Home Schooling Jami

I remember when I was starting school, computers and gadgets are out of way, my Mom would teach me the alphabets, ABAKADA, vowels, consonants. She thought me how to read and write at home while she was sewing some clothes. Though I didn't have all good memories while being taught at home, I owe everything to my Mom, brother and sisters. They taught me well, I just don't have the focus. See, I wasn't really good at school. I mean, So-so. :p

It's been a week since I started teaching Jami the alphabet. I want him to become familiar to the basics before he goes to school in the coming months. I know it's kinda late, I didn't realize he's still not familiar to it until I noticed that he's being too focused in playing mobile games than the educational apps that I downloaded on my phone.

So couple of nights ago, I introduced him to STUDY TIME. Meaning, we will discourage the use of gadgets and will learn the basics (alphabets, numbers, colors and shapes on our own).

We started with Alphabets. I had no trouble with letter A to H because he often sees them in one of his educational apps. Unfortunately, the app needs me to purchase the second half of the alphabet set. I didn't buy them because I know there were a lot more cheaper version like teaching him myself.

Anyhow, I had a hard time making him focus during our first day. I had to scold him once because he's trying to trick me by making stories away from what we were doing.

After 4 days of having at least 30 minutes of "Study Time", he was able to get himself familiarize with 23 out of 26 letters. I was looking forward to ace it in a week's time and we still have 3 more days! Yey!

Screen Shot with one of our video session

So how did I manage to teach him the alphabets? I specifically would want to apply this tips to myself because I know that I can be very forgetful at times. Just like any first time moms, these are the things that I have noticed in the past couple of days that Jami and I started our Study Time. I may add more in the future but these are the basics that I could think of.

1.) Focus. How could a child focus on the task if you aren't focus on what you are teaching him as well. Kids nowadays are very intelligent. They will try their best to get your attention away from the task so they can get away with it. You have to show them that your are focused in your "new game". Put the phone down and give your full attention.

2.) Patience. Given that they are very tricky, they will also show you that they are bored. You have to make the "study time" more fun by thinking about a style of teaching that would look interesting to them. First couple of days will be really hard because they will incur a lot of mistakes, or you have to repeat yourself for more than 10 times for them to get it but then, that's the purpose of your study time.

3.) Be Creative. Internet offers a lot of ideas on how to make your study time colorful and fun. Look at Pinterest to get some inspirations, DIYs, etc. It will caught their attention and would likely to remember what you are teaching them. What I was doing is to take videos while he's memorizing the letters. Why? Because he loves watching videos. When I tried it once, he tried his best to answer again when the letters are shown in the video. I realized that it is more likely for him to retain the lesson when we do it his way.

4.) Do it Habitually. You can't make them memorize or learn things in one sitting so you always have to make sure to spend time to teach them. It can be a very good bonding experience for both of you when enjoyed. You just have to make sure that your study time would not make an impression that it's dull or scary. Don't make your kids feel that they are inferior. Compliment if they did something good towards your lessons or if they behave well. The key to making sure that study time is successful is to make a habit of studying. It's a good jumpstart for when they start to go to school.

5.) Don't Compare. NO PRESSURE. Our child grows up on their own timeline. You don't have to compare them to another child who knows the alphabet or basic things ahead than your kids. They learn and retain information differently. I, for example retains lessons or information visually rather than just being told. Study your child's habit and the way they learn. Follow their cue and they would lead you to success.

Being a teacher can be a real challenge but being the teacher and the Mom is a lot more challenging. You don't settle for less as you want your kids to be successful, intelligent, with good study habit etc. We all want that but you have to accept that there are different factors affecting the child so you have to make sure that you study your kids' way of learning things. As I said, study time is a very good bonding moment. It's more fulfilling that you were able to teach them your own rather than letting them learn thru gadgets.

P.S We have yet to buy stuff like pencils, crayons, papers etc to support our growing needs of studying at home. I hope we could pull this of. =)

Amal and George Clooney: Pregnant with Twins!

Joining the bandwagon for this year’s twin pregnancy after Beyoncé and Madonna are Amal and George Clooney. Wow! This year must be a year of twins for people in the limelight. I wonder who’s next?

Rumors don't seem to leave the Clooney duo since forever. Last year, they were rumored to be having marital problems to getting a divorce and sometimes to getting pregnant. This time, let’s hope it’s real. It does seem like it is since the source was Julie Chen herself.

The TV personality, news anchor and CBS producer broke the exciting news on The Talk. She said:  "Beyoncé is not the only superstar expecting twins. Congratulations are in order for George and Amal Clooney. The Talk has confirmed that the 55-year-old superstar and his highly accomplished 39-year-old attorney wife are expecting twins. Give her the armrest, by the way, she's pregnant!"

I bet the couple is excited about the pregnancy, especially that this is their first (and second) child. These babies seem to have waited for many years, right? Finally, the baby’s on the way! Who wouldn’t be excited for that? 

The lovely couple has been married for two and a half years now since their wedding ceremony in September 2014 in Venice, Italy. Let’s send our best wishes for the lovely couple.

Asia Leaders Forum with Jose Mari Yupangco of Yamaha

On June 1, 2017 from 10AM to 3PM, another Asia Leaders Forum in Real Estate will be launched in Davao this time with the collaboration between Yupangco Electronics Corporation (Distributor of Yamaha Sound and Audio Technology) headed by Jose Mari L. Yupangco and TAG Media and Public Relations headed by Engr. Grace Bondad Nicolas. Just last month, January 31, 2017 at Misono Japanese Restaurant in Makati, the first of its series for this year under Asia Leaders Forum has been launched with speakers that includes Dr. Elton Tan of E-Hotels, Robert L. Yupangco of Zoomanity Group, Engr. Ben Co of BSC Construction, Mario Berta of Flyspaces, Congressman Prospero "Butch" Pichay of Surigao Del Sur, Koo Kwan Kon of Global Morning City Development among others. Attended also by representatives from SMDC, ProFriends, DMCI, DibZ and Megaworld.

For this year of ASEAN 50th Anniversary and the chairmanship of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, all eyes are focus to the Philippines as the hosting country, it's time to showcase the skills of the Filipinos and the Philippines products and services. Asia Leaders Forum is just one way to promote the backbone of any organizations and our world class infrastructures and talents.

The objective of the forum is to promote the Philippines as the premier business hub in Asia and to share to participants the updates with regards to the real estate landscapes in the Philippines & beyond, technology & digital marketing and the government mandates and initiatives to improve the real estate sector in the country. For more information, please contact grace@tagmedia.asia or call 09166299381. #Yamaha #TAGmedia #AsiaLeadersForum #RealEstate #Yupangco

Valentine's Day 2017 and More Update

Hi everyone, how's your Valentine's Day so far? I know a lot of couple who are having their best time today because of their posts on social media sites. Let's spread Love! :)

So how's mine?

Ayun, I am at work at the moment. I know right? Hahaha! I am going out at 10:30pm so there's really nothing  much that Daryl and I could do. No movies, no flowers, no chocolates, no eat outs - just like the way I want it to be. Actually I am not fond of Valentine's Day being celebrated. If Daryl will give something for me, I will appreciate it with my whole heart but if not, it won't cause a fight. Unlike courting age where you'll somehow feel sad of not having anything given to you, adulthood is something different. I saw some of Mommy Bloggers on Facebook who aren't as eager to celebrate this day too. Why? Because we have different priorities now. We are very conscious of spending money on flowers that will wither over time, or chocolates that will only harm your body.

Wow, lolang - lola lang?? Hahahah!

But yeah, I don't feel bad at all. I am happy with my friends getting special treatments or getting special gifts but for me, bago mo ko ibili ng gift could we make sure we have savings? Lol. #beingpractical101

Anyway, I have some update about my goals that I have written here.

Exactly a week ago, I have decided to start loosing weight. Although it was really written as one of my goals this year, I didn't focus on it until last week. I realized how much weight I have gained for half a year and I have to shed some weight for a month. Last year's Annual Physical Exam that's required from work said I was 62-63kgs. Surprisingly, I weigh 65kgs last week!! Could you imagine that? Instead of weight loss, I am gaining them. It appeared that I am overweight for my height and my Body Mass index was screaming at me. Given my height, I should only weight 45kgs - 60kgs so I am 5kgs over. It was a really sad realization. =(

What I did was to download and application on my phone to let me know how much calorie I am taking for a day. Before I go on crunches and exercise, I have to work on my diet as well. It is recommended that I'll take 1200cal/day for me to loose weight so I used the My FitnessPal App and it was really user friendly. Given the millions of food that's on their database, I am surprised they have Filipino food listed along with their calories and other nutrients included in it. 

The screenshots were the first two days that I am eating 1,200 calories. I also ditched rice for 3 days and ate at least a cup per day on a weekend. I am into the program only for a week so I don't have a stable background to let you know if this works or not.

I know I have to do something about my weight and make sure I won't gain anymore unwanted pounds. My goal is just to get my weight proportioned to height so that gives me 5kgs to take off. I am giving myself a month to work on that 5kgs and would set more goals in the future. Just one target at a time so not to make things complicated or very hard to achieve. It's been a week since I started my diet and hopefully, I'll be able to eliminate some and not gain more.

I'll update you in the future so don't worry. =)

Jami's Milestone at Three

Being a parent is a huge responsibility. From conception to birth, to taking care of them until they are ready to conquer the world on their own. Just like any first time Moms, I am enjoying this phase that Jami is on. He's 3 years old and is very talkative. I am being surprised with what he knows and amused by what he could say at his age. Looking back on my blog, I realized that in the past months, I haven't been able to write anything about Jami's milestone which somehow makes me sad kasi hindi ko na maaala exactly how it happened.

Anyhow, I'll write about those that I could still remember.

Since he was over 1 year old, Jami started speaking one to two words. To date, I didn't realize that he can now tell a story! He says so many things, laging meron gustong sabihin! There are times that you'll get annoyed because he's talking too much on days that you want to have a peace of mind. Lol! There were days that you are too busy but he keeps on asking questions like

"Mommy anong ginagawa ng feet ko?"
"Mommy bakit sya nagtakbo?"
"Mommy bakit sya nag grumpy?"

and just everything that he notices, he'll ask questions. We'll I can't be any happier because I know that he's being observant of his surroundings. Yun nga lang, endless talaga ang questions. I can't help not to answer his questions naman because I can see myself on him. Manang - mana sakin yan eh. Even to date, ganyan ako magtanong sa mga bagay na hindi ko naiintindihan, lagi pang may follow up questions hahaha! I remember I watched a video on facebook where the kid kept on asking questions but the mother was too busy. Later on when her kid became a grown up, she notices that something is wrong with her kid so she asked if they could talk pero ang sagot ng kid was NO. She's old enough to handle things. Sad diba? I know that most parents realized how time flies really fast so it's important to be on our kids' side. =) So the moral of the story? Just answer the damn question regardless how silly it is.

I remember once when Jami was watching Lion Guard on Disney Junior.

Jami: Mommy anong color ng water? (sea water)
Me:  Blue, Anak.
Jami: Blue? Bakit hindi Pink?
Me: Ahmmmmmmmmm.......... mental blocked.

Hahahaha! Well, he's actually referring to a color white. He's confused with Pink and White and he often says, "Mommy bakit pink?" but he was looking at a white short.

I am amazed everyday with all the things that he says. I can't believe that at this stage, he could make sense of the things around him. I am just so proud!