I have been absent quite a bit from this blog (but is that super unusual?). It
feels hard to write about "What We're Doing In Our Homeschool" (tm) when all of
**THIS CRAZINESS** is going on around us.
Still, we can't completely let
learning fall by the wayside, can we?
Homeschooling looks different right now.
I
know that life in general looks different for EVERYONE right now. Some people
are homeschooling "suddenly", or dealing with some kind of learn-from-home
scenario. You might be one of those people, searching for blogs on homeschooling
and hoping for insight, inspiration...answers.
I cannot guide anyone, but I can
at least tell you that whatever preconceived notions you had about what
homeschooling would look like is rarely how it really is...not when the rubber
meets the road. In reality, kids need far less academics than we think...and busy work is for the glorified babysitter buildings they used to go to. Stop worrying about whether they will "get it all done", and instead focus on getting the basics done. The rest will sort itself out over time, I promise.
So, what does the actual HOMESCHOOLING look like for us right
now? Well...we are still (loosely) using a Waldorf/Steiner curriculum-styled
spine. I'm using Oak Meadow for history/reading for both kids now (DS13 and
DD11).
For math, both are using Teaching Textbooks (CD Rom version 2.0, DS is
doing Algebra 1 and DD is doing Grade 5). For handwriting and drawing, they
still work on main lesson book pages, but we also use Draw! Write! Now! We
aren't doing either of them as regularly as in year's past. The reality is that
it's hard for all of us to sit still at a table and calm our minds long enough
to do it. DS is also doing some online classes (currently planning on 1 online
class per semester, each lasting about 3-4 weeks only).
My kids have been
spending a lot of time online with their friends. I think that given the stress
of the pandemic (and the isolation therein), that they need their friends right
now more than they need table work. They still find creative projects to work on
with their friends, and plenty of game-playing as well. Mostly, they love to
hang out and laugh...which is something ALL of the kids in our circle of friends
needs right now.
Our kids took the CAT assessment exams back in June, and both
of them blew the exams out of the water.
They seriously did incredibly well, and
I daresay both have skills above their grade level in both language arts and
math (the two areas the CAT tests).
Because of that solid foundation, I no
longer feel as though I need to be as intense about things like grammar
(although we will still be honing skills as we go along). Math keeps advancing
with Teaching Textbooks as well. I cannot say enough good things about the
program. It is great at both spiraling through skills as well as moving at a
good pace. Learning about History seems to be a luxury these days that few
people consider manditory, and yet we still do inject it into our semesters.
As
for science, we are focusing on biology this year (but we haven't started our
Bio block just yet). We also plan to do some geography again this year, and
we'll likely also have a couple of weeks of recorder for a musical touch. DS has
also been learning some Spanigh (via an app called Babbel as well as a week-long
online intensive he took at the end of August, which he quite enjoyed).
Because
DD is autistic and has had a language delay, I consider English to be her
"foreign language". Still, we do go over Spanish vocabulary around her and she
does pick up words here and there via exposure - but she makes it clear that it
is too abstract for her to really be able to hold onto it and use it. Maybe when
she's older.
We try to get outside most days - for both movement as well as
sanity purposes.
That pretty much concludes the "official" homeschooling that
we're doing currently. Some weeks are better than others in terms of taking time
away from more leisurely and social activities to focus on academics. We're
doing our best. Really, at the end of the day, it is their psyche that I care
about the most. There is so much stress involved with this pandemic, especially
since my husband is an essential worker (and a very busy one at that).
It's so
hard to grab onto one thought these days, or find a coherent way to explain what
life is like right now.
We're all afraid (though we work hard to push that
aside). We are lonely and miss in-person activities with our friends very much.
We're living in a very historic moment, and we are very aware of that.
Currently, there's an uptick in cases after our area had been experiencing a
decline all summer long. We've all worked so hard to be careful, and now that
schools and colleges are starting back up again (in some areas), people are
spreading the infection at higher rates again. People are dying.
I'd like to add
as a sort of aside that I am being affected by peri-menopause in a BIG WAY right
now. It's definitely been a challenge to hold it all together when my hormones
are going a bit crazy.
I don't want to sound too bleak, but I also cannot gloss
over the fact that this is a very challenging time to live through right now.
Our kids are learning so much more than just their grammar points and their math
equations. None of us will ever be the same. That is so obvious. Don't even get
me started on the political environment.
I'm sorry that this is not one of my
more uplifting posts.
I wanted to update, but I couldn't avoid the big elephant
in the room. The pandemic is as much a part of our daily lives as our history
books, math problems, and writing prompts. It's a bit much at times, and I
struggle sometimes emotionally to hold it all together. My kids need me to hold
it together. My husband needs me to hold it together. It's almost criminal that
we need to even worry about "schooling" our kids, and yet...we can't just
completely put life on hold and have the pandemic be so utterly invasive and
pervasive that we don't at least pretend that there is hope that one day my kids
will use this math and this grammar in their adult lives somehow.
We are
pretending that one day this nightmare will be over, and so we keep trying to
sprinkle lesson work on top of the giant three-ringed shit show that is life
right now.
I guess in conclusion, I'll say that despite it all, my kids are
doing so great.
Kids are so resilient, aren't they? Yes, they feel the stress
(and sometimes act out as a result), but they still amaze me all the time with
their beautiful souls. I'm just afraid for them and the world in which they may
be trying to use these "school" lessons. I hope that in a year or so I'll be
able to report happier news on that front.
Keeping our chins up. I hope you are as well. We are all in this together.
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