Happy Monday! It is the official start of our 4th quarter today although we had a soft start last week where we did lots of arts and crafts, lots of Maths, and a few Greek and Roman Mythologies. Today though, the schedule was a bit too full. Mondays are usually the heaviest days in our week. It kind of kicks off the week then we slow down throughout the week. That's what we do for this quarter at least. I have changed and revised our daily rhythm so many times I couldn't remember how it originally looked like.
Of course, the little learner got a little bit tired because of all the literature we read today so she wanted to hang out. She invited me to play sari sari store with her. Sari sari store is a convenience store, like a mini grocery store that can be found all around here in the Philippines. Almost everywhere you look, there is a sari sari store in the neighborhood. My mother used to own one, I opened one before to augment our finances too. Now, I get to play sari sari store with my kid.
She may or may not realize it but she is applying the things that she learned from our lessons in her sari sari store. At first, it was a mess so I told her that sari sari stores should have their stocks and merchandise arranged properly. They also put signs and the prices of the items they sell. It's a good thing she did not want me to throw out all those cardboard boxes we got from the grocery.
She learned to arrange her paninda in the most organized way she can, and she priced her items accordingly too. I am noticing that lately, she is learning to organize things around the house a lot. When she fixes her bed in the morning, I see lots of improvement with how she arranges the pillows. Now, with her toys, she is slowly developing a system of arranging them. That way, she says, it will be easier for her to pull out the toys when she wants to play. Efficiency at her age is such a nice life skill.
When finally her sari sari store is ready, we start playing. Of course, I am her only customer so I have to "consume" all of her paninda. Before, she would just price her items at 1 peso or 2 pesos. Any amount that is just low so that she wouldn't have a hard time with addition. All she cares about is the play part. Now, she is becoming more decisive and aggressive with her pricing. I see the items now range from Php20 - Php50.
Her sari sari store now functions as an extra practice for her Maths. It's so satisfying to watch her through her process because there was not a point where I suggested that she do the addition. I was ready to just let loose and play pretend all afternoon. But there she was, willingly doing addition problems by herself during her playtime and she was enjoying it. She was doing the learning all by herself.
That is the education as an atmosphere at work right there. Her learning, coming to her in the most natural way it can. Nothing was forced or imposed, it was her playtime. And she was still doing Maths and she loves it. Of course I was ecstatic.
Tomorrow, she scheduled another sari sari store session and she said we would trade places. She'll be the customer and I'll be the store owner because she said she want me to experience the fun of it. Then after I'm done with my turn, she will be the store owner again because it was really fun and she likes it. Ahh, the sweet wholesomeness of a child. I am glad to have the front row seat in this experience. I am lucky that I have the option to not look for a paying job to look after my kid. I am grateful that we are able to homeschool the way we homeschool. I get to see my child's personality bloom right in front of me.
All photos are mine, edited through Canva.
