Bangkok for Kids: Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy

Posted on August 11, 2015 by missuschewy

When our friends knew about our plans to take Little misschewy along to Bangkok during my birthday week on the last week of July, many expressed their concern because Bangkok is popularly known as a shopping and eating paradise. Would having a young toddler in tow ruin our holiday plans? And more importantly, would Chanelle enjoy this trip or be bored to tears? Even though Chanelle is barely two years old, she sure knows how to play and have fun! With that, I planned our Bangkok itinerary with her interests in mind, in addition to ours. There are many things to do in Bangkok with kids but due to limited time, I shortlisted three main attractions in Bangkok for kids and families. I will first be introducing Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy in the first of my three-part series 🙂

There are a number of indoor playgrounds scattered all over Bangkok but I decided on Kidzoona based on two very important factors:

1. Kidzoona is highly accessible as it is located on the 5th floor of Gateway Ekamai Mall, right next to Ekkamai BTS Station. Kidzoona allows re-entry on the same day, so parents and children can take a break at any of the cafes or restaurants within the mall. A few other indoor playgrounds that I had researched on are located away from BTS stations which can be rather inconvenient.

2. Kidzoona’s play areas and play structures are age-appropriate for young toddlers like Chanelle. I feel that some other indoor playgrounds like Funarium and KidZania, on the other hand, target older children about 4 years and up.

Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy are two concepts under the Aeon Fantasy group, a Japan-based company which specializes in the operation of entertainment facilities for children in shopping centres. Apart from Japan and Thailand, Aeon Fantasy has also found its way around other Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Cambodia, The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. All I want to say is.. Please come to Singapore soon!!

Upon stepping into Molly Fantasy, we were greeted by a barrage of coin-operated kiddie rides and arcade games. Little misschewy loves to go on kiddie rides these days, but ain’t nobody got time for that! Besides the kiddie rides and arcade games, Molly Fantasy houses a large play area, Kidzoona, which is what we were there for. First, we had to fill in a form and pay upfront before entering Kidzoona. Adults pay a flat rate of 90 baht but the rates for children differ based on their height and are pricier on weekends.

The green lockers are for you to store your personal belongings and valuables while the white lockers are meant for footwear. We were unlucky that the green lockers were unavailable so we had to constantly keep an eye on our bags.

There are educational toys and books for the little ones. Saw a baby boy hammering away at a wooden xylophone. Super cute! It’s a great place for young ones to get warmed up before proceeding to the giant ball pool.

Lounge area where tired parents can take turns to rest and recharge. There’s even a massage chair to sooth those aching feet!

This inflatable giant ‘hamster wheel’ is so cool!

One of the reasons why I enjoy taking Chanelle to the indoor playground is because she likes watching other children play and it brings a smile to her face.

Hahaha. The look on Little misschewy is like, “Mummy, can I play now?” We have not been to many indoor playgrounds in Singapore but the ball pool at Kidzoona is hugeeeee and attracts children of all ages!

Inflatable bouncy castle!

Chanelle tried to climb up but it proved to be too steep!

Papa Chewy to the rescue!

WHEEEE! Chanelle asked to go on the slide at least another three more times! Good workout for Papa Chewy! Hahaha.

This section of Kidzoona is quite similar to KidZania, where children are free to experiment and take on various roles in the ‘working field’. It was adorable watching how kids served their parents who acted as customers or patrons.

Of course, we couldn’t resist a photo of Little misschewy in one of these cute outfits! Her first part-time job at a burger shop! HAHAHA.

“Hello! Burgers for you?” I whatsapped this photo to Chanelle’s godma, and she replied that she will BUY ALL THE BURGERS from Chanelle! So sweet can! LOL.

Ooh! Look who’s a sushi chef? Irrashaimase!

Mummy is going to post a photo of this sushi platter on Instagram while my personal sushi chef prepares some hot green tea for me!

The hubs and I are glad that the local children we met at Kidzoona are either well-mannered, or their parents are quick to intervene before things turn ugly between kids. Chanelle happened to pick up a toy which was left behind by a little boy and he took it back right out of her hands but his father immediately handed it back to Chanelle before pulling his boy away. This lovely girl didn’t push Chanelle out of the fire truck when Chanelle climbed in. In fact, she shifted herself to make more space for Chanelle. Her kind gesture truly surprised me because I have come across selfish kids who refuse to share.

It was a joy watching the two girls smile and interact with each other and they occasionally waved at misterchewy and I!

We spent close to 2 hours in Kidzoona and paid another 40 baht for Little misschewy to go on this carousel ride before leaving Gateway Ekamai Mall. Besides keeping the little ones happy, it’s also a fantastic way to expend their energy so that parents can have a peaceful meal when their kids conk out after a few hours at the indoor playground 😉
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy
Floor 5, Gateway Ekamai Mall, 982/22 Sukhumvit Road Prakanong, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
(Nearest BTS: Ekkamai)
Local Phone:02 108 2650
International Phone: +66 2 108 2650
Email: contact@aeonfantasy.co.th

Operating Hours:
Daily
10am – 9pm (last entry 8pm)

Price:
Adult – 90 Baht
Child under 105 cm – 180 baht on weekdays/300 baht on weekends
Child over 105 cm – 220 baht on weekdays/360 baht on weekends

Introduction to Sparkanauts Plus Trial Passes Giveaway!

Posted on August 5, 2015 by missuschewy

– Sponsored Review –

Earlier last month, we started Little misschewy on lessons at Sparkanauts. It was never our intention to send her to such classes as we believe that all children develop at their own pace; it doesn’t matter if they start walking at 10 months or are still crawling at 15 months. When they are ready to walk, they WILL walk. Little misschewy started to take her first few independent steps when she was around 15 months but most of the time, she had a strong preference to crawl. Honestly, it was kinda amusing to see a toddler crawl on all fours but we didn’t have an issue with that. We soon realized that the problem lies with Chanelle not being confident enough to walk without any forms of support and therefore, she chose not to walk but would crawl instead. I’m very thankful that Mama Liz introduced us to Steven from Sparkanauts as misterchewy and I were clueless about how we could instill confidence in Little misschewy and get her to walk independently without resorting to having to crawling.

Sparkanauts aims to give each child an intellectual, physical and social edge in life and learning through specially design programmes that combine fun activities and research-backed teaching methods. Children learn best through play and this is exactly what Sparkanauts promote – holistic development through play. Steven proposed that Little misschewy attend the Cadet class which is targetted at toddlers between 12 months to 18 months of age. Every activity that we went through in class is designed to stimulate our child’s brains, while refining their physical abilities to move ahead. After attending a handful of sessions at Sparkanauts, I like how structured and well-organized the classes are. Chanelle is always fully engaged during the sessions which are 75 minutes long, inclusive of a 10-minute sharing session at the end of the class.

Kids like routine and it’s comforting to see that Chanelle is able to adapt well to the classes conducted and led by Teacher Rachel, assisted by Teacher Beatrice. Each week, we start off with a boisterous welcome song and a round of flash cards to get warmed up.

Chanelle is being introduced a different theme each week. So far, she had been exposed to Meal Time, Shower, My Neighborhood, Swimming and Playground. Kids get to learn about things that are related to a particular theme. In the case of “Shower” for instance, Chanelle had been presented with flash cards with words and pictures of bath tub, shampoo, diaper, towel, powder, etc.

There is never a dull moment at Sparkanauts!

During the circuit trainings, Chanelle got to walk up and down the ramps, climb up and down small steps, balance on the beam and crawl through tunnels. It is definitely a great and fun way to sharpen her balance and locomotor skills!

Fine motor skills are also being worked on during each class.

Chanelle’s favorite activity at Sparkanauts! Trapeze time!

Interesting use of puppets to teach Chanelle how to jump left, right, up and down.

For this relay activity, Chanelle had to pick up a piece of plastic fruit or vegetable one at a time, and walk to the other end to deposit it into another container.

This activity targets various areas of development such as hand-eye coordination, walking and balancing with a toy in one hand, bending down and getting up.

The items in the Mystery Box differs each week.

During this particular session, Chanelle was tasked to pinch some plasticine and place the pieces on each tooth. Afterwards, she had to brush them off using a toothbrush. We didn’t manage to complete this activity as Chanelle was uncomfortable with the texture of plasticine and kept avoiding it when we waved the ball of plasticine in front of her. Teacher Rachel noticed that Chanelle is only comfortable with handling smooth surfaces but when it came to sticky or rough surfaces, she would cringe and turn away. Therefore, we had to expose her to more textures!

Our term with Sparkanauts has not ended yet but misterchewy and I have started to see great improvements in Chanelle especially with regards to her physical development. If you are keen to experience what Sparkanauts has to offer, do take part in our giveaway contest! Sparkanauts is offering FREE trial sessions worth $58 each to two readers of missuschewy’s blog!
Simply follow the steps below to qualify. Good luck! 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sparkanauts
SAFRA Toa Payoh
293 Toa Payoh Lorong 6
#02-01
Singapore 319387
Tel: 62590307
Email: info@sparkanauts.com

Opening Hours:
Daily
9am – 5pm

Happy Willow Indoor Playground

Posted on June 23, 2015 by missuschewy

Hello chewys! I thought I’d share our experience after our recent trip to Happy Willow, an indoor playground at One KM Mall! There is also another Happy Willow at One North la but this is more convenient for us and the one at One KM is relatively newer since it was opened in December last year. I actually purchased a Groupon deal at about $8 quite some time ago and later found out that we didn’t save much because the admission fee for kids below 2 years of age is only $10 -_- Anyway it was expiring in one week so misterchewy and I took half day leave on a Friday. The voucher was valid on weekends too but we figured it might be crowded. The hubs and I went on a lunch date in Orchard to satisfy my chirashi craving before picking Little misschewy up from home. This is the very first photo of Chanelle that I caught on camera at Happy Willow! As you can see, her happy expression is priceless 🙂 Best $8 spent! Haha!

I took into consideration that she would be crawling around for quite a bit so I dressed her in a casual Nike romper gifted by her Godma, Mag. Love the bright orange color and see how well it goes with the plastic balls from the ball pit? LOL.

When the hubs carried her into the ball pit, she was a bit hesitant initially but was quick to break into a huge smile. Chanelle was so excited!

Yeah she chuckled until her saliva came out. HAHAHA. -_-

At the Toddler’s Turf, there is quite a bit of space for kids between the ages of 9 months to less than 3 years old to roam about. Great for little tots like Chanelle who was still learning how to walk!

Vroom! Vroom!

I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL~~

Mini rock wall!

The Kids’ Den is recommended for children 2 years old and above but we went ahead anyway! I personally think it’s alright as long as kids are under close supervision by their parents.

Don’t know what this is called but Chanelle was happily ‘galloping’ away!

Basically, Little misschewy was being carried around by misterchewy because there were some steps to climb before they could get to the top of the slide!

I see two kiddos in this photo. Hahaha.

Plenty of stuff to keep Little misschewy entertained!

There is this mini trampoline area but of course, Chanelle is too young to know that she’s supposed to hop around in there.

There are also some puzzles and games.

We decided that Chanelle had enough of crawling around and brought her back to the Toddler’s Turf, but a different section this time.

My cousins bought a cooking set for Chanelle’s first birthday. I think she’s ready!

Private rooms are also available to hold your parties. Happy Willow also offers a range of party items and services such as photography, balloon sculpting, souvenir pack, photo booth, etc.

For a mere $10 on weekdays for unlimited play for children under 2 years old, we reckon it’s really reasonable and affordable. There’s a little cafe within Happy Willow so kids and adults can take a pit stop, or if you prefer to venture outside for your meals, Happy Willow allows re-entry. Little misschewy sure had a great time at Happy Willow and we will be back really soon! 😉

Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

Happy Willow
Happy Willow One KM
11 Tanjong Katong Road
#02-01/02
One KM
Singapore 437157
Tel: 6341 6468

Opening Hours:
Daily
10.30am – 9pm

Admission Fees:
Mon to Fri (Unlimited Play)
2 years and above – $18 per child
9 months to 23 months – $10 per child
Sat, Sun & PH (3 hour Play)
2 years and above – $22 per child
9 months to 23 months – $12 per child

Happy Willow One North
1 Fusionopolis Way
Fusionopolis
Connexis Tower
#B1-06
Singapore 138632
Tel: 6466 6300

Opening Hours
Mon to Fri
9.30am – 6.30pm
Sat, Sun & PH
9.30am – 7.30pm

Admission Fees:
Daily (Unlimited Play)
2 years and above – $18 per child
9 months to 23 months – $10 per child

Willow Play Pass (6 sessions) is available:
$100 per package (2 years and above)
$55 per package (9 months to 23 months)

missuschewy

Singapore Lifestyle and Travel Blog

Category Archives: #Activities for Children

Bangkok for Kids: Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy

Introduction to Sparkanauts Plus Trial Passes Giveaway!

Happy Willow Indoor Playground

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