Thursday, August 27, 2015

What's In My Cart? Chips Ahoy!

Because my kids took after their dad, the way through their hearts is really through their tummies. And one of their recent favorite things to munch on are Chips Ahoy cookies. They are not the Chips Ahoy cookies I grew up with ha, ang dami ng flavors ngayon!

I first saw them at S&R a year ago, and I thought at that time they were a one-time deal, meaning they won't replenish when stocks run out. But to my surprise, I've seen them in almost all the leading groceries I've visited. And each time, seems like more new flavors are coming out.
 This one I saw at DEC along Annapolis in Greenhills. 
I always have several packs in my pantry for emergency baon situations. 


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Savoring Me Time With Pine-Sol

A few weeks ago, Pine-Sol gave me the chance to meet up with some of my mommy blogger friends. The invite requested me to show up at the Le Spa of Sofitel for a day of health, wellness and pampering.


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Phenomenal Tip: Guide to Mobile Food Photography



I am not a professional food photographer, and neither am I a professional chef. I am, however, a full-time homemaker who has lots of practice cooking food for my family. Naturally, it follows that I also have a lot of practice taking photos of what comes out of my kitchen, and posting them on IG.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Scholastic Readers Cup 2015

Helping our children enjoy reading is one of the most important things we can do as a parent. Having kids who have the desire to read is one of my parent goals. I want them to love books as much as I do, to develop their imaginations, to have the natural curiosity about the world around them.

I remember having snapped this photo so many years ago, I think this was in 2009 pa. 
C offered to take the kids with him so I can enjoy some uninterrupted shopping time. And of course, where do I find them during the designated meeting time? In the bookstore, of course! 
Can't resist taking a photo when I saw them all lined up like this. So cute, di ba?


I consider myself very lucky that I have readers at home. Most probably, they turned out like that because they see their dad and me reading so often, and also because there's a reading spot in every room. All the bedrooms in our home have a corner where we put up bookshelves... brimming with all kinds of books.

This is a photo I shared previously in IG lamenting the messy state of the kids' bookshelf. 
But then I realized that topsy-turvy books are to be celebrated because it means 
that the books are being read!



I've got a reader in every corner!



As Cicero so wisely observed, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

The state of one of my overflowing bookshelves. 
Understandably, for a bibliophile like me, there's nothing quite so comforting as a 
room brimming over with books.:) 



Scholastic Books 

Scholastic, the world's largest publisher and distributor of over 600 original titles annually, continues to pursue various initiatives in its commitment to help build a nation of readers. Every year, Scholastic holds a week-long book caravan in my kids' schools. This event is highly anticipated by my kids as they get to visit and look at all those books anytime they want within that week.  They draw up a wishlist... a long one, at that!. At the end of each week, their dad gives them the money to purchase the books of their choice.

Harry Potter, the boxed set on the topmost shelf, continues to be the best-selling series among young readers. My second daughter and her friends continue to be Harry Potter fanatics up to this day, and she has that same boxed set in her own bookshelf in her room.




Scholastic Readers Cup 2015

When Scholastic invited me to join them as they celebrate the the second Scholastic Readers Cup, I knew this was an event I wanted to be a part of. The Scholastic Readers Cup is a tribute to the countless teachers, librarians, principals and school administrators whose work and leadership have paved the way for students to become better readers and good learners.

Here are some of the educators being rewarded for their efforts to help raise successful readers. They are on stage with Scholastic Asia President, Mr. Frank Wong.




Scholastic Literacy Pro

Much has been said about how technology has become a challenge for raising a new generation of readers. At Scholastic, these challenges are viewed as opportunities.  Because this generation is a generation that is always online, Scholastic has developed two key literacy programs which harness the power of the internet in order to create a new generation of successful readers. These are Literacy Pro and Literacy Pro Library.

Scholastic Literacy Pro is an online monitoring program which provides teachers with accurate and timely reports on their students' progress and performance, giving them research-based insights to make informed teaching and learning decisions. It promotes the student's growth in reading by developing an individualized reading plan, with corresponding teacher reports.


1. Students take the LitPro Test, a computer-adaptive assessment that determines their Lexile level
2. Students read short, authentic-text passages and answer multiple choice questions
3. Text complexity of the passages increases or decreases based on the student’s answers.
4. As soon as the students finish the test, they receive a Lexile score.
5. Personalized reading lists are created based on the students’ Lexile level and reading interests. 

The Lexile framework is an essential part of the Scholastic literacry framework where the titles recommended are in the students’ targeted Lexile range. This means they have just the right amount of challenge to lead to reading improvement.

My daughters are fortunate that their school already has this system in place.  A year or two ago, one of my daughters took this test, and got the top Lexile mark in her batch. I was elated when I got the letter from her English teacher, but I wasn't surprised because this is the same girl who has books living in her closet, and can be found with books even in the bathroom.



Scholastic PR1ME™ Mathematics

Math remains a challenge for many students. Most students face utter difficulty when faced with numbers, while others blame the inadequate teaching methodology as the culprit to their difficulty in solving math problems and equations.

Scholastic Vice President Dr. Duriya Aziz and her team worked closely with the Ministry of Education of Singapore, adapting concepts and components from its Primary Mathematics Project. 

The result of this is PR1ME™ Mathematics is a world-class program based on the teaching and learning practices of Singapore, Republic of Korea, and Hong Kong. These are countries that are known for the proficiency of their students in mathematics.
Singapore Math has been adopted by many educational institutions all over the world. Singapore Math is the Math curriculum of choice where my kids go to school. As such, I have personally witnessed how easy it is for kids as young as 8 years old to solve word problems that are algebraic in nature. It simplifies math concepts becasue visuals are used to connect complex mathematical ideas.




My Takeaway

We should be updated with global best practices.  Our global economy has made the modern world so small that Filipinos are not just competing with fellow Filipinos; we are competing with the world. Current studies have shown that the future belongs to those who are able to solve problems and interact with people to acquire and understand information, and persuade others for the need of action.

Modern societies reward individuals not for what they know, but for what they can do with what they know. Information is freely available in modern times. As such, it is not enough to be knowledgeable about certain things. Knowledge + Application is what translates to success in modern society.  It is applying what we know to new and novel applications.

Thank you, Scholastic for sharing the information that you did. It changed my perspective on how to be a mindful parent in this modern and fast-changing world!



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Thursday, August 6, 2015

Australian Grassfed Beef Culinary Trail

A few weeks ago, I got an invite from the Australian Embassy Manila and Meat & Livestock Australia to participate in a culinary trail as they partner with select restaurants to serve up specially-created menus featuring premium Australian Grassfed Beef.


The Australian Grassfed Beef Caravan was a one-week festival, and select media friends were asked to choose one culinary trail of our preference.  Each day lists a different round-up of select restaurants, but because I am such a big fan of chef Jessie, I chose the day where we would start with one of her restaurants.