School Immersion First Grade Edition

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Kumusta kaya ang araw mo, Maia? Bigla ka namin naalala ng sabay ng Daddy mo. Naisip namin sana matawagan ka man lang namin para kamustahin. Pero naisip din namin dadating din yun. Sa ngayon ayaw namin magmadaling bigyan ka ng telepono hehe . Ang aga mong nagising kanina. Sobrang eksayted ka sa araw na to. "Di na ako inaantok! Bangon na ako baka maiwanan ako". Enjoy ka anak! Ikaw na lang kumaway pag nadaanan mo office ko :) #fieldtrip #schoolgirl #letterstomaia

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Today, my little girl went to her first immersion (a.k.a. field trip) as a grade schooler. A month ago when this was announced, she immediately marked the date on our calendar. She was so excited we were reminded almost every day to make sure we bring her to school on time because she did not want to miss the bus!

So we were up early today. At 4am to be exact. And unlike the usual school days where it takes us at least 3x to hit the snooze button before someone finally jumps out of bed, she was first to rise and wake every one up!

We were in school 10 minutes before the call time of 6am. Ah despite of the 2 hour delay, she spelled the day in 3 letters - F.U.N.

Her dad picked her up from school and on their way home, she had tons of questions and stories for him:
>Bakit andaming mesa sa bahay ni Jose Rizal, Daddy? (Why are there lots of tables in Jose Rizal's house, Daddy?)
>Ano ang ibig sabihin ng 24/7, Daddy? (What does 24/7 mean, Daddy?) Apparently noticing this signage from one of the popular burger joints she saw on the road.
>Daddy! Dinrowing ko na lang yung mga napuntahan namin kanina. Yung mga hindi ko na makita, inimagine ko na lang! (Daddy, I drew the places we've been to earlier. I just imagined those that were out of my sight already)

Our little artist. Our little storyteller. Our curious cat. Our princess.

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Time flies. Sooooo fast.

Goodbye, Kindergarten! Hello, Grade School!

Twenty years from now, she probably won't have the faintest idea of how her moving up day went but to me and her dad it was a milestone that will be forever etched in our memory.

Moving Up Day fell on a Tuesday. Both me and my husband have work. But we knew when it was going to happen, just a few weeks after the school year started so we have no excuse to miss it. Well, I still ALMOST missed it. It fell on pre-close week and my boss was coming over for just a week. With all the things I needed to iron out, missing a day seemed really bad. But my boss (who is a family man himself, thank you J for understanding!) told me a story about a parent who missed her kid's kindergarten graduation because of an important meeting and yet 20 years after, the kid never forgot about that day (because probably of the missing parent) while she could not even remember what the meeting was about. "You wouldn't want that to happen to you, do you?".

Time to pay it forward.
These secondhand uniforms are going to a new home come school opening.
Ate Inday made sure they were well taken cared of and would still be deserving of a 3rd chance.

Mommy, sabi ni teacher wear bright, shiny shoes!

Of course not. And yes, I always know where my priorities lie. So I stuck to my decision. 

And yes, we didn't go home with any award but the kid was just so proud to be called a graduate and share that moment with her parents. THAT is more than enough.

Did I cry? Almost did. After all, we are not just saying goodbye to kindergarten. We were saying goodbye to being overprotective, controlling parents. We are saying goodbye to our "baby" (and yes she reminded me to not call her baby again today). But cuteness was just overflowing that today and the tears of joy decided to take the back seat.

I never figured I bore a performer but today proved to me I did! She was having so much on stage I could almost hear her voice even if I was a couple of meters away. She was jumping, singing, dancing, reciting with pure, unadulterated joy. And that to me is what performing always ought to be.

Her class adviser for SY 2013-14. The very patient, Ms. Jas.
We will miss her stories about you!

Post by Faye Pachoco-Paras.

Arts-N-Crafts: School Projects

Eversince the little miss started attending formal school (aka traditional school), we have had very limited arts and crafts sessions. Maybe it's the packed weekends. Or me subconsciously choosing to stay lazy on most weekends. Or maybe it's the no TV/cellphone/computer rule during school days. Or probably all of the above. But as I look back at the year that just past, I couldn't recall any particular project that we really labored on as mom and daughter.

Despite the lack of artsy activities at home, I'm happy to report that her school still gives her opportunities to channel out her creativity through regular arts and crafts sessions. These activities are the teacher's way of gauging their motor skills and they're usually being rated on how well they'd cut, paste, apply glue, color within lines, if they can hold crayons and scissors properly, pick tiny glitters and eyes.

Now that she's in kindergarten already, the art projects have become more complicated. But I'm really happy to see that the kid showed huge improvements every time she'd take home one finished project after another. It makes me feel like all those bonding sessions every weekend doing nothing but art was all worth it. Well, not that I was really counting on it coming in handy later on. Those were still moments I deeply cherish with or without the benefit that we are reaping of late.

Anyways, moving on. Let me just share with you a couple of projects I managed to document. In Maia's school, we are often required to provide the materials (the teacher sends us a note a week before the activity) since they were not included in the school supplies list that we have to complete during the opening of the school year.

learning addition is fun! (cutting and pasting exercise using construction paper)

Christmas activity (cutting and pasting)
(wreath made from paper plate and christmas wrapping paper and silk ribbon)

Everytime there's a note that says bring tissue paper roll,
my heart gives a silent jump for joy. My hoarding of paper tubes is justified.
This particular activity was a test of painting, brushing, drawing, and gluing.

How they are graded on these particular activities

Adding is fun! And on the right side is a test on cutting and pasting and tracing.

Care to share the art activities your kids enjoy most?

Christmas Cheers 2013

I posted this photo earlier today in IG with this caption: She's been practicing for her presentation since last week. I feel so sad I won't be around to witness the fruit of her hardwork. But. A working mom's gotta do what she needs to do. Super sigh.

Most working parents (if not all) can probably relate to that post. I have not only once, twice, or even thrice been in this situation before. And I've only been a parent to a school age kid for 2 years. When she moves to big school next year (yes, we are graduating to grade school parents by next year), I'm bracing myself for the worse. I would like to believe though that missing these things can be made up by my giving our bonding sessions my full, unadulterated attention. Time after work is the only thing I can offer her. For now, yes that is enough. I hope she really grows up to understand why there are days I will really have to miss moments like this. Sigh. Why does life have to be filled with trade offs?

Dalawang tulog na lang and we'll be off to our family holiday. We'll be full time parents again with no nanny to help us get through the day. I'm so looking forward to that. It's going to be challenging and tiring for most part. But yes, I'm totally prepared to plunge into it.

While I revel at that thought, let me leave you with a photo of my pretty little miss in her presentation get up. She truly enjoyed her day so much that she replayed her presentation to her dad and me tonight not just once but twice complete with giggles and squeals. Oh how comforting those squeals sounded like. I suddenly felt like I wasn't the worst mom in the world at all. That it really is just okay that I couldn't make time to be with her today.

Looking so grown up and every bit a student. I love you so much, Maia.
Always remember that.

All Set And Ready For Kinder

We are now officially enrolled for school year 2013-2014. This year, we're expecting less drama as we forsee a much easier transition for the little miss brought about by familiarity. Like last year, she still insisted she wanted to enroll in St Michael but I was more relaxed now. Knowing this declaration will eventually pass and that once the school season begins, she will easily adapt to the traditional school routine anyways.

This year being confident preschool parents now, we decided to take the plunge and pay the tuition in full. (Crossing my fingers, I don't get jinxed) Sad thing though, it totally escaped my mind that full payments usually get discounts and I totally forgot about the schedule so we didn't make it in time to avail of the discount. Next year, I promised myself I'll be much wiser. (Baby steps. Taking baby steps). I guess we all know where the Christmas bonus is going by now.

We're almost done with our school supplies as well. Just need to pick up books soon and wrap them in plastic then we're all set!

It feels kinda weird writing this when last year's post is still fresh in my head. I can hardly believe the kid a full school year in preschool already. When I start feeling like this, I'd always find myself browsing through old videos and photos.

So much has changed in my little girl. She started preschool armed with just the mastery of the ABC song. She can hardly write her name then. I don't even think she can identify the entire alphabet then. But she grew - physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally - she grew leaps and bounds.

She was assessed a shy kid. And we struggled with that till the 3rd quarter. But we thank God we have a very patient teacher who gave her every opportunity to overcome her 'shyness'. Despite that, we consciously avoided using that word when she's around. We tried hard not to label her as 'such' knowing that at her tender age, she really has not formed any definite understanding of SHY and CONFIDENT yet.

We survived our first year of preschool with a few bruises and scratches here and there. We learned so much in just one year.

And now we start another year. We officially start the K12 program this year. I sure look forward to the new things that our household is going to learn this year.

We are right behind you Maia! - Daddy, me and Ate Inday -

You go, Girl!!!