Lessons in Geography

Dear Sabrina Banana,

Two Sundays ago we had this conversation. 

Sabrina: Mommy have you seen a kangaroo before?

Liv: Yup, gramma and I went to Australia when I was a little girl.

Sabrina: What country did you go to?

Liv: Australia

Sabrina: That's not a country! That's a continent!

Liv: No it's both a country and a continent.

It took a few more minutes of discussion to convince you of this fact but eventually, you conceded. I loved how you argued with me. I think that's precious. I also love that you remembered what your teacher told you in class. 

I found out during a conference with your teacher that you have discussed these countries: China, Philippnes, Japan, Italy and France. She said she's surprised because you're the only one in class who remembers all the details discussed. I proved that when I started asking you about the countries! I realized this was something you're interested in so I decided to capitalize on it. 

Last Sunday, you started asking me about the United States and I promised you that I'll make a presentation for you so that we can learn about it. Why did I do this? For so many reasons:

1. I want to teach you about geography and culture
2. I want to see how much of what I teach you will be retained
3. Because after I present to you, I am going to ask you to "teach" daddy 
4. Because I know this will whet your curiosity and you'll want to learn about other countries after this (and yes, this has already happened) 
5. I will eventually teach you how to make your own presentation and how to find things yourself. 

The result of this presentation was so funny. I posted most of what happened in FB and I'll just copy-paste them here:

So I just finished my presentation for Andrea. She generally liked it but commented that I forgot to put pictures of Disneyworld on the slide which focuses on things we can see in the US (like the statue of liberty and Niagara falls). 
She particularly liked the slide where I posted the photo of the continent of North America. She said "Oh wow, it's near Canada and Mexico". She then exclaimed that she's so happy her grandmother lives near Mexico because Dora lives in Mexico. 2 hours after:

Andrea: Mommy, mommy I just remembered. Justin Bieber lives in Canada?
Liv: Really? Who told you that?
Andrea: The teachers from Junior Nursery Seals (NOTE: This is not her section, not even her grade level. Why these teachers talk to her about Justin Bieber is beyond me)
Liv: Oh wow.
Andrea: Do you know him? He sang "Baby, baby oh"

Oh dear God. We're learning Geography based on pop artists and cartoon characters.
Andrea: Mommy, mommy I just remembered. Justin Bieber lives in Canada?Liv: Really? Who told you that?Andrea: The teachers from Junior Nursery Seals (NOTE: This is not her section, not even her grade level. Why these teachers talk to her about Justin Bieber is beyond me)Liv: Oh wow. Andrea: Do you know him? He sang "Baby, baby oh"
Oh dear God. We're learning Geography based on pop artists and cartoon characters.

And it continues: 

Andrea: What do the 13 stripes in the American flag mean?Liv: Before, the entire country was part of UK (translation: was under the British) and there were 13 groups (colonies) who worked together and told the British "No we don't want to be part of your country. We want to be our own country?"Andrea: But why? United Kingdom is sooo nice.

Hahaha. Euro-snob? Not really, you just really like the United Kingdom because they have a queen! So today, we're going to learn about the UK. Truth be told, I'm going to be learning with you as I don't know much about the UK..

Love, 

Momma

The World's Not Nice All the Time But I Hope You Are

Dear Sabrina Banana,

I am feeling a bit sad. I just found out that one of your cousins who is just 6 years old is now refusing to go to school because he is being bullied. This cousin is such a sweet boy, very kind and polite and it's making his parents wonder if they should just teach him to fight back.

Another cousin of yours is going through a similar thing. His classmates are hurting him and kicking his bag, etc. His mother taught him that he should fight back. That's what he's doing now and I don't think it's okay but that's really not my call.

It makes me sad how we try to hard to instill the values in our kids and it leaves you and your cousins vulnerable to other kids whose parents didn't focus on disciplining their kids and teaching their kids right from wrong. YES, I blame their parents.

It makes me sad because I know you are vulnerable to this. You have such a sweet and gentle disposition that  I know I have to teach you how to deal with this kind of attitude. I don't want you to fight though, please don't think that fighting is okay.

When you were 3, your classmates would grab your toys and you would just look sadly and move on to other toys which the other kids would then grab. This is why we had a game at home. I pretended that one of your dolls (Donald Duck) grabbed your toy and we practised how to deal with it.

The other day, while we were riding your service a little boy elbowed you and you got hurt. This happened in front of me and in front of his mother. I was aghast. If the kid had the audacity to do this in front of his mom he obviously doesn't think it's not right. You wanted to move elsewhere and get away from him. I didn't let you. I know it seems cruel but you have to learn how to deal with bullies. I told you to tell him what you feel about what he did. You said loudly "Hey don't hurt me!", somehow that scared him and he was the one who moved away from you.

The smile of satisfaction in your face after you did that was priceless. I knew at that moment that you felt empowered. I hope you realize that you do have the power to make things stop, or if you don't God does. Daddy pointed out that we also need to teach you when it's time to just move away and let things go. I hope we'll find another opportunity to teach you.

Love,
Momma

Typhoon Falcon

Dear Sabrina Banana,

You got to stay home today because there's a typhoon in town. The typhoon is called Falcon. To tell you honestly, I'm really scared. I'm afraid it will be just like the typhoon we experienced way back in Sept 26, 2009. That was a huge mountain our family had to go through. It was during that time I realized just how amazing your dad is.

After that typhoon, our home was pretty much a wreck. In order to keep you safe, I decided to send you to your gramma's house. You and your nanny stayed there while dad and I cleaned up the house. It was incredibly painful. Imagine seeing everything you own covered in dirt, most of them destroyed. I remember sitting on the mud covered floor feeling absolutely numb, I just kept scrubbing and scrubbing. Your dad was scrubbing right beside me. I learned so many lessons during that time:

1. I was illogically in love with you. I have only known you for 2 years at that time, but during the flood my only thought was how to keep you alive if ever I die. It didn't even matter if I died, I just wanted to make sure you remained safe.
2. Your dad is amazing. Your dad walked for miles, waist-deep in floodwater, just to find milk or water or food for us. He also made sure your wowo and ninong are safe. He was a rock. He was amazing. I hope, when you grow up you will find a man like him.
3. The only thing that matters in life is your family. We stayed in an evacuation center for one night. It didn't matter who was educated, who was rich, who had great fashion sense. At that point everyone was equal. The only thing that made it bearable was being with people you love...your family.
4. Don't get attached to material things. My shoes, clothes, bags, even some jewelry disappeared. 80% of my books did to. I was devastated for a while. Then I realized how little need I had for them.

All of these things come back to mind as we wait with bated breath for Typhoon Falcon to pass. I hope that we won't have to go through the drama of the flood again. But you know what? If ever we did, I'm sure we can get over it again.

Love you,

Momma
p.s.
You asked daddy to help you pray to Jesus tonight. You prayed that we're not going to get flooded. I love it when you tell your dad "Daddy can you show me how to pray?" ;p