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Monday, May 30, 2016

School Holidays Finding Dory Activities and Games At Sunway Pyramid


This school holidays swim find your way to Sunway Pyramid with your kids to have a jolly good time with Finding Dory games and activities.

Where
  • Sunway Pyramid’s LG2, Blue Concourse
When
  •  27 May – 19 June 2016
also at Sunway Putra Mall’s Ground Floor Main Atrium from 27 May – 12 June.

What To Expect

Fun Finding Dory activities for kids with freebies amidst beautiful seascapes decor.

These holidays, Sunway Pyramid has turned their LG2 Blue Concourse into a beautiful underwater world.

Majestic Oceanarium at Sunway Pyramid
An Unforgettable Journey She (Dory) Probably Won't Remember But You Will!

Finding Dory Activities at Sunway Pyramid is available daily from 10 am to 10 pm  27 May to 19 June 2016 
We recommend you plan your day to make the most of your time.
  1. Get there nice and early (the activity booths open starting from 10 am)
  2. Register your child for free for the Finding Dory games and activities
  3. Visit and complete all activities at the 3 activity stations to claim a free sticker book for your child
The 3 MUST-VISIT booths or activity stations are
  1. The ARTopus Station 
  2. Clean Up The Ocean Activity
  3. Help Dory Get Home Activity
Don't worry you won't get lost like forgetful Dory. There are clear signages to show you the way to the booths.

Signage to Activity Stations
1. At the ARTopus Station, your child can select one activity sheet to complete and receive a stamp upon completion.

The ARTopus Station

Receive a stamp once you complete this activity
2. At the Clean Up The Ocean Station, your child will be provided with a fishing rod to fish out a rubbish from the ocean to help Dory clean up the ocean.
Clean Up The Ocean Station
Oh my, the ocean is filled with rubbish bags, plastic bottles and more!
3. Help Dory Get Home is a mini maze for little ones. Get out of this maze successfully with Dory to claim your stamp.

Help Dory Get Home Station

Welcome To The Maze!

This maze is pretty, not scary. 

Once your child has collected stamps for all 3 activities, he can redeem his free reusable Finding Dory sticker book.


Reusable Finding Dory Sticker Book
4. Don't forget to head over to the Retail Section to get the latest Finding Dory merchandise and toys.

Cute Finding Dory Plushies
Lots of Finding Dory Merchandise To Choose From

Finding Dory PJs

You get to redeem a pair of movie tickets if you spend RM500 (RM400 for HSBC Credit Cardholders) in 2 receipts.

#JustKeepSwimming to #SunwayPyramid this school holidays!


About Finding Dory The Movie

Finding Dory is the long awaited sequel to Finding Nemo. Taking off from the previous show, Finding Dory reunites Dory with Nemo, Marlin, Crush the green sea turtle and the others from the "Tank Gang". Along with notable new characters like octopus, sea lions and a beluga whale, they set off on yet another adventure, this time to find Dory's family. The friends find the true meaning of family along the way.

The Beluga Whale and Octopus are new characters in this sequel to Finding Nemo.



Definitely a wholesome family movie to catch this school holidays. It starts airing from 16 June 2016.

Here's a sneak peek. Take a look at the Finding Dory trailer below.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Raising Boys

The day before yesterday the boy came home with 3 seeds and told me he was going to give them to teacher for Teacher's Day.

Me: Where did you get them?

Boy: In the school field

Me: Oh. No. You can't give that to teacher. She's just going to throw them away. (thinking of all the other lovely gifts prepared and presented by moms)

Boy: They are seeds of hope (translated from Chinese). From Chapter 4 of my Chinese book.

Me: Don't give them to teacher. Its so dirty. What is she going to do with it?

Boy: Teacher said not to give her anything that will cost money.

Me: Hmm...

Next day...

Boy: Mom, I gave teacher the seeds.

Me: What did she do with it?

Boy: She put it in her pencil box. She also spoke to me for some time.

Me: What did she say to you?

Boy: She praised me.

Me: What did she praise you about?

Boy: I can't remember.

Me: So she was happy with the seeds?

Boy: Yes, I told her it was from Chapter 4 of our lesson.

Boy: See mom, I told you it was okay to give them.

Me: Ok. Ok. I trust you. That is why I didn't INSIST that you don't give them.

Few things on my mind:

  • Should I have prepared some special nice gift for teacher?
  • What did the teacher really think? Did she really like it or was she just being nice? Did she throw it in the bin right after?
  • Should I have said something more to the boy or allow him to be himself? 
  • Did I kill his joy by saying "No, it's dirty. Don't. Teacher won't like it. She'll throw it. etc.
Bringing up kids is full of crazies....


Wednesday, May 25, 2016

School Holidays Giveaway For Our Website Members

It's the mid year holidays. Yay! Time to rest and recoup for parents and kids alike.

We're pleased to let you know that we are running a giveaway on our website. You are going to love this one.

We're giving away 5 pairs of tickets to Potted Potter worth RM 200 per pair. Potted Potter will be playing at KLPAC from 2 June 2016 to 5 June 2016.

Visit our website contest page now for details.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

8 Kid Friendly Movies For The Mid Year Holiday Season


One of the things us city folks like to do is to "lepak" in the shopping complex during weekends and school holidays. While we are doing so, we may just watch a movie or two. If you are thinking of taking your kids to the cinema during the coming school holidays from 28 May 2016 till 12 June 2016, here are 8 kid friendly movies for the holiday season.

Some of these are currently showing, some will be showing during the June 2016 school holidays or soon after. Here are the official trailers to the movies.

1. The Jungle Book - Release Date 7 April 2016
Brief Synopsis: About the adventures of Mowgli, the man-cub raised by wolfs in the jungle from birth.



2. The Angry Birds Movie - Release Date 12 May 2016
Brief Synopsis: About flightless birds, Red, Chuck and Bomb who lives on Bird Island and how they deal with the arrival of green pigs to their island paradise.



3. The Little Prince (French) - Release Date 12 May 2016
Brief Synopsis: About a little girl's adventures with her aviator neighbour who introduces her to the world of the little prince where everything is possible. Language = French



4. Nobita & The Birth Of Japan (Japanese) - Release Date 26 May 2016
Brief Synopsis: A Doraemon movie about the adventures of Nobita and his friend in Japan 70,000 years ago. Language = Japanese.



5. Ratchet and Clank - Release Date 26 May 2016
Brief Synopsis: Based on the Playstation Video Game, Ratchet and Clank is about two unlikely heroes working together with the Galactic Rangers to save the galaxy from destruction.



6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows Release Date 2 June 2016
Brief Synopsis: A sequel to 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael return to battle bigger, badder villains.



7. Finding Dory - Release Date 16 June 2016
Brief Synopsis: A sequel to the 2003 film Finding Nemo, in Finding Dory, Dory the forgetful fish goes on a quest to reunite with her family with the help of Nemo and Marlin.



8. Ice Age: Collision Course Release Date 7 July 2016 (after school holidays)
The animals of the Ice Age embark on yet another adventure when Scrat's illusive accorn catapults him into space where he accidentally sets off cosmic events that threatens the Ice Age World. The animals travel to exotic lands and meet new and colourful characters along the way in their quest to save the world.



Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Whats Better Than Google Translate For Translating From Chinese To English

I have children studying in Chinese school but I don't understand Chinese. This makes it a challenge when it comes to guiding them with homework. Fortunately, there are many tools available to help me.

Now, I use google translate a lot because it is quick and easy. It also has image recognition technology which makes it even simpler. Just snap a picture with my smart phone and translate. However, the translation is often not very accurate. Sometimes it does too literal a translation which doesn't work at all figuratively.

Fear not. There are many other tools. I find that the Yabla Chinese English Pinyin Online Dictionary excellent in terms of translating from Chinese to English, much better than Google translate. I'll show you why.

Right. Let's say you went into this website called zuowenku to look for Chinese model essays. Zuowenku has many sample or model Chinese compositions. You get quite intimidated when  you enter the site if you do not know Chinese because it is fully in Chinese and so wordy! Well, it is after all an Essay sample site.

Ok. So you enter the site and click on 小学作文which means primary school essays. If you hover over that link, you will see six columns, the first being for std 1, second is for std 2 right up till std 6. The rows denote the different types of essays.


Now, go ahead and click on any of the links. I clicked on the first link on the first column and first row and came to the following page. Intimidating right? Especially when you don't understand a word. I clicked on the one with the number 150. It means that essay has 150 words.



That brings me to the following page. This is the page with the 150 words model essay for standard one primary school. I copied the whole first line of the passage which I highlighed in yellow and now I'm going to get that whole line translated to English and pinyin. Watch the translation.



I paste the whole highlighted sentence on Google translate and this is what I got. It says "I am a : handsome , sometimes a little guilty of two boys" Oh dear. That doesn't sound right!

Now, I copy and paste the same sentence on Yabla Chinese English Pinyin Dictionary and this is what I get. (Copy and paste the whole sentence in the search box indicated by the arrow and hit search.  From this, I can guess that the sentence means "I am a handsome school boy who sometimes makes mistakes" or "I am a handsome but sometimes naughty school boy" something to that effect.

What's good about this is you get each character broken down and explained in detail which pinyin given as well. If it is a phrase it will be shown as a phrase. If it is an idiom, it will be shown as an idiom with the meaning given.

My translation of the meaning may not be perfect but with it broken down like that, you understand it a lot better.


You can also do this using the mbdg Chinese dictionary. Or if you want just the pinyin, you can  use this Chinese to pinyin converter which also gives you the meaning in English. Try all three to see which you prefer. I like the Yabla one best but sometimes when an idiom is given, I like the mbdg one because when you click on that idiom, it further breaks down each and every character in the idiom which will help you understand how that idiom was formed. Very interesting. You can use the one you prefer or all, like I do.

There is a right tool for everything! You just have to find it. With these tools, you can help your child with their Chinese homework, even if you do not know a word of Chinese!

If you found this useful, go ahead and share it.

Recommended Holiday Reading For Kids

Kids these days are so busy with school work, it seems that the only free time they have for reading story books are during the school holidays. Whether that may be the case for your child or not, school holidays is definitely a good time to get them reading. Here are a few good reads for the approaching June school holidays.

Books Kinokuniya Malaysia webstore recommends the following holiday reading for kids this holidays.
  1. The St. Clare's Series by Enid Blyton and Pamela Cox
  2. The Secret Stories Series by Enid Blyton

St. Clare's Series

The St. Clare's Series is a series of nine books by Enid Blyton and Pamela Cox. This series is excellent for kids who like to read about school life. It revolves around a boarding school called St. Clare's and follows the life of the O'Sullivan twins, Claudine, Kitty and others from start to finish at the school.

This series as with many other Enid Blyton story books has an old world charm and lots of hidden moral values in the story including how to do the right thing, how to treat others, how to make friends and get along with others and building self worth.


Titles in this series include:

  1. The Twins at St. Clare's
  2. The O'Sullivan Twins
  3. Summer Term at St. Clare's
  4. The Second Form at St. Clare's
  5. The Third Form at St Clare's
  6. Kitty at St. Clare's
  7. Claudine at St. Clare's
  8. Fifty Formers of St. Clare's
  9. The Sixth Form at St. Clare's

One of the advantages of reading a series is, it just might become the catalyst to turn a non-reader into one as the child follows the exciting story line from one book to another.

The Secret Stories Series

The secret stories series is another notable Enid Blyton series. This is an adventure story on a secret island. It tells the story of siblings Peggy, Mike and Nora who ran away from their cruel guardians to a secret island together with their friend Jack. 

Unlike the Famous Five series which often have adventures involving criminals, The Secret Stories is a poignant story about survival and community. Expect lots of fun and adventure in the series which includes the following titles.

  1. The Secret Island
  2. The Secret of Spiggy Holes
  3. The Secret Mountain
  4. The Secret of Killimooin (Retitled as The Secret Forest)
  5. The Secret of Moon Castle

The Secret Series was adapted into a TV series in 1997. The TV story line is a little bit different from the book.



Get these adventure stories series by Enid Blyton at Malaysia's Online Book Store, Books Kinokuniya Malaysia Webstore. 



Wednesday, May 04, 2016

Malaysia June School Holidays Dates And Free May Calendar 2016

It's May 2016 and while designing my free printable calendar for May 2016 I realized that May has a lot of interesting dates and celebrations for parents, students and teachers.

Here are some of the dates worth taking note of in May 2016

Labour Day 2016

We recently enjoyed a nice long weekend due to this annual holiday which falls on 1st May. It is the exam season so those who are preparing for exams in early May may have taken the opportunity to do some last minute revision whereas those who have completed exams in end April may have had a good time relaxing after the exams. Either way, it was a good weekend.

Wesak Day 2016

The date for Wesak Day this year is 21 May 2016. In Malaysia, Wesak Day is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. This means that if you are looking at the Gregorian or western calendar, the dates will be different yearly. 21 May 2016 is a Saturday.

Mother's Day 2016

Mother's Day is celebrated on various dates around the world. In Malaysia, as with many other parts of the world, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year. This means that in 2016, Mother's Day will fall on 8th May 2016 which happens to be the second Sunday in May 2016. It's very early this year because the first Sunday is the first of May.

Teacher's Day 2016

Just like Mother's Day, Teacher's Day is also celebrated on different dates around the world. In Malaysia, Teacher's Day is celebrated on 16 May 2016. 16th of May 2016 happens to be a Monday. Some schools may be still busy with exams or marking of exam papers. Quite often, schools may postpone the celebration to another day, sometimes on a Friday or the Friday just before the mid year school holidays. Sometimes it is celebrated on the Friday preceding the actual date. Different schools may choose a different date to have their Teacher's Day celebrations. So, if you are planning to prepare a token for your child's teachers, do check the actual day it will be celebrated in your child's school.

Mid Year School Holidays 2016 Malaysia

The Mid Year School holidays is for 2 weeks starting from 27 May 2016 if you are in Johor, Kedah, Terengganu or Kelantan or 28 May 2016 for all other states.

All of the above dates are marked on our free printable May 2016 calendar to facilitate your planning.

Members can download it from our free printable page link below.

Free Printable May 2016 Calendar Download Link.


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