we made it!

actually, eljo made it! he has finished his first year of school. last sunday, march 20, he went up the stage, took his final bow, and received his certificate from creative explorers!(jong and i were there to receive the certificate with him. and we felt a little weird being on the other side of the fence so to speak. i've been doing graduation ceremonies for kinder minds for four years before this, and jong has always been around to help us out. so we were not new to the ins and outs of this kind of ceremony.)

as a last hurrah, his class performed the song "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing". we were not surprised to see eljo sitting while the other kids were singing and dancing because he really isn't too keen on these creative movement stuff. but thanks to teacher michelle's creativity (bless her!), eljo was tasked to do a special part. he was holding a sign that said, "Teach the World to Sing," and he held it up high at certain parts of the song. towards the end, he even stood in the middle of the stage and held the sign way above his head. the audience applauded! and we were so proud of him. i think he was proud of his accomplishment, too.

all's well that ends well, as they say. it was a wonderful first year of school for eljo. he learned a lot of new things. he met new friends. he has become more confident. his world has expanded.

but now, he deserves a break...yahoo for summer vacation!!!

almost at the finish line...

it's march. wait a minute...it's march already? it's march!!!!

that means school's over...well, almost over. we just had our last parent-teacher conference yesterday. teacher michelle is all praises for eljo's development this past semester. excerpt from the narrative report:

"Eljo has grown to be very confident, self reliant and responsible throughout the school year. ...he has manifested a strong sense of confidence in himself by the way he makes decisions, reacts to different situations, relates with other children and adults...has grown to be sure of himself and has learned not to be afraid to try out new activities in class...shows a lot of strength in the area of literacy...is able to express complex ideas such as telling a story or recounting an incident...shows a lot of interest in learning..."

jong and i are very proud parents indeed. kudos also to his teachers and the staff of his school, creative explorers!

no nemo, but...

we didn't bring home any pet from the fair. but elle did some shopping.

tomorrow, eljo and i will join the class field trip to Kinder Zoo, a small petting zoo inside Manila Zoo. i have been there before, with the kids from the school where i used to teach, but it will be eljo's first time. i hope he enjoys it.