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Since the summer season is about to end and the opening of classes will soon take over (as you know how busy we will be next month), we took full advantage of our remaining time by strolling at Jack's Ridge resort during Mother's Day over the weekend. I have been hearing a lot of good things about this place since I was high school so I included Jack's Ridge on my summer bucket list. We are finally here.
We're supposed to come here late in the afternoon, waiting for the sun to set and see the awesome lights of Davao city at night.  However, it kept raining for several nights prior this day, so we decided to go before lunch when the sun is already up the sky.
We tried to position ourselves at different angles so the light is not facing us in order to get brighter pictures. However, our camera has no setting against the light. As you can see, the subject is dim but the background is adorable. hehe
Davao City view
Jack's Ridge is highly elevated that's why you can see the magnificent view of Davao city.
"Unbelievable as it may seem, the land you are standing on was under the sea millions of years ago. These taklobo shells right here at Jack's Ridge are silent witness to Davao's watery past". This is what the signage says, isn't it interesting?



We're supposed to dine at an open-air restaurant named Taklobo but the day was just so hot so we went to Karlo's Gourmet and Coffe shop which is air-conditioned.
Parking space
Jack's Ridge entrance
We haven't fully explored the place, it was breezy though, but the heat of the sun was really scorching. Aside from Gourmet cafe, they do have other amenities too such as swimming pool, KTV bar, souvenir store, cottages if you wish for an overnight stay, Taklobo restaurant, and many others.  I am very sure that I will try their amenities as soon as I come back here.

Jack's Ridge resort is located at Shrine Hills Matina, Davao City. You may visit their website here.




I can't count on my fingers when I constantly mentioned in my blog about Chesska's shyness. (At least now, she takes the initiative to mingle with her favorite cousin, Geero) So before the summer vacation began, I busily asked fellow mothers from the neighborhood if they knew of a school that was offering summer classes or any activities which involve socialization to further build up Chesska's self-confidence. A mother older than me said, Reading class while the other one mentioned Ballet class. So I asked my daughter:

Me: Ate Chesska would you like me to enroll you in Reading summer class? Your classmate is Riley (our neighbor her age).

Chesska: No, I will just practice Reading at home.

Me: Do you like dancing, don't you? How about Ballet class?

Chesska: I don't know how to dance.

Me: How about singing?

Chesska: I don't know how to sing.

Me: ngeek.

Having that dialogue, I decided not to force her to do something she didn't like. But when my husband's sister-in-law, who has been working at McDonald's for many years, told me about the Kiddie Crew Workshop, I encouraged my daughter to join. I finally got Chesska to attend the workshop when I said that Geero, her cousin would also join (Geero is the secret weapon hehe).
via: https://mcdonalds.com.ph
The registration fee is 650 pesos with the following inclusions: t-shirt, cap, bag, i.d. with lace, apron, chef's hat, scrapbook, completion button pins, certificate, and a daily meal.

Note: Pictures have low quality as they were only sent to us over Facebook.

Day 1 - Orientation

I was not physically present at the workshop so my mother, who watched over my child during that event, said that they were toured to different McDonald's facilities. They were taught how to be a McDonald's crew in action. 
Chesska, standing first in the line

Foods facility orientation

Stationed in the  lobby to greet customers coming into the store

Front-counter training




Day 2 - Make-Your-Own-Cheeseburger Activity

The workshop provides a hands-on activity to children by making McDonald's cheeseburger, of course, with the proper guidance of the facilitator. After making, they will eat their finished product. Chesska is a huge fan of a burger, whose brand I won't mention, but she's only eating the patty and leaving the bun whole. But when she tasted the burger, she consumed it all. It's a miracle! (story relayed to me by my mother)

Day 3 Make-Your-Own-Dessert Activity

Anything sweet is Chesska's all-time favorite. She got excited while making one of the McDonald's best-sellers, sundae ice cream.

Day 4 Art and Talent Workshop

I did not get all the information on day 4, but apart from the activities mentioned, they did also have talent sessions, art workshops, and games. They were also asked to explain what they drew and surprisingly Chesska answered the questions with confidence.

Day 5 Graduation

Day five marked the end of the workshop. They received a certificate of completion and showcased their talents through dancing.

Summer fun activities like the  McDonald's Kiddie Crew Workshop are an awesome opportunity for children to learn new things, make new friends, and gain values of hard work, teamwork and, self-discipline.

The workshop is done weekly starting from the month of March up to May. If you wish to enroll your children, visit the McDonalds website for the enrollment process and other information. 





Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are 100% mine.

I have always been on the lookout for a new and decent restaurant near us and who would have thought that there's one at Libby Road, Puan, where the place of gastronomy is located.  The resto is called Cafe Lagoon, literally facing a beautiful and man-made lagoon, one of the Amiya's prime amenities to their homeowners.

Since last Monday was a holiday (Labor Day),  my family and I took my aunt, who just arrived from Singapore, for a stroll, and for an intimate dinner so she would experience how it felt when in Davao. Sure,  Amiya Cafe Lagoon did not disappoint us for three reasons.

1. The Cafe Lagoon is relatively near from where I live. 


I am living in the remote area in the South, and most of the good restaurants are located in the North. So when I found out that Cafe Lagoon is just 10 minutes from where I live, it made me happy. At least now, we don't need to go through heavy traffic just to eat.



Cafe Lagoon at another angle.

2. Ambiance is soothing to the senses


I am always stressed with the kind of responsibilities that I have right now - mama duties, online job, teacher to my daughter -  but when I first landed on this place, my stress was instantly relieved. I am sure I would come back here over and over again. 


Taking a photo beside the Japanese hut, where you can choose to sit, relax, and dine. 
My husband went fishing whom he had been longing for a long time. Fishing rod rent is 50 pesos per hour. It's worth trying!
My daughter grinned after catching a small fish.
We sprawled on the ground while waiting for our dinner to be served.



Let's go to the interior. 

Unlike the other typical restaurants or food chains where you need to queue for your order to be served, here you have just to sit down, order from the menu, and wait for a few minutes. In fact, we were only 2 groups of people being catered by the resto. What I love about the place is that it is intimate, quiet, and uncrowded.

I really love the ceiling's design, wall frames, table setting, and everything. It's PERFECT!



Beside the aquarium

Koi Fishes
Dinner date with my aunt and family

3. Foods are affordable and delicious.


Gastronomically speaking, this restaurant offers delicious meals that will surely satisfy your craving. Take a look of what we ordered for a very reasonable price.

Tuna belly for 300 pesos good for 3 persons.
Their best-seller, beef with broccoli for 280 pesos.
Sinuglaw for 180 pesos.
Tropical Orange for 120

I forgot the price of this imbao soup but it's yummy. 

Amiya resort and residences is developed by the Kisan Lu Lands and Development Inc.

You may contact them through their Facebook page or you may call them through this number 09321949719.








While many kids naturally and spontaneously develop many of their skills through uninstructed play, it is equally common that some children have difficulties developing some of their abilities without guided assistance. It may sound like such a serious, strict term, but sometimes it’s more than enough to take an hour or two every day to play with your kids in a way that will boost their learning.

On the other hand, some kids would benefit from professional occupational therapy and school programs that implement other activities intended to help your kids improve their memory, learning capacity, attention span and fine motor skills among many other abilities. Before they set foot in a classroom, however, there are some fun ways you can help your children and prepare them for the adventures of handwriting!


Finger string games


It’s surprising how much effect such a simple technique can have on your kids’ motor skills! Teach them to play games with strings, and they will quickly boost their hand and wrist muscles, their fingers will become more nimble and their hand-eye coordination can also improve.

Cat’s Cradle and other finger games have proven to be beneficial for your kids’ brain development and can in turn help develop their handwriting. These games help kids gain a better understanding of numbers, encourage literacy and they achieve this effortlessly because kids just see them as incredibly fun.

Construction skills

The first that come to mind are definitely Legos! Not only will these colorful bricks keep your children occupied and focused for hours, but they will also strengthen their fingers, and develop their imagination. Manipulating small pieces and arranging them into meaningful forms helps kids develop those tiny hand muscles that play a vital role in learning how to write.

Another way to help them perfect their constructing skills is by playing with train tracks and puzzles that are also extremely useful for their brain and muscle development. Kids that easily lose interest in other activities tend to get lost in puzzles and Legos for much longer periods of time, which is an added benefit for their motor skills.


Arts and crafts


Some kids will gladly play with coloring books and pencils, while others would gladly create homemade jewelry with macaroni, strings, cereals, cheerios, beads, and other materials. Either way, spending time doing both types of activities and combining them can significantly improve your kids’ writing abilities. For instance, kids can use those “connect the dots” sheets to first outline the given shape with a colorful fineliner and then cut them out with scissors.

When the picture has many small, curvy shapes and fine edges, your children can have tons of fun by using differently colored fineliners and coloring pencils to fill out the drawing. Coloring, following the outline with scissors, gluing and making their artsy pieces can improve their dexterity, coordination, and muscle strength, which will ease them into writing their first letters.

Play-dough

Still an irresistible playing item, even for grownups, play-dough is a brilliant learning tool for encouraging your kids’ creativity, imagination, but even math skills and literacy. This wonderfully squishy substance allows your kids to shape, squeeze, press, poke, roll it, and do many other wonderful things to it that boost their palm muscle strength, hand-eye coordination, focus, and dexterity.

Play-dough is one of the most versatile learning tools your kids can safely play with because you can introduce all sorts of additions, such as branches, leaves, and pebbles from nature, or anything from your kitchen cabinet that can be mixed with it, such as pasta, rice, straws, chopsticks, or those tiny things you have no use for such as buttons, glitter, and strings. Add a few cookie cutters, alphabet shapes or simple glasses, and you’ll have an endless source of fun!


Nurturing your kids’ fine motor skills with playful and fun activities they love can have a significant impact on how your kids will master some of the most basic life skills, including handwriting. Help them develop the strength in their growing hands, fingers, palms, and elbows. Also, encourage them to use tools like scissors independently and patiently, take part in some of their games and monitor their progress, and you will quickly see how fast kids can learn.
School work will always be very important for your child’s growth, but don’t neglect their constructive playtime activities that will serve as wonderful learning tools and only help them progress even faster!











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I've managed to juggle different roles: as a mother, wife, teacher to my children, VA, and follower of Christ. Everything falls into place with 100% satisfaction, no regrets so far.

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