Deans in Singapore: Elizabeth's Big Week

A combination of events led to an exciting week for Elizabeth just before we left for the US in June. First, she wrapped up her year in Pre-Kindergarten and was thrilled to tell me daily exactly how many days were left until she could be called a "kindergartner." Ms. Kaye's class spent a morning touring the primary school, meeting their new principal and a few of the Kindergarten teachers. Elizabeth loved getting a sneak preview of her new area at school.

At the same time, Elizabeth was close to completing her sticker chart for good behavior around the house. As I contemplated a special reward for filling up a month's worth of stickers, I began hearing rave reviews of The Lion King musical at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Brian and I agreed that taking our music-loving child to the show would be a memorable treat. I bought three tickets and we went to the musical the weekend after school ended.

Ready for the Show to Start

As expected, Elizabeth was mesmerized by The Lion King and Brian and I were really impressed with the production as well. It was a special afternoon spent with our newest Kindergartner. I always particularly enjoy spending time with just Elizabeth because it's such a rare occurrence with our middle child.

During the one full week before we left for the US, Emily still had school in the mornings and I signed Megan up for camp at our local gym with a friend. Elizabeth and I had each morning together while her sisters were away and I let her dictate the schedule.

The highlight of the week was our outing to the bird park. The last time I had taken all three girls to the bird park, it was clear that Elizabeth enjoyed it most and she was delighted to return. She purposely chose a colorful dress that morning in hopes that the birds would be attracted to her. We made our way to the lory loft and after going through three cups of bird feed, Elizabeth was finally ready to explore other areas of the park. At one point, she was weighed down with birds on her arms and had another feathered friend perched on her head determined to eat her hair clip. We visited the flamingos and then attended a bird show that featured a South American bird who could talk and sing. That was a big hit with a 5-year old!

The Lories Loved Her (and that food in her hand)

We also visited the zoo one morning and Elizabeth set the agenda. We visited the orangutans, giraffes, lions and tigers, attended the Splash Safari show featuring Phillip the sea lion, rode the tram all over the zoo, enjoyed an early lunch and concluded the visit with face painting.