes her very happy.  Not to forget her former principal, Mrs Fiona Tan, who made Lauren from an anti social child to her super confident self now. Thank you for sourcing for all the nice outing locations and enrichment programs for the children.

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Lauren’s diary are full of wonderful memories about her preschool life.  I now pray that Lauren will be equally happy with her primary school years.

More information of the school can be found here:  Calvary Baptist Kindergarten

 

A clip of Lauren doing her rock n roll. (I think she is abit too over in this video)

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Tangerine Grove

Alexis is 1!

My heart is filled with heartfelt gratitude on this very day.  Exactly 1 year ago,  I was praying very hard that Alexis will be born safely. That she will be healthy and will not have to go to nICU. That all my 7 months of bedresting will be rewarded with a healthy baby. I will never forget the feeling I had when I saw her the very 1st time.

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Awwwww…. my baby Alexis at 1 day old

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Love this photo despite the poor quality. Its our 1st wefie as a family

Today is Alexis’s 1st birthday. Time flies and the past 12 months were exciting and fulfilling. Coping with home, work and my small little online business.  I must say life is truly different from before.  Seeing my girls growing up by the days, the sense of achievement and satisfaction is fulfilling and  heartwarming.  I have to constantly remind myself to put my family first and not to bring frustrations from work home.  I have to thank my understanding hubby for being there for the family all the time, my helper for taking good care of my girls when we were at work and my mum and grandma who always popped by to help with my girls.

Here you go… The birthday party for Baby Alexis.

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Our lovely poolside party venue

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Alexis’s pretty birthday cake. Not to mention it is very yummy too.

 

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Yummy cupcakes from Lamb Cupcakery… Super addictive

Activities to keep the children occupied 🙂

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The moment 🙂

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Some of my chic guests..

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I am very thankful to my family, friends and neighbours for making Alexis’s birthday so memorable.. See you all again next year.

 

 

 

 

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Cirque du Soleil TOTEM is a must watch for everyone

Cirque du Soleil returns to Singapore after 10 years with an awe-inspring production, TOTEM,  presented in an intimate setting of the signature blue and yellow Big Top.

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Source: Courtesy of Cirque Du Soleil

TOTEM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations.

Inspired by many founding myths, TOTEM illustrates, through a visual and acrobatic language, the evolutionary progress of species.

Somewhere between science and legend TOTEM explores the ties that bind Man to other species, his dreams and his infinite potential.

 

It was our 1st time going to Cirque du Soleil and we have heard so much about it.  All the acts were breathtaking and magical.

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Pardon on the blurry photo. My phone camera was giving me a lot of issues lately

Among all, Lauren’s favourite was the Ring Trios.  A Bollywood-inspired music accompanies two men as they compete against each other on the rings – until a woman arrives and shows them how it’s done. Their graceful movements, sheer physical strength and superb physiques take to the skies above a summer beach.  Lauren kept saying the 2 men were very sexy. (Faints….)

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Lauren was also intrigued by the Fixed Trapeze Duo. The act which was performed by two lovebirds, a young man and woman tease, play and sulk in an innocent game of seduction and eventually intertwine their bodies in a lighthearted vertical dance of fresh, unusual movements and lifts.

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Kel and I were both mesmerized by the roller skaters.  The highlight of the show.  In a scene that evokes a wedding ceremony, a pair of roller skaters spin and whirl at heart-stopping speeds atop a tiny platform – just 1.8 meters in diameter – shaped like a drum.

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For those that are going, some advices for you:

  • If you are driving there, please do go early as all the carparks are very full and the queue to enter the carparks are very long.  Alternatively, You can valet at MBS hotel and walk over
  • It is stated on Sistic site that external F&B are not permitted but we saw people brining their own water as a bottle Dasani Mineral water cost $6 inside/ coke or Heaven & Earth green tea cost $7
  • Those bringing children, please ask for the booster seat from the crew before you are seated

I really wanted to take a video of Lauren being super fascinated at all the acts. Throughout the show, she was screaming “woah… woohoo!!!”  She was also constantly asking me to if I manage to catch what the acrobats did.

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Lauren wrote a diary about TOTEM when she reached home.

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It is a 2 hour and 25 min show (Inclusive of a 25min interval) running from now till 6th Dec at the Big Top beside Marina Bay Sands.  Please do bring your kids as I am sure children will be super excited by all the acts.

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Safari Boo is a Merry Not Scary Halloween for Kids

  1. If you are thinking of soaking up the atmosphere this Halloween but afraid that your child is not able to take scary event like the USS Halloween Night. Then dress your child up and head down to River Safari’s Safari Boo this Halloween.

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There are plenty of activities to keep your child occupied. We bought the 8pm to 10pm tickets as the earlier tickets were all sold out. Due to that, we were not able to complete all the activities in the park. You definitely need more than 2 hours if you plan to cover all the games and activities.

Remember to pick up the goodie bag at the entrance. The bag is useful for all the treats collected along the way.

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Do bring along your camera or ensure that your camera phone are fully charged as there will be lots of opportunity to take photographs with the characters.

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There is also a show that runs at 7pm ,8pm and 9pm. We missed that as Lauren took a long time at the games and activities session.

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We also missed the face painting and hair colouring corner as they were closed by the time we walked there. We spent some time queuing to take pictures with the animals.

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Lauren enjoyed herself very much. Asking if she can be here again next year.

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If you are planning to visit Safari Boo, you still have 2 more days before the end of this event. The last day for Safari Boo is on the 1st Nov. Children below 12 enter free and ticket for adult is at $20.  Safari Boo is open from 6pm to 10pm

Do get your tickets online to avoid disappointment.

 

 

 

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Alexis at Sparkanauts Baby Cadet Class

After trying Medley Toddler, I decided to give Sparkanauts next door a try. Sparkanaut has a more holistic approach. It is also a 60min, once a week program.

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Alexis tried the Baby Cadet, a program tailored for babies 5 to 12 months.  According to the school, Baby Cadet class builds the foundation for your child’s future learning.  It helps to stimulate visual and auditory senses to prepare for reading and writing. It also strengthens the body for confidence and train for nimble movements. The program is a combination of gym, flash cards, music & movement, play and story telling all in one.

The teachers will introduce a new theme every week. They will have flash cards where they will sing and flash the cards to the child individually. The child will also get to play with some instruments like tambourin or bells to expose them to sounds and coordination.

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Each week the teacher introduces an alphabet to the child. The alphabet is printed on a flash card in a textured material. The teacher will encourage the child to trace the alphabet and show the child an object related to the alphabet.

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In Sparkanauts Baby Cadet class, there is a trapeze session where the child will be asked to hold on to the handle bar of the trapeze for 30 sec.  The child would then be swung towards the parent. Alexis loves this part. This, according to the teacher, is to train the child’s arm and also to let them know when to hold and when to let go.

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Then comes the gym time; children are encouraged to crawl around through the obstacles to build their strength and awareness of the surroundings. I personally find that the baby gym had helped Alexis to develop her crawling skills better. Prior to that, she was always doing the leopard crawl. After the trial, Alexis went home crawling. 🙂 I think it is due to peer influence as she saw all the other babies crawling in class.

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One part of Sparkanauts Baby Cadet class is a mat time where the children are placed on their back and the parents would lift and drop the colourful parachute. Alexis enjoys this and always sits up at this time. Who would want to lie down when there are so many activities around.

 

I find this program very interactive for the child. Parent would need to be prepared that there will be a parent & child gym session during the class where you will have to swing, lift and hop with the child. It is pretty tiring but a good bonding session with your child.

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The school will email parents the class materials after every lesson. Parent are supposed to go back and reiterate the learning through revision of the materials.  Hard copy can be purchased at $60 for 10 sets or $10 per set.

 

The only part that would probably deter me from signing up again is the feeling I have that the school is not keeping to the standard of hygiene. I felt that they do not clean the toys or materials after the class. When asked, they told me they clean once a week which I find not acceptable.

 

The cost for Baby Cadet class is higher than Medley Toddler at $698 for 10 lessons. If you are a SAFRA member you get 1 additional lesson for free.

Appended is the class time table:

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Sparkanauts is located at:

SAFRA Toa Payoh
293 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #02-01
Singapore 319387

+65 62590307

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