The Filipino Mom Blog

We are midway through summer and the kids are stating to get bored.

Most summer activities are also halfway to being done.If not, some are finished already with the courses being offered.

Let’s face it, not everyone can afford sending their children to summer activities. Apart from the expenses these will incur (enrollment fees, transportation, food, and necessary materials to be purchased like shoes and necessary clothes), plotting the logistics regarding who and when who will bring the children to the place where they will get their summer enrichment activities also needs to be done.

Most children stay at home during these days that they don’t have to go to school.

So what could be done so that they will not feel bored and restless?

Clockwise from upper right, books that teach how they can draw things, a board game, digital scrapbooking, chess and jigsaw puzzle.

These are just some of the activities that these children can do at home aside from the usual electronic hand held video games that they get to play from morning till night time:

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Summer is officially upon us and aside from the excruciating heat that our kids (and mommies too) have to endure, there is the problem of boredome. School won’t be starting for the next 2 months so that means finding 2 months worth of activities to keep our kiddies busy.

To make that chore a little bit easier, why not enroll your precious ones in a summer workshop. There are lot to choose from. Be it an academically challenging one or one that requires some physical exertion, its up to you and your kiddies to choose from the myriad of classes that are being offered.

Here’s a list of some of those workshops….

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Establishing study habits is probably one of the most difficult or trying times between a parent (or both parents) and their child(ren).

Why is this so?

Children would rather play than study their lessons.

Children would rather watch their favorite television show than do their home works.

Children would rather read comic books than read their reference books.

Children would rather do other things like play games on their gaming console or chat with friends or even surf the internet rather than study.

So what should parents do?

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(Because of the current number of stork visits that we at FMB have been receiving, I felt it appropriate to repost this article which I wrote, about a year ago, at my site. I am in the hope that this will serve some sort of purpose to my co-editors (and other mothers) who are now patiently awaiting the arrival of their bundles of joy.)

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Wants are things that we love to have simply because. It is something we desire.

It has been said that people have unlimited wants, an endless list of what-to-haves.

When a want has been fulfilled, the next want is next in line. These wants may be important in our perspective or useful in some ways or in the latest fad/fashion or because the want is so desirable the urge to get it is so strong, even if there is really no need to do so.

Needs, on the other hand, are things necessary for us to have in order to live comfortable lives.

We need food, shelter, proper clothes, education, and medicines to make us well and healthy.

Wants versus needs is one important aspect that I feel I have to teach my children. Not just MY children but all children should know about these too.

Why? At their young age, children need to be discerning in knowing the difference between these things.

Why? To help them not to fall prey in desiring things that are not really important and to set their eyes on things that are more important.

Why? Needs are what motivate people to work more purposely towards a certain goal. Needs give purpose as well as directions to our behavior.

One can probably say that wants can give motivation, purpose and directions to behaviors.

Yes, it’s true. But meeting one’s needs may prove satisfying than getting one’s wants.

For in the long run, we learn to value things that are more essential, more important than things that may just be momentarily or fleetingly satisfying.

My husband and I feel we need to teach our children in being able to distinguish needs versus wants as they grow older.

How do we do teach these values?

We start with ourselves.

It’s the 4th and final week (for now) of the Lunch Box Meme. Share what you’ve got up you sleeves, moms and wives! Posting of links will be on Friday.

In February, we’re giving the lunch box a break, so we’re doing a different meme. Stay tuned, or better yet, come around next Tuesday to find out. We’ve got some nice things a-brewing.

~o0o~

Mauie’s Bigger Boy’s Korean Beef Stew

Maver’s Pancit Efuven

Lynn’s Chicken with Sweet Peas (Guisantes)

Julie’s Baked Mussels and Home-Baked Bread

iMom’s Chicken Tocino and fresh pineapples

Cookie’s Karne Frita and Broccoli and Mushroom with Garlic Cream

One of the things that can enhance the memory would be food. Now why would we even consider this as important?

Memory is a thinking process for recalling information among others. This is one of the many thinking processes that we need, that our children need too, when we face the day’s challenges.

So what does this mean? It means we should eat more of these kinds of food so that we can improve our memory skills. Ahem, there’s no denying we have these “duh!” moments or memory gap moments or, sige na nga, senior moments then

Do you have these in your lunchboxes?

• Foods rich in B vitamins and folic acid (dark leafy greens, strawberries and melons, beans and legumes among others)
• Antioxidants like vitamin C, E and beta carotene (berries, nuts, green tea, sweet potatoes among others)
• Omega-3 fatty acids (from fish, walnuts and flaxseed among others)

Source: http://www.helpguide.org/life/improving_memory.htm

Ok, now are you ready to tackle the challenges? For more tips, don’t forget to click that -> Feed Your Head.

Round-up will be done for posts that will make it till Friday

UPDATE :

Here’s the round-up of those who participated this week.

Mauie’s Picnic Lunch

Cookie’s Ginisang Ampalaya and Pork Steak & Fries

Maver’s Economical Chicken Curry

Lynn’s Chopsuey with Quail Eggs

TeacherJulie’s Fried Cream Dory Fillet

Imom’s Pork Patties & Mushrooms

Parents of children with special needs go through some steps in caring for their child.

First is DISBELIEF.

Who would have thought that their child has special needs? Who would have thought that their child would be diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, mental retardation, learning disabilities or other conditions? They ask, “God, why does it have to be my child?”

Alongside disbelief is DENIAL.

Parents see nothing wrong with their child. It might just the child has more energy than others, or their child may just have a slower rate of understanding than other children their child’s age. Is it?

They suddenly ask questions “Maybe because children develop at different paces so my child is not exempt with this? Why are children different from one other? Why do children have their own specific talents and interests? What is my child’s special talent and interest?”

Then there’s GRIEF.

Yes, parents grieve.

They grieve the loss of their dream for their child who can never be the doctor they wanted their child to be. They grieve because no matter how much treatment or intervention is given to their child they feel that their child may not be capable of living a life like others.

They have the nagging question, “What would happen if we die (first)? Who would take care of our child?”

Questions too difficult to answer for now.

Time flies.

Parents cope differently. Read the rest of this entry »

As parents, we want our children to be good, responsible and wonderful people, better than what we have become, as we see ourselves.

How do we start teaching them to be such as we want them to be? We start with ourselves.

How do we teach honesty? Do we expect them to be honest when we tell them to tell our talkative friend on the phone that we are not home when in fact we are? Do we expect them to be honest when we shamelessly download information and pass it as “their” research project without naming the source?

Level with your child by being honest. Nobody spots a phony quicker than a child. By: Mary MacCracken.

How do we teach respect? We treat them with respect by speaking to them with kind words. We treat others with respect too. Do we expect them to be respectful when we have the tendency to react negatively to people around us?

How do we teach love? We start this by showing and telling them that we love them even if they commit mistakes. We show this not just through the buying of material things but taking the time to listen to what they have to say. This also starts with loving ourselves and our husbands.

How to we teach about safety? We drive safely and show road courtesy. We practice good health habits and practical precautionary measures.

How do we teach patriotism and love for the country? We recognize products made in our country, by our countrymen. We respect what nature has to offer and not do anything that will lead to its destruction.

How do we teach about being independent when we have the “yaya” or nanny do everything for our children? We should give them responsibilities to make them feel they can do things on their own.

How do we teach about loving God? We pray and we strengthen our faith in God by observing God’s teachings. Even if we profess to love God but we don’t show this through our actions, we can not be good Christians in our children’s eyes.

How do we teach having a healthy self-image? We eat healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We are satisfied with how we look. If we try to improve how we look, it is not just to look physically better but to be healthier.

How do we teach about self-confidence? We try to make good choices, not because we are sure of ourselves but because we have thought about the positive and negative consequences of these decisions. We readily accept challenges not to prove to ourselves and others that we are better than them but because we want to be better persons.

How do we teach them to love reading? We must first love to read. We read to them, then, we read with them.

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This is the part 2 of the Homeschooling in the Philippines post.

Socialization. This is one of the foremost questions that people ask to families who decided to go the non-traditional way of educating their children.

I want to ask one question: How many of you here are still friends with or in touch with your elementary or high school friends? I would even like to proudly say that our batch was a closely-knit batch for we have been classmates from Kindergarten to High school. We are still in touch with each other. We communicate through our Google group, we see each other during holidays in the province or maybe once or twice a year for reunions. But that’s about it.

Through it all, I have learned to socialize, learn manners and unwritten friendship rules and just be myself and enjoy the company of friends.

Socialization does not just limit itself to one’s peers. It goes beyond dealing with other people. Socialization in my case is not a real problem since I bring my children with me to work, twice a week. They have seen and met my husband’s friends and my friends. They are learning to (even briefly) socialize with people from different walks of life, like those food servers in the mall where we wait for my husband to pick us up before we head for home, the Kuya and Ate at work where they are being asked to request for things that I need and even socialize with my colleagues.

There, in my workplace, they have forged friendships with other children and they look forward to seeing them and playing with them. They do not really mind if at times they have difficulty having conversations with some of them.

Interactive. Learning should be interactive. Questions should be asked and answered. Answers can vary too, and the way these answers were found should vary too, for there are different sources where answers to questions can be found.

How?

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