We are homeschooling Gab. Several parents, including my own, are asking why we will homeschool Gab and why not put him in the traditional schools that I grew up with.
I first knew about homeschooling through an article in Good Housekeeping in 2003. I was just fresh from college and starting a career in Engineering at Intel in Cavite. Despite having good academic credentials and achievements, I felt incomplete for the real world. After reading that article, I was thought that maybe homeschooling will prepare my children better than I was for the real world.
That was in 2003, and I still don’t know if I can really homeschool my own children. But for some turn of events, God paved the way that Quennie and I can work at home and have the time to teach Gab at home.
We started teaching Gab simple things as early at 2 years old and we are happy that he is learning. He learned baby signs before turning 1 year old, he can read before he turned 3, and he can do simple arithmetic at age 4.
The best part is, Gab learned all of these while having fun and without the pressure of academics and grades. He thinks we are just playing.
Here are the reasons why we homeschool:
1. I love to teach. I am not a teacher by profession but I have love doing tutorials and conducting training sessions in my previous jobs. This time, I am teaching a child. This is more challenging though since I have to start from scratch.
2. Less Expensive. No need for uniforms, miscellaneous fees, travel costs and other school related expenses. Homeschooling also encourage us to be creative and resourceful by using what is readily available.
3. More ways to learn. With homeschooling, you are literally not confined to the four corners of the wall. The world is our classroom. If we want to learn about vehicles, we can simply go out and look at the different vehicles passing by. If we want to learn about animals, we can schedule a trip to the zoo anytime. If we want to learn about culture in other countries, we will travel there!
4. Choose your own. Homeschooling is very flexible. While we will follow a curriculum approved by DepEd, we can focus on what the child is really interested in. We can a lot more time in science if that is what the child is interested in. Or get more books to read if the child is into literature. Homeschooling classes can make education more relevant and up-to-date.
5. It’s more fun. From my experience, the only fun times when I was in a traditional school were the recess, lunch and dismissal. That’s my favorite subjects as well. With homeschooling, we get to have more time for fun while learning at the same time. There are games that helps children learn at the same time.
6. Encourage risks. I like how mistakes makes a person more educated and more resilient. Unlike traditional schools that rewards perfection, I prefer to encourage taking risks. Breakthroughs and success are often a product of risks being taken. With homeschooling, I prefer Gab making mistakes and find out the correct answers himself. Eventually, it trains him to make the right decisions the first time.
7. Gab says so. Homeschooling is not something we force on Gab. If he prefers going to school, I will be glad as well. I just can imagine how much uninterrupted time I can get when he is not around. But ask Gab and he will say he prefers to be homeschooled.
What about his social skills?
This is often what people considers a disadvantage of homeschooling. Since the child doesn’t get to interact with often with other kids of his age, the social skills may be affected.
Social skills can be developed outside the school, just like any other subject. There are play dates being organized by parents so kids of the same age and level can meet and play together.
At the same time, with homeschooling, there is more opportunity to develop social skills with people older and younger than the child. This opens a wider aspect of socialization that is not very much available in traditional schools.
You can read more about socialization here: What about Socialization?
How long are we going to Homeschool?
Ideally, I will homeschool Gab until grade school only. While I can teach high school subjects, there are experiences in high school that I cannot provide. So I hope, Gab will prefer a real school this time. But if he still wants to be homeschool, then so be it.
Here are some related articles to about homeschooling that may help you:
How To Start Homeschooling
Homeschooling in the Philippines: Frequently Asked Questions
A Guide to Common Homeschooling Terms
DepEd-Accredited Homeschool Providers and Cost to Homeschool
