Living overseas with four kids is no easy task. You have to do everything by yourself. Luckily, with homeschooling, we have been on the D.I.Y. bandwagon even when we were still living in the Philippines. So when we arrived in Australia, I was not overwhelmed. It was not so different from what we have been doing back home.
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I am ususally talking about attaining financial freedom on this blog. That IS the reason why I created this blog after all. But there are times I would talk about my kids, my marriage, and of course, homeschooling.
By the way I am watching Ryan Higa cooking (sort of) on youtube as I write this... so it will take me a while to write most likely... About six months later... So as I was saying, what happens next after everything else has worked out? And by that I mean, you have attained financial freedom? But wait, what is financial freedom? Financial freedom is defined by Robert Kiyosaki as the freedom to be who you are and do what you really want in life. So, it is not really about how much money you have, because having lots of money doesn't automatically mean you have financial freedom. I come from a family who made money regularly (both my parents were hard working employees), but we were not free to do what we want. As a kid we had to constantly hear about saving money, we couldn't buy what we want, ate the same adobong kangkong for 5 days in a row, couldn't go to the movies, watched other kids have nice toys and gadgets... I am not complaining, in fact I salute my parents for how they raised me. I am only demonstrating how we did not have financial freedom even though we had money. I think it is because my parents were afraid of losing money, afraid of becoming poor, and so we were made to live a poor life. Financial freedom therefore is when you are able to be and do what you want with the money you have. I would say at this point in our lives, I am almost able to do whatever I want. So I guess I can say I have almost attained financial freedom. I don't think I am rich by normal standards, I don't have a nice car, I don't have the most expensive laptop or mobile phone... but it's ok because those are not the things I want. Some of the things I do want are: - not having to endure traffic 5 days a week - being with my kids and my kids wanting to be with me - being able to buy what my kids want, but not to the point of spoiling them - eating delicious food when I want (no more adobong kangkong!) - going to the movies when I want - travelling abroad when I want - sharing my knowledge to people who are interested in hearing what I have to say I don't think I am quite there yet because I still hold back to buying wants over needs. My bucket list still contains a list of unchecked things I want to do. I still have that fear of losing, I guess it's hard to break the habits that my parents have instilled in me. I believe fear can be a good thing when it is used to propel you to take action. Some people tend to be frozen with fear that they don't do anything, it is the fear of the unknown. So what next after financial freedom? Once the bucket list has all been checked and done, what next? The answer to that, for me, would be... Share your knowledge and pay it forward. Help other people to attain financial freedom. Today, after a very long time, I received an email from a young reader. It was a pleasant surprise because I seriously thought no one ever read my blog. I just write out of passion and hobby. I am posting her inquiry about homeschooling here so that everyone else who happen to read my blog may benefit too. "Hi po! I'm turning Gr. 9 this school year and I'm planning to be homeschooled because of personal reasons (like i'm really introvert po) and also financial problems. As I was looking for homeschool reviews I saw your blog and I saw your email at the comments. So paano ko po ma coconvince my parents? And paano po ba yung proseso sa TMA? Thankyou. :) If you wouldn't mind can I ask several questions po about TMA? Kung hindi okay lang po. Salamat po! :)" Dear Young Reader, ...... First of all, I'm very happy to hear that you are very much interested in homeschooling. Up to now, my children are homeschooled. My eldest son is not much older than you, he will be starting grade 10 soon, he is turning 16. As a parent, at first I did not believe in homeschooling. Madami akong concern for my kids. Matututo ba sila talaga magaral? Pano kung hindi sila sumunod sa akin? Makakapasok ba sila sa college with homeschool credentials? Magiging normal ba sila pag adult na sila? Alam mo kase marami kaming takot as parents. We don't want to screw up our children's future by making a bad decision. We only want you to do well in life. So by doing what everyone else is doing, like sending our kids to regular school, we think we are doing the "safe" thing. But as I started reading more things about and attending orientations about homeschooling, the more I felt that it was the best for my kids. So I suggest the same thing to your parents. You should expose them to more information about homeschooling. Homeschool providers have scheduled orientations for parents who are considering homeschooling. I don't know your circumstances at the moment, but homeschooling requires one parent to be willing to be in charge of your education. If your parents are both working, one of them may need to sacrifice their work, it's usually the mother. Also, I suggest you also check out Catholic Filipino Academy founded by Bo Sanchez, if you are Catholic. Mas mura ang tuition fee nila compared to TMA kung isa ka lang na maghohomeschool. I transferred to TMA kase mas mura lumalabas sa kanila kung maraming anak ang enrolled, kase per family ang charge ng TMA. At the end of the day, it doesnt matter kung TMA or CFA, because what matters is how focused you are in taking charge of your education. As long as you are honest and passionate in learning, I am sure you will do well! Best of luck to you dear and hope all will turn out ok. Let me know how it goes! Kind regards, Bella Carlos aka Carol S. Abella My son Colin who is 11 years old is really good at playing League of Legends. He is so good that his friends are willing to pay him to play their accounts. Colin loves it when he is on top of his game. He high fives his friends and grins from ear to ear. I see him mentoring his younger brother on how to improve in the game. He is generally a helpful young man when his game is good.
But since League of Legends is a game of team work, he needs other players to work with him, and when his team mates don't play as well, that's when Colin loses his temper and goes beast mode. He yells at his friend or brother, calls them "weak!" and types on his keyboard but sounds like he's hitting it. It is the same when he is using the mouse. I call him out regarding his behaviour and I see him make a scowling face. This morning I am greeted by Colin and his big brother arguing over a game. Apparently Colin has left the game without finishing it because he was sick of his brother not playing as good as he is. His brother was upset that Colin was not a good sport. Losing his cool, big brother gave up, went to his room and slammed the door shut. What's a mother to do in this case? Ground them. Ground them from playing anymore League of Legends until they get their attitudes straight. I am working on a startup business at the moment while homeschooling my kids. I now love the feeling of being able to create something and playing around with it. It's not all fun and games, there are times I don't feel like working on my website, or opening my emails or clicking on "learn more" links so I could understand how the heck Google Analytics work.. I'm really not techy, but I have a passion to learn. It is my wish my children will do the same or better when it comes to love for creativity and entrepreneurship. "Nanay, I forgive you...," said Haley.
I turn and see her face her eyes are tearing up. I say: thank u for forgiving me... Why are you forgiving me? This is the first time she said she forgave me without my having asked for forgiveness. I don't even know what I did! "Nilaksan mo ung boses mo kanina," (You raised your voice at me a while ago) her 4-year-old voice breaking up as she talked, "but I forgive you very much." Then I remembered how I told her to stop putting her fingers in her mouth. I was annoyed but I hadn't even realized that I'd raised my voice! How cute that Haley has developed this wonderful character trait. It was not my original intention to teach her this. I had picked up from homeschooling blogs and seminars that we as parents should ask our children for forgiveness when we commit mistakes. So I began doing it whenever I forgot things I said I would do for my kids, whenever I lose my temper and such. "Do you forgive me?" I would say. When Haley did not know how to respond at first, I used to ask her to repeat after me "Say: Yes, I forgive you nanay." From there she learned. But it's amazing how she seemed to evolve. From being able to simply respond, she now understands an abstract concept that most people find hard to do in their mature years. There is beauty in a child who knows how to forgive and I pray she will continue to grow with a kind heart. |
WelcomeMy name is Bella A. Carlos. This is my first purposeful blog. Homeschooling is key to my children's financial security. I hope this blog inspires others to look at homeschooling as a path to build wealth and eventually financial freedom. Teach Your Kids About HMO
Homeschooling to me is 10 things Part 1 It's Not Enough To Live Below Your Means You Are What Your Kids Will Grow Up To Be Unless... Teach Your Kids to Use Other People's Money Another Filipino Mentality You May Not Be Aware Of What is Taumbahay What Convinced Me to Homeschool On Reading Why "A" Students Work for "C" Students When You Are A Woman Breadwinner Archives
October 2024
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