Our Very First #SonlightBoxDay !

We've made the decision to homeschool long before we had children. There are so many reasons why we came up with this decision, but I might need to write about them in a separate post in the future. For now, I'll just mention one, which is the major reason why we are choosing this path: We want to maximize the very wide open window of influence that we have in their younger years. We believe in the principle that, the deeper the relationship, the greater the influence. It takes so much time and effort to build a deep and solid relationship, so this is what we want to invest in the lives of our children right now, time and our presence. We want to be the major voice of influence to them amidst other competing voices. We want to be the first persons to be present with answers when they start asking hard questions about life, love, and faith. This is the way that we want to prepare them for God's plans and purposes for their lives.

Shiko is 3years and 4months now. He's been asking a lot of questions and has always been so eager to learn. He also loves stories and would retain a lot of info from every story that I tell him. After researching and asking some of my homeschooling mommy friends, I decided that this is the perfect time to start "informal homeschooling" him using the Sonlight Preschool Curriculum.

Sonlight is a literature-based curriculum. They help kids cultivate a love for learning by using stories from living books instead of textbooks. Their Preschool Program is filled with lots of read-alouds, play, and bonding activities. No pressure, just a perfect warm up as first time homeschoolers like us prepare for the years to come.

With Mike's approval, I was ready to make the online purchase of the program. However, I've read from some moms in a homeschooling facebook group that the couriers charge almost 12,000php worth of tax for the package to be released once it arrives. This is undue, since there is a Florence Agreement which states that "books and other educational materials for personal use" should not be taxed. So after days of thinking, asking around, and researching for the best route to transport our curriculum, thank God that He lead me to Kango Express. Kango is a forwarding company that provides consolidation services. It took around 2-3 weeks for the whole process, but it was worth it since we were spared from paying undue tax.

To be honest, I am not yet sure how this is all going to work with an "almost one year old" who is crawling and cruising, grabbing books from my hands, and constantly wanting my attention. My good friend and kumare, Ria (homeschooling mom of two kids) told me, "The Lord will use your unique circumstance to teach your babies through you." (I'm so thankful to have encouraging friends like her!). I guess that's it! We'll just have to at least start somewhere... and then figure out how to make it work along the way! As the LORD leads! 

So finally, our box arrived today! I made sure to document our very first #Sonlightbox day because this day is very important to me. I could still remember those years when I was crying and praying to have children. That day when God gave me this dream of becoming a homeschool mom, something that I never dreamed for myself! Our unboxing moment earlier today was so precious because I saw how God was making another one of my dreams come true before my very eyes! One day, when my kids are all grown up, I will look back at these pictures and videos, and will be thankful for God's faithfulness! :)