Sunday, July 31, 2011

Rainy Monday of August 1

I again hit the snooze button of my  cellphone alarm and went back to sleep
for another 30 minutes.  I have to say sorry for my son because its his yaya
who fed and took him a bath this morning for school.  I still felt tired for the
activities we had this weekend. 


But when I remember that its August 1, its Monday and its a rainy day,
I immediately jumped from bed and prepared my self for work.

Oh yes, it will really be a panic and manic Monday @work. Review and
reporting of deliverables for the past month, continuing whats on the plate
and preparing for the upcoming assignments. 

Despite the unfavorable weather,  everything must go on by facing the
day with a smile and positive vibes. 

Have a safe Monday everyone!!!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Kumon Chronicles of my son - A self-learning journey

I was worried with the academic standing of my son this past few days after
receiving the results of his first major quiz for the 1st qtr.  In Science, he only
got half of the items, also low score in Math and unexpectedly not good in
Reading knowing that he can read stories and he's good in comprehension.

Aside from the major reason that I can't tutor him on his assignments and
reviews due to my over demanding work, he lacks focus to study every time
we are able to sneak time for a session.  When we're together, he just want
to play and watch with us.

Having heard Kumon from my friends who are also sending their kids to
this center,  I searched the net, inquired and decided to enroll my son there.

First, an assessment test was given to my son based on his age of 5.  The
teacher was surprised that it was perfect and my son can already read
paragraph.  I was then introduced to their learning system while my son was
given other activities to keep him busy.

Same as explained in the net, the Kumon Method is an individualized learning
method.  Worksheets are provided to allow students to figure out how to
solve problems on their own.  This will develop self-learning, self-discipline
to finish the assigned worksheets and eventually foster self-esteem and
confidence by exposing them to advanced learning.

Of course, having a personal tutor is entirely different from Kumon's objectives.
If I will hire a tutor for my son, he can only be prepared on their current lessons.
But in Kumon, he can discover things on his own, can acquire additional
knowledge aside from what is learned in school which will make him more
equipped to face advanced learnings.

I enrolled my son in Reading and he was recommended to start in level 5A.
5A allows students to develop more pre-reading skills by saying individual
sounds while tracing letters.  Towards the end of the level, students begin to
put together simple three letter words.  This is the 3rd level for beginning kids
though he is already good in story reading.  All throughout the level, he
should complete the 200 worksheets which will be answered in the center
and as take home activity and is expected to be completed for a month.
His schedule is 2 times a week with 45mins to 1 hr per session. Though
you can still stay after the 1 hour to read some books in the center or do
your other worksheets.

I paid 1800PHP as tuition + 500PHP for the enrollment processing for
a month's duration. After completing the 200 worksheets, an assessment
test will be given.

When my son was stamped with very good star on his hand, he feels
happy and proud leaving the center.  And yes, this new journey of my son
is yet to begin on July 26.

Friday, July 22, 2011

A fun-filled halfday Friday with my son

Big thanks to my  son's school activities which give me valid excuse to have a day
out from the office during the weekdays.  Of course, mommy's call of duty first
before anything else.  

This morning was the closing event of the Nutrition Week celebration in my son's
school.  For the past two days, they already had a visit to SM Hypermarket and
were able to see where their source of nutritious food are being bought
(vegetables, meat and poultry products, fruits, etc.) The kids also tried to buy
food for themselves and witnessed a baking demonstration.

And the highlight was the Kids and Parents Fun Run held this morning.  My son
did enjoy the run but I saw a sign of sadness on his face as being one of the three
kids who finished the line last.  To appease him, I whispered to him "Good job
son.  Next time we'll prepare for this."

As a surprised to my son for the good job, we went to SM after the event for a
play in Timezone and had lunch in Jollibee. 

And as a new experience for him, he enjoyed riding on a tricycle and jeepney
for the first time. 

Monday, July 18, 2011

An 8 Waves get away

Our favorite place when it comes to swimming bonding is the 8 Waves.  For just an
hour away from home, we enjoy going back to this place every time The Family
decide for a great water wave and splash get away. As usual, posing for our
favorite photo-op.

For the nth time, we went to 8 Waves last weekend to celebrate my father's 
63rd birthday.  I was amazed how my son grows fast that sooner he will not 
anymore avail of the kid's rate once he reached the 4 ft limit.


We arrived 10AM and this is how the wave pool looks like if not summer time. 
It's past 10 and we were the only ones strolling in the the park. This is weekend
and maybe those who were checked-in on the hotel came out a little late.  
How much more if its weekdays. The wave pool and the bubble pools started
operation past 11AM.


After hopping on the wave, lap and safari pools, its on the kid's fountain pool that
we enjoyed swimming with Marty the rest of the day.

Enjoying swimming with his grandpa.

And after a whole day of playing water gun and crawling and walking in the pool,
my son was satisfied and was so hungry to take his snack without dressing-up first.

As usual, we had our coffee break at the Pancake House. We had a taste of their 
mouth-watering Mango Crepe with Ice Cream and Best Taco in Town with brewed coffee.








Wednesday, July 13, 2011

My son's favorite weekend bonding with his Grandpa

My son is just so lucky that he can still bond with his grandpa most of the
weekends at his favorite arcade - Timezone.


Aside from watching cartoon movies/series and playing games in the
computer at his grandpa's house, they do sports together through arcade
games such as basketball, bowling, dance craze, shooting the mummies,
etc.  At least, these are still physical activities.

Maybe next time, we'll look for a good sports clubhouse where The
Family can bond - either badminton or basketball.

As of this posting, its the birthday of his grandpa, my father.  We just had dinner
on my parents' house. 

Sunday, July 10, 2011

A weekend of grooming for my son

All throughout my son' 1st year of schooling, he was used to having a little long
and curly hair. His barber is his father.  The later just trim it every time.

And because of their good grooming session in school every Monday as he
told me, we were able to convince him to finally have his hair cut in the barber
shop.


I requested a barber's cut for him using a razor. My son was just so quiet and
cooperative with the barber.  It helped also that the barber told short stories
that my son got fond of and never noticed that his long and curly hair is gone
already.

And here he is with his new hair style - clean cut and looks more matured.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Having fun with Power Rangers collection

Again, with the influence of The Father who let my son watched Power Rangers
series such as The Samurai and the Jungle Fury, my son found himself loving
Power Rangers.

Like his other Ben 10, Transformers and super heroes toys collection, he make
his new collection come to life.  He loves doing role-playing with the rangers.
He was able to identify the characters behind the suit and the masks and the role
that each ranger plays in every series. 

Here they are, meet my son's Power Rangers.

Having fun with Ben 10 collection

When my son turned 3 yrs old, he began shifting away from his favorite Barney
dvds to watching Ben 10.  Maybe he is fond of Ben Tennyson who's able to
turn himself into different alien forms through the powerful watch device called
Omnitrix to help people in need.  

Spoiled by The Father, almost all seasons of Ben 10 series were downloaded
and were watched by my son repeatedly.  I guess, this is where he also
learned new words, increased his vocabulary and learned to formulate
sentences in English language.  He often times repeat those lines that he finds
funny, frightening or anything he finds unusual. 

Aside from watching,  the Father started to buy him the Ben 10 aliens and
as expected, the more my son engrossed himself in watching and playing his
collection as if he is with the characters in the movie.  

One good thing with my son is that he is very careful with his toys.  
His Ben 10 aliens collection is still complete and good as new for over
2 years now.  

So here they are, meet my son's Ben 10 collection. I'll just update this 
with the aliens' names. I still have to ask him on this.