Unschooling James and Adam

  We're two weeks away from a week-long vacation, so I strategized on how to shop for it. Naisip kong mamalengke na based on my two-week meal plan since may competition ang mga si Adam this coming Saturday and then we'll leave for another competition in Manila by Friday of the following week. Since nandoon na kami, we decided to extend our stay up to Easter Sunday. I also tried to plan this really well to save up because as we all know, vacation means extra expenses.  I only bought veggies for today and Monday. Dads will just drop by the market para laging fresh ang gulay for our dishes during the weekdays. Daing na bangus has been a staple that we always have once a week. Medyo picky sa isda ang mga boys kaya we stick to what they like. Nagcrave ako ng tahong and luckily meron sa palengke at a reasonable price, P130/kilo. Plano ko sana adobong pusit pero nakita ko yung hipon, so bumili lang ako ng P200 worth (almost 1/2 kilo kasi P450/kilo). Kahit I was able to cut my budget ...

We did our usual routine but we started earlier. Lunch was served and shared at around 11am and then we proceeded with our homeschool day.  The highlight for today's homeschool was going to our small garden beside the house for nature study. I had fun, and I think the boys did too, with our very first experience! We ended our session with a freewrite from Bravewriter. It's refreshing to hear James and Adam's writing voices. They always surprise me with their thoughts and ideas that reflect their personalities!

I looked at the pantry to check what's in there before we go grocery shopping. I found some Vietnamese noodles and decided I would grill some chicken breasts with barbeque sauce and make nuoc mam sauce to go with the noodles. Well, it turned into a disaster! I think it's the first time ever that I cooked something my family could not eat. Yeah, it really is that bad. We think that the noodles, being quite old, was the culprit in this crime against our palate, our palate which is quite tolerant, even appreciative, of a wide range of tastes. Anyhow, we also found some Nori and that discovery led to James volunteering to prepare our dinner. So I bought some ripe mangoes and cucumbers at the wet market and used up a can of tuna (we didn't have crab meat this time) and mayo in the fridge. And voila.. sushi made by our 12-year old  junior chef!

I invited the boys if they would like to learn some life skills or help me with some chores. James helped me with some cooking. He made canned meatloaf (Maling) with canned Pork & Beans. We don't usually have this, but I always have some canned goods in stocks just in case we have lazy days like this one. Adam swept the floor after lunch without any prompting and then I offered to teach him how to use the washing machine. I also asked him if he could hang some of his clothes. My energy levels have been fluctuating since I had my thyroidectomy, so I greatly appreciate some help, big or small. I am not sure if the boys have been aware of this because they have been pretty helpful whenever I ask them to do something. They chop and peel vegetables, fry eggs, make their own drinks in the morning, wash some dishes etc.

We wanted to take advantage of the free admissions on museums participating in the International Museum Day. Our first stop was Museo Pambata.  Followed by Binondo, Wai Ying Restaurant to be exact. Apparently, because it was lunch time and our tummies told us we had to eat first if we plan to enjoy the rest of the day. Unfortunately, there was a very long line to enter National Museum of Natural History because was its official opening day, so we decided to save it for next time. We then went ahead to see the Spoliarium and other works of art at the National Museum.