Children are drawn to horses and they would love to try riding on one or even riding in a calesa being pulled by a horse. There is something about horses and children that just click and it is not just a phase they go through because if this phase was encouraged, I’m sure these children will even grow to love the sports connected with horses.

According to Franklin Levinson, an authority in natural horsemanship training:

Horses, being naturally social and inclined to appropriate interaction with whoever is with them, are a perfect manifestation of nature for children to interact with, become empowered by and have an experience that expands their world immensely.

My children are no exception. When the nearby city park still had horses for horseback riding, we used to bring my then only child eldest daughter to experience riding on horses. We seriously considered enrolling her in horseback riding lessons but we didn’t have horse equipment.

I got some photos of them on a horse (but I think it’s in the EHD already) and they said they can’t wait to be on one soon. I hope we can grant their wish to ride on a horse again soon.

My son is required to email our family photo to his drama club coach for their play “The Cat Painter“.

He told me he had an idea about how we can do the photo shoot: we sit all together on the sofa with him in the middle holding the guitar we got them for them last Christmas. It’s not ibanez acoustic guitars yet but maybe when they can play better…

Last night the hubby had them listen to Trios Los Panchos, which was a group my late FIL listened to.

“La Cucaracha… La Cucaracha…”

We will be doing this photo shoot later using his idea.

Encourage your children to do what they like best and what they are good at. This is what we parents hear from other parents who’ve “been there and done that”.

Encouraging your children and giving them the much-needed support to be able to reach their goals and make their dreams a reality. There are no definite steps or ways to make these happen. More often than not, parents do not merely lead what they think is best for their children but they feel and know what it is their children like.

There are of course those parents who insist on making their children do things without regard if the children are liking the experiences but that is another story.

So, how can parents encourage their children?

• Develop their self-esteem.
• Be able to provide for avenues to let them have experiences and develop skills that will further hone their talents. These need not be expensive, with the right creative approach, parents can give their children the support they need.
• Encourage them to love learning new things like making best friend gift ideas rather than buying or by trying out new things to see what they really want to pursue.
• Encourage them to be creative because being creative can open avenues for them to explore further.
• Let them know that mistakes don’t mean that they failed, but these are chances for them to stand up and do better.
• Love them unconditionally.
• Set limits. As a parent, you’ll know when is the right time for setting limit

No SPEED Limit yearly benefit run is happening on January 29, 2012. This run is sponsored by the Ateneo SPecial Education Society or Ateneo SPEED.

There are several categories to choose from: 3k, 5k, 10k and 15k. The route will be inside and outside Ateneo Campus.

This run is for the benefit of teacher development of Batino Elementary School, a public special education institution in Quezon City. continue reading this entry »

Christmas is one of the most anticipated events we have. For some of my students in the past, there were a few who believed in the magic of Santa Claus via the gifts thy receive.

Of course, there was no way I will burst their bubble by saying that … never mind. When asked if I tell my children about Santa Claus, I tell them that I teach the children about the birth of Jesus Christ and what it represents to the Christians.

I also tell them that we traditionally ask the children to choose what they want for Christmas to be given as gifts. They are surprised I do that. But I tell them, better we give what they like (as long as these are within the budget) than they get something they don’t like.

So what do we teach the children about Christmas besides the Bible-related verses? We teach them that Christmas is about:

• Love. Loving your family and friends not just during the Christmas season but the whole year through. Year after year after year.
• Generosity. Generosity that does not just pertain to gifts and things that money can buy but generosity of kind words, respect and kind words among others.
• Family. Christmas is about family and how we should treasure each and everyone in our family.

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas!

This post written today, December 28th, but time-stamped for an earlier date for the ABC posts that I had not done since the last post I published dated December 6.

Bullying is probably one of the worst things that can happen to children. Most vulnerable to bullying are children with special needs.

No matter how much we brief our children on what to do just in case they get bullied, it is another story when they are on their own.

Young children are not exempted from bullying.

Online bullying happens and is probably just as scary as being bullied at the back of the school building because more people read and see what is happening. It is important to teach children about being careful when they do online activities.

For the teens, with the many issues they are going through, there are some things happening that make them vulnerable to being bullied or becoming bullies themselves. Coping with the challenges they face may make them unsure of what they should do and there are cases when they act out unexpectedly. continue reading this entry »