Monday, May 7, 2007
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.
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!
Sunday, May 6, 2007
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.
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.
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
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
Saturday, May 5, 2007
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.
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:
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.
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 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.
- 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.
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.
Friday, May 4, 2007
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...
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