CoEx

Korea War Memorial and Museum and a bit of Itaewon Streets

The trip starts waiting for the subway ride. 

One good part of waiting time is the reading. (while waiting for the sub)

Four hours on our feet walking around from Itaewon to here and my feet are just about to surrender. We have just covered around 3/4 of this and we still have to check out the outer exhibits. That is basically just the indoor exhibits. 

Another War Museum and it's on a bigger scale, way bigger than what we've been to so far!
Why? But of course, it should be since it's the War Memorial of Korea.

P had some summer homework to do, so I thought why not do some day trip to Seoul. And what could be a better place to head with kiddo but to a museum that he would be totally interested to go to. I would have preferred to just go walking around some interesting street but with a kid to educate, a museum would be better. I'll try to induce him to do the street one next time.

We did a little walking in the middle of the hot sun to get to his favorite gimbap chain, and a bus stop after. He even found an interesting alien thing outside a small cupcake store called Monster Cupcakes.



Nevertheless, we both enjoyed the war memorial yesterday. It was almost killing my feet to cover the three floors and we only managed to roughly cover more than half of the indoor exhibits. We just went in and out of the exhibits, roam around in our own free will until P finally realized to really look for the outdoor ones. It was about time to head out around four with my feet almost about to give out. But I still had to do some mother role of taking photographs.

We saw the exhibit about Korean-Vietnam war, how the Viets lived underground during the war, the land mines, the different war strategies like isolating a village so the enemy can't use them as cover and suppliers.

He was also fascinated with the workings in the exhibits. He told me that he like how the miniatures were made and he'd like to make things like that too. I'm pretty surprised coz I've never really seen him to be meticulous and that kind of thing needs a very detailed eye. 

Oh boy, what will he turn out to be is still a mystery. 

For future reference on a next trip to the place, here some notes:

1. There are some QR code available in some exhibits so better prepare the app before heading there.



2. An overview of the floor plan of the exhibit room can be helpful to fine-tune or maximize one's time. I looked it up a bit online but didn't really register much. The flier at the entrance was helpful, IF we took a few minutes to study it and figure out the exhibits' layout. BUT the little boy insisted on just going with the flow of our feet. As a result, we missed the Children's Museum and other possibly interesting exhibits. 

3. English Guided Tour: As far as I can remember, there should be a 10 AM and 2 PM tour. Unfortunately, there were almost a dozen of US soldiers in the the 2PM tour and the guide available is just pinch-hitting for the day. P insisted on DIY. I was too tired to disagree.

4. Pick a better time to take outdoor shots. Definitely not the best on a summer day, with the sun's heat in the middle of the day and it's angle against the lens on the later part of the day. We went in the midst of summer. Spring or fall season might be actually better.

~~~

Feb 25 AM

Sebeh Don finally made it to the bank today! The trip to open a new account to the newly opened branch in the area has been planned for a while. I had to prepare the documents: kajok kwangge jeong myeongseo, my passport and ID and his Dojang.

I had hard time finding his stamp coz I almost forgot where I kept it. Luckily, I finally found it last Sunday after a couple of days searching. We were ready to go to bank the next day but there was such a heavy dust alert so we postponed until it finally cleared out today.



This is the second time for him to open a Korean kid's account. The first one was at Woori Bank late last year. We came more prepared and confident in accomplishing the transaction this time. The teller almost had us in a glitch when she mentioned that we still need another document but we told her that we didn't need that one. We are not signing up for the online banking. P seemed fine with just going to the bank to do the transactions. there. It's pretty near and it's just for his savings anyway so most transactions will only be deposits.

He basically handled most of the process by himself except for the signatures (six at that) I have to sign. He said he only had to sign twice but I had to do a lot. Funny. He handed her his envelops of bills and coins. Then, he watched with amazement as the teller dropped the coins in the coin counting machine. It was just such a cool thing for him to see it for the first time.

P managed everything with his Korean language skills. Sure, he may not be very familiar with most banking terms but that is what he is learning. The nice teller was patient enough with us even though she almost ignored me when she was explaining the requirements. But that's okay. It's his account, he speaks and understands better Korean than me and he is there to learn. I just take a step back for him to learn.

I know I also need to learn and practice my Korean language but I can do so at another time. In fact, I've opened accounts quite a few times with my limited language skills even before. It isn't easy yes, there was even a time that I almost cried out of frustration a few years back. Things had improved now.

P will have to learn more on dealing with things like this though. It's just about time for him to do so and not end up like a silly teenager unfamiliar with life transactions. There are still plenty to learn and experience like riding the bus by himself. THAT... is for another day. :D 

End of Year of G1

We are on the last week of the official school year of my first-grader. It has been an exhilarating journey and it has come to an end--- almost. The recognition ceremony is still set for next week but the kids are mostly stuck home by now. I meant, my kid, that is. :D

It’s time to gather the notebooks, books and other Grade 1 materials that have to be taken cared of. It’s also time to start on our homeschooling/vacation with planned field trips. The focus for this summer is writing: English, Filipino and handwriting itself. I’ve just realized that they will start learning the cursive writing next year. I remember my 2^nd grade teacher, Mrs. Alfaro, who has the prettiest handwriting that I’ve sadly failed to copy. L

This is another look back to the school year that has passed and molded us as student/child and parent/teacher.

These last two months had been quite busy for kiddo as I’ve expected. February was filled with practice for the school foundation on the first week of March. It was followed by the 4^th and final periodic exam in barely a week after it.

School Foundation Day

A whole month of practice is always set for the yearly mass field demonstration.

The steps are taught to the kids inside the classroom as early as the end of January. They start practicing under the scorching hot sun in February. This would usually bring physical stress to everyone especially when they start to practice at a larger area. This would usually be at least twice within a few days before the performance day.

The day finally came and we all trotted to the other campus to watch and take part in the day’s activity. We also brought some food that will serve as our brunch: fried rice, boiled eggs, and sweet potato. Except for the water that we brought, I had them try the hot coffee and choco (P10 each) from the vending machine in the canteen and the pearl shake store nearby. We bought medium sized ones which cost P28. These filled us up until lunch time.

Wall Climbing

After the morning program, we spotted an area set up for wall climbing. We were interested but only P did actually climb. Perhaps, next year again? :P

It was way too hot but P managed to get to the third board. Not bad for a 7-year-old starter who seems to be scared with a lot of things. :D

Reading Family

We settled on some picnic area to read: D with a PDA, M with a smartphone and P with his Kindle. It was such a good feeling.

We headed home around one in the afternoon after hanging out on the school grounds. It really made me appreciate the place once more. I’ll be looking forward to another trip next time.

Exam Week

It’s another grinding week for both Mom and Son. We have to extra prepare for the non-English subjects which are really daunting tasks. Good thing is that we started a little early and didn’t really cram altogether. That doesn’t mean that we were able to cover all subjects well. I still cannot say so coz the Fil paper has not been returned yet. The Makabayan paper boasted of two mistakes, less than the typical five that he usually gets. Yey!!

Early Summer Trip/Educational Tour/Wedding

The month of March closed and April started on high note since we had the chance to attend a wedding in Tagaytay (Thanks to Tita A and Tito H.) Along with the main wedding trip was an educational trip somewhere in the immediate area of Manila.

P enjoyed going to the Children's Museum, and Luneta Park. That was the first day itinerary when we got back to the Metro.

This entry will chronicle how we spent our time for a few days far from our island province. :)

Day 1, March 29th

Airport at 8 A.M. Since we live near the airport, an hour before the ETD is enough for us to check in and wait for the plane to arrive. P was so excited since it's been a while since he has traveled via air that he has almost forgotten his previous experiences. Upon getting to our seats, he took the time in reading the emergency guide, and even competed with me for our only copy of the airline magazine. Good thing was that there wasn't much interesting there for a kid like him so he had to hand over the mag to me. Still, he didn't give much chance to read because he kept on chatting and chatting. TM had to give up the reading (and maybe a short shut-eye that I missed the previous night for packing) and tried my best to take this chance to enjoy his excitement. It was quite a short flight as it turned out because of having a pre-occupied kid beside TM.

After getting off the plane, we waited for Tita E.'s flight and had our lunch altogether. Then, I had to drag them to the DFA for passport renewal before heading off to our main destination Tagaytay. It was around past six and already quite cold when we got ther

Day 2, March 30th

The next day, we tried to take a walk to the nearby streets but had to go back almost right away because P was complaining of the long walk. That is one thing that I really had to let him learn, endurance for long walks. We do walk occasionally in our town but usually from the City Library to NCCC and if pressed for some more, to our home two blocks more.

The wedding was set later that day and we managed to get through it despite the cold which P didn't seem to mind about. He just kept on running around, enjoying the unfamiliar places. He was quite behaved during the church service, as well as during the reception, but in between those, he truly explored the area. He also got a chance to hang out with other Titos and Titas but not much with other kids. That is another thing that I had noticed. He gets along with adults faster/better than kids. Partly maybe because of the language?

Day 3, March 31st

Before going back to Manila, we managed to drop by at Picnic Grove. P was able to try the horseback riding and TM only watch. (I took pity on the horses, remembering Black Beauty.)

The planned itinerary went kaput as TM was not able to manage the logistics partly because my head was all into the motion sickness scare that I have.

Day 4, April 1st

We took the taxi moving from Makati to Manila in the morning.

P also had his first LRT ride in the morning as we went to Bambang for some medical supplies for the Grannys.

We finally got our bearings together and we were able to go to Children's Museum in the afternoon. P really enjoyed the place in spite of it being a little under repairs and all. There weren't a lot of people around. We basically had the whole place to ourselves. P explored every bit of it and enjoyed it tremendously. If I hadn't reminded him that we still have another place to explore, he wouldn't have gone through the whole museum a bit faster.

Further down the road is where we found the Luneta Park. I really don't remember much to see there but it was quite interesting place to walk around and explore for P. He found the Luneta Park Vicinity Map interesting and this served as a guide for us. We chanced on some people playing chess in the area, read a few not-so-famous Filipino heroes bios, watched the 6 o'clock fountain with the background music playing "Manila," and run around the playground. And no, we didn't take any photo of the famous Rizal Monument. Kiddo wasn't so interested yet. Beats me why. (Or maybe not.)

P had a chance to play a few games of chess. It reminded me that he is indeed interested in it if only he would have someone to play with at home more often. He also enjoyed playing on the playground which has very interesting designs. It seems that the designs have been improved just recently.

It was already past seven that we felt pangs of hunger that we decided to go. We planned on having dinner somewhere inside Times Plaza at UN Ave. but we got sidetracked as we passed by a Booksale branch inside. We never made it to our target dining place. We stayed in the bookstore until they closed and forgot all about our stomachs.

Very tired and hungry, I just brought kiddo back to our rooms and grabbed some quick take outs. We had our dinner, washed up, and got ready for some of the books we bought.

Day 4, April 3

We were able to do another quick tour of Manila Zoo, MOA for P's Cluedo and shoes and a bit of shopping-by-request at Carriedo.

Later that day, we did our final shopping: food at a Korean grocery and books at Robinsons Manila. And boy, was my backpack very heavy as we turned in for the night.

Day 5, April 4

Time to go back home. P got his Cluedo Cards already so we ended up playing it while waiting for our flight. We never got the chance to buy pasalubong foodie and I was afraid to almost missing our flight. We made it nonetheless, third bus.

We've done our sight-seeing and shopping so it's time to fly back to the island. :)It seems that the few days were not enough to see places and do some shopping. There should be a next time for both of us. I bet it would be more fun as P grows older. I just hope that his interests wouldn't not be far from mine and that he wouldn't mind spending most of our time in walking around on the streets, in museums, and browsing through libraries and bookstores.

Upon getting settled on the bus, before and after flying, P had his little speeches that went like this.

(On the Cebu Pac bus before going on-board) "Goodbye airport. Thank you Cebu Pacific. I'm excited to fly back home with you."

(Before take off) "Goodbye Manila. It was nice staying here. I really had a great time. I hope to see you soon someday."

(After touch down) "Hello Puerto, I'm glad to see you again. I missed you."

(On the way back to our hometown..)

Recommended Places for Preschoolers Trips (for kids ages 4-8)

1. City Library – Books, books, books! Need I say more? Ah, perhaps a very interesting presentation about the parts of the library and how fun it is for everyone. (Free, may need LoR for a large group.)
2. Palawan Museum – Pique the interest of the kids on local history. A little warning though, do not overdose and leave them having a boring concept of a museum. (Minimal fee for kids @ P2 up to 15 for adults, may need LoR for a large group.)
3. City Fire Department – Most kids are interested in fire trucks. This is also related to the community/language topics covered in preschool subjects. (Free, may need LoR for a large group.)
4. Wescom Hangar – See some aircraft up close and even go on board for some pictures. There are very friendly soldiers who will show the way around and even escort your vehicle around the camp. Isn’t that cool? (Free, needs a Letter of Request 14 days in advance.)
5. Butterfly Garden – Insects that would straightaway bring metamorphosis lessons in action. They provide a little outdate video clip before getting in the enclosure. (They charge an exorbitant fee for a very small space and limited time. Some might be discouraged with the ratio of cost and space.)
6. Demo Bee Farm – Another option of insect lesson sans the fee, plus a possible tasting of honey for free. A bit out of the way but still around the area of Croc Farm (CFI). (Free, may need LoR for a large group.)
7. Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center/CFI – Taking care of animals, conservation of wildlife and its habitat is a sure way of bringing classroom science lessons to life.
8. Baker’s Hill – The only good place to let kids play in a playground, along with animal lessons and food to boot.
9. Mitra’s Ranch – They finally have horses in this ranch and it’s quite getting better for picnics that can accommodate a growing number of people. Another good place for kids to roam around.
10. Aloha House – This is actually an orphanage and organic vegetable grower that supplies some produce sold at the store downtown. If lucky, kids can probably see how the veggies are grown and picked. They can even buy some at reasonable prices. (Vegetables may be bought, may need LoR for a large group.)

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.

It is recommended not go to these places all in one day. This would leave more impact on the children. Allot enough time for these places without the pressure of hurrying on to the next stop. At least two days, or even three, would give the children enough time to enjoy and appreciate the trips to insure it to still be educational. It’s an educational trip after all.

Learning is not only by sight. Let the children experience and explore each place. Present a semi-structured activity in case some gets bored right away.

Some more tips:

1. Teachers should also know about their places of interest and be able to draw out the connection of these places to the things covered in the classroom.
2. The teachers and parents should be aware of what to expect to do in each of the places. These would help satisfy the curious kids’ questions that the teacher may not be able to answer during the trip.
3. There should be a point-person to lead the kids and share the information about the place with everybody. This could be the teacher or someone from the point-of-interest.
4. Parents are there to keep the kids safe and discipline during the trip in order not to cause unnecessary disturbance when the teacher/resource speaker is talking.
5. Secure all the necessary permits and accurate details as to activity, and fees before the trip.
6. Teacher should provide activities that can possibly keep the little tots occupied during down time.

There are other suggested places and activities that can be explored which can be more apt for older students (mid-elementary to high school).

1. The City Landfill at Bgy. Sta. Lourdes – See and smell where our everyday trash go and realize how we can minimize.
2. Lawiswis at Bgy, Irawan – Organic living, with soap-making. Chemistry in nature.
3. Puerto Princesa Port/ Airport – Transportation and communication in town up close. (Although it may be a bit dangerous for little ones. It needs more double checking.)
4. A Vegetable Farm at Bgy. Sicsican or at the Dept. of Agriculture in Irawan – Go organic! Dig that fresh produce for good health!
5. Fishpond or Right on a fishing ground around – Go fishing!

K2 Field Trip 2011

27^th, Thursday – Preparation day for P’s “school field trip.” I got busy in the kitchen with the Chicken ala King that I had drummed up to try making this week.

28^th Friday – Another school field trip today! This would probably 2^nd or 3^rd school activity that P and I had attended that required us to get up early and a day together somewhere. Since it is a new school, I wasn’t sure how it will turn out. After today, I was able to compare how the previous school activities fared against this latest one.

Here are some key points:

1. Itinerary – the choices of places were somewhat predictable but useful. Most were suitable for preschoolers save for one. I’m not really sure what the underlying theme was it was like a typical “pinoy” educational trip where everybody was whisked from one place to another without much explanation or information. For this trip, here is the list and how it turn out:
1. Capitol (Palawan Heritage and V-Governor’s Office) – I really have no clear idea why this place was included since nothing much happen here. It was a land-and-run mostly. The Heritage room (?) is not that big enough to accommodate the 50 plus kids and adults in the trip. It should have arranged to divide the group a bit.

The Provincial Gym was next and everybody managed to get in. We were allowed to roam and try most of the equipment freely. It was fun for most. (Although it made me think if they do clean the rubberized floor after everyone has trampled on it. I guess the gym’s not generally one the cleanest places to be.)

Last place to be explored was the V-Gov’s office. I am not really sure if the office tenant there would appreciate the way the kids played on the swivel chair and inspected every interesting decor in the luxurious office. The office struck me as uninhabited. It seems like nobody uses that place much except for official functions but not where the real action takes place.

2. City Library – As I know how small the place inside is, I didn’t get in anymore. The kids went in and were out just in a few minutes. I was hoping that some short storytelling took place at all. It made me wonder if the library made any impact on them.

3. Palawan Museum – Another land-and-run place. Most of the people just paid, got in, look a bit downstairs, dashed upstairs and explored the small place as quickly as they can. Again, I am not really sure if there was anything new they picked up save for the strange things they’ve seen. There wasn’t any guide around but a guy who is in charge of cleaning the second floor I think.

4. Plaza Cuartel – Nothing much of explanation for this place except for the memorial marker that has been recently erected there (2009). Without that one, whoever that will ask what the place is about will have to suffice with whatever the little information the teacher can provide. For preschoolers, it’s almost something that they may not grasp very well yet.
   

Memorial Marker at Plaza Cuartel

5. Baker’s Hill – This is a generally good place for kids. There is the playground for kinesthetics and animals (mostly birds) for science. Bonus part is the array of food available. Stayed there for a while, just almost enough time if only we’re starting to get hungry to head down to the next stop.

A lucky shot of a peacock in full display of its grandeur.


Another kind of peacock who happens to be asleep when we took the photo.
Or was it really asleep or dying? I sure hope it's not the latter.

6. Mitra’s Ranch – A regular place for picnic, sight-seeing and space to run around some more for the kiddos. Too bad that there was also a little more than usual people around and I felt that we didn’t stay long enough.

7. Demo Bee Farm – Good place for kids although a little out of the way and awful dusty road to get there. The only place in the list where there were some people who really explained the place to the kids.

2. Logistics – Three buses were provided as everybody has paid quite handsomely for the price. The drivers were pretty good at their job (parking very close to the stops, reasonable speed and mindful of the little hands and head sticking out of the windows).

3. Overall Educational Relevance and Impact – As I had described each place above, some of these choices were quite muddled in terms of relevance to preschoolers without the proper person to really explain or simply share information about each place. Yet, there were really places that stand out from the rest.

Official Field Trip '10

The Daycare Days are almost over as we journeyed through the Kids Field Trip. I know that it wasn't really that perfect but the point that everyone really prepared for this and enjoyed is all worth the effort.

P has joined the place for almost seven months and it has enriched his childhood life. Sure, it may not boast of a lot of fancy academic haven but the friends and other people that he had made will surely be a good part of his early life.

It had been originally planned to go to the butterfly garden for obvious reasons but changed it a day before. Here's the list on the what and where.

Kamarikutan: Hang out and see the Koi fishes which has really grown well since we first saw them three years ago. We had to pay 15 as entrance fee, while all the while, I was just hoping to be able to eat a sandwich instead. Hmm...just go with the flow even tho P did ask why we didn't eat anything there after the stop.

ABAB: THIS is the highlight of the day for me, as Teacher Mom. Antonio Baustista Air Base. The other places in the list is quite accessible but this one might need a special arrangement for a visit. The kids got to see the Sikorksky and Nomad up close and take pictures. Here's some real action at least.

Kuyba: Not really sure with the name of the place coz it's pretty new and still being developed. We got here after a long, dusty and bumpy ride. I honestly wasn't able to appreciate the place coz of the ongoing constructions, and the hot and and very sunny weather at that time (around eleven in the morning.) This might be a good place to visit on an earlier time or late and cool time of the day.

PWRCC: This is a field trip itinerary default. Since we've been there recently (last Dec. '09), a quick tour was fine with me. The midday temperature is a big factor. But P seemed to have enjoyed our last trip here that he was still excited to be back in the place and see the animals in the wildlife center. Not necessarily the crocs but rest of the wildlife in the bigger and less maintained area. Him and another boy were the only ones. It seems that most of the people on the trip simply wanted to head to the next and final stop to eat and cool ourselves.

Balsahan: Initially has 10 peso fee but nothing came up at all. ;) It's been a long time since TM has last been here and the ride was surely something I would not want to relive. The water is almost perfect for the kids to play. Even P who has bit of thing against bodies of water was convinced to get his feet wet. That is something that I would remember and hopefully he will too.

Oops! After the typical quick stop and dash trip to various places, we still have one last place to go. The Baker's Hill. At this point of time, most of the kids are already tired and sleeping. Everybody is almost all ready to head home except for a last quick stop to buy baked goodies to take home. The head teacher and day care worker did the logistics planning pretty well. After the heat, and tiredness, it was a fun-filled field trip.