And just like that, we are done with Kindergarten! Our youngest, Bunso, will move to Grade 1 as he finished his Kindergarten level. For two academic years, we have been under his homeschool provider, Busy Bees Learninghive Inc. I had many messages from other moms about Busy Bees and I hope this homeschool provider review would help them decide if Busy Bees is the perfect homeschool partner for their family like it did for us.
How I Found Out About Busy Bees
In late 2020 when our Bunso was 3 years old, I went back to my old files when our eldest and second children were in preschool years. I had a lot of files and materials for homeschooling since all our kids were homeschooled since birth and yet I had a hard time working on Bunso’s curriculum. With no helper at home, working part-time, and homeschooling 3 kids it was hard to find time to really sit down and work on the curriculum. Quite frankly, we could just do away with no plans since kids eventually learn on their own time through play. But of course, mom guilt was there at my shoulder reminding me that I should spend time on my Bunso as I spent time and effort on the 2 older kids. We tried different activity boxes including Parkwood Playschool. The themed box worked pretty well with our second child, our daughter, but it didn’t with Bunso. He did not like the idea that all his worksheets, materials, and activities revolved on the same theme. After a few days he would tell me, “Ice cream again?” or “Car ulet?” I knew I would be spending money on something that wouldn’t work on him so I stopped buying activity boxes from PPS and went back to the drawing board planning his Pre-K level using the materials I have already.
In the summer of 2021, while browsing Facebook, my feed showed the ad for Busy Bees Learninghive Inc as a homeschool provider. They were not like Peniel (the homeschool provider of our 2 older kids) since they focused on the preschool years only. I checked their page and looked at photos and social proofs. And within 10 minutes I messaged the school to ask for requirements and fees. I paid right away for the downpayment.
Busy Bees offer 2 programs: Option 1 and Option 2.
Bumblebees: Pre-K Level (4 years old)
For the Pre-K level, we opted to enroll Bunso for Option 2 wherein the student is not officially enrolled in their school but would get the textbooks and busy box. In short, these are just materials that we would need for Pre-K.
Inclusions for Option 2:
- 1 textbook per subject (Reading, Math, Science) to be delivered in Quarter 1
- Suggested Daily Plan per quarter
- Virtual Parties for Special Occasions
- Busy box of worksheets, art activities, art materials, laminated board activities, and school supplies
- For Pre-K: Sing Spell Read and Write Student book, chart, storybooks
- FREE delivery every quarter
Tuition Fee for Option 2 (SY 2021-2022):
- Annual Php14,000. They offer discounts for Early Bird. Semestral payment is also available.
- Quarterly had 4 payments and we chose this one. I was able to avail the early bird promo and paid a reservation of Php2,000. Then made the first payment of Php3,000 before August 2. Second, third, and fourth payments of Php3,000/quarter were made before the quarter started.
The tuition fee for Option 1 was Php24,000 on a cash basis (annual payment).
Here’s a video of our unboxing our first homeschool box for Pre-K.
There was no need to submit anything to Busybees so our time using their materials has been flexible for Pre-K.
We enjoyed our first year with Busy Bees and even if we were just in the second quarter that SY, we were determined to enroll Bunso with them for Kindergarten Level using Option 1.
We also attended his online Moving Up event. Busy Bees provided the materials for the event including the certificates.
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| Moving Up Day during Pre-K Level |
You can check our Pre-K Homeschool Curriculum Choices in this video.
Worker Bees: Kindergarten (5 years old)
Now that Bunso is 5 years old, we enrolled him for Option 1 of Busybees so that he can have his LRN properly documented.
Inclusions for Option 1:
- Textbooks (Math, Reading, Filipino, Science)
- Lesson Plan
- Online consultation (2x a month, optional)
- DepEd accredited certificate
- LRN
- Virtual parties for special occasions
- Homeschool box for 4 quarters complete with worksheets, art activities, art materials, school supplies, laminated board activities.
- Busybees T-shirt
- FREE delivery of homeschool boxes
Here’s a video of our unboxing:
Aside from the homeschool boxes, we also have a Facebook Group where Teacher Ginny shares tips and videos that help us teach our kids.
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| Busy book and lesson plans are provided by the homeschool provider |
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| Art activities at the Virtual Playdates |
Moreover, Busy Bees offered virtual classes (Virtual Playdates) for the kids where Bunso joins the classes on Monday and Friday mornings. For 30-45 minutes they have activities like arts, singing, dancing, and reading sessions with the teachers of Fitness Bee. This ran from Quarters 1-2. Bunso had some issues joining the classes and eventually, we were not able to join anymore because he did not want to.
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| Materials for 2nd Quarter |
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| Busy Bees look after the parent-teacher and send "survival packets" |
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| Kids learn through play. Materials were all provided by Busybees including the banner, apron, chef's hat, play money, art materials, and "cookies" |
Busy Bees provide the quarterly assessments but the parents have the option to use them or not. There were quarters that we did not use and in some, we just used some of the pages.
Submission of grades is every quarter and I am thrilled that we did not have to submit numerical grades! This gives us the opportunity to focus on the learning of the child and not on the numbers or grades.
Why We Love Busy Bees Learninghive as a Homeschool Provider
SSRW Reading Curriculum
The first thing that caught my attention and made me enroll right away was the fact that they were using Sing, Spell, Read, and Write (SSRW) as the curriculum for reading. Our 2 older kids learned to read using SSRW and I knew that their program for Pre-K and Kinder would be a great fit for our homeschooling family.
Freedom and Flexibility
Homeschooling gives us the opportunity to teach our children at their own pace. It is very much appreciated that Busy Bees recognizes that need and gives us flexibility. Should we experience problems and delays in sending the portfolio and grades, we’d just have to inform them.
Hindi kami nagmamadali in their program. Which is very helpful especially since our student is still young.
Plus, the grading system Busy Bees use is not numerical. Hindi kailangan ng mga magulang at ng bata maging grade conscious or focus sa grades. The program gives parents the freedom and flexibility to assess their children correctly and honestly.
Support is There
We enjoy the freedom homeschooling gives our family. But every now and then we also need some support. Teacher Ginny has been giving us tips and videos on the FB group which has helped us look at alternative mediums for teaching Bunso.
Also, they respond to our messages or any questions within the day.
Everything is Prepared For You
I have spent dozens of hours preparing for lessons and materials for our 2 older kids in the past. With Busy Bees, everything is prepared for me. The lesson plans are provided, and all the materials including school supplies and laminates are sorted PER WEEK. Even the papers were already cut! As in, lahat naka ready na. Per week naka ready na yung materials and lessons so wala ka na preparation na gagawin. Uupo ka na lang with your child, do the activities, teach, and have fun!
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| Face-to-face Playdate with Busy Bees' Homeschoolers at Fitness Bee last March 2023 |
Overall, we highly recommend Busy Bees Learninghive Inc to all parents who want to homeschool their children. For those who want their kids to join a traditional brick-and-mortar school for Kinder, I suggest getting Option 2 of Busybees for your kids who are ages 3 and 4. This would help you have an idea of what to teach your child at home to prepare them for the shift when they turn 5 years old.
I always tell my readers to homeschool in the preschool years. Your impact as a parent in your child’s life is cemented in the first 7 years of their lives. If we can share our values, study habits, and love for learning in the preschool years, they would surely reap the benefits later on.
Busy Bees Learninghive Inc.
https://www.facebook.com/BusyBeesLearninghivePH
busybees_learninghive@yahoo.com
#3 Ruby St. Doña Juana Subdivision, Pasig City
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