Learning with MILK/BOTTLE CAPS!

It has been months since I started collecting the caps from mineral water bottles as well as milk cartons. I have gathered a lot of ideas as to the fun learning projects I will be using them for. 

First stop, as counters.

I saw these cute wooden lady bugs and it was love at first sight. I immediately pictured in my mind how great they would look when I will stick them on top of the caps and use them as counters for my math lessons with Paige.

Counting is one thing, but teaching the child one-to-one correspondence is another topic. It is easy for kids to pick up rote counting (verbal counting) but it does not equate to the fact on whether they are aware of what the meaning of these numbers are. That is where one-to-one correspondence comes in.

There are a lot of activities available in the web to make counting and one-to-one correspondence a fun learning experience for kids. Let's face it, sometimes they would just not be that interested in counting especially when it comes to the big numbers. Using manipulatives such as these counters will help them see that learning is a fun thing.

I got this great counting activity mat from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

You can also use it with a lot of things like stickers and pompoms.

Have fun counting!

The BIG MOVE...

This is it! 

We are really relocating...moving back to the Philippines.

Boxes, boxes everywhere...that is what the condo is full of right now. 

We had two transport companies do a survey earlier today. Within the week we will be deciding which company we will use and the packing will officially start. Actually, we started since December but we were still not into it, thinking that the moving date is still far...but now, looks like my panic button is ON...just looking at the calendar, realizing that days are passing by so quickly...and now we only have a month and a half before the so called BIG MOVE.

Looks like I need to be a "tourist" in the upcoming days and soak up the Singapore atmosphere...already missing Singapore just thinking about the move...oh well, gotta get use being an expat family...

SIS...Sisters In Singapore

"Sisters are like stars...

you can't always see them 

but you know they are there..."

- Anonymous

Meet my sister PRINCESS...

I look more of my dad while she takes more from our mom.

Funny how I would think of all the things we did during our childhood. A complete opposite of me. 

I could still remember our "girly sister fights"...pulling each other's hair and then laughing our hearts out after realizing what we are actually doing and fighting about...how we would debate on who the better dancers are, UMD or Street Boys...NKOTB or Backstreet Boys...on who chooses the color pink whenever our mom buys us clothes for Christmas, I would always get the pink stuff while she settles for red. 

Being the eldest, I held on to the fact that I should be a role model...to be always perfect in our parent's eyes, afraid to take risks, always asking for our parent's approval...while she was more of the adventurous type...she even had a boyfriend first...hahaha

Now, we would just talk and laugh about this memories. Memories we would surely treasure.

I can't thank her enough for being there for our parents. I am happy that she is there for them while I am away. 

I can't thank her enough for being there for my kids. She would readily fly out to Singapore to visit Paolo and Paige whenever she can. I could always count on her whenever I need someone to look after them.

And, I can't thank her enough for being my sister. Amidst all the fights we had, the misunderstandings...we now have a bond stronger than ever. 

Love you sis. 

Kids Run 2012

It's that time of the year again when kids get to wake up early, not to go to school but for a race around the city. It's the annual Cold Storage Kids Run .

Had an early start today as the reporting time at the holding areas was early. Paolo's 1.6km race was at 8:30 am while Paige's 800m race was at 10:00am.

There was a carnival atmosphere at The Padang. A lot of families brave the heat to attend this special sporting event. Mascots were also present to cheer the kids on. Lots of booths were set up with refreshments for the kids.

We had a special guest with us during the event, my sister Princess flew in from the Philippines to cheer the kids. She even ran beside Paolo during the race and this made her "son" one happy boy. My brother Dusteen was the official photographer for the day. He ran both the 1.6km and the 800m, but he was on the sidelines.

I am so proud of my kids for finishing their respective races amidst the heat. And I mean, the sun was really generous this morning. 

The event was a success and hope we could run again next year...

Christmas in May?

The kids got a letter today from the Big Man of Christmas himself, Santa Claus.

Seeing the letter in the mailbox, the inner child in me just lit up. 

Never did I imagine that Paolo and Paige would get a reply from him. It's been 5 months since Christmas but still, getting this letter was a great surprise.

When I talked about Santa Claus with them, of course there would be questions as to how can he visit all the kids in the world in just one night and how would the gifts all end up under the Christmas tree at exactly midnight...things like that. And of course, who am I to ruin that magic right. 

So getting hold of his address in Finland, I let the kids drop him a note, not to ask for anything but just to say a quick Hello...and today, I am one happy parent...just seeing their eyes light up with joy, the excitement they had while opening and reading the letter...wow, it was all worth the wait.

 

So looks like this will become a tradition for the kids come Christmastime...and when they grow old enough, I will just let the magic continue and let them figure it out themselves.

By the way, I want to share the address just in case you also want your child to experience the magic.

SANTA CLAUS

Arctic Circle, 96930 Rovaniemi

Lapland, Finland

Happy Christmas!

International Week at Rosemount Kindergarten

Rosemount Kindergarten had their International Week which started last Monday.

A lot of activities were presented to the students for them to learn more about other countries.

They had a great set-up in their Star Room. Parents were asked to bring in stuff they would wanna share about their home country. There was also a sort of show and tell sessions where Parent Volunteers did some hands-on activities with the kids. There was also a Pilot Daddy who talked about his job during the first day.

As you enter the Star Room, you will be greeted by "Immigration Officers" who would stamp on the passports of the students and they would then proceed to the various displays allocated for each country.

Today, to culminate the celebration, a parade was held with the kids dressing up in their National Costumes. For snacktime, they got to share some food from their country. 

I am happy that Paige gets to celebrate her being a Filipino.

Mabuhay!

WORLDWIDE CULTURAL EXCHANGE: Petaluma, California USA

LOOK what the postman delivered today...our first package from the Worldwide Cultural Exchange Program we joined a few months back.

 

The kids were so excited to receive the package which was addressed to them. They liked the fact that this time, the mail was for them, and not addressed to mommy or daddy.

The package was from the Friesen Family of Petaluma, California (USA).

It was filled with so much information that the kids worked up their imagination about visiting the place one of these days.

There were brochures, maps, coloring pages, seeds of the California Poppy, coins, two flags (USA and California) and almonds (yummy...)...

Thank you very much to the Friesen Family for a wonderful package!

MOM is the word!

"Angels couldn't be everywhere at once, 

so God created mothers..."

-Anonymous

How can anyone miss celebrating this day...it is of course a day to celebrate how important mothers are to this world. Without them, we would not be here. 

Going through my facebook page, I have read lots of wonderful messages for mothers. How nice it is to remember our mothers.

But it would surely be nicer to celebrate our Mothers every single day because they not only have the hardest but the BEST job there is...

And I am glad that it is my job too! 

Happy mother's day!

All set for the KIDS RUN!

This will be the second time we will be joining this Annual Family Sports Event, the Cold Storage Kids Run.

Ever since we read about this event, it has been one of our family's must - do activity. It not only teaches our kids about sportsmanship but also how fun it is to be involved in sports.

 

The week long preparations started today with the collection of the Race Packs at the F1 Pit Building. A sort of carnival like atmosphere was present at the building as kids were able to play some games while the parent's queue up and take care of some race formalities.

Aside from the race packs, the kids were also given a free one year membership to the Singapore Sport's Council's Sport On Kids Club. This is because we registered early. I am one happy mom with this.

Paige will be joining the group of kids aged 2-4 years old and will run 800 meters.

While Paolo will be running a 1.6 km race with kids aged 9-10 years old.

We surely can't wait for next Sunday's family bonding during race day!

I do hope there would be similar types of events like these in the Philippines. :)

Fine Motor Skills : Clothespin

Who says clothespins are just for laundry purposes.They are actually versatile around the home and can be used in practicing the fine motor skills of our kids : the pincer grasp.

A lot of learning activities can be developed using these clothespins. Here are some sites which I love and might also interest you in doing these fun and easy activities yourselves.

Math Activities - Addition and Subtraction Activities

                       Counting Activities 

Language Activities - Clothespin Sight Words

                              Christmas Theme Vocabulary Activities

Hop on over to Totally Tots  for more fun activities for the kids.

Have fun!

Homelearning Fun...

recognition of colors and color words

I always supplement my kids school work with learning activities at home.
 
I always spend hours every night surfing the net for fun learning activities for my kids. I even joined a group of moms here in Singapore doing homelearning/homeschooling. 

I decided to have a mix of both Montessori and traditional learning methods.I want my kids to have the best of both :)

Making FILE FOLDER GAMES have been a hobby of mine lately. Call it a labor of love but I really enjoyed doing them. All you need are some file folders, cardstocks, double sided tape, and glue. 

The internet is a treasure trove of fun learning activities.Here are some websites which might help you start with File Folder Games:

Little Family Fun

File Folder Fun - have loads of free file folder games you can print out

File Folder Farm - free file folder games

Bible File Folder Games 

Basics of making a file folder game - how to make a file folder game

matching activity with a File Folder game

sorting activity using erasers

Vesak Day in Singapore

What I love about living in Singapore is the fact that it is a multicultural country. We get to experience the celebrations of different religions and ethnic groups.

It may be the Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Mexico but in Singapore, we are celebrating Vesak Day...the Victory Day of the Lord Buddha.  

It is a very important day for those practicing the religion of Buddhism thus it is celebrated with great ceremonial rituals which usually starts with the chanting of sutras or the oral teachings of Buddha by monks.

Acts of generosity which are known as dana are also observed and may include the freeing or release of caged birds as well as animals like rabbits and turtles. Others also visit the poor and needy and give alms.

To know more about Vesak Day you could read it here

Happy Vesak Day to all Buddhist!

***photos courtesy of Singapore Tourism***