With schools closing everywhere due to Covid-19 (Coronavirus)
many of us might find ourselves homeschooling or virtual schooling. I found myself a sudden homeschool mom three
years ago. Is it the path I would have
chosen? Nope, but here we are and we
have made the best of it.
My kids are older, 14 and 16, but we have been Mom-schooling
every summer since they were in pre-school.
Here are my best tips:
-Some families thrive on schedules, some thrive on a checklist,
and some thrive on more of a loose “block type” schedule. (Mornings are school, afternoons for play.) Know your kids and do what works for you. My kids work best with a checklist they have
to complete before they can have screen time.
-Workbooks are great, but kids learn by playing too. Legos build fine motor skills and spatial awareness. Minecraft is teaching geometry and budgeting. Don’t stress if your kids are playing, they
are developing their brains.
-Boredom stimulates creative centers in the brain. So, if they get bored it’s stimulating their
brain!
-Physical exercise and fresh air makes everyone
happier. The best cure for the witching
hour has been playing outside. My kids loved
scavenger hunt walks, I’ll give them a clipboard and they have to find a flower/plant
that is every color of the rainbow. Or
look for different types of cars.
-Cooking together teaches math. However, most nights I’m panicked
making dinner in a rush, so I don’t have time to let them help. I’ve made little Tupperware containers with
army guys hidden in flour for them to play in on a cookie sheet. Or given them a tray of salt or flour for
them to draw in. Yep, it makes a mess,
but the vacuum cleans it all up.
-Leave out a long term craft or a puzzle. During the summer we have a weekly craft
theme. We have used the back of wrapping
paper to make a huge mural. We have a
week of watercolors, or paint by number.
We have had clay and even play doh (not my favorite, but they loved it). We paint rocks or on a sunny day, paint with
water on the sidewalks. My kids will tell you their favorite was painting our own tattoos via watercolors.
-Reading aloud is good for everyone. I still read aloud to my kids. They will say they hate it, but they talk
about the books that we have read aloud and will suggest reading another
chapter. “I wonder what happens in the
next chapter.” We have loved reading The
Wind in the Willows, The One and Only Ivan, Farmer Boy, Henry and Beezus, & Harry Potter. I usually just pick up a book and start
reading a chapter outloud after dinner and usually they end up lounging around
and listening.
At the end of the day if all you did was make sure your kids
didn’t kill each other and they watched hours of Netflix, no worries, you are
doing a great job. I stressed out so
much those first few months of homeschooling only to realize, kids are always
learning, and learning opportunities present themselves all the time. If you are only virtual schooling or
homeschooling a few months, chances are these few months aren’t going to what
determines if they go to Harvard or not, so just lean into it and enjoy
it. Time is fleeting and tomorrow is
never promised, so enjoy today.
