An Unusual Family Day at the Singapore National Gallery

my boys at the grand staircase of the National Gallery

"Every museum is full of nice things. That's the opposite of before. 
It was important things or serious things. Now we have interesting things." 
- Gerhard Richter

Just last week, the boys and I went to the National Museum of Singapore and we did have fun, unexpectedly because we are really not (traditional) museum-going people. I saw how engrossed Ira was looking at the artefacts and listening to the facts and figures shared by the museum guide so I thought we could definitely go for another museum tour before the school holiday ends. 

A trip to the National Museum of Singapore with friends

walking towards the National Museum from Bras Basah MRT station via SMU exit

This June school holidays the boys deserved a break from all the studying/revisions in preparation for their national exams this coming 3rd and 4th terms. My parent volunteer group of friends arranged some museum visits over the duration of the holidays and we were glad we were able to join them last Wednesday.

PSLE 2016 Timetable is out!

DON'T STRESS... DO YOUR BEST.... FORGET THE REST!

And so the countdown begins. My youngest son's turn to take the PSLE is just a few months away. I know many of the parents whose children are also taking the PSLE this year are stressing over whether their children have done enough or are doing enough to prepare for the much awaited (dreaded) national exam in primary school. There are some parents. on the other hand, who are taking things more lightly and giving their children are more balanced approach - with tuition classes in certain days and music/art/physical activities in other days to get their minds off the routine. We each have our own ways of dealing with it.

I light Marina Bay 2016

I Light Marina Bay was at the top of my list when planning for things to do during the school holidays. Four weekends of festivities - yoga workouts, carnival, bazaar, light art installations and so much more - and we got to see some of it in during our visit last Saturday which was the 3rd week.

Our First Official Thanksgiving

Last year, during our fall/winter holiday in the West Coast, we were fortunate to be able to spend Thanksgiving with our family in Arizona. It was our first Thanksgiving and I was all too excited about it. The catch though was that we had to drive for about 8 or so hours from Pasadena all the way to Arizona and arrive there in time!

As with the spirit of Thanksgiving goes, I am so grateful that we made it there safe and sound. Having to spend it with my cousin who is also my childhood best friend.

There are so many things to be thankful for, not only last year but the years before that and the years that will come. For the lessons learned, for the blessings received, for the friends I've made and the struggles I have overcome.

Pentatonix: On My Way Home Concert, Singapore

Our hands are stinging

Our ears are ringing

Our voices are a bit hoarse from all the screaming (and singing along)

That goes to show how much we enjoyed PENTATONIX' singing!

Garden in a Bottle

Starting the year with an activity close to his heart, our young naturalist participated in an activity called “Garden in a Bottle”.

Weekend Biking cum Picnic Adventure

For two weekends in a row our family went biking to Pasir Ris park in the late afternoon. We brought with us some snacks, our picnic mat and tent, dropped by Popeye's for take out dinner and cycled our way to the park.

Gardens by the Bay Children's Playground

More than a month of school holidays sometimes makes it challenging to think of activities for kids (specially when you have a primary and a teenager to please). That's more than 30 days of daily activities or 10 if you want to do it every other day or so.  One way to keep the stress of planning at a minimum is to coordinate your schedule with mommy friends who have kids with the same age group as your kids. That makes planning more manageable for you and your kids will have a group of friends to spend the holidays with. You, mommy, will be able to sneak in some girl time, too. 

Counting down to Christmas 2014

our rainbow themed Christmas tree and our "parol" (Christmas lantern)

Every year we gear up for Christmas a few months earlier. Yes, it's usually by September that I start thinking of the year's color combinations and prepping up the ornaments. This year however, we were a few months behind. It was only in November that our Christmas tree made it to the living room. A week after, the tree ornaments were hung. A week after that, my husband chose this new spot for our "parol".

Weekend at the Marina Bay

We went to the Marinay Bay Promontory for the Kite Flying Festival on Septermber 18 (sorry for the delay, trying to clear my blog backlogs). As stated in the newspaper ads, we took the MRT and alighted at Raffles Place Station. Then we followed the signs going to Marina Bay on to the Promontory. It was the first time we were there, after all the construction of new buildings and the development of the Marina Bay business district. It was quite a long walk from the station but the kids did not get bored. We passed through the Marina Bay Link (like Raffles Citylink) then under The Sail. 

Weekend at the Flyer and Outback 2011

Over the weekend, we were finally able to take a ride at the world's largest observation wheel. It was sort of a surprise for the kids, since we haven't been having any family outings for the past few weeks. And Kelvin was preparing for CA1 the following week. We just told them that they need to finish their homework, finalize the review for Kelvin and then dress up at 5pm cause we were going out.

They were quite excited when we got to the Flyer cause they have been wanting to take a ride on it for a long time. It was a fun experience to be on the highest viewing point in Singapore. 

After our Flyer ride, we walked to the mall for dinner at Outback. At first, Ira was throwing tantrums as he wanted to eat at Popeye's. We managed to sway him after a few minutes and some tears. And it paid off.

They enjoyed the food at Outback. Kelvin ordered Fish and Chips while Ira had Chicken Fillet and chips. Mark and I had steak and vegies as side dish. The service was great! The kids got themselves busy with the activity booklet while waiting for food. We were constantly asked if food was ok, our drinks were refilled and we shared stories with the waiter. It was a great night. Good end to the month of February. A post-valentine celebration I could say.

More pictures on our weekend adventure at the Singapore Flyer.

Old memories, Old toys

Our scheduled trip to the Children Little Museum was finally put into action. We took a bus going to Kampong Glam and walked to Arab Street where a very small shop lead to the toy museum on the second floor.

on the first floor

Kelvin point to the brand of this very old refrigerator - KELVINATOR.

it's still working!

some displays of old robots made of tin

admission to the toy museum on the 2nd floor is $2 per person.

We've already got the tickets. Hopefully it's worth it!

It was not a really big museum of toys. There were some glass cabinets showcasing old toys and memoirs from way back 1950s. There were old school report cards and health books.

this one's an old barber shop chair and salon thing.

Ira checking out what's on sale at Ah Seng Toy store. 

a wooden sword

getting thirsty? You might want to try some cool drinks at this old drinks stall. 

They even have very all coke bottles!

toys galore from the olden days in Singapore

Ira enjoyed this car track even more. 

Displayed on the walls are the owners baby pictures and some of their formula milk and bottle (made of glass!).

the book shop - with old pencils, erasers, sharpeners and some magazines

go cart anyone?

resting for a while

old army plane with soldiers parachuting down

rocking horse on the wall

a different kind of stroller/walker

Ira leaving his mark. Writing something in the guestbook.

piles of guestbooks dated back several years

this isn't working

Ira loves binoculars

So much for our trip down Singapore's memory lane (in terms of toys). This wasn't the biggest and most collection of toys we've seen. But it also amused the kids. They also offer old toys in the shop.

Details:
Address:
40 Kandahar Street Singapore 198895 (near arab street)


Opening hours: 
Monday - Friday 11am-830pm
Saturday-Sunday 11am-6pm


Admission fee: $2


Contact person:
Allan 8196-0138
Janet 9379-1614 (please take note as of March 2012, she is no longer in connection with the Toy Museum)

Longkang Fishing at Bottle Tree Park

On Saturday, we brought the kids for a different experience. We let them go longkang fishing at Bottle Tree Park in Yishun. The kids were excited because they love riding the bus. But it was only Kelvin who was looking forward to this new adventure. Ira said he didn't want to go fishing and would prefer to visit Eunos bus interchange instead.

Punggol Marina adventure

Over the weekend, we decided to bike to Punggol Marina. We haven't done so for quite sometime. I think we have explored different parts of that area. The boys have been here last week by themselves.

Since Ira cannot pedal that far yet, he took a ride with dad on his bikeseat (he should make use of it before he  outgrows it!).

Road trip via Bus 80

Yesterday, after celebrating my mom's birthday (even though she in not in Singapore) and meeting up with relatives from the Philippines and Singapore at Vivocity, we headed to the Harbourfront Bus Interchange so the kids could check bus brochures. Ira and Kelvin have been collecting these for a few months now. It was actually Ira's idea and Kelvin got into the hype.

Since it was still a bit early (around 8:33pm) we decided to take the bus going home. We estimated the cost to be cheaper but the travel time to be almost double. MRT from Harbourfront to Sengkang is around 40 minutes @ $1.71 per adult, plus the bus from Sengkang Interchange to our place (5-10minutes).

We predicted that the kids would be asleep by the time we get to Paya Lebar but we were wrong. They were both wide awake and very much curious about the surrounding, esp the bus stops. Ira checked the bus numbers at every bus stop. He was sort of counter-checking if the route on the bus numbers he has at home are correct. He would check the bus stop name or the road name and would tell us what buses serve the route. He seems to have memorized the routes of the bus numbers he has!

Bus 80 goes from Harbourfront to Tanjong Pagar to Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Lavender, Kallang, Geylang, Paya Lebar, Serangoon, Hougang and, finally, Sengkang. We were able to see the railway station - of the train that goes to Malaysia - at Tanjong Pagar. Then the customs port with the very big digital clock clearly seen from the road. We passed by People's Park Complex and Clarke Quay, and had a glimpse of the CBD buildings. Then we drove pass the touristy Victoria Street and Bugis Junction, and the infamous Geylang Road. We spotted some places that we would want to visit some other time. 

After an hour-long trip, we were  around Kovan and Ira remembered the place. He mentioned that bus 119 passes through that road (Upper Serangoon) and confirmed it by checking the bus stop again. He was so proud to tell us that he was right! Few more minutes and we were already on our destination. Ira was pleading for us to go to the interchange first. He wanted to check more bus numbers. But we told him we needed to go down at the next stop and that he can visit the interchange some other time.

It was a good, long trip around Singapore. It's like a tour of the central and eastern part of the country. We're contemplating on doing another road trip, on a different bus route, some time in the future. The kids would definitely love that.

Kelvin joined the Cold Storage Kids Fun Run 2010

When Kelvin asked us if he could join the Cold Storage Kids Fun Run 2010, were a bit hesitant since there was a registration fee of $28. I asked him to justify his intentions of joining the race. He said he wanted to experience taking part in a race with other kids. It seemed to be a good enough reason. But the deal was that we would only shoulder half of the cost. That meant he would pay for $14.

An afternoon at Palawan Beach, Sentosa

Still celebrating the school holidays, this time at Palawan Beach, Sentosa. We wanted to see the Sand Sculptures at the same time for the kids to enjoy the sun, sea and sand.

It was actually a spur-of-the-moment decision to go there yesterday (March 17). We planned to go today (March 18) but realized that it was the soft opening of Universal Studios - more people, more crowded Sentosa Express. We didn't want to be a part of all the fuzz on the opening day so we decided to go a day earlier - at the last minute (like 3pm!). The weather was good (no drizzles, no rain).

By 4pm we were on our way to Sentosa. The boys were pretty excited to play with sand and ride on the luge. We planned to go on the night luge ride.

We took the Sentosa Express at Vivocity and paid for the admission and transpo via our EZlink card (yes, that is possible now). We stopped at Beach Station (the last station) where we walked towards Palawan Beach. We passed through the Sand Sculptures. We thought there were a lot of them but we only saw around 5-6 exhibits.

After taking some pictures with the sculptures, the kids were on a hurry to get to beach area where they could play with the sand.

gateway to Palawan Beach

few more steps to the beach

enjoying the sun, sea and sand

making "chocolate milk drink" made up of sand and saltwater

coke model?

it's almost sundown

on our way up to Imbiah Lookout

at the Images of Singapore

Here are other pictures and stories on our latest visit to Sentosa.