day 615 | august 5, 2012 | bishan park play III - river plains

for the final part of our bishan park play blog posts, we took snaps as we explored our charming almost-backyard. this is the slice of the park that's bounded by ang mo kio avenue 1, marymount road, bishan street 22, and bishan road. 

Map from NParks, little red hearts mark the places we explored

getting ready to go. red is capable of putting on her own shoes as long as you give her plenty of time to do it, but sometimes, roo volunteers to help her along.

willow trees, touch me nots, ixora philippinensis, spider lilies, madagascar periwinkles, angsana trees, flame of the forest trees, and water plants which were carefully selected to act as natural filters. we are learning about nature every day, and i'm happy to see that roo has become more interested in the environment and has picked up notions of conservation.  

i never would have thought i'd ever feature mcdonalds in my photos, as i'm not a huge fan of it. admittedly though, during helperless weekends, and days that we can't think of anything else, i do succumb to the darkside -- the convenience of food (with happy meal toys!) right in the park.

just viewed the prime minister's NDP speech, and was tickled to see my favorite picnic spot as his backdrop. a great place to watch the clouds go by.

down by the river, the little ones still are not comfortable with stepping into the water. but there are many kids who dive right in with their flip flops and use nets, cups, bottles, sometimes even ntuc plastic bags to catch little fish.

it's quite sad because i'm already seeing some trash on the water, like bottles and plastic bags left behind. perhaps a gentle reminder to take responsible ownership of our parks, and use it to teach our children a couple of good things including our symbiotic relationship with nature.

We all huff and complain about people who treat the world as their trash bin, but a step above complaining is perhaps to clean it up ourselves. Beyond teaching the kids that they should not litter, perhaps we can involve them in the clean-up. Beyond recognition of what is right and wrong, perhaps we can CHOOSE to do the right thing too. 

we found a heart-shaped leaf! :)

further down, closer to marymount, is a foot reflexology path. at first i thought the rocks were merely decorative, until i saw a few people walk contemplatively atop the stones while barefoot. it's not for me though (unless i'm looking for ways to self-flagellate), but the maze-like shape of the paths do make a fun exploration for the kids.

red opts to walk barefoot in an alternate path...

i had it in my mind that we got the more "contemplative" side of the park, while our sing ming friends got the more "fun" part of the park. we were surprised to find a playground with swings, just a bit of a walk from the foot reflexology path. seems we have more spaces in the park to explore!

more than the designed features, the biggest memory for us are the randoms. the dried leaves we collect and play with, the new flowers, plants and trees we get familiarized with, the lazy lounges, running after each other, watching the little snails barely move, slowly conquering the fear of insects, and building a strong relationship with the little ones by going off-the-grid with them.

it's also pretty good since i can wear the little ones down fairly easily just by setting them loose on the park. i've just got to manage to keep more fit than they are! :)

my notions of a great childhood are woven into a backdrop of natural wide open spaces, and a certain sense of adventure seeking new things in strange and familiar places. a space to play and plenty of room to grow. it is a happy thing, indeed, that our kids have that sanctuary right at the heart of a modern singapore.

bishan park play:

In celebration of Singapore's 47th birthday, we're having a virtual love party! This post is part of a series by local mommy bloggers celebrating what they love about Singapore. Come share all the little things you love about where you live on this sunny island city state you call "home."

Next up on the blog train is Sharon of Oak Tree Baby. She will unravel secrets of the little known town -- Bukit Panjang for some fun and sunshine times!

Sharon is a self-professed dreamer who would rather take long walks at the beach everyday than to stay home. She spends most of her time seeking what she lacks -- wisdom, naps when she can, sings when she feels like it, and gives lots of hugs. Life as a stay at home mum is a bliss as she slowly discovers that with the right parenting tools in hand, she can play and parent at the same time! Her two boys are her source of inspiration for a shot at a second career as a work at home mum, and a parenting educator in the making!