More Homeschooling Posts on Truly Rich Mom! :)

I need to be perfectly honest with you guys... maintaining and updating two blogs is getting quite taxing for me, especially with the current "state" I am in. :) Don't get me wrong though, I am TRULY GRATEFUL to God for the blessing of our third child, but I'm dealing with fatigue and occasional nausea now (and a touch of spotting last week), so I think I'll just be updating my main mom blog for now.

So, if you dear readers still want to be updated on our homeschooling adventures and read my homeschooling-related posts, please do hop on over to Truly Rich Mom! :) I'm planning to fix that blog so it's easier to find posts by category, but I still need to squeeze in the time to do so (and look for the means to get someone to help me fix the design!).

In the meantime, please do keep in touch, OK? You can like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter for regular updates. :)

Thanks for sticking around, y'all! God bless!

1st Week of {Non} Homeschooling plus How to Schedule Your Homeschool Days: Tips from Simple Homeschool.net

In my earlier post about "re-starting" our homeschool year with Kolbe Academy, I said I still had a lot of things to prepare for. I still do! We weren't able to do much this week as Tim wasn't feeling so well starting Monday. He even had to miss football training. We let him rest on Monday and Tuesday.

Thank God he's OK now. I was also feeling a bit tired (hence, lazy, haha!) and so we just ended up reading lots of books together, mostly from our selection of quality children's books from The Learning Basket! :) Tim already knows what Caldecott medal and honor books look like! :) Haha!

"The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." - http://tinyurl.com/aboutcaldecott
Image and info from The Learning Basket's Facebook page.

On Wednesday, we hardly had any "school," as I went to visit the Manila International Book Fair. I am still *drooling* just thinking about all the great books there! Sadly, my budget was limited, so I wasn't able to buy some of the books I wanted to. No worries though, God will provide in His own time, I am sure! :) After coming home from the Book Fair, we again read some of the books I got at the Fair! :)

Thursday and Friday, well, you all know I have to be at the office on those days! :) Teehee! ;) I usually just leave worksheets and activities for Tim to do, under his Ate Lyn's (our angel/helper) supervision. :P

To end, I'm sharing this link to Simple Homeschool, where one of the contributors shares "A Beginner's Guide to Scheduling the Homeschool." I'm sure most, if not all, of us will find this useful. :)

Happy homeschooling, everyone! :)

+ AMDG +

"Re-starting" Our Homeschool Year with Kolbe Academy!

Two months ago, I said we'd be enrolling with Kolbe Academy Homeschool. Well, today's the day we officially start using the Kolbe curriculum guide for Kindergarten, although we'll still be referring to the original curriculum that we started with in June from time to time.

Having said that, I do think there is much wisdom to fellow homeschool mom and blogger Blessie's decision to focus on reading, writing and arithmetic for this year. I think we'll pretty much do the same, but include religion, too. :) For science, we'll most probably just focus on reading lots of science-themed books and interest-led experiments. :)

I know we should be covering Filipino too — still need to iron out plans for those! (Yes, I'm pretty laidback like that, haha!) I don't want to pressure myself too much, especially since we're expecting again! :) (Yes, I'm preggy with Baby no. 3! Another homeschooler in the making! :)

I told myself I would HAVE to be more organized now that we're enrolled but well... it's already September 8 (Mama Mary's birthday! Yes, we chose this day to "re-start" our year because we want to consecrate it to Our Blessed Mother) and I still have lots of "to-do's" for our homeschool. Hopefully, I can finish everything tomorrow. (Wish me luck and pray for us! haha!)

Anyway, we'll just officially start off the "new" school year with Kolbe by celebrating Mama Mary's birthday (pretty much like how we did last year) and going to Kindermusik class and maybe a short "opening ceremony" this evening. I'm still going to call our "school" The Kingdom-seekers Academy, even if we're under Kolbe! :)

To God be the glory! :)

A Glimpse of What We've Been Up To :D

Oh my gosh! I haven't updated this blog for quite some time now. Yikes! :) I actually meant to post about the free parenting seminar on reading we attended last month here, but did so at Truly Rich Mom instead. Anyway, forgive me for the lack of updates. It's been a busy, busy almost-two-months! 

Here's a brief glimpse of what we've been up to in our homeschool:

• Reading more Bible stories :) We got a new but old (pre-loved) Bible called "The Young Learner's Bible Storybook" from Book Sale and it has been very useful! :) It contains activities, songs (some based on popular nursery rhymes), memory verses, learning "themes" and more! :) On "lazy" homeschooling days, we just read lots of stories from this book! 

(And when I feel bad or guilty about that, I will try to remember this line from the blog Simply Living... For Him: "If we were to do nothing but read the Bible everyday for a few months, then we still win. God's Word is more powerful and active than any textbook." Though of course, she was referring to the actual Bible in that post; not a Bible storybook. Nevertheless, I'll take Bible stories over not doing anything else any day!)

• More unit studies from Five In A Row (though on many weeks, it was more like "Three In A Row" and "Two In A Row" meaning we only read the books and did the corresponding activities for three or two days! Waaaahhhh!) 
• Week of July 2 to July 8: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
• Week of July 9 to July 15: The Story of Ferdinand
• Week of July 16 to July 23: Mirette on the High Wire
• Week of July 23 to July 29: The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Week of July 30 to August 5: Make Way for Ducklings
• Week of August 6 to August 13: A New Coat for Anna
• Week of August 14 to August 19: The Glorious Flight

Books for The Story of Ferdinand

Books for Mirette and the High Wire week :) 

Measuring activity inspired by A New Coat for Anna

• Memorizing this Bible verse about glorifying God in all we do
• Birthday celebrations 

Our little flower turned 3! :)

"Making" a birthday cake for one of their fellow homeschoolers :)
With lots of help from Papa 

• A "field trip" to the Robot Zoo (Details here.)

• Starting soccer training for our little man, with fellow homeschoolers, under the Azkals Global Football School. :) (This deserves an entirely different post! :) God has been generously providing for the payment for these sessions somehow! Thank You, Lord!)

• LOTS of water play using this great water table I got at 75% off! BUT we are cutting down on that now; our water bill is ridiculous! Besides, we're trying to teach the kids about conservation and loving the environment, especially because of the recent floods.)

• "Homework" time — What the kids call workbook time. :) Rysse usually just scribbles and draws; Tim works on (sometimes) his preferred worksheets; sometimes I choose them. I'm still too flexible about this, I think! LOL! :) We do this on weeknights, sometimes, or weekends. 

• Special Playtime + Storytelling session and Arts and Crafts with other kids while Teacher Mama attended a free seminar on How to Make Reading an Effective and Lasting Habit. Tim was also assessed for free at The Learning Library. (Photos here.) We are thinking of enrolling him for additional reading (and writing?!) lessons BUT... well... y'all know our main concern when it comes to enrichment things like that, right?! Still, God is faithful, right?! :) Let's see what September will bring!

• Being interviewed for ANC :) The segment aired was super short (according to those who watched it — we haven't yet!) — but the day of the shoot was full of drama (prior to going to the venue, which I need not describe in detail anymore); playtime with fellow homeschoolers; etc. I was very proud of Tim for how he answered the reporter's questions — praise God! :) Will post a link to the video soon. In the meantime, here's a photo one of my friends posted on my FB wall:

Praise GOD for this opportunity to share about homeschooling, even if it was only for 60 seconds! 

• Lots of outdoor play + YES, videos on DVD, too, plus Disney Jr. shows when the kids are at my in-laws. Plus the occasional computer game. We try to limit screen time (mostly for Tim), though many days, the key word is TRY! *sighs* And yes, for those of you who don't let your kids watch any TV at all, you guys are truly my "idols!" But, well, for now, this sometimes-frazzled-work-at-home-often-sleepless homeschool mom will go with whatever works, especially when there are deadlines to meet. (And I will do my best not to feel so guilty about it, especially when I read non-TV-watching-homeschool-families' blogs! LOL!)

• Talking about the heavy rains + typhoons + floods and ways to help the victims

Well, I guess that's it for now. :) I really should be getting more sleep, LOL! ;) September is almost here (ohmygosh!) and since we recently registered with Kolbe Academy Homeschool and are waiting for our materials, I am a bit tempted to "restart" the school year to coincide with our American friends. :) PLUS, I really SHOULD get our CHC materials in order so we can maximize them more! *sighs* Let's see how it goes.

In the meantime, God bless, everyone!......zzzzzzzzz..... 

Homeschooling Solutions Soft Launch! :)

Re-posting this from my friends over at Homeschooling Solutions. :)

"Fellow homeschoolers, we're finally kicking-off enrichment classes at our new Homeschooling Solutions center in Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas! For those at the National Homeschool Conference, you may recall that Homeschooling Solutions is the organization we set-up to help give great products/services to both the homeschooler AND the NON-homeschooler (with the hopes that they might have positive exposure to homeschooling and thus decide to homeschool as a result!). This is our initial run, so limited slots only. Please spread the word as well, if you feel relevant to others you may know." - Edric Mendoza 

Photo downloaded from the Pinoy Homeschool yahoogroup.

Even if you're NOT a homeschooler, you may be interested in these enrichment classes.

Personally, we are HUGE fans of Kindermusik, and are SOOOO BLESSED to be able to participate in sessions with Teacher Suzette and Friends (the kids are privileged to have received scholarships under her program)! :) Also, we're taking our first trip to The Learning Library headquarters this Saturday, for the FREE parenting seminar on READING that they're holding, in collaboration with The Learning Basket! :) Yipeeeeeee! Will let you all know how that goes! :)

More Information about Kolbe Academy Homeschool (via Teacher Mommy Blessie)

I mentioned a while back that we'll be enrolling with Kolbe Academy Homeschool in the U.S. soon (our target is to do so by this week!).

We made the decision largely because we need a guide-of-sorts (to make sure we're not "straying" too far from the "required" curriculum and standard of education needed for Tim) and also because Kolbe is a good, solid, Catholic, Ignatian home school provider, highly recommended by many fellow Catholic homeschoolers. Also, it has a much more flexible "schedule" / school year, especially compared to local homeschool providers — you can enroll any time of the year, as long as the previous school year is already finished.

I also took into account the experiences of fellow Filipino homeschoolers who are enrolled with Kolbe — one of whom was instrumental in helping convince me that Kolbe is the way to go for us at this point in our family "cycle," i.e. Teacher Mommy Blessie of the Nanay Notebook. :)

I am sooo grateful to Mommy Blessie for her help in so many things — from advice as a work-at-home-momma to homeschooling advice, and even help with my main mommy blog. She is really living up to her name, I tell you! :) (Blessie = Blessing! He, he!)

Anyway, Mommy Blessie has come up with a few useful posts regarding Kolbe Academy that  you may find useful, so here are the links to those:

First Week of Homeschool with Kolbe Academy
Kolbe Academy Homeschool: How Much Does it Cost?

Thanks again, Mommy Blessie, for your help, support, prayers and patience! :) May the Lord bless you and your family, especially your new addition to the family — coming out very, very soon! :) *Virtual hugs*!!!

The month in review: June 2012 at The Kingdom-Seekers Academy

I am trying to be more consistent in keeping records of what we do in our homeschool, so here's a quick review of what we did this month of June:

Kids playing with lights :)

• First day of school: Orientation on rules - 1. Pray always. 2. Obey right away. 3. Work hard. DO EVERYTHING IN LOVE.

• Books "rowed": Clown of God (bought it from The Learning Basket! Looooove their selection of books!); The Chair King (inspired by The Learning Basket's unit study here); The Story About Ping (a steal from Book Sale for only P5! With minor damage, though.)

The Story About Ping and go-along books 

• Additional books read: Fly High, Fly Low (because Tim was SOOO excited to read it! Got it at National Bookstore for only P100!); Books in preparation for Philippine Independence Day (June 12); Katy and the Big Snow (we were supposed to row this, but we didn't end up doing so! Haha!); The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin; My First Book of God's Animals and Other Creatures; Animals Under Water; Danny the Duck; Birds; different books on Kangaroos (Rysse chose a book on Kangaroos during our last trip to the bookstore) + many, many more! (in between "school" time)

Rysse chose the book "Life Cycles: Joey to Kangaroo" by herself. She initially chose "Life Cycles: Pup to Shark," actually! Hahaha! :)

• Topics covered: 
• Social Studies: 
• Respect for Elderly - Timothy named elderly/older people whom he is friends with (his grandparents on both sides; one of his dad's co-workers; Lolo Tony {our godfather from India})
• Geography - Identified locations of Sorrente, Italy; India; San Francisco, USA; the Yangtze river in China; and the Philippines on our atlas
• Thankfulness - We talked about being thankful for the blessings we have - We don't have to "beg our bread" and "sleep in doorways." We also talked about being grateful that kids during his time were "free," unlike the kids we read about in our Independence Day books.
• Dealing with difficult people - We talked about how we should forgive and understand others when they are being difficult and how there will always be people who will give us a hard time, but we must be patient with them.
• History - We discussed {very} briefly the Renaissance period and related it to some of our books that described the Philippines during different periods (in preparation for the Philippine Independence Day). We also talked about Philippine national heroes Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio and the struggle for independence.
• Responsibilities - (From Katy and the Big Snow) Each person has a job to do; a task to fulfill, including in our home. 
• Relationships - (From The Story About Ping) We talked about the importance of discernment (what is "good" and "bad," etc). We also talked about obedience. 
• Writing: Tim wrote down the names of the people we are thankful for. He also reviewed writing the letters A-Z. (Writing is NOT one of his favorite activities, LOL!)
• Phonics: We reviewed all the letter sounds via Sing, Spell, Read, Write (SSRW) + did A LOT of Phonics practice via Easy to Learn workbooks, Starfall and other websites :)
• Reading: Tim practiced reading 72 words - Words with the middle "a" and "e" sounds (36 each, using SSRW). And sight words using Easy to Learn workbooks + more! :)
• Foreign Languages: We learned a few Spanish words (from Si Segunda, Noong Panahon ng Mga Espanyol). 
• Math: Tim learned to count by 5's up to 100 (he's still mastering this, though). He also practiced writing his numbers (Told you, writing is NOT a fave around here! Hehe!). He also practiced adding (all of Ping's family members).
• Religion: We always try to read at least one story from our children's Bible every day and discuss the lessons we can glean from it. On Corpus Christi Sunday (June 10), we also talked about Jesus being present in the Eucharist; I used a book on The First Holy Communion (Book Sale for P65 {I think!}) and My First Mass Book (Books for Less, P25).

Rysse "reading" one of our Golden Books about God :)

• Arts and Crafts: Made the Philippine flag (OK, we're not artsy-craftsy people here, haha!); "freestyle" painting in the bathroom

Making the Philippine flag

• Science: We discussed different kinds of birds; the life cycle of the kangaroo; different kinds of baby animals; why ducks' feet are webbed
• Language + Writing + Art: Tim tried making his own book (with some help from me!) and we're currently working on another one (titled "Ping Meets Timothy"). :)
• Music: I taught the kids to sing This Little Light of Mine, and they enjoyed "making music" with their Kindermusik instruments + other instruments (including "drums" made out of some of their books) to its tune, plus the tune of Every Move I Make.  

Instant "drums" using books from our home library!

At Kindermusik

• "Field trips" and extra-curricular activities: 
• National Bookstore Main Branch - The kids had a blast looking at the wide selection of books there!
• Movie time with Lolo Mon! :)
• ROCKERs Kindermusik session and pre-Father's Day activity
• Father's Day celebration 
• Lolo Mon and Lola Tita's visit + outdoor play time with them! ;)

The kids HAD A BLAST playing with my parents! :) Thanks for visiting us! :) We love you!

• LOTS of "socializing" with our neighbors (their cousin's cousins from the province) + my in-laws + other people, including Ate Dolor, the secretary at Kindermusik with Teacher Suzette and Friends

I was SO surprised at how these three became "fast friends"! :)

• Puzzle play + blocks + outdoor play + imaginative play + (most recently!) SAND play (thank you, Mariel, for the gift of sand for our sand boxes!)

Puzzle time! :)

I'm a princess! :)

I'm a superhero! :)



Thank you for the sandbox idea, Rosanne! :)

Whew! :) This is a pretty long post already, so I'm going to stop here for now. :) We did more than what's described here though, and admittedly, the kids also watched a lot of their DVDs and Tim played a lot on the computer, too! (Shockingly enough, yes, we do let our kids watch TV and use the computer!)

We're enrolling Tim in Kolbe's Kindergarten program this week (they follow a K-12 curriculum, which works well for us, since DepEd in the Philippines is now officially doing so, too) but plan to keep doing what we're doing while waiting for our materials. (And probably even after that!)

So what did you guys do last month? :)

We're enrolling with Kolbe! :)

I've recently been having "discussions" via email with Teacher Mommy Blessie, who is more known for her Nanay Notebook blog. She has helped me with so many things and answered so many questions... thank you for your time, Mommy Blessie! :)

Anyway, I know I already posted about what our curriculum for this year looks like, so you may be wondering what "enrolling with Kolbe" means. Well, after much prayer (yes, we've been praying about Kolbe since last year) and taking into consideration the DepEd K-12 curriculum that's now in place, and everything else, we've decided to enroll Tim for Kindergarten in Kolbe for the following reasons:

• According to many Catholic parents I know who are using or have used Kolbe, it is one of, if not THE best Catholic Classical home school curricula available. We won't be buying any books from Kolbe for now, though. I hope to borrow some and also still use the books we already have. It's a good thing they are very flexible that way.
• I like that they emphasize the important role of the parents in educating their kids (as do other homeschool providers do, too, of course) BUT reading their section on the "Principle of Subsidiarity" also helped us decide on it.
• Kolbe has been using a K-12 curriculum from the very beginning. I want to be "safe" in terms of evaluation and record-keeping since Kinder is required by DepEd in the Philippines now. Also, I'm sure family members and friends who still have doubts about our homeschooling won't be so "fearful" or "judgmental" anymore when they hear that Tim is officially enrolled in a US-based homeschool. ;)

"Isn't it expensive though?" some people may ask.

Well, according to Mommy Blessie:

"If you're enrolling Tim for Kindergarten, you'll spend about $150 since it's his first time to enroll and he's your first kid. Then there's the Overseas Family fee of $35-40. And a $5 charge for credit card payment. So expect to shell out around P8,300 if you are paying in full. 

If you opt for the five-installment plan, you'll only pay 

• $30 (tuition)+$40 (overseas family)+$5 (credit card service charge)=$75 (P3,200) upon registration, for your first installment;
• then $35 dollars (P1,500) on the month you start schooling, for 2nd installment;
• and three more $35 on the three months after that, for your third to fifth installment."

Hubby and I have some upcoming projects that I am confident will be able to cover this amount. We trust in God's grace! :) Besides, P8,300 isn't so bad compared to shelling out P60,000 for a progressive preschool education, right?! (Take note though, please, that saving money is NOT the main reason why we homeschool — and it shouldn't be for other parents, too!)

Anyway, this statement by Mommy Blessie also made me think that Kolbe is the best way for us right now:

For working moms like us, I would recommend Kolbe over (another homeschool provider) because, from my experience, Kolbe's customer service is much more prompt and accessible, and the quarterly exams they provide means you don't have to send so much documentation on your child's work. The quarterly exams are enough to validate your child's grade -- an invaluable convenience, in my opinion. 

So, Kolbe it is, then! :) We're still going to retain our homeschool name, though: The Kingdom-Seekers Academy. Teehee! To God be the glory! :)

P.S. Pray for us, please?! Thanks! Blessings on us all! Mama Mary, pray for us!

Happy to be with HAPI! :)

Just a quick post to let you all know that as of last Tuesday, June 19, I am now officially part of the HAPI {Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands} Core! Praise GOD! :) I attended my first meeting on Tuesday and am SOOO excited! :) (And humbled and scared silly at the same time!)

Log on to www.hapihomeschooler.com or find us on Facebook.

There are lots of new, happy things brewing over at HAPI! I'm not at liberty to tell y'all the details YET, but please do include us in your prayers in the meantime. Especially little ol' me — that I will ALWAYS be true FIRST to God's call to be the best wife and homeschool mom that I can be, by His grace! :) Lord, may Your will be done! To You be all the glory, now and forever! :)

Author and illustrator in the making? ;) Only God knows!

Tim had some workbook time last night, or, what he calls "homework." I was at the office the whole day Thursday and Friday, so I thought we'd get in some writing and reading practice before bedtime. We decided to use the Summer Skills Daily Activity Workbook for Grade 1 that we got (for P99!) at National Bookstore last Independence Day.

Do you see little Therese's foot?! Haha!

Yes, I know summer is officially over for us here in the Philippines, but the workbook is really nice! :) Tim enjoyed choosing which pages he wanted to do and I was amazed that his handwriting has improved greatly (by my standards anyway, LOL!) EVEN IF WE HARDLY DID ANY WRITING PRACTICE THESE PAST FEW MONTHS! :) God, You're amazing!

One of the pages required Tim to draw something and he ended up being SO EXCITED that he asked for a separate piece of paper so he could draw some more.

Tim usually doesn't like drawing or coloring, so I let him go crazy drawing up his own characters and making up his own story — even if it was a little bit too "violent" for my taste! You know, fighting and zombies and monsters and whatnot! :P

He got SOOO excited that he even asked for my help to make a book. I tried to recall fellow homeschool mom Mariel's tips for encouraging story-writing among young children as we went along.

I had Tim write the page numbers for our book. :)

This is what our book cover looks like:

The Adventures of Timothy and Friends
Written and Illustrated by Tim and Tina Rodriguez

Can you tell which words Tim wrote and which ones I did? LOL! :) I helped draw the picture but asked Tim to do the details. :) So what do you guys think?

P.S. I am overjoyed that Tim has started enjoying writing and thinking up his own stories and characters. He's been doing this from time to time with his toys and this isn't the first time he's made up his own stories BUT it is the first time we've actually tried putting them in "book" form! :) Perhaps we have an author / illustrator in the making? Only God knows His plans for our kids, and whatever they are, they're certainly the BEST! :D + AMDG +

Encouraging a Love for the Philippines :) Happy Independence Day!

We celebrate the 114th Philippine Independence Day today. :) Here are some ideas on how you can do so in your own home (not necessarily homeschool!), taken from fellow Filipino homeschool moms:

Philippine Independence Day for Preschoolers from The Learning Basket
Love of Country Posts One and Two from The Mommy Journey
Six Things You Can Do With Your Kids On Independence Day from Mommy Bares All

We've been reading the books listed below prior to today and I hope to FINALLY get a copy of The Chair King so we can do the unit study from The Learning Basket (as described in the link above). (Hubby and I checked out five bookstores between us and still couldn't get a copy!)

Adarna books:
- Si Segunda, Noong Panahon Ng Mga Espanyol (Text both in Filipino and English)

Talks a bit about how Segunda's life was during the time of the Spanish

- Si Pitong, Noong Panahon Ng Mga Hapon (Text both in Filipino and English)

Talks a bit about Pitong's life during the time of the Japanese

- Si Jhun-Jhun, Noong Bago Ideklara Ang Batas Militar (Text both in Filipino and English)

Talks a bit about Jhun-Jhun's life before Martial Law was declared in the Philippines

- Dalawang Bayani ng Bansa (Text in Filipino only)

Talks about the lives of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio and how they intersected at some points

Chikiting books: (published by LG&M Corporation)
- Rizaldy (Text both in Filipino and English)

Sorry about the incomplete image! This talks about living up to one's name, in Rizaldy's case,  following the example of his namesake, Rizal. :)

Golden Salakot Stories: (published by LG&M Corporation)
- Uldok the War Hero (Text in English only)

Uldok is a dog that save his Filipino owners from the Japanese.

I got all these books from National Bookstore. We've enjoyed reading them, though Tim insists I read the texts in English only and not in Filipino! (I had to translate the Dalawang Bayani ng Bansa text in my mind while I was reading it to him — quite a task for the Filipino-challenged me! That's what I get for not growing up in the Philippines and not having a formal education in Filipino! Haha!)

Anyway, I plan to read these again and again sporadically this week and next to try to emphasize the importance of learning about our country's history and cherishing our independence and our culture.

Admittedly, I had a hard time with Dalawang Bayani ng Bansa, as there was a part that mentioned how the Spanish priests at the time were not doing good things (when Rizal wrote Noli Me  Tangere). Once I had read that part out loud, Tim had this shocked look on his face: "What? How can the priests be bad?!" OOPS, Mama!

I explained as best I could that that was a loooong time ago and changed the subject. Hmmm.... Need to be more careful for now, since Tim's still in preschool and may not be able to understand that there really is evil in the hearts of all men (and women and children!) and we need to battle it every day with God's grace and mercy! :)

So anyway, yes, it's time to celebrate Independence Day now! :) Have a good one, y'all and remember to thank the LORD for our freedom every day! :)

ROCKERs is meeting up again! :) Hurray! :D (Care to join us?!)

Our Catholic homeschool support group, ROCKERs, is FINALLY meeting up again this June! :) Our last meet-up was in February, I think, though we've all been keeping in touch regularly on Facebook.

Tim and Lia (the daughter of Maricel of Medela Moms)
helping in the February ROCKERs meet-up preparations. :)

A few of us also met up at the recent Philippine Homeschool Conference (which I STILL have not written about, waahhh!). We had an awesome time talking about our kids, our homeschool styles, book-hoarding and so many other things! :)

The June activity will be led by Mariel of The Learning Basket, who will also be leading the group in some fun Kindermusik activities! :) We also plan to have a special story-time session focusing on dads, since we're celebrating Father's Day on June 17.

If you're interested in joining us, do let us know! Just fill up the form found here. Hope to see you all there! :)

P.S. Shop @ The Learning Basket will be there, too! Yipeee! Good news for book-hoarders lovers like me! :)

The 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference: What Others Had to Say About It

I haven't had the time to write my own post about the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference last weekend (deadlines, deadlines, when will it all end?! LOL!), so let me just share with you what a few participants had to say about it:

My fellow ROCKERs moms (and seatmates at the conference! Heehee!):
Racquel
Myra

What a few other bloggers had to say:
A dad blogger's take on it
Joy sharing Debra Bell's Key Factors for Homeschooling Success
Mama Sel's posts connected to the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference

I'll try to write my own post, soon! Lord, help me please! :D

P.S. Here's a photo that Myra posted on the ROCKERs FB group page:

Myra, me, Maricel (of Medela Moms), Mariel (of The Learning Basket) and Kim
Thank You, LORD, for these fab mommas! :) And everyone else in ROCKERs! :)
Homeschooling in the Philippines is SOOO much easier because of them! 

Do you want a FREE PASS to the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference?

This morning, I received an e-mail from HAPI that I am being given two complimentary passes to the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference, which takes place this Saturday (May 19). It's HAPI's way of thanking me for being a contributing blogger to the HAPI website's blog section.

I already have a ticket though, so I am raffling off the free passes (with HAPI's permission, of course!) through an overnight giveaway here and on Truly Rich Mom.

For those of you who want to join the giveaway, just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. :) This is (obviously) for Philippine residents only. Winners will be announced by tomorrow, 4 p.m. Philippine time, as I will have to forward the winner's names and details to HAPI before tomorrow ends. :)

Good luck and God bless, people! :) If you win, let's meet up on Saturday! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get to know homeschool moms on Mommy Talks at The Mommy Journey! :) {Plus an invitation :)

One of the homeschool mommy bloggers I met online, Chris, is hosting a series, "Mommy Talks," on her blog at The Mommy Journey. :) She's featuring homeschool moms, particularly Filipinas. :) I'm sure you'll be blessed and encouraged to continue (or for the newbies, at least try) homeschooling when you read their stories! Just click on the link below:

Mommy Talks features Homeschooling Moms

And to all you homeschool moms out there, this is for you:

Source.

P.S. Some of the moms (and dads) from ROCKERs Philippines will be meeting up at the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference this Saturday, May 19, at the Medela Moms booth. We'll be having lunch together, too! :) Care to join us? Please leave a comment on my Facebook page! :) We'd LOVE to meet you! :)

When God calls you to homeschool, He'll make sure you'll get the message :)

{Warning! Long post ahead! :) It's been over a month in the making though, so I hope you'd take the time to read it! :) Thanks!}


It's been a while since I said anything here on this blog about how God has been working in our lives and family lately. I've been on Truly Rich Mom a lot though, for the 50 Days of Amazing Grace posts, fabulous Amazing Grace giveaways and so much more! (And lest you think otherwise, YES, I have been working, too! LOL!)


I've been thinking about how to write this post for a while now. What pushed me to finally do it is the fact that there have been a number of fellow homeschool moms who have been asking me regarding our latest updates on our discernment. I remember, in my last update about it, I said:

..nevertheless {Lord}, not my will, but Yours, be done.'' 

(Luke 22:42) 

You see, our discernment whether to keep homeschooling also had a lot to do with another major prayer concern in our lives, i.e. whether we would move to Cubao — which is much nearer to my workplace, and hubby's, too — or not. 

Join me and HAPI at Expo Mom 2012 :)

Hi, everyone! So sorry for not updating this blog for a while. There has been SO MUCH happening lately, I don't know where to begin. In the meantime though, let me just post something real quick about this weekend's Expo Mom 2012 event at the Rockwell Tent, which I had already blogged about previously on Truly Rich Mom.

The 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference is just two weeks away and HAPI (the Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands) will be at Expo Mom 2012 to accept registrants to the conference! :) Look for the HAPI booth and sign up, people! :)

Also, HAPI will be onstage at Expo Mom 2012 on May 6, Sunday, for the 2pm segment on the "Hands-On Mom," featuring moms who will share their experiences about homeschooling. Yours truly has been asked to be part of the panel of moms (I still don't think I have much credibility though, LOL!), and I'd love to see you there! :)

So, will I be seeing you? :) Please don't hesitate to approach me if you do see me there! :) I'd love to connect with you in real life! :) Have an awesomely blessed weekend, folks!

P.S. Guess what? This news just came in — HAPI is extending the iPad2 promo offer for the Homeschool Conference participants up to May 13, Mother's Day! :) Register, register, register!

A Prayer Request and an Announcement: Register for the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference and Get a Chance to Win an IPad2!

I'm doing a quick post here because I need to get some work done before I bring little Therese to her pedia later. She's been having a fever since Monday evening and the pedia said if by Wednesday evening (last night) she still had one, I should bring her for a check-up. (Please pray she gets healed soon!)

Also, our family is suddenly, by God's grace, going to go through a major change in the next few days (I wrote a bit about it here) so we'll also be needing lots of prayers in that aspect. (On a personal note, I need a lot of prayers, too, as I have been very short-tempered lately. I don't want to blame it on fatigue, etc, as it's no excuse for being that way. Thank you for your prayers in advance.)

So anyway, back to the announcement! Those who register for the 4th Philippine Homeschool Conference on or before May 4 have a chance to win an iPad2! 

So what are you waiting for?! Register, register, register! :) See you there!

For more information, please log on to www.hapihomeschooler.com or follow HAPI on Facebook.

Bo Sanchez's Catholic Filipino Academy is starting their High School Program! :)

Guess what? The Catholic Filipino Academy (CFA), founded by Bo Sanchez, already has a HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM! :) Awesome, huh?! They're launching it this year and will have an orientation session for parents on April 24. :) Something to consider when our kids start high school — though we've got a couple more years down the road to go! (We're still undecided re: homeschooling or progressive schooling though! Our deadline is before the end of this month! YIKES! Prayers please, friends!)

Image source: shutterstock.com

It's nice to know though that there are more and more options being made available locally for homeschoolers, especially on the high school level! Hurray for CFA! :) If you have kids of high school age or know parents who do, perhaps you'd like to try homeschooling them! Go to the CFA High School page here to read more about it. :)

You can also call CFA at 7259999 for more information. :)

God bless y'all! :)