Play to Teach Our Culture

With Ladybug Girl going into grade one this school year, I've become very conscious about modelling a love of the Philippines for her.  I find it hard because public resources for children her age are few and well, boring. Much as I love her Montessori preschool, it is painfully Western.  

Lazy Mom Tricks for Leave-Behind Play

Sometimes making leave-behind play trays for my daughter gets too high-maintenance.  I'm an ideas person, so if I'm not excited about a leave-behind play tray idea then I get too lazy to make anything.  Sometimes laziness takes over and her trays remain finished for days before I replace them.

I've discovered these four tricks when ideas don't come.  Or when things get too crazy for more thoughtful play.

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1. Jigsaw Puzzles.  They seem like a good idea to buy at first, but the reality is they're never something Ladybug Girl reaches for voluntarily.  Turn these one-hit wonders into daily play with super simple invitations like these.

Match mommy to animal baby name

Test the learning by sorting into two piles

Leave out the pieces dumped in a tray with a picture guide to follow

2.  Puzzle Game Sets.  You know those toys where you can get a succession of play levels to pull out and play over and over?  Never happens.  So these play trays are mainstays on our shelves.  The idea is you keep advancing the progress one day at a time.

My sister gave this castle puzzle for Ladybug Girl's first birthday.  I brought it out when she turned three - and it's been out on our shelves for two years and counting!  She's now at "Expert" levels.

Magnetic tangram puzzles from Hobbes and Landes.  Ladybug Girl drew all over the original prints when she was two, so I spray painted the pieces yellow to reuse them.  It's also more challenging to match shapes that way.

A Mighty Mind puzzle a day is the easiest tray I've put out.

3. Art Sets.  I'm a sucker for these because they make things so easy... to throw away after.  That's my way of dealing with clutter.  Snap a photo and throw out!  I don't feel guilty because these art sets are meant to be consumed, not kept.  

I couldn't tell you where I bought these anymore, these were so random.
They're not that cheap (200 pesos and up) but are great at fine motor practice.

I flipped these wooden animals so that she could paint the back the next day -- extended play for the sets!

4.  Activity Books.  Rip 'em up page by page.  Do it!  It's liberating.  And it'll actually get used instead of rotting unfinished.

The ever-popular sticker activity book gets ripped and prepared this way

My favourite toddler workbooks are still super useful as regular play for my little lefty

Taro Gomi doodle book placemats are a daily art invitation.  Just leave out different art materials to keep things fresh

Creative play can be pretty low maintenance, see.  Lazy-mom tested!

I love discovering ways that makes creating play easy during the workday for working mommas like me, so I share them on this blog as a "leave-behind-play" series.  The gallery on the upper right side of the blog has all the links all organised and visual for you to choose.  

Work Events This Working Mom Can Live Without

I am famous for flaking work events.  Folks at the office are on to me and my excuses by now!   I wish I didn't have to give excuses in the first place, when there really is just only one reason : I'm a working mom.    
No no, this isn't a reason that appeals to emotion.  To me this is actually very logical.  I've spent a good amount of my time at the office and it is but reasonable to have time to go home and take care of home.  Alas, corporate culture in this country can be a needy friend : well-meaning but time-sucking.  
The work events?  As a yuppie they were fun.  As a working mom they are jobs that take away precious family time so they had better be worth it.   Five years into corporate mom-hood and I can tell you which of these work events are pure torture.  Be warned, my opinions may be extreme.  But I'm just saying what your dark side is thinking.
*** #1 The Big-Boss-Visits-Philippines-Market Schmoozefest Life stops.  Drop everything.  The Filipino hospitality kicks into high-gear and it's business review preparations and business reviews over dinner.  Fine it's actually important, but the sheer amount of time and energy spent is more all-encompassing than throwing your child's 1st birthday party.
#2 The Insert-Name-Here Awards Night The word under protest here is "night".  Why not awards "day"?  Schools do it and more people would actually attend, I tell you. 
#3  The Team-Building Sportsfest This is not at night, but it's for an entire day of exchanging real work for embarrassment.  I am not, have never been, and will never be sporty.  Please stop forcing me.
#4  The Hey-It's-Friday-Let's-Drink Night This is my Thank-God-It's-Friday-I-Can-Go-Home-And-Start-The-Weekend-With-My-Family Night.  Or Date-Night for short.  Actually, people have stopped asking me to this.  Haha.
#5  The Christmas Party Department Presentations I saved the best for last.  Amid all the year-end planning, business operations, holiday traffic, parties, and the mad gift rush... we have to stay late nights to practice??  Whoever started this common corporate party "tradition" should be promoted and given more workload.  And a baby.  Let's see how he feels after. ***
When I was a new yuppie brand manager in my former company, I was also given the role of HR champion. We were a regional team spread across Asia and I would arrange team buildings, bonding sessions, even an internal team website.  One such day a senior manager (from another country) looks at me puzzled and says:
"Isn't it possible to work well together without all this bonding?"
Ten years later, I get it.  I'm living the answer -- yes.  It isn't an absolute answer since there are work events that are genuine exceptions.  But yes, it should be possible.  
After all, I enjoy the people I work for and work with.  People enjoy working with me, too.  I love my job and I'm great at it enough to build a career in it.  We corporate moms just need to make sure that what we do everyday is worth it.
And somedays may we have the unapologetic sincerity to say "it's time for me to be home now".
diycorporatemom.ph@gmail.com

Playful Uses for Trees

It's the peak of summer's heat wave, and I've finally thrown out the last of our Christmas tree.  

Yep that's my timing.  Sorrynotsorry. 

I thought I'd continue down the road of regression and share how we've used it for play.  

Re-use, right?

The First Step of Playtime

Get down on the floor.  This is when the magic starts. When you're down on the floor you see the world as your child does.  You see how it can be a scary or fascinating place to explore.  Then the magic happens : you remember. You remember how you had to take big steps to keep pace with everyone else.  You remember playing don't-step-on-the-cracks.  You remember that your mother's telephone stand was the perfect pretend-library to sell books. And then it's like you're playing for the first time.   Crawl playgrounds and a secret world under the bed... all magic. Remember when swimming pools seemed like an ocean?  Well, our favourite Ninang has an ocean.  It's actually a small-sized pool.  One day she invited Ladybug Girl to swim, said she was going to fill up the pool.  Ooh, idea!  After a couple of explanations, her Ninang got what we had in mind. This!