YOU will be blessed to hear from the children when their parents (who we heard from last week) decided to transfer them from a regular school to be ”home-schooled.”
“Brent,” Grade 7: When I first learned that I was gonna be homeschooled, I was sad and worried as I didn’t want to lose my friends in school. I consistently objected but I had to submit to my parents’ authority so I braced myself for change. I read an article on how ‘homeschooling ruined my life’. However, it was very different in my experience. For months I missed my friends and teachers of course, but then my homeschool experience felt like walking out of a dark tunnel into an open field full of sunshine. Homeschooling turned out to be wonderful!
My parents let us experience what it is like to be “unschooled” and flex. We unlearn the ways of the traditional school and detox from a rigid timeline. We travel a lot, our world becomes our classroom, we learn a lot that could never be found in a text book and in the four corners of the classroom. One epic trip was when our family took a land trip from Mindanao to Luzon and back. It taught us geography, history, culture, economics, Filipino, math and science. Sure, we learn about land and terrains at school but it isn’t comparable experiencing them first hand. Also, while on the road, I learned important life skills that foster our emotional intelligence, gratitude, responsibility, compassion, and awe of God’s amazing creation. It’s really a lifestyle where education is integrated in family activities and community life. There may be ups and down to homeschooling, but at this point in time, I regret nothing.
My most challenging subject is math, but my mom hired a tutor for a certain subject that she doesn’t want to get stressed out. As I get used to homeschooling, I now have a new mindset, not boxed and time bound, but one that is free flowing, more of a family and God centered ideal. And for that I would like to thank my mom for her undying love and sacrifices for me and my siblings in our homeschool journey and to my dad who worked really hard to provide for the needs of our family and helping other people too. Above all, God has given us the blessings and opportunities and his guidance to help us in this lifelong journey.
Cid, Grade 3: At first I was excited because I will just stay at home and no need for me to wake up early. But then my mom enrolled me in numerous activities that kept me going out of the house and I was confused, because I thought homeschooling was just staying and studying at home. Nonetheless I didn’t have a hard time adjusting to our new routine. I just take long in Filipino and A.P. lessons because I’m not good at them. But I can work at my own pace and my teacher-mama is considerate. The things I like are: I get to do fun activities doing our integrated lessons in mapeh, math and science through baking, cooking, gardening, farming, biking with my siblings every day, spending more time with the family, helping my dad paint the house, helping my mom take care of our baby Dwayne. The not so fun part is that I seldom see my old friends anymore. My only encouragement to fellow homeschoolers is, whenever you are struggling to complete a task or your workload is just too heavy, don’t give up and pray to God and He will help you get through it. And whenever you fail in something or if you’re sad that you did not make it, you just have to pray. God bless you.
