My favorite book store

Books- I have a great love for buying stacks after stacks of books for my kids. I love the smell of the new books, I love seeing my kids dive into another world and enjoying it. 

But over time buying new books can be quite hefty on the wallets. 

As an alternative, I go to the library and borrow them. Since it cost absolutely nothing. But borrowing them would mean we can't read at our leisure and we need to be mindful of the due dates. And sometimes the books are so good that we desire to keep them forever. 

What do I do? I go to my most favorite bookstore in Singapore- Evernew Book store located Bras Basah Complex. It sits at a corner of the complex right next to the National library. You can NOT miss it. It's filled with treasures at low low low low (can I emphasize anymore?) cost. 

Sure, the books aren't exactly in mint condition and it doesn't have the whiff of new prints. But, the books aren't in a shabby condition either. There are no dog ears, tattered/ missing pages or chewed off covers. They are mostly in good condition. 

To me, a true book lover would look beyond the condition of the book and look right into it's contents instead. And that is us. We don't really care if the books are in tip top glossy condition, all we care is what are the books telling us. 

So how low is low? Let's take a look at my recent purchase:

I bought one Peter and Jane series and two Ladybird Read it Yourself books. I got them at $1 each! That's 3 books for $3! I would not have gotten these books for $3 not even one of them! I suppose these books can cost up to $4-$5 EACH!   If I had bought them new, I would spent roughly about $15? I saved $12 by buying second hand! 

It makes perfect sense to buy these books at second hand since my preschooler would outgrow them in time. I mean, we don't expect a primary 3 kid to be still be reading these books right? Once we are done, we can give them away without feeling a pinch in our pockets. 

Primary school parents! You will be happy to know they sell second hand assesment books too! One needn't to worry if there are scribblings or half undone books, it's all clean. Also, they sell second hand textbooks! Sure, there could be some highlights here and there but the store makes sure it is useable and the contents are still visible. I've made a mental note to head down to this shop first before buying any new textbooks. 

Here's another book I bought. This comic series can easily chalk up to $9+ for a new book. I got it at half the price, although, one could get a totally new book at the same price in Malaysia! But alas, we are living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. So second hand books at slashed prices will do. 

One thing though, you may not find books that you want. Their supply of the books are not regulated and it depends very much on what's being brought into the shop.

 

While the shop tries to organise the books into categories as best as they can, you would need to be prepared to dig through the piles to look for the titles you want. However, I take pleasure in soaking up the books so I don't mind spending a minute more in the store. 

Also, just to add, Bras Complex is haven for book lovers. There are more than one second hand bookshops like Evernew. If you can't find the books you want, simply skip to the next all in the same complex. If all else fails, you can still buy the books new at the Popular store in the same complex. It's a one stop shopping area for book lovers. I also particularly love to drop by Maha Yu Yi bookstore (#03-11). It is a book store selling mandarin books. I love their selection of books for pre-schoolers and older children. The store assistant is super friendly and helpful- and she speaks English too (and all the non-mandarin speaking parents say..'YAY!').

 

Evernew Book store is located at:

Bras Basah Complex

Bain Street

Blk 231, #01-07

 

And lastly, before you groaned "oh bother, here's another sponsored blog advertisement!". Well, you can be rest assured that I was not paid in any way to write this post (although if the shop owner feels I deserve free books after reading this post, I wouldn't mind!). This is purely my own sharing. I wrote to share this just because I love this place that much! Spreading the joy!

 

 

H is for Happy (Willow), not Haze!

As if the heat and dengue fever situation isn't bad enough, some people decide to send hazardous smog our way.  Because of the haze, i have had my windows shut ALL day, ALL week. And we cannot go outdoor unless we want to risk our lungs. So because of the heat AND haze, we have been locked at home, making me feel downright suffocated in my own home. Not funny. Not funny at all.

 

It made me moody, irritable, annoyed and left me feeling extremely sluggish all week. I had no other desire than to hibernate in my room with the air-conditioner blasting with a vengeance. Needless to say, there was no Homeschool@sg. Period.

 

So imagine my JOY & relief when the good people at Happy Willow invited us over to check out their playground. It is an INDOOR playground. That means, we get to escape the heat (because it is air-conditioned), stay indoor (to hide away from the polluted air) and still have fun (entertainment to kill all time high boredom). At times like this, i am most grateful to indoor play areas such as these!

 

 

The kids curiously checking out Happy Willow! 

 

 

Shoes area. I love the shoe storage!

 

THE PLAY STATIONS

 

There are 3 main play areas.

 

 

 

One of which is the Toddlers' Turf.

 

This is a a cozy & safe (away from the naturally rowdy, older kids) area for the little ones.

 

 

In this area, there are some building blocks. I couldn't resist taking that chance to 'homeschool' doll! I played a mini game with her; i asked her to sit on certain block with certain alphabets or shapes. :P

 

 

 

There is also a separate mini ball area just for the toddlers. A really thoughtful gesture  because we all know how rough & oblivious to the young babes, older kids can be. :)

 

 

 

The second area is the Kids' Den for the older kids. In it are a number of play stations.

 

 

One of me kids' favourite in the Kids' den is the slide! Doll loves the slide and was happily helping herself with many turns.

 

 

The older kids can venture further up to the second level which will lead them to another slide and right into the bigger ball area.

 

 

You can see the slide at the background.

 

 

 

A mini (and extremely) safe rock climbing wall.

 

 

 

The third area is a pretend/toy play area.

 

 

Babydoll busy cooking a storm for mummy!

 

OTHER AREAS

 

 

For kids who need to take a little breather, they can seek refuge at this cosy corner & read a book or two.

 

FOR THE PARENTS

 

 

As you wait for your kids to explore & tire themselves out, you can chill & have a cuppa over at their cafe.

 

 

 

Or maybe catch some winks? :P

 

 

A rack of magazines to entertain you while you wait. How nice!

 

MY RAVES

 

 

Admittedly, the place is relatively small. But it is right up my alley. For one, I'm the sort of parent who needs to know the precise location of my kids like at ALL times. This place allows me to do just that! With one glance or two, I get instant feedback on where my kiddos are.

 

 

Because of the small area, I can easily plop myself on the chair and literally chill. I don't have to hover around my kids.

 

I have to be honest and say the play areas aren't as thrilling but again, it sits just right with me. Because that means, i am assured that my kids are always safe away from rough play and won't be hit by some kid shooting balls at them.

 

 

The other thing that I absolutely love about the place is that the accompanying adults can easily walk through the playground without bending their back.  I have been to the many indoor playgrounds where i have to risk breaking my back as I follow my kids like a leech. O.U.C.H.

 



A locker! I thanked the heavens when i saw the locker! If you can't tell by now, i am one paranoid parent. I need to watch not only my kids but also my belongings. But that's really hard to do especially when you have two kids running in separate direction. That's why, I appreciate the lockers where i can keep my bag & know that my stuff are safely locked in while I keep my eyes peeled on the kids.

  

Overall, i think it is a great place for parents like me who prefer smaller playgrounds for easy management. This is also especially great for kids who prefer quieter, more peaceful, not so rough play like my kids. More importantly, it allows the parent to just kick back and space out. AH, HEAVENLY!

 

I am definitely going back! In fact, i am going back very very soon! :P

 

INFORMATION

 

WHERE:
                        1 Fusionopolis Way, Fusionopolis, Connexis Tower, #B1-06

 

Opening hours:

 

Mon-Fri: 9:30am to 6:30pm

Sat, Sun & PH: 9:30am to 7:30pm

 

Admission Fees:

 

Monday to Fridays (3 hour playtime)

S$18 per child (2 years old and above)   S$10 per child (9 months – less than 2 years old)

 

Weekends – Saturday, Sundays & Public Holdiays 2 hour playtime

S$18 per child (2 years old and above) S$10 per child (9 months – less than 2 years old) S$3 per subsequent block of 30 mins.

 

For more information please visit http://www.happywillow.com.sg

 

Teaching Letter sounds- My way.

 

Since i never taught sonshine the alphabet, having to teach it to babydoll was abit of challenge for me. I really had to start from scratch with her.

 

So i did the most clever thing ever- i let her watch television program. Well, she is a poor eater so i merrily plonk her in front of the TV and let her watch Leapfrog's Letter factory.

 

 

Alot of mothers rave about it- i am no different. It has been tried and test TWICE in my house. Both sonshine and doll learnt their letter sounds just by watching this show. Doll also learnt letter recognition from here.

 

I was over the moon because it just made my job easier. She learnt her ABC AND letter sounds just by watching this. I didn't have to go through letter by letter with her- which i think is really, time consuming & tedious. However, i do think the storyline in the show is too complicated for young kids (it is meant for 3 years old and above afterall) so i usually skip straight to the letter sound episodes.

 

 

The rest, i simply gave her tray activities to help reinforce her learning.

 

 

I find matching activities work very well with her. If i want her to learn a new topic say an animal, word, etc i just get her to match it to the corresponding cards. As she work, i name the object. From there she picks up the new names/word.

 

Same for letter sounds. I get her to match the letters and we say the sounds of each letter.

 

Another matching letters to cards activity.

 

 

Of course, read, read, read!

 

我会读, WO HUI DU

 

 

我会读 is a very popular Chinese book series here in Singapore. The book is designed like a flashcard format, first a word is shown on one page and then on the following page it shows the corresponding picture.

 

To be honest, before babydoll, i gave little thought to this series. By the time i discovered this series, he already recognised most of the chinese words through our Glenn Domna flashcards. So, i didn't want to waste money on it.

 

However, with doll, i felt compelled to buy this set for her since she is not taking to Glenn Doman flashcards well. I didn't think much but was hopeful. Still, i was very surprised by the result of reading the books in this series religiously everyday.

 

So far i have read 3 books to her, the topics covered were Body, animals and fruits. After reading the first book (Body), she could point to me her body parts when i say them in Mandarin. She can even name her body parts herself in mandarin. Although she wasn't recognising the words, i was delighted! Now she understands some mandarin without much effort on my part! Whoohoo!

 

We moved on to the next topic which i chose to be on animals. I read it and read it and read it until was stiff bored & alittle scared when she ask to read that book. It took her while but she now knows to name some of the animals in mandarin. I like to ask her "what is pig in Chinese?" and she'd pout her tiny mouth to say "ZhUUUUU", how cute! Or sometimes i would ask her '这是什么?' pointing to say a horse and she would say "MAAAAAA".

 

Just today, i caugher her sitting quietly by herself flipping these books. She flipped to the word page and read 'MAOOO' and then turned to the next page of a cat & repeat 'MAOOOO. CAT!' (just as how i would read it to her). She sat there and read two books to herself! I was tickled!

 

I don't think she can read yet though, i am pretty sure she has memorised the sequence of each page. Nevertheless, i am already very grateful that she can name some words in mandarin!

 

So this series comes highly recommended by me! I am sure i am there's many parents who agree with me on this one!