Homeschooling In the Boondocks

Sharing this insight from a fellow homeschool parent. Long, but eye-opening. (Link at the end of the article).
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Dear fellow parents, I've noticed some posts where homeschooling is being used as a get-ahead technique for their kids to do well academically. While this wish is understandable, please take time to also look at the overall picture of your kid's development. I've seen a huge push for parents of kids as young as 1.5 years, 2, 3 years old looking for the "best" curriculum or program for X subject.

In the Early Years of childhood, you shouldn't be focusing on that or worrying about how to set up your homeschool classroom and finding the best books. The early years are for physical movement, and this is for your child to gain mastery of their bodies by doing nothing all day but repetition of movements they will need to do for the rest of their lives.

There is no such thing as "skipping" a developmental stage. For most Filipino families, using an andador or baby walker is their first attempt to get their babies to an advanced stage. Crawling is one of the most underrated stages, viewed as a useless step versus the more practical skill of walking. That's not true. Crawling develops muscle strength and the pattern of right-left, right-left movement builds the corpus collosum in your babies' brains. The corpus collosum is a thick bundle of nerve fibers connecting your baby's right and left hemispheres. These nerve fibers can only grow and thicken through use; your baby is not born with a corpus collosum, but it grows as they get bigger. If you take away the need for crawling by putting your baby into a baby walker, an incredible opportunity to build this is given up. It will still be triggered by walking, but a lot of biofeedback is lost when your baby is not getting the right proprioceptory input when crawling by themselves unassisted versus being in a walker that protects them from everything around them. When a child is diagnosed as developmentally delayed, this can be traced to a lack of physical movement in the early years of childhood. What is a common remedial therapy prescribed to these kids? Crawling movements. So ganun din. Hindi po natin malalamangan ang natural progression ng development ng mga baby natin. We have to trust in our baby's natural unfolding of abilities. Wag tayong padalus-dalos na maging advanced ang anak natin dahil sisingilin din tayo sa pag-iskip ng mga developmental stages.

Next topic. Trying to make your baby an Einstein by enforcing early academics (before age 7). I see posts asking for help with their kid below age 7 on how to teach Math, Science, etc by parents. A lot of these posts talk about how to motivate or alter their kids' attitudes toward learning. The problem is not with your kid or your lack of teaching skills. Your kids' whole body is telling them to MOVE, MOVE MOVE. That is the developmental task that a child below 7 needs to do and when you force them to sit still even for 20 minutes, to do worksheets, when you TEST their knowledge of the alphabet, capitals of the world, etc, you are going against what God and Nature has planned for them at this stage of their lives. No wonder your child is resisting your efforts at teaching them.

Longitudinal studies of early intellectualization show that kids' love of learning dies out sooner if you teach them academics early in life. Look at the PISA scores of the Finns, their 15 year olds leave the world lagging in the PISA but their formal schooling starts at age 7, not earlier than that.

Reading readiness is mostly a bodily condition. If your kid's proprioception is not where it should be, they will physically be unable to sit still on a chair. If they have not developed gross motor skills in early childhood, they will not have the fine motor skills needed to hold a pencil. Pencil grip is related to bodily mastery. The parent who thinks body movement is uneccessary or secondary to academics is shooting themselves in the foot. A three year old DOES NOT HAVE THE FINE MOTOR SKILLS NEEDED FOR A PENCIL GRIP. There is no curriculum out there that will overcome what a child is developmentally unready for.

Reading requires depth perception in order to properly decode the words. A proper sense of spatial orientation is essential so that a child doesn't confuse 'b' and 'd', or 'p' and 'q'. Spatial intelligence is acquired through movement, LOTS OF MOVEMENT. Only when depth perception is strong, and spatial awareness is strong, can a child be truly ready to read. You cannot "hack" reading readiness, take shortcuts or try to tease out of a child what isn't there. If you are trying to be a good parent and are frustrated that your 5 year old won't sit still to be taught... it's because deep down inside they know that being still isn't what they're supposed to be doing at that developmental stage. A parent who is unaware of what developmental stage their child is in will find it hard to deal with their kid.

About developmental stages... these are NOT fixed in stone. These milestones are merely there to watch out for. Each child shows their milestones on their own time. Watch out for fearmongering pediatricians (unless they are developmental pedias), relatives and your own expectations for what your child should be capable of. For example, sitting up on their own can happen anywhere from 3-6 months. I see humblebrag posts from uninformed parents that go like this....

"My 3 year old kid is very bright. S/he knows all her letters already but has a hard time with addition and subtraction. What curriculum is best to help her learn math?"

"My 18 month old baby isn't speaking in complete sentences yet but she can dance the macarena and bake cupcakes like Martha Stewart. What curriculum should I use so that my 18 month old can speak in fluent sentences ASAP"

First of all... looking for the right curriculum is not the solution. Being patient and knowing that timetables can vary WIDELY for developmental milestones for kids below 7 is what you should be researching. I cringe when I see these types of posts. Why? Because if your focus is always on what your baby CANNOT do, then you are sending him or her the message that they are NOT GOOD ENOUGH. It's fine to celebrate milestones. But being overly fixated on what your baby can't do, and looking for a curriculum to "fix" them to conform to your own expectations (even if they are in the normal curve for development) sends a damaging message to your child.

Another trend I see is the adultification of childhood. Ang daming mga scaled-down adult workshops na inooffer sa mga homeschoolers. Entrepreneurship for your teens? Public speaking for your 8 year old? Bakit, may end of quarter report bang ibibigay ang mga anak natin next week in front of the stockholders of San Miguel Corporation?

Let kids be kids. If you want them to be good public speakers, enroll them in age-appropriate theater classes. If you want them to be entrepreneurs, let them experience working at Jollibee to get a real-life motivation to be a business owner instead of an employee. Pineperahan lang tayo ng mga workshop holders na yan. Sa presyong 1,500 or more per head, these marketers are playing on your fears/lack of knowledge and implying that you're not a good parent if you don't sign your kid up for their adultified seminars.

So please don't use homeschooling as a tool to turn your kid into a mini-adult. Let them be kids. Let them play as much as they want instead of you trying to make everything into a "learning experience". Stop stuffing their days with "enrichment" activities and just let them do what kids are supposed to do... play. Play without your interference on what the outcome should look like. Otherwise it becomes all about them pleasing you instead of exploring their world at their own pace.

Link: https://m.facebook.com/nanaynimariavianney/photos/a.190932298217249/329233977720413/?type=3

Yup, this is why we homeschool! Whatever, whenever, wherever! 😄

RD's house shorts got a hole in it, so, he offered to mend it instead of asking me to do it. These are called "learning opportunities" when something happens and you - the parent-teacher - chooses to make it into a lesson. In this case, it teaches your child life skills. This equals a grade in TLE for him. 😊

Homeschool Tidbits: Reading

Book Title: Dewey The Small-town Library Cat Who Touched The World

Activities:
1. Answer questions about what he's read every few chapters. (Questions are mostly comprehension and drawing conclusion ones.)
2. Make a Book Report after he's done reading it.
Note: Book bought from Bookends Bookshop Philippines

Homeschool Tidbits

RD has always been interested in LEGOs, MegaBlocks and modelling kits eversince he was small and this has continued until now that he's 15 years old. The stuff he's worked with have progressed from the very simple to the more complicated ones. As a homeschool mom, I can see a lot of skills that can be developed as a result of this seemingly mundane hobby. This isn't just play. When I see RD doing this, I see the ff:
● STEM skills dev't
● fine motor skills dev't
● language dev't
● problem-solving
● spatial skills
● focus
● following instructions skills
● patience and persistence

Homeschool Tidbits: Mathematics

Found this Japanese multiplication method online and tried it ourselves! RD, who normally doesn't like Math, had so much fun doing this! 😊👏👏👏

Homeschool Tidbits: The Kite Runner

Learned that this award-winning movie would be showing on the Starworld Channel, so I took it as a real-world learning opportunity for RD, and told him to watch it.

While he is doing so, I am making questions for him to answer, concerning the movie. This will count as his class in English and "Reading."

Note: There are tones or themes of human rights abuses and social injustices in the movie. Parents should be on-hand to guide and answer the kids' questions about these while he/she is watching. The movie is rated PG-13.

Circa 2017

Homeschool Tidbits: Unexpected Learning Moments

I was printing something this morning when I saw what looked like an unusually large ant crawling on the wall. RD is an insect enthusiast, so I called him so he could look at it. He caught it and proceeded to examine it, exclaiming excitedly that it wasn't an ant but a spider! He eventually lets it go and proceeds to search for it on the internet typing "spider that looks like an ant" in the Google search bar. After a few minutes, he found a picture of it and told me it was called an "Ant Mimic Spider" commonly found in Thailand and Southeast Asia.

In a homeschool setting, this scenario would be equivalent to a science lesson. The phrase "The world is our classroom" rings true for homeschool students because anything we see or whatever we experience, anywhere we are, is a life lesson or an academic learning opportunity for us. Homeschool teachers must be ready for surprise learning moments such as these.

A Jumping Spider with a Small Cockroach in Its Jaws.

Nature Journaling hits three heads with one stone:
1. It develops the ability to observe and learn about nature. (Science)
2. It hones ones skill in drawing. (Art)
3. It allows one to progress in his/her competence in writing. (Writing and Grammar)

I put together this compilation of pictures spanning 9 years of homeschooling our son, RD. You will find notes or captions explaining how we did it, our how it is related to homeschooling or other info I would like to impart.

Our reason for homeschooling, at first, was because I didn't want to keep travelling from where we lived (which is a farm, 30 minutes from the town of Malaybalay). Our 3 older kids had gone on to college, and RD, who was 9 years younger than his older brother, was still in primary school. For many years, we plied that 30-minute trip from the time our kids were small until they left for college. It tired me out, and my husband and I were ready to try something that didn't have to warrant travelling back and forth, to and from Malaybalay everyday. So, thus, we homeschooled RD.

Many first time homeschool parents think that "homeschool" is just called that word because educational instruction is done at home. They mistakenly think that the way things are done at regular school are what a homeschooling parent does when teaching the child at home. So, rules pertaining to classroom management are made. The teaching style we are so used to at the schools we grew up in are the ones we use at home. However, it's not like that with homeschool. I found that out early on. The rigid, formal and confined space we try to impose on our child never works because his surroundings are what he associates with a place were he can do almost everything he wants, where he can let his guard down and let loose from the rigors of school; it's where he's known love, hugs, playing, eating, and the like. So when we impose a classroom-like atmosphere, he gets confused. He rebels against those rules because this is home. This isn't school. What ensues is battle of wills between a child who wants to keep his personal space as he knows it to be, against a mother/teacher who thinks she's doing the right thing.

The phrase, "The world is our classroom" is a popular one among homeschool families around the world. This means that education at home just doesn't mean that a child sits at a desk and listens to lectures, or does lessons all day like in regular schools. That's not what homeschool is. Homeschool is about life. Sometimes, we like to call homeschool "life school" because home is where we teach our kids about life. It's not just reading texts books and doing seatwork: it's everything from doing school work to doing making their beds (Home Economics) to learning how to purchase things at the store or market (Home Ec and Math). It's travelling to other places to widen our horizons and learn about other cultures (Social Studies and History), but also doing the simplest stuff like observing an ant carrying some food to its home (Science).

While we don't forsake the teaching of basic subjects like Math, English, Filipino, etc., homeschool endeavors to make the teaching of these subjects fun, even innovating ways to facilitate learning in a relaxed and fun environment. Also important is to learn what your child's learning style is. My son is kinesthetic, which means that movement is what makes him tick. I harness his learning by not forcing him to sit still when I'm teaching him because that's impossible for his type of personality. It is the main reason why we were having such a hard time in our early years of homeschooling. He couldn't concentrate. However, when I moved him off the chair and table, let him run around the room or play with a toy while I was "lecturing," he retained things. He would move around while answering questions, eat while working on his lessons, memorize while doing muay thai moves he learned at gym class (still had to travel to Malaybalay. Ugh!) Doing school this way made things easier for us. We didn't have such a hard time anymore.

So you see, it's different strokes for different folks. For those with 2 or 3 children in the home, you will be surprised to find that your kids each have different learning styles, so you may have to tailor your lessons to how they learn best. There are those who learn well when everything is quiet, then you may have to arrange for that child to work in the bedroom away from the child who likes to work on his lessons with some music playing in the background.

First mistake in homeschooling: bringing the classroom set up into your home. To quote from the book "Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style" it says - “If you try to do homeschool like a classroom school - using their course of study, their scope & sequence, their curricula, their class format, their teaching methods - then you will probably buckle under the burden & give up. And you will be right - that kind of schooling does not fit in a homeschool. Rare is the pair of parents who have the time and the talents to bear such burdens. It will truly test your commitment to Homeschooling. The great advantage of tutoring your own children at home is that much of what goes on in classroom schooling is rendered completely unnecessary.”

I hope by reading this info, and by perusing our pictures, you will have an idea what it really means to homeschool. I would love to answer any questions or suggestion you may have. This is something new for a lot of us, so let's learn from each other!

Oh, and we actually don't have any rules for homeschooling except these three words: obey, respect and love.

What Do You Watch On TV?

We are a documentary-watching family. We watch documentaries more than anything on tv. Our next favorite thing to watch are action movies, reality shows and then the news. We have a "movie night" every Saturday where we cook something special for dinner and watch a movie or a couple of documentaries while eating.

Ever since our kids were small, they've been raised to watch documentaries rather than variety shows or novelas on tv. Our sons (ages 27, 24 and 15) can identify tank models and fi****ms more than actors/actresses. They know more about how machines work than describe what's happening in the latest Koreanovela. They can tell you the differences between the SS and the Wermacht during the N**i period in world hustory. They know current events more than the latest gossip in the entertainment world or other fads that millenials are getting crazy about.

Three categories of documentaries are our staple fodder and these are: historical (usually about WW 2 or about the history of other countries), science (Mythbusters, Brain Games, etc.), and travel (culture and geography - a particular favorite channel of ours is NHK World Japan).

Our favorite reality shows are usually about cooking (Masterchef, Masterchef Kids, etc.), veterinary practice which is RD's interest (also those involving animal rescue and everyday zoo life), and wildlife (which usually cover animal conservation and care for the environment).

Documentaries are a very good source of knowledge because they offer in-depth and informative material about a particular subject.

RD is particularly interested in war documentaries. When a war docu shows up on one of the channels we frequent, we move our class schedule to accomodate the show so he can watch it. What, you may ask, does watching a war show teach RD? It goes across subjects - social studies, history, science (geography) and psychology. Most of all, it's the values that he gets: compassion for human life, understanding or tolerance for others, brotherhood, and justice. It also allows him to objectively look at why wars happen, make conclusions on why it had to happen or what could have been done to prevent it.

When RD was 10 years old, while watching the news on BBC, we came across an advertisement about a coming show involving a taxi driver named Allan Billis in England who was terminally ill. He offered his body to be experimented on by scientists who wished to replicate the way ancient Egyptians mummified their dead. We took note of the date, and RD watched the documentary till the end when the scientists inspected their work 6 months later and found that their experiment had been a success. All the gore of moving that body around and subjecting it to all sorts of concoctions did not faze RD one bit! Instead, it gave us a lot of avenues for discussion all the way from science to the subject of life after death! Even at 10 years old, RD had a lot of insights then! It was a very productive discussion!

Watching documentaries also present different topics involving social issues. It puts a face to global problems that allow us to put ourselves in others' shoes, building empathy for the struggles they are going through. It also affords a balanced view of social topics and makes the learner/viewer form opinions and choose which side to favor.

Documentaries also develops reading habits. It makes an individual want to read more about the subject matter he/she just watched. It keeps the brain active by giving the mind something new to absorb and think about. Docus also have a lower cognitive load for the learner/viewer because he or she just follows along than when reading text.

For some of us, documentaries may not be our cup of tea, but in homeschooling, it forms an essential part of learning that can impart more head knowledge than reading does since studies have shown that people only retain 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear and 30% of what they see. Docus put hearing and seeing together, and this comprises 50% retention. If you haven't incorporated documentaries into your curriculum, it's not too late to start now!

I posted this in 2012 in my now defunct website/blog. Would like to post it here again as an appreciation to all the nannies or yaya's around the world who, even if they have already left our homes, we still appreciate and remember with fondness.

"RD Returns A Favor – A Big One"

In the Philippines, it is common for some families to have at least one nanny to care for the kids. We call them “yaya”. These are the people to whom we entrust our children. They are such a fixture around the house that we sometimes take them for granted.

When RD was was still a baby, I was working as an English teacher at the University 30 minutes from where we live. So, we hired the services of a nanny and RD was watched and cared for by his Manang Wawan from the age of 6 months until the age of 6, when his yaya married then had a baby. We witnessed how she faithfully and lovingly cared for him with nary a complaint. This post is a testament to her and our appreciation for her part in raising RD with us.

To RD’s delight, his Manang Wawan has just recently come back to work at the house with her 10-month old daughter in tow. So, while Manang Wawan is doing the house chores, RD watches and plays with Shene² (Wawan’s daughter’s nickname).

Post-script: Manang Wawan now has 2 girls, is a very active participant in women's activities in our area. She also owns one of the biggest sari-sari stores in the barangay.

Someone requested if I could post something about a father's role as a homeschool parent. Since we've just celebrated Father's Day, I thought this would be a fitting opportunity to acknowledge the role RD's dad has played in his homeschool journey.

Homeschooling dads play an either active or behind-the-scenes role in the education of their children. I've known of dads who participated by handling 1 or more subjects, there are those who do the role of a school principal, and there are those who help where or when they are needed. There is no set rule or role the fathers have in the homeschool experience since they, for the most part, have to provide for the family, unless if the mom is the breadwinner of the family, then the roles are reversed.

In our setting, because RD's dad is the breadwinner, and works in the farm, he has taught RD in honing life skills, and these are:
1) planting and harvesting crops,
2) making gardens,
3) making farm inspections - that double as nature walks,
4) hunting,
5) target practice,
6) raising and taking care of different farm animals,
7) driving and operating farm equipment,
8) carpentry and woodwork,
9) loving and caring for the environment,
10) treeplanting,
11) hiking up mountains and camping (where he learns practical survival skills), and
12) attending classes, seminars or workshops related to farming or other practical skills,
13) respect, empathy, and care for our workers (who they work alongside with, a lot of the time). Most of these are things I can never teach RD! 😄

In the area of sports, RD's dad also teaches and plays with him and our other sons (who are already in their 20s). They play tennis, badminton and have sometimes gone on bike rides together. At one time, all the siblings (including their sister) were enrolled in Muay Thai classes - which account to RD's grades in PE.

While I have played a kind of major role in RD's homeschooling experience by teaching virtually almost all his subjects, his dad has been no less marginal in the things he has taught RD because while I teach theory, my husband teaches practicality. The things he imparts to RD are those that will make him a whole person. This gives him a view of both worlds: theory and reality. This will allow him to function as a productive person since he has been schooled in both areas of life. Head knowledge is important, but life skills are more essential. The tools his dad has given him will allow him to work in his environment in a practical and compassionate way, and I think this benefits him more than I have ever taught him in the "classroom."

Below are some pictures that document RD's learning experiences with his dad.

Note: I've tried to add captions to the photos but I, somehow, can't. 😢 Please comment on any photo if you have a question. 😊

Notice for those planning to take the PEPT.

When you live in a farm, one of the most important things to learn to do is drive. Children who grow up in farms learn to drive early because they need to help in hauling or transporting stuff using farm vehicles and use other equipment essential to the farm.

Through learning to drive and by operating farm equipment, they learn responsibility early. They develop focus and concentration. They learn analytical skills and the value of estimation while driving so as not to harm any crops, animals or humans, or bump into structures while at the wheel.

Driving also teaches the child to be independent. At the same time, it boosts their self-esteem since their parents trust them with handling a supposedly grown-up task.

Driving vehicles or operating farm equipment are also considered life skills. It is something that stays with them for the rest of their life. The earlier they get good at it, the more experienced and responsible of a driver an individual will end up becoming. No matter where one is in life, driving a car will always come in handy for them.

Note: RD is only allowed to drive within farm premises and not on the highway since he cannot obtain a student permit due to his young age.

You see cooking...but I see the ff:
• Reading
• Measuring
• Math
• Following directions
• Problem solving
• Scientific concepts
• Development of focusing and attention
• Life skills

Lessons in Gardening

I don't know if some of you will remember that as kids, we always had an hour or two set aside for gardening in our curriculum in the traditional schools. However, as years passed, this program was soon phased out from some grade school programs, and children lost the ability to be able to have the pleasure of watching a plant grow and reap the benefits of harvesting and eating your own produce.

Fortunately, it's made a comeback, recently, with the DA in partnership with DepEd, through the "Gulayan ng Paaralan" Program.

Because we live in a farm, one of our goals is to teach our kids the benefits of planting your own vegetables or flowers.

Many kids nowadays have no idea how to grow plants. Their understanding of growing a garden comes from video games like Farmville, Happy Farm, or Farm Town, but these are a far cry from the real thing! There are many benefits to planting and growing your plants, and this is what we wanted to teach our children. What, you may ask, are its benefits? Let me name a few:

1. Environmental Stewardship – kids learn to take care of their environment. When we first began to plant our garden, we decided that we would not use commercial fertilizers, pesticides, or the like. This way, we teach the kids that going organic is the best way of growing edible plants. Plus, we can also teach them that the use of commercial fertilizers depletes the soil of its natural nutrients, and kills good organisms that allow for good plant growth. It also teaches kids of their responsibility to care for and look after the environment.

2. Encourages Healthy Eating – because we have made the decision to not use chemicals on any of our plants, we can confidently integrate our harvest into our daily menu at home, thereby, avoiding the buying of vegetables from markets or grocery stores – and who knows what chemicals have been applied to those vegetables? It also gives them a sense of pride when they eat what they have planted and harvested. What more if they cooked it themselves!

3. Science Awareness – children are able to learn about the science of plants, animals, insects, cause and effect (what happens when a plant is not watered properly or vice versa, or how weeds compete with plants, or what type of soil works with what kind of plant, etc.), they learn about how weather impacts the growth of plants, how taking care of the environment affects plants and things around them, etc.

4. Engages the Senses – handling soil, smelling fruits or vegetables, watching them grow, seeing colors change in ripening fruits or vegetables all contribute to the development of the senses.

5. Teaches Patience – kids develop patience especially when waiting for their planted seeds to grow or when they wait for the fruits to ripen. If a seed doesn't grow, then they plant again. Seeds and plants take different times to grow or propagate their fruits, so kids learn the art of waiting. In this world of instant gratification, patience is one desirable trait our kids need to exercise often.

6. Physical Activity – children nowadays have become shut-ins because of the age of digital technology. They’d rather stay at home and play with video games rather than go outside and play (like we used to!) Gardening makes them go out and sweat, and do something productive. It’s also a wonderful way to promote bonding among family members.

"We don't have a yard to make into a garden" you say? Then plant in old softdrink bottles, you may use sardine cans and the like. Other containers to plant in may be old sacks, old tires, bags from chips - the list is endless!

Enlist Google to help you discern what vegetables or plants grow best indoors or in whatever surroundings or environment you live in.