July was Nutrition Month and as part of their culminating activity, their school held a food parade and a short program in celebration of Nutrition Month. The Nursery level students were supposed to wear costumes from the food group GO, which are carbohydrates like rice, starch and bread. Since Joachim likes to eat pizza, I made him a pizza costume.

I got the pizza box for free from one of the pizza stores in a mall – without buying a pizza! His costume was made of cardboard and felt paper. He was a little overwhelmed at first before the start of their parade, but eventually warmed up. He got a lot of treats from the grade school and high school students, sort of a trick or treat for them. After the parade, they had a short program where their class presented a dance number. I was not informed that they would wear the costume during their presentation, if I knew then, I would have made the costume a little smaller.

He had fun after all, although he just danced a little. Mommy and daddy are so happy as well, and proud too of our school boy. ; )

This is the first time that he wore his school uniform and I’m so happy that he posed for the camera for this. He even posed with his bag. He was really well behaved after I helped him dressed and it seems like he did not want to get his uniform dirty. He just sat down in a chair and waited for me to finish until we were ready to go to school.  He is such a neat freak sometimes. He even noticed some dirt on his shoes and asked me if I could wipe the dirt off. : )

Last Friday, his bento box had pepperoni chicken fingers, star-shaped cheese sandwiches, baked potato wedges, some grapes and a strawberry. He barely ate his food in school and his teacher said it seems that he had no appetite. Maybe because he was running a low-grade fever then. He had fever up until Sunday, but he is better now.

For his bento box, he had pizza today (Monday). I cut it into bite-sized pieces because he can eat it better that way. I also threw in some grapes (which he ate…hooray!) and a few carrot sticks and sausages in those cute food picks. We were eating carrot sticks together the morning before he went to school, but he did not eat them in school. I got those new bento box and bento accessories from Saizen in Robinson’s Galleria Mall, plus those silicone cups and grass food divider. There were a lot of bento boxes and bento accessories there and I would definitely come back to buy more. ; )

Last Wednesday, Joachim started Nursery and we were all excited. It was an early start for him because there was an orientation at 7:30 a.m. and then a classroom orientation at about 8:00 a.m. Parents were allowed to stay inside the classroom, but the next day they are on their own. It was funny to see other parents who are also excited for their child’s first day in school. At least I was not the only one. : ) They were also in their casuals since it is not yet the start of official classes. It was also a good thing for him that it was the same classroom he had when he attended the Camp Readiness during summer, and also the same teacher. Joachim did not cry, but he was a little anxious to be left alone.

Since it was a shortened period, they just did some activities for that day. The next day, it was still an early schedule for them because their official classes will not start until Friday. I had packed him a light snack, which is my first attempt of a bento. I cannot find a suitable bento box for him, so I just used a small transparent lunch box and filled it with a cheese sandwich (cut in half) from whole wheat bread, half a banana, yogurt drink and a few panda cookies.

When I checked his lunch box after school, the only thing he ate was the Panda cookies and the yogurt drink, but he did ask for his lunch box while we were in the car and ate the sandwich. I think this lunch box thing will be a challenge for me. I have to find a nice bento box for Joaqui this weekend. Hopefully in the coming days, he will eat most of what is inside his bento box.

Joachim will be starting school this Wednesday and Mr. Agustin and I are really excited. We already got his books, complete set of uniforms and school supplies. Actually I think we’re much more excited than Joachim. Hahaha…. I’m searching the internet for lunchbox suggestions for preschoolers because I want Joachim to eat healthy even in school. I think I have to be creative too to entice him to eat what’s inside his lunchbox.

He also had his haircut and tomorrow we will have his AH1N1 vaccine. He was supposed to have it last week, but he got sick with cough and colds. We’re also done with the school’s orientation for the parents of new students and on Wednesday, it will be their classroom orientation.

As much as good education is important, I also want Joachim to enjoy school and have fun. I’m really excited and can’t wait for his classes to start. I hope he won’t cry this time. ; )

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I was browsing the internet for preschool activities when I found this article by Shirley’s Preschool Activities, which highlight some points on which parents should focus during this critical time in a child’s life. This is quite a long read, but it’s worth it.

1. Love and Obedience

Teach your children to love one another and obey their parents. If you allow them to be selfish (which we all are by nature) and disobedient, then having them at home during their preschool years will not be a pleasure for anyone.

This is not a quick “first step” to successful preschool years. Preschool training is an ongoing process. There are plenty of books and materials on this subject if you need help in this area as building good sibling and parent-child relationships should be one of the major goals for preschool training in any family. It is a Biblical mandate that we should ‘love one another’ and that children should honor and obey their parents.

2. Social Behaviour

Your child should learn to enjoy his relationship with his parents and his siblings.

All the social skills he needs, he can learn in the safety and security of family relationships and interaction with friends, relatives and acquaintances of the family. He can learn correct forms of address for different people, proper manners and good behaviour by living alongside you.

As adults, we don’t necessarily socialize every day, yet we still maintain good friendships and children can do the same by socializing with family friends as often as we, the parents do.

Let your preschooler help you with your work – tidying the house, peeling vegetables, pottering in the garden or the garage. Let her accompany you to the post office, the bank, the library, the supermarket etc. and train her to behave properly in public.

(There was a time when I used to keep a wooden spoon in my handbag, just so that my children would know that the same rules and consequences as we have at home, also apply when we are out in public. Only once did I need to take a child into the ‘ladies restroom’ to use it in private and the lesson was learnt. I know corporal punishment is forbidden is some states and countries, but the principal is that children must know that there are consequences for bad behaviour no matter where they are.)

“Research has shown that children who have grown up to be productive, well-adjusted adults are those who have been drawn into the parents’ world; their daily activities, work, and interest; rather than having parents who centered their world on the child.” Diane Hopkins, The Baby is the Lesson

Many believe that children won’t learn to socialize and interact well with other children, unless they have opportunities to play with their age-mates during their early childhood development.

However, there is evidence to show that the type of socialization that occurs is often negative and leaves children feeling threatened and insecure and often they show angry behaviour. I have observed this in children of my friends who go to playgroups. To me, the homeschooled preschool-aged children that I know are much more self-confident and thus less aggressive with other children than the preschool-going ones and their characters are better trained.

3. Helping and Working

Let your child discover during his preschool training that he can make a meaningful contribution to family life and teach him to be self-disciplined.

They say that self-discipline is the best discipline. Little ones can learn to tidy up after themselves by picking up their toys. A friend of mine has a rule that her girls can only take out one set of educational toys at a time and only when they have put away the other toys.

Train your children to have a good work ethic by giving them regular household chores that contribute to the smooth-running of your home. Even a toddler can learn to dump a diaper in a bin or place dirty clothes in the laundry basket each day.

At preschool age, a mother should work alongside her child, helping, directing, training, encouraging and praising junior for her efforts….and don’t always redo the task for her, if it is not perfectly done, rather praise your child for her achievement and her helpfulness. Also, if you have a good attitude towards your work it will rub off on your child.

There is also a wise saying that says we should allow our children help us while they still want to. This means that our work may take longer or may not done to perfection by the child, but the benefit of the time spent will be reaped in the future as the child becomes more proficient and able to do tasks alone to help you. So “Life skills” should be one of your goals for preschool training too!

Allowing them to help also helps them develop self-confidence, self-worth and a sense of being capable. Many adults lack those traits because their mother did everything for them, or redid what they had done if it was not done to adult standards.

Give your child specific instructions, especially for big jobs like tidying a room. Rather say to your child, “pick up the clothes” and then “pick up the toys” instead. When there is a big mess to clear, I often say to my children, “put away 5 (or 10 or 20) toys first” and when that is done, then I give them another number of items to pick up. Breaking the task into smaller ‘bits’ makes it less daunting.

4. Train in Humility and Forgiveness

This should be part of #1. We need to model humility and forgiveness – when we get angry or frustrated or provoked to be unloving in any way, we need to be humble enough to admit our fault to our children and ask forgiveness of the person concerned. They, in turn need to be trained to release their hurt or anger and express forgiveness to the person who is asking it. No grudges or sulking should be tolerated.

5. Create a Child-friendly Environment

Learning is child’s play, so give your children plenty of free time to play and entertain themselves. Limit their TV viewing, playstation, or any other electronic entertainment and rather encourage them to play outside or amuse themselves with other more traditional indoor activities – toys, games, drawing, coloring, painting, dressing up etc.

Many of us forget that educational activities are only one part of training up a child and that they are sometimes best left until a child is older than 8. In fact, a child’s creativity could be stifled if he is constantly given directions and instructions regarding the ‘proper’ way to do something.

A child who is always given instructions and kept occupied may display less initiative and innovation and instead of enjoying freedom to explore and discover, he may rather look to those in authority over him for what to do and how to do it. He may begin to ‘fear’ doing something ‘wrong’ instead of investigating other possible options and exploring creatively.

Children need the freedom to explore nature in their surrounds, to experiment in their own way with art supplies and to be creative and imaginative in their play during their early childhood development and beyond!

6. Encourage a Love of Learning

It may seem obvious to want this to be one of your goals for preschool training, however, learning should not be forced but inspired! Read, read and read to your children – not to pump their heads with facts and information, but rather to stir up in them a delight for books and stories.

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” (Emilie Buchwald)

Studies show that the biggest determining factor for a child’s success in reading in school is if they have seen a parent reading in the home on a regular basis.

*Reading aloud encourages children to be attentive and develops their concentration skills as well as auditory perception.

*Reading fosters good language development, building children’s vocabulary and grammar through exposure.

*Reading also exposes children to the ideas of authors, giving them food for thought and stimulus for their own imagination. They can learn about other places, people and eras through the world of books.

*Reading helps improve comprehension and cognitive abilities. It helps children to anticipate possible outcomes for various scenarios and improves problem solving abilities. It also helps develops analytical skills and logic.

*And not least, reading helps to build family relationships, giving you a wealth of common knowledge to share and refer back to as well as creating time for cuddling up together and being physically close to your children. When you are reading, you are not reading TO your child, you are sharing a book WITH your child, which is a great way to build your relationship!

7. Relax and Trust That Your Child Will Learn

Parents need to relax and trust that their children will learn what they need to learn in their own time.

I know that there is tremendous pressure from all sorts of well-meaning people encouraging moms to put their children in preschool or teach them STUFF, for all sorts of apparently good reasons, but the more I research preschool and homeschooling, the more I find that many of them are misled and that there are flaws in their thinking.

Trying to give children a “head start” is often counter-productive in the long run. Academics have a place in children’s development, but should not crowd out the other things that children need to experience. All parents need to do is to create a stimulating environment for their children and then relax and let children grow and learn at their own pace.

8. Become a Good Role Model

I believe that learning to be a Christ-like person is the most valuable lesson to teach my children!

This is something that is an ongoing process, learned day by day and moment by moment as they watch their parents exercising patience, coping with interruptions, giving comfort and encouragement, and trying to meet each child’s needs.

I believe that parenting is character training for adults!

As we learn to die to self and serve others with humility and a good attitude, so they will learn what is right. They are watching and observing every little detail of our facial expressions, intonation, body language – which is why it often so amusing when we ‘see ourselves’ in them – but all the more reason for us to be aware of what we are modeling and to be humble enough to admit it when we fall short of our ideals!

Our children need to see us ‘walk the walk, not just talk the talk!’

I have had enough of nannies. Since I gave birth to Joaqui, we have had 7 nannies – got them from an agency, referrals and so forth, but no one lasted for more than a year and a half. I have encountered a lot of problems with each and everyone of them, from sickness, to bad work attitude, to problems with cellphone, to disappearing after a day off. Sometimes it is really frustrating especially when I think how Joaqui will adjust to every new nanny that he has. Most of the time, when he started to trust the nanny and be close to her, something will happen and either I have to fire her or they just decide to leave.

Since Joaqui will start school and I’m at home, I have decided to not get a nanny at all. My mom could look after Joaqui if I have to go out of the house and do some errands while hubby asked to be permanently scheduled at night shift so that he can drop Joaqui to school and pick him up after. It’s just fortunate that I’m not dependent on nannies since I work at home and I can take care of Joaqui at the same time. The only thing I have to do is find the right time when I can be most productive at work and there will be a lot of late-night work, but I do not mind. At least I’m not paying someone who is giving me a headache or stressing me out.

We also thought of just getting help in cleaning the house at least once a week. Our laundry woman agreed to come in every Sunday to help with major cleaning. It is quite a change here, but I’m a mommy and we’ll survive…we always do.

This was a book I chanced upon at “Books for Less” and it looked interesting so I bought it and read it to Joaqui. He liked it the very first time I read it to him. It’s about a mother’s constant love for her son even if her child asked what if he was a scary ape, meat-eating dinosaur or smelly skunk. It comes with bright and cheerful illustrations any kid would love.

My mom and I were cleaning our backyard when we collected a lot of plastic soda bottles and we were just about to put in a sack to be sold in the junk shop when I had an idea. You see, when we got married, we had our wedding reception in a garden and we wanted to put votive candles all over the garden for a more romantic effect. I saw this candle holder made of plastic bottles and so that was what we did, and it turned out beautifully. This summer, as we often stay in our porch during the nights, it would be a decorative way to light our porch.

Cut off the top of the bottle (don’t throw it away yet) and half fill it with sand. Put a votive candle and scatter around your garden or porch.

For the top half of the bottle, you can make two holes for a wire to be attached, which will serve as a handle. You can put water plants or orchids inside and hang it in your garden.

Here are other great ideas to recycle plastic bottles:

Decorative Containers – Cut off the tops of two bottles (keep the bottoms). Paint, decoupage, or cover with fabric. Make a hinge out of ribbon or make a small holes and wire the bottoms of two bottles together. This will give you a container that will open. For a handle, glue on a bead, button, or a piece of ribbon. Fill will small gifts, jewelry, candy, etc.

Plant Decorations – Cut out shapes (see above) and attach to a piece of dowel with glue. Poke into the soil of your potted plants or in the garden for yard decorations.

Make a caddy for tools or painting supplies.

Fill various size plastic jars and bottles with beans, rice, or sand, and let your children use them as musical instruments.

My son likes to throw plastic bottles as toys just for the fun of it. : )

With these simple ideas on recycling plastic bottles, you can create useful tools for your household and toys for your tots that will lessen plastic out of landfills.

Almost everybody these days are talking about the Jejemons and the first time I heard this, I had no idea what they were. My husband was the one who explained it to me. I tried looking it up and found a meaning in Wikipedia, which goes like this:

Jejemon is a pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines. Jejemons are defined by Urban Dictionary as those “who has managed to subvert the English language to the point of incomprehensibility and online lynch squads.”  A Jejemon is described as one of a “new breed of hipsters who have developed not only their own language and written text but also their own sub-culture and fashion.”

They even have their own language, if that’s what you can call it, the Jejenese which is derived from English, Filipino and the code-switched variant Tag-lish. Their alphabet, Jejebet, uses the Roman alphabet, including the Arabic numerals and other special characters. Words are created by rearranged letters in a word, alternating capitalization, over-usage of the letters H, X or Z and mixture of numeric characters and our normal alphabet.

I had a close encounter with a true Jejemon with my son’s previous nanny. Her text messages always use the consonants H and Z and alternating capitalization that I always had a hard time understanding.

A Jejemon’s text message is something like this:

English: Hello, please type in a normal message.

Jejemon: EOw p0wH, PleaSe~ tYpE~ in A~ nOrMl MESsGe~ P0Wh.

The Jejemons reminded me of the Jologs, which first came about when I was in college. The Jologs I can sometimes tolerate, but the Jejemons – just reading their text is giving me a headache.

It is true that one cannot understand how it is to be a mother unless you become one. I never knew that I could love this much, that I would put myself last just to ensure that my family’s needs are met first. I never thought that I could give up what used to be so important to me to be able to give the best care to my son. I did not know that I could be selfless and forgiving of a child’s fault. Not until I became a mother.

But how do we measure  a mother’s worth? Is it by the number of children she had carried in her womb, or the love she unconditionally gives? Are our children’s success the measure of how we are as a mother? As a mom, our worth could not be measured for even if we are long gone, we are still mothers. The rewards for us are lifelong happiness and honor of fulfilling our responsibility to our children.

Not all of us are given or will be given a chance to become a mother, but what is important is that we have been given a chance to live and to feel what it is like to have a mother. A mother who, despite of our mistakes and downfalls, is still there for us always to love us, support us, and protect us.

To all the Mommies out there, Happy Mother’s Day!