Blake came home from school one day, with a form tucked away in his school bag. When I took it out and read it, I became super excited! It was a school excursion to Jurong Bird Park!
I had thought of bringing Blake to the bird park, but after our trips to the Singapore Zoo and Sentosa’s Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon earlier this year (will post about these soon-ish. Hehe.), Sean and I decided to hold off such outings till Blake was older.
Earlier this year, when we went to the zoo
In short, the trip to the zoo – long travelling time (we stay in the East), tons of things to pack (he was still using the stroller back then), and most importantly, Blake was afraid of all the animal shows they had (sound effects were too loud). Sigh.
As for the trip to Sentosa’s Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon, Blake threw such terrible tantrums that we did not even get to see the dolphin show (major bummer for me!). It was one of the few frustrating family outings we have had.
I decided to take this school excursion as an opportunity to see if Blake was ready for more such outings. Besides, with transport, itinerary, and meals all planned by the school, all I have to do is to show up with Blake in school! Hehe. I signed up immediately!
But being heavily pregnant, and having to deal with a toddler who knows how to throw violent tantrums on my own, meant I had to pack super light without leaving out the important items. Sean could not take the day off as it was his school’s graduation day. I then went about making a list of things to pack, based on the brief itinerary the school provided.
On my list of must-pack were:
1. Tiger Balm’s Mosquito Repellent Patch (highly recommended by friends who work in pre-schools)
2. Sunplay Water Kids SPF 60+
3. Extra diapers
4. Raincoat for Blake (disposable poncho for myself) + Umbrella
5. His swimming necessities (swim diaper, extra change of clothes, towel)
6. My trusty outdoor camera Canon D20 (waterproof, freeze proof and shock proof!)
7. Other necessities – wet wipes, water, and milk
I also packed along some snacks and cupcakes, in case Blake or I got hungry before it was time to eat. Being our first school excursion, I had absolutely no idea how meals were settled, and what would be provided. I had originally thought we had to buy our own meals. Haha.
I think I only left my big fat wallet behind, bringing only cash, my debit cards, and identification card. I stuffed it all into a slim pouch, along with my two mobile phones.
Checking back on my list, I had everything, except the raincoat, and mosquito repellent patch.
The mosquito repellent patch was easy to get, seeing how it’s available at all major children’s stores and supermarkets. The raincoat, however, was a little tricky. I’m quite the fussy buyer when it comes to things like that – material, design etc. It did not help that most of the raincoats did not come in Blake’s size – they were all so huge! – I had limited choices to choose from.
I finally settled (yes, settled, cos it was not my top choice) on a Mickey Mouse raincoat that I got from Kiddy Palace.
He seemed to like it though. Haha. Whatever makes my boy happy!
I had wanted to get him a mostly yellow-coloured raincoat, cos it’s the easiest colour to spot in a crowd. But either none of the yellow ones warranted my attention (some of the material used to make the raincoats make me wonder if they were really waterproof!), or there were none in Blake’s size. Sigh.
In any case, I managed to get everything on my list, a few days before the excursion. And, I was extremely happy that I never had to use the raincoat during the excursion!
Will blog about the actual trip in the next post!
