Malaysia: Kidzania!

What did your kids do last Christmas? Well mine became a pilot, a policeman, a fast food server, a painter, a model, an actor, and a construction worker...all in one day. Read more to know what happened.

We woke up early on December 25. We were in Malaysia spending Christmas with my cousin's family. She told me about this newly opened theme park in Kuala Lumpur and said the kids might enjoy it. I didn't know much about it but i trusted her judgement and immediately agreed to check it out. What we experienced when we got there was waaaay beyond my expectations. I was thrilled for my kids!

This is how the company describes themselves:

KidZania provides children and their parents a safe, unique, and very realistic educational environment that allows kids between the ages of four to twelve to do what comes naturally to them: role-playing by mimicking traditionally adult activities. As in the real world, children perform "jobs" and are either paid for their work (as a fireman, doctor, police officer, journalist, shopkeeper, etc.) or pay to shop or to be entertained. The indoor theme park is a city built to scale for children, complete with buildings, paved streets, vehicles, a functioning economy, and recognizable destinations in the form of "establishments" sponsored and branded by leading multi-national and local brands.

Upon entering, we were greeted with a check-in counter that looks exactly like an airport.  In fact, you can even see a portion of a real airplane parked somewhere (not in the picture).

There were 'government offices'...

The kids (and parents) were excited! The park in Malaysia opens at 10am but we got there at 9:30am to maximize our time. We only waited for a few minutes before they started checking us in.

Each person will be given an electronic bracelet as entrance ticket to the park. This also serves as a safety device to ensure that kids will not leave the park without their parents.

Once checked-in, each child will be given a check in Kidzos (Kidzania currency).

The kids will then need to go to the bank to en-cash their checks. Adults are not encouraged to enter the mini establishments with their kids. This will encourage them to be independent and gain confidence.

The kids will then get their Kidzos (i.e. cash) to be used to buy stuff inside Kidzania. They can earn more Kidzos by working in various establishments.

Troy and Dawn decided to work at a fast food chain first. They were oriented and dressed up before the hand-on training began. The kids were tasked to make chicken burgers which they can take home afterwards. Dens and i ate them and they were delicious!

Kidzania is a little city with actual streets and cars inside. This ambulance picks up 'patients' (again, pretend patients) and brings them to the hospital. The kids will act as doctors, paramedics and nurses.

That's my sister, Trixie, waiting for someone to 'rescue' her...

There's also a beauty salon where older kids can learn how to fix their hair and put on make-up. The younger ones, like Dawn, can go there as a customer.

Dawn decided to skip beauty school and enroll in an art class instead. She was oriented how to use different paints and paint brushes and was given her own easel afterwards. The finish product was too abstract for my taste but she obviously had a blast working on it.

Meanwhile, Troy and his cousins enrolled in a photography class. Each establishment there is sponsored by a real company of the same nature. The photography lessons were sponsored by Sony so each child was given a Sony DSLR for training. I love that they trust the kids with these expensive gadgets!

After her art class, Dawn decided to try her hand at modeling. The picture below was during their training. They were later on brought to an actual theater where parents can watch them strut their stuff. I don't have Dawn's modeling pictures as i only took a video of the entire event.

While her sister was busy being 'kikay', Troy decided to join the police squad. He got trained and went out to the streets to manage traffic while the fire fighters do their job.

After Troy's stint as a policeman, the kids decided to try their hand at the construction site. The little girl was assigned to the construction area while Troy helped with the paint job on the second floor.

 

By this time it was already around 2pm and the little girl was getting sleepy. Troy wanted to train to become a pilot so we allowed him even though the line was about an hour long. The good thing is that there is a parent's lounge right beside it where you can relax while waiting for your child.

I'm happy Troy was willing to endure the one-hour line by himself because he said being pilot was the most fun he had that day. Sayang we don't have any picture of him in his pilot uniform since parents weren't allowed inside. The kids' electronic bracelets would have pictures of them taken by the Kidzania professional photographers but the line to view the pictures was also too long so we decided to skip it.

Our last stop was the Broadway musical theater. Troy played the tiger and his cousin, Zoe, played Dora. They were dressed up in their costumes and trained for a few minutes before going "LIVE"

The play was held in the same theater Dawn did her modeling stint. It was a full-blown theater that probably seats around 300 guests.

Kidzania is definitely a place you don't want to miss when you find yourselves in Malaysia. There were still so many 'jobs' the kids wanted to try but too little time. Kidzania actually has a lot of branches all over the world and I heard that they will be opening a franchise in the Philippines by October 2015! woohoo!

Check out the video below to learn more about Kidzania

Visit http://www.kidzania.com for the main website and https://www.kidzania.com.my for the branch in Malaysia. Ticket prices are available online.

  

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How to Prepare for Your Photo Shoot

I love taking pictures of my family!  The thing is, since i am the designated photographer, i noticed that we seldom get good family pictures. Most of the good shots are of the kids, or Dens and the kids, but seldom one that includes me.  So when The Picture Company offered the SoMoms a photo session with our respective families, i did not hesitate. 

As soon as i booked our session with them, i was contacted by our would-be photographer, Crystal Whang, from their Rockwell branch. She asked me questions about our family - from our hobbies to our personalities. It was a fun preparation for the shoot. Crystal also sent me some pictures and color schemes to choose from so that we can prepare well and ensure that our outfits do not clash with each other.

I did my own preparation and laid out our outfits on the bed the night before. This is to see how well they will turn out in the photos.

I also made sure that our photo shoot is scheduled at a time when the kids are neither sleepy nor hungry. This will help them be more cooperative during the shoot. 

We got there 15 minutes before our scheduled time. This helps get the kids more acquainted with the place and the photographer.

We bumped into Conci (blairbitchbunny.com) and her entire closet!!! (talbog ako sa outfit preparations mo, Conci!)

Mac desktops where you can view your pictures immediately after your shoot

The shoot was fun. My son was very cooperative but my daughter was not smiling naturally during our family portraits! Crystal would make her laugh then she'd revert to her awkward smile once again.  Sometimes we'd have good pictures of her laughing but Troy would be looking somewhere else.  It's a bit of a challenge taking pictures of multiple kids.  Amidst all that, we were not stressed at all.  It was a conscious decision to just have fun and roll with it!  We were all laughing at various silly poses that the kids wanted to do. I love that Crystal was also laughing and having fun with us. There was a time when Crystal couldn't take the shot anymore because she kept on laughing at Troy who wanted to pose like an old man!

After selecting your pictures, you can order Christmas cards like the one below. It's a great way to capture multiple photos on one page. You can send these to friends and relatives abroad who do not see your children so often.

The Christmas package also comes with a gift card that you can use as gift tags! See ours below.

The good news is that you can also have you family pictures taken for FREE! Just print or take a screen shot of the coupon below and schedule an appointment with any Picture Company branch (contact details below). This promo is valid until December 15, 2013 only.

Power Plant Mall - 898 2657, Greenbelt 5 - 756 0020,  Bonifacio High Street - 856 1232, 

The Podium - 634 2632, Alabang Town Center - 809 7370, SM Mall of Asia - 556 0165, 

SM North 351 6184, Ayala Center Cebu (032) 268 2241

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Our Fun Photo Shoot with Stan Ong

Last December, my dad was telling me that he wanted to send out a family Christmas card over the holidays. We had a few family photos but none that are truly holiday-card worthy. We decided that a studio session with a professional photographer was in order. 

We have already done a couple of photo shoots with the kids in the past. And although we do get a couple of good pictures afterwards, the photo shoot session can often be pretty stressful. You either get a cranky baby, an uncooperative toddler, or if you're lucky - both! Having a group shot with more than one child is another challenge altogether. Getting them to smile and look at the camera at the same time entails a lot of talent and patience.

I first saw Stan's work several years ago when he was still with Stork Studio. I was immediately drawn to the way he captured the moments beautifully. Stan has left Stork Studio over a year ago and has now created a self-named brand for himself. Stan normally does the photo shoots in parks, a rented studio, or a studio set up in the comforts of your own home. It really depends on the client. I really wanted an outdoor shoot but after weighing the pros and cons, we decided that a home shoot was the most relaxing way to go.

We initially scheduled our photo shoot on a Saturday morning. Mornings are very ideal for us since the kids are well rested and 'in the mood' most of the time. However, our schedule only allowed an afternoon shoot that week. So we had to move our photo shoot to 5pm on a weekday. That made me a little bit anxious since i know the kids can already be pretty tired by then.

Stan arrived on time with his team and they immediately started to set up the studio in our living room.

Stan had a way with the kids.  My children immediately felt comfortable with him.  Both of the kids enjoyed the shoot so much that my son was already asking me when Uncle Stan's next visit would be right after the shoot. They happily played with Stan all throughout our session and Stan was extremely patient with them.

The entire family had a fun time during the shoot. It wasn't stressful at all. No crying babies or uncooperative toddlers. The two kids were having a blast posing for the camera. They just felt like it was playtime.

One thing i love about Stan is that he doesn't rush his clients. Although his photo shoots are usually scheduled for an hour, he doesn't mind extending it to accommodate more shots until he is sure that the family is fully satisfied.

Here are some unedited shots that Stan sent to us. Can you believe all of these are untouched? The background and shots are so clean, it's so good as it is already!

Here's to more sessions, Stan. We look forward to the next one - an outdoor shoot, perhaps?

Know more about Stan by visiting his website - http://www.stanleyongphotography.com/  

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