A Detour Down Memory Lane

On Thursday morning, Casey came to visit Mrs Poh and Ms Wong, who were both form teachers of her graduating class of 2013. Unfortunately, she didn't get to see them because the teachers were given that day off. Never mind, Casey. You can meet them during the Open House.

A little disappointed, but don't worry, you will get to meet the teachers soon!

Digging through our archives, here's a little trip back in time to 2009, the year Casey joined us as a toddler. Enjoying a trip to the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden.

Siblings Tricia and Titusz had more luck on Friday, managing to catch the teachers before they left for the afternoon.

But they had earlier in the month came searching for the school's location somewhat late in the evening. Target located, recce successfully completed!

Tricia, like Casey, is now in Primary 2. But it's always therapeutic to relive the happy and carefree days of preschool.

When you're this little, like Tricia in 2009, you have other priorities on your mind, like what/who should I play with next at the playground.

Titusz, one year younger than his sister, pores over previous years' photos with mum Stella.

We have to go some way back to 2010 when you still had those baby cheeks.

And so a photo to capture the happy memories of reunion.

Patter of little feet

We're not quite twiddling thumbs here, but it's just frustrating that we cannot start operating as yet even though we are all set up and ready to go. All of us who are in this profession derive our energies from the laughter of young children and the patter of little feet. We feel rather listless when there is no contact with children for a prolonged period of time.

So we are thankful for the two families who brought their lovely little girls to view our premises during the past two days, and even more excited with the afternon visit of three young ladies and their parents.

The girls came over after their schoolday. They didn't get to come in when they dropped by a few months back during the early days of the renovation works, but today we are able to host them under more hospitable circumstances.

After a tour of the premises, the girls were ushered to our Art Room where Mrs Poh and Ms Wong introduced them to kinetic sand, which looks like real sand, works like real sand, and is used for indoor sand play.

The kinetic sand occupied them for quite awhile, after which they were able to show the interesting things that they created with the plastic moulds. It's almost like we're at the beach!

Together with a few more of their friends, Sofia, Gwyneth and Ailey will be performing a song item for our forthcoming Open House. Today, they gave a rather shy rendition of the performance, but they will be boosted by the presence of their friends on the actual day.

A group photo to end a really enjoyable day of catching up. We'll see you again during the Open House.

As always, thank you to the parents for their contributions to our growing collection of books, toys and resources. These are in excellent condition (and some are brand new too).

As well as outdoor toys like this 3-wheeler that we picked up from Ailey's home a week earlier.

A Visit, A Reunion, A Celebration

Last Friday was really special for us, as we hosted our first group of Mothergoose children and parents for a visit to Orion Preschool. Most of these children were with our Nursery 2 class back in 2013, and are now already in their final year of preschool. The last time we met up with these children was almost one year ago, so it's a wonderful and timely occasion for a reunion.

In preparation for the visit, we set up some play areas specially for the children, and they wasted no time in reacquainting themselves with the toys that they used to enjoy playing with while in Mothergoose. The children's table and chairs that Mr Yong gave to us just weeks earlier are immediately put to good use.

The mothers, on the other hand, were fussing over Ms Ho's little princess, Ariel.

Isaiah enjoys a quiet moment at the Library Corner.

With the excitement that comes from being in a new environment and with all those toys around, it was not easy getting the children seated for lunch, but some semblance of order was finally restored.

And the highlight of the day was the birthday celebration for Rebecca (centre), who graduated from Mothergoose in 2011. Little sister Rachel, who is now in K2, is on her right.

The final challenge of the day is getting the children together for a photo.

And so the day draws to a happy close. Despite the noise and chaos, we're happy for the life that the children brought to the premises, even if it is just for that short afternoon. As we bid farewell, we're already plotting a bigger reunion to include the other cohorts of Mothergoose children and their families.

On the subject of reunions, we are also today reunited with our stack of blue chairs, thanks to Ben and Kathryn, parents of Isaiah and Josiah. These chairs have been occupying space in their home for the past 16 months thanks to their generosity.

Welcome back!

It Takes a Village 1

Mrs Jen Hoult, mother of William, Edward and Lachlan, described Mothergoose as a "community for those of us with children who attend it." Looking back, we were really fortunate at Mothergoose to be able to rely on the goodwill and network of relationships with parents and families, that have been built up over a period of 26 years.

Orion Preschool, while inheriting a large chunk of the Mothergoose DNA, will now embark on a journey to build a name for ourselves. As we tread along a path that is unfamiliar and at times daunting, it gives us great comfort and encouragement when old friends turn up along the way to cheer us on, be it in terms of material, physical, or even just words of support.

Even before the dust has settled on the renovation works, we had an impromptu morning visit from Mrs Khee and Evann. Evann was previously attending Nursery One at Mothergoose, before the school ceased operating. Making their way carefully between piles of construction debris and tins of paint, they thus became our first visitors to tour the school premises!

Evann posing for a photo with mummy in front of the school building. Like many parents, Mrs Khee has always kept in touch with messages of support and encouragement throughout this time.

A few parents have informed us that they will be contributing used toys, books and even kitchen equipment to the new school. Mr Yong, father of Ryan and Keith, patiently waited more than a month for our premises to be ready, and then personally delivered the materials to the school last week.

Mr Yong brought a whole carload of things that Ryan and Keith have outgrown, including furnitures, toys, books and DVDs. It'll take us some time to sort through these stuff!

Fortunately (or unfortunately), Mr Yong arrived just before the lorry came to deliver our new school furnitures, and was therefore unwittingly roped in to help unload the packages from the lorry. As the delivery was confirmed at short notice, we had only managed to find another gentleman to come and assist with the heavy lifting. Interestingly, Wee Siong, who readily answered the call for help, also has links with Mothergoose. He is the uncle of two Mothergoose alumni.

BEFORE: Our unloading crew, posing quite happily before the lorry came. They still don't know what's to come! From left: Xiao Laoshi, Mrs Poh, Mr Yong, Wee Siong.

AFTER: Spot the difference. The same team, after unloading 46 packages from the lorry.

These are just part of the 46 packages. How did preschool furnitures become so huge and heavy?

There will be many more parents and families to acknowledge and thank by the time we get our licence to operate. But, even if you just happen to be in this area, do pop in and say hello!