My Little Art Place + Lucy in the Sky Cafe, Wilson, San Juan

This summer we enrolled Y in an art class at My Little Art Place in Wilson St., San Juan. She loves drawing and coloring, our bedroom's door and wall are covered with her art works. I think she got her love for arts from her papa who's really a talented artist (naks! May kapalit to ah.. joke! Hihi) so for the summer, we enrolled her to two modules of their Drawing and Paint course.

This was during our first module. It was the second week of March and there were still a few students. Their student-teacher ratio is 8:1 but as other schools went on their summer vacation, ang dami na nila but you don't have to worry as they have a lot of teachers!

Each module has 8 sessions and it costs Php6,500. A bit expensive right? That's what I first thought too but if you compute for it, it's actually really worth it. Other art classes offers only 1 hour per session, at My Little Art Place, 1 session is 3 hours. So that Php6,500/8/3 = Php271 per hour. Ang intsik lang nag compute pa! Haha! They get to finish 1 art work a day so you'll take home 8 art works in total plus there's an exhibit at the end of each module!

This is the Batch 4 flyer. Batch 4 ended last June 2 but they also offer after-school sessions.

Y started with the very basic shading and color wheel and eventually made simple art works to a slightly complicated ones with the help of her teachers. They're guided very well but of course the teachers also help the kids if they need a little guiding.

Y enjoys each session very much and always looks forward to the next!

Some of these students have been with My Little Art Place for many years. Most of them are on Advanced Painting classes already and are really good!

As the summer goes, more students filled up the space! My sister who also enrolled my nephew but attends the afternoon session, told me that there are more students in the afternoon as in abot na sila sa cafe and the partition (see that white partition on the below left photo?) was opened to make space for more tables!

What I like about My Little Art Place is that teachers are good. While they guide the kids how to draw, they still encourage creativity and their work doesn't need to be perfect.

And while waiting for paint to dry, drawing pa din! 

This is one of those afternoon sessions. Look at the extended tables and the yayas on the left all waiting for their alagas. :)

With Module 2, she worked on more detailed paintings. Her Starry Night painting is missing though. 

My Little Art Place also is/has a vegetarian cafe/restaurant inside, Lucy in the Sky Cafe. 14 of the 16 sessions were spent waiting in the cafe. The first two sessions, R and I went to Starbucks to have our breakfast because Lucy in the Sky doesn't open until 10:30AM but during our 3rd session, I learned we can order coffee as early as 8AM but the kitchen opens at 10-ish but we can also order food in advance and request it to be serve at a time you want them to. I love waiting at the cafe because of the quirky but homey interior. I think I was able to sat on all the tables because how can you not if you spend 16 sessions here. Haha!

This is one of my favorite spots and because it's near an outlet. Most of the time I bring my laptop so I can work while waiting for Y.

They serve their coffee in this dainty coffee cups!

And while I am busy with my work, R was also busy feeling at home at the cafe. Hihi! And he also had his favorite spot and he orders the same food: Cheese Fries and Iced Tea every time, well almost every time.

This is his favorite spot and he loves that sheep pillow!

Working while waiting... and sometimes watching iFlix haha!

 I also have my favorite, the Grilled Pesto Malunggay with Cheese Sandwich (Php165)! And I always have their Latte or Americano.

Their Cheddar Cheese French Fries (Php95) is probably their best seller for the kids! We ordered this almost every day. They don't use the artificial orange cheese powder but real cheddar cheese!

We also had our lunch a few times at the cafe but this was the only photo of the food we had. The Malunggay Basil Pesto Pasta (Php165), it was okay, kulang sa alat for me!

Mango Yoghurt Shake (Php130)! Their Mango Tarragon and Watermelon Basil Shakes are also good!

Here's their menu for your reference! They have a good wifi connection and good coffee, if you are looking into working outside of your home, maybe you can consider Lucy in the Sky Cafe!

At the end of each module was an exhibit where the works of the students are displayed inside the gallery. It was a nice culminating event, Y was always excited and proud of what she made.

This was the first exhibit. There were not a lot of students yet so all their works were displayed.

Left: That's her self portrait she's pointing at.

Right: R supporting Achi by eating and drinking what they served during the exhibit. Haha!

Po was a collaborative work with all the students, Y was pointing at the piece she made :)

Here are some of the other paintings and drawings that were displayed during the first exhibit. Ang galing! Y said she wants to paint like that, I told her to practice and we'll enroll her in more classes!

During the second exhibit, the walls were filled up with more paintings. More students, more paintings but not all of their work was displayed though. I had to look for Y's paintings in the sea of all these art works!

Left: Y with her flower painting.

Right: Her cousin G with his self portrait! Cutipie!

Y's second piece on display! She looks sleepy here because she just woke up from her nap!

We're so proud of Achi! We're framing her favorite pieces and will hang it up in their room! Yay! We wanted to enroll her for the 3rd Module but we went on vacations and we had another summer activity lined up for her. She's been bugging us when she'll go back again to My Little Art Place so I inquired if they offer workshops during the school year and they do! Their School Year Workshops will start on June 13, rate is the the same which is Php6,500 for 8 sessions. They offer group discount and year round discount. Group Discount - enroll and pay for 3 students (1 time and same schedule only) and get Php150 off on each student. Year Round Discount - Php16,500 for 24 sessions (must be completed on or before May 2017, not applicable to group discount).

For more information and questions, check out My Little Art Place Facebook Page and @mylittleartplace on Instagram!
222 Wilson st. Greenhills San Juan City, 1500 San Juan, Rizal, Philippines
Contact Numbers: (02) 2189556 / 09166676549 / 09178563788

Y's Super Fun Experience With Ready Steady Go Kids Philippines!

I was never a sporty person, I learned a few sports when I was young, swimming one summer then badminton for a few years then now, nada. I try to be active and exercise when I can and sometimes I wish I learned this sport or that. So for my kids, I want them to be active and introduce as many sports as they can until they find what they like and that's what Ready Steady Go Kids is all about.

Ready Steady Go Kids (RSGK) is Australia's leading preschool sport and exercise program (aged 2.5 to 7 years old). It has been operating and running classes across Australia since 2004, that's 11 years already! And Ready Steady Go Kids is now in the Philippines! Their high quality, physio-designed program introduces preschoolers to the fundamentals of 10 different sports (soccer, tennis, basketball, hockey, golf, AFL, rugby, athletics, cricket and T-ball) in a fun, non-competitive and team based environment!

All of their coaches have (as a minimum) a Level 1 Coaching qualification under the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme from the Australian Sports Commission and extensive on the job training to give them experience in conducting lessons for preschoolers. One of the trainers at every lesson is also trained in First Aid for preschoolers. 

If you are following me on Instagram, you would know by now that Y has graduated from her 1st Term in RSGK Philippines. Yay! And now that it has ended, I can tell you more about it! Each term (10 weeks) covers 5 sports and each class is about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Y started around second week of January. Sports covered were soccer, basketball, golf, cricket, and athletics. Our classes were held at Treston Internation College's Multi-Purpose Hall, every Fridays from 4:00PM-5:00PM.

Classes always start with circle time, where Coach Sonny or Coach Pat gather the kids around and sings their "introduction" song for the kids and their classmates.

I like their teacher-student ratio. With a small group, the coaches can focus on each student. This was the one time I brought R with us for a trial class.

Then they do warm-ups. I like that they make warm-ups not only fun but also a learning experience for the kids.

Ready, steady, go! And they gallop like a horse!

R and Coach Sonny. I like that it's non-competitive and they encourage and cheer kids on when they are behind or slow like R haha!

After the warm-up, they gather again for circle time to do more stretching! Here, they're reaching for the stars!

The first sport Y learned was soccer. They teach the basics on how to kick the right way. Soccer improves balance and eye-foot coordination.

Warm up and play!

They teach the kids to pick up their own ball after kicking and putting it back on their markers.

They always do 3-5 sets of each basic technique

The coaches encourage and cheer them on!

They also do obstacle courses and a fun one at that! During this class, they pretended to be pirates!

I was happy to see Y engaging and doing everything her coaches tell her.

They also go around the obstacle course 2-3 times.

Our second sport was basketball! Basketball enhances speed, balance, ability to respond quickly, timing and control. With the kids' little hands, this sport improves their gross motor skills as well as their hand, foot and eye coordination.

They were taught to dribble, catch, and shoot the ball.

Y is a very straight person. She listens to instructions well, no wonder she got the Most Attentive Award in school. Hehe!

And just like in school, they get stamps at the end of the class.

At the end of each class, Coach Sonny talks to each of the kids and give them a pep talk, which I liked because he encourages Y to do the best. He makes the kids excited for the next week.

Third sport was golf! RSGK has introduced Y to sports she never knew existed haha! That's one of the reasons why I like this sports program. It's perfect for a non-sporty family like ours.

Gold improves limb control, develops a child's ability to generate energy from different muscle groups to strike the ball more forcefully and effectively.

It also enhances spatial ability, accuracy, and aim and improves concentration. The kids are also asked to pick up their own balls. They make counting more fun!

RSGK is not all about sports, sometimes it's also about fun and games! These games test the kids ability to listen and follow instructions/directions and basic concepts of colors, numbers and shapes.

Kids getting and returning "cheese" from the mouse.

Here, Coach Sonny instructs the kids which item to get from the hula hoop.

Get as many balls as you can!

Our fourth sport was cricket. Cricket is the national sport of England, also a popular sport in Australia, India and South Africa. It is a bat-and-ball game. The kids were taught how to pitch, catch and bat!

Cricket improves focus, upper and lower body strength, endurance and stamina. It enhances balance, coordination, accuracy and aim. It also promotes teamwork and cooperation.

She needed a little help with the bat. It was a bit heavy. The coaches guide the kids when they need their help.

Kids listening intently to Coach Pat.

"Get 5 balls!"

Throw the ball as hard as you can!

"Scoop the ball like an ice cream" How cool would that be?!

Our fifth and last sport was athletics. Athletics consists of running, sprinting, shot-put and long jump. Ready Steady Go Kids introduces the concept of 'sportsmanship through encouraging kids to take turns, play by the rules,  provide encouragement and cooperate with peers.

Sprint training enhances blood circulation, improves lung capacity, and tones muscles.

Shot-put enhances spatial ability, aim, accuracy and limb control.

Coach Sonny demonstrates the proper form of how to do the long jump. Long jump training improves flexibility, balance, leg strength and leg power.

 Running reduces the risk of having lower limb injuries. Running is good for kids!

And as always, Coach Sonny tells Y that she did a great job!

At the end of the term, the kids get to have their graduation! They still have their regular class but at the end of the class, the coaches make a course where the kids get to do the 5 sports they learned for the term and there's a podium in the middle for picture taking! It was so cute!

Coaches setting up their graduation course. Heehee!

Congratulations Y! You did a great job!

And thank you to Y's coaches: Coach Sonny, Coach Robert, and Coach Pat who were all so patient with the kids and for encouraging them to the best of their abilities! I've seen kids threw tantrums and they've handled them well. Y always looks forward to her RSGK class because of the coaches! 

At may pahabol pa! A week before the graduation, Coach Sonny approached me and asked if they can invite Y to be part of RSGK's Media Session live demo. They also invited other kids from other venues to be part of the demo. Of course, I said yes! 

They did a mini-class.

With photographers pa. Heehee! I wonder this would come out of any magazine because I want a copy! Haha!

Thank you RSGK and coaches! She's now more confident and independent, although she's shy pa din at times, RSGK has helped Y with her eye-hand-foot coordination. She's more interested in sports now and teaches R what she learned in her 10 weeks with RSGK.

If you are interested in enrolling your kids with Ready, Steady, Go Kids this summer, 2nd Term starts this week and they're also offering a Special Summer Program!

You can enroll for a trial class if you want to try it first. You may call (02) 631-1497 or mobile numbers (0917) 863-0094 for Globe and (0919) 993-6189 Smart to check availability of slots in any of their venues. Trial slots will be limited during the summer period.

For more information on Ready Steady Go Kids Philippines, please visit http://readysteadygokids.com.ph/. 

Follow and like them on their social media accounts:

Facebook: Ready Steady Go Kids Philippines
Instagram: @rsgkphilippines
Twitter: @RSGKphilippines