Hidden gem: Jacob Ballas children's garden!

Was messaging my sister in law, kris, and we just suddenly decided to bring the kids out! So we packed our stuff and headed out to explore Jacob Ballas Children's Garden, a place I have been wanting to go for a long while! :)

Photo credit: digital_shutterbug

We arrived about 11am and went straight for the treehouse because there is a sand pit and Nephew YR and Nathan are crazy over sand play. They lugged their own sand toys there of course!

One special mention is that the sand is really fine and it felt awesome to have your toes wriggle in it. But my clean freak son felt he wanted to have his shoes on.

The treehouse was really fun too! Also very well shaded. Nathan and I went up and down the slide so many times! The stairs are wide and not too steep and made it rather easy for toddlers to climb up. 

The space in the slide is really big too! Spacious and airy! I took a video of our faces as we slided down with Nathan on my lap. It was hilarious! :)

After a few crazy rounds of the slide, I brought Nathan to explore other areas.

We went on a floating platform and looked at tortoise and fishes then to the man-made waterfall! Nathan was so fascinated by the splashes! :) you can be under the waterfall which makes it more unique I guess. :)

Nathan took up the challenge to take the log bridge and being safe, I didn't take any photos because I was holding his hands. :) 

Other than the slide, Nathan's favourite is the swinging suspension bridge! It is really wobbly and bouncy! I personally liked it too!

There are other interesting areas in the garden but it was lunch time and we decided to forgo water play and maybe come again next time.

The park is actually nice for even infants. Phoebe had fun looking at all the Kor Kor Jie Jie play and some fresh air is always good!

There are many areas to sit down to rest. :) we had our lunch at the kids cafe. They have some simple western meals and drinks. While waiting for the nuggets and fries, the kids had their home cooked porridge there first. Although no outside food is allowed there, the boss was nice and let the kids eat there AFTER check if there is any pork in it. Cafe is halal. :)

I strongly recommend this place although I'm slightly surprised that there aren't many people. If your kiddo knows how to walk, he/she will surely love this place! :)

CAN'T WAIT TO GO AGAIN! :)

Where: Jacob Ballas Children’s Gardens, enter at the Bukit Timah – Dunearn Road – Kheam Hock Road intersection. 481 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259769.

When: 8am – 7pm (last admission 6:30pm). Closed Mondays (except when it falls on a designated public holiday).

Admission: FREE. Open to children up to 12 years of age. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

For Phoebe: let's make a mobile mobile!

If you have the baby centre app, around 6-7weeks, it will share with you an activity for your baby called Leaf Peeping.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_lets-play-leaf-peeping-roll-over-plan_1498438.bc 

However, I find this very messy as dried leaves will crack and shatter. So during Nathan's time, I made another similar version that is not messy and yet colorful and long lasting. :) today I'm gonna share with all the new mummies! :)

This is how the end product looks like.

Basically you just have to get some felt and foam paper to cut out your desired shapes and paste them on the ribbon. 

However, felt and foam paper are super difficult to handle because the edges are not easy to cut them smoothly. You may end up trimming and trimming until it becomes so small and have to discard and start all over again. So I just grab ready cut ones from Popular or Daiso or even SKP! 

Some tips for making this are:

1) put one of the foam set on the bottom most so it will not fly or flapper too much in the wind but sway just nicely. 

2) allow the other end to be longer so you can use it at other places. You can tie or clip or pin! Or just hold it and dangle in front of baby! 

3) for the end that is with baby, to prevent the ribbon from fraying, you can burn the ends or tie a knot or double sew. I wasn't thinking when I taped the first set so the ribbon isn't long enough for me to tie a knot, so I burnt it. I actually think knots are good for more sensory experience. :) 

I think this best work with a pram. The baby can look at it as the wind blows and attempt to bat it. I have used it in my car during Nathan's time. I just stuck it in front of him from the car ceiling and he played with them like a kitten! Hahahah

Hope mummies find this beneficial! :)

Cheers!

Esther the mama