Endangered Park?

The park where Sweetpea and I spent today has been the talk of the locals in the area for quite a while. They said that the Coggshall Park’s survival is endangered by logging. As a matter of fact, I had read from the paper that a machine that was used for cutting trees was put on fire by someone. He's probably angry about what was going on in the park.

There were not too many people at the park when we arrived. There were fewer geese and ducks, and the playground was empty. Sweetpea played alone for twenty minutes and I had a great time snapping photos of her. Then gradually, a few kids with their parents started coming in.

Although Sweetpea didn't personally know the kids, I noticed that she was extra friendly to them. She would tag along with them wherever they decided to go and play. It was funny watching her trying to win some new friends. But after two hours of playing, she still didn't want to go home. So I had to carry her back to the car.

Getting Better

Since Thursday, Sweetpea was back to being herself again. I couldn't be much happier just seeing her smile again. The fever was a bad one. Her doctor said she had an ear infection and she needed to be treated with antibiotic. Thank goodness, she's getting better now...

Fever's Back

Sweetpea's fever is back again. My husband and I agreed that we would let her recuperate fully this time before we bring her to another playdate.

In the beginning...

Before sweetpea started homeschooling, all I could think of was providing her with the best quality education she can have. My husband and I are extremely academic persons. As students, we both excelled in our classes --- and as adults, we're both educators and passionate about teaching and learning.

But we didn't want our daughter to be a genius who is awkward and socially backwards. Who would? So we thought of two ways on how we could provide our child with a good social life. One was for me to get a part-time job so I could drop her to a preschool at least two or three times a week. The second one was to find a group of kids she can play with on a regular basis.

The first one didn't work out (yet) --- at least for now! But the second one just happened - almost like magic. It all started when I got to know Ivy. She was a wonderful lady from the Philippines and she has two daughters. Her daughters have been seeing other kids every single week. She invited me and my daughter for a playdate. We showed up at the venue despite the bad weather. Sweetpea had a blast and I could never be much happier seeing her having fun. I never looked back since then.

Friday Night

I wish I didn't bring Sweetpea out to dinner last night. Her fever was gone and Friday nights are among the very few occasions for her to be around other people. But before we even headed back home, she showed signs of being tired and sleepy. Today, her fever is back --- and she's coughing.

Sweetpea's First Fever

Sweetpea's new social life also gave her the challenge to build her immune system. She's sick right now and I hope she will be fine pretty soon.

The First Two Weeks: Transitioning to Homeschooling

Theme: Animals in the Zoo
Letter: O
Number: 1
Color: Green & Brown

3/Mon - Labor Day: No school today but we went to Marshall Farm so that Sweetpea can see actual apples on the trees and different animals as well. Unfortunately, the animal park is only open during the weekends; but Sweetpea still enjoyed watching the different funrides in the park.

4/Tue - First day of Homeschool: We went to Providence, Rhode Island for a trip to Roger Williams Zoo Park. Sweetpea enjoyed the trip and learned the different names of animals.

5/Wed - First day of Formal Class routine: It was Sweetpea’s first time to do the class prayer and weather report. It took awhile for her to finally settle down on her seat. I integrated PE with Science & Health because they have very similar lesson content. I planned to give her Art lessons on Friday during her PE time. In the afternoon, the handwriting lesson did fine.

6/Thu: I tried to introduce Adam, Eve and Noah to Sweetpea but she was more interested in getting to know the name of animals found in the storybook.

7/Fri: Sweetpea showed interest in knowing the different members of the family but after awhile, she threw away all the worksheets we were supposed to use for the lesson. For artwork, we just spent time doing two pages of her coloring book. The activity seemed to help her relax though.

10/Mon: Sweetpea was more engrossed playing with the animal flashcards instead of paying attention to our lesson about about “big” and “little”. Because she didn’t cooperate in doing animal sounds, I decided to play some music and danced with her. In the afternoon, Sweetpea overslept so we didn’t have “O” reading as planned. But we made circles in the air like play.

11/Tue: As of now, Sweetpea can recognize and say the following names of animals: dog, cat, duck, cow, rabbit, bird, goat, fish, bat, pig, horsie (instead of horse), turtle, frog, bug, chicken, bear. She recognizes the following animals but cannot pronounce their names yet: tiger, lion, elephant, giraffe, crocodile, flamingo, monkey, kangaroo.

12/Wed: Science & Health was more on mastering Sweetpea’s knowledge about animals and the sounds they make. Sweetpea readily imitates the sound as I say it and she remembers them as well. Art time was more interesting because this time, I allowed her to use watercolor instead of her usual crayons and markers. She just enjoyed painting that she wouldn’t want to stop. She cried when I finally took away the art materials. In the afternoon, Sweetpea was able to write ”I” after tracing several lines.

13/Thu: I was really happy because Sweetpea was attentive as I was telling her stories about Adam & Eve, and Noah’s Ark. I even had to tell it again because she was still very attentive. In the end, I asked her to point the pictures of Adam, Eve and Noah and she did. I was really happy that she could identify Noah from a group of other people in the picture.

14/Fri: During Social Studies, Sweetpea was very attentive and was able to identify the following: Daddy, Mommy, brother, sister, baby, Grammy. She still couldn’t figure out the rest. But that was more than I originally expected. PE was wonderful, as usual. She was very focused and was able to do all the activities with so much enthusiasm for 30 minutes straight! In the afternoon, as I was telling her the story about Noah, she pointed out to a picture of the giraffe and said, “Giraffe!”

First Day of Homeschool

Oh yeah, we definitely made sure that Sweetpea’s first day of homeschool was memorable. Early in the morning, we packed our lunch, the video cam and everything else we needed for a trip to the zoo! With us were Mom and Aunt Paulette. We pretty much squeezed ourselves into our Dodge Grand Caravan with some extra leg room. I brought a poster of animals which I made last night.

The trip to Providence, Rhode Island was longer than I thought. I was amazed to see how big the place was. Its newly constructed highways reminded me of Dallas, Texas. The traffic was constantly busy but we managed to arrive at our destination before 10 AM.

Roger Williams Park Zoo is home to hundreds of rare and fascinating animals from around the world including polar bears, snow leopards, moon bears, giraffes and elephants all in naturalistic settings. We heard that the zoo’s population numbers over 1000 animals that’s why we decided to bring Sweetpea there.


One of Sweetpea's most favorite animals were the Black African Crowned Cranes (Balearica pavonia). They have decorative fine headdress with a black velvet crown and a fan of straw-colored, bristle-like feathers on the nape.

Before we headed home, we found the perfect venue for our lunch: a picnic table under the trees right at the grounds next to the Carousel Village! Then, Sweetpea slept peacefully all the way home.

World Outside Our Window

Our house is adjacent to a really nice Elementary School so there’s a lot to watch outside our window especially during school days. Sweetpea and I would occasionally peer down at the people on the street and see what’s going on. We’d watch parents dropping off their kids in the morning because traffic is heavier and more interesting.

Several times, I would point to Sweetpea the school buses half-filled with kids. I wanted her to get a happy perspective of school, but most of the kids we see don’t even look excited to go to school.

It’s sad that for a lot of kids today, going to school is simply a part of life and is something they have to do whether they like it or not… School should be fun, challenging and rewarding.

Spring is Here!

And I love it! The tulips are awake, the birds are chirping, the trees are beginning to bloom… For several days, Sweetpea and I had fun walking around the neighborhood and spending some time at the school playground which is only a block away from our house. I was happy that Sweetpea gets to spend playtime with other kids… She had a blast with the slides!

Last Sunday, after breakfast, we hit the Flea Market to look for some used children’s books. My nephews in the Philippines asked me to include some books for the next box we’re sending, so we decided to troll for treasures.

I bought several books for my nephews, and then some VHS movies for Sweetpea. But the most overwhelming part of the trip was this: we found an unused set of Hooked on Phonics (Learning to Read) and Hooked on Math (Master the Facts)! They both have all the learning levels packed in their original boxes!!! And we only got them for twenty bucks! Talk about goldmine…

No such thing as too many books!

Most of Sweetpea’s books are simply tucked inside a basket so I decided to take them out and arranged them on the floor this way. She has done a lot of mischiefs these past days and I thought rearranging her books might be enough to draw her attention to silent reading.

And, tada! It worked.

I’m a Little Bookworm

(Tune: I’m a Little Teapot)

I’m a little bookworm

Short and Smart.

I open a book,

That is where I start.

I can read the little

Words out loud.

When I learn a long one

I feel proud.

I’m a little bookworm

I read to grow.

After each book,

The more I know.

Behold the wonders of imagination!

Make-believe and other imaginative activities are already part in Sweetpea’s mental world. And she is only nineteen months old. Today, I caught her playing with her bunny. Look!

Let me brush your hair!

Although I am used to seeing her kiss, hug and cuddle her stuffed toys, this was my first time to see her pretending to brush a bunny’s hair.

I was amazed to see her do this. But I am grateful because as young as she is, she can do imaginative play.

Imagination is an indicator of healthy emotional growth. It can do what curiosity cannot do. It can carry her beyond the boundaries of time and space. It can take her to places she has never been.

Imaginative play is a wonderful way to develop Sweetpea’s imagination to take on different roles. It can also help her develop language skills and build her self-esteem.

Behold the wonders of imagination! What a great tool for learning!

Reading Time

Reading time always creates a special bond between me and Sweetpea. We both love to read together and she enjoys it when I change the expressions of my voice. But a lot of time, she prefers to read alone. She would insist on staying in a corner where she could pretend to read the text all by herself.

Today, though, she came to me with a book in her hand. But after I read it to her, she pushed me away and successfully took over my chair so I snapped some photos of her instead. She didn’t even bat an eye; she was too busy watching Tom & Jerry.

Doodling Day

4 °F outside.

Someone was in a doodling mood today. So I made sure there’s plenty of markers, colored pencils, and paper around to keep those little hands busy. Our homeschool isn’t officially open yet; but I always manage to grab every opportunity for Sweetpea to satisfy her curiosity and creativity. She’s such an independent learner for her age.

This is not her first time to do this though. She’s been practicing how to doodle eversince January. It’s fun to watch Sweetpea trying to decide which pen to use. One minute, the pen’s in her hand; the next minute, it’s in her mouth.

So, tell me… Where does doodling cease? Where does art begin? I can’t help but admire my child’s masterpiece!