Back to School

We are now into the last week of January and school is back in full swing! For mummies and daddies doing school runs, we hope the mad dash and chaotic traffic in the mornings have eased somewhat.

As for the children, many of them are likely back in the hectic swirl of homework and enrichment classes, hopefully with some fun and games thrown in. The latter will probably come in the form of computer games, fancy toys and gadgets, and such like.

Things were very different when some of us were growing up. When I was a child, fun at recess and after school came in the form of Zero Point (also called ‘Yeh-Yeh’), Five Stones and Chapteh. These games were simple and largely homemade, and they cost very little. But they kept entire generations of kids like me happy and sweaty. Check out Page 26 of The Little Singapore Book which shows lots of games we used to play in school in the 1970s and ’80s.

To celebrate the start of a new school year — hurray the kids are out of the house! — and these childhood games of yesteryear, we have prepared a fun colouring sheet. For some of you, it’s also a chance to share fond memories of your school days with the little ones.

The Little Singapore Book is available for sale at major bookstores in Singapore, including Books Ahoy, Books Kinokuniya, The Fullerton Shop at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, Garden Shops at Botanic Gardens, Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop, Museum Shops at the National Museum and Asian Civilisation Museum, and Woods in the Books.

It is also available online at Books Kinokuniya, Closetful of Books, Epigram Bookshop, Natventure Books, Owl Readers Club and Woods in the Books.