This is Really Is It! How to Make your Child Get Top Honors

After many "second in class" honors, jonesy finally landed on the top spot.

Congratulations, son!

I love how you outdo your parents each and every time.  I'm proud of you.

---

Secrets to make your child get academic honors:

- None.  I absolutely have no techniques for kids to get higher grades.
- My role in the house is to ask "You have home work?"  and "Have you eaten yet?"
-  If child is hungry, cook.  Better if you've cooked before your child gets home.
-  As your child eats, sit at the table.  Ignore your pending deadlines (that's for work at homeys like me).  Just sit.
-  If your child feels like talking while at the table, good.  If not, just sit there.  Watch him eat or eat with him as well.  If your child is chatty while you all sit at the table, ask questions.   Listen. Make mental notes on what to remember.  Especially, note names of friends, what their friends did and those friends' likes and dislikes.  You have to remember because you will make future references to what you've learned.  Your kid likes it when you remember.  Ask your child's feelings about the events.  I think this is a very important point for raising boys, who totally forget about it and tend to not identify feelings as they go along.
-  Make home a safe haven to relax in when your child is tired from school.
-  If you REALLY just HAVE TO badger (because you can't help it), pick a time when your child has rested already.

So why doesn't this piece talk about making a child get top honors?
Because you don't make them.
Your role is to provide a safe haven to inspire them to learn, to excite them to go to school. Inspire them to participate, to work within school rules and let them just be... happy. 

When they're in their element, you can step back and be wowed at all the things they can do.





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I Got an Email from Myself!

Look people, I got an email from me, dated December 23, 2008.
courtesy of futureme.org.

I will share the contents (re: Christmas) because you might also find it useful.





Am excited for christmas, you?






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How do you Preserve Your Family Memories?

Being the low-maintenance mom that I am, I am quite the royal dork-o in organizing the family's mementoes.

Some moms lovingly scrapbook.  My sister was a killer scrapbooker until Multiply came along.  I love all the colorful themed pages,  the cute cropped pictures and the different textures in the pages.  Some moms take care of their photo albums.  Others carefully collect stuff for their memory boxes, keeping all pictures, tags, cards, receipts and assorted kinds of souvenirs in pretty boxes.

My version of "lovingly organizing" the family keepsakes is:
1) Dragging myself to the photo studio to have pictures developed.  Hard copy has its own merits.  Did I mention my original schedule of going to the studio was like, uhmm... 3 years ago?
2) After getting the copies, stack up all those babies.
3) Dump into a box.  Are you looking for a acid-free photo box from me? Ehmm.. *Twiddles fingers.  Looks away...*

I am interested to have a time capsule, though.  This time capsule will be for everybody, not just for me and the boys, but will include my sister and my niece and my mom as well.

I am thinking of a special occasion to have a time capsule ceremony. I'll have my sons and niece pick up stuff that they'd want to include in the time capsule.  I'd like to have the time capsule buried out in our backyard.  Hmm, maybe I'll do this on mom's birthday, since for Mang Napo's birthday we're planning to have a simultaneous christmas tree lighting in our own houses.

I'm guessing a lot of you would also want a time capsule for your family but don't have the space to bury the capsule in.

Why not try an online time capsule? I think there's a great company out there, myheartwill.com, that takes care of your pictures, videos and messages for 10 years.  Unlike your blog, these keepsakes are for private viewing.  It may also be accessed by a guardian.  And unlike a blog, if you totally forget about it, it will still be all there, ready for viewing.

Or better yet, why not do both? One actual physical time capsule and an online one.

Our kids will appreciate these little gestures further on in the future.

Learn more about heartwill.com and about living wills.


How about you, how do you preserve family memories?

Top Reasons Why Books are the Best Gifts for Kids

I wish I'd thought of this article first, but Ms. Rupa Raman very nicely beat me to it.

I just loved her article Why Books Make Great Gifts and just had to share it.

I've always considered myself the "boring gift-giver". Every year, my presents are square, rectangle and flat. You don't need to open the wrapper to know what's inside. Should I even share that my presents are always the last to be opened (and by then the child is distracted looking at the bells and whistles of the gadgets they received)?

They always rip off my wrapper in reflex, and half-heartedly.

Anyhoo, I don't mind. Long after the interesting bells and whistles toys are chucked out in the trash, the books are there and we still read those ;-) Last laugh in the background: Mu-hawhawhawhaw.

Here are her reasons why books make great gifts:

* Nurtures an interest in reading
* Rarely outgrown
* Books serve as an inspiration for other interests - I like this point very much.
* Reinforces an ongoing interest in a hobby or subject
* Unbreakable gift. No parts to go missing, no batteries that conk out.
* Easy to find and carry
* Personalized children's books make the best gifts!

Please see the complete article. A very worthwhile read.





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Thank you, Universe for...

I like thanking the universe for each and every detail i come across with in daily life.  I came across Psychobabble's grateful-for entry and I thought, wow, that's so nice.  Why not blog it as well?  I did tell her I'll nick her gratitude idea.  I'm sure it's fine with her.

Right now, from where I'm sitting,

I am thankful for my sons, who ALWAYS connect me to the universe.
I am thankful for my mom, sister and far-away bro, my work, my work colleagues, my home, the cutie animals who like to chirp outside, the trees, the sun always peeking at me through the trees during sunset, my heartsharers online and in realtime, my body and a little boy peeking at the monitor while i type.

there are more, but the bubble's burst. hee hee. more next time.

Raising (Bigger) Boys

Yep, I have a new son.  A much bigger son.

Last week, my sperm donor's 18-year-old nephew  called and asked me if he can stay over.  Some messy business with his family moving and all, and he asked if he can stay with us so he can focus on school. 

My nephew is a smart, talented and kind boy. Coming from ehmm... (not to diss, but just telling the precise description:) crazy-ass parents doesn't really fit in the grand scheme of things if that's how you are.

We like having him around.  My sons have fun with him, and he's helpful around the house.  Plus when he stays with us, he thrives in school.  During the school's first quarter, he stayed with us and he got into the top 3 because, he claimed, he "can study here" at our home compared to when he's with his mom.  I also enjoy how he talks and talks around the dinner table, asking many questions about friends, his love life and how to do better in school.
 
Today, he came in with his stuff.
"Tita (Aunt), are you adopting me?".  I just grunted.  Translated to:  If I just can, I would.
"Tita, dad's asking if you want anything that he can bring for you? Chocolates? Clothes?"
MF: "None, really. I just want you to go to school."
"Okay."

So now I'm raising all age ranges of boys: tween - early teen - late teen.

Let's get ready to .... rumblllllle....