The Force Awakens

I am a Star Wars fan because it is all about the battle between good and evil. And good always win.

Today, December 17 2015, my father and I went to Robinsons Galleria mall to watch Star Wars – The Force Awakens.

My favorite old character is Hans Solo because he once worked with Jabba the Hutt but he helped the rebels defeat the evil Galactic Empire. I also like Chewbacca because he just keeps talking in roars and helps Hans Solo in flying their ship. His nickname is Chewie. Finally, I like C-3PO because he could speak billions of languages. He is also a bit funny and always helps Princess Leia.

My favorite new character is Finn because he is once a Stormtrooper but he wants to change. He wanted to be a rebel one day. I also like BB-8 because he is a robot but a ball version of R2-D2 and both BB-8 and R2-D2 has same accessories such as grappling hook, taser and hologram. Finally, I like Rey because she is a scavenger in Jakku finding scraps, cleaning them or make new things to sell them to make money. But she joined the rebels and she slowly discovers the Force of the Jedi and uses Luke’s lightsaber to defeat the evil Sith lord Kylo Ren.

I enjoyed the movie because the rebels are trying to save the galaxy from the enemy’s deadly weapon.     

Lego Mini-Build

On Sunday, we went to the Lego Store with David and Tita Vicky. https://www.facebook.com/LEGO-Certified-Store-PH-906192569433172/

Today’s free Lego set is a scuba diver. It’s a simple set that’s why it was easy to build. You just need to register (first 50 kids). David, Aim and I built the divers and we brought them home.

Then we ate at JCo. We ordered burgers, Chocó shakes, hot Chocó and lots of donuts then we all went home.

(Daddy Rowin : The previous day, Zek also participated at the Lego Speed Building Challenge. He did not win but he did well with 5:40 minute completion time. He congratulated the winner although he felt bad. Good job, kuya Zek!)

Our Christmas Star Lantern

For this year, we made star lanterns for Christmas instead of our traditional holy manger. The stars show the symbol of God’s sign when and where Jesus was born on the first Christmas eve.

For this project, we needed barbeque sticks, glue, thread, colorful yarns, yellow spray paint and some shiny yuletide leaves and balls

We did the following steps:

1.     Form the sticks into a stars and tie it using a thread

2.     Paint it with bright yellow spray and wait for a few hours to dry

3.     Put colorful yarn on the edge of the stars and put the shiny yuletide leaves and balls.

Merry Christmas to all ! 

Butterfly Haven

Math Olympiad

On Sunday, we went to Ateneo School for the Eye Level math Olympiad. I felt nervous but a bit happy to participate.

When I entered the room, all the names of the schools including my CFA school was listed on the board. I went inside room 209 and I was seated at seat number 10 and my examinee number  is 27. The teacher named Mam Ivy gave us instructions before we started the test.

The test was about 40 math questions. I was surprised at how long the test was but I tried to answer them all. Afterwards, they took a photo of all students examinees and they gave us bags and certificates before leaving the class.

My mom picked me up and we went home.

Trick or Treat

My Hometown

Hello! Kumusta!

My name is Matt Ezekiel C. Santos. I am 11 years old and a Grade 6 student of Catholic Filipino Academy.

My hometown is Malolos City.

Malolos City is located 45 kilometers north of the capital City of Manila. It can be found in the big island of Luzon.

The most famous landmark here is the historical Barasoain Church where the Malolos Congress happened on Sept 15, 1898. The inauguration of the First Philippine Republic on Jan 23, 1899 also took place here as well as the oath-taking of General Emilo Aguinaldo as the President of the First Philippine Republic.

A few years back in 1998, then Pres. Joseph Estrada also took his oath of office at Barasoain Church.

So do you know how significant Barasoain Church is in regards to Philippine history? Well, back in 1969, it was imprinted on the reverse side of the demonetized ten peso bill.

Eventually, Barasoain church was declared a National Shrine on August 1, 1973.

Malolos City is also known for its Bulacan Sweets like Pastillas de Leche, Pastillias de Yema, Pastillas de Ube, Macapuno, Inipit, Ensaymada, Cassava, Puto, Kalamay and Suman. These are popular “pasalubongs” of people to their loved one every time they visit our town.

I like my hometown because my grandparents and relatives live there and I have lots of fun memories with them. It is also an exciting mixture of traditional, religious and modern living.

Thanks for watching.

Hope you learn something from me.

Paalam and God bless!

VW Child Safety Initiative

On September 13, we went to Shangri-La for Aim’s Volkswagen car safety lesson after I went biking on Health day, participated on the Sunday mass church and practicing for Kids Inn Choir.

We ate lunch before he played. First, the small kids listened and try to understand all the things they need to learn such as stop and warning signs, pedestrian lanes, stop light colors and more. Then our old teacher, Director Albert Suansing showed us the rules using a small map. There were two toy cars and he used them to take sample situation like a car going to stop before the stop light.

Then finally, the small kids drove around a small city map with traffic signs and a real stop light. They needed to go to three places like mall, houses, school and park to earn their license. In the end, we each got a play license ID and it’s a lot like the real license.

Then we ate dinner and went home.    

Kids at Work at Kidzania

On Wednesday, before I went to Kidzania, I went to Yamaha practice for my piano lesson.

Then, we went to Kidzania. It’s a city play to learn all things and any jobs. First, I went to the bank to get 50 kidzos (it’s the name of the play money).

I started looking for a job. I went to A1 driving school. I spent 15 kidzos and I got a driving license. Then I tried being a car salesman in Honda. I earned 8 kidzos after that. The next job was to be a pharmacist at Mercury Drug. The things I did there were stacking up medicines and listing them and I got 8 kidzos again. I also rode an airplane for the flight training but I spent 15 kidzos. I met 3 new friends name Nathan, Emmanuel and Elizabeth during these activities.

Next ,I went to the construction site to build bricks and earned 8 kidzos again. At the farm house, I put seeds under the sand, bury them, water them, dig them out to earn 8 kidzos. Next was the ABS-CBN Mobile where I looked and asked a customer if he/she wanted to rent a smart phone to get a free Kidzania apps. I earned 10 kidzos.

And finally at Goldilocks, we spent 15 kidzos for training how to decorate a cup cake. We decorated it by putting icings, football, basketball, volleyball decorations and more. We put it into its box.

Then we all left. There was even a souvenir store to buy when you exit.      

Below is my money report at Kidzania.

I learned that earning is better than spending or in order to spend, you first need to work and earn

Smart Kids Asia 2015

On Sunday, we went to Mall of Asia SMX Center to see the Smart Kids Asia Exhibit where there were lots of activities, books, games and foods. I went to National bookstore and read a few books there. I read about Ninjago.

Then we went to the Space Science area. We played airplane and helicopter flying. Then, we went to the food zone where Jollibee, Potato Corner, Chip Delight and more food stores were located.

Aim joined the Taekwando karate kick to see how high the kids can kick and how to kick the ballon and pop it. There was even an educational zone like Vibal, CMA, Kidzoona and more.

We have lots of fun during our family time. 

Lego Building Competition

On Saturday, we went to Shangri-la for the Lego Building competition.

During their promo called “Toy Mania”, it was full of many toys like Lego, Hexbug, Tomica, Tobot and Uno. It was a 4-day promo.

I joined Lego because that’s my favorite toy. And I’m not the only one who likes Lego. My younger brother, my friends and all the participants like Lego, too. My new friends name were Pablo and Jack. There were around 20 participants for toddlers (4 to 6 years old) and around 30 participants for kids (7 to 12 years old) . We built lots of Lego things before the competition for our practice.

Then after a few minutes, the competition started. First was the toddlers' turn. Their category was to build ”a house”. My brother Aim built a house with a tree. He forgot the other parts that he needed to build such as door and roof but he added a mailbox. Then they announced the winners. A 4 year-old girl won first place and Aim was the second place! He won a Lego Bionicle poster and a certificate.

Next was for me and the other participants. Our category challenge was “What will you give to your parents as a gift?”. I built a graduation hat and a pencil. The others built a cup, a clock, a gift box, a golden watch and a heart. The kid who built a clock was in second place. I was very happy and excited when they announced that I won first place. I won a Php 3,000 worth of Lego sets and also a certificate.

I am very thankful.

Metro-Wide Shake Drill 2015

On Thursday, we went downstairs to watch the earthquake drill. An earthquake drill is an emergency activity to learn to be safe. The working adults, young students and teachers were involved in the shake drill (another name for earthquake drill).

We also joined the drill and practiced what we need to survive like preparing “go bag” with first aid, food, water, whistle, flashlight and wearing helmet which are the important things to survive during earthquake. Our family also pretended our house got hit by an earthquake.

There are three things to do during earthquake – duck, cover and hold. Shake drill is important so you can survive in an earthquake.

A Visit to the Fire and Police Station

On Wednesday, we went to the Eastwood fire and police stations to join some CFA preschool student (well, actually I’m in grade 6) in learning about fire safety and police protection.

First, we watched fire safety rules like “stop, drop and roll” when you’re on fire, two ways of getting out of the house, “fall and crawl” so you won’t smell the smoke, and not playing with matches or lighter. Next they show the complete fire suit, like fire boots, fire pants, fire coat or jacket, face-mask with oxygen tank, helmet and axe.

Then they taught us how to slide down the pole and how to put out the fire with a fire hose. To slide down, you need to hold the pole and cross your legs and slide slowly. Next in order to put out the fire with a water hose, you need to hold the nozzle and target the fire before pulling the lever.

My brother Aim enjoyed the toys inside the fire station and the suit and helmet.

Finally, at the police station, we went to the women and children’s office, to the camera room for the police to watch if any prisoner escapes and to the prison cells. There were two prison cells. The first is for men and the other is for women.

We had so much fun and learned much.

Residence Inn Zoo

On Saturday, we went to the Residence Inn Zoo (http://www.zoomanity.com.ph/residence-inn) in Tagaytay our vacation for our short holiday break.

Inside the zoo, there were so many animals like furry white horses, feathery blue parrots, a two-humped brown camel, orange and black striped tigers, hairy brown lions, sticky green iguanas, furry brown monkeys, big fat python snakes, sneaky black spiders, colorful fishes and fat black pigs. There were even fun activities like horse-back ride, zip line, animal and magic shows, playground, biking, animal picture taking, bird feeding and 5-D cinema ride.

There were a couple of rooms to stay overnight with nice view. We spend one night in the zoo. Then, we explored the zoo and did things that are available. Kuya Jc also enjoyed the zoo. Me and my cousin has lots of fun there and so did our parents.  

Just The Way You Are

As the new school year starts with the spiritually uplifting and grace-filled Holy Mass for the CFA Anointing Day yesterday, our family looks forward to another challenging weeks ahead of us. And so we offer our family prayer to our Life Teacher above as our kuya Zeke embarks on his Grade 6 journey and as we welcome our Aim into the introductory play-learning of a four year old toddler.

Surely, a lot of our home-schooling parents can relate to us when we say that being a full-time parent-teacher can really stretch one's patient to the thinnest limit. As my Star-Wars fanatic son would often feels that we are pulled into the vortex of the dark force whenever the quarterly tests are coming, I, inadvertently, becomes Darth Vader and my son, well, he would retreat to all the corners of our house as he transforms to E. Vader (yes, evading me all the time and with all the chance he can get). 

So why do we keep on home-schooling our son? Well, the officiating priest beautifully put it this way - home schooling is about relationship, it is about life-lessons and it is about loving our children. It is about fulfilling our parental mission to bring up God-loving children, responsible future citizens and purpose-driven individual. 

With the Father's endless grace, Jesus' unconditional love and the Holy Spirit's guidance and direction, we remain optimistic and positive that we will be, once again, fine this school year. 

OK, let the fun begins.

- daddy rowin

For this year's family theme, we are borrowing the Chorus from one of the famous songs of our good friend (wink) Bruno Mars and twitched its lyrics a little to fit our goal.

When we see your grades

There always something we can do

Coz you're amazing,

Just the way you are

And when you smile

The whole world stops and stares for a while

Coz you're amazing

Grade Six at CFA.

Hanging Out With The Heroes

It was a night of fun hanging out with our movie heroes.

National Museum

On Wednesday,  May 27, we went to Manila where we found National Museum. 

First, we put our stuffs in the package area and went inside the museum. I saw lots of arts like the Virgin Mary, mother dog’s revenge, a handmade city and more. The learning zone is about 1 to 3 floors. I took lots of pictures of them.

My favorite art is the very big church (Rowin: It’s the old Senate Hall). There is even a second floor that it’s like a luxurious house own by rich people. My mom’s favorite art is bamboo trees paintworks.   

My Entrep Champ Workshop

On May 16, 2015, we went to Global tower, BGC Taguig, where there was a workshop called “Little Boss”. The speaker there was Mr. Paulo Tibig, the author of the book “Strategy of Entrepreneur Champion”.

My favorite part was when we do the business planning with my group-mates. Following the six Ps - Product, Place, Promotion, Price, People and Packaging.

My dream businesses are shopping mall, making my own car company and my own airport. My favorite of them all is to have my own shopping mall.

We were all about sixty kids and I met new friends like Bettina and Mikko. My cousin JC joined too.

We learn an important DESS principle of donate, earn, save and spend. We also learn that the money that go around is like the merry go around. 

Milo Chess Summer Clinic

Day 1 - April 27 

We registered for the Milo Chess with Bono, my cousin. We brought our own chess sets, notebook and ballpen.

  

Day 2 - April 28

We learned new moves like castling, and we tried to practice that lesson during the chess games.

Day 3 - April 29 

Our teacher taught us about the stop-clock. When you make a move, they will press the button so the player’s clock will start ticking. We practiced that for tomorrow.

Day 4 - April 30

T0day is the tournament day where we challenged other players. After the games, Bono and I won a bronze medals.

A Colorful Resort

On April 21, 2015, we went to Malolos so we can swim with my cousins Bono, Ate Clarisse, Ate Eunice, Eurryx and Euanne. We went to Grass Resort.

First, we left our things at the bahay kubo then we took a shower. There is a kiddie pool and a deep pool. We swam around, play, jump and dive (and flop ) for 3 hours.  After that we went to the boat and rode it by pulling a tight rope tied on both ends. We don’t have a paddle.

Next we practiced our photography . Going around, I took photos of a wooden window, a small waterfall, a brown metal garden light and lots of colorful and interesting plants and flowers.

Then, we played badminton before finally leaving for home.

Araw ng Skating (with Friends)

Summer Reach-Out 2015

The Summer Reach-out 2015 is all about learning and fun. Their seminars were about Arts and Craft, Personal Development, Acting, Animation and Photography.

I chose photography because I like pictures. I learned about capturing the light, emotions and timing. Next, we pictured the white plastic cup and made a story. Next, we pictured the whole event and the shops in the mall and their logos and other interesting things. Finally, I submitted the photos of plants, human, food and shop logos because those pictures are nice and beautiful for me.

Our teacher is a fashion photographer, kuya Jeffrey Herbolario.

Summer reach-out is memorable for me because I learned about photography and met new friends. Theo, from CFA, was also there!   

My Holy Week For Jesus

On Holy Wednesday night, Bono and I pulled the St. Peter carriage. The design is that the rooster is besides him, angels are at the front and flowers are around the carriage. We pulled it around the whole of Alido subdivision in Malolos Bulacan.

On Maundy Thursday night. We went to EDSA shrine church. We held the station of the cross and our parents read the prayer and reflections while the kids sang a religious song. Bill ( my choir friend ) carried the cross and I carried the candle.

On Good Friday in Alido church, Papa Ben, my grandfather, made a speech in Filipino language for the Seven Last Words of Jesus and his topic is the fourth last word. At night we have another procession.

On Black Saturday night we sang to Jesus, “Queen of Heaven Rejoice” while others performed dancing and singing also during the “Salubong”. There was even a fireworks show.

Finally, on Grand Easter Sunday Feast at the SM MOA Arena there was a holy mass celebration, lots of stories and lots of singing. The priest is a foreigner and uncle Brother Bo Sanchez was also there at the arena. He told a story called the Good Samaritan (it’s a play). A man was hurt by a robber and the Priest and the Levite did not help but the Samaritan helped the poor man.

If Jesus was here, I will thank Him for saving us and I promise that I will try not to sin again.

Grade Six, Here I Come!

On March 20, we went to Layforce Chapel at Guadalupe Makati where I was joining our moving up ceremony. This means I am moving up from Grade 5 to Grade 6. My classmates were also there. Their names are Paul Cadiz, Nathan De Guzman, Fil Santos, and Sophie Silao.

We participated during the Holy Mass before receiving our certificates and medals. After that, the teachers called our names to receive our academic certificates and character award medals before taking a picture with our Catholic Filipino Academy http://catholicfilipinoacademy.com founder Bro. Bo Sanchez. My classmates and I are so happy that we are moving up to Grade 6.

And by the way, my academic award is Mathematics. My favorite lesson is about Integers and Geometry. And my character award is Generosity because I always visit the poor and needy children at Grace to be Born and other orphanages to share my so many blessings and God's love to them.

We are also inspired again by Bro.Bo Sanchez inspirational talk for us that we can be the best and amazing in the future.

Thank you Reverent Fr. Eric Castro for celebrating the Holy Mass on this special day for us all CFA students. 

Vow Kami sa Davao

On March 16, we went to Davao for a vacation and to meet new friends. We rode an airplane to Davao. Then, we went to Crown Regency. We stayed there for 3 days. Next was the Davao Museum. It’s full of history there like bahay kubo, national heroes and pictures made of fruits. Then, we met Tita Chang-Chang, Tito Ryan, Ate Rain and RL. They invited us to go to the mall and ate there. 

The next day we went to Samal Island by taking the boat with our friends. We swam at the beach and even ate there. And there was a funny acrobatic show at Paradise Island Resort. Next, we went to People’s Park with so many statues. Lastly, we went to SM mall and watch the fountain light show. 

On our last day, we went to the Bone Museum. It is full of extinct animal bones like Megalodon. There are many land and water animals too. Lastly, we visited a Davao church and prayed there for our safe trip back to manila and to bless mommy’s birthday.

Solar Energy 101

To make the solar house, we prepared the following materials- soap boxes, glue, glue gun, Lego parts, white paint spray, battery and the solar panel.

Step 1: Glue the soap boxes.

Step 2: spray it with white paint.

Step 3: connect all parts for the solar panel system.

Step 4: assemble and fit my Lego parts inside.

During daytime, sunlight is changed to electricity by the solar panel and stored electricity from the battery. During nighttime, the stored electricity from the battery powers the house’s appliances’ like light, TV, air conditioner and electric fan. On daytime, the cycle is repeated.

Solar is a good for the environment because it does not use fossil fuel, does not produce pollution and the sunlight is always free.

Yamaha Recital

I enrolled at Yamaha School of Music because I like singing and playing the piano. The songs and piano pieces that I have learned so far are “ A Dozen A Day”,” Rude “,” Yankee Doodle”,” The Chimes”, “ Paratrooper and “Mary had a  Little Lamb”.

On February 28, we went to Robinson’s mall for my recital. There was a recital because they wanted to show the parents what the students have learned. My friends also came to watch me play the big black piano and to sing a inspirational song. Eighteen participants performed and I played “The Pet Shop “ and sang ”You Raise me Up “.During recital I felt scared with so many people but I did well.

After that, we had a snack and the Yamaha students and I talked about funny things. Yes, I did enjoy my recital because I like music.

It's More Fun-Tastic in Subic

On Tuesday, we were at Camayan Beach in Subic where we have fun and learning. There were many kinds of animals like birds and fish. There is also a restaurant called the Reef Restaurant. Then we played on the beach, swam in the waters and rode a kayak (it’s a kind of boat). There were also dance shows like the fire dance and a sharp-claw dance.

They also have a hotel, too. In the room, it has a normal television, a bathtub with shower and two big beds. We spent one night there.

I saw mountains with few trees and there were no animals that live there. And this beach reminded me of something; this is like the beach where Lapu-Lapu and Magellan and their men battled on the beach.

I like to go back to Camayan Beach. I love that place.

Going Around Lipa

On Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015, we went to Lipa City. The weather was hot but cloudy. We went there because my dad has some important work to do. And we slept there for one night. I played with my brother Aim and our toys, watched a movie, and worked and helped daddy. The place was quite nice and we like it because of the fresh air and so many animals.

I learned that some plants are shy (Rowin: it’s the Makahiya plant) and some dangerous and disgusting creatures like leech, big ants and worms.

We also went to the San Benito Farm where there were ducks, peacocks, a playground, a restaurant , a pond and green lawn grass. There were even peacocks on the roof and we all LOL (Rowin: there is really a need to reduce more internet time for Zek :D) at them. 

Then we went to the Lipa museum where there were old stuffs like type-writers, cellphones , dresses, pots ,soldier’s uniform, weapons, paintings, plates and cups. Next we went to the Lipa City library. It’s huge with so many shelves and books. There’s even a baby room full of toys and baby books. The book that I read was Dream Chasers.

And finally, our last destination was the church (San Sebastian Cathedral) and it is beautiful. Inside the church roof are paintings of the prophets like is Daniel, Ezechiel and Noah and our Lord Jesus.

We went to SLEX to go home and we stopped by at Shell Station to eat dinner and got daddy’s cake. We all have fun learning all day.