I’ve never explored Intramuros in all my life, considering that I have been at this historical structure several times.My husband and I even held a gig at one of the restaurants for a couple of months and I sang at a wedding at The Manila Cathedral! I think it was my lack of interest in Philippine history in my youth that made me pass up on the opportunity to see the place and learn more about it. Thank God for homeschooling! It’s what sparked something in me to find out the story behind these walls. It turned out to be […]
A Minimalist Christmas
I was talking to a friend the other day about Christmas and all the festivities and activities that come along with it. She mentioned a couple of things that made me see how commercialized Christmas has become. Not that my realization is unheard of. For years, I’ve been seeing write-ups on how people focus more on the material side of the holidays, instead of the spirit of it. And it’s so much more true now. There’s a lot more of the Martha Stewart vibe going on than ever before. My husband comments, it’s social media. People see so many beautiful […]
ALOHA Mental Arithmetic: Joining a class
Last September 29 was Lukas’ first time join an ALOHA class. He’s been doing lessons on a one-on-one basis with Teacher Kim every Thursday, but at the recommendation of Teacher Kim, I thought it would be interesting to see how Lukas would fare being in a class with other kids. For one thing, Lukas is an introvert. Oh, he loves company! But like me, he has moments when he withdraws from people and just wants to be left to himself. This is how introverts recharge. We need those moments. Anyway, Lukas has been progressing well, but Teacher Kim says we […]
ALOHA Mental Arithmetic: Of Games and Sharpening both Brains
Are you left-brained or right-brained? Maybe you already know that the two sides of our brains have totally different functions and that they play a role on how we perform in our daily tasks and challenges. When you’re left-brained, you’re considered to be logical and analytical, , but if you have a more dominant right brain, you are on the creative side. In ALOHA Mental Arithmetic, they give their students exercises that would enhance both brain hemispheres, so they can both be analytical and creative, on top of activities that would enhance their learning skills – visual, auditory and kinesthetic. […]
First day of ALOHA Mental Arithmetic: Learning to use the Abacus
I took Lukas to his first session at ALOHA Mental Arithmetic center in Greenhills last Thursday afternoon. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since this would be the first time we will try an ”academic” supplementary program. But judging through the videos we’ve seen, it seems to make Math so much fun to do. If you haven’t read my previous blog about ALOHA Mental Arithmetic, click this: Mental Math Fun with ALOHA Mental Arithmetic I included a video of kids who demonstrated their Math Wizardry using the ALOHA method in that blog. Math isn’t exactly Lukas’ favorite subject. In […]