Last Day of Summer School

Since P has been crying every session of his summer school, I decided to go with him on his last day. Due to perpetual mommy guilt, I brought a cake for the teachers who had to endure his crying two days a week, haha.

Predictably, he started crying as soon as we arrived. He clung to me until we got to the play area. He was still crying until he realized that there was space for him to run around.

During the free play, he was identifying letters, shapes and numbers which apparently surprised the teacher aide that he knew these. Of course, he spent the previous sessions wailing.

Then they were ushered inside the class room for singing and activities. He did not want to sit down and preferred to roam around. Ayayay. They did a couple of crafts wherein he surprisingly participated in. Teacher had to tell me, "Mommy, ngayon lang po nag-participate si P." Wahaha. 

Yun lang, he painted the table and not the paper. And he did not want to wear the hat he decorated. :))

And then, the two hours was over. He was given a certificate and pictures for posterity, When I looked inside his envelope, his work sheets were untouched, haha. Oh well. I guess it is too early for him to be in a structured environment as he was the youngest at two (2) years old. Again, this confirms my plan to enroll him in a couple of years.

P Goes to Summer School

We enrolled P in summer school for the month of May. We wanted him to have more interaction with other kids. I was thinking tuloy, when I was younger, our parents' problem was that we wanted to play all the time that we sometimes go home at dinner time already. Now, as parents, our problem is that our kids seem to have no one to play with outside. Also, his cousin was supposed to enroll in Filipino tutorial classes at the same schedule but the same did not push through. Unfortunately, we have paid a P3,000.00 non-refundable deposit.

We enrolled in a small progressive school near our place. They meet twice a week for 2 hours. I was a bit surprised when I saw the requirements – birth certificate, immunization and baby book records, and a long list of clothes and wipes and shoes to bring to school. Akala ko summer school lang?

I went with P on his first day, only one companion was allowed inside. They started with songs, then free play, recess, then an activity. P was the youngest in the group and he showed no interest in participating. Waaa. In the subsequent sessions, he went with his dad and ate, but they were not allowed inside so he kept on crying daw. It was only during the last class that his ate was allowed inside. He still would not participate but at least he did not cry much.

We have 3 more sessions to go. I'm just sad that there's no Gymboree Trinoma, that would have been the best place for him to learn to play with others. And I concede that he is really too young for a structured school set-up, seems like I am right in my plan to enroll him when he's 4 years already - plus I have time to save up!

Coldplay in Manila 2017

Judging from social media posts, almost everyone was in Mall of Asia Concert Grounds last April 4, Tuesday, for the Coldplay concert.

Their first album, Parachutes, came out in 2000, the tail-end of my college years. This was the time of downloading and ripping MP3s, hence, I'm sure I came across their songs because of the hubby, then BF. Instantly liked Yellow, Sparks, Trouble and Shiver. Later on, there were crying episodes set to The Scientist and Fix You, haha.

So when it was announced that they will be having a concert here, I bugged hubby that we will watch. Like most people, we were dismayed to learn that it will be held in MoA - we prefer the acoustics in Araneta Coliseum. We tried to buy during the Globe pre-selling for its subscribers which started at 9:00 A.M., and the section we wanted, Silver, was promptly sold-out by 9:01 A.M. Boo. We also tried to buy tickets in Singapore through my brother-in-law, but he was unsuccessful in even buying for himself. Thankfully, hubby has a Citibank card and we were able to buy during the pre-selling last November.

In the months leading to April, I would listen to the AHFOD Tour setlist on Spotify, However, my powers of memorization may have completely left me as I can no longer memorize all the lyrics.

Fast forward to April 4. Hubby picked me up from the office at around 4:30 P.M. He asked where should we eat first, I said it was too early, he asked, have you seen the lines? Turns out people have been lining up since noon. Gahds! We had dinner at Yellow Cab Harbor Square then encountered traffic on the way to MoA. We ended up parking at the Pay Parking area near the business offices of SM.

We saw long lines at around 7:00 P.M., turns out it was for the Bronze and Gen Ad sections. We breezed through the line, but inside, the Silver section was already packed. We tried to get positions in the middle of the crowd, but it was clear that we will not see the band except on the screens.

Then right before the band went onstage, there was an earthquake. We exchanged looks with a couple beside us, but most of the people were oblivious.

As promised, the concert had effects like laser shows, confetti showers and big balloons. However, these were only appreciated by the people near the stage. In fact, it was only now, looking at photos, did I see that the confetti were multi-colored or were lit by colored lights. And I think the xylobands would have been better appreciated if the crowd was on multi-level bleachers. Maybe next time, Coldplay? :D