Scholastic’s Summer 2015 Warehouse Sale

I’m on a mission to beef up the kid’s library with non-fiction books – generally about science and more particularly about the solar system. So when two mommy friends on separate occasions on the same afternoon told me that Scholastic is having a warehouse sale, I could not contain myself. I went to check it out early the next day.

Scholastic Sizzling Summer Sale
March 23 to May 2, 2015
9 am to 6 pm, Mondays to Saturdays
#70 C. Raymundo Avenue, Brgy. Rosario, Pasig City.

Upon arriving at their warehouse, there were red tents at the driveway housing neatly arranged books in shelves. These were the books sold for 49 pesos and at 80% off. I took pictures of the shelves to remind myself of the available titles and to share as well, but the pictures were all reddish. Fortunately, Mommy Pehpot has good pictures in her blog post.

(I went back for the second time and the pictures I took of the books under the red tents are better.)

The first thing that caught my attention and my shop basket was this book:

This is a paperback around 10 inches tall and with about 40 fact-filled colored pages.  It was printed back in 1995 and Pluto was still recognized as a planet.  Out-dated info I know but there’s a load of other info in the book still considered as fact.  More importantly, I see it as another opportunity to teach c research skills.

Moving on, there were also these Usborne Young Reading Series all for 49php each:

 

The set with Aesop’s Fables are hard covers, while the set with Ulysses are paperbacks.  They are more or less the same size. Nasabi ko na ba na 49 php each sila? Masmura pa kesa Booksale! 😉 There were other titles like Rome, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Macbeth, Hamlet, A Little Princess, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. The classics are condensed and “kiddified” versions. It would have then be nice to introduce c to Shakepeare but I don’t fancy starting with two tragedies. The non-fiction titles on the other hand are not in any way condensed in information. (thumbs up!)

There were also some Magic School Bus paperbacks.  Magic School Bus is a book series which presents science through an adventure.  A lot of my mommy friends have been collecting and buying these from bargain bookshops. I never bothered about them until now that the little boy is into science.  I grabbed all the titles available  on the shelves last Saturday.  All are brand new at 49 pesos – definitely cheaper than what they’re sold for at Booksale!

Two books I found interesting but were not able to make the budget cut were these two:

Bicycle, Bicycle, Bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle / I want to ride my bike / I want to ride my bicycle / I want to ride it where I like

If LC knew Queen’s Bicycle Race, that must probably be the song playing in his mind when he saw his very own bike.

Yes! We bought him a bike.

I did mention in a previous post that we were undecided on what to get him on December. But seeing the bike offered to us at a measly Php 500(!!!), we couldn’t resist buying it. The bike was in a very good condition. The seat, the handle bars’ rubber padding and (amazingly?!!) the wheels barely show any wear. No evident major dents, scratches and the likes. It feels, looks and weighs it’s made of good quality – not alloy-made ;p but the good heavy kind of quality. So we bought the bike even if there’s no special reason to give the little guy a gift. And we bought the bike even if it was a tad big for him.

LC was sleeping on his car seat when we got the bike. But when he woke up and saw it at the back of our car, his eyes lit up and was smiling from ear to ear. He couldn’t stop talking about it as we went home. He kept saying something along the lines of, “Bike! (LC)’s bike! Home, tapos bike!”

True enough when we got home, riding the bike was the first thing he demanded and did.

It was also the first thing he did after waking up and eating breakfast the next day. The bike had to be taken out of the house though since he wanted it to be visible indoors from where we slept. It was a bit heavy for him, but there’s nothing more important that he couldn’t wait for someone else to take it out. There’s also nothing heavy enough for him who wants to ride the bike.

The night before this, he kept practicing how to mount the bike. The overnight practice was adequate. He can already get on and off the bike all by himself.

Making Room for Reading

I have purged Little CAT’s book collection. It may be contradictory for the purpose, but I did it to get LC back to reading again and to reading new books.

When LC was born, I envisioned him growing up to love reading and learning. So at 5 months old we started reading him books regularly. We read to him several times and at anytime of the day. We read to him animatedly, with voice intonations, hand gestures and that kind of pizzaz. He embraced and loved the experience. A lot of times he’d wake up, pick a book by our bedside and demands to be read to even if Hubby and I were still sleeping. Afternoons would come past with us reading books the whole while. Evenings were a struggle between reading the same book for the nth time and finally sleeping. It was me and hubby who used to give up from all the reading. I blogged once about our “reading marathons” here.

Seeing how LC has come to love reading was very encouraging for us. So from 3 books gifted to him since he was born, his collection grew.

Book collection by the bedside

And grew.

As LC collection of books grew, we moved them to their own proper place.

And grew even more.

This was LC’s corner when we were newly settled in our apartment. Books occupied most of the bookshelves lain on their sides and stacked upon the other.

There are more of his books in a separate storage, but the ones in these pictures are the ones he has ready access. Most of the books stored were books he has outgrown and books reserved when he’s old enough to appreciate them.

I have to admit that for a time, I was already hoarding. One apparent instance was when I came home from last year’s Manila International Book Fair.

The mere sight and feel of books gave me pleasure. There’s also a part of me that felt I was in some sort of the-child-with-the-biggest-personal-library competition. I felt having a lot of books will prove something. Something like, “Look here! My very young child is sooo into books.” Or something like, “Baseline for a young book reader? That will be my son.”

Well, modesty aside it could have been true for us in the beginning. BUT unfortunately, it came to a point when it was all just for a show.

The Interactive Toy Library

Wouldn’t it be great if there’s a place where one can borrow toys and enjoy it at home? Something like a library, except that toys are on the shelves instead of books.

Yes, there are day care centers and relatives, friends, neighbors or friendly stranger kids to borrow toys from, but one can not borrow them all through out the meeting, much less take home the friendly stranger kid’s toy. But at a toy library…

Imagine rooms and rooms of toys! A room for every category: pretend play, building blocks and LEGO, die cast and remote controlled cars, fuel powered RC toys, figurines and dolls, musical toys, toys from around the world, evolution of gaming consoles and their playing cartridges, balls and toys for every sport… The list can go on and on! Every toy will be displayed in shelves and they will have codes patterned after the Dewey Decimal System (I can’t believe I still remember Dewey from my high school lessons!).

The toy library is for kids of every age and generation. Just imagine playing Battle City and Mario Brothers in a Family Computer again! But one can’t take it home because it’s in the archaic section. The husbands can’t take home the fuel powered RC toy planes too. But it’s okay. One can play with them to heart’s content during library hours.

It’s also okay for squeals of delight while at play in the library. I’m sure the toy librarians would be more than satisfied to hear it.

Imagine our kids playing with those expensive wooden toys or the elaborate train track set up or the big playhouse or the Little Tikes. Or the ones we, parents, are doubtful to buy. The kids can play with it and can road test it at home. 

The Wonderful World of Lego

Early this year, LC got a gift from his paternal Lola. It was a box of Lego Duplo!!! 🙂

The 30-piece box set has preoccupied him for a considerably long period every time he plays with it. Here he is on one of his building sprees. If you noticed, there’s also a Mega Block figure and his hand-me down Buzz Lightyear included in his imaginative play.

I have no idea what it was supposed to be, but other times LC would explain he built slides or houses.

Sharing another picture. This time LC packing it away responsibly. 🙂

Lego! Hubby and I played with them for hours when we were kids. I’m slowly but surely saving up to buy LC more Duplo bricks. It excites me imagining what the three of us can build and create! 😉

Less Toys Is More

One day I had a nagging feeling. I had to do something about this:

This is our Little Cat’s corner in the living room. Shelves filled with books. More books on the floor. Wooden peg boards, jigsaw puzzles and blocks stacked above the other. A heavy wooden stackable train for a falling hazard. Not seen in the photo were some toys in another part of the living room.

MOST toys are not played with, especially the toys in the white and red tubs – unless he remembers and looks for them. Worst, books are NOT read as much as before. 😦

I strongly felt to declutter at that very moment.

Building The Future Builder

Last December, our two little Indian neighbors gifted LC with a puzzle toy. Here’s what he can do with them now:

That’s our 2-year old right there. With little hands, focus and (unpredictable) patience, he can already make a cube and more – with no assistance! Amazing! 🙂

Now, here he is with bigger pieces:

These Toys Are Also For Boys

So I got some ‘It’s for girls’ comments in varying tones with regards to LC’s toy kitchen. Hubby included. But I’m happy he supported me on the decision knowing I have very good reasons for having one.

Little Cat is just like any little boy. He’s all over the house exploring, running around, climbing everywhere, reaching out and tinkering whatever his hands can get hold of. One of the things that sets him apart, or probably makes him more like any other kid, is his affinity to the kitchen and the mess he can make in there. He likes being in the kitchen. And that’s even before we got our own place. I took that as a cue to get him his own play set. Grounded on the belief that a toy kitchen – and some other “girly toys” – are just as beneficial to little boys, I went for it.

But what really are my reasons for getting one? Here they are:

1. to hone fine motor skills such as hand-eye coordination and other things;