City on a Hill Gallery. Those are tablets with photos and information about the city sights and infrastructure.

I have been hearing about the new QCX Museum from our Homeschool Facebook Group and I also read it in Rappler. So, we finally decided to visit it yesterday.

Being a Quezon City resident for quite a while now, including my college days in UPD, I honestly have little information about the City. Besides, visiting an interactive museum sounded like a fun afternoon activity for me and the kids.

QCX or Quezon City Experience is an interactive and socio-cultural green building-compliant city museum which was inaugurated in November 9, 2015 within the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. QCX primarily displays the history and culture of Quezon City. It is touted as the first interactive museum of the city. (Wikipedia)

The museum was a little hard to find, since it's new, there were still no signages pointing to its location. It is just across Commonwealth Avenue, so it's best to enter through that gate.

A photo with Manuel Quezon's bust

Interactive Table of QC history

Malacanang Gallery

We arrived there just in time for the final tour, because they close at 5pm. QCX has has around 16 galleries, including a business center with a small theater and lecture room, and an event center, which can be rented out for occasions and special events.

Event Area

Business Center

A tour guide was with us and our designated group all throughout the museum experience. We got to visit various themed galleries, from the City's past, present, and future, and the tour guide explained each one. After each gallery introduction, we were then given about 10 minutes to roam around, take photos, explore interactive displays, and read information on the walls and tablets in each gallery. Unlike other museums, there are lots of photo opportunities in the museum and the tour guides are happy to take a group photo for you.

The complex is fully air-conditioned and well-lit, so the tour was comfortable for us, especially that I had 2 toddlers tagging along. 

My children especially loved the Housing, Jeepney, School, Street Scene galleries because they had child-sized, child-friendly exhibits.

My little boy thought this was a microwave, hehe.

Housing Gallery. These are kiddie-sized houses to replicate the city's housing projects. You can also see here the wall of all the City Mayors, from past to present.

Jeepney Gallery

School Gallery. That TV is interactive, it has a sensor so you can swipe to explore. 

My little ones absolutely loved this school bus. Who wouldn't? It's so cute!

You can even browse and listen to OPM music

Tada! I'm in UP! 

Street Scene Gallery

Local Business Gallery 

Entertainment Gallery. As QC is home to the well-known TV Stations

I was impressed with the War Gallery where the guide retold the story of the infamous legend of the White Lady along Balete Drive... this was a bit of a "horror moment" for the kids, because the effects were a little bit realistic for them, hehe. I won't spoil too much details, better experience it for yourself! :)

I also appreciated the Monuments Gallery, because the scaled models were so detailed (I asked the tour guide, and indeed they were built using a 3D printer). 

I am also happy that the QCX complex is a green-building compliant structure, meaning they did not cut any trees during its construction, and built around them instead. Maybe it's the Landscape Architect in me that appreciates those little details :)

War Gallery

UP Diliman Scaled model

Iglesia ni Cristo Church

Santo Domingo Church

Welcome Rotonda

The Big Dome

Green-building complaint structure 

They even found a way to preserve this big tree :)

Now I won't flood you with too much photos, because it's best to see the QCX Museum for yourself.

They will ask you for your feedback at their Expressions Gallery after the tour (the entire tour lasts about an hour).

Current Issues Art Gallery. This Sardine sculpture is meant to represent the current sad state of our "education" system.

Environment Issue

Barangay Gallery

Expression Gallery 

If you're planning to visit soon, take advantage of their FREE ADMISSION extended until the month of December 2015!

They QCX Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9AM to 5PM (Yes, they are closed on Mondays).

Rates after the promotion are as follows (Source: Rappler):

Students with ID – P80
Quezon City resident – P100 (must present valid ID with address)
Non-Quezon City resident – P150
Group of 50 – 20% discount
Group of 50 students – 30% discount
Senior citizens/Persons with disability/Solo parent – 20% discount
Family of 5 members – 20% discount
Free admission for children 6 years and below

Cheers,

It's Halloween Season, and you've probably attended some parties already. I'm sure you're excited to dress up your kids in scary or cute costumes... Yes, the parents sometimes are the more excited ones than the kids hehe *guilty!*

But here at home, we play dress up most of the time already, and it's like halloween on most days. I've set up a Dress-up Box for my toddlers, and they just love pretend play!

It's more than just wearing different clothes, but the idea that you get to be someone or something else! 

Here are some reasons why you shouldn't pack away those halloween costumes, and start up a dress up box or cabinet too:

1. Having a dress-up box allows them to recreate scenes from everyday life, which is important in a young child's development (Social Studies). My kids love to play with their DIY kitchen and copy me when I cook. They get to be doctors, builders, bakers etc.

2. Pretend play is one of the most magical things in a child's life, and it's wonderful to see what they come up with. It allows them to imagine and create stories, explore and go on adventures... Make Believe! My little boy would often pretend he's an inventor and build "machines" or sometimes he's a superhero with his cape and mask.

3. It fosters independence. They get to choose their clothes, and dress themselves... and most of the time they want to it all by themselves! Yay!

4. It's a great parent-child bonding activity. I love joining in on their pretend plays. It's FUN! And we get to bond over picnics or pillow forts. Besides, I get to be whatever... one minute I'm a queen, and the next minute I'm a big, scary monster, RAWR!

5. It develops their language skills and vocabulary. I am amazed how my 3yo makes up stories and conversations on his own. And he's very committed to his role. One time he pretended to be a detective to solve a "mystery" (yes, he was the one who said he was solving a mystery), with a necktie, hat, magnifying glass and all.

6. Pretend play helps with their emotional development. They get to explore their different personalities and act out expressions. They pretend to cry, act surprised, be scared etc.

Now, how to start setting up a dress-up box? 

Well, just get any big box where to put clothes and accessories in. Ours is just a simple pull-out rattan box than I placed in a low shelf so it's easily accessible for the kids. If you have a big space at home, go ahead and make a whole dress-up corner, set-up a cabinet and fill it with clothes and costumes.

So what do you put in your dress-up box? It's actually pretty easy to fill up a dress-up box. Once you get started, you'll find all sorts of stuff to put in there, trust me...

What to put in your dress up box or cabinet:

• Old costumes (yes, these aren't just for halloween anymore!)
• Hats (Caps, beanies, helmets etc.)
• Masks and play glasses (sun glasses/eye glasses)
• Headbands (ex. Kitty/bunny ears) 
• Scarves and ribbons (they can use this as capes, belts, pretend tails and ropes etc.)

• Accessories: Bow ties, neck ties, belts, gloves, beaded necklaces/bracelets, bags (hand bags, small backpacks etc.)
• Occupation kits (ex. Doctor/Builder kits)
• Props: swords, shield, wands, crowns, boots, buckets/baskets etc.
• Aprons
• Jackets
• Skirts or Tutus

You can add to your dress up box as time goes by. 

Do you have a dress-up box at home? I'd love to hear what's in yours. If you don't have one yet, try it setting one up at home and see how your kids imagination start to unfold!

For about a year now, I have been homeschooling my toddlers and it's been quite an enjoyable journey for us. One important thing I've learned so far, is that we parents are the best teachers for our children. They learn so much from us, not just academically speaking, but holistically... Because parents influence their children from birth... I'm sure you'd agree.

Luckily, for homeschooling families, there are a lot of resources online and offline nowadays. 

This October 17, Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands (HAPI), Manila Workshops and The Learning Basket bring you the largest homeschooling conference this year – “The Philippine Homeschool Conference 2015: Ready for the World!”

As a precursor to the “Global Home Education Conference” (GHEC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in March 2016, two well-respected homeschool advocates and speakers from the United States will be gracing the event as keynote speakers: Michael Donnelly, Director for Global Outreach of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and Secretary of GHEC 2016, and Rachael Carman, mother of seven and best-selling author and publisher of popular homeschool science curriculum Apologia. Rachael’s husband, Davis, the President of Apologia, will be speaking as well.

Sought-after speaker and homeschooling advocate Edric Mendoza, host of On The Money and homeschooling dad of five will also be speaking. Chinkee Tan, motivational speaker and wealth coach, will be speaking as well.

Homeschoolers and those exploring this educational option will be inspired, informed and empowered in this biggest homeschooling event.  

Definitely bigger than the past years’ homeschool conferences, “Ready for the World!” will be held at THREE venues at SM Aura Premiere. Keynote talks will be held at the Samsung Hall, while smaller workshops and the much awaited homeschool expo will be at the SMX Convention Center.

There will also be a huge expo of the various learning providers, educational tools, toys, books, etc. that will help homeschooling parents and aspiring homeschooling parents. This expo will be open to the public for a minimal amount of Php 50 per head, but is already included in the All Access Pass.

But wait! There's more!

There will also be Arts & Crafts Workshops for the kids and kids at heart.

While you are soaking up all the goodness that the homeschool conference has to offer, let your kids have their own learning moments in any of the following activities. Participation in each workshop is P500 per person, materials included. They will accept only 25 students per class so better register now.

Oh I am just excited to go! And the great news is...

One of my readers will get a chance to win an All-Access Pass for FREE!

The All Access Pass (pass to go in and out of all three venues, including the exposition venue) is valued at Php 1000. But this does not include fees to the Arts and Crafts Workshops.

Simply Join the rafflecopter below to enter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and Hope to see you there!

Hello again!

It's been a while since I posted about our homeschooling journey here. Honestly, we have been skipping most of our lessons, the ones I try to plan every week for us, mainly because we've been yaya-less (no helper/nanny) for 4 months and counting now. It's harder to keep up even with a routine, because I have my 1-year old to look after and breastfeed while also cooking and cleaning around the house. 

Nevertheless, I make sure we do our read alouds and story time before nap time, and we do some worksheets or activities at least 10-20 minutes a day. And the one thing we never forget to do is our arts and crafts time, which we all love. Yes, sometimes my 1-year old joins in, she mostly just copies her kuya, hehe.

I previously shared about our simple approach to the Letter of The Week Curriculum, and how we enjoy doing our Art projects. I have also mentioned this in my article in The Learning Basket: Learning Through Play. I admit, I may have strongly influenced my children in my love for Art as we mostly do drawings and doodles, coloring and painting, and DIY crafts. Why not? It's a lot of fun! And it serves as distraction from my work and chores, hehe...

So let me share with you our complete Letter of the Week Projects.

You may notice how we tried different media and materials, because I want it to be something new every time we do our projects. We tried:

• Painting: with q-tips, paintbrush, fingers
• Cutting and pasting
• Drawing and Coloring
• Stamping
• Lacing (particularly with letter Y)
• Crafts

Alphabet introduction: finger painting letters

I also introduced his nickname, he had fun using stamps

Letter A involved cutting and pasting

Letter B butterfly and bee

Letter C cat and caterpillar

Our dotted D dinosaurs

Our Eagle on an Egg (made from eggshells) and elephant

Letter F fence (from popsicle sticks), finger-painted frog and a fly

Letter G Garden and grass. The small g grapes made from stamping bottle caps

Letter H house and horse. Kiel had fun with the house, and played for a few minutes with it, just because he was fascinated with the flap-open windows and door

Letter I island and indian. Kiel showed his early drawing skills here, he drew Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Captain Hook

Tried out crafts this time, with our letter J jellyfish and jack-in-the-box

Letter K kite, Kiel, and kangaroo

We gathered leaves and colored over them for letter L.
And made a little lamb craft with crumpling crepe paper

Letter M mountain, moon, mouse, and monkey

Letter N night and nest. Kiel insisted on writing the labels himself, and I just helped him by spelling them out

Letter O octopus and owl

Letter P pirate and penguin

Letter Q queen and quail

Letter R rabbit and rainbow

Letter S spotted snake and seahorse, with seaweed and shells

Our watercolor tree and tiger (outlined by pens)

Letter U umbrella and Up

Letter V vegetables and vase

Letter W watermelon and worm

X is for X-ray. We made a pretend one by tracing his feet and arm, and pasted q-tips as pretend bones

For Y, we tried lacing yarn

Letter Z zebra and zigzag

Art projects help develop fine motor skills in young children, which helps them further to develop the tripod grip (pencil grasp) so they can draw and write properly.

Plus, they also develop creativity and imagination of course! Other than that, I have observed that art projects improved my child's inquisitiveness and perseverance. 

Let me end this post by sharing this beautiful quote, from The Artful Parent's page:

(Source)

Like this post? Bookmark it or Pin it for later:

Follow Lique's board Letter of the week preschool art projects on Pinterest.

Hooray for Art!