One-to-one correspondence

So how do you teach a child to ACCURATELY count items, more known as one-to-one correspondence?

Make a counter! :)

Here I chose to use my Diko's hand pattern so he'll eventually transfer that learning to counting with his fingers (Yes, I don't see anything bad with that, as other schools of thought do).

You may also use regular tables/boxes with numbers.

Pre-requisite knowledge:
Left-Right, Up-Down, Beginning - Ending

Jetpack!

Materials:
* 2 empty soda bottles
some aluminum foil (or paint to cover the bottles)
* Japanese paper for the pseudo fire blast
* string to tie up the bottles to your little adventurer's jetpack!

Kaboom! Zoom zoom! (my boys' sound effects, lol!)

Where was Momma? Part1 (WAHMnabee that is me)

I know. It's been quite a while.

Well a BIG while. (Have 3 kiddies running around. Btw, they're all under 7.)

So here's what this Momma has been up to lately ---
(AHDOOGAHPAAAK! that's my Diko's interpretation of Kuya's drum rolls!)

[#1] The WAHMderful Life Workshop spearheaded by the beautiful moms Martine de Luna of the Dainty Mom and Ginger Arboleda of Manila Workshops

2012 has been a year of big shifts in my life. For one, I have decided to homeschool my Kuya and Diko, and of course our salingkitty Naya. But I've been finding myself wanting to work again. Once in a while, I miss the classroom, the papers and lesson plans, the messy kids -- oh my exceptional students -- and earning mullah. Yep, you got that right. If you know me, you know I've been doing a lot of labor for love, not much for the monetary returns, but for the sheer pleasure of serving.

But hey, I realized I want/need pesos to support my sanity-savers (crafting, salon+spa trips, ukayhunts, inkies, outside-coffee adventures, etc). Then this workshop happened. :)

What a lovely day that was! I sat with Teacher/Mama Tina Rodriguez of Truly Rich Mom who I met at one of the CFA gatherings, who I so admire (I'm such a fangirl). Boy was I starstruck with all of the mombloggers I stalk, errr read, whenever I need validation and inspiration. Speakers included Toni Tiu of Wifely Steps and Marge Aberasturi of The Happy Wahm. Apart from the words of wisdom, my favorite was the loot from Celeteque, my brand for gel moisturizer (always been). I have been using the ultralift serum for a month now and it's been doing a wonderful job on my face. Not as pore-y and blush-y anymore! :)

THAT'S ME (with the hoodie) with a bunch of techie moms all wired up! PHOTO CREDITS FROM DAINTY MOM

More than the learning of new terms and acronyms (Odesk, Elance, SEO, VA, if you don't know them too, well, GIYF=Google is your friend!), I've discovered how moms have been stepping up. My seatmate was a yoga teacher/golfer. She was encouraging me to study yoga so I can help my special needs students, in the future that is, if I continue with the long overdue learning center. I also met Jennyfer who has an aspie son (that's a nick for Asperger's syndrome), a  personal favorite "superpower" of this sped teacher.

Man, the workshop was positively overwhelming! My creativity juice once again runneth over. The little hamster inside my head was almost on fire! I didn't get to wait for the group photo ops; had to commute back home to Bulacan, since our driver had a previous appointment. But hooray for raffles, I won a Xend GC! {By the way, food  was awesome too from Almost Gourmet. Titania gave out a nifty nail clipper, and a Howard Storage baggie}

Next on this Momma's kwentos, the [#2] Craft MNL's 2nd Etsy Craft Party! Stay tuned I just have to pee, ALONE! (Kids, yes you may play under the table!)

PHOTO SNATCHED FROM MANILA WAHMS

Getting a grip on pen grips

Sure you had days you can't help but compare developmental milestones, among siblings, cousins, friends' kids... Not to belittle each child's abilities but to actually celebrate them. And to worry about your own kids not doing what the rest of the world is.

Kuya B held the pencil with the perfect tripod grasp at 1 year 2 mos. I had no problems with the other fine motor skills except with cutting since he's a lefty. I wouldn't want him to get used to a pair of lefty scissors (yes there's such). Baby girl at 18mos. is already on static tripod (see chart). She just picked up a regular pencil and doodled away.

Here's the progression of pen grasps per age level. This is from  this site.

But with Diko M, every manual stroke seems difficult - from writing, coloring, cutting, pasting. I want to blame the iPad for that, or the laptop trackpad (he does it like a champ, and we don't mouse around). But I guess he just happens to be built that way.

rubber triangular grip reinforcement

Like many other, I used the biggie crayons. Oh was he unhappy with those. Then I gave him the jumbo pencils (Boo, Mommy, Boooo!); all the more was he frustrated. I also tried using the triangular rubber grips to improve his grasp, but he'd remove them and use them for the Nerf guns (gah). Then he wanted to use Kuya's regular crayons. He held them so tight, he'd break them everytime. He'd be contented and calm in peeling the crayons' paper labels (I think I did that too back in preschool), breaking the crayons into tiny bits.  He despised writing. He later on preferred markers.

I saw this video on how to teach the correct pen grasp. This is brilliant! But heck, when I taught Diko that, he would be holding the pencil using his thumb and index. He'd be toying with the method before he traces letters/numbers, and would be spending a lot of time twirling the pencil instead.

Then alas, while he was coloring (I dumped all of our crayons in a plastic basket, broken and intact), he picked up the really shortest one and voila! He was using the dynamic tripod grip without me prompting! I'm sure you know what I did next.

One for each basic 8 colors; not more than an inch approx.

Now, he's writing like a champ! No more frustration fits! He prefers the crayons more than the pencil, but I know we'll come to that. This Momma doesn't care how long.

So when you're panicky like me, caught up in a when-will-my-child-do-this moment, seek comfort through the verse "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Guess I myself haven't mastered the trust-and-wait skill yet. 

Touching the real stuff

I used to look at my 3 kiddies (6, 3, and 18mos) navigate their way through my iPhone, or the iPad with such adoration. I mean, I was surprised with how fast they were able to learn to manipulate these gadgets by themselves. I found (past tense) it real cute that they can operate it, unlock, and even take pictures and record videos. Now that were homeschooling, I realized that my leniency over gadget use have made them lazy. My nightmare was they'd become the people in Wall-E, fat and glued to their screens.

And so, (drum roll) --

Ze Momma has finally stepped up. This lady has laid her iron hand when it comes to technology use. And yeah, that involved a lot of tears (and I mean a lot!), table banging (as my Kuya B, my eldest is a budding drummer), and stomping feet (Diko M has humongous legs mind you). But I have to compose my sobbing heart and say, "The laptop, the iPhone, the iPad, are not space fillers. We have a library. Spend your extra time with a book. Read it, look at the pictures, and then when you've touched 2 books in a day, then you can tinker on those things for not more than 45 minutes."

I've realized how the touch revolution had made my 2 preschool sons always rushing to finish their writing activities. Plus they've become very impatient with erasing mistakes and correcting them. Not to mention frequent frustration with themselves and anger fits with the paper or pencil. Diko M's also struggling to hold a writing/coloring tool, be it a pencil, a crayon, or a paintbrush, and I'll blog about our grip success next time. 

This is Diko M watching videos on Youtube, like-a-bawsss!

So I think around 2 weeks after the gadget decree was imposed, this was the scenario during our choice period--

Kuya B: (While holding and literally putting his face on an encyclopedia) Mommy, I love the smell of books! Of paper...and magazines. This book smells so good!

His words were music to this Momma's ears! A bookworm like me, who later on metamorphosed into a butterfly, has finally given birth to one. Now he spends time with books without me prodding, bribing, and physically bringing him to the shelves. As a bonus, Diko M, Kuya's #1 fan, copies what his older brother does. Kuya specifically wants illustrated ones, as he would copy the pictures first before he finally digests the material.

The kiddies watching stop-motion shorts of Marvel toys. 

In an article, Is technology good for little kids? , by Parents.com, they have listed steps in taking charge of your child's technology diet. I must say, I was struck by lightning when it said, "Fire the electronic babysitter." I'm so bad at this, you know. When I'm exhausted and the children are cranky, I'm almost always tempted to say, "Alright, go to the laptop," or "Here's the iPad." But then, seeing the results of my techie rules deserve a preacher who actually preaches, knowing that the decree is also for me.

***

Our homeschool has been really busy, it deserves a new blog altogether! After a month long hiatus, I've finally mustered my scattered neurons. Time to write again! :)

I.MUST.UPDATE.THIS.BLOG

Haven't written about anything.
This goes to show how busy we are now.
Blame homeschooling. LOL.
Actually...
Blame it on the rain... (sing with me!)

Yes, make your own book.

I never knew that my project during my masters program at DLSU will be put to good use (well, instead of collecting dust). We were tasked to make educational materials for young students, and I made an interactive book, complete with puppets. 


Now that we're homeschooling, I thought of this book, and behold -- still intact inside the tambakan! 


I wanted to place a specific time for manners/etiquette daily, so today we're focusing on saying "Excuse me," and teehee, we're using MY book!


You too can make your own. Make your storyline first. Select the main character, and 5 of the supports, should you have. 


Prepare 2 illustration boards for your cover (title cover and the back cover).

Write your story on a paper you prefer (that should be the left page; I used a simple oslo paper), and make illustrations on another page (that should be the right page). Leave an ample amount of space for a hole that you'd want to put for your main character. You must be able to fit your finger through that hole. The hole/space can be put on corners as what I did, or in the middle (very artsy) or anywhere you like. Draw them circles (holes) now. Make sure you align ALL the page holes or else it will destroy your puppet. (I did draw all of the circles in the lower left corner first before I wrote the words.) Now, draw circles too on your 2 board covers; they have to be all aligned with the pages, alright.

Should you want to print the words and pictures, do so. (There's a plethora of clip art and fonts online; these downloadables make me like a kiddie with new stationery packs!).

At this time, you should have designed your title cover. Then, cover the boards with plastic, then have the pages laminated (you're in luck if you have your own laminator; green eyed). Keep in mind that as typical books, a story (words) page will be on top of the illustrated page before having it laminated (I used double-sided tape for this). Make the holes using a cutter or an X-Acto knife.

Set aside the pages and make your puppets. My main character, Cranberry, is a caterpillar. I used old flannel cloths that we kept in our craft box. I drew along my index finger on the cloth itself using a crayon. Make 2 of this, cut with a millimeter of allowance around, sew them together along the crayon lines, except for the lower part (stronger than glue, can withstand really excited kiddie hands). Voila! A finger puppet! Googly eyes, colored wires, complete the whole shebang. Then a hand puppet for your left hand. Same procedures but make the lower part neater because your not going to cover it like the finger puppet. Glue laminated characters, then place the googly eyes or antennae.

{Guess on that page Cranberry should have said "May I pass through?" Oops!}

Time to assemble the pieces. I had mine wire bound somewhere in Legarda; felt it's cuter than the ringbind. Glue binding will be too rigid for the puppet. When done, glue the finger puppet on the inside of your back cover board, covering the hole of that board. Glue the laminated right page (which should be the end of your story) to cover the mess that is the finger puppet. Also, glue the first page on the inside of your back cover. Now, slide the puppet through the holes till you reach your cover board. There you go!!! Your very own interactive book, strong enough to withstand grabbing hands and writing marks (as the pages are laminated).

{Here's the last page of my story where Cranberry grew wings after a deep sleep (used velcro to attach it at the back of the puppet; wings were attached using a string). Cranberry flapped her little surprise and accidentally hit Lady}

 {Here are Cranberry's friends, using my left hand. The setting is the green garden, hence the color of the cloth. I had to insert some conversations in between the story.}

LIGHTBULB: Instead of a caterpillar, you can make it a talking hotdog (real cute), a growing tree (who'd have leaves in the end) or a stump (for environmental stories), a tall guy, or a short guy (with tall people as illustrations; for a story about self-esteem/confidence), a crayon/pencil, and a lot more. :) 

Enjoy and believe that you're a crafty momma!!! {momhug}

It's not too late for a freebie!

Geninne's Art Blog: For June

Here's a really pretty June desktop, hope it ain't too late for you! Click the thumbnail. <3

Lupang Hinirang: animated, "minus-one" for the perfect tempo, by Radioactive Sago + RockEd

Let the wild rumpus start!!! Officially you know. :)

And so today, we OFFICIALLY begin homeschooling, since Uncle C, my youngest brother, has gone to high school early morning, and my boys were like, "Mommy, so we have school today?"

We're still waiting for the materials from our provider, Catholic Filipino Academy, but I nevertheless wanted to formally begin today. The teacher in me was eager to improvise this day's lesson. Mind you, I have a 6 and a 2 1/2 year-old; both boys, B and M. I requested our bunso girl (1.2y/o) if she can play with yaya first while I teach her kuyas.

We sat on our little table at 9 am, and I felt this is the most workable time for all of us. We prayed first, in the lines of... "God send us Your Holy Spirit... Bless our family... Jesus, please help us make this school at home our best memory ever." Then, I asked Kuya if he wanted to start off with a free drawing first before his lesson. I turned to Diko and we traced standing and sleeping lines, hand-over-hand (HOH). After which, we traced a square, chanting up-down, up-down, while coloring the inside of the shape. We touched a bit on colors, and he has mastered blue, red and yellow. M asked if he can go to our play area and I permitted him to.

Kuya B was done with his drawing at this time (a shark and little fish, and we talked about gills and oxygen, how to color clouds that should be white with blue shades), and by now, he got a book that we eventually read aloud. I asked him to copy his new vocabularies on his notebook (recycled from his previous traditional school last year; this I truly love!) We were able to list 10 words, which he recited aloud in the end.

Off to numbers, as he was getting sleepy with this "bed" weather. I improvised Montessori beads using my old calling cards and my handy marker, drew dots to represent ones, tens, and hundreds. Yes, you're right. I want to begin with place values. This basic concept will be the foundation of everything about numeracy. Being reared in a Montessori system during pre-elementary years, then later on teaching in a Montessori school right after college, had made me realize how concrete their math system is. Manipulatives and all, by far, Montessori math is hands-down the best for younger children, according to, none other than, moi. (Tell me what suits your kids.)

After a series of numbers to be expanded, from single to 3 digits, B got a little bit bored and it was the best idea for snack and recess (play time). I had to explain to him that snack is well, snack, and recess means break. Here in Pinas, we were unluckily taught that recess IS snack period. Nope. Erase, erase, erase that notion.

M by this time was done with playing so, he went back to the study area to trace a big apple. :) We colored it once more, doing HOH once in a while. He still cannot do a tripod grip, unlike Kuya who did it at 2 years old. (Lots of coloring and tracing activities at abcteach.)

30 minutes after, I asked Kuya to sit with me so he can make a flag. I told him the significance of the Independence Day celebration yesterday while he painted. We cut yellow paper for the three stars and the sun (suddenly thought of FrancisM...) When the flag was dry enough to post on the wall, we stood up straight, placed our right hands on our left chest, and sang Lupang Hinirang. He was mumbling some words, oh well, actually not some, but a lot, so now you and I know what our next lesson would be. :)

We wrapped it up at 12 noon; gave them some more time to build blocks, this time with little girl, then off to a hearty lunch of Pork Nilaga at 12:30. Hmmm... Warmed tummies, warmed hearts.

T'was so fulfilling. First day, huh. Couldn't be more affirmed. No trauma, no uniforms, no crying, no I-don't-want-to-go-to-school-don't-leave-me whines. Just giggles, excited eyes, and "Mommy, tomorrow ulit?" Whew. :) Never knew I'd homeschool, really. But I actually enjoyed it more than the boys. (God you really are up to something I'm so clueless about. Anyhoo, just continue planting Your Will in my heart; I'm listening now.)

Upper Room Homeschool dismissed till tomorrow morning. :) (Thought I'd give our homeschool a name! Hooray!)

From Pinterest {follow me!}

This desire to homeschool

I know that homeschooling is of a higher purpose.
I know that God planted  it in my heart long time ago.
This big longing inside me is so big, it makes me want to jump for joy, haha!

(anticipating for the materials...nooneenooneenooooooo...)

Hug a momblogger today!

Have You Given a Mom-Blogger Hug Lately?

I've stumbled upon this really nice list from DaintyMom. :) Great for new mombloggers like me.

Well hello there June :)

Please be kind to me this year. Pretty please.
I'm aging.
But I pray to age like wine.

Happy birthday to me. :)

Twisted Sister

It's June 4th!
1st day of med school for sister#4!
Her 1st time alone in a faraway land...
And it also happens to be her birthday! :)/:(
We <3 you! God bless your dreams!

Twenty-second of May is love

Today B, my first born, turns 6! Smarter, more energetic, more responsible with the little ones, and more malambing. I could never be more delighted than to see my boy happy with his cake and his new set of MegaBloks (cheaper than Lego, but can be built together, love it!)

Happy, happy birthday baby boy! We love you so much!

***
In other news, I am officially the special education consultant of one of the best schools here in my town. I have just gave a talk to the teachers about including exceptional students in the regular school setting. I emphasized more than ever that inclusive education is workable! (See my province is still not that open to the idea of inclusion in schools.) And that it is beneficial to ALL students in more ways than one. I feel so blessed to have a boss/principal who's understanding that I will be homeschooling my boys and so she gave me a more flexible schedule.

Praise the Lord for this wonderful day!

And so I was very happy with HAPI!

Still feeling fatigued and feverish, I attended the much awaited 4th HAPI Conference at St. Francis Square. Now HAPI is the Homeschooler's Association of the Philippine Islands. It was a whole day event, with exhibitors of homeschool providers and books, AND, free coffee!

So who were the speakers? Calibers.

First off, there was the assistant secretary of the Department of Education, Tonisito Umali, who asked the audience to continue to lobby on homeschooling. He himself had his son quasi-homeschooled at Angelicum. According to him, Dep-Ed recognizes the homeschooling system, and by that, it means that should any child want to ease back into the PUBLIC school system, it can be done. However, there are still private schools who are wary of the homeschool front :(.

Next was  Bro. Bo Sanchez. I was teary-eyed for the most part of his talk. The audience prayed, laughed, cried, and stood and sat (to wake up the sleepers), and affirmed his ideas. He said that there are 3 blessings of homeschooling --

WORTH, for when parents commit their time to teaching their children entirely, children realize the value of their self-worth;
WISDOM, for homeschooled children gain wisdom and not only knowledge through a plethora of information;
WORD of God, which basically is the goal of almost all homeschoolers, the preservation of Christian values, and to raise warriors for the Lord.

The bulk of the talk was from Debra Bell, the world renowned author of homeschooling books, who I merely read while in the US. She gave brilliant points to backup her advocacy for homeshcooling. I can feel her frustration with the American public school system, as I was once part of it. I know where she's coming from, and why she's got such a fired heart and a brave soul to continue advocating for educating children at the homefront.

Towards the end of the conference, there was a raffle and I was so hoping to get an iPad, but I was not lucky enough. It could've been a wonderful surprise to my kiddies all eager to see me home that night. Nevertheless, the conference was not only an eye-opener, but an affirmation of that nagging desire in my heart to truly focus on my children.

So with a big teacher outside voice, I SAY YES to homeschooling. Let's do this boys!!!

Chances, Choices, Changes

I've recently gone to Expomom, where I sat with my little girl N to listen to the talk on homeschooling. What an eye-opener.

If mothers who are non-teachers are able to homeschool their kids {yes, kids, with S, one mom right there has homeschooled her SIX kids; talk about multi-leveling!}, THEN WHY CAN'T I? As a professional teacher, surely I could've just raised my hand and said "Yeah, I'll do it in a heartbeat." But I guess, it is the horror of staying at home that I'm most terrified with. I promised myself, that once my 3rd baby celebrates her 1st birthday, then I'm done being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom).

{See, I've been hands-on with my 3 kids - B who's almost 6 now, M who's still in his terrible/adorable 2 stage, and my girly N who just turned 1 - since we came home from the States after my 3 year stint as a sped teacher.}

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. See I've even started a blog to talk about my decisions.

Yet, deep in me, there is much excitement as to the projects the boys and I will do, the trips to the museums that we'll make, and the thought of "Yay! No uniforms and waking up real early for my kids!"

I'll be attending the HAPI conference on the 19th. Let's all pray for the best.