Mommy Stalker!

I so love my daughter's school Kidddo Academy, I was watching her at school, while Im in the office(yes I can watch her from the office by goign to their site on the internet). At first, I was shocked to see the teachers just chatting with eachother, and the kids playing. I thought what the heck are they doing? Their suppose to teach the kids! You see my daughter is in school 8 hours a day. Full day, from 8-5pm. She's 3 years old, I specifically chose that schedule because I am the one who brings her to school and fetch her too, so she has to be in school the whole time I'm in the office. To continue on my story, I was getting mad because I thought the teachers don't teach the kids in the afternoon. There are only two of them left, 2 kids little J and Sasha, and there are 2 teachers too. So its a 1 on 1 ration which is very good. So I just watched them, I told myself it is ok if they just play in the afternoon children learn thru play too and the teachers are very so I'll let it pass. But at exactly 3pm, the teachers stop chatting and called the 2 kids to sit. They went to teach the 2 kids. She first started to introduce to them their lesson, then she called the kids to the whiteboard and asked them to write the letters. They have a seatwork afterwards.

I love this school, they really do their job, apparently it was snack time, thats why the kids are allowed to play and the teachers just chat. They do their work, and the kids love the lessons and kids love the teachers as well. I was just over reacting.. haha.

Graduation

A motto(from the Italian for pledge, sentence; plural mottos or mottoes) is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottos of governments.

source wikipedia

My daughter is having a "Moving Up" Ceremony on March 20. It is a very important momment for me and my daughter. She will be "graduating". She's in nursery and its not actually a graudation, but I am so damn proud of her. She has learned a lot of things, not just in academics but more so on social skills. She used to be a meak and shy little kid who wont let go of my hand
and get scared of every new face she sees. No she has conquered the Alpahbeth, Addition and Subtraction, she can read and is confident enough to do the cat walk on their United Nations Celebrations.

I am so excited for this event, and I am glad that the school prepares a lot for it too. They have yearbook, photobook, they will be wearing toga and my daughter is performing.

My problem is I have to come up with a motto to put on her yearbook. I was given a from by the teacher this morning for this. I have to fill up the questions:
Name of Pupil:
Lavel:
Birthdate:
Address:
Mother's Name:
Father's Name:
Motto:
Ambition:

Most of it are easy to answer except for the "Father's Name". I always leave it blank, not that I don't know who her father, of course I do, but from the time I was pregnant, I made a promise to my parents to not even mention his name. Her birth certifate says "unkown", and we specifically decided to do that. So that, he will not have any claims on her. You see if I write down his name on the birth certificate, i will have to go to him and ask him to sign to acknowledge the papers, I don't want to do that. If he does sign it, that means he has equal rights as I am, and I don't want to give him any right at all. My daughter is mine, all mine. I don't need him to acknowledge her, I don't need him to help me raise her. From that time on, I have decided that I will be the sole provider for little J, I'll give her everything she needs and try to give her everything she wants. I believe I have been successful doing this.

So for her yearbook, I will still not put any name on "Father's Name" I will just leave it blank, same as his existence in our life.

Wait, I don't want to leave the "Motto" blank too, do you have any suggestions? I dont know is I am going to put a serious quote on it or just a casual, funny one. I'd like it to sound like little J was the one who thought of it, something cute, something that a 3 year old would actually say.

Straight A's Again!!!!

Yesterday, I panicked because I didn't know that I was to pick up little J's report card last Saturday. Teacher Liza called me in the office and reminded me about it. She said little J has a lower grade this time because she always fail to do her homework. I felt so guilty, I know I am to blame, because I am always too tired to check if she does have an assignment. I don't sit with her and review for quizzes either. I am such a lousy mom in this sense. I think I focus more on how to provide for her, since Im a single mom. Earning enough is my top priority. That's why I have too much work to do. As an architect I am working on 2 Projects right now, A nail spa and a Bus/Heavy Equipment showroom, and this is still different from my work in the office. Then there is sweetytots-booksale, and internet shop/marketing is not enough for me I joined in a bazzar. Since my mom is in the US I also manage the house too, budget, bills, groceries. Then I still do paid blogging. So I am an Architect, an entrepreneur, a blogger, a housekeeper, a mom/a dad, all at the same time. I am guilty for taking the role of a "dad" too much, being the sole provider for my daughter, that I usually tends to forget on how to be a mom. I shower her with gifts, with toys but fail to spend quality time with her. We'll even though I have all this failures I am so happy and proud that she still got

Straight A's

as grade. She's smart and doesn't need much help on studying. You might be wondering why the teacher told me she got lower grades, she got A- in Writing it used to be A. But She got higher grades in 4 of her other subjects A is now an A+ for her Self Learning Activities, Reading, Math & Science. She maintained A+ for her Language and Values.

Here is the complete list:
Reading = A its now A+
Writing = A now A-
Math = A now A+
Science = A now A+
Language= A+ now A+
Values = A+ now A+
Computer= A now A
Self
Learning= A now A+

Narrative Report:
Independent. Jea is an independedt girl. She can do things with little supervision and now participates on every activity inside the classroom.

Benefits of Reading with your Kids

Once upon a time, parents read to their children before bedtime…before the regular intervention by television, computers and telephones. The children benefited from close contact with their families, they honed the ability to sit still and follow a story, their imaginations were boosted by all the creative input, and reading skills were put in place before schooling even started. And they all lived happily ever after.
Well OK, maybe the last bit is stretching it but the rest is not a fairy story. The benefits of reading to our children are immeasurable but in a world where screens rather than pages dominate, we need to try and re-introduce a passion for books and all they can offer. Here´s how:

Allowing children some scope to choose what they want to read is essential. Your child might not want to read from a classic but could happily sit for hours with comics or magazines…in this case a magazine subscription gives them fresh material every month.
We have to accept also that times have moved on, and whilst curling up on the sofa with a good book appeals to us as parents, maybe finding a website with reading material and games that encourage reading aloud may grab their attention.
Visiting the library is a fantastic way to let children browse through all the available books, letting them find one that triggers their imagination. Many libraries have reading groups for children, encourage them to try this once or twice…seeing other children get enthusiastic about books might encourage them. (Library books also encourage them to respect other peoples’ property as well, never a wasted lesson.)
One thing that never fails to get my kids attention is when mummy turns into Sinbad the Sailor or the Gruffalo…act out the story, make it come alive! Let them see what good fun it is, and turn reading into a game by asking what they think will happen on the next page.
Never discourage interruptions; it shows the story is prompting questions and triggering their imagination…just what you wanted!
Reading is a really special gift we can all give to our children everyday, if only for 10 minutes. It doesn´t cost a lot, is great fun and is a real investment in their future.


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Preschool Checklist Part 4

For the last part of the Preshool Checklist, the last Category would be "Readiness" this is the general guideline for development of our tots. This is the most usual areas that we first try to teach our children, the very basic ones. This is also very important, because this helps the children in their everyday life.

So here it is: Part 4
"Readiness"
*Recognize and name 8 basic colors
*Touch and count or make sets up to 5
*Follow directions to simple activities after being instructed once
*Match letters of alphabet, name some of them
*See likeness, differences, absurdities, and missing parts
*Recognize numerals to 5,10,15,20
*Understand concepts of size and weight: big, long, tall, more, full etc.
*Understand concepts of time and location: under, far, top, low etc.
*Identifies bofy parts:chin heel, elbow, ankle
*Replicate simple patterns and sequences
*Work independently
*Interpret or read pictures
*Participate in songs, games rhythmic activities
*Give address, phone number, parent name and age

I wonder, if little tots should also be in the know of the latest buzz, just like Manny's winning bout against dela Hoya.

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Preschool Checklist Part2

Here is the continuation for the Preschool Checklist. The checklist is divided into categories, Social Skills, Motor and Self-Help, Speech and Language and Readiness. Im going to list down the Motor Skills and Self-Help Part 2. I believe this one is the most neglected part, maybe because things are so simple that we thought it will, just come naturally or some parents are so scared to make them try, just like letting them use scissors, but because of that too that we should take more effort into training them in this area. So this is one thing that parents should prioritize. My advice is to not be frustrated, since this are very simple things, we thought it should be a lot easier for them. Most kids develop this later than expected. My daughter has accomplished all of this skills, primarily because I recognized the need to train her and help her out with the skills early on. Most kids develop this skills at 4 or 5.



Motor and Self-Help Part 2
* Demonsrate coordinated large muscle movements- 1 foot hopping, skipping, jumping, ball skills, wheel toys etc.
* Comfortable on playroom equipment
* Spread with knife
* Manipulate item held with fingers
* Have established hand dominance
* Use a mature grasp on writing tools
* Draw simple figures
* Draw a 6-7 part person
* Copy a circle, triangle, square and cross
* Have simple cutting, coloring and pasting skills (yes mommies! let your 3 year old use scissors.. she first used scissors at 1year 7 months)
* Open and close lunh bags
* handle fasteners (butons, zippers) for clothes, learning to tie shoe
* Use bathroom porperly and obey rules of sanitation
* keep things out of mouth
* take care of own belongings
* copy and name a few letters (She just wrote me a Christmas Card) of course with the hep of her teacher.. because I will truly be amazed if she was the one who speeled it correctly.)

I am Guilty! I sneaked and I peeked!

When I drop little J to school today. I saw her class card on top of the teachers table. Ok, I know I should not touch it. It's their 2nd card issuance on Saturday and when I saw the report I was tempted to take a look. I wanted to see her grades. Ok, Im sorry I know, it was not right. But I gave it to temptation and got her card and took a peek. And I am so happy with what I saw.

These are here grades with the corresponding previous grades. I am so proud of my daughter she all straight A's.


First Quarter
Reading : A
Writing : B+
MAth: A
Science : B+
Language: A
Values : A
Computer
Education: A-
Self Learning
Activities: A-

Second Quarter
Reading : A
Writing : A
MAth: A+
Science : A
Language: A+
Values : A+
Computer
Education: A+
Self Learning
Activities: A+

Legend:

outstanding = 97-100 A+
Excellent = 93-96 A
Very Good = 89-92 A-
Good = 85-88 B+

She improved in all her subjects! Staright A's



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My baby completely forgot about Me!

Parenting has two conflicting roles, nurturing, but also supporting a child’s independence and building up his own personality. It can be very painful to go from one to another.

Something different happened today, when I brought little J to school she completely forgot about me. She usually asks me to stay for awhile when I bring her to school, but not this time. When we got in the school as soon as she saw her teacher she forgot about me. I was still there in her classroom fixing her school bag and lunch box in her cubbie when she left me. She just left me! Can you believe that?

She didn't even ask permission if she can go already, she didn't even remembered to say goodbye. She just went out the classroom and hurriedly went to the AVR to join her classmates with their circles. So I followed her to the AVR and called her to ask for my goodbye kiss. So I called her name and said, "Kiss" to remind her to kiss me goodbye before I leave for the office. And you know what happened when I said "kiss?". She turned to her teacher and went to kiss her. She completely forgot about me!!! Ouch! So her teacher said, "No, its Mommy who is asking for a kiss. Go and kiss mommy." So she went to me and gave me a kiss. I may be over reacting a bit, but when that happened, I suddenly had flash backs of her first day of school, when she was crying and wont even let go of my hand. I stayed in her classroom as they sing, play and study, the whole day still holding my hand. I remembered how she cried for weeks when I leave her in school.
Somehow I am happy because of her new found independence. She felt comfortable of not having me around, she felt at least with her teachers and classmates. Yes, that is what I wanted for her to learn. To realize that there is a lot more in the world than mommy. I am proud of my little angel. She grew up, that's what it is. Not a baby anymore. Now she is ready to face other challenges, first school, making friends, having dreams, crushes, high school, college, work. Oh no! Im going too fast now, it will take years before that happens.

It hurts to lose your baby, but its is also empowering, pride, achievement. Yes, we have conquered this first step, there is still a lot of steps to get to the end, she may be confident enough to conquer it all, but one thing is for sure, I will aways be at her back pushing her up, or by her side holding her hand or in front of her pulling her little hands to reach that top. There are times that she will acknowledge my presence, there will be times that she will forget. But even if she does, I will still be with her. Letting go is hard, but its what we all parents have to go through to train them for their future.

Tips for letting go:

Allow your child to try to do things for himself – even if means making a mess. This may mean spending more time at the table as he tries to feed himself, or him wearing an outfit that you don’t really like. But giving him independence will help in the long run.

Listen to your child – if you're treating him as a baby, he may well tell you. You need to make sure you take note.

Don’t hover – let your child know that you're there if needed, but that you’re also giving him the space he needs.

Wordless Wednesday

Highlights of the United Nations Celebration in Kiddo Academy

As always my Wordless Wednesday is in Sequence be sure to visit all to see the realtion between the 3 entries my

sweet...pretty...naughty

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Introduction Spiel

I've searched for the national costume for little J. Now I have to look for an introduction spiel. It has to be in Argentinian language, just a short sentece decribing Argintina, just like how they do it in beauty pageants.

So, I stretched all the abilities of blogging and looked for Argentinian blogger. I am lucky to find 2, from Emilia's blog roll and they replied back. Here is zime's reply on my question what would be a good introduction for Argentina.


Hi! Here are same photos from the "Ballet folclórico Argentino"
http://www.balletfolcargentino.com/links/fundacion_diarc/fundacion1.asp

Some presentation could be:
"Hola mi nombre es (your names daughter) y vengo desde las tierras gauchas con mi mate y mi guitarra. Donde se baila el tango, se juega al fúbtol y se comen empanadas."

Hope this help you!!
(^v^)

I wish she also included the translation in english so that I'll understand.
I'm still waiting for another reponse from another blogger.

I'm so grateful about blogging. This ia a lot of help.


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First ever class card issuance

We went to school today to get little J's first ever class card. I still can't belive that I already have a daughter who goes to school. She did very well. I will right down her grades here, only because I'm too lazy to scan it and post it here.


Reading : A
Writing : B+
MAth: A
Science : B+
Language: A
Values : A
Computer
Education: A-
Self Learning
Activities: A-

Legend:

outstanding = 97-100 A+
Excellent = 93-96 A
Very Good = 89-92 A-
Good = 85-88 B+


Narrative Report:

Very friendly girl. Unlike her first days in Kiddo Academy. She now

Class card Issuance

Tomorrow is the first class card issuance for little J. I am excited and nervous. Its her first ever to receive a grade from school. I know she did great she is a smart kid.

After that, we will go to Mall of Asia for a talk with Anthony PAngilinan about raising kids. Owie/ Kristo and Lea/Sasha will join us. I know it will be fun.

Prechool Worries

I've always found little J very smart. She has always been advance in all he milestones. She started walking at 7 months. Reading letters at 1yr 3 months. Addition and subtraction at age 2. She can solve 24 piece puzzle in less that 3 minutes when she was 1yr 5 months. She can now read 3 letter word and writes most of the letters on her own. What worried me is that when she started going to school, I noticed that her developments are not that advanced anymore. Its sort of just in normal advancements. Its scary for me. I thought she will nurture her knowledge more if she goes to school, but since the school is in a specific curriculum she also follows the same curriculum which she already knew. She knows all her lessons already, she also feels bored at times because of it. I enrolled her in an intensive class thinking she will get more attention because its not just an ordinary class. I even talked to the teacher and asked if they can give advance or more challenging lessons to her.

On the other side is that I'm also happy for her. Because she gets to enjoy being a kid, not too pressured because of er abilities. On the other side I also feel that her intelligence is being wasted if they don't give more challenging stuff for her.

My daughter the accidental fashion victim

I just got a call from my 3 year old daughter. She is crying and I panicked, so I opened the CCTV Monitor from her school so that I can see whats happening. I thought its something to be scared about, shes crying and she has to call me from her cellphone.

I can already see those eyebrows raising as the readers read this blog. Yes, i gave my 3 year old daughter a cellphone, its a hand me down. And yes she already know how to use a cellphone. And yes I can see her my pc monitor in the office as I do my work or write this blog. Their school has a CCTV system that lets you see evrything in school as they teach them to sing, dance write letter A etc. And yes im a very paranoid mom.

Going back to the story, she is crying because her new sandals is missing. Her class is 3 times a week on full day, yes full day 8am to 5pm. Sometime they have to change to casual clothes in the after if they soiled their uniforms already, so she has a bunch of clothes there already. I brought her dress in yellow and green checkered today, she has all sort of things there already and would be for replenishment of her back-up clothes only.

Her ever "reliable" (imagine the most sarcastic voice) yaya told us that its in school. We've been looking for it for days, since its new she always ask for it. Now that she has to change shoes, its nowhere in sight. Its thei P.E. day today so, that mean her only shoes is her pink chunky rubber shoes. And I saw her teacher dressing her up with the yellow and gree dress with black wand white striped leggings and a pink rubber shoes. I know punk is in, in some age bracket or in some culture but not for my daughter. I can already imagine how she looks like. No wonder, why she has to call me in panic. Eventhough she's only 3 she already knows what looks good or not. She doesnt want to be a fashion victim

I'll post the picture tomorrow. I'll take her picture as I fetch her from school.

One Step at a time

Its been almost a month since Jea started school in Kiddo Academy. For the first 2weeks, its really hard for me to leave her. She would cry as soon as I let go of her hands. Even if it is just to fix her hair. After that, slowly she learned that I will still leave her in school, even if she cry. I believe it was even harder for me, but I have to. As I go to the office, riding in the bus or walking to the building, the sound of her cry still lingers in my head. I'm glad that Kiddo Academy has CCTV, I can watch her as soon as I get in the oofice and logged in the internet. Most of the time, she's already playing or doing their activity.

Now, she cries sometimes. One time she cried, because she's hungry. So teacher Liza let her eat first before the lesson. The, there's one time that she is sad because she is not feeling well. Later that afternoon she got a fever. Most of the time she cries because she doesnt like teacher Franklin. She is afraid of men, the only men she know is Papa (Lolo) and Nongnong (my brother). MAybe this is one of the consiquence of not having a father. You see, im a single mom. And Jea never got to see her dad. So to Jea's father, Pam. This is what you did to her. hehehe.. She's fine. Just a little scared of men. I just wish she stays that way till her teens hehe.

I am also so thankful of the teachers of Kiddo, they have been very, very, nice to Jea. They adjust to the childrens needs. They even changed teacher assignement, so that teacher Franklin wouldnt be assigned to Jea's class. They even wait for hours if I am late in picking up Jea to school. They even carry and lull the kids if they want when their sleepy. So to the teachers of Kiddo Academy. Thank you so much. For taking care of my daughter, for staying beside her when she's crying, when she's sad, or not feeling well. Thank you so much, for really caring for the kids.

So for now, we are taking one step at a time. Jea, into getting comfortable in school. Me, in geeting comfortable that she is in school.

First long test at Kiddo Academy

Would you believe that Jea will be taking her first Long test this July 17? It freaked me out. Why do a 3 year old baby has to take long test already. I thought she will just be playing around and be nice to her classmates. Did she really learned something already? I guess she did, shes a fast learner infact shes so intelligent that she knows more than what they teached her in school for now. But the real question would be, will she answer the correct answer on the their test? She always fools around, she is so naughty that even if she knows the sorrect answer, more often than not. She gives the wrong one to make people laugh. She has such a strong sense of humor that she makes almost everything into a punchline for her joke. So lets just wait and see....

Litratong Pinoy #6 PAg-aaral

Kuha ito sa unang araw ang pag-aaral ng aking anak. Napaka bilis talga ng panahon at di man ako makapaniwala ay isang estudyante na siya.

Napaka saya ng kanyang unang araw sa eskwela. BAgamat sa unay natakot at hindi bumitaw sa aking kamay, kalaunan ay nagsimula na siyang makisaya at maglaro kasama ng kanyang kaeskwela.

kiddo academy first lessons

Things to know about Jea (Expectations)

PArt 3,

These are my expectations of what she may learn from Kiddo Academy.

Expectations

1. I hope you can develop her social skills, to make her feel comfortable with other kids, teachers and new friends.
2. I expect the school and teachers to further develop her strengths. Give activities that encourage singing and dancing to teach her new songs. Children like nursery rhymes. Hope you can inject this in everyday activities.
3. To develop her creativity with drawings and other crafts.
4. Some reading time, storytelling. This will encourage more fondness in books.
5. To incorporate games into their lessons. This keeps them enthusiastic and energetic and encourage more interactions with others.
6. Let them stand up and learn through example, To use their senses into learning things. Shapes can be more retained in their mind if they are shown and actually hold what objects is triangle, round, or square.
7. Kids love to pretend and do role playing. Hope you can integrate dress-up and imaginative activities.
8. You can also use themes that are very close to their heart so that it will have better recall. Like you can make them draw a castle using basic shapes rectangle and squares and pretend that this is where Cinderella is going to, to meet the prince.
9. To always hear English conversation so she gets used to speaking in English again.

English 101

Its only been 3 just 3 classes, on Jea's first week of school at Kiddo Academy but I can already see that I made the right decision. At first 2 days I was really frustrated of what I've been seeing through the CCTV. There was not much that's happening. Very few lessons and activities are far in between. They mostly play and sleep in school. I thought she wasn't learning anything. The very paranoid mom in me, and of course with the same frustrations that I was hearing with the fellow mommies, wanted to go to the school and tell them what I wanted and don't want o see.

And we did, the 3 of us (Owie, Lea and me) went to school to talk to them regarding how we wanted it to be. Asking them what was happening an what do they intend to teach the very precious children. We went there to talk to teacher Jo and she explained it very well. They intentionally didnt give the kids so much lessons and activities on the first week because they dont want them to be shocked of what school is. They want the kids to feel that they are just playing without knowing that they are already learning. The teachers are very accommodating and caring. I was touched to see how they attend to Jeam from her eating, and even carrying her, singing lullaby for her to sleep in the afternoon. I know that they are extending not just an arm, a leg but most importantly their heart into caring for the kids.

Actually I think, its only the parents that are expecting too much. Especially me, since I know that Jea is very intelligent, I wanted them to teach her so much and to push her too much, not thinking that this might do more harm.

For now, I am really happy and appreciative that I enrolled her to Kiddo Academy. I can already see how she has learned. It is really hard for me to train her to speak in English since most people in our home talk to her in tagalog. Now she casually uses English as language for conversation. i am shocked and very happy to hear her say few words and sentences in english. Even nangnang pau is really shocked. She usually talks to Jea in tagalog too, but when she noticed that Jea now speaks a lot of english she instantly became aware to talk to her more in english.

These are some of those english:

We woke up on a rainy day and asked me "What's that?" and I said, "umuulan". She told me in a sarcastic voice, "tagalog?". So I laughed and tolg her, "oh, its raining".

I offered her something to eat.. and her answer? "No, thank you."

We went to buy some markers for Kristo and Sasha too. When we get to the car she said " Mama, we bought markers for Kristo and Sasha."

When she opened a bag of chips, she went to me and said "you want?" then gave me one and said "take one"

When she accidentally dropped her Clay into water she said " oh my! my clay"

When she finsihed washing her hands she said "Im done."

There are a lot more but I cant remember it all.

I know this is very basic english. But I've been training her for a long time already and she really wont speak in english. She knows and understand english but she wont speak it because basically she doesnt believe that there are other people who speak it too. Since she commonly hear tagalog in out home. Its only me and mama who speak to her in english. The rest of the family doesnt belive that she needs to know english. For them, she will learn it on a later age. But for me, she has to use it as her basic and first language since nowadays most kids speak more in english than in tagalog. I dont want her to be left out or to think that she is dumb or in anyway inferior to others. She is so intelligent and making her speak in english is very easy for her if we only train her to.