I received an email some (long) time ago from a mom who has quite a lot of important questions for me. She even called me a “veteran” homeschooler. I admit I’ve been doing this for almost seven years now, but I still have to find that curriculum which will be really suitable for my children and for the whole family. Online casino Ireland. ###
I’ll try to answer the easier question first. The question about finding a homeschool school that is accredited by the Department of Education.
As far as I know,the Philippines Department of Education requires a report card for elementary students starting Grade 1 to Grade 6 in order for the child to graduate and enter High School. There are several options you can take to go about this.
You can enroll your incoming Grade 1 to a homeschool group that is accredited by the Department of Education. With this, there are now more options available for you to choose from. You can choose to enroll her in a homeschool group with a set curriculum, or a homeschool group with an open curriculum. Living Heritage or School of Tomorrow and TMA Homeschool provide a set curriculum for their students. Lately though, I’ve learned that TMA Homeschool now allows families to choose whether they want to use Alpha Omega Lifepacs or another curriculum.
One advantage of using a set or boxed curriculum is that a lot of the work is taken out of your hands. You just need to do some advance preparation, otherwise the lesson plans are laid out for you to follow. I think this may be a good way to get your feet wet in homeschooling.
The other option is to choose a school with an open curriculum. This means that the family is free to decide on which curriculum to choose for their children. Kid’s World Integrated School and Victory Christian School are two homeschool groups that I know of that has an open curriculum.
My own children are enrolled at Kid’s World Integrated School. Every Saturday we go to Greenhills Christian Fellowship in Ortigas for the children’s MAPE classes. The tuition fee is very affordable and the support of the school directress and the parents are very good.
Last year, I called up Victory Christian School located in Fort Bonifacio. Victory Christian School is a school connected to Victory Christian Fellowship. There is an actual school and there is a separate homeschool group. As far as I know, they also use open curriculum.
As for which curriculum is best to use for your children, this is a decision that you and your husband will have to make for yourself. I can’t really recommend a particular curriculum. Nowadays, we are privileged to have so many curriculums to choose from.
The first thing you and your husband really need to ask yourself first is “What are your goals for your children? What’s your vision for them so many years from now?” Each family has different goals and it’s important that you think this over first before anything else. Homeschooling is not an easy task. During your downtimes, it’s your vision for your children that will keep you going.
The next question is finding out your child’s learning style and even your own learning and teaching style. On this site, you’ll find out more about learning styles. Personality Plus for Parents by Florence Littauer is a book that has helped me in getting to know my children better.
Another important thing for you to do is to connect with other parents and find out how it is going for them. What curriculums they’re using and how they teach their children. Homeschool parents are great in sharing information and what works for them.
Read reviews of homeschool books and products by other homeschool families. The TOS Homeschool Crew site, where I used to write my reviews, is filled with reviews of over 50 homeschool products. There are more homeschool product reviewers out there, it can get overwhelming. This is where your goals and knowing your child’s learning style comes in to help you choose your curriculum. The best curriculum for each and every family is different, so I have no valid recommendation for you. You won’t even know what is the best until you’ve tried it out with your family.
Finally, just go for it! Be confident in your decision to homeschool your children. Really, if your heart is in it and you believe that this is your calling, then have the confidence to do it. Whatever God has called us to do, He also equipped us to do it.
I apologize for not having a cut and dried answer for your question about curriculum. Also please read my previous blog for more information. I hope the information I’ve written here can help you.
It’s nice to read this post of yours.
I’m curious about the open curriculum in Victory Christian School. Is it DepEd accredited ? And if I enroll my children there, do they need to take PEPT/ALS/PVT/or any validation tests before applying college here in the Philippines ?
Hi Chen, Thank you for reading my post. At this time, I don’t have new information about Victory Christian School. Maybe you’d like to try out Homeschool at the Fort instead.
Also, please do check out my ALS posts:
Part 1
Part 2
Thank you so much for your immediate reply !
I just have few more questions, hope you can help me with your experience in this field.
1. Does all homeschooled children need to take DepEd Validation tests(like PEPT,ALS,ect..) before applying college?
2. If I enroll my children in DepEd accredited schools, will she be able to go to college directly without validation test (We are foreigners, she won’t be able to handle the Filipino test…..)?
3. Is the home study diploma a hindrance when applying to colleges like UST, DLSU, Ateneo, and UP ( especially premed courses)?
Thank you so much =)
Hello Cindy!
I’ll try to answer your questions as best as I can.
1. Colleges in the Philippines all require a student’s high school transcript. The regular way is for a child to finish their high school studies from a school or an umbrella homeschool or ALS.
2. Yes but she may need to take a validation test if she’s coming from another country.
3. In general, our homeschool providers can issue transcripts that are acceptable in colleges. A quick check through these school’s websites may give you the answer.
I’ll find out more about children coming from another country and will write a blog post about it soon.
Thanks for writing!
I’ll be living in the Philippine and I guess I’ll enroll my children to a DepEd accredited homeschool provider. Do you think my children will need the Validation tests in this case ?
And also, do you know any Homeschool provider that will provide formal report card that the enrollees does not need to go through validation tests ?
Thank you so much Michelle =)
Since your children are coming from another country, the school they came from is not DepEd accredited. You should bring their school records and have your children take the validation test to validate which grade level they should be in. Once your children are enrolled in a DepEd accredited homeschool provider, then there’s no more need to take tests. Their transcripts are sufficient.
Homeschool providers here are TMA Homeschool, Peniel Integrated Christian Academy, Catholic Filipino Academy.
I hope my replies have helped you. But please don’t just take my word for it. Call up DepEd and these homeschools so you’ll know more about their requirements. When are you coming back? Please do email me privately so we can talk more. My email is mpadrelanan at gmail dot com.
Hi Michelle,
I came across your blog while researching about Homeschooling in the Philippines.
Currently, we are based abroad. Instead of sending our son to the schools here (which has higher fees) I prefer homeschooling.
Since we are attending VCF, we are checking VCIS.
However, I would like to know your insights about our situation:
1) we are based abroad
2) my husband and I are both working full time.
All the best!
Dear Bea,
Sorry for the late reply. I will have to find answers to your questions. Please standby for a blog post about this. Thank you.