First Day Of School Traditions

The other day a blogger friend asked me if we as a family observe any first day of school traditions.

This year will be the 4th year that we will be welcoming the first day of school with our little girl. Traditions?

Well, apart from me ensuring that I personally prepare her lunch box and snacks (at least) during the first week of the school year, I'm not sure if it can be considered a tradition but we have been consistent in the last 3 years of ensuring we have our family photo taken in front of our house.

We're just going on our 4th but when I look back at the last 3 years, I can clearly see how much this little kid has grown. I personally miss the chubby cheeks she had when she was still in preschool.

When she graduates from Grade School, I think it would be nice to gift her with a collage of all these family photos, don't you think? I sure will try to keep on doing this as long as we can.

How about you? What first day of school traditions do you observe with your kid/s?

Sharing these interesting ideas for first day of school traditions that I found online:

25 Fun First Day of School Traditions : The Dating Divas

Summer - 6th Year Edition

For school-aged kids, summer is probably like Christmas in April. There are no gifts, but this is where you get to be free of tight schedules and early wake up calls.

My little girl just had the taste of that "summer" this year. Being a gradeschooler, she had to contend with 7pm bedtimes and 430am wake up calls for 10 months. So when she learned there is such a thing called summer vacation, oh boy did she looked forward to it big time.

In the past 5 years, being the working mom who felt like she had to prove she is wonderwoman, I several activities lined up already before summer even started. And the little miss never retorted. But this year, she insisted to just stay at home. To appease me, she promised to do some readings and take notes of new words to increase her vocabulary. (Poor girl, right?)

Fortunately, it turned out to be something she really enjoyed. By the end of the summer, she finished 6 Thea Stilton books and still managed to squeeze in 10 sessions of basic swimming lessons.

Thank you for taking good care of these kids Teacher Veron! Till next summer! #swimclass #summernimaia #MaiaIsSix

A video posted by Faye and Maia Paras (@chroniclesofmaia) on May 13, 2015 at 5:24am PDT

This summer felt like a full transition period for us. Growth spurts, more freedom, less hovering. We are witnessing more and more independence unfold in front of us. It is almost heartbreaking. I couldn't count the times when I would hear the husband heave a deep sigh and mumble -- "hanggang 6 ka na lang muna Maia, please".

Happy Saturday! #sunkissed #summer #MaiaIsSix #PicsArt

A photo posted by Faye and Maia Paras (@chroniclesofmaia) on May 15, 2015 at 6:09pm PDT

Next week, we start our 2nd year in Grade School. Just more sighs, Daddy. I don't think we can really stop time.

Someone went to see her new classroom today. #Grade2 #Gradeschooldiaries #LittleMissMaia

A photo posted by Faye and Maia Paras (@chroniclesofmaia) on May 29, 2015 at 11:49pm PDT

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.

Crush/ed.

This morning we had a very interesting topic over breakfast.

Crushes.

She told us she gets teased often in school now. I bet the our daddy's heart was a bit crushed seeing how her little baby girl giggled at the mere mention of the word.

And yet, when we asked her if she knew what it meant - she still responded with a NO. So for now, we gave a simple explanation in the form of the word "LIKE". And we impliedly discouraged further use of the word "CRUSH".

But she did admit she gets "kilig". What is "kilig", Mommy?

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaay Maia. No wonder your daddy wants to freeze time now.

Hello Grade School: Things We've Learned So Far

I thought when my kid finally sets her foot in big school, there will be plenty of opportunities for me to revisit my old selfish self. I thought there would be lesser late nights spent trying to catch up on assignments or coming up with reviewers. 

Well lucky for me, I have a good support system to back me up. I admittedly didn't have to spend too much time with assignments or reviewers as I usually come home to a first time grade schooler who is already sleeping soundly and comfortably. 

Yet, two months after the school season officially opened, here I am dazed from lack of sleep. Our household alarm goes off at 4:15 am Mondays to Fridays. We had to make sure breakfast is ready by 4:45 so the little miss will have enough time to eat before the school service arrives to pick her up at 5:15. 

Yes, you read that right - 5:15. Ridiculous is the first thing that came to my mind, when I was told about the pick up time. But then again, I am proud to say that my little gradeschooler is adjusting pretty well. The early wake up call is compensated by an early bedtime by 7pm. And she does not every single day with no complain, except on days when several chapter tests are line up the following day and she had to stay up till 8pm to finish reviewing. Those days are days she looks forward to like a reward day because those are the days when she can wake up an hour later and get a little extra treatment in the form of me or her dad personally dropping her off in school. (Ahhhh really, the joy of being a kid)

Grade school was a little bit tougher than what I thought it to be. I am still adjusting to the demands of it. Our entire household is. Happily though, this entirely new experience has demanded that each of us contribute something to make things easier. I've cleaned up the white board that has been idle for sometime now into our weekly breakfast/lunch menu board and the little girl enjoys planning her lunch menu with me. Now that she can read majority of the things I write, she doesn't miss to check what the next day's menu when we're having breakfast. 

I promised myself I was going to share our weekly baon list to help other moms who might be having the same difficulty planning their kid/s daily lunches but I unfortunately have yet to consciously make time for that. Right now, honestly, blogging would have to take the back seat again and I couldn't commit yet to make regular posts. For now, I end this post with the takeaways we had in the past 2 months as first time grade school parents.

• Be consistent. Having learned the value of consistency early on in this parenting journey, this was easier to practice for us. Consistency is most important in setting schedules for reviewing the next day's lessons and implementing the sleeping time as well. 
• Be present. Since we don't get to talk about how her day went before she goes to bed, we make sure we take the opportunity to do so during breakfast. We make it a point to eat breakfast together. Even at 4:45am. This is something our little girl looks forward to as well every single day.
• Be involved. Even if I had to bring home work (which is rare nowadays, thankfully) I make it a point to check her diary. I leave a note for each of the teachers if there is something that concerns that little miss or if I need to clarify anything. Some days, I get a reply. Most days I don't but I still make sure I leave those notes. And we've been present in all parent's meetings so far. They were helpful and we take the opportunity to talk to the teachers as well in those events. 
• ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE! Kids are very perceptive. And in my kid's case, since she really feels we're always happy to hear her stories about school, she volunteers them without our prodding now. She's gone far from the little timid girl she was just a little over 3 feet tall when she started going to formal school. Although we secretly wish she stays 5 longer, it's always refreshing to hear her growing up stories. And we always make time for it no matter how busy and tired we are. 

Baon Ideas: What To Pack For Light Lunch/Snacks

In two days, my little girl is going to start a fresh adventure as a grade schooler. We're all set. I managed to get everything done at crunch time. Books all covered, bag's packed and ready, school uniform waiting to be pressed, organized her drawers and sorted everything out (socks, undies, hankies and towels). Am I excited? Or am I excited? Can you tell? Haha.

I'm all set...except for the menu plan for her snacks and light lunch. We just learned a few days ago that her school schedule overlaps lunch break and now that school day is getting nearer I'm starting to panic (only in my head. i'm still smiling from ear to ear as I write this).

Thank God, I came across another blogger mom's post about baon ideas (thanks Mrs. C!) and I had a light bulb moment. Some days, the pack rat in me comes handy indeed. I dug up some of Maia's old menus when she still was enrolled in a "nutrition program" in school. I'm partly wishing they still offer that in grade school because that would really save me from the headache of planning menus week in and week out. I guess the good thing about this is I don't have to crack my head thinking about the household menu as well. The challenge here is for me to come up with a sustainable way to plan this (or maybe find a way to delegate the task to Ate Inday without me having to closely monitor).

For now, I will rely on the ones listed on the little girl's previous nutrition program menus. What's good about it is, they sent us copies of the menus and it was good for one quarter. At least I am safe for the next 8 weeks or so. And I know that they have been tested and proven since the kid hardly went home with left overs then.

Also I have a couple of the little girl's favorites that I've shared here and they will probably going to see their way into our weekly menus more frequently from now on. Unless, I find a way to convince the preschool canteen to still offer the nutrition program to the little miss at least for this year.

Are You Ready For The Next School Year?

My little girl officially starts her new adventures as a grade schooler in a couple of weeks.

Are we excited? Of course!

But if you believe in "action speaks louder than words", that might not really properly translate to us being very excited to have a grade schooler this year.

I did school supplies shopping rather late this year. I got sucked into a blackhole the entire summer and I barely got out of it alive. But thankfully, I'm back. Not in my best self yet but I'm just happy to report...I AM BACK.



So the cramming worked. I finished labeling most of her stuff and checked off and packed those items that we needed to deposit to school on the first day of class. Although I have yet to buy her books and cover them up. The little girl's books need to be covered because based on experience, a few months into the school year, you'd normally see her books looking like it's almost the end of the school year. Have to work on teaching the kid how to be more careful of books and school stuff.



This year, thankfully, I didn't have to buy a lot of school supplies anymore. Some of them, I still had stocks from previous years so I didn't have to buy anymore. I was actually tempted to recycle even her crayons but I found a cheap box (toxic-free, made by a trusted yet practically priced brand and looks every bit like the expensive brand) of 24's in SM Hypermart and I kind of still remember how good the smell of newly bought school supplies were (hehehe, I'm weird yes) so I didn't want to take that feeling away from my kid.

The only difficult task I had to do now is train the kid to sleep early and wake up early yet again. Her sleeping schedule changed drastically this summer (and yes, I'm partly blaming my blackhole tale for that) and we need to reverse that soon! Please send me good luck vibes. And may we reach our goal by the end of this week.

I am well aware of more challenges coming when we officially welcome the school season. I still have not thought about mid-morning snacks menu planning, for one. And we're still waiting to get her uniforms shipped from Angeles (we thought we can find a cheap mananahi there but turned out to an epic fail too). I can probably list  a dozen more but I've decided I am taking them one challenge at a time. This strategy worked well, in the past. I hope it still will, this time.

Crammer moms, unite! :)