Our Choice for Sophie

Me and my beautiful, perfect little girl (who will also be my student very, very soon!)

After months of exploring school possibilities for Sophie (she is incoming Grade One), my husband and I have chosen the exciting, awesome, petrifying option of homeschooling her.

You see, Sophie is one the most fantastically creative people I have ever met. Yes, part of this is biased because I am her mother, but it does not take away from its truth. She comes up with songs and raps in an instant, stages her own fairytale stick puppet shows in our living room, choreographs and directs (she's a tyrant when directing me and her Tita Ninang in her very own dance extravaganzas/ house shows). She will think up creative movement pieces in the mall and insist that I be her dance partner (whether these entail me lifting her in the midst of a crowd or bumping sides with her while lined up at an ATM machine doesn't matter). She will break the routine of her Kumon drills by coming up with story lines about the pictures in her worksheets. 

She is a creative force of nature. She is talented, bubbly, and full of life. She also was diagnosed with a speech delay at the age of three, and is a late reader. 

There are several reasons why we chose the path that we did, perhaps too many to say here. But one reason is that we did not want to expose her yet to an environment where expectations in reading and writing would be too high for her, and where a big chunk of her lessons would fly over her head, as she does not yet read as fast as her peers. She is beginning to learn how to read, slowly - yes - but surely, and we want her to experience all the joy and wonder and awe that comes with discovering the written word, and all the possibilities this will open up for her. We want her to take all the time she needs for this, and not to feel pressured or stressed or inferior because she is not at par with children her age.

She is beautiful and perfect in every way. We don't ever, ever want her to doubt that.

Another reason, and this is a personal one, is that I have devoted so much of my ideas, time, and creativity conducting creative arts workshops for kids, writing plays for children and their families, and performing and storytelling for them. I love my work with Make Believe, and so much of my work has been inspired by Sophie - but now I feel as if I am called at this point to pour all my creative energies, passion, and love for teaching kids to teaching her, to helping bridge the gaps, and "irrigate deserts" as C.S. Lewis has said.

And if she will be homeschooled, she will also have the most creative, kick-ass curriculum this planet has ever seen. That is my promise to her. And I intend to keep it.

It will take a lot of time and commitment, and a lot of creative scheduling between me and my husband, Pipo so that we can both teach her, and still attend to our respective businesses. But I am filled with so much enthusiasm and hope. We are blessed that Pipo's homeschooling provider allows for customization for those with special needs, and the developmental pediatrician we are working with fully supports our choice. Sophie's Tita "Ninang" has already pitched in to do her art lessons, and other friends have volunteered to assist me in making math and science very creative and interesting for her.

I am already designing a creative arts curriculum for her that will also include her being able to go out and take ballet class, attend sessions with other home schooled kids, and the like. I can't wait to get started!

(On a side note, I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time now. And because I am so inspired by this journey we are about to embark on with her, I am excited about documenting our adventures, struggles, triumphs in this blog. Just as Sophie (and Pipo!) inspired me to start Make Believe, so has she inspired me to start this.)

Here's to the start of an awesome ride :-) Hope you can  join me from time to time :-)