Schooling: Field Trip 2014

My little princess and I went off two weeks ago to join the school’s field trip. Seriously, I’m starting to become an expert on field trips. There’s even one itinerary that we visited for 2 consecutive years already (for different schools).

If there’s one thing I realized too from these activities is that we will never be the early bird. Call time was just too early for this poor soul plus I stress over things to bring in the morning even if I already stressed over them the night before. I just needed to make sure I have everything for the trip – pocket money, credit cards, health cards, baby book, insect repellent, barf bags just in case, meds, sunblock, first aid kit and all other 'just in case' stuff. Of course, lots of snacks and water for the trip. Like we will go to far off place where there's no source for any of these which is, of course, not the case. 

Here’s sharing our itinerary during Sophie’s field trip. 

San Gregorio Farm, Bulacan

I only learned about this place when I received the letter about the field trip. Honestly, the place is quite nice and seem to have everything in one roof. Nice for family day tour, not too far from the city. 

The students got to milk the cow. Visitors with cough or cold were not allowed to come near the cows as the management is careful not to get the cows sick. Sophie was starting to have a cold that day so I didn't let her join. 

Zipline and Wall Climbing which my daughter both tried for the first time (with a little coaxing from Mom). She was scared to try at first but after her first try, she wanted to go on and on. ‘It was so much fun Mommy. Again, again!’, she squealed after her first try. 

The farm also sells frozen fresh cow’s milk and other milk products in different flavors. We took home the chocolate flavored cow's milk and my kids chugged the whole liter the following day.
Visit the farm's FB page if more info. 

We also visited Creamline factory but unfortunately they have no ice cream production that day so there’s nothing to see. They gave each one an ice cream drumstick, though. We’ve been here last year so it didn't bother my little girl the she wasn't able to see ice cream making but I totally get the parents’ grunts and complains. This trip was paid anyway.

Dino Island

Last and being the highlight of the trip (although my daughter wants to stay at San Gregorio Farm for the rest of the day).

We saw animatronics of dinosaurs and visited a mini dino fossil museum. It was a good trip but a little dusty and hot because we got there after lunch and the place was packed with visitors from different schools.  

Click the link to see the dinosaurs in motion. This is a hit with the kids. 

http://www.clarkfreeportmarketing.com/amusement_parks_in_clark/dino-island-park-clarkland.html

entrance to the park 

my little photographer

I took videos of some of the dinosaurs and showed it to Sam when we got home from Ate's field trip. He couldn't wait to go there as he's so into dinosaurs, meteor showers and the whole Big Bang phenomenon right now. So now you know where we'll be on his birthday :)

Visit: http://clarklandph.com/ for more info.

School: First Quarter Update

Mid September and I’m on my 2^nd post pa lang. Not.Good.

Sorry about that guys, been up to my neck with work and offline activities. I actually just came back from a work-related trip so I will try to catch up blog world.

Now off to my topic.

I have shared here our struggle during the first weeks of school for my 1^st grader. Actually, after my last post, I tried very hard not to share more depressing posts about how we try to get through the mornings. It’s hard not to let that out here and try to be as positive in the midst of chaos. I’m thankful as well for family and friends who listen and give words of encouragement and wisdom.

Now, when friends ask me how we are adjusting so far, I give a sigh of relief and say ‘we are getting better’ :0 And we sigh in unison, 'salamat naman.'

Yep! The adjustment period is over, er, almost over. I don't think it will ever be officially over for any parent even if they're all grown up and Sam grows hair all over his body and Sophie becomes BFF with her make up kit and vanity mirror. The adjustment period is a constant friend in different shapes and sizes.

Back to now. After a month the little girl got to the habit of waking up early, with a little lambing (tenderness) from mommy, of course. It's something my Mom made me realize during her one week visit at home. 

My mom gave me an honest to goodness bird’s eyeview of the situation and what needs to be corrected. I have many realizations along the way. What stuck most with what my Mom said was this, ‘Your kids are hungry for your attention especially that you're out most times because of work. Just try to be more patient with them and a little sweetness will go a long way.’ So I did.

Being a working mom, my mother said ignoring the situation more will make the kids feel more deprived. The trick is to give just the right amount of affection or tenderness and the right amount of firmness so she will still follow instructions.

When time permits, Sophie and I take a bath together in the morning; mom-daughter bonding and chismisan in the bathroom and we both enjoy it. 

On school, two weeks ago husby and I met her class adviser for the PTC and, naturally, I dreaded the sight of the report card. I know my daughter is struggling as well with the teaching techniques and pacing of a traditional school being a product of a progressive school. I wasn’t expecting anything, I was just praying she’d pass the subjects.

Oh, another sigh of relief for me. She got good grades, better if I may say so myself than what we expected. Her lowest is 84 and her highest is 92. Not bad for a start.

During the PTC, her teacher gave good words for Sophie – she’s very helpful and is mature for her age. She looks after her other classmates (especially the one with special needs) that's why she is very well liked in class. Although she struggled at first (she even cried once in school, that I didn’t know until PTC) the persistence and willingness to learn is very evident and most importantly she’s more focused now. I love those last few words, more focused now. Naturally, being the artsy and creative girl that she is, she got As on her music, arts and other non-academic subjects :)

We asked her teacher if she needs to be tutored because she struggles in some subjects like Math and our little girl said some of her classmates have tutor after class. I guess she wants to jump into the bandwagon. Her teacher said, ‘No need Mommy. Just keep on doing the kind of tutoring you do at home. That seems to work for her.’ 

Now the challenge is, as her teacher said, to keep doing what we do at home. Easier said than done, I wanted to tell her teacher that but kept my mouth shut instead.It's not that easy especially if I have to stay late in the office because of various matters that demand my attention. By the time I get home, either I’m beat to do homework with her or she’s already asleep. The other day, we did her homework at 5am, before our usual school prep routine because the night before she was already asleep when we came home. 

But we will keep on, as parents, don't we? Because we know that each child deserves a parent's proper guidance and whatever becomes of a person is a product of the home. Don't you agree?

Just to share another happy thought, the other day while we were reviewing Math in advance and I was explaining why she needs Math when she runs her business someday (she really wants that), she suddenly understands blurted out, ' Mom, math is easy pala.' Those were music to my ears, coming from a girl who seem to struggle in the subject. 

Really, no doubt it takes a village to raise a child. I thank heavens for bringing the right people into our lives to help and guide us raise these children to be the best they can possibly be. 

To end, here is a photo of my little girl in her homemade mask for the Linggo ng Wika. They were assigned Masskara festival costume and she made this mask from scratch. We just bought the white half mask and some paints. She paired it with her birthday dress which I embellished to match her mask. 

Sam's Birthday Outing

To celebrate Sam’s 2^nd birthday, the family planned an out of town trip to Zoobic Safari.

A call to their Makati office got us a good package of 1,399.00. That covers for the 4 adults in this trip (Stephen and I and the 2 helpers). Children 3ft and below comes in free which means Sam has no charge so we just have to pay extra for her Ate Sophie. Justin, the very accommodating marketing officer of Zoomanity gave us discount card for Sophie’s ticket.

Before heading off to this adventure, I made sure that all the kids’ needs were prepared: water, milk, change of clothes (and diapers for Sam), lotsa dry and wet tissue, sunscreen, anti mosquito spray, hand sanitizer, some meds. I also make sure that we bring their health cards and baby books (esp. if we will be out of town for days).

Of course, mommy has to bring her essentials too: Sunscreen, face mist, make up kit (I only brought my no makeup makeup kit or else I would’ve brought a luggage! J), change of clothes, extra shoes/slippers, camera, shades, maps and other info I downloaded (aside from the set given by Zoomanity, it’s hard to get lost especially since it’s our first time to go there). Okay, so I brought more stuff than the rest of the family hehe J

We left the house before 9am and arrived in Zoobic at around 11am. The sun was high and mighty by the time we got there but the kids didn’t seem to mind. Sam was especially ecstatic to see the animals in the flesh. He was so proud to name the animals he knew: elephant (which he calls epant), tiger (the main attaction), chicken, duck, snake, monkey, horse, cat and diff. species of birds. It was his first time to see a camel and he insisted it was a horse J This place is really for kids. The tour was very educational and fun-filled. We surely will come back. 

Sharing with you some of our pics:

inside the souvenir shop

Sophie listens intently to the orientation

parakeets immediately flew towards my hand as soon as I opened it

more birds to feed

ostrich egg that is equivalent to one dozen chicken eggs. so much calories in there!

with the kids during the Aeta performance

Sophie never missed a photo opt with these standees

Sam kept coming back to this goat in the petting area

An Aeta in flight during a warrior dance

photo opt after the train ride

he wouldn't come close because we don't have food for him

Our next stop...shopping! Stephen was looking for a new pair of basketball shoes while I am trying my luck on a Tory Burch Reva flats (trivia: Reva collections was named after Tory’s stylish mom). No luck for me and Stephen, though, but it’s okay. We were able to buy some home essentials from Royal Subic and Freeport Exchange. I finally got myself a slip resistant yoga mat! J Next stop, kid-friendly retaurant for dinner. While we searched for a place to dine, we passed by the beach and decided to stop a while. The rich color of the sunset and the the lively atmosphere beckoned. There were people playing frisbee, eating, swimming while others simply sit and watch the sun set. Playing and running got us really hungry so we headed off to dinner after a few minutes.

We decided to dine in the nearest and haven’t tried resto: Texas Joe's. This is a nice place for family to dine: spacious, serving is quick and the food is mouthwatering. When you dine with kids, it's important that the service if fast and good. We love the ribs while Sophie and Sam wouldn’t get off the wooden horses on the porch.

tortilla soup, really good for less than 100 bucks

the 7-slab ribs, P760.00. Oh, you have to taste their mashed potato

this chicken is crispy on the outside but tender in the inside :)

the wooded horses are hit with the kids

paintings made by artistic kids :)

the inviting interior

School Hunt Part 2

The past few weeks, husband and I have been busy with school hunting for Sophie. Basically, I do the research which schools around our area have good rep (based on parenting sites, websites, etc). I already made an entry for two schools that we checked and so far we still feel we need to search more. So far, this is as much as we got:

Good Shepherd Catholic School – Rado St., Fairview, QC. This is a traditional school, with average 25 students per class for Nursery and Kinder. One thing that got me interested in this school is that it’s a Catholic school and I, coming from one, believe firmly that children should be exposed to as much religious activities and practices because somehow it deepens their relationship with God. I want to inculcate that in my children. However, when I talked to the registrar, I got disappointed because, being a full traditional school, they’re not as accommodating and open to queries as the other schools. We weren’t even given a chance to check the classrooms saying classes are ongoing. Makes me remember how strict the nuns and school personnel in my school.

Active Thinkers -  http://activethinkerscdc.multiply.com/. this is a progressive school and just 5minutes away from home. Although it’s progressive, they also incorporated the use of some textbooks so that children will not get disoriented so much when they transfer to big schools and get a load of textbooks. It’s a small school, basically a home transformed into school. It accepts students for the toddler’s playgroup to prep level. My husband and I were able to talk to the owner teacher Lenith Nolasco and I think she convinced my husband with the progressive way of teaching. You see, my husband is skeptical that progressive school will effectively prep a child when it’s time to go to big school. We have shortlisted this school J

Kinderheim – 35 Holy Spirit Drive, Don Antonio Heights. http://www.kinderheim.com/.

This is also a full progressive school and I was able to talk to the Asst. Directress (sorry I forgot her name) who was very patient in answering all my queries and showing me the classrooms and facilities of the school. The school looks more like your average home-turned-school but it’s really not. There’s a 3-story building with a gymnasium when you get through their one-storey homeschool. You see, Kinderheim accepts students from daycare to grade 6. This is a very impressive school, very modern-looking, clean and well maintained.

My husband and I were also able to check out Falcon Learning center again and he agreed with my worries about the security of the school. Diliman Prep was also in our list of nice schools. I got answers and a nice tour from one of the personnel but husband is worried about the location since it's on the other side of Mindanao Ave. We don't really want to stress ourselves and Sophie with that travel to school five times a day. Also, Diliman Prep is a big school and we feel that Sophie will be better off starting in a smaller school. 

So now, we're actually down to Kinderheim and Active Thinkers. Both schools told me I’m an early bird and I still have time to think so the next few weeks will be spent jotting down the pros and cons of both schools and making the final decision. Both schools also suggested we enroll Sophie in reading readiness class on summer 2011. Since next school year will be her first time to go to school summer classes will help her become oriented with school life and aid her reading skills.