Here we are at Food For Thought at the Botanic Gardens…. all ready to rock ‘n’ roll for a pop up class with Jan & Elly English Langauge School!

My kids were waaaay below the age (and intelligence) limit to truly benefit and understand what was going on, so they spent a lot of the time wandering around like renegade machines. But, Hunter did cotton on to it near the end, so whew!

This particular session focused on Phonics, and the ‘lesson’ was run outdoors and with loads of fun and games, so all the kids there were so engaged!

There was a phonics game where the kids would hop to each box, and match the letters together to form short words. You can see here that the kids all obediently lined up… except mine….

Finally, it was playground time. Which was exactly what Hunter was dying for! But, it’s not free play. The kids went up one by one, and when they went down the slide, they had to grab a flash card and match it up.

And so here’s my little 3 year old, the youngest and smallest of the whole lot!

Being the youngest didn’t deter him, he GRABBED that flash card with gusto and RACED over to go match it!

I was pretty floored when he matched his up correctly. It wasn’t a fluke either, cos he went to check a few matches before picking the correct one.

I’ll be honest here though…. pretty sure he can’t actually read the actual word he had (“frog”). Just that he can visually match up the alphabets! A tricksie one, this is!

All done, he sat himself down in the line by himself, feeling all chuffed 😉

YAY FOR PHONICS!

It’s made me realise how quickly kids can learn when they’re having fun. I’d even wager they learn better (and enjoy it more) when they learn in a play-based environment versus a sterile one where they sit at a desk and study. I wish there were more of these play-based outdoor classes around!

The Jan & Elly school focuses on showing children that learning is lots of fun, with interactive games that involve lots of motion and engagement.

I was pretty amazed with the SodaStream when I first saw it selling in department stores in Singapore – “such a simple idea”, I thought, “why would anyone bother buying fizzy drinks from the grocery store after this?”

Turns out the whole make-your-own-sparkling-drinks concept is new to Singapore, but has been around for decades in Europe and Australia. I never knew! Guess I never noticed, because all through years living in Australia, I don’t think I’ve noticed this before.

The SodaStream Source creates sparkling water and sodas in the comfort of your own home.

Designed by renowned designer Yves Behar, the Source is considered an ‘active green’ product (which means that it reduces the impact on the environment).

Personally? What I like most is that it contains only 1/3 of the sugar and calories compared to regular soft drinks.

This is my Starter Kid, that comes in a neat cardboard box:

The metal CO2 canister plugs straight into the back, and you’re ready to rumble! Each canister carbonates up to 60L of water (which is 60 bottles).

I fill my SodaStream bottle with (chilled) tap water, then simply push it up into the SodaStream machine.

To fizz up your water, just press the block (where the kids are pressing in the photo below), and hold it down until the LED indicators light up. The longer you hold it down, the more fizz you get.

It takes about 2-5 seconds to complete, depending on how much fizz you want. And VOILA!!! Fizzy water 🙂

There are a TON of syrups to choose from, but I got Orange Mango and Apple. I fill the lid up with 2/3 syrup (I don’t like my drinks too ‘thick’), pour it in, and slowly swirl the bottle.

DONE 🙂

Very, very easy, right?

The SodaStream is a HIT at parties, because it makes carbonated drinks in a matter of seconds, and is a sure-fire WOW attraction for the kids. I think they get pretty amazed with the whole gadget and being able to see the fizz and make their own drinks 😉

SodaStream Source PROS:

1. The physical size of the unit is compact (and gorgeous), and will easily fit on any countertop, or tuck away neatly in a cupboard.
2. It reduces the impact on the environment.
3. It doesn’t need to be plugged in or require batteries to use.
4. It takes around 5 seconds from start-to-finish to make a 1L bottle of fizzy drink.
5. You have a huge variety of flavours to choose to add in, or simply squeeze in your own orange or lime juice.

SodaStream Source CONS:

1. The high-pitched squeal it makes those 2-5 seconds as the CO2 is released into the water.

I can’t think of any more cons because, quite simply, this is a winner if you’re a soda drinker and/or have kids. You don’t even need to put the syrups in, you can drink it as-is as soda water!

We’ve used it at a couple of home gatherings and play dates, and it’s been treated with great interest every time. And, admittedly, I love being able to delight my guests and serve fun drinks…. instead of my standard – plain water 😉

SodaStream Source retails at SGD$298 for the metal version, and $208 for the plastic version. It is available at all major participating department stores including Tangs, Robinsons, Takashimaya, OG, Cold Storage and Best Denki.

Elly, the popular childrens boutique, officially launches their Chinese New Year 2014 collection TODAY! 

Titled “The Horse Parade”, it’s a total eye-candy extravaganza. It’s cute. REALLY cute. It also made me wonder where my invisible daughter is.. because OH MAN THE GIRLS STUFF IS SERIOUSLY CUTE. If you have a daughter, be warned – you’ll be stumped as to how to stop at just one piece. If you have a son, take comfort that there’s still cute boys stuff (especially their shorts!), albeit less designs.

We got a little preview of the clothes in real life, and did a mini photoshoot right there and then after a hearty brunch at GRUB!

The kids are wearing as follows:

• Carter (16 months) wears Bermudas in White Horses, in a sz 2. It fits him perfectly around the waist (he wears a diaper), but you’ll see that the shorts go below his knees. I love this size because I’m sure I’ll get at least a year’s wear out of this!
• Hunter (2 years) wears Bermudas in Red Horses, also in a sz 2. It’s interesting to see how the same size shorts look different on both kids! On Hunter, it fits around his waist (because he wears underwear), but looks more like fitted shorts on him.

Made of soft but durable cotton, these shorts are easy-wearing and comfy. The kids didn’t fuss in them and I like how the shorts will keep them cool when we’re not in air conditioning.

In particular I LOVE how these are appropriate for Chinese New Year, yet perfectly wearable year-round. They have that cool preppy vibe and I intend to send Hunter to his play school in them.

There are MANY more designs for the boys – in both shorts and shirts. Check out the full range (and buy online with free shipping) at the Elly online boutique.

And the girls? Oh man, oh man. So many pretty prints and colours, you’ll wish they came in larger sizes for yourself 😉 Here we have pictured the Girls Cheongsam and Boys Shirt in the ‘White Horses’ print.

And a photo of the clothes we were going craaazzzzyyyy over!!

The boys went to a birthday party after that, and I changed their tops to give them a sailor look. You’ll see here how the shorts are versatile and how they can be worn with ‘regular’ clothing.

Bummer they don’t do mens sizes in the shorts. I would totally force my husband into a pair to go matchy-match with the boys – teehee!!!!

Elly’s CNY 2014 launches today (16 Dec 2013) in their boutique and online. Hundreds of pieces have been snapped up for reservation already, so get yourself in there quick!