Turners Abroad

Lunchtime Ramen

May 28, 2022by turners0730Leave a Comment

This week we finally tried the ramen at Hayashi located just behind Redhill MRT Station. We have passed by many times to grab a Subway or get groceries from Fair Price. We had a free afternoon for lunch and I wanted something warm and comforting, it fit the bill perfectly.

We actually have not eaten a lot of ramen so I kept it simple and went for the Tonkotsu Ramen and the Ebi Fry salad set. Little T had the grapefruit soda and it was green tea for me. It is a small space and we arrived at the lunch peak, every seat was filled. We enjoyed our lunch at the bar with a perfect view into the kitchen to watch the chefs hard at work.

The set meal was just the right amount for the two of us. Though next time I will go for the extra toppings as the pork was so delicious, I know we both could have enjoyed another slice. I found the broth creamy and flavourful, we finished every last drop.

Of course we had a bit of Pokémon Go time as we waited for our food. We also enjoyed a game of I Spy utilizing the large mural inside. After lunch it was off to the playground, just in time for the local school to let out. Social time for Little T and time for me to read a book. #unschoolinglife

-Mrs T

Nature Adventures, Singapore, Uncategorized, unschooling

Sunset walk at Botanic Gardens

May 24, 2022by turners0730Leave a Comment

We ended our week with a walk through the Botanic Gardens looking for bats with our favourite Naturalist, Dr. Leong. Walks with Dr. L have become one our favourite learning experiences here in Singapore and it was even more special today to share it with dear friends from Abu Dhabi.

For Little T and I it was our first visit to this section of the Botanic Gardens. I found it fascinating to see it teeming with people when we arrived at 17.30 and then completely deserted as we finished up around 20.00.

We saw many bats and used a bat locator to tune in and hear their sounds and find them in the sky. Just as we were about to leave we managed to catch a fruit bat gathering nectar/pollinating a banana tree!

-Mrs T

Using the bat locator.

UAE, unschooling

Hay Festival, Abu Dhabi 2020

March 5, 2020by turners0730Leave a Comment

Today was one of those homeschooling dream days. The Hay Festival was making its first appearance in Abu Dhabi and Little T and I popped over to Manarat al Saadiyat to have a look. I often think it is a real perk of home educating that we can attend events like this. Today I thought this as well, but we arrived to bus loads of school children. I am also glad that school children have a chance to take part, but I do feel we still have a slight advantage, our freedom. Today I saw group after group of children walking in lines to and from specific activities, they also would be on a time schedule whilst we were free to stay in any area as long as we wanted.

To be honest we didn’t take part in much of the actual festival but just spending time at Manarat was a treat and taking in the atmosphere was enough to make for a great day.

The little man actually did not want to leave the house this morning, he was happily engaged with some games on his iPad, but I knew we would really enjoy ourselves if we could get out of the house. A play date with friends in the afternoon helped get him out the door, as well as continuing to listen to our latest audio book (The Wizards of Once: Knock Three Times) in the car. Before he agreed, I even had the moaning teenager voice, “UGH, why do we have to go to this festival?!”

But as soon as we walked in he was as taken with the atmosphere as was I, and right in the middle of the atrium there began an interpretive dance featuring three men. I have to say Little T was mesmerized and as I often do in moments like these, I had a little tear thinking about how fortunate we are to have these experiences on our doorstep. I think how these moments are so different and varied from what I experienced as a child. In no way do I think a few visits to art galleries and festivals will make this child become an artist or a lover of fine things, but I do think it is exposure to new things and that is what I want to give him, opportunities to find something that really sparks joy in his own heart.

After the performance we checked out the book sale and then wandered around towards the back, and climbed some stairs to look over Larte restaurant. There was a sculpture of King Kong with spiked bracelets on that got some real interest from him, as well as some chairs hanging from the ceiling, “What if you sat on that chair????” followed by lots of laughter.

We had a look in the art studio, firstly in the shop for him to choose some special items: purple glue (he is in a slime phase at the moment) and a colorful rubber band ball. We had a tour of the art space and found out there is a drop in area, 30 AED ($8.17/£6.34) for 2 hours of free reign in their art space which includes four separate art ideas as well as painting/drawing and a few different types of building materials.

Whilst having a look I had a lovely chat with the employee who showed us around, it was a perfect advert for unschooling. She inquired about what Little T was interested in and I said video games, she said, “Ahhh, that is how it all started for me. Now I want to draw the characters, I will soon go to school to be a graphic designer.” The hard part to hear was that she had already been to nursing school to fulfill the wishes of her parents, and now she is working at the Manarat with hopes of going on to fulfill her own dream. It made me feel so excited that this lifestyle we have chosen will allow Little T to explore and find his passions at a much younger age than most of us have, if you are lucky enough to have had the opportunity!

After the art studio we had a look outside. There was an interesting fixture to listen to podcasts which also turned out to be a perfect place to roll the rubber band ball. The skate ramp at the back was perfect for this as well.