Mar 23

Mar 23 Homeschooling Tips or Simply…Learning at Home!

I have home schooled my five children ages 12, 10, 9, 8 and 6 for the last three and half years. Though I have deeply enjoyed it, it has not come without a price! The learning curve for all of us to transition to homeschooling took a lot of organization, patience, support from my husband and friends, the internet where I “borrowed” many great ideas and much more (for a different post!). And now some of you, who had no intention to homeschool, have been forced into something that can seem intimidating…educating your children! Because the truth is, despite school being out as a result of COVID-19, learning must continue! I don’t want to bore you with my golden homeschool regime as much as I want to help by giving you some tips that may help ease this forced transition. Here are some things I have learned along the way that provide support, encouragement, trust, love and give a little style to how you do things.

Learning at home:

o Routine and scheduling is important:

· You have probably heard it time and again, but kids thrive in routine. Keeping a loose school schedule helps them stay on task AND gives them (and you) a sense of accomplishment.

· I recommend writing out a schedule where you can all see it

· Kids knowing the start time is just as important as knowing when it ends. We all have a capacity.

o We start at 9 and end at 2.

· I recommend that you spend no more than 45 minutes total on one subject. Less the younger they are.

· I would include one break and lunch-time in your schedule.

o SNACK TIME – my rule is one fresh food and one dry food.

o I set a basket out every morning with a wide range of snacks. Granola bars, chips, nuts, fig bars, muffins, popcorn, etc and then they can pick a fruit, string cheese, yogurt from the fridge.

o LUNCH TIME – can vary according to the age of your children. I weekly write options on a chalkboard so my kids know what they can grab if I can’t help them. Simple things like salami, turkey and cheese, quesadillas, yogurt and cheerios, hardboiled eggs, pb&j, etc.

· Write out special dates and events that would typically take place and even add some new ones.

· Spring break, last day of school, etc.

· I would suggest you have a little fun and create your own special memorieslike minimum days, learning show/game/activity instead of lesson, mile run, picnic lunch days, incentive charts with rewards, etc. The possibilities are endless!

o Incentives:

I use loads of incentives in my regular home schooling. My thought on any incentive is that most should be used as a catalyst to start something new and the rest are fun traditions made.

· Book worms (gummy worms) given for chapter read in a book.

· 1stgrader gets one gummy worm per chapter. My 2nd– 6thgrader get 1 gummy worm for two chapters read. In our house, our treats earned are usually saved for family movie night. Honestly, we go in and out of this incentive because we forget!

I pay $5 for challenging books read.
I give out special awards for acts of character (Stole this idea from FCC Elementary where they give out Bravo awards). Whether it is from you or school it serves the same purpose. Encouragement and recognition for a job well done.

· This is a good one because if you are trying to teach or promote a specific act of character you can use it to your advantage.

o Curriculum or online work:

Whether your student was sent home with text and curriculum or have been instructed to continue work online, take the time to sit with your student, review guidelines, and assure things fall in to place.

You have a great opportunity to praise, help, and simply be involved in your child’s school work. Take advantage and let it be an avenue in which to build relationship.

Don’t panic there is help available:

· There are great resources available to help you. The internet, in general, is at your fingertips to research, find facts, and get all the help you’ll need.

· YouTube can be a great asset, however I recommend parental viewing first!

· Kahn Academy has been a wonderful tool to have on hand to help teach (and relearnJ) math. The best part is they commit to keeping their videos under 7 minutes!

Need more…?

There are many great, FREE online resources in all subjects that are age appropriate. Print and - voilà!

· If you don’t have a text book or are just looking to supplement, Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers have all you will need to create a make-shift academic program.

· If you feel lost, find an age appropriate academic guideline to keep you on track with your student.

· Remember this is temporary so perfection is not needed - just healthy supplementation that will help them achieve grade level goals.

o A chance to be creative and build memories:

· If you can supplement their curriculum with an educational show to enhance what they are learning - go for it! Science and history can come alive with excellent, factual material available online or through televised programs.

· Baking is educational. Instead of math and science for a day, surprise your kids and bake cookies and show them how to use math to create a recipe and the changes that happen during the mixing and baking.

· Have an outdoor science day and collect leaves, bugs, flowers, etc.

· Help your kids hide God’s word in their heart and memorize scripture

o I use incentive for rote memory work. My thought is - if kids are really sponges then I want to fill them up with valuable things like scripture, history, language, geography, math and more.

o Every week I test my kids in most subjects of school and I reward their accomplishment with 30 minutes of extra video game time. They love the chance to earn more time and I love that they are successful in their education. Win, win!!

o Recently I sat 5 cans of Zevia on my counter with one dollar taped to each of them for the day they memorized a history timeline song we had been working on. It was lengthy (approximately 4 minutes of singing) and it took about a week but we celebrated together as each popped open their reward.

· Memorizing can be daunting, so try to put it to a song or find a song already created.

· Memorize multiplication facts through song. It is mind blowing to watch my six year old know her multiplication facts to nines because she sings a song! She has not applied it yet, but that’s next.

o Classical Conversation app has numbers 1 – 15 multiplication table formatted in songs. The app costs $15

o This will give your kids a boost of confidence they need in math.

o COVID-19 can be a Learning Opportunity

o The outbreak of Covid-19 is a great opportunity to teach your kids (using good judgement regarding age and maturity) that what we are experiencing is history in the making. I know that Foothills Elementary School does a project in 5thgrade where the kids have to live outside without electricity for 24 hours in order to help them experience and understand a different time in history. We now have the opportunity to walk our kids through something current and real life. Something that will be marked as an important event in our own timeline.

We live in a time and country that exudes wealth through food and entertainment and, for a moment, it is coming to a halt. Let’s use this as an opportunity to walk our kids through this pandemic in a way that does not bring fear but awareness. Define what a pandemic is. What is COVID-19 and how is it spreading? We have an opportunity to compare and teach about other times in history that were of great concern and how they were ultimately overcome. Discuss the effect of businesses being shut down and possible loss of jobs, how to conserve and ration within your own family, ways to save money, and how to best use your extra time. Allow your kids to occasionally watch the president speak as you guide them through what is being said. Teach them how to serve and share if the opportunity presents itself. Most of all, let’s remind them of who God is, that He is a Comfort, a Protector and a Father to be called on in such times. Remind your kids that our hope and life rest on Him alone. I just told my 12 year old son that “it is in times like these where our faith is tested, and I want to be found faithful.”