{Review} The Boy Who Cried Wolf

"Wolf, wolf!"  The young Shepherd Boy cried out loud, hoping to get some excitement as he was lonely while tending to his sheep at the foot of a mountain.  Villagers came running to him and the boy got what he wanted, which was some company.  He did the same trick again and he succeeded once more.

When a real wolf was spotted by the boy and he cried for help, nobody came.  That was because the villagers thought the boy was deceiving them again.  

The moral of this fable, "There is no believing of a liar, even when he speaks the truth".

The story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one that has been told and re-told.  The boys have heard of this story many times, be it in English or Chinese.  But it is the first time they are watching a play based on it.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the first production by I Theatre in 2016, is presented through puppetry, music and  physical theatre.  

As always, the boys will be engrossed with the Programme and Activity Book before the start of the play.

A friend going for theatre play together!

I shall not divulge too much.  But be prepared for some unexpected twists and turns.  I particularly like a part whereby there is a message, which I think is, for the parents too.  

A fast-paced, engaging production, one gets to participate by screaming their answers and shouting "Wake up!".  The children loved that part...

Towards the end of the play, I actually got kind of emotional.  As we all know the tragic ending of the original story, I Theatre presented the story in a somewhat different approach.  Instead of punishment and all the sad ending, this story ended on a positive note.  

As we discuss the story with our boys, we raise questions and also at the same time, reinforce the correct morals and that truth must be told at all times.  

You know your children got something out of the play when after the play, they spoke about "that sly fox and how the animals that followed it did not come out alive from the den", "that sheep are herbivores and only eats grass" and much more.

Do not forget to have a photo or two taken during the meet and greet session after the play ends.

We met fellow mum blogger, Qian Wen and her children at the play.  Read what she has to say about the play here!

Showing now on every Monday to Saturday till 19 March 2016 at Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel, you may purchase your tickets online at Sistic.

Disclosure: We were invited to The Boy Who Cried Wolf by I Theatre.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photos and opinions are true to my own.

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Power Your Day with Quaker - Oats for Rice with Mushrooms Recipe

Have you heard about the power of oats?  Maybe you have heard about oats helping in the control of the blood pressure.  Or maybe the high levels of fiber and protein provided.

Overnight oats have been the in-thing for the last few years because of its benefits.  One can practically throw in any fruits and / or nuts and you get an awesome load of protein, fiber, vitamins and so on.  But, there are some people who do not fancy cold oats.  And some who think children should not take cold stuff.  :)

So today, I am sharing a savoury oats recipe, perfect for busy full-time working Mums like me!  

Savory Oats with Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Quaker Oats for Rice
1 cup rice (I used mixed brown rice)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
6 pieces of mushrooms, washed and sliced
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper 
Olive oil

Directions:

1.  Wash both the oats and brown rice.  Cook in rice cooker per rice cooker instructions.
2.  Add oil to a non-stick pan and once hot, add onions and sautéed till slightly translucent.
3.  Stir in mushrooms.
4.  Once mushrooms are almost cooked, stir them into the rice cooker.
5.  When the rice is cooked, stir in Parmesan cheese.  The heat from the cooked rice will melt the cheese.
6.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
7.  Enjoy!

If you are in a rush, I am pretty sure just leaving everything (except the cheese) into the rice cooker works well too. 

Are you convinced now that oats can be added to your daily diets, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner?  It could also be added into your usual rice - it is that easy to incorporate oats to each meal!

POWER your day with QUAKER

Quaker is having a promotion at NTUC Fairprice supermarkets till 12 March 2016.  Stand a chance to win a Tiger Induction Rice Cooker worth more than $700 with every $5 worth of Quaker products purchased.  Check in store for details.  T&C applies.

Disclosure:  This post is brought to by Quaker.  Follow them on Quaker Singapore for more information and ways to enjoy your oats, hot or cold.

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The Inaugural Stroller Race Singapore 2016

The inaugural Stroller Race Singapore 2016 was held on 17 January 2016 at the Sports Hub.

We did not participate in the family run this time but instead, the boys took part in the Kids Dash.  There were 4 different categories: Stroller Run 5km, Stroller Walk 5km, Family Run 5km and Kids Dash for 5 different age groups. 

The Stroller Race Singapore is a community event that allows families to participate in races together, and to lead active lives as a family unit.  The Stroller Race seeks to build an exciting event that almost all families with young children will be able to attend - even for those using strollers, prams and pushchairs.

With children as the main focus of the race, there were lots of activities for the kids.

Starting with some activities at the Sports Hub Library, which was a surprise as most libraries should be hush hush hush....

Getting into the mood and prepping for the real dash.  :)

This has got to be the most enjoyable of all the games.  Such that even E wanted to join in.  Trying to pull off one another's 3 "tails".  

The Kids Dash was at the Stadium.  Or rather the outside the stadium near the entrances.  Most kids love a tattoo and these tattoos are really long lasting.

I really really like the way the warm ups were conducted.  Different category age groups were separated at different areas around the stadium.  And for D's and E's, they had their warm ups done interestingly!

Some examples were running under the big colourful "parachute" and stretching and moving the limbs using the almost-every-kid-will-know song "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round".    I mean, it does not even seem to be warm-ups!

One parent may run with each child.  And each time, there were only like 8-10 children running with their parents beside or behind them.  Look at E's expression!  

A milestone for D!  Running 60m on his own.  I asked if he needed me to go with him and he told me that he could do it himself.  My little boy is growing up!  There were no timings, no competition.  Just pure running fun for the children.  All races were cheered and clapped and each child was given a medal at the end of their race.

For the older children, they ran between 400m to 800m.  And I see organisers / volunteers running alongside with the children, and the last one was not left alone which was good.  

My 2 happy boys  Pleased with the medals they obtain.  A race, especially planned for the little ones, I am looking forward to the next Stroller Race!

Disclosure: We were invited to the Stroller Race Singapore 2016.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photographs and opinions are true to my own.

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