To Homeschool Or Not To Homeschool?

Image source here.

If you've been following this blog, you'd know that this newbie homeschool mom and her family are in a discernment process again: to homeschool or not to homeschool? You'd also probably know that I've already inquired at a few progressive schools, namely Brainworks, The Learning Tree and Cradle of Joy. I plan to inquire (again!) at Progressive Little Saints too. In my post here, I even listed down the reasons why I liked Brainworks.

The day after I inquired at Brainworks, we brought Tim to The Learning Tree Child Growth Center for an assessment. It went rather well, and I'm guessing I was more nervous than Tim at the time! The teacher was rather surprised that he still wrote his words with fairly large spaces in between letters (needless to say, writing is our waterloo when it comes to homeschooling! *sighs*) and suggested we let him play more with playdough and other things to improve his fine motor skills for writing.

To make a long story short, Tim finished the assessment and the teacher told me we could enroll him in the "Fives" section (he's turning six in October) if we were really interested, then he could take the exam for Grade 1 at the end of the coming school year (which starts in June 2012). Hubby and I are still praying about it though. (We also need to factor in the COST - homaygosshh, school is soooo expensive these days! Imagine, almost P70,000 for preschool! Me thinks our missionary salaries may not be enough to sustain this! LOL!)

Helping Your Child To Love Reading

*Note: This article is a re-post from Babycenter.com.ph. Remember, a love for LEARNING begins with a love for reading ;-) Take advantage of the long weekend (here in the Philippines) - spend some time reading books to your kids! ;-)

Image from weheartbooks.com

Helping your child to love reading

• Use books to bond
• Set up a ritual
• Choose appropriate books
• Repeat, repeat, repeat
• Ham it up
• Follow her interests
• Go to the library
• Turn on the tape
• Don't make books a reward
• Dealing with a wriggler
• Make storytelling a part of life
• Point out words everywhere
• Talk
• Demonstrate your own love of books

There are lots of fun ways to help your little one learn to love books and stories. And, surprisingly, not all of them involve sitting down with an actual book. 

Use books to bond 

It's not all about reading the words. At this age, it's more about enjoying the interaction with Mom or Dad. When your child sits in your lap as you read aloud, she doesn't just enjoy books, she also enjoys the security of your undivided attention. 

Set up a ritual 

A regular reading time establishes a calming routine young children love -- that's why the bedtime story is a time-honored tradition. But don't forget that many other daily events also provide good reading opportunities. Once in a while try establishing a new ritual with a breakfast story, a bathtime story, a just-home-from-nursery story or even an "on the potty" story. Some toddlers (and older children) who are heavy sleepers are much better able to face the day when their parents "read them awake" rather than hustle them out of bed. 

Choose appropriate books 

Toddlers love board books, bath books and pop-up books -- any type they can hold easily and manipulate themselves. They love stories accompanied by bright, clear realistic pictures. And, of course, they love rhymes. That's not to say your 2-year-old won't appreciate the stories her big brother chooses -- who knows, Harry Potter may end up being her favorite book! Just make sure she has access to simpler books as well. 

Catholic Lesson Plans for Preschoolers and Kindergartners

I am so amazed by the wonderful Catholic moms who take such time and effort into posting free stuff for other Catholic families to use! ;-) Aside from my favorite crafty Catholic mom Lacy's Catholic Icing blog, "Amazing Grace's" The Catholic Toolbox blog  is a great resource too!

Here are her lesson plans for PreK-K. :-) Hope this helps you! God bless you abundantly, and God bless moms like Lacy and Grace, who are such blessings to homeschoolers like me! ;-)

Lesson Plans: Pre K - K

I have made several Pre K - K lesson plans. Here is a list of the ones I have done so far. Each lesson plan consists of: Objectives, Word Wall, Bible Story with questions, Songs and/or Finger Plays, Activities, Crafts, Games, Snacks, Coloring/Puzzles, etc.

Your Preschooler: Learning To Read

I got this from Babycentre (the UK version, I didn't know there was a Filipino version at the time I was researching for good parenting websites while we were still based in Timor). I have been receiving regular e-mail updates from them ever since Tim was still a baby, and even now, with Tim at 4 years 10 months, I get useful information from their site. 


Here is an article on preschoolers and reading. :-) I am happy and proud to say that Tim can read simple 3 and 4 letter words now, mostly by sounding them out. (Thanks a lot to Starfall.com - check out my review about it, coming soon!) However, I realize that I need to focus more on the other aspects of teaching him how to read soon ;-) I must, must, must get into a daily routine! :-) Pray for me?!


How to help your preschooler learn to read

A few children learn to read at four. But the norm is for an interest to start at four and actual reading to begin at age five or even six or seven. Here's what you can do to help.

• About syntax
• About semantics
• About phonics

Learning to read requires the mastering of three basic skills: syntax, semantics and phonics.

• Syntax is the way words, phrases and clauses go together to create sentences and paragraphs. 
• Semantics is how words and sentences in a group relate to one another. 
• Phonics refers to the sounds letters make and the relationship between written and spoken words. 

As your preschooler learns to read, he will develop in all these areas. Most children, however, start understanding syntax and semantics before phonics. For example, he will learn that sentences in a book run from left to right before he understands what the letter combination “sh” sounds like. The best thing you can do to help your child grow in all three areas is to expose him to books and reading every day, whether by reading aloud at bedtime, going to story time at your local library or simply reading from the recipe as you make his dinner. 

About syntax 

A child who grasps syntax has an awareness of written language. Syntax skills begin with an understanding of the structure of a book and the words and sentences within it. For example, when your preschooler was a baby, he held books upside down, sucked on them or used them as a mat to sit on. As a toddler, he started to understand that a book has a front and a back, that words are read from left to right and that the book progresses page by page. Once your child grasps the structure of a book, he'll begin to understand what's inside: words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters. As your preschooler tackles new books, he'll start to get to grips with the stops, starts and pauses in a sentence and the purpose of punctuation. 

Here are some ways to develop syntax skills with your preschooler: 

• Read aloud books that rhyme. There are some great story books that rhyme, such as The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. Or try a book of nursery rhymes. 
• As you read, follow the words with your finger. This will show your preschooler how a sentence progresses, that a full stop represents a pause in the flow of the story and other relationships between written and spoken language. 
• Write a letter with your child. Emphasise the different parts of the letter: introduction, sentences, paragraphs, closing. 

About semantics 

Semantic skills include an ability to recognise and define words, to predict the plot of a story, understand the characters, to talk about the meaning of a whole paragraph or section of a book and to discuss a book as a whole after reading it. It also means being able to substitute words and differentiate words with similar meanings too. For example, “cup” and “mug”. 

Here are some ways to encourage semantic skills with early readers: 

• Read books that tell stories. Fairytales are great for this. 
• Talk about the book as you read it. Ask your child to predict the end of the story. 
• Keep the flow going. When your child starts learning to read aloud, don't stop mid-sentence to labour over a difficult word. If your child is stuck, say the word, explain the meaning, and then move on with the sentence. This encourages comprehension of the sentence and the rest of the story. Go back and review the word another time. 

About phonics 

Phonics is the mechanical part of the reading process. It includes being able to sound out words and recognise word families, such as “ph” words and “th” words. Being able to differentiate between words that look alike, such as “big” and “bag” is part of it too. As well as being able to distinguish words with different letters but similar sounds, such as “four” and “phone”. 

Here are some ways to encourage and develop phonics skills with early readers: 

• Go through rhyming books, nursery rhymes and songs with your child. With each rhyme, point out the words that look alike and discuss the difference in meaning. For example, how is “hat” different from “cat”? 
• Use alphabet books to discuss words that are the same and different in their beginning and end letter. 
• Write down the names of family members and friends, and sound out each name with your child. Group the names by first letter. 
• Get your child to read to you. When he comes across new or difficult words, pronounce and define them for him, and then let your child read the sentence again. Keep a mental note of any recurring problems. 
• Don't name letters, sound them. When you are teaching your child about letters, use the sound: "a" as in apple, "b" as in banana, "c" as in cat. 

Created October 2008 

Sponsored Link

Educating for Eternity

"Of course, our most important goal is to educate our children for eternity. How? By living and being what we want our children to be. We must be truthful, brave, forgiving, thoughtful, faithful, virtuous, self-disciplined, kind and cheerful if we want our children to be! Our Faith is caught, not taught... we can't give what we don't have. Overwhelming? Not when we remember that a baby learns to walk by falling! God measures our effort and appreciates every little thing we do for love of Him. He invites us to keep "walking" and grow more in love with Him each day."

- Introductory page, Educating for Eternity: Kindergarten, Catholic Heritage Curricula

This made me cry. I have been unkind, unforgiving, thoughtless, and angry a lot lately, especially to Tim. Lord, thank You for the reminder. We are educating for eternity. And no matter how many times I may fall, You will always be there to help me "walk." Please be with us as we begin our homeschool journey for real very, very soon.  Amen.

Painting shows a baby walking to his father. by Vincent Van Gogh

Catholic ABC's Preschool Curriculum!

One of my all-time favorite Catholic mom bloggers, Lacy, of Catholic Icing, may have outdone herself this time! :-) I am so so pleased to re-post her announcement about her latest project, Catholic ABC's preschool curriculum in book form! :-) Way to go Lacy! I am sure a lot of Catholic moms everywhere, including us here in the Philippines, will be greatly blessed by this! (I hope you consider coming up with a downloadable version soon, hehe!) Congrats to you and to God be all the glory! :-)

Below is Lacy's post, which you can read in full version here (there's a giveaway ongoing too, so head on over to her blog to check it out!). Blessings on everyone!

Catholic ABC's (The Book)- A Catholic Preschool Curriculum

on Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Anyone wondering where I've been? Well, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new book! Catholic Icing Presents: Catholic ABC's (The Book) - A Hands On Preschool Curriculum! {Also, there's a giveaway at the end of this post you don't want to miss!}

I love that the Catholic ABC's series matured into an all inclusive, user friendly book! 

I don't have any of them actually printed yet, but I'm sending off for them later this week!!! (Insert happy dance here!) I have poured my heart and soul into this book, and I could not be more pleased with how it has turned out! 

I couldn't decide whether to write the curriculum for homeschoolers or classrooms, so I wrote it for both. Can't go wrong with that decision, huh? ;-) So Catholic ABC's the Bookincludes separate teacher scripts for both homeschoolers and classroom teachers. You could use this book to teach your child, a group of children in your home, a class at a Catholic preschool co-op, or a whole preschool CCD class- your options for teaching are limitless, and this book makes everyone a teacher!

I am so happy to have this in a book form because it includes so much more than I've been able to post online! New crafts, 5 brand new unit studies, guides for setting up your classroom and organizing your materials, bible verses that go with each lesson, visual aides of full color artwork from the religious masters, and more! Also, the entire book is going to be printed in color which I'm really excited about!  

This Catholic preschool curriculum is hands on all the way! From the unit studies, to learning the alphabet, to crafting, singing, and counting- this book strives to make learning (and teaching) fun! Hey, why shouldn't it be fun?

I designed the book to engage visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. The activities in this book help develop gross and fine motor skills. I believe that children learn best when they have multiple senses engaged, and when they have meaningful experiences that they can connect with. This book definitely helps you create these kind of experiences with your preschoolers. 

Catholic ABC's has 26 lessons that are based on the letters of the alphabet. They're meant to be used weekly. Each lesson includes a craft, bible verse, saint of the week, full color visual aid (usually in the form of beautiful artwork from the masters), and many lessons also include a bonus activity. The 5 unit studies follow the liturgical year and have directions for making unique learning tools to teach the story, and again, make it fun! The unit studies also teach the kids counting and numbers, and they all include a fun learning song. 

               Unit Studies:

1. Ordinary Time 1 - Creation
2. Advent/Christmas - Nativity
3. Ordinary Time 2 - 12 Apostles
4. Lent - Stations of the Cross
5. Easter - He is Risen!

All the templates, coloring pages, etc that are needed for Catholic ABC's are included in the "Master Copies" section of the book. They're bound in so they won't get lost.

As always, I take all of the guess work out of the crafting for you. Catholic Icing can make a crafter out of anyone! ;-) All of the crafts in the book are fairly easy to complete, and require only affordable and readily available craft supplies.

Ok, in case you can't tell by the excessive use of exclamation points in this post, I'm very excited about my book! I can't wait to hold the printed copies when they arrive! I just might have to invite all my friends over for a fun celebration. :-)

How Much Does it Cost?

Catholic ABC's The Book is going to cost $35 plus shipping, but if you'd like to place a pre-order, you'll receive a $5 discount! So that's just $30 plus shipping.  :-) (Shipping is $5.25 US and $15.00 international) I'm taking pre-orders between now and August 15. After August 15 the book will cost $35.00.

 

*The original deal offered on pre-orders was free shipping. Everyone who ordered within that time will receive the free shipping. Everyone ordering from now on will receive the $5 discount instead. Sorry for the confusion.*

Catholic Heritage Curricula: Homeschooling is a Gift!

Catholic Heritage Curricula Daily Lesson Plans - FINALLY HERE! Thank You Lord!

I am so overwhelmed by God's amazing grace and provision!

Earlier today, Tim and I were able to get a long-awaited package from the US - it contained the Daily Lesson Plans from Catholic Heritage Curricula and Dr. Seuss and Starfall books - all sent with love, as a gift, from a fellow Catholic Filipina mom whom I had never met in person, but only got to know through, what else, Facebook! I don't remember clearly how we came to be FB friends, but I thank God that we did! Honey (and her family, of course) have been a great blessing to us, and has provided a lot of homeschooling tips for me.

With the package.. so excited!

We LOVE books!

I haven't gotten a chance to read through all of the lesson plans from CHC, but I am so encouraged by its "Welcome" page of sorts, which starts with this at the very top of the page:

+

J.M.J.

I was so delighted to see it, because a fellow HS mom, who is using Kolbe, used "JMJ" with me before in one  of our e-mail correspondences about homeschooling. She said the people behind Kolbe use it all the time, and it stands for Jesus.Mary.Joseph. 

I'm so psyched that CHC uses it too! J.M.J! 

I also like the part in the "Welcome" letter that says:

 "Education is much, much more than the subjects you study in a formal way. It is the sum total of your family life. Everything you do as a family affects the children."

(Reverend John Hardon)

Whew! Time to really pray even harder about how God wants us to mold our kids, esp. through homeschooling. In case you were wondering, yes, we will be using CHC, along with Mater Amabilis, and other free resources  from the Net. Still trying to get organized though, esp. in terms of books. :-) I hope to get some materials from Math-U-See somehow. Plus some books about the Philippines.

I am trying not to be pressured though. I believe in the adage "better late than early," and I don't think starting homeschooling just before Tim turns 5 (we plan to start in September, and his birthday is in October) counts as "late," at least not by most homeschoolers' standards.

But after today, I can really, truly say again with all my heart - "God truly provides! He is good all the time!"

Homeschooling in September!

Hubby and I have talked about it and have decided to officially start homeschooling Tim in September, coinciding with the US school calendar (I think, haha! A fellow HS mom suggested this to me.)

Must need to get organized and MUST look for cheap alternatives to all the materials we need! :-)

For all those who have helped us so far, especially by giving books or lending materials, thank you! Of course, thanks too to all who have given us advice, shared tips and resources and websites, and most important of all, gave us their PRAYERS and SUPPORT. We will really need them in the coming days!

Pray too for me, that I can work out a good working schedule to balance with our homeschooling!

All the best to everyone! God bless us all!

P.S. Will write about what exactly we are going to use in a different post soonest! Back to work first! :-)

Freebie Friday: TONS of Printable Worksheets from TLSBooks.com

TLSBooks.com is one of THE best places to go for FREE printable worksheets from preschool to sixth grade! They even have mixed grade worksheets. There are literally THOUSANDS of worksheets you can use, all for FREE!

Here's a brief description of TLSBooks.com, based on their home page:

Welcome to tlsbooks.com, where you'll find a variety of free printable worksheets for home and school use. Tlsbooks offers numerous worksheets to supplement your early childhood education program, home day care, elementary school classroom or home school. Parents love using our free worksheets to help their child gain valuable readiness skills or to reinforce material they may already be learning in school.

This site features thousands of printable worksheets as well as coloring pages, teacher resources, puzzles, and reading tips. Although our terms of use prohibits the saving of worksheets, you are welcome to return at any time to print material that you may need.

In order to view and print our free educational worksheets, you will need to have Adobe Reader version 6 or later. Click here to update or download the most current version of Adobe Reader.

Please be familiar with our Terms of Use before using any worksheets from this site. You can always be sure you are viewing our most current worksheets by clicking the refresh or reload button on your browser!

We have used some of their preschool worksheets in the past, while we were still on mission in Timor, and I don't know why I have forgotten completely about them since coming home to the Philippines. I'm glad I re-discovered them though. It's really time to buy a good printer for our homeschooling, don'tcha think? :-) Godbless y'all!

Freebie Friday - Phonics Program for Preschoolers

In my ongoing search for learning materials for Tim (attempting to put some order in our homeschool life, but with the crazy-busy schedule I have been having at work, preparing for CFC's 30th Anniversary Celebrations, I have been "delinquent" in homeschooling! huhuhuhu!), I got this great tip from a fellow homeschool mom about a FREE Phonics program she is currently using to teach her 6 year-old daughter. (Thanks Mommy Michelle!) I hope I will be able to use this soon on Tim too! :-)

Anyway, for everyone's info, here is the site: www.progressivephonics.com.


Feel free to check it out for yourself! All you need to do is download and print all the books! Cool huh? Hurray for homeschooling! And thank GOD for freebies, and for the committed, wonderful people who put up uber-helpful sites like these! Praise GOD for you all!

What Our Four Year Old Should Know

It is the time of year for school graduations and I find myself looking at Facebook pictures of my friends' kids during their graduation and moving-up ceremonies. Some of them have finished preschool, and even gotten awards for reading, math and the like. It is times like these that I can't help but think - am I "depriving" Tim of learning and reaching his potential by homeschooling him? Are we teaching him "enough"? What should he, at 4 years 5 months, know? I begin doubting my ability to teach him, especially since we have been in a lot of power struggles lately. I start questioning the Lord "Is homeschooling really part of Your call for us?"

At times like these, I find relief in the article below from Magical Childhood and am grateful for the people who have written them. It feels like God is assuring me somehow. Here is the article below:

What should a 4 year old know?

I was on a parenting bulletin board recently and read a post by a mother who was worried that her 4 1/2 year old did not know enough. "What should a 4 year old know?" she asked.

Most of the answers left me not only saddened but pretty soundly annoyed. One mom posted a laundry list of all of the things her son knew. Counting to 100, planets, how to write his first and last name, and on and on. Others chimed in with how much more their children already knew, some who were only 3. A few posted URL's to lists of what each age should know. The fewest yet said that each child develops at his own pace and not to worry.

It bothered me greatly to see these mothers responding to a worried mom by adding to her concern, with lists of all the things their children could do that hers couldn't. We are such a competitive culture that even our preschoolers have become trophies and bragging rights. Childhood shouldn't be a race.

So here, I offer my list of what a 4 year old should know.

1. She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
2. He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn't feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.
3. She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.
4. He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he'll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.
5. She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she's wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it's just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that-- way more worthy.

But more important, here's what parents need to know.

1. That every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra.
2. That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
3. That being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest. We are so caught up in trying to give our children "advantages" that we're giving them lives as multi-tasked and stressful as ours. One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.
4. That our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them. Most of us could get rid of 90% of our children's toys and they wouldn't be missed, but some things are important-- building toys like legos and blocks, creative toys like all types of art materials (good stuff), musical instruments (real ones and multicultural ones), dress up clothes and books, books, books. (Incidentally, much of this can be picked up quite cheaply at thrift shops.) They need to have the freedom to explore with these things too-- to play with scoops of dried beans in the high chair (supervised, of course), to knead bread and make messes, to use paint and play dough and glitter at the kitchen table while we make supper even though it gets everywhere, to have a spot in the yard where it's absolutely fine to dig up all the grass and make a mud pit.
5. That our children need more of us. We have become so good at saying that we need to take care of ourselves that some of us have used it as an excuse to have the rest of the world take care of our kids. Yes, we all need undisturbed baths, time with friends, sanity breaks and an occasional life outside of parenthood. But we live in a time when parenting magazines recommend trying to commit to 10 minutes a day with each child and scheduling one Saturday a month as family day. That's not okay! Our children don't need Nintendos, computers, after school activities, ballet lessons, play groups and soccer practice nearly as much as they need US.
   
   They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they're a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them.

And now back to those 4 year old skills lists.....

I know it's human nature to want to know how our children compare to others and to want to make sure we're doing all we can for them. Here is a list of what children are typically taught or should know by the end of each year of school, starting with preschool:
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?curriculum
Since we homeschool, I occasionally print out the lists and check to see if there's anything glaringly absent in what my kids know. So far there hasn't been, but I get ideas sometimes for subjects to think up games about or books to check out from the library. Whether you homeschool or not, the lists can be useful to see what kids typically learn each year and can be reassuring that they really are doing fine.

If there are areas where it seems your child is lacking, realize that it's not an indication of failure for either you or your child. You just haven't happened to cover that. Kids will learn whatever they're exposed to, and the idea that they all need to know these 15 things at this precise age is rather silly. Still, if you want him to have those subjects covered then just work it into life and play with the subject and he'll naturally pick it up. Count to 60 when you're mixing a cake and he'll pick up his numbers. Get fun books from the library about space or the alphabet. Experiment with everything from backyard snow to celery stalks in food coloring. It'll all happen naturally, with much more fun and much less pressure.

My favorite advice about preschoolers is on this site though:
http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/early.htm

What does a 4 year old need?

Much less than we realize, and much more.

Tim has a lifetime ahead to do his "formal education." What we need to do is focus on teaching Him to love God above everything else, and everything else will follow. I guess God also wants to remind us about our roles as parents, as laid out in my post on my other blog. I find comfort in knowing that we are doing our best to make sure that our children learn the four most important things they need to know before going to college (which is years and years away!) Also, it's probably a good time to go back to Susan Lemon's 4Rs of Homepreschooling again - just to check our own homeschooling journey! Thank You Lord for the loving reminder today! :-)

P.S. It helps too that I got to read this article about what four year olds should be able to do educationally. Seems like we are on track so far! :-) Praise GOD!

And to you our dearest Kuya Tim, one day you will be able to read this. We just want you to know how much we love and cherish you and your sister, Rysse. We are not perfect parents and we have failed you and hurt you in too many ways, despite your young and fragile age. We only hope and pray to God that His grace will fill in all the gaps in our parenting you, and that His love and forgiveness will prevail over any hurt feelings and trauma we may have caused you, intentionally and unintentionally. Always remember what we try to tell you every single day: 
You are God's special chosen son, and Rysse is God's special chosen daughter - our greatest gifts and blessings from the Lord! We love you and are proud of you no matter what.


Love,
Papa and Mama

You are a prince because your Father is King! :-)

We are blessed and privileged to have you both with us when we are called to serve! May you grow up to have missionary hearts - a man and woman after God's own heart! :-)

We love how you love each other :-) 

May Jesus, Mama Mary and all the Saints accompany us in our journey towards our True Home!

May you always be a blessing and joy to your grandparents and elders! :-)

May you always find joy in the simple things in life! :-)

February At A Glance And Our New Home School

Haven't been blogging for quite some time now. Been a bit busy with events the month of February, to name a few: the Filipinos Unite for Life Pro-Life Rally, the Aprica Media Launch (which reminds me, I should really write Part 2 already! LOL!), free financial education lectures, the Jason Evert Real Love Revolution Conference plus the other activities we regularly attend for our community. We've also started attending Bo Sanchez's The Feast gathering at Valle Verde, mostly because they have weekly gatherings for kids (their kids' ministry is aptly named Awesome Kids!) and we've been wanting to get Tim involved in a Catholic kids' group that meets weekly and not just monthly. (But of course, he and Rysse will forever be Kids for Christ!) So far, he has attended 3 sessions and seems to be enjoying! (Hopefully he is learning too! hehe)

I've also been having difficulty trying to adjust to working from home. And juggling my sideline writing jobs. I swear, I have no idea how other work-at-home moms do it! I salute you all, especially those who are homeschooling, have more kids than we do (I know a few moms who are homeschooling 5 kids of different age levels! Wow!), AND have no household help to boot (we are blessed to have two right now, but am thinking of letting one (or both!) go soon)! Grabe! How do you supermoms DO it all?!!! Honestly, sometimes I find myself thinking that working 9 to 5 may be better for me - but when I look at our kids, despite all my complaints, imperfections, weaknesses and seeming "Tiger Mother" moments, I would not trade my situation right now for anything! (Except of course, having multiple passive income streams! Now that would be GREAT! hehe. In God's time!)

Anyway, February came and went by so fast! It was truly a whirlwind month for us too, in the sense that we ended up moving to our own place (You can read more about it here!). One of the main reasons was so that we could have a proper place to homeschool the kids.

So far, so good. :-) We have been able to work more on Tim's writing and reading, and he has started to enjoy coloring more (he used to dislike coloring before for some reason). Praise God for all His goodness!

Here are a few pics of the kids enjoying their "homeschool room" :-)

Tim LOVES his wooden trains and blocks! 

Fun fun fun!

Choo-choo! He likes making up his own stories as he plays. He even does different voices for the trains as they "say their lines"! Sometimes, it's like listening to a Thomas and Friends episode! LOL!

Our little scientist :-)

Rysse, future doctor? :-) Whatever you choose to be, we will always be proud of you and your Kuya!

She loves playing with this microscope - a steal at P200! Bought on sale at Toys R Us.

Playing dress-up - Tim: "I'm going to the office, just like Papa."

Papa and his little man :-)

Playing dress-up with our Timorese tais

Future model? :-) (Incidentally, check out her modeling pics here. Here's a sneak peek below. hehe. Thank you Lilymoms!)

Our two angels :-)

P.S. Feel free to read about my take on International Women's Day (March 8) here. To all you fabulous women out there, especially you moms, thank God for you - you are making the world a better place by your love, gentleness and kindness! :-)

Pro-Life Crafts and Activities for Kids

February is Pro-Life month here in the Philippines!

I hope to be able to do some pro-life crafts (suggested by Mommy Lacy) with Tim and Rysse this month, though we can do this all year round too! Every day is a reason to celebrate life, and to FIGHT FOR IT!

Photo from Catholic Icing

Here are the links I'm going to refer to, from Mommy Lacy of Catholic Icing:

http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2010/01/pro-life-craft-for-kids.html
http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2011/01/pro-life-activities-for-kids.html
http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2010/01/pro-life-printables-and-activities-for.html
http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2010/01/pro-life-game.html

I also found this great new site for Catholic homeschoolers when I googled "Pro-Life crafts for kids"! You can check it out here: http://myagape4u.com/catholic-homeschooling/category/prolife/.

Love life, live passionately!

Catholic Filipino Academy Orientation Schedules

Reposting this announcement on Catholic Filipino Academy's Facebook page:

Catholic Filipino Academy (CFA): To all those who are interested in homeschooling their child, CFA is conducting orientations on the following dates: February 3, 2011, March 3, 2011, March 18, 2011, April 7, 2011. at the 1st flr., Lighthouse Bldg, #60 Chicago St., Cubao, Q.C., from 9:00AM-12:00NN. For reservations, pls contact Rita Yokingco at 5336097, or e-mail cfainquiry@gmail.com.

Feel free to e-mail me at teachermamatina@gmail.com too if you have any questions about homeschooling! HOME is COOL - HOMESCHOOL! :-)

P.S. Watch out for the 1st Philippine Catholic Homeschoolers Summit, en event especially for Catholic families who are homeschooling or considering it! Coming soon! A project initiated by Pure Passionistas!