Fictitious Characters

Drama is an element that definitely brightens up a child's world, instills endless imagination and inspires creativity.

Which was why I was really glad when I received a notice from Little Bee's school that one of the school days would be designated for a parade of imaginary book characters, where the children are supposed to dress up in a character found in a book, bring (and read) the book with the character and parade in front of the entire school.

I am secretly delighted that the school, unlike some other schools, are willing to sacrifice a day of boring and monotonous academic learning for really fun imaginative play like this. I thought this helps to encourage confidence, creativity and a love for reading in a child.

Needless to say, Little Bee will dress up as one of her favourite princesses. In previous years, she would dress up as Belle in Beauty and the Beast, but this year, she could finally fit into jie-jie's Cinderella's costume, so she was determined to be Cinderella. And of course, she knows the story of Cinderella so very well :)

She was delighted to be decked in Cinderella's sparkling blue dress, complete with white gloves and a little handbag.

And it was a sight fit for elation when I saw all the classmates gathering together, examining each other's costumes and guessing the characters that their friends were acting as. Little Bee's classmates were mostly like her - strong, colourful personalities, with assertive and extroverted traits, and more importantly, a significant sense of loyalty and friendship which is evident in all their hugs and highly familiar gestures with each other.

This being the final year in which she would spend with them in kindergarten, I hope they would strike up a lasting friendship that would remain strong even in the primary school years, like what Big Bee had experienced.

Meanwhile, can you guess what some of these characters are!?

Bewitched By Bali

I do apologise for the long radio silence. Our little family of four had been enchanted by the allure of Bali from 6 to 13 June. 7 luxurious days of gorgeous beaches with spectacular waves, of breathtaking cliffs and emerald rice fields, of nestling deep in the rainforests and hills of Ubud, and being woken up by roosters and birds, of boisterous days with friends and quiet moments with ourselves. We are back, but our spirits are enlivened by the spirituality of magical Bali :)

This is my 3rd time in Bali, and the family's first time - and I am delighted that Hubby was totally captivated by the sheer beauty and serenity of Bali, especially Ubud. The girls enjoyed the company more - we were joined by PF and her family in the first leg of our trip, with 4 nights together in Intercontinental Jimbaran Bay. The Bees had the most gleeful moments playing ceaselessly with their childhood friends, Eugene and Claire. Thereafter, they enjoyed the deep tranquillity by ourselves in Ubud, bonding tremendously as a family, where we stayed for 3 nights in a stunning villa deep in the virgin forests of Ubud's remote villages.

Unfortunately, I am experiencing some difficulties transferring my digital images from my camera (hence my silence as well), so I am going to use some photos from the Internet to illustrate where we stayed.

The sunset cafe of Intercontinental, by the beach and the crashing waves of Jimbaran Bay, where our 2 families spent much time chilling by the beach.

The splendid villa in Ubud that we stayed in, complete with a private pool where monkeys drank water from!

...with astounding views high up in the hills of Ubud, a plunging valley and a gushing river through the valley

We have our own private bale (gazebo), complete with deck chairs, an outdoor living and dining area, and a marvelous four poster bed in the bedroom

I will be writing more about this trip soon...

Busy Days

The June holidays had sneaked upon us stealthily but steadily, and life is still as busy as usual. In the months leading to the holidays, school life was frenetic with lots of work and revision for the Bees. Hence, almost every night was spent on homework, 听写 and other readings.

Therefore, it was with a colossal sigh of relief that school was out in the final week of May, and that we could start planning our vacation in peace. Thus far, I had been letting the Bees relax incessantly, with no serious homelearning activities except for lots of fun and painting (see their latest paintings below, and yes, Mummy Art School only opens during the holidays these days!), as well as plenty of gatherings.

Little Bee's Underwater World

Big Bee's Marine Wonderland

Big Bee invited her best friend to hang out at our home for a whole day last week. Just last night, we had a dinner gathering with PF and family, where the Bees could catch up once again with Eugene and Claire, playing rowdy rounds of hide and seek while the adults planned for our imminent vacation. Hubby also just bought Kinect for the girls yesterday, and we had such a roar playing with it the entire morning (even me!) until my muscles are now aching from all those vigorous actions required by Kinect!

We also spent our days on lazy breakfasts, languid saunters in the parks, long walks with our dog Aidan, and enjoyable afternoon coffees in different cafes. We had lots of family errands to run this month, but spent a lot of time chilling as a family, and I had planned plenty more gatherings with other friends and family.

Little Bee also just received her confirmation of admission into Big Bee's primary school, so it is yet another milestone for Little Bee - the primary school odyssey! A new chapter will begin for her...

More importantly, I am taking almost 2 weeks off work so I could spend even more time with the Bees!

Am eagerly waiting for the next coming weeks indeed!