Review: The Sound of Music

Five days after watching one of the world's most famous musicals "The Sound of Music", the songs are ringing in my ears, and in good way. The Marina Bay Sands Theatre was indeed buzzing with the sound of music last Thursday, where Dumpling and I attended the Gala Night. Melodious songs filled the air over the 2+ hours stellar performance which had Dumpling and I singing and tapping along with the singers.

The Sound of Music was an all time favorite when I was a little girl – especially since I play the organ and we had to learn solfege so the musical’s theme song resonated well with me.  When I became a mum, I was very intentional in sharing the many classic movies which I enjoyed with Dumpling and The Sound of Music, is one such treasure.

The Sound of Music is a production inspired by a true story: The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. In this broadway musical, it centers on Maria Rainer, a-nun-in-training, and a widowed Captain von Trapp, with seven children. The story takes place preceding WWII where the underlying tension between the Germans and Austrians was felt in the production.

That evening was the second time catching the musical for Dumpling and myself, and it amazed us no less. Carmen Pretorius, who acted as Liesl in the last production when it staged here in 2014 now returns as Maria. Frankly, at the start, I thought that she has large shoes to fill but her delivery was on point throughout the whole show; she did not even look like she broke a sweat as she hit those high notes with such clarity. :p

Pretorius was believable as the young and carefree Maria (employed as a governess) who looked like she’s one who’d scrapped knees, climbed trees and sang freely on mountains yet in the same breath, was mature and brave enough to stand up to the regimented Captain von Trapp who runs his household military style.  

The story's main theme is notably on love. Not just the love story which blossomed slowly between the Captain and Maria but also the motherly love that Mother Abbess had for Maria, and the sisterly love between the nuns. From the start of the show, it was clear that Maria somewhat stuck out like a sore thumb in her study to be a nun where she was always breaking rules. However, Mother Abbess was patient and kind and saw more in Maria than Maria ever saw in herself. 

The exchanges between Maria, the nuns and Mother Abbess treated us to the lovely prowess of the performers' vocals. The show started with "Maria" where the nuns harmonized beautifully. Mother Abbess was also exceptional and stole the show in her solo rendition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" where the theatre rang with her high notes. 

The von Trapp children were absolutely adorable (with local cast members too!). Dumpling and I actually had a "double" treat because we were seated directly behind some of the children cast members whom I noted, could not help but hummed along during some songs. :)

The little star of the show (both in the 2014 and this production) was Gretl who had the crowd eating out of her little hands with her performance of "So long, Farewell". Brigitta also brought many moments of laughter with her precocious personality and (sometimes too) honest views. Friedrich was well casted as the gangly teenager. The audience around me were clearly engrossed as many (including Dumpling and myself) sung and hummed along with the famous "Do-Re-Mi".

With such strong performance from the cast, it would be easy for Captain von Trapp to be overshadowed. Instead, he held his own with his duet with the Baroness (How can Love Survive) and the ever famous "Edelweiss" as he bade farewell to Austria.

Because this is a love story which took place with an impending war, there were discussions of it between Captain von Trapp, Baroness Schrader (the captain's original love interest) and Max Detweiler (the captain's friend). The captain's political views towards the Germans were all too obvious and this created much tension between him and the officers where he was forced to flee from Austria and the audience was once again treated to "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", ending the show on a crescendo. 

As this is sung "live", it would not be realistic to expect the same plot development as the movie because of time limitation. The whole background of the war may be lost on younger children but I'd say that the songs and sets will more than enthrall them. A musical that is great for the family; highly recommended! 

:: PERFORMANCE TIMES:                
Tuesday to Friday:           7:30pm
Saturday:                          2:00pm and 7:30pm
Sunday:                            1:00pm and 6:00pm

:: TICKET PRICE:                                   
From $65*
* Excludes the booking fee of SGD$4 per ticket

:: BOOKINGS:
INTERNET:  www.MarinaBaySands.com/ticketing or https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/sound1217
PHONE:   +65 6688 8826
IN PERSON AT:
Marina Bay Sands Box Offices (Museum, Theatres, SkyPark, Retail Mall and Hotel Tower 1 Lobby).For more information please log onto - www.MarinaBaySands.com

Disclaimer: Dumpling and I were invited to the Gala Night so that we can share our experience on it. All views expressed are entirely mine and does not represent the organisation that I work for.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

Gogoprint - Your "Go-to" digital printer for personalised printing!

Amongst my own circle of friends and contacts, I have noted that increasingly, we are getting more entrepreneurial as many are dabbling into small businesses. With that, having ready simple collateral such as business cards, tags, and even brochures are important in communicating the services and products we carry.

I, for one, definitely should look into the printing ofbusiness cards for my blog, something that I have put on hold for the longest time. But with the kiddo’s party, that’s another story altogether. I find planning for her parties easy as they are usually theme bases are you can read more about a “Frozen” party here and a “How to train your dragon” art jamming party here.

I have been doing self design for the invitation cards as well as gift tags etc, for the last few years where I print them at a digital printer in Bras Basah. But this year, I decided to try out Gogoprint's online service as it even provides door-to-door delivery! 

Gogoprint is a leading online printing marketing and technology firm, which has the distinct vision to make ordering printing products easy and cost-effective, thereby helping small- and medium-sized businesses to market their businesses and to grow. From popular promotional materials such as flyers, brochures and folders, to business cards and digital booklets, choices are aplenty. So this year, I decided to try out Gogoprint where everything is done online, with just a few clicks!

Gogoprint’s products are listed on the mainpage where at one glance you can click and enter into the dedicated product page where you can then specify your requirements by choosing:

• Size
• Materials
• Finishing
• Quantity, etc

In the case of our gift tags, we can even opt for the position for them to punch the hole for us to loop in the strings!

As Dumpling’s birthday theme this year is on Star Wars, we decided to print a booklet in addition to some gift tags and sticks using similar artwork like what we did for her e-invitation.

The party booklet which turned out gorgeous. The print was crisp and the matt lamination looked really great with the black!

Check out our stickers and thank you gift tags! We could print round shaped stickers with Gogoprint! Something that I couldn't do with my previous printer! 

Best of all, the order was done in just 3 steps! 

Here’s a walk through of how simple it was to order:

:: Step 1: Choose my options

So this is where I get to customise on materials, size, finishing (glossy or matt) and the number of pages for my booklet. What was useful for me was the short description for the under “materials” which helps me make better choices on the type of materials to choose.

:: Step 2: Choose Quantity and Delivery Speed

 The website shows very clearly the various price range for different quantity and different delivery dates. For my 8 pp booklet, I noticed that the incremental difference for non urgent orders is only about $1+ per booklet!  

 :: Step 3: Upload File

And just like that, I was brought to the next section to upload my file (free for pdf files). (For my artwork, I used both powerpoint as well as Canva to create them.) 

And once the file is uploaded, I was then prompted to checkout where I can make my payment via credit card. 

 

:: What about delivery?

The delivery was prompt as per the date indicated in my cart and the booklets were gorgeous! The printing was crisp and sharp and the paper, as per what my order was (I opted for a thick paper for the cover). Check them out! 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored conversation where Dumpling and I were invited to review the Gogoprint's digital printing service so that we can share our experience on it. All views expressed are entirely mine and does not represent the organisation that I work for.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

POSB Smart Buddy - Preparing your child for the future world

Singapore, as a whole, is moving towards a cashless society in its aim to be a smart nation. This is made even more evident in PM Lee’s recent National Day Rally speech. And as parents, we are encouraging coding and STEM so it is certainly not surprising that our children are getting a lot more tech savvy than we were at their age.

POSB Smart Buddy Programme is a tech (with a mobile app) that teaches children how to spend and save money using a watch which is a device for cashless payments. I was invited for a briefing as well as to trial the watch with Dumpling.

:: What are the features of the POSB Smart Buddy watch?

The Smart Buddy watch also acts as a fitness tracker (steps and calories counter). Additionally, if your child’s school is participating in the programme, it allows your child to make cashless transactions in the school’s canteen, school’s bookshop and even at merchants out of the school compound.

:: How does it work?

The POSB Smart Buddy watch is linked up to your savings / current account. More importantly, it allows the parent to view the below to understand the spending patterns of the child:

:: 3 things we like about the POSB Smart Buddy Watch

1) Ease of use

It’s as simple as a “tap and go” to make that NETS transaction. Dumpling tried first this out at Popular bookstore. 

All she had to do was to raise her watch and tap against the payment unit and the transaction was reflected real-time via my app.

2) Real-time “top up” and transactions update

I was away at the library when the dad and her decided on a KFC meal and the kiddo wanted to pay for it. Her balance was at $5.80 but the meal costs $8.8.

A quick call to me and I topped up there and then in the library and she was able to pay for it in under 2 minutes!

The best part is in the event if your child drops the watch, we can disable the watch via our app on the phone remotely! How’s that for security? J

3) Encourages the kiddo to be more active

Believe it or not, Dumpling was really excited with the steps and calories counter as it looks somewhat like the smart watch that I am using. She was motivated to walk a lot just to see how many steps she took and if she can outdo herself the following day. I think that this feature, when rolled out in more schools, will be one which will get the children trying to outdo each other, which in turn, get them to walk more and lead a healthier lifestyle. 

:: OK, so I understand the functions of this watch but I am worried about financial literacy. Won’t this watch not allow the child to understand that?

Honestly, to me, there is not much difference between the POSB Smart Buddy and from the child’s EZ link card which is used for bus trips and even for library charges. The only thing is that for EZ link card, we, as parents are mainly the ones responsible for topping up and for managing the account. But in the case of the POSB Smart Buddy watch, the child will be responsible for the spending and savings. 

Now, isn’t this a good thing?

This is especially so if you have a young child (e.g. Primary 1 / 2) where you can now monitor the spending and speak to your child about it before it escalates to a larger “overspending” issue? So how can I make the POSB Buddy watch work even better for us?

:: Here’s 3 tips:

1) Let them earn their allowance

Frankly, Dumpling has never had allowance going to school. We secretly joke that she must be the poorest student we know. :p But the main reason is because she does not fancy school food and even at this stage I still pack her a bento daily. She has an emergency fund which she can tap into but that’s about it.

With Dumpling “earning” her allowance (or commission ~ a term which I learnt from a financial guru), I hope that she grows up with a less entitled mindset. And by earning, it is not the chores that she is tasked to do, but to take on extra tasks. This, I learnt, makes her more careful with her spending as she now understands that money does not grow on trees. 

2) Spending, Saving and Giving

Besides the spending and saving portions, I do get Dumpling to put aside a “giving” portion back to church or any organization she wants to by understanding a certain % of her savings goes to charity.

To us, giving back is very important and I’d like for her to have such a life habit as it is certainly more meaningful than spending on frivolous items such as yet another eraser or shopkins item. 

3) Budget and Plan

Budgeting is a regular topic that I have been talking to her since young. There were instances where I did not give in to whimsy purchases or the 3rd expensive meal that weekend and I’d always told her because we do not need it. Rather, I am saving for our next vacation or for e.g. Christmas gifts, etc.  

Because of such exposure from young, I’d say that she is somewhat quite aware and showed that she seems to be quite prudent with her money management where we monitor how she spent her money recently at a Pasar Malam (night market) near our place.

Right now, Dumpling wants to have her own spending money for the upcoming X’mas and perhaps personal spending money for a year end vacation so.

To find out more please visit: posb.com.sg/smartbuddy
Here's another mum's experience using the POSB watch

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored conversation where Dumpling and I were invited to review the POSB Smart Buddy watch so that we can share our experience on it. All views expressed are entirely mine and does not represent the organisation that I work for.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

Parenthood: how are you taking care of yourself?

On a daily basis, my schedule is maxed out ~ from being an employee full time to heading home to "parenting" to blogging during free(er) times to bringing the kiddo for her classes etc. A friend of mine, reminded me recently that self care is extremely important and yes, that got me thinking ~ how am I taking care of myself?

I am not sure if any of you will resonate with this but I spend both money and time without blinking when it comes to things to do with Dumpling, but when it comes to myself, I am a lot more prudent.

But one of the things that I have been really conscious about is skincare and personal grooming because whether we like it or not, people do judge us based on how we look during the first few seconds. And as I have no patience for  heading out for facials and perhaps my schedule is too erratic, I find it easier to do eye spa and face spa, etc on my own. So self care for me, comes in the form of home range skincare.

I have been using Mary Kay for a few years: from the whitening range to the Timewise range (for those in 30s) to the new acne range, Clearproof, the products have worked really really well for me.
So I am glad to share that for this month, (as it is my birthday month!) I've decided to do celebrate with a giveaway of 1 x Mary Kay Skinvigorate device with + a personal skincare / beauty workshop at the convenience of your home!

I have personally benefited much from this cleaning brush as the bristles are so soft yet it cleanses so thoroughly that over the course of a few weeks, my skin improved in texture and clarity. Customers who have purchased this have shared really positive feedback too!

1) What is Mary Kay Skinvigorate?
It is a face brush device which has 2 speeds settings (400 and 200 rotations per minute.

2) How does it help me / my skin?
It cleanses and removes make up 85% better than cleansing with our hands! With the bristles and the rotations, it deep cleanses as well as helps in unclogging pores. Based on clinical studies, 96% reported that it provides a more even-looking skin tone too!

Because I do not believe in recommending anything that I have not used below, here's the before and after photos of my face! (Not filtered!)

You can see for yourself that my skin looks smoother and clearer! My freckles (hereditary!) are also less obvious. :)

3) Who is it suitable for and what does each set consist of?
The beauty of this brush is that it is suitable for all skin types and I have clients who also bought it for their husbands!  Each set consists of batteries, the hand held device as well as 2 brush heads (each last for about 3 months!)

Stand a chance to win 1 x Skinvigorate device (worth more than $80!) + a personal skincare / beauty workshop.

Here's how to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

:: Terms and Conditions

1. The product cannot be exchanged and are not exchangeable for cash
2. Please answer this question in the comments section below: “What is main your skincare concern / challenge?”
3. 1 winner will be selected and I will reach out via email to make an appointment (weekend only) and deliver Mary Kay Skinvigorate to you! A 60-90 mins session is needed for the sharing and hands-on trial (you get to ask me some questions you may have for your skin and try out some products at no obligation!) 
4. By taking part in this giveaway, you agree to receiving emails on Mary Kay products which I will share from time to time. 

Disclaimer: This giveaway is a personal giveaway where all opinions expressed are entirely mine and does not represent the organisation that I work for.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

A reflection: Term 3 of Primary 3 – I want a happier child

I want a happier child. And by that, I am saying that I want a well balanced child who has time to reflect, moments to dabble in her interests and even quiet moments to be bored. Dumpling is in P3 now and the workload this year has been tremendous so I cannot imagine how things will be like in the next 3 years.

The irony is that I work with teachers and leaders who work with children in the early formative years, where we often celebrate uniqueness and creativity; where we are reminded to respect each child’s expressions and feelings. So how is it that once they hit Primary school, all things come to a halt and rote learning and endless worksheets and homework seem to be the way to go?

I recall that while growing up and attending lectures (during Uni and Poly days), there was much talk and in a way, comparison, between our youths versus those in Western societies. Most often than not, “creativity” and “entrepreneurial spirit” (the lack of) are two areas which are often brought up.

How do we, then, encourage children to develop these skills? Because it seems to me that most of my friends and I “learnt” through rote learning and worksheets while growing up. So how is it that as a nation, we are still using a similar approach 30 years ago when everything else has evolved? And how does that encourage children to think out of the box and problem solve when everything is so structured? Can creativity and critical thinking skills even be cultivated? 

Honestly, I have no idea. But I would think that a self-directed learner has a higher chance of being a more creative child with more out of the box ideas than one that has been constantly exposed to just an instructional / didactic approach. When a person is engaged (regardless of age), “active” learning takes place as the person is more inclined to read up, research and learn more about that topical interest. Similarly for children, they are more likely to experiment and dabble into things when they are engaged. However, to do that, children need time and loads of it to reflect and to ponder.

Dumpling, being homeschooled at a young age, was encouraged to pursue and read up on whatever that catches her fancy and till this day, she still has a very keen interest in “Ancient Civilisation”, “Mythology” and “Social Studies”. She finds the lifestyle of the Mayas and Incas fascinating as the same with Greek Mythology. And in the same breath, she’s shared with me that in Norse Mythology, the days of the week were named after their gods and goddesses. For e.g. Friday is named after Freya and the day was known as Freya Day while Thursday is named after Thor. How fascinating that is. :)

While watching a documentary on Jane Goodall last evening, the narrator mentioned a place, Tanganyika, which Dumpling shared with me that it is now known as Tanzania (Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar and the country was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.) And I was blown away. 

So I made a decision to reschedule Dumpling’s classes and to free up more time for her after school. Why? Because I want to have a happier child. And more importantly, I have realised that while Dumpling does well academically, I have learnt that if I were to continue to push her towards maintaining that academic excellence, she’d just be textbook smart where she'd regurgitate facts but I recognize that we both want more than that or she'd not be the inquisitive and passionate child that I know and that I love so dearly.

In an interview that Jack Ma did, he shared that he does not need his son to be the top three in his class as “only this kind of person [a middle-of-the-road student] has enough free time to learn other skills”. That was a pivotal learning point for me. For any child to continue to excel academically and to be able exercise that level of precision during exams is to practise, practise and practise some more. But that also means that the child is limited to only that academic exposure and nothing else.

Now, I do get that practice makes perfect but why are we so fixated on only that version of “perfection”? And why is it only results centric?  

The only answer that I can come up with, is that "perfection" is the version most of us were measured against when we were studying. So that same “value” we have pegged to results is the same value we are using to measure our child’s success and even the “standards” of schools here (elite versus neighbourhood schools). And Singapore, having gone from a third world country to a first world in 50 years, further cements that "results" is the panacea. So, the system can’t change because in a way, we can’t. Unless we see beyond the value of "just grades" and recognize that our children are all created different and we should celebrate that diversity, then likely, this will always be an academic rat race. 

Dumpling and I had quite a few chats on the rescheduling. This is in a bid to leave her with more "tinkering" time - be it doing some online reading / research, or working on one of her subscription boxes, doing her SCRATCH coding or start work on her stop animation project. Of course, the slight sense of unease is still there but I trust that the future world values things BEYOND grades. 

Sure, grades will open up some doors and maybe opportunities for them but I also believe that other traits such as grit, being able to work well in teams, to lead, creativity, etc., will bring her further in life. 

I recently told her "baby, I don't need you to always be the top 3 in class ya? You know that right?" To which, I am very heartened to share that she said "yes, I know. Because you want me to just be happy and to do things which make me happy." 

Giveaway: Chinese eOracy HomeKit!

Chinese Oracy is one area that I cringe when it comes to exams and tests. Like most Singaporean children, I think that Dumpling is not as fluent as she should be when it comes to chatting in Mandarin. I have been more intentional lately when it comes to engaging her in conversations in Mandarin as she still has 病句. It is more about practice to build up the competency as well as right usage of words. 

So as a parent, how do we start and where do we start from? Especially since there’s been a change in the Oracy requirement for PSLE; where the format is now an e-format, using video clips and where the marks are now 25% of the total score. 

I then chanced upon a home kit – eTutor eOral Exam Pack by the creators of eZhiShi (and “newspapers” such as 新朋友which I believe many of the Primary school children are subscribing to). I decided to buy the set (retailing at $69) to try it out.  

:: What the pack consists of:

A Guide Book and a USB Drive

USB: 

In the USB, it consists of:

-          5 video conversations 

-          10 animation conversations 

-          15 read aloud 

The USB card also consists of e-oral procedure and simulation, oral prompts and reference answers. 

Guide Book:

The booklet is an e-oral guide which shares tips on scoring for the examinations. 

:: How it works

The USB drive comes in the form of a “card” where we need to insert it facing this way. 

Your laptop / PC should read the drive and there should be a pop up screen with folders inside. For most, you should be able to set it up by clicking “autorun”.  However, as I am not the administrator for the laptop which I used to try out this card, I had to then click on the “alt.drive” folder and then double click on the icon where it opened up this screen below:

After loading it, the page below should pop up:

The eOral pack, as seen above, has individual sections where you can work with your child directly on reading aloud, video conversations, etc. There is also a complete "end to end" mock experience (eOral Simulation) which leads from "read aloud" to "video conversation" seamlessly.

:: The main sections:

1) Read aloud
The format looks very similar to the www.ezhshi.net portal and in this USB, there are 15 read aloud passages.

Your child can then choose to read on his/her own or click on the "readaloud" button where a narrator will read it and as he/she does, the font colour changes, assisting the child to follow the "flow" better.

The great thing is that even if  you are not around as your child attempts it, you can get him/her to record the reading (red button) and you can review it later. In the event if there's any assistance needed, a quick click on the "question mark" will yield a "help guide" (below):

 

2) Conversation practice
There are 10 "scenes" used in this animated clips with different 生活单元 for discussions with your child.

Each conversation practice has 3 sections to the discussion (indicated by the numerals below) and like the other sections, this also allows your child to record his / her answers. Your child can also choose to read the text to the oral prompt given. 

Importantly, for some children who need more support as they are unsure of how to proceed, a sample "answer" is provided - both the text as well as someone narrating it. 

3) Video Conversations

Besides the 10 animated clips, this eOral pack also includes 5 video recording. I understand that more clips will be added after a quick call with the company :)

Like the animated clips, these also has 3 sections to the oral prompts. 

4) eOral Simulation 
Lastly, there is an eOral simulation which brings the child through an "end-to-end" Oral Examination experience - Reading aloud + the conversation after watching the video clip. 

You can view a sample of the video clip here as well as a simulation of the procedure at the same link.

:: What I like about it

Convenience & Content
Honestly, this is #1 reason because I believe many of us will have challenges being able to get our hands on the resources to be able to view any video / animated clips. To have this in a ready format brings convenience to a whole new level as it is basically a "plug and play" hit.

Additionally, I really like the content as it is based on authentic experiences (生活单元) where I believe that it is easily understandable and relatable to children.

Content flow
The flow is thought through properly and Dumpling was pretty much able to navigate through easily. While Dumpling may not be at the level of the suggested vocabulary (this goes up to P6), I thought that it is a good exposure for her.

Guide Book
Importantly, this set comes with a guide book where the questions and the suggested answers are printed in it.

This makes it easy for us as we have a hardcopy to readily refer to as it provides a "compilation" of the activities and model scripts in it. :) 

I am pleased to share that I have 3 x eOral Exam Pack (worth $69 each!) to give away! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions

1. The products are kindly sponsored by E Com Education International Pte Ltd and the giveaway is not endorsed, or associated with Facebook.
2. The products cannot be exchanged and are not exchangeable for cash
3. Please answer this question in the comments section below: “What are you doing to encourage / support your child's Oracy skills at home?”
4. Winners are to collect  (during office hours) from Monday to Friday at: 33 Ubi Ave 3, #03-23, Vertex Building, Singapore 408868
   
   GOOD LUCK! 

Disclaimer: My eOral Exam Pack was a personal purchase where I found it useful and collaborated with E Com Education on this giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely ours.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

REVIEW: Little Red Hood 小红帽

Little Red Riding Hood is certainly a familiar tale in many households being as well known as it is. But watching it in Mandarin and with some modern twists to the story? That’s certainly something of a different experience which the kiddo and I had a chance to preview, 2 weekends back!  

:: The story

The play starts with Little Red’s family running a cake business – 甜心蛋糕屋. Business was thriving and the family, happy. Little Red’s father would deliver cakes to “Grandma” from time to time until one day, Little Red’s father did not return after leaving one such afternoon and this is where the adventure unfolds…

Little Red was well played as the actress exuded the same sense curiosity and the bubbly personality I’d imagine the storybook character to have. Along the way, she met Wolf (好狼, who pretended to be kind) and later, Woodcutter. Like the story, Little Red unwittingly gave away Grandma’s address to the cunning wolf. However, unlike the original story, the woodcutter is a bit “Dory-like” (as Dumpling puts it) because he seems to have short term memory loss hence he brings along a HUGE journal which he documents people he met and experiences he had along the way as a reference point.

The play had many funny and interactive moments which had the audiences shouting away. The wolf, though sly, did not appear scary but instead, I found myself laughing at his antics (and his smooth dance moves I must add ~ just look at the photo below!)

The story becomes interesting as we see an unlikely hero in Woodcutter when he and Red pair up to save the day… So what happened to Grandma and who, exactly was the wolf?

:: What we like about the play

Compared with Nightingale, this Mandarin play I feel; is a lot more suitable for younger children. Perhaps it is because it is such a popular fairy that it is easily understood even with younger children. As the entire play is in Mandarin, it is a good way for children to grasp and be exposed to the language in a fun and interactive manner. The songs were quite catchy and the famous lines were also translated "smoothly" to Mandarin which had the children in the rows in front of me, repeating them. 

Idioms and "strong" vocabulary were used during the play (一落千丈、吃盐多过吃米), which I feel, for the older children such as Dumpling who is in Primary 3 this year would gave them a more in-depth perspective on how these 成语/好词好句 can be used in her descriptions and compositions. 

I got Dumpling to add on her thoughts in Chinese for this review too:

“我觉得这部戏剧很有趣也很好笑。老狼这个角色扮演得很真实。这个故事教了我们应该听父母的话，不应该和陌生人谈天也不要太容易相信他们。”

Keen to catch the play and introduce Mandarin to your children in a fun way? Here's the event details:

Event Date

Thu, 20 Jul - Fri, 1 Sep 2017

Weekdays: 10am
Weekend & Public Holiday: 11am & 2pm
 

Venue

KC Arts Centre - Home of SRT

You can purchase tickets here

Disclaimer: We were invited to watch the play by Singapore Repertory Theatre so that we can give our opinions on it. We are not compensated for the post. All opinions expressed are entirely ours.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

Review: Dive Degree Scuba Try Out for Kids

I attained my Open Waters licence many years back before the kiddo came along. I recall the blonde moment when I got into the waters and I realize how different the feeling and scenery as compared to watching on TV.

Most of the time, when I watch TV programmes where there are underwater scenes; it is always somewhat a flat landscape with corals. However, nothing quite prepares you for the moment when the schools of fish swims in front of you and parts like a silvery curtain or when you see that it’s more than flat / low land with corals.

I had the chance to do snorkeling with the kiddo a few years back and thankfully, she was quite into it and was fascinated by what she saw. The hubs is a divemaster so this is one area which he is quite enthusiastic about letting the kiddo try out and have the chance to bond with her. So we were naturally excited when invited by Dive Degree for the kiddo to have a chance to do a Scuba Tryout!

:: About Dive Degree

Dive Degree is set up with the vision to deliver the ultimate dive experience and is committed to extend the privilege of exploring the underwater world to everybody with services reasonably priced and easily accessible (scuba programmes for children aged 8 years old and above) services.

Dumpling participated in a Scuba Try-Out on a weekend morning. The session is slated for 90 mins but may exceed as per our experience as this is dependent on the children's readiness and water confidence. 

:: Why let kids take up scuba diving at such a young age?

Some advantages of picking up scuba diving include, but are not limited to the following:

✓ Boosts kids’ water confidence 

✓ Learn safety rules & principles 

✓ Application of problem-solving skills & laws that apply to buoyancy and gravity real life in an underwater setting 

✓ Educate them on ocean conservation 

✓ Encourages discovery and exploration 

✓ Strengthen family bonding with our parent-&-child sessions

:: Learning objectives

As it is a try-out session, the main objective of the morning is to basically let the kids learn the basics they need as well as let them experience how breathing underwater feels like. Importantly, it is meant for the children to also learn some basic safety skills.

:: The experience

The morning started with a quick introduction by Jack, Dumpling’s instructor for that morning. Thereafter, she was led to a room to get herself geared up as Jack explained and did the fitting for the children. So basically, the course fee includes the rental of equipment.   

Once the fitting was done, the next part of the lesson was the safety briefing.

Safety Briefing

As with any sports, safety is of utmost importance and personally I feel that with Scuba diving, more so. Besides being well prepared, it is important to stay calm and know how to handle “situations”. Things such as mask clearing and the retrieval of the regulator are vital especially when you depend on these equipments in the water. Hence for that morning, the theory session took up about 35-45 mins, something which you may inform your child prior.

The briefing that morning covered these sharing:

1. Introduction to equipment
2. Inflating of BCD
3. Standard hand signals
4. Basic safety skills such as clearing of masks, retrieval of regulator, reading of air gauge

 

Pool session

The next part of the session was definitely the part that Dumpling enjoyed the most though when she first started, she was a bit hesitant. The hubs, who was there, helped her out with the gearing up, but reminded her that she will be pretty much on her own with the instructor as he was there to take photos + videos.

Jack started by demonstrating on how to enter the pool 

and once in it, it was a couple of minutes for the children to get used to the masks as well as swimming with their fins on.

In the water, Jack also went through with the children on swimming with their snorkels on, getting used to breathing through the mouths through their regulators. Importantly, Dumpling also had the chance to clear her mask, test her buoyancy as well as retrieve her regulator.

I'm OK!

The pool session ended with a game where Dumpling had to swim through hoops and assemble a Lego boat. :)

Gimme that brick!

Tired but happy with her Lego!

What we like about the session:

As this is a try-out session, we were very aware that it is mainly to give Dumpling a chance to trial this sport as well as get a chance to experience breathing underwater and try on the equipment. Personally, I like that the safety briefing was precise because as parents, safety is the top concern for most of us. Importantly, these skills will carry over if you decide to enroll your child for a full scuba certification course as a Junior Scuba Diver (10YO). 

The duration of the session was just right for us though it started getting hot as we finished closer to noon. Dumpling enjoyed the game section a lot as it was a great way to test out her water confidence in a fun way. On hindsight, she said that it would be nice if Uncle Jack can add in more games. :p

The tryouts are also conducted in small groups (no more than 4 children at one go) and Jack was patient and funny, both qualities which I believe help me to engage children too. :) 

Now that we got you interested, here's some course information! 

Course Info and Requirements:

- Child must be at least 8 years old

- Comfortable in water

- No prior experience needed

- Depth of pool: 2m / 6ft 

Keen to try out in September holidays? Here's Dive Degree's September promotions!

Sign up with a friend by 13 Aug (Quote "Beanie N Us")to receive a special offer of $180 for 2 for this try out session! (U.P. $120) 

Dive Degree will also be participating in Travel Revolution 4-6 Aug, at MBS. Hop on over if you wish to find out more in person! 

:: Dive Degree
67B Queen Street, Bugis Village
Singapore 188546
M: 8822 5764 (Whatsapp/Wechat)

W: www.divedegree.com
FB: www.facebook.com/divedegree
IG: www.instagram.com/divedegree

Disclaimer: We were invited for a media session to share our experience of the tryout. All opinions expressed are entirely our own.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!