Teaching Po at Opo!

Buwan ng Wika Celebration 2011

The problem with us Cebuanos are our often misunderstood tone of voice. People who are not used of our tone thinks that we are angry, always angry. Unlike the Ilonggos whose dialect are sweet sounding.


In this archipelago, where many dialects exist and when its people are divided by mountains and the waters, a common language is very important. That comes in the significance of celebrating Buwan ng Wika in our beloved country.


One thing good about our Pambansang Wika(National Language) - Filipino is its uniquely innate tone of respect. The "po" and "opo" for example, give me other language or dialect which has a term that will show respect especially for the elders. I cant think of one as of this writing. The use of "po" and "opo" should be continually practiced by the Filipinos by teaching its young through example.


Teach by example they said, if you practiced what you preach, it becomes more believable and consistent, thus the younger generation would surely follow. In the early talking stage of your children, make sure to incorporate the use of "po" and "opo" in talking to them. Once they get the hang of it, it would come out naturally for them. Every time you call out to them, the reply should either be "po" or "ano po yun?". If they fail to include "po" or "opo" in their reply, you should let them repeat their sentence until they include the words to their replies. Repetition is an effective way in habit formation.


It is also good to expose our children to different dialects aside from the Mother Tongue for them to grasp easily the school lessons by the time they go to school. This does not mean pressuring our children to speak in English for it would make them more "sosyal" or would make them sound "genius". Its commendable if our children can speak english during there early years, but let us keep in mind that communication skills is way better when our children will be understood and can understand clearly.

School Bluez: 1st Prelim & Periodical Exam

What are your usual reactions when examination week is approaching? Stomach churn, hands sweaty, constant paranoia, yes, I know, i get it, we tend to get nervous.

So how will you take the fact that your preschooler will be taking their very first examinations? Excited? Maybe. Apprehensive? Probably. Clueless? Right. Whatever your reaction maybe, make sure not to pass on the negative vibe you are having to your child. Do not put on the pressure to your preschooler on ACING the exams. Remember they are still children, more learnings to encounter and more knowledge to store. 

The next move you probably take is to conduct study sessions with your little ones. Problem. She is too preoccupied with her favorite cartoon network shows or her toys. Well, here is some list of the lessons we learned as Hayley took her first written examinations:

1. Before examinations, we only checked her bags for assignments, minding not her other lessons. Now, we know that we should review everyday all her lessons for the day, for familiarization and memory retention. This will also help develop an excellent study habit at an early age.

2. Practice writing often. Practice. PRACTICE. Practice.

3. Play teacher to your preschooler. Patience is a MUST.

4. Have a conducive room for study time. Make sure your child will not be destructed either by noise or any activities by other members of the family. Invest a right-sized study table and a small whiteboard. They are also big factors for a good study habit.

5. Make studying a FUN activity. Do not pressure your child. Avoid scolding and punishing.

6. Practice a REWARD SYSTEM everytime she gets a good score!

some Hayley's exam results

Those are only few of our personal takes on studying with Hayley. As a result here are her scores:

SUBJECT                                      Prelim Score                                              Periodical Score
LANGUAGE                                      20/20                                                          18/20
READING                                          14/20                                                          18/20
FILIPINO                                           18/20                                                          20/20
MATH                                                16/20                                                          30/30
SCIENCE                                           13/15                                                          11/20
VALUES                                             20/20                                                          20/20

Keep it up Hayley Girl!

School Bluez: 1st Memory Verse

One of the advantages of enrolling your preschoolers to a Christian School is their introduction  and their focus on the Bible teachings. Helping you in honing God-fearing citizens, instilling essentially good values  to your children which results to a less chaotic and stressful household. Much to our surprise, after almost a month of attending Kinder 1, Hayley already know by heart two memory verses.

The 1st verse she easily memorizes is  Psalm 139:14 "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made"- which serves as a reminder that Men are special beings since we are made in the likeness of our Creator. This further teaches that we should be forever thankful for who and what we are. 


The other one is Ecclesiastes 8:6 "There is the right time and the right way to do every thing." Focusing on the value of being RIGHTEOUS, they were thought good and proper conduct especially towards their classmates and peers. 

SCHOOL BLUEZ: WHAT TYPE OF PRESCHOOLER ARE YOU?

Being in the same room with Hayley for almost a week as she experience her first week of Back-to-School days, I  learned that there are different types of preschoolers that working parents might have missed out, since they they left the role of watching for their children to babysitters. 


 Here are few of my observations using Hayley's class:

THE ACTIVE
They can be easily pointed among the crowd. These are those kids who participate every action songs, follow teachers' instructions swiftly or loves to do coloring and writing tasks. They also love to play with their classmates, and starts to form little ones clique. They are the easy-to-handle group. Also fond of calling the teacher's attention and seeks constant approval. More often than not the teacher's pet comes from this group.

THE SHY
One of the clingy to the mother/father/guardian/nanny kinds. They are those who needs constant companion. May it be inside the classroom or when being called to write something on the board. Likened to a turtle for their timidity and slowness. Opposite to the active type, they do not like to draw attention to themselves. If they cannot avoid the attention, they transform into a turtle trying to hide their face in any way they can, wanting to get inside their shell and be invisible for the meantime.


THE HYPER
Expect that having them inside a class of 20 will always be in mayhem. Count 10 active types rolled into one and you will get the hyper kind. they are bound to destroy and distract. they easily gets bored that they tend to make a show to get everyone's attention. A teacher's needs a special skill and a bagful of patience on handling their type. A louder room than usual means presence of their type is among the herd. They usually instigate trouble among the other students which is one of the grueling tasks any early childhood teachers might encounter.

THE CRYBABY
Almost like the Shy Type, the Cry baby are the clingy ones as well. They are sensitive in almost everything. They need to be handled with care if you do not want a bucketful of tears and whining distract the class. On the first week of classes, Cry Babies are everywhere, this is usually because of the Separation anxiety preschoolers normally experience. As days go by, the number of the criers also decreases especially when their type are being assured that they will be taken care of and if they develop friendship with their classmates. PATIENCE is still the key for the Cry babies to improved and level up to be with the Active Type.


Now, what type of preschooler your child is?

School Bluez: NEW UNIFORM

As school year 2011-2012 opens, our little girl Hayley will again go to school and this time as a Kindergarten. Good thing that we enrolled her last year in a public day care and she got a taste of what schooling is like. We will no longer have the separation anxiety blues with her. She now knows how to interact with other kids and she somehow know a bit of the basics.


Excited that we are, right after enrolling her, we went to check for a uniform. Way back, we usually have our uniform sewn by our dressmaker neighbor. Gone are the days when in a neighborhood you will find ten dressmakers in a population of fifty people. The sewers grew old became incapable then went on. You cannot find young generation of sewers/dressmakers in the neighborhood anymore. Now, we are having a hard time looking for a cheap yet good dressmaker to make Hayley's new uniform. Good thing, we found someone from the other village who makes quality uniforms for a reasonable price.


For some schools, they sell ready made uniforms for the transferee and freshies. You can either go to the nearest Malls for they might have the uniform you are looking for; or if you have all the money sources in the world, you can go to a high-end designer's boutique and have your uniform sewn there. 


If you are thinking of bulk orders of uniform, you may contact a dress shop who
can handle your order professionally or you can go check online, like for your
Nursing Scrub needs you may check this link: http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/

School Bluez: FIELD TRIP

Learning experience is not only confined in a Four-walled classroom. As adults always say, Experience is the greatest Teacher. So off for a Field Trip Hayley's class go!


It was a week before they end their classes that Teacher Meriam organized a field trip for these actively playful pre-schoolers. Parents and guardians shared the very same excitement the kids have. They went to four interesting places in one day.


First stop: LOCAL FIRE STATION
Getting to meet the people who plays essential roles to their community would help the children understand that the place they live are made up of different types of people with different roles to play. It is also good to note that at early age they can identify different professions and the simple description of their jobs. Let them know that they can call a FIREMAN is there is a FIRE incident, a POLICEMAN if someone is in grave danger, a TRAFFIC ENFORCER if they want assistance on the road, etc...

Next. YUSEPENG ANIMAL FARM.
Most children loves animals, household pets commonly. If children grows up in an Urban Community, the only animals they probably know and see are cats, dogs or fish inside an aquarium. The only introduction with farm animals may have been through books or during your road trips, when you point to your kids some animals you pass by like cow, horse, goat and other farm animals.


So, it is worth commending if the education provider you chosed, arranged a trip to a zoo or an animal farm for the kids. This may be their first time chance of seeing at close animals that we do not see anywhere. Crocodiles, Snakes, rare species of birds and the likes would surely make children interested. Aside from getting to know and see different kinds of animals, take the chance by letting the children know how to take care of these animals.

THIRD STOP. COCA-COLA BOTTLERS.

This, I do not understand. Why should children be brought to the place where a drink they should avoid drinking is mixed and bottled up. I just dont get it. Plus, they will be offered unlimited bottles of cola but you should finished it inside the establishment. 

Schools should think of where to take their pupils on a Field Trip. There are more places to take these children that is enjoyable and educational at the same time. 

Note to the Local Government: They should invest on museums, parks and library for the young Generals. Or if this suggestion is far from happening for now, they should at least look into the present situation of the Local Library or is it a Library? 

HAYLEY the Mighty FOUR

April 17, 2011 - A day before she turns Four, the family together with friends and relatives celebrated Hayley's birthday at the ABCD Stars Convention Center - Pool Area.

ABCD Stars Pool Area

Giving in to the celebrants' request, the venue obviously has a pool and themed "Little Mermaid". The tarpaulin and the cake are the only ones with Little Mermaid theme. The give-aways and toot bags are just plain kiddie stuff.

this years' cake is from Mix & Magic

Unlike last year, the party did not have any Parlor Games, the kids are very busy swimming that they did not even care to pause and look for other things to do beside to swim. The only time they got out of the water is when they were asked to join Hayley blow her cake and sing a birthday song for her. Then, its CHOWTIME for everyone.

Hayley's 4th Birthday Party is less exhausting. We even had time to make Give-Away Doll serves as a remembrance for those who joined Hayley as she turned Four. 

To those who celebrated with us, thank you for coming.

Hayley's Thank you: TO EVERYONE WHO SENT HER GIFTS! She enjoys all of it!

Our prayer is for our Little Hayley to appreciate the people that surrounds her and make use wisely of the blessings she enjoy greatly.


Here are more pictures from the party!

some of the party goers