I will be reviewing a creative writing holiday camp for a well-known creative writing centre with the greatest pressure. I am sure the writing instructors at the school will balk after reading my review over my poor English and fraught with grammatical errors. My weakest and my worst subject in school was language subjects and the very section that pull down my overall scores was composition. Even till JC, I struggled through the General Paper,  scrapping it with a C6 and how I end up being a blogger and doing writing is not reflection of my writing skills. I am only blogging in “spoken language” about things I am passionate in. I have no imagination or creative words to make my writing very descriptive nor very engaging. Big J is somewhat like me, not very much of a language person, he prefers Maths. At primary 2, I do worry as the requirement to write composition becomes compulsory and carries weightage to the final marks for the English paper. So far composition has not been tested but I do know that in term 4, there will be graded picture composition, I guess it is easier as the plot and scenario has been shown however you need proper grammar and descriptive words to SHOW and not TELL.

Monsters Under The Bed (“MUTB”) ’s unorthodox holiday writing camp/workshop has always been followed by me with the greatest interest over the past years but my eldest was too young to participate then.  When I told big J that he is going for a writing workshop, he doesn’t seem too enthusiastic as compared to the previous coding camps that he has done in previous school breaks.  So I printed the below taken off from MUTB’s holiday camp write up and attention to big J to pique his interest, and indeed he was seems more interested – I guess he knows he will be in for an adventure not just doing endless writing at the table.

Excavate Escapade

On a small island North of Indonesia’s Riau Islands, there lies a forgotten treasure of a special chalice which grants its drinker power of an unknown sort. However, not a single man had discovered its whereabouts… until now. The 25th Generation of the Carter Archaeologists, leading prodigies of modern day Archaeology, have banded together to recruit the brightest, the boldest and the best minds they could find. With the need for brilliant assistants in our band of Archaeologists, we are recruiting children aged 7 to 13 years before we set off to unravel and unearth the mysteries that were hidden away in the lost chapters of the Lion City.

Be prepared to dig deep with not just your spade and shovel, but also your pen and wit, both of which will be sharpened for the occasion. Craftsmanship skills will be put to the test on not just paper but also in the creation of your own relics and maps. Be prepared to learn how to write exciting adventures which include perilous obstacles and how to overcome them. There will be role-playing and games to bring your epic quest into reality, not to mention the chance of you becoming a celebrated Archaeologist complete with your own whip and hat!

In fact on the actual day of the camp there were more boys than girls, I guess adventure and exploration theme seem to excite the boys more than girls! They even encourage the workshop participants to come in explorer outfit to more the experience make wholesome.  No worries if they are not dressed like explorers, the kids were given explorer hats to complete the feel of being an explorer.

Writing is not just about writing good and grammatically correct English sentences. Writing is  also about having an imagination and articulate it in words. Of course of the best ways is to experience it yourself , else it would be through reading of books that you acquire an imaginative mind which will be helpful for writing composition.

They started the session by picking their skills set and equipments/tools to bring along their exploration.

They has a video presentation to set the flavour of the theme –pyramids, exploration, etc.
Thereafter, they will be led to another breakout room which serves as the “pyramid” in small groups to begin their exploration.

Before entering, they were given a puzzle to solve before they are able to gain access to the pyramid. In the room, the lights were dimmed (just bright enough to reads the clues and puzzles). The explorers will need to solve riddles, clues, challenges, defeat all the evil elements from mummies to ghosts before they can defeat the final evil – a pink-eyed cyclopean mummy!

I heard the explorers spent more than 2 hours going through the whole expedition and exploration. With such experiences, they can better imagine to be able to write better , hopefully.

As it was nevertheless a writing workshop, the instructors shared what components makes a good story –

They were taught the what is a narrative structure where there are 5 major parts – intro, rising action, climax, falling action and conclusion. In their yellow booklet, they were given helping introduction sentences for each component of the story to help them as they complete their story writing based on the experiences from the exploration that they have just completed.

In the past,  they used to carry out a 3- hour 3-day workshop, but for this time, it was formatted in a 5-hour 1-day workshop which is good for working parents like me but I did find that it is was tad too long for them to go through a 5 hours session as the writing component will be at the end of the session. I guess it would have been better to split into 2 x 3 hours so that they can concentrate on games and puzzle (I called the imagination section) and the other days (mind fresh) to concentrate on the writing.

MUTB is aware that most kids would not have completed their writing by the end of the day’s workshop hence, there is a top up option of SGD 100 for 2 extra sessions of INK ++ (consists of a 1.5 hour guided writing course to follow up on the writing done during the workshop). Students from the centre will be able to do complete their writing during their weekly class.

A 5-hour workshop will not miraculously turned a child into an accomplished writer, however , it was a good exposure what it entails to be able to write a good story where imagination is key!

Monster Under the Bed 

Waterloo Centre
261 Waterloo Street,
Waterloo Centre #02-19
Singapore 180261

Contact:
+65 69044345 / anthony@mutb.com.sg

Opening Hours: 10am – 6.30pm daily. Closed on Public holidays.

Website

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

We are avid theatre –goers , including myself and the kids but Andsoforth JR’s Wonderland was unlike anything that we had seen before. I have heard of Andsoforth dinners for adults, but I didn’t try as my other half is not much into theatrical performances. So when they launched the junior edition, I finally had an opportunity to try their concept all thanks to my kids.

Actually my kids have not read the story before, so I brought a simple interpretation of the story from the local bookstore before the show so that my kids are familiar with some of the characters and the storyline – ie the rabbit hole, the small door, Mad Hatter,  the Queen of Hearts etc.

A few days before the actual show, an SMS will be sent to advise patrons on wearing mismatched socks and also the password for entry and the exact location of the show. (Do take note of the change in venue as indicated at the end of the post).

I wouldn’t elaborate too much on the on-going of this immersive theatrical experience so as to not to create a spoiler (I would want to keep an element of surprise to kids and the accompanying adults who wish to try this totally new theatrical experience) but it was very much based on the characters and the story-line of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

We were let in in small batches as the holding area (The Queen’s Cafe) before the actual performance area. It was so beautifully decorated, and we got all excited what it would look like inside. There were two doors for entry, a normal size door and a small door! The adults were made to go through the small door to appreciate how Alice will feel like going through a small door.

And the doors led us to a beautifully decorated set. It was a free seating on the floor and trust me anywhere is a good seat as the cast will be moving all around the performance area. I leave you with some photos of the set and the fun we had throughout the 45 minutes performance – there was song and dance, games, on and off stage interaction with children and a totally interactive and immersive theatrical play – it was literally bringing the book to life! Trust me there was never a dull moment as the characters popped out from the different doors through the performance area!

The show ended with a beautiful song about seeking something new in Wonderland, you can believe what you want to believe,  and all the possibilities from imaginations and dreaming. I hope somehow this show will light a creative spark in my kids!  We were also given the opportunity to take photos with the cast at the end of the show.

On your way out which is through The Queen’s café , you can order milkshakes and cupcakes to complete the Wonderland’s tea party experience.

All in all,  it was a one off a kind experience for both myself and the kids. For 45 minutes we were in a different world partaking in a tea party, a trial , song and dance and very close interactions with all the cast!  I would say that the show is better suited for kids from 3-ish years old and above as some parts of the show maybe a bit dark and some of the characters had heavy makeup on them but my 4 and 6 year old loved the show to bits!  As my other half did tag along , now I can use this to convince him to join the adult edition in future!

Please note the change of date and location from shows after 16 June.

Kids in WONDERLAND

Dates:

New location: Tampines Grande, Level 2 Hitachi Square, S(528735).

16, 17, 18 June (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)
23, 24, 25 June (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)

1 & 2 July (Saturday & Sunday)
8 & 9 July (Saturday & Sunday)
15 & 16 July (Saturday & Sunday)
22 & 23 July (Saturday & Sunday)
29 & 30 July (Saturday & Sunday)

Time: 11am, 2pm and 5pm

Tickets on sale now at https://www.kidsinwonderland.com.sg/showtimes/

Priced at SGD 28 per person (both parents and children will require ticket)

Kids in Wonderland is suitable for 2 year olds and above. All children below 7 years old would need parent accompaniment as well.

isclaimer: This is a sponsored post for 4 complimentary tickets. I had paid for additional tickets. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

I am big on getting the kids going outdoors  and attending a kids running event is high on top of my list. And without a doubt Cold Storage Kids Run (“CSKR”) is still one of the best kids running event in Singapore for kids as young as 6 months old for the past 10 years!

Thanks to CSKR listening to us parents, I am more than glad for a later flag off this year. Getting 4 kids up early for a run is a huge task and the earliest race slot we had was big J’s boogey sprint run which was at 7.55am. When the kids woke up, it was already bright . For the very first time, it was held at Palawan Green , Sentosa and the best news, there was ample parking at the Beach station which was just across where the race village is! How convenient!

Last year, we didn’t dare to drive to The Meadows at Garden by the Bay as we knew parking is a big issue. What made it worst last year was it was rained in the morning and I remember when we dropped off from the taxi and stepped foot into The Meadows it was still dark, gloomy and drizzling.

What a contrast over yesterday, we arrived ard 7.40am, we found a car park space within 10 minutes and we were at the starting pen by 7.50am just in time for big J’s event. The weather was just perfect, even as we left the race village ard 9 plus am, it wasn’t hot at all. We would love to stay longer at race village for its fringe activities and at Sentosa (as it was free entry for all participants) we couldn’t find proper breakfast as most restaurants at the beach station were not opened yet except for fast food.  And we are Sentosa islanders, so we could easily came back with free entry anytime!

couldnt ask for a nicer weather!

I was not so nervous for big J as compared to last year as it was his second time running by himself. He was aware of the drill and the pickup later. This year’s race chip was on the race bib unlike last year which needed to be tied the shoe laces (which big J dropped during the race, hence no timing recorded last year). So finally we had a timing for big J’s 800m, he finished the race in 4 min and 40 second –  pretty good timing as I normally jog at a pace slower than his sprint.

Finally, it was small C’s first ever run of his life. My husband didn’t think it was such a good idea to bring along small C or whether we need to bring along a stroller (coz he is in the stroller category) in case he gave up or we needed to carry him. I was confident that small C will be able to run, walk throughout the 800m race route. However, we were late for his category’s flag off as we needed to pick up big J from the pick-up point as it was just 10 minutes between big J’s flag off and small C’s flag off. However, since this was not my first CSKR, I knew that the organizer will be lenient in letting me run in a later category especially for family like mine where the kids outnumbered the parents!  So I choose to run the all remaining 3 parent-accompanied races together as a FAMILY during small J’s race category.  I would prefer to run with a kid at any one time however, the race categories flag off timing are too close to each other for my family to rush. If there is anything to critic this year, the organizer must find some way to display the actual race category –some electronic score board to display the race category that they are admitting to the holding area at any one point in time instead of having to wait to hear the announcement. Other than that, everything was on time and smooth!

I stayed close to small C so that I could take videos and photos of his inaugural run. With his older siblings run along side, small C ran and walked at some point when it was going uphill . He didn’t stop one bit throughout the 800m race route. Big C and small J had already run ahead with daddy so there weren’t much picture of them – as they are already “veterans”!

totally deserved the medal!

all the champions in making! there was the view of the sea to greet us as well!

Last year, when I ended by the review for CSKR 2016, I promised to bring all 4 kids to this year’s CSKR and I did it! And what makes this year’s CSKR extra special besides being its 10th anniversary edition , this marked my first family run as a family of 6! CSKR is one of the must do events for my family every year and it is the best race to start the young ones and also the best event to start the not so young one in their first own solo run/sprint! I hope next year we will back at Palawan Green again!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored review and I am thankful to be part of the 10^th anniversary CSKR. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

This was our third time attending ACT3 International ’s June performance workshop. The older kids remembered Jelly , Wobble from 2 years ago and the ice cream making segment last year which makes me believe they truly enjoyed ACT3 International’s annual performance workshop. It helps that it is always held at the art gallery space at level 4, ION, huge space for the kids to express themselves and a getaway for the mums /parents for 2 hours at shopping paradise.

Ever since our first time attending back in 2015, I have always included this as part of the kids’ June holidays programme especially that I do not have the time to send them to ACT 3’s week long holiday programme and yet I want the kids to have some immersion into performance and drama which they don’t get to do during their school days.

This year’s installment entitled A Wonderland of Toys was the first for small J as the workshop is targeted to kids between the ages 4 to 8. As it was 2.5 hours drop off class, I was worried about small J as he had in the past exhibited separation anxiety for drop-off classes as recent as The Tiger came to tea workshop held 2 weeks ago where he refused to enter and was in tears.

Once again, I prepped him that it will be similar to the previous workshop ( ie drop-off) and that his elder sister will be with him. I suppose the vast space at Art Gallery at ION and the beautifully decorated workshop space does help to alleviate his anxiety.

The parents were invited for the initial 15 minutes of theatre performance to introduce the theme for the workshop. (Small J even asked why I hadn’t left the venue )

The story revolves around Tina , the toy maker whose toys have lost their magic and need help to be brought back to life. Kids nowadays are more captivated with a device on hand that they walked around “swiping” over toys. Then the toy maker came up with an idea where they will invite children and make them into toys to recreate back the magic of toys.

Then the parents took their leave for 2 hours where the children will partake in art and crafts where they make the costumes for the toys and rehearse for 2 performance items which they will proudly perform for their parents later.

For the final 25 minutes of the 2.5 hours workshop, the parents were asked to wait outside the entrance which was different from the past whereby we were normally sitted inside. And to our surprise, the “toys” ie the kids  paraded around level 4 of ION with their fancy costumes and musical instruments.

Finally the parents are invited back into the workshop space for 2 dance and performance items and a group photo of all the “toys” with the toy makers! To my surprise, none of the kids had any performance anxiety and all were dancing despite having learn the steps within the last 2 hours!

the colourful “toys” with the toy makers in the little shop of wonders

All the facilitators were all so good with kids and I can see that they are truly passionate to work with kids. A few of them told me that small J was so cooperative and opened up to them after a little warming up. It warmed my heart that finally small J seems to have grown up overnight and my fear of him tearing up was unfounded.

my happy “toys”

I can see my kids especially small J was beaming from ear to ear performing his part. I was so proud of him as he has not really done any performance items before (their child care doesn’t have year end concert) as this dancing and acting in front of strangers is really new to him. It was a superb start to their June’s holidays.

If you have been to ACT 3 International’s June holiday workshop and have loved it as much as I do, it has the same winning formula and yet a totally new theme and story-line for the kids! I especially applaud their effort for the beautifully decorated space every year without fail!

And for those who has not tried before especially for 4-year-olds, I highly recommend this to be part of your June holidays.

A Wonderland Of Toys

ION Art Gallery, ION Orchard

27 May to 4 June 2017, 10.00am to 12.30pm OR 3.00pm-5.30pm

For 4 to 8 year olds

Tickets at SGD 40 per child with a SGD2.25 booking fee.There is additional 10% discount if booking for 2 children or more

Book here

This is a drop-off workshop. Children need to be dressed comfortably.

Parents are welcome to come back and join the children in their parade and performance for the last 25 minutes of the session.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.  No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

Post event update

We had a early start to the weekend with ABA’s Productions  The Tiger Who Came to Tea. The younger kids have been waiting for the show the whole week. I have been reading to them on recent nights and they loved the story through and through.

The show was exactly how I remembered it when I caught it with big C some years back. In fact the cast has been doing the show for many years around the world and I do hope that you have caught it over the weekend.

The cast who stole the show is none other that the Tiger. All the kids were so excited when the Tiger came to the stage. They were all so captivated by the antics and movements of the Tiger (which is something we cannot get through the book). The audiences were also taught a song or two and a dance move too. The songs were all so catchy and easy to sing along.  It was one great show with a simple story line that was perfect for my pre-schoolers. Even my 23 month old who is normally fidgety when watching show, gave his complete attention when  the tiger was on stage and was so sad when the tiger left the stage.

As part of the show this time, ABA Productions had organized a special workshop followed by a meet and greet of the cast of The Tiger who came to Tea. Big C and small J were invited to attend the 1.5 hours session which is a mix of art and craft and dramatization workshop.

We were back the following day for the workshop which was held on Saturday which was a great follow-up to the show. The first half hour of the workshop, the kids partake in making a tiger out of brown paper bags. It was followed by dramatization workshop whereby the kids will imitate, imagine, act and mimic, etc.

In the middle of the workshop, the cast of The Tiger came to tea came out to meet the excited kids for a quick group photo.

As the final segment to the workshop, they even had a dance number to the tunes and lyrics of Kate Perry’s Roar ! How cool! I do hope that ABA Productions will run similar workshops tie-up going forward as it is great introduction to the world of drama and theatre . This also make the children’s theatre-going experience even more fulfilling than being mere audience.  Thank you ABA Productions for making the kids’ weekend ti-ger-rific!

Pre event blog

Truth to be told, this is not the first time that I am watching this. Many years ago, I have watched the same production with big C. If my memory didn’t fail me she was probably around 3 years old and she became “Sophie” many days after watching the production. I had the book ever since big J’s time as it was one of the first books I bought for the home library. Of course, the home library grew as the kids got older and the younger siblings came along. This lovely book by Judith Kerr sort of got lost in the rack of books and  I never really gotten around to reading this to the younger 2 boys

I enjoyed this story very much, so did the older kids when they were younger (I will make sure I dig out the book for the younger boys bedtime reading tonight) It is a very relatable story, not that we have tigers knocking at our door. The younger kids is able to relate to tigers and innocence of Sophie wanting to be the best host for her visitor despite being BIG and atypical !

I am so glad that this live production is back in Singapore and is written and directed by David Wood OBE. He is undisputedly the UK’s leading writer and director of plays and musicals for children. His many successes include Shaun the Sheep, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Gingerbread Man, The BFG, The Witches, Meg and Mog, Spot and Bebe the Sheep Pig.

The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they certainly don’t expect to see at the door is a big, stripy tiger!

The Tiger Who Came To Tea

Date: Fri, 19 – Sun, 21 May 2017

Venue: SOTA Drama Theatre

Duration: Approximately 55 minutes without interval

Ticket Pricing: starting from $42 onwards

https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/ctiger0517 

Do not wait any longer as the show with the workshop is already sold out.

I have been a fervent supporter of local children productions . Normally, I feel very happy coming out from a children theatre production/musical  as they always end with a sweet note but not for Poultry Tales. It is not because the show wasn’t good in fact it has far exceeded my expectations (see my full review below) but because of the announcement by Brian Seward , director at I Theatre at the end of the show announcing that Poultry Tales will be the last production for I Theatre as a major grant that has been subsidizing I Theatre will no longer available. The remaining two shows that were lined up for this year will not go on and he is hoping to be able to obtain funding, donation and to streamline the cost of I Theatre so that they could be back next year.

I have done my part at the show by dropping my donation at the box after the show. Here are other ways to donate. http://itheatre.org/index.php/donate_sponsor/

There is a dollar for dollar marching grant under the Cultural Matching Fund. So do donate generously to keep this local production company around. It really saddens me if my younger kids will no longer be able to attend I Theatre productions like what the older 2 kids had done in the past few years.

The above is one reason why you should support Poultry Tales as it may be the final I Theatre’s production. That said, Poultry Tales has outdone itself by showing the audience the world of the Theatre Stage from the inside out –  a totally new concept. I have been to many local children productions and this has to be one of the most memorable as it is a show within a show and a production within a production.

We often walk into to the theatre seeing a beautiful set stage with backdrop. It was not the case for Poultry Tales. The stage looked half setup with boxes piiling, lightings not at its correct position, racks for costumes still on stage. I was intrigued!

looks like we walked into a set not a stage

The show started with 4 stage crew narrating the need to setup up the stage in 1 hour for their upcoming  show – Poultry Tales. The stage manager, assistant stage manager and 2 interns introduced the audience to the back stage world that we never get to see.

photo credit : I Theatre

photo credit : I Theatre

Did you know that props is the short form for property? Props that are used by the actors are called hand props. Did you know what are fly bars, legs, cyclorama, flat etc?  The stage crew even explained how the costumes were sewn so that it is easy to put on and remove! The audience got a short introduction and appreciation of the world of the back stage in that short 1 hour production and still get entertained by 3 short stories!

Initially, I didn’t plan to bring big J along thinking that this musical is based on simple stories that only my younger kids will enjoy. It was a last minute decision to bring big J along due to logistic but I was glad that he came along as he was  exposed to the on-going  of the backstage to a theatre productions.

How the 3 stories – Chicken Licken, The Goose that Laid Golden Eggs and  The Little Red Hen were interweaved  by the  4 back stage casts and how the half-made up stage was used to narrate that 3 stories were simply ingenious.

As the stage crew were playing with the masks they found in the boxes, they took turn to narrate the story of Chicken-Licken. And basically let us know that even with 4 actors playing 6 roles, with use of masks, this can be achieved on stage!

narrating Chicken-Licken

Then the stage was cleared and finally the stage backdrop was used to stage the next story – The Goose that laid the golden eggs where the greed of tavern’s owners made them kill the goose and they ended up with naught.

The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs

The final story shows the hidden desire of Maggie, the stage manager to the star of the show and she starred as The Little Red Hen. Her friends have denied helping her many a times and when she finally has something good to share, the audience agreed that The Little Red Hen shouldn’t be so nice to them as well!

The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen

The younger kids may not be able to appreciate the back stage introduction part of this production but they are certainly not left out in this musical as they will thoroughly enjoy the stories segment of the musical. These are stories they would have heard at bedtime or in school. Small J’s favourite was The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. The 3 stories were kept short and there is no short of slap stick comedy to entertain the younger audience. Like always, all 3 stories will end with the moral of the story.

The cast did an excellent job introducing the audience to the world of the back stage as stage crew, being actors of the 3 short but well-loved stories and were excellent singers to this musical too! It was the perfect show for my family for the long labour day weekend.

As always, do not miss the meet and greet after the show! You have to catch this production as it has exceeded my expectation of a local children production and it maybe I Theatre’s last production for a long time to come.

Poultry Tales
Presented by I Theatre
Dates:

27 April to 14 May 2017

Weekends: 10.30am  and 2pm

Venue: Drama Centre Theatre

Recommended for three year olds and above
Ticket prices: $32 (excluding booking fee)

Tickets available from SISTIC.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All photos except the photo of my kids are credited to I Theatre.