Homeschooling..

[happiemommie]

thanks for all your inputs mommies! 

i'm also considering to homeschool my children.. my worries are:
1) is it not depriving them of the chance to experience "a normal student life"? like syempre when we're older, we get to reminisce our grade school days, friends, experiences..
2) di kaya  sila ma-shock pag labas nila sa "real world"? syempre, they would be shielded from bullying & other harsh realities when they are at home..
3) would they not become too dependent on their parents?
4) another thing pala is how do you explain to the child why he is in a different school set-up? nakikita kasi nung toddler ko yung cousin nya pag papasok ng school na naka-uniform & all... at lagi nyang sinasabi na gusto na din daw nya pumasok ng school and may concept na din sya na iba ang teacher sa mommy..

to those who have been successful in homeschooling their kids,  pls enlighten me.. TIA

I've just bumped into a comprehensive site that addresses most of my homeschool concerns:

http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/decision-making/39267.html?detoured=1

[delisyus]

happiemommie
haven't read the link but as an answer to your concerns: something will only be an issue with our kids if we 1) make it an issue, and 2) allow it to be an issue

also, if you got to the CFA site, your concerns are also addressed by Bo in one of his articles there


hardyrisa.... homeschooling can cost as cheap as cost of educ materials lang (paper, art materials, chalk/whiteboard, pens, etc)  up to millions (kasi if you can afford it, baka maisipan mong bumili ng sarili nyong farm as a lesson on animal appreciation).

if you're going to enroll in curriculums, average is P20-40k

if you're going to enroll your child in other activities (sports, art or music classes) or enrichment stuff (brain training, hobby classes like cooking  or fashion), additional din yun

depends din what materials you'll use (like sa Waldorf kasi, yun ang mahal... crayons and paper they use are super expensive)

what kind of field trips you'll take

and how resourceful the parents are (can you make your own flash cards? utilize the net? etc)

and whether or not the parents can do it for their kids (will smith hires teachers to homeschool his kids)

[delisyus]

tentative sked ng next HS introduction at TMA is january 27 8:30-10:30 am... diagnostic tests for incoming elem/hs students (with fees) will also happen that time at 9:30 am.

[dolly]

Mga sis, feedback naman po sa HAP, US accredited sila. Okay na kaya kung sa kanila ako kumuha ng pang-preschool at 1st year highschool? Di naman siguro magkaka-problem sa paglipat ano. Thanks

[rivalill]

Hi homeschooling mommies... this thread has been super helpful, so thank you everyone!

Based kami ng family ko sa province and wala talagang maayos na school dito, lalong lalo na for my eldest daughter who will be 12 this week. I am currently looking for a distance-learning program for her para sa next school year(bale grade 6 sya ngayon).
I am leaning towards School of Tomorrow... anybody here have experience with their programs for homeschooling older kids? So far sila ang pinaka affordable sa mga ni-research ko... how much are the costs for TMA? I've gotten mixed feedback, nasa 40k ba? 30-40k is a little too expensive for me because I'm a single mom(no dad support) and I have 3 young girls. For now my 2 younger kids will remain in traditional schools while I adjust to homeschooling, pero balak ko din sila ilipat after 1-2 years depending on how it goes. Wala rin akong choice, eh... pangit talaga lahat ng school dito. Sigh. E d nasa 90-120k na lahat-lahat kapag lahat sila homeschooled na. :p
Any suggestions, advice, cheaper alternatives, etc?

I had homeschooling myself nung highschool ako and can attest it is truly the best way to learn- no distractions, no wasted time, and at your own pace(which is actually faster as long as you are on top of things)... no bad teachers pa(unavoidable yan sa mga traditional schools, lalo na sa province!) and no boyfriends hahaha  :p

Babawi nalang kami sa extra-curricular activities such as dance and gymnastics.

[rivalill]

Thanks Kitchen Goddess for your pm! I'm not able to reply in messages, so I'm replying here. I checked out Angelicum's website and it's pretty comprehensive. No mention of tuition, though. Anybody know kung magkano ang tuition nila? Thanks again. 

Has anyone here ever heard of "Home Life Academy"? US school. It is extremely affordable, and I think they are online based rather than textbook based? I'm probably wrong about that. Their fees are similar to School of Tomorrow wherein you pay a one time fee per family. Not sure though, haven't done my research on it yet. If anyone knows any details please post it here.

[lclanzaderas]

i have just applied for Catholic Filipino Academy's Special Nursery Program.  waiting for feedback on when i will get the materials. 

[l4dybu6]

eto some info from Living Heritage Academy by School of Tomorrow:

Schedule of Fees in Philippine Peso.

Diagnostic Test   1,000.00      

One-Time Registration Fee per Family   15,000.00      
One-Time Registration Fee per Student    2,500.00      

Annual Tuition Fee per Student      
  a.  Levels 1-8 (Grade 1-6)   3,000.00      
  b.  Levels 9-11 (1st Yr. – 3rd Yr.) 3,500.00      
  c.  Level 12 (4th Yr.)    4,000.00   

PACEs (Packet Accelerated Christian Education)

These are the modules that the students use.  They are both a workbook and textbook.  The cost varies depending on the student’s level:

·        Colored PACEs (U.S. Print) – Php120.00 – Php160.00 each
·        Black and White (Local Print) – Php45.50 – Php62.00 each
·        Score Keys (U.S. Print)– Php120.00 – Php160.00 each

pwede po kaya installment sa kanila?

[lclanzaderas]

The courier delivered the materials of the Special Nursery Program to us this morning.  I was excited and nervous as I opened the package.  I told myself: “This is it!  I’m actually doing it.”  I am going to start homeschooling my daughter.  =)

[tiggerlily]

^Sounds exciting! Keep us posted!

[ilovecoach]

sa tma grade 1, may idea po ba kayo ano ang mga subjects? 

wala kasi ako nakuhang reply sa email na pinadala ko.

thanks.

[ella]

Hi mga sis,

pasali rin ako dito sa thread, I am contemplating na rin to homeshool my kids. my question lang is going grade 2 na yung eldest ko but since I am planning to do homeschooling for my kids, ok lang ba na i home school ko si eldest?

based on my observation kasi sa school and teacher niya, hindi siya nag grow sayang yung naging foundation niya nung preschool niya. so instead of looking, finding a good school sa mga anak ko I decided na lang na ako na lang ang magtuturo sa kanila. at least alam ko sa sarili ko na I give my best para sa education nila 

saka mas makakasave din ako sa "tuition fees" nila kasi 3 kids ang anak ko. the eldest is going grade 2, the next one is incoming grade 1 and my bunsoy is pwede na sa nursery  so instead of paying huge amount of money para sa mga tuition fees nila and di naman ako sure sa quality ng pagtuturo nila, ako na lang ang magiging teacher nila.

i am planning sa cfa, still waiting sa reply nila kasi kakainquire ko pa lang. sana lang ma carry ko siya ng maayos, siguro naman kaya since I am a education graduate so I alreay have an idea how to make lesson plans and how to conduct a graded exams and recitations, exciting! 

plan ko rin na isabay sa homeschooling yung pamangkin ko, so 3 students na kaagad sila at least parang nasa school setting din sila.

any tips and ideas mga mommy how did you start your home school program? syempre maga bata yun and alam nila na ikaw ang mother nila so kahit papano may tendency na maging lax sila sa iyo kasi mommy ka eh. yun lang main concern ko, susunod kaya sila sa akin?

[sweet angel]

^sis, nagprep yung anak ko sa cfa, ok naman kasi me lesson plan. di naman problema na ako yung nagtuturo sa kanya kasi mula simula naman ako na nagturo magbasa saka inexplain ko sa kanya bakit need namin gawin yun imbes na magaral sya sa traditional school.

[polka08]

seriously thinking of homeschooling my 5 year old son, incoming prep. ok ba sa CFA? i'm nervous and scared.... this will be something new to us.

[iceebaby]

In my experience, the 1st year is the most challenging time of homeschooling. Kaya what I like about the homeschool curriculum we used is meron silang 18 week refund - if it didn't work for you. But, don't vouch on surrendering!

It's exciting but it's a commitment. You can either be a lenient, flexible homeschooler (no sched to start and schooling even in pajamas) or the strict and stick straight one (yung may uniform pa kahit you're at home).

Just strike a balance between you family and your child's learning style. Most importantly is set a GOAL first. Goal of what your child should be able to know by the end of a trimester and year end.

Basta, my guarantee... if you were able to make it till 20 weeks (keep that as a goal)... the next weeks after that is like part of you already. It just gets there and also, homeschooling parents are very creative!

[polka08]

i've been talking about it with my son. he said he wants to homeschool na lang.
very traumatic kasi for both of us yung experiences nya sa regular/traditional school eh. so i've been thinking either orignal montessori style learning or we give homeschooling a try.
sis iceebaby i saw your blog and truly admire what you're doing. galing! 

[iceebaby]

Hi Sis Polka, thanks.

Try homeschool, sis. If there is something I love about homeschool, that would be knowing my son better. I also have more time in sharing my heart to him. I want him to grow up as a gentleman not just a grown up boy. Shempre, how to treat girls... would be another plus. hehe...

What happened to your son in regular school?

[polka08]

He has poor grades and does not get along well with some classmates. He has been labelled as bad. Everyday when he goes home lagi na lang the classmate either punched or kicked him. Medyo makulit kasi sya, sabik sa kalaro kasi only child and does not get to play much with other kids his age. Classmate nya na kukulitan sa kanya.
We were thinking na nga na baka there is something wrong with him. Dun kasi sa previous school niya medyo di rin naglilisten sa teacher gusto lagi gawin lang yung gusto nya though mas better sya dun kesa sa school nya now na traditional.
We had him checked naman sa dev ped and normal results. Sa OT normal din diagnosis. what we did tuloy is we put him on work behavior training/modification to address behavior concerns in school.
Our concern lang sa homeschool eh baka lalo ma affect socialization nya since only child nga. If ever I'm thinking I'll be enrolling him sa different activities like soccer etc..

[iceebaby]

Aww... walang bad na kid but those who tell him that he is bad are the bad ones.

If his grades in school are affected, I do think it is good to focus on him in homeschool. My son hated school din and parang nag sawa din sa regular school so I homeschooled him. Since if you homeschool, makikilala mo how your child behave and everything about his likes, and learning style. So, you can tailor fit ang extra curricular activites based dun sa tingin mong way for him to focus and listen.

I also think, na your son has Bodily Kinesthtic Intelligence and tama ka... soccer is a very good venue to release those energy. My friend who has a very active son and laging may kaaway and yet very emotional... di din niya alam niya gagawin niya. I asked him to enrol his son in Futbol Funatics... ay grabe! He was one of the best in the team.

If you were to start your homeschool, naiimagine ko ang homeschool mo to be an active school, many park and tours. Exciting!

[polka08]

actually sa everyday na nag susumbong sa kin yung son ko na everyday sinasabihan sya ng bad with matching punch and kick... nainis na rin ako. i told him tuloy na "you tell your classmates that they are the ones who are bad since they verbally abusing you!" 

i think you might be right about the bodily kinesthetic intelligence kasi sa PE and Arts lang mataas grade niya. kaya i'm thinking na pag nag homeschool kami i have to make it really fun and exciting with matching games

I just inquired at CFA. i hope to get a reply soon

thanks din sis for letting me know about futbol fanatics