We just had our first field trip for the school year! It’s our way of kicking off the start of a brand new year in our homeschool adventure.

We even bought Philippine-designed shirts for our field trip outfits!

We gently began our school year last week by reviewing what the kids learned in the past year. Although we homeschool year-round, we officially start our school year in June. It’s that time of the year when I (their main teacher) start becoming more intentional with our homeschool activities. I take into consideration where we left off before our summer activities, the kids’ current interests and their respective levels. Together with my husband, we discuss and plan our learning goals for the year for each of our kids.

But before we get serious, I thought that it would be a wonderful way to start our school year with a fun activity. This is one of the things I love about homeschooling. We design our schedule based on our goals, availability, resources, and the topics that we want to learn and cover.

Since there are two major historical events that Filipinos celebrate in June (Independence Day on June 12 and Jose Rizal’s birthday on June 19), I’ve decided to plan a field trip for our family this month. I initially planned to go toJose Rizal’s house and hometown in Calamba, Laguna and Fort Santiago in Manila where the Rizal Shrine is located to celebrate our National Hero’s birthday. But I found out that the Rizal Shrine in Laguna is under renovation so we postponed our field trip there. We still went to Fort Santiago and Rizal Shrine in Intramuros last Sunday. Then, we went to Kawit, Cavite to see the house where the Philippines’ independence was proclaimed. This was inspired by the news articles (this and this) I read about the video mapping done in the house as one of the ways to celebrate our Independence Day this year.

Mga batang Rizal walking in the footsteps of Jose Rizal at Fort Santiago. 😉

We had fun exploring Fort Santiago! It was the kids’ first time to go there. It wasn’t my first time there but I still learned new things and relearned old lessons while at the Rizal Shrine. It was also a memorable experience for us to all go to the Aguinaldo Shrine for the first time.

It was in this balcony that General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines from Spanish rule.

That’s another beauty of homeschooling. Parents get to learn with their children while providing them with lots of opportunities to bond with each other. Is homeschooling something that you want to do with your kids or feel that the Lord is calling you to do but you are afraid of the impact of your decision on your finances? Are you wondering if you can homeschool and still contribute to the family income?

I have good news for you! I’m organizing a parenting summit called Hands-On Parents while Working on August 8, 2015. It’s a whole day workshop on hands-on parenting and working smart in the new millennium where you can learn how to marry hands-on parenting with earning for the family.

Click here to read more about the event and its speakers.

During the workshop, I will help you uncover your greatest motivation in wanting to become a hands-on parent. I will also help you come up with a clear and compelling vision for your kids and yourself. I will share tips that you can apply right away after you leave the event. I will share my 3-Step Success System that can enable you to be a H.O.P.E., a Hands-On Parent while Earning.

Aside from these, you’ll have an opportunity to learn from other speakers and guests. Some of our speakers are parents who also homeschool their kids. You can learn from the interactions and group discussions with other parents too.

I invite you to invest your time on this life-changing event!

I encourage you to sign up now while you can still avail of the early bird rate. You also have a chance to win a free gift certificate from Kindermusik with Teacher Suzette and Friends if you are one of the first 10 parents to sign up and satisfy the requirements of our Facebook Contest.

You can find the mechanics here.