Flowers, Flowers Everywhere!

Baz's 5's and 6's (aka Prep) class had a culminating activity on flowers last week. For about a month or two, they learned about the different parts of the flower, what flowers are used for, what flowers need to survive. They also learned about 2 painters who were famous for their flower paintings - Vincent Van Gogh and Georgia O'Keeffe.

They had 3 field trips. The first to see different kinds of flowers at Greenbelt Park - a bit poetic since as we were growing up, the park near Shakeys that became Strumms, now Greenbelt 5, looked like a lush mini-forest. The second was to Flower Farm in Tagaytay where they saw greenhouses, learned that chrysanthemums are "tricked" into thinking that there was continuous sunlight by the use of light bulbs strung across the flowerbeds. The third was to Market! Market! where they interviewed people from a flower shop, learned about the flower trade, how to make flower arrangements and put some math into action by buying flowers and making sure they received the right amount of change.

In science, they dissected a flower and saw first-hand what the stamen, pistel, ovules, ovary - in addition to the run-of-the-mill stem, leaves, roots, petals and sepal. They witnessed capillary action at work when they put white flowers into 3 separate jars containing yellow, red and blue dyes - causing the flower petals to change colors. They learned how to measure flowers and chart the lengths.

During the culminating activity, the 5's and 6's opened their very own flower shop - aptly named Flowers & Flowers. We were wisely instructed to prepare P10 and P1 coins and were given an order slip showing how much our order cost. Raffy had his film-tubes of coins and Baz counted out exactly how much he needed - P95 to be exact. The business part out of the way, Baz went into flower-arrangement-mode. His aesthetic was Ikebana-esque. And he snipped and cut away like an expert.

Then we got to see their paintings - all inspired by Van Gogh and O'Keeffe. I couldn't believe how artistic these kids are. There's something to be said about not requiring kids to do projects at home. Their skills are really harnessed and honed - no parents doing their kids' projects here! Still, it's a lot better than I would have expected from these 5 and 6 year olds.

To cap the activity - the kids sang "Starry, Starry Night" - a song inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's life and paintings.

Obviously, we're mighty pleased about what our kids are learning at Keys. And what's more, they are REALLY REALLY happy in school.




Next post: Hadrien's shoe culminating activity....

Daddy Is Not Independent

For a long time now, we've been trying to get the kids to sleep on their own beds in their own (shared) room. But every now and then, we'd give in to pleas to allow them to sleep with us. Lately , I felt that I wasn't getting enough restful sleep with elbows and knees periodically nudging me so I began to put my foot down. Today, as Raffy was prepping them for bed, I overheard Baz say: "Daddy, you're already almost 40 and you're still sleeping with Mommy! So you should be more independent."

What did you say, Daddy?

For Teachers Joy, Mandy and Timmy

Here's the video of pp. 3 and 4. The last part took sooo long. This process validates that it takes A LOT of patience to be a teacher. :)

Reading Assessment PArt 2 from malou.khan on Vimeo.

For Teachers Joy, Mandy and Timmy

Reading Assessment (pp. 1 and 2) from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Baz is moving up!

It's been a long time since we last posted. Needless to say, there's a lot that is left undocumented which I will surely regret.

Just this week, we had 2 moving up days. One for Baz and one for Hadrien. As part of the program, Baz had to throw a hoop into the air and catch it. Since Baz abhors any kind of public performance, I was hopeful - but did not expect him to do the usual dance moves which his classmates so effortlessly did. But perform he did - at least in the hoops part - and we were so proud of him, knowing that it did not come easy to him.


Baz is moving up from Explorations! from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Congratulations, Baz, aka Lucas! You made Mommy, Daddy, Hadrien, Mama, Papa and yaya proud watching you.

Baby teeth, going, going .....

When Yaya Dora first noticed that Baz was fiddling with two of his lower front teeth and that his "big boy teeth" were starting to show, I was again reminded that my boys are growing up much faster than I'd like.

So here I am looking back at how much my babies have grown. Yes, I've started calling them babies again, pleading with them not to grow up too fast, and making them promise that they would always be my babies even when they have their own babies! By the way, for the record, they both agreed!

I digress....

Wasn't it only yesterday when Baz hopelessly tried to crawl across the bed? How much time had passed since he would consistently poop just as we were stuck in traffic in front of Pioneer center - and grip Yaya's arms as he made funny you-kn0w-what sounds? And how about the time we fed him loads of carrots, mangoes and squash to a point that Dra. Garces could see that he was turning orange as soon as he stepped though her clinic doors? Oh - now that topic calls for another post - but I clearly remember how he cried and cried and cried whenever we were in - or even just 2 blocks away from - the doctor's clinic. He would hang on to the door jambs and would scare the wits out of 8 and 9 year olds waiting for their turn to see the good doctor!

How about the time when he refused to say "papaya"?

Mommy: Say, papaya.

Baz: Bibida

Mommy: No, papaya. Pa-pa-ya

Baz: Bibida!

Mommy: Say papa.

Baz: Papa

Mommy: Ya!

Baz: ya!

Mommy: Papaya!

Baz: Bibida!!!

And then that time he didn't want to cooperate with mama who wanted him to say "chocolate".

Mama: Chocolate - not - coco-late.

Baz: coco-late.

Mama: How about Ate Chona? Say Ate Chona

Baz: Ate Chona

Mama: Say Champaca

Baz: Champaca

Mama: Now saw chocolate (perhaps thinking that she had pushed Baz into a corner)

Baz: Coco-late

Mama: Ate Chona

Baz: Ate Co-na!

Two weeks have passed since I started this post and I am now overtaken by events. Yesterday, my precocious boys got into one of their usual fights, but this time, with a weapon. Soon enough there was wailing and when I asked Hadrien what happened, my ever quick to the draw boy said that his kuya had started the fight. As I turned to ask Baz his version of events, he held a white thing in front of me and asked me what it was. It took me a second or two - and a quick look at his slightly bloodied lips and shirt - to figure out that Hadrien knocked his brother's tooth off!

Here are the last photos of Baz with a complete set of baby teeth (gaps and all!).



Obviously, the wobbly teeth don't bother him. I guess, for now, it's just me who's bothered by the fact that he is slowly losing his baby teeth. Much too soon, he becoming less and less of a baby.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

It was Chinese New Year last Monday, which was celebrated in most parts of the cities with the usual dragon dance and fire works. When we told the kids that it was Chinese New Year, Baz took the information in, pondered for a few seconds and asked - "why, what date is it in China today?"

Sunrise, Sunset

Looking at the kids' pictures over the years always makes me nostalgic. But there's something about barongs, weddings, and watching your kids walk down the aisle (even if they're only ring or coin or bible bearers) that just brings tears to my eyes.

This song now seems so real --

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older
When did they?


When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday
When they were small?





Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

What words of wisdom can I give them?
How can I help to ease their way?

Architect or Astronaut?

He hasn't changed his mind about being an astronaut yet but Baz is sure into building. Whenever he sees models of buildings/condos on display in malls, he doesn't miss running towards it to ask what the different parts are made of.

Yesterday, "Architect Denise" lent us a model based on a preliminary schematic design we were exploring. Baz called it "very well made" and went about looking at each room of the house. He wanted to learn how to make one. He chose his bedroom, put the model next to the floor plans and I think began to understand how to read the plans.

A couple of pictures of mostly Baz's structures -










Baz usually works with the natural-colored wood blocks while Hadrien prefers the plastic and colored blocks. They both know to respect each other's creations :) Although countless fights and building toppling have erupted if one was not careful.

Kinareer na Homework

Some would say I'm taking homework too seriously. Maybe I am. But let me explain.

We've asked Baz's teachers to allow him to submit homework as videos which he can show his class only because he still has trouble verbalizing (ok, talking) in school. We hope that these videos will help him feel at ease with the thought of his friends hearing his voice and will also remind his friends that he does talk.

The good news is that he is much more communicative in school, even to the point of hugging and kissing his teachers when asked, initiating communication (albeit by hand movements) and now reacts with a smile when convenient - to avoid doing something he doesn't want to do. His teachers do admit that once he flashes that smile, he sometimes gets his way. He's also started to make sounds in class - perhaps in an attempt to finally break the silence.

His homework had 2 parts. The first part was for him to portray his favorite animal - and lucky us, he chose the rhino! The second part was for him to investigate certain characteristics of an assigned animal - the tortoise.


Baz Reports on Tortoises from malou.khan on Vimeo.

It wasn't hard to get Baz to do his homework or talk in front of a camera. Except that time when Hadrien was making side comments to which an annoyed Baz said "I'm not making this video for you!"

Futbol Funatics

This is the football camp which the kids attended this July-August. And indeed, the kids turned out to be fanatics of football.

Some of you may remember Baz's try out session which we also posted about here. What we didn't get to write about is that he later refused to join the group for practically the whole course. After 6 or more sessions of him refusing to kick the ball, unless it was just towards us, and we hanging around the field getting him to participate in any way, we decided to leave it at that.

This July, we decided to bring Hadrien to football camp. He was a natural! He quickly joined the group and the warm up exercises. See how he handles the ball - and without any need for coaching!



















This is Hadrien exhausted and parched after his first day. Then here's Baz leading his brother into the field and a great candid shot of the 3 boys :)



Too bad that it was bright and sunny the following weekends. See, Hadrien, like me, hates the sun. So he only joined the class twice! That first time and then one other session which was held indoors. His complaint - "It's sunny, I need some shade." He promised to play on a cloudy day though :)

We had hoped that seeing Hadrien play would make Baz want to join in. But we didn't want to get our hopes up. We allowed him to linger but since we didn't formally enroll him, we told him that there wasn't enough balls. He asked us to let him join many times but we told him that he had his chance last year. Just to be clear, we did feel bad letting him down. But at that time, we thought that it was the right thing to do. He promised to kick this ball this time. IT WORKED!!!! The next session, he needed no prodding and joined in without any hesitation. He even bragged to yaya later that day - "You know, I talked in football. I didn't just nod, I talked!"

So, this is Baz's first real "go" at football. Me thinks he did a good job!

Baz's First Go at Futbol from malou.khan on Vimeo.

And he hasn't looked back since :)

Baz's Field Trip Report

The Pups class went on the 2nd field trip last Friday. They visited the local post office, police station, fire station, the Archibishop's Palace and .... Krispy Kreme. Baz came home and explained in detail what he saw. At the post office, he learned about the use of stamps and saw "flat rectangle holes" for Metro Manila, US, Visayas and Mindanao (he's editing me as I write and asked me to erase "Luzon" which I placed before Visayas). He also learned how letters are sorted into "boxes of different countries" and how letters are "placed inside square boxes inside the room" and how they are "given out outside the window".

At the police station, he saw saw "a cage with many round bottles" and the pictures of "bad people near the door".

At the fire station, he saw a fireman with "a blue and yellow suit with the hooks and holes and a helmet with a glass here (visor)." He also saw the "fireman with a firetruck, which has a hose connected to the rooftop of the firetruck. He described the hose as having a "snoozer with a shower at the end to spray the water".

At the Archbishop's Palace, he saw many seats near the "altar table where the priests celebrates the heavens and there was a big entrance, like that, like that (moving his arms to show an arch), and there was a tall tower and then there was Mama Mary on the balcony on top of the tower". Since he's very much into architecture and structures, he gave me more details on the church's structure which I am not able to capture here.

Here is a video of Baz relating what he saw at Krispy Kreme. See how descriptive he is and how much detail he is able to retain and communicate, even days after his trip.


The Krispy Kreme Report from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Kuwa-Ba

Baz is such a perfect "kuya" (Filipino for "older brother"). He loves and adores Hadrien, more than you'd imagine a 4-year old is capable of.

As soon as we found out that we were expecting, Raffy and I told Baz that "mommy has a baby in her tummy". Adopting a ridiculously contrived baby voice, we pretended that the baby in the tummy was talking to him. Soon enough, he eagerly awaited the arrival of "baby" (we chose to wait until the birth to find out what the gender was). Finally, he met Hadrien for the first time.


Anticipating that Baz would feel jealous or displaced, we made sure that Hadrien had a gift for Baz when we came home from the hospital. It was not enough however to spare Hadrien from what was to come. We didn't help matters by being overly protective of the new baby - telling Baz not to touch the baby's face or to come too close for fear that Baz would accidentally hurt him. Thus, when we were not looking, Baz would smack Hadrien on his face and you-know-what, and he had only been circumcised! Then, a few weeks later, Baz bit hard on Hadrien's big toe, leaving a bluish depression that went away only after a couple of days. Baz's ambivalence didn't last long though....
















Every now and then, they'd argue over toys. At first, Baz had trouble learning to share his toys. Eventually however, Hadrien started grabbing toys from Baz, who felt helpless since he didn't want to fight back. I realized the extent of Baz's protectiveness over his brother when Raffy was starting to scold Hadrien in a loud voice. Baz rushed to Hadrien and, for no apparent reason, spanked his hand. I was surprised and started to say something - but he said, "Daddy, don't scold him, I scolded him already" - he was only 3 then - so imagine my amazement!

This is not to say that his affection is not reciprocated. Just recently, when Baz was on "time-out", Hadrien got up from playing and stood next to Baz in the "time-out" place. An act of solidarity from a 2-year old. Heartwarming, isn't it?