Philippines trip

[Shannon]

We will be traveling to the Philippines this summer with my husband's family and I was trying to figure out a way to incorporate this into our schooling. Not in a "let's do our lessons" way, but more of a "this is your heritage" way.

Does anybody have any suggestions for resources or ideas to use with a 7y.o.?

Thanks!
Shannon

[strider]

My dh spent a summer in the Philippines while in college--it profoundly affected him. He came back with a recipe for chicken adobo that we love and enjoy routinely. Do you want the recipe? It's easy and quite tasty.

I also had two Filipina roommates in college--we *loved* it when they went home because they always came back with a big pan of poncit.

Another idea would be to try cutting a pineapple the way they do over there. They trim it with a large knife in a spiral to dig out the deeper spines. If your children are young they could just watch you and your dh try cutting it that way.

[Kate in Arabia]

I'm not sure how you would incorporate this for a 7 yr old, but when we went to India last year I worked on making a family tree for my dh's side. My own father is really into family history stuff, so we have all kinds of info for my side of the family, but not much on his.

This was a great way for me to have a topic to bring up with extended family members we met. I kept a small notebook with me, and whenever we visited someone I would ask for info. Of course, the real thing is that they would give me names, then would remember things and start telling stories about things that had happened, what people were like, etc. I heard some really great stories, and dh's family, I think, felt that I was really committed to and interested in them.

I would recommend taking a lot of pictures. Maybe have a camera your ds could use as well? I wish I had thought to take more pics of my kids with extended family members as well as with the historical/touristy stuff. In my mind, I had wanted to have the kids make a kind of travel diary, with pictures or I could write their reactions or comments; more something for them to look back on over the years, but in the end that didn't come together.

Actually, now that I'm re-reading your message, I'm not sure if you were looking for ideas for things to do before you go, or things to do while you're there, lol.

Anyway, hope something in there is helpful.

Kate

[daisychics]

I was born there and moved to California when I was 8 years old. Don't really remember much about the Philippines but I can speak tagalog (most spoken Philippine language). I'm currently trying to figure out what to teach my 6 year old about his heritage. I can also cook a yummy tasting adobo :)
Bring lots of sunscreen!

I just found this....I think I will teach my kids about the Philippines too....
http://www.rainbowkids.com/HTMLFiles.aspx?page=PhilippinesAct

[JoyinWI]

I just got back from the P.I. My mother was raised there(missionary kid) and my Aunt still works and lives there. Anyway, maybe you could study some of the cultural aspects prior to going. Your dc could then write a paper of what they think it will be like. Compare and contrast their thoughts with their acutal experience once there. Also, keeping a journal and scrapbooking can be a fun way to do LA.
Thats' all I have for now. :rolleyes:
Joy

[Friederike in Persia]

I liked what Kate described, which will tie you in more with family members.

What I have done is think of some history/WW2 related questions and then asked them in a simple way, as to draw the children into the conversation. They are still young (like yours), but I wanted them to get a feel for what things were like. They actually have a grandfather who was in the UK, a gm from the US and another set of grandparents from Germany. That alone covered 3 sides of the war.

I'm going off on a tangent. But my point is, that if you're prepared, grown ups there will respond, but it's unlikely that they'll just start telling stories of the past to a 7-year old.

Have a great time

[islandmama]

We did a study on our heritage. We mostly used the internet. We made a family tree, and traced it back as far as we could. Another thing we did was interview grandparents and aunts, uncles and asked them questions like, "what was it like growing up as a kid in the PI?" or "what is your favorite thing about the PI?" or "tell me about your home in the PI." We studied the different aspects of Filipino culture and history...food (if you don't eat it regularly, you could write down different foods tasted/eaten, then try a recipe at home), traditional clothing (we made paper dolls and designed their clothing with fabric cut outs--Maria Clara dress and the Barong Tagalog), celebrations, weather, population, Philippine flag, animals (did you know the smallest monkey in the world lives in the PI?), wildlife, geography, currency, etc. We drew maps, wrote paragraphs, drew pictures, listened to music, identified famous Filipino-Americans, etc... You could make a scrap book and include your photos.

This website has some useful information

http://www.tourism.gov.ph/

Hope this helps, and have a fun trip!

[daisychics]

Those are GREAT ideas Islandmama. Thanks for sharing. I gotta get started on that.

[Shannon]

Thanks for all the great ideas! You've definitely given me some things to think about! :)

islandmama, daisychics: any suggestions on Filipino music? What about Tagalog language programs for kids?

We do eat some Filipino food. My fil is a really good cook! :) On our last visit to see them, I copied down a bunch of his recipes! He even made a few extra things while we were there so I could watch him make it! And a new Filipino grocery store opened about 15 minutes from us, so I was able to get wrappers to make lumpia!

Thanks, again!
Shannon

[daisychics]

I'm gettin' hungry thinking about filipino food. My mom is 3000 miles away so I don't get that REAL filipino food that I'm used to.

I'm looking for some Tagalog stuff myself. My sis told me that Rosetta Stone has a program but I've never looked into it. There's also podcast on iTunes that dh found. It's okay...

My dad is actually in PI right now visiting... I forgot to ask him to look for some children's dvd for my kids to watch (something like Dora). Not too sure about the music.... I'll look into it now that you mentioned it.

What part of Phiippines are you visiting?

[Jean in Newcastle]

We went to the Philippines last February for 3 weeks. We stayed with my dh's family both in the provinces of Luzon Island and in the city of Manila. My kids loved their Filipino cousins. I was surprised and pleased to see how quickly they made friends wherever we went. We liked the Zoobic zoo at Subic Bay. It is really tiny but it is guided which makes a huge difference. They had many animals indigenous to the Philippines there. I was very surprised (and a bit horrified) to see their "exhibit" of Aboriginal peoples. These people are paid to live in a native hut in the zoo. They put on a show and posed for pictures.

There are tons of WWII historical sites. Both my in-laws grew up during WWII and were personally affected by the war so this was historical and personal at the same time. My ds10 (a WWII buff) absolutely loved Corrigidor Island (where MacArthur was when he had to leave and said his "I will return" speech). My dd6 didn't understand all the WWII history but did enjoy the trip to the island.

We also went to Villa Escuadero - a resort that is devoted to showing Filipino culture and history. We had lunch with our feet in a river (very nice in the heat!). On the weekends they do a show of dances and music that is absolutely phenomenal. I bought two CDs of their music. I don't know if you can find their music away from the resort but it is really beautiful and features Filipino instruments (search under "Villa Escuadero").

[KatKat]

If you will be visiting Manila for a couple of days, you can visit Intramuros ( Fort Santiago there are also a couple of old cathedrals , Museum of Philippines people, Corregidor , the Orchidarium. The newest most modern attractions (not of historical value though ) are Ocean Park Manila, and Science centrum in SM Mall of Asia. .Outside Manila ....Villa Escudero is about 3 hours from Manila,,,,, Subic ( 3 1/2 hours from Manila, if no "traffic" ) , where Zoobic safari is, also offers whale adventure for a fee , where your child can ride on a false killer whale.