THE KRAMERS say spending time with their children is never a sacrifice.
Behind the laughter, the smiles and funny antics of #Kendrasuperstar, #Scarlettdoll and #Gavincredible in videos and photographs are loving parents who are always around to capture special moments.
Basketball star Doug Kramer and wife actor-TV host Cheska Garcia-Kramer turn ordinary activities such as reading the Bible, singing Katy Perry songs, doing schoolwork and art projects or playing bahay-bahayan with their children into Instagram moments and Facebook hits.
Gaining over 1.2 million likes on Facebook in less than a year, the family, popularly known as “Team Kramer,” has become a social media sensation. Their children Clair Kendra, 4; Scarlett Louvelle, 2, and Gavin Phoenix, 1, are the main stars of the social media posts.
Team Kramer has now crossed over to mainstream entertainment with numerous television appearances, commercials and billboards along Edsa.
But the parents stress that school comes first, before show business.
“Education should be a priority … above work and above a lot of things,” Doug says. “When all is gone, what you’ll have left is your education.”
Believing in the importance of education, Doug and Cheska support Domuschola International School (DIS) because of its parent-teacher partnership approach and international standards.
“That (partnership) is very important because they do not disregard the parents,” says Cheska. “In fact, they urge parents to be part of their kid’s life and everything they do, like school projects and assignments.”
Doug says DIS promotes a healthy relationship between school and parents.
Domuschola comes from the Latin words domus, which means home, and schola or school.
Jennifer Mapua-Banal, DIS director, says the school, a second home to its students, works hand in hand with parents and the primary teachers in raising the “21st century learner.”
Parents get workshops on parenting and program guides in supporting their children at home.
Banal says, “Parents have to be educated, as well, in the kind of programs we have for their children. [This is to align] practices in the home and school so there is no conflict … in the style of teaching the children.”
DIS adheres to the International Baccalaureate primary years program, an international curriculum designed for children ages 3 to 12.
For parents to understand the program, teachers or “second moms and dads” brief them on the inquiry-based approach to learning, Mathematics in the inquiry approach, literacy and the role of assessment in the entire learning process.
Doing their own research
Teaching through the inquiry-based approach requires pupils to investigate or research a topic instead of memorizing concepts discussed by teachers.
Concepts and ideas become more concrete when kids use their five senses, Banal says.
Children understand better when “they can see it happening, hear it and smell it” and learn more by going to places and meeting people, she adds.
As part of the collaboration, parents share their experiences and expertise in class. In discussing the life cycle, for instance, parents and even grandparents are invited to talk about the topic, Banal says.
“Parents are always invited to share. At home, they should continue discussing what is being taken up in school,” she says.
The success of the educational approach requires parents not only to be involved in school activities but also to become good examples to their children.
Among the parenting workshops is how to read to children. For children to love reading, it must be “a habit that the family should imbibe,” Banal explains.
Children copy their parents, she says. “It’s imperative that if you want to teach your children to love reading, as parents you have to love reading as well.
“There should be a common time for reading as a family. It’s about role-modeling,” she adds.
Doug says the educational approach at DIS helps parents maintain a healthy relationship with their kids.
“It encourages you to be with your kids after school to teach them,” he says.
For the Kramers, family time is important.
“Your children should never feel that you are too busy for them,” Cheska says.
“Even if I am working, at the end of the day my priority is my children. I accept work but [my schedule is] limited to a few hours,” she adds.
Doug says spending time with their children is not a sacrifice but something that they look forward to every day.