A few weeks ago (or maybe just one week ago -- it's getting hard to keep accurate track of time these days), Josh asked me if he could have his own blog.
"What do you want a blog for?" I asked.
"I want to write about dinosaurs," he said.
So I downloaded a free template on Btemplates.com and uploaded it into Blogger and -- voila! Josh's blog: Josh's Dinosaurs, at http://joshdinosaur.blogspot.com. Check it out!
PS: Josh asks if you could please leave a comment there. He'd really like that. Thanks in advance!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Market Survey
Last Saturday, Josh and I decided we're going to try our hand at selling. So Josh and Bea went around, asking their playmates, "What do you like to eat most?"
The most common answers they got were "chocolates" and "marshmallows."
So yesterday, we went shopping for ingredients to make chocolate syrup that they could dip bread sticks and marshmallows in.
Today, we experimented with condensed milk and cocoa powder to find the best way possible for us to make chocolate syrup. Here are our two top contenders:
Here are the results of their survey:
In taste and appearance, the less viscous syrup won hands down. So (note to self) that means we'll use one-fourth cup condensed milk per teaspoon of cocoa powder, plus five teaspoons of water and one-fourth teaspoon butter.
When do we start selling? When my businessmen learn to give change.
The most common answers they got were "chocolates" and "marshmallows."
So yesterday, we went shopping for ingredients to make chocolate syrup that they could dip bread sticks and marshmallows in.
Today, we experimented with condensed milk and cocoa powder to find the best way possible for us to make chocolate syrup. Here are our two top contenders:
Yeah, I know, they're not very pretty here. They look better in real life. (Yeah, right.)
That's Bea holding the samples. She and Josh then went around asking their playmates, "Which looks better? Which tastes better?"
In taste and appearance, the less viscous syrup won hands down. So (note to self) that means we'll use one-fourth cup condensed milk per teaspoon of cocoa powder, plus five teaspoons of water and one-fourth teaspoon butter.
When do we start selling? When my businessmen learn to give change.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Making the Computer Child-Friendly
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| Source: Ian Britton FreeFoto.com |
Today, while my children do play outdoors and enjoy reading books and building things from scratch, they also watch the television (forgive me, Father, for I have sinned), and yes, they do go on the computer a lot. My excuse? As a work-at-home mom locked up in my bedroom office at least eight hours a day, it's hard for me to make sure they stay off the computer. That's what I tell myself anyway.
To keep them out of dangerous sites, I have installed K9 cyberprotection software. But it still worries me...
Then a friend, Abby Sasscer, from our online Catholic homeschool group on Facebook shared with us some child-friendly educational Web sites that she uses in homeschooling her kids. What a blessing! Now I can block all sites from my kids' user account and allow only these, and they will still never be bored (and yes, they will be learning good things too).
To pay the gift forward, I am now sharing with the rest of you the links that I have bookmarked from Abby's list:
- EWTNKids: Educational Web site by the EWTN Global Catholic Network. It offers a fun way to teach Catholic kids about their Church and their faith. All materials are free.
- Starfall.com: A kindergarten site perfect for teaching reading and early literacy. All materials are free.
- SpellingCity: Teach your kids not just spelling but also writing, parts of speech, alphabetical arrangement, and vocabulary. A lot of materials are free. Paid membership is only $25 per year, and allows you to register as many as five children!
- Sheppard Software: Provides excellent and free educational games for different grade levels. I enjoyed playing the games as much as my kid did (maybe even more, ha ha ha).
- Time4Learning: Provides state-standard curriculum, lesson plans, and activities for your kids. Even keeps records and portfolio for you. I call it the lazy mom's way to homeschool. My seven-year-old tried their demo lessons and practically begged me to register so that he could access the others. Cost is $20 per month for the first kid and $15 for all other kids that follow. We're trying it out with Josh for one month. If all goes well, we'll use it the rest of the year and add Bea next year when she enters first grade. I'll write a review soon. Watch out for it!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Kolbe in Our House, Week 16
It's been around four months since we started homeschooling under the Kolbe curriculum, and I've made a few changes in how we do it.
Subjects and schedule
First, I've deleted Map Reading from the subjects. Now we are focusing on Religion, Math, Science, Phonics, Grammar, Reading, and Filipino. Kolbe's curriculum for grade 1 does not include PE, art, and music, but a parent may add her own; we opted not to, though, as those subjects are not included in the Philippine curriculum for grades 1 to 3 either anyway.
At the start, we had a special schedule for subjects, but since mommy is working full time at home, there were times when we could not follow the schedule. These days, we finish what we can when we can, sometimes doing overtime on weekends and before bedtime, though the regular schedule is M-F, 3-5 p.m.
When I'm too busy, I assign Josh what he needs to answer in his notebook and just check later. Fortunately, Josh is already a strong reader. I need to keep watch on him, though, or he will run off to play with his siblings and cousin when he should be doing Phonics.
Yes, even in homeschooling, truancy is a temptation.
Kolbe for non-readers
A friend asked me if a kid can use Kolbe's curriculum even if the child does not read well yet. Yes, the child certainly may. Kolbe's curriculum presumes that the child has had absolutely no formal school exposure before first grade, so everything -- ABC, 123 -- is taught on the first quarter.
Since Josh was already a reader when we started with Kolbe, I got the grade 2 Phonics curriculum for him instead, and he's still breezing through it. Any Filipino kid who's been to preschool will.
Bea, however, will be starting with the grade 1 curriculum as she has not been to preschool and I've taught her only as far as reading CVC words and some sight words (e.g., the, to, baby). Her Lola Ermie has taught her how to write capital letters. When school starts, we'll go straight to cursive as I find that writing method of curved lines more child-friendly than the straight lines of script.
Books
Although Kolbe's registration fee costs only as much as Php10,000 per child up to the fifth child (all children after the fifth are registered for free), the books and the shipping can be quite expensive. A friend spent about Php30,000 on her books.
We spent only Php3,000 on the books and Php3,000 on the shipping because we used Johnny Air Cargo's services and we did not get all the books. What we did was I studied the curriculum and daily lesson plans first, then ordered the books that I felt were necessary, based on the lesson plans' contents.
We ended up getting all the religion books (although in hindsight, we could have skipped the activity book) and the Phonics book.
The math lessons, I get from the Internet. There are great flashcard exercises from http://www.factmonster.com/. But I must admit it would be easier if I had the book, and I might get it next year.
The reading lessons, I get from the children's poems book I have had since I was a kid.
The grammar lessons are easy to improvise: antonyms, days of the week, etc. You don't even have to go online.
The science book, Harcourt Science, costs $65 dollars but is used for two grade levels, so by the time your child reaches grade 6, he or she will have used only three Harcourt Science books. But since Josh loves science and science books are found everywhere, we skipped Harcourt. We may still get it for grade 3, though.
Filipino was a problem because Kolbe had no curriculum for it. I decided to find a textbook from National Bookstore. After studying my options, I decided "Alab ng Wikang Filipino" from Innovative Educational Materials, Inc., was the best available, so I got that. After using it for three months, though, I feel its value is mostly in curriculum guidance; you will still need to supplement it with your own exercises, and you will definitely need to choose which exercises are suitable for your goals for your child.
I have confirmed with Kolbe that I could still send them Josh's Filipino periodic exams so that his grade can be validated and included in his official transcript of records. I suppose, with Kolbe being based in California, it would not be difficult for the school staff to find somebody who can check a Filipino examination.
Subjects and schedule
First, I've deleted Map Reading from the subjects. Now we are focusing on Religion, Math, Science, Phonics, Grammar, Reading, and Filipino. Kolbe's curriculum for grade 1 does not include PE, art, and music, but a parent may add her own; we opted not to, though, as those subjects are not included in the Philippine curriculum for grades 1 to 3 either anyway.
At the start, we had a special schedule for subjects, but since mommy is working full time at home, there were times when we could not follow the schedule. These days, we finish what we can when we can, sometimes doing overtime on weekends and before bedtime, though the regular schedule is M-F, 3-5 p.m.
When I'm too busy, I assign Josh what he needs to answer in his notebook and just check later. Fortunately, Josh is already a strong reader. I need to keep watch on him, though, or he will run off to play with his siblings and cousin when he should be doing Phonics.
Yes, even in homeschooling, truancy is a temptation.
Kolbe for non-readers
A friend asked me if a kid can use Kolbe's curriculum even if the child does not read well yet. Yes, the child certainly may. Kolbe's curriculum presumes that the child has had absolutely no formal school exposure before first grade, so everything -- ABC, 123 -- is taught on the first quarter.
Since Josh was already a reader when we started with Kolbe, I got the grade 2 Phonics curriculum for him instead, and he's still breezing through it. Any Filipino kid who's been to preschool will.
Bea, however, will be starting with the grade 1 curriculum as she has not been to preschool and I've taught her only as far as reading CVC words and some sight words (e.g., the, to, baby). Her Lola Ermie has taught her how to write capital letters. When school starts, we'll go straight to cursive as I find that writing method of curved lines more child-friendly than the straight lines of script.
Books
Although Kolbe's registration fee costs only as much as Php10,000 per child up to the fifth child (all children after the fifth are registered for free), the books and the shipping can be quite expensive. A friend spent about Php30,000 on her books.
We spent only Php3,000 on the books and Php3,000 on the shipping because we used Johnny Air Cargo's services and we did not get all the books. What we did was I studied the curriculum and daily lesson plans first, then ordered the books that I felt were necessary, based on the lesson plans' contents.
We ended up getting all the religion books (although in hindsight, we could have skipped the activity book) and the Phonics book.
The math lessons, I get from the Internet. There are great flashcard exercises from http://www.factmonster.com/. But I must admit it would be easier if I had the book, and I might get it next year.
The reading lessons, I get from the children's poems book I have had since I was a kid.
The grammar lessons are easy to improvise: antonyms, days of the week, etc. You don't even have to go online.
The science book, Harcourt Science, costs $65 dollars but is used for two grade levels, so by the time your child reaches grade 6, he or she will have used only three Harcourt Science books. But since Josh loves science and science books are found everywhere, we skipped Harcourt. We may still get it for grade 3, though.
Filipino was a problem because Kolbe had no curriculum for it. I decided to find a textbook from National Bookstore. After studying my options, I decided "Alab ng Wikang Filipino" from Innovative Educational Materials, Inc., was the best available, so I got that. After using it for three months, though, I feel its value is mostly in curriculum guidance; you will still need to supplement it with your own exercises, and you will definitely need to choose which exercises are suitable for your goals for your child.
I have confirmed with Kolbe that I could still send them Josh's Filipino periodic exams so that his grade can be validated and included in his official transcript of records. I suppose, with Kolbe being based in California, it would not be difficult for the school staff to find somebody who can check a Filipino examination.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Kolbe Academy: Our Catholic Homeschool Provider
I realize it's been ages since my last post. That's because we stopped formal homeschooling for a year.
I tried unschooling and independent schooling, mostly because they were my cheapest options, but that stint made me realize that we need a program. Some people may not, but this mommy needs somebody to keep her on track.
So I started looking for a good homeschooling program. My husband had only one requirement: it had to be Catholic.
We looked through the Catholic programs in the Philippines, but everything we found was a bit too expensive for me. So I maximized my resources and searched for programs in the World Wide Web.
That's when I found Kolbe Academy, a homeschooling provider who also has a day school, Trinity Prep, in Napa, California.
I soon found out that Kolbe is one of the three most popular Catholic homeschool programs used in the Philippines. The others are the ones from Catholic Filipino Academy (Philippine based) and the other is Seton (US based, like Kolbe).
What I like about Kolbe
There are three things I like about Kolbe: classical approach, flexibility, and (of course) the price.
The classical approach was how the ancient Greeks (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, et al.) were taught. The method follows the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
Grammar is focused on in the early years, when the mind loves to memorize things and is great at doing so. Grammar is not just about memorizing the rules of language, as we often define the word. It is about memorizing everything: multiplication tables, science facts, countries and their capitals, Bible verses, apologetics, etc.
While our modern education pays lip service to the "evils of memorization," the fact is that we need to master facts. Memorization forms the foundation of future learning. What's more, at the age of grammar (and great education psychologists such as Piaget agree with this), the mind loves to memorize and is not yet developed enough for logic as logic is defined in the trivium.
But once the mind is ready, when the child shows predisposition to logical argument, then logic -- or, as we now like to call it, reasoning -- comes in. Now that the facts have been memorized, the child can delve into understanding. After the child has learned what is right and wrong, correct from incorrect, in the grammar stage, he learns why it is right/wrong/correct/incorrect in logic.
Here, the child learns to judge, to search, and to discern.
The third stage is the culmination of basic education: rhetoric. For the true mark of learning is in expression. If you can't explain it, you didn't really understand it. And if you believe it, you must be able to defend it. This is as true in religion and in math as it is in English and science.
I also like Kolbe's flexibility. The school operates under the philosophy that the parent is the best judge of what the child needs to learn. Therefore, we are free to adjust the subjects or completely change them, though doing that, of course, would defeat a huge part of the reason why we paid for a program.
In our house, what we do is we put phonics, grammar, and reading all under one subject: English. Then we added Filipino. Since the Philippine DepEd curriculum does not include PE, music, and art in the first three grades, we did not include formal lessons for those.
Our schedule, therefore, is like this: MWF, 1 hour religion plus 1 hour English (twice a week) or Filipino (once a week). TTh, 1 hour math plus 1 hour science (T) or geography (Th).
We begin each class with the Philippine national anthem, a recitation of the Philippine Pledge of Allegiance, and a Catholic prayer in Latin. (This is in preparation for Latin classes, which will begin in fourth grade. Kolbe advocates the learning of this language because it forms a good foundation for the learning of other European languages. Really, this school is big on foundational learning.)
The third thing I like about Kolbe is the price. This may sound strange, but it costs less than many Philippine programs, and it comes with an official, accredited US transcript that, to be honest, opens a few more doors for your kids.
How much does Kolbe registration cost? For one child, it's about Php10,000 per school year, and that's payable in four installments. The cost progressively lessens as you enroll more children, and after the fifth child, it's free!
The biggest disadvantage cost-wise is the price of the books and the shipping! The good thing, though, is that you can opt not to get the books (flexibility, remember) and use local ones.
In our family, we decided to get the books for religion because when I saw the curriculum, I realized that I can easily make math problems myself and the children's encyclopedia we have at home is already good for science, but I need the religion books because they contain material for cathechism which I do not currently have and don't know where to find.
We also got the reading and phonics books from Kolbe. For Filipino, I chose a good Filipino book from National Bookstore.
All in all, I paid around Php3k for the books and Php3k for the shipping. I used Johnny Air Cargo to ship to tthe Philippines because they offer the best balance of price and speed.
Yesterday, we had our first class. It was fun -- there really is an advantage to following a program, this I know now -- and I'll tell you more about it soon!
I tried unschooling and independent schooling, mostly because they were my cheapest options, but that stint made me realize that we need a program. Some people may not, but this mommy needs somebody to keep her on track.
So I started looking for a good homeschooling program. My husband had only one requirement: it had to be Catholic.
We looked through the Catholic programs in the Philippines, but everything we found was a bit too expensive for me. So I maximized my resources and searched for programs in the World Wide Web.
That's when I found Kolbe Academy, a homeschooling provider who also has a day school, Trinity Prep, in Napa, California.
I soon found out that Kolbe is one of the three most popular Catholic homeschool programs used in the Philippines. The others are the ones from Catholic Filipino Academy (Philippine based) and the other is Seton (US based, like Kolbe).
What I like about Kolbe
There are three things I like about Kolbe: classical approach, flexibility, and (of course) the price.
The classical approach was how the ancient Greeks (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, et al.) were taught. The method follows the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
Grammar is focused on in the early years, when the mind loves to memorize things and is great at doing so. Grammar is not just about memorizing the rules of language, as we often define the word. It is about memorizing everything: multiplication tables, science facts, countries and their capitals, Bible verses, apologetics, etc.
While our modern education pays lip service to the "evils of memorization," the fact is that we need to master facts. Memorization forms the foundation of future learning. What's more, at the age of grammar (and great education psychologists such as Piaget agree with this), the mind loves to memorize and is not yet developed enough for logic as logic is defined in the trivium.
But once the mind is ready, when the child shows predisposition to logical argument, then logic -- or, as we now like to call it, reasoning -- comes in. Now that the facts have been memorized, the child can delve into understanding. After the child has learned what is right and wrong, correct from incorrect, in the grammar stage, he learns why it is right/wrong/correct/incorrect in logic.
Here, the child learns to judge, to search, and to discern.
The third stage is the culmination of basic education: rhetoric. For the true mark of learning is in expression. If you can't explain it, you didn't really understand it. And if you believe it, you must be able to defend it. This is as true in religion and in math as it is in English and science.
I also like Kolbe's flexibility. The school operates under the philosophy that the parent is the best judge of what the child needs to learn. Therefore, we are free to adjust the subjects or completely change them, though doing that, of course, would defeat a huge part of the reason why we paid for a program.
In our house, what we do is we put phonics, grammar, and reading all under one subject: English. Then we added Filipino. Since the Philippine DepEd curriculum does not include PE, music, and art in the first three grades, we did not include formal lessons for those.
Our schedule, therefore, is like this: MWF, 1 hour religion plus 1 hour English (twice a week) or Filipino (once a week). TTh, 1 hour math plus 1 hour science (T) or geography (Th).
We begin each class with the Philippine national anthem, a recitation of the Philippine Pledge of Allegiance, and a Catholic prayer in Latin. (This is in preparation for Latin classes, which will begin in fourth grade. Kolbe advocates the learning of this language because it forms a good foundation for the learning of other European languages. Really, this school is big on foundational learning.)
The third thing I like about Kolbe is the price. This may sound strange, but it costs less than many Philippine programs, and it comes with an official, accredited US transcript that, to be honest, opens a few more doors for your kids.
How much does Kolbe registration cost? For one child, it's about Php10,000 per school year, and that's payable in four installments. The cost progressively lessens as you enroll more children, and after the fifth child, it's free!
The biggest disadvantage cost-wise is the price of the books and the shipping! The good thing, though, is that you can opt not to get the books (flexibility, remember) and use local ones.
In our family, we decided to get the books for religion because when I saw the curriculum, I realized that I can easily make math problems myself and the children's encyclopedia we have at home is already good for science, but I need the religion books because they contain material for cathechism which I do not currently have and don't know where to find.
We also got the reading and phonics books from Kolbe. For Filipino, I chose a good Filipino book from National Bookstore.
All in all, I paid around Php3k for the books and Php3k for the shipping. I used Johnny Air Cargo to ship to tthe Philippines because they offer the best balance of price and speed.
Yesterday, we had our first class. It was fun -- there really is an advantage to following a program, this I know now -- and I'll tell you more about it soon!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
In Lieu of a Christmas Tree . . .
We did not put up a Christmas tree this year. We wanted the kids to know what Christmas was really about, so we decided to do as the French do and put up a creche instead.
Mommy made the cardboard stable frame, while Josh and Bea gathered the grass leaves and pasted them on the roof.
For the people, we were going to use toilet paper tubes, but we didn't use up tissue paper fast enough, so we had to make our own tubes instead. Bea cut up the cardboard, Josh rolled them up into tubes and wrapped them in colored paper, and Mommy, of course, was in charge of the finishing touches. Daddy bought the colored paper for us.
Oh, and Josh made the animals all by himself. That one beside baby Jesus is a sheep. The one farther to the right is actually a very, very small donkey. And that thing that looks like a hay stack far left is really a sack of spiders, to feed Slither, Josh's pet (stuffed) snake.
Merry Christmas to all!
Mommy made the cardboard stable frame, while Josh and Bea gathered the grass leaves and pasted them on the roof.
For the people, we were going to use toilet paper tubes, but we didn't use up tissue paper fast enough, so we had to make our own tubes instead. Bea cut up the cardboard, Josh rolled them up into tubes and wrapped them in colored paper, and Mommy, of course, was in charge of the finishing touches. Daddy bought the colored paper for us.
Oh, and Josh made the animals all by himself. That one beside baby Jesus is a sheep. The one farther to the right is actually a very, very small donkey. And that thing that looks like a hay stack far left is really a sack of spiders, to feed Slither, Josh's pet (stuffed) snake.
Merry Christmas to all!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Picnic Sunday
Yesterday afternoon, as we were going to the "park" (the open space in front of the multi-purpose hall), Grandma asked us to buy bread. That gave Josh an idea: why not have picnic at the park, instead of just playing there?
So we packed our juice bottles, sandwiches, and camera in our basket (so much more fun than a lunch box or bag, don't you agree?) ...
and went to the park. But there was a birthday party going on at the multi-purpose hall, so it would have been awkward to hold our picnic there. So we ended up at the chapel instead.
So we packed our juice bottles, sandwiches, and camera in our basket (so much more fun than a lunch box or bag, don't you agree?) ...
and went to the park. But there was a birthday party going on at the multi-purpose hall, so it would have been awkward to hold our picnic there. So we ended up at the chapel instead.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The 3rd Philippine Homeschool Conference
The 3rd Philippine Homeschool Conference!
So what happened there? Well, to put them in a nutshell,
- Pastor Peter Tan Chi -- whose son-in-law manages the Philippine homeschool pioneer, The Master's Academy -- gave a talk on how we should focus on changing our children's heart, not their behavior. Good behavior follows a good heart.
- Luanne Shackleford talked about how she homeschooled her seven kids and gave tips to help other homeschooling parents. She now serves as a missionary in Mindanao.
- I won two large tubs of caramel popcorn at the raffle!
- Met an old college friend, Luwi, who has been homeschooling her child for three years now.
- Finally met in person mommy-blogger friends Tina Rodriguez and Martine de Luna.
- Got for just P100 Luanne's book, A Survivor's Guide to Homeschooling, which she had graciously allowed the conference organizers to photocopy.
- Found a Philippine textbook publisher that may have the good-quality textbooks I'm looking for: Abiva Publishing.
- Got a brochure from the Center for Educational Measurement, where I could get the kids tested every year starting second grade so I could evaluate their learning and grade them objectively (for their transcript, which will be provided by HomeLife Academy, where we plan to enroll Josh next year).
- Edrik Mendoza announced the creation of the Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands, which will, as one of its objectives, lobby for more government support for homeschoolers, especially in the DepEd, in the Philippines.
- Went home with this really nice canvass bag with lots of pockets, a giveaway at the conference!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Josh's Unschooling Days
So to pick up from where we left off from the last post ...
For a few months, we let Josh unschool. Here are a few highlights of his unschooling days.
The fire truck
Body by Mommy, wheels and details by Josh
The ambulance
Body by Mommy, wheels and details by Josh
Stilts
Made by Mommy, used by Josh :-)
Airplane
The first of many. Made by Josh.
Slither, the snake
Body sewn by Grandma; stuffings, embroidered details, and plastic tongue sewn by Josh
Grasshopper skin!
Discovered in the garden. Did you know that after they moult, the old skin retains its shape this well?!
EJ
(Wala lang, talagang kailangang isingit. Cute eh.)
For a few months, we let Josh unschool. Here are a few highlights of his unschooling days.
The fire truck
Body by Mommy, wheels and details by Josh
The ambulance
Body by Mommy, wheels and details by Josh
Stilts
Made by Mommy, used by Josh :-)
Airplane
The first of many. Made by Josh.
Slither, the snake
Body sewn by Grandma; stuffings, embroidered details, and plastic tongue sewn by Josh
Grasshopper skin!
Discovered in the garden. Did you know that after they moult, the old skin retains its shape this well?!
EJ
(Wala lang, talagang kailangang isingit. Cute eh.)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Our Unschooling Days
 Josh's latest project: his tow truck |
Reading Teacher Mama Tina's homeschooling blog has inspired me to finally update my own.
Anyway, to pick up where we had left off four months ago: after our disastrous first formal attempt at homeschooling -- the 1 to 100 writing lesson, where the boy and I came to a standoff -- I asked advice from moms much wiser than myself.
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