Taken During the Philippine Homeschool Conference 2016 in Manila. October 2016.
While everyone is back to school, we are still ending ours. Yup, we started our first homeschool year late. We started in November 2017 to be exact. Since it’s our first year, we are given an extension to help us adjust. Instead of 10 months, we are given a year to finish.
Materials Used During the Parent Orientation at School of Tomorrow. November 2016.
Honestly, we still have a lot to finish. The kids are not the only one adjusting, but also me. Though I am a licensed teacher, having your own children as your students have unexpected moments. There are factors that you need to consider especially you are family and my children have been to a traditional school already. They have their own expectations of what happens during a homeschool session and I have mine as well.
Bella, My Grade 1 Student.
Johann, My Grade 7 Student.
Is homeschooling hard? Yes, it is. Especially you are still starting out. Adjusting is very hard for me. You also need to have self-control. Just like when working from home, it is really easy to be lazy if you don’t focus and set your eyes on your goal. And since homeschooling in our city is still young, we don’t have support groups or playdates to attend to. I personally research activities for physical education and art class.
Doing Some Paper Mache for Art Class.
Do I regret it? NO! I don’t regret homeschooling my kids. It is hard, yes, but definitely worth it. Homeschooling is like a higher parenting level. You don’t just assist them in their academic learning, but you teach them about life. Homeschooling provided me the opportunity to become an intentional parent. Assisting them in learning what is required of them and at the same time teaching them life skills that they needed to face the real world.
Homeschooling is a learning process for me too. They are not the only ones learning. Aside from rediscovering a lot of things, I get to understand my children and how they process what they learned. I get to answer their curiosities since they are no longer afraid to be judged or labeled by classmates. Even our dinner discussion goes a long way, from farming, aquaponics, history, politics, science, and even about a zombie apocalypse. Our home has become a haven for free discussion.
Until when are you planning to homeschool your kids? I am planning to homeschool my two youngest children until Grade 10 or until they want to be reintroduced to traditional schooling. So far, they enjoyed being homeschooled.
This year, we are traveling to Manila together with my eldest to attend the Philippine Homeschool Conference 2017. This will also serve as our field trip as we are planning to visit museums and some tourist attractions during our stay. Of course, traveling is one of the perks of homeschooling. No one will be absent. Take the school and the teacher with you!