'Educating for Life' set to cater to homeschooling community

Homeschooling is gaining ground as a different educational option for Filipino families, with more and more families exploring – and choosing to – take this “road less travelled.” Newbie homeschoolers benefit from the experience of those who have gone before them, and the more “experienced” homeschoolers rejoice because they have more companions on their journey.

Of course, there is still a lot to be said for organized efforts to reach out to homeschoolers – especially those spearheaded by fellow homeschoolers who know what homeschooling families need in terms of support.

This is the main reason why a group of homeschooling parents set up “Educating for Life” or EFL, an organization which was officially launched last May. Here is a chance to learn more about EFL via an exclusive interview with one of its founders, Mariel Uyquiengco.

Homeschoolers represent! Left to right: Homeschooling mom Leanne Castaneda, Michelle Padrelanan of EFL, Mariel Uyquiengco of EFL, Homeschooling mom Maricel Cua of The Parenting Emporium, Sanne Unson of EFL.

Philstar: Why did you decide to start Educating for Life?

Mariel: We dreamed of gathering together the homeschooling community back in 2013. We were looking for a homeschool conference then but there were no news of any. 

Since Sanne (another EFL founder) and I are both homeschoolers, and we had already been conducting workshops for those interested in homeschooling via The Learning Basket, it was a natural step to put up a bigger event.

We were also keen to connect with homeschoolers who were more experienced than we were then.

Thus, we put up our first conference in 2013 called “You Can Homeschool: Be Informed, Inspired and Empowered.”

We then put up a bigger conference in 2014, with around 400 participants and a lot of participating organizations and companies that set up booths.

In 2015, we partnered with the Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands or HAPI to put up a bigger conference.

Philstar: What is Educating for Life all about? 

Mariel: It’s all about supporting homeschooling families through learning events.  

Philstar: What do you hope to achieve via Educating for Life?

Mariel: We want to spread the word about homeschooling, to gather homeschooling families at different homeschooling stages, and to serve the homeschooling community through big and small events. 

So far, Educating for Life’s efforts to gather homeschoolers have been quite fruitful. Their most recent event – a “Coffee Break for Homeschool Moms” – which was held in cooperation with Career Academy Asia, was well-attended, and provided a much-needed respite for homeschooling moms from all over Metro Manila.

Currently, the Educating for Life team is planning different events for the Philippine homeschooling community, one of which is the much-anticipated Philippine Homeschool Conference. 

Set to take place on Oct. 22, 2016 at SMX Aura in Taguig City, aspiring, newbie and veteran homeschoolers alike can expect a day full of inspiration, encouragement and learning. (For those interested in attending the conference, you can keep track of conference updates by subscribing to e-mail updates via www.educatingforlife.co or following Educating for Life on Facebook.)

Are you a homeschooler, or someone interested in learning more about homeschooling? Feel free to get in touch with Educating for Life for your concerns or comments, or contact me here, since I’m a homeschooling parent too! We’re all in this together!