Truly Rich and Blessed

Another Peek at Our Homeschooling Journey — Via Mommy Talks on The Mommy Journey

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Today, I’m over at The Mommy Journey, as a guest contributor to Mommy Chris’s special features section, Mommy Talks. This year, Mommy Chris is featuring different homeschooling moms, and I am thrilled, honored and humbled to be one of them! 😉

Image from The Mommy Journey

I answered a few questions about our family’s homeschooling journey, and I wish I had brought my answers along with me to our interview on ABS-CBN/ANC last week, as I feel like I had wanted to say so many things but wasn’t able to think straight most of the time, as I was focused on keeping the kids behaved during the interview! LOL!

Anyway, here’s my answer to Chris’s question on why we chose to homeschool our kids. 🙂

My husband and I first heard about homeschooling when I was still pregnant with our eldest child. We were still based as missionaries for CFC in Timor Leste (East Timor) then, and had come home to Manila to attend CFC’s 25th Anniversary celebration. One of the events we attended was a pro-life conference, where the speakers included people from Human Life International in the US. We were intrigued when it was mentioned that one of the things people could do to support the pro-life movement was to “homeschool your kids, if possible.” We eventually also heard a little bit more about homeschooling from Catholic lay preacher Bo Sanchez, who homeschools his two kids along with his wife, Marowe, and founded the Catholic Filipino Academy.
As our son grew, we felt drawn to homeschooling and did our research on it and prayed about it and researched and prayed some more. I guess the turning point came when we tried having him sit in during a few preschool classes at one of the schools in Timor, just to try it out. After those “failed attempts,” we realized that he was learning more at home than what he could learn in that school. (I wrote a blog post about that here, if you want to read it, hehe!)
Now that our kids are a bit older, I would have to say that our main reasons for homeschooling are:
a. We believe that this is God’s call for us at this particular point in our lives. (I wrote about that here, teehee!)
b. We want to pass on the faith and values that we hope will bring our kids (and ourselves) to our eternal home in heaven. :) 
c. We want to cherish the time with our children while we still can, and make the most of their childhood years.

Now, if only I had actually said these things during the ANC interview!! Hahahaha! Anyway, I answered a few other questions aside from this one on Chris’s blog and I hope you’ll be able to take the time to read my answers — just click here!
Blessings on us all! 😉 And to my readers in the Philippines, stay safe, warm, dry and healthy!
P.S. Let’s say a special prayer for all those affected by the recent rains and flooding here in the Philippines! And do our part to help in whatever way we can! 😉

Truly Rich Recommendations: Homeschool Your Kids, If You Can! {PLUS The Top 25 Homeschooling Blogs {from Circle of Moms}

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Since this is usually the time of year when parents are on the lookout for a good school for their kids, I thought I’d share the following reasons why parents should at least consider homeschooling their kids, taken from an article written by Lynda Altman on the examiner.com website: 
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1) No one has more interest in your child’s success than you do. Raising children involves teaching them on a daily basis.
2) You are qualified to teach your child. If there is a subject that you are unfamiliar with, that is what curriculum is for.
3) Homeschooled children consistently outperform their traditionally schooled peers on standardized tests. This superior test performance is across all socio-economic and ethnic lines.
4) Children who are home schooled have superior social skills to their traditionally schooled peers. Traditional school children learn gang mentality and bully tactics on unsupervised or poorly supervised playgrounds. Homeschooled children are supervised. Anti-social behaviors are quickly corrected. Homeschooled children interact better with adults than traditionally schooled children do.

5) With individualized attention home school children accomplish more in a day than most traditional public schools do in a week.

6) According to the US Department of Education, 1.5 million US families home school their children. The numbers are growing as more and more families are tired of a broken public school system that is barely able to teach.
7) Special needs children receive superior support services at home. This includes needs such as speech, vision, occupational therapy, gifted, autism and other support services. I have had 4 children with various needs in the public school system in 3 different states. Not one of them ever received the services promised in their IEP or those mandated by the Federal Disabilities Act.
8) The number of affluent Americans homeschooling their children is rising. This is due to frustrations over classroom behaviors, lack of learning and the desire to teach their children as they see fit.
9) Home school offers superior educational experiences to traditional schools. Field trips and travel are just a few of the things homeschoolers offer their kids.
10) Children who are homeschooled work at their own pace. They are not bound to state mandated curriculums and can advance to higher level work when ready. The same holds true for children who need more work in some areas. Home school children work on mastery of a subject, not just passing grades. 

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This comic illustration by Jim Erskine also cites some good reasons to homeschool: 😉



Remember though, that while homeschooling is a great opportunity for BOTH parents and children, it is not for everyone. I always tell parents who contact me and ask me about homeschooling to really pray, discern and do their research. 


Now, thanks to my friend and fellow homeschool-work-at-home-mom blogger Blessie of the Nanay Notebook, I can direct such parents to the blog post below to help them in their discernment and  decision-making:
Is Homeschooling for Your Child? {On the Nanay Notebook}
How to Start Homeschooling ~ A Response to Mommy L’s Letter (a post I wrote on my homeschooling blog, inspired by Mommy Blessie’s post above)

Incidentally, if you want to read popular Catholic lay preacher and homeschool dad Bo Sanchez’s thoughts on homeschooling, you can click on the links below:
Will Homeschool Work For Your Kids?
We Don’t Send Our Kids to School

The people over at Homefires.com also did a GREAT job of compiling different “Top 10” lists for choosing homeschooling. You can see the links here.

Lastly, I mentioned in the title of this post that it would contain the top 25 homeschooling blogs, according to the voting contest held last year by Circle of Moms. Here’s the link to that, in case you need some homeschool help and/or ideas: http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/homeschooling-blogs

I hope that more and more parents would consider homeschooling their kids. Admittedly though, our own homeschool is still in its “growing pains and gains” stage, but I believe that with God’s grace and anointing, He’ll equip, empower and inspire us to move forward in this journey, for as long as He calls us to! 😉 Pray for us, please!

Homeschooling From A Dad’s Perspective

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My favorite lines from this homeschooling dad’s honest, witty blog post (which I think ALL homeschoolers, wannabe-homeschoolers, curious-about-homeschooling-people should read!):

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And all (our kids) do well on the standardized testing for what it’s worth. 

..your kids aren’t going to turn out stupid cause of homeschooling, they may for other reasons :).”


“But even if we choose to send our kids to school we are still ultimately the ones who have to answer for how they turn out. And I’m not just talking about how smart they are, what college they get accepted to or how much their future jobs pay. We are talking about what kind of people they become and the future of their souls.“

“…it (homeschooling) has to be a mutual decision; it’s not going to work if both aren’t in agreement, it’s way too demanding for that.”


Reading this blog post, I found myself nodding lots of times and laughing out loud occasionally. Most of all, I found myself thanking the LORD that Anthony is one supportive husband and homeschool dad! 🙂 So blessed to have you honey!


Below is the entire post from Sardonic Catholic Dad (who is a dad of TWELVE! My gosh! And all were/are being homeschooled! See, anything is possible with God! *Especially for all you homeschool skeptics out there – you know who you are! hehe).

Should we homeschool or not? We get that question from time to time. While I can’t make that decision for you, here are a few thoughts from one dad’s point of view.


Homeschooling is a lot cheaper than Catholic schools but more than public schools. Catholic schools are around (US$) 5k for k-8th and 10k+ for 9th-12th grades in our area (your results may vary). So 13 years of schooling X 11 kids X $5,000-$10,000 = Are you out of your freaking mind? So Catholic schools aren’t even an option for our family. Homeschooling costs as little as few hundred dollars a year. Especially if you build up a nice family library.


I’m not that impressed with the Catholic schools anyways. Maybe the education is better than at public schools (I hope so for the $$$ they charge) but the behavior of the kids doesn’t seem much better than of the public school kids. Not that homeschool kids are all little angels either (Tina: I can so relate! haha). Sometimes I can’t tell any difference behavior wise. It basically comes down to the parents.


Plus a lot of the Catholic schools around here are Catholic in name only. Friends of ours are constantly complaining about them and taking their kids out and either homeschooling them or sending them to the public schools. And if they aren’t complaining about the costs or lack of true Catholic teaching, then they are complaining about the 2-3 hours of homework in the evenings. Heck you can be finished homeschooling in 3 hours a day. Plus you get the added bonus of no PTA meetings or teacher/parent conferences.


As parents we are the ‘primary educators’ (in quotes cause I hate that term) of our kids. In other words we are responsible for them. Not the government or some paid professional (although there are lots of great teachers out there). But even if we choose to send our kids to school we are still ultimately the ones who have to answer for how they turn out. And I’m not just talking about how smart they are, what college they get accepted to or how much their future jobs pay. We are talking about what kind of people they become and the future of their souls. It’s a huge responsibility. One best not pondered too much if you want to sleep at night.


For Sam and me the decision was easy and it was made even before we were married. And it has to be a mutual decision; it’s not going to work if both aren’t in agreement, it’s way too demanding for that. But so far it has turned out great for us. The 2 oldest have each graduated HS 2 years early. The first is finishing up her second year at the local community college and will be transferring to a four year college in the fall. The second is at a pre-seminary and will be attending a regular seminary in the fall. Each has done very well on their SAT’s and in their college course work. The other kids are all on track to finish 1 or 2 years early. And all do well on the standardized testing for what it’s worth. So your kids aren’t going to turn out stupid cause of homeschooling, they may for other reasons :).


Don’t get me wrong it’s not a piece of cake. As husbands we must support our wives. I’m assuming that the wives are the main ones doing the teaching. If you as a couple decide this is the way to go then you have to support your wife as best you can.


No coming home from work and complaining that the house is messy and dinner isn’t ready – guilty of that myself. You have to be willing to put up with a little more mess around the house, a little less fancy cooking, more housework for yourself and helping out with the schooling when needed. And yes that can be annoying at times, tough, deal with it.


There may be days when your wives will question the decision – they may question it every hour of the day and curse your name for agreeing to it. But they probably do that for other well deserved reasons already so what’s one more? Just be there for them and be supportive. Sometimes they just need to vent a little bit about why little Johnny at age 8 still can’t read, eats paste and boogers and exposes himself in public. While the neighbor’s 8 year-old at the swanky private school is fluent in French and can solve quadratic equations. Don’t worry I’m sure your son will be able to whip theirs in sports at least.


My kids seem to enjoy it for the most part. They complain on occasion but they complain about everything on occasion. The industrious ones are working on their school right after breakfast and are done before noon. They then have lots of play/free time, after chores are done of course. The lazier ones might still be doing school work when I get home from work (you know who you are). But none of them hate it. At least I think they don’t hate it…I’m afraid to ask.


What about HS you ask? What about it? Lots of parents school the kids through the 8th grade and then put their kids in a high school. Others school them all through high school. We happen to use tutors. Our HS age kids go to tutors 1 or 2 days a week. You are an adult, you will figure out what’s best.


So whether you are doing it for spiritual, social or educational reasons; or all 3 like we are, I don’t think you will regret trying it out. It’s pretty darn cool when your little one sits down to read you a book and it’s your lovely bride who has taught them how to read. Anyway the schools will always take the little darling back…I think.


Honey, I don’t say it enough. I love you and appreciate all you do. Especially schooling the little balls of sunshine.



Save The Family, Save The World!

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Yesterday (October 16), hubby and I were privileged to be able to attend a Parenting for Pro-Life Seminar organized by Pro-Life Philippines. I had recently signed up for their newsletter and saw the invitation so hubby and I registered for it. It cost us P300 per head but since we believe that educating ourselves about PRO-LIFE and PARENTING are two things that we should invest in, we knew that the money would be put to good use. (Despite the fact that we had just registered for the  on Friday, and were P1000 poorer hehehe. We believe that this event will also enrich and empower us to be better Christian parents. If you’re interested in registering, go  for more details).
Anyway, as I said, it was a morning well spent in the company of parents, teachers, guidance counselors, pro-life workers and nuns who had one objective: TO RAISE GODLY CHILDREN ACCORDING TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH. The speakers, Mr. Raphael and Mrs. Karmelita Ocoma of HAKBANG (Haplos At Kalinga sa Buhay ng Anak at MagulaNG), were a dynamic and often amusing couple team who spoke lengthily about Effective Parenting for Peace and Nation-building.
What hubby and I liked most about the seminar was that the speakers not only emphasized the importance of positive, gentle but firm parenting, but also spoke a lot about being PROUD TO BE FILIPINO. Being someone who grew up overseas, this is something that my parents chose to instill in us kids, despite the fact that a lot of our other peers’ parents weren’t doing the same thing. Ang galing talaga! It strengthened our resolve to teach our kids, especially Tim who is preschool age now, the IMPORTANCE of LOVING OUR COUNTRY! (Now if only teaching him Filipino were easy! Haay.) Oh well, it is never too late to start. Look at all the Fil-Am stars who learnt to speak Filipino, and even the Koreans! 🙂 There is hope for Tim! 🙂 hehe.
Anyway, here are a few “quotable quotes” from the seminar:
Parenting is partnership with GOD.
The 3 S’ of Christian Family Spirituality are Stewardship, Simplicity and Sharing.

The strongest evidence of love is suffering. Redemptive suffering love is the most beautiful love of all.

The home in Filipino is TAHANAN. Tahan na. A place where one can stop and rest.

Parents are the child’s first teachers. (Go homeschooling! 🙂 Yey!)
Be responsible to a SONG. Self, Others, Nation, God.

Our first power lies in our dignity as a child of God. (We are aware of this already but it is always good to be reminded!)
The greatest challenge of a parent is to make our children happy.

There are no bad children, only bad behavior. (Must remind myself of this every day!)
True love comes about when we look at each other equally and respect each other. This applies to parents and children as well (even our little toddlers and preschoolers!).

CHRIST is in CRISIS. CHRIST IS.
There are lots more and hopefully once I’m able to get a copy of the slide show presentation they used, I can share it with you here later on.
But my alltime favorite is this:
Save the family and you save this nation.
Save the family and you save the world.
Save the family and you save the Christian civilization.
Save the family and you save yourselves.

Powerful stuff huh? Presented in a simple yet profound way. What I liked also about Mr. and Mrs. Ocoma was they also shared about a lot of their personal experiences as a couple and parents, and of people whom they had met in their ministry. Their practical tips for dealing with behavior problems and teens were quite insightful too. They even did mini-skits to portray the different ways that parents should deal with their children’s behavior.
All in all, it was P600 (excluding our transport costs and lunch of course! hehehe) well spent. Pro-Life Philippines provided snacks and a certificate of attendance for all participants, plus some pro-life magazines and brochures. Yehey! 🙂
Next month’s seminar will be about “True Love Waits.” Check out Pro-Life Philippines website here for more updates and information about how you can be EDUCATED and support the work for LIFE. No to the RH BILL, YES to HOUSE BILL No. 13! Save the family, save the world!

Homeschool Education Levels Well Above National Averages – U.s. – Catholic Online

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Last week I was able to talk to a fellow missionary mom who said that her husband was not too keen on homeschooling because he wanted his son to learn leadership skills, and how would he do that if he didn’t have any classmates to lead? I told her that maybe he (and she) could read up more on all the online resources that actually support the “cause” of homeschooling especially those that feature great people in history who were actually homeschooled, like those listed below:
(Source: http://www.home4schoolgear.com/famoushomeschooler.html)
Inventors
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Cyrus McCormick
Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright		 Artists
Claude Monet
Leonardo da Vinci
Jamie Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singleton Copley
Presidents
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Abraham Lincoln
Theordore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Delano Roosevelt		 Composers
Irving Berlin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Francis Poulenc
Scientists
George Washington Carver
Pierre Curie
Albert Einstein
Booker T. Washington
Blaise Pascal

I also found this inspiring article that further cements the case for homeschoolers and trying hard homeschoolers like our family. 🙂
Here’s to homeschooling – the BEST education you can give your child! 🙂

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