Blended Learning Year 2

September 20, 2021 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

We are now on the second week of classes for this school year. Yasmin is in Grade 10 while Yohan is already in Grade 5.

Honestly, we experienced a lot of challenges last year. The kids have a hard time adjusting to blended learning. And so am I -as their home learning partner most of the time. We even hired a tutor for Yohan as my alternate during the times that I have to report at the office. Yasmin’s grades dropped because she was overwhelmed with the activities required in most of the subjects. Nevertheless, we survived and completed the new normal schooling amidst this on-going pandemic.

This year, we are anticipating some adjustments that I believe will make learning from home much easier. Thanks for the applications made accessible for the kids, such as Facebook Messenger. Google Workspace (Gmail, Google Meet, Google Classroom, and Google Forms. They are also learning to use Canva for designing their outputs.

They will still use the Self-Learning Modules developed by DepEd as reference for their lesson and activities.

Good luck to us and hoping for another meaningful and productive school year.

Challenges in Schooling in the New Normal

July 7, 2021 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

How are you fellow parents? How’s the school so far? Some of you maybe on school break already huh. Well, we are on the final week now. The kids (and I) are busy taking summative tests, completing modules and projects.

This school year was not a walk in the park for us. I think many parents and guardians will agree with me. We faced difficulty adjusting to the new mode of attending classes, we have fair share of anger and frustration. It was quite hard, especially when you are also a working parent. Added to that are the distractions here and there that the kids frequently lose focus on their studies.

Thankfully, despite all the challenges we are facing due to COVID-19 pandemic, we will be able to finish another school year, soon.

I will share in details our blended learning journey in the separate post.

See yah!

Bible Verse and Keeping our Children Busy in this time of Pandemic

June 4, 2020 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.” – Psalms 107:13 NKJV

Arts such as coloring and digital drawing is one of the things that keep my dear son busy these days. This is just one of his latest outputs. Shout out to his “big sisters” in our Church for giving us several printed copies that Yohan can work on.

Co-Curricular Activities 2019

November 27, 2019 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

This month has been a busy one for us. The kids’ school is celebrating their 25th Foundation Anniversary which meant series of events such as Field Demo and Cheer Dance Competition, talent and popularity contest, and parade. They also has their Educational Trip.

Thea and Yohan’s class both won in the competitions. Yohan’s class/team hailed as Champion in the Field Demo – Primary Level while Thea’s team landed as Second Placer in the Cheer Dance Competition for Junior – Senior High School level.

It was fun watching this two in their performances. Good thing, they got their Papa’s dancing ability. 🙂

Measles Outbreak in NCR and Other Regions as Declared by the Department of Health (DOH)

February 8, 2019 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

Heads up parents! Let us all be proactive in protecting our loved ones from illnesses. As you’ve seen in the news, measles outbreak has been declared in the National Capital Region.

In the recent statement issued by the DOH, as of January 2016, the number of measles cases in NCR was 441 with 5 deaths,while there were 575 cases with 9 deaths in CALABARZON provinces. Region 3 has 192 cases with 4 deaths, Region 6 with 104 cases and 3 deaths, and Region 7 with 71 cases with 1 death. (Source)

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III urges mothers, caregivers and the general public to be more vigilant because of this alarming health concern.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It is transferred from person to person by sneezing, coughing, and close personal contact. Its signs and symptoms, include cough, runny nose, red eyes, fever, skin rashes lasting for more than 3 days.

Stay safe, everyone and happy weekend!

(Source)

Spending Some Quality Time with my Tween

February 19, 2018 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

We took advantage of the long weekend because of Chinese New Year Celebration (Feb. 16 2018 was declared as a holiday here in PH) for a quick bonding with the young lady of the house, Thea. It was a simple yet meaningful bonding moment for us.

Before Papa left for Baguio City on early morning last Friday, he told me to take Thea out. I said yes, I will. This is the plan! We will both get a trim at the nearby salon and then take her to the bookstore to get some art supplies she’s been asking since first week of January.

When I told Thea about it, she immediately took a bath and dressed up. So, we left the house at ten in the morning.

First stop – Victor Ortega Salon, Kalentong, Mandaluyong Branch.

BEFORE: at the waiting area

AFTER: in front of Victor Ortega Salon and Spa

Please excuse my “siopao” face hahaha. Thea is becoming my carbon-copy as she grows older, isn’t it? A more charming version of me perhaps.

After that, we went to Samya Bookstore and School Supplies inside the Marketplace Mall just on the other side of the street.

Thea showing some of her bookstore purchases 🙂

I also got her a new pair of slippers.

I am glad that she enjoyed our short trip, few steps away from home hehehe

Divisoria and Taytay (Rizal) shopping are next stops in our list. We are also looking forward for more family getaways this coming summer break. Yohan will be coming home and will be staying with us for good. Ugh, I really miss my funny and sweet baby boy.

CIAO! Happy Monday everyone!

Note to Self – Parenting 101 Edition

February 7, 2018 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

I know, I know! It’s okay to have hits and misses in parenthood. But, sometimes it’s kind of confusing that suddenly you feel guilty and ask yourself, Am I a bad parent? Am I raising my child/children well?

But…no matter what happens, I will never ever stop loving my children. I will assure them that I love them more than I love myself. I will not let anyone or anything interfere in the way I am raising my own children. They are my own, I take the responsibility of LOVING and TEACHING them to become kind-hearted and God-fearing individuals.

Thanks to this quote I found in Pinterest. This serves as a friendly reminder to the mama in me 🙂

credits

Good day everyone, warm hugs for all of yah!

On Grades, Moving Up and Search for a Good School

February 1, 2018 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

While we are not a grade conscious household, the remaining two quarters of this school year is crucial for our unica hija because she is a graduating elementary student. Her school called for a parent-teachers’ conference yesterday, so I asked my niece to attend in my behalf. The Third Quarter Report Card was also released after the meeting. At around 4pm, I called her and asked how was Thea’s grades. Thea got 85-90 in most subject areas while below 85 in Mathematics.

Few minutes later, Thea called at the office (landline) and here’s our conversation:

Thea: Ma, okey naman lahat ng grades ko except sa Math, same as last quarter, 82 pa rin po Ma.

Me: Okey na yun, matataas na ang grades mo. Pagbutihin mo pa para mag-improve pa ha.

Thea: Sana tumaas pa ng 3 points ngayong fourth grading para 85 na.

Aminado naman siyang mahina sya sa Math eh. Mana kasi sa akin hahaha

In fairness to her, she still did her best and showed improvements in her study habits. Despite the challenges we’re facing because of peer pressure and puberty-related stuff, she still managed to perform well in school.

In other news, they already had their graduation portraits taken just a couple of days ago. That signals that the end of this year is fast approaching. Their Graduation Rights is slated for end of March, I guess. No final announcement from the school yet.

We are currently looking for schools that offer good quality Junior High education. Focus on discipline and values education, smaller class size, and proximity to our place of residence consist our criteria in selecting school. We are more inclined to also enrolling Yohan, an incoming Grade 2 pupil in the same school. Good luck to our school searching!

Happy Wednesday to all. Ciao!

Random Musings: Life as a Mom

January 16, 2018 by Weng Zaballa Leave a comment

While designing my bullet journal, I suddenly remembered that I have an unused bookmark from my 2013 Mommy Mundo 24/7 Planner. I pulled it out and inserted it in between the pages of my new planner. The bookmark has a quotation that reads:

Mom’s Life is made of days spent with pure joy, simple laughter, tests of wisdom, true faith and realized blessings.

I totally agree!

If you’ve been following my posts about parenting, you know that I am experiencing a challenging phase of motherhood coz I am parenting a soon-to-be teenager. Defiant behavior, episodes of lying, going out without asking permission, name it. We are experiencing that at home, this early. My daughter is only 11, going 12 in April.

My husband and I talked about her many times already. We asked ourselves what’s wrong, what have we done etcetera. This morning after talking to her because of another misdeed, my husband said calmly, “Don’t worry, Thea will also change her ways, her attitude”. I think it’s his way of comforting me. In times like these kasi, I can feel that my wisdom is being put to the test so as my love and patience.

Thea is friendly, loves music and arts and recently hooked to K-Pop group called BTS. But her behavior now, I think, is greatly influenced by wrong choice of peers whom she think are her “friends”, and addiction to gadgets. I am continuously looking for ways to strengthen our bond as a family and in keeping communication lines open. I will let her enjoy things that she loves like singing, drawing, and writing (in her journal). I will let her develop her own identity. I will encourage her to enjoy her youth, free from too much pressures from barkada.

Do you have any suggestion on how to handle defiance among teens? Share them in the comment section, please. Love you all, thank you!