Mommy Plannerista

Planning. Passions. Parenthood.

Happy Eclectic Homeschooling: Realizations after the PHC 2019

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It has been a month since I attended the Philippine Homeschool Convention 2019. I was planning on blogging about my experience immediately after, but I decided to take my time and really think about what I learned or realized that day.

As usual, I enjoyed going to the convention. I especially enjoyed being with my long-time friends that day. One of them is a newbie homeschool mom while the other two are private school owners who are thinking about offering a homeschool program. I also enjoyed seeing my other homeschool mom friends who I rarely get to see these days. I only wish I had more time to talk to them that day.

Anyway, back to my realizations….

Several months ago, I mentioned in this blog that we’ve been incorporating more Charlotte Mason methodologies in our homeschool with the intention of slowly transitioning to full CM. I’ve been researching a lot about CM from experts and other CM families here and abroad.

I’ve been watching lots of YouTube videos on how families incorporate CM in their homeschool. I stalk tons of CM families on Instagram. I’ve learned a lot from them, and I’m inspired by all of them. At the same time though, there was still a part of me that was hesitant to go full CM.

The Dilemma

The thing is, I’m also inspired by other styles of homeschooling. Right now, we use different ways of teaching depending on our subjects. Our methods are a mix of CM, Montessori, Unit Study, and Traditional. You can say that we’re actually more of eclectic homeschoolers.

Ziggy and Zander in our homeschool room…. We do a lot of playing.

We’ve been enjoying what we’re doing so far. I actually can honestly say that this is the most fun we’ve had homeschooling even though it’s more challenging now that I’m teaching two of my kids. Still, there’s that nagging thought that I’m not doing things right because we’re not sticking to just one style.

Then two-year-old Zander practicing how to “cut” vegetables and fruits. One thing we let him do to improve his fine motor skills.

There’s no problem in being ecletic, in my opinion. However, there are some people who believe that it is best to just choose one style of homeschool and stick to it in order to reap its full benefits. That idea somehow got stuck in my head these past several months, making me feel confused about how best to do things. Part of me wanted to go full CM but another part just wanted to continue what we’d been doing.

The Realization

So, what did I realize during the Philippine Homeschool Convention?

I was able to listen to stories from different types of homeschooling families. Their stories reminded me that each of us have our own homeschooling journey and that ours do not have to look like theirs.

Dawn Fung, homeschool mom and founder of a homeschool organization in Singapore

Dawn Fung, the guest speaker from Singapore, said something that really resonated with me. She said something like “the bigger the gap between expectations versus reality, the bigger the tension” and that “the smaller the gap, the more fulfillment.”

I couldn’t agree more.

The thing is, I know this already. I shouldn’t expect our homeschool to look ideal. I shouldn’t expect our journey to be the same as others. I shouldn’t expect for the results to be the same. I shouldn’t force myself to conform to other people’s ideas of what the ideal is. We don’t need that tension in our homeschool and in our life.

Building an atom. An activity that is part of our Intro to Energy unit study for Science

It’s just that sometimes I still can’t help but compare our journey to other families. Looking at the nicely curated Instagram photos posted by other homeschool families probably doesn’t help. I just need to constantly remind myself that there’s more to their story than what they show online. We can be inspired by them but that doesn’t mean we should be like them.

I also need to remind myself that what works for other families may not work for us. While some may choose just one style of homeschool (which is totally fine, of course), what really works for us right now is using different methods for different subjects. It may not be what some people consider “ideal” but the reality is that it works for us and that is what matters most. The reality is that we are happy doing this.

Snapshot of our family (by a fellow homeschool mom) during our homeschool co-op’s recently concluded painting class

Besides, our family is also not what you would call ideal anyway. Even the hubby and I are both more individualistic than most. We like doing our own thing and not conforming to the norm. We like being different. It’s just our personality. So, I guess it’s not really surprising that eclectic homeschooling is what works for us.

That realization (or reminder) made me feel a whole lot better about myself as a homeschool mom and about our homeschool journey as a whole. We are happy eclectic homeschoolers and we’re embracing it. I have the PHC to thank for that.

No Place Like Home: The Philippine Homeschool Convention 2019

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This year is our 6th year homeschooling. Wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long. I honestly didn’t think at first that we would last this long in this journey. The fact that we are still doing it and still enjoying it makes me so happy.

It hasn’t been a walk in the park though. There are definitely lots of ups and downs. However, I can honestly say that homeschooling has been a great experience for us.

Last year, I had feelings of overwhelm already and was questioning whether we should still continue homeschooling. What helped clarify things for me was attending the Philippine Homeschool Convention in September. (You can read about my experience at the convention here.)

As it turns out, all I needed was a little inspiration and a little reminder of WHY we do what we do. The convention renewed my love for homeschooling and gave me the motivation to make our experience better.

So, I guess it goes without saying that I do highly recommend attending the annual convention whether you are still thinking about homeschooling, a newbie homeschooler or even a veteran. It is my hope that the convention will help you in your homeschooling journey as well.

With that said, I am so EXCITED for this year’s convention coming next month! Here’s what you need to know.

No Place Like Home: The Philippine Homeschool Convention 2019

Educating for Life (EFL), the organizer of homeschool conferences in the Philippines since 2014, is proud to present the 2019 Philippine Homeschool Convention, “No Place Like Home”.

To be held on September 7, 2019 at the SMX Aura Convention Center, Taguig City, we gather in this annual event to further pursue our vocation as homeschoolers and celebrate the essence of home, of family, of this virtuous calling of educating our children.

The Convention’s theme is inspired by this quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “There is no school equal to a decent home, and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.”

Believing that there is no place like home—especially when it comes to teaching our children—let’s equip ourselves so we can forge ahead in the difficult but extremely rewarding task of educating our children not just academically, but in other aspects too. Character. Virtues. Life lessons. Things that they don’t normally learn from textbooks and within classroom walls.

It is the essence of home, of family, of this virtuous calling of educating our children that we celebrate in No Place Like Home: the Philippine Homeschool Convention 2019.

Our line-up of speakers consists of both international and local speakers who will leave the participants inspired, encouraged, empowered, and equipped to start or continue their respective homeschooling journeys with even greater passion than before.

You can view all the PHC topics and speakers here. You can also view the schedule of the PHC here.

Right now, until September 1, you can avail of the Early Bird Rate of only P1000 for the All-Access Pass (access to all plenary sessions and breakout sessions, plus the PHC Expo featuring different products and services that are helpful to homeschooling families). To register, just go here.

If you have any questions about the PHC, please feel free to visit our website’s FAQs section.

Hope to see you guys there!

Shop for your School Supplies at the National Bookstore Grand Back to School Fair

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Yes, it’s that time of the year again when parents of school kids are busy back-to-school shopping. Even though we are homeschooling we are not free from that because we still need to stock up on our own school supplies too.

Aside from the supplies though, I’m also currently re-organizing our homeschool room. So, I’m going to need a lot of storage items to properly organize all our new books and supplies.

That said, I’m so happy to learn that the National Book Store Grand Back to School Fair is happening this weekend. Yay! It’s the perfect venue for parents like me to go and shop for school supplies.

National Book Store is inviting you all to shop for the school supplies you need at their Grand Back to School Fair, happening from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM on May 24 to 26, 2019 at the Glorietta Palm Drive Activity Center in Makati City.

There is so much to look forward to at the event! Enjoy all of the special offers for the back-to-school season. Get a backpack for Php 100 or a lunch bag for Php 75 with every Php 300 single-receipt transaction with any participating item. You will also be gifted a Php 100 NBS Gift Card with every Php 3,000 single-receipt transaction. Be one of 6 winners of Php 5,000 NBS gift card or 30 winners of Php 1,000 worth of school supplies.

Save time and energy with the Grab & Go packs and get big savings with the Budget Bundles. For quick and easy shopping, get the Backpack to School for Grades 1 to 3 (P345) and Grades 4 to 6 (P445).

Shop for the supplies and accessories you need for the new school year, whether your kids are in elementary, high school, or college.

Special thanks to all of the participating brands: Adventurer, Berkley, Bic, Biotop, Canson, Deli, Dong-A, Dymo, Faber-Castell, Fabriano, Limelight, Liquitex, Livinbox, Mongol, PaperOne, Pilot, Sakura, Sharpie, Titus, Tombow, Veco, Uni, and Winsor & Newton.

We are definitely not going to miss this! Hope to see you at the National Book Store Grand Back to School Fair! Happy shopping!

Kids Ink: Play, Read, Learn, and More!

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Still haven’t shopped for your kids this Christmas? Don’t know where to shop? Check out the latest store developed especially for kids – Kids Ink!

Last November 17, I took my hubby and our youngest kids, Ziggy and Zander, to the official launch of Kids Ink, located at the 2nd floor, One Bonifacio High Street at the 5th Ave. cor. 28th street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. (It’s right beside Noteworthy, for you fellow planner addicts out there!) We were super excited by what greeted us at the store! There were toys, games, art supplies, books and more, especially curated for kids.

Situated right by the entrance were several display racks of Legos, which is where our boys spent most of their time. They’re THAT addicted to Legos. They especially loved playing at the Lego wall and at the table as well.

Legos aren’t the only toys you’ll find there though. There are all sorts of fun and educational toys and games for kids of all ages too. In fact, I’m planning another trip to Kids Ink again especially to buy some educational games that we can use for our homeschool.

If your kids are the artsy, creative types, they’ll love the arts and crafts section. There’s rows and rows of art materials, from pens, to clay, crayons, markers, glue and more! And if you know me, you’d know arts and crafts are a big thing in our home too so this is yet another reason for us to go back to the store.

We were also pleased to find out that Kids Ink will hold a variety of fun workshops for kids. Ziggy was able to participate in one that day when they had a slime making workshop by Elmer’s Glue.

Not to be missed is the Disney section. Here you’ll find your favorite Disney characters, including Mickey and Minnie, Tsum Tsums and the Disney Princesses, of course! You can find various items here including stationery, bags, pens, pencil cases, notebooks and more.

I, of course, did not miss browsing through the stationery section because that’s my obsession. Your little girls and tweens will love the notepads, notebooks, etc here.

I was also pleased to see that there were a lot of Snoopy stationery as well because our daughter, Ziya loves the character.

I actually featured some of the Snoopy items on the shopping video that Kids Ink is preparing. I’ll post a link to it here when it becomes available.

What I love the most though are the book selections (yup, certified booklover here!). The books are segregated by age, making it easier for parents to look for appropriate ones for their kids.

There are also other fun stuff, like bags….

and even party supplies.

So, I’m pretty sure you’ll find something at Kids Ink regardless of your child’s age or personality. Also, you can even get freebies for every single purchase transaction until December 31, 2018. So shop now!

For more information, follow Kids Ink on Facebook and Instagram.

 

My #BDJ2019Launch Weekend Experience

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It’s planner season once again and I’m so happy to see all the new planners coming out. I was especially excited to see the latest collection of Belle De Jour Power Planners and so I was thrilled when I got an invite to attend the BDJ 2019 Launch Weekend.

The BDJ 2019 Launch Weekend happened on October 20 – 21, 2018 at the Estancia Bridgeway of Capitol Commons in Pasig. It was a two-day event packed with loads of different activities and talks but I was only able to attend the first day. That was okay though because I was given a Gold Access pass anyway so I was able to take part in lots of fun stuff. Let me share with you what I was able to do.

Lego Life Build

I love playing with Legos with my kids but I had no idea that adults use them too for serious “life” stuff. Our facilitator was Ina Bacud who does Lego Life Build sessions for a living (I like her job!). Apparently, playing with Legos can help you piece together answers to whatever questions or issues you have in your life.

Ina asked us several questions and we had to build something using the Legos to answer those questions. I won’t share anymore what those questions were but suffice it to say that it had something to do with how we see our life in 2019 and how we can make it magical. It was very fitting because the theme for the launch weekend was actually “Make Today Magical”.

It was fun playing with the Legos and seeing what everyone else made but it was equally revealing as well because doing the activity really helped me clarify what I want in my life in 2019.

Passion / Purpose Talk: Making a Difference

I was able to attend two Passion / Purpose talks that day and the first one was by Meryl Hilda who talked about Making a Difference. She talked about her group called Millennials PH and how they help several communities in the Philippines. One example is by providing poor students with school supplies and other materials that will help them finish an entire school year.

Meryl shared the many ways that people can make a difference in the world. She said that although not everyone has the time to volunteer, they can still share their resources by donating to organizations that develop programs for the less fortunate.

Passion / Purpose Talk: Dream, Dare, Do

I also attended Nina Terol’s talk and was really inspired by it. Nina of Kick Fire Kitchen, shared her personal life story and how bad life choices led her life to spiral down. However, she was eventually able to turn her life around. I could super relate to her story because mine is actually quite similar.

Another thing I liked about this talk is seeing the vision boards that she has done. She does vision board workshops and I really want to attend one someday.

Tarot Card Reading

I don’t really believe in tarot card readings but I took the opportunity to try it during the event while I was waiting for the next activity. I forgot the name of the person who did the reading for me but she’s here on this photo.

She told me to ask two questions and pick a few cards for her to read. I no longer remember which cards came out but based on those she gave me the answers to my questions. Now I guess, we’ll just see if her predictions will come true or not. Haha!

Mentor Me Session

The last activity I was able to join was a mentoring session by a psychiatrist and mental health advocate, Dr. Gia Sison M.D., who I found out later on also knew my sister-in-law because they’re in the same field. But anyway, there were around 10 of us during the session. Surprise, surprise! We were also asked by Dr. Sison to build something using Legos, but this time it was done as a group. Then she asked each of us some questions about pressing issues in our lives.

I really liked this session because I like learning about other people. At the same time, I also like getting their opinions. Basically, my main issue was self-care, being the busy and tired mom that I am. She really encouraged me to practice self-care more despite my busy schedule and said that it’s something I really need as a mom. I really liked talking to Dr. Sison. It’s just too bad that the session was just an hour long.

Anyway, I also signed up for a Revlon make-up workshop but failed to see on the sign up sheet that the schedule was for the next day. So, since I couldn’t do that, I just went around the venue and explored.

There were booths selling planner-related stuff. There was also a group doing a Plan with Me session. I wanted to join them but didn’t have the time.

There were calligraphy, glitter tattoo, and other DIY sessions as well that I didn’t get to join. However, I did get my free Baskin Robbins ice cream!

Of course, the event wouldn’t be complete without checking out the 2019 BDJ planner collection. There are so many to choose from!

I got to choose one BDJ Power Planner and I decided on this special edition one.

I have published a flip through video of this planner on my YouTube channel. If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is!

Overall, it was a really fun afternoon. I am so grateful for BDJ for inviting me. I got to have some alone time (I need more self-care, right?) and was able to experience a lot of memorable things too.

I invite you all to check out the latest BDJ planner collection. I’m sure that you’ll find one that fits what you need. Visit ilovebdj.com for more info.

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