Zoo Trip

Everyone's talking about the new Rainforest Kidzworld in Singapore Zoo. Well, now that the attraction is finally completed, we have a valid reason to renew our Friends of the Zoo membership which entitles us to unlimited visits to the zoo for a year. We got it free last year but this year, we had to fork out $180 (used to be $150) for it. Ouch! We felt the pinch.

Oistein Kristiansen was at the Zoo yesterday for an hour-long interactive workshop but we couldn't make it down because of Rynae's Orientation class. Maybe we'll catch him, Dora, Diego or Spongebob Sqaurepants some other days. We went for a new Rainforest Fights Back animal show at 10.30am but it was like watching a lengthy drama. The script was long with breaks of expected animals sneaking out for a short presentation. If you're a frequent visitor of the 3 parks under Wildlife Reserves, you would agree with me that the shows are similar. I bet it must be directed by the same director.

With the new Rainforest Kidzworld, animals are no longer the purpose and highlight of a zoo visit. In fact, the motive of ours (and many others) is to check out the widely publicised attraction! So, right after the show, we took a short cut, neglected the animals and headed straight for it. It's a kids' heaven alright! The wet playground has not only expanded so many times its orginal but its features are also boosted! Our friend spent a good 1 hour in the wet land and had it not been for the drizzle, she would not have left it.

The bulk of our time was thrown into the Kidzworld. It was a self-sustaining attraction on its own. Rynae ate her lunch, played in the playground, rode a pony, stole the pony's hay to feed the goats and abused the bunnies. She was so reluctant to move on but we abducted her to the new fragile forest (I suppose it is new 'cos I haven't been to it). I applaud the gardeners for the effort they took to revive the crops in the Tropical Crops Plantation. We really do see fruits this time!

Orientation for 2009

Rynae's school organised an orientation for Pre-Nursery and Nursery 2009 classes this Saturday and though not compulsory, we brought her there just to catch up with some teachers and her classmates. After the MP's speech, children are allowed to play in the 5 activity corners that the teachers had came up with. There were books to read, toys to play and crafts to do. After she tried her hand at sewing (something similar to the sewing cards I made for her), the teacher in charge of the activity commented that Rynae has good fine motor skills and asked me to challenge her to more difficult tasks like making her do cross stitches, cutting the holes smaller and closer etc. Alrite.. points taken...

Botanic Garden Outing

Daddy was off today. What better way to spend the day other than to go for a family outing? I've been dying to bring Rynae to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden that was opened about a year ago in the Singapore Botanic Gardens and my wish was finally fulfilled. We had wanted to reach the Children's Garden in the early morning but after factoring time for preparation, breakfast and transportation, we eventually reached 11-ish. I never like outdoor activities at noon because of the scorching sun but the weather that day was exceptionally kind to us. Most sun rays were blocked by the grey clouds and we were able to walk about without feeling much heat!

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden is a learning garden that encourages exploration and creativity and children may see, touch and smell plants to develop a sense of wonder and excitement about nature and the environment. Honestly, Rynae couldn't care much about the plants. Her focus was on the tree house playground and the waterplay area where she spent a considerable amount of time each. A short-coming I must say, is that there wasn't bathroom facility at all! Daddy had to collect a bottle of cold water from the water cooler to clean our friend. And you guessed it! She screamed and cursed when the water was poured down her body.

Exit to Cluny Road was at the other end of Botanic Gardens so we cut across from one end to the other, which requires 45 minutes of walk without rest. We took our time strolling across the gardens. Along the way, we fed the swans in the eco lake and the turtles in the swan lake. It was such a slow-paced, relaxing afternoon!

As much walking were on foot, we were all dead tired when we reached the exit. Who would have expected the Botanic Garden to be this huge! We couldn't squeeze anymore energy out for shopping so we decided to call it a day. Rynae's battery went flat and knocked out on the way home...

Daddy said that this is the $5 tree. What he meant is that this is the actual tree behind your $5 note! Believe it or not? You better!

Celery Porridge

There were some celery and a piece of bean curd in the refrigerator so I decided to utilise it to cook a celery porridge for Rynae. It was such a nostalgia because it tastes exactly the same as what my Mum used to cook for us! There are still 10 over types of porridge recipes that she knows and I hope I could master all some day. These porridges are must-learns because they're so easy to cook, gentle on the stomach, tasty and economical!

Making Japanese Jelly

So! School's out and trouble's in. What shall I keep the little monster entertained with for the rest of the holiday weeks? okto's holiday programmes are terrible hence I'd rather Rynae spends her time playing her toys or do other more meaningful activities. Today, Mummy decided to prepare Black Sesame jelly (before it expires) that was bought from Daiso. I involved Rynae in the preparation process but she contributed little. She did however, helped to serve the jelly (as though it was cooked by her). I had used Marigold HL milk and it tastes so rich with fragrance of the milk. Its texture was more akin to mousse cake than jelly or agar agar. Delicious!

Jurong IMM Again!

The last time we went to Jurong IMM's children's outdoor playground and pool, Rynae fell sick the day after. We didn't know where to go this weekend and decided to bring her there again but this time allowing her to play only at 6pm. The management had upgraded the children's playground and made it more challenging by replacing half of the playground into climbing tunnels leading to a high platform that is connected to a slide and a descending rock climbing wall. My nerves frayed whenever Rynae went up to the platform. There is such a very high tendancy to fall if overcrowded with agog children! Our friend proceeded to the pool after the green light is given. As you're aware, she's awfully frightened of water getting onto her face so she stayed grounded in a safe corner of the pool. She was happy and contented playing with water that shoots out from the ground like geysers.

Sandwich Making

Rynae's school requested for the children to bring 2 slices of bread to school today to make 'rainbow fish' sandwich. It was so coincident that the theme this term is the same book that I had read with Rynae! I was full of anticipation and was expecting to see a fish-shaped sandwich with interesting scales decoration but it turned out to be just normal tuna sandwich. 1/4 of the bread was missing and I suspected the teacher had abandoned the rainbow fish sandwich idea due to shortages of bread as some children forgot to bring theirs. Well, sharing is a good civic and moral education anyway.

Year 2008 school term will be over in a weeks' time. Time really flies. My gal has attended 1 year of pre-nursery! I shiver at the thought of the stress to help her excel academically as she moves up to kindergarten and thereafter forward to primary school life. I have no idea how we'll cope but I hope school life then will not be all about just chasing the As. I felt that a child needs to be nurtured wholesomely too, in terms of creativity, confidence, ability to talk, think and respond, self-esteem, setting a correct world-view and so much more.. Oh... It is so tough being a parent!