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.

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.        

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.

Dress Rehearsals and Pictorials

 

Two Saturdays ago, I sent my daughter to her ballet class.  I thought I wasn't going to miss much by not going along with her but it turned out that it wasn't a regular day for them.  I wasn't given any notice that there was some kind of preparation for their recital on December.  

She surprised me when she came back after more than an hour.  She was wearing not her uniform but a fancy tutu.  The help told me that she wasn't able to answer my calls because she was helping my daughter get dressed several times.  

I was wondering why she had to dress several times.  She told me that there was more than one costume that they had to wear.  She took out what was inside her bag and showed me several colorful costumes.

I was so excited that I didn't even think that what my daughter was wearing was still straight from somewhere and haven't had the chance to wash it yet.

I asked her to wear it a little longer so that I could take pictures of her myself.  Her yaya told me that I need not worry because she took pictures of my daughter in school too!    

 I have to thank yaya because she did a good job being there with my daughter when I couldn't.

I have to say she did a pretty good job taking these pictures.

I showed them to my parents to get them excited for the recital.  They paid for the ballet classes which I can hardly afford and so, they have the right to enjoy everything about it.

The yaya told me that while almost every kid in the class was crying because the costumes were all somewhat itchy, my daughter was smiling for the camera non-stop.

The ballet teacher reiterated that she was really good during the pictorial when I sent my daughter to ballet class the next session.

Looking at these pictures, I saw how it was not a mistake to ask my parents if they could sponsor Via Faith's ballet classes.  Swallowing my pride gives a lot of good.

Her papa can take care of her tennis lessons in the future for free but I really like her to continue ballet too.  Dreaming big for my kid here :)







Ballet Classes in Greenmeadows ave: 0917 885 2464
Tennis Classes (Meralco Compound Ortigas): 0922 874 2959

Good Night

Whenever my daughter and I visit her lolo daddy and lola mommy, it is  important to never forget to say good night.  I take her and her cousin to their grandparents' room to give them a kiss and a hug before going to bed.  It has become their practice since we practice it in my own home.  

Those little things that seem trivial would be the thing they would remember growing up.  If it has become the practice then it would become a habit.  A habit would be hard to get rid off.  And I wouldn't want them to forget to do it.  I want them to do the same to me too.