Fun With Kids: Enrichment at Changi Airport, animation to teach mindfulness, inspiring stories for teens
Make family time all the more special with these ideas and activities
Sign up: Enrichment fun at Changi Airport
The March school holidays are over, but Changi Airport still has a variety of workshops to engage the kids, ranging from storytelling and magic, to arts and crafts, to robotics and technology. There are two to six sessions daily till May 3.
For every $50 spent in a single receipt at participating outlets at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 public areas as well as Changi Eats, you can purchase a discounted workshop pass via the iChangi app.
The Be A Young Pilot robotics workshop for kids aged seven and above, for instance, costs $29 (full price $53). Get the details here.
Watch: Animation series that teaches mindfulness
Stillwater is an animation series that you would not mind your little ones watching before bedtime. Unlike other pumped-up "let's save the world" kids' shows, this series teaches them to be mindful and to slow down to make thoughtful, empathetic decisions.
Based on the award-winning and best-selling Scholastic book Zen Shorts, by Jon J. Muth, the series centres on a wise-talking panda named Stillwater. He is always ready to impart advice to his neighbours, young siblings Karl, Addy and Michael, whenever they encounter everyday challenges.
The animation is both computer-generated imagery and hand-drawn, and there are two stories in each 24-minute episode.
Season two of this Peabody and Daytime Emmy Award-winning series is now streaming on Apple TV+. Not a subscriber? Your family can still watch bonus shorts that feature accessible moments of mindfulness for kids, available on Apple TV+'s YouTube channel.
Read: We Are Singaporeans book series
Writer and lecturer Melanie Lee encountered many teen students who felt lost and unmotivated when Covid-19 hit. They were also unsure about their future career paths.
To bring hope to youth, she wrote a two-volume book titled We Are Singaporeans. It profiles locals who have been in similar situations as them and have chosen to do unconventional work.
Film-maker Anthony Chen, urban farmer Bjorn Low and community activist Eunice Olsen are among the 10 Singaporeans featured in Volume One, which was released last year.
Volume Two was recently launched and offers 13 stories, including those of Mothership managing editor Martino Tan, stand-up comedienne Sharul Channa and urbanist Adib Jalal.
Lee also interviewed photojournalist Wong Maye-E, who started her career at The Straits Times and is now with The Associated Press in New York.
Illustrator Lee Xin Li drew the montages in both books.
Lee, who teaches media writing and academic writing courses at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the Singapore University of Social Sciences as a part-time lecturer, encourages teens to discover their passions and not label themselves quickly.
She says: "You may be on the receiving end of many competing voices on what you should be doing with your life. While these guidelines can be useful and stabilising, do try to carve out spaces for yourself to figure out your interests and inclinations."
We Are Singaporeans Volumes One and Two retail for $14.02 (before GST) each at major bookstores and online shops.
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