Our Homeschooling Journey, from the Beginning (Part 1)

In Hong Kong, kids are expected to attend preschool as early as 2 years old. The competition to get into a "good" preschool is intense. The path to "success" starts early — because getting into a prestigious preschool often leads to a prestigious kindergarten, which then increases the chances of getting into a top primary and secondary school. Eventually, that’s supposed to open the door to a respectable university.

Babies as young as one year old are expected to attend interviews to secure a spot in the school of their parents’ choice! The education system didn’t make sense to me from the start. Comparing toddlers based on their ability to follow instructions or recognize shapes, colors, and numbers during interviews felt completely unreasonable. I didn’t agree with the system then, and I still don’t today.

One day, I found myself chatting with my high school best friend about education in Hong Kong, and she introduced me to homeschooling. I was intrigued and started looking into it immediately. It all felt like common sense. I thought, “I know my ABCs and 123s — how hard could it be to teach my baby shapes, rhymes, and songs?”

I started buying preschool workbooks for my two-year-old, thinking it would be simple. But I quickly learned he wasn’t interested in holding a crayon at all. He had no interest in sit-down activities — not even stickers or scribbling. So, with the help of Pinterest, I began looking for different ways to spend time with my toddler — who clearly preferred movement and hands-on activities. (That's why my Littleversity Notebooks are packed with games and activities 😉)

He loved building with his hands

The more I researched different teaching methods, the more I was drawn into the world of homeschooling. I found myself inspired by Charlotte Mason, Classical Conversations, Waldorf education... Originally, I thought I’d only homeschool until my child was old enough for primary school — but the more I read and learned, the more convinced I became that continuing beyond kindergarten was not only possible, but exciting! I loved the idea that I could learn alongside my children. That was one of the biggest draws of homeschooling for me. The other was knowing that, by being with my kids throughout the day, I could be their main and most consistent influence.

Messy play is always a hit!

At this point, it wasn’t that I was against sending my child to school — it was the long school hours in Hong Kong that concerned me. Young children can be in school from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and I just didn’t want to miss out on my children’s early years. I wasn’t opposed to shorter hours though. So when a fellow mom told me about a kindergarten her daughter attended that offered “half-day school” — either 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. — I was intrigued.

She spoke highly of the school, saying the teachers were kind and that it wasn’t overly academic or stressful. I decided to give it a try. One thing that really drew me in was their teaching approach — they used play-based learning, had free-play corners, and taught through themes. These were all things I deeply valued in early education.

By then, I had my second son, and I thought having my eldest away for just three hours in a safe, nurturing environment — while also learning a new language (Cantonese/Chinese) — wouldn’t be a bad idea. It gave him exposure to a second language, a chance to socialize and learn, and it gave me a small breather — time to focus on just one child instead of two.

So we brought him in for an interview, and he got accepted into the school! The transition wasn’t too difficult for him. Although I missed him dearly, I was excited to see him picking up a new language and being loved and cared for by his teachers.

Later, as I reflected on his schooling journey, I realized that one of the most beautiful parts about sending our children to school is that they get to be guided and loved by others. And that, to me, was a pretty amazing thing.

Life in HK local kindergarten

Just like that, my eldest son completed three years of local kindergarten in Hong Kong! When my second son turned three, he joined his brother. Having seen how well my eldest adjusted to school, I thought my second would benefit too. But then Covid hit, and trying to keep up with online classes for a three-year-old was overwhelming. After four months, I decided to pull him out of school.

When my eldest graduated from kindergarten, Covid was still around — and that’s when I decided to return to full-time homeschooling. At that time, I have three boys and they were six and three and one. It was such a fun season, filled with creative activities and hands-on learning.

I love Space theme!

We kept going strong for three years! Of course, I had to constantly adjust our teaching methods and schedule to suit my three very different and growing boys — but we made it work. We went to the beach, explored museums, and met up regularly with our local homeschooling group. It was an amazing time. Academically, the boys were doing well and learning at their own pace. I focused on English, Math, and Science, and they also had weekly Taekwondo, football, and Bible Study Fellowship.

Dinosaur Exhibition in HK!

We would have continued our homeschooling journey, but by 2023, we realized it was no longer financially sustainable. Both my husband and I needed to take on more work just to meet our monthly expenses. After a lot of discussion and research, we decided to send the kids to local schools.

(To be continued)