Recommended educational finds for Filipino families

As a parent who wants to be more intentional with how my kids spend their time, I'm always on the lookout for resources and materials that are educational and fun. If I can find items that are both fun and educational, all the better.

I've been blessed to meet different moms who have similar philosophies when it comes to raising their children, and some of these moms are even in the business of helping other moms make learning fun for their kids -- like the mompreneurs behind Discovery Depot, KaHone Art and GPG Bulilit Bookstore.

Discovery Depot: Your online source for fun, educational 'good' toys

I first met Sherrie Siy, the mom who put up Discovery Depot, at Expo Mom a few years ago. She is the mompreneur who brought in fun, educational toy brands like Wonderworld, Safsof and Ambi to the Philippines.

Over the years, Sherrie has continuously advocated for children to play using 'good toys.' And what exactly makes something a 'good toy'? I like how it is described on the Discovery Depot website, and I quote:

"Good toys:

- Are the simplest

- Allow the use of imagination

- Last through the different stages of a child’s development

- Are 90% child, 10% toy. It is the child moving and thinking and creating, and not the toy.

- Encourage bonding time with parents and playmates

- Promote social skills"

Sherrie assures parents that the toys they'll find at the Discovery Depot are all safe, developmentally appropriate, educational toys that have lots of play value, not just passing fads.

"We also believe children should play together so our toys lend themselves to sharing and promote social skills and language skills," she says.

More than just a shopping site, Discovery Depot is also a hub for parents to share the delights, foibles and aspirations of parenting, which is why it has a special blog section.

You'll also find the widest range of Wonderworld, Safsof and Ambi Toys in the Philippine market -- which you can browse through in the comfort of your own home. To make things easier for you, you can shop by age or by price.

So if you’re looking for 'good toys' for your kids, do check out Discovery Depot!

KaHone: Bringing the joy of arts and crafts into your home

I first heard of KaHone when I was scrolling randomly through my Facebook News Feed last year. It seemed like a great idea -- a monthly activity box subscription for kids ages 3-5, where subscribers receive a box with a different theme each month, together with all the materials and instructions needed for three arts and crafts activities.

The mom behind KaHone is actually a fellow homeschooling mom, Lani Venturina-Chavez. She set up KaHone with her sisters Sara, Farrah, and Karla. 

Lani says she started KaHone because she would think of all sorts of activities, like arts and crafts, that her kids could do to supplement their lessons, and figured, she might as well share her projects with other moms as well.

I actually received a box for review last year, but because I was so preoccupied with caring for our youngest, who was still a baby at the time, plus work, household chores and homeschooling our two other kids, it took quite some time before I was able to try out the KaHone activities with the kids.

We got the "Grow a Plant" themed box, so I chose books for our lessons that week which were focused on gardening and planting, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit. I found it very convenient that everything you need for all the activities are already in the box -- no need to look around our cluttered apartment for materials!

Sadly, when I tried to transfer the photos I took of the kids using the KaHone materials, the files got corrupted somehow, so I won’t be able to share our photos here. Fortunately, my friends from The Learning Basket were also able to review KaHone, so I asked if I could use their photos.

Here's what was inside the KaHone 'Grow Me a Plant' box:

And here's a photo of them planting a seed in a cup:

Even if you're not homeschoolers, you'll surely appreciate the fun activities that you can do with your kids using KaHone. It’s perfect for busy parents who may not have the time to search for ideas for activities they can do with their kids, plus put together all the materials they’ll need.

You can even bring your KaHone box with you wherever you go -- like a family field trip to Pico de Loro, maybe? (Come to think of it, why didn’t I think of that before?)

Alternatively, if you already have basic craft materials at home and don't need additional scissors, glue or tape, you can choose to avail of KaHone Lite, which includes only the projects.

Here’s a little bit more information about KaHone, taken from their website:

Caption: Image from the Kahone website

Unlike the art boxes available at toy stores, KAHONE is delivered to your doorstep monthly -- a convenient way of creating cherished bonding sessions between parent and child by containing all the materials and instructions for 3-4 themed projects all in one box.

One KaHone can be as low as Php 533.34/ month even without any additional promo codes (and they usually give out surprise promo codes for selected boxes, as well as to their social media partners)!

KaHone is on demand! Unlike other subscription service wherein you have to wait for the next month’s delivery schedule, the customer gets their first box 24-48 hours after payment confirmation (as long as the box is not sold out!). The KaHone team produces additional boxes every month to cater for such requests.”8

For more on KaHone, email KaHone.art@gmail.com, follow KaHone on Facebook, and follow@kahone_art on  Instagram.

GPG Bulilit Bookstore: Your go-to site for educational resources and more!

I met Ging Goco online because she had tagged one of my friends on Facebook. She was selling Bible board books, among other things, and I found the prices that she offered quite reasonable.

Ging and I went on to become friends offline too, and I even helped her sell books at an event. (I have since realized, though, that selling things at events and bazaars is not one of my 'core gifts'!)

Over the years, Ging has developed her bookstore, mostly selling a wide range of educational books and other resources online -- on Facebook and eBay.

One of the newer resources available on Ging’s site is The New Comprehensive English-Filipino Dictionary With Built-In Thesaurus. Hardbound and made up of 1168 pages, the book is designed to awaken and develop one’s latent and natural speaking ability, particularly in Filipino. 

Ging graciously lent me a copy of the dictionary to look through and all I can say is that it is very complete and organized, both for for local and international readers. It is a big letter edition, so it’s easier to read through.

It’s also nice that the dictionary comes with special supplements, namely:

  Dialects in the Philippines

   National Parks in the Philippines

  Distances in km. from Rizal Park (Manila) to any point in Luzon

  Influential Thinkers of the 19^th Century

  Countries of the World and their Capitals

  Geometry/ Unit Systems/ Conversion Formula/ Numbers and Prefixes

  Mathematical Symbols and Operations

  Panitikan “Philippine Literature”

  Flags of the World and other organizations

  Old and New Map of the Philippines

  Bibliographies

Admittedly, it’s not exactly a 'fun' book to read, but it is definitely educational! If you’re looking for an English-Filipino dictionary, I would definitely recommend it.

For more information about the dictionary and other books available at GPG Bulilit Bookstore, you may email Ging at gpgbulilitbookstore@yahoo.com, or send an SMS to 0915-5729859.

Do you have other suggestions for mom-recommended educational finds? Let me know by sending me a Tweet @tinasrodriguez!