Song for the summer

Every summer for the past three years the teenage daughter has chosen a song that she puts up on a pedestal and we her housemates are  subjected to continous airplay of said tune whether we care to hear it or not.

Last year it was Despacito for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner we knew that song inside and out. Thanks to her we even dreamt about it. Sigh the joys of having teens in the house.

This year Justin Bieber is persona non grata because this year she is heavily into K-Pop! For the uninitiated K-Pop is short for Korean Pop …. yes there is such a thing and the song of the summer is Fake Love by her favourite 7 boy band BTS!

She is, and there is no other word that captures it, OBSESSED by them. To be fair K-Pop seems to the hot new trend amongst the teenybooper. Well in her circles at any rate. We are all learning Korean as a result. Yay us. On the positive side of this obsession I have to say is the fact that we are learning a whole lot about South Korea and she has even gotten her sisters to join her in learning the language. So I guess musical obsessions could be learning experiences. LOL.

Summer is on it’s last toes and we trying to scrap as much out of it as we can! How was your summer. Was it filled with all sorts of fun activities? Or did you allow the kiddiewinks to turn into couch potatoes? teehee. We may have been guilty of some couch potato action.

Isn’t it strange though that each summer really does have a dedicated theme song. What was your tune/theme song for the summer?

I think most of Jamaica was singing, and dancing to this one. And I right or not?

 

Enjoy the last few days of summer and may it be Kid Friendly!

 

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Summer

Talk about a lazy summer.

It seems as if summer is almost half way over and all we have done is crash on the couch!

Oh but let’s talk about how it seems like the year is half way over and this is the first time for 2018 that there has been update. (Insert facepalm here!!)

This year just seemed to have run away from me. It can’t only be me! right?!

Any way if you are like us and have waited until now to decide what to do with the kiddiewinks for the rest of the summer a very dear friend shared with me this PDF filled with camps and schools for all ages some that even go into August.

CHILDREN’S SUMMER ACTIVITIES 2018 Click it!

Honestly we are hoping to have a memory filled summer. Beach, baking and frolics in the sun are all things that we want todo.

So far we have crossed off:-

making cookies without a recipe

running through the sprinkler… this is really an awesome fun activity to cool you off on a hot day. And boy have these days been hot I guess this has helped contribute to the couch potato-ness LOL.

and lots of yell worthy mischief.

 

Right now we are totally doing the watch tv and merge into the couch thing.

Be good and keep it Kid Friendly.

 

what are you up to?!

How is your summer going?

We are having a quiet, lazy-ish kinda summer and that’s kinda good.

Crazy though summer is almost over so under the quiet I have been gathering up all the school supplies. But shhhhh still have like three weeks to go so SHHHH!

As promised we have hit the pool!

and we had fish at the beach- Fort Clarence to be exact!

And we played a game of Red Light Green Light. This game by the way is an excellent way to get the kiddies off the couch and moving! Great fun playing games with the children that we did as children ourselves.

What have you been up to!

Have a great Kid Friendly weekend.

 

 

Summer summer summer time!

Hey it is Summer time.

(Will Smith is always my favourite)

Yay. As you all know it is our favourite time of the year.

Looking forward to plenty water fun, board games, movie nights and relaxation.

But first we are all going to summer school.

The children are not overly excited by this but hey sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do.

What are you doing with your sweeties?

If you still  haven’t decided here are a few of the many different camps that have been compiled by many different sources. I of course had to share with you all.

Summer Activities 2017 SUMMER CAMP 2017

Bold Camp 2017 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the ones that I am interested in for my kiddies.

Have a great weekend all.

 

Read across Jamaica.

All of this week was dedicated to reading with our children, in schools and at home.

They say that reading to and with your children everyday helps to build/ strengthen  a strong bond with them. It helps boost self esteem and foster communication.

Today, the world’s largest floating book fair, Logos Hope, pulled into the Cement Factory Pier at Rockfort, Kingston with an expansive selection of 5,000 titles for sale to the Jamaican public at prices below market, as well as access to events on board.

Sounds exciting doesn’t it.

Entrance: 200 JMD; free for children 12 and under and adults 65 and over. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Check out their Face book page for more information https://www.facebook.com/events/1317421571686361/

Have a great weekend all and be sure to read some books and build some bonds :D.

Happy Teacher’s Day

One of my high-school teachers died last week.

She didn’t teach me personally, but she was one of those effervescent personalities who impacts your day by just being there. The subsequent pictures and memories that surfaced in my alumni’s Facebook groups made me nostalgic for those days and for the teachers who filled my days so many many years ago.

I had some amazing teachers (some not so amazing as well but still memorable if only for their awfulness LOL.)

Sister Angela made me appreciate Arithmetic , Ms. Edwards is instrumental for my love of art, Ms. Malins- Smith for Literature and the love of Atticus Finch in the To Kill A Mocking Bird, Mr. Mallick who  I enjoyed but despised his subject Economics LOL and many more. It been over 30 years since I left that school and it still hold all the memories near and dear to my heart.

My friend’s mother also died recently same week actually. She was also a teacher and the outpouring of love from her past students was heartwarming and touching.

What these two instances have highlighted to me is that teachers are so important, as important as us parents. They help mold us into the people that we grow into being. And it is a testament to their power and their reach when years after leaving school we can remember them fondly.

Who was your favourite teacher growing up?

I am most thankful for my children’s teachers they have so far been blessed with some awesome individuals who for the most part love what they are doing and the children they are doing it with.

Happy Teacher’s Day to you dear Teachers.

May you all make such a positive impact on the children that you take care of every day that many years later you are missed with fond tears and happy smiles.

In the land of Reggae

A few month ago the following question was asked in the local school challenge competition

Question: “In which Caribbean country did Reggae music originate?”

Answer: “Trinidad and Tobago?”

Quizmaster: Incorrect

The question, first posed to a corporate area primary-level student on Television Jamaica’s Junior Schools’ Challenge Quiz yesterday was then passed to a representative of the opposing team.

Her answer: “Barbados”

Why am I bringing this back up you may be wondering.

Well after I had a  little snicker that the little cuties thought Reggae originated in Trinidad and Tobago and loving that they said Trinidad and Tobago and not just Trinidad as most people tend to. I asked my kiddies if they knew where it originated from cause I knew that they knew the answer and was just curious what they would say. But lo and behold they were like I don’t know, lots of shrugging of shoulders and then big daughter volunteered Africa…which technically is right I guess except for the fact that Africa is a continent and not a Caribbean island at all.

It struck me, it was the word ‘originated’ that was confusing everyone. AND then as a culture even though Reggae music is Jamaica’s national music how many of us introduce it to our children? The children all know that Reggae is the National Music and that Bob Marley is synonymous with reggae. However very few listen to reggae.

Now I don’t understand why Reggae is not introduced in schools, included as fun exercises in the primary/prep and / or  highschool music curriculum.Or why there aren’t reggae writing competitions for young people. But I think ways needs to be found to make reggae music more integral in our children’s lives.

But first we as parents need to peak their interest in Reggae. It was my step- father in Trinidad who introduced my sisters and I to Bob Marley and of course Reggae. So this February Reggae month I attempt to do the same with my four.

I think they need to hear it, we need to talk about it with them and really have them understand that Reggae is their music, that comes from their people. So that there is no confusion if ever this topic comes up again.

What say you? Do you agree or disagree? Will you be reaching for some Reggae music during this month of February Reggae Month?

Hope so.

Happy Weekend all

Hope you have a wonderful KidFriendly Reggae listening time 🙂