a farm school for aki

it took a lot of meeting cancellations, postponement and fixing me and my husband's schedule before we finally found time to attend a parent's orientation at Abba's Orchard. The first email I sent to them to inquire about the school was late last year, when I heard about their Infant Community program for children below three years old. It is not that I am rushing my son to go to school (although that might as well be the case!). But I felt like that very absorbent mind that he has now will just go to waste if all he does all day at home is watch TV.

There has been a number of schools that me and my husband has shortlisted--some recommended by family and friends and some were school that I know has maintained a good reputation for quality education in Cebu.

But Abba's Orchard is something that really got my attention when my sister told me that it is the only genuine Montessori school in Cebu. I made some research and the videos they posted about their school and some information I got from their website (http://www.abbasorchard.com/) really improved my interest on them and so I sent an email to inquire about the school.

They responded by sending an invitation for a parent's orientation. Due to my and hubby's schedule, we had to decline the invite a number of times before we finally found the time last Friday, when both me and Anthony decided to take a lazy day prior to his beach birthday celebration last Saturday.

We were met at the gates of the school (located in Mabolo, Cebu City) by Ms. Aissa, the school admin officer, and was told that they were just waiting for me before they start the orientation. The invite said it will start by 7p.m. and we arrived, thanks to the infamous Mabolo traffic, a few over ten minutes late.

The orientation was conducted by Mr. Chris Barrameda, an engineer by profession and now school director of the Abba's Orchard Farm Campus in Bukidnon. It is the first farm school in the country and in Asia, patterned after a Montessori farm school based in Ohio, U.S.A.

He started the orientation with an introduction of the school's history and credentials of the directors. All of them, teachers and administrators, are trained by the International Association of Montessori school, a global organization that upholds the school of thought of Maria Montessori, one of the millenium's top thinkers who changed the shape of history.

I've always believed in the Montessori method of teaching--the follow the child principle. But what is hard nowadays is that many have claimed to be a Montessori school but only apply a fraction of the pure Montessori method.

It was a lenghty orientation but one that is both interesting and educational! The biggest take-away I had was learning and imbibing the history of a traditional school, that it was a product of the industrial revolution and in the sense, created a mass production of graduates. Both me and Anthony are products of traditional schools and though I can see it was advantageous for us to have been given the opportunity to go to private schools run by Catholic priests/nuns, somehow an afterthought ensued that in a classroom of 50 students, with different learning capabilities and multiple intelligence levels, there were those who were left out in the learning process because the teacher has to stick to the lesson plan.

But the biggest take-away of all is how a Montessori school forms your child's character. In today's age when peer pressure and the influences of pop culture is such a strong third-party in a home, I believe that I have to start forming the values and upright principles of my son as early as now. And since both me and my husband are working, I believe I needed a school who can partner with parents to help in rearing God-fearing children who will grow up with a sense of self and dignity.

It is also a plus that their secondary school program includes a farm school--a real life immersion program with a real farm that helps the students apply academic theories in a natural classroom setting. It is also nice that in farm school, they are also taught the rigors of running a business--be it a swine business, goat-raising or planting crops. "When your child grows, do not put him in the city. Let him go to the province where he can learn more life skills," said Mr. Chris.

I still believe in traditional schools, somehow and one day, my son will be going to one soon. But for now, I'd rather have him go to a Montessori school because we feel that as parents, and when you have the choice, we should not settle for anything less for our children.

We are excited for when our dear Aki will soon step into school. It won't be until he is fully 2 years old that we plan to enroll him (and at least when he's had most of his booster shots already to help keep him away from the sickies).

So parents, I encourage you to check out Abba's Orchard. They do have a campus in Taguig, Davao and CDO as well. They also have a Facebook page so that you can check for yourself if this school is going to be right for your children.