Spring Concert 2015

Spring has finally come in Edmonton, Alberta. Last Tuesday, we attended Bea's very first Spring Concert in her school. It was held in their gym. Only 2 tickets were given per family. The school didn't sell additional tickets. Extended family were invited to the dress rehearsals instead. I found this very effective since the audience for the performances was just a small group, easier to manage too. 

Bea performed with her cousins, who attended the same school. Her grandmother was also able to come and watch. There were 3 kids in my brother-in-law's family so I guess they were given a couple more tickets. 

The evening was fun. Berto and I watched Bea with our full stage parents battle gear. Berto had his DSLR and various lenses while I had my trusty digital camera.

The girls performed without a hitch. I felt so proud watching my Bea perform. I was also happy to note that she is now a few inches taller than her cousins, which is good since she is older than they are.

I loved how organized the school was. After the performances, parents were given some time to take pictures. Then, kids were ushered back into their respective classrooms where parents are supposed to collect them, for security purposes. Smart move.

Right after, we took the opportunity to take a few shots with the whole family outside the school. My mother-in-law then invited everybody for dinner. I begged off though, since I still had a ton of homework to do, but Bea and her dad went. Maybe I can join them next time. Fun night spent with family, priceless.

Attending A Minions Party

Last Sunday was a hectic one for our family.  We attended a kiddie party organized by one of the best party and events organizers Apple of Yanple's.  This party was extra special because this was for her youngest son and my inaanak...  Aethan!

This year,  Aethan turned 3. The party theme featured his current favorite: Minions!  It was held in Shakey's Marcos Highway. 

Before going to the party,  we made sure we heard mass first.  We won't have time after the party anymore since proceeded to our barkada Christmas party afterwards.  Told you guys it was a hectic Sunday!

Just before 11am, we arrived at Shaker's and we knew we were just in time.  The party was just about to start.  All our friends plus their respective families were there.  I just love it when we get together with them.  Bea loves playing with the children of my barkada.  They're almost family :)  One time,  she asked me if they were her cousins.  :)

As expected,  there were a lot of games!  Bea got a lot of prizes,  and all of them were minion-themed.  Even adults had a great time.  We also joined in the games.  I joined the balloon relay where we had to pass along a balloon then spell Aethan's name with our butts.  That's me wearing a dark blue shirt,  busy spelling Aethan's name.  The girls' group was so competitive,  we won!  As a consequence,  The boys had to line up and spell Aethan's name with their bottoms facing the audience!  Har har har.  Too bad Berto didn't join the game. 

When the minion mascot came out,  the kids were so happy!  They rushed towards him for a photo op. Here's Bea with her friends.  Of course even adults refused to pass up the opportunity.  My friends and I also had our picture taken with the one-eyed Minion. 

Thanks to Apple and her family for inviting us to Aethan's Minions party.  Bea and our whole family definitely had a grand time!

Bea at the WPPP Photo Congress 2013

June was a very busy month for the hubby. It is birth month, his wedding photography group, the WPPP,  launched their annual Photo Congress in Megamall, they also had their (post) summer outing in Baler and lastly he attended the Advanced Wedding Seminar by master photographer Lito Sy. Imagine his frustration when our nanny had to go on leave because of an illness. (read about it here)

Hubby had a lot of important assigments in the photo congress, and I was a delegate, which meant I paid a significant fee to be able to attend the seminars given by known people in the photography and video industry. We just couldn't miss this 3 day event, nanny or no nanny.

On the first day, we had no other choice but to bring Bea along to Megamall. She had lots of fun, seeing daddy at work, and seeing his photograph exhibited. I lent her my camera and let her take pictures, just so she can feel she belongs. =)

It was a very tiring day, but we enjoyed it. We hope to share this passion with her. Hopefully she develops her eye for composing good photographs and develop her own skills. =) Who knows, she may join us in our photography gigs soon! =)

Accelerated Because of K-12 Educational System

Last summer, Bea graduated from kindergarten from her school. Last June, she started going to school as a grade two student. Yes, she skipped grade one. Thanks, or no thanks to the K-12 educational system. Apparently, in the new system the child's age is critical. Grade one students should now be six years old unlike before when they should be seven years old. Since Bea celebrated her 7th birthday early this year, technically she should already be in grade two.

This school year, her school implemented a one time acceleration for their students. Bea and her classmates who are already seven or will turn seven within the year were accelerated to grade two, while those who are just six will go on as grade one students.

When we heard this announcement, we weren't quite sure if we like it or not. Sure, we'd be saving one year's worth of tuition fee but we are concerned about whether our daughter's skills are enough to tackle advanced lessons. We weren't alone in this concern, in fact a lot of parents decided to transfer their children to other schools where they will not be forced to skip a grade. Just before enrollment, the school called on the parents to inform us that we are not actually forced to skip a grade, we can choose to enroll our daughter as grade one or grade two. It's entirely up to us.  Obviously its a last ditch effort to prevent even more students from transferring.

We chose to let Bea stay on. She went through assessments set by the government and the school. She passed. She attended summer classes. Her guidance counselor assured us that she will do just fine. We chose to trust her.

It has been almost a month since Bea started 2nd grade. So far so good. =)

Our Little Graduate

Last April 4, our precious Bea graduated from pre-school. Too bad that experience was sullied when my wallet got stolen from my bag but then, we just chose to focus on the good times. =)

Our Bea also got the Most Improved Award. Knowing that Bea did her best to improve her grades, especially in Reading made us so proud of our little princess. Last trime, her teacher talked to us and told us that she needed to practice reading more, that she was a bit behind compared to her other classmates. So we practiced. Bea really did her best, her interest to learn to read better is strong, and her efforts paid off.

It was also announced that in compliance to the K-12 Education System, Bea was going to be accelerated to Grade 2. Yes, she's skipping a year. She turned 7 last January, and according to the new system she's supposed to be in grade 2 already. Her daddy and I are ok with this, however some of her classmates parents were not. A lot of them are transferring their kids to some other school where they will not be forced to attend grade 2. 

Thankfully a window opened for us. The past school year, we have been looking for an academic tutor for Bea. We failed to find one with a schedule that will work. A few days after graduation, I received a text message from her previous teacher, offering to tutor Bea this summer. We grabbed the chance! Teacher L is a very good teacher, someone who is genuinely concerned for Bea. Her rates were a bit steep but I'm sure she's well worth it. =) Hopefully she'd be able to help prepare Bea take the big leap from Kinder to Grade 2.

So far so good...

Thank You Dear Friends!

I woke up this morning to great news... this blog is page ranked! woot woot! Sure it's ranked 1 but this is wonderful news to me! I've had this blog for years. Sure I have not been the most consistent blogger but still,  I put effort in the stuff I write here. Now that my Bea can read simple words, she gets pretty tickled when she sees that she has her own blog. She even gets annoyed when I take pictures of her, she'd say "Mommy don't upload that, my classmates will see!" Hahaha!

Again dear friends, thanks for dropping by our blog. I love sharing our adventures with you. Please continue reading, comments are welcome too!