Geography Made Fun and Easy

We read “How To Make An Apple Pie and See the World” last week, and see the world we did!

Part of the Five in a Row book list, the book is about a girl who wants to bake an apple pie. She goes to the market but finds it closed. So she goes around the world instead to get the best ingredients for her pie. Readers learn along the way what products some countries are known for, like Italy’s semolina wheat, Sri Lanka’s cinnamon, Jamaica’s sugar cane, and England’s cow’s milk.

One of the benefits of tracing the girl’s route on our map is that we got to naturally talk about the four oceans of the world (though apparently there are five now) and four of the seven continents as we “travelled” to each country mentioned in the story: Italy, France, Sri Lanka, England, Jamaica, and Vermont, USA.

From the free Five in a Row Fold N' Learns

What really got Little T’s interest though were the hands-on activities that we did based on the book. Come see!

We milked the cow from England… without a cow.

I was set to just put the whipping cream in the mixer to make butter. Little T, though, remembered reading in her picture dictionary that butter is made by putting cream in a jar and shake-shaking it vigorously for quite some time… so that’s what we did!

We then had our unsalted butter for breakfast.

And of course, we (and I mean my husband and the kids) baked an apple pie for Mother's Day. 

Before that yummy apple pie though, I made some play dough for the kids to play with and make pretend apple pie with.

Everything that we did seems such light work, but I can't imagine learning about countries, continents, and oceans any other way. 

Make magic!

Mom & Me: A Giveaway

This May, Sanne and I are thrilled to be part of the Mom & Me lifestyle bazaar that seeks to promote the mother and child bond through shared activities. To be held at Rockwell Tent, Makati, be sure to catch us on May 25 at 1:45 p.m. as we speak about making reading an important part of childhood. Get ready too to enjoy a musical story time with your kids!

See that great line-up of activities? Personally, I'm excited to attend Young Artist's Studio's session with my little ones and have our family portrait taken by mommy photographer BG Valencia of Red Stiletto.

Entrance passes to this fun-filled weekend are at P499, good for 1 mom/dad and 1 child; additional participants at P250. Those who prefer access to only the booth activities such as the family portrait area, beauty booth, play area, and shopping area can get passes for P199.

Win Tickets Here

As a partner in the event, The Learning Basket is giving away three full-access tickets. Joining is easy – just follow the Rafflecopter. If you want to have more chances of winning, just email me at mariel@thelearnigbasket.com a photo of you and your child doing an activity together! We will post the photos on our Facebook page. Winners can claim their prize on or before the event. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make magic!

Reading and Singing to Your Unborn Child

I was thrilled to receive an email from a reader asking for book recommendations for the 5-month-old baby in her womb. It brought back memories of how I was also eager to do “everything right” and to do everything I could for my unborn, but already much-loved baby. I thought I would share here a longer version of my reply to Mommy Jill.

Pure Magic

I read to both of my babies while they were still peacefully floating inside me. Reading and singing to my first baby, Little T, was very intentional. I bought books for her (the beginnings of our home library) and diligently read every night before going to sleep. And since my husband would often arrive home very late during that period, I would feel sentimental and sing lullabies too.

One of our maternity photos in 2007 by Dino Lara

Little Sir, on the other hand, was able to listen to all the wonderful books that his sister and I were reading. He got to hear songs and to join our dancing too!

Some would scoff at such enthusiasm, but there is a growing body of research that says babies respond to sounds from the womb, and that it’s never too early to start communicating with them.

My reason for reading and singing to my unborn babies was that I wanted to connect and bond with them right from the start. More than just to aid their brain development as widely written about, I wanted them to know my voice and know me the moment we met.

And so it was pure magic when Little T was crying inconsolably during our first hour together and I just heard myself singing hush, little baby, don’t say a word, mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird, my “pregnancy song." She stopped crying, looked up at me as if she recognized me, and went peacefully to sleep. I was thunderstruck, awestruck, lovestruck.

What to Read and Sing

I only remember two books that I read to Little T then. Sam McBratney’s “Guess How Much I Love You” and a collection of poems, “Who’s That Baby?: New Baby Songs” by Sharon Creech. Both books celebrate babies and the love that parents have for them. In the few times that I intentionally read to Little Sir in my tummy – please forgive me as I figured I was already reading to him together with his big sister! – I remember choosing “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” by Eric Carle.

I suppose the guidelines for choosing what to read and sing to the unborn baby are the same ones that we use for very young children: simple, rhythmic, and repetitive.

If you plan to read to the little one in your womb, or are looking for a gift for an expectant mom, you can’t go wrong with some of the same titles that I recommend for those with newborn babes: 

• Eric Carle’s rhythmic books such as the aforementioned “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”
• Margaret Wise Brown’s classic “Goodnight Moon”
• Deborah Guarino’s “Is Your Mama a Llama?”
• Sam McBratney’s “Guess How Much I Love You”
• Vera B. William’s Calecott Winner “More More More Said The Baby”
• P.D. Eastman’s “Are You My Mother?” 

Lastly, brush up on your nursery rhymes in preparation for your child’s birth and get a collection of Mother Goose Rhymes, which you and your baby will love until toddlerhood. 

Make magic!

Preparing Kids to Watch a Ballet

It has been more than two years since Little T started twirling and leaping about, pretending to be a ballerina. We are waiting for her to turn six, or older, before enrolling her in ballet school. (I keep telling her that prima ballerina Lisa Macuja, who we watched in “Giselle” last year, started her ballet studies at age eight – at least according to Wikepedia!)

One of the ballet costumes that a friend gave Little T for
pretend play.

Two years ago, I wrote about how we’re having ballet fun at home, even though I don’t have any dance background. Now that Little T is five, we’re still at it! This time, however, we can already bring her to watch ballet performances, both professional and amateur. 

The Story of Swan Lake

Little T gave out a teeny, tiny squeal when I told her that we are going on a date to watch “Swan Lake.” It is a recital production of the Radaic School of Classical Ballet and will be held at the Meralco Theater on May 19. (For details and tickets, call Ms. Helen at 0915-1137108.)

Here are some of the things we are doing to make sure that we enjoy the event as much as possible. 

Listen to the music

Truth be told, looking for a production of “Swan Lake” was really just an excuse to introduce Maestro Classics’ “The Story of Swan Lake” to my children! The CD deserves a review in a separate blog post, but let me just say that Maestro Classics can educate children and grown-ups alike about the beauty of classical music. We first fell in love with it with “Peter and the Wolf.” 

From the website of Maestro Classics

The first time we listened to the recording, we just sat still and tried to have a Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time or SQUILT, something I read over at Homegrown Learners. We have been listening everyday for a week now. The tracks that discuss Tschaikovsky (the composer) and the music are very helpful in making us aware and appreciative of the nuances in what we are hearing.

Read the story

We have quite a number of ballet books, but the most treasured of all are the two compilations of ballet stories: “The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet” and “The Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories” by DK Publishing. 

The book by Random House is a collection of ten popular ballet stories that include “The Nutcracker,” “Giselle,” and Little T’s favorite, “Coppelia.” Told in a dramatic style, it is a perfect, though quite long, read-aloud.

“The Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories” by Barbara Newman has almost the same stories in its collection, but contains additional information on the ballet’s history, music, and choreography. For example, we learned that a ballerina's crossed arms in "Swan Lake" means "to marry."

Learn about the music

We first read up on the orchestra when we were preparing to watch “Giselle.” We’re lucky to have several awesome books that discuss the different orchestra sections and instrument families: “The Orchestra” by Mark Rubin, “Ah, Music!” by Aliki, and “Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin!” by Lloyd Moss.

We are also taking advantage of technology and are enjoying some online resources:

• Classics for Kids
• BBC Orchestras and Singers
• Strings, Keys, and Melodies – has a good guide on how to recognize instruments in music; a wonderful blog about music!
• Magic Flute – an orchestra game which asks players to match instruments and sounds 

Study related topics

Since the lead characters of “Swan Lake” are a prince and a (swan) princess, we read up on kings and queens. We've had the book “The King’s Day" by Aliki for quite a while but never really knew when the right time would be to read it. It turns out that the Sun King, Louis XIV, danced ballet himself, and even brought the dance to his French court, making this a perfect go-along book with Swan Lake.

We're now on the lookout for real, flying, or just waddling swans. I don't know know where we will find one but for the meantime, we are content reading about white and black swans in our small encyclopedia of animals and other online sources. We also made this fun swan craft. I downloaded a swan coloring page and handed Little T some cotton, glue, and crayons!

Dance to the music

And the most important thing to do to prepare for watching a ballet performance, is to dance, twirl, jump, and make music move your soul.

Make magic!

"Childhood Happens Once: Read To Your Child" - A Parenting Talk At Mom & Me

I grew up in a home full of books, newspapers, and magazines. Reading was the family past time, especially on Sundays when I would claim the crook of my father's arm for myself as we read together. My siblings and I are grew up to be book-lovers, and all five of us try to instill the same love for the written word in our children.

I have received numerous inquiries about how to make children love books and reading. As a result, I have already included in The Learning Basket's roster of parenting seminars a talk about reading to one's child - the why's and the how's.


Join Us

On May 25, my bookshop partner Sanne and I will be at the Mom & Me lifestyle bazaar at Rockwell Tent.  (Check out the poster at the side bar please.) Not only will our awesome educational toys and pre-loved children's books be there, but we will also be part of the main program.

Do plan to come by after lunch as I will be giving a talk entitled "Childhood Happens Once: Read To Your Child" at 1:45p.m. Let's talk about the importance of reading and some of the effective ways to capture your child's imagination through books.

After the talk, your kids are invited to stay for a musical story time. Sanne and I are still in the planning stage, but I promise you, it's going to be fun!

Mom & Me is the go-to event in May for Mother's Day. The P499 entrance fee will give you access to cooking and baking demonstrations, yoga and zumba sessions, face painting, games, hourly raffle draws, and of course, parenting talks like the one that I am going to give.


Want A Free Ticket?

The organizers of Mom & me are giving away 25 tickets to the event. Just follow the Rafflecopter to join. Good luck and I hope to see you there!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Make magic!