Hi there!

I haven't blogged for a while here, just because January-February turned out to be busy for us, because it's our (my son, my husband, and myself) birthday months!

So anyway, I am happy to report that earlier last January, we got to try the BuriBox. My son was very giddy and happy to receive a parcel especially for him. 

The smiling face on the BuriBox was too contagious, we were also smiling as we were opening it! I am very happy that the box was delivered with the contents all neatly packed - even bubble-wrapped!

We got a Toddler Buribox, recommended for young Filipino learners, aged 3-5yo. There is also a Young Readers BuriBox for 6-8yo children.

So, what is a BuriBox?

BuriBox is a monthly, curated educational box with Filipino content for kids, delivered to your doorstep. 

For just 799 pesos, you get 4-5 new books and multiple activities/worksheets and art materials every month.

Our box had all these in it...

A photo posted by Lique Dimayuga (@liquesantics) on Dec 31, 2015 at 9:18am PST

We got 3 books, a coloring book, clay, crayons, poster paints, and a couple of worksheets, that are very well-made by the way, on specialty paper!

Both my kids love the books...and the clay! When we opened the box, they immediately wanted to get their hands on the clay, and they cannot be stopped!

I'm glad that the box comes with activities, because sometimes I am running out of ideas for activities for my little bulilits, hehe. 

My son even came up with copying the pictures in the coloring book and sculpting them using the clay...

A photo posted by Lique Dimayuga 🇵🇭 (@liquesantics) on Jan 21, 2016 at 1:48am PST

The BuriBox also comes with a guide for Parents, so don't worry about just improvising, because you have different activities listed on how to use the contents of the box.

Turns out, it's also a great way to bond with your child :) We've read the books together, and they already know the song "Sampung mga Daliri" and we love the picture book that has both english and tagalog words describing them.

We still have some activities that we have yet to try... Getting this BuriBox was so worth it!
What makes the BuriBox special?

• BuriBox is the brainchild of Adarna House Publishing. 

"[Adarna House] was founded to respond to the need of Filipino children to develop their minds through enjoyable learning opportunities and memorable literary experiences. (adarna.com.ph)"

• Each book, activity, and material you receive has been carefully curated by experienced and expert educators and product developers.
• Made for the Filipino child - the books and activities in each BuriBox are situated within the Filipino context and were made especially for Filipino children.
• Teach your child Filipino the fun way - Ninety percent of BuriBox stories are in two languages (bilingual).

Good News!
Liquesantics has been tapped by Adarna House to offer my readers a special chance to get a BuriBox by just paying the shipping cost of 150php (for the value worth 799)! But it requires a PayPal account though.

Simply sign up below, and I'll personally email you the link and instructions of the promo.



Cheers,

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 November...already?!

Time flies by quickly, doesn't it? Just a few days after it will be December already, and pretty soon, we'll all be celebrating Christmas!

I'm sure you've started decorating for the holidays, even just a little bit, to get you into the Christmas spirit. We've started early as October decorating for Christmas in our household.

I'd like to share with you this simple DIY craft we did with our tissue cardboard tubes. I was meaning to use them for some arts and crafts projects for the kids, so I kept a stash. One day, I just thought of finally using them and make Christmas ornaments :) It was also about time we had a little change in our decorations anyway. So instead of buying new ones, we did this:

1. Materials: We gathered some tissue cardboard tubes, some poster paint, left over cloth and felt, pompoms and pipe cleaners.

2. We started painting the tubes with poster paint. We each made Santa, an Angel, a Snowman, and a Reindeer.

The little boy is painting a snowman...

3. Let the paint dry and then add some details using left over cloth and felt, and some pipe cleaners. We used the cloth for scarves and Santa's hat, the felt for the brim in Santa's hat, Snowmen hats, and the Angels' wings, the pompoms for reindeer noses and Santa's hat (again, hehe), and the pipe cleaners we're used as reindeer antlers, angel halos, snowmen noses, and loops at the back so we can hang the ornaments.

4. Finish by drawing faces and outlining using a black pentel pen. Kiel drew most of the faces, while I made the outlines. 

5. And then you can finally hang them on the tree

Kiel was very happy to have made this, and he feels very proud seeing them up in the tree, knowing that we made them together.

How about you? Do you have any Christmas saving crafts or hacks you'd like to share too?

If you like our little project, we'd love to get some feedback in the comments below.

Pin this project for later, plus see some other Christmas crafts ideas:
Follow Lique's board Christmas crafts ideas on Pinterest.

Happy Holidays!

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!