An Onion Aha Moment

It's been almost a month since we started our school year and Coby hasn't opened his Science book yet. I was unsure whether to use the old Science curriculum or get a new one for his fourth grade. Though I really wanted to use the new one, Singapore Science, I opted the old one, Science by Scott Foresman. And because of that, I delayed studying Science because at the back of my mind, I knew I would change curriculum very soon.

Unfortunately, Coby cannot hold his enthusiasm anymore in Science. He was so eager to jump right in and just do it. In fact, he was reading his textbook as soon as we bought it. He is our Science boy. He loves Science so much that depriving him of the "did-you-know-facts" is like telling him not to draw or keeping all his art materials.

So finally, I decided to start with cells, which was the first lesson in the textbook. It would have been great to have our own microscope but Google Images can substitute in the meantime. We talked about the onion and how it looked like under the microscope. Told him to compare and contrast the onion with and without the microscope.



In order to make your lessons really interesting and get your child's attention, you need to KNOW your child. What are his interests, what makes him excited... At 9 years old, he still loves building with his Lego and K'Nex. So I integrated Lego building with cells. How each lego block or piece is connected to each other to make one house, a car or whatever. Cells are the same. They are called the building blocks of life because life indeed starts with just a single cell. Same cells performing the same function are grouped together to form a tissue. A group of tissue to form an organ. Organs then form an entire system then all the systems connected to each other to create a living organism, whether an animal, a plant or a baby.

As we repeated the process over and over, he had his aha moment. He said, "So, Mama, are you saying that's how I was formed inside your tummy? I started with a cell, then tissue, then organ and then became a person?" With my eyes sparkling with delight at how he connected our lesson to his own life, I eagerly answered, "Yes!"

His eyes grew big and I could really sense that he GOT it. He kept saying, "That's awesome!" He appreciated how God created minute living cells to form an organism, a man in his own image.  I immediately put a note in my lesson notebook to remind me of the day that Coby had that aha moment.

One of the best things about homeschooling is that not only does the child learns the lesson and memorize it  but he learns life lessons without memorizing and connecting all lessons to his life and to God. There are times we intentionally integrate love for God in the lessons but most of the time God really intervenes and allows His lessons to be learned by the child personally.  Thank you God for allowing Coby to see You in our lesson today. May you forever be praised!

 

 ¹³ You created the deepest parts of my being. 
      You put me together inside my mother's body. 
 ¹⁴ How you made me is amazing and wonderful. 
      I praise you for that. 
   What you have done is wonderful. 
      I know that very well. 
 ¹⁵ None of my bones was hidden from you 
      when you made me inside my mother's body. 
      That place was as dark as the deepest parts of the earth. 
   When you were putting me together there, 
    ¹⁶ your eyes saw my body even before it was formed. 
   You planned how many days I would live. 
      You wrote down the number of them in your book 
      before I had lived through even one of them.  Psalm 139:13-16

Old and New

Our school year just started this week. Prior to enrollment, my husband and I were "mapping out" where our homeschooling area would be. Since our apartment now is bigger than our previous one, I feel more excited to teach the kids. I follow other homeschooling mom bloggers and got ideas from their own homeschooling set up. I would just drool at how these families created a homeschooling room for their kids. Since we have a limited space, we are confined to having  just an area instead of a room. Lots of great ideas at organizing, de-cluttering (believe me, there will be  A LOT of clutter) in our own school at home and just creative ways of using ordinary house items.  I realized that we really don't need to buy anything new.  For weeks my husband would frequent ACE Hardware, furniture stores and even thought of doing our own bookshelves ourselves but we calculated the cost.... ah, maybe next time.

But when we came home one afternoon after enrolling the kids, we just decided to move things around. Put this here, put that there. We had saved a used biscuit container and turned it into a mini pen organizer. You see, every time we start school, my first question would be, "where is your pencil?" Usually, it would take minutes before they find a decent one. Though I gave each of them their own pencil case, somehow the pencils don't end up there. So with the pen organizer, all the pencils, markers, erasers, scissors are put together in one container and every time they need it, they just take the whole container and put it on the table. I just have to remind them to put them back in the same container so we could easily find them again the next day. So far, this idea is working, thank God!



The first consumable item that runs out easily is the scotch tape. Why? Well, our eldest is not only into drawing and painting, he is also into recycling and crafting. When he sits down and creates something out of nothing, our dear old scotch tape would be the "victim". Soon after completing his craft projects, it would lying somewhere around the house. Jianne, our little girl, on the other hand, would create mini books for herself and would use up our colored paper, construction paper, bond paper and even scratch papers.  She would be busy on the floor drawing and creating her own story books. And these too would be scattered all over the house. So hubby and decided to get a mini filing cabinet for their projects, and also our supplies. Mind you, this was the only thing we purchased, every thing else is reused and recycled from our existing stuff. The mini cabinet houses our all our supplies, from tape to papers and they each have their own drawers to keep their projects, their drawings and whatever crafts they make. Organized cabinet, working fine.



Encouraging kids to read at a very young age, is for me, one of the best influence any parent can give to his or her child. Reading and love of  books would definitely take them anywhere, figuratively and literally. The kids have lots of books at home but are kept in a cabinet upstairs. I was encouraged by one blogger because she made it a point to have a reading nook in their homeschool room. So I decided to take out all the books from the cabinet and take them to our area and create a small nook where they can just pick up a book and read. To make it more comfortable, I got an old rug and placed it strategically in front of the books to get them to reading. When we called the kids to show our completed homeschool area, the first place they checked out was the reading nook. They got a book, sat on the rug and read until it was time to eat!



I pray to God that this year would really be different from the rest of our homeschooling years. I was not afraid to try a new curriculum which I know would help my son. It may be more expensive than the previous one I know that it would create a different attitude in him. I believe he would be more confident to do his Math with the Singapore Math, My Pals are Here. In fact, when he opened the textbook, he got so excited because of the visuals seen on the pages. And when his Papa began to teach him the first day, both of them enjoyed. The curriculum even has games to encourage retention and practice for the child. Why didn't I heard of this before????

For the little one, as soon as we came home with the books, she wanted to start school right away. After doing the dishes that night, she came to me and said that she wanted to do school that moment. I told her that she can check out her books and do school the following week. I told her I have to "study" her lessons too. She agreed but kept bugging me to start every day since then.

With a new mindset, a new set of goals, a more directed homeschooling plan, our family is so hyped with school.  I had learned from my mistakes in the past and admittedly I had to learn them the hard way. But we have a gracious God who will equip, encourage and inspire us to do great things not only for our kids but for Him as well.  All that we are now is not because of our own doing, but because of our Lord who strengthens us and connects us with the right people. Everything  is all for His glory.

⁴ “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.^[a] 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. ⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. ⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-8

 

While Waiting

Being married to a teacher has it's perks.  Hubby usually comes home with bags filled with gifts from parents, students and co-teachers especially at the end of school year and before the Christmas break.  One memorable gift from the class was a box of Twinings tea. I love tea! The bags were encased in this special wooden box with small compartments that I just don't want to touch any of it. 

 

Most of the time he would be blessed with gift certificates from Rustan's, SM, Starbucks and Fully Booked. All of which we are so grateful for!

It was a rainy first day of school for most of the students of the Metro. But for our homeschooling bunch, we headed to Fully Booked in Bonifacio Global City to finally redeem our GC.

Since Jianne is formally starting school this year, I was in search for school books for her. Unfortunately, we were pressed for time because our "Prinicipal" had a tutoring stint that day. For almost two hours, we searched the entire building for books. There were tons of chapter books for boys but Coby was not too keen on getting chapter books since he has other books at home he hasn't read. He was searching for encyclopedia-like-sci-fi book but when we found one, it was way over budget. We need to get something for everybody, that's our rule.

So finally, we found an origami plane set. It was way too cool! He couldn't wait to open that bright orange box. For our little girl, we got her a Little Bear level 1 reader book, her own choice of Princess book and a 300-page huge coloring book...now that's a lot of coloring! We also got them their favorite Princess Diaries DVD and The Tale of Despereaux DVD.

Papa got his car magazine and I got my food magazine. Everybody happy!

We were out of the bookstore just before 1PM to grab a quick lunch before hubby goes to work. He gobbled up his lunch at McDonald's and hurried to the nearby condo where his student stays.

After the kids and I finished our meal, I decided to take them walking along the busy streets of BGC. We saw different restaurants, some peculiar looking, while some are dainty. We were walking slowly just to pass the time and until we reached the frontage of The Mind Museum. We haven't been there and we will surely visit one of these days. Soon, we headed back to McDonald's and ordered a double caramel sundae while waiting for our papa. We were supposed to go to Market Market but I am not used to driving in that area with strict traffic rules.  So I just told the kids we can do something fun while waiting. The kids were getting bored in McDonald's so we headed to the open parking area.

Instead of waiting in the car, I decided to wait outside and let the kids run around an open space near the parking lot. The place was so windy and the kids were enjoying the cool breeze. While waiting, they run, pretended to be giants and did their version of Temple Run. I was happy because the kids were not bored anymore but were just enjoying playing with each other, laughing, and taking pictures. Slight drizzle ended our Temple Run adventure and we headed to the car and soon papa arrived just in time.

 

Two Peas in a Pod

My husband and I are blessed to have a boy and a girl. When I was pregnant with Coby, we prayed that it would be a boy. God blessed us with a happy baby boy. The second time we found out we were having another child, we again prayed for a girl to complete the Brady Bunch. In His graciousness God gave us our little princess.

Two different individuals coming from the same parents. Indeed each child is unique. No one is exactly the same. Even twins are not exactly the same. We, as parents, should celebrate their differences. Our kids were created wonderfully and fearfully by our Creator, of course, including us.

Just for fun I wanted to look at how different our two kids are...

During my pregnancy...I gained so much weight when i was pregnant with Coby and had not much morning sickness but with Jianne, I was skinny and had a sensitive first trimester.

Breast feeding... Coby was breast fed for only two to three months while Jianne was at it until she was almost three years old.

Putting the baby to sleep... Coby easily gets startled with the slightest noise and has trouble falling asleep while Jianne will easily fall asleep while being breastfed.

Language skills... Both started talking early by age one.

Love language... Coby feels loved when you do something for him. He appreciates you when you put syrup on his pancake. He feels loved when you prepare food for him or make him anything. His
love language is service. Jianne on the other hand is very clingy, very attached. She enjoys hugs, kisses, scratching her back and brushing her hair. She craves physical touch as she herself generously showers you with hugs and squeezes.

Food... Coby enjoys gourmet dishes. He wants sophisticated food at times. He does not like "lutong Bahay". He would always request that we eat in restaurants or asks me to prepare something different. He eats a lot when dining out. He calls himself a "fruitatarian" because he loves all kinds of fruits. Jianne craves for sinigang, nilaga, typical pinoy dishes but does not eat much when we eat out. She does not care much fruit except for mango and banana but would finish the okra in sinigang and eat broccoli with her fingers.

Coby is the talker in the family. His voice would always fill the house. Jianne is quiet, a bit reserved, quite shy too.

Learning style...Coby is a visual learner. He learns best with visually attractive curriculum and materials. Maybe that's why he is into art. He paints and draws well too. I still have to find out Jianne's primary learning style but I could see that she may be an auditory or kinesthetic learner. She loves music and dancing.

There are still a lot more waiting to be discovered from these two blessings. I just pray that God would allow me to witness all their milestones in life. I also pray that despite their differences, they would continue to love each other no matter what and wherever God takes them.

Taming the Tongue

The greatest influence our children would have is us, their parents. We taught them how to talk and guided them as they started to walk. It's funny when I see kids walk and talk like their parents. It's like looking at mini versions of Mom and Dad. Not only do we pass on physical traits and mannerisms, we also intentionally and unintentionally pass on to them the values that we want them to have.  Because I homeschool our kids, I would say that I am my children's greatest influence, not to exclude my husband, of course. But since I am with them 24/7 I have more opportunity to teach them and impact them in a positive way. 

 

When I talk to Coby, our eldest, somehow I could see some semblance of me in him. I claim or even argue that he looks like me but some people insist that he is a little Peewee. Go figure  :-) Aside from the physical aspect, I see his interest in writing, creating his own stories and cooking as well. But the most striking trait he got from me are my  exasperated expressions like "Hay naku!"

He expresses this phrase exactly the same way I do especially when he is dealing with his younger sister, Jianne. From the tone, to the facial expression and hand gestures, it's all me. The first time I saw this I thought it was kinda cute but then again, it's not a good thing. I would hear him talk to his sister in a mean way and I would always call his attention and correct him. I would even ask him, "Why do you speak like that to your sister? Why are you so mean?" I could sense that he feels there is nothing wrong with what he said maybe because I could be mean to him too at times. He would feel ashamed afterwards and say sorry to his sister.

Somehow Coby's negative behavior only mirrors what I do when I do not control my tongue. But the Lord is good at reminding me of my weakness and my need to tame my tongue. Realizing, again, that I used harsh words on him, asking for forgiveness is the next thing to do.

Did you know that the tongue is the most powerful muscle in the body? Such great power for a tiny part of the body. Likewise, in the words that we use to communicate with other people, our children or our spouse, we forget that the words that we speak have so much impact on other people that we end up either encouraging them or hurting them. 

James 1: 19 says, Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

 

James 3:5-6 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

We, as parents, are the primary life teachers of our children. Let us not let our our anger and our untamed tongues influence them. Instead, we should acknowledge that we cannot parent our children by ourselves. We need someone who is the best example of patience and love and this is our our Heavenly Father who richly gives us everything we need. He will give us the patience, the wisdom, and compassion to bring up our children the way He wants us.

How We Won an iPad at the Philippine Homeschool Conference

If we built a school from the ground up based on how children learn best, we’d build a HOME. – Debra Bell

The Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands (HAPI) recently concluded the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference last May 19, 2012. Throngs of homeschooling dads and moms along with prospective homeschooling families flocked the 5th floor of St. Francis Square to attend this blessed event.

Hubby and I arrived a little after 8 am and we saw most of the seats at the plenary occupied already, good sign  As we headed to the registration, I saw a glimpse of  a mini  orchestra of homeschooled kids on stage serenading the delegates.

I was surprised to find out that the DepEd representative, Mr. Tonisito Umali, also homeschooled his son while transitioning from the United States to the Philippines. He believed that the parents have the responsibility of delivering the basic foundation of their children’s education. He narrated some of the programs of the department that addresses the issue of lack of classrooms, which is somehow patterned to homeschooling.

Catholic Filipino Academy founder, Bo Sanchez, delivered his message with wit. While sharing his personal experiences on homeschooling his kids, he encouraged the delegates by citing that children receive worth, wisdom and the Word when they are homeschooled. He added that the highest priority of the parents is to develop a relationship with their children and homeschooling is the best environment to do that.

Pioneer homeschooling mom and author of the book, “The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling”, Debra Bell, affirmed our family’s decision to homeschool four years ago. She talked about why homeschooling works. She said that kids learn best when they are able to process things using their five senses. Homeschooling caters to the multi-sensory approach in learning as they experience first hand the lessons taught at home. Homeschooling works because of its academic advantages such as independent learning, acceleration if need be or remediation. She added that homeschoolers have the advantage of being mentored by adults and  influenced by positive older peers.

As my husband and I listened intently to Ms. Debra Bell, we acknowledged that there is still A LOT more to learn. Though we have been doing this for four years, we need talks like these to be better parent-teachers. The old way of doing homeschooling in our family simply does not work and it only wears us down. With new insights and wisdom from the Lord, I am looking forward to the next school year. We pray that our home and the world be the best classroom for our kids.

On the aside, after pre-registering for the conference, I found out that four iPads will be given away. As much as we want to get one for the family, it’s not on our NEED list but on the WANT list. Since enrollment is just a month away, purchasing this tablet would be on hold indefinitely. I shared to the hubby and the kids that iPads would be given away at the conference. So daily, we prayed that God does not give us only our need but also our want.

The day of the conference, my husband and I were both pumped and just excited to learn more. Towards the end of the program, minor prizes were being given. My husband won a tumbler and a USB from TMA. After announcing the winners minor prizes, the hosts went up the stage for the grand prize. Three names were called and everybody was cheering for the winner. I almost lost hope for the iPad, I said, it’s okay Lord, maybe it’s not for us. When the lady slowly shouted the winning ticket number, “4…0… ( My heart was pounding at this time, please say 1 or 2, 1 or 2) and then 2! Wilfred Agbayani!”

I jumped from my seat and grabbed my husband. I even hugged the person in front of us, who we just met. What a way to end the day, indeed! Thank you Lord for this bonus for the family! We would surely use it for our homeschooling.

first win of the day, 2 movie tickets at any ayala cinema



won another minor prize, TMA tumbler and 2G USB



and the winner is ticket number 4…0..2!!!

Free Milk for Babies

I was a senior in high school back in the 90's when our English teacher asked us to visit the library. We were told to search for subjects that might interest us for our term paper. As I rummaged through the old books and encyclopedias, I stumbled upon an article on breastfeeding in a woman's magazine. When I saw the title, "Breastfeeding: Best for Babies", I was immediately taken back in time.

I was 5 or 7 years old, minding my own business, when lo and behold, I saw our helper expose her breasts to feed her baby. I was confused as a child as this was the first time I saw this mother and child scene. When my mother saw that I was dumbfounded, she explained to me that our helper was breastfeeding her baby. She said the baby is taking in milk from his mother's breast. I didn't know milk came out of that!

After that brief moment at the library, I immediately copied the title in a 1/4 sheet of pad paper and kept it in my pocket to be submitted later to my teacher. I found two more additional topics during our library time  but the one that my English teacher approved was, you guessed it, the breastfeeding subject.

Fast forward to the future, I had our first child. I told myself that I would breastfeed him since I have all the information on breastfeeding recorded in my brain. My husband and I even attended a breastfeeding seminar in one hospital in Alabang just to make sure that I would really be serious at it.

After giving birth at the hospital, it took a while before I was able to get up and see him in the nursery. At first attempt, it did not work. Why didn't it work? It was because the nurses already fed him using a feeding bottle. I remember giving instructions that I would be breastfeeding him but still they gave him formula. The nurse told me that it's normal. Milk does not come out easily during the first try. She told me to come back after two hours and try again. I came back and tried again, he suckled a little and then just gave up.

On discharge on route to our house, our baby started crying incessantly. So, my instinct tells me to give him my breast. I remember that I was so frustrated because he couldn't get any milk from me. The flow of milk was not that strong and he was getting angry too. I tried my best until we reached home.

After the ooh's and aah's at home from my parents, he started crying again. I tried to feed him but to no avail. He kept on crying and I can't do anything about it. Imagine my despair as a first time mom who is trying my best to feed my baby but how come the lessons I got from the breastfeeding class does not work at all. My mom, seeing my inability to feed my child, asked the maid to buy formula at the supermarket. I really felt I cheated on my child that day. I was crying too feeling helpless.

To cut the long story short, I was only able to breastfeed him for only 2 to 3 months, which was unfortunately supported by formula which I regretted later.

I vowed after that, if God would bless us with another child, I would not give up that easily on breastfeeding.

And God heard our prayer, He gave us a baby girl. This time I made sure I did my homework. While still pregnant, I told my doctor that I would be including breastfeeding in my birthing plan. I think the doctor had written down my instructions in my chart plus I also informed the nurses that I would be exclusively breastfeeding her.

What we thought as a "easy" delivery turned out to be the opposite and a delicate one at that. Because of the baby's position in the womb, it was going to be difficult for me to push and the baby to go down the pelvis. They had to do an emergency C-section because I have been pushing for so long and the baby might be in trouble. Finally, she was out but I was so dazed I couldn't remember seeing her in the delivery room. As soon as I went up to my room, I immediately asked that the baby be roomed in with me. The doctors advised me not too because of my surgery but I insisted because I has to breastfeed. I wanted to make sure that I would be the one feeding my baby. So she was brought in, all bundled up in that tiny blanket. After checking if all the body parts were complete and smelling and kissing her, I tried to feed her. There was no milk coming out yet, which was normal, as I was told. Because I had no milk at that time, the baby was hungry, the hospital sent their formula to my room. I had no choice but to take the formula. So I put a small amount of formula in a medicine cup and tried to feed my baby. Little by little she was able to take in milk. I was so happy because no feeding bottle was used. For 2 or 3 days, that was how she was fed because my milk supply was not available yet.

After about one week, the milk came in and boy was I sore. I was crying because my breasts were so engorged that I could breathe anymore. I had to call my friend, who is a breastfeeding coach on what to do. She told me to just massage the breast and put hot compress over it. It was painful and again, it was normal. The milk supply is just coming in that's why I feel that my breasts are so full. I needed to express some of the milk to help relieve the pressure. I could not remember how many days the fullness and pain lasted, but when it did, it was such a relief. I could now feed her more comfortably and I was more relaxed. My friend told me when my body is relaxed, the milk would flow easily.

It did flow for almost three years. I exclusively breastfed our second child for 2 years and 9 months. She never liked the taste of formulas. Neither did she like bottle feeding. There were times I had to express milk and put them in bottles, she would not take them. So I had to bring her with me everywhere I go.

Good thing that moms and Filipino moms have been open to the idea of breastfeeding. Even companies have been supported of breastfeeding moms that they have allowed us to breastfeed our kids comfortably and in public without shame.

Some of the breasfteeding items I enjoyed the most were:

Nursing blouses or dresses. Not only did it keep our private feeding time with baby discrete, these blouses are stylish as well. There are different styles and some of which you can wear as an ordinary blouse. The blouses either have zippers or slits that would hide the breast while feeding. Mommy Matters from Havin' a Baby sells these cute blouses for moms.

Nursing bras. Some moms I have talked to didn't like wearing nursing bras but I appreciated them. Search for them at the lingerie section of your favorite malls.



Breast pads. Oh so helpful in those days when the milk just can't stop. Have to change it often too especially is your milk supply is more than enough.

Nursing bib or Cover up. If you don't have a nursing blouse, the nursing bib can help you cover up when baby is feeding. I was blessed by my sister in law who gave me not two but three of her nursing bibs and they are just so cute.

Baby sling. This is my all-time favorite breastfeeding/attachment parenting tool that was ever created. We ou see African women or even here in our country, mothers who live in tribes carry their babies either on their backs on a sling. This modern day baby slings have different designs to suit you and your baby. The baby sling that I bought can also be used as a cover up because of the style. I got mine from Babyland and when you purchase one, an instructional CD is included in the package. It will teach you the different ways of carrying your baby or toddler.

I believe God designed mothers to breastfeed their children. Not only is this free, it has great health benefits for both baby and mom. No bottles to clean or bulky bags to carry around. Moms can feed anytime and anywhere and it creates an intimate bond between mother and child that lasts a lifetime.