Sun Life treat Moms to a Pampering Spree with Talks on Educational Fund

Sun Life Financial recently treated mom bloggers to a Mom’s Day Out at the posh five-star I’M hotel in Makati. It’s something that all moms truly deserve. After all, being a mother is no joke. It is a 24/7 job without any leave. We are all doing a great job. Our kids will turn out just fine despite the hours of time we spend away from them, yes…we all need a break. 

On Being Moms

Of course you probably don’t always feel that way yourself. If you are like most working moms I know, you may feel like you’re forever coming up short when it comes to doing enough, giving enough and being enough for your kids. Not to mention your boss, your partner, your aging parents and extended family, and yes, of course, your community. 

During the said Moms Day Out sponsored and organized by Sun Life Financial, Ms. Michelle Alignay, book author and family life specialist gave a talk on Balanced Motherhood. I’ve been warned about mother’s guilt the minute I had Kyle. However, having grown up with a hearty does of “Catholic guilt,” I figured it couldn’t be that bad. 

Family Counselor and Family Life Specialist Michelle Aligpay

Repertory Philippines: 50 Golden Years of World-Class Theatre

My REP 50 Years of Telling Story ticket

Repertory Philippines [REP] came about because of one dream—that dream of bringing world class theatre experience to the Filipinos. Half a century of existence is really something to be happy about as REP have remained a stable reputable theatre company to date. They’ve recently marked their 50^th year in the entertainment industry by coming up with a two-hour show held at The Theatre at Soilare with 135 performers onstage and seven musical suites that gave audiences a glimpse of how the REP had its humble beginnings.

One of REP's heart-stopping performances during that night

The 50 Years of Telling Stories was indeed a clear testament of the theatre company’s success. The two hour show highlighted everything important to every REP—from production staff, personnel, musicians, actors, directors and benefactors—practically all who contributed to the success of the said theatre company.

“REP will go on telling stories, training Filipino talents and sharing the best of theatre for years to come,” said Repertory Philippines president Mindy Perez-Rubio.

Leo Martinez, one of REP's founding member

In its five decades of existence, REP has produced 80 seasons with 444 theater productions. Their home has moved from the old Insular Life Theater to the William J. Shaw Theatre in Shangri-La Plaza Mall and today, performances are made at Onstage Greenbelt in Makati City.

Eiga Sai 2017 at the Shang Cineplex

Shangri-la Plaza Mall once again hosts the Eiga Sai 2017 Japanese Film Festival. Now on its 20th year anniversary,  Eiga Sai carefully chose award-winning films that will take audiences through decades of Japanese cinema's different genres. There will be drama, comedy, animation, as well as suspense films. The Eiga Sai 2017 will kick off from July 7 to 16 at the Shang Cineplex Cinema 2. 

Featured Films:

The cast of Her Love Boils Bathwater

My Thoughts on Sun Life Digital Shorts: "She Said, She Said"

I’m going to start by stating the obvious: Parenting is hard, it's not as easy as you might think it is.

As much as we don’t want to admit it or talk about it, the simple truth is that parenting is not easy. Of course, it is amazing and wonderful and meaningful, but it also ins't a walk in the park. For one, parenting doesn't come with a manual. You have to learn through experience.

When one becomes a parent, you give a huge part of yourself to your kid. And you work as a mom 24/7, without any leave of absence. The reason why parenting can be hard is because you also need to have your "me-time," You need to take a break, once in a while to take good care of yourself. For how in the world can you afford to take care of others if you don't take good care enough for yourself? Having a "me-time" is equally important as having quality time with your kids. 

These realities, though they may seem like inconsistencies, are not surprising to me or all that difficult for me to reconcile. I’m pretty comfortable with the conflicting emotions I sometimes feel about motherhood and my nephew (whom I consider my son since I've had him since he was 8 months old. Well, guess what, he's now turning 15 by September!). And I’m OK with parenting being hard sometimes, but at the same time it is fulfilling and meaningful and wonderful.

I will say it again: Parenting is hard, alright. I know this and you know this, but when we see that our kid is growing to be a good citizen of this country, we feel that we may have done a good job raising them. And so we sit over in our respective corners of the parenting world knowing that although parenting can be hard and confusing and heartbreaking sometimes, believing that you've done your part to have a better future can be treated like a prize on its own.

Sun Life's second digital shorts entitled "She Said, She Said" is something that I'm sure all mommies can easily relate to. Not just moms, but all parents for that matter. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with everything that's going on in our lives that we tend to forget that our kids grow up so fast. And that they too had their own stories to tell. We as parents, just had to learn how to listen to them. We must also learn to convey in their own love language so that we'd be able to understand them better. 

Here is "She Said, She Said," one of the films featured in Sun Life Shorts:

And when the time comes, we will know that we had done a good job when we see them become successful in their chosen fields. Catch the Sun Life Digital Shorts, it's going to be a heart-warming story filled with life lessons to learn from! 

Sun Life once again educates Filipino audience (in an innovative & creative way) about financial preparedness by creating these relatable short films. In keeping with their vision and advocacy, Sun Life has two other films set to be released a week apart each. You may catch these episodes atwww.sunshorts2.com

You can also check out my previous article on Sun Life Shorts. 

S.A.M.’s Way of Getting Kids to Learn and Love Math

Press Release:

Filipino kids are no different from their peers in many parts of the world who feel intimidated by math. As it is an exact science, there is no way to go around it but face it head on. But Filipino kids can now tackle math problems with relative ease - with the entry of Seriously Addictive Mathematics or S.A.M. into the local scene.

Founded in 2010 by Samuel Chia and Lau Chin Loong, S.A.M is a multi-awarded international Singapore math enrichment program trusted by thousands of parents in 16 countries all over the world. A graduate of the National Institute of Education in Singapore, Chin Loong created the curriculum of S.A.M. and consulted Marshall Cavendish, a provider for academic resources and publishing company of some of the Singapore Math textbooks used in the Philippines, to ensure that kids receive world class materials. Enrich Asia was the one who brought S.A.M. here in the Philippines, after searching the globe for the best educational program that will be useful to kids.

Many children are usually intimidated when a new method of instruction is presented to them. But the people behind S.A.M. can vouch for how effective the program is vis-a-vis traditional math.

S.A.M. is unique because it does not spoon feed a child. In contrast, S.A.M. inculcates independent learning, diligence and discipline as it harps on conceptual understanding and critical thinking. Traditional math, on the other hand, focuses on memorization or repetition of formulas. With problem solving at the core of S.A.M.’s teachings, the program does not just aim to acquire and apply math concepts and skills, it also helps a child resolve non-routinary, open-ended and real-life situations.

In Traditional Math, children are usually taught the hows- like how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. With S.A.M., what they are taught are the whys before the hows. It explains to the child first why there is a need to “carry” in addition or why there is a need to “borrow” in subtraction.

Traditional math also immediately tackles abstract ideas- using symbols and jargons while S.A.M. moves from a concrete then to a visual and pictorial presentation of concepts before getting into abstractions. The program Filipino kids have grown accustomed to focuses on mathematical procedures and formulas.  S.A.M., on the other hand, zeroes in on conceptual understanding of topics so students would know how the procedures came to be which is needed to help them discover the formulas on their own. In conventional math, pure equations are used to solve word problems. In S.A.M. the bar-model approach is employed. This allows a student to develop their visualization skills which they would need in solving complex word problems without using algebra.

 

The Classroom Experience, conducted by Certified S.A.M Trainers, engages students with dialogue, probing questions, props, games and a healthy dose of encouragement. The idea is to make learning fun and memorable through an array of interactive experiences. During this engagement time, S.A.M.’s trainers also take the opportunity to evaluate how the student is coping with his work, his rate of progress and his level of motivation. By assessing each and every student’s learning ability, the trainer can adjust their mentoring approach to suit the needs of the student- so the pace is neither too fast nor too slow. Each student receives a personalized learning plan so that the student can learn at his or her own pace and ability. S.A.M Trainers understand that their role is not just to instill Mathematical knowledge in students, but to also inculcate the right learning attitude and self-discipline in them, in preparation for their future.