My kids and I only had two weeks of formal classes this month so this article will be short. The month was the most relaxed period of our homeschooling so far. We had a week where we had to do summative tests. I did not expect that there would a series of tests again as we just had our 2nd quarterly exam just last month. But it was all good because my kids took them and they passed – which tells me that they did learn from our lessons since June. Below is a short list of this month’s homeschooling highlights:
1. We watched all the videos for 3rd quarter for History, Math, Science, English and Filipino that were recommended by our homeschool provider. The kids also watched a series of videos about Archaeology as they showed interest in the subject after visiting Homo Luzonensis’ remains at the UP Archaeology Department.
2. As unit study for Scienc, we did a weather monitoring of typhoon Tisoy. We observed and listed down these observations on the changing intensities of rain and wind directions hourly that started at 8 AM until 3 PM. In between monitoring, we did watercolour paintings of the storm and Ian’s version of “Starry Starry Night”.
3. Ian studied pictographs for Math, geometry for Nereus.
4. Nereus assembled and painted planets and the sun for his model of solar system which he got for Christmas gift. It was good timing too as he also got a book about space exploration from one of my friends.
5. Ian did a unit study about animals where he researched and wrote about Batanes pit viper. He used our Philippine map showing distribution of endemic animals in the Philippines for this study with my help, of course!
6. For Filipino, Ian has started studying Wikahon Mini A set while Nereus read some of Lola Basyang’s short stories and did some summaries o “pagbubuod” (book study).
7. Finally, because it’s December, we had a day where we got busy making our own Christmas cards for the family. Ian’s was the best!
8. We also got to watch the partial solar eclipse from 1 PM to 3 PM at the UP Observatory. Despite the sky being cloudy, we did get glimpses of the sun through clear patches. My kids absolutely enjoyed observing this phenomenon for the first time.
9. We watched the UP Symphony Orchestra and various choral groups in UP perform in one music-filled night with the event title “Liwanag ng Pasko sa (Ka)Diliman last December 8, 2019. The night was capped by a hair-raising performance by the whole ensemble of “Ode To Joy” in honor of Ludwig Van Beethoven. We brought the kids to the said event for them to have a glimpse and what potentially is in store for them should they consider the musical career path.
Liwanag sa (Ka)Diliman by the UP Symphony Orchestra and various choral groups of the UP system.
10. We also watched the UP Lantern Parade, which is an annual event when students and teachers from different colleges and departments design their unit’s lantern and parade them around the academic oval.
The various lanterns that were showcased during the lantern parade.
The Fabulous Scientist 