Many of my friends are now finding themselves in the position of suddenly having to homeschool, perhaps through the rest of the year. Uncertainty abounds. As a lifelong homeschooler, I hope to help you transition as gently as possible if you find you are also in that position. As such, I thought I'd share a few pointers along with hefty doses of love and encouragement. I homeschooled all of my children all the way into college. It's a way of life I have embraced for well over two decades, and while it hasn't always been easy, I wouldn't have traded it for all the tea in China (and believe me, I love tea!).
Without further ado, here are a few of my suggestions.
- Breathe: Remember that you and your children are going through a traumatic event. It is okay to adjust expectations for all of you. It is okay to decompress a bit and adjust to the new normal of working from home, eating in all the time, and not getting together in groups. Take time to play some family games. My family loves Uno, Sorry, and classic board games. We also love to play ping pong on our family dining room table (when my husband isn't using it as his office away from the office, that is).
- Read Aloud a LOT: Regardless of their ages, read to your children. Become armchair explorers. Read classics that instill your children with sophisticated vocabulary and syntax. Read exciting books that take them outside of their home and into worlds they never imagined. Some of my favorite books are Half Magic, The Eagle of the Ninth, Little Women, The Hobbit, Red Wall, and The Railway Children. Some of these are in the public domain, and you can access them for free at Gutenberg.org. If your local bookseller or library is closed right now, order the hard copy or Kindle version from Amazon. Reading out loud to my children I believe is the single most important thing I did, above science, and yes, even above math. And it was something to do that was fun and relaxing.
- Listen to Audiobooks: I wrote a blog post at IEW on the subject, where I list some of my favorite sources of audiobooks. Some of these sources are even free. And check your local library's website. They may offer Hoopla, which is a great way to listen to a book.
- You Do You: What I mean by that is don't feel as if you need to replicate what the schools are doing. Schools have to work with a lot of students and cover a lot of ground (hello, testing requirements?). You just have your precious children. School will not need to go a full day. You will not have twenty or more children to manage. In most cases, you should be able to get through what needs to be done in a few hours each day.
- Focus on the 3 R's: If you aren't required to by your online school policies, don't sweat science and history too much. Focus on reading, writing, and math. You can watch science and history videos online, check out juvenile biographies on people of history or on science topics (virology, perhaps?). Talk about what you all have learned over lunch.
- Encourage Delight-Driven Exploration: Do you have a future chef? Have your child plan and prepare a meal. Bake cookies (there's math in that). Learn about nutrition. Do you have a gamer? Perhaps invest in some classes on programming. My kids enjoyed the Teen Coder books.
- Explore the Great Outdoors: While keeping in mind the social distancing mandate, get outside and go on a hike, walk around the block, or toss a ball in the back yard. Do some gardening. Collect and press leaves.
- Keep Journals: We are all living through historical times. Everyone can take a bit of time to write about their experiences, thoughts, and emotions. It's a great way to relieve tension and may become a treasured family document someday.
- Listen to Music: I love to listen to a wide range of music, everything from classical guitar to Gregorian chanting, to Country music, to modern worship. Depending upon what I play, music can calm or energize me. Use it to your advantage!
- Strive to Keep the TV Silenced: If you turn it on, much of what you see and hear is about everything that's going wrong. That can certainly increase the angst everyone is feeling. Limit social media as much as possible and encourage other activities in its place.
- Listen to Your Kids: If you feel helpless, imagine how they feel. Let them talk about their fears and ask their questions. You may not have an answer, but just being a comforting presence in their lives is a blessing.
These are certainly interesting times we live in. I pray that by working together, we will be able to flatten that curve, save lives, and return to our normal harried selves as soon as can be. But until that day comes (and it will eventually come), I hope that you are able to find that precious silver lining thread in the gray clouds of uncertainty.
Oh! And one more thing before I go. As some of you may know, one of my jobs is working for the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Earlier this week they released a totally free, completely digital three-week English Language Arts curriculum to help teachers, tutors, and "unexpected homeschoolers" bridge the gap. If you know someone who needs a little support in that area, please share the the link with them. The writing instruction is video-taught, which will be a huge help to harried mamas and papas. You can find it by clicking here.
Stay safe. God bless.
