We are a little delayed with our reading, the deadline I set is on March next year and it's just a few months away but I'm still happy to say that we've made some progress at last. He has already mastered the sounds of all the letters in the alphabet for quite some time now, thanks to starfall.com but I was at loss on how to actually teach him how to blend those sounds together. When I tried teaching him to read "ba be bi bo bu" he got it in just a few minutes but I knew he wouldn't be able to read it if I scramble it so I made flash cards to make sure he got it. In a few days he got was able to read it. After that I just add a third letter so now he can read the words hat, van, dad, cat, fat, bed, red, and so on. His dad's quite impressed and would plant him a kiss right after successfully reading a word I'm hoping that by March he'll be able to read more complicated words like Tactical Pants!
Last weekend, after going to church we passed by Megamall. As usual, we passed by Toy Kingdom to check the latest toys. We were only planning on buying one educational toy, Z understood that he already have so many toy cars so we wouldn' t be buying any of that. I finally settled for a Philippine map jigsaw puzzle because Z is interested in places and I thought it would be a good idea to educate him about our country without boring him. The jigsaw puzzle costs only P199 ($4) but as we were going to the cashier when we saw this big teddy bear which Z really loves and which he instantly hugged. We were about to pay for the two items but we found out that the stuff toy was on a promo and you can buy it for P230 ($4.70) if your total purchase adds up to P500 ($10). We couldn't resist Z's yearning for the toy so I decided to buy another educational toy, Word Factory, which we can use for his reading. The 3 minute timer that comes with it would be useful too. We got an idea that the stuff toy would be a great Christmas gift to Z so we convinced him to let go of it and we'll just buy it next time. Being the good boy that he is, he obeyed. Unknown to Z, we told the cashier to ring it up without being too obvious but Z caught the cashier putting the bear inside the plastic bag and asked, "Is that for me, mom?" I almost burst out laughing at being caught but held my composure and told him it's not. I know I told a lie but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. We were able to have it gift wrapped without him suspecting anything further and now it's sitting under our Christmas tree and he still has no idea what it is. I can't wait to see the expression on his face when he opens it at Christmas.

I know I said I would teach him to write after he has learned how to read but his progress in our reading lessons for the last few days made me think we have the time to learn both reading and writing. I bought a writing book and asked him to trace the different letters and he did trace them but can't write it on his own. So for the last two days I decided to forego the writing book and really start with the basics, asking him to write vertical lines first instead of tracing the letters. He obeyed and produced some horizontal and diagonal lines. I was quite busy working beside him when he suddenly told me, "Look, mom, it's a letter A." I immediately glanced at his paper and sure enough there was a crudely written but unmistakable letter A. I was really proud of his effort to go beyond what was expected of him and actually write a letter instead of the lines I told him to. His dad was sleeping but I woke him up just to show it to him.

One of the reasons I decided to quit my job and stay at home was because I came from a broken family. I didn't want Z to experience growing up without a mother like I did and I felt guilty working away and being too tired to take care of him when I got home. It may be different with other mothers but I felt I was missing a huge part of his life by being away half of the time. I thought in order to have a strong relationship with my son I had to be a hands-on mom and be available 24/7. That was also the reason why I was convinced it was best to homeschool him especially in his early schooling years. My husband was not so convinced with the idea and so were the people we knew. I felt pressured to enroll him in school at age three. I seriously thought it was a waste of money, I believe mothers are still the best teachers of their kids. Our national hero himself was taught by no less than his mother during his early years and he didn't grow up that bad. But I felt alone in wanting to homeschool him without S's support. While attending church at CCF at St. Francis Square, I heard about the Homeschooling Convention which would feature talks about parenting and homeschooling your children. I decided to register right away and pay the P350 fee. My husband was hesitant to go because he has work the night before. But I was determined to go even if I was alone. Fortunately, S was really supportive because without my knowledge he decided to go on leave from his work the night before the convention so he can accompany me. We brought Z along even though the convention was from 8AM to 5PM because his would be baby sitter didn't come. The money we paid was really worth it because the talks by the different speakers inspired us and gave us insights to become better parents to Z. S became convinced too that homeschooling will be good for Z upon hearing personal accounts by parents who homeschooled their children and the children (now adults) themselves. Z was not too happy listening to different people speak for eight hours but he endured it all and was able to entertain himself at the end. I swear at one point he was even listening especially at the part when Pastor Tan-Chi was demonstrating the correct way of spanking children. His eyes grew big when the Pastor pointed at his belt! That event was really memorable for S and me, it was a day of learning together, planning for the future together, and just being in sync and having the same vision for our child and our family.