Play in nature

Nothing fanciful. It’s not even colourful. No flying fox. No slides and swings. It’s simple creative play nestled in a beautiful garden that stimulates the imagination and calm the senses. Birds chirping. Bees buzzing. The ants are quietly working hard. It’s play therapy at its best.

We love the nature playground at Hort Park! The boys can’t get enough of it. Yes, my 2 lovely boisterous boys enjoyed themselves so much I had a hard time getting them to leave. I think the play had a soothing effect on them and they got along wonderfully well for the rest of the evening.

We had to walk some distance before reaching the nature playground, passing by the swing, a small bamboo forest and the kids' playground.

This is the entrance to the playground. It doesn’t seem like much but there is more to be explored if you venture deeper into the garden.

Tell me why sand is so much fun for my boys.

They had a good time while I relaxed nearby with a can drink. Had to re remind them to check out other parts of the playground.

The rustic feel of the huts seems so inviting. Almost like beckoning one to come and play.

As we go deeper into the forest, we were in for more surprises. A little musical garden that allows the kids to explore sounds and a mini maze that leads to more play.

This reminds me of the nature trail in Tasmania. Except that now the boys can no longer walk through the tunnel without bending their body. :0

Here’s my boys’favoirite spot! The stream where you can turn on the tap and water flows down from the top to the bottom. How cool is that? My boys immediately climbed up and put their dirty feet into the water. They have been running around barefooted. Haha!

There’s more to come. Next to the stream was the kitchen. My boys spent a great deal of time playing there. They prepared all kinds of food, drinks and dessert for me. There were even some tools for them to use from the tool board.

These were not the usual sand pits. My boys love the feel of the sawdust.

While they were playing, I discovered the magnifying glass. I thought this was pretty awesome. The kids could pick up things they found and place them under the magnifying glass for a closer look.

Washing up after play. Zech has always been a responsible boy.

There was also a fruit tree trail and a secret den for the kids to rest away from the sun.

In a garden, we can't miss having a tea party. If the sun wasn't setting fast, we could use some leaves and twigs for a mini afternoon tea.

We headed for dinner after sunset. That was slightly after 7pm. I realised evening play is the best as it was much cooler. We will be back again soon.

School stories

I love hearing his stories about school. How he helped his Chinese teacher to carry a stack of books all by himself to the staff room. How his hand was hurt as a result of that. 

The day his class performed in the library was something he looked forward to. He played the xylophone while some of his friends played the keyboard, drum and other percussion instruments. 

The first time he stayed back during recess to complete corrections was a sad recount of how he had to gobble up the sandwich Mummy made for him early in the morning. There was a long queue of pupils all waiting for the teacher to mark their corrections. He lamented he almost couldn’t finish his food and was left with only 15 min recess time! I could only smile, consoling him that at least he could eat his sandwich.

I love hearing who he played with during recess. His adventures with a cheeky but kind boy amused me sometimes. Their imaginative game of catching Pokémon seemed rather creative to me. And then there was this constant conversations with a girl that made me wonder what could transpire so much between them.

Once, another friend threw a whiteboard marker out of the window and it landed on a car with a thud. He seemed relieved that it wasn’t his grandma’s car. 

He has never been great at Art but has always been fond of his Art lessons. He came home telling me all about his plan for his playground. Over the weekend, we collected a few recycled materials for him to use in his art work. The day he had his Art lesson, he came home bursting through my bedroom door, telling me excitedly he had made a card for me. It was a Mother’s Day card. I couldn’t hide my surprise when I learned that it was his Art teacher who asked the 
class to make cards for their mothers.  I thought he would have started on his playground project that day. What amazed me most was the maze activity on the last page of the card. After asking me to complete the activity, he even marked it with a tick! 

He enjoyed buying food for his Chinese teacher and he looked forward to helping him every week. He shared with me how he and his friend queued up to buy food for their teacher and even used their money once to pay for the 
food first. I gently reminded him to ask for the money from his teacher the next day. 

And then there was a classmate who fell and hurt himself so badly there was blood all over his hand. He told me his friend had fainted when in actual fact (he found out the next day) his friend was in so much pain he closed his eyes. He then detailed how the friend was taken to the Care Room and how he hovered around like a fly outside the room just to see his friend. 

In a semester, he had gone for 3 excursions. His bits and pieces of his day out of school always filled me with a sense of joy and I thank God for these exposure outside school. 

I wonder when he’s 12, 18 and 25 years old,  if he will still find the time to tell stories to his not-so-young mummy. At that time, I hope I’ll still remember to ask him, “How was your day? Tell me about it.”