King Butter Buns and The Dark Chocolates

Last Black Saturday, I made up a story together with my son. Sharing all the belly laugh-inducing silliness with you.

King Butter Buns and The Dark Chocolates 
by Justine Camacho-Tajonera

For B. 

King Butter Buns lived peacefully in the green hills with his minions, the Easter bunnies and the regular bunnies. The Easter bunnies were special. They ate the magic weeds of King Butter Bun's hills and pooped Easter eggs filled with soda gummies. King Butter Bun’s regular bunnies, on the other hand, pooped out milk chocolate bars.

Everything was going fine until the Dark Chocolates arrived. There was an army of them. They wanted to take over King Butter Bun’s kingdom. They came armed with Dark Chocolate bows and arrows and catapults. It was an all out war. King Butter Buns hit back with Easter eggs and milk chocolate bars. But they were outnumbered. The Dark Chocolates were winning.

Suddenly, from out of the horizon, a rocket ship of children arrived. The boys and girls saw that the Dark Chocolates covered King Butter Bun’s hills. “Eeew! Dark chocolates!” they cried out. Together, they flung the Dark Chocolates away until they saw the Easter eggs and milk chocolate bars. “Yay! Easter eggs and milk chocolate!” The children defeated the Dark Chocolates.

“Thank you, dear children,” King Butter Buns said, “as your reward, you can have as much Easter eggs, cola gummies, and milk chocolate as you want.” The boys and girls were astonished with the cola gummies. They didn't see that these were hidden inside the sugar shells of the Easter eggs. Everyone cheered! The regular bunnies and Easter bunnies pooped out all the Easter eggs and chocolate bars with grateful hearts. Before they left on their rocket ship, the children, in turn, left a box of carrots for the bunnies. What the bunnies pooped out from the carrots is another story. 

The End

Celebrating The Storied Life of Reading: A Book Review of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry By Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I was itching to get it as soon as I read the synopsis. I was so glad that I had stumbled upon a 50% discount coupon on Kobo because it would justify the purchase given the number of books on my "currently reading" shelf.

And I was not disappointed. On the contrary, it was absolutely amazing! It's the kind of book that's meant for book lovers (that's me!). Apart from the novel, I was treated to thirteen other short stories (recommendations by the main character, A.J. Fikry to his daughter, Maya Tamerlane Fikry). I immediately looked up Lamb to the Slaughter (the short story mentioned in the first chapter) and was rewarded with a rollicking-good perfect crime short story by Roald Dahl. This book was such a treat. There are stories nested within the story and it's just lovely, just lovely. A.J. Fikry would frown over the fact that I read this as an eBook but at least Amelia Loman (read the book to appreciate who she is) has my back.

It moves me on so many levels: it moves me as a reader with varied tastes (sometimes wondering if she's a snob or not; well, no, because I actually read the Twilight series, a fact which all my snotty reader friends find very amusing), it moves me as a person who works in the book industry (well, eBook industry...it's the content that matters, right?), and it moves me as a mother and wife muddling along through life trying to make the best of it (and trying really hard to make readers of her children!).

It's heart-rending too. It manages to combine different genres into one book (making me laugh, cry and stand by with bated breath). Overall, it is a stand-out piece of literary fiction. A.J. Fikry's age is even in the same range as mine, painting the portrait of a curmudgeon of a digital migrant who leans more toward the analog. Not that it matters (just to me, I guess). If it has to boil down to one sentence, it's this: I highly recommend this book. To end, let me just tell you a little story of the three days that it took me to read this book. I bought it after work, in the evening, and started reading it while waiting for my husband to pick me up from work. I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I read Lamb to the Slaughter that same evening and fell in love with Maya too. On the second day, I couldn't believe how fast Maya had grown and how Chief Lambiase had grown on me (I already liked him from the start) while waiting for our turn at the Pedia's office in St. Luke's, Quezon City. On the third day, I was so glad that the author had not left out the story written by Maya and had actually reproduced it just as it was submitted to her teacher, Mr. Balboni. I was randomly crying in Megamall (where we celebrated Father's Day: Sunday Mass at the 5th floor, lunch at Pollo Loco and shopping for various stuff for my husband) because letting go is just not one of my strong suits. I remember when I read the last word which was at that exact moment when we were buying liempo to bring to Sunday dinner with my Dad at my brother's house. And I sighed. Thank you Gabrielle Zevin for a perfect reading weekend. And thank you, Honey, for bringing this book to my attention.

View all my reviews

ModPo 2013 #27 Accidents, Massacres, Ruins: On Stein's "Let Us Describe." and Narrative

Maguindanao massacre. From desura.com. 

Gertrude Stein. From A Valentine to Sherwood Anderson.

LET US DESCRIBE.

     Let us describe how they went. It was a very windy night and the road although in excellent condition and extremely well graded has many turnings and although the curves are not sharp the rise is considerable. It was a very windy night and some of the larger vehicles found it more prudent not to venture. In consequence some of those who had planned to go were unable to do so. Many others did go and there was a sacrifice, of what shall we, a sheep, a hen, a cock, a village, a ruin, and all that and then that having been blessed let us bless it.

-----------------------------

I did not get this poem at first. It was only after the ModPo video discussion that I truly appreciated the poem. This is an illustration of Stein's statement on narrative. Narrative is a fiction. In life, we can be circling endlessly over a ruin. 

When I think about this in context of the Maguindanao massacre that happended in November of 2009, I get chills. There was a convoy. Some did not continue with the convoy, delayed by something trivial, perhaps a piece of equipment that got left behind. Some people became part of the convoy also by accident, trying to take a shortcut. The difference, of course, was this was a massacre, not a mere accident. I find that I cannot make sense of it. If I were to write about it I would linger in the convoy, in the dread, in the flimsy hope that women and children would not be harmed. It seemed like a certainty. But it was not. At some point, the people in the convoy must have looked around, registering some kind of disorientation and terror. There are no words for those moments. It was a sacrifice. It was a ruin. At that point, there would be no beginning, middle or end. I can only think, "then having been blessed let us bless it." There certainly was no thought of blessing for all those in that scene of horror. The blessing was afterwards, in the grief, among those who were trying to make sense of it. 

Narrative is a structure we cling to so that we can make sense of things. "Once upon a time..." Isn't that the classic introduction to our way of hearing stories? Stein challenges this notion especially in context of life itself. Life is messy and full of contradictions. It is not really a straight line with all loose ends tied in the end. I don't think Stein meant to advocate chaos. I think she only meant to have readers recognize that narrative is a fiction. We can appreciate it but it isn't necessarily the only way to communicate what happened. The Maguindanao massacre has been written about so many times: in news reports, in commentaries. But I circle around it, not finding any sense, grieving still. One can make a beginning, a middle and an end for it. But that is the thing: we find ways to fence it in. As human beings, we find ways to make sense of things. We create stories. But we must remember that these are stories. We tell them to ourselves to comfort ourselves. We must remember who is telling the story, who the story is about and how it is wrapped in structure. 

NaPoWriMo#15: Yama

NaPoWriMo or National Poetry Writing Month, is an annual project in which participating poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April.

Yama

by Justine C. Tajonera

I'm not grim nor wrathful, contrary to popular belief.
I don't welcome ferrying you to the other side.
In your history and through your brief lives
I've relished least a massive flooding
at my door. I prefer peace and a moment-at-
a-time. I enjoy the stories on the boat.
When you come all at once, I don't quite hear
anything. And that's why I hate war just as much
as you. Walk with me. I'll take you to the other side.
Don't come running. And don't shun me, either.
I promise that I hold your children, bright with trust
and curious about my hands and hair, with care.
I love the most those who take my hands in theirs.
Walk with me. There are worse things to fear.
I am not one of them. I am not the end.

Thank You, #EDCMOOC & Making My Digital Artifact, Learning Is An Adventure

Thank You, #EDCMOOC & Making My Digital Artifact, Learning Is An Adventure

by Justine C. Tajonera

My #EDCMOOC (eLearning and Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course) posts spring from my participation in the course offered for free by the University of Edinburgh via Coursera.org.

I had a lot of fun making my final assignment for my EDCMOOC (eLearning and Digital Cultures Massive Open Online Course) class. I combined other attempts at making a digital artefact into this final digital artefact and I was struck by my husband's reaction to it. I asked him if it was good, "Hon, do you think this will pass?" And he answered me with what I think this whole class was about: "Did you do it for the grade? Or did you do it to learn?"

Learning = Hard-earned Joy

What an amazing question! It captured the heart of learning. Many times in traditional school I did things for the grade. But there were other moments in school where I truly enjoyed, where I truly learned. And I would do those courses or classes again just for the sheer joy. In fact, I remember summers where I would glory in all the free time I had to read, just read. I would look up new words in the dictionary and I would just keep going. Those were magical days. I realize that real learning is like that. You keep going, you keep pushing at the edges because you just want to: curiosity, passion, enjoyment. I surely don't want to rob my kids of the pure enjoyment of learning. Of course, it's not all enjoyment. There was a degree of difficulty I had to overcome. And "getting it" is also a kind of hard-earned bliss that can't be matched by treats or novelties.

And that was what I got at the end of the course: a hard-earned joy. I remember those frustrating nights when one video just took forever to load and I was getting bleary-eyed with sleep deprivation. I remember trekking to a nearby coffee shop just to get at least three hours of concentration to write my blogs about the course. I remember being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers in the class and the list of tools for creating the digital artifact. I remember moments of insight that I couldn't help but turn to my husband and share what I just learned from a video or from an online essay. It was all worth it.

Going Digital With Our Homeschool Curriculum

Just yesterday, we attended a family convention conducted by the provider of our homeschool curriculum, The Master's Academy, and they introduced a new pilot project called Genyo.com.ph, an online supplemental course that includes five core subjects including our mother language, Filipino (this is something that's really hard to find online). But by then...I had already discovered IXL.com and Salman Khan's absolutely wonderful Khan Academy. My son is already enrolled in IXL and he just loves earning his medals and achieving mastery with each subject. He has a love for Math that I never had.

I think Genyo.com.ph was introduced to us just in time, especially after having attended this EDCMOOC. I could look at it all within the context of what we had just digested. We signed up right away and I'm excited to try it out with my son.

Not For The Grade But For The Learning

Taking this course has really challenged my idea of how to check for learning. Assessment and test scores have their place but they are not the be-all and end-all of learning. Far from it. Now I see that there are other innovative ways of engaging kids and really helping them learn. Now I see the importance of creating portfolios (the term that our homeschool provider uses....which is a different term for artifacts). These are project opportunities that can combine several subjects so that the student can really see how all of them can be combined for something that is important to him or to the community. Projects put things in perspective and holistically integrates different subjects into a common theme. I think this is more important and a better gauge of analysis and creation than just pure grades.

Purposeful, imaginative learning

I thought that the exploration of posthumanism and transhumanism was really important in coming back to a key concept: challenging humanity's purpose. It's not an easy question to answer. It takes whole lifetimes. It is an ongoing project and it is far from over. It is something that gives context as well to the way I am teaching my kids. It's good to always put the background of purpose in everything we do. What's the point? That's something that I want my kids to learn to ask as well.

What will get us through this shared project is imagination. That's why I really value stories. I especially loved the stories that came out in the films and Sci Fi books (I downloaded some as additional reading after the class). The best of stories are never didactic and never have a hard edged "lesson" to learn. The best of stories help us ask questions and imagine scenarios. The best of stories help us make sense of who we are...and points us to our own stories and perspectives, fortifying them or challenging them. This is what I can give to my kids: the love of searching for more stories, reading them and making their own.

I really loved this class and I will miss it.

But wait. There are still a lot of MOOCs waiting. Onwards then!

Update as of March 5, 2013: I am signed up with the CS50 Introduction to Computer Science of Harvard (EDX). I have also signed up to two more classes on Coursera: 1) Design, Creation of Artifacts in Society (University of Pennsylvania) and 2) Children Acquiring Literacy Naturally (UC Santa Cruz).  Looking forward to blogging my updates on this journey.

A Story for Badger

by Justine C. Tajonera

Before your sister was born
you loved to read four books:
one was about fuzzy yellow ducklings,
another one was about apples
up on a dog, a tiger and a lion,
another one was about a kitten
named Kate
and one was about a very busy
spider.

And this, this letter I am
writing you,
it will be a story too,
one I'll tell you when
you're older.

Life, you will discover
is a string of stories
that we tell each other,
holding us back
or taking us further.

And while I want to hold
back the steady stream
that makes us both older
only so I can watch you longer

I stitch my thoughts
into this story,
one of the many in
our tapestry,
so that it can fold
around us at bedtime,
wherever we are,
giving us good dreams
night after
night.

(August 6, 2010)

No Small Gifts

by Justine C. Tajonera

He sings me the Happy
Birthday Song, off key
and all.

I look at his radiant face
and imagine all the
wonderful stories
in his life.

I will be at the start
of his song
but his lyrics
will take on
a life of
its own.

I may not see it
to the very end
but I love every little
line, every little
stanza.

Nothing he could ever
give me would be
small.
Not the slices of
pancake,

not the Fuji Apple Mentos
dragees,
not a single smile
or a solemn offer
of a yellow block
to keep
in my bag.

(Jan. 25, 2010)
For Badger
Inspired by the song Five Loaves and Two Fishes by Corinne May performed by Hangad last Jan. 23, 2010.
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikefischer/3532629536/

This Side Of The Story

by Justine C. Tajonera

Hardly anyone asks for
the opinion of
the wicked stepmother,
the dead wives of Bluebeard
are mute and damning
evidence,
no one checks
for divorces
after the happy ever
after,
no one asks the coveted
Ibong Adarna
why she sings
seven songs.

A story is
a story
because someone
tells it.

Remember what precious
cups your ears
make
for the spinner
of the tale.

Choose your stories
well,
for there will always
be
stories.

They might corrupt,
they might be
false,
they might be subjugated,
censored
and suppressed.

But remember, too,
that they might reveal,
redeem
and stir mountains
to move
or raise dying embers
into the heavens.

(Dec. 16, 2009)
For the writers and journalists of the Philippines.

Image of a fairy tale book from http://www.flickr.com/photos/gillianam/3448828297/