24 Jul, 2006
Julian’s Initial D toy cars
Posted by teacherjulie @ 11:57 pm
Shelved under Bits and Pieces, My Family

Julian and I celebrated our birthdays ten days ago. My son, he is a very patient little man. He is a man who will honor even a verbal agreement. He got his favorite MAZDA FD3S (of Initial D) last June 12, i think. Though he was holding on to the toy car (literally) everyday, he dared not opened it. He has convinced himself that he will remove the toy from its container only after he has eaten a slice of our birthday cake. He has been tempted by Brian to have it opened by a cutter but he refused. He has the complete line-up of Initial D cars scheduled to be given to him for every birthday until he is ten years old. We were supposed to get a set of these cars which has five cars in a box. The set was cheaper by 25% than if we buy all five cars individually. He won’t hear it because he said it is expensive. He says he doesn’t want the set because its Php1000 whereas one car is cheaper, costing only Php250. Besides, he has plans for each and every one of those cars, one for his birthday until his tenth, why get them all now? Remarkable, really.

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24 Jul, 2006
SONA 2006
Posted by julie @ 11:32 pm
Shelved under Bits and Pieces, My Thoughts, Pinoy
This year’s SONA is different. It was like a show, a well-orchestrated one, no doubt. PGMA arriving with several of her supporters or allies. She was asked to deliver the SONA which she did in a hurry forgetting that the National Anthem hasn’t been sung yet and prayers haven’t been said. Would’ve been better if she made taray when she walked back to the podium but no, she just smiled a sweet smile. I’m thinking, “Is this for real?”To me, the SONA was like a geography lesson, or more like a lessons about roads, highways, ports, airports and anything in between. Must be good times coming up for those who make maps because they will have to revise current maps available in the market. Good times too for those who will benefit from these road construction projects. I don’t mean the people living near those would-be infrastructure, I mean the contractors, bidders, government officials whose pockets and bellies will be full even before these were realized. Oh, the presentation, that itself presented good effects.

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24 Jul, 2006
Tanay, Rizal
Posted by teacherjulie @ 8:47 am
Shelved under Bits and Pieces, My Family, On the Road
We went around Tanay, Rizal, yesterday after we heard mass at 11am. First stop was lunch at Chowking in Tanay around 130pm. We were all so hungry we ate the food we ordered in a jiffy. The kids were still asking for their favorite lumpiang shanghai but there was none left. Anyway, after that hearty lunch, we proceeded to our destination, the ever favorite Sierra Madre Resort Hotel. On our way, we saw a sign with the words “Daranak Falls”. Ok, we decided, we will check it out. The way to Daranak Falls is rather lonely. Trees abound on each side of the road. Fenced farms too are seen on either side of the road. There were rocks and leaves strewn on the roads, after-effects of the week-long rains that we’ve had. When we reached the entrance to the falls, the kids were ecstatic to see rushing water, but no waterfalls yet. After paying the entrance fee,we rushed to the bridge, eager to see where the waterfalls can be seen. After navigating through boulders and slippery soil, we finally saw it. Wow! The view of the falls was breathtaking. One can feel the energy of the flowing water. Because of the onslaught of rains, water has been plentiful and tourists few. With the exception of some Japanese or Korean guys and their girlfriends as well as some local guides, we had the place to ourselves. The kids were all staring at the falls. They stood near the rope that was there to prevent people from falling over. We can feel the mist of water spraying on our face whenever the winds blow. It was truly a wonderful experience to savor for sometime.

Sad to say, our happy feelings were replaced by disgust on our way back to the parking lot. We went up the cemented steps which was supposedly closed due to a construction going on near the steps. But because we asked one of the local guides to help us go through that way to avoid going back through the boulders, we were able to pass through those steps. After the going up the steps, we had to navigate down among trees to go to the paved way. What should have been en enjoyable trek through trees proved otherwise. Garbage, as in plastic bags, chips containers, plastic bottles and other unidentifiable trash were littered along the way. In my opinion, this is a blatant disrespect for Mother Nature.Then when hubby and I were discussing about our experience, we noticed that there were no trash bins near the picnic areas. How sad that people are able to enjoy nature at its best but fail to take good care of it.

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4 Jul, 2006
First Grade Proverbs
Posted by teacherjulie @ 9:47 pm
Shelved under Being a (Special Ed) Teacher, Just For Fun


A first grade teacher collected old, well known proverbs. She gave
each kid in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come
up with the rest. These are great:

  • As You Shall Make Your Bed So Shall You… Mess It Up.
  • Better Be Safe Than… Punch A 5th Grader.
  • Strike While The… Bug Is Close.
  • It’s Always Darkest Before… Daylight Savings Time.
  • Never Under Estimate The Power Of… Termites.
  • You Can Lead A Horse To Water But.. How?
  • Don’t Bite The Hand That… Looks Dirty.
  • No News Is… Impossible.
  • A Miss Is As Good As A… Mr.
  • You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New… Math.
  • If You Lie Down With The Dogs, You’ll… Stink In The Morning.
  • Love All, Trust.. Me
  • The Pen Is Mightier Than The… Pigs.
  • An Idle Mind Is… The Best Way To Relax.
  • Where There’s Smoke, There’s… Pollution.
  • Happy The Bride Who… Gets All The Presents!
  • A Penny Saved Is… Not Much.
  • Two’s Company, Three’s… The Musketeers.
  • Don’t Put Off Tomorrow What… You Put On To Go To Bed.
  • Laugh And The Whole World Laughs With You, Cry And… You Have To Blow Your Nose.
  • None Are So Blind As… Helen Keller.
  • Children Should Be Seen And Not… Spanked Or Grounded.
  • If At First You Don’t Succeed… Get New Batteries.
  • You Get Out Of Something What You… See Pictured On The Box.
  • When The Blind Leadeth The Blind… Get Out Of The Way.
  • There Is No Fool Like… Aunt Eddie.
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4 Jul, 2006
Put Reading First
Posted by teacherjulie @ 6:34 am
Shelved under Learning Disabilities, special education

Helping Your Child Learn to Read

A Parent Guide
Preschool Through Grade 3

Success in school starts with reading.

When children become good readers in the early grades, they are more likely to become better learners throughout their school years and beyond.

Learning to read is hard work for children. Fortunately, research is now available that suggests how to give each child a good start in reading.

Becoming a reader involves the development of important skills, including learning to:

  • use language in conversation
  • listen and respond to stories read aloud
  • recognize and name the letters of the alphabet
  • listen to the sounds of spoken language
  • connect sounds to letters to figure out the “code” of reading
  • read often so that recognizing words becomes easy and automatic
  • learn and use new words
  • understand what is read

Preschool and kindergarten teachers set the stage for your child to learn to read with some critical early skills. First, second, and third grade teachers then take up the task of building the skills that children will use every day for the rest of their lives. As a parent, you can help by understanding what teachers are teaching and by asking questions about your child’s progress and the classroom reading program.

You can also help your children become readers. Learning to read takes practice, more practice than children get during the school day. This brochure describes what a quality reading program should look like at school and how you can support that program through activities with your children.

If your child is just beginning to learn to read

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