WANTED: Pinoy klasiks

It is another schoolyear and I'm trying to re-invent the learning wheel on Filipino. After graduating from the Adarna and Lampara series eons ago, there seems to be nothing left for an 8-year old to appreciate on her own (although she reads to her brother and this is good practice/appreciation..).

Nasaan kaya mahahanap ang mala-"chronicles of Narnia"? Meron lang Philippine Ghost Stories.. maganda sana ang pagkakasulat, pero ang tema'y alanganin...

Nais ko na sanang mangahas magsulat para sa mga bata, pero tungkol saan? Sana'y puedeng magdaos ng "Writers' Workshop" na ang magiging mga produkto ay babasahing Pinoy para sa mga 8-anyos pataas...

WANTED: Pinoy klasiks

soft opening MRF art studio-science lab-engineer's workshop

finally cleaned and set up the MRF* art studio/science lab/engineer's workshop for 2010.

the big girl wants her own chem lab, the little boy wants his own workshop, and I just want my space for my "junk art".

the children were excited to have the working table there, and put on display the anatomy models that we have been making from our materials resources (aka as "basura" pre-RA 9003/Ecological Solid Waste Management days..)

i'm excited too to complete the glasswares etc. for actual chemistry experiments.... still on the look out for a second hand microscope.

we've been open house and fullhouse again (yesterday the "student count" was 7 regulars) for the past week since getting back 2 weeks ago from the long holidays out-of-town.

this just feels so right.. homeschooling becoming "public"...
on our 7th year of homeschooling and going... i'm thanking the universe and all homeschooling families for this endeavor...

like my homeschooling conference shirt says: there is no school like home. ;p

I am learning that...

patience is an act of kindness and charity..

your child's speech is a carbon copy of your own..

hugs and kisses are the best vitamins..

gratitude can be found in the eyes of a child..

joy is unlocked in the morning embrace of your child..

children love totally and unconditionally..

God gave us our children so that we may feel His presence in our lives.

Homeschooling to the Next Level

So we've tried getting a homeschooling provider (and we're done with that for this year, me thinks). for practical and pedagogical reasons..

now, this "independent" homeschooler is on the lookout for designed curriculum/materials for guidance in crafting a Maya-based curriculum.

She is now Grade 3 (and 4, and 5 depending on the "subject matter"... her little brother just turned 4 and is asking me questions that I was hoping to answer when he reaches high school..)

feeling the challenges of homeschooling knocking on my door these days...

Question for the nth time

"WHY DO YOU HOMESCHOOL?"

(coupled with incredulous voice at 7 AM this morning, over long distance, from a well-meaning friend.)

There are days when you are challenged to answer the question (for the 1,000,000,000th time.) days when you just want to write it down in a primer, or in a book perhaps like "Why homeschool" for Dummies...

My vision: a day will come when the question becomes, "Why are you sending your child to an outside school?"

(coupled with incredulous voice that is meant to make you think twice whether you are doing the right thing by your child.)

Homeschooling is life learning: A typical day at home

Below is an excerpt from my letter to a newfound friend/co-parent in homeschooling. This is my answer to her question of what a typical day in homeschooling is.



Basically, I stumbled on "homeschooling" as
> naturally as breastfeeding. Maya, at 1 year old could talk
> in phrases already, and was very musically-inclined, so we
> would go through nursery songs (videoke) and other songs,
> and before we knew it, at 1 1/2 she knew all the songs by
> heart (including the National Anthem, French songs from a
> tape given by a Canadian family friend, Kapampangan...) In
> other words, she is gifted, and I just took to
> her rhythm and interests.
>
> A typical homeschooling day in her pre-school years was
> exactly like a typical day in the life of a toddler. Waking
> up, going to the garden, watering the flowers (and saying,
> good moring, red gumamela, good morning yellow sunflower),
> walking around the village, going to the playground and
> staying on the swing (again, singing "sinong gumawa ng
> mga ibon, na lumililipad.. Dyos na nasa langit.. sinong
> gumawa ng mga puno, pusa na nagngingiyaw, aso na
> kumakahol... etc..). It became natural for her to recognize
> animal sounds, colors, shapes from these usual activities.
> Reading became natural from the videoke sessions and also
> because of our bedtime storytelling and even during the day
> when she would just pick a favorite book and go through the
> pictures.
>
> Bath times were also learning experiences as she played
> with the water, and found about what floats, and what
> doesn't, the movement of water as liquid and other
> things that are not.. just letting her play in the bathtub
> basically. And during our infant massages, she learned
> about body parts.
>
> Now that she's six (6) and of the "schooling
> age", my husband is actually insisting that we enroll
> her in a Dep-accredited program. Unschooling is not
> accredited by DepEd, that is why I'm searching for a
> Dep-accredited program that will credit my unschooling
> method. (Read in a blog about Victory Christian
> Fellowship...)
>
> So a typical homeschooling day with Maya now, is a typical
> day in the life of a 6-year old.
> She wakes up, goes to the garden and feeds our pet chicken
> then the dog. Then she explores the garden, finds insects
> to her interests (she would put them in a bottle
> temporarily so we could search on the internet about the
> names, feeding behaviour, etc.. answers to her questions..
> then she would set the insect free..), and just observes.
> She would climb a tree, (even on early evenings, and
> observe the fruit bats in the mango tree of our neighbor.)
> She waters the plants (and again makes more observations,
> asks more questions). Then we would go in for our morning
> praise, she opens the Bible and reads. and we reflect and
> share on it, say our good morning then go for breakfast.
> she helps set the table. She says grace before and after
> meals.
>
> Mealtimes are the best "homeschooling" times,
> because of the "free-for-all" conversations. The
> only "structure" during mealtimes is, speaking in
> English. Since Filipino is their first language. We do have
> usual topics during mealtimes, Maya and her brother
> challenge each other in identifying which one on the table
> is a go/grow/glow food.. which vitamin gives what, etc..
>
> After breakfast, she again helps in putting away the
> dishes, then brushes her teeth by herself. She prepares her
> clothes for our bath time (together with our 3 year old
> son). Bath times are her favorite because she and
> her brother get to play with water in the tub (they have
> cups, rubber toys). Bathtime conversations are also unique
> as well, as the questions are more candid and personal. One
> time we were even able to talk about why it's not
> healthy to touch one's private parts. Her brother
> innocently said that when he rubs his penis, it becomes
> hard (He has a face towel that he uses to scrub himself.)
>
> After bath time, the two of them play, with me in the
> background (as I do my laundry, or go about the kitchen to
> prepare merienda and snacks.) She likes reading stories to
> him and me. Just this morning, she read a record of 7
> stories within the hour. (usually the Adarna collection,
> Tutubi Patrol, and Disney stories like Bambi.). They also
> play with her dollhouse and lego blocks, or sing nursery
> rhymes on videoke.
>
> After lunch, while her brother is on siesta, we have
> exclusive time together, usually two hours before our home
> becomes an open house (the neighborhood kids come over.)
> Maya would always have ideas of what to do, one time she
> was on a painting mode, so everyday we would be painting..
> This summer, we've made our homeschooling a workshop
> mode. So I've been teaching her a declamation piece
> that she could perform when her father arrives from a month
> long out-of-town trip.
>
> when her friends come over, she would play with them
> (hide-and-seek etc..). This afternoon, since it rained, we
> had a jamming session. i played the guitar, they sang, some
> banged on the toy drums and other instruments.
>
> Then it's angelus time, Maya recites the prayers. after
> that she sets the table again for dinner. After dinner, she
> brings the dishes to the sink, brushes her teeth, plays a
> little with her brother, then together they pick up their
> toys before we spongebath.
>
> after the spongebath, is the massage, then bedtime
> storytelling.
>
> this is the typical day, which varies only when we need to
> go to the grocery, or go to the organic market or run some
> errands (like bills payment.) That's when I take them
> to the park, then we visit the wildlife center across the
> park, before going to the market.
>
> Maya enjoys the bills payment, because she holds the
> number, falls in line, gives the money and counts the
> change with me. She likes the grocery best as she has her
> own cart and reads from the list that she wrote down from
> my dictation.
>
> I think "unschooling" is basically
> "lifelearning", or learning from everyday living.
> Maya knows her currency because once in a while I would send
> her to an errand to the sari sari store, to buy milk. So she
> would count her money first, and doublecheck the change with
> me when she gets back. She knows her measurements and
> fractions, from the baking that we do before her friends
> come over. Division/multiplication becomes easy when it
> comes to food (slicing the bread equally for the number of
> children eating.). We do some measurements as well when we
> do "Mister Rogers" stuff (making crowns out of
> used newspapers, making parachutes, etc...).
>
> Since the language of a child is play, play becomes the
> best platform for learning.
>
> For David, I can describe what we do as
> "playschool", for Maya, it's
> "Lifeschool", since she's being given more
> responsibilities (like clearing her study table,
> organizing her closet, helping out at mealtimes, running
> mini-errands) and "freedoms" as well to pursue
> her interests in music, the arts, (she's enrolled in
> ballet class and we're looking for a vocal coach for
> her.), to explore the garden, climb trees, spend time with
> friends. She loves her collection of books
> (stories, Science/discovery books), and looks forward to
> our regular trips to the bookstore.
>
> Let me just say that we did try to enroll her in an
> 'outside school" last year, but that was a major
> "wrong mistake". We did not finish the
> schoolyear, Maya was practically begging me to go back to
> homeschool.

being homeschooled

Hit the panic button yesterday about being in "retirement" mode when my career has not even taken off (yet). yes, I do online work at night, yes I teach Saturdays at the university, but those aren't my exact plans and I do have plans that I have yet to work out still, around homeschooling. I was discussing with myself (over laundry), that I cannot operate on the "I'm 30 and I haven't... " because it is clear to me that the children's upbringing and homeschooling is my priority. My "career" necessarily has to take baby steps.

Then today, over lunch, Maya reads from the "Saint of the Day" (St. Anthony de Padua for early June), and she reads about how sometimes we have things planned but God has something better in store for us. (St. Anthony de Padua became sickly, and in his stay at the monastery, he found his gift for preaching/teaching Theology).

She pointedly asks me what my mission is. "motherhood, environment and community", I find myself replying. (there you go, "A-HA" moment.)

She thinks hers is caring for animals, as she's been able to train our dog, and lately her little brother's "pet" hen. She's also made a "pet" out of a baby snake once (which we have donated to an animal shelter for release in the wild..).

yup - you go around homeschooling acting as if you're the teacher... when in fact many times, you become homeschooled yourself.