Materials I used to help my kids read

Here are some of the books I read about learning how to read; and DVDs I borrowed from our local library that taught my kids the alphabet and letter sounds. I will be posting more in the near future.

 And here is our little learning corner. You don't need a whole lot of items to start your own learning or reading corner. All you need is a little imagination and start with what you have.

Phonological and phonemic awareness

What is phonological and phonemic awareness?

According to  Anna Geiger, of The Measured Mom, "phonological awareness is different than phonics because it’s about sounds and not letters. Children can develop phonological awareness with their eyes closed."

Here  is my 6-year old son's favorite rhyming book, Monster Trucks! by Mark Todd. 

Ms. Geiger also wrote: 

Phonological awareness includes:

• understanding of word
• rhyming ability
• understanding syllables
• phonemic awareness

Anna Geiger shared more on her site The Measured Mom. Click here to read the entire article.

Second box of books to be sent to Filipino Kids Update

This box contains about 300 books and will be sent to the Philippines this August 2016. A big thank you to our donors!
Update: This box was sent to the Philippines the last week of August 2016. Hooray!

First Donation to Lalaan Uno Elementary School, Philippines

The first batch of children's books sent to the Philippines was donated to Elementary students of Lalaan Uno Elementary School, in Silang, Cavite, Philippines on July 6, 2016. The book donation was led by our friends and contact in the Philippines, Maricon Amon and Jayson Humarang. They are both Elementary teachers.


See the happy faces of kids in the photos.

Thank you so much to our donors!

School libraries in the Philippines don't have enough books. Books are usually outdated and damaged. Community libraries are mostly non-existent.

This is teacher Maricon giving away some books.

This is teacher Jayson distributing some books to kids.

Look at all these books!!!

My colleague Maricon Alcaraz was able to gather all these books to be given to kids. Wooohooo!

Our First Balikbayan Box to the Philippines!

Here are some pictures of the one and first box filled with books that we are sending to the Philippines c/o Maricon Amon. Thank you to our donors!

We were able to squeeze in a few more books...

Here is my work table in the garage. Recording the books' titles and authors.

Thank you to our Donors!

On behalf of the Filipino children who would benefit from the books and cash you donated, maraming salamat po! (thank you so much!)
A friend donated money that would make shipping one balikbayan box possible. Wooohoooo! Thank you!
More books are coming and so another balikbayan box might be needed.
To all who are thinking of donating, we are still accepting donations. Thank you in advance. We are so excited!

We Need your Help!

We are getting ready to ship these books to the Philippines. Please help us with the shipping expenses.  Each box would cost $85 to ship. We might need two balikbayan boxes as there are more book donations coming in. Any amount will be highly appreciated.

Books from Mrs. Neitzel, Gabby's 2nd Grade Teacher

Thanks so much to Gabby's second grade teacher Mrs. Neitzel for donating books to be sent to the Philippines soon! Much appreciated!

Thank you Atwood Family!

                        Irene Atwood hand delivered these books to our house. Thanks so much!

Thank you Boerma Family!

Thank you Boerma Family for donating your books!

Thank you Collins Elementary!

We filled our trunk.

There are more books inside.

Mikey is so happy to be sitting next to boxes of books.

These books will be sitting in my garage until we are able to send them to the Philippines.

Today, my husband and I hauled a big load of books from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Thank you so much to Ms. Carol Ullery of Collins Elementary who saw my listing on Craigslist and contacted me if I was interested in the books they are about to discard. To make a long story short, we got it! These books will probably fill one balikbayan box. We are waiting for more books from our prospective donors. Please help us send these books to the Philippines by sending in your cash donations

Potential Beneficiary: Guitasin Elementary School

These are some of the pictures taken during the Healthcare and Education Outreach Mission conducted in Sitio Guitasin Kaong, Silang, Cavite, Philippines, back in 2014. We want to go back there to donate some books and possibly additional shelves and furnitures (tables and chairs) for their library.