Movie Date with The Twerp

I've been meaning to bring the Twerp to watch The Smurfs movie which started showing here in Manila around the second week of August. However, I had to work a couple of weekends, so no movie for her. Last Sunday we finally went on our "date"  :) Cars 2 is already showing and I asked her which movie she wanted to watch? The Smurfs or Cars 2? She chose Cars 2! Good thing cos The Smurfs was not being shown anymore.

I got us a bucket of popcorn and C2 for me. We came in just as the movie trailers were being shown so we know which movies to watch out for next. I noticed that animated movies for children nowadays aren't really for children anymore. They can be scary, at least for little kids. Trailers were shown for Winnie the Pooh, Puss in Boots and Adventures of Tintin. She got scared of Puss in Boots and moved to sit on my lap, instead of her own seat, and hid her face on my neck. She surfaced when Cars started but the opening was also kind of scary. A sorta mission impossible scene. She finally sat and watched when Lightning McQueen came on the screen. She knows Lightning McQueen from playing with a Cars puzzle on Daddy's ipad.

She did enjoy the movie but stayed on my lap until the end. I took her picture after the movie but she looks like she's ready for a nap. We went home soon after.

Disney seems to be targeting a wider audience for its animated movies that the storyline and some scenes become scary for little children. They really need to be guided and the scenes explained so they don't get nightmares after. There's a nice message though about valuing true friends and not judging people based on the way they look.

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Vote for the Twerp!

I entered the Twerp's photo in Parentin.tv's 2nd year anniversary toddler photo contest. Ten photos were chosen among those received by Parentin.tv and the top two with the most votes will win prizes. Please vote for the Twerp by clicking on this link: http://www.parentin.tv/events/anniv-2011-toddler-photo-contest10

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Learning in Sabbath School

The weekend is always much awaited because the Twerp enjoys attending Sabbath School. She had a taste of going to school last summer but since she had only turned two, we thought we'd wait one more year before enrolling her. Summer school was a preview for her. Sabbath school is much like summer school, just that stories and songs are about Jesus. There are action songs, and play acting the stories.

In this photo, Via is wearing a cardboard crown. The topic was King Joash who became a king at 7 years old. Crowns made of cardboard were distributed to the children to wear. During his reign King Joash did restoration work on the temple. Plastic tools such as hammer, saw, pliers, etc. were again distributed and the children were encouraged to come forward, where a drawing of the temple was hung on the board, to help rebuild the temple with their tools. One little boy banged his hammer too enthusiastically at the drawing that Via stepped back. I think she was afraid of getting hit.

This Saturday, the story was about Captain Naaman's Little Maid. The Little Maid is a happy helper. She never forgets to pray and brings joy to everyone around her. A ring of yellow steamers was hung in the center of the classroom to mimic sunbeams. Rays of sunshine that bring joy much like Little Maid brings happiness. The children were asks to hold on to a yellow streamer while they sang a song (photo below). Then little brooms, basins and other cleaning materials were distributed so the children could pretend they were Little Maid, helping around the house. When Captain Naaman became afflicted with leprosy, Little Maid convinced him to seek Prophet Elisha to help him heal his leprosy. When Captain Naaman was healed, the family began to pray to God. Sabbath school ends with closing songs that Via has learned to memorize by now and of course, cookies are given to all the children before they leave.

There are Sabbath classes for different age groups. When Via turns 3, she will move up to the next class. After Sabbath School, we proceeded to the church service. I'm always looking for pews that also have children because I will have less people annoyed in case Via becomes restless. Luckily, I found a pew where Via's Sabbath School classmate and her family were seated. Then there was this little boy about Via's age playing with his mother's iphone. I guess Mommy gave him the iphone to play with to keep him quiet. He started taking Via's picture and she objected at first, scowling at the boy and pointing him out to me that he was taking his picture. They became chummy after a while and even had their arms around each other. I wanted to take a photo because they looked so cute but didn't have my digicam. The boy's mommy was also very amused.

It's not only Via who's learning in Sabbath School but Mommy as well. I enjoy the children's bible stories as well.

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