Museo Pambata Part 4: Exposing Kids To Entrepreneurship

I am embarrassed to say this but I haven't brought Narra to a market yet. She's only been to groceries and her idea of food acquisition involves riding a shopping cart. The Museo Pambata's exhibit entitled Pamilihang Bayan or the Marketplace recreates usual neighborhood shops where children can pretend to buy and sell all sorts of produce. At first I pretended to sell to Narra, haha - I gave in to the dramatic impulse to act a little: "Bili-bili na kayo diyan!"..."Ano ho ang sa inyo?" Narra was happy to pretend to be interested in buying a carrot. Later, Narra had her turn selling stuff and she was just enthralled with the trusty old timbangan (weighing scale).

Sigh, so much has changed even in the tiny landscape of our home kitchens. I grew up in a home where a timbangan (weighing scale), and kudkuran (coconut grater), are common everyday fixtures. Now, my daughter's first experience of a weighing scale had to be at a museum! After our visit to Museo Pambata, I vowed to expose Narra more to street life. I made Narra buy turon from a manang, and she was thrilled to perform the dialogue sequence I taught her: 

"pabili po ng turon" (may I buy turon), 

"ilan" said manang (how many?), 

"anim po" (six please) said Narra, following my instructions; 

"apat na lang ang meron" (there's just four left) said manang.

"sige, bayad po" (It's ok. Here's my payment) said Narra.

Oh gosh, I was such a proud Mama. Narra is 2 and a half years old, and she was transacting with a complete stranger unfazed and she understood what was going on. Narra returned to me feeling very bothered, "Mama apat lang!" (Mama there's only four!) Oh she was so fretful for not getting her mission accomplished of buying six pieces of turon. I was very thrilled though, to see Narra beginning to understand the concepts of counting and the more complex notion of money as a mode of exchange for goods and services!

One service kids could pretend to perform is that of a barber's. There was a colorful pretend barber shop with a real barbero's chair. Our tour companions, our driver Michael and his son Basti, looked cute pretending to be in the middle of  a haircut session. The thing is, both Mike and Basti do go to a barber shop regularly to get a trim, and yet they still found the re-creation of a barbershop fun and entertaining. That's the cool thing about Museo Pambata's exhibit, it makes us more aware of what we see everyday, in order to appreciate in a different light - as vibrant manifestations of our country's entrepreneural vigor.

When I saw the sapatero (shoe repair shop), I felt a bit nostalgic. It seems to me that for our kids these days, shoes have become so accessible as there are now many options that are affordable, that shoes are just replaced rather than repaired when there are problems. There are exhibits that make me feel as though I am introducing my child to the continuing past - to things in her present that she does not know much about because those aspects of Philippine life that were once so common, are becoming less so. This is why this afternoon at the children's museum is such a worthwhile activity.

Related Posts:

Museo Pambata Part 1: Introducing Kids to Philippine Architecture
http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/11/museo-pambata-part-1-introducing-kids.html

Museo Pambata Part 2: Encouraging Kids to be Writers and Artists
http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/11/museo-pambata-encouraging-kids-to-be.html

Museo Pambata Part 3: Introducing Kids to Theater, Dance, and Music
http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/11/museo-pambata-part-3-introducing-kids.html

Museo Pambata Part 5: Instilling Environmental Awareness Early On

http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/11/museo-pambata-part-5-instilling.html

Narra's Star on Museo Pambata's Christmas Tree

http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/11/narras-star-on-museo-pambatas-christmas.html