Tot time with my daughter

My Milly is turning 1 year old in few weeks’ time which means we’re close to starting our informal home schooling! (yay for me) I refer informal homeschooling as Tot School Time. According to 1plus1plus1equals1 website, Tot school is the idea of learning through play at home during younger years. This is where we provide materials and prepare age appropriate activities that are exciting and appealing to them. You can choose makeshift toys, materials you already have in your home and any activities that you think that your children would love. With that, we can expose them to learning a lot of things even at an early age.

As early as 6 months, I started exposing different types of age appropriate activities to my daughter. After my work, I always make sure to play and read some of her books as she sits on my lap. While some parents are against letting their kids watch iPad, I allow Milly to have her own screen time for about 15 minutes per day. (no to fast paced cartoons; I just let her watch Baby Einstein and some educational videos). 

That’s actually the reason why I think homeschooling works with my schedule. I firmly believe that as long as you manage your time properly and have a schedule; homeschooling is possible even if you’re working full time.  The maximum number of hours per day you need to allot to toddlers & preschoolers is 2 hours so that wouldn't be a problem for me. It's actually an advantage for me that I work at night, because I get to play with her, feed and bathe her, sing nursery rhymes, cuddle and do our tot time together. This is now a part of our daily routine and we usually start our play/learn time before she takes her morning nap. One hour before her nap and one hour after she takes her lunch. I actually do not mind how many hours of sleep I get each day, but to give you an idea of my day to day time allotment for my daughter, I only sleep 2-3 hours per day. :) It may sound tiring for a full time working mom, but I'm telling you, it is really fulfilling to see how my daughter learns and appreciates the time I always give her.

Here are our typical daytime activities: 

Sing ABC's and some nursery rhymes. Read aloud books. 

Play time with wooden Numbers.

Letting her roam around the room

Very good balance indeed! Galing anak. #millysmilestones

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on Jun 12, 2015 at 8:29am PDT

Story telling as she starts to fall asleep :)

I remember when I was a kid, I've always loved playing teacher-teacheran. Actually, I wanted to be a teacher; it was my dream job. Due to some circumstances, I was left with no choice but to follow someone elses dream for me. Maybe that's the reason why I've always enjoyed teaching Milly. Now I know I can fulfill my greatest dream and that is to be the best teacher to my daughter. ❤️ Thanks Milly for reliving my dream and turning it in to reality. You really are my dream come true. 

Things I miss before I became a M-O-M

Time’s flying really fast and few weeks from now, my daughter will celebrate her 1^st birthday. Sometimes, I feel like I am on reverie; I couldn’t believe that my husband and I already have our own bundle of joy. She was a dream came true, and God knows, even my closest friends, how much we both wanted to have our own child. Every time we look at her, we always praise God for giving us a healthy, makulit and beautiful little girl. We must have done something really good for giving her to us.

It seems like yesterday when I found out I was pregnant, and I must admit that I am missing a lot of things that I used to do before I became a mother. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mother, but you know that feeling when you realize you have given so much time and effort for your family? That sometimes, you feel the need to take even just a little break from reality? Mother’s deserve a little break too, but we’re too selfless and we’d rather spend our days nurturing and spending time with our family. That’s why I admire some moms who get the leisure to spend quality / me time for themselves - I don’t know if it’s just me, but no matter how much I find time to pamper myself, I just can’t fit the “I-want- to-do-things” on my schedule. It’s as if one day isn’t enough to do all the things that I need to do for my family. I feel like I am always cramming to go home every after work just to spend time with them. But no matter how much I love and enjoy being a mom, sometimes I’d like to spool back my life even just for a day or two.

Here are my top 8 list that I miss doing before I became a busy-mom

    1.       Me time - before, I could spend one day on the salon having my hair permed while I have my nails manicured and pedicured. But right now? I couldn’t stand sitting on the salon chair for more than an hour. I’d settle myself for a simple haircut.  I couldn’t even believe that I used to spend so much money with my hair. (Pero ngayon, I’m fine with a 49.99 haircut. Hehehe!)

    2.       Rest / Sleeping - this is what I call luxury right now. I’m always sleep deprived. Before, I could spend my rest days lying on my bed sleeping all day but right now? 3-4 hours of sleep is my daily routine. I also missed waking up whenever I want to. Before I became a mom, I could wake up whenever I want to, but now that I have a daughter, I wake up between 4 to 5am during RESTDAYS.

    3.       Shopping - yep, I missed shopping for myself. I could spend half of my salary shopping for myself but right now, every money I spend is all for my family. I always think that the money I could be spending from shopping alone can save up for Milly’s future.

    4.       Reading - I used to read all sorts of novels before a became a mom, but I don’t know if it’s just me or my time management, but I couldn’t even get hold of my e-book  these days. From novels, I am now down to reading story books and all sorts of baby books. :D

    5.       My old figure - I really don’t mind wearing size 40 and XL tops at all, but every time I look at my old pictures, I feel bad for gaining so much weight after I gave birth. No matter how much I try to lessen my food intake, my bulging tummy just won’t return to its old state. It will never be the same again.

    6.       Watching movies/series/television- call me OA, but I am no longer updated with current events! My daughter hates noise and she easily wakes up every time the TV is turned on. So ending, whenever our TV is turned on, expect that the volume is too low or no audio at all.

    7.       Clean room - Our room is always messy. Start with the dresser down to the cabinet. Toys and books are always on the floor and I’ve realized that having a clean room is close to impossible. :D I spend time picking up things when she’s asleepm waiting for the same thing to happen again once she wakes up.

    8.       Quality time with my husband - I am a wife before I became a mother and it’s a must that I spend quality time with my husband. But there are times that we can’t even do the things we used to do before. :D Oh, how I missed going out on a date with him. (We better work on this) Good thing, we enjoy spending time with our daughter by playing and cuddling with her. Now, that’s a great bonding time.    

These are just some of the things that I missed the most before I became a mom, but I do not feel any pinch of regret having my family even for one second. I may have sacrificed a lot of things for them and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Everything I do for them is all worth it. 

The best teacher to my daughter

I loved and enjoyed schooling - actually i was part of the “habituated” students who’d rather stay at home to do home works and review her notes. Now that we have a daughter, we would like to instill the same “passion” and enjoyment with studying.

We’re going to take a big leap to go against the social’s norm. We want to take charge of our daughter’s education and make sure that she learns things the best way possible. Few months ago, before our daughter turned 8 months, my husband and I discussed into home schooling her. I know a lot of parents are still curious about the pros and cons of homeschooling, but based on the articles I’ve read and moms I’ve talked to, I know deep in my heart that homeschooling is just for us. This is my calling, our calling and I’m looking forward to take that challenge. 

So what really compelled us to homeschool our daughter in the next few months?

·         Own curriculum - there are a lot of available curriculum available and you can choose your own schedule that works best for you and your child

·         Bonding - being our child’s teacher is a great bonding. #attachmentparenting at its finest! J

·         Teaching method - we can adapt the teaching method that suits best to our daughter

·         Shelter our daughter from violence and bullies in school

·         Flexible study hours

·         We’d be able to monitor her studies

·         To be closer to God

Right now, there are homeschool providers that are accredited by DepEd. You may check the list for accredited providers http://hapihomeschooler.com/about-hapi/hapi-members-affiliates/. 

 My husband and I are eyeing for these providers: CFA (Catholic Filipino Academy) www.catholicfilipinoacademy.com founded by Bo Sanchez; International British Academy www.iba.edu.ph , Kids World Integrated in Greenhills and Homeschool of Asia and Pacific in Madrigal Alabang.  We might enroll her as soon as she turns 3 years and we’d home school her spontaneously as soon as she turns 1 year old. Call me OC, but I’ve saved tons of references online and activities to prepare for my daughter.

If you’re curious about homeschooling, these links may be helpful for you.

http://www.smartparenting.com.ph/kids/preschooler/why-homeschooling-is-best-for-your-preschooler

http://trulyrichmom.com/homeschooling-in-the-philippines-answers-to-some-faqs/

http://trulyrichmom.com/homeschooling-in-the-philippines-where-to-get-support/

We’re already eyeing for CFA and their program is really interesting.  Once you enroll your child to their homeschool program, you can have access to curriculum and materials. You can even let your kid join a full blown orchestra and there will be weekly activities so you don’t have to worry about their social skills. Just like any other schools, field trips and moving up day is also available. More details here: http://catholicfilipinoacademy.com/exciting-news-from-cfas-preschool-department/

If you want to teach your child, there is no such thing as “Too Early”. That’s why as early as now, I always allot time for our tiny tot study time. Every day, just before her morning siesta, I make sure to let her read some books, and at the same time teach her the “basics”. Take a look at the video below, this is my daughter during her study time. (best when played with sound) ♥ 

Mommy, I'm going to read you a book, okay? So listen very carefully. 😂😅😂

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on May 25, 2015 at 1:33pm PDT

A is for Apple 🍎 Good job my little Miss Bookworm. #millysmilestones

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on May 27, 2015 at 6:57pm PDT

This is how Milly says "Hi". 😅 Quite bitin but she's really doing a great job. We're so proud of you! #millyat10months #millysmilestones love you baby. ❤️ thank you @ohbabyph

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on May 28, 2015 at 11:04pm PDT

Homeschooling isn’t easy and MAY not work for every one. A lot of patience is required, time management is important and there will be some things that you really need to give up. Of course, prayer is needed too. You need to ask for God's guidance to help you all throughout the process. Home schooling may mean, one income household, and since I want to focus on my child’s education, I am looking into leaving my job temporarily (which I’m still thinking over and over again).  For as long as I can manage my time, and can juggle working and teaching, I will do my best to be the best teacher to my daughter. 

PS: Let me know if you need the rates of the schools mentioned above. ☻ 

Visit at Manila Zoo

Happy almost end-of-month of May! You see I’ve been on pause mode lately. I’ve been very busy juggling my schedule to-and-fro and most of my work got piled up. Mommy chores got piled up too. I must say that this month has been a challenge for me and my husband but thankfully, everything’s doing well already and we’re one way or another back on track.

I celebrated my 29^th birthday this month, my first ever Mother’s Day with our daughter Milly and our 3^rd wedding anniversary. To cap off the busy past few weeks we had, my husband and I decided to bring our daughter to Manila Zoo! We noticed that she loves animals and we thought of showing her “real” animals. My small family is a family-homebody, meaning we’d rather spend time in the house cuddling and playing. So going out during rest days and strolling outdoors aside from the mall was a big thing for us.

Last time I went to Manila Zoo was during my pre-school days (yep!) and to tell you honestly, I do not remember any single detail about it. That’s why when we entered the zoo; I was really quite surprised how it looks like. While I enjoyed watching the animals, I really didn’t find it appealing at all - I think the animals in the zoo are not well taken care of. (Well, I hope I am wrong).  I actually feel sad for the animals that have to experience scourging heat, not-really-clean and rustic cages, swamp water and the environment, far from where they should really be. This may sound old to other people, but for someone who rarely goes out and would like to introduce this kind of leisure and educational parks to kids, this is really quite shocking.  I just hope the government/management can do more regarding its cleanliness and maintenance. They need to spruce it up.

But other than that, we enjoyed our little travel and looking forward to visit more zoos like: Ark Avilon & Malabon Zoo. For sure my daughter would love to see more animals. ♥ 

To end this blog post, let me share the pictures we took during our visit there last week.