Fun Games for Family

As parents, Aileen and I believe that play time as a family is a great way to build bonds with our children as well as letting them learn as they play. In this post, I will share two of our favourite indoor games - Monopoly Junior and Jenga. 

The Monopoly Junior is a simplified version of the popular board game, Monopoly, aimed at children. It has a smaller, rectangular board and instead of being based on street names, it is based on fun fair to make it more child-friendly. While the rules of the game remain unchanged, the game is simpler e.g. the currency is in denominations of $1, $2, $3, $4 and $5, each house is called a ticket booth, the chance cards are worded with simple English that a 5 years old could read, etc. 

The Monopoly Junior is a great game for the children as they learn to count the dollar notes, the number of steps to take based on their dice throw, read the chance cards by themselves as well as learning to be gracious when lost in a game.

Another game that the children love, is Jenga. Jenga is a game that tests one's physical and mental skills. During the game, each player takes turn to remove a block from the tower and balance it on top, creating a taller and increasingly unstable structure as the game progresses. The loser is the person who makes the tower collapse. 

At home, we play a simpler variant i.e. taking out a block at a time without toppling the tower. In this game, the children get to train their motor skills as well as finding creative ways to remove the blocks e.g. by tapping with finger nails, using a block to push out another, etc. You can devise your own variants of the game such as removing only specific color blocks, removing two different color blocks at one time, etc. After each game, the children get to count the number of blocks that they collected. It is a simple way to let them practise their math too.

These are fun games that you can buy from major toy stores. I am currently scouting around for more fun board games in Singapore and online. Will update this post with more recommendations. Have a great time bonding with your children!

Cheeky Jayden

Joann & Jayden were bickering non-stop in the bedroom just before bedtime... Aileen (my wife): If you don't stop your nonsense, I'm going to drive you out of the room! Jayden (eyes opened wide): But you don't have a car!! (then with a smirk look) You sure you can drive?? Aileen: Arrghhhhhhhh...

Universal Studio Singapore (6 Apr 2010)

Aileen and I took the children to the Universal Studio Singapore (USS) today. The children had been excited about this trip for the last 1 week. We decided to take leave on a weekday in order to avoid the weekend crowd at the newly opened USS. The journey to USS in Sentosa from Hougang is straighforward - we took a MRT from Kovan to Harbourfront Station and thereafter, took a designated SMRT bus (RWS 8) from a bus stop just outside Vivocity.

The USS is currently at its 'soft opening' period and its one-day pass is priced at S$66 for an adult and S$48 for a child (between 4 - 12 years old). As such, for a family of 2 adults and 2 children, we paid S$228 in total. Good news for keen visitors - If you hold a DBS/POSB Credit Card, you can make a over-the-counter purchase of tickets to get savings of S$6 off for the one-day Adult Pass & S$4 off for the one-day Child Pass. Offer is valid from 5 to 30 April 2010. During this 'soft opening' period, the USS is also giving away a free S$10 food voucher and $5 gift voucher for every entry ticket purchased (redeemable at a counter near the entrance). At present, the opening hours are from 9am to 6pm.

An overview of USS - It consists of 7 themed venues namely, Hollywood, Madagascar, Far Far Away, The Lost World, Ancient Egypt, Sci-Fi City and New York. Each venue provides visitors with its own unique attractions and entertainments.

Given that this was our first trip there and was meant to be a trip for Joann and Jayden to enjoy, we scouted for attractions which were suitable for the 4 - 6 years old. In this post, I am not mentioning much about the thrilling rides for teens and adults such as 'Revenge of the Mummy', 'Battlestar Galactica', 'Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure', etc. 

In Hollywood

The children enjoyed meeting the star characters such as 'Po' from 'Kungfu Panda', Frankestein, Woody Woodpecker, etc. And of course, there are stores selling a great variety of Universal Studio themed collectibles, toys and apparel.

In Madagascar

Here, the children enjoyed the photo shots with the animal characters from Madagascar, a dance performance staged by the animal characters (only at certain time slots) as well as 'King Julien's Beach Party-Go-Round' (Carousel)

 

In Far Far Away

The most majestic building in this venue is the Castle. In this castle, we enjoyed the 'Shrek 4-D Adventure' (need to wear the 3D glasses) It was fun as we experienced the '4D' effects as the film actions rolled (water sprinkled over our heads, 'winds' as well as moving seats). The children also enjoyed the 'Magic Potion Spin' which is an indoor ferris wheel. The 'Donkey LIVE' is a interactive 'Live' show where the Shrek's sidekick Donkey sang and played with the audience (the donkey was on screen and apparently could interact with the audience). However, Aileen and I felt that this show was a letdown as it was quite boring for us... We missed the 'Enchanted Airways' which is a junior coaster for a flight over the Far Far Away... It seemed fun... Sigh...

The Lost World

We did not really explore this venue thoroughly due to time. The children only managed to ride the 'Dino-Soarin' where they piloted their own Pteranodon, soaring up into the clear sky or down into cooling shadows. The 'Canopy Flyer' (for a min. height of 92cm) is a flying vehicle which gives you a bird's eye view of Jurassic Park. We gave it a miss as the queue was long... This ride seemed fun.

Ancient Egypt

The layout of this venue was very majestic. Many tourists were here, snapping away with their cameras as the tall Egyptian statues were grand. The children rode on a desert jeep through an abandoned Egyptian excavation site in the 'Treasure Hunters'. The ride was 'So-So'. Nothing interesting during the ride. 

Sci-Fi City

The most popular ride in USS is situated here - 'The Battlestar Galactica'. However, the ride is temporarily closed at the moment. For children and the not-so-daring ones, can try the 'Accelerator' which is a whirling twirling ride. 

Hollywood and New York

Thank God for a good weather today though the afternoon sun was blistering hot. Fortunately, we brought umbrella as well as managed to buy a cap for Jayden. The walk in Hollywood and New York was a relief from the hot sun as these two places were mostly semi-sheltered as well as cooled by pockets of water mist. 

As a whole, we did enjoy our first trip to USS. If you are thinking of conquering the many thrilling rides and are worried about your personal belongings, there are lockers for rental. The availability of water coolers at various locations of the park, provides relief for parents who may need water for themselves or their children. The free food and gift vouchers (only during this soft opening period) are certainly welcoming as you will definitely need lunch and probably buy some memento from the gift stores.

Looking forward to visit USS again when it is fully operational. 

See ya!!!