I sorted through the school supplies last week in order to salvage what I can and reuse for next school year. Through the mess, I found several treasures: unused boxes of modeling clay, pencils, slightly used erasers, three, yes, 3! same brand and make of sharpeners, ps3 hdmi cables, crayons and pad papers.

What I saved will be used next school year. The kids are used to this practice, why even my eldest daughter “rotates” her school bags. I think the one she used this school year was her sixth grade bag. Or maybe fifth grade?

There were crayons, slightly used pencils, several notebooks as well as textbooks that I put in a big plastic container to be given to the DIY guy with 7 kids. I hope he gets to send them back to school but that would probably be wishful thinking.

Summer vacation is here and we have been sleeping in for several days. I don’t really miss my 4:30am wake-up call. What I really miss are my “me time” with my hoop and Zumba. I can’t possibly do these while the children are at home, they’d think I’m running a comedy show, LOL!

The downside of having the children around is an increase in food budget. They chomp, chomp and chomp endlessly. I also don’t get to write the posts and articles I need to finish because I can’t concentrate. Reading up on cirrhosis, hgh supplements and some additional info for teaching program I am collating is taking a long time to accomplish. It’s as if my brain took a summer vacation too.

What to do to keep the children busy this summer:

• Enroll them in a summer program, not necessarily academics but something that they will enjoy: swimming, sports, arts among others.
• Give the children a schedule of the things they can do at home, not exactly like the one they have in school, for them to not just keep track of time but to keep themselves busy.
• Have them start a hobby: gardening, collecting things that interest them or blogging.
• Limit the time they spend online and encourage them to enagage in physical activities (see the first suggestion)
• Have them make a goal of what they want to be able to master this summer, be it baking cupcakes or playing the guitar.

Early yesterday morning consisted of the hubby and I watching countless videos of our favorite dog breed: the American Pit Bull Terrier.

We’ve had pitbulls for years. From Reddy the red-nosed guy, to Swoop the not-so-motherly mom-dog, to Sparky who passed away three years ago and now Chichi, our overweight big dog.

We were surprised to read that some of these dogs are being given supplements for them to grow muscles! Hmmm… maybe that explains why some of the dogs have bigger than usual body built. Maybe they just eat more protein-based food like all-meat servings than some dogs (like maybe ours?). Maybe the body built depends on the dog’s lineage.

I’m sure, when their humans click here, they will have ideas on how they want these breed to look like

And no, they are not wild. They are sweet and fun dogs. Just don’t have any other dog at home besides them. If you do, separate them. Always.

He said: “Teacher, if you see an invitation from me to be a Facebook friend, don’t accept.”

I asked why.

“It’s not me”, he said.

I asked how he knows about it.

He explained that his classmates said they got friend invites from him and he was surprised because he has NOT signed up for an account in Facebook.

Uh-oh. Good thing I brought a laptop with me so I plugged in the prepaid internet usb and looked for his name.

Sure enough we saw his name and he has an account. With a photo to boot.

Did he know who could possibly do this to him? He said he has no idea.

This prompted a lecture about internet security and how details we put in the net are seen by hundreds if not thousands of people we don’t know. There are scams and there are scams and people with bad intentions will never run out of ideas to scam people.

People have to scrutinize and research about security settings before signing up on anything online or even considering to buy gold online or book a flight. Children and adults too should know not put up their photos online unless necessary, their school names or workplace, addresses and telephone numbers not just to avoid phishing but also for security reasons.

We teach our children not to talk to strangers and this same philosophy should also be true to online or virtual friends.

To parents: it is important to know your children’s activity online not just to avoid online trouble but real-life troubles too. If in doubt, use Google Chrome Nanny.

This bird is free and not caged, like some birds are.

We love to hear them chirp early in the morning and during late afternoon. We love to see them fly from one tree to the next which is rarely seen considering we live in the city. That tree by the way is beside the house. They may make some “dirt” on some of our things placed outdoors but it’s ok with me as long as they don’t bring any diseases (like maybe bird flu).