One quiet morning, I decided to liven things up with a fun little activity. So I pulled together a simple scavenger hunt. I geared Nathan up with a scavenger hunt list, pen (to mark things off his list) and hunting sack. The hat was his own addition.   Here is our scavenger hunt list   - Something GREEN - Something BLUE - Something RED - Something SOFT - Something with WHEELS - Something with letters (ABC) on it - Something shaped like a BOX     I read out each item on the list for Nathan and explained what he had to do. I had to guide Nathan through the process for the first two items on the list. But he caught on pretty quick and was soon zipping around the house, collecting items and putting them into his ‘sack’.   The loot from our scavenger hunt I think Nathan quite liked the activity. It definitely challenged his thinking and cognitive skills but also got him active and moving around. I plan to do an outdoor version next time round.

So this week would have marked my ‘official’ end to my maternity leave since having baby #2. Over the past year, I’ve gone through quite a journey and made some life changing decisions to embark on a new career and business of starting my own family day care . I had finally tendered my formal resignation at my former company as a market research analyst. Although I knew what was going to happen, there was a sense of finality in that act. Like finally hearing the heavy thud of that door shutting behind me, never looking back and moving forward in my new venture. People have asked me if I’d miss my previous line of work. The answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. So here is a round up of what I do miss, what I don’t and what I should miss but don’t about my previous job (which might also give you a little bit of insight on me).   Three things I DO miss Creating awesome Excel analytical models and data sheets . At the of risk sounding like a brag, I have to say that I was pretty awesome...

After months of careful observation of the older kids around her, baby is absolutely convinced that this is the only way slides are meant to be played with… After many hours of careful observation of her big brother, baby is still convinced that this is the only way to play with a slide #babygirl #babysister #babyantics #slide A post shared by Serenely (@livingserenely) on Jun 11, 2014 at 11:18pm PDT My baby girl is just less than a month away from turning one. I don’t know why, but she still seems so baby-like and little to me. Maybe it’s simply because she is my second baby and she will always be the baby next to her big brother. I forget how much she is growing until she pulls a daredevil stunt like this… Gracie the daredevil... trying out big brother's tricks and antics for herself (taken at 9 months old) #babygirl #babyantics #slide #outdoorplay A post shared by Serenely (@livingserenely) on May 27, 2014 at 7:02am PDT Oh baby, please slow down! You’re moving...

It’s no secret that children just love sensory play. Especially the wet, messy, squishy sort of sensory play. The messier, the better! I’ve been very keen on getting some water beads for sensory play. However with babies around, I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea just yet. Thanks to the wonders of Pinterest , I found the perfect alternative using this yummy ingredient: Tapioca pearls (used in making bubble tea ) which you can get at any oriental supermarket. Image Source Anyway, instead of just pre-cooking the pearls for the activity, I decided to involve the kids in the whole process from the start. First I opened the package and poured the pearls out into a large bowl and let the children investigate and explore it with their hands and fingers. We talked about how the pearls felt and looked. Then I poured the pearls into a pot of boiling water to cook for five minutes. While they were cooking, the kids helped to set up the table with a variety of bowls, cups, containers an...

{This is Part 3 of my series on Independent Play . If you’re jumping in for the first time on this series, you can read parts one and two here and here } Technology. We can’t seem to live without it these days. The world our kids are growing up in is so different from the one we grew up in back when we were kids. I didn’t have my own mobile phone until I was twenty years old at university. Even then it was just a clunky old hand-me-down brick simply to make short phone calls with. When I was growing up, we only had three channels on TV. Children’s programs only ran from 4.00-5.30 on weekdays and on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Nowadays we have dedicated children’s channels running cartoons and children’s shows all day long. Gosh. I sound so old talking like that. But my point is. Technology is not a necessity. It’s a wonderful convenience, yes. But it is possible to live without it or at least with less of it. TV and devices themselves are not evil. But because they are so co...

One wet morning last week, I was out in the backyard letting the kids have a quick romp before another rainy spell descended. Grace was crawling happily about and reached out for a little purple blossom on one of my lavender bushes. I plucked a couple of flowers for her to hold and explore. And I snapped this photo of her looking so gorgeous and pretty. Mmmm... Lavender! #babygirl #lavender #prettybaby A post shared by Serenely (@livingserenely) on May 27, 2014 at 7:48am PDT Ever since she came , I can never get over how beautiful she is and marvelling over her features and all the little details of her face. It leaves me quite breathless sometimes. It’s almost like falling in love all over again. The Girl I Used to Be She came tonight as I sat alone, The girl I used to be, She gazed at me with her earnest eye, And questioned reproachfully: "Have you forgotten the many plans And hopes I had for you? The great career, the splendid fame, The wonderful things to do? Where ...

[I’m taking a little break this week from my series on Independent Play. If you’re jumping in for the first time on this topic, you can read parts one and two here and here . In the meantime I wanted to share this very special moment I recently had with my little boy…] Three-year old Nathan has always been captivated by the legend of Santa Claus and his yearly pilgrimage bringing toys to children at Christmas. It really surprised me because we have never done the Santa Claus thing in our family. One of Nathan’s all time favourite stories is ‘The Night Before Christmas’. He had picked out the book himself one day when we were at the library. He asked to read it repeatedly over the entire period while we had the book on loan. Since then, one his favourite topics we talk about at bedtime is Santa Claus. Recently one night as I was tucking Nathan in bed and settling down for our bedtime chat, this was the very original conversation we had about the jolly old man… One-year-old Nat...