Yuchengco Museum

Our current list of readings

• Ballpoint pens (red, blue, black)
• Pencils
• Highlighters
• Scissors
• Glue sticks
• Colored pencils
• Three-ring binder for Science projects and art work compilation
• Pencil sharpener
• Erasers
• Water-based markers
• White glue
• Composition notebooks
• Spiral-bound notebooks
• Loose notebook papers/fillers
• Folders
• Manila paper
• Construction paper
• Printer paper
• Ink cartridges for the computer
• Ruler with metric measurements
• Scotch tape
• Stapler
• Watercolor paints
• Chalk
• Drawing paper
• Pastel colors
• Crayons
• Permanent markers
• Pain brushes (all sizes)
• Staple wires

We love Mongol but who can refuse these?

He gets painting lessons from both his Papa and his uncle, the artist Harry Jim Herrera

I wouldn't know because I'm not an artist, but the ones who are say this is one of the best kinds

At first I wasn't keen on getting him his own laptop but it made it so much easier for us to  give him tests, readings and even lectures

We insist on doing it the classic way

Oh yes, these we have lots of!

Tablet for some of his readings. Cole knows he can't run away from them

Old ones and new ones all in one colorful place

Attika, our one-year old, loves these dual colored pens

Yep, HP Everyday

A printer and scanner in one comes in very handy for homeschoolers (especially ones donated by aunts). We print test papers and other school records for documentation

Of course, we always end up in this toy box at the end of the day

Manila sunset, Taguig City, airport view, bonifacio global city, the fort, Laguna de Bay, Manila, Philippines

One of the perks of homeschooling is being able to work around a freer schedule. Of course, it helps to have a loose list of things to follow everyday but it doesn’t have to be monotonous that it would drive the kids to boreland  (and me to cuckooland).

A homeschooling activity that I would like to highlight for this month is the National Museum Week. I find that the best way to let Cole, my ten- year- old homeschooler, learn about the greatest Filipino artists written in our history is to bring him to the National Museum of the Philippines and allow him to immerse in the works of Vicente Manansala, Juan Luna and Fernando Amorsolo. He can have as much time as he needs to absorb their works and ask as many questions as he can. This way, he won’t be staring at a school book with small pictures of paintings printed on newsprint like most of us did in grade school and high school. It is the experience of having to see the paintings themselves that will allow him to appreciate the artists, their works and hopefully, details on their style and temper. For the latter, I’d have to take his lead to know if he’s ready to talk about such things. If not, the getting-to-know-you stage is already a giant step into both the Philippine arts and history. 

The other things that I can’t wait for Cole to see (I actually think “to experience” is a better term) are the sculpture gallery featuring the works of some of our National Artists like Graciano Nepumuceno, Isabelo Tampicino, Guillermo Tolentino and many others.

There’s also the “Kaban ng Lahi”, a gallery of archeological treasures and “Pinagmulan”, a display of items from pre-historic Philippines.

There’s a lot more to see at the National Museum of the Philippines. I confess, I have a lot of learning to do myself when it comes to Philippine history and so this trip will be parallel learning for Cole and me. I attended the Visual Literacy and Art Criticism Workshop in U.P. Diliman last summer. I obviously did not become a genius at it overnight (maybe never) but it did open gargantuan doors of learning for me. One of the requirements of the workshop was to write a review of an art work chosen from the Vargas Museum. Our mentors found it bizarre that I chose Severino Fabie's “A Man With a Newspaper" but it allowed me to sleep soundly on that decision. So mote it be.

The Philippine National Museum is located at P. Burgos Drive in Manila and is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm.  Phone Number: (02) 527 1215

Admissions are free on Sundays. However, in celebration of the national Museum Week, the entrance fees are waived for the whole month of October. Yes, everyone gets to go in for free!

Individual	Fee (PHP)
Student	30.00
Senior Citizen	80.00
Adult	100.00
Groups of 50 or more
Students	25.00
Senior Citizens	40.00
Adults	80.00