Imagination and creativity learning at the Science Centre

Want to encourage imagination and creativity in your child? 

Great news!  The Science Centre Singapore is collaborating with Make*Believe, a company specialising in children's enrichment programmes to roll out a series of themed Make*Believe programmes for students aged 18 months to 6 years.

Interactive blocks for kids to build anything that seize their imagination.

The first in the series is a 50-minute enrichment programme called "Common Spaces", which is based on architecture and urban planning.  There are 4 hands-on stations for the pre-schoolers to explore. Learning activities are built around a local landmark building (Central Fire Station), fire engine, fireman and city planning.

There are two types of common spaces, said Ms Juliana Teo, co-founder of Make*Believe and principal architect of Metropolitan Office of Architects. She explains that common spaces exist in the physical form like a playground or a sand pit, but also exist in the children's mind, so let's pretend to be pirates or princesses.  

"We aim to provide a fun-filled learning experience which cannot be easily replicated in school," said Michael Chay, Director of Marketing & Communications of the Science Centre Singapore.

Lay Wee Mee, a mother of 3 and co-founder of Make*Believe, adds that she hopes the exhibition will give parents some idea on how to engage with their children further and the teachers different perspectives to encourage the spirit of learning in children.

Using the Central Fire Station as a  backdrop, students learn about the design of Singapore's oldest fire station and are guided to piece together puzzles and cubes of varying levels of difficulty.

Signs in the City - Students take on the role of city planning and learn about shapes, numbers, space and more!

3D puzzle blocks

To Believe is to have confidence in, to have an opinion of, and to accept as real.  

Make is to create, transform, build, change and to put parts together to make a whole.  

Make*Believe is the coming together of the imagination and reality. Through different activities, mediums and platforms, children are encouraged to explore and experience concepts and make new discoveries through the lens of science, architecture and design.

Come and play with your kids.  They just might teach you something new.

Common Spaces is open to public on weekday afternoons and weekends.  For more information on timing and admission fees, please contact the Science Center Singapore at 6425 2500.  

Party: supplies list

Whether its a birthday party, an occasion, a celebration, a get-together or an event you are putting together for your company, school or family, party supplies are a must.

Here is a list of the best places to get your party supplies from.

1. Party with Us - there are 2 outlets, one at  The Centrepoint (#05-14), and the other at Valley Point (#01-10), 62350221
2. Party City - Holland Village, Tel: 6462-6011 and Raffles City Shopping Center (#03-28), Tel: 63362161
3. AZ Gift & Trading  - 116 Middle Road, #01-01 ICB Enterprise House, Singapore 188972, Tel: 62913130 and 390 Victoria Street, #01-39 Golden Landmark, Singapore 188061, Tel: 62989311
4. Heartlink Trading - 116 Middle Road, #01-02 ICB Enterprise House, Singapore 188972 - also provide balloon sculptors, face body painters, magicians, clowns and inflatables Bouncy Castles. Contact Sam at 62974939 or 91477801.
5. P&G - 116 Middle Road, #01-03 ICB Enterprise House, Singapore 188972, 63968208
6. ABC Bargain Centre Pte Ltd - 63 Queen Street, Bugis Village, Singapore 188542, 69935807
7. Yeo G M Trading - Blk 1 Rochor Road, #01-550, Singapore 180001, 62955545 - has a retail outlet and is also the wholesale supplier to some of the other party retail outlets in town.
8. Chin Giap Soon Trading - The Verge (Tekka Mall), 2 Serangoon Road, Level 5, Tel: 62970075
9. Hsen Global Pte Ltd - 312 Lavender Street, Tel: 62995510
10. SKP - has 46 Branches island wide and is the largest supplier of party wares in the country.

If you don't have time to physically visit the shops, do your shopping online at these websites:

1. Kidz Party Store
2. Bug's Party
3. Harvest Well Enterprise - is a balloon wholesale distributor that branched out to party supplies. They also have a small retail space called Party Joy on the second level of Parkway Parade.
4. Fantastic Party Supplies 
5. Kidforte Pte Ltd
6. Bouncy Castles

Other retailers were selling this White Unicorn Pinata at S$55 but I found this at Kidforte for only S$27.  

This large Disco Ball was sold at most of the party supply stores at varying prices between $50 to $120.  But I got it at a steal of S$30 at Yeo GM Trading!

City Square Mall: Easter and Earth Day

Come to the island's only eco-friendly mall to celebrate Easter and Earth Day this weekend! Shop at the Earth Day Flea Market and enjoy free activities for the kids.

To celebrate Easter and Earth Day, City Square Mall will attempt to set a new record in the Singapore Book of Records for the Largest Egg Cartons Display. Shoppers can contribute by painting on egg cartons which will then be assembled to create a mosaic image of Earth.

Date – 24^th April 2011

Time – 4pm

Venue – City Square Mall, Level 1 Atrium, 180 Kitchener Road, Singapore 208539

Admission/Tickets – Free

Enquiries – www.citysquaremall.com.sg

Additionally, from 22 to 24 April 2011, there will be an Earth Day Flea Marketfeaturing handmade arts and crafts from non-profit organisations like WEworkz, Mother and Child, Breakthrough Missions and Moses Project and City Square Mall’s tenant, Sunflower.

While you shop, your children can paint on recycled egg-shells at the fun Eco-Egg Painting Workshop. No registration is required and all activities are free.  So, mark the dates on your calendar and head on down to Level 1 Atrium, City Square Mall.

This post first appeared in theAsianparent.com

A gift box of goodies

Make Christmas this year unique for children. Instead of gifting them with toys, gift them with experiences instead. UniqGift is a package of fun,laughter and wholesome entertainment for one to gift kids this Christmas.

I received a gift box the other day from a thoughtful friend. It was a uniQgift box. Literally, it was a box filled with 15 goodies for you to choose from!

What is it? You ask. What are the goodies? Well, we have trial classes from Little Art Bug, baking workshops from Genius R Us, dance lessons from Jody Marshall Dance, music classes from kindermusik and School of Music Clef, and sports activities from Socatots Singapore, Sky Gym and Om Shiva Yoga Centre.

That’s just to name a few. For a parent, “The Growing Years” gift box is a godsend as it presents me with 15 different experiences from a multitude of discipline to try with the children!

Be Inspired by The Growing Years

If your child is creative, you can opt for a selection of art, drawing, painting, clay pottery, cooking or baking classes. For those who are musically inclined, you may be interested in the music and dance classes. And moms with active kids will thank you for the variety of sport activities like gym, dance, football, tennis or yoga classes. How about a makeover for your child?

If you are worried about the quality of the services offered by the various suppliers, you can put them to rest. uniQgift partners with reputable establishments like Creative Culinaire, Jody Marshall Dance, The LPN Art School, JWT Kids Gym, and Willow Stream Spa Tennis Facility Swissotel to ensure quality services.

“The Growing Years” gift box is reasonably priced at S$58. The activities are available for 1 to 2 kids and sometimes you even have the option to do an activity with your child.

Like A Child In A Candy Store

What to choose? Which activity should we do?

It was rather like being a child in a candy store. I couldn’t make up my mind as I thumbed through the 15 delightful choices. Should we go to the LPN Art School where my child gets to work on an art project (1 hr)? Or should I let her try her hand at tennis? You have a choice of 2 Tiny Tots tennis programme sessions (1 hr per session) for 3 to 5 year olds, or two Junior programme sessions (1.5 hr per session) for 5 to 9 year olds.

She likes to bake, so maybe we should book Creative Culinaire. You have a choice of either a parent-and-child workshop or a family workshop (2 to 3 hours). Hmm, it’ll be fun for the entire family and she’ll learn hands-on how to bake a pizza and make a lollipop.

Finally, my daughter and I decided on the Jody Marshall Dance certificate, which offers her 4 dance lessons with a choice of dance style (45 mins per lesson). My 4 year old chose Beginner Tap dance over jazz and ballet.

As Easy As Pie

Claiming the certificate is in the words of my precocious pre-schooler, “easy as pie”. All you have to do is simply call the service provider, inform them that you are a uniQgift certificate holder and make a booking. All that’s left is to show up on the day of the booking at the venue stipulated and present your certificate to them. Easy as pie.

Hannah at Jody Marshall Dance was very helpful when we turned up for our trial class at Suntec City. She helped us with the registration, and settled my child in her beginner Tap class before assuring me that she’ll look out for her while I do my shopping. That’s 45-minutes of me-time! Yippee!

Ask for a uniQgift

Finally, a gift box that is practical, sensible, and functional. It comes in a beautiful baby blue packaging and is suitable for all occasions, be it birthdays, appreciation gestures, anniversaries or special occasions.

uniQgift boxes offer a wide selection of boxes that include themes such as culinary, wellbeing, multi-themes, and activities. Each themed booklet comes with pre-selected choices of activities or experiences for you to choose from. For example, under the activities theme, you can choose the following gift boxes: The Growing Years, Sport & Adventure or Lesson & Workshop.

Purchasing a uniQgift is easy. Once you are in the website, choose the gift box you wish to purchase, add them to your shopping cart, state your quantity and press cart. It will direct you to the checkout page. Once you are satisfied with your purchases, click “Check Out”. It will direct you to the billing page where you are asked for your billing and shipping details.

uniQgift is available online and also at Harris Bookstore at Great World City. Prices for each box range from as little as $38 to over $200.

The next time someone asks me what I want, I’m asking for a uniQgift.

For more information, please visit www.uniqgift.com, email: info@uniqgift.com or call hotline +65-6221 6643.

This article first appeared in theAsianparent.com in 2010