Here's Tallulah wearing Filipiniana for their school's Linggo ng Wika program today. It's the same dress Sofia wore last year. Tipid, hehe. I am bringing the girls to school today. Stage Mom. :D
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tallulah's going to preschool!
After taking several days off from work - to file Tallulah's application for nursery, to bring her for assessment/interview, to get the assessment's result, and to finally enroll her - Tallulah's going to preschool this coming schoolyear! She's so super excited to...play! So I'm saying hello to the school's guidance counselor, in advance. Knock on wood. :DFriday, December 4, 2009
Family Day
November 22 was Family Day at Sofia's school. Sofia and her classmates were required to wear 90's costume, hence, the plaid top/baby dress. I hope it looked 90's enough. :D The kids had a short (but very hoooot!) parade but the parents didn't mind the scorching heat and just kept clicking away with their cameras. :D
There were games and lots of activities for the kids to enjoy. The girls enjoyed the bump cars but we (the Dad and Mom) didn't. We were worried the whole time they were inside the 'track' because even though there were some guys assisting the kids, the girls and some other kids didn't know how to 'drive' and so they kept bumping the walls or each other's cars.
There was also the famous kalesa ride. I wonder why kids are so fascinated with horses...Anyway, I joined the kids and too bad, Danny was not able to take some decent photos of our kalesa experience. :D
Then there was the ceramic painting. This one Danny and I enjoyed because we were able to sit and rest for a while. :D Sofia's Pikachu was good enough. Tallulah's Winnie the Pooh was..uh..well..okaaay. :D
We went home tired (but happy, of course!) after six (6) hours of 'baby-sitting' two big girls, and with big tummies after having quesadillas and burritos and snowcones and hotdogs and ice monsters. :D
Monday, November 9, 2009
Two Little Kittens
So we were requested to assist Sofia in memorizing this 5-stanza poem during the school's one-week semestral break. At first, I wasn't sure if Sofia will be able to memorize it, but as they say, we tend to underestimate the power of a child's mind, and so I'm just happy that Sofia was able to memorize the poem in five (5) days. I let her memorize one stanza a day and on the fifth day, she knew the poem by heart! Alright, there were times that I had to give her cues. :DAnyway, we were surprised one night when we heard Tallulah reciting the 1st stanza and some lines from the poem. She was probably listening while Sofia was reciting the poem to me every night before we sleep.
Oh well, these little kids really amaze me! :) Proud mommy, hehe.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Linggo ng Wika
This is Sofia's Filipiniana costume for her school's celebration of 'Linggo ng Wika' today. We bought this yesterday at a barong store in Farmers' Plaza, Cubao, for PhP350, plus PhP40 for the abaka slippers. Mahal ha! :D I took her photos last night because I have work today and there is no special program or anything at school for the parents, and so I really have no chance to see Sofia in her costume today. Sofia was also asked to bring Filipino food that she has to share with a classmate, and so we bought a box (6 pcs.) of 'bibingka' at Bibingkabon in Shopwise Araneta for PhP120. By the way, you should try the bibingka, it's yummy! My daughters' favorite is Ube flavor!
So how much was the total damage? PhP510! That's exclusive of gas and stress from last minute shopping. :D Sofia's smiling face while she was trying on her costume, however, was priceless! :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
First Day High
Yup, you guessed it. I took a leave from work on Sofia’s first day of school - June 15. I know, this is long overdue, but I just had to ‘document’ this wonderful experience!
The works.
I helped her dress up in her cute uniform (she wore peach that day), prepared and packed her baon (ham sandwich with lettuce and apple juice), tied her hair into ponytails, and I made sure she has all the things she would need in school - hand sanitizer, tissue, handkerchief, and her nametag. I couldn’t really tell if she was excited with the whole 'first day' thing because she was 'cool' about me being so 'OC' and she just went with the flow of things that morning. I, on the other hand, was excited and anxious at the same time.
The school bus.
Then I rode the school bus with her - as much as we want to send her to and pick her up from school every single day, we can’t at this point in time since Danny and I both work - and prepped her that she would be riding the bus ‘without Mommy’ starting the next day because Mommy has to go to work. She slept on my shoulder while the bus fetched all the other students on the way to school. I wondered how’s it going to be on the next day? There will be no more shoulder for her to sleep on when she gets sleepy. Then I thought (and hoped) she’d make lots of friends in the bus soon.
The stage mommy.
We arrived at school 10 minutes early. Parents are not allowed to go beyond the fence, so I kissed her and told her that I’m going to be back to pick her up. A lady ushered her to sit with her classmates in the ‘assembly hall’ while they wait for the teachers to bring them to their classrooms. Sofia was so behaved! She was just looking around and from time to time, was checking to see if I am still outside watching her - she was not smiling every time our eyes met, but her eyes were like telling me (and maybe herself) “I can do this!” Tough girl. I would have left sooner had I not saw her checking on me, but I stayed because I thought she might panic if she turns and doesn't see me among the crowd of parents outside the fence. I left only when the teachers ushered Sofia and all the kids into their classrooms. I couldn’t exactly describe how I felt at that moment, but I was glad Sofia was not among those kids who howled and cried and were literally carried by some ladies and were brought to, I heard, the guidance office. Oh well. If that had happened to Sofia, I had probably also cried with her and spent two (2) hours in the guidance office as well. :D
The fetch.
I had to pick her up at 2pm. Classes for the first three (3) days of school were shortened to 2 hours, instead of the regular 3 hours. (We fetched Sofia for the first three days of school because the bus is scheduled to fetch Sofia at 3:30 pm every day.) So there I was, standing outside the fence (again) with other excited parents, waiting for the kids as they come out, class after class, to the assembly hall. I saw one parent holding a camera, my cue to grab mine as well, and I took pictures of Sofia’s expressions as soon as I saw her. She was scouting the faces outside the fence and the moment her eyes beamed when she finally saw me, I found myself on the verge of crying (promise! hehe). (I later learned that when Danny and I fetched Sofia the next day, Danny also felt like crying when he saw Sofia in school. haha!) It was weird, really. I was anxious because my little girl, for the first time, spent time with unfamiliar faces in an unfamiliar place, with no ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’ around, and yet I was happy and proud that she made it through her first real adventure!
So there, on June 15, 2009, Sofia had just made her first big step towards independence. :D Thank God, everything went really well on that first day! Here are some of Sofia’s photos during the first three (3) days of school:
The works.
I helped her dress up in her cute uniform (she wore peach that day), prepared and packed her baon (ham sandwich with lettuce and apple juice), tied her hair into ponytails, and I made sure she has all the things she would need in school - hand sanitizer, tissue, handkerchief, and her nametag. I couldn’t really tell if she was excited with the whole 'first day' thing because she was 'cool' about me being so 'OC' and she just went with the flow of things that morning. I, on the other hand, was excited and anxious at the same time.
The school bus.
Then I rode the school bus with her - as much as we want to send her to and pick her up from school every single day, we can’t at this point in time since Danny and I both work - and prepped her that she would be riding the bus ‘without Mommy’ starting the next day because Mommy has to go to work. She slept on my shoulder while the bus fetched all the other students on the way to school. I wondered how’s it going to be on the next day? There will be no more shoulder for her to sleep on when she gets sleepy. Then I thought (and hoped) she’d make lots of friends in the bus soon.
The stage mommy.
We arrived at school 10 minutes early. Parents are not allowed to go beyond the fence, so I kissed her and told her that I’m going to be back to pick her up. A lady ushered her to sit with her classmates in the ‘assembly hall’ while they wait for the teachers to bring them to their classrooms. Sofia was so behaved! She was just looking around and from time to time, was checking to see if I am still outside watching her - she was not smiling every time our eyes met, but her eyes were like telling me (and maybe herself) “I can do this!” Tough girl. I would have left sooner had I not saw her checking on me, but I stayed because I thought she might panic if she turns and doesn't see me among the crowd of parents outside the fence. I left only when the teachers ushered Sofia and all the kids into their classrooms. I couldn’t exactly describe how I felt at that moment, but I was glad Sofia was not among those kids who howled and cried and were literally carried by some ladies and were brought to, I heard, the guidance office. Oh well. If that had happened to Sofia, I had probably also cried with her and spent two (2) hours in the guidance office as well. :D
The fetch.
I had to pick her up at 2pm. Classes for the first three (3) days of school were shortened to 2 hours, instead of the regular 3 hours. (We fetched Sofia for the first three days of school because the bus is scheduled to fetch Sofia at 3:30 pm every day.) So there I was, standing outside the fence (again) with other excited parents, waiting for the kids as they come out, class after class, to the assembly hall. I saw one parent holding a camera, my cue to grab mine as well, and I took pictures of Sofia’s expressions as soon as I saw her. She was scouting the faces outside the fence and the moment her eyes beamed when she finally saw me, I found myself on the verge of crying (promise! hehe). (I later learned that when Danny and I fetched Sofia the next day, Danny also felt like crying when he saw Sofia in school. haha!) It was weird, really. I was anxious because my little girl, for the first time, spent time with unfamiliar faces in an unfamiliar place, with no ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’ around, and yet I was happy and proud that she made it through her first real adventure!
So there, on June 15, 2009, Sofia had just made her first big step towards independence. :D Thank God, everything went really well on that first day! Here are some of Sofia’s photos during the first three (3) days of school:
Monday, June 8, 2009
Gettin' Ready for School
If there's one more person (me, being the other person) who is more excited than Sofia this coming schoolyear, it's my sis-in-law, Cynthia. She said she'd pay for Sofia's schoolbag but she gave Sofia more than enough cash and we were able to buy Sofia's lunch kits and school shoes (and some toys, hehe) as well! Thanks, Tita Cyn! :)
Anyway, Sofia's cute uniforms are ready and we've also bought her shirts, handkerchiefs, and socks. We've already made arrangements with a school bus operator (which is owned and managed by my husband's cousin who lives just a few blocks away from our house and so that means less anxiety for us, thank God!). We also plan to bring Sofia to her dentist this weekend and to buy more 'girly' school stuff like headbands, hair ties, and hair clips..hehe. Tomorrow, I am attending the school's parents' orientation - Uh, does that make me, officially, a parent? Oh well...
Sofia's first day of classes is on June 15. It's her first time to go to school and I hope that everything goes well for her (and me, hehe). I am really excited and nervous at the same time. :D
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Preschool Hunt
This is what has kept me busy over the past few months – hunting, for preschool, that is. Sofia is now 4 years old and will start nursery this coming school year. I never imagined this whole school hunting thing would be so complicated, but I finally enrolled Sofia in my (and her) chosen school after considering several factors, which I have outlined below to somehow help parents out there who are also on the ‘hunt’:
Teaching Method
Traditional. Montessori. Progressive. Multiple Intelligences. Piagetian, etc. Yup, I went crazy over these teaching methods/programs or theories or whatever. Google each and choose the one that best suits your child’s needs. Each has its unique advantages, but the progressive approach and multiple intelligences theory appealed to me most.
Student-Teacher Ratio
Here’s what I learned: Schools which maintain a low student-teacher ratio (say, 10:1 or even lower) claim that each child’s unique needs are met because students are given individualized attention. On the other hand, schools which have an average of 25 students in a class with only 1 or 2 teacher/s claim that this volume of students is actually manageable and students are taught to be independent at an early age. Hmmn…
In either setting, make sure the teachers are patient, have good communication skills, are smart, and know how to handle kids, especially the ‘difficult’ ones.
Facilities
Here’s what we noticed in some schools we’ve visited during the ‘hunt’. Others have small or few facilities, say classrooms and just one (1) play area, but then maybe this is what your child would prefer for his/her first school - a school that has a ‘homey’ feel. One big school I visited has big playground, play laboratory, computer room (1:1), art room, and music room – you could imagine your child would be ‘moving’ a lot in this school and would have a lot of fun,…or your kid might get overwhelmed. Big school or little school, make sure your child will enjoy and have fun learning for at least 3 hours a day, 5 days a week – you wouldn’t want to make ‘learning’ boring for your child.
Curriculum
Math, Communication Arts, Computer Education, Music, Art, Play, etc. - depending on the teaching method/approach, these are the common subjects taught in preschools. When you enroll your child in a preschool and you intend to transfer him/her to your choice of big school for grade school, make sure the curriculum offered in the preschool is similar to that of your prospective big school. Better yet, some big schools already have their own preschools, so you might want to enroll them there already. One advantage of this is that your child usually does not have to take entrance exam anymore for grade school.
Tuition and other fees
I can’t believe that education now is so pricey, and I am only talking about preschool! For merely three (3) hours of classes a day, the tuition fees in preschools in Quezon City range from PhP40k to PhP80k! And don’t forget the 10% more or less annual increase! Nice! Well, whatever suits your budget, make sure the tuition fees compensate for all the other factors discussed above. By the way, some schools’ fees already include supplies and uniform, others even include food/snacks, which gives you less ‘things’ to worry about during the entire school year. So get that calculator and weigh your options well.
There. Choose the school that will provide your child the best education she/he deserves. Good luck on your hunt! :P
Teaching Method
Traditional. Montessori. Progressive. Multiple Intelligences. Piagetian, etc. Yup, I went crazy over these teaching methods/programs or theories or whatever. Google each and choose the one that best suits your child’s needs. Each has its unique advantages, but the progressive approach and multiple intelligences theory appealed to me most.
Student-Teacher Ratio
Here’s what I learned: Schools which maintain a low student-teacher ratio (say, 10:1 or even lower) claim that each child’s unique needs are met because students are given individualized attention. On the other hand, schools which have an average of 25 students in a class with only 1 or 2 teacher/s claim that this volume of students is actually manageable and students are taught to be independent at an early age. Hmmn…
In either setting, make sure the teachers are patient, have good communication skills, are smart, and know how to handle kids, especially the ‘difficult’ ones.
Facilities
Here’s what we noticed in some schools we’ve visited during the ‘hunt’. Others have small or few facilities, say classrooms and just one (1) play area, but then maybe this is what your child would prefer for his/her first school - a school that has a ‘homey’ feel. One big school I visited has big playground, play laboratory, computer room (1:1), art room, and music room – you could imagine your child would be ‘moving’ a lot in this school and would have a lot of fun,…or your kid might get overwhelmed. Big school or little school, make sure your child will enjoy and have fun learning for at least 3 hours a day, 5 days a week – you wouldn’t want to make ‘learning’ boring for your child.
Curriculum
Math, Communication Arts, Computer Education, Music, Art, Play, etc. - depending on the teaching method/approach, these are the common subjects taught in preschools. When you enroll your child in a preschool and you intend to transfer him/her to your choice of big school for grade school, make sure the curriculum offered in the preschool is similar to that of your prospective big school. Better yet, some big schools already have their own preschools, so you might want to enroll them there already. One advantage of this is that your child usually does not have to take entrance exam anymore for grade school.
Tuition and other fees
I can’t believe that education now is so pricey, and I am only talking about preschool! For merely three (3) hours of classes a day, the tuition fees in preschools in Quezon City range from PhP40k to PhP80k! And don’t forget the 10% more or less annual increase! Nice! Well, whatever suits your budget, make sure the tuition fees compensate for all the other factors discussed above. By the way, some schools’ fees already include supplies and uniform, others even include food/snacks, which gives you less ‘things’ to worry about during the entire school year. So get that calculator and weigh your options well.
There. Choose the school that will provide your child the best education she/he deserves. Good luck on your hunt! :P
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