Moving Up Ceremony

My daughter is graduating tomorrow from preschool.  

There was a parent-teacher meeting a few weeks back to decide whether parents still want to have a moving up ceremony for the preschool kids.  Ever since the K12, there were no graduation rites required.   According to the teachers, they need to get the consensus of the parents on having a Moving Up celebration of the students. 

Well, everyone said yes to the idea of having a ceremony ... except for me.  I didn't see the point of having a ceremony for the kids since the transition of preschool to grade school didn't seem a big deal for me.  It was just another one of those we have to spend on.    

But I couldn't do anything about it since most of the parents said yes.  

However, during their rehearsal, I found it's importance.  It's about getting nearer to our goal of giving Via an education that she needs for her future survival.  And yes, it was worth celebrating.  Good thing parents like me were outnumbered or else, Via have to put off the chance to go up the stage and be recognised for the work the she has done the past school years.    

Reading App: Helped Me Teach My Kid

More than two years ago, my daughter at almost four years old, was still having a hard time to read.  I was really busy then because I was still within my four-year training period.  I hardly can find the time to read or teach with her before we have to hit the sack at night.  So I just have to aim for a high-yield technique on how to teach her.

I came across the HOMER app in the App Store.  And I just had to try it as an audiovisual aid during reading practices at night.  It didn't work on its own. We still have to guide our kids to read the sound of the letter together with other letters.  With this app, she can even use it on her own challenging herself (without seeming like it) whenever I'm not around.

The more she makes mistakes, the more I'm driven to teach her.

I love to read.  I don't want her to miss that kind of enjoyment in her future.

I'm sharing this link along with the promo code that I got in my mail.  I don't need it anymore but some mothers/teachers might find a use for it.

Homer: Learn To Read

and the promo code to use for a discounted purchase is YEAR50RETURN

It's around US$50.00 instead of the US$95.40 you have to pay for one full year of subscription.  I assure you it's worth the money.  Hope you and your kids enjoy this.

Making Mommy More Efficient

I got the planner I wanted and needed at last.  I've been eyeing this for years but I couldn't bring myself to buy one for so many reasons.  One thing is  that I thought I was a bit old for fun planners like this one.  My daughter would love to have this but maybe not for me.  I had a BDJ planner twice before and that was years ago.  And I thought maybe my needs are different from what I had back then.  I was wrong to think that I'm a different person.  

Now, I've got my sister to purchase it for me (THANK YOU!) and so I don't have any more excuse not to grab my own.  

I super love this planner.  The colorful pages makes me think that I'm busy and all but I shouldn't take everything too seriously. It would be a shame not to fill all those blank spaces.  I want to maximize every waking moment this year with this planner.  The spaces provided is a reminder to fill all the aspect of my life this 2015.  It pressures me to create worthwhile events in a month, in a week or in a day.  

Working moms like me should make time for everything.  BDJ planners would be a tool to address all the aspects of my life being a person, a mom, a wife. 

Whatever I put in there, it's there for posterity.  And I have to make it all good and all true.  

Also, the way they put everything together in one bundle pushes me to do the same.  It's all in the palm of my hand.  

It's now part of my work station!

Thank you for reading!

Day 1 of 2015

This marks our second year all together.  Christmas are for relatives but New Year is for your own families.  Since we cannot completely join my parents, I opted to stay in our apartment where the three of us can spend time together.  

Last night was the first time that Via enjoyed a regular new year's eve celebration.  It was her first time to encounter fireworks up close. She was scared holding those Dragon sparklers especially when the light is near her end (however, we made sure those were really harmless - painless even).   She was so excited to join the other kids in our building.  And they were all having a great time just by looking up and waiting for the big ones to explode in the sky.  

They were so excited, it was contagious.  I was even running around with them.  It was truly nice.  This was how I knew New Year's Eve when I was as young as my daughter unlike the quiet ones we have in our gated community in her lola's home. 

One for the books.        

Family Christmas

The celebration is all over and we have gathered enough to remain in our memories.

It was one whole day of Christmas cheers.  The kids were up earlier than usual.  And trying to look out for gifts already.  They've been waiting for this day for the promise of Santa dropping by and leaving gifts for them.  

The best thing about letting Via visit her grandparents' house is that there are other kids around.  Unlike in our apartment, I would be her one and only choice as company.  I've turned into her bestfriend.  She says so.  It's the best thing when you hear it. However, I'm always not around.  Here, she can run around and not get stuck with the gadgets that I hand to her when I cannot attend to her.  

Here, she plays with other kids, the way she's supposed to.  

That makes her one happy kid this Christmas.  

At a young age, I'm not expecting her to find happiness in the company 

of her parents.  Kids are supposed to play with other kids.  I think that's 

what's normal.  And I want nothing for her but normal.  

Never mind extraordinary.  I'm not aiming for that.

 

I've given her a bubble maker (???) for Christmas with her favorite Princess Sofia character on it.  It was a hit for her and other kids.  It cost me P147 only!!!  It was worth more than what I paid for since they enjoyed it.

Family get togethers are always welcome in this house.  It might be a bit tiring if it happened often but since it occurs only once a year, it becomes real special. The kids might not even remember these days and that is why it's important to take pictures for them to see in the future.  Four generations are in this picture.  I would say that this could be one of the priceless possession this family has.   

Hope you had a meaningful Christmas!

Kids Gather Round

We're staying at my parents house for Christmas eve.   My grandparents were there first before my daughter and I arrived.  It was a big surprise because they travelled all the way from Bicol.  It was a good sign since they seem really healthy to travel that far.  They also brought with them my little cousin, Andre.  That means, he is Kuya Gab and Ate Via's uncle.

Making my daughter eat her meals gets a bit easier.  For her, everything is a competition.  I guess she gets it from Kuya Gab who yells "I win!" all the time.  I think they meant "First!".  My daughter now does the same thing.  She even says it to me in a grammatically incorrect singsong voice "Haha! I win. You're the lose one!"

There are days that the cousins go along well.

But most of the time, my nephew, three years older

than my daughter loses his patience with 

his cousin who don't play by the same rules that 

he follows.  And so, play time ends with an argument.

However, it doesn't matter that they part ways not in good terms, they still look for one another whenever one misses the other.

 The day before Christmas, the adults bring out the old toys to divert the kids attention from the wrapped gifts that we tried hiding from them only to be found out soon afterwards.  I guess they can sniff a new toy in the air.

It seems that the great grandmother wants to join the fun too. 

Movie Reveiw: Big Hero 6 - Cool San Fransokyo

How would like to be watched over by a humongous gentle inflated balloon that only thinks about your well-being?

One of the movies this year that was really good to watch with the kids is Disney's Big Hero 6.  I went inside the cinema without expecting anything.  And that probably was a good thing.

It was Via's third movie,  I think.  There were times that she went on her own with my sister's family so I couldn't really know exactly.

Eastwood Cinemas was full packed that time and I had to pay twice for one seat just because my daughter and I would be sharing one chair.  At that moment, I thought it must be a really good movie.  There was nowhere else to sit.  I resorted to seating on the aisle since I chose the aisle seat.  My daughter gets to seat in the reclining chair.

It was all about family loss and putting all your talents to good use.  I'm not sure if a four year old would appreciate the meaning of it all.  I guess it's okay to let them learn those as early as now.  Besides, it's about making a superhero out of ordinary kids.  That's good enough for her.