early children education Archives

Press Release: Ready To Homeschool ~ A Primer on Homeschooling

April 7, 2018 No Comments

Beyond The Silver and The Gold, Condo Coach and The Event Detailer presents Ready To Homeschool – A Primer on Homeschooling by Michelle Padrelanan. Held at D’ Cup Coffee Republic on April 14, 2018 at 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., this learning event is for newbie homeschoolers and those who are exploring this educational option.

Homeschooling in the Philippines has slowly but surely gained popularity in the last 15-20 years. Previously seen as an educational method that was only available to young actors and actresses and the elite or rich, it is now a viable alternative to sending children to traditional schools. What is homeschooling and how is it done? Michelle Padrelanan plans to answer that and other questions pertaining to homeschooling that will give the attendee the confidence to homeschool their child.

Parents will also learn the pros and cons of homeschooling, how to start homeschooling, how to craft their family’s homeschool mission statement, how to handle major life events while homeschooling and where to enroll. As a bonus feature, attendees will receive a list of free homeschool resources that can be found online.

After the seminar, attendees will be Ready To Homeschool! They will have the confidence to embark on their family’s homeschool journey with a vision of the future of their homeschooled children.

Michelle Padrelanan has been homeschooling their children since 2002. She has successfully graduated their two older children who are now thriving in college. Her passion for homeschooling has lead her to create her blog in 2010, Beyond The Silver and The Gold, to encourage and inspire other families to homeschool. She firmly believes that the key to nation building is building up a strong family. Therefore, parenting needs to be intentional. She and her husband work together to build up their children’s faith in God, develop their character and strengthen their family values. She is well-known in the homeschool community as an influencer, blogger, speaker and a veteran homeschool mom.

Registration for Ready To Homeschool is ongoing at bit.ly/homeschoolmanda. Ticket price is P1,100.00.

tot schooling

1st Day At The Little Man’s New Playschool

February 1, 2014 No Comments

pre-school, tot schooling, early children education — on our way to school…

January 13 was the little man’s first day in his new playschool so I made sure that we woke up and prepared early. I packed his measly school stuff {his Thor notebook and his Thomas the Train pencil case that has an assortment of pencils, colored pens and a sharpener} onto his bag and off we go.

Our new playschool is about 15 minutes away from our place and since we were early that day, we still managed to have a morning walk to the main road where we road the jeepney to school. Hi-Q Tutorial and Play Center is located at the Feliza Jazz Building that also housed the local Philhealth office.

The little man was already familiar with his new teacher as we’ve already been there for his assessment the week before. I noticed that his teacher have a folder of activities for my son to do that day and they started out with coloring and tracing the first few letters of the alphabet. Jared was not too keen at first and wanted to explore a bit more of his new surroundings, but he was able to finish some of his tracing sheets and a number of coloring pages. After the exercises they also had storytelling time and learning about numbers.

Teaching little children can be very difficult that is why I admire pre-school teachers for their patience and perseverance. I also noticed how Teacher Cheenie would convince Jared to continue writing or learning even when he is already complaining to be tired. When his attention is wandering off somewhere else, the teacher would then shift to other activities to get his attention. The best thing that works for the little man so far are the mega blocs. He was so enamored by them that he looked forward to playing with them at the end of his class.

Compared to his former playschool, Hi-Q is focused on one-on-one style of learning, which I think is the most ideal for kids of Jared’s age. There were no other children around that day as I was told most of the kids as old as Jared would normally go to the center in the afternoon. I guess it works to my little one’s advantage as there would be less distraction to pique his interest.

Parenting 101, Tips and Tricks

To-Buy List for Starting Nursery

July 11, 2013 No Comments

There are lots of emotions associated with starting nursery. If your little one is starting in September, you might find that you’re experiencing a mixture of excitement, worry and anticipation. This is perfectly natural, and all parents feel the same way. Some children can’t wait to start and meet new friends while others might be a little more apprehensive. Either way, getting prepared early is the key to getting off to the best possible start. So, what do you need to buy before your child starts nursery school?

The most important thing to buy is comfortable clothes that you won’t mind getting too messy. There is lots of creative play and exploring to be done at nursery, so don’t send them off in anything too pristine or expensive if they’re going to be spending each day playing with poster paints and glue and playing games outside and getting muddy. Most children are mucky pups, so send them in something loose, comfy and not too precious.

While many nurseries will provide food for the day, including snacks, some children are fussy eaters or may have special dietary requirements, or you may just feel more comfortable providing them with your own food from home. There are lots of novelty lunchboxes and coolbags aimed specifically at children decorated with their favourite characters from TV and film. You can also buy a special bottle for them to make them happier about lunchtimes, and you can pack it full of their favourite foods. Just check in advance if anything should be left out in case other children have allergies.

It can help children feel more grown up if they’re allowed to take their own little bag with them. Some nurseries, especially those linked with a primary school, provide their own book bags, but if not you could give them a little rucksack in which they can pack their favourite toy or book so that they will feel comforted by something from home. You can also put a spare copy of your contact details in their bag in case it goes missing or there is a problem. Also make sure that the bag is clearly marked with their name.

Some days there might be specific activities the children are allowed to participate in, such as cooking, special arts and crafts or sports, so make sure you know about these in advance so you can provide them with the appropriate kit or ingredients. Most nurseries will be able to provide everything for the majority of activities, but there might be times when they appreciate contributions from parents, so find out if this is the case.

Jennifer Oster is a young mother to two nursery age children who are growing up fast and blogs about her experiences as a parent