The Learning Mom

05/09/2026

Commonplacing and journaling about today's formation because I didn't have enough time to simmer in the reflection question earlier.

Thank you, Lay Formation Office - Diocese of Imus for the space to go beyond the task checklists and reflect on the person we are becoming in this journey.🙏

Nanay Culture Hub

11/08/2026

Four years ago (2022), I asked fellow moms in my Charlotte Mason Special Needs Homeschooling Philippines group if they wanted to read CM’s Volumes together. I gave them a list of sources for copies of the Home Education Series. However, we ended up reading Dr. Shefali. Conscious Parenting & Living 's “The Parenting Map” in The Learning Mom's Book Club in 2023 because I felt the pandemic called for a shorter read we could apply more readily to help keep our relationships (and our sanity😅) intact. That book felt like a deep dive into honoring the personhood of children (and parents!) as espoused by CM’s first principle so I decided to go with it first.

In August 2023, I attempted to schedule Vol 1 for our next book club read, but I must've felt I spent too much time on Mother Culture, having joined a "33 Days to Morning Glory Group Retreat" on the same year so it fell through.😅

In 2024, I was tempted to join the Idyll Challenge of Charlotte Mason Poetry but my neurodivergent kids were both starting new forms that year (Form 2 & Form 3) and my eldest was at her last year in Junior High so I felt I didn't have the mental and physical capacity to take it on at the time.

In 2025, I attempted an asynchronous book club reading of Vol 2 -- making it coincide with the in-person Mother Culture schedule of moms in our kids’ learn group meet ups. I don’t think we made it past Chapter VI for the in-person ‘tho and we had only 1 discussion thread in the asynchronous book club. 😅

In between these, I’m grateful for LivingLearningHomeschool parent sessions that went through the Volumes in bite size pieces - but I keep longing to do a full reading of the 6 Volumes to understand the philosophy behind the method in a deeper, fuller way – and hopefully BEFORE I graduate my kids out of homeschool.🤣

So this 2026, I finally took the plunge to join Idyll Challenge VI. 🙏

Looking back, my heart goes out to the moms who’ve had this elusive Mother Culture goal too. So we’ll try it again inside the book club (link in FB page), following Art Middlekauff 's Idyll Schedule to finish the ENTIRE 6 Volumes in 2 years – asynchronously. Here’s a screenshot of the schedule for Vol 1. Let’s FINALLY do this, Mommies!🥰

30/07/2026

Me: For Story of the World, we will read about a missionary who traveled across Africa. Do you know who I'm talking about?

11 yr old (getting her keeping from Growth of British Empire and emphatically saying): Information overload about David Livingstone!!!!!

Me: The books give different aspects of his story so this will help you get to know him more (we proceed to read the chapter).

11 yr old: It didn't even mention Victoria Falls!! (from her Marvels of the Orient reading last school year).

Me: I told you the books focus on different aspects of his life. What was the new thing you learned from this book?

11 yr old (narrates and ends with) : It's a good thing we read this. I will share this [keeping] tomorrow [with my Learn Group] so I can remember a lot of things.
😁😁😁

I was struck by the idea that his motivation to find trade routes to central Africa was so it can trade ivory, salt, and other goods instead of slaves. I don't know if my older child read this chapter independently or if it didn't register in my mind then, but thinking of his exploration with a view of ending slave trade definitely casts him in a new light to me. It is now locked in my chest of inspiring ideas from which I could draw when needed. 🥰

With a wide spread of , there truly is no such thing as information overload -- only a symphony of many ideas that inspire. 🙏 Thank you LivingLearningHomeschool for helping us curate books that are truly life living.😍

25/07/2026

Throw back to Kuya choosing to feature St. James (the Great) for his first Stories of Nations (UN celebration) as a new homeschooler in third grade 🥰 -- because it's his feast day today.😊

I still remember the struggle at that time of asking him to make a choice for the character he'd want to portray -- because open-ended questions had always been the hardest for him to answer despite assurances that there is no wrong answer (it still proves to be a bit of a challenge these days).. But the moment his sister who was in Kinder back then declared her choice (Jesus) , he immediately came up with his own choice. 😊

This would be a pattern (having some external devices or scaffolding to narrow down choices, for example) until an AAC-certified Speech Pathologist really honed in on helping him identify his preferences as part of building his self-esteem two years ago. He is getting better now at identifying (and voicing out) his preferences. It's not yet a fully mastered skill, but it's a hopeful work in progress (he really doesn't care much about using the AAC 😅 but the Speech Pathologist helped unlock something seemingly more vital at that stage so we are grateful)🙏

Charlotte Mason Special Needs Homeschooling Philippines

Me: Why do you want to be St. James?
Lex: because he's the best friend of Jesus.

It took him a while to choose his character for their UN Celebration, (elaborated in a previous post), but when I told him his younger sister wanted to be Jesus, he immediately said he'd be James.

It's wonderful to witness how he makes his own conclusions from the feast of living books and ideas we offer for his consumption. This incident will remind me, on days when we struggle yet again with narration, to just trust the process - and his innate capacity.

I have yet to learn to draw out his exact thoughts (like why James and not Peter or John, who were also part of the inner circle), but I'd like to believe that Lex chose St. James because he also sees himself to be the best friend of his sister, who chose to be Jesus in this case. This thought comforts and amuses me.

It also reminds me how - just as best friends tend to have a lot in common - we are all called to be like Jesus. May we all heed this call this All Saints Day and everyday.

24/07/2026

Mother Culture opportunity alert!!!
Introduction to Brush Pen Calligraphy Workshop 🥰✒️

Link in the first comment below

13/07/2026

We started our homeschool lessons last year 1 month ahead of the official schedule to set us up for success and avoid the constant frustration from previous years' experiences of catching up on our schedules and deadlines. But major ministry assignments and 2 serious health issues in the family totally obliterated that "lead time."

It was TRULY by His grace, LLH team's patient consideration, amazing resilience of the kids and my husband, Clustermates' support, and through prayers of dear family and friends that we were able to finish last SY! 🙏

I decided that for our 7th year of homeschooling, "surrender" is going to be this Teacher Mama's mantra. So Ms. Gina choosing "Faithfulness in the Ordinary" as the theme of for SY26-27 was a beautiful resonance -- for as long as we remain faithful to the many little things things entrusted to our stewardship day by day by day, we can truly be at peace and surrender our anxieties about immediate and external "results" and what "success" looks like to the outside world.

Let us be faithful and surrender the inner workings to Him who is the one true and greatest Teacher -- and we will just be amazed at the transformation that is waiting for us at the other end. 🥰

And now we're starting another homeschool year with LLH -- to cap off our journey from Kinder to Grade 6 🥹💚! Ready for SY 2026–2027! 🙏



motto

02/07/2026

FREE BOOK ALERT!!!
Anne White's revised edition of "Ideas Freely Sown: Study Edition" will be FREE on Kindle from July 3-4 [US time].

This work helps us break down the matter and method of Charlotte Mason with practical applications relevant today. The expanded edition (published on Feb 28, 2026) includes suggested readings from Mason's books, plus discussion questions for individual and group readings.

Do NOT miss this treat she is offering in celebration of Ambleside Online's 25th Anniversary)!!!

Link to get the book is in the comment below (wait for July 3 if you want to get it for free)

Charlotte Mason Special Needs Homeschooling Philippines

14/04/2026

Finally got the 10 year old's buy in to study cursive handwriting after I read aloud the benefits stated in this workbook that I knew would speak to kids (to help develop a unique signature, activate a different part of the brain, practice fine motor skills, generally faster than writing in print).

I also brought out the Spencerian penmanship lesson book to give her a beautiful option 🥰 but she said it was too complicated and she wanted a more simple one.

Her reaction to the more simple one: That's not a capital "A." That's just a small "a" but bigger!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Swipe left to see what became our middle ground: my Paulinian capital "A" 😁 (which is actually close to 😂).

14/04/2026

Finally got the 10 year old's buy in to study cursive handwriting after I read aloud the benefits stated in this workbook that I knew would speak to kids (to help develop a unique signature, activate a different part of the brain, practice fine motor skills, generally faster than writing in print).

I also brought out the Spencerian penmanship lesson book to give her a beautiful option 🥰 but she said it was too complicated and she wanted a more simple one.

Her reaction to the more simple one: That's not a capital "A." That's just a small "a" but bigger!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

What became our middle ground? my Paulinian capital "A" 😁 (which is actually close to Spencerian 😂).

06/01/2026

Photo during our chance encounter with Dr. Donna P. Simpao more than 2 years ago. We were meeting Tatay, coming from a homeschool cluster meeting. She just finished a meal with friends after their tennis game.

Our PMs mostly consisted of her concerns regarding a post of mine in the Homeschoolers of the Philippines group (of which she was founder and admin) and my orders for homeschool items whenever she decluttered 😁, but she (and the community she has built) has been a guiding light and inspiration in our homeschool journey (and for many other homeschool families, I'm sure).

One of the things that struck me most (and I am reminded of it only now) was what she said after her kids had all graduated out of homeschool and she was ready to give more time to her medical practice. She said if she had to do it again, she would have also given more attention and time to her marriage while homeschooling her children.

Homeschooling, while it has many rewards, really does take so much of our energy (physical, mental, emotional, intellectual) and time that our marriage can easily suffer neglect via a pause button 😅-- if we are not intentional about tending to it as well.

Thank you, Mommy Donna, for sharing so much of yourself and for all the wisdom you have imparted from your life experiences. 🥰

We offer our deepest condolences to her loved ones. Link for wake details from her family in the comment section below.

Eternal rest grant unto Donna Pangilinan-Simpao, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace 🙏