Many would have deemed me foolish, brave or unsoundly chill to have made this decision on the fly to go for a 4 day 3 night staycation over the PSLE Study Break. I am certain my Instagram Stories became a hot topic amongst PSLE moms as screenshots of our stay surfaced on many WhatsApp Group Chats wondering if this PSLE Cooling Period activity came about because Ewan secured a spot in a Secondary School through DSA. Ewan did not get a DSA offer nor is he studying in a Primary School with an affiliated Secondary School. He did not outdo himself in Prelims at all either! He even asked me in the ..read more

Ewan used to run and jump into my arms whenever he saw me in school. He would hang on me so tight like a koala with all his friends around us watching. “Ewan! You not shy?” His friends asked.  “NO!” as he continued to lay his head on my shoulders as I koala-hugged him. His friends always greet and hang around me whenever I was in school. Yes, even now in Primary 6. He mentioned once, “Gosh! All of them like you!” and I felt a tinge of jealousy and mmm yea pride too because mommy is popular. But he is torn about how he should react so he started to sprint away from me. Sometimes wit ..read more

I use to be a Tinkle Friend. You know the helpline school encourages primary school children to call when their are feeling lonely or distressed, especially in situations when their parents are unavailable? We provide support and guide them through their emotional fears or uncertainties. It was something I did in my late 20s as a volunteer when I quit my job to be my mother's main caregiver from her cancer relapse. The trainings I underwent with Singapore Children's Society proved to be fruitful but I do not think I remembered much of it. Sometimes I felt like it was such a waste that I am not ..read more

When the opportunity came to the cohort of Primary 4s this year to go on a 5-day Chinese Cultural Immersion Trip to China [Xiamen and An Xi], I felt very excited for Faye. Her daddy, on the other hand, was apprehensive about it. No wait. He was not apprehensive. He was dead sure his daughter will not be going on her first trip out of Singapore, alone not to say the least, at ten years of age.  Faye cheerfully and animatedly filled us in with the details she gathered when she met us after school, "I want to go! Can you sign the form to indicate my interest?" I then ask the room aka the fam ..read more

"I just want a simple birthday at the stables again and this time, no guests. I remember the last time I could not fully enjoy myself because I had to take care of everyone's needs of wanting to go riding or swimming or this and that. I did not even get to enjoy the birthday cake because I was in a rush to do what everyone wanted to do. I really wanted to just sit and eat my cake. I didn't even eat my birthday cake mommy! This time, I just want to take my time and spend time with the horses." Faye shared her birthday wishes to me months before she turned ten. Sure! I think that sounds absolute ..read more

It must be the season for Junior Sports Academy nominations because I am getting a lot of enquiries on it. Even Faye brought it up all of a sudden saying she would like to give it a try! She is definitely heavily influenced by Ewan who got selected for JSA as one of those with high ability in the sports domain. Now many of you have a lot of questions about JSA and recalled I shared our Trial Day experience somewhere in my socials. You could not find it and neither could I! So I have decided to put this on the blog for your benefit and hopefully, it will help shape your decision on whether you ..read more

All great conversations happen at bedtime. All wounds heal at bedtime too. So let us talk.  Even though the children do get a fair share of wrath from me, they do a lot more to make me a proud mother. They really do. I mean if you see the way I reprimand them at times, you probably wouldn’t comprehend why I love doing my job despite the tension. Mommies would understand.   I was sharing with Ewan last night in the dark about how his JSA bowling coach told us parents to not hang around too much and baby them because these 12 year olds only want to do us proud. Should they m ..read more

Faye was seven years old when she was first diagnosed with myopia in 2021. We had her on standard optical lenses like how every child would have their eyesight corrected. Research were done but I guess we really found out a lot more as we journey this though with our children as they grow.  Six months later, her degree jumped from 200 degrees to almost 400 degrees. That caught us by surprise because we were certain the spectacle-wearing was going to help and we kicked certain bad habits in her daily life to slow down deterioration. Unfortunately, that did not work and we saw an eye doc ..read more

 At home, we are blessed with the songs of birds throughout the day as we live close to nature. Unknowingly, we block them out as we place our daily focus on everything else other than the melodic tunes of these birds. They could have been a natural relaxant to our stressful lives but yet… I first noticed these birdsongs only when replaying back recordings of home videos I take of the children. To my surprise, these birds were actually quite loud! How could I missed them out totally? I closed my eyes and listened. It was beautiful. I finally had a Dialogue with nature In T ..read more

I like a good engagement session; especially one that I can help shape society with. I am truly thankful and humbled to have garnered this opportunity with MOE to have my voice heard in an intimate session yesterday.  I have to tell you and you have to trust me: MOE is working really hard in the back-end to pave an education system for our children so that they grow up to be future-ready. Every policy has its expiration date. What worked before will need to be refreshed accordingly for us to grow and with that, we [the people] will need to be open-minded and see change as constant.  ..read more