Mommy Plannerista

DIY Chinese New Year Unit Study

January 24, 2020 · Leave a Comment

As you can probably guess from my surname, I come from a family with Chinese blood. To be specific, my dad’s father was Chinese-Filipino while his mom was Spanish-Filipino. My mom’s family, on the other hand, is Filipino. That made my childhood quite interesting because I grew up exposed to a mix of three cultures.

While I would mostly identify as Filipino, having been born and raised here, there’s a lot about the Chinese culture that shaped our family life. I would remember frequent trips to Binondo with my dad because their family businesses were there. He would take me to Ongpin. We’d try all sorts of authentic Chinese food. We’d receive ang pao during special occasions. There’s always tikoy especially during Chinese New Year.

Those are all memories that I treasure and I wish to impart at least some of those experiences to my kids. With that said, I teach my kids certain aspects of Chinese culture every so often. Now, that the Chinese New Year is happening tomorrow, I decided to put together a short DIY Chinese New Year unit study for them.

Our Chinese New Year Unit Study

I decided to share with you what we’re using this year in case you need them in your homeschool too. I found most of our resources online. Most of them are FREE too. They’re composed of books as well as worksheets and activities.

E-Books:

I usually try to find actual books for our homeschool but in this case, I opted for e-books instead because they were easier to find that way. I linked where I found them on Amazon in case you want to check them out.

Celebrating Chinese New Year: A Rich Tradition by Rachel Zang (Kindle version)

I love this book because it gives a simple but informative explanation on the traditions involved in celebrating the Chinese New Year. The book is very colorful too which kids can really appreciate.

The Fateful Race: The Story of Chinese Zodiac Animals (Kindle Version)

This is my son, Ziggy’s favorite. It tells the famouse tale on how the Chinese Zodiac Calendar started with an animal race. It’s a short book but the story is fun and the illustrations are really nice.

Chinese New Year with Nathaniel by Charlotte Edwards – Zhang (Kindle Version)

It’s a true short story of how Nathaniel, a five-year-old Chinese-American boy, celebrates Chinese New Year with his family. It’s interesting because it features actual photos of Nathaniel and his family.

Worksheets and Activities:

There are so many free resources online when it comes to Chinese New Year worksheets and activities. Here are what I decided to use this year. Again, all of them are FREE.

Chinese New Year Activity Pack by Salthouse Prairie

This resource gives a great background about Chinese New Year including information about the zodiac and several worksheets for your kids.

2020 Chinese New Year Write and Draw by Pursuit of Joyful Learning

This is a really fun activity pack that gives an explanation on the Chinese zodiac calendar, as well as what the Lucky Red envelopes are for and what the Chinese Good Luck symbol is. Your child gets to learn how to write the good luck symbol in Chinese and also how to draw a rat.

Chinese Zodiac Mask: Year of the Rat by Education.com

This is a printable rat mask that is easy to cut and use.

Chinese New Year Red Envelope by Innovative Teacher

This is a one-page printable of a Chinese New Year red envelope that you and your kids can print, cut, and use to give money to family and friends.

How to Draw A Rat by ArtProjectforKids.Org

This is an easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorial on how to draw a rat. I really love this one because I’m not good with drawing.

My Chinese Zodiac Animal by Education.com

This is a unit study that teaches the kids about the Chinese Zodiac Calendar. I love that it comes with an explanation for each zodiac animal and what characteristics they possess.

Aside from this, I try to incorporate actual Chinese New Year experiences as well. Last year, we went to a Chinese New Year display at the Bonifacio High Street and ate Chinese Food at Tim Ho Wan. We also try to buy my favorite tikoy.

I hope that these resources will also help you teach your kids about Chinese New Year. Gong hei fat choy!!!!

Living with Anxiety: 10 Ways I Cope

January 21, 2020 · 2 Comments

I have a confession to make. Most of you don’t know this about me but I think it’s time I put it out there in support of mental health awareness. I suffer from an anxiety disorder and I’ve been suffering for years.

I hope that with this post, people will understand more about what anxiety really is. Most of all, I hope to be of help to others like me by sharing the different ways I cope with my condition.

What is Anxiety?

For those of you who don’t know, anxiety disorders are different from your usual feelings of nervousness or anxiousness. Here is the definition by the American Psychiatric Association.

Anxiety refers to anticipation of a future concern and is more associated with muscle tension and avoidance behavior.

Anxiety disorders usually involve excessive fear or anxiety that is out of proportion to the situation. They can be debilitating, which means it hinders people’s ability to function normally. It can even affect many aspects of one’s life including school, jobs, and relationships.

There are several types of anxiety disorders. I won’t tackle them here but you can read more about it from the APA website. My sister-in-law, who is a psychiatrist, has told me that I have a hodge podge of symptoms of more than one type of anxiety disorder. However, they’re not enough to fulfill exactly one diagnosis although it presents more like a Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The APA definition for GAD is this:

Generalized anxiety disorder involves persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities. This ongoing worry and tension may be accompanied by physical symptoms, such as restlessness, feeling on edge or easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension or problems sleeping. Often the worries focus on everyday things such as job responsibilities, family health or minor matters such as chores, car repairs, or appointments.

There are many things that can trigger my anxiety and each episode doesn’t look exactly the same all the time. This is how it usually looks like for me:

Difficulty breathing
Racing heart
Cold sweats
Nausea
Upset stomach
Non-stop thinking
Insomnia

Needless to say, it’s not fun. There are episodes that are worse than others. There have definitely been days that all I wanted to do was hole up in a corner and cry. Sometimes all I want to do is stay in bed all day. Contrary to what others think, it’s not just something you can snap out of easily. However, I’ve learned how to deal with these episodes over the years and so it has been a while since I had a really bad one.

Managing My Anxiety

Here are 10 ways I cope with my anxiety.

1. Isolation

Sometimes I just need to take myself out of the situation and be alone. This can be hard to do at our house because it’s not exactly big and I don’t usually get any of the rooms all to myself. However, I take that time when I need to just to give me that space to clear my head.

2. Read

I love to read but don’t get much time for it. So, whenever I do it’s like an escape for me. It takes my mind off things that are making me anxious. Just make sure to read something that will not make you even more anxious, like a self-help book or a devotional.

3. Vent

I find that having a trustworthy vent buddy is a must. Find someone who understands what you’re going through. If not, at least find someone who is logical, non-judgmental, and willing to just listen. Often times, I just need to let all my emotions and thoughts out. I end up feeling better afterwards. I’m just lucky to have a sister-in-law who’s both my psychiatrist and vent buddy. I honestly don’t know how I could have survived the past several years without her.

4. Write

If you can’t find someone to talk to, just write in a journal. Pour your heart out there. No need to worry about grammar or handwriting. No one is going to read it anyway. Sometimes the act of writing and seeing your thoughts on paper afterwards can help you process things better.

5. Watch TV or YouTube

Sometimes all I need is a distraction, so I find something fun to watch. I have go-to YouTube channels that I love watching. It helps me to watch shows about people whose lives are totally opposite of mine. However, there are also times when watching people with similar lives also help me gain a better perspective of mine.

6. Focus on my Kids

Sometimes the easiest distraction are my kids. I just shift my focus on them, assuming they’re not the cause of my anxiety (‘coz sometimes they are!). I try to do something fun with them to get my mind off things.

7. Say “No”

Saying “no” used to be so hard for me. It took years of practice before I learned how to do it without feeling guilty. These days, when I already feel anxious when someone asks me to do something or go somewhere I’m not comfortable with, I just say no. No need to stress myself even more by forcing myself to do something I don’t want to do.

8. Hugs from Hubby

Many years ago, whenever I had really bad episodes, getting a hug from my hubby was the only thing that could calm me down. His presence has always been calming for me. Of course this doesn’t work when he’s the source of my anxiety (which happens too, to be honest!). When he’s not though, just his presence means a lot.

9. Cry

When all else fails I just cry. It helps release all the pent up emotions. Ironically, crying also helps remind me to breathe. Difficulty breathing is my top symptom. Sometimes, I literally have to tell myself to breathe because my body would just stop doing so when I’m anxious.

10. Plan

People often marvel at how I even find the time to use a planner and make it as organized as I do. What they fail to see is that planning and organizing helps calm me. Whenever I feel overwhelmed with a project or task, I write down everything that needs to be done and when. Doing so makes things clearer in my mind and helps me map out a strategy on how to tackle things. Preparing in advance makes me feel more in control of a situation and less anxious. Planning helps me do that.

There are many things you can do to manage your own anxiety from breathing exercises to medications. These are just the things that work for me. Some of these may work for you and some may not. However, I hope that this encourages you to find what works for you.

Don’t be ashamed if you have an anxiety disorder. They are actually very common and are treatable. Don’t be afraid to seek help if you need it. There’s no shame in that. You owe that to yourself.

Curriculum Review: Introduction to Energy by The Good and The Beautiful

January 17, 2020 · 2 Comments

One thing new we did in our homeschool this year was to try doing unit studies. After researching on how to start and what to use, I decided to start with one subject first – Science. I came into this decision after watching so many videos on the Science unit studies by The Good and The Beautiful (TGTB). We did Marine Biology first for the first quarter of the school year and Introduction to Energy for the second quarter. Today, I wanted to share with you our review of the latter.

The Good and The Beautiful

First, let me tell you about TGTB.

TGTB was launched by Jenny Phillips in 2015. She’s a Christian singer-songwriter and homeschooler who decided to create her own curriculum because she couldn’t find one that she really loved.

According to the T G TB website, she wanted to create a curriculum that:

“Used completely clean and powerful literature
Combined subjects for more meaningful learning and shorter school times
Was completely open-and-go
Was academically strong and very thorough
Emphasized God, nature, and high character
Was visually beautiful, engaging, and meaningful”

TGTB is Charlotte Mason-inspired and that’s what initially drew me to it. I wanted to incorporate more Charlotte Mason teaching strategies in our homeschool this year (without necessarily being a purist) and TGTB sounded like the perfect curriculum to get our feet wet, so to speak.

To learn more about TGTB, please visit their website.

Introduction to Energy

This unit is just one of their many Science units available. This one is supposed to be a prerequisite unit which will provide a general overview of all the other energy subjects such as Heat, Light and Sound, Gravity, Forces and Motion, Simple Machines, Electricity, and Magnetism.

All of the TGTB science units are designed for K-6 with extensions for grades 7 – 8. They are written from a Christian, Bible-based point of view. At the time of my puchase in August 2019, it was available in both Printed + PDF version or PDF (printable) version only. I chose the PDF only at $11 because I knew shipping from the US would cost me a ton.

Take note though that as of this writing, TGTB has apparently decided to combine the Intro to Energy plus their Energy: Heat, Light, and Sound units and this is currently being developed. Nevertheless, I decided to still write this review to give curious parents an idea about the TGTB Science units and how it worked for us.

The Introduction to Energy unit is actually quite short, only consisting of 6 topics as you can see below.

It comes with all the lessons as well as printables that include vocabulary cards, flash cards, games, etc. I chose to display most of them on our Science Wall.

What I didn’t include on the Science Wall are these mini books that come with the unit as well.

Below you can see some Unit Information which explains to you what teaching this unit will entail as well as a list of all the supplies you will need per lesson so that you can prepare them in advance. The Science Wall is actually something that TGTB suggests you put up when using their Science units.

Here’s a sneak peek of Lesson 1. As you will see, the lesson starts with an objective as well as a short list of what you need to prepare.

Each lesson varies in terms of activities. However, there’s always a lesson to read to the kids, various activities, and in some cases, experiments as well. Everything you need to say to the student are right there on the page. Each time you complete the task you just check them off and proceed to the next one.

Our Thoughts

After completing this unit, I thought of the things we liked and disliked about it.

Likes:

The lessons are easy to follow and understand. You literally just need to read the lessons as well as the instructions and then let the child complete the activities. My son is 8 years old and in 3rd grade and he had no trouble with the unit at all.

We did this unit during the second quarter of the school year which is the shortest. It was perfect for that because it only has 6 units. We could have finished the entire thing in less than a month. I just chose to extend it a bit to last 6 weeks.

I think the lessons do provide a good overview of all the other more advanced energy topics.

I like that there is always some activity to reinforce the lessons. The variety of activities is what makes TGTB Science interesting for me and my son. The games are the ones my son enjoyed the most. I had my 3-year-old join us in some of the activities as well and he also enjoyed them even though he couldn’t really understand the lessons yet.

I like that they have a list of optional read-alouds that you can find from the library or bookstore.

I also like that there are extension lessons for grades 7 and 8. We didn’t need them yet but at least we have them already when the time comes that we’ll need to review this topic again in a few years.

*An activity about the different forms of energy*

Dislikes:

I would have preferred to use something that is ready-made already. However, since I chose the PDF option, I had to print everything, punched the pages and placed them in a 3-ring binder. I had to cut and laminate the vocabulary cards, flash cards, etc and that took some time. So in that sense, it’s not completely open and go. However, once you’ve done this prep before you start the unit, it becomes pretty much open and go already. I don’t regret getting the PDF because I plan on using this again when my youngest is a bit older, so I can just reprint it then without purchasing again.

It’s fun but not as fun as the Marine Biology unit. However, I know that’s only because this is just an intro unit. Marine Biology was super comprehensive and colorful with lots of experiments and other activities (full review of that coming soon).

There wasn’t a lot of work involved. This is not a bad thing. However, our homeschool provider requires a good mix of both written tasks and performance tasks (recitation, hands-on activities, experiments, projects, etc). Since this is a short unit, there weren’t a lot of those so I just had to supplement a bit.

*An activity about the transfer of energy*

Some parents are concerned about TGTB being created by someone who’s from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Being Catholic myself, I also wondered whether some of the contents will contradict our family’s beliefs. However, I didn’t find anything like that at all in this unit (or in the Marine Biology unit). Mostly, they just mention every so often how amazing God is for creating the world and other similar sentiments. So, I think anyone regardless of religion will find this unit suitable but of course, it’s up to you make your own judgments as well after you try it out.

Overall, I think the Introduction to Energy unit is a good one to try. It’s fun on its own although maybe not as engaging as the other TGTB science units but my son learned what he had to learn. I definitely recommend it.

Health and Fitness: 40 Things to Track in Your Planner

January 14, 2020 · Leave a Comment

My One Word for the year 2020 is RECLAIM and one of the things I want to reclaim is my health. The truth is, I’ve gained a lot of weight these past few years and I don’t feel as strong as I want to be. Since I’m not getting any younger, I figured that when it comes to reclaiming my health it’s now or never.

With that in mind, I wanted to track some things regarding my health in my planner so that I can always keep myself in check. So far, I have a medicine log, doctor visits log, and my monthly health log that includes various health routines or incidents I want to keep track of.

If you’re at a loss as to what types of health and fitness things you can track in your planner, I’ve listed down 40 of them to help you get started.

Vitamin Intake
Medicine Intake
Health Log
Skin Care Routine
Hair Care Routine
Period
Headache
Anxiety
Depression
Mood Log
Allergies
Doctors Visits
Water Intake
Meals / Food Intake
Exercise / Workouts
Self-Care Routine
Pain Tracker
Therapy Notes
Weight Log
Body Measurements
Blood Sugar
Blood Pressure
Headache or Migraine
Sleep
Stress Levels
Triggers
Medical Expenses
Medical Insurance
Dental Records
Vaccination Records (kids and pets)
Moods
Intermittent Fasting
Healthy Habits
Health Goals Progress
Health Products Inventory
Calorie Log
Baby Care
Cardio
Meal Plan
Recipes

I hope this list helps you track your health more this year. There are so many more things to track that will depend on your personal health and fitness issues. Just think about what you need and start figuring out how you can best track them in your planner.

There are many health and fitness planner inserts in many layouts and sizes available online. They come either in printed or in printable versions. However, you don’t really need them. You can just use any paper you want or any type of planner or notebook you prefer. Just choose one that works for you. The most important thing is that you be consistent in your tracking.

To see more of my planner system, follow me on my Instagram planner account, @mommyplannerista.plans.

Our Daily Homeschool Routine (Plus, Some Tips on How to Create Your Own)

January 10, 2020 · Leave a Comment

One of the things I had to think about when we first started homeschooling was how to structure our day so that we can accomplish whatever we set out to do. I’m a natural planner and organizer and it’s important to me to have a guide so that we don’t feel lost or waste our time.

Since then, our homeschool routine has changed several times depending on the season of life we were at. Take note though that I use the term “routine” instead of schedule. I just think that a schedule with specific time slots is something that will not really work out for us. I don’t like being too strict with that because we don’t typically wake up at the same time every day. However, a routine or sequence of actions, is something more doable for us because we can still follow it no matter what time we start our homeschool day.

Our Daily Homeschool Routine

To better explain what I mean, here’s a copy of the homeschool routine we’ve been following this school year.

*I have a copy of our homeschool routine in my customized homeschool planner and in our homeschool room too. Customize your own planner here.*

As you can see, I listed down all the subjects or activities that we plan on accomplishing in a day. I did list down time slots too. However, those just serve as a guide to remind me how long each subject or activity should last. We don’t necessarily start at 9:00 a.m. all the time. Some days it could be earlier and other days it could be later. What’s important for us is to be able to know which activity comes first and which ones come next so that we know what to expect. Our kids thrive on routine.

Our homeschool routine is really a combination of a morning routine and an afternoon routine. Our mornings are composed of our Morning Basket and our major subjects, with one short break in the middle. Then, we take a break for lunch. Our afternoons are more relaxed and composed mostly of minor subjects and independent work. The goal is to end by 4 p.m. or earlier so that my son can still have some time for free play before dinner.

You will also see Loop sections in our routine. A loop schedule basically means alternating subjects that you don’t need to take every day. For instance, for Loop 1, we alternate between Science and Social Studies. If we do Science today, that means we’ll be doing Social Studies tomorrow.

We’ve been following this routine for 8 months now and it’s been working well for our family. At this point, there’s no need for us to change things up yet. Next school year could be different though.

Tips on How to Create Your Own Homeschool Routine

If you’re trying to create a homeschool schedule or routine of your own, here are a few tips to consider based on my own experience.

Plan according to your lifestyle.

Each family’s lifestyle is different which means that our homeschool schedules will look different from each other as well. What works for us might not work for you. The important thing is for you to find the best fit for your family.

Our family involves two parents who work from home with two kids full time, one of which is a 3-year-old. My husband has a fixed work schedule while mine is more flexible. This means that when my husband is working, I’m the only one who can focus on child care and chores. So, I needed to find a homeschool schedule that can work around that and still leave me some time for work.

In our case, scheduling all our major subjects in the morning leaves me time after lunch to put my youngest, Zander, down for a nap. My 8-year-old can work on independent tasks such as his cursive and typing practice while waiting for me to be available again. Aiming to finish everything by 4 pm also leaves me time to do chores before dinner and work after dinner.

Remember that a typical homeschool day may not take as long as a regular day in private or public school.

Most of us parents most likely grew up in a traditional school setting, and so we might tend to copy that in our homeschool. However, we should remember that a lot more can be accomplished in one homeschool day in less time. This is because there is less administrative work involved for the teacher and less students to teach as well. Homeschool parents are also able to spend more one-on-one time with their kids which enables them to get more work done faster.

You’ll notice in our schedule that we only take 30 minutes per subject. I decided on this after learning about the Charlotte Mason approach which advocates short sessions because kids tend to have shorter attention spans.

You might think that 30 minutes is way too short but we can actually get a lot done in that span of time. In case my son doesn’t finish his work within the 30 minutes alloted for that subject, I just let him continue it the next day and we move on to the next activity. This set up is perfect for him because he gets bored easily.

Consider your child’s personality.

Are your kids early risers or do you have a hard time getting them out of bed in the morning? Consider this in figuring out what time to start school and which subjects to do first. The same goes for you too as the homeschool parent.

You need to be strategic in terms of when to schedule certain subjects. Be aware of when your kids are more alert and active. Use that time to schedule subjects that require the most effort or focus.

For instance, I know that my son, Ziggy, works best in the mornings after breakfast. So, I schedule all our major subjects then. That way, if that’s the only thing we accomplish for the day, it will be all good.

I also know that I’m a night owl and would often still be working or doing something until 1 or 2 am. That means, I can never start school very early in the morning.

Factor in siblings.

It’s a bit trickier to create a schedule if you’re homeschooling multiple kids. However, there are many strategies on how to do it, such as making them do some of the same subjects together then scheduling independent work for others.

Our case is different because the second child I’m homeschooling is only 3-years-old and he doesn’t really need to do much. He also doesn’t need that much time for lessons. I normally let him join us for Morning Time.

When it’s time for me to focus on Ziggy’s major subjects, I just let Zander play with some educational toys or give him something to color or “write” on. Then when Ziggy is busy working on an activity on his own, I take those few minutes to focus on some short activity with Zander again.

If Zander wakes up from his afternoon nap and Ziggy and I are not done yet with an art project, science experiment or any other activity, I let Zander join in too. He might not understand completely what we’re doing but he gets to have fun and just learn whatever he can.

Of course, this set up is not going to work forever. We will need to revisit it when it’s time for Zander to have more formal lessons.

Consider outside activities.

If your child attends other classes or co-op sessions out of the house then you’ll have to factor that as well. This way. you’ll know how many days or hours you have left for lessons at home. This also helps you make sure that there is a good balance of academics and extras.

Include breaks and time for fun.

We all know the saying ” All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Breaks are necessary during the day so that both kids and parents can recharge. What you do during your breaks is up to you. The important thing is to have them. We normally have a 15-minute break in the morning and then a lunch break.

I also figured that it’s best for us to start the morning slow, so we start with Morning Time. The kids enjoy it because this is normally the time we do read alouds and singing among others.

Be flexible.

Know that it’s impossible for you to follow the same exact schedule every day. Unexpected things such as sickness or emergencies can happen and so you’d have to be flexible enough to change things when needed. No need to feel bad about it. You can always do better the next day.

Don’t be afraid to shake things up a bit whenever the situation calls for it. There have been times when I decided to scrap our routine for the day if I feel that we need more rest or if we need to just focus on doing something fun.

The Bottom Line

The truth is, there is no perfect homeschool schedule or routine that will fit everyone’s needs. Just be realistic and take the time to try different things until you find what feels right for you and your family.