PRACTICAL LIFE – Mama The Explorer

PARENTING, PHILIPPINE DESTINATIONS, PRACTICAL LIFE, SENSORIAL, TRAVEL

DAYTRIP FROM MANILA: MULBERRY PICKING IN PAMPANGA

February 26, 2020 No Comments

We recently discovered this place, thanks to a friend (hi Che!). Just about 1.5 hours away from Manila (we came from San Juan) lies this little farm where you can actually do Mulberry and Fig picking (depending on season, of course!) Wilson’s Instant Tree Bank is located in San Fernando, Pampanga. To get there, all we needed to do was search WILSON’S INSTANT TREE BANK on Waze (you can also search via Google Maps). When you get there, you’ll be […]

CLEANING, HOME DESIGN, PRACTICAL LIFE, PRODUCTS, REVIEWS, UNCATEGORIZED

OUR LAUNDRY MAKEOVER (AND WHY WE LOVE OUR WASHER AND DRYER)

February 19, 2020 1 Comment

Late last year, we finally bid goodbye to our washing machine of 10 years (it was my husband’s even way before I got married to him) for a couple of reasons: * It’s already an old model, and had been fixed a couple of times. * We have been using a washing machine more because my son has grown, explores a lot more, hence, changes clothes a lot more often. * I wanted these two features for a washing machine: […]

ACTIVITIES, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE, THOUGHTS

30 DAYS OF MONTESSORI ACTIVITIES (AND HOW TO HELP TODDLERS SUCCEED)

May 17, 2019 No Comments

I was inspired to make our own list after seeing Natural Beach Living’s list here. There’s no particular order for these, but I am adding tips on how to help your child succeed with each activity. Enjoy!:) 1. Wash dishes In the Philippines, we wash dishes with our hands. Work with just one plate or cup or utensil first. Don’t put a lot of things in front of the child – just little soap, sponge, and the item to be […]

HOME DESIGN, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE

PRACTICAL LIFE: A (FUNCTIONING) TODDLER KITCHEN

May 17, 2019 No Comments

Sharing our kitchen setup for our toddler. My mom bought the Ikea Play Kitchen for my son, and we have turned it into a functioning one! I put it right beside our home’s actual kitchen. Our kitchen has no more space for my toddler’s child-sized kitchen, but we also use that kitchen by placing a stool if he wants to work on our counters. He just keeps moving that stool around to get what he needs. When it comes to […]

MOVEMENT, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE

PRACTICAL LIFE WORK: FRUIT PICKING (KAMIAS)

May 17, 2019 No Comments

If there’s one tree that I would recommend you have at home when you have a child, it’s KAMIAS! Kamias is one of our local fruits (native to Southeast Asia, I think) and rich in vitamins B and C, iron, phosphorus, and antioxidants. But those aren’t the only reasons I would recommend having this tree in your home. For children’s sake, it’s simply because Kamias (in English, it’s called Bilimbi, Tree Sorrel, or Cucumber Tree) is the only fruit free […]

FINDS, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE

TODDLER KNIVES: THE TOOLS WE USE AT HOME

February 12, 2019 No Comments

In Montessori families, it is not unusual to see toddlers working in the kitchen. For some, knives are introduced at around 12-18 months of age, while for some, it’s introduced at around 2-3 years old. I understand the worry — so, if you are not yet ready to introduce the knife to your child or feel that your child still needs to do fine motor work before you can do actual slicing work, do remember that there are many other […]

ACTIVITIES, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE

MONTESSORI-FRIENDLY KITCHEN WORK FOR TODDLERS (WITHOUT COOKING OR CHOPPING)

January 13, 2019 No Comments

One of the first things people often notice about children who are from Montessori homes/schools is that generally, they are very comfortable in the kitchen. They do all sorts of things including actual baking and cooking at such a young age (young here being younger than the typical). In the Montessori community, this is definitely not about having a competition on who did it younger, but really a matter of respecting the child’s capability to do actual, purposeful work. I […]

ACTIVITIES, MOVEMENT, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE, TRAVEL

BEACH ACTIVITIES FOR TODDLERS

September 4, 2018 2 Comments

My son loves the beach! Whenever he sees photos of a beach, he would tell us, “go to the beach!” At first, I would spend a long time thinking about how I can prepare him for the beach, what materials I can bring to enhance his experience, etc. Do I bring a book? Miniatures? Toys? Lots of stuff for sandcastle building? Should I just bring our whole house? After several trips to the beach, this is what I now believe […]

ACTIVITIES, BOOKS, FINDS, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE, SENSORIAL

PRACTICAL LIFE: BLOWING PRACTICE FOR TODDLERS

July 16, 2018 2 Comments

I didn’t realize how important blowing is (and how much practice it would take before an actual blow happens) until we started swimming lessons for our son. Blowing is one good way to get your child comfortable in the water (for swimming) because it’s a practice in breathing and helps your toddler get used to water in his/her face. Blowing was something we’ve always done with our soups — so our son knows the word blow, but as we had […]

CLEANING, HOME, PARENTING, PRACTICAL LIFE

HANDWASHING STATION IN THE BATHROOM

May 25, 2018 No Comments

Sharing with you our handwashing station in our son’s bathroom. See, all the bathrooms in our house are small – plus, the walls are marble so we cannot really drill and easily put shelves or whatever. They are the hardest to decorate for me to accommodate my child’s needs, so while we still figure things out, I’m happy we’re making little progress – in this case, how to help our child successfully wash his hands with no or minimal assistance. […]