In the Philippines, where I’m from, homeschooling is legal, and you have two options: you can go independent, or you can enroll in a homeschool provider.
Parents usually decide on one of these two choices as part of their consideration of accreditation. If ever you decide to move your child back to regular school, he will need some form of accreditation. For independent homeschoolers, you can get this by taking the PepTest, an exam with the Department of Education, or enrolling in a homeschool provider.
The homeschool provider is responsible for checking to make sure the parents actually did teach the child, with regular reporting, usually in the form of quarterly or end-of-the-year portfolio submissions.
How much does it cost to homeschool?
Price range for homeschool providers at the time of writing begins at P18,000 per child per school year, going all the way up to P50,000.
Many of these providers offer an Early Bird discount months before the school year starts, so start your research early. Join the orientations to get a feel for the provider and what you can expect.
Choosing a homeschool provider
Different families have different reasons for choosing a homeschool provider. If you choose to use the Charlotte Mason method, you will need to find a provider that allows you to use open curriculum, or, better yet, a provider that actually advocates and trains you in the Charlotte Mason method.
Open curriculum homeschool providers
Open curriculum providers, at the time of this writing, include:
- Homeschool Global – This is one of the pioneers in homeschooling here in the Philippines.
- Peniel Integrated Christian Academy of Rizal (PICAR)
- Kids World Integrated School (KWIS)
I have personally had good experience with Peniel and KWIS. However, if you want to apply the CM method, they generally just leave you to your own devices, since they also cater to all the different homeschool methods.
Charlotte Mason Homeschool Providers in the Philippines
I believe an even better deal would be to opt for a provider run by people who themselves believe in the CM philosophy and work hard at training you to implement it better in your homeschool.
There are currently two homeschool providers in the Philippines that focus on the Charlotte Mason method:
- Living Pupil Homeschool Solutions
- Living Learning Homeschool
I am personally part of Living Pupil Homeschool Solutions. Our head office is based in Cebu, and I am the family coach based in Iloilo City. Of course, with everything possible online, I look forward to helping you succeed in homeschooling with the Charlotte Mason method whichever part of the country you’re from!