What Matters Most

During my last trip to Manila, I stopped by the bookstore at the airport on the way back home.  Whenever I enter a bookstore and I have nothing on my list to buy, I usually say a prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to guide me in choosing a good book to read.  One that will enrich me as a person.  I was led to this book, and while reading the first page, I had no doubt that indeed I was guided.  This book is about developing character, something that should go hand in hand with spirituality.  This is a good reminder of what matters most in life.  I love this book because of its simple yet captivating style of writing.  I was more than halfway done with the book when I landed in Bacolod after the hour-long trip.  This is short, easy reading that has the potential of making us better individuals, if only we apply what it espouses.  Enjoy reading and be better persons! :)

Talking about?

     (This is a super late post... written last March 2013)

Little Jacob, my youngest in class on the right most

  The other day my youngest student, Jacob (a tiny 2 year old boy) came to school early because his yaya said he was excited to come to school.  So while I was preparing for class, he was busily working on some of the materials in the classroom.  Shin, a Kindergarten student was also there, playing with the materials while waiting for his class to start.  I was busy arranging my students' worksheets when Shin asked me "What are you doing teacher?", "I'm fixing my students' worksheets" I replied.  "Fixing? Why fixing?" asked Shin.  Then Jacob interrupted "Wawawawa what you toking bout?" :)

Blog Renovation

My Gabe and Ella with cousins at Cebu

Lamblight Teachers sharpening the saw at  Don Salvador Benedicto

I know, It's been a while since my last entry.  Summer went by, things got busy with the kids and preparations for this school year that I didn't have time to write.  Although it seems that I totally abandoned my blog, I have been thinking about making changes.  I initially put up this blog to document my experiences as a preschool teacher but over the summer, there were some things that I wanted to write about that are not quite related to teaching.  I didn't want to take care of 2 or more blogs as I could hardly keep up with one, so I decided to integrate them all here.  

It was a struggle for me to decide on this and I had a mental debate going on for a few weeks about opening up my life through this blog.  But the strongest contention was my realization that if only one person were to be blessed or inspired by any of my entries, then this endeavor would be worth it.  

It took another 2 to 3 weeks deciding on the concept and title of the blog.  I knew I wanted it to be a personal blog, coming from the perspective of a mom, preschool teacher, TV host and a Negrense, but I didn't know how to encapsulate all these facets of my life into one persona.  

After playing around with the words passion, gratitude and joy, I finally ended up with Breathing Gratitude... peacefully and contentedly.  This is the disposition that I always want to have no matter what my circumstance in life.  I truly believe that happiness follows a grateful heart.  As Madame Blueberry of Veggietales says, "A thankful heart is a happy heart", I pray that this blog inspires us to be more grateful and that happiness would abound.  And in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 it says, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  Truly the good Lord has given us so much that it is only right that we breathe gratitude every moment of our lives.

Breathing gratitude during the summer break with my Ella

Proud Mom of Bloggers

     Things got busy for me the past weeks that's why I haven't written for quite a while.   But while I have been quiet, my Gabe (11 years old) and Ella (7 years old) got to work.  They have been curious ever since I started my blog and when I asked them if they wanted to write their own blogs, they both said yes.  They found the best opportunity to write their first blog when I took them for an adventure.  I will let them share this with you themselves so please visit their blogs and drop them a word of encouragement or two.  

theunexpectedlifebygabe.blogspot.com

asweetlifebyella.blogspot.com

What is your Experience of God's love lately?

Last Wednesday, during our Teachers' prayer meeting in school, we were asked the question "What is your experience of God's love lately?"

Instantly, my thoughts went to my students.  Our School Principal always tells us how loving our students is most important and I have seen them bloom over the school year just by loving them.  The once shy and clingy Millie, can now stand in the middle of the stage with a microphone and sing and dance confidently.  Jacob, who was once fearful of being left by yaya Gigi in the classroom and would cry unstoppably, now wears a smile and a playful disposition.  Carlos, who didn't want to enter the classroom and clung to Mama during the first days of school, now loves coming to school independently.  Ela who didn't want to come to school, now says "I feel very excited because I am in school!"  Santi, who threw tantrums in his frustration of not being able to communicate what he wanted, is now secure in the routine of the class.  Pio, although still very quiet most of the time, smiles a lot more and is more comfortable in class.  And Andres, who took the longest time being weaned from Yaya Jo, is now one happy, independent boy in class who is always proud to show Yaya Jo his projects in school during dismissal!

Although we are reminded to teach and more importantly love our students, I realize that it is I who receive more love daily.  I get an overdose of hugs, kisses and laughter each day!  As I always say, this is not work for me.  I realize that this is love therapy at its finest!

Now when you have "work" that gives you that much love, and you receive much more love at home, you become one totally content and happy person.  I get a lot of letters and drawings from my Gabe and Ella daily.  And on Valentine's Day, here's some of what I got from them:

I bet I'm the only mom in that "hole univers"! haha! I love her dearly.  She is the epitome of thoughtfulness.  She is my linguistically gifted one who loves writing and expressing her love and appreciation daily.

My Gabe seldom writes me letters but when he does, it is very emotional.  I was so surprised that of all the things that he could be thankful for, he was mostly thankful for my discipline, even if he seems to resent it!  I am so amazed and so happy that he could see the love through the discipline and for that, I am truly thankful!  I know this is nothing but God's intervention.  Gabe is such a sensitive and loving boy and although I hate instilling discipline myself, I have the difficult task of doing that.  Through this letter, I feel affirmed that maybe somehow I am doing things right.  

So God's love is truly all around me.  I am drenched with it and I thank Him endlessly for it!

How do you feel today?

During circle time, I teach my toddlers how to speak in a complete sentence by asking them a question. So the question I asked today was "How do you feel today?".   I told them that some of us may feel happy, sad, excited or mad.  While Carlos was busy answering how his day was like, with his Mama and Dada, Ela answered "I'm excited!".  So I held on to my excitement as well and allowed Carlos to finish his story and in the end I asked...

Me: So how do you feel today Carlos, are you happy or sad?

Carlos: Happy!
Me: Carlos can you say "I feel happy today!"?
Carlos: I feel happy aday!






Then I proceeded to Ela.

Me: Ela, how do you feel today?
Ela: Excited! (with hand gestures and facial expression to match!)
Me: Can you say "I feel excited today!"?
Ela: I feel very excited today!
Me: Wow! Why are you excited today, Ela?
Ela: Because I am in school!
You can imagine how thrilled I was to hear that!


Then I asked Jacob.

Me: Jacob, how do you feel today?
Jacob: sunny day!
Me: Yes Jacob, it's a sunny day, but how do you feel today? Happy or sad?
Jacob: Appy!!! (with a huge smile on his face)

Pio was smiling and playing with some of his classmates when I asked him the same question but he did not reply. So I asked the class...




Me: What do you guys think? How do you think Pio feels today?
Millie: Happy
Me: Why do you think he is happy, Millie?
Carlos: No! Pio not happy! Pio sad!
Me: Why do you think Pio is sad, Carlos?

Then Carlos went on to tell us his theory of why he thought Pio was sad.


It's amazing how toddlers can comprehend something as abstract and complicated as feelings.  As a teacher, I believe that it is healthy to teach them to be aware of how they feel because in that way, they are able to cope with it better.  We know that sometimes feelings can be quite overwhelming and even as adults, we sometimes find it difficult to handle them.  So by teaching them early about these feelings, hopefully we are training them to be better managers of their emotions.  By doing that, I hope that in my own little way, I am helping raise level-headed, great decision makers who could impact our society in a big way in the future.  I have no doubt that these little ones will one day be successful entrepreneurs, professionals, politicians and maybe even the President!  And when that time comes, my heart will smile because I will remember the fun things we did in my little classroom and how it has produced such wonderful individuals who I can be so proud of.  And if only they become awesome parents, my heart would swell with pride just the same.  But for now, I will continue to enjoy having them in my care.  And yes, I feel very happy and excited today because of them!

Feeling Sad

For story time yesterday, I chose the book entitled "I Feel Sad".  This is a book we normally read to 4-5 year old kids, but for some reason, I took a chance as I was curious how my toddlers would respond to it.  I love these books on emotions because it helps them able to label their emotions and I think that showing them that their feelings are normal and that everybody experiences it, somehow boosts their self esteem.

The book is quite lengthier than the usual books I read to my 1-3 year old toddlers, so I didn't expect them to be engaged at all, at least not until the end of the story.  But while I was reading the book, I noticed how still they all were (and mind you, during story time, you will see some of them running around the room, while only a few sit down and listen) and how intently they were listening to the story.

The book shows examples of things that make people sad, and they all seem to understand or maybe to some degree relate to it.  Like how one feels sad when a friend leaves town, or when a pet dog dies.  It also talked about how parents feel sad when their kids disrespect them.  I was so surprised at how my toddlers were all absorbing everything, all the way till the end of the story!

After that, I decided to do a little processing.  I asked them the question "How about you, have you ever felt sad before?"  I asked the question without expecting any response because sometimes during circle time, when I try to encourage news sharing, I don't normally get much response. I ask them a simple question "What did you do this weekend?" and I usually have to probe questions to figure out the answers.  So this time, I thought that I wouldn't get any response, this being a deeper question, but nevertheless, I did.

This is how our typical news sharing looks like.  So many things going on at the same time.

So, imagine my surprise when I actually got an answer from my 2 year old!

Me: Have you ever felt sad before?
Student: Yes
Me: When did you feel sad?
Student: When I hit my mom, I felt very sad.

Yes, it was said in a clear, complete sentence.  I was so touched that she was able to express her emotions in that way and also so proud of the way she was able to communicate it.

Another student who normally doesn't participate in news sharing, also surprised me by what he shared.    In very crudely composed phrases, I gathered that he felt sad when his Dada bumped his head (and he saw blood), and felt sad when he saw his mama and yaya crying or feeling sad too.

I was so amazed by this experience and I realize that young as they are, they too, experience the same kind of emotions that we grown ups do.  And although it may seem like nothing to them, these experiences really do leave a mark.  We grownups tend to disregard our little ones, thinking that they don't get affected by certain circumstances the way that we do.  But through this exercise, I realize that we need to be more sensitive to them, to be more respectful of them because they have feelings, just as we do!

Gotta love my parents!

Today the kids brought to school the family project I assigned them last week:  A robot made out of recycled materials because this week, we are learning about the letter R.  This was supposed to be a mini project but when they came to school today, proudly carrying their family masterpieces, I realize there was nothing 'mini' about it!

Although they did use recycled materials like cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, springs, used batteries, hooks, bicycle lights, the parents went all out and made awesome robot creations with it!

Carlos talking about how Wall E was made during Show and Tell

I just gotta love my parents for being fully supportive of their little ones.  They are there in every field trip.  They respond to my every request or every need concerning their little ones.  It is not surprising why my little ones are the most adorable, charming and the most wonderful creatures on earth.  It is because they have parents like they do.  And I am so blessed to witness this year after year after year.

The wheel

Our class is studying about the FISH and we each bought our own pet fishes at the local pet shop, all christened with their own names by their owners.  The fishes were named Val, A, Blue, Mama, Ese, Lou and Pio's fish (since Pio refused to blurt out any sound).  The monday after we got them, we all crowded around the aquarium, admiring their beautiful colors and their unique features.  I got a little twirling, colorful wheel at the pet shop as a decor to put in the aquarium for our (and maybe the fishes' too) viewing pleasure.  Little Ela was sitting on my lap, admiring the whole scene until she called my attention to the wheel.  She asked me what it was and why it was there and I said "It's a wheel, to decorate our aquarium".  Then she asked "Is it mahal?" :)

No putting on shoes!

Little Andres loves to play assistant teacher.  After circle time, we go to the work table to do writing and art.  The kids are not supposed to put on their shoes until after they finish their work, when we get ready to go out for snacks.  But the past days, some kids put on their shoes after circle time and without fail, Little Andres puts his hands on his waist and says "No putting on shoes yet everyoneS!" :)