When I was little, I got really good grades and excelled in class. My mom was very patient in tutoring me after class. Now that I’m a mom, I don’t know if I could be as diligent at being a mom as she was. It has been months that Ej has been asking me for a schedule for Zeeka so that yaya and everyone else in the household could follow that schedule, but until now, his “kakulitan” has got him no where. Yes, I am guilty!
I attended this brief meet up where the Ogalala System in Play was introduced. Ogalala is derived from from the native American Indian term for an underwater irrigation system. Water is a symbol of life and what the Ogalala system does is that it brings forth life for kids in the form of play, fashion and exploration. What the Ogalala system teaches us is that we should let our children be warm, light-hearted, curious and global.
I super agree with that and that’s why I took it upon myself to listen to Ms. Maye Yao Co Say, the Chief Operating Officer of Internationale Globale Marques, Inc. (company behind the brands behind the Ogalala System). She’s a dotting mom and really took time out to follow a system with her children. When here kids were small, she even had an excel sheet on the schedule of her children.
We got a copy of the schedule that we could follow. I am now inspired to create my own schedule and do some modifications based on the toys and the materials that we have at home. I mentioned toys because TOYS are actually an integral part in teaching your child. Your infant, toddler, pre-schooler and so on and so forth, actually LEARN THROUGH PLAY. Playing addresses developing the four aspects in your child’s life: Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Language Development and Intellectual Development. The tools and toys that you use are important in following this Ogalala System in Play.
Therefore, to follow the Ogalala System in Play, these brands are recommended:
Crayola: Crayola stand by all who believe in the genius of imagination, the power of play and the magic of dreams!
It was only in this meet-up that I got to learn about triangular crayons! As compared to the round ones, the triangle ones automatically fixes the child’s grip. Cool, right?
Melissa & Doug: A US Brand with a 26-year heritage know for the tremendous value, quality and design of its wooden educational toys and innovative arts and crafts materials.
These blocks are now my favorite. Zeeka now knows how to stack them up (although she bangs it after the last small block settles on the top). I will use the blocks next to teach her the names of the different animals on the sides of the blocks.
Baby Einstein: A US brand that brings the world to infants and toddlers one discovery at a time!
I love Baby Einstein! Oh, do you know that there is a ‘right’ way of using flash cards? What you do is get three cards on the first day and just read the words. Get another three cards to make it six on the second day and just go through the words again. Do this until you have 20 cards. 20 is the maximum number of cards that you should have in your hand, so if you want to introduce new words, just drop three cards and add three new cards. Repeat this process and if you see that your toddler gets the words already, add a little description. What’s great about these flash cards from Baby Einstein is that everything is written on the back. A script is ready for you to use!
The other brands are Haba, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Artec, Emco and Oops.
Learning about how to teach Zeeka was inspiring for me. Although I play with Zeeka every day, I am now intentionally teaching her while we play.
To learn more about the Ogalala System in play, please visit www.oga-lala.com or visit their facebook page, Ogalalaworld.