An Honest Seek for Help

     What could be worse than a cluttered space?  I guess there's nothing more difficult to fathom than the idea of overflown closets, cabinets or just about any storage of your stuffs from clothings, accessories, or any belongings.  In my case, my closet is that one special space that represents this not-so-organized moment.  What would you do if you're challenged with this situation? How will you tackle this?

               Well, this could be one of my most challenging problems to tackle this year since I am not ready to let go of most of these stuffs simply because I still use them.  This I think is what makes the problem a little trickier. How do you maintain an organized and clean space or storage without having to dispose anything at all?  Hmm...sounds too illogical don't you think?

                If you were me, how would you plan on doing this?

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A Mala Easel-ly done for a Princess' Delight

       This little project was long over due for posting but I thought it would still be great to share a lovely home made Christmas gift for our little princess.

        It's the Mala easel sold at Ikea that I decided to give a personal touch to enliven a dull and bland look of a regular oak-colored wood with a chalk and white board on each side. I personally am amazed by the Swedish intellect on marketing out these types of products. Enabling a consumer to excel a furniture's or utensil's maximum potential is something that's really way up the A++ ladder. It's brilliant to say the least.

So, without further ado, here are some snapshots of her newly remade easel.  I've used the Kona Varathone for the stain.

                                Now she's enjoying it for her daily art works and scribbles. :-) 

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The Montessori Approach to a Child's Development

          Now that our daughter is nearly turning 4 and is showing great interests in learning, we are ready to have her go to a formal institution that will enhance her mental and physical development. And as proud parents to a little girl as she now claims herself to be and not a baby  (smiling big at this) I'd like to share an article on why the Montessori is my highly preferred kind of approach for her formal education. ;-)

The Edward Harden Mansion

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            Here are some of the key conceptual differences between a Montessori school and a traditional school

Primary goal:  A Montessori school is an environment of learning and discovery; not an environment of teaching as is seen in traditional schools. Evoking curiosity is the primary goal. Not filling in facts and knowledge.

Prime-mover:  A Montessori school is where education and learning is student-led; not teacher driven. The student has to provide the spark and initiative.

Focus:  A Montessori school is not reformative; it is developmental. The Montessori approach seeks to maximize a child's potential. It does not seek to 'correct' deficiencies as defined by the average performance of a particular age group.

Emphasis:  A Montessori school is not just a place where a person learns skills and knowledge and the ways of the world; it is a preparation for living out a personal destiny. A Montessori education is considered a success if it helps a person discover his personal destiny. It is not a place where a child learns do's and don'ts; it is a place where the child learns 'cans'. Montessori education places emphasis on individual potential and how best to leverage it. Do's and Don'ts of the world are a part of the larger message.

Grading:  A Montessori school is not a 'bell curve' into which all students are sought to be fitted. It is reaching for the exceptional. It recognizes the uniqueness of each individual and acknowledges that there are different routes to the top. It is not a place where you learn the formula for success as defined by the world;            It is a place where a person learns to define success according to one's individuality. The focus is on the person's absolute potential. Not on relative performances.

Role of parents: A Montessori school is not a place where a child's learning can be outsourced. It is a school is a catalyst for a child's curiosity to be evoked. Thus a Montessori approach also envisages a big role for the parents and the home environment in the overall scheme of the education.

Role of Discipline: A Montessori school is not a place for a child to be disciplined; it is place where the child discovers his innate sense of inner and outer discipline. Montessori believes that discipline is a natural yearning of a human soul. Education should help a person define and refine this yearning. A traditional school looks at discipline as a tool for reformation.

         A Montessori school does not teach boundaries; it is a place where the child learns how to extend those boundaries. The focus is on helping the child discover the concepts and the "whys' of various subjects. As against the hows and whats that are taught in traditional schools. Scientific education defines a Montessori approach. Not science education. Learning the 'whys' is the only way to challenge and improve on the present.

         There are rules in a Montessori school. But these are not rules that help control a child's personality; it is where a child's personality is unleashed. The Montessori approach places emphasis on laying the foundation to building the total character of the person. It seeks to address even the moral and ethical dimensions along with the individual and social dimensions of personality building.

{This article was borrowed from www.voices.yahoo.com}

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Laundry Area Makeover Planning

        One of some big projects I will begin focusing this year is to redo our laundry area located just right in our garage. I can say that the garage in general, which basically includes the pseudo-laundry room isn't that bad in terms of being quite an efficient and very functional space. However, it being organized and pretty may somehow fall into a below-average rating. So, to render some planning and execution below are some inspiration I may use to transform a not-so-ordinarily-treated laundry area. After all, washing clothes are the least of my favorite so to get a good scenic view while doing the process will definitely alleviate that pain. :-) 

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A Peek on the Holidays and the best of 2012!

       Here's a quick glance of how our holidays have been last year.
     
       Enjoy!

            The best of my bests in the last year!

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Happy New Year!

      A blissful new  year to all! I've taken some days off from writing and it's not really procrastinating a hobby that I love to do but just the fact that the second week of December usually hits the busiest part of the whole year for our family. Not that I like to defend the gaps but that's our reality show on those times of the year. ;-)  Anyway, now that everything's settled in the house and back on its original form I am ready to tackle this year's new sets of goals in its most simplistic manner. Yes, that will be my ultimate approach on all sorts of projects and issues for and of the home this year. Zero complexities! 

       
      To begin with, below is a bird's eyeview of my schedules. 

Redo laundry area 
Organize boxes of stored stuffs in the garage and mini-attic
Reorganize and update Jaida's stuffs (ridding and keeping) 
Rearrange and update master's bedroom 
Organize stuffs in the entertainment cabinets in the living room
Reupholstery (i.e., 2 queen chairs)
Maintain twice-a-month deep cleaning of the house 

most importantly, create Jaida's pre-school daily activities and logs  

      Let's get these going! ;-) 

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