Our Dadilo's and Mama's True Legacy

Now that they are both gone and went with the Lord, I remember many things about them, all the wisdom and advice I've heard and the good practices I've seen. One of the most impactful memories I stored in my heart is their huge faith in God. I can vividly recall when we prayed on one Christmas Eve because we didn't have any food or gifts at that time and they claimed that that will be the last time we celebrate Christmas with nothing because God will provide, which eventually happened; we were blessed and prospered the year after that and year after year. Another is their belief and hope for a better tomorrow. It was from them that I always hear "tomorrow is an opportunity to get better, strive harder, exceed, excel, be a better version of yourself." It was from them that I heard, "stop complaining, the pain will be gone tomorrow." It was from them that I always look forward to something better, more rewarding, results of hard work. Dad said, that is not good enough. "HINDI PWEDE ANG PWEDE NA!" The standards keep on getting higher kaya when when we reap the rewards, it was always sweet victory. Mahirap pero sulit. Ganun ako pinalaki. Not dependent, not complacent, not mediocre. Ako lang ata sa aming magkakapatid ang maagang naexpose sa hirap kaya ganun na lang din ako naging ka-ambisyosa. Imagine, ang bata bata ko pa, ang dami ko nang ginagawang chores mula 8 years old, mamalengke, mag igib ng tubig, magtanim ng kangkong, kamatis, mag alaga ng baboy, manguha ng kohol, maglaba at mamalantsa ng lampin, maghugas ng plato sa dilim hahaha. Ang hirap na masaya kasi kapag natapos ko lang ang mga yun chaka ako nakakapaglaro, so dapat mabilis kumilos para me reward, maglaro sa bukid. Ang saya saya! Mahirap pero rewarding. Daddy and Mama trained me to be independent, to strive more, accomplish more to have a better life. Work, play, study - cycle repeats. By the end of my elementary days, I knew the hardships paid off. But that didn't stop me from striving, setting the standards higher. It went on until high school, college, working part time while schooling. By this time, my high standards were established and mama and dadilo wanted it re applied with my siblings. I hoped and prayed that whatever they saw in us, they will continue. We started on the right path we all worked part time while in school, we finished and got our degrees and worked. Eventually, we started our own families, had our own children.

Why am I saying this now? What is it for me, for my children, nieces and nephews and the younger generation? True, past is past but we can learn from it. There were so many good learnings from the past that we can use and follow. Maybe it was the thought that I don't want them to experience what I had, I let the children live comfortably. I am having those regrets, I wanted to continue what Mama and Dadilo started in me with my children, my nieces and nephews because I believe and could still hear Dadilo saying "Hindi pa pasado yan, magaling ka, believe that you can do better than that!" It is true, we can continue with their legacy - to be an achiever, not to quit but to work harder, to accomplish more, to find how and become a champion. We are all blessed with skills and talents that we don't want to get wasted. I hope the younger generation - our children will realize this that even if they can afford not to do chores, or be happy with the grades they've achieved, they will do more, be more, be of significant value. I hope my children while imagining me in the middle of rice fields carrying water containers, will realize that Mama, Dadilo and I worked hard to be where we are today, that they will continue the legacy of faith, hope and belief in hard work and growth mindset. Not complacent, mediocre or no drive at all. That is not what God wants us to do. He has great plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future. Only then, we can truly say that we are Mama and Dadilo's offsprings because we are achievers and always aim to be the best versions of ourselves.

 

To you my beloved: "Are you making Mama and Dadilo proud with what you have or accomplished right now?"

Strategies to teach your child to read - Part 2

My previous post was for parents with children who know how to read.  The following will benefit those moms with younger children.  I remember Aloysius became interested in books even if he didn't know how to read yet as early as 4 months old. That's when we started the mommy and child-reading-routine.


With younger children, you need to give them hard board books so that even if they chew on them, or they throw them or spill milk on them, they will still be readable.  These books have great pictures and colors in them that children get glued at looking at them.  This is the perfect opportunity to introduce reading to them.


Here are the tips:
1.  Look and point at the picture.
2.  Get your mouth ready to read.  The child will be looking at the picture and at your mouth while you are reading.
3.  Tell your child how does the word begin. Emphasize on the sound i.e. O - the mouth should form the O too.
4. Read the word all the way through.
5. Start again.  Skip the word you want the child to learn.
6. Ask the child, does it make sense? He would now recognize the word you missed.
7. Be consistent on the pronunciation of the word. if you say it differently, the child will notice it, if not, ask him "Does the word sound right?"
8. Go back and re-read the whole sentence.  You can ask him to point the picture and the word.
9. Give your child lots of chances to read the story again and again.  This is the key to successful reading.  It is called fluency.


The more your child reads, the more confident and successful he or she will become.

Strategies to teach your child to read - Part 1

I met my youngest son's teacher today at the Parent-Teacher meeting.  It was a fruitful conversation learning how my son is doing in school.  Alexus is turning 7 this month and I am so proud to receive the teacher's report that Lex' reading is excellent, Level S or DRA 34 Lexile 750.  I don't know what all these meant but I was so happy to hear that his reading is advanced, even more advanced for ages 8-9. I am so thankful that my kids love reading and I hope they will continue to read real books even with ebooks and electronic information are available online.


I want to share the tips I used to encourage my children to read.  Children are never too early to read and we as parents can help them become proficient in reading as soon as they recognize our voice and read our lips.



1. Read to your child everyday.
Reading aloud builds positive attitudes toward reading, stimulates interest in books and exposes your child to a variety of reading materials. This should be a fun, relaxing time for you and your child. This is our family bonding time before we read God's word and do our family prayer and devotion.  Kids look forward to each night's reading time.



2. Visit the library weekly.
We do it at least every three weeks because that is the maximum number of weeks we can get hold of the books we borrowed.  On the way to the library, I am asking them what they plan to borrow.  Are they going to get the same author (our favorite is Robert Munsch)?  or get the next the series (Geronimo Stilton, Captain Underpants, Wimpy Kid etc.)?  Get many different varieties of topics: mysteries, nonfiction, science fiction, animals, poems, rhymes, etc.  You and your child may go to the library with no plan in mind and pick out whatever interests you as you browse.



3. Look for accessible materials.
Help your child see that reading is found in every aspect of our lives,  help them read to you the recipe as you cook or bake together.  Read all the boxes and labels as you shop together. Have you child find signs as you travel somewhere, or when you are in a mall or a restaurant.



4. Have your child read to you everyday.
Children need positive feedback and genuine interest from their parents about their reading abilities. Be excited to hear your child read to you everyday.  Sometimes you child may choose a book that is much too difficult but has beautiful pictures.  Instead of reading, have him or her tell you about the pictures using as many details as they can.



5. Share book talks.
After you have read a story aloud or your child has completed an independent reading assignment, have him do a retelling of the read aloud or reading assignment. Retelling helps children review and organize the book. Listen for the following: Does the retelling makes sense? Have your child used the same story language and pattern from the book? Do you have questions?  you can use the following:
-What was your favourite part? why?
-What didn't you like? Why?
-What would you have done? Why?



I hope you can benefit from these because I did. My 3 children are worthy of these and the time spent on reading has paid off.  The return on this investment is long term.  Happy reading.

Teaching kids to be responsible early

Photo from thehappyhousewife.com found on facebook.

I'm proud to say that my kids remember their goals / targets.  I applied what I learned and used in my work at home to set KPIs (Key Performance Metrics) and to achieve them.  We only have 3 so that they won't forget:

1.  Feed your Mind (Soul)  - meaning to do all activities that will enrich the mind and nourish the soul - reading, math exercises, studying, reading the bible, praying, listening to worship songs etc.

2. Feed your Body - eat healthy food, drink plenty of water.  Limit sweets and salty food. No soda pop.

3. Cleanse your Body - taking a bath, brushing and flossing teeth, wearing clean clothes, washing hands, playing clean toys or games.

These activities are in order of priority.  They have to finish all three or complete one before doing another activity.  i.e.  Wash Hands first before eating or brushing teeth before going to bed.  They can play only after all 3 have been completed.

They are asked to do small tasks like setting up the table, tidying up toys and school or art supplies everyday.  Once a week, they help in the laundry by sorting their own clothes and storing them in their respective drawers.  They also water the plants indoors and outdoors during summer.  They also help in mowing the lawn using the manual type.  I remember this last summer, they helped me in the garden by removing all dandelions, raking the leaves and putting them in the bin.  I make it a point that every once in a while they wash the dishes.  Aloysius and Kyle work as a team with one soaping the dishes and the other one rinsing and storing.

Anything that hinders them from achieving these tasks are identified as time-wasters, and they need to stay away from it. Talk about efficiency and achieving the targets in our home.  I hope they will continue to develop good habits of doing something of value at an early age.  Striving for excellence will not be hard if you have started to achieve your set goals, you can outperform or overachieve and be hungry for more.

God will bless those who work with their hands.

The Parent is the child's first and best teacher

The title of this blog entry is a quote from my favorite homeschooling blogger Mariel of The Learning Basket.

I have not considered homeschooling an option because I want my children to enhance and develop their social skills in a regular school. They need that because of their introvert nature.  But I think I could use the freebies to further help my children in mastering the lessons they learn in school.  The idea of homeschooling still appeals to me because you will have control and you will know the progress of your children through the activities and evaluation/tests that they will undergo. I know it's going to be hard to find time to do this now that my parents went home, but I will try my best to juggle my work and home front and do my version of homeschooling (teaching them when they are home).

I found many sites on homeschooling and some of them are the regular sites that my children visit even without asking them.  Starfall.com is their favourite. I have come up with links to my favourite homeschooling resource and blogs.  This list is also for my sister who will relinquish her successful career to become a full time mom to Candy and Carlisle when they go to the US next year.

Homeschooling Resource and Freebies:
Free Homeschool Deals
IXL Learning
Thinking Blocks
Starfall
Life of Fred Mathematics
Time for Learning
Vocabulary Spelling City
Kids numbers

Here are my favourite moms whom I respect and admire for their dedication and hardwork in homeschooling, managing the home fulltime (something that I can't do without being insane) and updating their blogs regularly to keep me inspired and entertained.

Homeschoolers Blogs:
 The learning basket
Teach with Joy
The Mommy Journey
Our Family for His Glory
Filipino Homeschoolers

There are more sites out there but the above list are those I have tried using as my reference in my "homeschooling".

Next, our other favorite activity: Reading