Homelearning: Learning About The World From Placemats!

Homelearning had become much more ad-hoc these days. Gone are the days when we had time to do a month's worth of thematic learning. Part of the reason was because the Bees had developed a lot of their own interests by now. And the other part of the reason stemmed from my own stagnation, I must say.

Still, I tried to grab hold of any small opportunity to talk to them about the world in which they live in, highlighting issues that are not covered in their very academic and rigid school curriculum. Opportunities as small as using these placemats below to talk about geography, animals and the world they live in.

We bought these placemats back in 2011 when we were exploring the theme of Planet Earth. I remember talking a lot about geographical regions, major cities and the animals around the world using these placemats and a globe when they were bright-eyed little girls. 

3 years henceforth, we are still using these placemats for our daily meals. One languorous afternoon last Sunday, when the Bees were in the throes of revising for their primary 6 preliminary exams and primary 2 continuous assessment tests, I told them to take a long break just to "chat about the world".

We relooked at the world maps on these placemats, and I conducted impromptu quizzes (the Bees are fans of quizzes). A small sampling of the questions are: 

1. Point out the city of Reykjavik on the map! Which country is it in? 

2. Name an animal that is unique only to the continent of Asia/China/Australia. 

3. Will polar bears and penguins ever meet each other? Why/why not?

4. Point out the highest point on earth? How about the lowest? 

5. Where did Titanic sink? 

6. What do you call a whale with a unicorn horn? (This was a question that the Bees asked me, and they were shocked that I had not heard about narwhals.)

Easy questions to ask. Fun answers to talk about. Without any writing, crafting, doodling or reading. Just plenty of funny, irreverent (at times) and invigorating discussion-based learning! And I must say it was a good, long reprieve from academic and book-based revision! 

Siem Reap: The Kingdom Of Ancient Kings and Heavenly Dancers (Part 2)

Formidable fortresses,

Decrepit ruins,

Sacred ancient sites, 

Simple bucolic lifestyles,

Beautiful children rising against all odds, 

And a recent cataclysmic history.

This is the Siem Reap that I had experienced and loved. A city of contrasts. Of recent horrors. Of simplicity and beauty. Of majestic temples and awe-inspiring ancient history. 

Here are some highlights of our brief Siem Reap adventure!

Ancient ruins and temples

I loved exploring the temples, wandering along the small passageways of ancient ruins, balancing atop scattered stones which dated back to a thousand years or more, strolling along labyrinths and entrance ways of powerful archaic kings. 

My favourite temples are in this sequence: 

1st: Bayon (built in the late 12^th or early 13^th century)

This entire complex of temples and towers was sprawling and magnificent. Each of its 54 towers was topped with 4 massive carvings of smiling and serene stone faces. The entire temple complex was built into two levels, and walking amidst the mammoth smiling faces on the upper level was surreal. We lost ourselves exploring the narrow, meandering passageways of the ruins, with tall imposing towers and colossal peaceful faces smiling down on us. Definitely felt like Indiana Jones! 

2^nd: Ta Prohm (built in the late 12^th or early 13^th century)

Nestled deep in the forest, this mysterious jungle temple was overgrown with huge, towering trees with immense roots penetrating into every corner of the complex. This was a temple complex that time and nature had embraced into its folds. The entire ambience was enigmatic, mystical and dreamlike.

Ruins still abounded, and there were construction work ongoing everywhere. It was amazing to see how archeologists had dug and labelled copious timeworn stones to slowly re-create the original temple structure. The reconstruction architectural efforts of all these ancient temples are brilliant. 

The Bees perching on lots of centuries-old archaic stone slabs

3^rd: Angkor Wat (built in the early 12^th century)

The opportunity to finally witness the legendary Angkor Wat was magical. As the largest religious monument in the world, the entire complex was gargantuan and formidable. We were very lucky to engage the services of an excellent local guide who regaled the stories of the ancient Khmer empire with so much relish and passion. It is essential to hire good local guides because the stories of the Khmer kingdom will make the colossal intricate carvings of Hindu mythology come alive. Our guide also knew the best entrances to ensure that we avoided the crowds, and our first encounter with the great Angkor Wat at the deserted East entrance was tranquil and solitary.

The Bees at the desolate East entrance of Angkor Wat

We climbed all the way to the top of the central enclosure, and it was really very high, with a couple of steep staircases. Children below 12 are not allowed into the top of the central enclosure, and thankfully, the steps proved to be a little challenging for my father-in-law, so Little Bee and him went off somewhere nice to sit and wait for us.

Big Bee heading towards the steep upper levels of Angkor Wat

Seeing the skills of ancient artisans as displayed in all the fascinating carvings and architecture around us was amazing. Even the architectural skills of layering rocks on top of foundational rocks without the use of cement or any support was incredible. We were captivated by the beauty, scale and brilliance of the entire sprawling complex, and were lost in centuries of history.

Children in Cambodia learn to be independent from very young

Crowds came in around 9am in the morning (we arrived at around 7am), and I must say I did get a little frazzled because of the sea of humans from all over the world visiting Angkor Wat. In all, we spent about 3 to 4 hours traipsing different parts of this “City Of Temples”.

The Bees with our friendly, passionate and highly knowledgeable guide

4^th: Banteay Srei (built in the 10^th century!)

This was a smallish temple that was slightly out of the way. However, it was the oldest temple that we had visited (1,100 years old!) and the carvings were so intricately done that the images seemed three-dimensional and leaped out at us. This temple is also known as “Lady’s Temple” because of its distinctive pinkish and yellowish hues from the yellow sandstone that was used to build this temple complex.

Can you imagine that this temple is 1,100 years old, with these intricate and beautiful carvings?

We met a couple of young Cambodian children who were playing in this temple, using lotus petals and leaves…and reminded the Bees that play could be derived anywhere. We interacted a little with the kids using sign language and these children were just beautiful. Let’s hope their futures would be bright and strong with Cambodia’s increasing development. 

Making friends through sign language and a universal curiosity for humanity amongst children

5^th: Banteay Kdei (built in the mid 12^th to early 13^th century)

We visited this temple after half a day at the Angkor Wat, and my father-in-law was relatively tired, so this was a relatively brief visit. Temple-visiting can get tiring for some elderly folks. Coupled with the hot and humid weather, it might be wiser to use half a day to visit temples and the afternoons to rest and relax in a spa or in the hotel, if one is not used to taking day-long walks.

This temple was small and compact. Compared to Angkor Wat, which was all nicely restored, this temple had more ruins and broken down temple buildings, which I was actually more fascinated with. It was also overgrown with moss and there was a shady, cool, somewhat neglected ambience to it.

6^th: Angkor Thom

This was a whole complex where the royal palace used to be. We meandered through a labyrinth that led to the top of a viewing gallery where kings of yore would travel on their elephants to watch sporting competitions. It was breathtakingly magnificent, standing atop the platform where many kings had stood before, letting our minds wander to the days when good and evil were so defined, where there were not as many shades of grey, unlike the modern era.

We also enjoyed other experiences like: 

Taking tuk-tuks around the city

Taking a tuk-tuk in Siem Reap was exhilarating and akin to a journey back in time. There were very few vehicles on the roads of Siem Reap, so the tuk tuk was able to chug along at a good pace, which brought much-welcomed breezes to our faces. We were also able to take a glimpse into the different street life of common folks in Siem Reap – groups of residents bathing and washing bedsheets in the river, ubiquitous fruit stalls on the roadside, motorbikes with whole families of 4 or 5 sitting on it...

It was truly refreshing to see ways of living that were so different from urban Singapore, and the Bees were amazed.

Night markets!

The night markets in Siem Reap were teeming with eager hawkers touting their wares. They were mostly conversant in English, and I really enjoyed haggling and bargaining with them (80% slash down as first negotiation is a must!).

There were all kinds of exotic foods on sale – we saw deep fried crickets (which Little Bee ate with relish), deep fried tarantulas (yikes!), crocodile meat, menacing-looking shellfish, etc.

Ali-baba styled pants in light cotton material were very popular and after buying and wearing a pair to a full day of temple visits, I started appreciating why. The pants were great for keeping the ubiquitous mosquitoes away, and yet they were so cooling and soft, which made trekking around the old, uneven temple grounds really easy.

Some final tips
In all, we had a surprisingly enriching time in Siem Reap. Frankly, I was not expecting a lot after seeing pictures of Angkor Wat and other temples online. However, pictures really did no justice for any temples in Siem Reap. Once there, the scale, the poignant history, the culture and the ruins made the whole temple-exploring experience truly amazing.

I thought I would add in some tips and advice for families travelling with children. As dengue was rampant when we visited, we made sure the Bees had lots of mosquito patches and we constantly sprayed repellant on them. Do watch out for huge, strange insects and try to avoid venturing into the jungles or tiny, abandoned crevices of the temples. We squeezed into a tiny, dilapidated nook once, and were bitten by a gigantic wasp! 

Lots of insects abounded in the temple ruins, and make for great study in nature! Here, Little Bee was holding on to a huge millipede!

We chanced upon a large group of wild buffaloes during lunch one day

We ate a lot at local restaurants and bought food from the night market, and as with most developing countries, food hygiene may sometimes be an issue for younger children. So, we just avoided drinking water from the tap, always ordering bottled mineral water or Coke, and make sure you order food cooked in high temperature (stir-fried or fried stuff are the easiest, insects included!)

This was a most enriching trip and the experience of being in a very different country remains indelible in our minds. We would love to return and immerse more in this country another time. 

The simplicity of life in Cambodia, where people are still using firewood as a source of fuel

Purging Urgency From Our Lives

The day I read this article, I cried. The article was about letting our children smell the roses. Dawdling in their own little ways just so they can explore the world. Being inadvertently languid because they are curious about so many different things around them. Asking all kinds of thoughtful questions at bedtime simply because they do not understand the ways of the world ("Why are there wars, mama? Is there a God in this world? Why are there different religions? Where did we come from? Did God create us, or did we evolve from apes?")

Yet, how many times have I clamped them down by telling them to "hurry up" or "you need to sleep now. We will talk about that tomorrow. Goodnight!" - only to remember days later that I did not address any of their questions "tomorrow". And how many spurious "tomorrows" have I made empty promises with?

Reading this article was a huge wake-up call for me because I also happened to have a little daughter who is just like Hands Free Mama's second girl - a Little Bee who simply has no schedules, worries or sense of urgency in her life. She is content to just observe butterflies flitting amongst pretty blossoms when all of us are hurrying to our destinations. She is happy to just sit and sing to herself when it is time for homework. She will happily squat down and blow hard at a plump dandelion when we are walking to her tuition class. At the supermarket cashier, she would sweetly (and loudly!) chirped a resounding "thank you!" incessantly, not bothering about the queue behind us - until the cashier acknowledged her with a smile.

The saddest thing is her rebuttal to my copious "hurry up" - "Mama, just one more page, please..." (when she is reading before bedtime) or "Mummy, one more minute, pleaaasseee!" (when she is doodling just before homework time).

In this time-strapped world (and in a very stressful Singapore), and for a working mother like me with very little time with the kids, how can we stop and smell the roses with our children? How do we tell them "To heck with homework and exams in Singapore, just live in the present and do what you want now!"? How do we balance a frenetic life in Singapore with the vivacity of quiescence?

Sadly, till now, I still have no answers to these questions. And although hubby and I try finding opportunities in every second to let our girls enjoy the little beauties of this splendid world, we are still saying "hurry up" in small doses, albeit in a more mindful manner.

Spending lots of time outdoors and just doing nothing helps to perpetuate the "no hurry up" philosophy for us! 

Happy 49th Birthday, Singapore!

This was taken last year when we were at the National Day Parade Preview.

This National Day weekend was spent amidst lots of bonding and lazing around. We hardly meet friends these days because time is precious and with the Bees growing up so quickly, we kind of want to hog them to ourselves as much as possible! Furthermore, with PSLE looming in the very near future, we could not afford whole days captured in leisure activities.

Still, it was a wonderful weekend which started with a secondary school class reunion with a brilliant turn-out and incessant catching up. It was incredible in the sense that all of us viewed one another with the unguarded masks of 15- and 16-year-old teenagers, mentally travelling back to the days before we had factitious and meaningless labels that are attached to our occupations, where we live, where we graduated from, how much we earn, etc. We were all stripped clean of all these labels and were convivial and genuine. It also struck me that time is cruelly trundling on, waiting for no one. A stark reminder of time's breakneck speed - Big Bee is a mere 4 years younger than the last time some of us had seen one another when we graduated at 16.

The rest of the weekend meandered languidly along with good food, lazing by the pool, a walk in a park and of course, watching the National Day Parade as a family, a time-honoured ritual since our childhood days.

The Bees were visibly inspired by this year's show of patriotism on TV, so I interviewed them in jest about what they love in Singapore. Here goes!

Q: What do you love most about Singapore?
Big Bee: "Multi-racial society, non-corrupt government and lots of educational opportunities!" (then she went cackling away and asked if I am testing her on her oral exams, hmph)
Little Bee: "Safe & clean, the trees and flowers are beautiful here, and I like the weather here!"

Q: Favourite places in Singapore?
Big Bee: "Hm, home, school and JEM (the shopping mall in Jurong, where she watched some of her favourite movies with friends and where there is a Kinokuniya)". Then she changed her mind. "No no, it is Universal Studios, Marina Bay Sands and JEM!"
Little Bee: "Oh, lots of places! Do I have any limit? OK - Kinokuniya Bookstores, Universal Studios, Esplanade, Marina Bay Sands, Gardens By The Bay, ALL our beaches, JEM and Westgate!"

Whew. And I notice they did not mention much of the nature reserves or parks that we brought them regularly to. Grrr.

Q: What was your favourite part of the National Day Parade?
Big Bee: "The video about the history of Singapore! So that the younger generation like me can understand what the pioneers had gone through to build Singapore up!"
Little Bee: "The dance performances! And the Red Lions!"

Q: Favourite hawker food?
Both girls: "Chwee kueh!"

How was your National Day weekend?

Reading "And Tango Makes Three"

Now that the furor had died down with regards to the Singapore National Library Board banning a few children's books and then reinstating a couple of them back in the adult section, I thought it might be an appropriate time to finally relate what I had been sharing with my kids about this whole saga.

Truth be told, I was exasperated with the National Library Board (NLB) for initially censoring the books - not because I was siding any side of the LGBT factions here - but because I seethed at the thought that NLB tried acting as an omniscient, all-knowing power who thinks they could control what the general population wants. Unnecessary and partisan censorship was at the heart of the issue for me.

Now that everything had died down, it is not necessary to talk about the antipathy I felt against the banning of these books. Instead, I wanted to relate how I brought my children into the heart of the discussion, as this is something that will be so fundamental in their society in future - analysing how media and society portray different issues to the population. In this day and age where internet and online articles are so prevalent, how do we nurture our children to question what they read and develop informed perspectives of their own?

I always believe in opening all communications with my children from a very young age with regards to knowledge and information. I prefer to expose them to all kinds of issues from young and discussing with them about values, rather than shielding them and compartmentalising different knowledge to age-appropriate categories. Because I do not believe there is an appropriate age for knowledge. Instead, I feel that if they had been sheltered for too long, they might be moulded by societal and peer pressures to form views that I have no control over. Hence, I prefer to transfer knowledge to them directly and have them voice out their thoughts honestly to me. Which is why sex education started at the age of 4 in my household. And why we talked about sensitive issues of death, war, rape and molestation from the age of 7. Of course, values are a big part of the discussions, and I would like to start influencing their value system from a young age, before they form any pre-conceived judgements of their own. (Again, sometimes I also have issues with me being an omniscient, all-knowing entity to my kids...but that is a story for another time!)

Being aware of societal issues and our attitudes towards these issues is very important to me. Which is why I decided to let the Bees read "And Tango Makes Three" during the heart of the saga. So that they could understand all sides of the discussions. It was initially hilarious as we settled down to read a "banned" book. You know how thrilled kids are when they access something that is banned!

As we read the book, the Bees had reactions and insights that were very surprisingly mature, and we discussed about issues of censorship, love, LGBT and society's acceptance of myriad people. I let them know my viewpoints of certain issues, and they responded with their own perspectives. Of course, being 8 and 12 years old also meant that they already had pre-conceived notions of certain issues in life, and I found our discussions refreshing because I also learned unexpected perceptions from them.

It was an illuminating afternoon of open discussion and understanding each of my girls' thoughts, perspectives and personalities. But one thing that hit me was: despite all the belligerence in the mass media, the Bees remained unfazed and nonchalant, and wondered what the fuss was all about. I guess this confirmed my belief that children tend to be more curious if we shield them from knowledge. And instead of letting them harbour misinformed judgements on their own, I would rather be there every step of the way while I can.

Siem Reap: The Kingdom Of Ancient Kings and Heavenly Dancers (Part 1)

Siem Reap is mesmerising, alluring and enchanting. It is like living in another world, where time passes slowly and life is much simpler. We spent 4 days here at the end of June, and despite our short stay, we felt rejuvenated and enriched. Rejuvenated with the understanding that there is so much to life than daily deadlines and stressful to-do lists. Enriched in the knowledge that empires rise and fall from time immemorial, and the realisation that we are nothing but tiny chess pieces in this gargantuan world, along the endless journey of time.

There was so much to see and experience in Siem Reap, and my personal favourite experience was exploring the ruins of some of their ancient and breathtaking temples. There were several memorable indelible moments in our trip, and these were:

1) Little Bee ate a deep fried cricket!
I know Little Bee is brave and adventurous, but her desire to eat a deep fried cricket came as an utmost surprise for me! We were walking around in the night market one night when a female hawker ambled by with a big aluminium tray of deep fried crickets.

Most of us squirmed at the sight of these crickets, but my father-in-law and Little Bee picked up a cricket each and examined them closely. My father-in-law was prodding Little Bee in jest to eat it, with the expectations that she would not. Little Bee was extremely curious about the cricket and I saw her asking lots of questions about the crickets with the hawker.

Being the typical kiasi Singaporean, I told Little Bee that deep fried crickets sold in this manner may not be very hygienic or clean. To my embarrassment, the friendly Cambodians around us insisted that the crickets were completely safe and clean to eat. Before I could say anything, I saw Little Bee's eyes sparkled with excitement and glee when she heard that it was safe to eat these crickets, and immediately popped one big cricket into her wide-opened mouth, much to our shock and surprise!

Can you see the cricket's legs peeking out from her mouth?!

She chewed on it with zest, swallowed down the remains heartily and declared exuberantly that it was super delicious! The Cambodians around her cheered jubilantly and as I watched her hobnobbing with them happily, I was once again struck by her natural ability to connect with all kinds of different people immediately. This is such a rare talent (which is not apparent in any of us in the family!) and I hope she will never douse this wonderful ability of her to connect with people as she grows older.

2) Big Bee and I were stung by a giant wasp!
We were exploring the famous Ta Prohm temple which is also known as a jungle temple, nestled mysteriously within trees and lots of colossal roots. Lots of insects and creepy crawlies abounded - we saw huge, fat millipedes, gigantic termite mounds, armies of big ants and strange flying insects.

As we were taking a family portrait, Big Bee suddenly exclaimed in pain and said there was something really sharp in her bag or around the back of her skirt because something pricked her hand. I patted her down, and encountered a sharp, painful sensation on my index finger, almost as if a needle had pricked me. After a few more moments of search, an enormous metallic blue and black wasp/hornet/whatever the gross insect is called crawled out from beneath Big Bee's skirt. YIKES! Thankfully, our guide helped us remove it from her skirt.

The scary part was when Big Bee told me that she was beginning to see psychedelic colours and felt dizzy. I felt a little nauseous and dizzy myself, and attributed it to either shock syndrome or the venom that the wasp injected into our bodies to shock us into temporary immobility.

Whatever it was, we both felt better after a while, although the swollen insect bites stayed with us for more than a week!

I know these two encounters probably did not encapsulate the Cambodian experience well, but these were some of the more memorable and personal moments for me. I am writing another post on what I truly love about Siem Reap - being like Indiana Jones, exploring the nooks and crannies of myriad temple ruins!

Let Your Imagination Go Wild!

Her latest addiction: selfies! 

These days, with Little Bee reading a lot more before bedtime, we kind of stopped reading English bedtime stories. Every other day, I will still read Chinese storybooks to her though. However, on days when it is English storytelling time, we had taken to rattling off our own bedtime stories because Little Bee told me that listening to bedtime stories with me is something that she really looks forward to every night. Hubby and Little Bee are especially creative at this, spinning tales of hilarity, total creativity and ridicule at times! I am not as innovative nor wacky as the both of them, frankly.

One night, Little Bee spun such a beautiful story of a candy land that I thought of sharing here. Enjoy...and goodnight!

Quoted from Little Bee directly:

"There was a land with clouds just like cotton candy, where it rains chocolate drops in a purple sky. And during the birthday of every child, lots of candies will be rained down just outside the child's house. It rains different candies outside my house every day because I am the queen of this land!

In this land, tree trunks are log cakes that could be eaten anytime. Leaves are minty food and flowers are nectar with bubblegum flavours. The houses are made of biscuits flavoured with vanilla and chocolate. My house has rainbow-coloured flavours!

Only bakers in this land can build houses, because all the houses are edible and delicious! Pillows are made of cotton candy. The grass is minty, and exhaust fumes from cars are bubbles! There is no insects like flies or ants in this land. Cows are candy cows and cars are chocolate cars!

Yawn....goodnight!"

Paint The Afternoon Away!

We spent a fun, creative afternoon painting our blues away in Arteastiq, a Victorian-looking cafe with a big space for creative expression on canvas. It was so therapeutic and a great way for family bonding by giggling over and appreciating each other's paintings. 

Although we did paint at home sometimes, this was a different experience because the Bees were able to sit down and really focus on creating something from a clean slate. We were also inspired by myriad creative ideas of other painters around us, and could stick to an idea and paint it through.We could paint anything we want, and for the less inspired, there were booklets with picture ideas that we could emulate.

I love the different emotions fleeting through me when painting. Emotions like being reflective before painting. I usually looked deep within myself and examined my mood and propensities before painting. I usually like landscapes because they remind me of escapism into another land far far away.

Wonderment and curiosity. When I first laid my brush on a clean slate, I would never fail to marvel at the richness of colours, the dexterity of human fingers and the ability of the human mind to create something out of nothing. For me, painting never followed any predicted paths (although, frankly, I am but a rudimentary painter). I would usually experiment with different strokes, textures and colours, so I am constantly infused with a sense of curiosity about where all these would lead me.

Frustration (at times). Sometimes, I would experiment and play around with the brush strokes and colours to the extent that the outcome was very different from what I had envisaged initially. But I would adapt and adjust constantly. And this is the most important life lesson I learned from painting - that it is perfectly fine to make mistakes and that we can always adapt and change, so that these mistakes become blessings in disguise. I kept emphasizing this to the Bees, especially perfectionist Big Bee, whenever they grumbled that they mixed the wrong colours or painted the wrong strokes, etc. And I think painting is a wonderful way for children to learn to experiment and adapt!

And finally, satisfaction and gratification when I sat back at last and breathed a sigh of happiness.

Hubby's painting and his fabulous attempt at blending colours for a complete newbie! 

This was mine, and yes, I was dreaming of living on a deserted island at that point of time!

Big Bee's painting - she wanted to paint pop art for a change. This was her first attempt at graphical pop art and I thought it was so bright and colourful!

Little Bee's attempt to convert a landscape into a 2D pop-art portrait - can you spot the waterfall, overlaying branch and river boulders?

A Date With Shakespeare

We had a date with Shakespeare a couple of months ago where we watched The Merchant Of Venice in Fort Canning, under a starry night with balmy evening breezes.

Check out the crowds! We were lucky to have found an area right in front of the stage to plonk ourselves down! 

It was the Bees' first exposure to a play by the Bard, with full-fledged Shakespearean language. They had read a lot of his plays in adapted versions, in regular English, and we had talked about The Merchant Of Venice before this play. However, it was still a delight to see them looking quizzical in the first few minutes, whispering furtively, "Mummy! What language are they speaking in?" Haha.

I read the Merchant of Venice synopsis to them before the play, so the Bees were aware of the key protagonists and the main plot (and subplots). Once the play started and they got used to the archaic language, they were slowly drawn into the dramatic twists and hyperbole of Shakespeare's magic.

My qualms about this play were that 1) the setting was constructed deliberately in a modern setting with techno music (call me an old-fashioned, unadaptable fool, but I would prefer a good ol' Shakespearean play over these new modern re-adaptations!) and that 2) I wish more local actors could be in main roles since this was organised by a local theatre production company. The 2 key protagonists were non-Singaporeans. Otherwise, I thought it was a lovely evening out with the family, just kicking our shoes off, sitting back on the grass and simply having a chillax time!

Travel Memoirs: Flying Solo

Travelling long distance for business can be very lonely. Recently, I took a 30-hour flight to Florida on a work trip. There were 3 different flights, 4 airport changes (including the airport of departure) and 2 relatively long periods of transit in New York and Frankfurt. And I am not even including the journey back home! 

At every intersection, I saw families and friends reuniting, hugging, chatting and smiling. Lone business travellers like me just ambled around sterile and commonplace airport shops, sat in airport lounges together with lots of other bored business travellers, and watched endless movies on the plane. Surrounded by so many different people, I had never felt lonelier. Yet, back home, when I am just ensconced in the love and warmth of our little family of 4 (and sometimes with our parents too!), I had never felt more contented.

I do get lots of time to reflect upon many things in life on these trips though – from trivial matters like what the kids are doing in school to deeper reflections about life in general.

While humanity is all about communication, lone business travellers often times only have the company of their own thoughts. On occasions like these, I had many conversations with myself throughout the journey and got in touch with myself again. It was a lot easier to observe beautiful things around me. Little beauties like fireworks under a full moon as the plane departed from New York . The changing multi-hued shades of sunset at 9pm on a long summer day in New York. Beautiful patches of emerald German farm land as the plane got ready to descend into Frankfurt. Watching a wakening Singapore as the soft, magical wings of a purple-hued dawn swept across our island that was aglow with the twinkling lights from the night before. 

 Lonely yes, but comfortably alone. And I relish such chances to observe the world so closely without distractions from the boisterous kids. 

My gregarious girls had talked about their fear of being alone and doing things on their own. Which is understandable at their ages. Sometimes, I wonder how we can help eradicate the fear of being alone in our children. So that peer influence may not be that much of a deal. So that they are perfectly contented – like us – wherever they are, so long as they have the companionship of a book, their eyes (for observing things around them!) and conversations with themselves. Some kids cope better with this but my kids are social beings, and I find that it is harder to encourage them to do things on their own, without the company of their friends or us. Well, let’s see how else I could encourage them….

A Month Of Free Rein

The June holidays had been gloriously unfettered. I took half the month off to spend time with the Bees, and the days were long, luxurious and languorous. We went on a very short trip to Cambodia, and then spent all our time back here in Singapore. Although I always enjoy new experiences when travelling overseas, I discovered the beautiful virtue of leisurely days spent at home. No agenda, no hurriedness, no deadlines to meet. And I don't just mean me. The Bees had the time of their lives not worrying about their school schedules and homework as well! 

However, this is the PSLE year after all, so Big Bee - being the disciplined girl she is - did immerse herself in some light revision. But no drilling, whatsoever. I believe in letting her enjoy the June holidays to the fullest, before the intensive PSLE revision this coming term. Play helps to boost brain power, in my opinion! 

This holidays were epic in the sense that we had plenty of playdates with different friends of the Bees. There were trips to the malls, outdoor playgrounds, movies, concerts, Adventure Cove, Universal Studios, Starbucks - just plenty of opportunities to bond with friends. We spent loads of time with the cousins as well. Little Bee attended an amazing zoo camp with a close cousin of hers, and there were play dates where the 2 generations of cousins gossiped incessantly. A very close cousin of ours got married, and we had the time of our lives bonding and having plenty of fun and laughter at the wedding. 

On the family front, we played lots of board games, we had many lazy mornings spent at Starbucks (Big Bee has a latest teenage addiction to frappuccino, and could not stop drinking them!), we read plenty of books and watched home movies. Simple activities but plenty of bonding. 

Life is leisurely and carefree, days are long and beautiful - and we could forget about the usual hassles of living in a fast-paced society for a while. Here's to more holidays with zero agenda! 

Colours Of Nature: The Tree Huggers

Nothing revivifies our family better than a walk amongst the giants of nature. Even in insanely crowded Singapore, we try to escape far from the madding crowds on a regular basis - just so we can maintain our sanity, breathe a little freely, and retreat into our inner selves.

One recent walk that we really enjoyed was in the MacRitchie Reservoir Park. We hike here regularly because we love the serene combination of a large, tranquil lake and uncultivated forests deep within the park. Being mainly flat, it is also a relatively easy hike, compared to the steeper Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, so we could always stop anywhere and admire the amazing wildlife around us.

On that particular hike, we spent more than 3 hours traversing the edge of the reservoir waters alongside its boardwalk trail and wandering deep into its primary forests.

It was such a leisurely walk where we ambled along, spotting all kinds of wildlife like gigantic spiders, sun skinks, monkeys, kingfishers and all kinds of exotic birds, as well as damselflies and dragonflies. We loved the fact that these wildlife seemed really tame, nestled deep in nature, away from the harmful reaches of vile human intervention.

Long-tailed macaque monkeys

Nature's glorious beauties. Can you spot the spider with its intricate web?

This spider, perched in its huge web high above us in the forest, is as big as my hand (or bigger!)

Can you see the Common Sun Skink?

We loved the feeling of pure isolation in the forests, where we could be trudging along narrow paths without meeting another soul, surrounded only by towering trees that had seen more of this world than any one of us.

We shushed each other at regular intervals just so we could enjoy the pregnant silence of nature. And what deafening silence it was! Once human noises were curtailed, our ears were treated to the vociferous orchestra of the wild - the undulating trills of invisible birds, the hypnotic chirrups of  territorial crickets and the incessant whispering of stalwart trees.

The girls also used this opportunity to embrace these valiant trees, climbing as high as they could on the stout shoulders of these stately elders. They loved the feel of the textured bark on their hands and revelled in the support of the strong trunks and branches.

It was such a rejuvenating morning, and we are truly blessed by the myriad biodiversity in our very own forests!