Outside my Window

1. Book: Rain Song

A lot of Vocabulary building such as 

Galoshes:  boots

Slicker: a long loose raincoat

Book from Kindermusik

2. Movement

Romping, stomping, kicking

3. Science
Weather: Wet and Dry for Philippines

Snowy

fun in the 'snow'

Rainy

Drip drip drop!

Sunny

Weather update

4. Activity: My Snow globe

Instead of corn syrup, baby oil works better.

A family effort for making a Wolverine snow globe!
Thanks to her aku (uncle) for the toy!

5. Weather Sounds
Thunder , Rain, Sunny - rhymes and music all around.

Whatever weather you are in, better get geared up and have some fun!

Parenting Conference on Homeschooling

Homeschooling- Learning at home. May it be a toddler, a preschooler or any age, we absorb information easily when we are having fun.

There are several factors to consider in choosing where to enroll. You may check out TMA's homeschooling conference " Set Them Up for Success"

More about it:

TMA Homeschool, in coordination with Manila Workshops and TheLearning Basket is proud to present its Parents Conference for 2015, entitled Set Them Up For Success. It will be held at the Bayanihan Arts and Events Center from 8AM for registration (program starts at 9:00) to 5:00PM.

This event, entitled “Set Them Up for Success”, is set to enlighten and inspire you  to raise your children to become happy, responsible, productive  adults and leaders “wherever they are planted”.  will consist of keynote topics like “Set Them Up for Success” and “Catching your Child’s God-given Bents for Success”. Keynote speakers are Edric Mendoza and Jayson Lo. 

Mr. Mendoza is a homeschooling father of five, the president of the Homeschoolers Association of the Philippine Islands and lead anchor of ANC’s On the Money. Mr. Jayson Lo is a known inspirational speaker in the country and is the author of Younique:Understanding Others by Understanding You, a book about how personality styles help identify one's strengths and weaknesses.

Aside from keynote talks, the conference will also feature workshops on character education, multi-level homeschooling, homeschooling through high school, adjusting teaching strategies for effecting learning, and celebrating dads who homeschool. Participants may also opt to attend a Q&A forum where TMA Homeschool will answer questions about homeschooling in the Philippines. Speakers for these sessions are seasoned homeschoolers Donna Simpao, Millona Barraca, Bles de Guzman, Joy Mendoza, and Dennis Sy. Participants may choose one track for each talk happening simultaneously. Expect a day filled with doses of homeschool inspiration and information about parenting and homeschooling.

Free seat for one lucky winner:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Valentine's Month Activity

We can't get enough of the love bug, we were doing a month long heart activities.

1. Book: The Swan Lake

We picked a love story for February.

2. Read along Book: 
  Valentine Bears , V Book (you may click last year's activity)

3. Vocabulary: bouquet

flower candies for Valentine's

4. Pretend Play: Curlers into a bouquet

daughter bunched this and gave me a bouquet of flowers

5. Music & Ballet: 

We watched online selected ballet performances of the Swan Lake. 

Listened to The Swan Lake by Maestro Classics
      We only made an introduction to this, further lesson and activities can be done with their free curriculum.

Hope you had a sweet hearts month!

Sheepishly in Love

Ending the love month with more the chinese zodiac- sheep.

1. Out to See: Exhibit

SM Megamall, runs till March 5

Main artwork, presented as a stage backdrop as well

I chanced upon seeing the Chan Lim brothers artwork, here are some favorites.

Even saw a former classmate's work

2. Chinese New Year Activity:

Introduction to days, date, calendar & year

Excited to fill this up everyday

May the rest of the days be sunny, happy and bright!

Happy Year of the Sheep

Me and my husband are born in year of the sheep (a giveaway of our age :) )
Let's learn more about it.

1.The Chinese Zodiac : Sheep

Book:  Charlie Needs a Cloak.

It is about sheep's wool and how to make it.

An informative book, combined with very cute drawings of Tomie dePaola.

Recalling a Field Trip at the Zoo

I remember the sheep we saw at the zoo, it bleated as my daughter came near it. She kept on repeating saying baaaaaa and never forgot them.

Photo taken at Avilon Zoo

Playing and Learning

Before the new year arrived we were playing with our sheep toys together with a book of course!

daughter riding this sheep with a giddy-yup

Chinese Language

 Chinese Word Yang means sheep,
written at the red lantern little bear is holding

Suggested Field Trip:  

Once I saw a sheep being sheared, maybe one day I could bring my kids and see them.

Since it is not a common in our country, (we are a tropical country and we have more goats than sheep) you might feel a little uncomfortable when the sheep's being pinned down for shearing.

Photo from Wikipedia

2. Chinese New Year festivities

Glutinous Rice

This year we were not able to go to Chinatown, but bought Tikoy instead. Gave away to friends,  lucky to receive one they say.

bought a nearby Chinese store

Gold Chocolate Coins at the table

Best part of it? Eating the chocolates of course!

Happy Chinese New Year, may luck be with every decision you make!

Making Money & Guama's Birthday

We came to a habit of reading in line with upcoming events or whatever comes up with my daughter's ideas. If it is her idea, her interest is high, and learning is easy.

A grandmother's birthday is coming for Ruby and Max in this book.

Going out to buy, counting and spending with a budget was our main goal. The real shopping, we leave it for later. For now it is a pretend day!

1. Craft: Let's make money.

hope making real  money is easy as this

2. Math: Lets's count money

how much do we need?

3. Celebrations: Birthday and its significance

Gift for Guama (Grandmother)

4. Creativity: Pretend Play

my daughter said 'when my brother grows up, he'll be Max and me Ruby'
(book characters),  as of now, I am the stand in for Max

5. Experiencing it: Celebrating the day

excited for chocolate cake

Happy birthday to my Guama!

It's Fiesta!

Fiesta, a festival, a tradition we inheritted from the Spaniards, means food, dance and music and the don't forget the most important reason of its celebration is done in honor of a saint.

St John Bosco's feast day is 31st of January, hence celebrated on the nearest Sunday.

1. Read: Getting to know Don Bosco

Available at Don Bosco Makati Bookstore

2. Listen: Part of the celebration is the band that plays annually.

Several bands played around the Barangay

3. Movement: Learning to march

- daughter and I are marching around the house

left & right, walking in coordination as we practice to march like them

4. Read along book

- We read this before, and seeing the band play the instruments made my daughter smile even more.

The neighborhood enjoyed all the festivities, from the pageants, to bingo bonanza! 

But keep in mind the essence of the fiesta is to let the life of the saints be a reminder of how we can spend our life in the service of others.