14 July 2017
Showing posts with label educational. Show all posts
Showing posts with label educational. Show all posts
Dylan's Nutrition Month Celebration in School (2017)
14 July 2017
Dylan is back in school!
12 June 2017
Last June 05, classes in public schools began nationwide. It was Dylan's first day back to school after awhile and I was apprehensive because it was also the first time that we will be part of the public school system. Private SPED (Special Education) schools are pretty expensive so we considered ourselves fortunate that there was a public school which has a Special Education department near us. We didn't have to shell out any money for tuition. Still, we felt a bit of a culture shock as we continually adjusted with our new environment.
Mom-daughter bonding at the "Doodling and Lettering" workshop presented by the National Museum and Dong-A
As part of the National Museum of the Philippines' celebration of International Museum Day as well as a post-Mother's Day activity, the National Museum in partnership with Dong-A Philippines sponsored the Doodling and Lettering for Mothers" workshop and Dana and I had the privilege to attend. We learned new tricks and were challenged to test our artistic capabilities. :)Hayabusa Back to the Earth at the National Planetarium
09 May 2017
Today marked the start of the new show schedule for the week at the National Planetarium. Last week, we were fortunate that we were able to watch "Journey to a Billion Suns" twice in a day when the National Planetarium released the news that they were extending their free entrance policy for the month of May.
Though we missed the first two showings of "A Planet for Goldilocks" we were just in time to watch the show, "Hayabusa Back to the Earth".
Today marked the start of the new show schedule for the week at the National Planetarium. Last week, we were fortunate that we were able to watch "Journey to a Billion Suns" twice in a day when the National Planetarium released the news that they were extending their free entrance policy for the month of May. Though we missed the first two showings of "A Planet for Goldilocks" we were just in time to watch the show, "Hayabusa Back to the Earth".
Free Admission to the National Planetarium (extended until May 30, 2017)
02 May 2017
The National Museum extended their "Free Admission to the National Planetarium" policy until May 30, 2017 in celebration of the National Heritage Month. Actually, I was anxiously waiting for this announcement and was hoping that they would extend since the original Free Admission policy was only until April 30. I thought that today was the best time to drop by since not many people can make time to visit except for those who live nearby. I was right. There wasn't much of a line and we were actually able to watch TWO shows! haha Okay, they were both "Journey to a Billion Suns" but still, we got to watch TWO shows! :) We'd like to tell you what to expect, what you can see while in the venue and other relevant information for your trip to the National Planetarium.Attended the Unmei Expo 2016: Career and Study Fair for Japanese Language Enthusiasts
16 October 2016
For someone who's interested in learning the Japanese language attending the Unmei Expo 2016 at the SMX in SM Mall of Asia is a must. It is the venue where Japanese schools and potential Japanese employers converge to give students and interested parties a chance to find out what's in store for the future for someone who's well-versed in the Japanese language. It was held today, October 16, and Dana and I checked it out :)
Walking around Intramuros: Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral and Bacolod Chicken House
This post is really a continuation of our trip from the National Museum and the Museum of Anthropology, From these two museums, Intramuros was just a stone's throw away and I wanted to visit Fort Santiago (which was within Intramuros) so that Dana can have the chance to visit it as Dylan already had.
Free Admission to the National Museum: Part 2 - Museum of Anthropology
05 May 2016
This post is the 2nd part in the "Free Admission to the National Museum" adventure that the kids and I had. The first part can be seen here. The focus of this post is the Museum of Anthropology, also known as the Museum of the Filipino People. It is located at the old Department of Finance Building in Rizal Park and may be considered as an extension of the National Museum. It contains anthropological and archaeological artifacts about our Filipino heritage.
Free Admission to the National Museum: Part 1 - The National Art Gallery
05 May 2016
I've always wanted to revisit the National Museum with my kids. I used to be able to visit it when I worked at the Senate since at one point, it was where the Upper House held their sessions and I'd go around at idle moments. For the month of May, since it's National Heritage Month, the National Museum has offered "Free Admission" which made it a good time for an educational/cultural trip. The "Free Admission" allows you to enter the National Museum (the National Art Gallery), the Museum of the Filipino People (old Department of Finance Building) and the National Planetarium and all other regional museums in the country. The National Museum is located at P. Burgos Drive, Rizal Park, Manila.
I've always wanted to revisit the National Museum with my kids. I used to be able to visit it when I worked at the Senate since at one point, it was where the Upper House held their sessions and I'd go around at idle moments. For the month of May, since it's National Heritage Month, the National Museum has offered "Free Admission" which made it a good time for an educational/cultural trip. The "Free Admission" allows you to enter the National Museum (the National Art Gallery), the Museum of the Filipino People (old Department of Finance Building) and the National Planetarium and all other regional museums in the country. The National Museum is located at P. Burgos Drive, Rizal Park, Manila.
Dana's 2016 Family Day
20 February 2016
I woke up just as Dana was getting ready for the day. She mentioned that it was Family Day today and that she'd like it if we attended. Well, of course we would, as least I would, because I knew that she and her class have been practicing really hard for their performance. In fact, they were already proclaimed Champions in their category and their performance today would just be for family and friends, to showcase their skill :)
Ibong Adarna screening at the AFP Theater
Today, the 5th and 6th Grade students of Dana's school went to the AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo to watch Gantimpala Theater's performance of Ibong Adarna. Dana was very excited to watch another play. Kids: Enjoying a Mini Jigsaw Puzzle
Dylan's celebration of Nutrition Month in school
July 20, 2013
One of the more recent school activities that I've experienced is Nutrition month. It's a very practical demonstration of health and fitness that makes it easy for students to understand its value. Teachers, though have to be creative when they plan their class programs.
In Dylan's case, their preparations included making the hat with plastic veggies on it at home and practicing their song and dance number in school. Now, our part wasn't so hard to accomplish. It just meant that Dylan and I needed to take a trip to Quiapo and buy our materials from there. Interesting enough, even the sellers at Quiapo were attune to the needs of the schools and already had a bunch of veggies packed and ready to sell. Others also had the ready-made hats with the veggies! Dylan and I chose to create our own so we bought the separate hats and veggies.
One of the more recent school activities that I've experienced is Nutrition month. It's a very practical demonstration of health and fitness that makes it easy for students to understand its value. Teachers, though have to be creative when they plan their class programs. In Dylan's case, their preparations included making the hat with plastic veggies on it at home and practicing their song and dance number in school. Now, our part wasn't so hard to accomplish. It just meant that Dylan and I needed to take a trip to Quiapo and buy our materials from there. Interesting enough, even the sellers at Quiapo were attune to the needs of the schools and already had a bunch of veggies packed and ready to sell. Others also had the ready-made hats with the veggies! Dylan and I chose to create our own so we bought the separate hats and veggies.
Trip to UST Museum
June 28, 2013
The trip to the UST Museum was initiated from a simple FB post made by my High School friend Maita who wrote about playing Chinese Garter in the College of Science. Since I was from the College of Science, I immediately thought of the egg sandwiches that I used to have for lunch and snacks there. I asked Maita if they still had them and they did!! That prompted me to meet up with her and combine a trip to the UST Museum since that's where she works.
Just for fun, here is the FB post where we were discussing the food at the UST Varsity Canteen :) The truth was, we've been planning to meet up for so long but we never quite managed to make the schedules work. But in this instance, fate was with us and we were finally given the chance to see each other!
After our merienda, we went back down to the UST Museum and Dylan and I were given a guided tour by Maita. There was a new wing to the UST Museum called the Hall of Philippine Religious Images that wasn't there when I was a student (okay so it was a long time since I've been back). This consisted of religious artifacts brought by our Spanish colonizers and some which were locally-made in celebration of the Catholic faith.
Dylan was especially fascinated by the Natural History collection. Who wouldn't? Even I was particularly interested in these specimens of Philippine fauna.
If you want to visit the UST Museum, they're open from Tuesday to Saturday, 830AM to 430PM but are closed during Public and University holidays. Thomasians may enter free of charge upon presentation of UST I. D. or Alumni Card. Non-Thomasian Professionals will be charged PHP50.00 each while Non-Thomasian Students will be charged PHP30.00.
Just for fun, here is the FB post where we were discussing the food at the UST Varsity Canteen :) The truth was, we've been planning to meet up for so long but we never quite managed to make the schedules work. But in this instance, fate was with us and we were finally given the chance to see each other!
By the time that Dylan and I arrived, it was already snack time so we trooped first to the 4th Floor of the Main Building and had our snacks there. Naturally, I had egg sandwiches and they were still the best. Sure brought back memories!! Dylan loved them too and it was an eye-opening experience for him to be eating at the top of a building hahahaha
After our merienda, we went back down to the UST Museum and Dylan and I were given a guided tour by Maita. There was a new wing to the UST Museum called the Hall of Philippine Religious Images that wasn't there when I was a student (okay so it was a long time since I've been back). This consisted of religious artifacts brought by our Spanish colonizers and some which were locally-made in celebration of the Catholic faith.
 |
| From the UST Museum website |
We were also fortunate that at the time we were there, students from the Conservatory of Music were holding their recital and we were treated to really good classical, symphonic music. The acoustics in the Museum were exceptional.
 |
| Maita, Dylan and I |
Kids: Dylan's UN Day
October 27, 2012
One of the regular school activities in October is the United Nations Day. Fortunately for us, it was just Dylan who will have to invest in a costume and this year, he was saddled with Peru for his country. It was lucky that Peru has an easy native costume to replicate and all we had to do was buy a decent hat for Dylan.
The kids paraded around the school and then proceeded to the venue where they held their activities.
One of the regular school activities in October is the United Nations Day. Fortunately for us, it was just Dylan who will have to invest in a costume and this year, he was saddled with Peru for his country. It was lucky that Peru has an easy native costume to replicate and all we had to do was buy a decent hat for Dylan.
The kids paraded around the school and then proceeded to the venue where they held their activities.
Kids: Dylan's 2012 Field Trip - Part 3 - Casa Santa Jardin de Miramar
September 22, 2012
Now, we've come to the last part in Dylan's Field Trip. We've saved the best for last because our last destination was the Casa Santa in Jardin de Miramar in San Isidro, Antipolo City. It was funny because going there our buses could hardly fit on the road and they had a hard time making it through the curves. It's the right time to visit Casa Santa seeing as it's now the start of the "BER" months and Christmas is just around the corner. When we arrived, we spent our time eating our lunch at the great garden while waiting for the puppet show to be set up.
I just had a beef to settle with some of the parents during the trip. We were expressly told to bring packed lunches and I even woke up pretty early to manage that. Well, what do you know? Along the way, we had to wait for these parents to BUY their lunches from the Jollibee store we passed and it took a while so those of us who actually followed the rules had little time to eat!! grr! I could understand that the administration of the school wanted to please everyone but really, you have to stick to the rules because it's unfair to those of us who followed them.. okay so back to your regular programming...
The puppet show was a hit with the kids who had been recharged since everyone has just had their lunch. Their excitement was contagious and their happiness was boundless. Picture taking after the puppet show had to be contained because everyone wanted to be the first. Fortunately, Dylan was among the first.
After the puppet show, we had some time to burn because another tour group which was ahead of us are still in the Casa Santa so we were told we can explore the whole place until it was time for us to go in. So, Dylan and I just took our time walking around the vast garden. Honestly, it was such a restful place because of all the greenery. We were content to remain outside :)
Check out the pictures we took in this slideshow:
Now, if you viewed the slideshow, you may have seen excerpts of Santa's house. Casa Santa really is a small house full of Santa and Christmas-related artifacts. It's like being transported to the North Pole and you kinda expect elves to come out and show you around. The house itself is pretty small so if your tour group is a bit large, you may have difficulty going around all at the same time, which is why they segregate the groups to accommodate just the right amount of people inside. Dylan particularly liked the Star Wars Christmas toys they had on display. :)
We took our time going around since we were the last tour group for the day. There was so much to see although you have to be careful of the little items on display and some are really fragile. That was a problem with some of the kids whose "energy" couldn't be contained and they had to be escorted out hehehe
From here, we visited the Antipolo Church on the way home and we took time to buy "pasalubong" like cashew nuts and suman.
That was such a fitting end to a really tiring but fun day. This is one reason why I love going on educational field trips with my kids. I, too, learn so much from it and it's a great bonding moment for all of us because we all take away precious memories from them.
Now, we've come to the last part in Dylan's Field Trip. We've saved the best for last because our last destination was the Casa Santa in Jardin de Miramar in San Isidro, Antipolo City. It was funny because going there our buses could hardly fit on the road and they had a hard time making it through the curves. It's the right time to visit Casa Santa seeing as it's now the start of the "BER" months and Christmas is just around the corner. When we arrived, we spent our time eating our lunch at the great garden while waiting for the puppet show to be set up. I just had a beef to settle with some of the parents during the trip. We were expressly told to bring packed lunches and I even woke up pretty early to manage that. Well, what do you know? Along the way, we had to wait for these parents to BUY their lunches from the Jollibee store we passed and it took a while so those of us who actually followed the rules had little time to eat!! grr! I could understand that the administration of the school wanted to please everyone but really, you have to stick to the rules because it's unfair to those of us who followed them.. okay so back to your regular programming...
The puppet show was a hit with the kids who had been recharged since everyone has just had their lunch. Their excitement was contagious and their happiness was boundless. Picture taking after the puppet show had to be contained because everyone wanted to be the first. Fortunately, Dylan was among the first.
After the puppet show, we had some time to burn because another tour group which was ahead of us are still in the Casa Santa so we were told we can explore the whole place until it was time for us to go in. So, Dylan and I just took our time walking around the vast garden. Honestly, it was such a restful place because of all the greenery. We were content to remain outside :)
Check out the pictures we took in this slideshow:
Now, if you viewed the slideshow, you may have seen excerpts of Santa's house. Casa Santa really is a small house full of Santa and Christmas-related artifacts. It's like being transported to the North Pole and you kinda expect elves to come out and show you around. The house itself is pretty small so if your tour group is a bit large, you may have difficulty going around all at the same time, which is why they segregate the groups to accommodate just the right amount of people inside. Dylan particularly liked the Star Wars Christmas toys they had on display. :)
We took our time going around since we were the last tour group for the day. There was so much to see although you have to be careful of the little items on display and some are really fragile. That was a problem with some of the kids whose "energy" couldn't be contained and they had to be escorted out hehehe
From here, we visited the Antipolo Church on the way home and we took time to buy "pasalubong" like cashew nuts and suman.
That was such a fitting end to a really tiring but fun day. This is one reason why I love going on educational field trips with my kids. I, too, learn so much from it and it's a great bonding moment for all of us because we all take away precious memories from them.
Kids: Dylan's 2012 Field Trip - Part 2 - Dolljoy Museum
September 22, 2012
Now we come to the 2nd Part of Dylan's Educational Field Trip. To see what happened during the first part, check out this post. For the 2nd part, we all proceeded to the Dolljoy Gallery and Museum in Caniogan, Pasig to see how dolls and stuffed toys are made. They have different collections of dolls and stuffed toys which everyone loved taking pictures with and the first part of the tour involved everyone walking through their exhibits. Check out this giant panda that Dylan's hugging :)
Apart from the exhibits, the kids were asked to participate in a "Dress your own Doll" activity. Boys were given male soldier dolls to put together and Dylan enjoyed this activity :)
This was a fun activity because it was timed so the kids were really excited and were racing to finish dressing up their respective dolls.
Continuing with the tour, our next destination was the simulation room where you get to see a sampling of what goes on in the making of dolls. Everyone saw where they made the hair and how it was styled for a specific doll and how they painted the faces on. Imagine all the work that goes into one doll. Everything was hand-painted by these artists. We even saw how they put the stuffing into the stuffed toys!
Since we took a lot of pictures, I just put them together in a slideshow so you can see the other dolls in their collections.
Our last stop was at the Casa Santa at Jardin de Miramar.
Apart from the exhibits, the kids were asked to participate in a "Dress your own Doll" activity. Boys were given male soldier dolls to put together and Dylan enjoyed this activity :)
This was a fun activity because it was timed so the kids were really excited and were racing to finish dressing up their respective dolls.
Continuing with the tour, our next destination was the simulation room where you get to see a sampling of what goes on in the making of dolls. Everyone saw where they made the hair and how it was styled for a specific doll and how they painted the faces on. Imagine all the work that goes into one doll. Everything was hand-painted by these artists. We even saw how they put the stuffing into the stuffed toys!
Since we took a lot of pictures, I just put them together in a slideshow so you can see the other dolls in their collections.
Our last stop was at the Casa Santa at Jardin de Miramar.
Kids: Dylan's 2012 Field Trip - Part 1 - Meralco Museum
September 22, 2012
Today, it is Dylan's 2012 Field Trip. Though it was hard for him to wake up so early, once he found out that today was his field trip, he got up in no time at all. They were going to have a full day ahead so it was essential to start out early. The assembly time was at 630 AM and the first stop was going to be at the Meralco Museum. Here he is in the bus looking a little sleepy and there we are at the parking lot of Meralco in Ortigas. Apparently, we arrived early and they were still setting up. That was T. Karen with us.
I honestly didn't have any idea what to expect when we got inside. But, I wasn't disappointed. There was a lot you can learn about electricity and the history of Meralco (which they showed through a film showing although I don't think the kids have any appreciation for that). The kids loved the interactive parts of the museum, like where they can hop on and off on the tram, generating power through manipulation of the exhibits and turning the light switches on and off.
The highlight for Dylan was being able to ride in the Meralco bucket truck. He also loved taking pictures with the huge trucks around the parking lot :)
Here are some of the pictures we took while we were there.
After the Meralco Museum, we all proceeded to the Dolljoy Museum in Pasig see next post.
Today, it is Dylan's 2012 Field Trip. Though it was hard for him to wake up so early, once he found out that today was his field trip, he got up in no time at all. They were going to have a full day ahead so it was essential to start out early. The assembly time was at 630 AM and the first stop was going to be at the Meralco Museum. Here he is in the bus looking a little sleepy and there we are at the parking lot of Meralco in Ortigas. Apparently, we arrived early and they were still setting up. That was T. Karen with us.
I honestly didn't have any idea what to expect when we got inside. But, I wasn't disappointed. There was a lot you can learn about electricity and the history of Meralco (which they showed through a film showing although I don't think the kids have any appreciation for that). The kids loved the interactive parts of the museum, like where they can hop on and off on the tram, generating power through manipulation of the exhibits and turning the light switches on and off.
The highlight for Dylan was being able to ride in the Meralco bucket truck. He also loved taking pictures with the huge trucks around the parking lot :)
Here are some of the pictures we took while we were there.
After the Meralco Museum, we all proceeded to the Dolljoy Museum in Pasig see next post.
Kids: Dana's 2012 Field Trip Part 2 - Zoobic Safari
September 02, 2012
After an entertaining day at the Ocean Adventure (see previous post), the 2nd half of the field trip was devoted to Zoobic Safari, a 25-hectare amusement park with a variety of animals and activities, complete with tour guides to assist you on your way.
Dana and I were both excited to be here since this will be our first time to see what they have in store for us.
At this point, even though we've been trudging on for half a day, our energy still hasn't waned.
The first thing that happened was each bus/vehicle that comes through the gate gets assigned a tour group and a tour guide. You will then follow instructions mandated by the tour guide to keep everything organized. Our first stop was an introduction to all the animals that you'll see in the park. We were asked to sit on bleachers while the host explained what Zoobic Safari was all about. Then came the animals. Everyone was so excited! My fear was kids may fall off from the bleachers because we were so high up. There were a number of tour groups that day. This slideshow sums up the animals that went on parade.
Our next stop was the Serpentarium behind the bleachers. I don't know if it was just me but it was rather scary.. It was dim and musky (which is what cold-blooded creatures love) but they do have a great collection of animals that you can't see anywhere else, like the skink and the albino python.
After a chilling walk through the Serpentarium (Dana and I aren't fans of reptiles), we were led to the aviary, which was kind of reminiscent of the aviary in Jurassic Park III. We entered a wide cage and you can walk among the birds inside. Some of them were still in cages though, especially the small ones. There was a portion there where the kids can feed the birds, I think it was P10 or P20 per a handful of seeds. I wasn't able to take a decent phot because the birds lapped up those seeds in a second! :) Dana said that although she was a bit scared at first, it was fun because it tickled :)
We kept on walking some more, not sure when we left the aviary though, because if you didn't pay attention, you may just find yourself in a different tour group. Anyway, we saw a bear cat, a camel and a full-grown lion whose roars and growls you can hear from afar. It was chilling because it was so deep and primal. I think he was antsy because he kept walking around near one of the lionesses in the cage.
Then on to the highlights of this field trip - Feeding the tigers from an enclosed vehicle at close range. This was one part of the trip that I was really looking forward too. Dana was excited and scared at the same time. To feed the tigers, you need to purchase chickens from them. Since there was only a limited number of passengers per jeep, parents just paired off and we all pitched in to buy enough chickens. As soon as we boarded the jeep, the kids couldn't stop screaming even though the tigers weren't visible yet!
Once they came out, one pounced on top of the vehicle and ate a chicken that was conveniently placed there. It was hard to take pictures because the roof was frosted (or just dirty). Once the tigers moved to the sides of the jeep, you can practically hear everyone's heart pounding. These guys were huge and can snap your head clean off and they snapped those chickens in a jiffy. But these tigers were used to being fed this way. They weren't like "attacking" the jeep or anything like that. So maybe it was kind of a letdown for me because they seemed tame hehehe
What gave me such a scare was when we stopped at a warehouse type of building where there more tigers in cages. I think they called this "A walk on the wild side". You walk next to these cages and your path is about half a meter wide so you're really, really close to the tigers. You have to watch out because they can spray you with their pee to mark their territory. You can literally touch them if you dare! This white tiger was at the end of the building. It was such an adventure! The other parents didn't want to go inside and they missed out on a lot :)
The tour guide mentioned that there was another lion at the far end of the building because his cage was being renovated. You can hear the growls and roars too.
Next stop was the Croco Loco, which you can probably assume that it's going to be plenty of crocodiles. Well, you guessed right! :) They were huge !! The way they made the pens was that you were actually walking on top of the crocodiles, on steel and iron bars and fences. So, you're looking down on them and from the sides. One parent even made a disbelieving comment, "Totoo ba yan?", roughly translated to "Are they real?" because the crocodiles were just lying there with their mouths open. Until one of them made a move and everything went haywire hahahaha When the big one suddenly moved, all the small ones scampered off and all the parents who were looking at them at close range suddenly scampered back too and started screaming LOL Too bad I didn't have a video of that LOL
The last stop of the tour was where they put together the bones of the animals who died. It's kind of like a Fossil/Bone museum. The fur of the Bengal Tiger was very smooth to the touch and if you imagine it, alive and breathing, it really was a magnificent animal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)