Homeschooling During Challenging Times

Building some 4x4 Raised Beds

Building some 4x4 Raised Beds

Draw! Write! Now! page from my 7th grader

Draw! Write! Now! page from my 4th grader

New Reality: Cordoned off entry-way for my front-line husband to change out of his clothing 

when he gets home from work

Cloth masks a friend of mine made and donated to our hospital for use by staff

Strange times we're living in, eh?  Our family has been essentially in lockdown for a bit longer than a month (the official stay-at-home order for NH I believe was made on April 13, 2020).

I suppose the one constant that helped us adjust better than some public-schoolers might have is the fact that we already were learning at home.  We were taking a few classes through two homeschool co-ops, which wisely cancelled their classes back in March (one of the classes is still being held online for my son, but all the rest were cancelled).

So, how is homeschooling going for us? It's been mostly smooth sailing, but having said that there are some challenging moments (just like any week/month/year, really).  We've all been a bit more stressed, which means our motivation to do lesson work is not always as high as it could be. As a result, we have probably taken more days off from lesson work than we should have, but everything I read and hear says that it's more important to focus on mental health than it is to worry about a history lesson. 

We made the difficult decision for me to move into my son's bedroom with him (we ordered him a twin-sized mattress to sleep on the floor) because we felt it was too great a risk to have me sleeping in the same breathing space as my husband, who is on the front-lines working with patients at the hospital. I remind myself that because he is an "essential worker", he still has a job (even if that job puts him in danger of getting sick and/or bringing the virus home to us). We are still financially stable, which a lot of families are not able to say right now. My heart goes out to the families who have lost their jobs, businesses, etc because of the lock down due to this pandemic.

We are using this time to re-dedicate ourselves to the focus of purchasing our own homestead (eventually) and finding a town to put down roots. We'll see what the next 6-12 months brings as we explore our options.

Another interesting thing that has come out of all of this is that DS12 has expressed an interest in pursuing careers where he could work from home. As a result, we have begun a series of skills exploration, including Coding and other technical types of skills (including Robotics, which may have less stay-at-home power but would likely have remote hours possible in ones schedule. I imagine that in typical Waldorf schools they would not be introducing coding (or really anything to do with computer screens) in grade 7, but I could be wrong. 

Regardless, study has begun and the interest is high!

Both children have now completed the CAT exam, which is a standardized exam that tests math and language skills and gives you scoring that suggests how your kids compare to other kids their same age/grade. Both kids did really well, actually!  I did accommodate DD10 (because of her autism and language delays) by reading the questions to her twice (if needed) and rephrasing some of the questions. I allowed both children to "phone a friend" (ie. look up a concept/skill on google) for 3 different problems (so they had to choose wisely!).  I have to say, the 3 they chose were concepts or skills that I myself was unsure of as well (and I consider myself to be highly educated, given my double BA which includes a 5 year teaching certificate, my 10 years teaching in the public schools, and the several years of homeschooling I have done with my own kids).

In other words: If I was unsure about the answers, they were likely rather obscure and uncommon and not something the "average adult" could rattle off the top of their heads on any given regular day. I didn't feel too guilty allowing the kids to look up 3 such items.  We used those moments as learning opportunities. We would watch videos on the concept/skill and talk about it so we felt very, very sure we understood exactly what it was and how to use it.  Personally, I feel that is what testing SHOULD be all about! It should inform and instruct, not simply give a graded score.

The reason we did this exam so relatively "early" (many homeschoolers choose to do it over the summer after the school year has ended) is because we are frankly getting a little burnt out from this school year (the mental exhaustion from dealing with the stress of this pandemic/lockdown/worry has taken a real toll on all of us). 

Now we can sit back and relax and enjoy the last few weeks of lesson work. I am planning to end this "school year" by the 2nd week in May and have us take the rest of the month of May off...well, for the most part ;)  We will still read books (my son is working his way through the Harry Potter series and my daughter is reading Ask magazines and short books from our home library. We'll still likely keep going with coding exercises from a book we got:

Besides Coder Academy, I ordered the kids Coding For Beginners Using Scratch and Coding For Beginners Using Python (I found them used online). So, once DS12 finishes Coder Academy, both kids are going to have a crack at the Scratch coding book (some of the exercises should be appropriate for DD10 to try).

I imagine DS12 may not get to the Python coding book until we start back up in the fall, which is fine. We want a comfortable pace so that he doesn't get bored or unhappy with too much all at once. If this is a career area that he might go into, we definitely don't want to make it un-enjoyable by pushing too hard. We also have some Robotics critters both kids can try to put together over the summer as well. Hands-on really is such a great way for kids to learn!

As you saw waaaay above, both kids helped us put together some raised beds to grow some of our own food into this summer. For obvious reasons, exploring some food security is a good idea, this year in particular.  The kids also helped to sow some seeds!

Leafy greens and beets

The kids cut out shamrocks for St. Patty's Day to put into our window to bring some cheer to neighbors walking by

Coding and Math (Teaching Textbooks CD's)

My husband at work in his PPE garb (when not in a full-face respirator for patient rooms)

A cut/paste worksheet for DD10's unit on the Pioneer days (to be revisited next year I think)

When things start sprouting outside, the kids will be observing the whole process, and of course will help with the harvesting! We have potatoes in one of our raised beds and plan to put more tender crops in the other planters.  I'm planning to direct-sow some zucchini and small pumpkins on a small hill out behind our barn, being careful not to allow things to sprawl too far and irritate our landlords. It can be a delicate balance sometimes.

I hope you are all well and staying safe and healthy. We are ((knock wood)) so far healthy and safe and riding out this interesting storm as best as we can, waiting for the day when we can once again rejoin the world. Yes, we do get outside of the house and play, take walks, etc and my husband does most of our grocery shopping (he has masks, gloves, and goggles he can wear for that), but we otherwise do not go very far. We're trying to help "flatten the curve" and keep infection rates at a reasonable level so the healthcare system can keep up with it. 

It is a bit harrowing for us, but we are doing our best to focus on mental health and trying to keep our daily lives as "normal" as we can, given the situation.  

Take good care out there!