Last year was one of the major transitions for JC and Eu-La. I decided to enroll them in the Alternative Learning System. This is a curriculum from the Department of Education that allows students to access education in a nonformal setting. We home-schooled our four children without adopting a curriculum from a DepEd-accredited school. Enrolling in ALS provides them with an opportunity to obtain an LRN as well. This is essentially a student number given by DepEd to all students attending accredited schools.
This one-year journey has provided me with answers and demonstrated that my children can adapt to a classroom setting as well. Their teachers expressed amazement at their special abilities and how well they excel compared to other students.
One thing that amazes me is their ability to commute from home to school and back. They spent most of their time at home before. They leave the house with us in a private car. This period taught them to ride jeepneys and somewhat experience a detour, but they managed to figure out how not to get lost.
Along the way, it was not as smooth as it could have been, especially for JC, who requires learning considerations due to his special conditions. This is one of the reasons why we chose to homeschool from the beginning. However, with encouragement and support, JC was able to make it through his ALS.
They completed ALS Elementary on August 7, 2023. Up until now, we are still undecided about whether to enroll them in a regular school or let them wait for another ALS Journey and finish high school.
As for the two younger children, we are also preparing them to attend ALS. There is an age requirement for acceptance into this program. For elementary level, applicants must be at least 12 years old age.
