Homeschool Provider: Peniel Integrated Christian Academy of Rizal Inc

We've been independently homeschooling our kids since they were born. Last year we decided to enroll Little V to a homeschool provider for Kindergarten. I opted to wait till the new school year opens (SY 2017-18) before writing our review of Peniel Integrated Christian Academy. I reckoned it's best to finish our SY 2016-17 to be able to fully reflect and give honest feedback.


homeschool provider philippines



Reasons for getting a homeschool provider

Frankly, we don't know until when we'd be homeschooling our kids. We take things one year at a time that's why when Vito reached 5, we had to reflect and discern if we'd enroll him in a regular school, independently homeschool, or enroll with a provider. With a toddler in the house, no helper, and a part-time job, I knew in my heart that it would be hard for us to send V to a regular school every single day. And I don't have the courage to send him to school through a school bus either.

When we finally decided that it would be best for our son and the family to homeschool, I had to look for a provider because as much as I like to independently homeschool him, we had to consider some factors. These were our reasons to get a DepEd homeschool provider:
  • we don't know if we'd still homeschool after Kinder so we need him to have a Form 137 for ease of transition in case he goes to a traditional school afterwards
  • convenient since I don't have to scan all possible materials, research, and develop a curriculum
  • a sense of being organized because of the school calendar
  • a beta test for us to check if we can homeschool beyond preschool



Our choice

In 2015, we went to Catholic Filipino Academy (CFA) for an orientation and assessment. Apart from CFA, I had zero knowledge on other homeschool providers. As a member of several homeschool groups on Facebook, I've read threads on providers and I felt that Peniel would be the best choice for our family.

One summer afternoon, after a visit to the kids' pedia, we headed to Peniel in Cainta, Rizal. I talked to Ms. Au, the founder and head of the school, and I immediately felt that I found our provider. I really appreciate the honest talk I had with Ms. Au and her team about the realities of homeschool, what they can offer, and tips on what I should do and books to buy before I even enrolled my child.

A few weeks later, I enrolled Little V and got him books.



Process

Cainta is not too far from where we live but with 2 little kids in tow, we had to travel via Uber for convenience and that comes with costs. This and other reasons, meaning tinatamad ako bumiyahe, prevent me from leaving the house often. When I learned that there was no need for me to go to Peniel to enroll or get books, I was so thrilled.

These were the homeschool admission requirements:

1. Report Card from previous school
   *For Independent Homeschoolers - take the acceleration test from Deped (P.E.P.T. / Validating Test)
                              Please contact Deped Central Office (Ultra Pasig)
   *For SpeD student – Evaluation or Assessment of the Developmental Pedia

2. Original NSO Birth Certificate
3. 2 X 2 ID Picture
4. Parents/Tutor's Profile (TOR, Resume, Accreditation(s)
5. Fully Accomplished Application Form


Since we were enrolling V to Kinder 2, we just had to submit numbers 2 to 5.

I submitted all the documents through a courier. Afterwhich, I paid the tuition fee, books, and shipping fee thru the bank and sent them a copy of the deposit slip. They shipped to my house the books, V's school ID, and my ORs a few days later.



Tuition Fees and Books

For Kinder 2, we paid an annual tuition fee plus miscellaneous of less than 15 thousand pesos. They also offer semi-annual and quarterly payments.

You have an option to buy their local textbooks. We decided to get all his books from them and paid a little less than Php2500 for all six books.



Why Peniel is the perfect homeschool provider for our family

1. They offer an open curriculum. One of the reasons why we homeschool is because we'd like to customize our kids' education and having an open curriculum gives us the freedom to tweak and adjust according to our child's interests and pace.

2. Lower tuition fees
Sino ba ng ayaw makatipid? I admit that this is one of the big reasons why we chose Peniel. They are one of those that offer the lowest fees. We reckon that the money we can save from tuition fees can be used to buy other learning materials, tuition for sports/music classes, or tickets for field trips.

3. No quarterly meetings or deadlines
This I really really liked. Taong bahay ako eh. I like being at home and being able to adjust our schedule anytime because, you know, life happens. Kids get sick, family affairs, work deadlines - these can easily get you off track. Portfolios and grades are submitted at the end of the school year instead of quarterly. This gives me and my kids an ample amount of "buffer days" in case of emergencies, or any planned getaways.

4. Online transactions
Dahil Taong Bahay ako at allergic ako sa traffic, I shop online, work online, ergo, I prefer doing transactions online. And with Peniel, I can do just that. We don't have to visit the school to get books, school IDs, or even register my kids. We visited the school twice only: when I inquired (which you can actually do over the phone or via email) and when V had his graduation photos taken.

5. Support when you need it
Even though we don't have quarterly meetings or a school-organized coop, we get enough support from the provider. We are always informed of any upcoming school activities that our child can join and coops in our areas. Peniel responds to all my homeschool queries and they call me at home for any immediate concerns.



Overall Assessment

Peniel is a great homeschool provider for those who'd want the freedom to navigate in their own homeschool journey while their child is enrolled in a DepEd accredited institution. Kapag may nagtatanong saken if OK ba ang Peniel as a provider, I frankly tell them na kung ang preferred nyo ay step by step support wherein you get coached and checked quarterly, and have coops, then it may not be the best provider for you. Ako kasi, mas gusto ko yung ako ang bahala on how I run our homeschool. Our schedule, our curriculum, our grading system. Yung tipong parang independent homeschoolers pa din kami.



School Year 2017-18

We are still called to homeschool this school year. Since I don't have the time and courage to independently homeschool our Grade 1 student, Little V is still enrolled with Peniel this year. We are so satisfied with our partnership with our provider that we took advantage of the Early Bird Registration last January and saved 4k pesos in tuition and miscellaneous fees.

We opted not to get all the books from Peniel this year. Instead, we got a mix of used and new textbooks and workbooks.


Check out Little V's graduation:

Will we still homeschool after this school year? I dunno. We take this journey one year at a time. We might choose to homeschool still, or maybe our family would benefit if the kids go to a regular school. Whatever happens, we will always take in consideration what is best for our kids.


Peniel Christian Academy of Rizal Inc.
http://www.penielintegrated.edu.ph/
Address: 42 Burgos Street, Vista Verde Executive Village, Cainta 1900, Rizal, Philippines
Phone: +632 682-7941
Mobile: +63 936 182 1391
Email: penielintegratedca@gmail.com
Facebook Pages: facebook.com/PenielIntegratedChristianAcademy

Comments

  1. I would love to hear from you! Let me know your thoughts below :)

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    1. Thank you for your post! How was your experience with Peniel so far until now? Currently leaning toward homeschooling due to the pandemic crisis.

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  2. So glad to hear another great feedback. Ni-rerecruit nyo ata ako!!!!

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  3. Hi! For kinder 2, if all things are done online, what about interview or any sort of assessment test before admission (if there's any?)

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    1. Hi! Thank you for visiting my site and for your question. In our case my son did not undergo any assessments. Not sure though for this school year. You may have to directly contact Peniel to be sure :)

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    2. Thank you! I'm so sold to enrol at Peniel for next school year. Will contact them soon. :)

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  4. Hi! Same question. Sila na ang nag asses na Kinder 2 yung child mo? Thanks!

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    1. Hi! Thank you for visiting my site and for your question. Same sagot na lang sa taas. Hehehe. :) In our case my son did not undergo any assessments. Not sure though for this school year. You may have to directly contact Peniel to be sure :)

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    2. Bale nag base sila sa age? Since 5 yrs old is Kinder? Then 6 for Grade 1? Meron bang nursery sa Peniel or they suggest na mag start ang bata atleast 5. Sorry, ang daming question.

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    3. Hi Rish! If I may answer, with all due respect to Momma kat, kasi I've been following her blog and she mentioned in one of the posts that they were told by Peniel to wait til his son turns 5 to be eligible for kinder 2. She independently homeschooled for kinder 1 (age 4).

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    4. Hi, Nagback read nga ako sa blogpost ni Mommy Kat 😊 Thanks!

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    5. Thank you, MrsDee :)

      Just let me know, Rish if you have other questions. Pwede din PM on my Facebook page :)

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  5. Naexcite na tuloy ako mag-5 yrs old eldest ko. We we're advised by Peniel to wait until next yr to enroll. I think Peniel will be a good fit to our family's lifestyle as well.

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  6. Can you please send me on how to enroll in your home schooling?

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    1. Please directly contact Peniel for enrollment procedures and requirements. Thank you

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  7. Thanks for sharing your stories about homeschooling. I've been hunting a school provider for my daughter by next school year. We've decided to do homeschooling and having a nice and supportive homeschool provider is one to be consider.

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  8. So thankful I came across this blog! I just enrolled my junior high son and we're homeschooling this year.

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  9. I just saw your blog today, just checking on some things kasi. My son graduated the same time as yours. We started with Peniel also last SY 2017-2018 for Kinder 2. (Overwhelmed lang.)

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    1. Oh, we started with Peniel in 2016 :) I just wrote this article in 2017.

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  10. Thank you for this. My daughter is 4 and I've been eyeing Peniel as our homeschooling provider. Kaso 5 years old pa daw to be able to enroll with them. Your post is very helpful lalo na sakin na new sa concept ng homeschooling at first time palang din mag aaral ni bagets

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  11. Hello Petite Momma, your blog was very helpful. My wife and I enjoyed reading it. Thanks! Is Vito still enrolled at Peniel SY 18-19?

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    1. Thank you! :) Yes, he is still enrolled with Peniel. Our daughter is now enrolled as well for the incoming school year.

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  12. Hi Petite Momma, I'm currently homeschooling our daughter under a different provider. I'm interested in maybe transferring her to Peniel next school year. Does Peniel give end-of-the-schoolyear exams? Thank you!

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    1. Hi! We don't have end-of-the-school year exams. We get 4 quarter exams and 1 summative exam (during 3rd quarter) from Peniel

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  13. Thanks for this momsh, isa ito sa gusto ko gawin pag big na si LO

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  14. Hi was thinking of home school for my 2 kids 5 and 7 l. 2019-2020 school year they are enrolled in regular school. I don't know if I can do it since I'm always out of the country.

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    1. With homeschooling, the main teachers are the parents. Your commitment to teach your kids will be important to be successful in homeschooling

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  15. Hello! Thank you for sharing your experience and homeschooling journey. For this school year, we would like to try this out for my youngest child. He's turning 5. Anyway, when you say open curriculum, what does that entail? I mean, I know there are a lot of methods but would I at least get a guide of what to teach my child, there are a lot of information over the internet and sometimes it's just overwhelming and hard to understand. I really would appreciate your response.
    Thanks!

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    1. The provider will send a syllabi for the subjects for the whole year, but the lesson planning is still on the parents. It is up to the parents to choose what materials you will be using. You may get the textbooks from the provider or use different ones, whichever may fit for your family

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  16. Hello Petite Momma😊 this post is very helpful for me since im planning to homeschool my kids at this time. May i ask when is the enrolment period and start of classes? Thank you for your time😊

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    1. Peniel follows the DepEd calendar, our school year starts in June and ends in March. They usually accept enrollees until July. O

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  17. Good day, i would like to inquire for the homeschooling

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    1. You may directly contact Peniel for your queries. Thanks

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  18. Hi, Petite Momma! What are the subjects that they offer? What are their guidelines in terms of buying books not from PICAR?

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    1. They follow DepEd competencies so subjects are basically the same with what conventional school offers. As for the books, they do not have any specific guidelines that I know of. Parents are given trust to choose your materials. In our experience we still use textbooks not recommended by Peniel, these are mostly books that are DepEd aligned and being used in other schools. We just add other references or workbooks.

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  19. Hi, Petite Momma! I am considering Peniel and StudentDesk for homeschooling program. I am just curious with Peniel does your kid have an "adviser" someone who can monitor your kid's activities? this is my first time considering homeschooling because of covid19. I hope you'll find time responding. Thank you!

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    1. Peniel has coordinators that you can ask for questions and advice. But all activities and learnings are monitored by the parents. We just submit the portfolio and grades at the end of the SY.

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  20. This is very helpful, i am planning to homeschool my son for incoming grade 2 due to pandemic and we just had our diagnostic entrance exam, still waiting for the interview schedule, im so excited for both of us since you mentioned that its an open curriculum, im a licensed teacher as well and i believe that this move of ours will truly be beneficial for my son. Thanks for enlightenment and inspiration

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  21. kapag po ba open curriculum parang independent schooling pa din? or bibigyan po kame ng mga lesson plan ng peniel? kami lang bahala kung pano namen ituturo sa mga kids namin?

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    1. Open curriculum means po you are free to choose the materials you would like to teach your child. Lesson plan po parents po ang gumagawa, syllabi po ang provided ni Peniel. Sorry late reply.

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  22. Hello! I know this is an old thread but gusto ko lang din sana mag ask since di pa ako nakakareceive ng reply from Peniel. Regarding po doon sa Parent's / Tutor's profile (TOR, Resume, Accreditation(s))
    Like is there any specific Accreditation po ba silang hinihingi? Or TOR & Resume would be enough?

    Thank you!

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