Sunday, December 14, 2008

Yona's Computer Lessons Jokes ;-)

I now allow her to play games on the PC and browse other kid-friendly sites. So far so good - she's doing well especially on the mouse and keyboard orientation. It just surprised me how she used the new words she's learned, nakakaloka!

On Backspace
One of her favorite pastimes is writing on our cemented floor using her colored chalk. One time as she was doodling something and didn't like what she saw she just shouted "Backspace! Backspace!" as she was erasing her scribbles.


Hang or Just Isn't Loading?
She was playing Barbie Dress Up when the PC started to act up, she said "Mommy, I can't see the arrow!", "Wait lang, I'll fix it" I said. As I was fixing it, nanggulo na naman "I want to play magnets na" so I said, "Wait, naka hang nga eh" She blurted "Hang or it's just not loading?!?

Oh, kids talaga!


Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Best Christmas Party Ever

To date we've been through a lot of Christmas parties already but the one we attended today was the best because it was different and it was celebrated with the people my daughter loves the most (aside from us of course!) - her Kidsahoy family.

Like most Christmas parties there were gifts, Christmas songs and program of course but all were for the kids of FCED (Families & Children for Empowerment and Development). The program showcased talents of Kidsahoy - Kuya CJ played the guitar, Kuya Alon read a story for all of us, Ate Justine sang a very beautiful song which got me teary eyed, Kuya Enoch sang a song from High School Musical and the toddlers sang I wav to move it! move it!. Aside from that, 5 homeschooling kids (I forgot their names except Nicolle and Popet) performed a song and dance number and kiddos from FCED joined the fun too!

My little Yona did nothing - except to have fun! She didn't perform on stage but she made a lot of people happy kasi she wasn't in her usual grumpy self. She hugged everyone who greeted her "good morning Yona!" the moment she arrived and was lively all throughout - first in, last out kami no?!?. She had "dede" moments to refuel which was understandable because she consumed a lot of energy by jumping, running, drawing and jumping again! She gained new friends - Masheng and Jea and got reunited with BFFs Kylie and Caine. Got to meet Mommy Michelle and Mommy Leng too!

It was indeed a very memorable Christmas party for my little girl because she experienced the magic of giving and helped fellow kids make other children happy in their own little way.

Thank you Kidsahoy - especially Mommy J and Teacher A for giving us the chance to share. That amidst the financial challenges Marcelle and I are facing you made us realize that we can still make a difference. Thank you again and more power to Kidsahoy!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

She made us gift tags!


We were busy watching Sweet Life when her Dada saw her writing our names on gift tags

For Dada

For Yona
For Iris

So cute!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's her latest pic I grabbed from Mommy Mhellai:

Yona and Caine



Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Learning Alphabet

The little girl is fascinated with letters more than ever. She's mastering her alphabet and is taking it all with ease. The letters she did not recognized a few days ago? - they're currently her favorites now.

Annoyingly, she'll bore you to death by reading all the letters she encounter everyday. But of course, I don't give her that glum face - that would too much for her. She'll appreciate cooperation from us now. Don't get her mommy wrong - I am too excited that It scares me. Just thinking I am enrolling her in the first grade with all the information she's grasping from our studies is giving me the creeps.

She would make and read letters from popsicle sticks:



















And would oftentimes read all the letters she see in shirts!



















And she would make letters from leaves, its something, huh?

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Yona writes YONA for the first time! ...and more!



This super busy mommy was so surprised to find these on her art pad. I just saw her doodling - and from Mommy Mhellai's words, spaced out again :) I got so hooked on reading Twilight that I didn't see my daughter write her name for the first time :(

Good thing she obliged when I asked her to write it again
(the one written in black crayons).
She was able to convince mommy na! I am so proud talaga! Give me 2 more weeks and I would introduce her to her written full name bwahahahaha

KRISTIONA MA. YSABEL R. PULGA



As a bonus nagpasikat anak ko, she'll draw Dora and Boots daw, here it is:



Dora is the brown one and the purple is Boots.

Check the first Dora, may purple backpack pa!

Age: 3 years, 2 months, 15 days

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Raising a Level Headed and Well-rounded Child

Raising a kid all by myself is hard but making sure that she grow up to be what I expect her to be is harder. No one's babysitting her but me, we do things together like watching TV, taking a bath, do errands, do her lessons, play, practically everything. So her "outcome" relies solely on how I guide her. My DH works hard for us and is expecting that I teach our DD everything that's good :) So I am really giving this my best shot and two instances yesterday can manifest that I am doing a good job and that I deserve a pat on my back.

While playing yesterday she accidentally hurt my foot with her bike so what she did was gave me that worried look, hurriedly stepped down from her bike, and ALMOST kissed my foot! "Almost" because I didn't let her! That was too much! I felt like crying because it was too sweet of her to do that! She kept on saying "Sorry Mommy!"

and

We were in a hurry yesterday because we had to pay her great-grandfather a visit before her DF arrives from work. So I gave her a bath and told her to clean up her mess (toys, arts and crafts) while I was in the bathroom. I was surprised to find her all sweaty because she really cleaned up the living room! I really hugged her and told her that I am so proud of her!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Scout Day in November

Our neighbor invited us to attend the Scout Day celebration in their school today. Thinking this was another "field trip" opportunity for Yona, I said yes and off we went to Young Shepherd's Academy very early this morning. I took it as a chance na rin to check the facilities of the school, baka okay. Hmmmm....

After the program, we were guided into a classroom to rest because all the people plus the heat outside were causing me headaches. I asked Yona to play with the kids in the room and she gladly said "Hi!", introduced herself and played with the toys but never fought with anyone unlike the other kids who belong to the class. These made me proud, really. Because I know that my kid can socialize well and be with people afterall! She knows how to behave - but still don't know how to fight back hihihihi.













































I let her play outside too, but it bothered me because other kids we're character bashing (am not sure if this is the right word to be used) each other with foul words. And the mothers were there pa ha? They we're saying things like "Eh ang pangit, pangit naman kasi niyan eh" (referring to one kid), and "Bwisit ka! Bwisit ka!". I am not used to these words - how much more si Yona? Imagine your kid being shouted to as PANGIT and BWISIT? Ouch!

Now I am even thankful that I am homeschooling my kid and that she's not exposed to these bullying this early. I can't promise that I can keep my cool if my little kid will be attacked by these bullies - so perhaps homeschooling is the best choice for me.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

So what if I am Homeschooling?

I am often reminded by some people around us that teaching Yona at home and not letting her attend regular school is not healthy for her. I am always bombarded by questions such us "Anong mangyayari sa kanya paglaki niya?", "Eh di kulang ang mga tinuturo mo sa kanya?", and the most intriguing is the "Eh di hindi siya matututong makisama?" For those who know my daughter well, no one will say that she don't get along with other people. My daughter is a people person. She has adjusted well enough to deal with people of any age compared to some kids her age who already go to school. And to answer the first question, my daughter will grow up to be a fine kid, a well rounded kid and not the "out of school youth" image you have of her.

This can be really, really annoying because unschooling her doesn't mean that she's not being taught at home. We teach her manners, we teach her math, we teach her language and arts, we teach her science and most importantly, we teach her about God. Lastly, I am following a curriculum so I know that Yona's not missing out on anything. At 3, she's done at OPPOSITES, knows her ALPHABET, knows NUMBERS, knows how to write her name, knows LIFE CYCLES of certain animals and insects, can spell 2 to 3 letter words without help etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The list goes on - I wonder if regular Nursery's even teaching these things to their kids?

I encountered an article in secular homeschooling written by a homeschooling mom, Deborah Markus. I would just like to share my views on the concerns thrown to her by some close-minded inviduals - or the members of HS Haters.

  1. Is it Legal? - Of course it is! Right now, we have not enrolled her yet until next year but at 4.5, she'll be enrolled in CFA to formalize her pre-school education.
  2. What about Socialization? - As I have said earlier, my daughter can even strike up a conversation with anyone, not just of kids her age. She's doing fine so I guess any kid will do. We go out almost every afternoon to meet her village friends, the guards, the yayas, the oldies. We visit friends every Saturday, and her grandpops every Sunday, so I guess it's enough socialization for her, right? She doesn't need to be confined in a 4-wall classroom for 3 hours everyday just to build her socialization skills.
  3. Quit interrupting my daughter in her home classes, village science activities just to ask her if she socializes well.
  4. Don't ever think that I am homeschooling my daughter because she's different and that she's sick. She perfectly normal and is healthy - thank you.
  5. I am homeschooling my daughter because we think that this is the best for her and we're not just nakikiuso.
  6. Please STOP telling us horror stories of homeschoolers who ruined their lives because they were homeschooled for I'd gladly tell you that there are MORE regular schoolers who failed. This will all boil down to one thing, the parents failed to monitor their kids - and on our case, we are doing close monitoring and we know what we are doing.
  7. We don't raise eyebrows when we learn that you enroll your kids this early, and that your paying thousand and thousand of money so your kids will learn ABCs and 123s - things that you can teach her at home FOR FREE. So stop looking horrified when I tell you that my kid is learning all of these (and more!) right at home.
  8. Stop assuming that we are doing this because of religion.
  9. I am not teaching all of these to my daughter just to show you guys that we can. This was a personal decision of both hubby and me.
  10. It doesn't really matter if I have a degree on education or not because I am capable of teaching my daughter the basics , the essential things she'll be needing later in life and not unnecessary lessons and projects that she'll eventually forget.
  11. Stop assuming that I am depriving my daughter of anything - she's learning at home but she gets to go to places to learn most of the time, too. We don't have to wait for field trips so she can be in these places.
  12. No, I didn't brought the "school system" to our home. I teach her when she wants me too, not limiting to the hours needed for "learning" like you do in regular schools. In this approach, she can be more focused and I am stress-free :)
  13. Stop asking about the extracurricular activities that my kid won't be getting, for me it's all unnecessary.
  14. Please DON'T EVER ask my kid if she wants to go to school unless you don't mind if I can ask your kid if he would rather stay home, learn and play and get some sleep. I'm sure he'll like it better :)
  15. Please stop branding my kid as shy, anxious, outgoing, aggresive, pouty, whiny, loud or anything because she's homeschooled. It's not fair to us that kids who go to regular school can be act annoyingly as this without being judged as anything but "he's just a child".
  16. Stop reminding me of the great memories my kid won't be getting because he's homeschooled unless you want me to remind you of the not-so-good memories you got from attending school.

Homeschooling is a choice - the same process of decision making when you let your kid attend school. As for us, this is our choice so please, please, please have some respect.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Homeschooling Yona: Teaching Filipino Rhymes and Songs

Extra Challenge to hahaha

Here are some songs and rhymes that I sing to Yona everyday. She gives me the "AGAIN?!?" look everytime I sing kasi wala naman siyang naintindihan hahaha

ANG LOBO KO
Ako ay may lobo
lumipad sa langit
di ko na nakita
pumutok na pala
Sayang ang pera ko
pambili ng lobo
kung pagkain sana
nabusog pa ako.

BAHAY KUBO
Bahay kubo, kahit munti
Ang halaman doon, ay sari sari
Sinkamas at talong, sigarilyas at mani
Sitaw, bataw, patani.
Kundol, patola, upo't kalabasa
At saka mayroon pang labanos, mustasa,
Sibuyas, kamatis, bawang at luya
Sa paligid-ligid ay puno ng linga.

LERON LERON SINTA
Leron Leron Sinta
Buko ng Papaya
Dala dala'y buslo
Sisidlan ng sinta
Pagdating sa dulo'y
Nabali ang sanga
Kapos kapalaran
Humanap ng iba.

SAMPUNG MGA DALIRI
Sampung mga daliri
kamay at paa
dalawang mata
dalawang tainga
ilong na maganda...
Maliliit na ngipin
masarap kumain
dilang maliit nagsasabi
huwag kang magsinungaling!

TONG, TONG, TONG
Tong, tong, tong, pakitong-kitong
Alimango, sa dagat
malaki at masarap
mahirap
mahuli sapagkat nangangagat
tong, tong, tong, tong pakitong-kitong.

Source: Mama Lisa

Homeschooling Yona: Total Reading - Grade K


We got this book for Yona's daily reading activities @ Diplomat for Php299 ($6.10). Instead of getting her the Pre-K, I got her Grade K which is basically the same to the former but is more advanced and can get tedious because of the length of activities. The pages are colorful and the quality is so nice compared to the locally published workbooks they use in private schools. Aside from this, it also includes stickers and pop out posters as additional activities.
Overall, I'm giving the book a !

Yona's still hasn't passed the Patience Test hahaha so what I do is skip some activities and do what interests her.

Book Details
Publisher: School Specialty Publishing
Pages: 352
Format: Trade Paperback
Trimsize: 8.5 x 11"
Level: Grade K

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Yonamade Blowgun

The pictures below how yucky my daughter is but it just shows that she can be very creative as well. For hygienic purposes, we let her use her own tissue, drink and straw hihihi

First, wet the tissue using the dripping water from your drink...














Second, mold the tissue into smaller pieces...














Third, roll the tissue into tiny pieces until it fits the straw...














Fourth, place one tiny tissue at the tip of the straw...














Blow!
Have Fun!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Rhymes for Kids


Nursery Rhyme :: Rain Nursery Rhyme :: An Action Rhyme
Nursery Rhyme :: Teapot Nursery Rhyme :: Frogs Jump
Nursery Rhyme :: Just Me Nursery Rhyme :: The Clock
Nursery Rhyme :: Number Rhymes Nursery Rhyme :: Traffic Rules
Nursery Rhyme :: Number Rhyme Ii Nursery Rhyme :: The Golden Fish
Nursery Rhyme :: Vegetables Nursery Rhyme :: Rabbits
Nursery Rhyme :: Animal Sounds Nursery Rhyme :: Ricky Rabbit
Nursery Rhyme :: God Made Nursery Rhyme :: Finger Family
Nursery Rhyme :: Three Little Billy Goats Nursery Rhyme :: Five Little Ladybirds
Nursery Rhyme :: My Little Pup Nursery Rhyme :: Raindrops
Nursery Rhyme :: Clap Your Hands Rhyme :: Mulberry Bush
Rhyme :: We Shall Overcome Rhyme :: Pyara Yeshu
Rhyme :: Old Macdonald Rhyme :: Our Helpers
Rhyme :: Birthday Song Rhyme :: Boogie Woogie
Rhyme :: Rudolph - The Red Nosed Reindeer Nursery Rhyme :: Hands On My Hips
Nursery Rhyme :: Ten Little Indians Nursery Rhyme :: Litte Boy Blue
Nursery Rhyme :: Little Bo-peep Nursery Rhyme :: Wee Willie Winkie
Nursery Rhyme :: Doctor Foster Went To Gloucester Nursery Rhyme :: Curly Locks
Nursery Rhyme :: To Bed, To Bed Nursery Rhyme :: Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
Rhyme :: Ding, Dong, Bell Rhyme :: Hey Diddle Diddle
Rhyme :: Simple Simon Rhyme :: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Rhyme :: Old King Cole Rhyme :: About Myself
Rhyme :: Rain-rain Rhyme :: Cock-a-doodle Doo!
Rhyme :: One, Two, Three,four, Five Rhyme :: A Little Nut Tree
Rhyme :: Humpty Dumpty Rhyme :: There Was A Little Girl
Rhyme :: See-saw Margery Daw Rhyme :: Jack Sprat Could Eat No Fat
Rhyme :: Cobbler, Cobbler Rhyme :: Marry Had A Little Lamb
Rhyme :: Hickory, Dickory Dock Rhyme :: Little Miss Muffet
Rhyme :: Three Blind Mice Rhyme :: Goosey Gander
Rhyme :: Georgie Porgie Rhyme :: Ring-a-ring O� Roses
Rhyme :: Jack Be Nimble Rhyme :: Mary Mary
Rhyme :: Old Mother Hubbard

Monday, November 10, 2008

A Different Christmas Party






















There's no better way to spend Christmas than spending it with your loved ones. But it would be much, much special if you take some time to wrap up excess toys, clothes and books and give it to the less privileged kids. So come December 6, Yona and I would be very busy wrapping toys and books and giving it away to the underprivileged kids in the KidsAhoy Shop neighborhood.

Join us as we celebrate a very different Christmas this year :)

Next in the line-up of happiness projects for Kids Ahoy is our all-in-one books ahoy, gifts ahoy event for Christmas! Musical Story-telling galore, a mini-concert, gift-giving to underprivileged kids in the neighborhood and our early Christmas party are in store for us all. Another extraordinary meaningful way to kick-off your Holidays!

BRING A CHILDREN'S BOOK, GET IN FREE!

PRE-REGISTRATION IS A MUST!

Wrap up gifts of your child's old clothes, shoes, toys or food to be shared with underprivileged kids
and experience the real joy of Christmas with your Kids Ahoy family!

RSVP 0920-5178127 / 4737896 / KIDSAHOY@YAHOO.COM

name of child:
age
:
name of parents:
mobile:
email:
total # of guests:
where did you hear about this event?

Sunday, November 9, 2008

The Animal Bowling Set





Whoever thinks that indoor games are boring is just plain lazy and uncreative. I normally let my daughter play outside around 5PM and let her mingle with the kids in the neighborhood to help hone her socialization skills so when the rainy days are here I make it a point to prepare games that would not bore her.

Aside from the normal cutting and play-doh days I also let her play paint, read books and magazines and play with wooden blocks as well.























Good thing I found these super cute wooden bowling set from my friend's store last week. It was endless fun for Yona! Aside from playing the bowling set itself, you can also incorporate math lessons in this toy :)

These set includes 6pcs 4" pins and 3 pcs balls.

Designs available:

Cow
Lady Bug
Frog
Giraffe

P199/set ($4.06)

You can buy it at Posh Baby or email poshbaby888@gmail.com for your orders.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Why KidsAhoy?

First of all, let me share with you what KidsAhoy is all about:

KidsAhoy is a creative playshop at the heart of Cubao, Quezon City promoting Creative Play through non-traditional educational activities which could help children discover and hone their creative potential.

I met Mommy Joanne of Kidsahoy online February of 2008. I registered Yona in their First Free Playdate for Trekkers (2-4 years old). Since then we never stopped supporting KidsAhoy by joining almost all of their activities because we believe that through this we are bringing out the best in our daughter. We already met new friends and families through them, families that we want to be with until the children grows old and we are giving this new found friendship a lifetime value.

As a homeschooling mom I am on a look-out for more activities for my daughter and KidsAhoy offers more than that. They provided not just a play shop but a second home to my daughter as well - in fact, she hates leaving the place! She calls it her school and Teacher Aia her teacher! At 3 years old, she already knows that she loves - and we love KidsAhoy to bits. Every visit is enjoyable to her as we get to play, learn and have fun as well!

I have here reasons why we ♥ KidsAhoy!

  1. KidsAhoy ♥ Kids
  2. Kids can be kids in KidsAhoy
  3. KidsAhoy is Family
From my daughter's heart through her words, she said that she loves KidsAhoy because:

  1. There's Teacher Aia
  2. Tita Joanne hugs
  3. Lots and lots of crayons
  4. I wav (love) to paint
  5. Troll Bridge
  6. I cut and gwoo (glue) mommy
  7. French Fries
  8. I wav MY kitchen
  9. I want to go there!
Here are some Yona's pics in some of KidsAhoy's activities:

Yona on her First KidsAhoy Playdate February 2008
(with Teacher Ines)














KidsAhoy is Friendship
(with Kylie Calvelo)



















KidsAhoy First Nature Trip June 2008















KidsAhoy Caravan of Fun May 2008



















MY Kitchen (during one of the playdates)



















KidsAhoy Housewarming August 2008



















Halloween November 2008
























KidsAhoy Contact Details:
w: www.kidsahoyshop.com
e: kidsahoy@yahoo.com
m: 0920.517.8127

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Yona's Not So Typical Trick or Treat

Sunday, October 26, 2008 - we woke up very late (9am) because we were so tired from the previous night's Trick or Treat celebration in SPi. I prepared express breakfast for the two, ham and egg for us and oatmeal for Yona.

REDUCE, RE-USE and RECYCLE
At 9:30am I started working on Yona's costume. I already had in mind a Hawaiian costume since it's the easiest to do and the materials were readily available at home - her two-piece swimsuit was the one she used in the KidsAhoy Caravan :) Now the problem were the leis. I could not find a single flower at home and bringing fresh ones to Quezon City from Cavite was not a good idea - lanta na yun pagdating. So I had to think of something else or she'd be a bare hula-girl without the leis. And then I saw her full-packed pumpkin from last night! Yoooohoooo! So armed with a truck load of candies and a tagging gun I made the candies into a colorful lei! Yehey!





My daughter experienced a not so typical but more enjoyable Trick or Treat event! Thank you so much KidsAhoy for another wonderful day!

As usual, masaya na naman si Yona at ayaw na namang umuwi :)




















I forgot to bring a camera so all pictures were grabbed from KidsAhoy!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

On Paper Bag Puppets, Counting, Letter Identification

We started our Counting and Alphabet lessons around 10AM today. She did great with the counting and letter identifcation but had the difficulty removing the teen on eleven and twelve. She counts "One..two..three..four...five..six..seven..eight..nine..ten..eleventeen..twelveteen..thirteen.." hehehe...although ok naman kasi she can count up to thirty na :) yippeee!

Another thing, I would ask her "How many cakes do you see?" "TWO!" (tama!) pagdating sa numerous items na "How many candles are there?" "Lots and lots of candles Mommy!" patay na! hahaha

After a series of Q&A I noticed that she was no longer interested, she wants to play na as usual. I made puppets for her, brown paper bag puppets! we communicated through puppets and it was really, really fun. I have read that puppets were used to gain and hold the attention of kids with low attention span and and to confidently listen to and speak with children about sensitive issues..Yona, Daddy and Mommy

Her first question was: "Mommy, why is your face angry?"



Friday, October 24, 2008

Clay Art


Art Class

I gave her a little surprise today - a box of clay. I was expecting her to show me something worth blogging (LOL!) but look at her work of art!



Oh di ba napaka-kikay ng anak ko?!? I am not kikay like her so I'm wondering where she got this idea

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Yona's Lopsided Butterfly Crazy Mosaic

Mosaics are great for developing hand/eye co-ordination, fine motor skills, encourage creative thinking and yes - patience.

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Materials:
  1. Oslo Paper
  2. Colored Papers
  3. Felt-tip Pen
  4. Glue
Sorry for the funny looking butterfly, I was watching Piolo on the television while making the pattern.

Mommy did the pattern and cutting of the colored papers. Pasting was entirely Yona's job :)

Finally we got a "Go!"

I always have this idea of formally homeschooling Yona - meaning having an accredited school to monitor her progress and all but with the rate of how our finances are going these days having another bill to shoulder was already too much for hubby.

So tonight I asked him if he's okay with the idea of formally homeschooling Yona - and you bet he agreed! It was all the approval I needed! We'll definitely giving this our best shot. I promise that I would devote 2 hours of school/play to Yona everyday so her perception of school is fun, never boring!

I'm calling CFA anytime this week to ask for details.

Wish me luck!

Our supplies of reading materials

One of the reasons for homeschooling is limited finances so instead of enrolling our toddler to uber expensive toddler school, we have decided to teach her the basics at home. It isn't much of a chore but dedication from me and help from my husband is essential to the success of this decision.

For Yona we're just playing. We do cutting, tracing, coloring and her favorite reading! So I have invested a lot on reading materials so she'll be thrilled to read each day. But I did not spend that much on these books, I bought second hand workbooks on eBay, references on Diplomat. All of her "Little Golden Books" costs P10 (20cents) each. How's that? hehehe I make sure that we pay the bookstore a visit every week so we can check for new items on sale.

The books are used of course but it's just ok! All of them are still in good condition and has little creases on the pages. Good value for our P10! These books costs P249 (>$5.20) if bought brand new.

Aside from reading materials Diplomat also sells good workbooks from the US, so go visit Diplomat now!

Works of Art

I have compiled some of Yona's greatest pieces.

Enjoy!