Elementary School Lessons

Dirty for today’s Photo Hunter theme.

Playing with play dough is one of the most enjoyable things children can do. They not only think creatively but they also develop fine motor skills and create concepts.

Parents can make their own play dough using tried and tested “recipes” to lessen the children getting in contact with the dangers of those colors being used in commercially bought play dough.

Never mind of the play dough gets into the fingernails and make these dirty, as long as the children are having fun and learning too, I’m sure play dough time is something they will look forward to during play time.

Our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal is celebrating his 150th Birth Anniversary this year.

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has lined up activities and events all over the country in order to commemorate the occasion.

Click here for more details.

Visit the National Historical Commission of the Philippines website for more info.

I am definitely missing seeing the youngest child make wonderful drawings.

Below is a Mr. Gru drawing she did half a year ago when she was 7.9 yo, “copied” from a drawing tutorials from YouTube.

She has done several drawing which I featured, including these digital art drawings of a singer and a house, the little boy and dragon’s head.

One more thing I’m missing is her playing the recorder. She said she has forgotten some of the musical pieces she mastered when we were still homeschooling. 🙁

Digital art of a singer by my then 7yo daughter:

She loves to tinker with the MS Paint, experimenting here and there until she knows what the tools are for. I don’t think I can do this myself. Can you? 😀

So many square windows in that building over there 🙂

Boat ride or Water taxi ride at Nuvali. This was a part of my son’s field trip last year. Other activities included fish or koi feeding and visit to One Evotech Building which used LEED or (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) standards.

We looked at homes (Nuvali has residential areas) that take advantage of natural light to conserve the use of electricity.

The children also learned about recycling, reusing and reducing waste products.

Field trips are tiring but these are super fun!

Homeschooling does not just mean that the learning takes place within the confines of one’s home. Homeschooling means having the option to choose from among the many learning enrichment centers that provide more skills and new things to learn for homeschoolers.

When my children were still homeschooling, I considered daily tasks as avenues for learning: Science and Math concepts at the supermarket; scheduling and time management for the day to day activities; practical life skills (plus home-making skills) with the household chores; good moral and right conduct with how we deal with the people we encounter throughout the day; honing creativity and imagination through arts and crafts. The list of possibilities and opportunities to learn are endless, if only parents are resourceful and have the “energy” to pursue extra-curricular activities.

I’ve recently been introduced to a not-so-new concept of teaching children academic concepts in an enriching manner, through NumberWorks’nWords, an international learning center for Math and English. What I meant by not-so-new is that I also do the process NumberWorks’Words do with the students: assess, make a program and do a progress report.

What sets the centers apart from the usual tutorial centers is that there are individualized programs for Math and Reading available in NumberWorks’nWords. The centers have evolving learning computer software that they have been developing for years to meet the students learning needs. These learning modules have been developed by educators and software engineers.

Professor Dan Handy, the Managing Director of NumberWorks’nWords explained that their centers want the children to love learning through their programs. The Math Programs are being continually developed by experts while the English programs are geared toward reading, comprehension, writing, spelling and grammar.

NumberWorks’nWords provide assessment process to be able to create individualized programs for the children enrolled with them. They also provide progress reports. All these in an atmosphere where learning is enjoyable.

Here are some fun games for your children to try while they are learning: Games from Number Works’nWords

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For inquiries, these are the NumberWorks’nWords in the Philippines:

Alabang NumberWorks’nWords Phone (632) 807 6294 / 772 4655

How often have you heard yourself say to others: “Are you listening to what I’m saying?” or maybe you hear yourself mutter: “She/He didn’t understand/hear a word I said”.

For parents, they usually hear their children’s teachers say “If only the child is able to listen well, he’ll do better”.

Below are characteristics to see if your child has a listening problem:

• short attention span
• easily distracted
• oversensitivity to sound(s)
• misinterprets questions
• confuses similar-sounding words
• frequent need for repetition
• inability to follow sequential instructions
• flat and monotonous voice
• hesitant speech
• weak vocabulary
• poor sentence structure
• confusion or reversal of letters
• poor reading comprehension
• poor in reading aloud
• poor in spelling
• poor posture
• fidgety behavior
• clumsy, uncoordinated movements
• poor sense of rhythm
• messy handwriting
• disorganized
• confuses left and right
• poor sport skills
• difficulty getting up in the morning
• easily fatigued
• habit of procrastinating
• hyperactivity
• depressed
• feeling overburdened with everyday tasks
• low frustration tolerance
• poor self-confidence
• poor self-image
• shyness
• difficulty making friends
• tendency to withdraw
• irritability
• immaturity
• low motivation in school
• negative attitude towards work

Listening checklist from Tomatis Method.