KidsStop – Science Centre (Review)

The weather has been very unforgiving in recent weeks and there are only that many water play trips we can make before the kids threaten to catch a cold or get totally bored of it. So we decided to make our way all across the island to Jurong where you will find Kidsstop within the grounds of the Science Centre.

For those who are familiar with Kidzania, I would say KidsStop is a little like Kidzania but probably in a slightly less structured set-up. Kids get exposed to various occupations such s builder, doctor, pilot, archaeologist, chef etc and they get to play and explore these occupations with some lessons in science throw in.

We weren’t sure if Jah would take to the place or be totally lost and we were even more unsure or actually had no expectations when it came to whether Bella might enjoy the place. But both kids were absolutely blown away. They were very happy with all the larger than life structures and we’re happy to roam about and move from ‘station’ to ‘station’.

First stop – totally fascinated with being a builder and playing dress up

Jah and Bella handling the cockpit on their own

Our pilots for this flight

Archaeologists hard at work

Doing some grocery shopping on his own

Dealing with the check-out process

Time for our little chefs to do some cooking

I’m scared so I’m just going to sit outside the space shuttle and let my brother do his thing

Ostrich Syndrome

How many teddy bears do I weigh?

Trying their hands at being surgeons (no pun intended)

Reinforcing what we learnt at the dentist

Kidsstop sessions are split into a morning and afternoon session. We were there for the morning session which lasted from 10am to 130pm. We figured they would last till about 1130 or so before we would grab lunch somewhere. While they did last till 1130am before we dragged them out to grab lunch, Jah and Bella also requested for an encore session after lunch before we finally had to drag them home with promises of another trip soon.

Round 2 – getting the hang of things and decided to wear the costume as well

Meimei you can sit here and be my co-pilot

Thankfully food is available just outside the entrance of Kidsstop which meant that the adults did not have to put up with another Macdonalds meal and the kids didn’t have to deal with a car ride to the nearby malls. Food at the Kids Cafe was pretty decent, given that the mains were coming from the Chinese restaurant next door. Yet it offered a child friendly environment which made it less daunting for parents with hungry and tired kids. :p

So if you are looking for a place to beat the heat but yet you don’t want to be crawling around an indoor playground then Kidsstop might be worth a drive to. Especially so after they lowered their admission price which makes it a lot more affordable for big families or for return visitors. Do remember to bring your IC though as there are different rates for Singaporeans and Foreign visitors.

Jah woke up from his nap that evening and the first thing he asked was “mummy can we go to Kidsstop again? It’s so fun, I really like it!” 🙂 so yes I guess we will be going back soon..

JahBella’s Mummy

14Mar2015

Amazonia Indoor Playground – Review

Posted in Reviews, Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

A long time ago, back in the day when my only child was just starting to explore the wonders of indoor playgrounds and when our old bones were just being introduced to this unfamiliar concept of crawling on all fours for more than 5 seconds, I heard about Amazonia. However my research led me to believe that this particular indoor playground was not suited for my 1 year old child (yes Jah was a really early walker/ runner so we took him to indoor playgrounds really early). I read it consisted of huge structures (3 storeys high) and steep slides and well that was all it took to deter me then.

So when we were brainstorming really hard for a new place to bring the kids on a weekend without help, we thought maybe we could finally give Amazonia a shot. Jah is a lot older now and well Bella is the 2^nd kid and we know how parents get abit more relaxed and ‘complacent’ after the first :p It also helped that we found two Amazonia discount vouchers in the house (don’t remember how we got them).

To be honest, I found the place to be alittle on the pricey side but I suppose that also explains the crowd levels which made it rather pleasant. There were 3 areas for play – 1 area for pretend play/ masak masak near the entrance, a toddler area for under 3s (which I never got close to because Jah just refused to play there) and the huge 3 storey playground structure.

Actually the huge 3 storey structure was pretty forgiving on our adult bones. Given its height and higher ‘ceilings’, I found that I was on my fours a lot less and also because I refused to crawl through tunnels now. It was alittle less forgiving on my knees though, because the distance between steps were pretty wide. While I would say that the structure is probably safer for the older kids, Bella didn’t have much issues getting around as long as we were with her to ensure her safety.

My favourite part about the entire place was actually their café and the fact that they served proper food. A lot of indoor playgrounds which we have been to, would serve the usual nuggets, fries, hotdogs, snacks and the occasional pizza. However we got to order a substantial meal – a hot plate of Beef Rendang and Nasi Goreng which at least meant that we didn’t have to go home hungry after all that activity. Yes, Joel and I were working quite hard for our meal!

Kids Menu – Spaghetti

Kids Menu – Fish and Chips (I apologise for the half eaten pic – there was at least 4 slides of the fish) 🙂

While the place and some of its facilities/ toys seem alittle dated, it is generally a nice place to bring the kids if you are looking for something alittle less crowded or rowdy. Having a café with a good menu also helps and its location in a mall also makes it good for running errands or finding alternate food options. 🙂

JahBella’s Mummy

1Mar2015

iTheatre’s Aesop’s Fables (Media Invite)

Posted in Media Invite, Plays/ Theatre, Reviews by jahbella

Theatre boy (Jah) and I were invited by iTheatre to their latest production Aesop’s Fables at the Raffles Hotel Jubilee Hall and we decided to bring Papa Joel along. Papa Joel usually hates it when I ask him to join me for a play or musical because he just doesn’t have the attention span for it :p But he was more than willing to come for this production because he wanted to witness Jah’s interest in theatre for himself.

This is our second time at an iTheatre production (the first was Hop and Honk) and I have to say that you realize how super passionate they are for theatre and super good at what they do when you see the effort that goes into their programme booklet, stage set and props.

Mandatory Poster pic

Checking out the programme and activities in the booklet 🙂

Thanks for the goodie bag iTheatre!

Programme Booklet

Awesome backdrop

The 50 minutes show (no intervals) revolved around a theatre troupe, the Crowfoot Troupe taking us through 8 fantastic fables. The show was filled with catchy tunes, intelligent humor and great acting! Jah had declared a few times to me that he was scared of some of the characters even though he understood that it was all pretend, just like in his speech and drama classes. He even said “the uncles and aunties act so well!” :p

Wefie!

The show is suitable for theatre goers ages 3 years and up. Although they do say till 13, I’ll have to say “up” because adults like Papa Joel and I enjoyed ourselves immensely too! Papa Joel actually thanked me for bringing him along for the show!

Not only did I enjoy the production elements of the show, I also truly enjoyed the storyline. It was nice to be reminded of the moral of the story behind each Aesop’s Fable. Yes the ones we had learnt as children but somehow had forgotten that they apply to us even in today’s world. It also has given me a lot of ‘material’ to work with for the next couple of months when it comes to introducing Aesop’s Fables to Jah and telling/ reminding him of the moral of each story.

So if you are looking for some good fun for the family and something educational for the little ones then check out iTheatre’s Aesop’s Fables! We can’t wait to catch Gingerbread Man by iTheatre when it premieres in May! 🙂

Next up!

And I leave you with some ‘moral of the story’ that we took away from the show 🙂

“When you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.”

“Never trust flatterers”

“Don’t let your greed overpower you or you will lose everything”

“Never swop your friends for enemies”

JahBella’s Mummy

3Feb2015

SofzSleep Pillow Review + Promo + Giveaway!

Posted in Giveaway, Kids health, Media Invite, Reviews by jahbella

Jah has been using his ‘baby/kiddy’ pillow(s) for the longest time. Yes, I can’t even remember when we bought him the pillows but it has become 2 very flat pillows. Thinking about it now, I feel rather bad for making the poor boy put up with such uncomfortable pillows. Pillows that were too flat to be used in singles but too high to be stacked up in pairs. 😦

So when I heard about the Sofzsleep pillow I was really excited to let Jah try it and I couldn’t wait to ‘set it up’ for him in his bed.

Junior Pillow (S)

I initially had problems convincing him to just try out the pillow and lie on it. You know how kids are sooooo resistant to change! But once he put his head down on the pillow, it didn’t take a lot of convincing to get him to relinquish his old pillows. 🙂

Woooo

The Sofzsleep Junior Pillow is made from natural latex and it is highly durable and able to retain it shape for years (no fluffing needed). It provides a really good support for all sleeping positions and has a contour design that can gently cushion the head while cradling the neck. I no longer have to worry if I am placing Jah too high or too low on his pillow and his head naturally falls into the ‘groove’. The pillow also has anti-microbial and dust mite resistant properties which makes it ideal for young children. The Junior Pillow comes in 2 sizes (S and M) and at 3 years old, Jah uses a Sofzsleep Junior (S) Pillow which will be suitable for him till about 5 years old.

Jah absolutely loves how soft the fabric of his Bamboo cover is and in fact Jah calls it his ‘soft pillow’, how apt! (true story!). The bamboo cover is an ultra cooling cover despite it feeling rather ‘thick/ plushy’, it is perfect for Jah whose head perspire a lot when he sleeps.

Washable Bamboo cover for the Junior Pillow

Jah started having such good sleep from his new pillow, that not only did we decide to get another one for Bella (who has been using her poor flat infant size pillow since birth) but Joel and I got really jealous of him and decided to get the Adult Range for ourselves. The Adults range has a really wide selection to fit and accommodate all sleep types and preferences. We decided to give their Contour Pillow a try which is apparently ideal for back and side sleepers and because we never had a contour pillow before. Lets just say I think I hear less snores now, possibly because I am sleeping so much more soundly. 😉

A goodnight’s sleep for the whole family!

Adult Contour Pillow vs Junior S Pillow

For all those parents who are looking for a good night’s rest too.

Sofzsleep is currently running a special promotion till 28 Feb 2015. Available at all their retailers. See poster for promotion details. 🙂

What are you waiting for?

GIVEAWAY

Sofzsleep has also very kindly offered to give away their wonderful Sofzsleep Junior S pillow to 2 lucky readers of Jahbella.net.

To join the giveaway, just complete all the steps below.

Be a Sofzsleep Facebook page fan
Be a Growing up with Jahbella Facebook page fan
Share the Facebook Post and Tag 3 Friends. Make sure your post is public! (For those who are not familiar, just copy this link – http://wp.me/p4Wg2R-hh and paste it as your status update and tag a friend)
Like and comment on the Facebook post so that I can note your participation

The giveaway will end on 28 February 2015 2359hrs.

Congratulations to Casey Ang! and Andy Seah!

You have each won a Sofzsleep Junior Pillow for your little one! We will be contacting you via PM shortly. Please remember to reply within 48 hours! 🙂

Thanks for everyone’s support and do stay tuned for more giveaways!

Terms and Conditions: The winner shall collect the prize directly from the Sofzsleep office during office hours, by
appointment only. We reserve the right to select another winner if the selected winner does not reply to our email within 48 hours.

JahBella’s Mummy

Disclosure: JahBella received a Sofzsleep Junior Pillow and a Bamboo Cover (Junior –S) for the purpose of this review. All additional Sofzsleep Junior Pillow and Adult Contour Pillows were purchased by JahBella. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and photos are my own.

24Jan2015

Kidsfest 2015 – The Gruffalo and Our First Play of 2015

Posted in Plays/ Theatre, Reviews by jahbella

Jah and I attended our first Kidsfest show and our first play of 2015 today (definitely more to come!!) We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I think I just might have found my permanent theatre companion. 🙂

Goofing around before the show

We caught the Gruffalo at Kidsfest 2015 and if there is one story which Jah and I know like the back of our hands, it’s the Gruffalo (lots of kids and parents knew the stories by hard too!) We have watched the movie and read the book so it was only right that we also caught the play.

For those who are familiar with the story (book or movie) and the tone at which it is told (often in a whisper or calm tone), you would expect that the play was also going to be ‘level toned’ if you get what I mean. But the play was quite the opposite and totally hilarious!

The first thing Jah asked when we entered, was “mummy are we in the deep dark woods?” so kudos to the props team!

The deep dark woods….

The actors also hit it out of the park from the start of the show. We had kids and parents laughing non stop from the beginning even Jah who is ever-serious at plays, was extremely tickled and totally mesmerized by what was on stage.

Totally comfortable…totally captivated..

I’m having lunch with a Gruffalo…

There were jokes weaved in that the kids got and there were jokes weaved in that only the parents got. The play had whimsical and nonsensical moments (in a good way) and it was awesome fun!

We or at least Jah also enjoyed the wide range of merchandise available for sale at the foyer. Yes my little theatre-going shopper of a son came home with quite a loot and to be fair, mummy also really liked the stuff.

A new school bag anyone?

Some toys too perhaps?

Bella and Joel joined us after the show for a family pic. The organizers had arranged for a photo opportunity wall and we could have our photos taken and sent to us via email. A wonderful souvenir photo for families!

Family pic!

I love how this little boy is slowly and truly starting to enjoy theatre plays and musicals. Of course it also helps that the kids theatre scene in Singapore is getting a whole lot more interesting and vibrant. I can’t wait to start cultivating the same interest and love for theatre in Bella. 🙂