Unschooling James and Adam

     If you tell people who are unfamiliar with unschooling how it is done and that parents allow the kids to have the freedom to shape their days, choose activities or topics to explore, they seem to almost always instantly imagine children stuck in front of the computer or TV. Maybe that's what they'll do if they were not given the freedom or only allowed restricted number of minutes a day or a week to use the technology for a long time that they have developed cravings for them and now they are on a binge. Also, it is possible that technology has provided them great resources that are interesting and entertaining and they find that it's worthwhile to spend a day or days just learning from them, which is actually not a problem at all. On the other hand, if you let your kids just do whatever they want, they might also... do this and this yeah, this one too and this! ...which is not bad at all.

"To see a world in a grain of sand, And heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, An eternity in an hour." -William Blake

     I recently joined an online group of Filipino unschoolers and independent homeschoolers, those who homeschool without a provider and tailor-fit their own curricula. One of the questions raised was about language learning, specifically learning Filipino as a subject. For Filipinos, it is very understandable because heck, Filipino as a subject in school was more about grammar! We've been drilled and lectured about pandiwa, pang-uri, pangngalan, (isn't that double N G the most intimidating combination of letters you've ever encountered in your life?) etc. (or should I write atbp.?) and yet lacked the exposure to rich Filipino literature oozing with great Filipino characters, relevant and engaging plots, diverse Filipino values, and captivating illustrations. I believe this misplaced focus created a gap between the learners and the Filipino literature, the distance between Filipinos and our own culture.      The discussion brought three language acquisit...

One of the greatest teachers we've ever met, Jude.  He's James and Adam's bestfriend, or should I say little brother?

I have been having a really rough time lately and I needed a break. Although our monthly budget is super tight because our gilts and sows changed their diet and we bought three more piglets and another two will arrive next week, we had to take a breather. I know, life in the farm has been very relaxing, but it also has its down-side. Our family is also making changes and decisions must be made. This has been stressing me out lately. So I guess, this day has to happen for my own sanity. ...and we're super happy that it did! Daddy set the cellphone's alarm at 6, I woke up at 6:05, cooked rice and boiled eggs while Daddy was feeding the pigs. We packed our jug of water, a bag with our lunch, and another one for our change of clothes because we're expecting a boat ride and some swimming! At around 7, we left our home as planned. We really didn't have a plan, but we're hoping to see a few tourist attractions from the brochure we acquired from the Municipality...