Our Homeschool Diary #4. Boundless Learning Outside the Home.

We are nearing the 2nd Quarterly Portfolio Review which we have pre-set to be on February 26th. Hence, it has been pretty hectic for us these days. We need to catch up on subjects where we had delays in procuring books.

These past few weeks we also have the chance to augment our homeschool learning by going to different places which can pique the children's interests and let them learn new things. The weather is also nice to get outdoors - we do not get this kind of weather the whole year round. So outdoor excursions, here we go!

Emirates Park Zoo

Last December, on one of our long weekends, we had a chance to visit Emirates Park Zoo.

One of the attractions at the zoo is the chance to pet and feed the animals. Living in a desert country like the UAE, my kids' interactions to animals, both domesticated and farm, are limited. This trip was a perfect chance to learn about various animals present at the zoo.

The Dubai Miracle Garden

Last weekend, we had a chance to visit the Dubai Miracle Garden. It was an unplanned trip, but a very welcome change to our monotonous routine.

The garden park had a lot of attractions designed with millions of colorful flowers! We were only a few meters from the gate and Kuya started firing questions already. "Are there bees here?" "Are bees different from wasps?" How do they take care of all these?" "Is that a real airplane?" "Are airplanes machines?"

The trip, apart from being educational, was also a nice bonding moment for the family.

Children's City, Dubai Creek Park

After almost half a day's walk at the Miracle Garden, we decided to swing by the Children's City at the Dubai Creek Park. This was one of the places our homeschool advisor suggested during our last portfolio review.

Right now, Kuya is torn on being a scientist, astronaut or a teacher perhaps.

Kuya has been talking about wanting to use a microscope for quite some time now. He wants to see how microbes look like. That is why on this trip last weekend, while it was unplanned, I decided we swing by this place where children can get their hands on many different things that will help them learn about the world we live in.

It's a shame we arrived late. Children's City opens from 2:00pm to 8:00pm on weekends and we reached there at around 6:00pm. Parking was a nightmare and we were able to enter the center almost 15 minutes before 7:00pm already. An hour and a quarter was not enough to explore the place. The kids wanted to actually come back this coming weekend!

Abu Dhabi Science Festival

Fortunately, the Abu Dhabi Science Festival is back as part of the UAE Innovation Month. They are at the Abu Dhabi Corniche from February 1 - 7, 2018 - something that I also did not know ahead of time. I just accidentally found out about it as I passed by the area last Saturday. As we already spent for our Children's City visit (which was actually not too much at AED 40- ~$10.80, for our whole family)it is great to find out that the Innovator UAE event is free of charge

Another chance to peek under the microscope. This time the material was iron wherein he said he saw shiny things!

We had a long night as we left at closing time which was 10.00pm, even withstanding the cold breeze coming from the beach!

Boundless Knowledge

We are happy to be getting the groove of homeschooling. I feel it is working well for all of us in the family. The boundless learning opportunities that come along with the flexibility of homeschool are so welcome, especially with my three knowledge-hungry kiddos.

Though we face pressure from time to time, it is tolerable and manageable. This, I feel, is a lot better than what a normal schooling may bring to us.

Our Previous Homeschool Diaries

Our Homeschool Diary # 1: We Need to Purchase Books! - (let me know if you got these)
Our Homeschool Diary #2: Freedom & Responsibility
Our Homeschool Diary #3. Portfolio Review. Trust Your Child.

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