Thursday Fun

the kids' kindermusik class commenced today. we saw some familiar faces - cayden's former classmates from first term. we changed days/venue in the second term and now back to the original sched and place. it was nice catching up with them, and of course, allison, who handles the classes. it was a bit surreal because during cayden's first term, kian was still in my tummy and now he's participating in the activities. how time flies!

the kit

kian was nonchalant and was just happy chewing on the toys given them. cayden on the otherhand, has really improved on his social skills. in his very first kindermusik class, he used to be just an observer. he didnt participate much and would just sit on my lap. but now, he joins in every activity with much gusto. so so proud of him!

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after kindermusik (class ends at 12:15pm), we rushed home, had a quick lunch then cayden and i headed out again to go to romsey rapids for cayden's first little creators class (starts at 1:30pm). it's a once a week (1 hour) arts and craft class. initially, i thought it's free for members. it's not. members get a small discount though (₤4.50per session for non members and ₤3.90 for members). but tantan and i decided to give it a try. if we like it, we'll gladly pay for cayden's fees. if not, at least we got to find out.

when we got there, i was so surprised to learn that cayden was the only pupil booked for the session. i was more shocked to find out that last week, there were no participants (the service is fairly new). i didnt bring cayden because i had kian weighed and the two coincided on the same time slot. it was early days and they are still testing the water. they're hoping to get more kids in and they are devising ways on how to advertise the activity. not all parents are keen on the time and day (but no date/time will ever be the right one for everyone!). plus, the fee kinda makes the parents think twice. imagine the price of membership, then this on top of that!

anyways, despite being the only kid booked, the whole place was set up with the whole shebang! there were lots of activities prepared, cayden didnt know where to begin! there was the water play area, foam table, painting area, plasticine area, crafts table where you can make badges and little penguins. the service is worth every penny! cayden didnt want to go home! i had to entice him with "going to see the swimming pools" but that didnt go well because when we got there, he wanted to swim and didnt want to leave either! tsk tsk!

foam table where they pretended there's snow

cayden choosing the colours he wanted to paint with

my little picasso

baking with his plasticine

little penguin

washing thomas after "ploughing" through some snow

anyways, we're booking cayden in this arts and craft class for as long as it's available. we do hope they get enough participants so it wont be scrapped. imagine messy play + creativity + imagination without the clearing up. win-win!

if you want to book: contact the romsey rapids: 01794 830333

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visit:

Kindermusik

i have long wanted to enroll cayden in a special class where he can interact with other kids. he's now at this stage where he'll be all active and bubbly if it's just us with him (me, tantan and lola) but then goes quiet and reserved if there are other unfamiliar people around. there are playgroups available but most of them we can't go to bec of conflict with work. i didnt want to enroll him in just any class. i want one that is already tried and tested. in the philippines, there are 2 that are very popular - gymboree and kindermusik. i wondered whether they'd be offered here too.

i did some research and found out that both are being offered here! unfortunately, the nearest gymboree is about 50miles away. there's kindermusik near us but the term has already started. to top it, we are only able to do either a thur or a fri class because i go to work mon-wed. i was initially offered a tues slot but then, one parent pulled out bec they'll be going overseas for an indefinite period of time - so we're in on a thurs slot! next term though, we might need to move to a tues class bec thurs really is always full. but it doesnt matter. i'll be on maternity leave then. i can do whatever days!

earlier was cayden's first session. i was a bit anxious bec i dont exactly know where it is (it's only 5.4miles from our house) and i'd be relying on the gps to get us there. and it was raining cats and dogs so that didnt help my confidence (i dont like driving to new places - i am still scared of big roundabouts!). anyways, we got there with plenty of time to spare. there were about 8 kids and cayden is the youngest (at exactly 18months).

watching mickey mouse before leaving for class

we were the first ones there. cayden was initally exploring by himself, occasionally pulling me to where he wants to go until the other kids started arriving. he then became quiet (usually, if there are new faces, he'll just sit on my lap and observe the people). the class started and cayden was just on his observant mode. during the instrument time, he participated but when it was time to put away the toy, he didnt want to let go of it - he cried! then he was in a sour mood.

the teacher said it's normal for kids to react that way in the first few sessions. and knowing cayden, once he gets familiar with all the faces and gets to warm up with the other kids, he'll be his dance-y, bubbly self again.

the loot: picture books, stir xylophone, cd, bag

cant wait for the next session. hopefully, cayden will be more cooperative =D