Our First Year Homeschooling

The school year is almost over. We are about to finish up on our lessons and conclude our 1st year of homeschooling. It has been a great journey so far. I am so grateful that we have more "up" days than "down" days so far. I have seen my daughter grew in her love of reading, learning and studying the Word of God. I also learned more about my daughter's strengths and weaknesses. My son also has finally begun to love learning on his own.

We were also blessed to have been able to find a local homeschool support group which meets once a month. I have learned so much from veteran homeschooling parents and of course, I am glad that my kids met other children who are homeschooled too. At least, they know that they are not alone in their homeschooling journey. We were also able to find a ballet class located near our home so we could easily attend the classes. In fact, they will be having ballet recital very soon.

During this summer break, I want to find an art class, sports lessons or music lessons too. We might look for guitar lessons or piano lessons which are affordable. We were not able to focus much on those areas during the school year but I am really praying for good resources.

It is truly inspiring to see your kids learn and to learn about them at the same time! Thank you Lord for such a great opportunity that you gave me.

On Evaluations and Assessments

We have been homeschooling for the past 3 weeks now. We have somewhat adjusted our daily routines already. I know and I acknowledge that it is only through the grace of God that we are able to homeschool effectively.

This week, we have been having our quizzes on most of our subjects. Some of the teacher’s guides have built in test questionnaire but most of the time, I have to be the one who will create the test questions. I know that I need to implement a fair and open testing so that I can really evaluate whether my daughter has learned anything from what we studied together. I read the article A Better Way to Assess Students and Evaluate Schools and it really has some information on how to assess the kids other than using tests. Instead of focusing on standardized tests, we must check the work done by the students.

So whenever I want to create test, I can use websites such as ProProfs Quiz Maker. It is a free quiz maker which has many features like security, scoring and time limits. There are over 6 types of quizzes to choose from and you can add videos and images to make the quiz more interesting too! The exam builder results can also be analyzed through stats and reports.

This is a very useful tool for homeschoolers, and it is also available for corporations to use.

We've Started!

We have started homeschooling yesterday, it has been an exciting journey so far... Kyla said that she enjoyed and she even told me that I teach good. I am glad that she has taken the beginning of this journey positively. I believe I can be more prepared so I got to adjust some more. I am learning a lot about time management and balancing my day.

Another School Year Is About To Begin!

Another school year is about to start and I really can't believe it but my little girl is now entering 1st Grade. Where did time go? I can still remember when she started going to formal school in Kindergarden... now, a new chapter begins in our lives as we have decided to homeschool her this year.

We want to homeschool her while she is still in her formative years. We want to be the first teachers and to be the biggest influencers in her life. We want to put an emphasis on Christian living and I just want to do this, because I believe that this is what God wants me to do.

Now, that doesn't mean I am not nervous, because I am. I am not sure if I can pull this off, if I am disciplined enough with time management, if I am skilled enough to teach 1st grade, if I am giving the best for my kids...

But at the end of the day, as I pray about this... I know God is with me in this. His peace guides my heart and the support of my hubby reaffirms that we are going in the right direction.

Aloha Friday - Homeschool

"In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response." To participate just post your own question on your blog, head over to An Island Life, and fill out Mr. Linky.

My question:

If you have kids, would you homeschool them or not? Why?

The reason I am asking this is because I am considering homeschooling my kids for the next school year... I am still praying about it and researching if it is feasible here in the Philippines.