Sep 28 2016

Dreamplay at City of Dreams Manila

Posted on September 28, 2016 by olsk_mercado

We have been wanting to visit Dreamplay at City of Dreams Manila for the longest time and we finally did on Jael’s field trip. I knew this would be so much fun for him and despite the field trip costing a pretty penny I think it was worth the investment. It’s his first field trip and something he should enjoy. Ten years ago when I went with my eldest on his field trip I had much more energy. I really felt my age on this one though! Let me tell you why.

Dreamplay is inside City of Dreams Manila, an integrated resort and casino located on Asean Avenue corner Roxas Boulevard. It features some beloved Dreamworks favorites such as Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and more. Looking at the map on their website it doesn’t seem like a big area. Believe me, it is when you’re running after a 6 year old and trying to keep up. At 5’7 I’m considered very tall and I literally could not go into some of the areas. Maybe they’re meant just for kids. Anyhoo, there are so many mazes and slides that it’s hard to keep up. Kids 8 and above can probably go off on their own here.

I love taking pictures of my kids and there are many picture perfect opportunities!

Each character section has at least 2 attractions. All in all there are about 20. There are some attractions that require a certain height so despite Jael’s bravery and eagerness he wasn’t able to try them. He’s an easy going fella though so he was happy with what he could go to and try.

Kung Fu Panda

This is the Fast as Lightning Kung Fu Fighting attraction. Po and Tigress teach some moves in their dojo.

How to Train Your Dragon

One of Jael’s favorite play attractions, he got to build his own dragon and then we climbed what seemed like forever to get to the top and let it fly. Seriously though, in this attraction we climbed to the third level. This is where my heart jumped to my throat because Jael all of a sudden went down one of the slides that I couldn’t follow in and I lost him for just a small bit. I looked down from the 3rd level and thankfully I saw him. The thing is for moms like me who are super paranoid losing sight for just a second frightens me. Dreamplay has too many twists and turns and slides and it’s hard to keep up with. So we had to have a talk about that and since he knows of the dangers he didn’t do that again.

Madagascar

At Whatever Floats Your Boat you’re given a boat to launch and have a race with other boats. It would have been more fun if the guns that were stationed around actually sprayed water. Well, parents won’t be too happy getting soaked but it would be lots of fun for the kids.

Jael spent awhile at Afro Circus, a multilevel play area. I don’t know if it was just me or the kids were really running wild. Jael surely was going back and forth up and down.

Shrek

Personally, I enjoyed Shrek’s Swamp Stomp. It was a Shrek sized house. The only thing I didn’t like was that it was too dark inside. Hence, not so great pictures. Here’s Jael in a pot ready to be cooked!

Dreamworks

If you need some downtime the Dreamtales Library is the perfect place to go. You can lounge around and read a book.

I was too busy running after Jael so I wasn’t able to take pictures of the other places we went to. One great attraction is the Dream Studio. You can learn how to make a mini animation movie. Dinotrux is a huge dino robotic replica.

There just wasn’t enough time to visit Gingy’s Kitchen where you get to bake gingerbread man cookies and Dream Theatre where you can catch a 4D show.

Ticket prices can be found here: http://www.cityofdreams.com.ph/dreamplay. Reasonably priced for the smorgasbord of activities.

Aside from Dreamplay, City of Dreams has alot more to explore! I’d love to bring the kids to Nobu Hotel or Hyatt City of Dreams!

Jun 15 2016

First Day of School: First Day High

Posted on June 15, 2016 by olsk_mercado

The day has finally come… My youngest son, Jael finally had his first day of school. We chose to wait until he was 5 years old and entering Kindergarten instead of having him go to school early. This was the same choice we made for our teens. I’m more of a believer in toddlers being toddlers rather than making them learn their abc’s at the earliest possible age. Not that it’s wrong to get them learning early. It’s just kids will go to school and learn all of that stuff but they’ll only be so young once.

You’ve probably heard that play is also learning which I believe to be true. Everything a child does is a learning experience at 5 years old and below. We took opportunities for learning as they came. When it was nearing enrollment I learned that since Jael would be in Kinder 2 he needed to learn how to write and know his abc’s. We had to do some tough love at times so he could start practicing his abc’s but in then end he initiated learning. When I’d be working at my computer he would sit on my lap and tell me each letter on the keyboard. It does take patience but when you think about it, what’s a couple of minutes in your day to give time to listen?

We had been preparing for when he went to school and collected useful items over time. I love that I have StickerKid name labels for his uniforms and supplies.

We also saved this Miles from Tomorrowland set we got awhile back. Since he’ll be doing some cooking and painting we set aside the apron he used from a Brotzeit Kinder Koche session he attended. We bought his backpack and lunch bag but got them on sale!

My little boy all ready for school. We have a whole year ahead of us but I’m excited to share in Jael’s exciting Kindergarten journey.

How was your child’s first day at school?

Mar 9 2016

Learn with the Toddler Buribox from Adarna

Posted on March 9, 2016 by olsk_mercado

As a work at home mom it’s a challenge to balance family, work and home duties. I don’t have as much time as I’d like to prepare my youngest who’ll be starting school this year and the answer to this is a curated box of educational activities and arts and crafts. Adarna has released the Buribox and we tried the Toddler BuriBox.

The activities are designed to develop literacy, critical thinking, creativity, socio-emotional make-up, and gross and fine motor skills.

Jael was excited to receive a BuriBox and even more excited to try the activities.

Included in are selected storybooks from the library of Adarna House, activities and art materials, and board books. It also includes poster paint, crayons, and molding clay.

It has Filipino context and is made especially for Filipino children but ninety percent of the stories are in two languages. Each book, activity, and material has been carefully curated by experienced and expert educators and product developers.

There are two boxes to choose from, the Toddler and Young Reader BuriBox. For Jael I chose the Toddler box.

Recommended age: 3-5 years old
4-5 New preschool books every month
Multiple activities/worksheets and art materials every months

Here are some of the activities we did. The planned activities make it much easier for moms like me. With a set of instructions and ideas we had plenty of fun.