A Cardboard Dollhouse

Old shoe boxes made for a fun-filled morning for Elise and her friend, A, who both wanted to make a dollhouse.  They taped the two boxes together, wrapped them in white paper, and divided the first and second floors with flat cardboard.

The back of the house was painted by A.

 

 Her little brother, M, wanted to paint too!

 

And the other side was painted by Elise. 

Each room had a different color.  A little oven was made from a small box, and a refrigerator was made from a medicine syrup box.  They wanted to get some fabric to stick to the walls for wallpaper, but we were not prepared.  Floors can be designed like tiles or wooden planks.  Stickers could also decorate the walls like posters.  Aluminum foil could be framed like mirrors. 

They were all quite tired after two hours of intense work.  Okay, time for some snacks! 

Big Toys for the Small Boy

Nacho woke up late and decided to open Rene's toolbox.  He quietly lined up all the tools on the floor and inspected them.  His father just watched him intently.

A couple of minutes later, he knew what he had to do.

"My sculpture."

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!

We were confined indoors on a very hot morning a few weeks ago.  We could feel the fiery sun and could smell the humidity as we opened the balcony window.  There was nothing to do outside, so we decided to paint some pictures.

It started to get cloudy very slowly, and the smell just became wetter and wetter.   I called the kids to inhale and smell the approaching rain. In about ten minutes, the sky was gray and the drops fell loud and hard.

 
Nacho, still wearing his painting smock, was hypnotized by it all as he sat under an umbrella.

The rain was so strong and so refreshing that I wanted to go out with him too.

And why not?  The three of us changed into our swimsuits, put on shirts and shorts on top, and with three umbrellas, walked around the beach and the lagoon, jumping on muddy puddles.

Hungry for a Library

Since we started homeschooling in June of last year, we have been trying to get Elise a library card so she can borrow books.  She is an avid reader and like any six or seven year old,  loves fairy tales, escapades, magic, making friends and being brave. 

I brought her to the British Council over at the Taipan Place in Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center when we were still in Manila.   I grew up going to the one in New Manila where I would watch classic movies, borrow storybooks and just hang out with my mom.  Even until college, it was an escape for me, somewhere I could be alone where nobody knew where I was. I told her what a wonderful place it was, and she got all excited. When we got there, she happily asked the librarian where the Children's Section was.  The librarian seemed almost scared to tell us.  Then she said something that devastated Elise.  "I'm sorry, we no longer have a library.  All that is left is an English Proficiency Center.  Elise and I simultaneously freaked out.  "WWWHHHAAAAT?!!!" Our anticipation of going there regularly for some precious reading time and  her excitement of having a library card to borrow books, burst to a billion pieces and splattered all over the librarian.  We even asked her what we could do next, since we really NEEDED a library, maybe at the British Embassy?  Elise even asked if she was sure that there wasn't a library in there somewhere.  Of course, she couldn't help us.  And as we walked away, I think she was more devastated than us.  We crossed over to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and shared an iced blended drink.  We survived the afternoon. 

A few weeks later, we visited the Pasig City Discovery Centrum and Learning Resource Center, where the three of us had lots of fun.  They had a good enough children's library on the ground floor and an interactive play area similar to Museo Pambata.  We donated some college books for their third floor.  For a public library in the Philippines, it was a good. one.  We got ourselves some 1 x 1 ID pictures for our library cards and were just about to have our forms signed the following Monday by the barangay captain, when Typhoon Ondoy (Typhoon Ketsana) struck. Of course, the Pasig Library was badly flooded.  And when this happened in the end of September, many other unfortunate incidents followed .  Getting a library card became the least of our priorities. 

 When we finally set foot in Palawan, we found the City Library beside the Palawan Museum!  The children's section was the only air conditioned room, and had the usual encyclopedias and some storybooks.  The books were very old and it looked like that there was no strong children's literacy program going on., or funding for one.  Well, we were there to get a library card for Elise. We were informed, however, that we can't get one unless we have a permanent address. After two months, we still did not have a permanent address.  We went back and requested to be issued one anyway, since we are in the process of getting a permanent address. They reluctantly obliged, and Elise and I got our library cards! 

We chose our books, and headed over to the desk.  Guess what, they were doing their annual inventory, and we had to wait until April 26 to borrow books, three more weeks.... Elise's face fell and I comforted her, assuring her that at least, we already had library cards! She was so frustrated, and my only consolation was that this whole ordeal that had been stretching on for about six months was building her character. 

We planned to go last April 27, Tuesday, but it rained so hard that we stayed in.  On April 28, we scheduled ourselves to join the 3:00P.M. shuttle but the van had to wait for a delayed flight, so we left late and arrived at the library at 4:00P.M., just when the building was being padlocked for the day.  

So, this afternoon, we were FINALLY back and very ready to borrow some books.  Yay, right?  Oh no, borrowers were limited to a single wall of four five-foot shelves filled with adult romance, some really old self-help and gardening books, and few young adult books about horses and some irrelevant plots. Everything else was free to be photocopied, can you believe it??????!!!

Anyway, Elise and I chose one book each.  I felt disheartened, but tried to be cheerful for  her.  I hoped that she was more excited about the process of borrowing a book than the actual book she would borrow. 

Puerto Princesa really needs a good children's library.  How does one start a library?  

HomeSchool Year '09 is Over!

Finally got to send Elise's final grades to Catholic Filipino Academy last weekend... and made it!  She finished the year with a GPA of 94 for the year.  (Clap, clap!)  If we did not finish the lessons on time, Elise would be given a 75 GPA. 

All the students will get a certificate for a subject in which they are very good at, and a medal for a specific virtue that stands out in the child. She will be awarded with a certificate for Excellence in Science and a medal for Gratefulness.  I shall proudly post them here as soon as we get them.

She is always so thankful and appreciative of everyone's efforts and all her blessings.  She makes as much big of a deal about God saving us from the flood last Typhoon Ondoy, as when He gives us good weather everyday.  She is diligent in sending family members postcards from Palawan and loves affixing the stamps and dropping them into the box at the post office.  She writes us little thank you and I love you cards almost every week, slipping them under our pillows or hiding them in our cabinets where we would surely see it.  I collect all her notes to Rene and me, and even to Nacho, in a box.  One day, I shall show her the box that has been filled throughout the years. 

This June, Elise will go to a normal school, with other kids.  She is most excited about having friends, and I am excited for her.  Although I know that the academic lessons here in the province will fall short of Manila standards, I am comfortable that the gap can be supplemented by many other resources.  Whenever we will be in Manila, we will be sure to get more books. And of course, the world wide web is the Wonderful World Wide Web that has (almost) all the tools.  And as my sister-in-law said - "just keep them both curious and interested as they are now.  You can't go wrong once you've set for them a real love for learning."

Nacho was not enrolled in a program.  He just turned 3 last December.  But we did the expected ABC's and 123's and shapes and colors and routines.  And the two biggest things he accomplished was how to write his name by himself -

and his improving ability to control his temper.  His intense and deafening "AAAAAAaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh!" frustration filled episodes have lessened considerably. 

Thinking about it, I have been with them 24/7 since April.  Prior to that, I only spent a total of 3 hours of waking time with them a day! I thought I knew my kids inside-out. But on the first two weeks, I was ashamed to say I did not.  This time, I had to consciously BE a parent, catching unpleasant behaviors and all that stress.  It got easier when a good friend, Noemi, reminded me - "Do everything not out of duty, but out of love." So I discovered that they listen more when talked to properly, and tantrums are calmed down faster when they are embraced, rather than ignored.  We had frequent fun field trips to learn Sibika, Math and Science. We talked more and understood each other more.

I documented most of our trips and some interesting projects.  Read more about it here in the  HomeSchool '09 Highlights  page.

The rest of 2010 will be crazy: new school, building a new home, three short trips to Manila, possible projects here and there.  I am hoping that by summer next year, we'll be more or less settled in our own space, with our own routines, and happily living The Life We Are Imagining Right Now.  If all goes well, Rene and I are thinking of homeschooling Elise (and Nacho, by that time) again.

Exam Pressure & Homesickness

I am getting just a little bit stressed.

It's already March 15.  We are too busy completing Elise's 4th quarter lessons, because the deadline for submission of her grades was last week!!  Rene just got back a few days ago and he is catching up on some backlog here.

We still have not seen another lot or house. Not even the one I REALLY want to see on Baker's Hill.   Rene agreed to take a look. 

It's scorching hot outside, so the kids and I are indoors in our room from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. We have our routines and lessons, have T.V. breaks and lunch, naps, and everything else.  It's getting a bit claustrophobic. There are good days when everything goes as planned. And there are days when the three of us are cranky, especially when Nacho bugs Elise to death.

I worry about where the kids will go to school in June.  We need to find the right school.  And we need to find them summer activities for next month.

Papa is on my mind constantly and I worry about his vulnerability to infection.  I also worry about Mama and my dear sister, who are taking care of him. We just took advantage of the Philippine Airlines anniversary promo and booked three trips back to Manila to visit for this June, September and November. All for the price of one normal trip!  Lucky!

Okay, first things first.  Finish all 4th quarter exams this week!  House hunt in the weekend!

Need To Wake Up Earlier

Since the kids and I transferred here to be with Rene last January 31, we have been continuously trying to stick to a routine and get ourselves finally settled - not an easy task.

For the past week, the day begins at 8:30 A.M. when Nacho and I open our eyes at almost the same time.  Rene and Elise have already bathed and dressed and are ready for breakfast.  They go ahead while I get Nacho and myself ready.  We all eat breakfast together for about an hour and a half - this includes running after Nacho when the sunshine outside calls out to him.

The kids make coffee for Rene and me, toast bread for all of us and get our water ready.  We then eat our breakfast while discussing everything we have to do for the day, or what happened yesterday, or what they want to happen, period.

The kids and I go back and organize ourselves.  While they watch "Go, Diego, Go!", "Nihau, Kailan" and "Sandra The Fairy Tale Detective" from 10:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M., I do the laundry, and prepare for the day's lessons, make To Do Lists and sneak in a little internet time.

Then we homeschool!

Then lunch with or without Daddy at about 1:30 P.M.  Then back to workbooks and drills till about 3:00 P.M.  Then Nacho gets his nap, and then off to play till about 5:30 P.M.

If errands have to be made -- like going to NCCC Mall to do grocery or school supplies; or get a haircut, or buy fruits or go to the Public Library, we do it from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. with lunch in between.  By the time we get back, Nacho would have fallen asleep in my arms and will be napping for two hours.

Then dinner anywhere between 7:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.

Rene and Elise usually doze off at about 10:30 P.M. and Nacho and I are up till about 12 midnight.  That explains why the other two wake up first.