By this time, a lot of Filipino kids are already back in school, with others starting soon in July or August. My kids are back in school too – my teen daughters are back in high school in a traditional school while my five-year-old son is now doing preschool homeschool under a provider.

Pretty soon, school kids will be busy with homework, tests and projects. As parents, it’s our role to guide them in their learning journey and be there to provide whatever assistance they need in order for them to really learn their lessons. Not all parents have the extra time to devote to this though especially since a lot of schools are tougher these days.

In cases like this, what we could do is get a little outside help, which is what I’m actually planning to do for my little boy. Yes, he is homeschooled and I’m his main teacher. But even I can admit to the fact that I can’t do everything and that I could use some help in one area of his learning – in Filipino.

My chosen partner for this is The Learning Library. My kids have already experienced taking summer enrichment classes at The Learning Library last year but they have different programs during the school year. So let me introduce you to the programs that they’re offering students this school year.

THE LEARNING LIBRARY offers English and Filipino programs that help improve comprehension and make learning enjoyable. By developing fundamental skills through enjoyable and accessible literature, they advance independent learning critical to long-term academic success.

They are currently offering three (3) programs: The Reading Advantage, Wika’y Galing and Test and Homework Help.

The Reading Advantage

The Reading Advantage develops strong fundamental skills that enable a learner not only to read words, but understand the meaning of what they read through guidance and practice. By exposing them to the best of children’s literature, they are encouraged to read more and read better, and given excellent models for composition.

Under this program, you can avail of either the Beginning Reading or Comprehension and Writing – English.

Beginning Reading (45-minute sessions, 2x a week / 1-hour sessions, 2x a week)

Beginning Reading provides the scaffolded learning approach for children who are just beginning to read. The activities use all 5 senses in the course of the sessions with the Reading Coach. Paired with engaging stories that are right for your child’s reading level, these activities ensure that your child will acquire skills that are necessary to make him an effective reader.

Comprehension and Writing -English (1-hour sessions, 2x a week)

Success in school is grounded on a student’s ability to process the information read and the ability to accurately express ideas through writing.

In Reading Comprehension and Writing, The Learning Library matches students to stories that are just right for their reading level. They choose what book to read to give them a chance to enjoy reading. With the help of well-trained and motivating reading coaches, students are taught a variety of comprehension strategies that help them understand and effectively apply the information that they’ve learned to texts they tackle in school.

In addition to processing information, students are also taught how to write well-thought essays. Using stories and text that illustrate the program’s writing goals, the reading coaches ensure that children are able to convey their ideas using activities that hone grammar and composition skills.

Wika’y Galing

Under this program, you can avail of either the Fundamental Filipino or the Comprehension and Writing – Filipino.

Fundamental Filipino (1-hour sessions, 2x a week)

In Fundamental Filipino, The Learning Library not only enhances your child’s vocabulary, grammar and expressive skills. Using stories written by Filipinos for Filipinosand fun, highly interactive activities, they teach your child to appreciate Philippine culture.

The Filipino speaking workshops equip students with a basic knowledge of the language: they learn it using literature specifically chosen for the session. Students learn to speak in Filipino in a supportive environment with other children through activities that enrich the story for the day.

Post-workshop sessions with reading coaches tie in new skills and knowledge with their school curriculum: they match their balarila activity to the topic currently discussed in school. This ensures that success in the program is translated to success in school.

Comprehension and Writing – Filipino (1-hour sessions, 2x a week)

Many good students have a difficult time with Filipino subjects, primarily due to insufficient vocabulary and limited use of the language. To cope, these students resort to memory work. This leaves them with a very basic knowledge of Filipino that is often not enough to handle school level requirements.

The Learning Library’s Comprehension and Writing in Filipino has successfully addressed this by “meeting students where they’re at”. They surround them with storybooks that are just right for their reading and speaking ability, and allow them to choose what to read. They acquire comprehension skills quickly and confidently, and the stories leave a lasting impression – be it additional knowledge of Filipino or deeper appreciation of our culture.

Aside from comprehension activities, students are given balarila exercises that complement the actual school curriculum. This ensures that lessons learned during their sessions are applied in the classroom, and built upon to create a foundation for long-term success.

Test and Homework Help (5x a week or 3x a week)

For those who just need assistance when there are tests or homework, this is the program for you.

The Learning Library builds fundamental skills for independent learning. Test and Homework Help works hand-in-hand with their Reading Advantage and Wika’y Galing! enrichment programs to help your child learn effective comprehension, writing and study skills to enable him or her to work independently. A thorough assessment of your child’s proficiency level, a close following of his school curriculum, and built-in enrichment is The Learning Library’s way of ensuring both short and long-term academic success!

Because our son is not yet fluent in Filipino, we are planning to enroll him in the Wika’y Galing program. I’m still going to teach him his Filipino lessons at home but I’m hoping that this program will complement what I teach him at home and make it easier for him to learn and eventually gain confidence in actually conversing in Filipino.

The Learning Library has branches in the following areas:

New Manila
Greenmeadows
Loyola Heights
Alabang
Makati
West Triangle
San Juan
Bonifacio High Street

To learn more about The Learning Library’s programs, visit www.learninglibraries.com and follow them on Facebook and Instragram.