A Fun Way To Get Ready For Primary One

Posted on 27 October 201627 October 2016 by Little Day Out

27 Oct

The time has come for the little one to go to primary school.

In addition to academic preparations, it’s a good idea to impress upon your child the joy of learning and the excitement of going to primary school.

This is the motivation behind the creation of Guide To Primary One Activity Sheets.

Through creative activities, Guide To Primary One Activity Sheets helps children learn important skills, such as packing their school bags, buying food at the canteen, and getting to school on time, in fun and challenging ways.

There is a maze to conquer, a creative game set at the school canteen, a secret message from the teacher to decode, and more. Ten fun activities in all!

Guide To Primary One Activity Sheets is a collaboration between Little Day Out co-founder Lester Ng and Little Day Out Shop contributor Wong Wai Ling, and is available at Little Day Out Shop for $4 excluding shipping.

For more tips on adapting to Primary One, check out the Timmy & Tammy Guide To Primary One by Ruth Wan-Lau, also available from Little Day Out Shop.

Guide To Primary One Activity Sheets and Timmy & Tammy Guide To Primary One are also available as a set at 5% off their combined prices. Click here to get the set.

Here’s wishing the little one a good start to primary school education!

Exciting New Products at Little Day Out Shop

Posted on 13 October 201613 October 2016 by Little Day Out

13 Oct

October is the month of exams. Congratulations to those whose Primary Sixers have completed their exams! And to those who are still studying along with your primary schoolers, YOU CAN DO IT!

While you were busy tutoring the older ones, or running after the preschoolers, we’d been working hard welcoming new vendors and stocking new products. Presenting the newest additions to Little Day Out Shop:

EDUCATIONAL BUSY BAGS
Stimulating, educational and mostly lots of learning fun, these busy bags by Tic Tac Tote allow toddlers and preschoolers, from ages 2 to 7 years old to pick up learning skills, use their imagination, and get sensory and crafty!

Get the aspiring palaeontologist digging his own glow-in-the-dark T-Rex fossil bones. Test the junior cashier’s mathematical prowess. Or give the budding chef a chance to “play with food”!

Dino Fossil Dig, available at Little Day Out Shop for $12.90 (excluding shipping).

I’m A Cashier, available at Little Day Out Shop for $6.90 (excluding shipping).

Food Playmat, available at Little Day Out Shop for $10.90 (excluding shipping).

Find more bags of fun here.

BOOKS ABOUT ADVENTURES IN SINGAPORE, LOVING ANIMALS, KINDNESS, AND WELLBEING
Kids can find lots of fun in a book too. Allow them to join Timmy and Tammy as they go out and about to explore and learn in the Timmy & Tammy Series by Ruth Wan-Lau. Get them excited about going to the museum by introducing them to the Stacey & the Museums Series by Lianne Ong.

Timmy & Tammy Series (Set 1), available at Little Day Out Shop for $59.06 (excluding shipping).

Stacey & the Museums Series, available at Little Day Out Shop from $16.05 (excluding shipping).

The Ranger Anne Series by Anita Sebastian is a great choice for little animal lovers, while the Singa and the Kindness Cubbies Series by Sheri Tan teaches children about loving and thinking of others. You’ll also love the Joy Cowley Well-Being Series that promotes physical, emotional and social well-being among children in a fun way.

Ranger Anne Series (Set 1), available at Little Day Out Shop for $33.81 (excluding shipping).

Singa and the Kindness Cubbies Series, available at Little Day Out Shop for $50.72 (excluding shipping).

Joy Cowley Series: Emotional Well-being, available at Little Day Out Shop from $34.24 (excluding shipping).

Discover more great books here.

CUSTOMISED PLUSH TOYS DESIGNED BY YOUR CHILD
See your child’s drawing come to life with CreYo, manufacturer of customised soft toys. Just submit the cute robot, sweet rabbit, or roaring dinosaur that your little artist has drawn, to have it transformed into a three-dimensional, huggable, one-of-a-kind art piece.

A tip: order early if you’re thinking of making it a Christmas present. It takes about six weeks to have the plush toy made and delivered to you. More details on littledayoutshop.com/product/customised-plush-toys.

DANCE CLASSES AND PARKOUR LESSONS
Do your kids show an interest in ballet, hip hop, or jazz? Let the highly qualified trainers at Wings To Wings take them to greater heights. Exams, performance, and competition opportunities are available here.

Book your lessons directly online here.

For the more adventurous, how about some Parkour lessons by Superfly Monkey Dragons? This dynamic discipline will help your child develop confidence, improve motor and social skills, and find the joy of movement.

Parkour Family for Kids & Parents, available for booking at Little Day Out Shop. From $35 per lesson.

Book your lessons directly here now.

Birthday Decorations for the September Party Animals

Posted on 15 September 201615 September 2016 by Little Day Out

15 Sep

If you know many people who’re born in September, it’s no coincidence. September is the month with the most birthdays in many parts of the world. According to a Harvard University study, September 16 is the most popular day of birth in the US. In England and Wales, the favoured date is 26 September. Singapore isn’t that far off either, with the most births registered in October in 2014 and 2015.

So if you’re planning a birthday celebration (or celebrations), here’s a unique decoration idea for the junior party animals.

COLOURFUL RAINFOREST WALL BUNTING

Newly launched in the shop by contributor Wong Wai Ling, this rainforest-themed wall bunting features a mischievous monkey hanging by its tail, a napping sloth hugging a “branch”, a colourful toucan, and a cute wriggly caterpillar, amid leaves spelling “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” accompanied by bunches of tropical flowers.

Cleverly designed so the bunting ribbon can be threaded through the loop of the monkey’s tail, caterpillar’s body, and the spaces between the limbs of the sloth, the adorable animals hang or hug with natural ease.

Create your own look by determining where you’d like to place the various colourful components. You can customise further by ordering extra letters to spell a name or a special phrase.

After the party, you can convert parts of the bunting into the little one’s room decoration. Who knows, maybe having a cute sloth by the bed may inspire longer naps?

Here’s wishing all September babies a happy birthday! Have a great party!

Colourful Rainforest Wall Bunting is available at Little Day Out Shop from $2.50.

Check out our other party ideas ranging from choo choo train and melting ice cream buntings, to unique photo booth props and full party packs.

Design Your Own Soft Toy and Other Ideas for the September Holidays

Posted on 1 September 20161 September 2016 by Little Day Out

01 Sep

Going into September, it seems rather gloomy, with news of Zika, the haze, and circle line disruptions. Chin up! The holidays are here, and we’ve got some exciting recommendations for you. Let’s have some fun with the little ones!

TURN YOUR CHILD’S DRAWING INTO A SOFT TOY – A CONTEST

Have you always been amazed by your child’s imaginative drawings? Here’s your chance to transform them into soft toys – three-dimensional, huggable, one-of-a-kind art pieces representing the little one’s creative mind! This September, take part in the contest organised by Little Day Out in collaboration with Creyo, manufacturer of customised soft toys. Have your little artist make a drawing and submit it to Little Day Out by 2 October. Three winners will have their sketches transformed into plushies. Get the details here.

MAKE YOUR OWN LANTERN FOR THE MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL

How about a little craft time in preparation for Mid Autumn Festival celebrations? Contributor to Little Day Out Shop, Jacqueline Zhang, has come up with a bright idea to involve even the littler ones in the making of lanterns for the coming festival. And as she would say, “Enjoy!”

Click here for the instructions.

EXPLORE SINGAPORE

The September holidays may be too short for an overseas holiday for some. No problem! There are still corners of Singapore you may not have explored fully. Take Fort Canning, for instance. Have you been to the archaeological pit there? Or visited the Battle Box, a British command centre located 9 metres underground built in the 1930s? If you’re thinking of rediscovering Fort Canning with the little ones, get Little Day Out Shop’s Fort Canning Park activity pack. It contains 7 activity sheets to help children observe the surrounds and dive into the historic significance of the park.

Fort Canning Park Little Day Out Activity Pack is available at Little Day Out Shop for $3.99.

On those days you don’t feel like going far, take your child on an exploration trip around your neighbourhood. Using Jacqueline Zhang’s Exploring My Neighbourhood activity kit, the little one will have fun learning more about the key facilities and services in your community, and the people who work there.

Exploring My Neighbourhood is available at Little Day Out Shop for $2.50.

We hope these ideas will bring much fun and cheer to your September holidays. Enjoy the break!

Ideas for the September holidays

Posted on 24 August 20161 September 2016 by Little Day Out

24 Aug

Ah, the short one week break, where schooling kids can have a breather amid their hectic schedules.

Before the “I’m bored. What can I do?” comments come up, here are a few meaningful activities the kids can engage in:

JOURNAL ABOUT THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH THEIR GRANDPARENTS

Kids love their grandparents, but often find it hard to have conversations that go beyond “Eat, Grandma” or “Goodnight, Grandpa”. It could be because of the language barrier, or the generation gap that they assume exists between them and the old folks.

Contributor to Little Day Out Shop, Jacqueline Zhang, has come up with a solution to this problem. Her latest product, Conversations with Grandma, is a journal that contains conversation cues to help spark meaningful conversations between children and their grandparents.

There are 16 pages in the journal, each with a differently-themed conversation topic exploring the past (e.g. where the grandparent used to live and what it was like back then) as well as the present (e.g. what the grandparent’s favourite food is and where it can be found).

Children are encouraged to record what they have learnt or found memorable on the beautifully designed journal pages. There are even spaces for photographs and drawings.

Jacqueline hopes that this activity can be the start of better relationships and wonderful memories.

Conversations with Grandma is available at Little Day Out Shop for $4.90.

GO ON A QUEST

On a day with nice weather, it’s good to have fun outdoors. Even better – and more exciting – to be on a quest!

The Merlion Park is a good place to start. Using Little Day Out’s Exploring Merlion Park activity pack, you’ll have a fun day discovering interesting finds such as the cute elephant with a unicorn’s horn, and a poem about the Greek hero Ulysses’ encounter with the Merlion. A great activity that nurtures children’s curiosity and observation skills – assets that will stand them in good stead in their schooling and working lives.

Exploring Merlion Park is available at Little Day Out Shop for $1.50.

Another exciting way to spend a family day together is to go on a treasure hunt at West Coast Park. For convenience, use Little Day Out’s activity pack, Mystery of the Missing Goblet (West Coast Park Treasure Hunt), which contains a series of clues that will take players around West Coast Park in search of the Golden Goblet of Gablegon. Your little sleuths will have a fun time unravelling the mystery in a test of their analytical and observation skills!

Mystery of the Missing Goblet (West Coast Park Treasure Hunt) is available at Little Day Out Shop for $3.99.

We hope you’ll enjoy the September holidays. More suggestions coming up in our next post. Till then!

Three Reasons You’ll Fall In Love With Printables

Posted on 18 August 201619 August 2016 by Little Day Out

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18 Aug

The party is tomorrow noon. You’ve been busy all week making arrangements. Birthday cake. Check. Catered lunch. Check. Party favours. Check. Decorations…. Oh dear! You’ve forgotten about them! But it’s already late at night. How are you going to get the decorations in time?

Here come printables to the rescue. But wait, what exactly are printables?

A printable is a ready-to-print PDF file that can be downloaded and printed instantly – at home or with a professional printer. Created in high-resolution, it is formatted to print on an A4 size sheet of paper.

PRINTABLES ARE INSTANT
Because printables are digital files, all you need to do is to download and immediately print them out for your use. There’s no need to wait for your shipment to arrive, or for the store to open. Problem solved!

How about a colourful wall bunting to make your party pop?

Melting Ice Cream Wall Bunting, available at Little Day Out Shop for $2.50

Or some photo booth props to create fun memories?

Jay & Elle Photo Booth Props, available at Little Day Out Shop for $4.99

You can even get a full set of themed party essentials, from invitation cards to buntings, cake toppers, and plate and cup decorations.

Blobbers Party Pack, available at Little Day Out Shop for $7.99.

PRINTABLES ARE COST-EFFECTIVE
The kids at the party may need some activities to keep them happily occupied. With printables, you can buy just one activity sheet, and print out as many copies as you need. There’s no shipping charge involved, and they’re generally priced lower as sellers don’t incur printing or warehousing costs.

Birds of the Rainforest Stick Puppet Craft, available at Little Day Out Shop for $2.99.

Iconic Singapore Colouring Book, available at Little Day Out Shop for $3.99.

PRINTABLES ARE RE-USABLE
Children like to do the same things over and over again. With the PDF file in your possession, you can easily print out another copy, whenever they feel like colouring, crafting, or solving puzzles again!

Three cheers for printables! Hip, hip, hurray!

A New Activity You Can Count On

Posted on 11 August 201614 August 2016 by Little Day Out

11 Aug

Ever wondered how you can teach your child about money? Little Day Out Shop’s contributor, Jacqueline Zhang, has the answer for you. Her brand new activity pack – How Much Is It? – uses a systematic yet fun approach to help kids understand and articulate the cost of items in both English and Mandarin.

How Much Is It? is divided into three levels for progressive learning. The first level focuses on teaching about cents, the second – dollars, while the third combines dollars and cents. Within each level, you’ll find interesting activities and role-playing games to help your child learn.

In the activity, Sweets and Biscuits Shop, for instance, you and your child act as a cashier and customer respectively. The little customer shops for sweets and biscuits, asks the cashier how much they cost, and uses 10-cent coins to pay for the purchase.

In another game – Spin, Tell, Pay – you and your child take turns to spin a colourful wheel, state the cost printed on the wedge that you land on, and present the amount in dollars, cents, or a combination of both.

There are many other good activities that stimulate learning in this pack: Show Me the Money, Match the Tag, Design-A-Wristlet Shop, Recess Time. (Don’t these names sound interesting?) The best thing is, you’ll have a fun time bonding with your child while working on the activities together.

Enjoy!

How Much Is It? contains 25 pages of learning fun and is available for $6.90 on Little Day Out Shop.

13 Free Photo Booth Props for your National Day Party

Posted on 27 July 20162 August 2016 by Wong Wai Ling

27 Jul

“Hip hip hooray! 51 cheers for Singapore! G——-o, Singapore!”

My 5-year-old enthusiastically waves the mini pompoms in her hands, as she creates an impromptu cheer for the nation.

[See 51 Cheers for Singapore video]

These pompoms are part of a 13-piece photo booth props set that Little Day Out Shop has created specially for the occasion of the nation’s 51st birthday.

Look up at the high-flying F16 jet and go “wow”. “Chope” your place at the best party with the tissue pack. And proclaim your love for Singapore with a bright red loudhailer. There’s lots of fun to be had for kids and adults alike with this set of photo booth props.

The best thing is, it comes free with just $5.10 worth of purchases on littledayoutshop.com.

So go ahead. Say cheese! And have a great National Day celebration!

Start shopping now!

The National Day Photo Booth Props set is a printable product. You’ll receive it as a PDF file via email upon reaching $5.10 in purchases on Little Day Out Shop. Just download, print, and have fun! Promotion ends 14 August.

Meet the Little Day Out Shop Author: Jacqueline Zhang

Posted on 27 July 20168 August 2016 by Little Day Out

27 Jul

Ever felt like you had a great idea to share with others?

One mom did, and acted on her ideas.

Mom-of-one, Jacqueline Zhang created activity sheets that she could do with her son and nieces. Taking it further, she submitted her ideas to us at Little Day Out. We loved them and they can now be found on our new Little Day Out Shop.

Jacqueline’s activity ideas cover everyday topics like food and the neighbourhoods we live in. They introduce kids to the world around them and are creative and fun to do.

We spoke with Jacqueline to find out more about where her fount of creativity bubbles up from and what led her to share her activity sheets on the Little Day Out Shop.

Little Day Out: You have developed a series of practical activity packs with hanyu pinyin guides. What inspired you to create these bilingual activity packs?

Jacqueline Zhang: My nieces, Renee (aged 6+) and Sophie (aged 4+), and my son, Reef (aged 2+), are my inspiration!

I play with them and teach them, and these interactions give me ideas on activities I can do with them. I added the bilingual element as I feel that children (including my son and nieces) need more exposure to the Chinese language.

Jacqueline's son Reef with his cousins Renee and Sophie. — Jacqueline’s son Reef with his cousins Renee and Sophie.

LDO: What do you hope to achieve through these activity packs? What is the main takeaway for the child?

JZ: I believe a lot of parents (including myself) would like to outsource the learning of Chinese to the experts because we are not too confident of the language. I hope that these simple activities will encourage parents to impart to their children some life skills in both languages, have fun with their child and teach values as well.

The child will definitely benefit from the time spent with the parent. More importantly, the child will learn that his/her parent is interested and personally involved in his/her learning, and is not afraid to learn and master the Chinese language together with the child.

Editor’s Note: Check out Jacqueline’s range of bilingual printables.

LDO: We’re sure you’ve experimented with using your activity packs with your son or with someone’s child. Tell us which is their favourite activity pack and why it was so?

I am using the exploring my neighbourhood activity pack with my son. He loves exploring and learning about the neighbourhood! I will be trying the Xiao Wan Mian (noodles) and Ji Fan (chicken rice) activity packs with my nieces soon. Those two activity packs are designed with preschoolers in mind.

Jacqueline's Exploring My Neighbourhood Activity Sheet encourages kids to learn about places around the neighbourhood and what they can do there. — Jacqueline’s Exploring My Neighbourhood Activity Sheet encourages kids to learn about places around the neighbourhood and what they can do there.

LDO: Do you have a personal favourite? Why?

My personal favourite is still in the making. It will be called Conversations with Grandma. (You can use it with Grandpa too.) I like it because I enjoyed talking to my grandmother. I really miss those days because my grandmother has dementia now and is very old. I hope that with that activity pack, many children can create beautiful memories of conversations with their grandparents and learn from them.

LDO: What other new Singapore-inspired digital product can we expect to see from you?

We (Jacqueline and her collaborator, Angeline) just launched an activity pack called “Knowing Singapore” as a build up towards National Day. It will be designed for toddlers.

We also intend to launch a learning package called “How much is it”, to teach children about understanding the cost of items in English and Chinese and paying money when buying something. It will be suitable for both preschoolers and toddlers.

LDO: Why did you decide to publish with Little Day Out Shop? Did you consider other avenues?

I have been following your weekly eNewsletter for more than a year now. When you launched the Little Day Out Shop and invited readers to submit ideas, I decided to give it a try as I really love coming out with ideas. It was all rather spontaneous, and I never thought of coming up with children products until the invitation came. I was pleasantly surprised and very excited that you were willing to publish my first idea, Xiao Wan Mian.

LDO: Tell us more about yourself. Are you a stay-at-home mum now?

I started off as a secondary school teacher. After that, I did curriculum work with MOE, and went on to work with the youths in my church. Teaching and working with youths has always been my passion. However, the nature of such work requires a lot of time and dedication. I decided to switch to part time admin work to spend more time with my son since he was born. Now I work for 2.5 days, and I look after my son on the other days of the week.

LDO: How do you usually get new ideas?

I like to think about ideas when I am on the bus or MRT train. Sometimes, the ideas come suddenly in the middle of the day as well! Sometimes, the ideas are a bit raw, and I will write them down and think about them once a while to refine the ideas until I am happy with them. I also enjoy talking to friends about my new ideas, and sometimes they give me good pointers to think about.

LDO: What’s a typical weekend like for you and your family?

On Saturdays, my family likes to head out to explore a new place or try a new activity in the morning. On Sundays, we spend the morning and afternoon in church and with church friends. In the evenings (Saturdays and Sundays), we spend time with my in-laws and my nieces.

LDO: Name three of your favourite spots in Singapore and three activities you enjoy as a family.

My family loves the Bird Park, the Keppel Centre for Art Education at the National Gallery and Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. We also love going to all the different playgrounds in our neighbourhood, cycling at the East Coast Park and spending time with family and friends.

Jacqueline on a day out with her family.

Jacqueline’s Activity Packs

Jacqueline has developed the following activity packs:

Knowing Singapore:Teach your child how to recognise the Singapore Flag, know where ether stay and learn a simple greeting in different languages. Available for $1.50 on the Little Day Out Shop.

Exploring My Neighbourhood:Acquaint your child with your neighbourhood. Help him or her learn what key facilities and services in the community are called. Your child can also learn what they can do there and how to get there. Available for $2.50 on the Little Day Out Shop.

Ji Fan (Chicken Rice):Teaches your child how to order food through play. Play-pretend as chef and customer to build up their confidence interacting in Mandarin. Available for $2.50 on the Little Day Out Shop.

Xiao Wan Mian (Noodles): Help your child gain confidence to order his or her own meal in Mandarin through play. The game also promotes parent-child bonding, hones listening and oral skills. Available for $2.50 on the Little Day Out Shop.

Be Inspired!

Pop by littledayoutshop.com and check out Jacqueline’s printables now! Join Jacqueline as a Little Day Out Shop contributor too. We look forward to receiving your contributions!

Little Day Out Shop Opens

Posted on 26 May 201628 July 2016 by Little Day Out

26 May

Little Day Out has ventured everywhere in search of the best experiences for kids and families. Today marks the start of our biggest adventure yet – the opening of our very own online shop.

Little Day Out Shop (littledayoutshop.com) is not just a store that sells kids’ stuff online.

It is a marketplace for original ideas that inspire bonding, engage the little ones, and help create lasting memories with them.

Everyone is invited to publish their ideas with Little Day Out Shop and these can be anything ranging from activity sheets to party printables, guides, craft templates, and even games – to earn considerable royalty rates of up to 70% of the net profit.

The idea for the shop came about as the Little Day Out Team was coming up with its own activity sheets for places of interest in Singapore.

By creating a marketplace, where creative members of the community can publish their original ideas, everyone can benefit from shared resources.

So, whether you have creative ideas to share with other families or are looking for inspiration to keep the little ones happily occupied this June holiday and beyond, visit littledayoutshop.com.

Besides outing guides, activity sheets, party printables, there is the ever-popular Little Day Out June Holiday Guide, which can be downloaded for free.

To mark the launch of Little Day Out Shop, we are having an exclusive Little Day Out at Playeum, Children’s Centre for Creativity. Get these tickets at 20% off the usual rates and enjoy the day with fellow Little Day Outers on 20 June!

Through the setting up of Little Day Out Shop, we hope to provide another avenue for families to draw closer together. Pop by littledayoutshop.com anytime and we would love to receive your contributions soon!