PARKSPARKS THISTHIS BOOKBOOK inin SingaporeSingapore Parks are green spaces. Some parks are huge, while BELONGSBELONGS TO:TO: some parks are tiny. They provide a home for many plants and animals.

There are many things to do in the parks in Singapore. You can connect with and enjoy nature, watch art performances, participate in sports activities, attend different events, and even try out gardening!

Here is a list of some parks in Singapore that have wonderful playgrounds suitable for families. Tick off those that you have been to!

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park Draw or paste your photo in the box above. Bukit Timah Nature Park East Coast Park Hort Park Name: ______Jacob Ballas Garden Age: ______Pasir Ris Park Sun Plaza Park Birthday: ______Tiong Bahru Park West Coast Park School: ______Woodlands Waterfront Hobbies: ______To find out more about parks in Singapore that are suitable for families, please visit the National Parks Board (NParks) website. PARKSPARKS THISTHIS BOOKBOOK inin SingaporeSingapore Parks are green spaces. Some parks are huge, while BELONGSBELONGS TO:TO: some parks are tiny. They provide a home for many plants and animals.

There are many things to do in the parks in Singapore. You can connect with and enjoy nature, watch art performances, participate in sports activities, attend different events, and even try out gardening!

Here is a list of some parks in Singapore that have wonderful playgrounds suitable for families. Tick off those that you have been to!

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park Draw or paste your photo in the box above. Bukit Timah Nature Park East Coast Park Hort Park Name: ______Jacob Ballas Garden Age: ______Pasir Ris Park Sun Plaza Park Birthday: ______Tiong Bahru Park West Coast Park School: ______Woodlands Waterfront Hobbies: ______To find out more about parks in Singapore that are suitable for families, please visit the National Parks Board (NParks) website. It is a bright Sunday morning. Flowers bloom and the air is cool and fresh, yet no one is in sight. Kyle the kingfisher hops out of his nest and stretches his tiny wings. He is confused. “It is too quiet,” he thinks to himself, as he flies around his neighbourhood.

“Where is everyone? Where are all the dogs? The cats? The rabbits?” he wonders.

He looks towards the block of flats for any signs of life. From the corner of his eye, he spots some movement from a window on the second floor. It is a leopard cat gazing out of her window longingly. He flies over to her window excitedly. “Hi, I’m Kyle. What’s your name?” he asks. “I’m Lynn,” purrs the leopard cat. “Do you know where everyone is on such a lovely Sunday morning?” Kyle asks. “Aren’t they outside?” asks Lynn, confused. “No. Nobody is playing outside!” squeaks Kyle. “Oh dear. Maybe they are all ill! Shall we go find out?” suggests Lynn. Together, they edge along the window sill to see what their neighbour, Dave the dog, is up to. To their horror, he is staring at a bright screen on the floor in a daze.

“Dave?” calls Lynn. “Can you hear me?”

Dave does not reply. He continues looking at the screen, mumbling, “I…Pear… I…Pear.” No matter how loud they shout, they still cannot get Dave’s attention.

They turn to their other neighbour for help. To their horror, Rachel the rabbit is also in a daze.

“What’s going on?” Lynn asks, worried. In all the houses that they peep into, everyone seems to be in a daze.

“There’s only one animal who can help us,” says Lynn.

ACTIVITY Different species of trees have different shapes. They can be round, triangular or even thin and long.

Draw the shapes of trees on top of the tree trunks. The spotted wood owl, Obigud, shakes his head sadly.

“Everyone has fallen under the spell of the iPears. It starts with one game, and then another, and then another, and then another…”

“Yes,” says Kyle.

“And another, and another, and another…” Obigud continues.

“Yes, we understand!” Kyle exclaims. “But how do we stop this?”

“Get all your friends together, find the evil one, Mike the macaque, sing the magic words, and take him outdoors under the sun!” Suddenly, Kyle remembers what he saw yesterday.

The sky was overcast and darkening. He noticed that there were many long-tailed macaques around. They were holding on to packages and handing them out to all the animals!

The packages contained flat rectangular tablets with bright and colourful screens.

“What could it be?” Kyle thinks aloud.

“The iPear!” says Lynn.

ACTIVITY Where can these macaques be found in Singapore?

_ ukit _ imah _ ature _ eserve _ entral _ atchment _ ature _ eserve _ ungei _ uloh _ etland _ eserve _ ulau _ bin

Kyle and Lynn race across Singapore to get all their friends to go outside together!

First, they meet Penny the sunda pangolin. She is a mammal found in Singapore. She is also called the scaly anteater, as she is covered in scales.

She likes to eat a _ _ _ and t ______.

When Penny feels threatened, she curls up into an armored ball.

“Penny, come with us! Once we defeat Mike, you’ll never have to curl up in fear again,” Lynn says. They find some ants crawling on the ground.

The grass makes great hiding places for insects. To a small creature such as an ant, the lawn is a huge jungle of green stalks, leaves and flowers.

ACTIVITY Ants go about finding food to take back to their nest. A long line of ants would form between the nest and the food. Follow the ant trail to see where they are heading!

Ants may be red, black or yellow. What colours are the ones you see? Colour it in! Kyle and Lynn continue exploring the parks in Singapore, and they notice a bush.

Bushes have these features: leaves, twigs, roots and a woody stem. All sorts of animals and insects call the bush their home. Kyle and Lynn spot Betty the butterfly.

“Join us, Betty! We’re going to stop Mike and save all the animals.” says Kyle.

ACTIVITY The wings of butterflies are often filled with colourful patterns to scare away other predators. Decorate your own butterfly! Trees are found everywhere in Singapore. They provide shelter for everyone. Kyle and Lynn take a break under a huge tree. They notice squirrels and other birds on that tree.

They meet Sid the plantain squirrel. Sid is very active in the day. He is looking for fruits, seeds, and flowers – his favourite food. He is brown with a light red belly, and has a black stripe on each side.

Kyle and Lynn also spot some birds. Kyle immediately flies up to meet them! They are Sherie the Eurasian tree sparrow, Jerry the Javan myna and Bob the yellow- vented bulbul.

“We need help from each and every one of you. Together, we can defeat Mike,” chirps Kyle. Finally, after gathering so many friends and going all over Singapore, they find Mike the evil macaque near the reservoir!

“Why are you doing this to all the animals?” Lynn asks Mike.

“When I was young like you, I spent all my time at home doing homework. I didn’t get to go outdoors at all! I can’t stand to see you all enjoying your childhood. Now I want the whole outdoors to myself!” shouts Mike. “But it’s more fun when you play outdoors with friends!” says Lynn.

All the animals nod in agreement. “Let us show you why!” says Lynn.

Jingle: We have fun, fun, fun In the sun, sun, sun You can play, play, play My-o-pi-a away ACTIVITY Look around and see Name the animals that you have learnt from All the greenery the previous pages. Running round and free Is good for you and me Mike cannot help but wag his tail to the song.

“See, it’s more fun with us around. Come and join us and play. You’re never too old to have a childhood!” Kyle says.

All the animals decide to enjoy themselves by playing outdoors! They visit a playground. They swing on the swings, slide down the slides, and climb their way up to the top of the pyramids.

Draw or paste a photo of your favourite playground in the box above. ACTIVITY

Find these words: SWING SLIDE SEESAW PYRAMID FUN FRIENDS PLAY

Draw or paste a photo of your favourite playground in the box above. TIPSTIPS FORFOR PARENTSPARENTS Before you bring your child outdoors, here are some tips to help them stay protected!

11 Try to avoid the sun between 11am and 4pm, as this period is 1 4 the hottest time of the day.

Apply sunblock lotion 2 to protect their skin.

For even more sun protection, put on a 3 cap and sunglasses.

Make sure they drink lots 4 of water to stay hydrated.

Apply insect repellent so BYE BYE that they will not get 5 BUG bitten by mosquitoes. StopStop thethe EyeEye EpidemicEpidemic inin KidsKids

Q1: What is myopia? Myopia is also known as short-sightedness. It is a condition where distant objects appear blurred. High myopia may lead to severe myopia with complications leading to blindness.

Q2: What causes myopia? GENES Environmental factors Insufficient NEAR 1outdoor time 2 WORK dad Mum

HANDHELD TV BOOKS devices Child

Q3: How does going outdoors prevent myopia?

Sunlight causes secretion of dopamine in the retina. Dopamine prevents elongation of eyeball.

For more information, visit www.seeksingapore.com/why-seek DiscussionDiscussion forfor parentsparents

Discussion of story Kingfishers and Leopard(for parents) cats are found in the wild, and are not usually found in urban areas.

Leopard cats are critically endangered. It is illegal to keep them as pets. However, there are many other breeds of cats that you can keep in your home.

Macaques are monkeys and are not evil animals. Though there has been an increase in negative human-animal interactions with this animal, it is partly a result of how we interact with them.

Although we should stand firm when facing macaques, we should not seek them out to provoke them. This might result in some aggression on their part.

To download a copy of this booklet, visit http://seeksingapore.com Answers can be found on the website. IllustratorIllustrator SupportedSupported byby Shane Lim

SpecialSpecial ThanksThanks

Prof. Saw Seang Mei (SERI) Dr. Veronica Tay (HPB) Ms. Gina Leong (NParks) Ms. Trisha Eng (NParks) Dr. Alexandra Roos (Essilor) Venue Partner Dr. Anna Yeo (Essilor) Mr. Giles Garcin (Essilor) Mr. Koh Kah Yong (PCF) Sparkle Tots @ Punggol South (PCF) Ms. Pamela Tor Das (NTU)

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