A nurturing and stimulating Second Mom

Bianca was not yet two years old when she started going to school. To be exact, she was only one year and nine months old. She was an only child and her mom, lawyer Josefina Buenaseda, wanted her to learn how to interact with other people. Being a working mom, she was concerned about leaving her child by herself all day with perhaps only the yaya to look after her. A couple of months ago, when Bianca’s brother was born, she had already learned how to share and play with others.

Bianca is the youngest student at Second Mom, a Child Care Preschool located in Bo.Ugong in Pasig beside Brent School. "I personally realized the need of working parents for a nurturing and stimulating place where they can entrust their children while they are at work, free of any fear or guilt about having their child cared for by someone else," says school directress and teacher mom, Jennifer "Jenny" Mapua-Banal. "As an extension of the home, we offer a high quality early childhood program that provides a safe and nurturing environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional and mental development of the children."

Jenny comes from a family of educators, with a school that bears the famous Mapua name. She is married to Joel Rojas Banal, former PBA player, MBA coach and currently taking a master’s course in entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management. He is also the school president and teacher dad at Second Mom. Joel brings the same discipline in teaching that he had in coaching. "It’s similar in many ways," he observes, "in leading and motivating."

They have four children–Juan, 16 years old, studying at the Ateneo de Manila; Miguel, 15, studying at La Salle Greenhills; Gabriel, 11, and Raphael, 8, both studying at Xavier School. "I believe each child is a unique person," Jenny remarks. "My children each go to a different school, depending on where they feel comfortable, according to their individual personalities."

A graduate of St. Paul’s of Manila with a degree in Liberal Arts with major in English and minor in Industrial Communications and Public Relations, Jenny also took up a master’s course in educational management at the Ateneo. She also observed and took a program on Early Childhood Education at Bankstreet College of Education in Manhattan in New York, which is one of the pioneer schools that use developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) which Jenny applies at Second Mom.

"The concept of DAP has two dimensions," Jenny explains. "Age appropriateness refers to the universal, predictable sequences of growth and changes that occur in children during the first nine years of life. These predictable changes occur in all domains of development–physical, emotional, social and cognitive. The program provides a framework from which teachers prepare the learning environment and plan appropriate experiences and activities." At Second Mom, the courses are offered according to age group – toddlers (2 to 3 years old), nursery (3 to 4 years old), and kindergarten (4 to 6 years old).

The second dimension of DAP is individual appropriateness. "We recognize that each child is a unique person with an individual pattern and timing of growth, as well as individual personality, learning style, and family background," Jenny explains. "Both the curriculum and the adult’s interactions with children should be responsive to individual differences. Learning in young children is the result of interaction between the child’s thoughts and experiences with materials, ideas and people. These experiences should match the child’s developing abilities, while also challenging the child’s interest and understanding."

Jenny explains the integrated curriculum at Second Mom. "Activities and experiences are balanced with the developmental areas which are physical, socio-emotional, mental and language, and across the curriculum areas which include Math, Science, Language, Social Studies, Reading Art and Music. The goal is to achieve balance and avoid providing activities separated into the distinct subject areas."

To illustrate, Jenny gives as an example the activity of cooking gelatin. "With this activity," she explains, "the children learn math, when they count and measure how many cups or tablespoons go into the mixture, as well as sequencing, meaning which goes first, second and third. They also learn art. They learn the different colors and shapes of the mold. Science is learned through the various forms that they handle, from liquid to powder to solid, as well as textures, whether soft or hard, and taste, whether sweet or sour. Gross motor skills are exercised when carrying cooking utensils, as well as fine motor skills, such as pouring and stirring, which are pre-writing activities. The children also learn to sight-read the recipe. Language is learned when they describe what they are doing and use adjectives to describe what they have made. They also learn to follow instructions as well as to converse with the others involved in the activity." In gist, what Jenny means to say is that at Second Mom, concepts are taught through play and activities. "All the five senses are used, and teaching is not abstract but concrete."

"We combine the traditional curriculum with a progressive approach," Jenny elaborates. "The traditional style of rote learning is subject-centered. The developmental approach results in more meaningful learning." During her training in New York, Jenny observed that the young children there appear to be more independent. "They can easily follow verbal instructions," she remarks, "while here, unfortunately, many of our children are used to getting help from their yaya. What we would like to develop in our children are self-help skills. This is one of our major thrusts. We even give seminars for the yayas so they too can appreciate this approach." Seminars are also held for parents as well as the teachers in a continuing program of improvement and development.

The learning experience is not only confined within the classroom. "Field trips are an integral part of the school activities," says Ann Ganzon-Endencia, the only other teacher mom among Second Mom’s young staff of teachers which also include Joyce Matic, Mona Lacatan, Joy Millan, Pai Co, Jim Manlapaz, and Elaine Riego de Dios, all twentysomething and quite attuned with the children in their care.

Recently, the children visited Country Waffles in Greenhills and learned first-hand how waffles are made. "They also saw the community helpers at work, such as the chef and food servers," Ann explains. Some parents came along to share in their children’s field activity. "Parents’ participation is encouraged and it’s good for bonding with our children," says Paul Alejandrino, dad of Ali, 3 years old. Among the other places which the children have visited are the Museo Pambata, a radio station which is managed by one of the parents, and the fire station near the school. "So the children got to see the person behind the voice which they only hear on the radio," Ann relates. "The children also enjoyed riding the fire truck as well as the ambulance at the fire station."

"The children have also visited each other’s homes, so they learn about how other people live, whether in a townhouse, an apartment, or a condo," Jenny remarks. "We’d like to involve the parents, as much as possible. As evidenced by our name, we respect the parents’ role as the first and best teachers of their child. We aim to work hand-in-hand with the parents in their child’s education. We offer the second best help by providing working parents with a better alternative to leaving their impressionable children with yayas. Our caring and friendly school staff are well-trained to become your child’s ‘second mom.’"

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The Second Mom is located at the Philsports Complex (formerly Ultra) in Pasig City. For details, call 635-97-43.