After 7 days of teaching the kids of Think Ahead, I am getting the hang of it! Honestly, I am loving it… 
One of the things that I include in my planning is sourcing the internet for worksheets and other activities related to my topic. The program for Think Ahead is basically composed of reading and math skills. To make it more organized, we made it literature-based. Anyway, I will be talking more about Think Ahead in the coming days and might share some of the cool worksheets I made for the program. For now, I want to highlight the great websites that I found in the last few days… Check them out, too!
http://www.englishforeveryone.org/
This website contains cool reading comprehension worksheets to sharpen the thinking skills of kids who are already starting to read!
http://bogglesworldesl.com/
This website has plenty of wonderful worksheets catered to children with varying abilities!
http://www.kidslearningstation.com/
As a pre-nursery and now a Think Ahead teacher, this website will forever remain to be one of my favorites!
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/
This website is my newfound love! Super loaded with cool and amazing worksheets, flashcards, and so much more!
I urge teachers like me to browse through these wonderful sites! Until my next post… Ciao!
Archive for April, 2011
Newlyfound Teaching Resources for Think Ahead
Thursday, April 21st, 2011Thinking About THINK AHEAD
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Think Ahead is one of the offerings we have for this summer. Just like our other programs, it will run for about a month, 22 days to be exact. As per what I’ve written in the brochure, Think Ahead will offer advanced lessons in Reading and Math, in a stress-free and encouraging learning environment.
Teachers at this point might say, yeah right, easier said than done. Yup, I admit that this program is not going to be a walk in the park. On the contrary, it will be complicated and tricky. It will involve a lot of thinking and planning. Reading and Math encompass a lot of skills. Hence, time pressure is imminent. I have to produce evident results in less than a month. To make matters more challenging, I’ve been handling toddlers for quite some time now and suddenly, I am to make a 360 degree turn, and teach the oldest preschoolers. Honestly, I am nervous as hell… but, thankfully, the adventurous me is all hyped and excited. I am looking forward to planning and conceptualizing the program. It will be tough but I am ready to face it. Hence, I started this topic to document my activities as I go through the whole Think Ahead process. Hopefully, the end-product of it all is an effective and reliable program for reading and math.
Musings of A Happy Breastfeeding Working Mom
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Work and my new baby have kept my hands full these days… less time, therefore, to blog. As baby sleeps, I thought I’d sneak in a few notes about my breastfeeding experiences.
Why did I choose to breastfeed?
I’ve been breastfeeding my third baby for three months now and it’s been great. I love it and want to continue doing it because of varied reasons. First and foremost, of course, is because of its health benefits. I breastfed my eldest for six months and I saw how that helped her grow healthy and strong. I was unemployed back then so I had all my attention focused on my baby. Sadly, it was a different story for Amber, my second child. I was working as a teacher and after my maternity leave, I went back to work and had to quit breastfeeding. Also, as embarrassing as it to say, I’ve been dying to go back to an old and unhealthy habit of smoking. Because of my experiences with my children, I have a basis for comparison. Amber, at about 6 months acquired pneumonia. She was hospitalized for a week and that experience was so tormenting. I hated seeing my tiny, fragile baby, go through several painful procedures. Things were different for my eldest, though. She stayed healthy and immune to many diseases until her toddler years.
My second reason for wanting to breastfeed might sound silly to some people. I want to totally kick out smoking in my life. I am 33 years old and was a heavy smoker for 15 years. I only stop when I am pregnant and lactating. Breastfeeding gives me a justifiable reason to keep off that nasty habit.
Thirdly, it’s because of financial reasons. Imagine giving your child the best milk possible at virtually no cost? Amazing, really… Also, I am glad to see more mommies breastfeeding nowadays. Before, I cringed at the thought of breastfeeding in public but now, because of the invention of nursing bibs (which just actually looks like a small-sized blanket for me), I can proudly nurse anywhere and anytime my baby needs it.
But of course, my ultimate breastfeeding bestfriend would have to be my ever reliable electric breast pump which I got from babymama.ph. Because of this God-sent device, my baby is able to drink the best milk ever, even when I am at work. Babymama.ph also provides mommies like me, some helpful advices about lactation, milk storage and production, and etc. etc. Also, I love the feeling of leaving milk for my baby to drink. It’s like I’m leaving something of me behind, something valuable, even when I am away at work.
I urge moms out there to breastfeed… this is the best and priceless gift that we can give to our babies.:-)
