I often read these questions online from people who are curious about homeschooling or those who are interested to homeschool.
Here are frequently asked questions about homeschooling in the Philippines.
How To Start Homeschooling
Tips for First Time Homeschoolers
- If I decide to homeschool this school year and decide put my child back to traditional school next year, will that be possible?
Answer: Yes
Make sure to enroll in a DepEd-accredited homeschool provider so you will have no problems in your academic records (grades, transcript of records, etc). This is the easy and less-hassle route and recommended approach for first time homeschoolers.
If you decide to be independent, be prepared to schedule a PEPT (Philippine Educational Placement Test). Since you will not have records for the school year, DepEd will give the exam for leveling. PEPT is the exam given by DepEd to put the out of school youth back to the school system
- When looking for a homeschool providers, does it have to be near where I live?
Answer: Not necessarily.
Homeschool Providers can give you support even without you going to their center. Most transactions are done via phone calls and online (video conferencing, email, chat, etc). Even if you are outside the country, you can enroll in a provider here in the Philippines. Or if you wish to enroll in a US provider even if you are here in Manila, you can do so.
Some providers require face-to-face interaction at their center in a quarter or so. This is one question you should raise when you talk to your provider.
- Will there be teacher/s to give instructions for all the lessons of the kids for the whole school year?
Answer: No.
In homeschooling, parents are the primary teachers. Some homeschool providers offer online learning and has class advisors to help parents monitor their child’s progress. This is different from home-based or distance learning where teachers from the school facilitate learning.
Though homeschooling parents may opt to hire tutors for subjects they find challenging (like Math or Filipino subjects, music lessons, etc), they stil cover most of the learning areas. Homeschool parents don’t have to be experts. They just need resources and the commiment to teach their children.
- I have a 4 year old child (or younger), do I need to enroll him/ her to a school or a provider?
Answer: Not necessarily.
DepEd requires only one Kindergarten prior to Grade 1. It is DepEd’s requirement that for Kindergarten, children should be 5 years old by August 31st of the school year.
Play is one of the main ways in which children learn and develop. So provide more play activities to develop social, cognitive and motor skills. You can search for a lot of FREE Preschool Curriculum on the web
Click here for other Frequently Asked Questions about Homeschooling
- Is it legal to homeschool in the Philippines?
- What are the kinds of setup of homeschoolers in the Philippines?
- Why enroll with a DepEd-accredited provider?
- How about socialization?
Here are some articles that might help you as a first time homechooling parent:
How To Start Homeschooling
Tips for First Time Homeschoolers
A Guide to Common Homeschooling Terms
Reasons Why We Are HomeSchooling
