Pokemon Go Fever and its effect on me

Walking around shopping centres and parks now, you would probably be greeted with people of all ages with their eyes fixated and fingers swiping on their phone screens. If you happened to peek into what they were looking at, 85% of the time, you would see Pokemon on their screen.

I was hesitant to download the game because I knew I would be glued to it.  One fine day while waiting for Lauren to be dismissed from her class. I downloaded the game and it has gotten a lot of my attention ever since; I couldn’t explain why the game is so addictive. Probably because you could show others how you managed to get hold of some truly rare pokemons.  Within 2 hours of downloading, I captured 12 different species.  Now 4 weeks into the game, I caught more than 1200 pokemons and have a cool 124 different pokemons. I convinced Kel to play too. Telling him that it is the latest frenzy now – “just get a feel of it and it could be a ice breaker”. Personally I feel Pokemon Go got its pros and cons.

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Lauren and her Pikachu

 

Pros:

  • It makes couples who play together grow closer. Kel and I will discuss what pokemons we had and any new species caught that day and where we caught it.  We gave each other silly ideas of how to catch pokemons and often laughed over it.  It has turned into a common interest of ours now.
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Kel and I catching some pokemons before our dinner date

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Kel catching the Europe exclusive Mr Mime for me

  • Its makes my relationship with Lauren much more interesting and engaging. I often told others that I was very guilty of not giving Lauren enough love. Indeed I gave her a lot of my time but she did not get my patience. More often than not, my time with her were homework time, time practicing piano and time spent on the road when sending her to her enrichment classes. Our conversations were also often about how school was, did she practice piano, etc. Ever since we played Pokemon Go (Lauren plays on my phone or Kel’s phone), I could feel us being closer and more connected “like a friend”. Not the authoritative Mummy asking about school work but fun Mummy asking Lauren to come and see what Mummy had caught for the day. To make her piano practicing fun, I told her that her beautiful music made catching pokemons easier, the music were lures to the Pokemons. Voila.. Lauren played much better with that idea.

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  • Ice breaker to business contacts. I have a difficult customer and guess what? Talking about Pokemons became a door opener for me. Nowadays everytime I see my customers talking about pokemons, I will quickly jumped into the conversation. From strangers, we would become like long lost friends.
  • I become a Geo expert. Tell me anywhere on the Singapore map and I could almost instantly point out where it is; all these were from the help of Pokémon and Go Radar.

Cons:

  • Dangerous. Ok, I need to admit that when I was very into the game, I would walk and play at the same time.  There were a couple of times when I accidentally knocked into someone. I had also heard about some people even played while driving; I think that is truly dangerous. In other countries, many robberies took place at pokestops which were situated at very secluded areas.
  • Disconnected with your surrounding.  Many times people were so engrossed in what is happening in the virtual world that they forgotten that their loved ones who were right next to them. I had constantly reminded myself to involve those around me.

There are supposed to have more Cons than Pros but because we are all so into the game now. Let’s just focus on the Pros. Just remember to do everything in moderations. 🙂

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iFly Singapore Indoor Skydiving

The real skydiving?… You must be kidding.  I have toyed with that idea when I was younger but now the kiasee-0-meter in me is 10/10.  The best alternative to experience the feeling of a skydive is to do an indoor skydive.

Being in Singapore is fortunate because iFly Singapore is home to the world’s first largest themed wind tunnel for indoor skydiving, spanning 16.5 feet wide and 56.5 feet tall, almost five storeys high. In addition, it is the only wind tunnel with an 18 feet tall acrylic glass wall offering you an unparalleled view of the South China Sea.

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When Lauren turned 7 this year, (iFly only permits children age 7 years and above to fly) we booked a session to try it out.

A short briefing was conducted to guide you on the body posture in the tunnel, followed by fitting-on session of the gears.  Here we go!!

Gearing up at iFly Singapore Lauren in her iFly Singapore indoor skydiving gears

 

Surprisingly, Lauren did very well as a first timer and a lot of spectators were cheering for her. 🙂 So proud of her. For us, we came out with a little muscle cramp after the session. Probably our bodies were stiffer and our muscles were tensed up when we got in. Overall, superb experience!

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Package for First Timer Walk in Rate
First Timer from 7 years-old onwards Rate
The Challenge (2 skydives) $119
The Adventure (4 skydives) $199

 

We took The Challenge package and Lauren asked for 2 additional flies after the package and with each fly she got better and better…  It was cheaper to order additional flights before your session ended. Just let your instructor know that you would like to add on more flights. Each additional 45 sec session costs $40.

If you are excited by this post, here are some tips for you before you head down to Sentosa.

  • Wear comfortable clothes.
  • Wear well-fitted laced-up sneakers with non marking soles.
  • You might want to leave your jewelry and valuables at home as all such items must be removed before gearing up. Lockers will be provided though.
  • Ladies with long hair are advised to tie up to minimize messy knotty hair. (my hair got tangled up badly so this is important)
  • PLEASE BE ON TIME. You will need to check in 1hr prior to flight time for training and gearing up.

It is cheaper if you book 2 days in advance, book your flights here to enjoy the savings!

 

 

Here’s a video of our 1st fly.

iFly Singapore is located at 43 Siloso Beach Walk #01-01 Singapore 099010

http://www.iflysingapore.com/

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Lauren made her debut in the kitchen with Spurbox’s Breadmaking class

After the sewing class with Sew Into It,  I am so into hands-on class for children. I searched around and found a breadmaking workshop conducted by Spur Box.

I have read somewhere that kids who are not offered hands-on learning opportunities are more likely to turn to fast food and pre-packaged meals when it comes time to start cooking on their own.  Cooking also involved a lot of brainwork. Cooking requires basic knowledge in chemistry (how the application of heat changes items), biology (where food comes from), math (measuring and timing), and management (getting everything together in a timely fashion).

I also believed that if a kid helps to prepare the meal, he/she will more likely to appreciate the food and actually sit down and try new things.

 

The workshop was conducted at the culinary venue at PoMo. It was a 3 hours workshop, well organized by a team of experienced teachers. The teachers were very good at handling the young children in the kitchen.

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Each participant was assigned a counter to work on.  Demonstration was done in a chirpy way to engage the children.  Lauren was so attentive to the details that she was telling exactly what to put and what to mix.

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While waiting for the dough to rise, the teachers gathered the children around and told them an interesting story about the history of pretzel. It was done with cute and interesting props and all the kids were so engrossed.

Refreshments were provided during the 2nd wait for the dough to rise and the children were playing among themselves.

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After the teachers placed the doughs into the oven, the children were given clays to play with. They were asked to make pretzel shaped clay and to decorate a paper box to put the clays they had made.

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Finally when the teachers distributed Lauren’s bread to her, she was standing there amazed at her own creation. Lauren is a picky eater but because she made the bread, she finished the loaf in the car while I was driving home. So the studies about kids who get their food right from its source are more likely to enjoy the end result, is true!

 

Learn more about Spur Box’s classes here

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Our visit to Pororo Park Singapore

There are a total of 11 Pororo Parks in the world; 7 in Korea, 3 in China and Pororo Park Singapore is the 1st Pororo Park in Southeast Asia. Pororo Park integrates entertainment and education elements in an indoor playground setting. From arts, science, cooking to magic tricks, children can enjoy hours of fun and craft classes through Playing And Learning Skills (PALS).

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Lauren is no stranger to indoor playground but Pororo Park was Alexis’ 2nd visit to an indoor playground. Her first was to Kids’ Amaze’s Toddler section but that was not comparable to Pororo Park. Alexis was ecstatic when she got into the Sharkpool. She stayed in the pool of balls for 30mins! Each time we tried to lift her up, she would struggle and drop herself back in. Even after enticing her to try other sections of the park, she would eventually walk back to the Sharkpool.

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I personally found Pororo Park Singapore catered more for the younger kids. (below 8 years) There are many sections that I thought might excite younger children more. Nevertheless, older kids can explore the play gym and also pick up  some skills from the classes conducted in the park.

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Pororo House

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Interior of Pororo House

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Interior of Pororo House

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A brick and built section in the park

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A small playground for younger children

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For those who likes to play pretend, there is a supermarket in the park

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The toddlers’ section

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Alexis playing at toddlers’ section

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Play gym

For Lauren, she is a Miss Congeniality. I did not have to worry much about her as she was making new friends at the park. There was a play gym and a theatre that conducts classes and that kept Lauren really busy. Lauren attended a K POP dance class.

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Lauren at the K POP dance class

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There was also a train ride that ran every hourly. Do call your child back to have a short ride; kids always enjoy rides. Me being the kiasu mum, I queued on behalf of the girls while they were playing.

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For children who like craft works, there is a room for handicraft works. There are different classes daily and parents can go to their website to view their schedule.  There is also a theatre for shows and dance lesson.

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Handicraft room

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Theatre’s schedule

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Pororo dance

What I liked was there is a nice café to let parent have some refreshments while waiting for the children. The park is also equipped with a kids-friendly restroom and a nice baby room. (good for breastfeeding mum)

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We spent slightly over 2 hours at the park and that was good enough to tire the girls out. Bring your kids down and their ticket prices are as follow:

 

Admission Rates

2 hours playtime:

Age Group Non-Member Annual Member Partners
Children aged 2 to 12 years $33.50 $23.50 $28.50
Children below 2 years $24.50 $16.50 $20.80
Accompanying adults $6.00 $2.50* $3.50*
Babies below
1 year		 Free Entry
Additional
playtime		 $5 per block of 30 minutes (or part thereof)

*Up to 2 adults. Additional accompanying adults will be charged normal admission rate.

Credit and Debit card holders / card members of these following partners will enjoy Partners’ admission rates.

 

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Pororo Park Singapore is conveniently located at 6 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square #02-29 

+65 6250 9700

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Sew much fun with Sew Into It

One of the activities Lauren had done during the March holiday was a sewing class organised by Sew Into It.  I personally chose the class because I wanted to incorporate some conductive activities in the week long holiday.  Activities that would challenge her mentally and keep her learning.. I know it is only one week but Lauren needs to be constantly engaged.

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After attending the class with Lauren, I would strongly encourage mummies to bring their kids for a try. You will be amazed at the developmental benefits children could gain at learning to sew at this young age.

Sewing requires concentration and focus, problem solving skills, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.  It challenges the left brain thinking and is a great way to express ones’ creativity and individuality.

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Studies have shown that children who learn to sew gain many mental and physical developmental benefits. There are various tasks involved in sewing a simple project, such as following pattern instructions, fabric selection, color coordination, sizing and fitting. All these help stimulate creative thinking, promotes self-esteem and perseverance. Completing a sewing project from start to finish fosters a sense of accomplishment that can boost a child’s morale and self confidence. And, the tactile nature of sewing helps strength a child’s hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Sewing also provides children an avenue to express their creativity. It is a productive way for kids to use personal time and create independent work.

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My preselected Ellie the Elephant

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Lauren’s pigeon

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Choice of fabrics

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Samples of Animal softies

I booked the Animal Softie Workshop for Lauren and myself. It was a 3 hours session with fabrics and designs selected beforehand. The class size was capped at 6 students who were managed by Amy, Karen and 2 assistants.  Students were supervised closely by the attentive teachers on operating the sewing machine and the basic sewing techniques.

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Lauren impressed me with her ability to operate the sewing machine on her own. (Karen was standing next to her watching her) It was her first time sewing anything. In fact she did way better than me.. *ashamed*

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Amy and Karen also shared how to handsew the finishing of the softie at the end of the class. Lauren did prick her fingers a couple of times but she said “life goes on…”

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So after 3 hours, our animal softies were completed!!! Obviously Lauren was a better handicrafter than Mummy (look at Mummy’s weird looking elephant…) I like to defend myself by saying maybe left handers take more effort in any handicraft… That is my personal excuse. :p

 

Sew Into It has many workshops for adults and children. You can visit their website here to find out more about their workshop schedule.

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Sew Into It is located at

Address: 333 Kreta Ayer Road #02-32 S(080333)

Contact no: +65  87779924

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