Reasons To Bring Your Kids To The Philippine Science Centrum

One summer activity that I was able to do with my son was to visit the Philippine Science Centrum. When I was still studying in UP Manila, I would often see crowds of school children lining up for a tour of the country's first interactive science museum. Now that it has relocated to the Marikina Riverbanks Center, it has become nearer and more convenient for us to visit.

The Philippine Science Centrum, in cooperation with Cognition Creative, prepared an exclusive tour for bloggers last May 16, 2009. I was able to register my whole family for the event. A more comprehensive post about this experience is available here.

Here are a few reasons why you should bring your kids to the Philippine Science Centrum:

1. Tickets are very affordable at 100 pesos each. Teachers and kids below two years old can get in for free!
   
2. All the exhibits are interactive and kids are allowed to touch and play with them unlike in traditional museums. Therefore, learning about science becomes fun!
3. It's in the Marikina Riverbanks Center. After your visit to the PSC, try taking a stroll down the Riverbanks area. This part of the Pasig River doesn't even smell fishy. There's also an amusement center in the area that brings back memories of the Fiesta Carnival in Cubao.

Here's a sneak peek of our tour that day:


Again, you can read more about our tour around the Philippine Science Centrum by visiting the post in my travel blog.

The Philippine Science Centrum is located at the E-Com Building, Riverbanks Center, Barangka, Marikina City. It is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 Monday to Saturday. For more information, you can visit their website.

Ralph Turns 9 Years Old Today

Today, I woke up thanking the Lord for giving us our son. He's truly been a blessing. As much as I want time to freeze and for him to remain as cuddly like this when he was barely a year old...


Or even just a little bigger like when he was five years old...


I know I have to learn how to let go and accept the fact that he's not a baby anymore.

Still...

I fervently pray that even when he grows up to be someone working in a big office and earning his keep,


Or even when he just enjoys life pursuing his passions,


He won't forget the values we taught him and that we are behind him every step of the way.

Happy birthday to you, my Big Boy and Best Buddy!

Spending Less on School Essentials

As of writing this post, I assume that most parents have already survived the hurdle of enrolling their children for the coming school year. But that's not the end of it. After the money spent on enrollment, there is the need to buy school uniforms and school supplies. It is just three weeks before classes begin here in the Philippines and I am already on the lookout for venues and opportunities where I can avail of my son's school essentials and either spend less or maximize my cash on hand.

Here's the list of what I will be doing to spend less on school essentials. I would now like to share these to my fellow mommies (and daddies as well):

1. I will reuse old school supplies. Last March, Ralph brought home a lot of school supplies that were stored in his cubby hole in school. During enrollment, we were given a list of the school supplies supposedly required in his grade level. I bought the whole lot from the school's supply store. Since I discovered that they may not use all of the required school supplies, I decided not to buy from the school this year. Ralph will be reusing his color pens, crayons, white glue, ballpens, and mechanical pencils that he brought home in March. He will also be reusing his old school bag as well.


2. I will take advantage of Back-to-School mall-wide sales this season. Almost all of the shopping malls will be having them. Robinson's Galleria will have their mall-wide sale on May 15, 2009 until midnight and during regular mall hours on May 16 and 17, 2009. I will be buying my son's white polo shirts, khaki pants, socks, and black shoes during the sale. It is inevitable for me to buy new school uniforms every year as it seems that my son gets taller and wider by the minute!


3. I will avail of a 0% installment on my credit card purchases. I am an HSBC card holder and I can buy school supplies worth at least Php 1,500 from National Bookstore at a 0% three-month installment. I can also buy some school stuff at SM Department store and avail of a 0% three-month installment on purchases amounting to Php 5,000 and above.

How about you? Do you have some ideas to share where we can spend less on school essentials?

The Correct Spelling of REMITTANCE

The entire Philippines was glued on watchting the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight last Sunday. While there were the privileged few who were able to watch on pay-per-view, internet streaming, and other exclusive commercial-free screenings, the rest of the country had no choice but to endure the agony of watching in a snippets of the fight on local TV. I chose the word "snippets" because the fight was bombarded with TV commercials in, I guess, one minute intervals or so.

One of the TV commercials flashed during the entire fight was the latest LBC TVC with Mr. Edu Manzano playing the role of a quiz master in a spelling bee tournament. He asked the question, "Spell remittance". The contestant, a boy who is portrayed to be a genius with his eyeglasses on, related the word to his personal experience when his OFW fathers sends remittance through LBC. This boy then blurts out, "Remittance, capital L-B-C!" To add to the horror of this ill-conceptualized TVC, Mr. Manzano agrees and says "Correct!". As a mother and a teacher, this TVC is very unacceptable! Here's a video of it from Youtube:



This TVC not only annoyed me and my husband but my eight-year old son as well. I am lucky somehow that my child is already matured enough to carefully scrutinize the messages that TVCs convey. How about the younger children whose TV viewings are not carefully regulated by caregivers? Let's face the fact. not all parents have the liberty of staying at home and looking after their children. Most kids nowadays are left to the care of yayas who do not regulate and supervise their TV viewing.

In the last few months, there have been other commercials that do not promote good values among our children. Examples of these are the Tide and Tang TV commercials. In the Tide TVC, gave the impression that pwede ang isa higit sa dalawa (1 can be greater than 2). On the other hand, the recent Tang TVC had a scene where the children said "Ay, tubig lang?" (Just water?) and preferred drinking juice instead of water.

Back in the eighties, we had better TVCs promoting Filipino values like love for family, bayanihan, respect for elders, and delicadeza. Why are there fewer TVCs being conceptualized like these at present?

Are there bodies in the advertising world who view and censor TVCs before they are finally shown to the public? If there are, then, why have these ill-conceptualized TVCs gained exposure in the boob tube?

I will not waste time in recommending measures to our local TV channels, the advertising people, and the celebrities who allow themselves to be cast in these types of TVCs. What's there to tell them? In their world, money is the name of the game!

As parents, we can just carefully supervise our kids' TV viewing. If these commercials are flashed on the screen, we can explain to our children that they shouldn't believe the messages being conveyed. We should also educate ouryaya especially when the kids are left with them most of the time. Vigilance is the key in this media-infested world.

MusmusiKwela 2009

When I wrote about enrolling Ralph this summer at The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab, I have received many inquiries from readers of this blog and from online friends. I have also received numerous inquiries regarding scholarship. As my connection with The Music School is only confined to my son's enrollment in the school's summer 14K Program, I cannot really provide help in terms of scholarship. The good news is that, somehow, boys and girls aged 8 - 12 years can try out for a full music scholarship under the tutelage of no other than the Maestro, Mr. C, himself!

Musmusikwela 2009 (Eskwelahan ng Musmos sa Musika is a joint project of the Music Museum Group Inc. and The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab. It is a ten-month, three-level music course that will train its recipients in voice and stage performance. The selected scholars will also receive food and transportation allowance from the Music Museum Group. The training will start in June.

The first phase of the program starts with auditions this coming May 10 and May 17 at The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab, Park Avenue, Lower Level, Robinson's Galleria. Application forms are available at The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab, the Music Museum, and Teatrino Greenhills.

There will be recitals at the commencement of each level. Scholars will perform during these recitals. The last recital is when the remaining scholars will be presented to the music industry and to media.

Ryan Cayabyab will conduct the auditions and train the chosen scholars in voice and stage performance during the full training period. Scholars will perform in recitals at each ascending level. At the last recital, the remaining scholars will be presented to the music industry and to media.

I have already filled-up an application for Ralph. Actually, I was persuaded by the other mommies of his classmates in the 14K Program. There's no harm in trying, anyway. Ralph needs to prepare at least two songs for the audition. He will sing a capella as minus-one cds are not needed.

If you know that your child has the musical talent, I say let him or her try out this Sunday. All you need to do is prepare a colored 2x2 picture and secure and application form so that you can be assigned a slot in the auditions.

For more inquiries, you can call Music Museum at 721-0635 and look for Russel or The Music School of Ryan Cayabyab at 637-9840 and look for Lyn.

Happy Mother's Day

This is in response to a tag initiated by super mom, Earth.

In the photos above are the two women I am giving tribute on this very special day. Without them, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have the sweet life I am having now.
The photograph on the left is of my mom and the other one is a snapshot of my mother-in-law. Both are super moms in their own right. Both made ends meet to be able to provide a good life for their children. For that, I am forever grateful.

I am also extending my warmest greetings to the other super moms out there. Motherhood is the hardest but most fulfilling job. Most Dads work from sun up to sun down but a Mom's work is never done. For that, we are compensated well because we are paid with hugs and kisses! Agree? I hope you are!

I am tagging these super moms: MommyBa, iMom, and Joey. These tag is open to other moms as well. Just create your own scrapbook post it on your blog, pass this Mother's Day tribute/greetings/tag to all the moms you know and link back to the one who tagged you.