homeschooling inigo: a bitter-sweet endeavor

our schedule from monday to friday since june 2012 is like this:

morning - prepare and eat breakfast. don't ask about the exact time as it can be sooo late that your eyes might pop out and utter "WHAT???" when you read it. but if i have to bring theo to school then our morning usually starts at 8 am, except for the daddy who's still in bed before noon. hehe.

11 am - jude teaches math to iñigo. this usually starts from 11 am to 11:30. if jude is busy or has to report in the office in the morning and i feel that he's behind in this subject... i pitch in.

1 pm - lunch.

2 pm - cleaning up time.

3 pm - put theo to nap. inigo's 'learning time' with me starts a little after theo dozes off. i have a big problem if theo refuses to take a nap.

5 pm - kids' time to play in the outdoor play area. if we need to extend the learning time then there's no playtime.

if you think that we're religious on this schedule then let me tell you that we're NOT. there were days when chores and errands can be overwhelming that i had to bump off the learning time... or laziness strikes and going to the mall or letting them play (while i mind my own business) were grander ideas.

but of course there's a payment for these; hence i sometimes see myself pushing iñigo to finish one workbook in one day so we can catch up with the curriculum. as of this writing, we're only one week behind and that's because both inigo and i felt of extending the christmas break until first week of january this year.

during the first week of our homeschooling

so what is it like to teach my own child? fulfilling. it may sound cliche but it's true. it gives me a little pride that i was the only person who taught my son how to read like a third-grader and solve math problems which involve borrowing for substraction. i know it isn't much for some but for me it's a biggie. i was afraid before that i might not be able to teach him well because i'm not knowledgeable enough and/or lack teaching skills but by grace of God my son is learning from me. one big benefit of homeschooling is it really gives me an idea of my child's learning skill so I adjust my method accordingly. especially that he's in the level one step higher for his age so his cognitive skill and attention span should also be considered. patience is really a valuable tool in homeschooling. i always try my best to keep my cool but i admit that there were few episodes when i turned to be a monster mom-teacher especially when he wasn't cooperating. this i think is one of the drawbacks of being a teacher to my own son. as i also had to carry the burden of educating him, which is just as harder as disciplining, we have more moments together giving me more opportunities to see his goodness, as well as his flaws.

but if there's one thing i hate about homeschooling... it is the checking of workbooks and computing his grades! it's an ordeal for me that's why i salute all the teachers who do not only check and compute grades for one kid but for 30 or more.

by the way, iñigo is currently enrolled in grade one level in peniel christian school which is based in cainta, rizal . we came to know the school upon the recommendation of one of our wedding sponsors whose child were also homeschooled and enrolled in the same school. it is a regular school but they offer homeschooling program with a choice of curriculum--whether theirs or school of tomorrow, which is a homeschooling organization in the philippines. peniel accepted him based on his preschool's recommendation and his reading ability.

i try to make his school life as normal as possible. though we missed the educational trip that his school organized we made a few for him such as visit to luneta and fort santiago last national heroes' day. he also joined his younger's field trip in mind museum in the fort. as for his social development... he's not zero on this as he has built some friendships among the kids in our building for the past few months. lately, upon learning the national anthem thru youtube, he's been singing "lupang hinirang' almost everyday, similar to what regular school kids do before their classes start.

so is inigo missing anything because he doesn't go to a regular school? hmmm... probably it's baon. hehe

trying his best to enunciate the words in the "lupang hinirang" correctly.