Copyright ©2016

Published and printed by Center for Art,

Copyright ©2016
New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS)
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and the Bencab by Center
Foundation Inc. for Art,
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and the Bencab
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Book
Emailand layout design by Daniel Palma Tayona
[email protected]
Graphics provided by Kevin Candelaria and Bryle Flores
Additional photographs
Book and layout design byprovided by Sidney
Daniel Palma Snoeck for Project Pearls
Tayona
Edited
Graphicsby provided
Annette A. byFerrer
Kevin Candelaria and Bryle Flores
Reading
AdditionalLessons, front cover
photographs artwork
provided by Sidney Snoeck for Project Pearls
Special
Edited bythanks to Yuchengco
Annette A. Ferrer Museum, Wig Tysman... others involved in this project?
Reading Lessons, front cover artwork
Special thanks to Yuchengco Museum, Wig Tysman... others involved in this project?

Recommended entry:

Desamparado-Foronda,
Recommended entry: Karen Joy
Bencab’s Activity Book for Children: Imagine, Play, Color, Learn / written
by Victor Fernando R. Ocampo.
Desamparado-Foronda, Karen Joy
— ManilaActivity
Bencab’s : CANVAS; c2016.,
Book for 52 pp. Imagine, Play, Color, Learn / written
Children:
by Victor Fernando R. Ocampo.
ISBN
— Manilanumber: xxxxxxxxxx
: CANVAS; (softcover)
c2016., 52 pp.
ISBN number: 978-971-9689-04-1
1. Activity
ISBN book, (English)
number: xxxxxxxxxx (softcover)
I. Desamparado-Foronda, Karen Joy
1. Activity book, (English)
I. Desamparado-Foronda, Karen Joy
BenCab (Born 1942 in Manila,
Philippines)
Ben Cabrera or BenCab is an icon in
the Philippine artworld. In 2006, he was
proclaimed National Artist for the Visual
Arts. He is acclaimed for his draftsmanship
(or skilled drawing), and he uses his art to
tell stories about everyday people. BenCab
was also one of the first artists in the ‘70s to
focus on issues that affected society and the
country, and in this manner, he was able to
shine a light on various aspects of how it is
and what it means to be Filipino.

BenCab lived in London for 13 years. Being away from his country made
him even more keenly aware of his cultural roots and the realities of life back
home. He came back to the Philippines in 1985.

His works have been the subject of four books, Ben Cabrera: Etchings 1970-
1980; BenCab’s Rock Sessions; BenCab Nude Drawings; and the definitive book on
his life’s work, BENCAB.

He established the BenCab Museum in 2009, in his mountain home of

Baguio. The Museum now houses his personal collection of tribal art from
the Cordillera highlands, as well as contemporary Philippine art. In that same
year, BenCab was awarded a doctorate in Humanities, honoris causa, by his
alma mater – the University of the Philippines.

2015 marked BenCab’s golden year as a professional artist. A yearlong

celebration – BenCab 50 Creative Years – was highlighted by retrospective
exhibitions in eight museums and an original musical theater production
based on Sabel, his iconic muse and the subject of many of his artworks.
MONSOON
“These are my experiences in Baguio. Sometimes, there is rain.
Sometimes, there are earthquakes. We have the monsoons, including
Habagat and Amihan that refer to the winds.”
TYPHOON SEASON
“Strong typhoons like Yolanda (Haiyan) can be destructive.
We should always be prepared for disasters and
help each other when they strike.”
Have you ever been stuck or caught in heavy
rain? Draw your experience in the box below.
2. Look closely at the faces of the
people in the painting. What can
you say about the emotions they
are showing?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

3. Have you ever experienced

getting caught or stuck in heavy
rain? How did you feel then?
_________________________________
HT”
R FLIG _________________________________
“LAHA
_________________________________
Study the painting _________________________________
by answering
these questions. 4. In your opinion, how are
Filipinos illustrated in this
1. What do you see painting? What does it say about
in the painting? What kind of our ways of adapting to this kind
weather does it show? How is this of weather? Do you like the rain? Do you like puddles? What
represented in the painting? _________________________________ do you feel during a rainy day? Write a short poem
_________________________________ _________________________________ about the rain. Start each line with a letter from the
_________________________________ _________________________________ word rain.
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
R _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
A _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
I _____________________________________________
During a rainy day, bring out a drawing paper and a set _____________________________________________
of any available paints. Listen to the sound of the rain N _____________________________________________
and paint to it. When you are finished, write a short _____________________________________________
paragraph or a poem about what you felt while working
on this activity.
2. How are people affected by
floods? How do people cope after
being affected by floods?
_________________________________
_________________________________ What are the causes
_________________________________ of flooding in the
_________________________________ Philippines?
Look at the pictures
3. Why do some areas in the below. Label the
Philippines get flooded? What can pictures correctly.
be done to prevent this?
• Littering
_________________________________
N SEASON” _________________________________ • Illegal Logging
“MONSOO
_________________________________ • Heavy Rain
Study the painting by answering _________________________________
• Clogged Waterways
the following questions.
4. What things should be done
1. What do you see in the painting? to be safe from and prepared for How do floods affect
_________________________________ floods? people? Draw your
_________________________________ _________________________________ answers in each box
_________________________________ _________________________________ below. Label your work.
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________

Have you ever experienced a flood? List down two things that you can
Tell your story by making a comic strip about it. do to prevent floods.
1.
2.

List down three things that you

can do to prepare for floods.

1.
2.
3.
KKK
“This is the flag of the Katipunan which Bonifacio founded.
KKK stands for Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng
mga Anak ng Bayan or the Supreme and Most Honorable Society of the
Children of the Nation. Their group, composed of men and women, led
our armed revolution against Spain.”
revolucionarios. I composed it from old photos and wanted the artwork
HEROES OF THE PAST to be able to look at the people, the audience. To me, it is a strong image
of confronting our heroes and what they did to defend our country. But
“I was able to get a large handmade paper from Kathmandu, Nepal there are no big personalities here like Aguinaldo. These are ordinary
and it was 5 feet tall by 10 feet long. I decided to do portraits of the fighters, not the usual heroes.”
Study the painting in _________________________________ Ten Important Traits of a HERO:
the previous page and _________________________________
answer the questions. _________________________________ 1. 6.
_________________________________ 2. 7.
1. What do you see in
3. 8.
the painting? 4. In your own words, what is
_________________________________ a hero? 4. 9.
_________________________________ _________________________________ 5. 10.
_________________________________
2. Who are the people included _________________________________
Make a picture collage of ordinary people who you
in the painting? Are any of _________________________________
think should be regarded as heroes. Cut out pictures of
them familiar to you? Are they
people from newspapers and magazines and paste them
significant? Why or why not? 5. If you were to make a painting
in the box below.
_________________________________ of the different heroes of the past,
_________________________________ who would you include in it? Why? Write a short paragraph about your collage on the next
_________________________________ _________________________________ page. Talk about their qualities and contributions and
_________________________________ your reasons for considering them as heroes of today.
3. Why was this entitled Heroes _________________________________
of the Past? What is the artist _________________________________
trying to show?

Find and circle the words that you think best describe a
hero. Choose ten important traits and write them down
on the blanks on the next page.
G B J C R E A T I V E V E I R
D E C I S I V E S H I N Q N I
C R I G H T E O U S U W Q S C
M O S T R O N G O N G M U P H
D K M T E N A C I O U S B I T
H Y P P O W E R F U L S C R I
O R A R A W B R A V E E L I E
N I D O L S L X I S P L E N W
E R N U G I S T R A J F V G I
S K F D Y L J I S U O L E M S
T I A G R L A U O F I E R C E
A N M S H Y W J S N R S T G N
Z D O P A T I E N T A S J O T
B C U M L G A L L A N T S O E
R I S H D E T E R M I N E D V
TITLE:

HOW Can yOu bECOmE a HERO?

Draw the things that you can do to become a hero in
the box on the next page. Write a short description
about it below.
A WALK BY THE SEA
This woman waits by the sea, waiting for her fisherman husband
to come back home. Did he catch anything? How much did he catch?
Will today be a good day for the fisherman and his wife?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

2. Describe the subject of the

painting by talking about her
physical appearance, clothing,
accessories, and the demeanor she
shows. What do these tell us about
women from the past? How are
these similar to women at present?
How is she different from women
that you see now?
_________________________________
FAN” _________________________________
“WOMAN WITH
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Study the painting by
answering the following 3. Which of these types of women
questions. do you prefer? Why?
_________________________________
1. What is the subject of the _________________________________
painting? From which period in _________________________________
Philippine history did she come _________________________________
from? _________________________________

Make a dress-up doll of a woman on the next pages. Choose

among the clothes available. Would you like it to be someone
from the past? Or someone from the present?
InSTRuCTIOnS FOR THE PaPER DOLL
Carefully cut out the dress and doll templates*. Cut on the outside of
the black line. Choose the dress and the hairsytle that you would like your
doll to wear. Fold the shoulder tabs on the dotted lines, and hang your
dress on the doll. Lastly, fold the doll base on the dotted lines so she can *Cut the images along the dotted lines
stand upright. Feel free to mix and match.
WOmEn THEn anD nOW
How different are women now from women then? Talk
about these differences by writing as many descriptive
words as you can for each type.

WOmEn THEn WOmEn nOW

WHaT WOmEn OF TODay SHOuLD bE LIKE?

Who should serve as a role model to all women? What
should women of today be like? Cut out pictures of women
from newspapers or magazines who you think women of today
should look up to. Write a short paragraph explaining your choices.
WAITING FOR RELIEF
“People affected by an earthquake line up for food relief.
Non-government organizations and volunteers help to
distribute these to those who are waiting.”
Make a concept map about a family. Write
down what it is, what its importance is,
and how it contributes to the community.
What is a FamILy?

What is the importance How does the family contribute

of a family? to the community?

“FAMILY”
“REFUGEES”

Study the painting by answering _________________________________

the following questions. _________________________________
_________________________________ Make your own family portrait. Draw two identical
1. What do you see in these _________________________________ portraits in the small boxes below. Color the first big
paintings? What do the images box red. Color the second big box black. Answer the
show? 3. What is a family? What is the question that follows.
_________________________________ importance of having a family?
_________________________________ What do families do for each
_________________________________ other?
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________
2. What colors were used in the _________________________________
first painting? How about in the _________________________________
second? How do these colors help
in showing what Filipino families 4. Do you love your family? How do Family Portrait A Family Portrait B
are like? you show your love to them?
_________________________________ _________________________________ Which of these portraits do you think show a happier mood? Why?
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
This is your family tree. You can paste photos of Look at the different scenarios presented below.
your family members or draw them in each leaf How can you show your love to your family when
and write their names below. they are in these kinds of situations?

Scenario 1

Scenario 3

2 Scenario

Use finger puppets in telling your story. Using the template

below, decorate the puppets using your different art
(Cut the leaves above and paste materials. Cut them out and stick them on a cardboard.
each on the tree on the left.) Loop the strap around your finger and glue the two ends
together. Put one puppet on each finger (like in the picture
below) and you have family finger puppets to play with!

Draw or
write the Cut along the
different ways of dotted line. Use this
showing love to your pattern to make
family. Do these in each other puppets.
puzzle piece. Turn the
paper over and cut along
the lines. Put the puzzle
Glue this tab
pieces together with your
family members.
AMERICA IS IN THE HEART
“While reading the book by Carlos Bulosan in San Francisco, I was inspired
to do a painting based on our first Filipino migrant workers in the United
States. I also depicted in the painting racial discrimination — or how people
are treated differently because of how they look — at that time.”
REUNION
“The painting depicts the anxiety of Filipinos working in Iraq
during the invasion of the US and coalition members.
They, too, are affected by war.”
Complete the family reunion comic strip. Think
Study the _________________________________ about what typically goes on in it and what topics
painting in the _________________________________ are usually talked about. Show how unique Filipino
previous page by family reunions are by making dialogues and writing
answering the 3. What does the painting show them in the dialogue bubbles.
following questions. about Filipino families who get
reunited with their loved ones?
1. What do you see in the _________________________________
painting? What is happening in it? _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________ 4. Have you ever experienced
being reunited with a family
2. What is the emotion shown in member? Describe the feeling.
this artwork? What made you say _________________________________
this? _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________

answer the questions below:

2. Are reunions important?
1. Have you been in this kind of Why or Why not?
reunion before? What is your most
unforgettable experience in a
family reunion?

Mother and Father

who both have been
working abroad
are now back in the
Philippines. Help Who among your family members or relatives
them get reunited would you like to get reunited with? Why? On a
with their children. separate sheet of paper, write him/her a simple
letter expressing how much he or she is missed and
why he or she is missed. Also include other important
stories that you wish to share with him or her.
MANGGAGAWA
“Here are hardworking construction workers on a break.
I wanted to show the dignity of labor.”
2. Look closely at the arm of the What do farmers do?
man. What can you say about this? How are they important to the community?
Why do you think his arm was
illustrated this way?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

3. What are farmers? How do they

help the community? How does a farmer’s hand look like?
_________________________________ Answer this question by making a simple illustration
_________________________________ of a farmer’s hand in the box.
“WORKER RESTING”
_________________________________
Study the painting by answering _________________________________
the following questions.
4. Is it important to help and
1. What do you see in the painting? support our local farmers? What
What is the man doing? are the different ways that we can
_________________________________ help them?
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________
_________________________________ _________________________________

Can you spot 7 things that are different in these 2 pictures?

Cross them out. Answer the questions on the next page.

Write 2 to 3 sentences below to talk about your drawing.

2. What can you say about the
colors used in this painting? How
do the colors contribute to its
mood?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

3. From the image shown, what

“SCAVENGERS”
can you say about the life of the
Look at the painting.
Study the painting by answering scavengers? What are the different
What does this tell us
the following questions. ways by which you can help them?
about our Filipino urban
_________________________________
workers? Share your
1. Who are the people you see in _________________________________
insights about this image
the painting? What do they do? _________________________________
by writing an essay on
_________________________________ _________________________________
the space provided below.
_________________________________ _________________________________
“URBAN LIFE”

Below is the list of items that you will need to look for
and color in our pile of garbage. Read the clues very
well to help you color the pictures.

Scavenger
Hunt List:
a green glass jar,
a silver screw, two
aluminum cans,
boxes, a pile of white
papers, yellow and
black plastic bottles,
metal bars, a pile of
newspapers, a wheel,
metal scraps
POSTER FOR GaRbaGE SCaVEnGERS. THERE IS CaSH FROm TRaSH
Look at the pictures below. What do these pictures They say that one man’s trash is another
show? How do you feel about them? In what ways man’s treasure. This holds true especially for
can they be helped? garbage scavengers who collect glass and
Answer these questions by making a slogan plastic bottles, newspapers, aluminum cans
and colorful poster about these young garbage and scraps of metal from dumpsters and
scavengers. Draw the ideas for your poster in garbage piles in exchange of money.
the space provided below. Did you know that you can earn money out of trash
too? Think of different ways by which you can do this and write
them down below.

© Sidney Snoeck
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