Parenting on Purpose

I Theatre's The Magic Paintbrush is back in the theatres after 16 long years! Here are some fun facts about the acclaimed I Theatre production. If you read carefully and answer the questions below, you might just get a chance to win two free tickets to the play! 1)  In 2004 the play was made into a book, and published by Marshall Cavendish. It sold out! The books are now very rare as it was not reprinted. 2)  In 2000, I Theatre presented 13 performances in a 300 seater theatre. This time they are presenting 24 performances in a 609 seater theatre. 3)  The Magic Paintbrush was presented in 2000 by Imaginarts, the parent company that spawned I Theatre in 2001 - and the income from The Magic Paintbrush helped to launch the company. 4)  In 2000 they had a cast of 8 actors and 27 puppets. In 2016 they have 9 actors and… count to see how many puppets! 5) For 2016 there are two brand new characters - Peony Blossom and Lotus Flower. Exact...

The little star shone brightly in the living room of Cosmo and Celeste; a dazzling display of brilliance and enchantment. Lost in the midst of their squabbles, the brother and sister pair realise that there are better things to do than to fight - they need to help the little lost star find its way home! And so it's off on a grand adventure. Is the star's home beneath the deepest depths of the sea? Is it beyond the furthest reaches of the galaxy? Or is home really where the heart is? Little Star, Little Star, how can we help you find your home? Little Star  is I Theatre's second production intended for younger audiences between the ages of 2-6. The first performance, Round the Moon, Blue the Sky , was a regional collaboration with Asian theatre powerhouses in Hong Kong and Japan. But Little Star  represents a first locally for I Theatre in its outreach efforts to younger theatre audiences. It also represented an experiment by Artistic Director Brian Seward, who cre...

It was a musical thriller for the senses! Eddy, the Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights, was going all out to rescue his friend Matt the Rat from the clutches of the evil crow. The children witnessed the entire drama unfolding in front of their eyes via different mediums such as light play, wayang kulit , and human puppetry at its finest.  And the crowd of kids from preschools and special education schools across Singapore were completely mesmerised!  Coupled with catchy tunes, memorable characters and a large component of audience interaction, the performance was truly Children's Theatre at its best! Esplanade PLAYtime's  The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights  has larger than life characters  that fly into the hearts of the kids. Kids were enthralled by the use of light play and other theatrical delights. The Bird Who Was Afraid of Helghts  is the third production from the Esplanade PLAYtime series this year which introduced sensory-friendly elements...

50.39 seconds. The (less than) one minute of time that made history for the small island nation of Singapore. Millions in Singapore and around the world watched as 21-year-old Joseph Schooling defeated his long-time idol and heavily-decorated Olympian Michael Phelps, the man described as "the most-decorated Olympian of all time". Indeed most of the international news footage had been previously focussed on Phelps, given that the American is expected to retire at this year's Rio Olympics. The New York Times even ran an article with the headline: " Somebody (His Name’s Joseph Schooling) Finally Beats Michael Phelps"! For Joseph Schooling, it could not have been a prouder moment, as he not only bagged Singapore's first and only Olympic Gold, it was also a race that proved he had not only matched, but also beaten his childhood idol. Indeed a 2008 photograph of 13-year-old Schooling standing side by side with Michael Phelps has been spreading like wildfire o...

There was a burning question that was at the back of our mind; it had been there for awhile, since the beginning of the year, but it grew more and more pronounced as the dates grew nearer. Then about a few weeks ago, the question came to the forefront of our consciousness, as the dates of the Primary One Registration drew nearer: Should we enrol our older son Z into Primary One?  Yes we had made the decision to homeschool our kids even before either of them arrived; and yes we have been preparing ourselves mentally and emotionally to start the application process that could get Z exempted from compulsory education. But the question was especially difficult since I had come from a wonderful school with a rich history and a strong Christian tradition. What if my sons "lose out" from experiencing the education that I had gone through? After all, it could do no harm if we just showed up at my Alma Mater during the Phase 2A stage of the Primary One Registration Process, and s...

It was an overseas school trip with a difference. The children, all 21 of them, awoke eagerly as they made their way to the campsite, some 80 kilometres away. There were no complaints despite the long road trip; nor were there any hesitations as the young ones  trudged up the final 300 steps to their destination. And the teachers maintained half a smile on their faces, even as they carried their heavy backpacks, and negotiated all 300 of the winding, undulating steps. This was the beginning of an exciting 3-day, 2-night Treehouse Adventure in the rainforests of Gunung Pulai in Johor, Malaysia. And the group was no ordinary school; it comprised 10 families from the Homeschool Singapore Facebook Group, with teacher-parents guiding their children, of ages 3 all the way to 16. Our lovely treehouse abode for the 3-Day, 2 Night Adventure. Ascending the 300 Steps. Photo Credit: Eve Sam The premise of the adventure was simple; for families to get back to the basics and enjoy ...

These past couple of weeks have been crazy for us. First there were the assignments that I had to complete for my postgraduate course, then there were the workshops that we were suddenly asked to conduct, and finally there were the bazaars that we attended to sell our online store items. It was an extremely busy season, and many of our working hours were occupied with meaningful things; that included taking care of our two little boys and managing both their learning and non-academic needs. One morning,  my older son came to me after I had just returned home from an  early class.  "Daddy," he said. "I'm so glad you're home. Can we go to the Gardens by the Bay?" he asked hopefully.  With a sadness in my heart, I replied, "Sorry Z. Daddy has to go back to work later. Maybe after I come back? Oh. Actually Daddy and Mummy have an important meeting tomorrow and we need to prepare. I don't think we can go today. Er.... How about another day?" ...