Posted by Teacher Ria in Teaching Resources, The Library | 0 Comments

Reawakening the Bookworm

TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book. ~Author Unknown

Not too long ago, I was tagged by several people over at Facebook with a note entitled “100 Books” (or something like that). The premise of the note was that majority of people would have been expected to read only an average of six books on that list. Me…um…I didn’t bother to see how many I had read haha.

I’ve never kept it a secret that reading is not my favorite thing in the world, right? Well, math definitely ranks number one as the academic thing I hate most, but reading is not too far down the list. To be fair, however, as a child I liked to read a lot, but the task was always a bit of a chore to me. During my middle childhood to early adolescence, though, books were a refuge for me. Growing up as a fat kid, after all, was not very fun. Add to that the fact that I am quite an introvert and quite picky with the friends I hang out with. Also, the books of my childhood were fun and as I grew up, romantic and idealistic. But then the world happened and work got in the way then things I have to now read are no longer fun so the bookworm in me kinda went on hibernate mode.

However, a few nights ago I was invited to the screening of The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader and out of the blue, that little bookworm in me kinda peeked out a bit Yes, admittedly I have not watched the first two installments of the film, nor have I read the series, but after watching the movie, I want to! While some of my friends did not enjoy the film (I honestly can’t fathom why!!! hehe…but, we’re all entitled to our own opinions, right???)  I fell in love with it. In the beginning, I wasn’t so sold on it first, but as it went on, I grew to like it more and more until the very end where I found myself drawn to the story. Add to that the theme song, There’s A Place for Us sung by Carrie Underwood, at the end moved me to tears. Well, that and some other things that happened towards the end of the movie

I truly, truly loved the movie, and I rarely ever say that about a fantasy film. Even though I’m into the whole fairy, synchronicity, signs and energy thing, I always liked my movies to be simple and…errr…real? Actually that’s why I never bothered to watch the first two films but since I’ve been working on trying new things, I figured going to see this movie would be a good thing. NO REGRETS I TELL YA!!! Oh…this is also one of those that I will say is so worth seeing in 3D (and yes, I don’t say that very often).

The Chronicles of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader opened in Digital 3D last Friday, December 3 and opens in regular theaters on December 9, 2010

Yes, C.S. Lewis reawakened my inner bookworm with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Borrow book?

Posted by Teacher Ria in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

When Words Hurt

The other day my kids had a fight. They were arguing about who could be friends and not. I was somewhat flabbergasted when my four and a half year old said: you’re too small to join us. And you’re not pretty.

Oh my gosh.

I know that kind of talk happens, but at four and a half??? I mean in middle school, sure…it can happen….in fact I know of some pre-teens who ask me about slimming techniques and medication, as well as check out sites about human growth hormones like www.besthghreleasers.com and even contemplate taking birth control pills to stimulate their hormones just so they get taller. AT 13!!! Oh my gosh….these were things I never thought of, even though I have always been overweight and shorter than most of my friends.

It got me to asking where that comes from and what I can do about it. I decided to have the kids write a storybook about how they feel when they have no friends and from there, we talked about “good” words and “bad” words. I hope that this little exercise helps them realize the power of their words, especially when they hurt.

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The Facebook Cartoon Profile Picture Movement

If you are a Facebook user, you probably know all about the “change your profile picture to your favorite cartoon” campaign to stop child violence. I’ve heard, errrr, I mean read, a lot of comments about it, both good and bad. One thing that got me thinking, however, was a comment a friend of mine said. She said something about how interesting it is that cartoons are supposed to be the epitome of love and kindness, but if we really stop and think about it, almost all cartoons have some form of violence in it, right? In fact, characters like the Hulk can actually be included in the roster of poster children for testoripped reviews.

While she did have a point, I think the cartoons allow a “healthy” amount of awareness about what violence is, especially since statistics show that many children who are victims of abuse and violence aren’t even aware of it. I joined in the campaign mainly because I know it is an important advocacy to support, but I guess we can’t really please everyone, right? So, if you’re in the same boat, go change your profile picture

In any case,

Posted by Teacher Ria in Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Stocking Up on Hugs and Kisses

I went to bed a bit earlier than usual yesterday because I was feeling a wee bit under the weather. I woke up somewhat better, but still tired, and I know that part of it was the fact that I wasn’t looking forward to class today…um…it’s Wednesday and this is the day I have to meet the class that kind of challenges me beyond imagination. So much so that at more than once in the past two months, I found myself on the verge of tears (remember the whole Dear Students letter I did to deal with that?!?!)

Anyway,  I knew I needed to do something to make sure I didn’t fall into a pit of frustration today which I knew would be bound to cause a migraine so I stocked up on hugs and kisses

This is definitely one of those moments I will miss most when I say bye-bye to preschool teaching.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Reflections | 0 Comments

Starting them Young

My mom was, to say the least, not the typical mom. But even if she was very different from the image of the “mom”  that I would see on television (errr…I watched Little House on the Prairie a lot growing up! mwahaha!), I strongly believe it is what has allowed me to become who I am today.

My mom always believed in the principle of “starting them young”. She always allowed me and my sister to make choices about many things in our day to day lives, and allowed us too to make our mistakes along the way. She never left us to face the consequences alone, though, but she always made sure we knew about it. Not only that, she always made sure whatever it is we wanted to try would be made available if possible.

For example, I  loved video games as a child but I had to “earn” the games and the like. So, she enouraged me to tap into my business potential. She would make me little trinkets (such as crocheted cases, personalized bookmarks, etc.) which I would sell to my classmates. This allowed me to learn the value of money even at an early age.

Given what I have seen in my personal experience, I always tell my students that their learning process (whether it is in the preschool level or in college) is an essential tool in making them who they are. For one, they don’t just learn how to read and write. This is where they discover their full potential. I love telling them stories about the most successful people who did not necessarily do very well in school but excelled in life. I tell them too that many of the most successful home based business are managed, owned and maintained by “ordinary” people. The difference, I tell them, is that they didn’t let whatever obstacle, limitation or challenge get in their way.

I think that is one thing I’ll miss most when I stop teaching preschoolers…being a part of tapping into one’s potentials and starting them young. Yes, I may not personally see their progress, but for me, simply knowing I did something way back when is good enough.