BANNING BEN

We’ve recently decided to ban Pablo from watching his Ben 10 DVDs. We should’ve done it sooner, we are to blame.

 Here are the reasons why we’re banning Ben10:

1. Ben is disrespectful to his grandfather. He raises his voice and talks back when he’s being corrected.

2. Ben is mean to Gwen, his cousin. He calls her names, picks fights with her all the time, pull cruel pranks on her and embarrasses her in front of other people.

3. Ben is rebellious. He does not take well to corrections. Sometimes, he even runs away.

4. Ben has vile, spiteful, demeaning words in his vocabulary.

5. Ben is arrogant. He thinks he’s everything that the world needs to save it.

6. And many other things that you don’t want your kid to become.

And here’s the MAIN REASON why we don’t want Ben around our children anymore:

PABLO IMITATES BEN

Lately, whenever Pablo watches these Ben 10 shows, we’d see him practice some of the above traits. Within the past two weeks, we’ve heard him use words such as “what the hell….” and referred to his brother, Lukas, saying, “…he gets on my nerves”. He told us that he didn’t know what “getting on my nerves” meant and we explained it to him. But goodness, he was practicing it in a conversation with, good heavens , a boy he just met, before he asked us about it.

I’ve also observed him playing pranks on Lukas and two Fridays ago, he decided to be a hero to his friend, JT and made another kid cry doing so.

We’ve talked to him, reminded him, and disciplined him for imitating many of Ben’s ways when he failed to listen.

All attempts for guidance seem ill-effective. Drastic measures need to be applied.

Goodbye, Ben!

"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell" Matthew 5:30.

"And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them" Psalm 115:8.

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it" Proverbs 22:6.

5 BENEFITS OF HOME SCHOOLING

This is our fifth year in home schooling. We started out a bit too early as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog. There have been no regrets. Home schooling has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.  I’m giving you 5 of our reasons why we plan to stick to it for a very long time.

1. WE CAN HOME SCHOOL ANYWHERE.

At home, we do have a designated home school room where the kids have a desk (a table, actually, that we’re using for a desk) but we don’t always do it there. Sometimes, my kids bring their activities to the dining table, on the floor, at McDonalds, at Jay’s office or anywhere we find ourselves at.

The thing about home school is that it’s not just about the books and keeping up with the required curriculum. It’s a lifestyle. So anywhere we go is an opportunity to teach them something even in things as simple as a train ride during a rush hour or our children seeing us at work.

2. WE CAN HOME SCHOOL ANY TIME.

We used to home school in the morning and we still try to do that, but most of the time, we end up home schooling in the afternoons or early night time while I prepare dinner. Pablo got really interested in the Wizard of Oz, which is our first read-aloud chapter book for the year that sometimes we read some more in the evenings when my hands are free of the chores and the baby butts. We can choose to home school on stormy weathers and through holidays, too. We can alter our breaks as needed.

3. HOME SCHOOL CAN BE AS ECONOMICAL AS WE NEED IT TO BE.

It’s okay if you can’t afford the expensive books and text books for the moment. Booksale stores hold many good books for half the price. The internet is rich with free online resources, from literary books, including picture books to printable worksheets and exercises in game format are readily available.Or you can do what we do: We personally prepare the exercises ahead. We have a big drawing book assigned for that purpose alone. Of course, nothing beats having the real books in hand, but the inability to purchase them right away should not hinder us from moving forward.

4. THERE’S MORE ROOM  FOR GENUINE FRIENDSHIPS

Pablo is not wired to think that the best people to be friends with are the ones within his age group within a particular group; we’re teaching our two younger boys the same. Our children enjoy each other’s company. They go running around the house, jumping off the head board, climbing up tables, balancing on water gallons, laughing, shouting, mimicking dialogues from their dvds, painting cans, wrestling on the bed, and doing all sorts of things together.  We teach them to love one another and to be forgiving of each other. If they learn this, then they have learned how to treat other people outside our family with kindness, too.

Friendships are also not limited to a certain age group or gender. One of Pablo’s best friends is a smart little girl named Danae. He’s particularly fond of his 9-year old cousin, Wacky. He’s made friends with John, a 9-year old who is instrumental in rekindling his interest in Dinosaurs. Pablo calls Pastor Sonny of our Alabang church -- my Pastor Friend, and though it’s mostly just an exchange of playful talks from the pastor for now, who knows what tomorrow would bring? The possibility that it can grow into a real, genuine friendship is exciting.

5. WE CAN IMMEDIATELY ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS

Since we interact a lot, we can sense right away if something is on their mind. We have a lot of opportunities to figure things out with them, work things out with them, reassure them, correct them, discipline them, comfort them, give them a boost or simply give them a much-needed hug on-the--spot. We are the biggest influences in their young lives.  There’s lots of time to play games with them, read books with them or watch their DVDs with them. They can ask us questions as it forms in their heads and can just as soon discover the answers together.

I’ve only listed 5 of the benefits, but there are so much more. Bottom line is that, I think that we can never really go wrong with home schooling.  There are definitely challenges but home schooling is too flexible for us not to be able to work through it. The most challenging would be our own character issues which inevitably spring up during the journey. But we take it as an opportunity to learn to be better people and we give it our best shot. As we continue to grow, our children grow with us.**

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" Proverbs 22:6

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own" Phillipians 3:12

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HIP HOP ABS MOMMA

So, I woke up sore all over and all because yesterday, I braved my first HIP HOP ABS session.

It’s not like I enrolled in a class or something. I think that’s what the DVDs are all about – to sell to desperately out-of-shape housewives so we can do the workouts at home. I’ve been asking around to borrow a copy and finally, I got a hold of it and got down to work…and work it out, I did! BOOM!

Before this whole momma thing, I used to be…how should I put it? Uhm, I guess, a recovering skinny. I unwittingly fell into the Anorexia mess and luckily, I recovered. When you’re younger, dieting and exercising tend to be means to be able to wear tight-hugging shirts that bare the navel and as much skin as you can.  I went extremes on the diet, justifying it necessary for my occupation, then – I was a singer for a cover band whose claimed specialization was to make sure that people dance before the parties end. It wasn’t hard for me to find time to exercise. I danced every night. But when all that dancing ended and the family began, I took on a whole different perspective on exercise.

I’ve been working the stage for years and was practically burning out when I got married. Family life became an excuse to rest it out. At first, it felt somewhat gratifying. My only exercise then was walking long distances after work (I took on a few clerical and tutorial jobs) or after church. I was lean so I didn’t put so much importance on exercise. When I had Pablo (our eldest child), I joined the free retro-groove lo-workout sessions attended mostly by middle aged to elder women at the ATC mall twice a week and it helped me burn a few fats. In fact, it worked too well for me, I got pregnant again (…and again) ! It was the last two unplanned pregnancies that kinda broke the spell and made me realize that I need to take my health more seriously to be able to keep up to our three amazingly active  little boys. I found myself dropping off to bed in exhaustion as soon as Jay enters the back door and family days turned into lazy days. We would take the kids out late afternoons or evenings because we felt too tired to do so during the day. I knew I had to do something or else, my kids will never see daylight again! I made plans with a friend to enroll for adult dancing classes after I gave birth to Lukas (our second child) but we couldn’t find a maid, then eventually, we moved, so that didn’t happen. It was when I finally turned to DVDs.

My sister-in-law passed on to me one of her exercise DVDs and I pretty much enjoyed the MTV Grind 2 workout because it was more of a dance exercise, but the DVD stopped working when we moved to Taguig.  I’ve seen the promotion of HIP HOP ABS on TV., and I’m no hip hop-per but it seemed like a lot of fun. When Jay came home with the workout DVDs, I immediately planned on getting into it the very next day, so I did.

I browsed each video and I decided that the “Total Body Burn” session made sense for me. It started out with a few simple slides, and I thought, hey, I can totally do this. But it became more intense as it progressed, it was like I never knew what hit me, dude!  My legs felt like jell-o, literally, I couldn’t make the small jumps backwards! When Shaun T. was asking whoever if they’re having fun or something, I gasped that I wasn’t. Of course, he couldn’t hear me. And good thing that it was a DVD, too, and not an actual live workout session `cause I would’ve thrown a shoe at him for asking that question!

Anyway, I stuck it out and towards the latter part of the workout, my sentiment shifted. All sweated out and pumped, I was invigorated and I loveeeeeetttttttt!!!!  Next time, though, I will go for the less strenuous cardio and sculpt workouts which they have on the schedule. Uhuh (with a nod and pursed lips), THE SERIES INCLUDED A SCHEDULE that I did not bother to check the first time around. Lesson well learned. Did I just read an FB status that said, “You shouldn’t ignore your ignorance”?  Yep, baby, with these muscles screamin’ for justice, I think I did.**

A LAUNDRY STORY

        There it was, resting ominously in one corner. It could no longer be ignored. It had grown into a huge pile from all the moving we had to do, on top of projects I had to complete, and the craziness of cleaning up after the kids and keeping them well-fed. It glared at me, silently pointing out the inevitable. The dirty clothes needed to be washed.

         Jay volunteered to take care of it, wanting me to rest my fingers which developed some sort of blisters from the new chemical combinations they’ve done on the laundry and dishwashing soap. The new combination had been so strong that lately we’ve been noticing holes on our most comfortable shirts. No, he didn’t want me to touch those dirty clothes. But I knew his routine all too well. The laundry will not get completely done for sure. He’ll dump about 20 pieces into the washing machine which would be just about the number of clothes that’ll have been done within the week. By that time, a new batch of laundry would have built up. We contemplated on sending them over to the laundry shop. Laundry will be done in about 4 days, all of it. All we’ll need to do is pick up the neatly folded clothes and stash them in their respective clothes cabinet.

Then, we remembered why we’ve stopped patronizing laundry shops. Our dirty clothes come back looking just about the same as when we’ve tossed them into the hamper, only softer and smelling really good. I have a suspicion that on-commission laundry employees just might be spinning our clothes on fabric softeners to get as many of the laundry in schedule done for the day. Nah, we need to hold off the laundry shop option. Somebody’s got to do the laundry and that somebody has to be me.

I looked around the house, making sure I had all priorities for the day done before I get on with it. Feed the kids, check. Bathe the kids, check. Clean the house, check. Homeschool lessons, check.  The sun was up after days of downpour, laundry couldn’t be done at a better time. I set up the younger kids on their favorite Sesame Street DVD and asked Pablo, our very reliable 6-year old, to holler if the baby starts prying off the keys on my laptop so I can rush back in to salvage it the best I can. I locked the front door before hauling the dirty clothes to the back of the house where our beloved washing machine sat.

I filled a pail with water by the faucet, carrying it over the machine, some of the water spilling out in my unsuccessful attempt of lifting a pail full of water. Man! These things are heavy. I make a mental note -- buy a hose. I prepared the basin for the rinse, sighed and imagine how life would be much easier if we have those driers, too. I poured some of the powdered soap into the water and made it spin a few to mix it in. I started sorting out the clothes, the whites had to go in first, I know, and I’m usually very strict with that. With not much space to separate the whites from the colored and the blacks and so forth --not with this pile, the goal IS to get the laundry done, after all; so I just threw in the whites with the colored, making sure that these are the types that don’t stain. It was one of those days when the term “simplify” applied.

The end of the day had me a long line of clothes up for drying. I felt both relieved and satisfied, and yes, having a certain sense of accomplishment. And that’s only been 1/3 of the pile. The sky didn’t look gray, I expected sun the next day. I was right! By mid-morning, most of the clothes were dry, and I was able to go through another pile of laundry. It went on the day after that-- the lifting of pails, the washing, the rinsing, the hanging up to dry.

Then, the rain showers came again, but my laundry’s been over and done. I’ve folded every shirt, every pair of shorts, hung every blouse, every collared shirt, every pair of jeans. It’s a success story. A laundry success story. 




"If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones" Luke 16:10


"in everything give thanks" 1 Thessalonians 5:18a

GOODBYE, MR. DOLPHY

He gave me my first dose of Filipino humor. I remember those movies in black and white that they used to air on early afternoons. He moved with the greats, but he ruled comedy. His John & Marsha show went on for years, his on-screen children growing up right before our very eyes.  The young and the old -- we all laughed and rolled over our bellies in laughter at his jokes, his antics, his humor. Nobody does it like Dolphy did.

How can I forget that movie with the little guy, Weng weng? In it was a car with two front hoods. I remember laughing so hard on that one, when he kept moving from one wheel to the other. I remember Panchito and many other faces of whom he’d helped but never advertised about. Some people just won’t let you forget how much they’ve helped other actors in their careers, and they remind you every year on their birthdays, as if you owe them that. But not Dolphy. He just kept on making his movies, his Home along the riles tv shows, keeping the corners of our mouths stretched till we drop from all the ha-has.

In all that, there is one thing that I will always respect him for. He could’ve won an election had he chosen to listen to the prodding of politicians urging him to join them in their campaigns. In not so many words, he said that he wasn’t a politician and will not be able to help anyone by running for position. He knew the range of his influence, he knew that people will listen to whatever he says, follow his lead, but Dolphy knew his place and he took it with so much dignity I so admire.

There will never be another you, Mr. Dolphy. Thank you for sharing your life, your talent, your humility and your wisdom to us. I will miss you.

THE FIRST TRAIN RIDE

I took my son on his first train ride yesterday. It was not at all planned. We came from his Friday classes with other homeschoolers in Alabang and had to take the public transportation back and forth our place in Taguig. The bus ride from the south was going smoothly until it hit a slow (and quite draining) traffic right before the Magallanes bridge.  Pablo was asleep beside me, exhausted from the long walks that we had to take to reach the designated bus and jeepney stops. I was getting claustrophobic and a bit nauseous from the foggy windows, the imbalance of the airconditioning system and the pine deodorizer  combining with the odor of perspired bodies of people on their way home after a long day's work. I wouldn't really have minded taking the public transportation. Unlike my commute from Taguig to Pedro Gil which route was unfamiliar to me, I know this one better. But 45 minutes at the foot of the Magallanes bridge was a tad too much to take.

When the bus started to move and I saw that the the traffic was barely moving all the way to our stop, I thought of what I must do. I didn't want to get too nauseous with my 6-year old son with me and it was almost 7pm. The Magallanes MRT station was just at the other end of the bridge. If we can only get to that, it would not only save us from what looked like an hour more of slow travelling, it was also an opportunity to let Pablo experience the train! I got excited just thinking about it. He's been curious about the old train that we crossed over a couple of times in Bicutan. I'm not so sure about giving him a ride on that.....but the MRT just might be a nice surprise. When we neared the station, I nudged Pablo to put on his Ben10 backpack because I have a surprise for him. 

I saw other kids smaller and younger than Pablo maneuvered through the crowd by their parents , that gave me some comfort. MRT stations have an area especially reserved for females, children, the elderly and pregnant women, so that's where we headed. But I guess rush hours don't really care so much about these boundaries. Getting into the train was not hard at all. I could sense that Pablo was as ecstatic as I was. It was just a short ride. Just one station to the next, about 2 minutes tops. All the seats were taken so we had to stand. It was getting off the train that turned out to be a bit scary. The people at the Ayala station did not wait for passengers to alight, they pushed their way in and we almost didn't make it out.  I politely but firmly asked them to move back because I had a child with me. Some people from the back of the pack didn't want to move until Pablo let out a small scream. The scream worked wonders! The pack moved and we were able to get out in one piece!

When we stepped on the platform, I anxiously checked my son to see if he was alright. That's when he explained the scream. In my effort to squeeze him out, I unconsciously twisted one of his fingers. So the culprit was mommy, not the crowd. 

It took another 30 minutes to get to Market Market where we would take a van, our last public vehicle for the day, home. I did well with a promise and got us both ice cream on cones. We sat for a while to enjoy our treats while I tried to keep up with the new names of Transformers that my son learned. These times are precious. 

As for the train ride, that might be the last one for now. Pablo and I decided that we like private transportation. I'm so glad that I received a call from our friend informing me that the car is now ready for pick up.

NOTE:  I need to say this. I am so thankful for the long foot bridges that have been built in Alabang and in Bicutan. I didn't have to worry about having to cross the large highways with my son. It made me feel safer. Kudos to the government! Clap clap

Image credits:
MRT -- http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e9/reymund_navarro/MRT%25203/P1080841copy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t%3D189728&h=510&w=680&sz=123&tbnid=lnciz0poqkxVnM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=113&zoom=1&usg=__AunmRfgSg09ICFCu9MyB1myOYIY=&docid=ghJAu9c3oZ-1AM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nVvuT_KVAsmmrAeCkbS9DQ&ved=0CG0Q9QEwDg&dur=55

Alabang foot bridge -- http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=632&tbm=isch&tbnid=Nf9BPbftgdRD-M:&imgrefurl=http://www.alabangcondominium.com/places/mmda-footbridge-alabang.htm&docid=gjuo9uve_uc-9M&imgurl=http://lh3.ggpht.com/_P47MYas2AHM/S9iEmROZdxI/AAAAAAAABU8/-ZMGZgzms-0/footbridge-alabangMMDA.jpg&w=512&h=384&ei=SV7uT924HYrUrQfIvIS-DQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=437&sig=113278997591679864132&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=183&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:75&tx=74&ty=62

ON GOING INDEPENDENT AND FILIPINO PRIDE

Homeschooling is a bit radical for us this 2012. Instead of registering with a local homeschool provider, we opted to enroll with Homelife Academy.  In local terms, we've basically gone independent. We signed up for Homelife for the purpose of having official records as Homelife has grading submissions and records which we can request for when we need them.

Aside from that, we dove into the richness of online resources for our study materials, deciding on a downloaded copy of the classic, The Wizard of Oz , the free CIMT math modules  and other downloadable resources from Oldfashionededucation.com instead of buying from the local bookstore. 


This year, we're doing Integrated English  in which we're putting together Literature, Writing, Vocabulary, Reading and English in one subject.  The challenge for me this year, being the main teacher, is to read the chapters ahead and prepare the discussion questions, writing practices and english exercises based on the chapters. I am, of course, consciously referring to the Department of Education list of competencies as I make the exercises.


For History, Civics and Geography, we're using the Usborne book of World Geography, specifically, the chapter on Peoples of the World for Civics and History but paralleling it with a study of the Philippines, our people and our culture based on my beloved World Book Encyclopedia set. I, of course, had to improvise, rewriting the facts for a first grader and researching on the internet for pictures that I felt would capture my son's interest as he reads it. To be honest, I injected some principles that I wanted my child to learn such as:

"When we see our flag and hear the Philippine National Anthem being sung, we should stop what we’re doing, stand straight, put our right hand over our heart and sing it. We do it to show that we love our country and our people. When we do this, we love and respect ourselves, too."

My children first learned to speak in English and I think that that's alright. In what I wrote for Pablo: 

"Filipinos are good in using the English language and that’s a good thing. Many people all around the world speak English and if we know how to speak it, it may be easier for us to communicate to them. But it’s also good to learn how to speak Filipino because it’s our national language. It tells of who we are. "

I taught my children to speak English first because it was easier to teach for me and we're mostly surrounded by people whose children speak English as well, like their friends and relatives from my side and friends in church. We've introduced Filipino to Pablo two years ago and it's not really a smooth ride for him. More than once had he said that he wishes to move to an English-speaking country because learning Filipino is hard for him. I just tell him to be patient with himself and to take it a few words at a time. Last year, when we shifted to PACES for our Filipino material, I've noticed a big improvement on his Filipino vocabulary. He can even understand us when we talk to him in Filipino, though he still replies in English. It's a breakthrough, though. I think that Pablo's interest in learning the language has something to do with what he knows about the Philippines and our people which is so little. My goal this year is for him to learn how beautiful his mother country is and its people. I think that it's time to teach him about our rich Filipino culture and heritage. It may take a lot of work from me with all the extra research and rewriting, but it'll be worth it. I'll probably have a book on the Philippines and the Filipinos for early graders completed by the end of the year, who knows how it'll all turn out? I do have two younger sons to teach it to.

We concluded todays lesson on the Philippines by listening to the Philippine national anthem. Pablo has the melody pat down....I just need to figure out how to teach him the lyrics.

2 Corinthians 9:8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Philippians 4:19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.