REDUCING ANGER

http://www.focusonyourchild.com/develop/art1/A0000174.html

Anger Busters for Kids
Eight Ideas for Reducing Anger

Your child is yelling, slamming doors and having an all-out tantrum … but can he trust you with his anger? Punishing the behaviors associated with anger might be a quick fix, but without instruction your child will lose out. National anger management trainer Bob Bowen warns that children who never learn proper ways to express their frustration will eventually find their own, often inappropriate, methods.

“At 7 years old she may be yelling or pulling someone’s hair, but by age 16 she will have developed 15 other incorrect ways to say ‘I’m frustrated.’ She has to find her own path because, as parents, we haven’t given her the correct one.”

The road to teaching proper “anger behavior” can be extremely bumpy when parents are sucked into the heat of the moment. Parents need first to handle their own emotions.

“When a child sees a parent managing his own frustration and anger, he will learn by example,” Bowen says. “How a parent responds to his child’s anger is how the parent teaches.”

Teaching discipline instead of punishing the child equips him with anger management tools that can be used the rest of his life. Here are eight things you can do to help your child learn how to express his anger positively.

Eight Great Anger Busters

1. Model anger management. “Mommy is feeling very angry right now, so I’m going to take time to be alone and get some self-control.
2. Show respect. Don’t participate by calling names or getting physical.
3. Give them words to express their anger. “I know you are disappointed, or sad or frustrated.”
4. Identify with their pain. “I remember when I didn’t get to go to a party.…”
5. Set positive limits. Instead of saying, “Don’t you throw that doll,” say, “After you put the doll on the table, we can go have snack.”
6. Redirect energy bursts that often come with anger. Encourage positive outlets like running, jumping, blowing into a horn or painting.
7. Avoid power struggles with your child. They’re always lose-lose situations. If your goal is to control, you will teach him to control others.
8. Provide a cooling-off period by reading a book together or going on a walk. Then calmly discuss what happened and make a plan for next time.

— Lynne M. Thompson

TAKING A WALK

TELL ME MORE

From one of my favorite homeschooling sites:


The Two Sided Question And The Dangerous Why

The word "Why" is actually one of the most ineffective words when you need to find out some information.

From the parent's side, when you want to know information about something, often we ask our children "Why" something happened, or "why" they did something.

The problem with using the word "why" is that it immediately invokes negative feelings. It's almost impossible to use the word "why" without sounding accusatory. So your child immediately becomes defensive and anxiety begins to set in. So probably, you won't get the information you need.

Instead, trying using the phrase "Tell me more" about what happened, or whatever else you need information about. It requests the same information without all the negative baggage.

From your child's perspective, one of the hallmarks of homeschooled children is that they don't have any fear when it comes to speaking with adults, and asking lots of questions. In this respect, the word "why" also invokes reserved feelings when a child asks why. Why not teaching your children this same technique?

Instead of your child asking "Why" something is, how about having them use: "Please tell me more."The word "why" automatically carries negative baggage with adults, why not bypass it altogether when asking for information.

LOOKING COOL

MIRROR PRINTS

More artworks by my boys. Here are some of them...

NEW EXOPLANETS

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20070529/sc_space/28newexoplanetsdiscovered

28 New Exoplanets Discovered
Jeanna Bryner
Staff Writer
SPACE.com

HONOLULU-Astronomers have discovered 28 new planets outside of our solar system, increasing to 236 the number of known exoplanets, revealing that planets can exist around a broad spectrum of stellar types-from tiny, dim stars to giants.

"We added 12 percent to the total in the last year, and we're very proud of that," said one of the study team members Jason Wright of the University of California at Berkeley. "This provides new planetary systems so that we can study their properties as an ensemble."

The planets are among 37 new objects spotted within the past year. Seven of the objects are failed stars called brown dwarfs, with masses that dwarf the largest, Jupiter-sized planets but too small to sustain the nuclear reactions necessary for stellar ignition.

John Johnson of the University of California at Berkeley and his colleagues presented the findings here today at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

Astronomers don't directly spot extrasolar planets, but rather look for stellar wobbles caused by orbiting planets. The planet's size and distance from the parent star affect how strong or weak of a wobble, and more sophisticated techniques for measuring the stellar wobbles has led to an ever-lengthening list of such outer planets. Now they can detect wobbles of a meter per second compared with the 10-meter limit just 15 years ago.

Planet profiles
One of the exoplanets, a red M dwarf just 30 light-years from Earth, was discovered two years ago, but recent observations have allowed astronomers to pin down its mass, radius and density. The ice-giant planet circles the star Gliese 436 (GJ 436) and has a radius and density that are surprisingly similar to that of Neptune.

Weighing in at 22.4 Earth-masses, the exoplanet is the first Neptune-sized planet observed to transit a star. The previous record holder, dubbed HD 140926b, weighed in at 100 Earth masses, and Jupiter is 320 Earth masses.

"[Gliese 436b] must be 50 percent rock and about 50 percent water, with perhaps small amounts of hydrogen and helium," said head of the planet-search team Geoffrey Marcy, also of UC Berkeley. "So this planet has the interior structure of a hybrid super-Earth/Neptune, with a rocky core surrounded by a significant amount of water compressed into solid form at high pressures and temperatures."

Its 2.6-day orbit around GJ 436 means the hybrid planet circles very close to its star, just 3 percent of the Sun-Earth distance, and making it a hot Neptune. Unlike most giant planets found with such close ties to their stars, this planet has an eccentric orbit. The elongated orbit suggests the parent star could have another planetary companion with a more distant orbit.
"I'm sure people will immediately follow up and try to measure the atmospheric composition of this planet," Wright said.

GJ 436 is an M star and 70 percent of all stars are considered M-type stars, so finding that these dim stars can support planets could mean a boon for planet hunters.

Bigger is better
At least four of the newly spotted planets belong to multiple-planet systems, supporting the idea that at least 30 percent of all planet-parent stars have more than one planetary companion. Since smaller planets and those outside our solar system are trickier to detect, Wright predicts this percentage will continue to rise as detection methods improve.

And three of the just-discovered planets circle stars that boast masses between 1.6 and 1.9 times that of our Sun. The stars are A- and F-type stars, which are typically difficult to detect because they rotate fast and have pulsating atmospheres.

Due to their extreme rotational velocities and high temperatures, A and F stars only jitter slightly from orbiting planets and so surveys can only pick up wobbles from super-massive planets and brown dwarfs in short-period orbits around these stars.

Johnson discovered that "retired" A stars, which have nearly burned all of their hydrogen and remain stable for a short stint, have slower rotation rates and are not so hot. That makes it easier for astronomers to measure their planet-caused wobbles.

Unlike planets orbiting M-type stars, these exoplanets tend to orbit at least 0.8 astronomical units (AU) from the parent stars.

For this reason, massive stars are more likely to harbor Jupiter-sized planets than are lower-mass stars, Johnson said. And retired A-type stars are twice as likely to support planets compared with Sun-like stars, which Johnson attributes to the fact that bigger stars start out with more material in their disks to feed planet building.

So these massive stars also could represent a treasure trove for places to spot new exoplanets, along with the M stars, Johnson said.

LIZARD EGGS

I was cleaning the closet the other day when I chanced upon some lizard eggs. I thought it was a great opportunity to show them to the boys and teach them about how different eggs are in size. They already know quail eggs and chicken eggs. I figured they would appreciate how small the lizard eggs were. True enough, they were so fascinated and even handled the eggs carefully and I let them play with the egg shells. I took a photo of the eggs and put a 5-centavo coin beside it as a reference on how tiny they were. After 5 minutes of this, I put the eggs back carefully in the closet. I'm sure, a few days from now, there would only be shells in there. =D

PAPER AIRPLANES

We made some paper airplanes the other day. I printed a Backyardigans paper airplane template and the boys had a great time throwing their airplanes around and making them fly. It was great fun especially when they were so absorbed in the game that they gave me a full 30 minutes of peace. =D

The template and the paper airplane, after folding.

Side view of the paper airplane. It looks really nice with the Backyardigans on it.

First throw. Wheeee! =D

Kuya's turn! This is fun!

LEARNING MUSIC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/parents/learninganinstrument/whichinstrument.shtml

WHICH INSTRUMENT IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD?
Practical advice on commonly-chosen instruments.

You can tell if it's suitable for your child if they get some positive enjoyment out of it, pick it up of their own accord, find some new way of playing around with it, so they're not just practising in a rote fashion but actually wanting to make music with it.
Liz Wilhide, Parent

Choosing the right instrument for your child needn't be a nightmare. Most children will begin on one of a handful of instruments: piano, recorder, violin or cello.

You'll want to make sure they are comfortable with it. Some instruments are better for younger players. The recorder, for instance, is easy to handle. Some stringed instruments are available in smaller versions for beginners. Whereas anything involving breathing, like brass and woodwind, should wait until they have the strength to blow and their second set of teeth have appeared. Every instrument is different.

I think if you find you're really enthusiastic about wanting to play it then that's probably a good indicator.
Louise Brown, 14, learning saxophone

TOP TIPS:

• Take your children to hear live music to find out about different instruments. Encourage them to think about the genres that interest them - rock, classical or jazz?
• Try before you buy - an instrument can be costly.
• Think about where your child will fit in. For example, there are often more clarinet and flute pupils than there are groups for them to play in, while bassoonists and oboists are more scarce, and so might enjoy more opportunities. Bass players are also rarely short of a gig, unlike their guitar-playing counterparts.
• If your child finds it difficult at first, encourage them to persevere, the rewards are worth it.
• Some instruments, like recorder or piano, are best for beginners and some string instruments may be available in special small sizes.
• Some, especially brass or woodwind, are more suited for older children.
• Think about practical considerations: will the noise disturb the neighbours, is it too big too lug around, have you got room for your child to practise?

BASKETBALL

Time for some fun! =D

MARKETING

I think this article is very helpful, especially in today's world...

http://www.parenting.org/precious/e_current.asp

Marketing to Your Toddler

The following article contains excerpts from the just-published book, Who's Raising Your Child? Battling the Marketers for Your Child's Heart and Soul .

If today's marketers and advertisers have their way, your toddler will dictate what toys fill the game room, what food is served at the breakfast table, which designer labels hang in the closet and what entertainment flashes across the plasma-screen TV.

Sophisticated marketing messages that celebrate consumption and consumerism are streaming into children's lives every day. And they've been spectacularly successful.

In one poll of parents, 20 percent said their kids by age 3 - before they could read - began asking for brand-name products. Almost half of the parents said that kids were asking for branded products by age 5.

Advertisers' unrelenting pursuit of our young people through mass media, the Internet, even in school and on the street, can seem overwhelming. However, there are things you can do now that will help your toddler grow up to care more about people and less about things.

• Set limits on your toddler's television time . Many experts recommend that preschoolers watch no more than one hour of TV daily.
• Watch TV with your child . Be a filter for your child by helping him or her understand what's happening on screen.
• Teach your child to take "No" for an answer . Nagging or whining for something comes naturally to children. You must teach your child that there will be times when he or she wants something, but you will have to say "No."
• Reward your child with time and attention rather than with things . Give your child "people" rewards (hugs, kisses, time spent with Mom and Dad) when he or she has earned it for good behavior.
• Encourage play activities that promote creativity, problem-solving and concentration . TV entertains kids, but it doesn't engage the part of the brain that thinks critically or solves problems.
• Find ways to involve your child in volunteer or service activities . When you donate your time and energy to a cause, look for opportunities to explain to your child why you do this or have your child assist you.

Using these strategies successfully when your child is young will help him or her develop a sound system of values that puts people first. He or she may still get enticed by the latest toy or snack food on the market, but you will have given your child a larger framework from which to understand personal desires and choices.

NADIA BOULANGER SAID...

Loving a child doesn't mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring out the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.

LADYBUG ROCKS

I think this is a wonderful craft to make!! We might even use this as decoration for Nikki and Ethan's future room! =D

http://www.parenting.com/parenting/child/article/0,19840,1598990,00.html?topic=12083&topic=l1367&cid=tout-tagcloud-crafts

LADYBUG ROCKS

Kids can make these adorable ladybugs as shelf decorations, or as a paperweight for Mom or Dad's desk. While the average ladybug is red, ours come in several vibrant colors. Let your kids pick their favorite!

Age: 3 and up (This project is rated VERY EASY to do.)

What you need:
Smooth, round or oval rocks, washed and dried
Acrylic craft paint in colors of our choice
Black acrylic craft paint
2 wiggle eyes for each ladybug
Black Sharpie marker
Acrylic matte sealer spray
White craft glue (Tacky Glue)

How to make it:
1. Completely wash and dry all rocks.
2. Paint rocks in desired colors, allow to dry. Apply second and third coats if needed. Lighter colors will require more coats than darker shades.
3. Paint head on using black acrylic craft paint. There is no pattern needed, simply paint about 1/4 of the rock black in the "front".
4. Use a black Sharpie to draw a straight line down the center of the rock, starting at the center of the base of the "head".
5. Dip the end of a large paint brush, or the eraser of a pencil, in black craft paint. Dot on the spots, reloading with paint after every dot.
6. Once the paint is dry, spray the rock(s) with acrylic sealer spray. Allow sealer to dry completely.
7. Using white craft glue, attach wiggle eyes and let dry.

Helpful Hints
• If you are doing this in a group setting, you may find it easier to prepare the rocks ahead of time. Wash, dry and apply a coat of Liquitex Basics Gesso (white) to each rock. This is a craft medium that works well with many projects. It will also create a base so that less coats of color paint will be required.
• Bigger rocks are easier for small hands to manipulate. They are also heavier, so be sure that there are enough adult helpers for a group of little ones.
• White and black paint can be used instead of wiggle eyes. Simply dot on white paint, allow to dry, then use a smaller tool to dot on the black.

Parenting.com, March 2007

SIGHTSEEING

Visiting the local parks...

Butterfly farm behind us, soon to open.

Beautiful flowers.

Beside the statue of the former mayor.

Cheeeese!!

At the Boy Scouts' Camp.

Time to go home...

IMPROVING FINE-MOTOR SKILLS

http://school.familyeducation.com/growth-and-development/school-readiness/41182.html

Poor Fine-Motor Skills
Education Expert Advice from Peggy Gisler, Ed.S. and Marge Eberts, Ed.S.

Question: I have twin first-grade boys who are doing great with reading but have very poor muscle control with writing. This causes them to get impatient and not write well. What can I do to help them?

Answer: Your twins will not be able to write well until they have developed good fine-motor skills. Fortunately, these skills improve easily with lots of practice. And best of all, this practice should be fun for you and your boys.

Use the following activities to help your sons develop the precision, balance, and hand-eye coordination that are needed to perform the fine-motor skills used in handwriting:

• Have your children play with clay or play-dough to strengthen the major muscles used in handwriting.
• Encourage their play with Legos®, miniature cars, small blocks, action figures, and other small toys.
• Do puzzles with your children.
• Provide creative artwork that involves using crayons, marking pens, scissors, and finger paints, as well as tearing paper.
• Play games with your children that involve the handling of cards and small game pieces.
• Have your children sort collections of coins found in your home into stacks of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.
• Help your children learn to manage such everyday skills as tying and lacing their shoes and buttoning their clothes.

Remember, every child has a different timetable in acquiring the fine-motor skills needed for handwriting. The more your children use their fingers in activities, the sooner they will acquire these skills. In the meantime, let them do some of their schoolwork on the computer because handwriting is so difficult for them. And don't forget to read to them and encourage their successful efforts in learning to read.

CASETTE TAPES

Yesterday, we got some old casette tapes and I let the boys play with them. They were quite creative. And they enjoyed it so much, they kept on playing until evening. Here are some photos:

Nikki tries it domino-style. Ethan kept on knocking the tapes over which irked Nikki to no end.

There they go!! Ethan was hopping like a bunny at this time. =D

Nikki tries another way. (Photo is a bit blurry, sorry!)

Nikki was proudest about this. I was quite surprised when he thought of making this because I didn't teach him how to make chairs. =D

"Look mommy! I made a banana and tomato sandwich!" I told Nikki that would be a strange-tasting but colorful sandwich. =D

Here, Ethan piled all the tapes and told me he made a building. Then he demanded that I take his picture. =D

One more creation. Nikki really had loads of fun!

Ethan copies Kuya and makes his own tower.

FREE PLAY

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/activitiesforkids/a/1006_free_play.htm

The Importance of Free Play
From Vincent Iannelli, M.D.,

Activities for Kids
The next time your child comes to the pediatrician it might be a good idea that she leaves with a prescription for some daily 'free play' time.

With all of the structured activities and the strictly scheduled lives that kids have these days, many kids are left without any real time to just play, which is considered a birthright by many experts.

So why is it so important to let kids play? According to the American Academy of Pediatric's Clinical Report on The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, in addition to being important to healthy brain development, the benefits of play include:

• allowing kids to use their creativity and develop their imagination, dexterity, and other strengths
• encouraging kids to interact with the world around them
• helping kids conquer their fears and build their confidence
• teaching kids to work in groups, so they learn to share and resolve conflicts
• helping kids practice decision making skills that it is fun

It is important to note that this kind of play is meant to be unstructured, child driven play.
It is not the kind of play time that is totally controlled by adults and doesn't include passive play, such as sitting in front of a video game, computer, or TV.

Keep in mind that just because free play isn't controlled by adults doesn't mean that you shouldn't supervise your kids while they are playing, especially if they are playing outside.

Examples of Free Play
True free play is any kind of unstructured activity that encourages your child to use his imagination, such as playing with blocks and dolls. It wouldn't include playing with most electronic toys.

A group of kids playing soccer in the backyard together, versus only playing on a team with a coach, would be another good example of free play time.

If you are simply running from lesson to lesson and your kids are overscheduled with activities, consider cutting back a little and adding in some free play.

PLAYING WITH BLOCKS

Here's Ethan with some blocks that were previously owned by my brother. Ethan really likes playing with lego-type blocks. =D

It was a hot day so Ethan didn't want to wear a shirt. Nikki too.

Peek-a-boo! Nikki is behind, playing with his Nintendo DS Lite that his dad gave him. He loves Mario Bros. =D

Look Mommy! I made a grocery store! (This is what Ethan really told me.) Then he asked me to "take a picture!" So cute! =D

TIME TO EAT

This is a common problem with my boys. Hopefully, they will be less fasticious about eating in the later months...

http://www.todaysparent.com/preschool/foodnutrition/article.jsp?content=20061204_103611_5012&page=1

"I'm Not Hungry"
How to avoid mealtime battles with your preschooler
By Teresa Pitman

When I announce that dinner’s ready, four-year-old Sebastian is more upset than eager. “I’m not hungry!” he says. “I want to keep playing hockey with Uncle Dan!”

Sebastian, in fact, has a long list of things that are more interesting, fun and important to him than eating — and he’s not the only preschooler who feels this way.

“Worrying about their child not eating enough is almost a universal concern among parents of preschoolers,” says Robert Issenman, president of the Canadian Paediatric Society. “But preschoolers actually need only about 100 or 200 more calories than a one-year-old.”

Plus, children this age are caught up in learning about the world and exploring the environment (or, in Sebastian’s case, playing hockey). They just aren’t focused on food because there are so many other interesting things to do.

Tara Leigh Vandermeulen says her five-year-old daughter, Maggie, often insists she’s not hungry, but then qualifies it. “She says, ‘The top part of my stomach is for good food and it’s full, but the bottom part is for junkie food and it’s not full yet.’” She helpfully points out the different sections of her belly, and then holds her hand out and asks for a cookie that she’s confident will fit into the “junkie food section.”

Pretty typical, says Issenman. “Children this age are developing their own tastes, and trying to exert more control over their environment. They choose foods that taste good to them and are easy for them to eat.” Hence the preference for snacks like juice, chocolate bars and other munchies.

While your child may not seem to be eating enough to survive on, Issenman says researchers who have actually recorded what preschoolers eat find that, over time, children do get sufficient calories and nutrients — provided healthy foods are made available to them.

“It’s natural for parents to worry,” says Issenman, “but try not to let that worrying turn into nagging your child about food or turning mealtimes into a power struggle.”

Instead, a parent’s job is to offer a variety of nutritious foods. Your child’s job is to decide how much to eat. If you each do your part, Issenman promises, it will work out.

Mealtime strategies that work

• Limit juice and don’t go overboard on milk — water is a better choice. “A cup of juice has as much as or more sugar than a cup of Coke,” says Robert Issenman, president of the Canadian Paediatric Society. A three-year-old who is drinking three glasses of milk and three glasses of juice daily will be too full to eat much actual food.
• Don’t let your child graze all day long. Set out snacks and meals for about 15 minutes, then take away any food your child doesn’t eat — without commenting on it.
• Don’t let your child watch TV while he’s eating. Research has shown that the distraction of TV at mealtimes can create eating problems.
• Offer a variety of foods at each meal, but don’t feel you need to be a short-order cook, preparing one food after another until you find something your child likes.
• Trust your child. Your goal is to encourage your child to listen to his body to know when he’s hungry and when he’s full. “Small children really have very good systems to know what they need to eat,” adds Issenman. “You don’t want to override that by constantly bugging them to eat more.”

IDENTIFYING OBJECTS

Although Ethan likes to look at books, he still cannot read. So, what I do is teach him the objects in the pages so he'll still be interested. Most of his picture word books are in Manila but I found my old picture word book and that was what we studied the other day. Unlike before, Ethan is beginning to repeat the words I am telling him now. A few months ago, when I would ask him to say a certain word, he would not mind me and just turn the page. At least now, he's beginning to repeat the words. I'm happy with that. =D

Here are a couple of pages in the book.

Close-up of a page.

RECYCLING PAPER

Here is a little project Nikki and I did a few nights ago. I wanted him to make a picture for his dad using old magazine paper. He told me what he wanted to add to the picture and I cut it out for him. I think it was a wonderful project. =D

Nikki had a bit of difficulty with the kite's tail so I helped him with that.

Ethan liked this picture. But only because I drew some bugs in it. I think the nest with eggs was a nice addition. Nikki had some difficulty pasting that so I helped him.

PERSEVERING

Another heart-warming letter from a homeschooling mom...

I'm Crazy to Do This, But I'd Be Crazier Not To!
By Hilary Lynch

I woke up with high hopes. It was a spring day and I longed to have a satisfying day of school, especially with my second daughter, Amiel, then aged six. Although we hadn't been officially schooling for very long, things had not gone well, and I was hoping that spending some longer quality time together would make the difference in helping her learn to read.

We had been spending time for several weeks going over letters and sounds. Even though in many ways she seemed ready for reading, and said she wanted to learn, unfortunately, each time I'd work with her we would both end up frustrated and in tears. She would cry out, "I don't understaaaand!" and I, in turn, would – again! -- try to control my frustration at her seeming inability (or was it just refusal?) to understand what I thought was a simple instruction. So, I was hoping today would be different. It was, but not like I thought it would be.

By 11 am, the all-too familiar routine was well under way. My explanation; her explosion. My repeating the basics; her becoming withdrawn and pushing my arm away. All I wanted was for her to focus on what was in front of her and say the blend, "fr, frog" and we could finish. All she seemed interested in doing was some craft project, a project I had hoped to use as a reward for some -- even a little – progress this morning. "After we do this one lesson," I said as I tried one more time to help her gain some mastery over this phonics lesson. But she never did finish the lesson and say "fr, frog." We both just kept getting more and more frustrated, and we both ended up feeling like failures. Me as a teacher, and her at reading. I gave up. Sure, go do the craft. Do whatever you want to do! I give up! Who cares about developing the character trait of discipline anyway! It was hopeless! Is this what home schooling was all about? Misery?

What was I doing homeschooling? I am crazy to do this! Do you realize I am doing this by my own free will? What sane person willingly puts themselves in a position where they have to face such an ordeal day in and day out? I am crazy to homeschool! As Amiel spent a few minutes with some glue and paint doing her craft project (not the one I had planned, but she was happy), I peeled some carrots for lunch, trying to compose myself. After a few minutes, she cleaned up and went off to play, happy as a clam. I was feeling a little more ready to face teaching again, so I went to check on how my older girl was doing with her schoolwork. Then a little miracle happened. It wasn't a big miracle, but it was one nonetheless. I came into the living room to see Amiel with all her stuffed animals lined up in a row, along with an old set of plastic refrigerator letters and phonics flashcards. "Now this one says, 'f' and this one says, 'r,'" she said as she pointed to the pictures. Each of her smallest of students was participating in the lesson that I had so futilely tried to teach just a few minutes ago. Here she was, teaching phonics to her animals when half an hour ago she was in tears!

I thought for a moment. No one had asked her to do this. She was teaching because she loves to teach, and she was learning as she did so. Where else but in homeschool could this happen? Where else could my dear, sweet Amiel have the freedom to learn things in her own unique way? Where else but in homeschool could she re-energize in her own way, and take the initiative to internalize the lesson in a way that she enjoyed and was meaningful to her? Homeschool was the very best way for her to learn!

In hindsight, there is much I would do differently. I have learned so much about my daughter, about myself, and about what being a good teacher means. One of the main things I have learned is that we have a great opportunity as home schoolers. Where else could we learn so much about ourselves and our children? About what makes us – both her and me -- excited, or feel like a failure? Where else could we learn so much about the grace of God that can transform even frustration into appreciation of each other's uniqueness? Where else but in home school? True, I am crazy to home school. It IS hard work. But I can honestly say that for us the blessings of home schooling far outweigh the crazies – hands down!

~Hilary Lynch~

MORE ART IDEAS

Here is Ethan checking out the book: Fun to Make and Do. He loves doing art works and when he saw this book, he got it and browsed through it, looking for something that would catch his interest. =D

INTRODUCTION TO ORDINALS

I printed these worksheets from edhelper.com. I supposed that Nikki will have to tackle ordinals soon and I saw that this was the perfect introduction to that.

PLAYING ROUGH

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/rough_and_tumble_play.html/context/237

Rough-and-tumble play
By Raising Children Network

Most children love to play fight. Play fighting is most common among boys (both because of their hormones and because grown-ups tend to play more roughly with boys) and during primary school years. Boys tend to like wrestling and holding each other down, while girls who enjoy rough play prefer chasing each other around.

While rough play might have developed among children as a way of learning the fighting skills they’d need to survive, these days it is more important for helping children learn who among their friends is stronger and weaker. Knowing who they can beat and who’ll beat them, and having a hierarchy of stronger and weaker children in their play group, helps children avoid actual fights.

You might worry that your child is being aggressive, but you can usually tell this rough-and-tumble play from genuine fighting. In rough-and-tumble, children will be smiling and laughing, and once they’re finished they’ll keep playing together. Children who are really fighting each other will separate once the fight is over. However, rough-and-tumble play can easily lead to real fighting, so try to establish some rules about what is and isn't acceptable during play.

Primary school children are the biggest rough-and-tumblers, but babies and even toddlers enjoy exciting movement as well, as long as they feel safe. Toddlers and babies like to be bounced on your knee or lifted into the air, although it is best to be gentle with young children to avoid any accidental injury.

They also enjoy climbing over one another and rolling around – it helps them understand the limits of their strength, explore their changing position in space and find out what other children will and won’t let them do. Toddlers love playing chasey or tiggy, spinning around and dancing. This kind of active play works best when your child is wide awake and not expected to go to bed or sit quietly any time soon.

HAND PRINTS

Since the boys will have their own room in Manila soon, I've been starting to think of some things to decorate their room with. Aside from their artworks, I was thinking of preserving their handprints. So that was what we did one afternoon. Nikki was a bit squeamish when I spread the paint on his hand but he agreed to do it when he saw that Ethan had his own handprint. Ethan was so happy with his print that he didn't want to stop so we ended up doing some finger painting afterwards with Nikki watching close by.


This is Nikki's hand print. He barely touched the paper when he started to lift his hand up. I had to press his hand down, but even so, there were some parts in the fingers where there were little paint. But still, I think it came out good. =D I think I'll get a colorful frame for this one.



Ethan's print looks chubby and only because he wiggled his fingers around while he pressed down on the paper. But I think it's really cute! I couldn't believe that handprints could give so much character to a person. I think the colors are really bright and will look wonderful in their new room. I'll probably get a nice colorful frame for this one as well. Can't wait to see these prints on the wall!! =D

CARS AND TRYKES AND BIKES

While the boys were playing on their toy car and tryke the other day, I noticed how much they have grown. So much in fact that Nikki was having some difficulty moving around in the toy car because he was much too big for it. Even Ethan was having a hard time pedaling on the tryke. These toys were sent here from Manila some time ago because I knew that in a matter of months, they were going to be too small for the boys. Since we did not have storage for such toys in Manila, I thought of sending them here so that the boys could have some toys to play with. In a way, it's good that they have these. At least they are not too bored. On the other hand, I realized that there's only so much they could do with these small toys. Playing with them is somewhat limiting. Anyway, am planning to get them a bike when we return to Manila. I'm thinking that they will be able to move more with that and practice their pedalling better. Hopefully, they will be able to share that one...

CHOOSING YOUR CHILD'S SPORT

I think this is a very insightful article, so I'm posting this here...

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/signing_sports.html


Signing Kids Up For Sports

Organized sports can help kids grow in many ways. From soccer to fencing, sports offer chances for kids to learn and master skills, work with their peers and coaches, and challenge themselves in a safe environment. They learn the value of practice and the challenge of competition. And on top of all that, sports provide natural and fun opportunities for kids to get regular exercise.
But before signing kids up for sports, parents should consider a child's personality and developmental level to help ensure that being involved in sports is a positive experience for everyone.

When Should Kids Start Playing Sports?
As you think about signing kids up for sports, consider how emotionally and physically ready they are to participate. Signing up too early can end up being frustrating for everyone, and can turn kids off from sports for good.

Although there are sports programs designed for preschoolers, it's not until about age 6 or 7 that most kids develop the appropriate physical skills or the attention span needed to listen to directions and grasp the rules of the game. While preschoolers can throw and run, it usually takes some time before they can coordinate the two skills. And it usually isn't until kindergarten or first grade that kids grasp concepts like "taking turns" that are crucial to many sports.

That doesn't mean kids can't play sports when they're younger. Sports can be fun for toddlers and kindergartners, but they should be less about competition and more about having fun opportunities to be active. So even if young kids inadvertently score a goal for the other team or spend the entire game chasing butterflies, as long as they're enjoying it, that's OK.

If you do decide to sign your 5-year-old up for a team, be sure to choose a league that emphasizes fun and basic skills.

Choosing the Right Sport
If kids show an interest in a sport, try to let them do it. You may be worried that your child will get hurt, particularly in a contact sport like football, but as long as the coach requires players to use the correct safety gear, your doctor OK's it, and your child is matched up with other kids of the same size and ability, go ahead. Even if the sport doesn't turn out to be a good fit, your child will learn much from the experience.

When choosing a sport, consider your child's unique temperament. Some kids are naturally inclined toward team sports, while others may feel more comfortable in activities where the focus is on individual efforts. There's something for everyone — from soccer and baseball for team-oriented kids, to tennis, fencing, karate, dancing, and swimming for kids who'd rather go solo.

Don't be surprised if it takes a few tries — or a few seasons — to find the sport that's right for your child. It often takes time for kids to figure out which activities they enjoy.

Some kids may just not be interested in team sports, but they can still keep fit by engaging in other activities that don't emphasize competition. No matter what they choose, kids should be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.

Family Factors
Before you sign up for a season of sports, think about how practices and games are going to affect the day-to-day life of your child and the rest of the family:

• How will it affect how much time your child has for things like homework, other activities, and time with friends and family? You may want to get the schedule of practices and games and map out a typical week on a calendar with your child.
  It's important for kids to have time to rest, think creatively, and play freely when they're not engaged in something else. This rest can help give them the energy they need for their activities.
• How will the sport affect the rest of the family's plans? Many teams only practice and play games during the weekend, which can be a problem if your family likes weekend getaways.
• If you have more than one child playing sports, how will you coordinate transportation to practices and games?
• How involved do you want to be in the sport, and how involved does your child want you to be? Sports leagues usually look for parents to volunteer with everything from coaching to team snacks and transportation. Being involved — either as a coach or in another role — can be a great way to spend time with your kids and show them you're interested in what they do.

When Kids Want to Quit
However kids feel when they enroll for a season of sports, there may come a time when they want to quit. If your child comes to you with this plea, try to find the reason behind it. It may have to do with something small and fixable, like a bad-fitting uniform, or it may be a bigger issue, like how comfortable your child feels with the coach or the kids on the team. It could also be that your child just doesn't enjoy the sport.

Is it OK to let kids quit? If your child is on a team that depends on his or her participation, you may want to explain the importance of sticking it out for the season. If that's not the case, then think about what you want your child to get out of the experience, and how quitting would affect that.

When kids are overscheduled or unhappy, quitting may be the right thing. But it's still important for all kids to be physically active every day, even if they're no longer playing an organized sport.

Before Signing Up
Kids should have a physical examination before beginning any sports or fitness program. Those with certain medical conditions, vision or hearing problems, or other disorders may have difficulty playing some sports. Rarely, a doctor may find an undiagnosed condition that can affect participation.

Although you should share your interests with your kids, it's never a good idea to force them into an activity just because you once excelled in it. And once they choose a sport, be sure to head out to the field, gym, or pool to cheer them on.

These are general guidelines to keep in mind. Kids mature at their own pace and develop their unique skills at different times, so consider your child's emotional and physical maturity before you commit to a season of sports. There's no point in forcing sports on kids of if they're not having fun.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: November 2006

MORE BOOKS TO READ...

I added a few more books to our weekly read...



This book teaches: parts of the body, listening, sounds around us











This book teaches: making friends, trying something new, doing the right thing, knowing when to be sorry, having fun but not at the expense of others










This book teaches: how to appreciate the different cultures, what different houses look like, what different houses around the world are made of, hot and cold countries, rhyming











This book teaches: usage of pronouns "he" and "she", occupations, rhyming, dare to dream

TOYS

Some of the toys I recently bought for the boys. The first one was not expensive. The boys love it because whenever they play with this, they remember the Pitagora show they used to watch in Japan. The magnets were not expensive too. I thought it would be a great introduction for them regarding forces especially when it's such an abstract concept. Nikki is beginning to learn about like poles repelling and unlike poles attracting. That's a good start. The last one is a xylophone I bought at the mall. They did not have any other design so I had to get it despite the Disney Princess look. Am planning to cover it with some of the boys' stickers though. The xylophone is out of tune too. But despite this, I caught my dad having a go at it the other day. =D

TEACHING MANNERS

from homeschool free stuff:

Mixing In Some Manners

I know that a lot of homeschoolers out there also have younger children so I have a few tips for the little ones(some of the things can also be applied to older children,too).

As parents not only do we want to teach reading and writing, but we also want to teach our children good manners, when my daughter was younger we played "The Manners Game". I would take a piece of paper( either regular or construction) and cut it in half, then I would make a line horizontally down the middle and then draw a few lines vertically so to make about eight boxes for a chart. At the top I would write Manners Game and then we would hang it on the fridge. Whenever I saw my daughter having good manners ( saying thank you or please, picking up her toys after she played with them, etc.), I would give her a sticker to put in one of the boxes on the chart. When all eight boxes were filled up she was then able to pick out of The Treasure Box ( a box I made that had little goodies in it). She loved playing this game and it really helped her learn to have good manners.

Something all of us deal with when we have little ones is potty training. My daughter loved when everytime she went potty on the "Big Girl Potty" she was able to pick out a sticker and display it on the fridge( I don't know what it is about little ones and stickers, but they just get so excited about them), she would be so excited to put her sticker on the fridge and then when Daddy came home she would be so proud to show him all of the stickers that she had earned. This idea really motivated her to go on the "Big Girl Potty".

An idea that really motivates my daughter is when I take a 12x12 piece of paper(cardstock works great) and at the top I write "When Heavenly (my daughter's name) is a good girl she gets to go to the park (or sometimes I put she gets to go somewhere fun). I then make a chart of several boxes on the paper, maybe 20 or 30 and then I leave a spot on the paper at the bottom open because she loves to draw a picture of us going to the park or somewhere fun at the bottom ( this also reminds her of what she is looking forward to when she sees the picture she drew). When she has good manners or picks up her toys or obeys right away, etc., she gets a sticker to put on the chart and when it is all filled up we then plan a day to go to the park or the museum or library or somewhere fun. She really enjoys this ( you can also use the chart the other way, if she doesn't obey, sometimes she gets a sticker taken off the chart, so she really tries to keep her stickers on her chart). This idea can also be used with older children as incentive for doing their schoolwork.

Happy Homeschooling,
Jaime Hughes

PAINT SPLATTERS

I just gave them the colors and brushes one afternoon, and here are some of their creations...

PICTURE SEQUENCE

Nikki sometime has some difficulty with picture sequencing. He did answer the first page correctly but the second one, he was not too sure which came first. He thought the first picture was the one where the family entered the park. So I corrected him gently and told him to look for the first photo. With Nikki, I can't be too critical because he gets affected so easily. I'm still trying to build up his confidence and making him understand that it's okay to make mistakes sometimes.

GREAT GAMES

http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/1156430577622.xml

Good Behavior Games
Fun ways to teach your preschooler how to tidy up, solve problems, stop interrupting, and more.
By Megan Tucker

Balloon Bash
What it teaches: Teamwork beats arguing
How to play: Find an open area where your kids won't bump into furniture. Then give each child two balloons (don't try this with kids under 3, since balloons are a choking and suffocation hazard). When you say "go," they must team up to keep the balloons in the air for a set time (start with 30 seconds). You can also have them try bopping the balloons with just one silly part of their body, such as their nose or their pinkie fingers.
Why it works: Your children will see the value of working together toward a common goal. Remind them of this lesson the next time you ask them to clean their room or set the table.

Treasure Hunt
What it teaches: Bedtime cooperation
How to play: Make a certificate good for an extra story, a back rub, or your child's favorite breakfast. Hide the slip of paper in her room, then let her look for it after she's brushed her teeth. If she's having trouble, give hints, such as, "You're getting warmer."
Why it works: Bedtime becomes fun for kids when they get extra time with Mommy and Daddy and have little bonuses to look forward to.

Voice Lessons
What it teaches: Whining is annoying
How to play: Read 10 sentences from a children's book into a tape recorder, using a pleasant voice for some and a whiny voice for others. Play them back and ask your child to raise her hand when she hears the sentences read in a nice voice. When she gets them all right, have her record sentences in her silliest, whiniest, and nicest voices.
Why it works: This game shows that something as familiar as a favorite story can be changed simply by the way you speak, and it helps kids understand how their tone comes across to other people.

Look on the Bright Side
What it teaches: Optimism
How to play: Start telling a story in which something negative happens ("One day Steve was feeling cranky because it was too hot outside"). Ask one child to continue by describing a positive turn of events. For instance, "The good thing was, there was a nice, cool lake nearby for taking a dip." The next player then introduces another negative idea, which is answered by a positive one from the next player.
Why it works: It helps kids develop a more positive outlook so they can deal with real-life frustrations more easily.

Follow the Helpful Leader
What it teaches: Tidying up
How to play: Gather your kids outside a cluttered room. Explain that you're the first "helpful leader" and that they should do what you do. Lead them, skipping and clapping, into the room. Then start straightening up. Make sure they're copying you. After a few minutes, let one of your children be the leader. Encourage the kids afterward by saying, "This room looks really clean!"
Why it works: Children will realize they're capable of cleaning up after themselves, and that doing so can even be fun -- especially when everyone helps out.

The "I Never Thought of That" Game
What it teaches: Problem solving
How to play: Gather a few everyday objects, such as a trash bin, a shoe, and a pencil. Hold up an item and ask your child to think of as many uses for it as he can. (For a trash bin, he may come up with ideas such as "sit on it," "hide in it," "use it like a bucket," and "bang it like a drum.") Take turns letting players think of as many ideas as they can in a minute, using a different object for each.
Why it works: Kids learn that it's fun to think things out on their own. You can also use this technique for helping them come up with options for settling sibling squabbles or dealing with a kid who teases them.

A Few of My Favorite Things
What it teaches: Empathy
How to play: Make a list of five things that make you feel happy, such as ice cream, big smiles, sunny days, Daddy, and getting a good night's sleep. Ask your child to repeat these five things. If he does it correctly, add a sixth item, and ask him to repeat them all. Keep adding to the list until he can't recall it. Then it's his turn to say five things that make him happy and have you repeat them. Continue playing by choosing different feelings (sad, angry, afraid) and naming things that make you feel that way.
Why it works: Your child will start to consider other people's likes, dislikes, and emotions, not just his own. This game will also make him think about how his actions affect the feelings of friends and siblings.

The Same-Time Game
What it teaches: Interrupting is rude
How to play: Think of some things you can do at the same time (such as clap your hands and sing) and things you can't (such as stand up and sit down), and demonstrate each. Feel free to do something silly, such as frantically trying to sit and stand simultaneously. Then let your children come up with their own examples ("I can't hold my nose and breathe through it at the same time, but I can touch my toes and laugh at the same time"). Take turns until every player has come up with at least five sets of cans and can'ts.
Why it works: Children have a hard time accepting that they can't always get your attention right away. This game will help them be more patient -- and less likely to interrupt -- when you're on the phone or making dinner.

Sources: Lawrence Shapiro, PhD, a family therapist in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Myrna Shure, PhD, a Parents advisor and professor of psychology at Drexel University, in Philadelphia.

Copyright © 2006. Reprinted with permission from the September 2006 issue of Parents magazine.

VISITING FORT PILAR

Fort Pilar is a historical place in Zamboanga. It is centuries old and rich in history. We went there for a visit last Tuesday. Another learning experience for the boys.

Nikki and the bells.

By the fountain.

Prayer Before Lighting Candles is said at this cross.

Lots of candles.

Ethan and his Popsie.

CLAY P. BEDFORD SAID...

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.

ETHAN'S NEW BOOK

I got this book for Ethan. He has this tendency to doodle in Nikki's workbooks which irritates Nikki and makes the workbooks messy. With this book, he could doodle and scribble as much as he can and just wipe them away. He had this book for a week now and he brings it with him everywhere he goes. He just loves it a lot. This book cost P60 and that's a pretty good price, if you ask me. I plan to get him several more Write and Wipe books. Hopefully, this will allow him to write more freely and learn more on his own. And maybe this will curb his tendency to write in Nikki's workbooks. =D

Here's Ethan, identifying the things on the page. Lately, he's been obsessed with coconut trees and banana trees so this page is his favorite. His latest project is trying his best to draw a coconut tree.

A couple of pages. Nikki answered the maze without any problems at all. =D

MATH SKILLS

I am happy to know that Nikki is not behind on his math lessons. I think I now have to focus on ordinals as he gets confused about it sometimes. We will tackle that for the rest of the week. We will also have to concentrate on money, time, and measurements. I will have to look for interesting activities for these...

.....

http://school.familyeducation.com/kindergarten/mathematics/38697.html

Mathematics in Kindergarten

Concrete experiences are basic to the kindergarten math curriculum. At this early stage of schooling, math is as much about vocabulary as about numerals, and it is more concerned with consolidating understanding than with rote knowledge.

Basic terms
Teachers want children to understand these basic terms used to describe relations among objects or numbers: more than, less than, the same as, different from, equal to, and group or set.
Spatial terms
Children commonly work with these spatial terms: near and far, in and out, above and below, up and down, top and bottom, in front of and in back of, open and closed, right and left, to and from, empty and full, between, beside, across, first, next, and last.

Comparison
Children commonly learn to use the following terms of comparison: tall and short; big and small; long and short; tall, taller, tallest; short, shorter, shortest; big, bigger, biggest; small, smaller, smallest; long, longer, longest.

Numerals
Most children arrive at kindergarten age with some experience in counting and some knowledge of numbers. At school they build on this base by learning to count to 20; to identify and write numerals up to 20; to order objects by first, second, third, fourth, and fifth; to match objects or sort them into groups by size or color; and to recognize that groups contain as many as five objects without having to count each object.

Shapes
The study of shapes is an entry into geometry. Kindergarten children begin that study by learning to recognize circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles.

Time, money, and measurement
Teachers' goals in the areas of time, money, and measurement are that children tell time to the hour; understand such concepts as morning, afternoon, day, noon, and night; identify coins (penny, nickel, dime, quarter) and have some understanding of their value; learn to estimate distances as well as measure them informally with string, with their hands and feet, or with other imaginative contrivances; and identify differences in the size and weight of objects.


Reprinted from 101 Educational Conversations with Your Kindergartner -- 1st Grader by Vito Perrone, published by published by Chelsea House Publishers. Copyright 1994 by Chelsea House Publishers, a division of Main Line Book Co.

PLANETS AGAIN!

Since my boys really love the solar system, I thought of letting Nikki practice coloring because he's not too fond of that. Still, I think it's an essential skill that he needed to appreciate so what I did was to print the planets on a sheet of paper from funschool and let him color it. Using the previous project we did as reference (remember the ones we made from recycled paper?) he carefully colored the planets correctly. After that, we reviewed the planets again and we added more information this time, saying the number and names of the moons of each planet, some features (like clouds on Neptune and volcanoes on Venus). Again, I reinforced that Pluto is a dwarf planet and he seems to get that one down pat so I am glad. Ethan wanted to be part of the lesson too so I printed one for him too and he joyously colored away.

Nikki carefully colors the planets and checks the chart that we made weeks ago.

View of the chart we made. Nikki was very happy with the HUGE sun. I just wanted him to undestand that the sun was waaaay bigger than all the planets put together. I think the planets on the chart look great with the recycled paper colors...

Note how Nikki holds the crayon. He still finds it difficult to hold pens and crayons the right way but I remind him often.



Ethan does what Kuya does. So cute.
























All done! Really great work and he had loads of fun! At least this time he tried coloring for a change.




















Nikki's work at left. Really great improvement. He even got the colors of Jupiter right and swirled them around. =D

Ethan's work on right. In true artist fashion, he refused to color within the lines. A real artist huh? =D





Nikki had a lot of fun and wanted to do another one so I got him this bonus page: Things you can use in space. New words for Nikki: tongs, thermometer, oxygen tank. I think he had loads of fun!



















Of course, Ethan gets a bonus page too. He practically colored everything orange! Hahaha!

TALK AND LISTEN

As I've mentioned before, Ethan does not speak quite clearly yet. He still has tendencies to babble and uses single words to express what he wants from us like, "Eat!" or "Crayon!" or "Milk!" He does however know how to say "Thank You" and "Sorry" and "Bless You" which I think is really good of him since he rarely follows us when we suggest things to him. The article blow has been very helpful and so I am posting it here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/your_kids/toddlers_listentalk1.shtml

Listening and talking
Eileen Hayes

The importance of listening
It's important to encourage all your child's early attempts at speaking and never to make fun of them when they get it wrong, as this could put them off trying.

Give names to all the things your child points to. It's by copying the sounds and words you make - "that's your cup" or "there's a car" - that he learns most of his language.

Listening tips

• Read together - this helps to develop words, language and listening skills.
• Find special times to listen - this may be at bedtime or while your child's in the bath.
• Show you're interested in listening - ask open questions and give prompts to help your child continue.
• Give your full attention - don't just listen while you do something else. It can also help to get down to your child's level. If you're unable to give your full attention straight away say: "I just need to put this washing in the machine, then I'll come and listen to you."
• Be patient - it can take small children time to sort out what they want to say. Don't interrupt too quickly or rush to speak for your child.
• Show an interest - look at creative drawings and listen to stories your child wants to tell you.
• Be sympathetic and ready to listen - when your child's upset, explain to him how to express negative feelings using words.

Common listening problems
They can't wait. Toddlers hate waiting and may forget what they were trying to say. If you're busy and know your child wants to talk to you, say something such as: "I'll be with you in a minute. I just have to finish this phone call."

They keep interrupting. Everything is immediate in your toddler's world. What he has to tell you is probably important to him, but if you're busy it's OK to tell him that he'll have to wait until later. If this happens often, though, you might want to think about whether your toddler is getting enough attention at other times.

They don't want to talk. Parents often say their toddlers won't tell them about their day at nursery or a visit to a friend's house. Ask open questions that don't just require a yes or no answer, and give gentle encouragement by prompting, reflecting back what he says and showing you're interested.

They never seem to stop talking. By the time they're three years old, most children are in a phase of asking endless questions. Answer as patiently as you can - your responses are helping your child learn. And appreciate this stage while it lasts: only small children think you have all the answers.

They're always whining. Don't fall into the trap of always responding to whining and give positive attention when he speaks normally.

They communicate without words. Sometimes children can't find the right words to explain how they're feeling. Watch your child's behaviour and think about what he might be trying to express. Behaving badly often means that a child is feeling bad, for example.

Talking with toddlers
Small children are very literal and believe what you tell them, so avoid saying things such as "you're stupid". Be positive with words and tell your child what he should do, not what he shouldn't. Say "please put the cup down" instead of "stop playing with that cup".
Praise and emphasise your child's good points as much as possible.

Talk with your toddler about absolutely everything around you - "we're putting on our shoes now" for example, or "the rain is starting".This is how he learns most language.

Talking tips

• Talk to (not at) your child - allowing time for a response. Giving complicated instructions or not addressing your child directly can mean that what you're saying might not be understood.
• Don't use negative labels - avoid the use of labels such as "slow coach" or "lazy bones". These can turn out to be self-fulfilling prophecies.
• Be positive - use kind, not hurtful, words and laugh with your children, never at them.
• Be sympathetic - if your child falls and hurts himself, don't say: "It's nothing." Take the time to listen and offer kind words.
• Never criticise - when you don't like his behaviour, say: "I don't like it when you...". And don't criticise yourself with comments such as "I can't get anything right". This can send negative messages to your children and make them feel insecure.
• Avoid guilt trips - don't say things such as: "How could you not eat the dinner I made specially for you?"
• Don't exaggerate situations - be specific about what you mean. If you make comments such as "you're always naughty" or "you never do anything right" it can make your child feel there's no point in trying as he can never please you.
• Don't compare - if you have more than one child, make an effort not to compare them negatively with each other. Acknowledge all your children's strengths
• Don't blame children - if you're feeling stressed, try to avoid saying things such as "you're always making me late" as it can damage your child's confidence.
• Use positive communication - this helps to build self-esteem and confidence. If an inevitable accident happens, say: "That was a bit too hard - good try, though" rather than "I knew you'd drop it".

Of course, it's not always possible to talk to your children in an ideal way - parents aren't perfect and children will also learn how to handle their mistakes from this.
The important thing is to say sorry when you get things wrong and to keep on trying. This teaches children a valuable lesson.

ARTIST AT WORK

Ethan does this almost everyday: scribbling, drawing and doodling. He just loves that. Here in Zamboanga, he already has 3 notebooks filled with all his "art work". I haven't thrown away most of his drawings. I want him to see them when he's older. Most people might think that his pictures are not artistic at all but to me, they all are. He is very creative in choosing colors and only he could understand what he really wants to draw. It's all in his head. I really love it when I see him so passionate about something. Hopefully when he's bigger he will have art classes and will continue to love drawing.

What do you want me to draw, Mommy? =D

MOTHER'S DAY CARD

This is the card Nikki made for my mom for Mother's Day. He didn't like the other crafts ideas that we planned to do so I asked him what he wanted to give my mom. He said he wanted to make a greeting card using his Jumpstart Art Time software. So, okay, that's what we did. Then, I just looked in the internet for a printable bookmarker and that was his present for my mom. My mom, of course, loved it! I'm sure she'll be keeping the bookmarker because she reads a lot! This is a suitable gift for her, if you ask me. =D

Nikki's message for my mom. =D So cute!

FROM A HOMESCHOOLER

My Senior Year of Homeschooling

Editors Note: The following story is in it's original, unedited, beautifully written format!

I didn't start homeschooling until 12th grade, so unfortunately I was only able to enjoy the privilege of homeschooling for one year. I never really liked school, but it wasn't until late in high school that I seriously considered other options. I was an A student, but I hated having everything spoon-fed to me at school and the one-size-fits-all approach. I wasn't fond of the school atmosphere, and the overly controlling, institutionalized environment at school especially frustrated me. While some discipline is certainly necessary, students are not criminals or dogs, and don't deserve to be treated as such. I wanted to learn and grow in an environment where I would be challenged, valued, respected and loved, something that is sadly lacking in many public and private schools.

I had several friends who were homeschoolers, and it seemed ideal for me. After much planning and research, we had a family discussion. My parents had been very opposed to homeschooling before, but they knew how stressed out and frustrated I was in school and were willing to let me do it. You can't imagine the joy, excitement, and relief I felt when they gave me permission to homeschool!

During my senior year of homeschooling, I re-discovered the joy of teaching myself and exploring the "real world". I took some correspondence courses for academic subjects and continued taking the language class I loved at the high school. Aside from that, I went wherever my interests led me, to painting, pottery, baking, writing, nature, planning a small business, and the history and architecture of our city. I spent more time doing the volunteer work I love. I made good use of the public library, the Internet, and other resources. I'll take self-directed learning over spoon-feeding any day!

One thing that I want to say to teenagers and their parents is that it's never too late to homeschool. As I've mentioned, I started in 12th grade. A few people I've met think that homeschooling is mainly for elementary and middle school age children and that if you haven't started by then it's pointless, which simply isn't true. From my own experience and that of others, high school can be one of the best times to homeschool because by that age you've acquired the basic skills needed to learn independently by teaching yourself. At times I have been criticized for choosing to homeschool instead of "sticking it out for one more year", but I wouldn't trade that one year of homeschooling for anything!

I'm thankful that I was able to homeschool because it allowed me to re-discover my passion for learning, something that I was losing because of all the pressures at school. Just by living your life you are learning, and I will be learning all my life. That love of learning has motivated me to start a small business, learn another foreign language, and take on many other challenges with ambition. I am now in my early twenties. If I have children of my own someday, I definitely want to homeschool.

-N.G.-

LIFE CYCLE OF A PLANT

This was Nikki's lesson the other day. He managed to answer the page quite well but I wanted him to understand the lesson in a more hands-on way. Coincidentally, we had marang that day and I kept some of the seeds to show Nikki. When I showed him the seeds and reviewed the book with him as well, he understood now how a plant could grow from a seed. I think it's wonderful that he learns not merely through pictures but through the real thing. When he is a bit bigger, I will give him a little plant to take care of so he could appreciate the lesson more.

Marang seeds. =D

ALIBATA ALPHABET

I would LOVE to learn this and teach this to Nikki and Ethan, if only to preserve our culture. I think it would be wonderful...


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view_article.php?article_id=65575


Teaching ABCs the alibata way
By Tina Santos
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Raymond Cosare initially couldn’t explain his fascination with the Chinese brush.

“I was just fond of collecting it but I didn’t know why,” he told the Inquirer.

A psychology professor at the Far Eastern University, the 38-year-old Cosare discovered the answer about seven years ago shortly after he began working as a volunteer at Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, an old house in Quiapo, Manila that has been turned into a museum for artifacts belonging to its previous owners and members of the Katipunan.

Since 2000, Cosare has been putting his brush collection to good use by teaching children, as well as the young at heart, the art of writing the baybayin, the ancient Filipino script.

He explained that baybayin is an old Tagalog word that refers to all the letters or alphabet used in writing a language. It is taken from the root word, baybáy, meaning “to spell.”

Syllabic writing system
The baybayin is a syllabic writing system, which means that each letter represents a syllable instead of just a basic sound compared to the modern alphabet. There are a total of 17 characters: three vowels and 14 consonants, but when combined with the small vowel-modifying marks called kudlít, the number of characters increases to 45, Cosare added.

“Though it is more commonly known as alibata, it is proper to use baybayin,” he stressed.

He explained that alibata was the term introduced in the early 1900s by Paul Versoza of the University of Manila. He said Versoza claimed that the term was coined from alif, ba and ta, the first three letters of the Maguindanao arrangement of the Arabic letters.

These days, while his students are on their summer break, Cosare is busy holding “baybayin classes” for curious guests who drop by Bahay Nakpil-Bautista.

His students include children and their mothers as well as local and foreign tourists, he said.
Each class, which lasts about an hour and a half, begins with Cosare talking about the history of baybayin.

“It’s very informal because I don’t want them to get bored, especially if it’s the kids I’m talking to,” he added.

But the real magic begins as soon as Cosare’s eager students sit on the wooden floor of the ancient house to write their names in baybayin using a brush, paper, ink or paint.

“They write awkwardly at first but little by little, they develop confidence until their handwriting flows, and the curls they draw become so natural it’s as if they’ve known how to do this before,” he said of his students.

According to Cosare, he first encountered baybayin when he was in second year high school.
“Our Filipino teacher wrote the baybayin characters on the blackboard but she did not explain it, she just told us to copy what she was writing on the board,” he said. He added that he quickly became interested in learning how to write the characters, even using these to write letters and journals.

“I mastered baybayin because I used it to hide my deepest thoughts in my journal—my way of protecting it from my nosy siblings,” he said with a laugh. “At least, they wouldn’t understand what these characters stood for.”

But with no one to share his newfound interest with, Cosare put aside baybayin when he got to college.

Then one day, Teresita Obusan, the ebullient curator of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, showed him material that featured seemingly intimidating characters.

“She asked me to practice writing it and use those characters in writing ‘Merry Christmas’ on cards she was about to send her friends. She was surprised because I finished faster than she thought I would. That’s when I told her that I’ve been writing baybayin since high school,” Cosare recalled.

Since then, Cosare said he and Obusan have found something new to share with guests of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, apart from giving them a tour of the house and of Quiapo.

Asked why it was significant to study something that many people has long regarded as “useless” and passe, he answered: “Baybayin is something Filipinos can really call their own. So, why don’t we use it?”

Making Filipinos prouder
“But more importantly, baybayin makes Filipino people prouder of who they are,” he added.
Contrary to common belief, when the Spaniards arrived in the country, they found a culture that was very different from their own, he said.

“The ability to read and write is the mark of any civilization and according to many early Spanish accounts, our ancestors had already been writing with the baybayin for at least a century. This script was just beginning to spread throughout the islands at that time,” Cosare added.

But baybayin soon went out of style. “Perhaps practicality was the main reason,” was his answer when asked why, adding that social expediency could be another.

He further explained: “Maybe Filipinos abandoned baybayin in favor of the alphabet because they found the latter easy to learn and it was a skill that helped them to get ahead in life under the Spanish regime, working in relatively prestigious jobs as clerks, scribes and secretaries.”

But Cosare happily noted that because of information revolution, many Filipinos are taking a new interest in their heritage and it is usually the baybayin that catches their attention first.

“Through the use of computer fonts, the baybayin is now being used in graphic designs for websites, multimedia art, jewelry, compact discs, T-shirts, and logos,” he disclosed.

And for some Pinoys, it seems that baybayin has come full circle, he added. “Today, a growing number of young Filipinos are getting tattooed with baybayin characters to show their pride in their heritage.”

However, he claimed that he was referring to Filipinos staying in other parts of the country.
“Malakas ang interest (There is a lot of interest). But for some, either they’re not aware or they find it very Filipino. I don’t know what that means but somehow too Filipino is not a very positive thing for others.”

“Check the Internet and you will see that most websites about baybayin were done by Filipino-Americans, Filipino-Canadians, walang purong Pinoy,” Cosare lamented.

According to him, he would be happy if baybayin is introduced in school curriculums.
“The suggestion has always been there but maybe the Department of Education has other concerns for now,” he said, adding that it would be better to introduce baybayin to preschool children.

Ultimately, Cosare added, his goal is to be able to produce a book about baybayin.
“That’s my next target. To reach out to more people, something that hopefully would give them a little pride, something that would work wonders for the Filipino people’s sense of who they are,” he added.

MATH LESSONS

Some pages from Nikki's workbook. On the last page, I had to use some Philippine coins because the ones on the page were US ones. =D

PHOTO CDS

I think this is a wonderful craft project. Not only is ot easy to make, but this will teach the boys to recycle.


PHOTO COASTER

A fun craft which makes use of unwanted CDs, these photo coasters are a brilliant gift idea for all occasions!

You will need:
Unwanted CD, CD-Rom or DVD
Large photo
PVA glue (white glue)
Pens
Acrylic varnish (optional)

Print out a photo onto standard printer paper large enough to cover your disc. Glue the photo to the disc (the side with the picture or writing on) making sure the central image is in the centre of the disc.
When dry trim to size and add a message with the pens.
To seal, paint over the image and the edges with PVA glue and leave to dry. Repeat. If you wish you can make your coaster extra-hardwearing by using acrylic varnish rather than PVA glue.

source: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/photo_coaster.htm

BROTHERS

Nikki and Ethan have very different personalities. Because of this, it is not uncommon for them to disagree and have petty fights. But still, I want my boys to shine in their own way and for them to see each other for who they are. I want them to be able to encourage each other instead of bringing each other down but mostly, I hope that my boys will always be close with each other as they grow together.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/your_kids/primary_siblings.shtml#when_a_new_baby_joins_the_family

SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS
Clare Halsey

Getting on together
It's normal for brothers and sisters to get along some of the time and to fall out the rest. Sibling relationships are the testing ground where children try out different ways of socialising with others and handling disagreements, shaping how they relate to others as teenagers and adults.

Teach good habits

• Praise them often when they're getting along. Avoid the temptation to keep out of the way while they play nicely then rush in with plenty of attention when they fall out - this accidentally rewards them for disagreeing.
• Set a good example. Seeing you get on well with others gives the right messages to your children. Alternatively, they will benefit from watching you sort out disagreements with others by talking things over, keeping calm and avoiding put-downs and aggression.
• Practise negotiation skills. Activities that involve taking turns and team games teach co-operation. Remind children to express their angry feelings through words rather than actions, and to come to an adult for help if they cannot sort out a conflict. Try to find compromise whenever you can, for example tape a TV show that clashes with another favourite, or get the children to agree to swap toys after a set period of time.
• Supervise them closely. This way you'll be around to notice when they get along, wait to see if they can sort out disagreements and step in if they can't.
  Build up their empathy for others. When they understand how others feel children are more likely to get along. Ask questions that get them to think about other people's feelings, such as "How do you think Simon is feeling right now?" and "What would you feel if Emma messed up your game?"
• Play fair. Make sure you treat children equally, don't always assume one is the troublemaker.
• Keep them occupied. Boredom boosts poor behaviour.
• Set up a diversion. Squabbling is often a big fuss about a little thing, so distract children with something more interesting to do.

Eldest, middle or youngest?
All children are unique, but birth order may make a difference to how your child acts and reacts. Eldest children tend to have a special place in the family: they may be leaders, more confident and serious than your other children. Youngest children can be more creative, charm and rebel, and can have a very affectionate nature.
Your middle child, however, has a less clear place in the family. They may feel left out and feel that they must compete for your attention. Your middle child will often find life unfair and tell you so in no uncertain terms.
There are advantages to being the middle child, they do make a close set of friends and often rely more on their friendships in the teenage years. They put effort into getting to know others and can be sensitive and understanding.


Handling the age gap
It can be difficult to find activities that are interesting and safe for children of different ages. Try introducing activities with different levels of interest or complexity. For example, children of all ages can find something to enjoy at the park or playground.
At home, arts and crafts, make believe and construction toys can involve lots of different levels of skill and detail. If you choose an activity that only appeals to the elder child then slot in some time for a simpler game that the younger child can enjoy. Set elder children the task of teaching or helping the younger to play a game. Sometimes, acting the big brother or sister can boost your older child’s sense of importance in the family.
Younger children can find it hard to understand why older children seem to have extra privileges such as staying up later, going on sleepovers etc. Explain that these privileges will come as your younger child grows.
Don’t give in, there are good reasons older children are allowed more, for example, physically they need less sleep, they have greater independence skills and so on. Meet claims of "it’s not fair" with firmness and understanding, and point out the advantages of being younger, such as less pressure to help around the house, tidy up and so on.


When a new baby joins the family
While you are in the first flush of love for your newborn, your other children may be a bit less certain about the recent arrival. Your children will enjoy the baby if they play an important part in preparing and caring for their new brother or sister.
Before your baby's born get them involved by helping to pick some names, taking part in redecorating the baby's bedroom or choosing gifts for the baby. Afterwards they may like to help by fetching the nappies and bringing the baby clothes as you need them.
Things will go more smoothly if you can take some time every day to have fun with your older children so they can be the centre of attention and feel you love them just as much as before.
You can expect older children to take a couple of steps back in their development when a new baby arrives. They may ask for your help to do things they can usually manage alone or become more tearful than before.
Take this in your stride, it's a normal reaction to your new baby arriving and will lessen as family life settles into routine.

Tips

• Spend even a short time one to one with each child each day.
• Praise and pay more attention when children behave well and co-operate than when they fall out.
• Supervise more than you expect to.
• Be a good role model, get on with others and sort out conflicts by negotiation.
• Step in when it is clear that children cannot sort out their conflict.
• Stay calm, your soothing tone of voice and posture will help them listen to you and behave well.

TOOTHBRUSHING

Ethan's motor skills are quite good. Which is why he is more adept at brushing his teeth than Nikki is. Of course, Nikki still tries and I encourage him all the time. Hopefully, he will be brushing his teeth correctly in no time. =D

SCRIBBLES

Nikki loves to write anything in his notebooks while Ethan prefers to draw. Here are some of his scribbles: (I think his penmanship is cute! =D)

STOP WHINING

http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tpbehavior/0,,6xvg,00.html

6 Ways to Stop Whining

Many parents have theorized that there's a recessive gene that seems to be present in about 99 percent of young children: the whining gene.

If only DNA or some other scientific phenomenon could account for why so many of our kids resort to whining when they want something. And coming up with an effective coping strategy to pull the plug on whining can greatly improve your relationship with your child. On the other hand, coming up with the wrong one will only encourage more whining.

According to a recent survey of almost 1,650 parents conducted by Parent Soup, the best way to stop whining is to calmly explain to your kids why it's not appropriate. More than 40 percent of respondents said children are most likely to obey if you are calm, but firm, with your explanation. Almost 30 percent of those quizzed said they simply ignore the whining and that their kids stop once they realize they aren't eliciting a reaction. About 22 percent said their kids stop whining when they pretend not to understand what the child is saying.

Experts say parents must exercise caution when their children resort to whining. If you mock or ignore them, this might enrage them. It's important to know WHY they are whining. If they feel it's the only way to get your attention, it's time to take stock of how much attention you're giving your children. On the other hand, providing positive reinforcement by "caving" to their requests will only encourage them to whine more.

Here's a selection of some of the best advice offered by members of the Parent Soup communities:

1. "I try to ignore whining, then I try to explain why (my son) shouldn't whine, then I cajole, threaten, and finally ... I WHINE!!!"

2. "My best advice: Let your 'no' mean no and your 'yes' mean yes. Giving in to whining just perpetuates the habit."

3. "If my children whine, I make it clear that I did not understand what they have said (even if I have). They (soon) realize that they must speak in an acceptable way, i.e. moderate tone, (proper) enunciation. ... When they speak in an appropriate way, they are acknowledged and addressed. When they whine, they are misunderstood and unanswered."

4. "By whining, our children learn that we will then pay attention to them. ... It's not their tone of voice that we should be reinforcing. We really can avoid the problem with better listening skills and (hopefully they will no longer feel the need to indulge the) nasty whining habit."

5. "My house is full of kids with a sense of humor. ... If they whine, I whine right back. "But, Mooooom...," they drag on. "But, daaarlings...," I yodel. Usually they are sick of me first. Victory!"

6. "Did you notice the 'What's the best way to stop your child from whining?' poll did not allow for any answer involving actually trying to find why the child is whining? Is it because the poller/s assumed a child is doing it only to annoy us grown-ups?"

LITTLE SOLDIER

Ethan looks so cute! I dunno why he did this when I took his picture. =D

CLASSICAL MUSIC

I decided to play some classical music today for Nikki and Ethan. I wanted them to be exposed to different kinds of music aside from their nursery rhymes. Nikki already appreciates classical music and I see no need to stop exposing him (and Ethan to it). Hopefully, my boys will discover what type of music suits them as they grow older.

For today, these are the pieces we listened to:

1. Spring - Antonio Vivaldi
2. Summer -Antonio Vivaldi
3. Autumn - Antonio Vivaldi
4. Winter - Antonio Vivaldi
5. The Toreador Song from Carmen - Georges Bizet
6. The Flight of the Bumblebee - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
7. The New World Symphony - Antonin Leopold Dvorak
8. Moonlight Sonata - Ludwig Van Beethoven

FREE FREE FREE

Another beautiful letter from HomeschoolFreeStuff...


Home Schooling
Truly FREE
~By Kristan Mikala~

Note From The Editor: This was a writing assignment prompted by these HomeschoolSoup newsletters. It was written by a 15 year old homeschool student. Aside from it being one of the more touching messages I've ever read, consider it a powerful open letter to all children and parents thinking about homeschooling.

As a student in almost every sense of the word, I have experienced many different types of teaching. The worst of all were the styles in which you were so boxed in you felt you couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't do anything. The best was that rare wildflower of learning, homeschooling. In homeschooling, you are FREE; FREE to learn, FREE to be yourself. You needn't worry about what your peers think of you, you needn't worry about whether this or that teacher does or doesn't like you, you only worry about whether there's something you forgot to remember to learn. In the fields of your mind, you choose what you plant. You don't need someone to do it for you because you want to learn. No one can force you to do what you are already doing. There may be rows you'd rather not hoe, but for the sake of your future you do it anyway. You look forward to tomorrow, and you know that even if you aren't completely prepared, you can and will make it, because you can and will learn how to. Saying 'the sky's the limit' is untrue, because you can reach beyond. There are many things only you can understand because others aren't willing to learn. They won't open their minds unless someone does it for them, and some things can only be learned voluntarily. Some things can only be learned if one knows how to learn and loves learning itself. Some things can only be experienced with open eyes. Hiding from the world, and even from themselves, many cannot understand that.

How can you revel in the glory of the sunrise if you won't wake up?

How can you marvel at the beauty of a flower if you won't stop and look?

How can you breathe the fresh sea air if you won't leave your house?

How can you find if you won't seek?

You can't.

Neither can you reach your full potential if you limit yourself by closing your mind to knowledge. So open your mind. Shake yourself FREE of the tangling cords around you, hindering you from truly living. Shake yourself FREE and fly into the blue sky that expands with every new thing you learn. Soar into your ever-growing horizon, and learn what it is to be truly FREE.

~Kristan Mikala Age:15~

BOOKS THIS WEEK

These are the books we are reading this week. Nikki seems to love The Best Nest from last week so we continue to read that as well. Again, these books were previously owned by my siblings and me.

AT JOLLIBEE

Time for some physical fitness. =D

PULLING THE PLUG

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070508/hl_nm/tv_school_performance_dc

More TV time means worse school performance

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The more TV adolescents watch, the more likely they are to develop attention and learning problems, and to do poorly in school in the long-run, a new study confirms.

The findings "suggest that by encouraging youths to spend less than 3 hours per day watching television, parents, teachers and health care professionals may be able to help reduce the likelihood that at-risk adolescents will develop persistent attention and learning difficulties," Dr. Jeffrey G. Johnson of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City and colleagues write.

Children in industrialized nations generally watch 2 or more hours of TV each day. There is evidence linking TV watching and poor academic and intellectual performance, the researchers point out, but it's not clear whether the TV time leads to school failure, if kids who don't do well in school tend to watch more TV than their better-performing peers, or if there are factors such as poverty or neglect that may contribute to both increased television watching and learning problems.

To investigate, the researchers followed a community-based sample of 678 mother-child pairs from upstate New York beginning when the children were about 14 years old until they reached age 22.

The amount of TV kids watched when they were 14 was positively linked with having attention problems later, not doing homework, being bored at school, not finishing high school, and "hating school," the researchers found.

The relationship between TV watching and school failure was stronger among kids with higher-than-average verbal intelligence scores, and those whose parents had more than 12 years of education.

When children who watched less than 2 hours of TV at age 14 reduced their TV watching by 1 hour or more, they halved their risk of school failure, the researchers found. But when 14-year-olds who watched fewer than 2 hours added 1 more daily hour of TV, they doubled their risk of academic failure at age 16.

Further analysis of the findings found that time spent watching television likely contributed to learning and attention problems, rather than vice versa.

Future research should address "whether promoting opportunities for developmentally appropriate weekend, summer, and after-school extracurricular activities...may help to reduce risk for the development of attention and learning difficulties during the adolescent years," the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, May 2007.

CONFIDENT KIDS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/your_kids/toddlers_confidence.shtml

Confidence building
Eileen Hayes

Many childcare experts stress the importance of building self-esteem in children - and, indeed, having it ourselves as parents. Here are some tips to help you boost your own and your child's confidence.

Learning to love themselves

Having high self-esteem means:

• liking yourself and feeling good about the way you are
• realising you're a worthwhile, competent and likeable person
• having the confidence to try new challenges
• feeling you can achieve the things you set out to do
• not being afraid to keep on trying if you get things wrong or fail occasionally
• feeling confident and optimistic about the future

Having low self-esteem can make life much more difficult. If you don't have the confidence to try new challenges or if you feel people don't like you, it can have devastating effects. Helping your children build the inner strength to cope with life's ups and downs as they grow is one of your most important tasks as a parent.

So, it makes sense to do all you can to build your toddler's confidence.

Ways to build self-esteem

Toddlers are still just realising they're separate people. As your toddler grows and develops, he'll begin to learn who he is and will have more understanding about himself.

Toddlers slowly build up a sense of self. Gradually, he learns what he looks like and works out the things he can do.

Some of the more difficult types of behaviour your toddler might display, which you may find hard to cope with, happen as a result of him beginning to realise he's a separate person with a mind of his own. He's also learnt he doesn't actually have to stay where you've put him or do exactly as he's told.

To begin with, a toddler's view of himself is still very much a reflection of what other people seem to think of him. So it's important for his developing self-esteem that he's exposed to mainly positive views.

This means:

• Telling your toddler, as often as possible, that you love him and that he's marvellous, wonderful and fun to be with
• Letting your toddler know you love him by showing affection with lots of hugs, kisses and kind words

Nothing's more damaging to your toddler's developing self-esteem than a message from you that he's not loved, liked or wanted.

It's important not to use sarcastic, unkind words or a harsh tone of voice when speaking to him. He'll believe what you tell him and if your message is that he's irritating, it'll have a negative impact on his self-esteem.

Remember:

• Show love - tell your child, as often as possible, that you love him
• Chat - talking together gives the message that you enjoy your child's company
• Listen - show your child you find him interesting and worth listening to
• Play - join in your toddler's games, or if you have household chores to do, ask him to help, to show your child you enjoy spending time with him
• Praise - not just for succeeding but for efforts and attempts too
• Encourage - managing buttons or putting on his own clothes gives a great boost to self-esteem; be ready to step in if he gets into difficulties and gets too frustrated but don't solve every problem
• Provide choices - help your toddler feel he can exert some control over the world by, for example, asking your child to choose his own clothes or which book he'd like to read with you
• Stay one step ahead - try to avert disasters that can lead to loss of confidence, tempers and tears and be aware that the over-confidence shown by some toddlers can falter quite quickly if they constantly fail at all the things they try
• Emphasise good points - concentrate on the positives and try to ignore any annoying behaviour as much as possible
• Provide plenty of activities - trying out lots of things makes it more likely you'll find something your child is good at, even if there are lots of other things he can't manage so well yet
• Encourage friendships - being able to make friends and get on with others plays a big role in building self-esteem, so take an interest and, if possible, invite your child's friends round to play
• Celebrate family life - morning chats in bed or particular ways of saying goodnight not only celebrate family life, but also help your child understand that he has a special place within it

RICHARD DAVID BACH SAID...

Learning is finding out what you already know,
Doing is demonstrating that you know it,
Teaching is reminding others that they know it as well as you do.
We are all learners, doers, and teachers.

PARTS OF THE BODY

This is one of Nikki's current lessons. I think he's doing pretty well.

GEARS

I bought this toy for the boys last week. I like buying toys for them that allow them to be creative and imaginative. This toy cost P240. Not bad. =D

Ethan gives it a try... and enjoys it a lot!

BUST IS BEST

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070502/ap_on_re_as/philippines_breast_feeding;_ylt=AkTpaAN8zs3g2JRifsuz3FZZ24cA

3,608 mothers breast-feed at same time
By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines - More than 3,000 Filipino mothers breast-fed simultaneously in day-care centers and hospitals Wednesday in a campaign to counter advertising claims that artificial baby foods are better than breast milk.

Breast-feeding advocates, social welfare officials and UNICEF organized the event — also hoping to set the first Guinness record for the most mothers breast-feeding at the same time in multiple locations. There already is a record for simultaneous breast-feeding in the same place.

At least 3,608 mothers took part nationwide, according to an initial count on the organizers' Web site and Felix Armenia, an official in the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

"We need every possible way to get the message out that Filipino mothers should breast-feed exclusively for six months and then continue to breast-feed for two years and beyond with household foods," said Dale Rutstein, UNICEF's spokesman.

"Unfortunately, through advertising, most Filipino mothers now believe that artificial forms of foods for babies are actually better than breast milk," he said.

A U.N. expert in February criticized milk companies and a Philippine pharmaceutical association for "deceptive and malicious" advertising practices aimed at selling infant formula in the country.

Jean Ziegler, the Geneva-based U.N. food rights expert, said aggressive marketing practices by milk companies were misleading the public by claiming that breast-feeding cannot be done by a majority of women and that their consumer products raise healthy, smart and happy babies.
In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that 16,000 children below age 5 died in the Philippines due to improper feeding practices, including use of infant formula.

Only 16 percent of Filipino children between 4 and 5 months old are exclusively breast-fed, while 13 percent of mothers do not breast-feed at all, believing they do not have enough milk, according to UNICEF.

Last year, the city of Manila, in partnership with breast-feeding advocates, broke the Guinness record on simultaneous breast-feeding in a single place when 3,541 mothers gathered at a sports complex. That event broke the previous record of 1,130 mothers breast-feeding simultaneously in Berkeley, Calif., in 2002.

BATH TIME!

Ethan loves the water, he loves taking a bath and he loves having his picture taken. =D

PRESCHOOL EXERCISE

http://www.parenting.com/parenting/child/article/0,19840,725699,00.html?topic=l1364

Is Your Preschooler Getting Enough Exercise?
How much of an interest to take in your child's physical activity while he's at school
By Nicole Sprinkle

When you're discussing your preschooler's day with his teacher, you may not think to ask questions about how much — and what kind of — physical activity is worked into his schedule. You should.

Ideally, preschoolers shouldn't be inactive for more than an hour a day, according to Jane Clark, department chair of kinesiology at the University of Maryland in College Park. Movement and play are critical to their motor development (muscular coordination that's needed for refined motion), and they're just as important to the learning process as cognitive activities. At this age, the two should be combined; for instance, when giving a lesson on colors, a teacher might ask all the kids wearing blue or red to hop in place or stretch their arms to the ceiling.

But with a greater push these days on academic achievement, experts are concerned that even young kids are getting less exercise than they need.

What types of activity are best for 3- to 5-year-olds? Stretching, tumbling, running and stopping quickly, games that teach a child to move around without bumping into others, and those that tap into their imagination (pretending they're falling leaves or snowflakes, for instance). What to skip? Competitive play and strength training.

Parenting, November 2004

ALL ABOUT BEES

The other day, Nikki and I were browsing through an encyclopedia. Actually, that encyclopedia belonged to me and my siblings and I just thought that it would be nice to show him some of the pictures in it. There were a lot of texts but all we studied together were the photos and the captions. Once particular topic caught his interest. It was about bees. So excitedly, I told him all about bees based on the pictures and the captions in the book. Here are some of the photos:


Here, Nikki learned about the queen bee (she's a girl -he still can't grasp "female"-, that she lays eggs and that she's the biggest bee in the hive), the drone (he's a boy and is the queen's partner), and the worker bee (also a female, takes care of the queen and the hive, and gathers nectar from the flowers to make honey).




Parts of the bee. Of course we did not get into too much detail. I just told him to read the words and to take note of the 6 legs that makes bees insects. But so far, Nikki already knows everything here except the pollen basket, the abdomen, and the thorax. We'll get back to this next time.






Nikki already knows his shapes so he was fascinated when he learned that the honeycombs were hexagonal.














Discussed this in passing. I just showed him that bees come from eggs and how they grow.








A photo of a bee visiting a flower.

And to end the lesson, we sang a song from his sing-along book: Buzz, Buzz, Buzz. Ruther got him (and Ethan) this book when we were in Japan. I was really happy with the lesson and as far as I could tell, so was Nikki. =D

ABIGAIL ADAMS SAID...

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.

PLAYTIME

http://www.babyandkids.co.uk/Learning/Play.asp


The Importance of Play
"Play is your child's "work" and they take it very seriously!"

Play is a very important part of your child's life. Many experts in childhood development regard play as the 'work ' of children. Play helps a child to experiment with their world and enables them to learn new skills. Play can be used as a medium to help therapists interact with children and help them express their feelings and emotions.

Structured play sessions are often used to encourage children to learn new skills. Children's play changes as they grow. The way your child plays can be influenced by a number of factors. These include your role in helping him/her play and explore their world, the environment they are in and the personality and sex of your child.

Types of Play
Research on the benefits of play gives us an understanding of the importance of different types of play in children's development:

• The elaborate pretend games that toddlers and pre-schoolers enjoy so much helps them learn social rules and develop their social skills.
• The rough and tumble games that young boys particularly enjoy help them develop their physical skills in running, jumping etc.

Play is the child's most natural way to learn and should be encouraged by parents.

• Play can also help a child to "act out " their emotional problems and serves as a way of helping them cope with their anxieties and deal with the stresses in their lives. For instance a child who may have witnessed an accident will often act this out in their play, or a child who is coming to terms with the arrival of a new baby will introduce this into their play. This is a very important aspect of the child's play and therapists often use play to help children over come traumas they have suffered.

Some points to remember about your child's play:

• Children love when their parents play with them - be it a tickling session, a hide and seek game or a game with their toys. Remember though, it only stays enjoyable for your child if you play at your child's level. Making a game more complicated than a child is ready for, while making it more interesting for you, will put a child off. It will undermine their sense of competence and their interest in playing that game will disappear.
• Toys are important to children but remember the best toys are not necessarily the most expensive and complex. The cardboard box a toy was packaged in can often provide more enjoyment than the toy itself ! Toys also include the pots and pans that your baby loves to bang and the sweeping brush that your child loves to use to "sweep the floor" just like Mum or Dad.
• Simple toys, like blocks. are a constant favourite of young children. One of the reasons for this is the fact that these toys can become anything in the hands of an imaginative 3 year old, for example a house. horse, rocket, a car etc. Because simple toys can be used in so many ways and to be so many things they remain a favourite of young children.
• Children do a lot of their learning through play so its important that they are given plenty of opportunities to play and given a variety of play materials to play with.

By sharing in and encouraging your child's play you will strengthen your relationship with your child. Your child's most important toy is yourself, children love using their parents to be the horse, the doctor, the lion etc.

Childhood lasts such a short time and today in our busy world it can seem so difficult to give our children plenty of time to play with us.

It is important that you do make that effort to spend relaxed time each day with your child. It gives them a sense of their importance to you, gives them a time when they receive positive feedback from you and definitely makes for a happy child.

COOL BOOK

Ruther bought this book for the boys a few days before we left Japan. It's really cool because Nikki could play on the little drum and follow the beat of the songs. Whenever we go to those places that have UFO catchers, Nikki always begs for a 100 yen coin so he could play on those taiko drums. He really enjoys it and a 100-yen coin allows him to play 2 songs. Sometimes, he enjoys it so much he asks me for another coin! I wish there were games like those for kids here... Anyway, when Nikki saw this book, he really really loved it. He's been playing all the songs in this book even if the songs are written in Japanese! In fact, the book needs a change of batteries right now because they have been using it almost everyday! Hopefully, this book will last for a long long time still...

TODDLER SPEAK

Ethan is a late talker. Some people comment about that but it's no big deal for me. I don't want to rush him nor pressure him. I just want him to take his time, to take things in stride. And now, he's practically a chatterbox. I hate it when people make everything a competition. "My daughter talked at age 1 1/2, he was potty trained at 2, she was reciting the alphabet when she was 3, he tied his shoelaces at 4". Frankly, who cares? As long as my kids are happy, healthy and have a love for learning, I'm contented. The world is a tough place and I don't have to add to the pressure.

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/childhealth/1935/a-toddler-of-few-words

A Toddler of Few Words
Posted by Robert Needlman, M.D.

It's often hard tell if a child is developing normally. Everyone knows that most children take their first steps around a year of age, and a child who isn't walking by 15 months is behind schedule. But language development -- the child's ability to speak and to understand -- is harder to judge. And language development is crucial

By age three, a child's ability to understand and speak is the single best sign of intelligence. You know you have a smart two-year-old if you hear her say, "Just one more story, mom!" Young children who don't speak also can be brilliant, but it's harder to tell. (Einstein was a late talker, apparently.)

Take Jeffrey.* He was born about two months early. He was healthy and grew well. At 16 months he could run, jump, and climb with the best of them. He could take off all his clothes and put most of them back on, with just a little help. He could give hugs, play patty-cake, and throw tantrums like any toddler. What he couldn't do was talk.

Jeffrey knew four words, all of them names of family members. He pointed to his nose on demand, slowed down when told to "stop," and followed other simple orders. His older sister, who was not premature, had been way ahead in the language department when she was his age.
I handed Jeffrey a shiny new board book. All the children who come to MetroHealth for checkups get new books at each visit, starting at 6 months of age, as part of our Reach Out and Read (ROR) program. The main purpose of ROR is to encourage parents to read aloud to their children, so that their children grow up loving books. But it's also a good way to learn about a child's developing skills.

Jeffrey took the book in both hands, and pried open the covers. He glanced at the picture (it showed Spot, the dog, looking for a ball), then closed the book, then opened it again. He kept this up for a long time, a look of concentration on his face. His mom stood next to him, helping him support the book, keeping quiet.

"Jeffrey seems to be very interested in how that book works," I remarked. "He has been paying attention for a long time; he must be learning a lot." Children tend to practice any new skill, again and again and again, until they have nothing more to learn from it; then they stop. But Jeffrey's focus on the physical book meant that he was missing out on the language learning.

To help Jeffrey learn more words, his mother would need to become much more talkative. She would need to shower him with words, not just sprinkle them around. I suggested that she could look at books with Jeffrey at least twice a day, every day. She could use the books to remind her to talk more, since chatting did not come naturally to her. Research shows that talking about picture books with a young child is one of the very best ways to teach the meanings of words, and to encourage the child to talk and understand more.

The trick is to work the words in, while still letting the child feel some control. Jeffrey's mom was wise not to swoop in and insist that he hold the book open and look at one picture after another. Instead, she started talking about what Jeffrey himself was doing. "That book's open; now it's closed. Now it's open again. Look, there's Spot; oops, now he's gone! Let's see if we can find him again." Once she got the hang of it, she managed to do a lot of language teaching, while playing "book" with her son.

Jeffrey is actually doing pretty well, developmentally. He might have turned out just fine, without any special attention from his mother. On the other hand, when you combine prematurity with a non-talkative mother, the chances of a child showing significant speech and language problems goes up. Ultimately, Jeffrey is almost certainly going to learn to talk. But the longer he stays delayed, the more likely he is to have behavior problems and long-term problems learning to read. So, I'll see Jeffrey back soon to make sure that his language really is picking up, and to build up his picture book library.

WHAT TO DO

I'm still undecided on what the boys and I are going to make for my mom on Mother's Day. It seems like there's a whole lot of things we could make but only one person to give it to! Quite a quandary. But maybe we'll make 3 projects then pick out the best. I'm sure the boys will have a blast making a mess once more. =D

.....

Ethan is talking more and more everyday. He's still having some difficulty with pronunciations but he can get his message across now, unlike before when he would get all frustrated and would just scream at me or his dad everytime we stare blankly at him because we had no idea what he was trying to say. I understand Ethan's need to scream and yell sometimes. He's a very emotional boy and uses his emotions to communicate with us or he screams and yells so we would know that he's in a cranky mood. Hopefully, when he starts to really speak he will also learn to control his emotions and frustrations when needed. I am sure Nikki will be a good role model for him since Nikki is quite practical and easily understands what we want of him. For now, I won't hold it against Ethan but I'll still keep close watch on his behavior of course.

SWINGS

Ethan and Nikki having fun at a family restaurant. =D

MORE ON HOMESCHOOLING

HOMESCHOOL
by Chris Jeub

She innocently asked, "So, where do your children go to school?"
Of all casual questions one teacher could ask another, this one always creates butterflies in my stomach.

"Well, uh, my wife and I tutor them," I say. Then I try to think of something to change the subject. But I never think of anything quick enough.

"Tutor them?" she might say, squinting her nose and ruffling her brows as if I had held a cockroach up to her face. "You mean, you home school them?"

These situations inevitably lead to an hour-long apologetic on why we educate our kids at home. This should not surprise me. Home schooling is still unusual and a bit radical. Teachers and others in education--or in any field, for that matter--naturally question new, innovative practices.

But home education is not so rare anymore. Twenty years ago there were roughly 15,000 home-schooled students in the United States. By 1991 the U.S. Department of Education figured there were 350,000 home schools in the U.S. and 40,000 in Canada. Today estimates stretch over 2 million home schools nationwide.

The world of education has had to adjust to this exploding movement. There are many magazines and newspapers for home schools, numerous home-school curriculum distributors and countless home-school network and contact groups. Why do parents choose to teach their children at home?

Social Reasons
Home-schooling parents believe that children can learn basic life skills — working together, sharing, showing respect for others — without formal classroom experience. The students can develop social graces by being involved in community and church activities.
Pat Farenga, publisher of Growing Without Schooling, a catalog of home-school resources, has written: "Group experiences are a big part of education, and home schoolers have plenty of them.

They write to us about how they form or join writing clubs, book discussion groups and local home-schooling groups. Home schoolers also take part in school sports teams and music groups [in nearby public schools], as well as in the many public and private group activities our communities provide. These young people can and do experience other people and cultures without going to school."


Our children have many church and neighborhood friends. Our community has a home-school contact group where they often get together for field trips and outings that give our kids more than enough socialization. We have gone on camping trips, facilitated soccer tournaments, traveled to speech and debate tournaments and coordinated educational classes.
But not all socialization is necessarily good for a child. Certain social plagues like drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, violence and gangs damage a child's growth and development. A home-school environment frees the child from the increasingly persuasive peer pressure prevalent in many schools.

The positive side of socialization — building respect and communication, getting along with and relating to others — is wonderfully fulfilled in a home-school setting. Behavioral psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner concluded that "meaningful human contact" is best accomplished with few people.




more to follow tomorrow...

NIKKI

Nikki on the piano playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star one hot evening. =D

SIBLINGS

When I met up with an old dear friend the other day, I brought Nikki along with me. Ethan was having his nap and since I didn't want to bring a cranky baby with us, I thought it best that we leave him behind. My friend and I decided to have our get-together at a family restaurant so that the kids could play on the swings and slides. While chatting now and then, I was observing Nikki closely. I noticed that although he was surrounded by kids, he was not as active as the times he was with Ethan. When we went to that family restaurant (we go there almost every week) I noticed that he would be running around, he would be sliding non-stop, and be playing a sort-of race with Ethan on who would be the first to climb the stairs to the slide. But that day, he just sat on one of the swings and just played with the soil around the area. Every once in a while, he would ask me if we were going home. I suppose he missed Ethan. I really thought that he would be having more fun since Ethan won't be around to bug him or he would have time on his own. Apparently, I was wrong. So, I called my dad and asked him to pick Nikki up because I could tell that he was not having fun any more. As I was thinking about this, I realized that this was another benefit to homeschooling. In an article I posted earlier, it said that "homeschooling fosters a strong sibling relationship". I suppose it's true. In another article, further benefits include: ability to teach and encourage younger siblings and more time together to build a strong family and good Christian character. Don't you just love it? Now I know that even if my 2 boys quarrel from time to time, they still can't live without each other. It's really a wonderful thought that despite their differences in personality they still appreciate each other. Hopefully, as we continue to homeschool, not only will they learn to live with each other but they will also learn to accept their differences and uniqueness.

ETHAN'S DRAWING

This is a drawing Ethan made of the handy dandy notebook from Blue's Clues. I think it's really really cute. The thinking chair looks really puffy! =D

READING FUN

http://www.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=3019


10 Ways To Raise A Strong Reader

One of the most significant discoveries in recent reading research has been the importance of providing children with a language-rich environment right from the start.

The following are 10 simple ways to bring literacy into the lives of your young children:

• Talk, sing and play with your child.
• Make time to read together each day.
• Choose books with care.
• Surround your child with reading material.
• Slow down and have fun.
• Read it again … and again. Even if this means the same story every night for weeks.
• Foster your child’s awareness of print and how we use it. Point out signs, labels, instructions, and words in public places.
• Provide a variety of writing tools and materials.
• Don’t pressure your child about what or when to read.
• Show your child that you value his efforts.

Adapted from Raising a Reader, Raising a Writer, a brochure published by theNational Association for the Education of Young Children in conjunction with the International Reading Association.

NIKKI'S WORKBOOK

This is one of Nikki's workbooks. I found this at Robinson's Place Manila when I met up with a friend there 2 months ago. I liked this workbook because it's very comprehensive. As it says on the cover, it covers Phonics and Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Writing and Punctuation, Addition, Subtraction and Multiplication, Simple Fractions and also includes an answer key and stickers. Of course, I don't let him do/answer the more difficult pages because I don't want him to feel frustrated, but for those lessons that I know he would feel challenged, I let him give it a try. He's quite happy answering the workbook from time to time and I don't press him when he's not in the mood. If you didn't notice, this work book is for second graders and Nikki is only 5! So as far as I'm concerned, Nikki is already doing so well on his own. I'm very proud of my little boy.

SPIDER

We found this little spider after I showered the boys one evening. It was hiding behind the bottles of body wash and I only noticed it because it moved a bit. When I saw it, I showed it to Nikki and Ethan. Of course, they were fascinated. Then I realized that it was a perfect learning tool. So then and there, we reviewed about spiders. Nikki already knows that insects have 6 legs and since the spider has 8, it's not an insect. Since he could not pronounce arachnid perfectly, I let it go and just told him that the spider belonged to a different group entirely. I let them look at the spider closely and see the different lengths of its legs, the coloring, the size, and how different it looked from other bugs. I also told Nikki that spiders eat insects and bugs but bigger spiders eat bigger animals like frogs and such. And with that, our short lesson on spiders ended. Thankfully, the spiders in the Philippines are not poisonous. Just creepy. =D