Here was the finished product (with watermark of my food blog, Tummy Fillers):

We had three of those mini loaves and ate two. The third one, we cut in half and they brought home for a taste test with their moms.

One of them even joked that if he is able to bake well, he will probably put up a bakeshop complete with high-tech baking equipment and even POS systems.

For another student, we did origami of a basic boat and a cat, which turned out to be a bit difficult for her. And me too, lol.

Here is a video of the origami cat that we did:

This week, we will do more origami for Mother’s Day.

Some are:

• art kits which include lacing materials as well as beads for bead work art (I wish these were Ocean Fossil Jasper beads though and not the plastic ones, lol)
• storybooks I have forgotten about
• school supplies like crayons, pencils, scissors and glue (it hardened already, argh)
• toys that needed a lot of cleaning

Some children will be happy using these art kits for our arts and craft activities for the remaining summer days.

Decluttering takes us back down memory lane. I know because I did that with the home library and though it was hard to get rid of things I haven’t used, I had to do it mercilessly.

What summer fun activities can parents do to make their children busy with other things than will make their summer vacation worthwhile and fun without exactly paying for these programs?

• arts and crafts. There are a lot of ideas available in the web and these do not just mean buying all those new materials because there is such a thing like recycling crafts
• cooking-related stuff. If your child is interested in cooking and baking, then it would be a good idea to have a young apprentice in the kitchen, right? No need to enrol in “cooking” schools because they can learn this and more within the comforts of their home
• swimming lessons. If you know how to swim well and there’s a pool nearby where you can go, then by no means give this a go.
• entrepreneurship training. Do you have a small business? Does your child show interest in starting his own business? You too can help him and you can both engage in the arts and crafts and cooking-related stuff for business purposes.

Of course, there are centers that offer much more than these activities and it is important to choose well to get your money’s worth.

Remember though, the above suggested activities will foster more family bonding time

Greenbucks is my Flickr account where blog photos are stored. I also have photos in this blog.

I use Canon point and shoot cameras (not necessarily cheap canon cameras). Sometimes people are surprised when they see me bring out my small camera. A lot of times when people see my photo blog or my other photos online, they ask what my camera is and get surprised when I tell them I use this small Canon A530 camera.

Sure, I know I need an upgrade already but there are other financial obligations I must fulfill and frankly, much as I want to have a new camera, that is at the bottom rung of the things I need.

I take photos for fun and if I decide to go up the ladder and be a professional (naks!) I’d be getting a bigger camera. I would need to take photos and use it to earn back my investment,

I told her she could not, should not and must not do that again when she undergoes another educational assessment procedure. Plus, getting this grade does not guarantee that she will get a similar grade when she takes her college entrance exams.

There are several ways student readiness can be achieved before taking major educational assessment like college entrance exams or even high school entrance exams and here are a few tips:

• reviewing with others, whether in a review center or with a review center helps one remember important facts through shared discussions and group support
• self-study is good especially for topics that are easier to do or for topics that the student finds having most difficulty with
• do not really heavily on the materials that review centers will provide. Instead, you can download review materials and mock exams that are readily available for free from the internet
• practice time management
• find a source of inspiration, like someone who you find successful and want to emulate, to motivate you when the going gets rough
• organize all the information you got so that these are easier to understand
• two weeks or so prior to the exams, you have to take care of yourself and not get sick

There are several more tips in student assessment solutions regarding preparing for college entrance exams and the aforementioned are just a few of these tips.

For the students and parents, early preparation and proper planning are the keys to achieving the goals you have laid out.

Unilab Ideas Positive believes in the youth’s ideas that will make positive difference to the communities they have in mind. Unilab Ideas Positive is a social marketing clinic and competition that gives the youth a place where they can share innovative and sustainable ideas concerning the health and wellness of their communities of choice. These ideas are given the chance and platform to be a reality.

How can Unilab help the youth make their health and wellness ideas in Unilab Ideas Positive as concrete programs that will help communities?

• 3 day marketing boot camp to learn from experts the current social marketing approaches and relevant case studies
• seed money for the implementation of their program which will run for six months

College students from North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao can now join 2012 Unilab Ideas Positive. More communities will now benefit from the health and wellness programs the youth have as ideas because fifteen, yes, 15 teams will each be given Php100,000 seed money from Unilab Foundation for the implementation of these social marketing programs. This means a total of Php1.5 million seed money will be for these health and wellness programs.

This is an opportunity to give back to communities and help them be healthier through these health and wellness programs. Healthier people means healthier nation.

Now on its third year, Unilab Ideas Positive gets even better with a focus not only on positive ideas, but also on positive outcomes—creating a difference where it matters, in partnership with the Filipino youth.

We all want a healthier nation, right? Start sharing your idea by visiting www.unilabideaspositive.com