Elementary School Lessons

Late though it seems but am still getting into the DIY mood for Christmas decorations.

Here is a gold 3D Snowflake that was done a while ago:

Link of photo here.

This 3D Snowflake look like it’s tired already and wants to get off the door.

To see how these 3D Snowflakes are done, just search for the keywords “DIY 3D Snowflakes” in YouTube

If you are looking for a unique place to visit for the long weekends this August, consider going to Pinto Art Museum.

The California Mission-looking architectural structures built amongst trees in a hilly subdivision in Antipolo  houses modern contemporary art by Filipino artists.

Here are some photos albeit not too clear because I forgot to bring my camera, hence only had mobile photos:

chapel

artworks on display in galleries using natural lights

The Rainforest room

go up the rooftop and see the wonders beyond the walls of the museum while delighting on soaking up the sun’s warmth

gallery on walls that look like a home, yes, it is possible to mix a home-y atmosphere and the arts

More photos here.

Some information:

Art collector Dr. Joven Cuanang is the owner of Pinto Art Museum which was designed by Architect Antonio Leano. Pinto Art Museum used to be called Silangan Gardens. Silangan Gardens is the home of Silangan Foundation of the Arts, Culture and Ecology with galleries built back in 2001 by Architect Leano.

One can spend an entire morning or afternoon looking at Pinto Art Museum’s treasure trove of contemporary (and modern) Philippine art. Pinto Art Museum is open from 9a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesdays-Sundays.

Pinto Art Museum is at No. 1 Sierra Madre Street, Grand Heights, Antipolo City, Rizal. Call tel. 6971015; e-mail info@pintogallery.com.

Dear Teachers of my Children,

I know you and the school (the school we love the best!) put the learning of our children entrusted in your care as one of your topmost priorities and for that we are grateful.

My husband and I understand that in order for our children to learn more and understand the concepts they need to learn and understand, they need not listen to boring lectures while sitting for more than 6 hours just doing so. We know that you do your best to make learning interactive, dynamic and leaves lasting impression to young minds so that so these children are able to learn.

Let me just tell you that as a former classroom teacher, this former homeschooling mom who still currently teaches special needs students, I have been trained first and foremost to focus on “Process and not the Product” which means I am not too fond of children asked to memorize facts that they know no significance of.

All those wonderful ways of learning I mentioned: interactive, dynamic, creative and engaging are what the school, your school is all about and those are the reasons why we have stayed, why we have been with this school since year 2000.

Yep, that long.

I know the children need to have homework and if I may say so, this is the least of my worries because you teachers generally don’t give difficult ones.

I know that through projects they learn even more because they not only get to read about certain important topics but they do tasks that make them learn and understand more.

But here’s the thing…

Can you at least give us time to gather the materials needed for these projects or some unusual homework tasks?

I for one am rattled for things the children NEED  TO BRING THE NEXT DAY even if we have our own school supplies stash at home. Yes, we do have this kind of school supplies stash because going to a store or bookstore for a 1/8 illustration board or some art papers is just plain waste of time, energy and effort.

Since you have the lesson plans made in advance, is it possible to give the children enough time to tell their parents the materials they need for school, and not just ask them to bring these the next day?

My kids can bring cartolina pieces in primary colors the next day but don’t expect us to have yellow green or pink to be brought to school the next day.

A 1/8 and 1/4 illustration board? We have these too, but not bristol board.  

Maybe bring a folder the next day? We have these in long and short sizes, in color brown and beige but not in red or purple.

Envelope? We have these too in long and short sizes, in the common color brown but not in yellow or green.

Wood cut in specific lengths and sizes, a saw and some nails. <- Wait that was from a different school.

We can have these colors IF only you give us time enough to get these for you. Over the weekend perhaps?

I am not really complaining you see, if we are given enough time to get what the children need, you won’t hear us complain because we support our children in everything they do to be able to maximize their learning. 

I really hope you understand because this is not too much to ask for.

Sincerely,

A whole lot of moms and dads out there, not just me and my husband.

Number Patterns are typical math drill that children encounter although most of the time, the obvious is not that obvious.

Patterns are repeated over and over. These could be numbers, repeated lines, colors, shapes, forms and even behavior.

For an example on number patterns, the factors for 2 are the following: 2 4 6 8 10
12 14 16 18 20
22 24 26 28 30

Number patterns are often given in math aptitude tests because it serves to see how students observe the way the numbers in a number series (among other things) relate to each other.

Some examples of number patterns:

Arithmetic Sequences:

1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, …

25, 23, 21, 19, 17, 15, …

Geometric Sequences:

3, 9, 27, 81, 243, 729, 2187, …

Cube Numbers:

1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, 729, …

For samples of number patterns, click here.

Here are a few tips on how to make paper houses.

If like me, you are design-challenged, it is better to look for available patterns in the internet to use for your paper houses.

Here is another post I made about making paper houses with some step-by-step instructions done by my then grade 3 daughter.

Here is a post about the materials to make paper houses.

Below is a photo of a pattern for a Gingerbread house that I was able to print out. Note however that I added space on the squares because these extra space will be what you will fold to glue to the other “walls” of your paper house. Note the yellow paper with extra flaps for gluing.

This is the end-product of the paper houses where the Gingerbread house pattern above was used:

For the houses, you can just add details to make it more “home-y”. We did not elaborate too much on the houses we used for the project on communities because as a teacher myself, I doubt who made “perfect” projects being submitted by children. If I were to “grade” projects, I will not choose the ones that are obviously not done by the children themselves.

Anyway…

For the tree, we just spread glue on brown paper and rolled it to form the “tree trunks”. We cut one end to use as “roots” and as braces to make the tree stand. The other end was flattened so that the “leaves” can be glued over it. Two green papers were glued together with the flattened end on one side. When the glued paper dried, we cut to form the green part of the tree.

Church paper house.

School paper house:

For both the church and school paper houses, I made my own patterns here. To avoid unnecessary usage of paper, use used paper as your pattern to be traced on the paper that you will use for the final product. Textured paper is better because these give the structures some “character”.

Just add details to make these paper structures look “real”.

There I hope I was able to help you make paper houses.

Parents, do not wait for the teachers to ask your children to make a community, you can have your children make their community like the wonderful Christmas villages we see during the Christmas season.

The Scouting Movement in the Philippines used to be a big deal. Schools had other ideas and did not give that much importance to the Scouting Movement and this became a minor school activity: not all are required to be scouts, only those who are interested.

As a former member of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (from early grades till high school), I put importance to the Scouting Movement and had my children join. For three years (that is how long the two former homeschoolers have been going to regular school), they are members of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines. My eldest daughter is a Rover Scout.

On his third year in the Scouting movement, my son is now a patrol leader. Their patrol was the only group that had a complete attendance during the investiture and overnight camping last weekend. There was only one who did not attend the overnight camping but they still had the highest percentage of attendees compared to other groups.

Hurray!

Here is a copy of the Panunumpa ng Scout and Batas ng Scout.

For those who will be taking the SY 2013-2014 Philippine Science High School National Competitive Exams on September 29, 2012, here is the link:

2013 Philippine Science High School National Competitive Examination, Alphabetical List of Examinees. 

The link includes the following:

• name
• examinee number
• seat number
• room assignment
• test time
• test center code
• test center name
• test center address
• student’s school name