The ONG family Homeschool

The Ongs at Heritage Learning Centre!

HLC teachers
Originally uploaded by apieceofcake_sg

I've been a bad blogger... I've got so much backdated stuff that I don't know where to start. :OP And it doesn't help that I've got problems uploading photos on typepad. grrr...
I'm uploading this from flickr but I can only fit one photo on the post! I've sent a help ticket to the typepad staff and still waiting for a reply. Anyone else out there able to render me some help?

Anyway, I'll just start with today.

Heritage Learning Centre is a centre that offers the ACE curriculum for pre-school and kindie levels. They also support (not school) ACE homeschoolers of school going age, like mine.

There are field trips and other activities like archery which no. 1 is old enough to join.
(Haven't blogged about archery yet either.. :OP )

Today, HLC organised a chinese ink painting class and so I enrolled my older two. It is conducted by a seasoned artist. ( I want to post pictures!!!!)

They learned how to hold the brush and how to not dip too long in the ink and control the tip of the brush. Today they painted lines lines lines and more lines. Also they were taught how to draw a pretty, blotchy flower (if you know ink painting, you'll know what i mean.)

In the pic above are two of the teachers at HLC! And I dressed no 4. in the uniform t-shirt for fun so they'll all be a set.:O)
The teachers are members of the same church as us and we love them very much. The kids at HLC have a wonderful balance of fun and discipline for their school time because of the godly teachers there.

No. 3 has been doing the pre-school program at HLC (see? another late post) and he's enjoying learning letters and sounds with Mr. Khoo (in the pic). But more about that next time...

Blessings!

Test test

IMG_8969
Originally uploaded by apieceofcake_sg

cool! I get to post on my blog straight from flickr.com!

Anyways, this is no. 1 working on his gmail. He takes longer than me to type. :O)

Do Parents Need to be "Qualified" to Homeschool Their Children?

The following is an article written at my request from a wonderful homeschooling mom in America, Christina K. Here's an excerpt of what I wrote to her (for the sake of context):

People have this misconception that only highly educated parents have the right to homeschool. I understand from HSLDA statistics that there is no positive correlation between student achievement and parent qualifications in the homeschooling scenario. Hence I'd like to set the fallacy straight, for the sake of parents who may be caught because of a lack of qualifications or fear to begin homeschooling because of it.

So, dear Christina, I'd sooooo appreciate if you could spare the time (whenever you're free) to contribute an article for my blog on this aspect. Perhaps just tell us how your daughter's journey into academic subjects has been and your role in this process?

And here is her wonderful, godly testimony of what the Lord has done for her and her family, for taking the Lord at His Word!

Christina K. writes:

Regarding the fallacy of a parent needing to be 'qualified'...nothing could be further from the Truth. God's Word is very clear about PARENTS being the teachers. If we were not qualified, I believe that either the Lord would not bless us with children (not meaning that everyone without children isn't qualified, please don't misunderstand) or He would have clearly stated in His Word that the state or church should be given our children for academic instruction and other training. This is not the case, therefore, the idea of a parent NOT being qualified is absurd and a lie from Satan himself.

Children belong with parents, period. Scripture is full of places that command us to teach, train, and admonish our children. It is, also, full of places that command the children to hear, listen, and obey their parents.

Suwei adds:Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

In our personal situation, I (our children's primary, academic teacher) am a high school dropout. Yep, it's true. I barely finished the 10th grade and quit school altogether after the first couple of weeks in 11th grade.

In my personal situation, there were many reasons for this, which I, at first, included in this writing but have since determined that the reasons are irrelevent. For me, however, and for many others, institutionalized school was not challenging in many areas, too much too fast in other areas, boring, stifling, etc... and a great place to fellowship with friends, keep up with all the current fads, be influenced and pressured in ungodliness and focus on anything else but learning.

True learning, for me, didn't begin until I began homeschooling my own children. What a delight it was to learn the things I had forgotten and was never taught! I still find such joy in learning right along with our children!

Homeschooling, though, at first, may sound intimidating, is not hard. There are so many wonderful options out there. And even if there weren't any options, God's Word is truly all we need.

However, in aiding homeschooling parents, many of the curriculum out there can be quite student-centered and self-teaching, allowing the child to, almost, homeschool himself! One of the great advantages of homeschooling, is that we are able to enjoy it with our children, go at a pace that is good for them, focus on things they love to learn, and instill a love for learning so that as they grow older, they love to learn and are able to be self-taught.

That is the case with our eldest.

In her younger years, we approached homeschooling in a relaxed manner, taking our time to learn and to enjoy, and now she continues to love learning.

She is 15 and will be graduating next year, at 16.

Her all time favorite subject is Chemistry, which she took an advanced course of this year. Also, "for fun", she took pre-calculus! Do I know anything about advanced Chemistry or Pre-calculus? No way. But I did delight hearing her tell me all about it this year. Because she enjoyed learning in the past, she was able to enjoy now.

Will all of my children squeal in delight to take advanced Chemistry and pre-calculus when they are 15 years old? I seriously doubt it and I'm not counting on it. However, I am persuaded that they will, indeed, love to learn and because of that, they will be able to learn what they need to and what they desire to, not just during their school years but all of their life.

What a blessing that will be!

As far as academics and man is concerned, I, in many ways, am not "qualified" to teach my children at home. But I do not live by man's standards, I live by God's.

My children were born into our family, not into the public school, the private school, the church, or the Christian school. They were born/given to us, at home. God Himself qualified me to teach our children. It IS our job, our God-given responsibility, to teach, train, and admonish them, whether we choose to 'step up to the plate' or not, we will one day give an account to what we did with the blessings that He entrusted us with.

Oh, may we seek to please and serve Him only and not man. I encourage you to prayerfully answer God's call to teach your children at home. For thousands of years throughout history, parents have taught their children at home.

We CAN do it, if we choose to.

He will enable us to do His will.

~ Christina K

wife to her U.S. Marine, highschool dropout, and joyful, homeschooling mama to four precious children

http://hskubes.blogspot.com

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." ~ Philippians 4:13

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:57

***some beginning recommended reading***

(I do not endorse 100% of the content in each book. Use your own discernment when reading.)

Home Educating With Confidence: How Ordinary Parents Can Produce Extraordinary Children by Rick & Marilyn Boyer

The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Dr. Raymond & Dorothy Moore

He's Got Gmail!

This age of technology is simply amazing. I remember when I first entered the uni, I had to learn how to open a file from a diskette. Email was such a novelty! The screen was black and the fonts in dots.

Now, my 8 yr old son has his own email account and is happily exploring. Well, I figured it'll be good for him to learn some typing skills and learn some of other functions and stuff. (I do allow him to explore Google Earth too.) He'll over take me all too soon I believe. He's already learned to change font sizes without my teaching him!

Now he can email his cousins. His contact list will probably grow. I hold the password though and I get to screen his mail. :O)

(been having trouble uploading pics. :O( Will  add one in when I can.)

Did you read the article in the ST about Homeschooling?

The article appeared last week. The ST found my blog and asked me for an interview. Here's part of the email I replied:

Homeschooling in Singapore is still in it's infancy, hence anything the media says about it can really affect the whole community either for good or for bad. I would really hate for my words and intentions to be misunderstood and it might be taken to represent the whole community, which is a very diverse group.

Hope you don't mind that I'm being so cautious and I hope you can understand my concerns.

In the end, I did give a telephone interview but she didn't mention my name anywhere in the published article. :OP It's ok. I'm grateful that she gave a positive spin to it.

She was reporting on the growing numbers of families choosing to homeschool in Singapore and the possible reasons for this phenomenon. Would any of the readers like to contribute their 2 cents worth as to why more Singaporeans are exploring and going into homeschooling?

We're wondering, though, if she got her facts right about the NE quiz? Is it still on? The MOE didn't slot that in in the exam time table for the first batch of homeschoolers who are taking the exam this year. Do any pri school teachers out there who are reading this know when is the NE quiz taken, if at all?    

One of the questions she asked was what do I enjoy most about homeschooling, to which I replied to this effect:

I enjoy the privilege of being there for my children, being the one who is teaching them all they need to know in life to prepare them for a happy and successful adulthood. Being the one who is introducing to them God's world (through the subjects they learn) and also His word, it is a real privilege to me. And helping them have a knowledge of God so that they might one day walk together with Him, it is a privilege accorded to me by God Himself.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I wonder if I look like that....

Tonight at dinner at a prata restaurant (grease!grease!grease!) there was another family dining there with four young children. Their older two looked about the same age as my older two. But their younger two both looked under 2 yrs of age.

Phew. The mommy (in her late thirties maybe) looked frazzled. Her face looked care worn. Her hair was in a frantic haphazard-ish sort of "half-pull-through" pony tail. Her clothes announced that she doesn't really bother about what the world thinks about her appearance.

I am sure there was a period of time I was like that too. From top to bottom- it was like looking in the mirror. Those were the days when you've been at home so long with the kids that the rest of the world sort of just passes you by. And you really don't care. What matters is that you've ensured everyone else's needs are taken care of: cleaned, fed, done their school work, finger nails/ toe nails clipped, laundry done, meals cooked (or at least settled), diapers changed, buttocks caned, etc. etc. etc....

I still look like that some days. Those days I just want to get through the day in one piece without EXPLODING!!!

Instant fixes

One of the things I can so to improve on my appearance is some new clothes!!! But I do wish I could have time to go clothes shopping by myself so I can safely browse and try on clothes without having to tell little people to behave yourselves, this is a shop, not a playground!!!! And then make a quick exit from the shop to save myself from further embarrassment.

Sigh, there's always some other more pressing need whenever dh is not working. Mommy's clothes shopping time- next time.

Sedap!

Who can resist this face??? :OP

I think he ought to front the next ad campaign for the teh tarik stall behind him, eh, bro Alex?

Thoughts and Methods about Learning Spelling

I think Singaporean parents who send their kids to public school can appreciate the fact that teaching the child to spell is quite a hit and miss situation. Mostly because at school, they are given spelling lists that are thematically linked. Like party, balloons, games, charades, cocktail punch, mindless chatter etc...It is done this way because of the early introduction of composition writing. But whether it builds a firm foundation for spelling words that the child hasn't memorized before, I have my doubts.

We're using ACE, which is a christian American homeschool curriculum and I'm really pleased with how my children's vocabulary word stock, and spelling rules are being built up step by step.

Here is no 2 (6 yrs) doing some grade 1 work. This is the spelling test at the end of her Word Building PACE (or work book.) It's about two weeks worth of work. 20 words to spell at the end. 

Here's a page from this PACE that she just completed. You can see how step by step this is, word by word, same sound related. (Click on pic to enlarge)

Christians will also appreciate that the Bible and it's teachings are weaved into the daily school work.

(The verse that has to be memorized for this PACE is "Keep that which is commanded.")

And here's her test! She made it! I'm so proud of her.

Compositions can come later. No hurry. ;O)

Isaiah 28:10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

The Fate of a Poor unSuspecting Bug

So this poor unsuspecting bug flew into our house and landed on a window. I think it was a wasp of some sort. Quite a large specimen. I collected it in a plastic container. This morning, 2 days later, no. 1 (8 yrs) found that it had suffocated to death.

Time to learn about insects!

We got out a torch light, some rough and ready dissecting instruments (bamboo skewers are more like bludgeoning tools with insects that size), and our camera to document it all. We tried to look at it through our microscope but we didn't see a darn thing. Need to learn how to use a microscope. Seriously.

Nonetheless, we had an interesting lesson about insects. All the different parts of its body.

Pai seh, I spelled mandibles wrong. Something short circuited somewhere between my brain and my hands. :OP

The children drew in the positions of the feelers and the legs and the wings (later).

Then, we proceeded to take it apart. The kids said it didn't smell too nice. see no. 2

The torchlight was really helpful.

When we took it apart, we saw more clearly the head and the parts that were attached to the thorax... thorax on a stick, anyone?

It was interesting to see the structure of the abdomen as well. It reminded us of some plastic covers that are attached to umbrellas.. sort of telescopic structure.

I am always amazed at the wisdom of our Creator in all the fantastic designs of his creatures. Stingray bones also fascinate me. So flexible yet so strong. A product of random trial and error of evolution? I certainly think not.

The entrails were eeuw-ey as well but it was all part of the fun. (Not so fun for the bug though, but at least it was dead already.)

Tomorrow, I will follow up with some worksheets and show the kids this website about bugs.

Blessings!

________________________________________

Dear Readers,

As always, thanks for reading about our homeschooling adventures! Do write with questions about homeschooling or christian parenting. I'd be happy to answer your queries to the best of my ability. Or just drop a note to say hi. ;O)

So much more than working on some furniture

Some garden furniture was in dire need of sanding down and re-varnishing and it was such a wonderful opportunity for the homeschooled kids to gain some experience in workshop skills!

It's so strange how we homeschoolers so value these jobs because they are part of the children's education. Even the plumber repairing a choke is subject to our close scrutiny coz we're learning about pipes and tools and stuff like that.

Of course in the case of the garden furniture, they were being such a great help at the same time. :O)

Here's no. 1 (8 yrs). Throughly enjoying himself.  He was so happy to be doing hard work in the sun. Haha.. the cab driver who took us to the swimming pool for swimming lesson remarked that no. 1 has such a healthy looking tan. Is it from swimming alot? He asked. To which I replied in Mandarin, Oh, it's from working outside.

The girl, no. 2 (6 yrs) had a go at it too!

I like for my kids to have a full and rounded education experience. It is important to have a go at everything that's useful and good. Even if they don't like it or don't see it's importance, they just need to try it out for the sake of gaining experience.

So that means, the boys will learn to sew and cook and the girls will learn to drill holes in walls (useful skill for putting up hooks for picture frames and such...!).

Here's a dear teenager from our homeschool community helping out as well. :O)

I guess it made him feel grown and manly. ;o) I'm glad he was so willing to knuckle down and sweat it out. Such an endearing young man who's willing to work with his hands.

In the end, it's also a lesson about being thorough, working hard, taking pride in your work, perseverance. That's actually the more important bits we want to instill in the kids. They will lack nothing in life because they are willing to work, amen?

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

Proverbs 24:33-34  Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.