Parenting Archive

My thoughts on parenthood, and what it's like to be a mom in the Philippines.

Overdrive: Bataan-Pampanga

You know that song from 1995?

OVERDRIVE.

Magda-drive ako hanggang Baguio
Magda-drive ako hanggang Bicol
Magda-drive ako hanggang Batangas
Tapos magsu-swimming do’n sa beach

Yup, that one from Eraserheads. That and their recent “Sabado” and we scratch the word boring to our weekends.

We recently discovered that day trips are awesome! and cheaper… hence a new category is born: OVERDRIVE

Limited time.. unlimited destinations..

For our first overdrive: Pampanga- Bataan. I have never been to Bataan! Itinerary includes: Breakfast at Atching Lillian Borromeo in Mexico Pampanga or at Lapid’s Bakery in Gagua. Lunch in Bataan, then dinner in Everybody’s Cafe in San Fernando.

I do not know what happened, but we’re already travelling the road to Subic..this is not part of the plan! But I do love this part of the world. Not Subic but the road going there. It reminds me so much of the movie Cars. Go figure.

Where are we heading? Bataan still but via Subic.

We drove around Bataan, stopping from time to time.. OK 3 times only.

3 Things We Did In Bataan:

1. Pawikan Conservation Center

This is a good place to educate the kids about endangered species and care for animals.

They don’t have baby turtles when we arrived but the caretaker mentioned that by November some of the eggs will hatch.

TRIVIA:

Just a few minutes after an egg hatches, they release it to the ocean.
It takes 25 years before a Pawikan starts laying eggs.
It will take 3 years before it lays again.

Pawikan Conservation Center entrance fee is only P20.

2. Eat at Loleng’s Hu Tieu-an

This is a small food establishment that offers authentic Vietnamese cuisine (they say, I have no idea if it is true or not, that’s the first time I tried Vietnamese food).

How to go to Loleng’s Hu Tieu-an ?

This is near Morong Bataan Church,so just as around when you go to Morong Church.

3. Visit Dambana ng Kagitingin in Mt Samat

After so may winding.. as in a lot! I lost count already!!! We reached Bagac, where the famous Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is located. Hindi man lang kame nakapag ocular inspection! The Zero Km Death March Marker is also in Bagac.

Another countless winding road and we reached the road to Mt Samat.. which is another countless winding road. I cannot put into writing what I feel about the roads in this side of Bataan.. I don’t want to offend anyone, but most part of this trip, I am holding my breath.

But all that went away as soon as we reached Dambana ng Kagitingan.. pero hindi na kame umakya sa cross no.. mualan na eh.. excuses.excuses. hehehe

OK ladies and gentlemen.. let’s take this opportunity for an obligatory selfie with the cross on the background. bow.

Ay si Dora, kulang pa sa selfie!

After Bataan, our next mission is to look for the famous Lapid’s Bakery in Guagua public market. Mission failed. And we were lost. We drove around Guagua hoping to find the way to San Fernando. It was the most beautiful drive ever..well for me. I think of all the things we did that day, this is the most exciting part for me. We passed by a few old houses in Guagua and each is as charming as the other. My heart belongs to old house. I can spend days and days and days marveling at old houses. It’s one of the reason why I love our North Luzon trips.

I wish I took a photo of the most enchanting/ haunting old house I have seen.. since I did not..I did a few research and here’s what I got (photo and history source)

Built in the 1930’s. It was owned by Doña Juana and Don Alejandro Lopez. In the 1935 telephone directory the house was named as “The Pride of Guagua Pampanga.” When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1942, Doña Juana and Don Alejandro left for Manila. Almost all of the houses were burned but the house was spared. A Japanese (Colonel/General) saw the house and occupied it. (Sato/Makato) It was said that the dungeon below the house was used to imprison the filipinos and americans that japanese caught. It was said that some of these prisoners died there because of torture and were left there to die. It is also said that there were tunnels leading to various places in Guagua. It contained several jars(banga) and other artifacts. When the Japanese left the Philippines in 1945 Doña Juana and Don Alejandro went back to the house. And the rest is history. Since the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 the dungeon was buried in mud.

Sobrang ganda ng bahay na yan sa personal, as in!!!

We had dinner at Everybody’s Cafe. I am actually looking forward to eating Kapampangan dishes.. ah no, Kapampangan cuisine.. the way they cook their meals.. oily and full of flavor. That kind of dish is nowhere to be found at Everybody’s Cafe. They do sell exotic though, like Frog and Kamaro, other than that, there is nothing special here..

side note: mas masarap pa ang luto ko

I’ll definitely be back in Pampanga, to look for that Bakery and to try Atching Lillian dishes.. and to marvel at old houses..

and though Bataan is winding up there, I’d still go back! Masarap daw cashew nuts doon eh.

Where will be our next overdrive? Suggest a place!

Going Home Like A Turista: Cabanatuan City Tour

Cabanatuan City has been our home for like 15+ years. Our clan was from Talavera.. but you know, you gotta move from time to time hehe

15 loong years..my family is living in the city and it was only recently that we discovered the beauty that lies in the city.

First stop. Microtel Inn and Suites.

My mom lives in an apartment in Cabanatuan… and of course, we usually stay with her when we visit. This time was different though, it was my ate’s wedding! And the heat (it happened end of May)..OMG! the heat! I cannot imagined doing my ate’s make up under that kind of heat. So, we decided to stay at Microtel to prevent the heat from damaging my ate’s make up.. of course to have some fun too! Swimming! Swimming!

Cabanatuan maybe a City but you won’t find a lot of hotels with swimming pool.. that’s actually the reason why we chose Microtel, for the pool.

I love our room because it’s big and can accommodate my big family! And Microtel is not strict with the number of kids that can stay with their parents.. plus plus points for Microtel for that!

Another thing that I love about them coffee and water is unlimited! and kids eat for FREE! For breakfast that is, if they would just eat cereals, you don’t have to pay. If kids would eat what is offered in the buffet area, well you have to pay 100+.. Now that’s what I don’t like with Microtel. THE FOOD! I wish they could offer more “probinsya” kind of food. It would have been better if they offer their guests traditional Novo Ecijano food.

Or maybe, one of the reason why they don’t offer authentic Novo Ecijano dishes is because there are already so many food establishments in Cabanatuan City. And most of them are really really good! I always expect that my diet will be ruined whenever we visit this city.

One restaurant that we haven’t tried before and wish we did is Hapag Vicenticos.. as I have mentioned, we have been living in this city for 15 years and it was only this year that we got to try Hapag Vicenticos! syeeet!! sayang ang mga taon!!

And here’s why…

Interiors!!! oh my!! every corner is snap worthy!

Mga moment ko yan, walang kokontra!

Bonggay di ba! pang throwback Thursday ang peg! Kulang na lang barong tagalog at baro’t saya!

Of course the food!

Unfortunately, noong kumain kame, sold out ang Crispy Pata.. I am taking it a sign na DAPAT bumalik kame!! hahaha

O di ba turistang turista ang peg!

O sinong tiga Cabanatuan diyan? May namiss ba ako? Ano pa ang pwedeng dalawin sa bayan natin?

K-12 Grading System (Tips On Helping Your Kids Cope Up With K-12)

Two years after it was implemented, my stand on K-12 is still the same (please read the first article I wrote about K-12: What You Should Know About K-12 Program). But that won’t stop me from writing about K-12 and help other moms understand the new system. You may want to read K-12 Grading System to better understand the meaning of A, P, AP, D and B. From that post, I only mentioned the meaning and the equivalent grade. Due to lack of resources, I have no idea how their grades are computed. Lucky for me, during our PTA meeting, the teachers explained the grading system used in K-12.

There’s a new assessment and rating system implemented last June 8 for K-12. I can’t remember last year’s assessment and rating system, so I can’t say the difference. All I can remember is, same as last year, it is divided into four areas:

Knowledge
Process/ Skills
Understanding
Product

Here is the definition of the said 4 areas (and percentage) from DepEd:

Knowledge (15%)– the substantive content of the curriculum, the facts and information that the students acquires.
Process (25%)– skills or cognitive operations that the student performs on facts and information for the purpose of constructing meanings or understandings
Understandings (30%)– enduring big ideas, principles and generalizations inherent to the discipline, which may be assessed using the facets of understanding or other indicators of understanding which may be specific to discipline
Products/ Performances ( (30%)– real- life application of understanding as evidenced by the student’s performance of authentic tasks

I will try explain each of the said areas (and what kind of exams/ quizzes are given to each area) later by giving examples, let me first discuss how grades are computed using the new assessment and rating system:

Based on the scores above, here’s how the grade is computed:

Q means quizzes while PT is Periodical Test. Knowledge, Process and Understanding are assessed using these two measures. In a given quiz or periodical exams, there will be types of questions that corresponds to each area of assessment.

HOW? HOW? Here’s an infographic using Magellan as a topic:

See how each question differs from one another? Each is designed for a specific kind of assessment. DepEd mentioned how each area should answer specific questions when assessed.

Knowledge: What do we (teachers) want students to know? How do we want them to express or provide evidence of what they know? Hence the questions regarding facts. This area is assessed using multiple choice, true/false, matching type that targets the knowledge (or mastery) of the students to the subject matter.

Process/ Skills: What do we want students to do with what they know? How do we want them to provide evidence of what they can do with what they want? Usually the questions involve here is organizing events, making timeline or organizing ideas.

Understanding: What do we want students to understand? How do we want them to provide evidence of their understanding? Assessment of this area are focused on asking the students what they think, their opinion and how they interpret the lesson.

Product: What products or performances do we want students to produce as evidence of their learning and understanding? How do we want them to provide evidence that they can use or transfer their learning to real life- situations?

HOW DO WE HELP OUR KIDS COPE UP WITH K-12?

Exam week is around the corner and I am sure most moms are worried on how to review their kids given the new assessment and rating system. Here are my suggestions:

Discuss the lessons with your kids then ask him questions.
Ask questions such as WHY and HOW, do not just focus on what, when and where questions.
Encourage them to participate in class (TIP! TIP! As long as the student participates in oral recitation, the teacher will give him grade, it doesn’t matter if the answer is right or wrong)
Encourage them to check their books and notebooks as soon as they got home. Home works are important and it’s the same with oral participation, the answer won’t matter, as long as the student did her homework.
When reviewing, always include the lessons you did from your last session.
Lastly, give your kids ample time to play, in a way a “rest” time for their mind and yours too!

K-12 is not an easy subject, so let us help one another in understanding this new system. If you can add anything from the tips I mentioned, I would really really appreciate it if you can comment it 🙂 Also, if you think there is error in my info, please do tell me and if you need to ask more, don’t be shy 🙂