SINGAPORE, June 25 — School starts on Monday, and there go the fun, games and bonding time over excursions and events, right?

Hardly. Time-pressed parents are looking for meaningful, fun and educational options they can bond over at home. The Music Garage offers guitar and ukulele lessons at home while OhmSantih has teachers going over to clients’ places to conduct yoga sessions.

"There is definitely a growing demand for home-based yoga sessions with kids — we even had sessions with elderly grandparents joining in,” shared OhmSantih founder and owner War War Lwin Tun. "Parents tell us they don’t have time to bring their kids out, and that it’s convenient for them to have yoga lessons at home where they can easily rest or have dinner after.”

She added that parents are also keen to practise yoga with their kids without the teachers’ guidance as additional bonding. "That’s why we started giving out notes on moves they can do on their own.”

Lwin Tun said the demand for her home-based classes has grown since she started offering them five years ago—from one or two a week to her current 10 to 15 sessions weekly. She has clients requesting sessions at their condominiums, where kids and their parents from the condominium come together to enjoy yoga practice in the function rooms.

Even fun can be packaged and delivered to the home, with subscription boxes tailored for kids and containing anything from books to craft materials. Take My Messy Box, which was started in 2014 by husband and wife Jeff Lim and Gladys Ng, both 30. The idea for the company started when former educator Gladys was looking to create a meaningful learning experience for her 18-month-old son. The couple’s monthly themed boxes have a mix of crafts, toys, props and sensory materials to "encourage kids to go back to good-old playing”. Response has been positive and My Messy Box delivered their 1,000th box a few months back.

If even something as convenient as that is considered too much work with the little ones, there’s always Netflix. Surely you can find something to watch together from its extensive kids’ library that includes Kung Fu Panda 2 and Angry Birds Toons.

Lessons from home

OhmSantih (www.ohmsantih.com)

Home-based yoga lessons are priced at S$140 per session for a small family (one adult, two kids) to S$200 for bigger groups. Yoga therapy for the elderly can also be arranged.

The Music Garage (http://themusicgarage.sg)

Hourly guitar and ukulele lessons start from S$70 and vary according to location and the experience level of teachers.

SG Art Class (http://sgartclass.com)

Children’s art classes are priced at S$280 for four 90-minute sessions. The company also offers other forms of art lessons such as watercolour painting and manga drawing for kids and adults. Prices vary according to class.

Subscription boxes

My Messy Box (www.mymessybox.sg)

Three subscription plans are available: S$34 for one month, S$192 for six months and S$360 for 12 months. Every month, a themed box comes with Active, Creative and Explorative packs that contain a mix of easy-to-do crafts, toys, props and wet and dry sensory materials such as beans and jelly. The six- and 12-month plans also include a welcome tool kit.

Totbox (www.totbox.com.sg)

Totbox promises that each box is customised according to the age of your kids, with its customer service team finding out more about your child’s needs. Totbox has three plans: S$35.90 for a month, S$197.40 for six months and S$358.80 for a year.

Lollibox (http://lollibox.sg)

Lollibox provides a fun and educational pack meant for kids aged three to seven, revolving around a theme every month. For instance, its Icy Adventure box contains materials for making an eskimo mask, and their very own penguin bowling pins. A three-month subscription costs S$84.90 while a six-month one is priced at S$168.90. — todayonline