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Christmas School: What We’re Doing This Year in Our Homeschool

December 16, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Last year, I shared how we inject Christmas in our homeschool. This year, I decided to do some things differently and so I’m sharing our Christmas School activities with you in case you’re also looking for ideas.

Several weeks ago, I was searching for Christmas crafts online when I chanced upon articles about Christmas schooling from other homeschool moms abroad. It’s basically about taking a break from your regular homeschool activities to focus on Advent and the reason for the season – Jesus.

I thought it was a great idea so I decided to do the same. I wanted to finish up with our planned homeschool lessons for December though and so we were only officially able to start Christmas schooling today. However, there were some activities we already started on the first week of December.

Here are the activities we’re doing for Christmas school this year.

Christmas Morning Basket

I have been changing out the contents of our morning basket every few weeks. For Christmas, I included Christmas books, of course, to add to our Bible. Here’s a photo.

These are not the only books we’ll be reading though. I have a few more ebooks on my Kindle. We prefer holding real books over ebooks though. Reading aloud to my kids is something I do often and both of my boys really enjoy it especially when they involve Christmas stories.

Jesse Tree

I discovered what the Jesse Tree is all about only last month just in time for us to start it in December. I found this amazing free resource from Confessions of a Homeschooler and it has everything you need.

The resource includes an explanation on what the Jesse Tree is an how to do the activity. It has a list of the daily passages you need to read and the corresponding ornaments to place on your tree. The ornaments are printable and come in both colored and black and white versions. There’s also a suggested list of addional reading from a book called The Jesse Chapter but I chose not to do that for this year because I didn’t have time anymore to look for the book.

Anyway, I chose to print the ornaments in black and white so that my son, Ziggy, can color them on his own. He enjoys doing this while I’m reading the passage for the day. Since I also had no time to buy a tree for this activity, I just chose to draw one on a board that we already had at home. Our youngest, Zander, is still too young to understand what it is because he’s only 3 years old, but he enjoys looking at the tree and pointing at the ornaments he can recognize. Overall, it’s just an amazing activity to do to teach kids about God’s love for us, about some very important people in the Bible, and most of all about Jesus.

Polar Express Unit Study

This is something I was very excited about because I truly enjoy unit studies. You can learn about so many different topics from just one central theme.

We started our Polar Express unit study today. Thankfully, there are a lot of resources available online. I just needed to buy the actual Polar Express book. Then when it’s time to watch the movie version, all we need to do is go on Netflix.

Among all the resources I found, I decided on this amazing bundle of activities I found from Mary Lou Cheney on TeachersPayTeachers.com. It has worksheets and fun activities.

We’re also using this awesome Polar Express unit study guide from Pam Cloar that I got from Homeschoolshare.com. It lists down and explains all the topics you can discuss, broken down into different subjects. For geography, we’ll be learning about the North Pole and the Arctic. For Science, we’ll be learning about biomes and arctic animals. There are also activities for language arts and math too among others. Plus, there are printables for a lapbook too! So exciting!

I super love the combination of these two resources I found.

Christmas Carols

Like last year, we’ve also been learning more Christmas songs this year. We are still using this book of Christmas carols. However, I’ve also been teaching my kids some Filipino carols too. I teach them one new song each week.

So far, we’re really enjoying Christmas school this year. I’m actually already planning on how to improve it next year. I want our Christmas school to be longer so next year I will strive to start by the first day of December.

How about you guys? Do you do Christmas schooling too? Comment below and let me know if you’re doing any Christmas activities with your kids this year.

If you’re interested to see more of what we do in our homeschool, do connect with me on my main Instagram account. I share a lot there!

4 Ways to Continue Education Outside of the Classroom

December 5, 2019 · 1 Comment

Kids are like sponges. From preschool and beyond, they absorb an incredible amount of information that will inform the rest of their lives. They may be getting a great education in local schools like Winwood Children’s Center, but how do you help them continue their education outside of the classroom? There should be other outlets for your children, and ways for them to best grow creatively outside of a typically-structured classroom.

Here are four ways to continue education outside of the classroom.

Community Service

Community service is a wonderful way for your child to engage with the outside world. It is also a great way to get them involved in their community and to develop compassion for others. Community service builds skills your child will use for the rest of their lives. Try going as a family to Feed My Starving Children and pack meals for international families. Or, if your children are a bit older, work with Habitat for Humanity and help build houses. To find local nonprofits near you, a quick Google search can lead you to a variety of opportunities to best find the perfect fit for your child.

Educational Clubs

Look into your child’s’ school and see what educational after-school programs they offer. Oftentimes, these programs may be free, or they may also cost money. These clubs are a great way for your child to experience teachers they aren’t necessarily used to, so they grow more adaptable and malleable in their learning and brain development. This is a great way to also get your kids out of the house if you have to work. You can even look outside of your child’s school, and look at local programs that may be offered at the Boys and Girls Club or the YMCA.

Private Tutoring

If you want to help continue your child’s academic education outside of school, look towards private tutoring. Private tutoring is a fantastic way to ensure your child gets one-on-one attention. If they are struggling in a particular area of the school, hiring a tutor to help them directly address their needs is a sure solution. Reach out to local community Facebook groups, or check in with local college or high school students. College and high school students are always looking to expand their resumes and make an extra buck, so they will be extremely easy to find.

Musical Classes

Expand the kind of education your child receives with one-on-one music classes. Ask your child if a particular instrument interests them. If you’re looking to save some money on instruments, encourage them to try singing. Many local music stores offer programs and networks for teachers to best find a music teacher for your child. This is a great way for your child to learn rhythm, enhance their math skills, and develop an ear for pitch. It also helps them be less shy, so they are more comfortable talking and communicating with others. Look into music classes in your area, and find something that may interest your child!

These are just a few ways for your child to continue education outside of the classroom. Use some of these resources, and help further your child academically, musically, and intellectually.

Customized Homeschool Planner by One Stop Planner Shop (Giveaway!)

November 20, 2019 · 6 Comments

Guess what? I have a new customized homeschool planner! Just look at how pretty and big it is!

For those of you who have been following me on my planner IG account, @mommyplannerista.plans, and on my YouTube channel, I started this school year using my Kikki.K personal size ring planner as my homeschool planner. I really had no major complaints about it. I customized it according to my liking and it worked well for me.

Why change planners then?

Well, the truth is that I joined a giveaway hosted by fellow homeschool mom, Annie of @awifenmother, on her Instagram account (follow her ‘coz she’s amazing!). The prize was a one-year subscription to the One Stop Planner Shop, specifically for a customized teacher planner. Lucky me, I won!

I didn’t mind trying out a new planner because I’m forever on the hunt for new tools or systems to use that will make my planner work better for me. Homeschooling can become quite overwhelming sometimes especially if you’re disorganized. Using planners help me lessen the overwhelm which means that my kids and I get to actually enjoy homeschooling.

So as soon as I was given access to the subscription, I immediately started crafting the perfect homeschool planner for me and I’ve been using it for about 2 weeks now.

What’s inside my customized homeschool planner?

If you want to learn how I customized my homeschool planner, please watch this flip through video that I uploaded on my YouTube channel. In the video, I explained the process involved as well as showed the specific templates I used for my planner.

If you wish to know more about how I use specific aspects of the planner, please leave me a comment on this blog post or on my channel. I’ll try to address your questions or requests on a future blog post or video.

Why do I love my customized homeschool planner from One Stop Planner Shop?

To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to really enjoy this planner because I have never used one this big before. The planner is printed on letter size paper and initially I felt it was going to be too big. I pleasantly realized that I actually like it.

Also, I have customized my planners before but I have never done one with inserts from just one shop. So, I wasn’t sure if I was going to find everything I needed entirely from One Stop Planner Shop.

Now that I’m actually using the homeschool planner I created, let me tell you what I liked about the process and the planner itself. Let me count the ways!

I like that the portal is very organized and user-friendly. Everything is properly labeled. Plus, there are tutorials or how-to videos that will guide you throughout the entire process.
There are numerous cover design choices. I also love that there are matching dividers, plus spines for binders too. Plus points for the tabs!
Most of the elements on the planning pages can be easily customized according to your needs. You can change the type, size, and colors of the font. You can add or delete rows and columns on the tables. You can rearrange things. The only things you can’t edit are the decorative elements, which are based on the two styles that are available – Modern and Whimsical.
Editing was easy for me. I edited the pages using Powerpoint but there’s another option using Google Slides as well.
You can bind it any way you want. I just chose to use a binder because it was the easiest and fastest option for me.
I chose to print my entire planner but you can also go all digital if you wish.
The planner pages aren’t just for homeschooling. In fact, there are many templates available that can be used by teachers from regular schools too.
You can save all your planner pages on your laptop or computer. This means that you can print or use them again multiple times.
For my fellow sticker addicts, you’d be happy to know that there are digital stickers that you can use on the planner too.
There are monthly freebies available for all subscribers for as long as you are subscribed.
The subscription is good for one year. So, if you choose to change something in your planner at some point, you can just keep downloading other templates to try.
There’s a Facebook group that you can join. The members there regularly share photos of their own customized planners plus tips on how they did things.

Suffice it to say that I am loving my homeschool planner. I highly recommend homeschool parents to at least check it out if it’s something that will work for you.

It may sound like it will take lots of time and effort to customize your own planner. To be honest, it is but the product is a planner that is created around what you need to make homeschooling a bit easier for you. It has truly helped lessen the overwhelm I sometimes feel in homeschooling. I can relax knowing that I have everything I need in my planner. So, I think it’s so worth it.

How can you get your own customized homeschool planner?

I can give you two ways.

First, you can subscribe to the One Stop Teacher Planner Club. The subscription fee is only $30 for the first year and then just $12 every year after. The annual membership fee includes:

Access to the membership website
Over 1,500 pages to help you customize the perfect planner
Exclusive “Monthly Bonuses”, for club members only
A library of How-To Videos to help you get your planner just the way you want it.
Access to their Planner Community for support and inspiration

Members get access to new and updated planners every single year! So, I assure you that it’s definitely worth it. Just click here to go to the site and sign up! (Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of the One Stop Planner Shop, which means I will receive a small percentage if you subscribe using this link.)

There’s a second option, though, and that is to join my giveaway!

Kristin, of the One Stop Planner Shop, was so generous to sponsor one (1) winner a teacher planner subscription! That’s good for one year. Yay!

I’ll be hosting the giveaway over on my main Instagram account, @mommyplannerista. Click this link now to learn how to join.

Good luck! Happy planning and happy homeschooling!

New Year, New Planner: The Viviamo 2020 Planner Collection

October 15, 2019 · 10 Comments

It’s finally October! You fellow planner addicts would know what that means, right? It’s time to start figuring out which planners to use for the upcoming new year.

Picking out a planner can be tricky because not all planners work for everyone. Thankfully, there are all sorts of them available in the market these days. If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you’d know that I particularly like the Viviamo line of planners and have been featuring them these past several years.

With that said, I’m so happy to share with you all the planner goodness that Viviamo is bringing us in their 2020 collection. Read all about their line-up of planners below. Then, don’t miss out on joining the giveaway at the end!

Viviamo 2020 Collection

A new year often marks a new beginning—and with it, a promise of hope, joy, and excitement. Goals are set and calendars are marked, whether it’s getting into shape, setting up a new business, or creating a travel destination bucket list.

It can be overwhelming when you’re faced with the reality of your decision. It isn’t as easy as you thought it would be.

Where do you start to make your dreams for the year come to pass? How do you ensure that you get to follow through on your commitments to yourself?

How do you get rid of being overwhelmed and stuck, fixing your eyes on the prize?

This October, Viviamo!, Inc., maker of the Belle de Jour Power Planner, is set to release a new line of products for their 2020 collection. Each planner is designed to fit different lifestyles and needs while helping its users achieve their goals for the year ahead.

Discover the Universe Within with the 2020 Belle de Jour Power Planner

Viviamo’s flagship offering, the Belle de Jour Power Planner, uses the theme “The Universe is in Me.” By discovering the universe within, you are opening up to the endless possibilities within your reach.

It features monthly activities that enable and challenge you to live life to the fullest. Also, weekly spreads provide enough space to write down lists, schedules, and even personal mantras.

The 2020 edition of the Belle de Jour Power Planner includes 2020 Goals Pages to ensure that you would stay focused, motivated, and on the right track. Other special pages include a Dream Board, a gratitude grid, and a daily Law of Attraction schedule.

The Belle de Jour Power Planner comes in four distinct and beautifully-designed covers.

Find Your Second Home with the Navi 2020 Planner

Built for the adventurer, the Navi 2020 includes stories from 12 travel bloggers who candidly talk about the places they consider their second home. These anecdotes are designed to inspire and invite veteran and newbie travelers to seek out their own adventures.

Navi 2020 includes a bucket list page, itinerary spread, and several checklists to make sure that you have everything you need to explore and discover a new or familiar destination.

Attract Abundance with the Everything is Possible 2020 Planner

Everything is Possible 2020 is equipped with special pages to help you set your goals, breaking them down into smaller chunks. The planner includes two 2020 Goals spreads, allowing you to list down tangible and actionable steps while setting deadlines for each.

Its cover features water-like elements, alluding to the ripple effect that one small action makes across a larger body of water.

Embrace Gratitude with the Focus 2020 Journal

The team at Viviamo believes that gratitude is one of the most important attributes to a life of success. The Focus 2020 Journal achieves just that, with monthly spreads that feature eye-catching and thought-provoking typography.

Monthly check-ups allow you the space to reflect on different aspects of life that you’re grateful for. The spacious weekly layout is designed to help you maximize the space for schedules and other events.

Zero In on What is Essential with the Essentials Planner

Minimalists will enjoy using Viviamo’s Essentials Planner. Its clean and no-nonsense dotted spreads are specially designed for bullet journaling and creative journaling. The planner comes in two covers: classic and pattern.

Each Viviamo 2020 planner is equipped with a Life Declarations page, with the intention of igniting your goals, dreams, and passions for the year ahead.

Whatever your goals are for 2020, trust that Viviamo has a planner specially made for you. Get ready to set your goals and have a meaningful year ahead.

Viviamo’s 2020 collection is available at our one-stop shop for all things paper—Crazy About Paper. Shop for planners and journals here starting October 12. The planners will also be sold at all major bookstores starting October 2019. Shop now while prices are discounted. The discounts will only last until November 4!

Planner Giveaway!

I’m so happy to tell you guys that Viviamo is sponsoring a planner giveaway for all of you readers of mine.

One (1) lucky winner will win an Everything is Possible 2020 planner on this blog. That’s not all though. One (1) more winner will win a BDJ 2020 Limited Edition planner over on my Instagram account. That means there’s 2 chances of winning!

Here are the mechanics for the blog giveaway, guys.

1) This giveaway will be open from October 15 to 21, 2019 to Philippine residents with a valid Philippine address.
2) To join, you must follow all the instructions on the Rafflecopter below.
3) Winner will be drawn randomly via Rafflecopter and announced on this page.
4) Winner will also be informed via email through the email address you provided on Rafflecopter.
5) Winner must reply with his / her complete name, address, and contact details within 3 days after I send the notification email. If I don’t hear from you within 3 days, I reserve the right to choose another winner.
6) Prize will be shipped by Mommy Plannerista.

If you wish to join the other giveaway on my Instagram, head over there and follow the mechanics stated on the giveaway post.

Please take note though that while you can join both giveaways, you can only win once.

So, what are you waiting for? Join now and happy planning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Eclectic Homeschooling: Realizations after the PHC 2019

October 8, 2019 · 22 Comments

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.