Quarantine Homeschooling How To

So here are my thoughts to you who are suddenly in the trenches…

🗣You are an INCREDIBLE parent and you CAN do this… you taught your child to walk, talk, use the toilet, etc. You can CAN teach them to read, write, and do math. And if they are teens and beyond what you can remember you can help them figure out where to find the answer online…

😍Now on to the practical stuff…

👉There is nothing wrong with “doing school” in your PJs some days or even every day.

👉You do not have to “do school” at a table or desk. They can lay on the floor, sit outside, sit on their beds, stand at the kitchen counter, go into a cardboard fort they make, etc… Learning CAN and DOES happen anywhere.

👉They do not need to “do school” for 8 hours a day. Elementary age only need a couple of hours a day… literally 1-2 hours. Middle School just a little more like 2-3 hours and High School maybe 3-4 hours.🕰

👉It is perfectly acceptable to learn from YouTube, documentaries, videos, etc. Many children are visual learners and they will thrive from this way of learning. Example: One of the ways we used to teach my son his letters when he was a toddler was by watching Wheel of Fortune together every night and pointing out the letters that were called and then spun around by Vanna.😉

👉Letting your child sleep in is not bad… In fact, sleep is GOOD for the immune system (which is very important right now obviously), so let them sleep. Nothing says you have to start school promptly at 8am.🛌😴

👉Cooking and baking IS math. You have fractions, measuring, oven temps, cook time, etc. Here is a tip I did with Braeden to make him think even more… When we were baking, I would hide some measuring cups or spoons and make him convert it to what we had available. Example: I would only give him a ¼ cup measuring cup, so he would have to figure out how many times he had to use the ¼ cup if he needed 2 ½ cups of flour or whatever. And he did that for all the measurements in the recipe. Math and critical thinking at once…🍞🍰🍪

👉Let them be part of the learning plan and talk to them about what they want to work on and learn about. You might be surprised to hear something they had an interest in that you had no idea about. 😲

👉You do NOT have to do all the subjects on all days. Pay attention to what your child is loving at the moment and run with it that day. Example: Braeden has a large international coin collection and one morning when he was in early elementary, he was looking at them and asked me where a certain country was. That led to us pulling out our globe and computer and finding every country that he had a coin for and learning all about that country online. That took about 3 hours maybe more. BUT, he learned more that day than if I had pushed aside his immediate interest because the “schedule” said it was math or spelling time.

👉On that note, you DO NOT have to “do school” every day. If you guys are at each other’s throats, WALK AWAY. Do an art or craft project or go for a walk and try school again tomorrow. Your current and long term relationship with your child is WAY more important than any math sheet or a reading time slot.💕

👉Regarding the above, this is a stressful time for ALL of us (and YES, even little children feel stress😔). Do not add to the childhood trauma of this pandemic or add to your stress OR theirs by worrying about whether “school” was done every week day. Be gentle with yourself right now. Be gentle with your children. They will remember that more than any math problem they learn with you.😉

👉Playing outside IS learning especially for little ones… imagination and creativity and resourcefulness are important to learn. 🌳🌞 So get outside every single day as weather permits.

👉Learn through board games. Pull out Scrabble (spelling). Even little ones that can only spell 3-4 letter words can play and benefit from Scrabble (especially by seeing the letters and words that you put down). Pull out Monopoly or The Game of Life (Math). Teach your child to play chess or checkers (logic and strategic thinking). There are tons of history and geography board games out there too. Puzzles are also great for spatial reasoning and critical thinking.🎲♟🧩

👉Learn through pretend play. Example: with play money (you can do a google search and print from home if you don’t any) have your child “sell” you toys and make change or you “sell” the toys to them and they figure out what to pay.💰

👉For older kids print a free 1040-EZ tax form, give them some “real life” numbers, and have them practice filling out the form figuring out where to put everything. Or if you don’t already include your teen in household bill paying and budgeting, start now so they can work on budgeting. Learning adult life skills IS learning and now is the perfect time to practice. 💵

👉Unschooling and student-led learning are both REAL things and are a very viable way of learning in the situation that all parents are in right now. 🥰

Do you have any words of wisdom or nuggets of truth that other parents that are suddenly homeschooling need to hear right now? Drop your thoughts in the comments.👇

Feel free to share far and wide with any parent who needs to be encouraged after week one. 😉

If you have any questions let me know. I am here to help you..