And the tutoring for long exams start...

My son is going to have his first long exam this coming Tuesday, November 30.  This is the first time for him to have an exam that encompasses the lessons for a whole trimester.  He used to just have short quizzes. 

There's a first time for everything.  For my husband and I, this would be the first time for us to do marathon tutoring sessions.

I hope my little boy will be able to make it.  Keeping our fingers crossed!

My little boy goes to big school

Today is E's first day in La Salle Greenhills.

It's not his first school. He used to attend preschool at ICBB. But big school's a totally different story.

My husband and I both took leaves from our clinics so that we could accompany him to school.

He told us that he enjoyed school. We are glad. (Big sigh of relief here). Hoping that he'll continue to enjoy school.

The biggest drawback is the heavy heavy traffic in that area! We didn't have that problem when he was still in small school. We do have to make adjustments...soon. Let's see what happens in the next few days.

Philippine High School For The Arts is looking for scholars

Got this from the n@w yahoogroups. You might know somebody who's interested.

We are looking for our 2010-2011 artists-scholars: grade 6 or grade 7 students graduating this March, 2010, with exceptional talents in any of the fields of dance (ballet or folk dance), music (instrumentalist or vocalist), theater, visual arts, and creative writing.

Since PHSA spends a huge amount of public funds for each of the PHSA scholars, and since each year only 40 incoming freshmen can be admitted into the program, we are exerting so much effort to ensure that the 40 young people that we will take in are the best young artists of their generation. Likewise, since the funds for the 4-year special training in the arts come from the taxpayers of the entire country, we would like to ensure that the young artists even from the most remote areas are informed about the search and auditions and are given equal chances of vying for the scholarship.

I am appealing to all of you to disseminate the info to as many of your contacts as possible, in any which way you can-internet, phones, print and broadcast media, etc.

Maraming salamat po.

Nanding Josef
PHSA Executive Director

Contact:
Mr. Fernando Josef ("Tata Nanding")
Executive Director
Philippine High School for the Arts
EMAIL: nandingjosef@yahoo.com
Telefax: (049)-5365972; (049) 536-2862
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For more details, visit: http://www.pinoytumblr.com/post/310586614/objective-the-philippine-high-school-for-the-arts

And please note that all applications, documents, and requirements must be received on or before the following dates:

Luzon applicants - 08 February 2010
Visayas applicants - 22 February 2010
Mindanao applicants - 08 March 2010

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PHSA is a public school for talented adolescents. It combines a general secondary education program with an arts curriculum. This means that the students go through the required high school subjects but they also major in an art.

PHSA students enjoy free tuition, board and lodging. These scholars spend school days at the National Arts Center in Mt. Makiling, Los Banos, Laguna. They stay in cement cottages with hot and cold water. The forest cover keeps the air cool. The beautiful school site not only provides inspiration but also allows the students to practice their craft. It is usual to see paintings and sculptures on the street and hear trumpets, pianos, violins or other instruments being played not only in the music rooms but also in the dorm areas. Ballet and theater performances are regularly held in the open-air theater, the ballet studio, and in any corner of the 13.5 hectare site. Works of art are constantly displayed in public areas.

After breakfast, students walk to their classrooms for their high school subjects. After lunch, they are tutored in the arts. Evenings are spent on academic homework and art practice.

The experience of living away from home and being with mentors and fellow artists teaches students to be independent but at the same time makes them realize the importance of getting along with their peers. Living at the NAC builds a close community of students,faculty members, and administrative staff. Every one knows each other. Each student in the higher batches is an ate or kuya to the younger batches. Teachers and administrative staff act as secondary parents to the students. But this does not mean that the school is isolated from the rest of the world as students take part in various outreach projects. They perform and even give workshops all over the country. Some of them participate in international festivals and competitions.

PHSA has nurtured artists since 1977. It really is a good place to study in and most (if not all) of the alumni always have good memories of their life in Mt. Makiling.

Big School, Here We Come....

Now that E's almost four years old, we're starting to apply to the so called "big schools". We want our kids (yes, even Baby R) to have an education that also teaches Chinese since it's part of our heritage. So far our top two choices are Saint Jude Catholic School and Xavier School. They both have their pros and cons, so we're applying to both. We'll see where he gets accepted and we'll go on from there. I'm one nervous mom, though, because I don't know if E will pass the exam and interview and where we'll enroll him if he does not.

This early though, I am a bit concerned if I will be able to be able to tutor him in his subjects. I am proud to say that I was (and still am) a good student, but I am not sure if I will be good in teaching my kid. For example, I know that I am good in math subjects, but I was not able to offer my classmates any math help when I was in school. I understood it but I was not able to transfer what I knew to others. Not only that, we all know that math is all about concepts. I understood Geometry and Trigonometry when it was taught to me in High School but I don't think I can handle that now. I think I would need online math help myself, especially for those advanced math subjects. Don't even get me started on Calculus, which I never took. I know I'm getting ahead of myself here, I mean, it's gonna be a while before E would take any of those advanced subjects, but I couldn't help being grateful that there's actually online math tutoring nowadays.

Now, history is another matter entirely. I think I'm pretty good at it, even at teaching it. My classmates used to ask me for help on this subject. I'm sure I'd be able to handle this subject well enough to help my kid with it.

Indian Clothes, Music and Dance

The internet has certainly made shopping much easier. I remember when we celebrated United Nations Day in elementary (or was it high school?) and our class was assigned India. A few girls from our class presented a dance number . We're actually not sure if the dance and the music were authentic, since we don't know any Indian who we can consult for advise, but to our untrained eyes, it sure looked nice. So did the costumes, even if they just improvised.

Of course, it would have been easier nowadays to just order Online Kids Wear from India. If my son were to need a costume like that, I'll be sure to look up the internet first. I'm sure I'll be able to look up authentic Indian music and an authentic Indian dance number if I search the internet for it.

Higher Education

School opening here in the Philippines is right about this time...some schools have opted to delay school opening because of the swine flu scare.

But more the current health scare, there are many problems facing the educational system. More and more parents are finding it hard to make ends meet and to put their kids to private schools and private universities for their education because of the current economic situation. I have to admit that it's difficult for us to come up with the amount required for my son's tuition, especially since I'm also giving birth. And to think that's just pre school!

An option to consider is to get an online degree. This would require a lot of discipline on the part of the student, though. But it's an option for those people who need a flexible time schedule or cannot go to the brick and mortar school.

E's Costumes

My son is now starting to like dressing up, unlike when he was younger. He looks so cute when he does. On his first Halloween trick or treat, he dressed up in a shark costume but later changed into a basketball jersey because it was too hot in the costume. On his second trick-or-treat, instead of going for the usual store bought costumes, he wore an improvised one with overalls and some toy tools. When asked, we said that he was "Bob the Builder". :)

Costumes when he started toddler school include the following: Filipiniana costume for their "linggo ng wika" celebration -- we simply let him wear his Barong Tagalog (which he wore to my brother's wedding as the ring bearer). An Angel costume for their school trick-or-treat. He used that later at the village trick-or-treat and walked away with a special prize for one of the 10 cutest. He enjoyed being in costume by this time and actually insisted on wearing his halo and wings every chance he got! During his moving up day, he was the blue horse in their presentation. He was asked to wear blue polo and white pants. The school's artist designed headgears for the pupils, and his was, of course, a blue horse!

I wonder what costume we'll come up with this year. Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll have a blast with it!

Studies On Hold

I'm currently on leave from my studies at the UP Open University. I figured since I'll be giving birth in June and that's when school starts, it would be a trifle difficult for me to struggle with new mom duties AND schoolwork. I'll also be on leave from work -- my priorities are clear, and my responsibilities as mom take precedence over everything else at this time.

Anyway, one of the subjects I will have to reenroll in is about research. It's really not an easy subject, since we have to first think of a topic that will (1) fit our course and (2) be approved by our professor and (3) be simple enough for us to do on our free time -- which most of us do not have, as we are all working. This is the time that I wish that I could make use of such resources like MSU ME 201 Homework Solution which are available for MSU Michigan State University ME 201 students. Well, there's nothing like doing it yourself, so, I guess I'll have to be doing that sooner or later

In Less Than A Month....

...Ethan will be three!

I have already talked with Teacher Randy regarding Ethan's birthday to be celebrated at school. I guess I am more excited than my boy. I have already ordered cupcakes and I am already thinking of the food that will be served. Nothing fancy, just simple finger foods that the toddlers can handle themselves without much assistance. I have even thought of his gift!

Although it's just a simple school party, I would like my son to enjoy his birthday party. Hence I am looking for birthday party supplies that would fit his interests and his personality. I'm thinking a simple art party might be nice. Or a Sesame Street themed one since it's his favorite. Since I am on a really tight budget, I'd prefer if I can find discount party supplies that would not break my very small budget. Otherwise, we'd have to make do with whatever DIY party supplies that my husband and I can make ourselves.

Birthdays for kids are big here in the Philippines, with some people spending as much as 200 thousand pesos for parties. I am more of a frugal mommy because, really, we cannot afford to spend that much for a one day celebration. We had a McDonald's party because that is what we can afford. It's a good thing that we were able to entertain more than a hundred guests (the original guest list was for 200 people) for much lower than a regular kiddie party with a party host and all the bells and whistles. His second birthday "party" was just a family celebration at home since I just got out of surgery that week. Now, his third birthday is a celebration in school. It will probably be similar for his fourth, but, we'll see.

Whatever happens, I really hope that Ethan and his classmates will enjoy the celebration!

My Alma Mater

The big reason why I want my son to be enrolled in my old alma mater, Saint Jude Catholic School, is because of the way we were taught right from wrong, which jibed with what my parents taught me at home. It helps that most of my classmates were raised in the same way, so there was very little in the way of bad influence during my formative years. The few classmates who consistently broke the rules got their parents summoned by the school disciplinarian for a talk and also got the dreaded conduct C. 2 Conduct C's and you're out of the school.

This may seem harsh to those outside the school system, but really, conduct C's are not handed out left and right. It has to be sufficiently grave for the teacher to even hand it. So, if a student gets it, usually he really did break the rules (which everybody knows, or should know, anyway)

I liked the fact that I have never heard of any of my batch mates or schoolmates having to undergo Alcohol Rehabilitation or Rehab at any Drug Treatment Center. That's because more than actually banning the stuff, we were already exposed to what could happen if we overindulge in alcohol or experiment with illicit drugs.

Of course, the consistently good performance of the school's students and alma mater in their academics also contributed to why I want to send my son there.

Lately, however, friends who sent their kids there said that there are simply too many homework. I remember, growing up, that when family friends ask where we study, they'd look surprised when we mentioned SJCS and say that, wow, that school has so many assignments, it's so difficult there...etc etc. But, frankly, I didn't feel that way at all. Maybe because I've always been there and it was already a way of life? Maybe. Anyway, let's see. My son will start big school in about 2 years so I have another year to rethink my choice.

Master's Assignments

If I've been remiss lately in my bloghops, please do forgive me. I've had a very busy month lately, what with my brother's wedding last weekend, my job obligations and also my assignments which I submit for my Master's. I'm actually still working on my assignment and just taking a small break. Anyway, part of it is already done and just needs printing, which I still cannot due because I'm working beside my sleeping toddler. While at it, I'll am going to shop online for Brother printers, ink cartridges and laser toner because for some reason, I don't find many of these around and if I do, they are quite expensive. Same goes with Lexmark printer inks. My sister-in-law can't seem to find any replacement inks and she's tempted to buy another printer so that her ink costs would not be so big. No, she does not have any problem with the printer itself, just with the availability of the ink locally, and since she's also taking up classes towards her Master's Degree, she has lots of assignments to make, print, and pass, hence she prefers lower cost for her inks.

Well, back to my assignment. Since I'm a doctor taking up Hospital Administration, instead of the medical terms I am used to, I now have subjects like Accounting, Architecture, Financial Management, Human Resources and the like. I'm enjoying learning although I do agree that it's another added burden to my already packed schedule. But they do say that time flies when you're having fun, don't they?

I'll be back to my regular schedule once all this is done. Promise!

Teacher Mac's Excellerated Learning Center

I attended the Parent Orientation of Teacher Mac's Excellerated Learning Center yesterday. This was the school founded by Teacher Macrina Acuna which was formerly known as ICBB (Innovative Center for Beginning Beginners).

I brought my less than 3 year old child last summer in order how things go, and I was very happy with the results. My son not only learned to speak a little bit more (which was my aim at first), he also learned other things like lining up, waiting for his turn, sitting down properly for his snacks and interacting with other kids. He enjoyed his art and singing lessons too.

I loved the fact that the teachers all seemed very passionate about their vocation of teaching very young kids. The teacher:pupil ratio is low. They maintain it at 1 teacher:8 students, with 1 yaya aide. At the moment, there are only 5 student's in the aqua class (for 2.3 -3.3 years old), which is Ethan's class.

I also loved the fact that Ethan really enjoys going to school! It's easier to wake him up when you mention school!

Other pluses for the school is that it's located in a village (North Greenhills) and thus is relatively safe, as not everybody can just go in and out of the village. Also, since it's not located on a busy street like some other schools are, there is less danger of children running onto the streets and meeting an accident. Parking is also adequate. Oh, Chinese is included in the curriculum with no additional tuition, which is a plus for me since I plan on sending Ethan to a Chinese big school later on.

They have an open enrollment, which means they accept students all throughout the year. So if you have a young child between the ages of 2-3 to 5 years old, do consider sending them to Teacher Mac's Excellerated Learning Center. It's located at Johnson Street, Johnson Park, North Greenhills, San Juan City. Call them up at 723-4070 for more details.

What's In A Name?

My son's preschool, Innovative Center for Beginning Beginners, encountered some problems just before the start of the school year. For some reason, the business partners of Teacher Mac, the school directress, wanted to dissolve the partnership and close the school. We were all worried because we then had to look for a new school, and frankly speaking, I didn't really want to. I'm already happy with ICBB since I saw how my son bloomed under the tutelage of Teacher Randy and Teacher Bebette when I placed him in summer classes. Timing was bad, too, since it was the month of school opening already. Some parents really did go to the extent of enrolling their kids in other preschools in the area.

Thankfully, Teacher Mac, the school directress, was able to find a source of fresh funds. I was told that some parents helped and gave her a cash advance so that she can continue with her school. Henceforth they shall be known as Excellerated Learning Center (Teacher Mac's School). Frankly, I do not care what the name of the school is. I am glad they are still there and the teachers and manner of teaching are the same. I can see the passion that all the teachers have for their work and their genuine love for the children, so I really believe in them. The fact that its location is safe (it's within a gated subdivision) is a big plus for me too.

PPBC2: On Schools...Where, When and Why

Here in the Philippines, the government has declared that June 10 will be the start of classes for public schools. Private schools will probably open at around the same time.

The child's education is something that is a matter of greatest concern for most parents. There is so much to ponder over when choosing something important like this. The child's education prepares him or her for the future, when he/she will need all the knowledge and all the skills that he/she learned during her formative years to forge his/her own place in the world.

I guess our parents also had some difficulty in deciding where to send us to school. Now that we are parents ourselves, there seems to be too many considerations in choosing for a school to send our kids. Questions like WHEN to send them, WHERE to send them, WHAT kind of education will they be getting, HOW MUCH is it going to cost...These are questions that parents try to answer when they choose a school.

Maver Monet, in her own words, is not really an advocate of early childhood education, since she believes that her son has a lot of learning already from the home. However, she and her husband decided to let their son Nino start school this coming school year. Her reasons here.

Mommy Pat is currently enjoying bonding moments with her 15 month old daughter Tina via Kindermusik. She's already scouting for play schools around her community, as she plans to enroll Tina when she is a little bit older. She still prefers the more traditional schools, preferably exclusive, as she believes that these are already "tried and tested" rather than the newer progressive schools. More on her thoughts here.

Mommy Jenny, on the other hand, prefers a more progressive set-up once her 20 month old Belle. She plans to enroll Belle in a school nearer her community when she's about 2-2.5 years of age. She also prefers a co-ed type of education, and one that offers Chinese. Her thoughts on her school choices and the points for and against each of them are here.

Mommy Jeng muses on her experiences, beliefs and memories about school. She believes that no matter what the teaching philosophy and style the school chooses to focus on, there are advantages and disadvantages to each one. She also believes that the readiness to start school should come from the child. Her Joaqui is currently in toddler school. Her entry here.

Mommy Joey (that's me!) has decided to send Ethan to toddler school in an effort to jumpstart his learning, especially his speech, which has been found to be slightly delayed. My entry here.

Daddy Angel, a proud dad of two and a relative veteran of schooling kids (compared to the other participants), shares his view on how to prepare your child for his first day of school. For parents like me who are just starting to send their kids to school, this is required reading!

All parents want the best education for their kids. For Mommy Tricia, the best education occurs at home. Hence, she has decided to homeschool her child, Zoe. Her reasons are all stated here. I wish I could have her confidence and willpower that she has! Hats off to you!

Every parent desires the best education for their kids. For this round of the PPBC, I have learned that in choosing for the best school for your kid, there is really no one solution that is the right one for everybody. The choice of education really depends on a lot of different factors. And education does not start and end with school. The primary source of education, whether or not the child is homeschooled, is still the home. Everything the child sees or hears at home is what he build unto himself. A child of God fearing parents will most likely be God fearing himself. A child of parents who continually says cuss words in front of the kids cannot be expected not to behave the same way.

To all the participants of PPBC2, I thank you all for your participation and I'd like to apologize for the late roundup. It's been super busy for me the past 2 weeks. I hope you will still join us in the 3rd edition of The Pinoy Parenting Blog Carnival. For the month of June, the PPBC will be hosted by Mommy Leah :). Hope to see you there!

coffee break ver. 1.20

What characteristics of a school are you looking for?

Thanks, Jan, for this very timely question. My husband and I decided to send our little son to toddler school this school year. My reasons are stated in another post.

My main criteria for choosing ICBB (Innovative Center for Beginning Beginners) as my son's first school:

Their track record - Like most other moms, I asked around for good preschools within the area. There are actually a lot near us and sometimes I got a little confused when asking people, since different people will give different recommendations. I decided to try ICBB out when I was told that ICBB kids didn't have problems shifting to a more traditional system when they go to big school and actually thrive and perform very well when they do.

Their teachers - I had the pleasure to observe the teachers with the children, including my son (since I enrolled him for summer school). I love the way teachers relate to the students. They were very patient with the small children and they actually were able to make the kids listen to them. My son learned to line up for his turn at washing up, learned to get his own snack bag, learned to sit still at the table for his snacks. All without raising their voices a bit. These may be small things but I think they matter in the long run.

As for the more academic stuff, they teach children via storytelling, singing, art, playing. Even rest time, and snack time is an opportunity for learning. And the kids all seem to be having fun, but at the same time they are already learning.

My son's class is going to be consisting of only 8 students to 1 teacher. There is also 1 teacher aide to assist the teacher. The school assures me though, that if there is a particularly hard to handle student, they sometimes add another teacher.

My son -- He's happy! He learns! He now has friends :). More about that on this post.

Tuition fee - Let me first state that the tuition fee here is quite hefty. But when I compared them with other small schools in the area (and some other areas as well), it seems to be within the range and even seems to be at the lower end.
Although I am very willing to spend for a good quality education for my kid, I want something I can sustain. I do not want to send him to a school wherein I the tuition fee will be higher than what I can afford and which will have me going into debt.

Distance - Very near. This is always an advantage. My son does not have to have a big lead time when going to school so he does not have to wake up VERY early. It will be easier for me or my husband to drop him off at school and pick him up later. There is less fuel usage, which in turn translates to a lot of savings, especially in these times of high fuel prices. In times when school is suddenly called off, especially with weather changes, it would be easy for someone to go and pick him up.

Chinese lessons - This is really a bonus for other parents, but for me, I really want my son to have Chinese lessons since I'm of Chinese ancestry. I am planning to send my son to Chinese-Filipino big school later on so I do want him to have a head start already by then.

Location - It is inside an exclusive subdivision. It seems to be safer since not just anybody can go inside the village. I'm a bit paranoid about kidnapping incidents especially since my son really looks Chinese (you know kidnappers have a predilection for Chinese). Also, the road outside the school, since it's a village road, is not as busy as other streets, hence there are less incidences of accidents.

My criteria for his big school (later) is slightly different. I will probably tackle it at a later time, since big school is about 2 years away.

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Additional plugging: Watch out for the 2nd edition of the Pinoy Parenting Blog Carnival, which tackles on the issues of school. I'm still working on the roundup.

Ethan's Going to School

Ethan's now 30 months. Next month he will be going to toddler school. It was one of the most crucial decisions that we made this year.

I was not a fan of early childhood education. I thought that kids should be taught first by their parents at home and sent to school at age of around 3 or 4. And we tried to do the things that other parents do. Unfortunately, the results are not the same.

The downside of comparing your kid with other kids of the same age is that if your kid lags behind in some aspects, you become worried. It may be a good thing, though, because sometimes you catch some problems you otherwise would not have. That's what happened to me. When my forum mates with kids around the same age as Ethan started to say that their kids are already speaking in straight phrases or sentences, I became worried. My Ethan was still at the single word stage, and it was not even a lot of words. We had him evaluated, and true enough, he does have a slight expressive speech delay. Because of this, we did a 2 pronged approach and brought him to a speech therapist AND sent him to a toddler school within the vicinity for 6 weeks of the summer, just to see how things work out.

It worked! His learning accelerated! He learned a lot more words and is already starting to use phrases. He learned to follow instructions. He learned to deal with other children his age. He learned to wait his turn. He is still continuing speech therapy once a week but even his therapist noted that he has improved greatly! More importantly, he LOVED school. He actually looked forward to it. When we have to wake him up, I just have to say, "Ethan, you have to get up or you'll be late for school" and he won't linger in bed. He is a very slow eater but just tell him that he will be late for school and he will eat faster!

Separation anxiety? After maybe 2 weeks, he has ceased to cling to us. WE are the ones having separation anxiety as his dad and/or I hover around his classroom trying to peer in and see what he's doing.

It is because of all of these that made us decide to send him to school this June. He'll be going to the same school he went to during the summer. He'll be having the same classmates and the same teacher. And he's learning that learning is fun!

As to what school I'm sending him and why I chose that school, I've detailed them here.
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This is my own entry to PPBC 2nd edition.

School! Choices, choices...Why are there so many? -- PPBC 2nd Edition Call for Articles

It's almost June, and here in the Philippines, June 9 heralds the start of the new school year. As parents, school is one of the major decisions we have to make. I know I've been thinking about my son's schooling ever since...hmmm....he was born? So whether or not you have school age kids, do join us in this round of the Pinoy Parenting Blog Carnival!

• What are your considerations for choosing a school?
• All boys or all girls? Or Coed?
• Public or Private? Or would you go for the emerging trend of Homeschooling?
• Traditional or Progressive?
• How do you do research on the school choices?
• Yes or no to toddler school and why? What age do you think is most appropriate to start school?
  

Do share your thoughts! And as usual, do not limit yourself to the above questions! Remember, these are only guides.

And click this link for the guidelines, if you just want to be reminded of them. :)

Deadline is on May 24 and the roundup will be on May 28, also here on The Working Mom.

You can submit the link to your entry by either commenting here on this post, or emailing me at ethanmama[at]gmail[dot]com.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents who have participated in PPBC 1st edition: Becoming a Parent. Do keep up the good work!

From Home to Work

One reason why we're now still living at my mother's place is the short commute that we need to go to work. Living near our place of work is really a very big convenience on our part, especially with the morning rush hour traffic that we have here in the Greater Manila Area. It saves gas and saves us time (we get to sleep in a little later than if we have a longer commute). Ethan is now attending a toddler school very near here (in fact, in the same village). In fact, I'm dreading the time when Ethan has to go to big school, because the school I have in mind is quite far from where we now live. Oh, well, we'll just cross that bridge when we get there.

This (busy) week in summary

This has been a busy, busy week! We have started Ethan (finally!) on toddler school and he seems to be enjoying himself there. He's still not quite a good student, since he's always late -- he's used to waking up at around 8:00, has a loooonnnnggg breakfast and a bath before leaving for school, which starts at 8:30. Good thing the school is just in the neighborhood. We jittery parents try to accompany him every single day. That's on top on our clinic schedule! Whew! School is tiring even for parents! It's worth it, though. I'll blog more about this later.

So please excuse me if I've been a little remiss with responses, tags and bloghops. I've taken to doing these when my boys are asleep -- but by then I'm also quite sleepy so I don't do much na.

In the meantime, if you're interested in what doctor bloggers have to say, we just had a blog carnival of Pinoy MD bloggers here. My contribution is here. The others are pretty good reads. I've only read some of them (since there are a lot), but they've all been proven to be very personal and very human.

I've also gotten to meet Jan and we had quite a chat. She bought some stuff from me (Thanks!) It is always nice to see other n@wies because most of time, you feel that it's not the first time you've met even if it is.

Back to Sunday school...

My mother enrolled Ethan in her temple's (she's a Buddhist) Sunday school. This was supposed to be the second Sunday of this study period, but before that there was a long lay off because of the holidays. He was absent last week because he had cough (and still has it!)

Ethan was very irritable. Sigh! And we thought he was already acclimatized since he already had 1 cycle before the holidays and he seemed to be enjoying the company of the other kids.

Because of Chinese New Year Celebrations, he won't be having a class this Sunday. I hope the next time we go, he'll be in a better mood.