homeschool classes

we started homeschooling kaela in late january after she turned one and a half years old. it is early given that she's barely two. i would say that the setup is both favorable for kaela and us. as she is learning new things, we are also learning how capable (and patient) we can be to teach.

amidst francis' hesitation to send her to day care, i put together little subjects to teach her. we structure it to have one hour session in the morning (with francis) and one hour in the evening (with me).

ANATOMY. i'm sure every parent had taught their child anatomy. kaela knows over ten parts of her body. i would ask her where the different parts are and she would eagerly point each one to me.

MATHS. kaela would line up all her shoes on the floor and we would count them together i.e. i would count them and she will point to each of the shoe.

DANCE & MUSIC. we play some music or video and she would either sing or dance to its tune. she once asked her tatay to dance with her i.e. hold his hands while they dance together. cute, isn't it?

READING. i borrow books from the library; i pick those that may keep her engaged. most of them are the things she have experience on e.g. brushing teeth, toilet training, about birds and dogs. in that way, she can relate more to what we are reading. she can't focus yet on one thing. i learned that giving her one book at a time is better than giving her a few options right away.

the best way to teach a child to be fond of reading is to see us also read

HOME ECONOMICS. if we make a mess in the room - playing or coloring, i ensure that kaela joins in the cleaning. be it throwing in the bin, rubbing off the colored marks on the table and keeping her toys in the storage box. on weekends, i let her participate in the kitchen when i bake. she helps me whisk, mix, and break the walnuts into pieces. at times, she forgets that we are preparing food, misses to spread the walnut on the mixture and puts them instead in her mouth. i can't blame her, i also like munching them.

CHARTS & COLORS. we posted charts on the wall and ask her to point to us where each item is. we  also have duplo-replicas for building blocks and studying colors.

FIELD TRIP. it's always like a field trip on weekends as we go to the mall and nearby park. we loiter at the square, bird watching. sometimes, i take her to the little rides.

nanay, i'm not really riding. i'm just sitting here. can u insert a coin please?

ARTS & CRAFTS. this is her favorite above everything else. she's very fond of her crayons. i lined the wall with butcher paper so she would have a bigger space to draw. nevertheless, the occasional marks on the table and chairs didn't escape her curiosity. i like this activity as well. it relaxes me to do something else and just color and draw. the other day, we made a collage of pictures from the catalog. but of course, she likes drawing best.

we are dead-tired in most evenings but to see her grow and learn new things, we just have to enjoy it with her and keep going.