Home school

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Joyce Fernandez April 25, 2014 at 6:22pm

We made the decision today. Our ninth grader is going back to homeschooling. We'd love to meet other homeschooling families in the area. We have always had a huge support group. At one time in the states, we had over fifty homeschooling families coming to our home every week... We are hoping to connect with Boquete's homeschoolers. Today we put out feelers at the library. If you're reading this and thinking you'll get around to contacting me, now is the time!
- Amigos de la Biblioteca, Boquete > Joyce Fernandez April 26, 2014 at 9:12am
  Hello Joyce,
  
  I'm not sure who you spoke with at the library, so perhaps this is redundant. The library can be an excellent resource for homeschoolers - and not just for the books that are available. Here are a few ideas:
  
  A homeschooler's group could meet at the library on a regular basis. There is a meeting room on the top floor that can accommodate a fairly large group. Of course, this would need to be scheduled with the library's administrator.
  
  For the younger students, there is a bilingual story time on Friday mornings.
  
  Homeschoolers are also welcome to attend our free Mathematics classes at the library. Help is available in English and/or Spanish. We currently have students from a variety of schools enrolled in the program. We have "official hours" on Monday afternoons from 3:00-4:30 and Wednesday mornings from 10:00-11:30. We are also there on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00-4:30 for students who may need a little extra assistance with their math skills. If students bring specific homework or questions, we work on that. However, many students come and say that they have no homework. In that case, we find out where their skills may be lacking and we work on that. Other arrangements could be made if we had several homeschoolers at the same level at one time. The instructors are Mel Adams, Ross Blankert, and Ellen Bolton. We were all certified to teach math in Texas.
  
  There are art classes.
  
  There are educational presentations, art shows, and concerts that the students might enjoy too.
  
  If you or any other home schoolers would like to pursue this further, please contact me to set up a meeting at the library.
  
  Ellen Bolton, Amigos de la Biblioteca Co-Chair
  
  E-mail: Ellen. Bolton @ BiblioBoquete.com (remove the spaces)
Joyce Fernandez April 14, 2014 at 1:36pm

My five year old daughter is homeschooling first grade. We just took her out of AIB. They put her in kindergarten for a week but she just wasn't happy in school... She was overwhelmed with all the Spanish...
- This reply was deleted.
  - Lux April 14, 2014 at 5:21pm
    
    Derek, I'm wondering about attendance options for low-income families. Do you offer scholarships? In particular I know two very bright boys whose family cannot afford a school like yours. The boys are Panamanian and the sons of a single parent. I worry that they will miss out on opportunities in life because they are in the only school their family can afford.
  - Leslie Barranger April 14, 2014 at 3:17pm
    
    Derek,
    
    You say "we" alot in your statement. Do you work there?
  - Joyce Fernandez April 14, 2014 at 2:49pm
    
    Thanks Derek. We are bilingual at home, so learning the language wasn't my main concern. I think it was more that just about all the kids were only Spanish speakers and she is more accustomed to 'playing' in English. She was overwhelmed with the language and she didn't seem to be getting the help she needed to connect with them through play. We are more of a homeschooling family anyway, my son homeschooled through seventh grade and is now for the first time attending school, also AIB... he's doing fine. We'll see about school in the future for my daughters, but for now, we'll try to connect with homeschoolers here.
Joyce Fernandez April 10, 2014 at 2:27pm

We just moved to Alto Boquete in March. My son had been home-schooled his whole life. He's thirteen and we finally put him in school this year, ninth grade, so he could meet kids his age. I'm very open to taking him out of school and homeschooling again. We also have two little girls, pre-k and first grade, who are still homeschooling. We are looking forward to meeting people and helping the children make friendships.
graciela linett March 7, 2014 at 1:26pm

Before choosing any private school do your research. Ask the questions that need to be asked:

1. what is the student turnover rate? if high, why?

2. what is the teacher turnover rate? if high, why?

3. how many other students will be in my child's class? (# of foreign children, # of boys, # of girls?)

4. is the school bi-lingual?

5. can the teachers communicate in English? are all the teachers Panamanian accredited)?

6 what is the primary means of communicating with parents (remember there is no PTA here).

7. what is the yearly cost of tuition, of books, of uniforms, of gym cloths?

8. what is the transportation cost to and from school (how far away is the school, how much travel time involved?)

9. what is the cost of food at the school (breakfast, lunch, snacks?)

Do not take the word of parents who have children attending, everyone thinks their school is the best.

Ask the parents of children who have left a school the reasons for doing so.

Also it would be a good idea for you to leave your e-mail address so that parents could e-mail you the good, the bad and the ugly of schools they have experience with. People would hesitate to leave bad comments on a blog.

Take a look at the attached World Educational Standings PDF file, you may want to homeschool.
- Leslie Barranger > graciela linett March 7, 2014 at 3:21pm
  
  I couldn't agree more. I would be happy to discuss our experiences here and why we landed where we did.
This reply was deleted.
- Karen March 5, 2014 at 12:45pm
  
  Derek,
  It looks like it only goes up to 8th grade. Is that correct?

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