Just to give you an idea how well our 6 year old son is doing on his manuscript writing, above is a sample.  The School of Tomorrow’s curriculum has such well-designed program that my son’s progression to this kind of good handwriting was not pushed at all. As with most of his subject’s approach to every lesson, mastery plays the important role to retention and the child’s improvement on every given lesson.  We seriously could not have chosen a better homeschooling curriculum for our son.

I was pretty impressed at how my son fared on his first few pages of learning cursive handwriting.  Photo above was the first page he finished.

As I looked through the pages, I saw how it was designed to allow the student to progressively learn the strokes. For all I know it might just be the same approach for most handwriting skills learning in any regular school. I’m just amazed, nonetheless. These breakthroughs, new learnings excite us. Also tells us that our son is growing up so fast too! Bittersweet indeed.

This 6 year old homeschooler’s first attempt to cursive handwriting is impressive for me. I can’t remember being able to write so well in manuscript in that age, let alone a cursive one. Time sure is flying by so fast! It was only like yesterday when he used to sit on his bouncy chair getting himself entertained by mandolin and other musical instruments on Baby Einstein. Then he enjoyed singing soon enough. Now this homeschooler is up and about preparing for his recital. That’s another post altogether.

Jed is currently working on a 5 pages per subject, per day on his goals. He tried doing 10 pages per subject, but it took him all day to finish. Five pages per day meant he can essentially finish one whole PACE per day. A PACE’s number of pages ranges from 27 to 39. He currently has 8 subjects that he does 5 pages on each per day. Forty pages per day.  By our calculation of his 4 day school week, he should be done in roughly 80 school days.  An update from this homeschooling corner.

From the beginning of Level 2 towards the middle of it, there were instances that our son dreaded his Math subject. But as we went towards the end part of Level 2, it was even the first PACE from all his 7 subjects that he completed first! He actually got the hang of Math and began looking forward to it. I so love the mastery approach of The School of Tomorrow curriculum. And have I mentioned, that I am but so relieved?! Aside from them being good at directions (I have no need for my dezl 560LT when I’m around the both of them) and their love for music, the little guy has taken after his father after all, even in Math.

We will head on over to Level 3 come January 2012. Vacay mode it is for us three.

What amazes me more is what the people behind this curriculum have also managed to put up, a not-for-profit organization called Basic Literacy Education & Support System (BLESS). Its design is to reach out to the community as it penetrates through its network of organizations. BLESS makes use of the School of Tomorrow system and they put up BLESS Reading Centers to teach children how to read in 18 to 20 weeks. As someone with a child who actually learned how to read with comprehension through the SOT system at four years old, I know for a fact, that this is very doable given the right tool. Our family is beyond sold out when it comes to the SOT’s system.

BLESS kids graduating from the program

Four main goals of BLESS:

1. Lead souls to Christ (children, parents, siblings and relatives).
2. Teach children how to read.
3. Teach children rudimentary math.
4. Instill godly values by teaching of God’s creation and plan of salvation through Christ.

Rev. Delbert Hooge, president of BLESS with Mrs. Weng Kakilala, director, donating a BLESS Kit for a center in Siocon, Zamboanga

The target groups of BLESS are children between ages five and eight, indigent and out-of-school youth. They conduct daily four-hour sessions. The program is expected to be completed in 18 to 20 weeks. Facilitators are trained and are to complete training requirements and have a passing mark of 100 percent in the post test. This ensures that the underprivileged children will experience quality education, which is otherwise elusive in their regular school environment.

BLESS Student from Zamboanga

BLESS kids in Zamboanga City

Since its inception in 2002, BLESS has led over 5,000 people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Reading Readiness Test in Las Piñas

BLESS is continuing their efforts in reaching out to the community by manner of teaching indigent children and out-of-school youth basic educational foundations. BLESS funds come from corporate and individual donors, church offerings, love gifts from sponsors and fundraising activities. The organization is currently in need of funds as they plan to open more BLESS Reading Centers in the last quarter of this year.

Incidentally, BLESS will be launching a Christmas campaign so they will be able to give their students presents to open on Christmas Eve. The Christmas season is a big opportunity for us to give back and be grateful as more people will hopefully choose to bless the children by way of supporting the advocacy of BLESS.

To send your donations, contact:

BLESS, Inc.

Director: Weng S. Kakilala

Address: MJS Avenue, Levitown Executive Village, Bgy. Don Bosco, Paranaque

Tel: (0632) 822.4433 or 822.9663 Ext. 106 & 111

Email: rsk0909@yahoo.com

*Above is the 9th article I contributed to Philippine Star.  Published today, October 11, 2011 – Philstar Unblogged Section.

We’re really thrilled to be doing the Level 2 PACES. We ordered the PACES last week and we’ll get hold of them soon. The package for colored PACES costs P8,000. Plus the Academic fee of P3,000. The hubby decided that the colored PACES will better help our son to be more interested in his class. We ordered the non-colored ones for his Level 1, we only paid less than P3,000. He was okay with it. But we are hoping to assess how he’s going to respond to the difference.

FYI, the Academic Fee is paid on a yearly basis. Regardless of the number of Levels the student has finished throughout the year.

Homeschooling is really allowing for us to save a great deal. But more than the savings, it is still the quality of education that our son is taking in from the School of Tomorrow curriculum. We’re currently deliberating when we will enroll him in the big school that uses the same program. We found three around the area, but we are partial towards one particular school.

Sure, there are a few disadvantages to this educational alternative. Like not having access to the most awesome facilities, spotting scopes and other laboratory materials. This is why we supplement our homeschooling with field trips and supplement classes. We have seen countless of families who have benefited from this curriculum. They all have passed the qualifying exams in the most reputable of universities. The statistics alone is proof in itself that the homeschooling program of School of Tomorrow is excellent.

Time flies fast. Seems like it was only yesterday when we celebrated Jed’s graduation from Preschool with Ace and Christi. While it is already a given that our family is sold out to School of  Tomorrow’s homeschooling curriculum, I just love how the Living Heritage Academy come up with such wonderful graduation program for us homeschoolers.

I feel that the heart warming program is designed to encourage us homeschoolers to press on. I don’t know how much better it’s going to be like. Because we were told during the graduation that next year’s program will be of the same format as to how they do it in School of Tomorrow.

That’s our giddy boy flashing his graduation certificate with sparkling eyes. All of this makes the challenges of homeschooling (which are not so much, if I may just emphasize) so worth it. This graduate requested for ps3 gift some days ago. But changed his mind for a yakima bike rack for his two wheeler instead.

That’s my homeschooler and me right smack in the middle. The homeschoolers and their parents sang “Trust and Obey” for special number.

Happy graduation, Jed! We are proud of you. Our prayer remains that you will love God above all and grow up to be a blessing to the people around you. Seeing that you are doing academically and non-academically (karate) good as well are just a wonderful bonus for us. We love you to the moon and back.

The Math Level 1 PACEs instruct the student to ask for a “Math Kit” from the supervisor (that’s me). His Math Kit has popsicle sticks and rubber bands. He practically learned to add and subtract by himself as he read the instructions from his PACEs. I am impressed by how the people behind SOT designed their programs. We are hoping to have them velobind compiled for future reference of sorts.

This old school way of learning arithmetic maybe considered behind by a lot of progressive schools of today. Mastery is the key and I believe that this kind of old school way of learning Math allows for the child to get hold of the basic concept of Math.

Having been introduced to Fingermath several years ago, I cannot help but be amazed at how it works. As amazing as it is, my husband would rather have our son learn Math the SOT way. When he has embraced the concept, then we will probably have him enroll in a Fingermath program.

The teacher who administered the test said that she has no problem with our son’s ability to read. In fact,  she affirms, that he is really good at it. But since it requires preschoolers to pass the post-test exam 100%, he did not make it because of his clumsy handwriting.  I would have to admit that there was a tinge of disappointment. But even as my husband and I waited for our not so little homeschooler to step out of the testing room, I felt a sense of relief that we are in a homeschool program that is of utmost quality. You have to agree with me when I say it is just too easy for homeschoolers with no “quality control”  criteria like such that serves like scales of sorts to let their “student” (or child, for this matter) to level up at their discretion.

Here is to give you an idea of what caused our preschooler to fail his post-test.  As I allowed my son to bury himself in his mountain of books for hours a day (he so loves reading), I took for granted his writing skills. Whenever I would have him sit down to write, he would often say it is too tiring and he would rather read.  You cannot really blame a mother to thrill over her son who has embraced a real love for reading without us having to force him into it. So there goes the balance that homeschoolers ought to be aware of.

Two days since the post test and I would have to say that his writing has greatly improved already. This just goes out to show that the shortcoming is really on me. I did not follow through enough with his writing skills.  I just love that my son adapts easily and understands that writing is part of learning and not just his reading.  Now that he really loves to read, it is something that he looks forward to after his “writing exercises,” while as before he would look forward to playing Wii or xbox after his reading exercises.

The teacher who administered his post test told us to come back after a week or so for our son to re-take his post test.  My son’s failure to pass the first time is not a big deal for us. In fact, it is more of a learning experience for our little homeschooling family.

I took this picture yesterday as he finished the story of Try Try Butterfly. This little kiddo has improved a whole lot since we started. While some montessori programs teach students to do cursive writing at 4 years old, I’d rather not be so uptight on those stuff just yet. I allow my son to work at his own pace. The stress of learning and studying might be inevitable in the future. But I want him to enjoy as he learns for now and he’s doing good so far. The progressive approach that the program that we use works best for us. Like how the tracing using the index finger of letters as opposed to having the child write on paper right away made a lot of sense as we went on.

Writing is something that, should I say is not yet a piece of cake for him. But I think he is doing pretty good on Word Building and comprehension wise, I am one happy teacher mama. Mistakes usually happen when he does things in a hurry. But otherwise he’s good.

We won’t be enrolling our son right away to Level 1. I guess we both need a break from the program, much like how my face could use an anti wrinkle eye cream from all those sleepless nights. I work from home. So the stress can be overwhelming sometimes. But I’m not complaining. We are in no way in a hurry. He’s only but 5 years old anyway. We’ll probably head on to enrolling him in a soccer clinic or Taekwondo as we transition to Level 1. And then there are some advanced lessons too that we can do as we get this little guy prepped for the next level.

Even the sight words that I am supposed to provide him, I need not do anymore. He is just way ahead of his lessons, I should say. I will have to give the credit to the School of Tomorrow yet again for having such wonderfully designed system.

The manual for today says that I have to prepare the following sight words: WHICH, WHO, WHY, WHITE. The instruction is for the student not to memorize the word. The principle of providing the sight words is for the student to get used to the words as they do the drill. And the directive is not for the student immediately memorize them. But rather gradually learn them over a period of time. Why, my son can even read a acne lotion straight out. I’m sure that is not too uncommon for students of Accelerated Christian Education. I am just really glad that I have been gifted with a fast learner for a son.

The reason being is that flooding has been happening along Marcos Highway lately during heaving rains.  I’m not talking about storms and typhoon yet. We cannot help but point our fingers to the construction of the SM establishment in Masinag. Ever since construction started there, Marcos Highway has become a catch basin when it rains. Thus, the flooding. That construction might have messed up with the pipelines or something. They would have to figure this out. Because nothing like this has happened before the construction.

With this scenario of traffic being paralyzed for hours whenever it rains happening twice already this month, I cannot help but change my mind on getting our kiddo enrolled in a regular school. My husband and I considered sending our son to a Jesus Flock Academy next year. The academy also utilizes the same School of Tomorrow curriculum that we currently use.

Although the plan is for me to personally drive our son to and from school, it would be too much of a hassle to spend hours on the road. I’m sure my being a member of a reliable roadside assistance club will help whenever I get in trouble on the road. But I honestly think a problem this big should be addressed by our local government soon. And hopefully, this will be resolved before the problem gets worse.

This again, gives us another reason to stay put and enjoy the benefits of being homeschoolers.