Love for Nature

"O Lord , what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures."
Psalms 104:24 NLT

The more we come close to nature, the more we experience how great our God is.

We were blessed to have a family trip in Tagaytay.

Our first view of God's creation is the Taal Volcano. Though Kyle studied volcanoes before, this one is different. A volcano in a lake and a lake in a volcano. We also rekindled the time when we had our horse back riding going up the volcano few years back. The lake ride was challenging. On our way up, we can see smoke coming out of the ground. But once you reached the top of the volcano, the view was spectacular. It was a basked of a pristine landscape.

Seeing this would reveal how all powerful our God is.

The following day we went on with our Nature walk we were accompanied by a cool breeze and God's loving heart. God is so close. Each view and the breath of the wind was His, we looked up the sky and felt His presence. A fruitful time to spend with our children.

We are studying Flowers and we were amazed on how God designed each bee, moth, and butterflies to do this. When we studied about the creation confirmation with flowers we were also amazed on how God had planned and thought about everything. Even flowers obey their design to make seeds. It is their God given purpose in life.

We dissected a flower and doing it in reality made my son Kyle understand it better.

This study allowed my children to be curious and appreciative of God's creation.

Finding something extraordinary out of the ordinary.

It is the first time for us to see a Passion Fruit. The farm keeper Kuya Alex was kind enough to give us a piece which we opened and tasted. We also researched more about this fruit. We loved the aroma that came out when we cut it. It tasted like guava and juice can be made using the seeds. Kyle liked the sweet and sour taste.

I used a printable from Pinterest to record our observations

We saw a gumamela plant and we looked at the pollens and the stamen. Kyle remembered the parts of a flower which made us easier to examine the plant. But more than this we appreciated the beauty of it.

The santan flower was one of the things Kyle was looking forward to. His Dad and I have been sharing stories how we sipped the nectar from this flower when we were kids. When we saw one he tried it and loved the sweet taste. He understood it better why bees are attracted to these. How animals are connected to the plants and thru this we get to enjoy God's wonderful creation.

For this trip we chose a place where we can learn at the same time. An interesting place from Hotel Kimberly was their Edible farm. It was explained and demonstrated to us how hydroponics works. It was a different kind of planting since they use electricity to maintain the supply of water. Thus, no soil was needed. They used pebbles or coconut husk for the seedling then transfer it once it grows. The blue pipe is where the water flows.

We are studying Botany since we are following the book of Genesis (Bible based) and the study of God's creation has so much to reveal of the characteristics and the sovereignity of our Lord.

One of the most unforgettable time was their close encounter with the animals. This is what we love about Hotel Kimberly, with no extra fee we can feed the animals and be with them.

The kids are animal lovers. Most of their interest with books are about animals. They like to learn more about their habitat and how they live. While in the hotel we made sure that they spent time here feeding the animals, touching and even talking to them. We want our children to grow with a love for nature and God's creation, to be good stewards of what was entrusted to us. In their young years, experiencing a close encounter with the animals is one of the best way to learn better.

Kyle learned more about the sheep. How to identify if it is a male or a female by simply checking if there is a horn. He tried to touch it and at the same time showed care. Like us, we also need a Heavenly Father who would always take care of us. He is our shepherd and we are His sheep.

We also learned that rabbits sleep for 8.5 hours with their eyes open. The kids enjoyed feeding these little animals.

The Farm head was gracious enough to allow us to see the iguana up close. We touched it and the feeling of the skin was cooler, rough and scaly. We watched the iguana as Kyle tried to feed it.

They also observed the horses while they were eating.

Since we started this, the kids became observant of what they see around them. While we were eating outside they hurriedly called on us to see their discovery...a monarch butterfly. It was colorful and beautiful and they appreciated the beauty of its existence.

Through Nature Study, our toddlers Sean and Simone understands that we were created by the Lord. In their age, it is our goal that they would know God as our Creator, that everything is from Him and for Him.

It was a blessing to have this experience together. We praise God for allowing us to enjoy this through the hospitality and the kindness of Hotel Kimberly. We learned with the free tutorial of Kuya Alex from the farm. We experienced his kindness and how he can manage to smile at us and help us despite of the all day heat and taking care of the farm. You would not feel that he was tired. This taught us that working faithfully is a blessing that you could give to others.

We are looking forward on our next journey. How homeschooling our children transformed each one of us is a calling from God that we are in awe of. We experience moments, successes and struggles together. We hug each time we succeed and we hug and cry together each time we stumble. It is a perfect gift from the Lord.

We love Nature Study, it reminds us that we have an omnipotent God. Through nature, God speaks and teaches us. He is always in control of all things and He is working diligently on every single detail that happens on this earth, though He created it long time ago. He is never gone and He is never diminished. It is about God's goodness and His revelation of how mighty He is in His creations.

"Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." - John 1:3

All Praise and Glory to God!

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Nature and Homeschooling

Few weeks ago we were blessed to go to Baguio to attend an enrichment seminar for couples.

My children took advantage of this time off. Aside from doing a travel journal we enjoyed experiencing our nature study.

Days before our travel, I prepared what we needed. Our goal is to be more productive with this trip and learn at the same time. After all, our world is our school. I was able to get our printables from pinterest and I also added some to keep our trip aligned with our goal. We covered Theology, History, Geography, Language Math and Science.

During the road trip, we made sure our kids will enjoy God's beautiful creation. We had our game "Mommy says" wherein they need to point out animals that they have seen and then I will ask them who created those animals and they would say God. Creation was the beginning of everything that is why we want to instill in our children's mind that everything was from the Lord, all they see are His and for Him.

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him." Psalm 24:1

Everyone participated as my husband was also talking about God's goodness along the way. The trip was a blessing from the Lord and we wanted our children to see and enjoy God's creation. We wanted them to feel that we have a gracious living God who designed everything, connecting them with the Lord through this experience.

With all the family trips that we had before, this is one of the most meaningful one. We did not allow the 4 hour drive to keep us idle but instead to learn and see God's graciousness in our lives.

Kyle also made his own drawing on what he saw from our hotel's view

Sports was also included, they played Bowling and mini golf for kids.

On our 4th day, we explored nature by doing our nature walk.

My children were very observant, looking at each flowers and trees. It was fulfilling that I am able to do this with the kids. I would always ask my toddlers who made each plant or animals they saw. They would call me and point out on God's creation that caught their eyes and attention.

The view was very beautiful and there were flowers, crispy leaves and tall trees everywhere.

We enjoyed and we were amazed watching the bees. They were sipping nectars and then will transfer from one flower to another. I talked about pollination while observing.

We also saw some mushrooms and moths.

The best part was when they saw a colony of ants following one trail in getting food. They loved watching and observing how they were moving. I mentioned how hard working ants are in storing their foods for the rainy season.Kyle remembered reading about this in the book of Proverbs.

We recorded everything using our Nature and Travel Journals

The breeze of the air was so cozy and we can hear birds chirping while enjoying the beauty of nature. Looking and observing around seeing God's creation brought us closer to the Lord. We can feel and see how sovereign He is for only a one true God can mold all living creations.

It will be a challenge to do this in the city but Lord willing there will be future opportunities to do something like this again.

This is just one of the joy of homeschooling that God blessed us with. Moments and life journey you experience with your children. Keeping their Love tank Full.

When we were called to have home education and obeyed His will we were certain that God will reveal His greatness.

"If home education is biblical and you have determined it is God's call for your family, then you can homeschool with confidence" - Clay Clarkson (Educating a Wholehearted Child)

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised" - Hebrews 10:1

All By His Grace!
All Praise and Glory to God!

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The Joy it Brings

More than 19 years ago, God blessed us with a beautiful child. Our first born, Ivan Elijah.

I can vividly remember how easily I was able to give birth, with just three strong push Elijah was out.

Arnel and I were very young when we had him. We were at our 20s. Both of us were undergraduates and we do not have our own place. We get our food and shelter from our parents.

This was so far from God's design of leaving and cleaving thus, our journey became difficult.

We also did not know Jesus yet at that time. Though my mother who was a long time Christian would really insist on having us baptized.

When Elijah came into our lives, our world stopped and revolved around him. He became sickly too and we took all the extra precautions to keep hin away from sickness. At age 3, he had a convulsion because of high fever which really scared us and made us more focus on him. We did not understand that this was a form of idolatry. Being our first born and only child back then, he consumed us wanting to give him the world and at the same time he became our world. We loved him more than we love the Lord and more than each other. It was just now when we try to look back we were able to understand why he was not blessed with good health.

I was also a very strict mom and did not know anything about good discipline. All I know was if he committed a mistake I will spank him with anger which should not be the case. One of the things that I was not proud of as a mom back then, it was an ugly heart that could have been the cause of having a rebellious son.

He was our trial and error when it comes to raising a child.

When he was 9, God blessed us with our second child Kyle and most of our attention were moved to him. Elijah grew and had better health. He was not an idol of our life anymore. I also started working at this time and became busy.

He grew and years really passed by so fast. Our first born who was once just a baby that we cuddle is now 19 and is a young fine man.

It was more than 3 years ago when Elijah joined a youth retreat and have come to know the Lord and accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. He had this passion to invite people in our church and share Jesus.

He is now in college and by God's grace, he has been serving the Lord through the Host Ministry in our church for almost 3 years.

I praise God for his beautiful life, oftentimes I thank the Lord for giving him to us. Elijah saw our journey as husband and wife, how we were bad examples to him before. But he grew to be an obedient child. I remembered when he had his purity ball and got his purity ring. He made a promise to the Lord that he will remain virgin until the time he gets married. He would always ask if he needs to eat out with his friends or if he has a decision he would like to make.

We do not have a house help but whenever we need to be out we can rely on him in taking care of his siblings.

I know I do not deserve a child like him, a very good and obedient son, but I am in awe of God's faithfulness because by his grace He made Elijah grow in obedience.

Few weeks ago, he told me twice that he wants to volunteer in another ministry in our church that involves IT and multimedia which is his college course. I was surprised at first but I praise God how he is working in the heart of our son.

If I will compare my teenage years to him, I was rebellious and with no direction. But because of God's goodness Elijah was able to grow and live his teenage life for Jesus.

He helps me with our chores and was able to do it well after several months of teaching.
I remembered the first time I saw him giving his thithes, it was the very first thing he did as we entered the church. I saw the pureness in his heart and the desire to give it back to the Lord. He remindes me how we needed to put God first in everything that we do.

He loves to draw and I have seen how great his works are. Our prayer is for him to use hia talent for God's glory.

He is not a perfect son and is still a work in progress. There are still areas that he needs to fix especially in being a good steward of time.

Elijah is the first gift that God gave me and Arnel. We are grateful for he is a wonderful blessing from the Lord and our prayer is he continues to grow and walk with the Lord and be a man after God's own heart.

All by His Grace!

"Children are a gift from the Lord ; they are a reward from him."- Psalms 127:3

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A Whole lot of Books - Experiencing a Book Fair

It was our first time to attend the Manila International Book Fair. As homeschoolers, Kyle and I were excited to see what books are in store for us.

We arrived at the SMX Convention Center at 1pm and we were blessed to get free tickets.

The place was a feast of so many books to choose from.

Every aisle has a lot to offer and we really tried our best to see and visit every booth.

It is a blessing indeed to be able to have book fairs like this. But first thing that I have learned is to have self control, otherwise your worldly desire to have everything you see will conquer your heart.

Our first stop was PCBS. This booth offers a lot of Christian books. We were surprised to see that they have good books on sale for only 100 pesos.

We looked for books that will be useful in our daily lives. Daily devotion for our children was our first pick. Then I also got a good book from a well know author Gary Chapman for me and my husband.

When I saw this from a booth ( forgot the name) it easily gave me a smile. My sister in Christ Irinne was the first one who showed me these and she said it is good reminder to put inside our house. I couldn't agree more.

In our busy days we would always need a lot of Jesus just like what it says below 😃

Fully booked has one of the biggest stall and the books were sold at 20% off except for scholastic books. We got our favorite from national geographic - 5000 facts. The book is informative and it gives actual true information.

We stopped by Adarna publishing, and I looked for read aloud books for my toddlers that has moral lesson. And I got these books that are Bible connected and has good character teaching. The books thay I got were sold from 50 to 60 pesos each.

And then off we go to Rex Bookstore, the books we saw for our homeschooling were really great finds. We got our textbooks for 50 pesos each only. I keep on praising God while paying for our books. These are worth more than a thousand and yet He lead us to this booth where we got it at a very cheap price. The employees were also very helpful. They really went out of their way to get the books we need for each specific grade. Good find, good people plus a good price.

Next stop was Lampara books. The post caught my eyes instantly. It says books with moral lesson. We got books for read aloud that can teach our children with values and character. It was also written both in English and Tagalog, so you can teach English and Filipino at the same time.The books were sold at a cheap price plus 20% off if you buy 5 pieces of different kinds. I also got some chapter books for Kyle which fits his interest too. These books have colored pictures and for a visual learner like Kyle he will definitely enjoy reading this.

Kyle and his friend Yuan enjoyed staying here too while coloring some pictures and at the same time waiting for us. They were able to browse some books too while we do our book hunting. They patiently waited for us though they were already hungry.

Then we stopped over the Learning stall. We had great finds in here. My kids are very much interested with animal books. Kyle gave the books he liked from 10 pesos to 20 pesos each and I added some supplemental books worth 20 pesos each for our Science subject. Most of the books that we got were hardbound too.

We also got this chart that we can use in our homeachooling especially for my toddlers. I chose a chart that we can customize and we can use in different subjects.

By God's grace, we accomplished our needs first before the wants especially we are working on a limited budget. I feel blessed too because I was able to shop with Irinne, we talked about the books that we purchased first to make sure that it is aligned with the Bible and if it will promote and encourage character. We need to be consistent with what we teach. Our goal why we encourage our children to love reading is to gain knowledge of our Lord first, the source of our wisdom. Second is to know more about character, values and third will be academics.

"Set your mind on what is above, not on what is on the earth" - Colossians 3:2

After walking and carrying all our books the kids got hungry and of course the mommies too.

We had dinner and we went out to get some donuts courtesy of my sister Irinee :) we stayed there and rested while enjoying and talking about God's goodness in our marriage. I praise God for my sister Irinne, she shared how Jesus changed her. I saw in their family how God is truly faithful to His children who are obedient to His will.The conversation, laughter and time spent was worth it. I remembered how Rick Warren shared in his book "A Purpose Driven Life" how we need to have fellowship with our brothers and sisters, by doing this, we glorify God as we lift Him up in our lives and showing others how He is a God without limits.

" But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18

I also praise God that He blessed my kids with a father who supports their love for books. He allowed us to go to the book fair and managed the house while I was out. He also provided for our budget for the fair. We see the Lord above Him because we know that above my husband, God is our true blessing for He is the source of everything.

God is marvelous, the overall experience was awesome.

His timing is perfect, just when we need these books He provided for us plus more extra for the kids.

I am grateful for what God has always given us and how He is faithful to His promises.

When we continue to seek Him, we will know Him more and His greater plans for us.

He shows me how to love him more each day with good or bad circumstances, simple and big moments. I see, feel and hear Him each time.

Indeed we have a God without limits.

"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you" Matthew 6:33

All by God's loving grace!
All Praise and Glory to God!

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Learning through Role Play

We were blessed to experience wonderful activities from Kidzania.

Kidzania is an interactive kids' city combining fun, and learning through role play. It is where kids can have fun exploring the adult world.They had more than 100 role play establishments for children ages 4-I4 years old. It was a blessing that I got the tickets with a 40% discount plus we got lots of free kidzos ( play money being used in kidzania).

The kids were thrilled when they found out that we are going on a weekday. There were fewer guests, plus we get to enjoy the place from 9am to 4pm. We arrived early and were greeted with a dancing crew. A great way to set the mood.

We were all delighted to see the place. It was like a mini city inside BGC. They call the kids as Mister and Miss, it makes them feel like grown ups.Our first stop was to claim our kidzos from BPI bank. Then off we go to our first stop - The fire station.

The kids learned about fire safety and were trained to put out fires in the city (inside Kidzania). Then they went into the fire truck and acted like real fire men. They loved the activity. They also enjoyed they role play at the baby center where they were taught how to take care of babies.

My kids love cooking too. We went through all the establishments that involves cooking. The good part with these role plays is you get to take the food you made. They were so bloated with all the pizza, burger, sandwiches, cookies and mini cake that they had.

They also get to experience some life skills, Sean and Simone painted the walls while Kyle tried to learn how to change tires. They also experienced to put a cable wire, take care of pets, set a table, clean a room and do some groceries. There were some tasks that they get to earn some kidzos too.

While doing all these activities, their Dad and Kuya were our photographers and cheerers.

My favorite part was when Kyle acted as a host in a mini TV Patrol show. He was able to deliver the story well in Filipino and he enjoyed the activity.

Before we went home, the kids joined the parade with costumes. Simone was not in the mood to dance but he still walked with us.

As homeschoolers, it is a privilege to teach our children and be with them every step of the way. We get to enjoy doing things together and experience wonderful activities.

Role Play is a good way to allow our children experience learning. I have been focusing on teaching them about life skills and seeing them being trained and doing the actual role play was a big help.

" We learn to do something by doing it" - John Holt

They also get to learn about valuing money and being good stewards about what God has given us. They earned and paid using their kidzos and was able to use their remaining earnings to buy school stuff from the Kidzania store.

I praise God that He gave me the desire to homeschool my children. Though it can be messy and crazy some times, the rewards are priceless.

I am very grateful for each time that I watched my children progress. As I was watching them do their activities, God reminded me that the best memory that I have were the times spent with my family.

It hit me that the heart of our children are very fragile.

Raising four boys to be godly men is challenging and it can only be possible by God's grace alone. I commit mistakes at times and still struggle, but I keep on asking the Lord to give me the grace of becoming a Mother after His Own heart. I am also taking advantage of all available parenting books and resources that I can read and apply what I have learned.

Their lives is in our hands.

No one knows what great potential lies within a child but helping them to unleash their potential through customized learning and supporting their interests is a big help.

And we rely to our one true source - God's grace and His enabling in our home are more than sufficient to meet our needs day by day.

While I was doing our curriculum mapping God reminded me that my main goal are the hearts of my children. I started having our Morning Character Basket which focuses on their spiritual need, values and character. It is my goal that each day they would be nourished by their daily bread...God's Word.

" You as a parent will always be the most powerful factor in determining the destiny of your child" - Harold Sala, The Parent Map

As parents, it is our tasks on how we will be leading them to be children after God'w own heart.

" Keep your heart with all diligence, for out if it spring the issues of life" - Proverbs 4:23

All Praise and Glory to God!

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