Tot time with my daughter

My Milly is turning 1 year old in few weeks’ time which means we’re close to starting our informal home schooling! (yay for me) I refer informal homeschooling as Tot School Time. According to 1plus1plus1equals1 website, Tot school is the idea of learning through play at home during younger years. This is where we provide materials and prepare age appropriate activities that are exciting and appealing to them. You can choose makeshift toys, materials you already have in your home and any activities that you think that your children would love. With that, we can expose them to learning a lot of things even at an early age.

As early as 6 months, I started exposing different types of age appropriate activities to my daughter. After my work, I always make sure to play and read some of her books as she sits on my lap. While some parents are against letting their kids watch iPad, I allow Milly to have her own screen time for about 15 minutes per day. (no to fast paced cartoons; I just let her watch Baby Einstein and some educational videos). 

That’s actually the reason why I think homeschooling works with my schedule. I firmly believe that as long as you manage your time properly and have a schedule; homeschooling is possible even if you’re working full time.  The maximum number of hours per day you need to allot to toddlers & preschoolers is 2 hours so that wouldn't be a problem for me. It's actually an advantage for me that I work at night, because I get to play with her, feed and bathe her, sing nursery rhymes, cuddle and do our tot time together. This is now a part of our daily routine and we usually start our play/learn time before she takes her morning nap. One hour before her nap and one hour after she takes her lunch. I actually do not mind how many hours of sleep I get each day, but to give you an idea of my day to day time allotment for my daughter, I only sleep 2-3 hours per day. :) It may sound tiring for a full time working mom, but I'm telling you, it is really fulfilling to see how my daughter learns and appreciates the time I always give her.

Here are our typical daytime activities: 

Sing ABC's and some nursery rhymes. Read aloud books. 

Play time with wooden Numbers.

Letting her roam around the room

Very good balance indeed! Galing anak. #millysmilestones

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on Jun 12, 2015 at 8:29am PDT

Story telling as she starts to fall asleep :)

I remember when I was a kid, I've always loved playing teacher-teacheran. Actually, I wanted to be a teacher; it was my dream job. Due to some circumstances, I was left with no choice but to follow someone elses dream for me. Maybe that's the reason why I've always enjoyed teaching Milly. Now I know I can fulfill my greatest dream and that is to be the best teacher to my daughter. ❤️ Thanks Milly for reliving my dream and turning it in to reality. You really are my dream come true. 

The best teacher to my daughter

I loved and enjoyed schooling - actually i was part of the “habituated” students who’d rather stay at home to do home works and review her notes. Now that we have a daughter, we would like to instill the same “passion” and enjoyment with studying.

We’re going to take a big leap to go against the social’s norm. We want to take charge of our daughter’s education and make sure that she learns things the best way possible. Few months ago, before our daughter turned 8 months, my husband and I discussed into home schooling her. I know a lot of parents are still curious about the pros and cons of homeschooling, but based on the articles I’ve read and moms I’ve talked to, I know deep in my heart that homeschooling is just for us. This is my calling, our calling and I’m looking forward to take that challenge. 

So what really compelled us to homeschool our daughter in the next few months?

·         Own curriculum - there are a lot of available curriculum available and you can choose your own schedule that works best for you and your child

·         Bonding - being our child’s teacher is a great bonding. #attachmentparenting at its finest! J

·         Teaching method - we can adapt the teaching method that suits best to our daughter

·         Shelter our daughter from violence and bullies in school

·         Flexible study hours

·         We’d be able to monitor her studies

·         To be closer to God

Right now, there are homeschool providers that are accredited by DepEd. You may check the list for accredited providers http://hapihomeschooler.com/about-hapi/hapi-members-affiliates/. 

 My husband and I are eyeing for these providers: CFA (Catholic Filipino Academy) www.catholicfilipinoacademy.com founded by Bo Sanchez; International British Academy www.iba.edu.ph , Kids World Integrated in Greenhills and Homeschool of Asia and Pacific in Madrigal Alabang.  We might enroll her as soon as she turns 3 years and we’d home school her spontaneously as soon as she turns 1 year old. Call me OC, but I’ve saved tons of references online and activities to prepare for my daughter.

If you’re curious about homeschooling, these links may be helpful for you.

http://www.smartparenting.com.ph/kids/preschooler/why-homeschooling-is-best-for-your-preschooler

http://trulyrichmom.com/homeschooling-in-the-philippines-answers-to-some-faqs/

http://trulyrichmom.com/homeschooling-in-the-philippines-where-to-get-support/

We’re already eyeing for CFA and their program is really interesting.  Once you enroll your child to their homeschool program, you can have access to curriculum and materials. You can even let your kid join a full blown orchestra and there will be weekly activities so you don’t have to worry about their social skills. Just like any other schools, field trips and moving up day is also available. More details here: http://catholicfilipinoacademy.com/exciting-news-from-cfas-preschool-department/

If you want to teach your child, there is no such thing as “Too Early”. That’s why as early as now, I always allot time for our tiny tot study time. Every day, just before her morning siesta, I make sure to let her read some books, and at the same time teach her the “basics”. Take a look at the video below, this is my daughter during her study time. (best when played with sound) ♥ 

Mommy, I'm going to read you a book, okay? So listen very carefully. 😂😅😂

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on May 25, 2015 at 1:33pm PDT

A is for Apple 🍎 Good job my little Miss Bookworm. #millysmilestones

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on May 27, 2015 at 6:57pm PDT

This is how Milly says "Hi". 😅 Quite bitin but she's really doing a great job. We're so proud of you! #millyat10months #millysmilestones love you baby. ❤️ thank you @ohbabyph

A video posted by @kc_alcantara on May 28, 2015 at 11:04pm PDT

Homeschooling isn’t easy and MAY not work for every one. A lot of patience is required, time management is important and there will be some things that you really need to give up. Of course, prayer is needed too. You need to ask for God's guidance to help you all throughout the process. Home schooling may mean, one income household, and since I want to focus on my child’s education, I am looking into leaving my job temporarily (which I’m still thinking over and over again).  For as long as I can manage my time, and can juggle working and teaching, I will do my best to be the best teacher to my daughter. 

PS: Let me know if you need the rates of the schools mentioned above. ☻ 

My daughter's mini collection

When I was a child, I’ve always dreamed of having my own book shelf and my own “set” of encyclopedia. But since our budget that time was very limited, my mom wasn’t able to fulfill that "dream" for me. Mababaw na kung sa mababaw, (haha), but I have so much passion in reading that’s why I treat every book with so much love.

I remember encyclopedia those days were so heavy and thick but since I never had to chance to own one, my only resort to researching stuff are my text books. I always got worried during my elementary and high school days most especially if we have to research something because my resources that time were very limited. (That’s why kids nowadays are so lucky because research is just one click away). To be honest, I even envied my classmates who used to bring those thick educational books at schools because I’ve always wanted to own one. I can still remember that I used to rent pocketbooks so I can update myself with the latest stories of Sweet Valley Kids and Goosebumps. :D

 And so I promised myself that as soon as I get my own job, I will buy any books that I want. No more rentals, no more getting envious. J

Fast forward to present -  Now that I have my own job,  I am able to buy any books that I like, but ever since the dawn of Internet and e-readers, I only read books thru e-books. (but no e-book can ever replace the happiness it gives me every time I read a story from a “real Book”. The smell of books give me so much joy. ahhh!  

I also want my daughter to have the passion in reading. I know every mom would love it if their child grows up to be a book worm and smart. And if we want our kids to be smart, they need to embrace and acquire a love for reading. That’s why as early as now, my daughter and I are taking our baby steps to read books together. i am showering her with so many books and I want her to know the importance of reading a book.

I’ve already started working on her mini-library, and I hope when she grows up, she would appreciate and love reading as much as I do.  

Here is a good article regarding the benefits of reading a book to your child:

http://www.raisesmartkid.com/all-ages/1-articles/14-the-benefits-of-reading-to-your-child