" Educational " DVDs are not educational.......

.... there goes my excuse.....

Pre-Schools ...

Yishun

+ NurtureStars @ Safra Yishun
- like the curriculum, Roxie84 @ Oct10

- The Little Skool-house International Pte Ltd @ Orchid Country C lub

- The Kids' Inn @ Jalan Hikayat

- Praiseland Child Care and Learning Centre @ 662

- Eager Beaver Schoolhouse @ Yishun central

- Carpe Diem Preschool Pte Ltd @ 100 Yishun Polyclinic

- Little Footprints Schoolhouse @ 701a (above KFC)

- Pcf Nee Soon East Sparkletots Childcare Centre @ NeeSoonEast cc

- Emmanuel Child Educare @ Jalan Malu Malu

- Spring Brainy Kidz Pte Ltd @ Japan Cherpen

- Lutheran Child Care Centre @ 124

- Kidz Meadow Childcare & Development Centre @ 173

- Kidsville Child Care & Development Centre @ 201/217

- Our Lady Star of The Sea Child Care Centre @ 235

- Care Corner Child Development Centre @ 270

- Pcf Canberra Sparkletots Child Care Centre @ 288

- Bethlehem Educare Centre @ 311

- My Childcare Centre @ 366

- World Kids Management Pte Ltd @ 388

- Pcs Yishun Child Care Centre @ 411

- Eagle Retirement Planners Pte Ltd @ Springside

- Angel Care Centre Pte Ltd @ 626

- Sunnytots Schoolhouse @ 658

- Averbel Child Development Centre Pte Ltd @ 742

- Methropolitan YMCA Child Care & Development @ 760

- My Little Campus @ 849

- Little Greenhouse Childcare @& Development @ 832

- Jollytots Preschool @ 865

- My First Skool @ 612
- My First Sko0l @ 796a

x Just Kids @ 290
- high number of HFMD cases, Jan @ Jul10

x Pcf Chong Pang Sparkle Tots Child Care Centre
- teachers not good, Blurmummy @ Aug10

x Cherie Hearts Bright Kids @ 877 Woodlands
- child becoming quite rude and rowdy though teachers seem nice and friendly, $350 full day after subsidy, littleRabbit @ Oct10

IQ/EQ/Memory
+ Happy Train
- small group of 3-5 students
- lessons conducted in a different language weekly -> Japanese, English, Mandarin
- parents required to attend together
- recommended by Susan @ Oct10

Dance/Art/Music
- Musikinder ArtSkool @ 156

- Crestar Learning Centre @ Thomson Plaza , Woodlands Civic Centre, Woodlands Mart Blk 768
- Ballet, jazz, hip-hop, art, music

Chinese
+ Tien Hsia Language School
+ Story Island at Bishan

Toys

Find the prices are on the higher end, but thought that it is useful site to have an idea on what type of educational toys are available in the market. Upon which, can look for alternatives with similar functions? :P
------------------

The Learning Store is the one-stop centre for manipulatives, learning aids, activity kits, educational toys, learning games, teaching aids, software and many more. We are the main distributor for Learning Resources(US), Educational insights(US), ETA Cuisenaire(US) and many others.

There are more than 1500 products in our catalogue for children age 2 to 15 years old. We are now the preferred supplier for Schools, pre-schools, kindergartens and parents for their hands-on-learning resources. Students learn the best when they are involved in it, and more so, if they are having fun at it and enjoying it.

Visit our showroom at 63, Ubi Ave 1, #03-05, Boustead House, Singapore 408937 or browse our catalogue online at http://www.learningstore.sg

Little Miss Potato...

Toys

Finally found an online seller who sells the type of toys that I wanted to buy! i.e. toys for 6 months old (safe, can be washed/cleaned) and yet are of some educational value and....not that expensive!!!!!

oops ...the item on bottom left is the potty and not a toy :P

And yes...she love them. Hmmm...I do have to confess that she love newspapers and carton boxes just as much!

MagMag

Was looking for a sippy straw cup to "train" bb...finally decided on this Pigeon MagMag sippy straw (stage 3) cup. Stage 3 is meant for Month 8 onwards, while stage 2 is the normal sippy "pour" cup with a modified teat meant for month 6 and above. Decided to skip the stage 2 and go straw to stage 3 as read that "sucking" is a natural reflex of bb and going straight to stage 3 may even be easier

she love her magmag, by the way...


Wall decal
Having this "secret" hobby of stenciling...scrapbooking...
finally put the wall clock + decal up..after buying it for 3 months..oops

1st taste
of pumpkin puree...yum....

Making Sweet Potato Puree

(1) Pre heat oven to 190 degree c

(2) Wash and poke holes with fork, then wrap in tin foil (no not peel)

(3) Place in lower rack of oven and back for 45 mins until soft

(4) Remove skins by slitting sweet potato lengthwise when cooled, scoop out the "meat"

(5) Mash with a fork....with formula/water

Making baby food - Pumpkin puree

(1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

(2) Split pumpkin in half, remove seeds, remove stringy fibers by scraping the insides with a metal spoon

(3) Place side down in roasting pan with 1cm water

(4) Bake for about 90 mins, till meltingly tender

(5) Scoop the flesh out to puree in food processor

Making baby food - Carrot Puree

Things needed:
- carrots
- formula milk
- spoon
- baby cubes (or ice cube trays)
- steamer
- blender

(1) clean & peel carrots, chop into pieces of 2-3 cm

(2) steam till a fork punctures them easily (steamer = 45 mins, stove = 30 mins).

or boil it in a little water - until tender (this will probably take around 5 - 8 minutes... don't overcook the carrots to the point where they become mushy or watery, as they will have lost much of their goodness

OR wrap loosely in foil and pop into an oven preheated to 180 degree c

The carrots will cook in their own steam and should be tender and ready for pureeing within 20-30 minutes - please take care when you open the foil parcel, as steam will escape!

(3) allow carrots to cool; make some formula milk to mix with the carrots

(4) when carrots are cool enough to be handled, puree them (2 cups of carrots with 4 oz of formula)

(5) Puree till no chunks. For 1st few feedings, strain the carrots through a sieve and discard any pulp that won't strain

(6) Spoon the puree into baby cubes and freeze. Can be kept for up to 3 months

To defreeze, put in warm water (or food warmer) for 5 to 10 mins

Yummy...

It's time to pre-prepare and stock up on baby food, to start the "food tasting/testing" i.e. one new single food for about 4 days in order to monitor for any reaction, before moving on to another...

Preparing and storing such tiny sized food in baby sized containers...feels as if playing with toy cookery...

Oscars Best Actress Nominee
I love to (pretend) to read!

What a handsome boy.....the only "problem" is that she's a girl!

Who is the gal, & who is the boy?

Practicing to smile...
- this is very important, in order to get hugs, kisses and especially angbaos & presents from relatives & friends...


(baby)Gym work is always tiring...


Finally ... get to relax after a busy day!

I am going to steal a kiss...

Anyone need a model for bedsheet/mattress?

I am a girl!


(L) hear me roar! ... Zzzz (R) High waist shorts are back in fashion!


(L&R) GongFu baby

Bumble Bee...

Bumble Bee is my nick name..do I look like one?

Well..this is definitely a better nick name than my first - "poo poo queen" because I poo-ed 12 times in my first 24 hours home!

Tracking of baby's intake & output

If you have any of the below questions, which I do...then tracking the intake/output of baby, similar to what the hospitals do, could be the way to go...

- when was last feed and how much was it? when is next feed?

- how much has baby drank in the day?

- is the number of feeds sufficient? (check number of times of urine/output...or the looks of the output..)

What to prepare b4 baby's arrival?

attached are

(1) shopping list &
- the details and prices are what i entered when keeping track, as sample

(2) hospital-bag (to bring to hospital when admitting for delivery) packing list

Baby Wipes ...

Cotton
(+) more cost effective to use lukewarm water to rinse - pinkdiamonds @Nov09
(+) big roll of cotton, pull out a bit and soak with water to wipe - cost savings & better for skin - angelwendy @Nov09
(+) preferred - shespice @Nov09
(+) using warm water and cotton - apollo @Nov09

Kodomo
(fern)
* recommened to buy during Watson's sale of $1.95 per pack of 70 pieces, buy 12 get 1 free
* the pieces may be a little on the smaller side, but it is often enough for smaller sized babies
* for the price, it is still more affordable when 2 pieces are used
* the pieces come out 1 at a time, a plus (different experience from diymummy)
(+) recommended - ashbaby @Apr10
(+) recommended - Ting @Nov09
(/) needs 2 hands to separate the wipes as sometimes 2 pieces stick together but quality better than Tollyjoy. Comparable to pigeon, just not as convenient - diymummy @Nov09

Huggies Wipes
(+) Wet, easy to tear and with cute bear design on tissue - temari @Apr10
(+) thick and good, but box cover always open - domique @Nov09
(+) thick and good & fragrance free - candy_ian @Nov09

Diaso
(fern)
* > 1 piece tend to stick
* small pieces, however it is $2 for 100 pieces
(+) recommended - ting @Nov09

Angel Wet Wipes
(-) not very wet - temari @Apr10
(+) cheap and good; thick and wet enough. free delivery to home - stonston @Nov09
(+) recommended - shespice @Nov09

Pigeon
(+) wipes are moist throughout - evenly spread. ! $9.50 for 3 packs * 82 pieces; $19.00 for 6 packs - satellite @Nov09
(+) recommended - chrio @Nov09
(+) recommended - snowbear @Nov09
(+) recommended - Juan @Nov09
(+) convenient - pinkdiamonds @Nov09
(+) Convenient 1-hand system, doesn't dry up fast and baby not allergic to it. diymummy @Nov09
(+) recommended. jxmummy @Nov09
(-) need more pieces each time, than huggies - candy_ian @Nov09

Tollyjoy
(-) not very wet - temari @Apr10
(-) towards the end, difficult to pull out - pinkdiamonds @Nov09
(-) those in blue container, difficult to pull, dry up fast - diymummy @Nov09
(-) whole stack come out together; didn't like smell (pink packagin) - apollo @Nov09

Johnson & Johnson
(fern)
* this is the brand which all maternity hospitals in Singapore is using currently
* the pieces are thick and big
(-) very wet but difficult to tear out and expensive - temari @Apr10
(+) textured and will clean poo easily with 1 swipe per area - kams @Nov09
(+) not very wet and comes out one by one - apollo @Nov09
(+) pink one - thick and good, stock up when 3 packs for $9.90 - jasobias @Nov09
(-) Baby allergic to it though using fragrance free ones - diymummy @Nov09

Pureen
(-) baby have rash - ratna @Apr09

Lucky Baby
(fern)
* 6*90 pieces for S$12
* nothing special about the wipes, but for the price, it is no harm buying
* > 1 piece tend to stick together

Farlin
(-) Expensie and the tissue side will stick to baby's skin - temari @Apr10

Toys

No idea on what toys are recommended for what ages? This online shop helps by categorising the toys...

- Lamkins

More online shopping for kids/babies ...

clothes & bags
- Mummy Angel
- singatots

party balloons
- terroronline
- kidzpartystore

cute stuff
- cute stuff