Wasn't it just yesterday when you were born?

Time flies so quickly......

And I can't believe you are already two and seven months old. 

Because you have grown a lot.

Physically.

Mentally. 

Emotionally. 

And Socially. 

Do you know that I often buy a pair of shoes because your feet are growing incredibly fast? " You inherit that big feet from me.

I thought you were "mestiza" because you were born white.  But as you grow older, you gradually turn out "morena", unfortunately you inherit that again from me. "

I notice you are a keen observer.

Like you have discovered letter "W" in the feet of your dressed-chicken toy. (sounds silly, right?)



Like you suddenly yell "rekikang" (rectangle), pointing to the ceiling of the church during the mass we had attended. Seriously, I didn't see it but your father did. (You are really a father-and-daughter tandem.)

Whenever we teach you something new, you can grasp things easily.

Like you can recognize almost all colors (despite the fact that your father is a color blind,  as I was worried he would pass this trait to you). You can already identify yellow, red, violet, pink, brown, black, orange, green , blue, and white.

You know your shapes wholeheartedly. But you sound hilarious when you say "rekikang", which means rectangle, and "chikikang" for triangle. You can also sort out shapes.


You get tired of hearing the ABC song over and over again because you already master the ALPHABET before you reach this age. You can sing it as well. But you happen to interchange TVU, instead of TUV..

You can count numbers from 1-20, and will attempt to count up to 30. What makes you funny is you only count the last digit of a two-digit number, and say "thirty" at the end. Same in 90 up to 100.

Just this week, you start counting using objects or animals in the chart.

You begin to argue with us. There's no way we can say blue if you already say white. Or mouse if you say lizard.

One time, when I was seriously reading a book, you suddenly popped up and grabbed it from me, making believe you could also read.

Because of that, we bought lots of books so you could make reading a habit someday.



Since the books arrive, you begin pulling up books from the shelf. You love browsing the pages, and name the objects you know.



I guess you can already name more or less 500 things in this book.



In fact,  you can already crack jokes. There's an instance that you see a page with a sexy woman, you say "MAMA" aloud and confidently. (mama was flattered...)

As you continue flipping the other page, you see a man of forty but hunky, and say "PAPA".(papa was bothered..joke)

I know that's only an innocent reaction of yours, but your innocence brings inner joy and laughter.

You are fussy until now which is hard to deal with, sometimes intolerable.

Sometimes I get irritated but your father doesn't at all.

That's how patient he is.

Only your father can tolerate your crankiness.

He carried you on his shoulder to soothe you up despite your weight, 12 kilograms (knowing your father is thin).

You're definitely a Papa's girl.

A semi-spoiled girl.

You begin talking to us in English because your Papa and I communicate to you in English at home, even though we're not good English communicators, at least we try. lol

You have been to various vacations already. And we are eyeing for more, more, and more vacations including abroad someday.

You start loving the presence of your friends of your age from the neighborhood (knowing that you are moody).

You smile and laugh with them. Run with them. Play with them.

You are sometimes a drama actress.

You will say "hurt, hurt, hurt", then pointing to any part of your body just to get our attention.

You will cry without your tears falling.

Like most toddlers, you are buggy and mobile.

Jumping at my back while I am resting.

Pulling my hair.

Messing up the house.

Pulling the curtains.

ETC..........

In spite of that, we are completely in love with you.



We love you more than we love ourselves.

Because you grow in my belly for nine months.

Every tiny tissue and cell you own is also part of me.

We are inseparable.

I wish when you are older, you will appreciate the things I write here.

And you will be proud of US.

Or even PROUDER. 

As your PARENTS.

LOVE,

Mama and Papa

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I managed to juggle two jobs: a full-time webmaster and being a mother,  just like the picture you see below. 

photo credit: http://bigideamastermindworld.com/work-from-home-moms/

To tell you honestly, it's difficult to keep two jobs smoothly to maintain sanity. (It rhymes, hehe..)

But before I elaborate how I have been able "killing two birds with one stone", first, let me tell you a short story on how I became a webmaster.

My first job way back then was a grade school teacher for five years.  Later, I did realize it sucked most of my time like making daily lesson plan, checking a bunch of papers, preparing visual aids, attending to students and parent's needs, which I found stressful. So I decided to quit.

A few weeks after I resigned from work, I felt boredom had attacked me.  I used to be a workaholic gal,  so I thought of doing something to keep myself productive while at home. So I asked my husband to teach me how to create a website since he is a computer programmer. Not only a programmer, but an expert programmer.

You know what? My firsthand experience of learning the basics such as CSS and HTML overwhelmed me. It was pretty tough! It was brain-wracking, indeed!

Well, what can you expect from a zero-knowledge and no-earth teacher like me? lol

True, it wasn't connected with teaching skills, but I was so determined to learn.

I was motivated then.

I was very persistent.

And passionate.

And I began to like it,  more than teaching.

For three months of self-study, I soon found a work-at-home job.

Plus I got pregnant.

I was so ecstatic then, head over heels!

"Working at home was the best gift I'd ever received", I said.

No make-up - No ID - No uniform required!

Only fast internet plus skills.

A few months later, I gave birth to my dearest one.

She was everything to us.

So I worked harder.

But I knew it would affect my work hours. I was ready for that!

"The show must go on!", as I pondered upon.

I worked full-time, juggling my career with raising my child.

So every morning,  I had to wake up early no matter how sleepy I was.

Or tired.

Or dizzy.

I tried myself to get up to get household chores done before my virtual work at 9:30 a.m.  As much as my husband liked to help,  he used to work at 8:00 A.M. which meant he could spend less time. That was acceptable, anyway!

So before I sit to my computer chair to attend to my online job, I made sure everything was tidy.

I thought mothering was the easiest job every woman could do.

But the truth was lots of responsibilities ahead of you.

The only job without pay.

No bonus. 

Neither vacation leave. 

Nor 13th month pay.

What you'll receive is only pure LOVE. 

***Go back to my story.***

I repeat, before I sit to my computer chair I had to:

Get the bottles washed and sterilized;

Cook foods, sometimes; (But most of the time it's my mom who usually cooks)

Prepare the meals;

Pick up the clutters or toys;

Fix the bed;

Sweep the dirt away on the floor;

Wash the dishes;

Wash the clothes myself, occasionally;  (But usually It's my home-buddy mom again. Thanks to mama.)

It's because I had no longer strength and energy to wash our clothes on a daily basis. We are four in the family, so that's a lot of clothes. So generally, I did the washing on weekend.

After the household chores, I had to pay close attention to Chesska's needs.

I was the one who bathed her.

And fed her.

And dressed her up.

And entertained her.

And homeschooled her;

And cleaned her up when she pooped or peed.

Every time Chesska threw tantrums, I had to soothe her until she calmed down;

Or bribed her with candy;

Or attempted to hoax coax her;

Or sometimes scared her like "there's a snake going to bite you"; (which I thought correct, but eventually I came to realize it was totally wrong. )

Sometimes any of those strategies applied never worked!

At all.

Yes it was exhausting!

Sometimes exasperating!

Deep inside me, I thought of yelling.

But by just seeing a beaming smile from Chesska, every stress wiped away.  

It didn't occur to me to trade this job (work-at-home mom) with something else.

It's because it gave me the freedom to raise my child.

And helped my husband to make money, too.

And gave me ample time taking care of my child and husband.

And so do I!

This is what working-at-home mom is all about!

I feel great.

I feel awesome.

I feel happy.

Why not you also try?

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I have a confession to make. It has been more than 7 years since the last time I visited crocodile park. It was during our school's field trip with my grade-3 students; they are all now grown college students, I assumed.

I'm not kidding, the place itself is just  30-minute away from where we live, but I was unable to revisit the said place for the longest time. I felt like I was already a stranger in my own hometown. (lots of intermissions, ha!)  As much as I would want to get back there, the crazy schedules and busy work didn't allow me.  And so did my husband!

Until we noticed lately, our little girl, Chesska, was quite amused seeing animals with her picture-books and began to excite when she happened to see animals in TV. Recently,  we brought her to Crocodile Park so she could see real animals in action. For a 2-year-old toddler, it is surely exciting!

Before I get the ball rolling, here's first the entrance fee:

Adult ........................................... 200 pesos
Kids (2-12 years old) .....................100 pesos
3:00 p.m.  and up
Adult.............................................250 pesos
Kids (2-12 years old)......................100 pesos

Warning: Pictures Overload Ahead...

Near the main entrance..

Crocodile Park is not mainly raising crocodiles. There are other exotic animals to see, too,  like iguana, reptiles, bats, monkeys, bearcats, raptors, and many more..

Dear deer, how are you there?  Rhyme, dba? haha

Chesska's first encounter with other species makes her speechless. She is somewhat overwhelmed!

Turtles..

Peacock

One-of-a-kind pig: The Philippine Warty Pig

Featuring my friends, crocodile.(lol). If one of them could escape from their pen, I didn't know where in the city we could find our legs..(exagg lng..) Yon kung buhay pa!

A dozen of crocodiles lying at their pen.

Emerging heads of crocs. I was wondering whether they are sleeping or secretly staring at me..

Another type of bird..

Philippine Bats

Lovey-dovey husband with our daughter Chesska..

The biggest bird in the planet, Ostrich..



I was unaware that I was talikod-genic..whoaah!




One of the crocodile park's highlights is the presence of the Siberian tigers. As compared to my last visit, there were no tigers yet. Seeing them in actual amazed me since I haven't yet seen a tiger in my entire life. There are actually four tigers around namely Sultan, Shiva, Datu and Eve.

One needs to pay additional 30 pesos in order to enter the tiger's den for a closer look.

Pardon the poops. We didn't intend to include  them during the picture-taking...

Beginning 4:00 PM, Davao Crocodile Park will showcase animal shows including Tiger Climb..We could no longer wait to see the shows since it was late in the afternoon (na), and it was also drizzling! We arrived at around 1:00 pm, and left at 3:00 pm. Two-hour rounds in the park had already left us panting...

Family Picture

Picture with Muther!

High-Five with the Lion Statue

I feared snake as much as I feared cockroach. Since it was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, I took the challenge. There were actually many people in front of us who were lining up, and would also want to have picture-taking with the snake. So Chesska's attention was slightly diverted,  not to the creepy creature. But in fairness ha, the snake was so heavy yet well-behaved!

Prepare another 40 pesos if you plan to take photo with the snake.

The souvenir shop, displaying crocodile-leather-made belts and other crocodile products...










I  suggest you come and visit the park beginning 3:00 pm so you would see an array of shows including bird shows, tiger climb, crocodile feeding and other fun-filled activities you and your child will surely love and enjoy.

Crocodile Park is located at Riverfront Corporate City, Diversion Road Maa, Davao City.
Telephone Number: +63 (82) 286 8883 | +63 (2) 833.5680
Phone: (082) 286 8883 or (082) 286 1054 Telefax: +63.082.221.4671
Email:  booking@davaocrocodilepark.com
Website: adventurephilippines.ph/index.php

Praying before bedtime has already been part of Chesska's daily routine. We just taught her a simple prayer that she could easily remember. Besides, her father was a former sacristan, so there's no reason why we shouldn't.

One time, her prayer caught our attention......

Source: http://ronaldumc.org/ministry-teams/spiritual-formation/sunday-school/

Chesska's Version: 

Her prayer goes this way...

Sas (Jesus), tenkyu (thank you) dis day....

Tenkyu juice, pap (as in lollipop), bread, cake, candy, ice cream,  Jollibee! (raise her voice with excitement)....

Tenkyu mama papa..Amen....

Father, Son, Ly, Rit..Amen...

For a 2-year-old young and innocent mind, it is admirable to see her pray, and at the same time sounds hilarious especially the way she mentioned the foods she was usually eating. You see,  how famous Jollibee is?

We all love shopping, don't we? We can't avoid drooling over mall displays which sometimes lead us to unplanned purchase - branded clothes, gadgets, bags, a new pair of shoes, furniture, or anything that catches our eyes. If I were a heir of Uncle Bill Gates (lol), maybe I could shop things as much as I want. But we all know, that is not the real situation.

Since I've been promoted as a mom (which is my new blog's tagline), I have already become kuripot (stingy), which I'm only second to my husband who is the ultimate kuripot. Yes, we were blessed for having substantial-earning jobs, but we make sure we don't spend more than our income. We are not "ubos biyaya, bukas nakatunganga" type of people, not even one-day millionaires, because as we know (you and me) money would easily disappear in our pocket when we're not conscious of our spending.

So here, I will share with you our agreed-upon method in handling money.

1. Set up a budget.

Honestly, Ronan is much more financial literate than me, so his influence about handling money has infected me so much. (hehe) During in the early stage of our marriage, Ronan and I first talked about how we should handle our finances. We both agreed to keep track of our expenses no matter how small or big so we can figure out where our money is going.

How? We make a list by categorizing our necessary expenses including foods, emergency funds, house amortization, insurance, bills, gasoline, recreation, and the like. We agreed how much money or how many percent of our salary will go to each category.

This is how we classify the items under each category: Expenses and Savings:

2. We put right away our savings in the bank.

To avoid the bad money habit like overspending, we immediately put our savings in the bank. This fund is reserved for emergencies and future use like Chesska's education and for our retirement as well.

Luckily, since Ronan and I are both income generating, a certain rate of our income will go directly to our bank account. We have faithfully practiced this financial principle: SALARY - SAVINGS = EXPENSES. 

What does that principle imply? Well, it's very simple. As soon as we received our salary during pay day (take note pay day...well unless payday falls during holidays), we put right away our savings in the bank and never touch them unless, of course, when emergencies happen.  Then the money left will go to whatever our expenses.

Though at the beginning, we find this practice tough to achieve, but as time passed, we already get into the habit of saving.

If we'll reverse the financial equation to SALARY - EXPENSES = SAVINGS, for example,  what will happen then?  If you can't control your impulse by buying anything useless, you might have turned your savings into negative, as a result, you might have left indebted.

3. We avoid credits. 

As much as we want to avail credit card for easy purchase online such as booking a plane ticket, or for the sake of convenience by swiping the card when grocery-shopping,  but the idea that it is still "utang (debt)", then we decided not to avail it.

Instead, the only card we have is a debit card. Yes, we can still swipe and purchase online, well unless there are sufficient funds on it. As long as we know it is not "utang", then we can sleep well at night by not worrying about paying interest and credit card dues.

4. We invest into financial education.

Does it sound expensive? Actually, it's not. Financial education is just around the corner. We can read financial books on how to increase our financial literacy. Or we can ask advice from a financial mentor who can guide us how to handle our finances. Or meaningfully surf the net on how to manage our money wisely.

5. Lastly and most importantly, we practice delayed gratification.

While strolling around the mall, a nice dress in the boutique catches your attention. Would you stop and buy it? Or wait for a few days and think many times before you buy it?

How you answer the question would have a great impact on your finances in the future.

Delayed gratification is an important skill for one to develop in order to attain financial success. It means to delay your pleasure and to fight temptations over instant buying just to satisfy your present self or just to impress others.

Presently, I am proud to have a better half who managed setting aside his "wants" for the sake of our most important goal. I know he has long wanted to buy a new bike so he can exercise every morning, and a latest windows phone to upgrade his programming skills, but he rather opted to save so we can fully pay our house, hopefully, this year.

The same is true with myself. I want to replace my 8-year-old and cranky laptop into a new one, but then I have to control my urge until we'll hit our goal this year.



On the other hand, here are three ways how to reduce instant gratification.

source: http://www.jagoinvestor.com/2010/12/instant-gratification-costs-financial-life.html

How about you mommies? How did you and your husband manage your finances? I'll be glad to hear from you by leaving your comments below.

Since we moved to our new house in 2010, my husband was fond of planting any - flowers, vegetables, and even fruits including Guyabano (soursop in English) in our yard. I had frequently told him, "atong balay mura nag lasang (Our house already looks like a forest! Even then, I just let him plant as many as he wants, anyway, we could all benefit during the harvest. Oh see.

But since our troublesome-dog,Whitey, came to the family, the flowers and vegetables were slowly messed up. He would not stop stepping and biting the plants until they slowly withered and died. We were all pissed. Can you feel our frustrations? Planted in months, destroyed in days! Since then, we concentrated growing fruits such as Guyabano, Jack fruit, and  Dwarf Coconut.


It has been two years since we planted two seedlings of Guyabanos. One was planted at the left side of our house, and the other one was planted in front of our house. Between the two, the Guyabano which was planted in front our house grows well and bears lots of fruits. This tree has completely caught attention from the neighbors who happened to pass by our house.

How many guyabanos did you see?

Freshly-picked Guyabano

Guyabano Shake

Neighbors Claim

One lovely morning, an old man who came from a brisk walk, who also happened to pass by our house ,asked withered leaves of Guyabano. I curiously asked him.

Me: Unsaon nimo ang dahon sa Guyabano nong?  (What will you do with the Guyabano leaves? )

Old Man: Akong lagaon day, nya imnon murag tsa ba.  (I'm going to boil the leaves and drink like a tea)

Me: Oh ok. 

Old Man: Diaebetic man gud ko day, mao ning akong alternative. (I'm diabetic and this is my alternative treatment. )

The following day of the same week, another old woman from the neighborhood who could hardly walk, also asked leaves. Out of curiosity, again, I asked. Her answer was the same as the old man's whom I have just mentioned earlier. But this time, she was hypertensive and just got a mild stroke.

Because of this fruit, we became popular in our block. Many neighbors near us already asked and made reservation - as in reserve not buy. Anyway, they are not for sale..lol

You see how in demand the fruit is? I just remembered when I was little, this fruit is the least favorite among other fruits like santol, mangga, and singkamas. How I love craving santol or singkamas after school. hehe


They are not the only people I know who claimed that Guyabano can cure any kind of diseases. It is actually a common belief not only from our neighbors but also across the country that Guyabano, whether fruits, leaves, or roots could treat numerous diseases including cancer.

Yes, partly, this claim makes sense! Even myself, too, has begun to believe of this claim. Well, any fruit when freshly picked and eaten immediately will provide lots of nutrients including "enzyme". Many are not yet aware that enzymes are necessary for digesting food, for stimulating the brain, for providing cellular energy, and for repairing all tissues, organs, and cells.

However, since I am a type of person who doesn't completely believe on "hearsay", but on evidence based on scientific research, then I find myself researching on the internet regarding this matter.

According to the scientific literatures gathered by Gigi, researches have been undertaken to uncover guyabano’s anticancer effects, starting in 1976 when the National Cancer Institute in the United States conducted the first study on the fruit’s supposed cancer fighting properties.

This was followed by 20 more laboratory tests conducted in various laboratories worldwide. They all came out with unanimous results: Guyabano tree extracts, indeed, proved to be effective against the growth of malignant cells in 12 cancer types. These include some of the deadliest cancer forms which have taken the lives of many around the globe: pancreatic, colon, lung, prostate and breast cancers.

According to the Catholic University of South Korea and Purdue University in Indiana, United States, guyabano tree extracts acted in a way that prevented it from harming normal cells, while successfully targeting the dangerous ones, unlike chemotherapy, which destroys all cells that multiply. The findings of the Catholic University of South Korea were published in the Journal of Natural Products. 

But, it has to be emphasized that all of these trials were conducted in the laboratory only using nonliving models, or what is called as in vitro experiments. Absolutely, no research in humans, so far.

On the other hand, here's another reliable article I've just found on the benefits of Guyabano.

Excerpt via: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-soursop-4285.html

Practitioners of herbal medicine recommend the fruit and leaves of the graviola tree to relieve stomach distress, fever, pain and respiratory problems such as cough and asthma, and for many other medical problems. Soursop contains a number of natural substances that have biological activity, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. These include fatty compounds called acetogenins, especially one called annonacin, along with other compounds called quinolones, annopentocins and two alkaloids, coreximine and reticuline. Soursop's acetogenins are the compounds that have been most studied, especially for their potential to prevent or slow the growth of cancer. The Cancer Center also says that some compounds in soursop may be naturally antiviral and antiparasitic, and may also suppress inflammation.

Additionally, my husband told me recently that he had read an article about Top-10 cancer fighting food in Yahoo, no. 1 is Guyabano. So I searched over the internet to get back the link so I can share it with you. Gladly, I found it.

Who says cancer prevention is expensive?
One may—or may not—take notice of this, but majority of the following can be found in his kitchen. By just simply incorporating these nature-given ingredients to his diet, one gets a clearer shot to living a healthier, longer life.

1. Guyabano - Otherwise known as the custard apple, Guyabano is deemed one of the miracle cures for cancer. In the study, “Journal of Medical Chemistry,” 14 structurally-diverse Annonaceous acetogenins, found in Guyabano extract were identified and tested for their ability to prevent the growth of adriamycian resistant human mammary adenocarcinoma cells.

According to a research in 1976, a chemical found in Guyabano is about 10,000 times more powerful and effective than Adriamycin, a drug used for chemotherapy.

Noticed anything new on my blog? If you are a regular visitor, you'll probably see it.  I have just rebranded my site by changing the design and tagline (the one you see beside the social icons, far left ) to sum up who I am as a blogger and what I write about.



Frankly, it has been two years before I finalized my tagline. Can you imagine how long it was? It is not because my brain was processing very slow (ha!). It is because most taglines that I wanted were already owned by fellow mommy blogs.(You see, how many mommy blogs worldwide. Hundreds? Thousands?)  Like for example, I first thought, "Diary of a First Time Mom", but then when I searched over the internet, this was already gotten.  Even my second idea, third idea, and so on, were already taken. You see, how we think exactly?


To make sure I won't be accused of "copycat", I should have come up with something unique based on who I am. Because of that, I get to combine my experiences in both areas of my life: as a previous Math teacher and a chess player.

Here's the list.

Taglines inspired from Teaching Idea:

• Firstime Mom's Lessons and Plans (which is connected to Lesson Plan)
• Firstime Mom's Corner (like Assignment Corner)
• Even a Firstime-Mom can make a Difference! (Difference is related to Math)
• Educational tips from a Firstime Mom
• ABC of Motherhood

Hello Mommies! This is part two of my post a couple of weeks ago. If you were not able to read the first part last time, I suggest you read it here.

Ok. Let's proceed.

Ronan and I have tried our best to incorporate English words every time we talked to our little one, Chesska. Like what I mentioned in my old post, Speaking English is an important skill for a child to develop.

We mainly focus teaching English, rather than our own dialect, Visayan,  because, I know, Chesska could easily learn the "latter" when she gets older through the influence of neighbors, playmates, or even her classmates soon. Remember, we live in a bilingual-country which uses two major languages, our native-tongue and English.

However, along the road, there are factors which may interrupt her learning the language. One example is, my mom is a fan of the so-called "Teleserye", so Chesska couldn't avoid to watch it.  Another example is during "adult-talk", we couldn't avoid her listen to our conversation in Visayan. Well, I didn't say,  we all talked English at home (which sounds awkward since we were not used to ), but we only talked to our little girl in English.

The need of learning "English" as early as her age is quite important , especially that, Chesska will  start to school next year (hopefully). So she has been trained to get familiar with the things around her in English (which I elaborate below). Here's my step-by-step advice.

Disclaimer: I'm not an English-expert, nor an English teacher.  However, my prior knowledge on teaching approach and method helps me create this topic. 

1. At the age of 6 months,  I let her watch any English-based educational and interactive shows such as Barney, Dora the Explorer,  Alphabet Songs, Number Songs,  Animal Sounds, and Nursery Rhymes. 

Toddlers have lots to gain from listening to music, much more on watching educational and interactive shows. Apart from they're amusing, they also encourage toddlers to make movements by dancing with the tune, and help stimulate the process of "talking".





2. I teach to mastery,  using concrete examples and charts.

Child's learning is all about repetition, isn't it ? I say first the Alphabets and Numbers and let her follow after. I do it daily and consistently. Also, if a toddler has lots of opportunities to see pictures, chances are,  she will learn easily.








3. I often talk the routines she is doing daily such as bathe, sleep, brush, drink, comb, play, eat, watch tv, etc. 

This is Chesska's book about different actions.  I've always asked her what the characters(cat and mouse) are doing.

During mother-child conversation, you may say:

a. Drink your milk.
b. Eat your food.
c. Let's sleep.
d. Brush your teeth.

4. A child can only speak English once she is familiar of the things around her. So I begin by:

a. Naming the foods she eats like biscuit, fruits, juice, candy, lollipop, rice, etc.

b. Naming the people, things, animals within her immediate surrounding, like mama, papa, friends, baby, dog, cat, tv, chair, table, door, window, curtain, etc.

c. Identifying the body parts  like eyes, nose, mouth, etc. Do it daily until she will remember, then have her identify body parts herself.

d. Identifying her personal belongings like shirt, short, skirt, panty, jogging pants, comb, toothbrush, etc.

e. Recognizing her toys such as bear, doll, car, xylophone, puzzle, etc.

f.  Distinguishing shapes and colors.

5. I would sometimes act out what she usually does like run, jump, smile, play, walk,  hop, close, open,  hide, seek, etc. 

It is sometimes necessary to stoop down to her level by jumping, running, walking, and playing together.
Act them out with her and say the words aloud.

6. More importantly, begin teaching good values by saying polite expressions like, "Thank you", "Sorry",  "Please", "Excuse me", "May I".

7. I teach her memorize her complete name, address, and age in a complete sentence. 

8. The time my toddler had already learned plenty of words,  I started incorporating the 5 w's (What, When, Where, Why, Who) in a sentence.   

Examples:

What letter is this? Where is your toy? But don't expect a 2-year-old child to answer your question which starts with "Why and When"?

9. I integrate "please", in making a request like:

a. Please close the door.
b. Please arrange your toys.
c. Please put back your things inside the cabinet.
d. Please help mama.

10. I teach her how to greet .

a. Good morning!
b. Good afternoon
c. Good night!
d. Hi
e. Hello

11. I am generous with praises even the small effort my toddler does. I use "Very Good", "Good", "Nice", "Looks Good" with feelings.

When my little one sees a yummy food set on the table, she would say "wow", or when her dress is pretty, she would say "Nice". She has started appreciating little things.


12. I use "Yes" for approval  and "NO"for disapproval. 


13.. I buy plenty of picture-books for her to scan. 

Mind you - your little kiddo would pretend turning the books from one page to another. Also, she will enjoy naming things seen in the picture books.



14. I also orient my toddler with the words hot, dirty, slippery/slide, etc. for her safety. 


15. I teach her how to follow directions like right, left, up and down. 


Do you find my tips useful? Please do them slowly but consistently. It is not an easy process though, and it takes time before your toddler can absorb all of these. Even I have troubles making her understand the concepts. Just be patient and do it with "LOVE"...Most importantly, you enjoy what you are doing!

Some more tips? Maybe you can add "yours" by leaving your comments below.