Hold On Tight

One of the treasures we found at the beach was this group of clams that were clinging to the rusty blade of an old knife. I tried to imagine where the knife was from and how it landed in the sea, why the clams decided to make it their home and where the group of them might have been before the tide brought them to the beach. MasyaAllah it was too mind boggling but there they were for us to look up close and take a time-lapse video. 

Before we left, we discussed what we should do with the knife. Should we throw it away so that others wouldn’t accidentally step on it and get hurt? The Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ said, “Every small bone of everyone has upon it a charitable act for every day upon which the sun rises. Bringing about justice between two is an act of charity. Helping a man get on his mount, lifting him onto it or helping him put his belongings onto it, is a charitable act. A good word is a charitable act. Every step you take toward the prayer is a charitable act. And removing a harmful thing from the path is a charitable act.”

In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ said, “ Faith is seventy or sixty-some odd branches. The most virtuous of them is the statement, ‘There is none worthy of worship but Allah.’ And the lowest of them is removing something harmful from the path. And modesty (hayaa) is part of faith.” 

But then the clams would die if they were out of the sea. So after considering, we decided to throw the knife back into the sea. But what do you know, the tide brought it back to the shore! We threw it back one more time and watched as the waves beat the knife this way and that way. But the clams stuck tight to the knife before the group of them finally disappeared under the water with the knife.

I thought to myself Subhanallah. We should be like the clams. No matter how the waves crash on us, no matter where the tide brings us to, hold on tight. Hold on tight to the Deen. Hold on tight to the Quran. Hold on tight to the Sunnah of Rasulullah ‎ﷺ. Hold on tight to Allah ﷻ. Till we finally reach our Destination inshaa Allah. And may it be a beautiful Destination 🌹

And the book below made a perfect accompaniment to our close encounters with the creatures at the beach.

Swim Club

The girls had not attended swimming classes before. Somehow we had not found something which fitted our schedule. Or maybe we didn’t look hard enough because it didn’t feel right. Alhamdulillah the older one sort of learnt to swim a little and gained water confidence from her father and cousins.

So when a group of mothers decided to engage a swimming coach for the kids, I thought “Hey, why not? She could finally learn with some friends!” I didn’t know who the coach would be. I just knew it would be a man and I was hoping he wouldn’t turn up in swimming trunks.

On the first day, when I saw from far that he was in a full wetsuit, I heaved a sigh of relief and said Alhamdulillah. But the icing on the cake was the fact that Coach Syed was a fit, grandfatherly man in his 60s and all the kids loved his gentle demeanour, jokes and games immediately. MasyaAllah. What more could I ask for?

A lesson for me to trust that everything happens in due time. Have trust in His Plans for us. In the mean time, just enjoy the ride. 🎢🎡

Adventure Playground @ Jacob Ballas

I had wanted to go to Botanic Gardens but we ended up at Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden instead. We love the new additions to the garden but this tree house is, as they say, an oldie but a goodie. We had the tree house all to ourselves. Alhamdulillah. With an overcast sky and the sounds of chirping birds and gushing water in the background, it felt kinda surreal, like we were in our own world. MasyaAllah.

When Ustazah Umm Muhammad was in town recently, she reminded us the importance of forest bathing and grounding for children. She couldn’t have been more right. It’s important for adults too. It’s what our teachers prescribe for healthy children inshaa Allah. I went home with so much joy and lightness in my well-being. Alhamdulillah. Allah ﷻ knew that I needed that quiet contemplation in nature.

We then went to the pond at Jacob Ballas and had the blessed opportunity of meeting a white-breasted water hen and a pair of terrapins. After observing them for quite a while, they came close to us as we kept really still and quiet. Thank you for coming up to meet us! Alhamdulillah!

After stopping at the tree house, nature playgarden, pond and waterfall, we stopped at a map to figure out where to go next (and to impart some map-reading skills to the girls). Big A said that she wanted to go to the flying fox which was at the other end of the garden. I supposed this was the new extension to the garden and we had not been there before.

We walked along a bridge from Jacob Ballas that brought us over the carpark at the entrance. Then we walked further and found an adventure playground tucked amidst the trees and it was totally empty! Little A had rushed ahead to follow her sister and so I hitched up my abaya (eternally grateful for pants) and followed along. At one point while crossing the swaying bridge, Little A said to me, “Mummy, you are too big for the bridge.” Thanks, Little A.

They tried everything there and found most delight in the flying fox. They squealed happily each time they hit the spring at the end of the line which would throw them high up into the air before they go zipping back down the line. MasyaAllah such pure joy. We will be back inshaa Allah!

Jumu'ah Rangers - As Samee'

A week after our previous session of Jumu'ah Rangers, we had another one at Botanic Gardens. That week, the children learnt the hijaiyah letter س with a lacing activity, stamping, and tape-resist painting.

Lacing activity

Stamping

Happy to be on the purple mat during circle time

Painting with friends

Glamming it up with glitter

Removing the tape

And the letter س is revealed

After some songs, off they went to Drama Land, which later proved to be the most remembered piece of drama for the little girl. At Drama Land, they met Khadijah the Cat who was hungry, so the children helped by catching some fish (سمك) for her.

Off to Drama Land!

Look at how worried they were for Khadijah the Cat!

Catching some fish for Khadijah

Putting together the letters to form سمك

Giving the fish to hungry Khadijah

When the children were walking back to Khadijah the Cat to give her some fish, Khadijah was seen making du'a. When asked what she was doing, she said that she was making du'a to Allah as He is As-Samee' (The All-Hearing).

Then the children listened to the story Swimmy by Leo Lionni which was accompanied by beautiful hand-drawn storyboards. This was followed with some stamping with fish-shaped sponges on a big fish.

Stamping away with سمك

After Jumu'ah Rangers had ended, the children ran to the grassy area nearby to pick up twigs, play with dried leaves, swing on low branches, and run around under the shade of trees. I stood nearby and watched as the little girl, who is turning 3, laughed and chatted with other children of her age or older. They created their own adventures, exchanged stories, and laughed themselves silly. 

Exploring the low trees nearby

Playing with fallen leaves and twigs

Yes, it was a blistering hot day, but moments like these were too precious to let the heat spoil my day. I was so grateful that I had a chance to witness the little girl interacting with her friends and with nature. They even chanced upon a swarm of fire ants and I asked them not to go near the ants as they might get bitten by them. Then I pretended to be a fire ant, with fingers on my head as feelers, and chased after the children, which sent them screaming and scampering away. What a delight!

At home, we tried the tape-resist art again, this time for the hijaiyah letter ش. I also let the little girl watch another episode of Misri Bunch to enforce the lesson learnt that Allah is As-Samee'. 

Children's Garden

The latest attraction for the young and the young at heart, Children's Garden at Gardens by the Bay, does not disappoint. We've been there thrice so far and we are still awed by the place. There's always something different that captures the little girl's fancy. We are amazed that the place is huge, there are so many things to explore, and there is no admission fee. Yes, it's FREE! It's open 9am to 9pm every day except Monday, unless Monday is a public holiday then it will close the next working day.

The garden has four main areas - water play area, toddler play area, tree houses and adventure trail. And the water play area is divided into two parts - one for older children aged 6-12 years and another for 2-5 years. 

Water play

Although the water play area for the older children is big and awesome, with lots of water shooting, splashing and spraying, my 2-year-old was a little scared of it as there was too much water coming from different sides. Most of the children there looked like they really enjoyed splashing and running about in the water, but my daughter was happy to play at the water play area for toddlers instead.

Water play area for older children

A lot of chairs and big umbrellas around the water play area

Water play area for toddlers

Toddler play

Adjacent to the water play area is a play area for toddlers with a slide, low swings, a bridge, a balancing beam, and some others. This is definitely a safe place for toddlers to explore and play on their own and I was glad that I could take a little breather here while the little girl ventured on her own within the somewhat confined area.

Toddler play area

Treehouses

Just when we thought that that was it and was happy to change and go home after our first trip there, we walked a little further from the water play area and saw a whole new area, starting with the tree houses. WOW! Play has just taken on a different level here! The tree houses and adventure trail are designed for children aged 6-12 years and those with younger children, like me, are highly advised to keep a close watch on their younger ones. Of course, I learnt that the hard way.

The tree houses

The first thing that the little girl was attracted to was a spinning disc. There were many children who were sitting and standing on it, with a staff who was manning it, so the little girl wanted to sit on it too. So she sat quietly, looking at the rest, while it spun away. 

I took my eyes away to look at something else, and when I turned back, I saw my little girl flying in the air and landing face first on the sand. Although she cried, with sand on her face and in her mouth, I was just thankful that it was sand that she had landed on and not a hard surface. As expected, she was okay after a short cry for more exploring.

The spinning disc that parents should be cautious of

The tree houses were fantastic though, with tall tunnel slides, a firemen pole, swinging bridges, and lots of climbing ropes. The only thing that made me go on high alert though were the holes in the wooden platform at the upper deck of the tree house, for climbing ropes, a firemen pole and rope nets. Parents definitely have to supervise their younger children here closely so that they don't fall through the holes. Because of that, I didn't take pictures of that place to avoid another fall.

Lots to explore around the tree houses

Adventure trail

Seamlessly connected to the tree houses is the adventure trail, with slides, webs and balancing beams waiting for the adventurous little ones. I was surprised that the little girl wanted to have a go at many of them. She has really become more confident and adventurous of late and I'm truly grateful for that. 

Where the adventure begins

Something I really didn't expect was for her to say that she wanted to go down the big, tall slide on her own. At first, I told her we could try it when her papa was around. Then when she insisted again, I relented. I asked her if she was okay going down on her own and she said, "You wait downstairs, mummy." I thought what could possibly happen, right? Wrong! A mother put her on the slide and down she went while I cheered her on from the bottom. Everything was going fine till she almost reached the bottom. That was when she started to spin to her right and fell sideways, with her right cheek hitting the slide. 

She wailed out loud and I ran to her. Thankfully there was no bruise or cut on her cheek; it was just red from the impact. I carried and soothed her while the lady who had put her on the slide came rushing down. A staff at the slide came down to check on the little girl too. The lady said she felt really terrible but I told her it was nobody's fault. It was the little girl who had insisted to go down on her own.

The lady suggested that I could go down the slide with my little girl so that she would not have a phobia of slides after her fall. She said her helper had gone down with her daughter on her lap and I could do the same. I asked the little girl if was keen to go down the slide again with me and she was! I was totally blown away. I thought she would not want to go near it after that fall. How I thanked Him for giving her the courage which I do not have.

The tall slide and the tunnel slides

So after that, not only did I go down the tall and fast slide with the little girl on my lap, I also had to pluck up my courage to go down the tunnel slides with her. I've never gone down tunnel slides till that day and I'm proud that I conquered my fear! But cramming myself into the slide with her on my lap, and going up the steps again and again really made my back ache that night, and the next two days. But it was worth it.

Then she saw the big spider web on a rather steep slope and an older boy running up the slope. Before I could do or say anything, she was running up the slope too! So this mummy had no choice but to run after her. It proved to be an afternoon of physical activities not just for the little girl, but for the big one too.

Not bad for a first-timer

The second time we were there, there was actually a little boy in a Spider-man costume who was climbing away at the ropes below. Although the little girl was scared at first, as she's generally scared of people in costumes, she was delighted of his presence after a while. For Naeem, whom the little girl was having a playdate with, it was more like a dream come true for him.

More ropes for climbing and swinging

During our third visit, the little girl took a liking for the uneven, swaying bridge. After crossing the bridge once with my help, she said, "Mummy, you don't have to hold my hand." Then she went on to climb onto it and cross the bridge by herself. My heart was in my throat at first but I'm grateful that I let go and listened to her. It was obvious from her excitement that she was proud of her achievement and she wanted to do it again and again. I'm proud of you too, little one!

Confidently crossing the uneven, swaying bridge by herself

Then she met a little self-taught gymnast at the beams. The little girl was totally captivated and spent a lot of time watching her. Of course the little girl tried climbing up the sides to get her legs over the beam too, but to no avail. All she could do was swing from the beam for now but I'm sure each time she sees these beams, she will try to swing like the gymnast for sure. 

Watching the little gymnast

I am in love with the fact that the playground is so big, with so many different types of activities, that there's always something new that will captivate the little girl's interest. In just three visits, both she and I have tried new things that we've never done before and there are many more waiting to be explored, like the firemen pole. And if that's not enough, the fact that it's outdoor and not another crammed indoor playground with ball pits and plastic slides, just make it a whole lot awesome. So parents, get your children out to play!