Butterfly Sanctuary
September
Butterfly Sanctuary
I saw the whole life cycle in real life. One landed on my hand and stayed for four seconds.
Hello! My name is Samantha Rejoyce Calanog Cadiong, and you may call me Rejoyce. I am 6 years old and a Kindergarten homeschooler. My days of learning are filled not only with lessons, but with stories, conversations, beautiful things, time outdoors, family life, worship, play, and wonder.
In our home, we believe that education is more than finishing books or completing activities. My Daddy, Restie Cadiong, and my Mommy, Stephanie Joy Cadiong, together with my whole family, make up the beautiful atmosphere in which I learn and grow. They read with me, talk with me, answer my many questions, take me to new places, let me observe the world around me, and help me form good habits little by little.
Our home is one of my first classrooms. I learn while listening to stories, helping at home, noticing flowers and little creatures, drawing what I see, singing songs, travelling with my family, meeting people, asking questions, and enjoying the ordinary moments of our days together.
Tap a quarter to see my photos, what I learned, my marks, and Mommy's note.
The beginning: new books, new habits, and learning to pay attention.
Rejoyce began the year full of questions and a little shy about narrating. By October she was telling stories back to us at the dinner table without being asked. The habit of attention is taking root.
The quarter of a hundred questions. Mostly about why the moon follows us in the car.
She asked so many questions this quarter that we started a notebook just for them. Half of them I had to look up myself. Her wonder is the engine of this whole homeschool.
I got braver. I told my whole narration out loud and my voice only shook a little.
She practised her little narration for two days, forgot half of it in front of everyone, and kept going anyway. That recovery is worth more than any mark on a card.
The last quarter. I can do things now that I could not do in August.
One year ago she was learning her letter sounds. Today she reads to her cousin and tells us stories we did not know she was listening to. Homeschooling Rejoyce has been the hardest and best thing we have done, and she made it easy to love.
Some of my best lessons didn't happen at my desk. Here's where we went and what I found out.
I saw the whole life cycle in real life. One landed on my hand and stayed for four seconds.
I made a lightning ball light up by touching the glass. My hair went funny.
Where milk actually comes from, and that goats will eat your shirt.
How to find a book using its numbers, and how quiet a room can be.
Tide pools! We counted eleven kinds of shells and put them all back.
What firefighters carry, and our family meeting spot if there is ever a fire.
Every day after lessons I move my body. It helps my brain wake up, and it's the loudest part of my schedule.
The most precious part of my education is learning to know God and to grow in my love for Jesus. Through Bible stories, worship, prayer, friendships, church life with my Light Church Kids family, and the example of people who love Jesus, I am slowly being formed.
I am learning to be kind and compassionate, even when it costs me my turn.
Telling the truth the first time, especially about the broken things.
Every night I say one thing I am thankful for. Usually it is my family.
Doing what is asked, right away and with a happy heart. I am still practising.
This portfolio is a little record of my Kindergarten journey: the books I have met, the places I have explored, the things I have observed, the ideas I have wondered about, the work of my hands, and the memories our family has gathered along the way. It is not simply a record of how much I have learned. It is a glimpse of how I am slowly growing in knowledge, character, wonder, and love for God.
Welcome to my living education.
Rejoyce, age 6