We’ve recently jumped back to independent homeschooling after three years with PCSoT (Philippine Christian School of Tomorrow). I just want to make it clear that we liked PCSoT and had we been with them from the very beginning, we would, most likely, have stuck with them until the 10th grade. Unfortunately, our years of independent homeschooling prior to registering with PCSoT had its outcomes on our journey, and we had to take into consideration how our children were faring with the bulk of academic load and the pressure we were putting on their shoulders just to meet the required technicalities, […]
What is Interest-Led Homeschooling?
We recently talked about Interest-led homeschooling at the recently concluded OPHC 2020 and I thought I’d like to bring more clarity about this approach and share what a typical homeschool day is like for our family. Interest-led homeschooling, simply put, is capitalising on a child’s interests and using them as springboards to introduce and build on new concepts and foster in him the love and hunger for learning. For instance, among all of our three children, Pablo dislikes workbooks the most, and for years, it’s become an ultimate test of patience for me. Through the years, we’ve resorted to different means […]
MyHill-ALS helps find ways for Indie Homeschoolers
ALS or DepEd’s Alternative Learning System has been sort of a buzz in the homeschooling community for a while now, most particularly among independent homeschooling families. We could not determine whether it’s an option for our family or not because I’ve not found anyone who could actually explain what it is not until last Saturday, February 29, when I attended a seminar hosted by MyHill-ALS, a project initiative of Don Bosco Parish Makati, where the project proponent, Eliza Cornejo, opened our minds about ALS. To many of us, we think of ALS as just a short remedial program for the […]
Sending our Teen to High School at Abot Tala Self-Directed Centre
We’re at a crossroads with our eldest son Pablo’s education. On one hand, we had acknowledged his interests and educated him using unconventional methods; on another, we live in the Philippines where accreditation hover ever so heavily above you. To give you a brief recap on our homeschooling, we had been on an independent, interest-led homeschooling journey for many years, so when we decided to go back into the system, our children were only allowed to enrol at the grade level next to their last DepEd-accredited levels This poses a great challenge for our family, especially if we want to […]
PHC 2019: Homeschooling….For What Purpose?
I always look forward to the annual Philippine Homeschool Convention by Educating for Life team. I love listening to the speakers talk about their own experiences in homeschooling, and the methods and strategies they’ve used to accomplish their goals. And I always go home fired up and fueled, and ready to take on another year with my kids. This year, though, I was only able to siphon wisdom from the morning sessions because we couldn’t stay the whole day. We’ve been up to our necks with stuff the past few weeks and we badly needed to rest. Among the many […]