Today’s Motherhood

A new educational video concept, Readeez adopts SyllableSync™, an original method which combines written and spoken word that gives children the unique experience of being read to while reading for themselves. More than just your usual cartoons, Readeez are health food for growing minds.

We had a short interview with the founder himself to learn more about Readeez.

Hi Michael, would you like to tell us more about yourself to our readers?
I’m from a small town called Annapolis, which on the east coast of the U.S. It’s the home of our Naval Academy, where my father went to college. When I was eighteen I moved to Washington, DC, and I’ve also lived in New York and Boston. I now live in Atlanta, the “capital of the South.” Before I got the idea for Readeez I worked in advertising, which was fun but stressful. I have a daughter who was born in 1999.

What was the inspiration or story behind the creation of Readeez?
I wasn’t happy with the videos I found for my young daughter. I’ve always enjoyed books, and I’m a lifelong musician—it just sort of evolved from my love of music, storybooks and cartoons. Readeez combines elements of all of these. And I discovered that I love making them.

Readeez is a rather interesting name as well. Any story or meaning behind the name?
Sometimes kids will add “-ee” or “-y” to the end of a word to make it mean something smaller and cuter. Like, “Daddy, will you read me my wittle booky-wooky?” So a “Readee” is what I call our little movies, where the words are read to you. It also works with Matheez, Songeez, Rhymeez, etc. The “z” at the end — that was to make the names more unique (and easy to trademark!)

There are two main characters, Julian and Isabel in your Readeez videos. Just curious, are the two of them based on real life characters, or created out of your imagination?
Well, many people believe that Julian Waters is based on me. He wears glasses, as I do. He’s a musician (so am I). And he loves his little girl, which I certainly do. Our voices are quite similar. But I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. As for Isabel — she’s just Isabel. :-)

You use a technique known as SyllableSync™. Is this a feature which is uniquely Readeez? Can you tell us more about this and how it works?
If Julian and Isabel are the heart of Readeez, SyllableSync™ is the brain. It’s an approach I believe I invented as it applies to reading instruction. I’ve seen it used before in ads or music videos — usually for just a word or two, for emphasis.

How SyllableSync works is that every syllable you hear spoken or sung in the video appears at the same instant, in writing, on the screen. So you’re learning how the sounds you hear are written, and also how the letters you’re seeing are pronounced. It’s sort of like flash cards, where a parent holds up a word for a child and speaks it: “Cat. House. Tree.” But more entertaining. You can read more about SyllableSync here.

Where do you get your ideas or draw inspiration for your videos?
Ideas can come from anywhere. Sometimes I have a particular concept or set of facts I want to explore, like with “Addition Magician” or “Meet The Clock.” But often a word or phrase will just strike me out of the blue. “Chandelier” and “How ‘Bout That Cow” would be examples of that.

What is the process of creating one Readeez video? Care to give us a short breakdown on how it is normally done?
Generally the music comes first. Once in a while I’ll get an idea for a visual — with “Big in Mind” I pictured the big speakers on either side of me and went from there. Most often, though, I have a song idea. I write the song, record it in my studio (or occasionally play it live on camera), then begin thinking about how to visualize it. That last step is made easier by the fact that I know the main visual is always going to be the words! As for which I write first, words or melodies, it’s about 90% words first.

How long does it normally take, to create a Readeez video?
The most time-consuming part is nearly always the song. I’ve had songs that literally took years to write. “Tonight And Every Night” was one of those. Sometimes I get lucky and I write a song in a day or two.

Once the song is complete (or when I’m so tired of working on it I need a break) I’ll do the animation. It can take from one to three days to animate a Readee. And it’s actually the part I enjoy most. It’s quite satisfying to choose the visuals and typefaces, put the words in place, then have them line up with the soundtrack. When it’s going well it’s sort of like meditation.

We really like your slogan, “Leaning disguised as smiling” and definitely hope that everyone aspires to think of learning that way. Care to give a shout out to our mothers in Singapore?
It’s my belief that we don’t have to separate what we share with our kids into things that are “educational” and things that are “just for fun.” My aim is to have Readeez be both. It’s been wonderful working with people in Singapore! I hope to make a visit soon and meet lots of moms, dads and kids in person.

By the way, I love hearing from parents whose kids like Readeez, and it’s especially nice when parents tell me they enjoy the videos themselves. If you have any stories to share, you can reach me at michael@readeez.com

Thank you for your time Michael!
It’s been my pleasure.

To view Michael’s Readeez videos, visit his website here.

VIZPRO & Today’s Motherhood are giving away 2 pairs of tickets to Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival.

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Notes:

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Join us on SAT, 20 Aug, 10am-3pm, to celebrate The Polliwogs 2nd birthday and the Open House of Wee Care’s new and bigger kindergarten!

10am-3pm: Wee Care @ The Polliwogs Tour and Kids FUN (every hour on the hour)
10.30am, 1.30pm, 3pm: Feature Showcase & Group FUN by The Polliwogs Crew

Email adminpolliwogs@weecare.com.sg to register for Wee Care @ The Polliwogs Tour and receive a FREE goody bag when you attend the tour. What’s more, get a rebate when you sign up for any of our programmes!

Terms And Conditions:
Usual entry fees/operating hours to The Polliwogs apply. Goody Bags given at Wee Care @ The Polliwogs tour is limited to one per family, while stocks last. Other terms and conditions may apply

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MUMS@WORK CAREER WORKSHOP: Personal Branding for Corporate Success

In a competitive world of job-searching, the importance of Personal Branding cannot be neglected.

Whether you are:

• a mother returning to the workforce or
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12th September (Monday)
10am - 1pm
(includes course materials & tea break)

To find out more, please visit: http://www.mumsatwork.net/events-ex.html

Workshop Synopsis

i) Introduction to Personal Branding

ii) “WOW” People & Create an Impact including topics on:

• Personal/Corporate Grooming know-hows and avoid fashion faux pas for ladies
• Hair, Makeup, Fragrance, Clothings, Nails, Shoes, Accessories
• Learn how to evaluate your own wardrobe

iii) Manners, Social & Business Etiquette

• Difference between social & business etiquette
• Business etiquette: your ticket to acceptance & respect in the business world
• A proper introduction in a social setting vs a business Setting
• Business Card Etiquette

Come check out the latest toys from the US and Ital,y designed to make learning fun and Mandarin Books for all ages!

Wee Care @ Polliwogs Kindergarten in conjunction with Smart Alley and Pan Asia will be showcasing the latest products for intellectual development and play.

Where: The Polliwogs, The Blue Room
1020 East Coast Parkway #01-02,
Singapore 449878 (formerly Singapore Tennis Centre, behind Waraku restaurant)
Date: August 17, 18 & 19, 2011
Time: 10am – 5pm (all 3 days)

We hope to see you there!

For more info, call Polliwogs at 64422805.

Disney’s Newest Stage Show, Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival Premieres at Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Catch it during the September school holidays

Singapore (6 July, 2011) – Mickey Mouse and his band of friends, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy will be performing in a music mash-up of mega proportions when Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival tours Singapore from 7 September for a limited season at the Grand Theater.

This show is jointly promoted by Base Entertainment Asia and MediaCorp VizPro International. Concert goers will hear greatest hits from the blockbuster movies, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story remixed to rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, jazz and country, among other jams.

Produced by Feld Entertainment, Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival is currently in production and strives to be the biggest concert experience to hit live family entertainment. “One song can touch millions of people around the world and Disney has been at the heart of this concept for years by making music a main ingredient of storytelling,” said Producer and CEO of Feld Entertainment Kenneth Feld. “In Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival we are celebrating with the Disney characters to a soundtrack of the latest sounds and chart-topping hits.

We want our guests to walk away with lasting memories and singing these unforgettable melodies long after they leave the show.” Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival, featuring an all star line-up of more than 25 Disney characters, begins with audiences watching a state-of-the-art video projection of the frenzy backstage which spills onto the stage as Mickey welcomes guests to his concert tour. Soon after, they will be transported to a new world of hip hop beats, dizzying acrobatics, flying carpets and magical transformations with Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie. Underwater is where the crowd will meet up with Ariel, Sebastian and their nautical pals to groove to the reggae rhythm.

Family and friends will stomp to the beat as Woody, Buzz and Jessie teach them how to boogie rodeo-style. Anyone can be a member of the band as giant-sized balloons fall from the ceiling in one scene and then in the next, Disney characters are dancing in the aisles. “We have created an environment where audience members will be able to connect with the Disney stars,” said Alana Feld, Producer and Executive Vice President of Feld Entertainment. “Within each concert moment are elements of personal interaction and they will be harmonizing, dancing, laughing and having an outrageously good time with the characters right there in their city.”

Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival is being built with a global audience in mind and a goal of being as universal as its featured music. The father-daughter production team, Kenneth Feld and Alana Feld, has hand selected award-winning creative talents whose credits span from working with Madonna to winning a Latin Grammy® Award to designing hundreds of costumes for Disney theme park shows:

• Director/Choreographer Fred Tallaksen is the award-winning choreographer of Madonna’s “Sorry” video and the finale of her Confessions World Tour. In 2008, he earned a Latin Grammy® in the Best Video category for Juanes’s “Me Enamora.” Tallaksen was also skating choreographer for “Austin Powers III-Goldmember”
• Writer Jeremy Desmon’s credits include The Girl in the Frame, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie & Other Storybooks and Curious George Live! He received the 2007 Kleban Award for excellence in Musical Theatre Bookwriting, and is also a recipient of the Dramatists Guild’s Jonathan Larson Fellowship
• Scenic Designer Rick Papineau is the vice president of Scenic Elements at Feld Entertainment and is credited for leading the creation of life-like versions of the characters from Disney/Pixar’s Cars that move on ice for Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy
• Costume Designer Cynthia Nordstrom designed costumes for more than 15 original dance shows in Downtown Disney from 1996 until 1999 and is credited for designing costumes for Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy
• Lighting Designer Sam Doty is eager to work on his second Disney Live! show after Disney Live! Mickey’s Rockin’ Road Show put him in the spotlight
• Music Director Stan Beard has arranged and written the musical score for numerous domestic and international Disney On Ice productions; has worked in the recording studio with such luminaries as Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra

Grand Theater, Marina Bay Sands is set to dazzle audiences in a venue that boasts the latest state-of-the-art technology allowing a multitude of stage configurations and an efficient and seamless set-change for all theater performances. Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival is among the spectacular array of concerts and performances that has been planned to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Theaters.

• THROUGH INTERNET : www.MarinaBaySands.com/Ticketing
• BY PHONE : 6688 8826
• BOOK IN PERSON AT : Marina Bay Sands Box Offices (Museum, Theaters, SkyPark, Retail Mall, Hotel Tower 1 and Tower 3 Lobby)

For more information please log onto our official website www.marinabaysands.com

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Established in 1980, SBCC Baby & Child Clinic is a leading paediatric group that provides quality and comprehensive medical services for children in Singapore.

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KIDS & PARENTS FUN WORKSHOP! 54% off Snowskin MoonCake Making Workshop at only $35 instead of $75!

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Highlights

• Let your kids and you learn how to make your own Snowskin Mooncake this coming Mid-autumn Festival!
• Bring home recipes of Paste fillings used in Mooncakes today
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The Fine Print

• Valid till 31 December 2011. - Only valid for E! Hub Outlet: Down Town East, E! Hub #05-00
• Classes are held on most Fridays (7 - 9 pm), Saturdays (12pm - 2pm, 3pm - 5pm) and Sundays (12pm - 2pm, 3pm - 5pm), subject to availability
• Booking must be made through e-mail: workshops@scoopysandcream.com
• Customers may bring back mooncakes made by themselves after class
• Customers may top up $10 for Ice Cream Buffet

Other terms and conditions apply

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