Guest post by our team member, Sharon Schultz.
As an overwhelmed parent who suddenly found myself running a school from home this month, the first thing I did was turn to my mom for help. A veteran homeschooling parent, my mom homeschooled my 6 siblings and me from Kindergarten through 12th grade, and I knew if anyone had advice for us parents who are suddenly blindsided by homeschooling, it would be her.
Mentally juggling my work schedule, my child’s school schedule, and growing anxiety that this might not only be a few weeks, I asked my mom “How did you do it with us?”
She laughed at first, and said “I don’t know. I just loved you guys.” But then she continued,to explain her approach to learning was centered on relationships. She emphasized that so much of what she did with us was not about paper and pencils, but about teaching us how to live in and learn from the world around us. We lived life together, and that’s where we learned. Our day to day learning involved moderate structure with books and curriculum, but a whole lot of learning, disguised as fun.
I hope you and I can take that mindset to heart now; breathe and relax into a more laid back routine. Every minute counts, but some of the most important learning moments happen when we're not expecting them. Let’s not stress over the papers and pencils, but use this time for what is, a time to strengthen our relationships with our children and to teach them creative thinking, kindness, and how to cope with difficult situations.
No doubt your children's teachers have loaded them up with worksheets, Youtube videos and educational websites to help them stay on track with their classwork, but my guess is you’ll find there’s a lot more time in the day to fill. Here are some Mama Houze approved hands on learning ideas to inspire you.
Citizen Science
Growing up my mom kept us involved in the educational and conservation community. One of her favorite pastimes to share with us was birding. You and your kids can learn about local bird species and help in scientific research by participating in Project Feederwatch. https://feederwatch.org/ . Projects like this are known as “Citizen Science” and play an important part in advancing scientific research, as well as increasing the public's understanding of science. Depending on where you live, there may be other opportunities that will allow you to make a meaningful contribution to the scientific community in your area. Do a google search on Citizen Science in your area and see what comes up.
Baking and Cooking
Not only does it produce delicious results, your cooking adventure also provides unique opportunities for hands on learning about other cultures, as well as basic science and math lessons. My mom always commented that it was incredible how easily subtraction and addition came to us when it directly affected how many chocolate chips we were allowed to sample during our baking adventures. If mom says you can have 10 chocolate chips, but changes her mind and takes 3 away, how many chocolate chips can you eat?
Exploring Nature
My absolute favorite memories from growing up are heading off into the woods behind our house with my brother, exploring, playing in the river, and picking wild flowers. This time of year the woods come alive, and it's breathtaking to see. Let your kids practice identifying what they encounter outside and taking field notes. If you don't have a backyard of your own, Philly is home to some incredible parks where you can explore nature and still practice social distancing.
Playtime
Maria Montessori, one of the last century’s most brilliant educators, said that “play is the work of children.” Let your child lead the way here, and spend some unstructured quality time with them. They’re feeling a lot of anxiety right now too, and playtime with you might be just what they need to explore their feelings with you.
Hang in there. Routine and normalcy are important, but most of all your kids just need to know that you are there for them. Remind yourself that now is not forever and take it one day at a time.