1. Watch: Celebrities read children’s books
Take a break from reading aloud to your kids today – actress Michelle Yeoh can take over.
On Storyline Online, you will find videos of Yeoh and other celebrities – including Oprah Winfrey, Elijah Wood and Kristen Bell – reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.
Titles range from all-time favourites such as The Rainbow Fish and The Elves And The Shoemaker to lesser-known but equally engaging reads like Enemy Pie and I Need My Monster.
You can access the content via its free app and website, but only the website offers additional resources for parents and teachers.
For example, you can learn how to have a conversation with your children about the stories using the guiding questions suggested.
Granted, the video collection is not new. Some were uploaded last year, while others date as far back as nine years ago. But the great storytelling by these acclaimed celebrities is worth a rewatch.
Info: Storyline’s website or download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
2. Play: Take a space flight from your home
If watching Amazon founder and world’s richest man Jeff Bezos blast off into space last week got your children dreaming of space travel, download the Apollo’s Moon Shot AR free app.
The little ones will get a kick out of launching the Saturn V rocket from their bedroom, thanks to immersive augmented reality (AR) features.
They can also play AR simulation games to test their abilities at navigating a course to the moon and dodging craters and boulders to make a smooth lunar landing.
Oh, and watch that big smile on your kids’ faces when they are suited up in the Apollo 11 spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to walk on the moon.
This fun learning app is also chock-full of photos, videos and facts about Mr Armstrong and his crew’s extraordinary space journey.
Info: Download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
3. Learn: How to improve mental well-being
You may be drawn to Apple TV+ mental health documentary series The Me You Can’t See for its celebrity producers, Britain’s Prince Harry and American talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
But beyond that, watch it to learn how you can improve your emotional well-being. After all, issues such as anxiety, depression and unresolved grief are more common than ever with the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic.
Even if you are not an Apple TV+ subscriber, you can still catch the sixth and last episode for free.
In this special 1½-hour-long show, they welcome back guests featured previously, including actress Glenn Close, for further discussion.
Info: Apple TV+ website
4. Comfort Cooking: Steamed pork ribs in black bean sauce
Replicate this dim sum dish of steamed pork ribs in black bean sauce. Making it at home means you can have a version that is free of MSG (monosodium glutamate).
Preserved black beans are so tasty, you do not even need oyster sauce to marinate the meat.
I suggest using soft bone ribs. Those who love this cut feel joy biting into the crunchy soft bones.
The next best cut for this cooking method is spare ribs, which are more easily available. Get the portion which the Americans refer to as the St Louis-style cut. It is the flatter portion of a rack of spare ribs with the sternum bone, cartilage and rib tips removed.
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