Because of the pandemic, everyone has had a taste of having their children school at home. I hesitate, as many other homeschoolers do, to call this "homeschooling" because homeschooling is more than doing school at home. It is an entire mindset of how we prioritize our lives and our families around educating our children academically, socially, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
However, every parent is thrown into this schooling at home business, whether they chose it or not.
Some would be doing this form of schooling for a while until school can safely open for the children to return. Others have made the choice to take the plunge. =)
If you're seriously thinking of taking the plunge, I would encourage you to read up on some basic things to think about before you homeschool, and to familiarize yourself with your state laws so that you can make an informed choice.
This article (and you can search more on the site) on "The Best Way to Get Your Homeschool off to a Good Start" is a good read.
Here are just some thoughts I have (and some resources I compiled) for people who are thinking of doing this temporarily. There are so many resources out there nowadays, my thoughts are just one of the many.
PRESCHOOL (before 4 years old)
Many are concerned about how to do preschool at home. First, I have to share with my thoughts on preschool education. It might be different from yours. I wrote this post 7 years ago, and since then I have pre-schooled four kids, with one toddling towards it. Yet, I think I still stand by the principles. In a nutshell, if your child is yonger than 4, I would suggest let play be the greatest teacher.
PRE-K (4 years and above)
Here is how we do Pre-K at our house. We didn't spend money on any curriculum; instead, we use free materials online. My goals are not for the kids to learn to read and write (though some kids do learn that). I know that's what most Pre-K teaches. We intentionally slow our children down, and we are not in a rush to get them going.
Sometimes we do worksheets, some workbooks, or play games. Other years, I did unit studies for the children. Most of the time they learn alongside their older siblings.
You can find all the preschool posts here
I know for some pandemic-schooling parents, it might be easier to use "open-and-use" materials. These are some materials people recommended.
Horizons : workbook style curriculum (we have not used them)
Masterbooks: workbook style + unit study (and literature). There are quite a lot of activities in it. If your child is more advanced, you can look into their K program. (We use some of their Science books for the older kids and I do like them)
My Father's World: Unit Study/Charlotte Mason style teaching. We use MFW for our older children, but we have never used the preschool materials. You're able to get a sample of the curriculum at their site, which is a great way to see if it fits you and your kids!
If you are willing to do a little bit of work, I REALLY enjoyed what Erica did here. It's a unit study called "Letter of the Week" and I find her things fun to use. I used some of her materials when it was free to download.
We try not to spend more than 2h (mostly it's just 1h) a day for a pre-k "school". Most of his/her day is spent PLAYING, learning alongside us in the home, and enjoying love from the family.
If you think you really need help with "what to do" with a pre-k'ler for 1-2h a day, write me an email through this blog! I'll love to help if I can, giving you my materials or schedule.
K-6
We have used My Father's World materials for the past 10 years (since 2010) and have not looked back. I LOVE the unit study/Charlotte Mason/Classical teaching. I especially love how MFW ties everything (history, bible, sometimes science) together. Many people find MFW materials a "open-and-go" curriculum. For us, I always prepare before hand, because I need time to understand it, and also find some materials to supplement (just to aid understanding).
However, I am not sure if this will work well for parents looking for pandemic-schooling temporarily.
I think Masterbooks, with their more workbook-style (but not fully), is more of a real "open and go". Their have a clear schedule with their books, usually for 36 weeks (a full year) so you can take a look.
If you don't want to spend a cent (gasp! for real? ;P) Try AllinOneHomeschool (EasyPeasy Homeschool). All free. They have materials from preschool to highschool. My Oldest is using their Geometry for this year, and I have to say, I am rather impressed! Again, it's usually scheduled for 180 days (full year), but you can tailor it to your needs.
You can also try some online "school", which you don't have to do much teaching, but you do need to oversee.
This article I found gave a good review on the sites.
There are many paid (in my opinion, slightly pricer) online schools that you can also look into, but if you're just doing this for a few months until the school situation clears out, maybe you won't want to spend the money.
Junior-Highschool
Keeping the older ones practicing their brains while waiting for school to reopen fully could be tough.
I'll say, make sure they keep practicing their language (reading, writing), math, and learning.
AllinOneHomeschool has highschool materials for all of this. Khan Academy is pretty good (even though they may not be enough for a full credit) and they are free!
Encourage them to keep learning things, on history, geography, politics (it's election year!), science, etc. Let them research on topics they find interesting and make a report.
And whatever the age of your child, learning lifeskills with you in the house is probably going to be one of the most precious class.
My two-year-old loves to rinse the rice for me, put the pot in the cooker, and tap on the switch. He also loves to wash fruits with me. My 8, 10, 12 year old girls love to prepare a meal by themselves. You can start with letting them work with you! The girls, with their 14 year old brother, used to do laundry for us until the pandemic started. They help clean up, pick up, and take care of their wee bro.
My oldest used to do some simple grocery shopping for me before the pandemic too.
My hubby would pay the older three to do some computer work for him sometime.
This is a special time. It can be very stressful for many; I can REALLY empathize with that. But, it can also turn into a very unique season for all of us.
I hope this has been helpful!!
Comments
Post a Comment