Stealth Schooling: One of the Reasons I Love to Homeschool My Kids

 One of the reasons I love homeschooling is that we get to integrate learning in our day-to-day activities. We don't need to force our kids to learn things that they are not interested or ready to learn at the moment. Let me share three ways by which I and my husband "sneak" learning or teaching in our daily activities.

 

 

1. Play. - Our kids are still very young (a 17 month old and a 4 year old) thus play is an essential part of our homeschool. We play with our kids. We also let our kids engage in a lot of imaginative play. The kids have a lot of fun learning through these activities. I have actually written several articles about some of their favorite pretend plays.

 

Here are some of them:

 

7 Lessons Kids can Learn from Playing Store

 

7 Benefits Kids Get from Playing Doctor

 

Lessons Kids can Gain from a Farm-themed Birthday Party

 

Math and Entrepreneurship Lessons Through Play

 

 

2. Daily Conversations. - I'm blessed to be a WAHM (work at home mom). I get to talk a lot with my kids and get to work on writing or consulting projects at the same time. We talk about a lot of things and I get to teach them about life and many other things through our conversations each day.

 

The other day, my eldest and I talked about the different kinds of food that we eat. He had some questions and I was happy that though I was challenged to answer his questions, I was given the opportunity to discuss that topic with him and he learned some science and nutrition stuff from me.

 

Some days, we talk about the weather. Other days, we talk about his interests and business plans. These past two days, we talked about death and going to heaven because of family friends who died.

 

This is one thing I love about homeschooling. It helps me to be an intentional parent and it provides me with an opportunity to have quality time with my kids.

 

3. Routines or Chores. - One of my son's chores is to water our plants. Through this daily routine, he is reminded that plants need water, air and sunlight. He likes repeating that lesson as he waters our plants. We also found a song about photosynthesis that he likes.

 

 

Other routines that we have teach him about our family values. Like we go to Mass on certain days. We attend prayer meetings. We serve in various ministries. These regular activities teach him that our family life is centered on our faith, that we use our talents, energy and resources to serve the Church and the poor around us, and that we make time for prayer and worship. 

 

Daily routines like packing away his toys and things after use and eating breakfast and saying his morning prayers first before playing allows us to teach our eldest son to be responsible and to prioritize some activities over others.

 

These are just some of the ways we "sneak" learning or teaching in our family. How about you? I would love to learn from you, too. Feel free to share by leaving a comment.

 

 

  * This post is part of the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Blog Hop on Stealth Schooling.

Celebrating a Milestone and a Year of Miracles

Today, I choose to pause and savor a victory that God has given our family. I choose to look back with gladness and awe at the past twelve months wherein we experienced God's favors and miracles. God has delivered us in the past year, month after month, by providing for our needs. This week marks a memorable milestone in our family life. This week we were able to pay the full downpayment for the new house we purchased. Amazing!

 

If you were following my blog and our adventure with God regarding this house, you would know that we bought this house mainly because God said so. God declared to me that He will give me and my family that beautiful house He showed me. I was happy with God's declaration and promise but I didn't know how we're going to purchase it for we didn't even have enough money then to reserve it. But as the Bible says, God's word does not return to Him empty but will carry out the purpose for which it was sent. And so, He did carry out what He wanted to do for me and my family. He helped us purchase this wonderful house. He helped us pay ALL that we needed to pay. He filled our pockets and bank accounts with money that we didn't have at the start. He gave me new projects I didn't even imagine I would have. He opened doors I didn't know were there. He just kept on moving me and my family forward until one day, which was a couple of days ago, I just realized that after one year, God has enabled us to pay the downpayment IN FULL! And the amazing thing about that is we have sold only one out of the two condominium units we were selling. Initially we thought that in order to pay for the downpayment, we need to sell both of our condominium units. Our God is AWESOME!

 

Today, I bask in His love and in His favors. I choose to delight myself in God's amazing goodness. I choose to savor this wonderful gift my family and I have just received from the Lord. Up to this very moment I need to pinch myself and repeat that it has really happened. It has come to pass... Wow!

 

Yesterday, we met with our developer's engineer and we chose the colors of the paints to be used for our new home's interiors. We talked about what other things we need to prepare to help them finish our house. We measured the dimensions of the different rooms of our house in preparation for the purchase of the furnitures and appliances we'd be bringing in to furnish it. It's happening... It was just a dream and now that dream is unfolding before our eyes.

 

ONLY GOD CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

 

We wouldn't be where we are right now if not for God's faithfulness and mercy. We wouldn't have gone this far if not for God's help and favors. We would not have the faith to believe that God's promise can come true if not for His grace.

 

We cannot call this house our future home if God did not pave the way for us, reserved it for us, and purchased it for us.

 

As I type in my laptop now, the Israelites come to my mind. Could this be how they felt as they stepped into the Promised Land? Did they also need to elbow or pinch each other to make them realize that it's really happening to them?

 

We would still need to have our bank loan approved before we can move to our new home but that is a small thing compared to what we had to hurdle in the past year. If God has enabled us to purchase this house even though we didn't have enough money saved in our bank account last year, then He can definitely grant us the rest of the things that we need in order to move into our new home.

 

Is there something that you heard God whisper to your ear recently that you find hard to accept and believe? I invite you to listen well to Him and take Him at His word; for He will not fail you. I took Him at His word around a year ago and He did not fail me and my family. Bank on His Word. Because whatever He says becomes reality. I believed this to be true. More importantly, I experienced this truth happen repeatedly in my life.

 

You may click here, here, here, here, here and here to read more about our adventure with God in purchasing this house.

 

My Early Mother's Day Present: Ohrelle Shoes

I got myself an early Mother's Day gift last weekend. It's a new pair of shoes from Ohrelle and I wore it for the first time last night as I shared my story at The Feast in SM City, Sucat.

 

I bought my shoes at Cash and Carry Mall in Filmore, Makati. I wanted to buy a new pair of black shoes initially but the designs that I liked no longer had stocks for my size last weekend. I think it was a blessing in disguise actually because I considered other colors when I learned that I could not buy a black pair of shoes that day.

 

I was very happy to find a cream-colored wedge shoes that had my size. I was delighted even more when I realized that it's almost the same color as the two cream-colored bags I usually use these days. Talk about perfect find and perfect timing! Truly, sometimes "failures" are redirections to better things in store. That day or that weekend, my failure to find a new pair of black shoes for my shoe size led to a better blessing -- a cream-colored pair of shoes to match my two cream-colored bags!

 

Let me share two more reasons why I love the new pair of shoes I found:

 

1. It's open-toed. I'm not fond of closed shoes. They make my toes feel suffocated! ;) I love wearing open-toed shoes because they let my toes breathe.  I find these kind of shoes life-savers especially on very hot days.

 

2. It has wedge heels. I love shoes with wedge heels. I don't like wearing shoes with heels that are very thin and high for long periods. They are not only unhealthy to my calves and back, they also give me a lot of pain. I only wear heels for short periods of time. I'm not the stiletto type of girl. When I need to wear shoes with heels, I look for shoes with wedge heels. A wedge heel runs under the foot, from the back of the shoe to the middle or front. I love these kinds of shoes because they let me enjoy wearing high heels without sacrificing comfort. My calves are well supported with this kind of heels. These are the kinds of shoes I love wearing when I need to stand over long periods like when I conduct trainings and workshops.

 

So, that weekend, I really felt I have found a perfect Mother's Day gift for myself when I found this pair of shoes. :)

 

 

 

There are more designs to choose from actually in the Ohrelle boutique that I went to. But it was already late and the kids needed to rest already. There were also a lot of pairs that were on sale. Some were at 50% off. I was thinking of coming back to their store or check out their other branches in the next days to look for potential designs that I can give to my mom.

 

While preparing to write this post, I found out that Ohrelle shoes and bags are proudly Philippine-made. I read in an article that they were awarded in 2011 as  one of the staunchest supporters of the Marikina shoe industry.  This was done in SM Marikina.  Linda Salonga-Pastoral, the mompreneur behind Ohrelle shoes and bags, said in an interview in 2011, “We have been selling only made-in-Marikina shoes. Indeed, we are extremely proud of supporting the local shoe industry for the past 40 years.”

 

She also said during the dedication of their SM City North Edsa shop that she dedicates that shop to God and that all their success comes from God. You may read more about her inspiring mompreneur story here and here. 

 

I already felt good about my purchase upon realizing that I have a bag to match my new shoes; but learning more about Ohrelle and the woman behind this successful business made me feel even better. I admired Linda Salonga-Pastoral's courage, passion and faith in God. I think many aspiring mompreneurs like me can learn from her example.

 

So, if you are still thinking of what gift to give yourself this Mother's Day or if you're thinking of buying something for your Mom or other Mommy friends this coming Mother's Day, I recommend that you get them a pair of Ohrelle shoes or an Ohrelle bag! You'll not only make them happy but you will also support our local shoe industry and a local business.

 

 

 

I also recommend that you buy and use their GCs (gift certificates) which are now offered at a 20% discount to purchase Ohrelle products from their stores. Their GCs are available at P500 denominations. When you buy two P500 worth of Ohrelle GCs, you only pay P800. Thus you save P200 right away. You can use that to purchase a pair of shoes or two pairs of shoes depending on the shoes or sandals that you'd choose. I bought mine using two GCs. I just added P140  since the shoes I bought cost more than a thousand pesos.

 

You can find Ohrelle at Cash and Carry in Filmore, Makati, The Landmark, Shoe Center in Ali Mall, Robinson’s Malls and in Metro Gaisano at the Market Market, Global City in Taguig City.   

Do you want to buy Ohrelle GCs that you can use or give away as gifts to other Moms for Mother's Day or this month of May? Leave a comment in this post or email me at teregmps@yahoo.com.

 

Advance Happy Mother's Day!

 

 

Disclosure: I was given two Ohrelle GCs to write this post. However, I only write and endorse products that I believe in and I'm happy to use and support. Ohrelle is one of them. I would also get a small commission when you buy Ohrelle GCs through me.