Handwriting problems using Handwriting Without Tears

When my son came home from his summer school when he was 5.6 years old, he gave this card to me.

Ice at 5.6

With 2 years of pre-school before that 2-week summer play school, his teachers were telling me about the huge problem on his handwriting, pencil grip, reversals of letters, and left/right handwriting confusion. I thought, this was not a big deal.

A few days after summer school, I went to the school and saw a bulletin board with works of some 3-4 year olds, I saw my son's work and that alarmed me - my almost 6 year old's handwriting is awful.

I asked the teachers on how we could brush up his skills. They advised us to do lots of copywork, after-school tutorials, use pencil grippers or check if he was left-handed (he uses his right hand to write) - importantly, just make him WRITE. But, my son just hated to write! Just asking him to write his first name makes him so stressed and doesn't know how to copy anything. My son was frustrated and so was I.

The Lord told me that I need to stop comparing and being frustrated with my son.  Education is not who finishes first or being the best on one or two things, but what one learns through the process. God showed me, that he made me a mother and am the only physical being to really help and teach my son more effectively. So, he opened my heart for the very first time to homeschool.

When I began homeschooling, that meant, giving up my beloved 9-12 hour work and be a work-at-home mom. It was hard to give up something you love, but my son and kids were all worth it.

At 5, this is the way he colors the trees and monkeys.
The strokes on his letters are like of a 3 year old.

I've met with veteran homeschoolers when I shared my heart to them about homeschooling. One mom, shared to me about Sonlight. I bought an entire curriculum P4/5 with K readers, Singapore Math and most importantly, Handwriting Without Tears set.

They have other handwriting sets but I chose this because it was meant to correct reversals and does not follow the "dot to dot" letter practice.  If you will get the Teacher's guide, you will get more tips on how to use their 2-lined paper, priper letter strokes, Mat Man activities and many others. 

I learned that dot to dot letter formation won't make the child focus on the stroke of the letter because it will just make them focus on the dots that they follow.  

HWOT (Handwriting Without Tears) focuses on each letters stroke, even if your child has no issues on handwriting, using this as a handwriting curriculum will help them control their letter reversals which is very common to preschoolers to 1st grade.  I am also using this to my 5 year old twin girls and though, the other twin shows very strong tripod grip (as I have already started them with lots of fine motor by 12 months), HWOT still helped her with her letter reversals, letter formations and spacing of words and letters.  This is also very helpful with my left handed child who had severe letter reversals and was writing in complete mirror image of words. This was all corrected with HWOT.

Before going into Handwriting without Tears, my son had lots of trouble with the way he traces the letters.  Handwriting is a skill that has to follow a certain kind of stroke per each letter to prevent reversals. Which my son so struggled with.  This style above was a copywork activity without any strokes taught to a child.  This style won't work all the time esp. for kids struggling with handwriting.

We began homeschooling using Sonlight - P4/5.  I have researched about handwriting problems with children and Handwriting Without Tears (http://www.hwtears.com) was my choice.  I included the 4 volume books of Developing the Early Learner (http://www.sonlight.com/PR01.html)  on our curriculum as well, which made a big significance on my son's interest in puzzles yet having to master Motor-skills, Visual, Problem-solving and Auditory skills.

For a year, I focused on my 5 year old's reading and handwriting.  I saw big improvements just doing 1 year of Handwriting without tears. From a non-writer to an avid story writer (I was still his scribe, during that time).

This was one of our 1st activities.  He was already in K, yet I needed to do "letter of the week" for him.  I let him practice strokes and lines and we only did 1 letter per week for this.  We did not exceed for more than 15 minutes otherwise he just gets tired.

Our first few activities was to focus on pencil grip and mastering the tripod grip.  We sang a song from HWOT CD "Where do you start your letter? On the top!" (from the Handwriting Without Tears book) and a lot of gripping and holding activities.  We did that for 2 weeks then moved on to worksheets.

After an activity, I would let him check his work by putting a circle on the best-looking letter/s he made.

He knows how to write but only up to his nickname (ICE), beyond that, he would scribble and doodle. I did not allow him to do copy work yet, even though we had to, if we follow the curriculum.  I never rush on things, just letting him flow through it and we only moved when he is ready for the next.

Below are some activities we did during the year and you can see how he has improved a lot in that year alone.

This is the beauty of homeschooling. If I let him go to Prep (K) that time, we will just be as frustrated as a mother in waiting for labor. Even if we had to write 1 letter a week (he actually, got the hang of it, and in just 3 months- we were already writing an entire paragraph). 

 would put markings and honestly tell him parts that fell over the lines that he needed to correct next time.  The orange dots were his only guide on where to begin his letter stroke.

After some time, I slowly introduced how to write his name.  You can see that though, some lines were still  a bit crooked as he was still mastering a stronger grip, his name looks a lot better in just a month and a half.

When I introduce a new lesson to him.  I would use a highlighter and would show him how to do the strokes.  After which, he would write over the highlighted letters and finished it.  Then, I would give him a space to do without the highlighted letter by just giving him a highlighted point on the starting stroke of the 1st letter of the word.

We did sentence case for his name.  I had a hard time asking him to finish just this page, but with encouragement and lots of praises, he was able to finish it.  It took him like 3 minutes per name and he got really tired doing so but, bravely, he did.

Since then, I have always asked him to write his first name (and not just writing his 3 letter nickname) on all his worksheets.  I was so proud of him seeing his improvement on this.  This was just after 3 months.

Since, he loves math and we do Singapore Math, t was easier to introduce him to number writing.  This was the time, he had more patience finishing an entire page.  He finished this in about 30 minutes, after that.  We took a break right away after an entire page of activity.

Getting there...

Now, without any number templates.  This was introduced after 5 months and he has quickly picked it up in 3 weeks.

Introduced, sentences and simple copy work which he found terribly boring.  But, lots of praises were his drive to finish this task.  So, from 30 minutes a page.  We were now cut to 15 minutes doing this.

6 months prior to this, my son had no interest whatsoever in drawing or writing. He would never go get a pen or even draw.  I never experienced seeing any drawings on any wall of our house (that was clear, he had no interest in writing). But, just after those 6 months he has learned to be more confident in writing.  He made drawings everyday, every hour of the day.  He grabs a paper and gave me cards.  In a span of just 3 months, he finished a ream of recycled paper I bought for him.  It was just like a light bulb just switched "on" him.

One of our story elaboration activity.  I asked him to draw while I become his scribe.

Just 6 months doing Handwriting without Tears and Developing the Early Learner - I suddenly have a very artistic son.

We finished his curriculum and I was confident of his writing skills more than ever in just a year of focusing on my son.  When he turned 6, we enrolled him in a Montessori-based school.  

I had to work again full-time and so after praying for a school that will best suit his learning style, God showed us the school for him.

We enrolled him to K (or Prep), and he was 6 that time.  We went school hopping and the school where he is now was the one we peacefully have chosen.  But, when I got in the classroom during a school tour I saw a Calligraphy board and asked if they will teach that to kids in pre-school.  The teacher said, yes.  They start at K (Prep) and it is called the Monstessori Style of Calligraphy (not cursive).  They said, they follow Maria Montessori's belief that Calligraphy is the most natural way of writing.  I was so worried!  I pulled-out my child to teach a year on his writing and then... calligraphy for a 6 year old?  Even then, we let it a try.

My son wrote that?!

After 1-2 quarters of the school year, I saw more improvement with my son's handwriting.  At first, he got too overwhelmed but since he loves his school - he was able to do more than expected.

Just 4 months, he was writing really well. More comfortably and a better grip.  But, it was evident that the style we learned in a year of homeschool was still evident in his strokes.

His drawing was not so bad as well for someone who used to struggle in handwriting.
He was 6.5 at this time. 

Then, another setback came on him.  His Calligraphy was pulling him down because it was a totally different stroke that he has never mastered.  But, because I told him the history of Calligraphy, he got excited.  Since, I used to write Calligraphy during my college days and love typography art as well.  I showed him great works of people who write really good. That nailed it and gave him a reason to write beautifully.

For his entire Grade 1, his handwriting uing calligraphy was just as horrible as when we started handwriting! But, rather than feeling so depressed on this again, I praised him and practiced using HWOT 2-lined paper and showed him proper strokes based on it.

His grades were still wonderful inspite the trouble with his writing.

Now, my son is 8 and in Grade 2. He once showed me his notes and told me "Mom, teacher placed a note on my notebook and said 'Very nice calligraphy'." I said, "can I see it?".  When I saw his handwriting, I almost cried.  My son is now free.

Defeating his dragon!

Each child is unique and have a different set of timing in his way to learn things.  Some are early learners while some needs more time.  There are some who are good in 10 things and weak in 1 or the other way around.  If we are there in that 1 or 10 things, we will give them everything they will ever need.

By the way, my son has LD (Learning Disability) in Reading, Writing and Spelling.  It was a tough one for my little man, but slowly and little by little we are defeating these dragons in his life together.

Your thoughts? Do share! I would love to help.

Full-time Job or Full-time Mom?

I love my time with my son

 I was just speaking to a very good mom friend of mine, who used to be in an 8+-hour job for 20 years. She said that when she traded off her career to become a full-time mom for her 2 kids she felt more accomplished than ever before.

Coming from someone who held a very good career in a well-known company in the world, a salary that is more than enough to support the family, and several other good career offers she was given even if she decided to resign from work - that is a breath of fresh air to someone who wants to be assured that there is life after letting go of job "security".

My twins proved that I can be blessed to love more!

Nowadays, there are more mothers needing to work because having a single income won't be enough to fill in all the expenses of the family.  History shows that divorce rate went up when women started working during the war and plunged down when the men went back home.  But, steadily moved up when women started working again and have to leave the children. Divorce affects families and the kids are the victims.

When moms are not with the children during their growing years, kids are not protected by the world.  They are like little birds without a mother in their nest. They learn to lead lives based on situations or what other people, peers, and the media would show them. They are independently away from the family. They tend to become busy themselves which they see from their parents. Parents fight or get into conflict out of fatigue and burnout of work and the kids see that it is okay to be mad and hurtful when someone is tired.

Mom's are guardians of her children's values.  The father may be out for work, but mother's are there for the children.

I am not pertaining to single mom's who cannot leave her job for her children. Some are wonderful and hardworking. Becoming both a father and a mother at the same time is not a simple job to do.

But, mom's who have more time for their 8+-hour job, have more coffee break, lunch and after-work conversations with her colleagues than her children or a mother of  a toddler left in the care of a nanny who hurts her child without even knowing it or her 10 year old who secretly hides that he is being bullied because he feels that he has to stand up for himself is something I feel so sad about.

We cannot leave our children in the wild if we are not there to show them how. I was watching a show how a family of Dingo (a wild dog that is native to Australia) and saw how the parents protect their young from an eagle who preys on little Dingos.  When the pups were little, they let them out during the day, hunts for them, feeds them. When night falls, they carry each one back inside their den. When the Dingos grew and were weaned out from the mom's milk, they were still there together with the parents but the parents are less weary now of the eagle knowing naturally that the Dingos can defend their own.  The eagle eventually, stopped stalking on them.  But, even this time, the dad was teaching them dominance and hunting instincts. As they grow to a little bit of an adult dingo, they moved out and started their own adventure without their parents.  Sounds unfamiliar now, right? Now, bullied kids are told by their parents to learn how to fend themselves without even showing them how.  They don't have anyone to look up to, so they find it on their own alone.

She can trust that mommy will be there to catch her

It was a big decision for me to decide to become a full-time mom. I worked in a 8+-hour job while my eldest was growing but I feel just blessed because my husband maintains a business that he can work at home and look after our son.  Leaving our children to a family member is a lot better than leaving them with a stranger.  But, we have to be aware also that we have to leave the disciplining to the family member when we, parent's are away.  We must also be aware, that the position of the husband (and even the mother) in disciplining tend to become less when the sharing of the disciplining is extended to other family members.  This starts conflict between marriages because the spouse would not always agree with the in-laws way in dealing with his own children and yet having to balance respect and conflict between them. So, the child disrespects his own parents and yet listens very well to grandma. Parents are tired and just ignore their child's attitude as they don't have the energy to deal with it.  When weekend comes, the family goes out without the grandparents, the child gets excited and throws a tanrtum. Finally, they come home feeling more tired than when they went home from work. So the mom concludes, I cannot be a full time mom.  I love my career and having to stay with my child 24/7 is definitely, not my thing.

It may not be financially fulfilling but money can never buy time - your child's time.

I cannot blame you, I felt that way. The more time you give to anything to whom you love the more it gives back to you. If you give more time to your work, the more you are rewarded - the more time you need to be in the office, the less time you will know your child.  But, the more you give to your child, the more you know his wants and dislikes, what works and what doesn't.  It is so funny, but I laugh now at the thought that my mom gets more tired of seeing me juggle 3 kids when I was just breezing through it.  I cannot blame her, she worked in an office till I was 13 and works-at-home till now. That is why, she has more fun enjoying her grandchildren.

Juggling 2 on both hands

I stand in a position that mothers are supposed to be the pillars of her children's values.  She should see her child grow not through pictures on her social media accounts or a baby picture on her office desk then suddenly realizes how big her little son has grown to be.  It would be nice that mothers know how to handle when her child is about to start a fit and can manage it right away.  Mothers should teach manners and independence in a loving way. She can withstand her children's annoying mess, spills to clean, cries and screams. After everything has been said and done of childhood, she finally lets him go. Being secured that she has brought up a person after God's own heart.

There is no wasted time to a full-time mom. She never feels like her kids are "just suddenly" growing so fast.  She is their witness of her children's life.  Opportunities open up to her like crazy doing a business she loves and the children gets to see meet people because of it and are more confident and well-mannered. She starts life at 4:30am and ends on time.

We are all tired, but the difference is how accomplished do you feel with your family and your time.

When I was once in my 8+ hours full time job I got this thought that made me decide to jump: I feel accomplished having to launch a really big project at work, we get a reward for the overtime work done. Rewarded with bonuses and promotions (sometimes, none). Although, during those times, my child got sick and I couldn't be there.  The guilt and the worry was more than doubled than when I can be with my child. That project was all gone and replaced, but what I still have now and forever will be my child and the rewards are tremendous. That wasn't a hard choice for me since then.

Live simply and you will never have to want anything more than what you need.

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If you are in a situation where it is in your heart to be a full-time mom but having to let go of your job will cause your family a big financial distress, then pray and let God direct your days to freedom.

On the other hand, if you are a full-time mom and the need to go back to full-time job is a necessity and not an escape from the chaos of home, then by all means - go! You will be wiser in dealing with your time and you know that family is priority.

On a different note, a full-time mom doesn't have to look sloppy and ugly.  Just because no one is going to see you, doesn't give you a license to turn into a hag-looking mother that smells like onions. Dress great, put on make-up, wear good shoes. Be beautiful inside and out.

Share your thoughts, can you relate with being a full-time mom or being a mom in a full-time job?

Language-based Disability, Dyslexia and Learning Disability

When my son was 4 years old, his teacher in school said that he wasn't reading well at all for his age level.  He couldn't hear the differences of rhymes, writes letters b and d in reverse, or even hear syllables.  But, what bothered me most was that he never learned to talk in his mother tongue but talked in English (and even UK English) more. Also, we have noticed that his memory is way toooo short (he stumbles to what date his birthday is until now, that he is 8).

We all waited it up thinking that he would just get it someday.  So I decided to homeschool him for a year using Sonlight (a Literature-based rich curriculum), Handwriting without Tears for handwriting, copy work (which he hated doing back then), and Singapore Math.

Homeschooling was the best choice I've made for him because I get to focus on the root cause of what is affecting his reading.  We would do all sorts of Phonemic Awareness exercises, and let him read short stories  like Bob Books which all helped us.

I was so eager to help him that I bought and tried all sorts of reading intervention when he was 5 years old with the following: ClickN'Kids (which bore him but I felt made good results for phonemic awareness), Hooked on Phonics (Didn't used so much but he did looove the music and helped him remember some letter sounds), Reading Eggs (which he loved!), Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD (didn't work well much on him but worked wonders with my 3 year old), RockN'Learn (didn't like it - bore him).

Years went by and he went back to a Montessori based school which actually was perfect fit for his learning style - he is a kinesthetic learner.  His grades in school weren't so bad (ranging from 85% - 95%).

But the problem came up more vividly during the course of his 1st grade. They are reading 2nd to 3rd grade reading and spelling.  They also started writing Montessori style Calligraphy which made his handwriting horrifying to say the least.  What is worse is having Botany and Geography subjects which involves a whole lot of memorization which he was greatly struggling with. As well as a Filipino language class which he would fail almost every quiz he took.

 It was a tough year for him and he would cry and tell me why he couldn't read well and he hated being placed with the students who was obviously he knew was the-not-so-smart-kids table when he was once was with the "smart" kids.

2 days ago, we had a Developmental Pedia assess him.  It took us 3 months to get a slot and finally she had an assessment of my son.  I didn't want to do this at first, because I didn't want to brand him or make him feel that there is something wrong with him. His self-esteem is more important to me than anything else but I also knew we just needed to know so we can on from there.

The Dev. Ped did some series of tests which my son aced when it comes to patterns, blocks, and everything else except for Reading, Writing and Spelling.  His listening comprehension was excellent as well as per his doctor.  The Pedia even commended how articulate he is when he answers some of her questions.  As he answers them more descriptively and intelligently.

The Dev. Pedia said that he has a Language-Based Learning Disability specifically in Reading (phonemic awareness, some reversals of letters), Spelling and Writing.  He had no ADHD symptoms so it would just be a lot easier to give intervention for him in just the areas that he is struggling with.  What was great is that we did it early because he is still at level unlike other kids as to whom it would take so much years for the child to cope just because they delayed early intervention.  I just couldn't imagine how hard it will be for kids to struggle in school for the years that they should have been worked up early on.

So, my son has Dyslexia or LD. Now, our quest has just begun and there are just so much to look at. They don't come at a cheap price so I am hoping to find the best fit for my son.  The DEV Pedia also recommended to assess him for IQ which we will be doing by June 2013 at KidPsych. I would like something we could do at home or over the internet so, I am looking at different products. Some recommendations given were:

• Orton-Gillingham (Ed-Link offers them but only for Math)
• Slingerland (Ed-Link Center in Muntinlupa provides this instruction)
• Lindamood (LIPs) (Ed-Link Center in Muntinlupa provides this instruction)
• Fast Forwords (Provided by i-thinkers in Wack Wack, Mandaluyong, Philippines)
• Reading Specialist (Uses Barton Reading)

I am also looking for reading remediation like All About Reading and All About Spelling or even Davis Dyslexia Correction or even Barton Reading and the most expensive but sounds equally great Easy Read System.

We plan to take on Fast Forwords and still continue on Reading Eggs (as he really loves this system).  Let me update you to his progress once they assess him this week.

I just want to encourage parents who have children that are struggling in learning or are called Dyslexics.  Here is a quote that I found and has given me a great motivation in helping out my learning-challenged kiddo.

"Dyslexia is not a result of brain damage or nerve damage.  Nor is it caused by a malformation of the brain, inner ear or eyeballs.  Dyslexia is a product of thought and a special way of reacting to the feeling of confusion" - Ronald Davis (Founded Davis Dyslexia Correction, also a Dyslexic)

There are also a lot of genius dyslexic! So, it is both a challenge and a cause to feel good about.

If you have a Dyslexic child, have you tried any program that worked best for you? Do share!

How do you dress up your kids?

Been such a long hiatus from blogging.  That was the time, I have been hanging out more into Instagram and Twitter and a whole lot of Facebook.

Let me start right out with something that I am deeply into now - dressing up the kids (well, because I do that for 3 almost 7 days a week!). For now, I am my children's fashion police. So, whatever mom says - it goes. Except for my twins who at 2 can already tell me what they want and won't (yes - they won't wear anything that looks itchy) to them.

Add some colors and a bit of layering.  They don't have to look like midget adults.

My thoughts on dressing up kids is quite simple - relaxed, classy and simple.  Anything that they would decide later on taking it out because it is bothering the way they play and move is deliberately eliminated (except during photoshoots).

 I love quality branded clothes but I am not brand-conscious.  I love and buy branded clothes as they have great fit and workmanship is truly quality. Most of the time, what they wear is based on their personality and the style which I feel best suit them and not just to "fit" in.

This was during my sister's Art Deco Themed wedding.

Now, I have added this portion on my blog on dressing up kids and simply enjoying them.

How about you, what is your fashion style for your kids?

Baby Ballet for the twins at Infinity Tutorial Services

Seeing my little girls in their ballet class for the 1st time makes me feel so giddy. I wasn't expecting anything and I thought they'll just distract the class (which they partially did). But, they enjoyed and loved it all at the same time.

One day while I was on the internet, I saw kids who were ballerinas. They posed with perfect posture and grace. It was really beautiful - it is very artistic to look at. I also love classical music and that made it even more better.

While I was scouting for some activities for my twin girls like looking for a weekly playgroup or having them join a music class, I saw a free trial class for ballet at Infinity Tutorial Services at the Fort!  I asked my friend who teaches ballet if 2.5 years old is too young to try ballet. She just asked me to bring them and to let them try it out.

It was their 1st Ballet Class! They had so much fun and at the end of the day they were telling me that they now have a "school"! (Yes, they call it their school because they are very envious seeing their big brother go to school each day). Their eyes lit every time I would ask them about it. Days after the trial, they have been asking me when will they go back to their ballet "school" again. So, we are definitely coming back.

Look at them intently enjoying the class. They were running around the studio until Teacher Chuckie needed to sit them apart from each other. Teacher Chuckie gently but firmly got their attention to join and just have fun

Have your little princess try out ballet. Inquire and do let them know that you got a refferal code: MamaMia. Use my referral code and get additional 5 hours free ballet lessons!

They also offer the following:

• After School Tutorials (Grade 1-10)
• Math Clinic
• Science & Technology
• Languages (for kids and adults)
• Violin Classes

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Infinity Tutorial Services
Units 1003-1006 Trade and Finance Tower, 7th Avenue cor. 32nd St., The Fort, Taguig
(02) 4785957 or text 09064306264

Teaching kids about money and my business-minded kid

Somehow, deep inside each one of us has a passion for something.  I believe, it is something unique God placed in every person. Each one, including a child is given one specific passion and a vision and it is us, parents who will help them seek for it, lead them to it and eventually encourage them to reach for that dream.

If you we're following my blog, I have seen my son's passion for planting since he was 3 years old (http://www.mamamiakiddos.blogspot.com/2011/09/growing-plants-is-good-for-teaching.html). He loves planting - he loves seeing things grow. His nanny planted 4 Malunggay (Moringa Oleifera) stems in front of our house and it started growing, my son waters his plants every morning when he wakes up and occasionally I see him talk to his plants. Aside from the thriving Malunngay, he already harvested melons, okras, tomatoes and bell peppers.  The other day, I surprised him with 2 packs of Cilantro and Sweet Pepper seeds I bought at the Supermarket. He was so happy, he kept hugging and kissing me for those seeds.

I might have found my son's passion which was clear to me as a mom when he turned 6.  He loves to plant and "collect" money out of things he make. My entrepreneurial son, started his business at the age of 5. He would make paper wallets and sell them to family and friends. At age 5, he knows how to count money faster than when he learned how to read. He was able to count his money (including coins) up to P1000+ (not just big bills). When I asked him what toy he would like to buy, he would say "nothing.  I just want a box where I can save all my money in".

He is contented with whatever he has and doesn't ask for toys or stuff except to let him watch TV or play on the computer - but that is mostly it.  He would even tell me not to buy so much things when we already have so much. Most of the time, he is the one who would help remind me not to buy things anymore. I taught him to be comfortable with money that at 2, I would let him play with a can full of coins.  He was just fascinated with the sound it makes when he drops it in his coin bank.  Of course, I made sure they are soaked in alcohol before I let him play with it and have a keen eye on him so he doesn't try to eat it.

Some parents see money as literally and figuratively dirty - I don't think so.  I think that kids should be taught the value of money.  Parents should not encourage kids that just because they have money - they can buy anything they want to buy with it.  It would be a good thing to proportionate things on the money they have.  Ex. if they have P1,000 - P500 for savings, P300 for something they want, P100 for giving to someone, P100 as tithes.

He showed me that his Malunggay are so healthy, they are growing some giant leaves!

The Malunggay started growing to a 3 ft leafy plant.  Then, it grew and grew until it was as high as our roof.  It went so high and thought it was becoming really ugly. I told my son that it doesn't look nice anymore especially having those Malunggay in front of our house and that we should chop it off soon so we can plant some nicer plants. He would always argue with me, begging that I shouldn't, because he loves them and all his other plant friends.

Then came a time that I needed to breastfeed twins and definitely needed all the Malunggay I could have! So, I postponed the day I would chop it off. Then, came neighbors who would one by one give P10.00 to buy some Malunggay leaves which excites my son even more.  Along came a regular buyer who pays P50.00 per week who gets the leaves to sell in the market and I get to somehow tell him to chop it off shorter so it doesn't grow as tall as our house. I am sure, my son was praying so I won't chop his malunggay trees.

The idea of having Malunggay in front of the house is such an eyesore to me.  This lowly plant is called a "poor man's plant".  This poor man's plant only grew in 3rd world countries and so they don't look very pleasing as an ornamental plant in a garden.

Months ago, my husband was rushed to the ER for hypertension of 150/110.  He was regularly at 120/90 but that time it was way too high. It really worried me that I wanted a change or diet and lifestyle for my family.  My kids' weren't eating veggies or even if they do, I know it isn't enough to say they are getting enough. I heard about Wheatgrass but it was so expensive so I researched for something that is of the same nutritional value of that of Wheatgrass (or Barley) - then came this miracle vegetable - the Malunggay!

He insists on putting his own product to his food. He really loves it - he kept telling me that it is his magic potion. There are even days he would tell me to make sure there is his "magic potion" to his snack food in school.

I told Ice that what was planted in our garden is something that could help other people. I also told him if he wants to make it as his full-blown business, although it isn't going to be simple and if he wants it to grow... he needs a lot of patience (which he does). I also encouraged him that he should also try it so when he shares it to people he knows all about it.

We started to harvest some leaves, removed the wilted/yellowish leaves, washed them thoroughly with mineral water and dried them. I then, made it into a powder and placed it in a salt shaker. We put a dash of malunggay powder into every meal and my husband brings his own malunggay shaker to work. My husband's BP lowered, me and my kids are getting a good dose of veggies and most importantly... it doesn't hurt our pocket and yet my son gets to have his passion for planting and reaping all it's monetarily reward by just simply enjoying it.

He opened his 1st bank account solely from his own profit from the sales of his Malunggay business (not money from mom or dad!).

So, today... we went to the bank and he started to open his own bank account from the income he got from his little, growing business!

My son is selling his Power Malunggay (he was the one who named it) per pack of Malunggay Powder for P100 (fits 1 regular pepper shaker).

My little entrepreneur - working!
There is only 1 condition so he can do this - study (and finish his homework 1st) then business. That is his main goal for now. 

I am only his worker, marketer and his packaging designer. He grows the Malunggay and harvests them.  So, every Malunggay Powder you get is filled with love and devotion from a little child named - Ice!

Some info about this Power Malunggay:

• 7x the Vitamin C in Orange
• 10x more Antioxidant than any other vegetable.
• 4x the Vitamin E in Corn Oil
• 17x the Calcium in Milk
• 4x the Vitamin A in Carrots
• 6x the Amino Acids in Garlic 
• 2x more Polyphenol in Red Wine
• 2x more Protein in Meat 
• 5x more Fiberous than any common vegetable
• 2x more the iron in pork liver and ampalaya
• 3x more the potassium in Banana
• 50x more the Vitamin B in peanuts and in fish

Who could have missed this powerful blessing from God. I also feel blessed having a son who has the heart to be an investor.

You can shoot us a message if you would like to try Power Malunggay for your family. I am sure, you'll be delighted seeing your kids eat veggies everyday without even realizing they are actually eating one.

Timeout: Disciplining in a loving way

One morning when I left my 2 year old twins in the play room as they watch their favorite show "Annie", I heard a sudden burst of scream from D. Being their mom, I knew already what that cry meant... C either bit or hit D.

I came in the room, all relaxed and saw C hugging D and telling her "I love you, I love you...D" while D was screaming at C and pushing her away. I asked C what she did. All she could do is to look at me in the eye and waiting for me to tell her to sit her in her time out chair. I know that C bit D because C wanted to change the show. D came to stop C from changing the DVD (Yes, she knows how to operate the player). Since C wants her way, and D's arm was on her way... she launched for a snap!

I discipline my kids differently but in the same manner. They have different personalities and different ways to catch their heart. I don't discipline when I am mad or just to prove a point. I discipline to understand them.

It's funny,  how different my discipline style is with my 3 kids. When they were 2.5 and I would tell them not to touch the lamp. It goes this way...

To big brother - emotional and factual/scientific way, "I! Don't touch the lamp. That will hurt you because there's electricity (yes, he knows what electricity it at 2.5). Electricity can give you a big boo boo and blood will come out. Mommy will cry if that happens. I will be so, so sad!" Then, that's it! He never did touch any lamp or even electric socket, ever!"

With my twins:

C, the clever, learn-by-actual-experience girl - "C, I saw that! I know that looks nice. But, oh my! If you touch that and you touch this part... see this hot, hot lamp (letting her touch it a bit just so she feels)? If no one's here and you suddenly touch it - boom! My, it is hotter than mommy's coffee cup, remember?" C would look at me and say "hot? lamp?" Then, she gets it.

D, my assertive, no-is-yes girl - "D! uh uh uh.. please don't touch it. (she still touches it). D?! What did mommy... (then slaps the lamp even more). I said don't touch it (slaps it again even harder). No other way or explanation but just to pull her away from the lamp - she gets it anyway.

I heard of many stories wherein moms publicly spanking them right in front of everybody or even giving them a time out in a restaurant. Would you like your boss doing the same way to you in a professional way? :)

If you ask me if I do spanking, yes and no. Like what I said, each kid is unique and different. I've spanked my eldest 3x eversince and now he's older, we have resolved things through time out. Discipline is not only spanking and time out. I don't do that just when I feel like it but, if needed - it's done right away in a hidden place where no one would even know it ever happened.

Between me and my husband, we have decided that I do the more invasive discipline. We have levels of ways to discipline. But, I never discipline something that was not yet clear and set from the beginning. Ex. if we go out and I always tell them the agenda, if anything out of that agenda happened that wasn't yet cleared out with them (ex. accidentally shopping for myself and we all know how boring that is for them) then, suddenly a child turn in a tantrum. I have no right to discipline them but I have to stop and reassure her that we're going to a place we've planned. So, everything should be clear with them. Otherwise, the levels of discipline goes:

1. Calm verbal reminder. Ex. "I hope you remember our rule, you cannot eat candies at night."
2. Creative, Firm Verbal Reminder Ex. "C, I know you want to eat candies tonight. But, candies will make you jump and jump the entire night. It's not fun! How about if you help me make milk, it's like helping mom make my coffee."
3. Firm Reminder Ex. "C, I told you the rule and you know it. No Candies at night! If you don't like that-it's still a no."

Normally, at that level... we don't go into the 4th level anymore. They would either cry just a bit, look for someone who could allow them (which generally, everybody knows my rule), or they would just say "Alright." Then go do something else.

We do time-out or meet Mr. Spanky, only at intentional rule breakers ex. Biting, pushing, disobedience, lying/making up stories, impatiently wanting to do something that I have already 100x said No. 

These are things that I will never spank them with:

1. Insisting to eat candies/food that are not allowed to be eaten
2. Accidents (like, accidentally spilling milk)
3. Not keeping still while you dress/undress them or change their nappies.
4. Spilling food/ milk/ spit ups on your nice dress
5. Accidentally hitting another child because of physical self-defense

We are their parents and not because they are small we can dictate what we want. Discipline is not just spanking or shouting. That is the last and final resort and must never use your own hand or any part of your body to get your message across. Kids are smart and they can understand very well.


This works for my family and my rule is, if I said it then it is. I don't change or sway my decision. The only problem is, when there are people like family, grandparents, siblings, friends who try to act like a saviour when you are trying to discipline your child. You have to tell them to leave you because, if you cannot grab the heart of a child now you or nobody in your family will ever win his/her heart when he grows up. Eventually, his friends will become his family and you will become his/her enemy. Although, deliberately spanking them unnecessarily also constitutes to being rebellious.


Pray to be a more creative parent to discipline your children so you are only set to stop on the 1st level.


How about you? How do you handle when your child has tantrums in public?

Tot School: F is the letter of the week!

The twins are 28 months old and they are begging to do school. From the spontaneous tot school activities we've had, it is now time to a more structured tot school (because they are literally begging for it!). Since, we already have Sonlight's P4/5, I figured we can still follow the same pattern - only... in a faster pace because they are still tots and when tots are bored... they just don't want to do school anymore.

How did we start tot school today? C woke up at 7:30am singing her usual la-la-la song while on her bed. She woke me up with her song and suddenly climbed onto my tummy and said "Mom, I want school! want school, mom!" So, that was it. We ate breakfast, but since she was insisting that we do school right away, I asked her to play puzzles with her yaya (nanny) which she shove away and told her "No, mommy only! Mommy, teach school only". :)

So, our letter F for the week goes this way.

Our 1st activity was memory verse: (2 minutes)
"Pay attention my child (index finger on head) to what I say (finger on lips), listen (hands on ear) carefully" - Proverbs 4:20

2nd activity: (2 minutes)
We were supposed to read a bible story, but today, we reserved our nightime reading to bible stories so we read a Mother Goose story Jack and Jill instead.

3rd activity: Introducing the Letter F! (3 minutes)
I have 2 fabric flowers and a magnetic letter F. So, I told them "The sound of F is... /F/ for flower! Here's 1 flower for C and another for D! Hurray!" "This is letter F... /F/ /F/ - flower!" Then we traced a letter F using their finger on the table.

4th activity (3 minutes): Wooden sticks - I bought from Handwriting w/o Tears at Sonlight.com. You can use Pocky sticks or wafer sticks if you don't have the wooden sticks from HWOT.
I gave them 2 short sticks and 1 long stick, then we played "tap the sticks" then, I asked them to "Raise the long stick! Now, tap.. tap.. tap... tap your.... shoulder! tap.. tap..tap your... head! hands, nose." After this, we started building the letter F with the sticks.

Wooden sticks are from Handwriting without tears. We use this a lot to teach body awareness and  correct handwriting strokes.

5th Activity (10 minutes): Color and add stickers INSIDE the letter F.
Download the activity sheet here.

I instructed them to color within the lines (inside the petals) as this is a good exercise for fine motor skills. On the left is C's work, which shows that she is more interested  in these types of activities.

D is more interested in making funny faces rather than coloring activities. So, I said... "Wow! That's right, D! F starts with Funny Face!!!"

6th Activity (10 minutes): Sensory Bin aka Magic Letter Box with all F things like Fish, Fork, Feather, Four, and the letter F itself! I just filled it with Beans so they feel different textures in the box.

Buried treasure!

They were crazy over this sensory bin. As they pick up and find a treasure, I would ask them what it is and to tell me if it starts with /f/ - F!

7th activity: Line tracing. Butterfly and flowers (5 minutes).
Download the activity sheet here.

 You can download the free worksheet which I have done specially for my readers.

Busy.. busy...

8th activity: Art with flower petals. (8 minutes)

You need to cut out 5 petals from a flower gift wrap (just my choice), trace those petals as a flower on a paper. Have the kids stick those petals using a glue to follow the puzzle-like pattern and color or decorate them.

Ready for art!

Building art with the letter F!

9th activity: Clay making with the letter F. Since I really do hate cleaning up clay which all ends up on the carpet, I just allow them to play 1 color of their choice per day per child.

Making a letter F, I joins in to teach them how to do it.

Just a tip: Try sticking the paper/worksheet with a tiny piece of tape on top of the paper attached on the table. This prevents the paper from moving around the table and this frustrates tots.

We did not finish all of this in one sitting! We do 1 letter per week or sometimes, we even do longer or go back to a letter for review. It doesn't matter, just as long as there's mastery before we move on to the next. Since they have mastered the letter A, the sound of A and what starts with A (As, I have introduced that letter for 3 months already) so it's just time to introduce a new one - the letter F!

I follow mostly the lead of my tots (which is way different in handling my 7 year old). With tots, If they don't feel like doing a certain activity, I just carry on, do something else, stop it and do it again next time.  No pressure needed for this age. Try engaging them to 1 activity for a day, do 1 letter a week (or 2) and follow your heart to teach what will best suit your little one!

Till, next time! Do share if you have done any of these activities! :)

Tot School: Activities for 18-24 months old!

I got this from a Montessori way of teaching. I have yet to introduce this to the twins. These were just plain cardboard and pompoms. The kid will place those pom poms on top of the letter. I am a firm believer for the Montessori method!

My twin girls are now 28 months! So, it means... we are officially starting our slightly structured and formal (rather than spontaneous) - TOT SCHOOL!

Prior to this - sort-of-formal-tot-school, we have been doing some engaging, just-when-mom-feels-like-it activities. When they were around 12 months we would do 1-2 activities a day (am and pm). That would be whenever I feel that they are in that "listening mood" - usually before their morning bath. Then, when they turned 18 months, we would do  (2 activity in the morning and 1 at night). But, since last week, I have tried to introduce 4-5 activities in one sitting and I was amazed how well they picked up and have fully sat through it.

Handling two different tots at the same level/age is far different than handling just one at a time. You become tempted to compare or focus alone on the one who does things more attentively. You cannot compare your child to another just because the other seem to be able to sit longer on an activity over the other. Being patient with both is key and focusing on their strengths is vital.

My twins are sooo much different with each other C can stay put for more than 15 minutes just to finish her painting while D wouldn't even care and would just playfully hold a crayon and do whatever strokes she can make. During a sticker activity time, C would follow my instructions by putting each sticker INSIDE the letter, while D would just play around and make silly faces and stick those stickers on her nose and cheeks. On the other side, D can count perfectly from 1-20 while C is not at all interested in counting. Each child is unique, I am now in the stage of finding their interests and learning style.

So, comparing each kid won't help at all. That is why I admire preschools who don't YET brand kids by the level of what they know (valedictorian, salutatorian, Best in this-or-that etc). IQ changes over time and is not always a basis for success. What matters are parents who will encourage their child and to focus in finding the child's interest, learning style, and most especially, their character, values and love of learning.

As a homeschooling mom, we are rewarded too by our daily experiences when what we teach manifests on our kids' daily encounters. Recently, one morning, C was crying and begging me to do school. I wasn't ready for any activity just yet and even if I have activities on our activity shelf,  she was insisting that I (and not her "yaya") to teach her- She was crying saying "I want Mommy, only!! Teach, teach, Cayie [Callie]" Aww... I almost melted. It has come into her bright idea that school is something that I would sit them on our table and do several activities. Most importantly, she loves to learn from mom.

Just to share to you, here are some of our spontaneous activities we've done before we had this more structured Tot School. Although, I am a real sucker on any educational toys and trinkets whenever I go out to the mall, I would buy almost anything interesting even in P88 Store (or the Dollar store in the US). Or I would rather make use of what is readily available in the house or anything inexpensive that I can easily throw away.

Body awareness: Manila Paper and crayons on the wall . I would trace them  on the rolled Manila Paper and would ask them to draw eyes, nose, ears, etc on their traced body. Kept them busy for 30 minutes which is a free time for me to read a book as they do these.

Pipe cleaners and a random basket makes a great fine motor activity. Kept them busy and happy for 15 minutes!

Pipe cleaners and pasta lacing activity!
get Uncooked Penne Pasta Shoot each on the pipe cleaner. Pipe cleaners @ Office Warehouse.

A great tantrum reliever is this handy dandy 1 whole illustration board! I just pop it open  when either of the girls are in a crabby mood. This side they are playing is full of crayon, paint, chalk, oil pastel, marker art. While we use the other side for chalk writing which they also love! It's less messy because even if they spill paint, it forms part of the artwork. This lasted for a year already and they are still using it for random art activity. All 3 kids share this all at the same time. We simply tuck in the illustration board at the back of our activity shelf when not in use.

Egg crates are awesome! Even if I don't intend to teach anything but this egg crate can do a lot of stuff. Here, D is simply putting pom poms on each spot. I plan to recreate this tray for color, number or letter matching activities soon.

They (or just C) are doing Pattern Blocks. D is really not into these kinds of activities and would rather use the mirror and gaze upon herself. Yah, that mirror comes with the pattern blocks which can be bought at sonlight.com

Look at those proud eyes. C is very proud that she knows how to write the letter A (well, almost). I make use of dry-erase markers and papers to some of our worksheets that are inserted inside a clear book so she can easily erase or do the same worksheet next time. I have been using Phonemic awareness to teach them and not yet (sometimes) teach the actual letter. But, still they know the letter well enough. We use starfall.com and hooked on phonics videos a lot for following letter strokes!

We love art! We have excess paper bags and those googly eyes, pom poms and teared scratch paper , bingo markers are a sure win for art activity!

Of course, we water the plants too!

How about you? What are your usual activities you do with your kid/s? Do share as I am also a learning mama who just simply adore teaching the little ones. :)