I stumbled upon an educational books and toys supplier called September 21 whilst surfing the net for educational charts for Vera. Somehow, the thought of a warehouse overflowing with books and brain-stimulating toys just got me drooling. (You know you’re a nerdy mummy when such things get you excited more than the H&M store opening.)
What also got me pumped was that the store happens to be having its annual sale for the month of September! I think they offer discounts of 5 or 10% on most items.
So I hopped over during lunch yesterday as I happened to be around Toa Payoh, and trawled the rather large store in a caffeinated frenzy, with two of my colleagues in tow. (Sorry guys.) And came up with some good finds – Chinese flashcards, magnetic alphabets, word-learning games, soft books (for baby J), and baby bath books. Even managed to chalk up $200 worth so they made me a member, which got me an invitation to a free workshop on reading literacy for kids! I was one satisfied mummy.
I thought these waterproof bath books make good gifts…
Animal bath books – good for gifts
PLUS, we met a very helpful staff on the 6th floor who taught me the proper way of using flashcards to teach Chinese. I learnt that we should avoid using books / cards that have both text and pictures on the same page, that is the text should stand alone and be the first point of focus when introducing it to your child. Logic: your little one will be automatically drawn to the images rather than the words. Similarly, we should avoid material with pinyin as well. JUST CHINESE. Get it?
He also suggested using just 5 flashcards at any one time (for a start), and just flashing the words only and reading them aloud, at a pace as long as it takes to read the words. And go through the same pile 3 times a day (yes, just like medication…) until your child can recognise the words. Then put the familiar ones aside and form a new pile.
I was mighty pleased to have picked up these tips! 
The warehouse is stocked with all sorts of educational material – games, books, charts, puppets, craft material, and so on…so really, 1 hour was just enough to skim the surface.
Those in the education field would already be in the know of the existence of such a store (and probably many others). But I thought it might be a handy resource for some homeschooling parents, or even working mums like me.
If you’re keen for some heavy-duty educational shopping, here are the details:
- Add: Toa Payoh Lor 8, #04-06 / #06-12 Braddell Tech (Opp.Braddell Primary)
- Opening hrs: Mon-Fri 10am-6pm; Sat 10am-3pm
Do share your finds! 
What a great find! Thanks for the heads up!
No worries, Janie! Enjoy and do share any interesting finds!
Wow, sounds like plenty of good deals! We stay around the area so we’ll probably check this out next time, thanks for sharing!
It’s great that you stay so near. Happy shopping!
I love Sept 21 too…lots of great educational stuff to browse. My favorite part of the store are the pretend play toys and learning aids from Learning resources…each time I visit them, I wish I opened a preschool or something to be able to buy more of these things
Hi Rachel, thanks for your note. Glad to know you’re already a fan of Sept 21…Visiting the store really makes you want to buy up everything, doesn’t it? I tell myself not to feel bad over-buying, because some of the buys come in handy as gifts! =)
I will be pttiung this dazzling insight to good use in no time.
Thanks for the tips on the flashcards! It does make sense to just have the text.
Thanks, June, for leaving me a comment on my guest post over at Natalie’s.