By Krystle J. Bailey
Since my last column about decision making surrounding school this year, I have decided to homeschool my children. I fully understand, honor, and respect that this decision is not for every family. Since I have been sharing on my Instagram about my decisions, I have gotten a ton of questions so I wanted to share some things that I’ve learned and ideas I’ve come across since we last connected.
Whether you intend to homeschool fully, dive into virtual learning, or will be adapting to some sort of half-day situation, these ideas may benefit your child’s learning situation. No matter how you cut it, we are all figuring out a new normal at home when it comes to education. Take what you need for your family and leave the rest.
Unit Studies:
One of my favorite discoveries is the concept of “unit studies” or “themes” for learning. August is a practice month for us so we are exploring what works and what doesn’t. I have one going into kindergarten and one going into fifth grade, so I wanted to find a way to educate them and be a part of their learning at the same time while also challenging them on their own levels. Unit studies give us that opportunity. The idea is a certain theme for a period of time that you dive into from all angles. That period of time can be determined by your family’s needs. I will likely just plan ideas for the unit until the kids get bored or I run out of ideas.
For example, this week’s theme is “Weather and Storms.” So today, we started with modeling clay. While I made the kids breakfast, I asked them to use modeling clay to make me a tornado. We then read a National Geographic for Kids that I pulled up online about Storms. We read a few pages, had a conversation, and I asked them questions. After that, we watched two YouTube videos about the water cycle while my daughter used modeling clay to create her version of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.
From there, we moved into the kitchen where we tried a super easy water cycle experiment. While I made lunch, I had them draw a storm for me that will go on our bulletin board for the current unit. I had to stop to get some work done, so I had them watch a Magic School Bus episode about clouds. Tonight, we will be reading from a chapter book about a young boy who is a storm chaser.
To be completely transparent, I don’t know what tomorrow will bring yet. I am winging this a little bit for this month as we figure out what works best for us. I intend to have some sort of solid ideas by September and I’d be happy to share them as they unfold.
Resources:
There are so many online resources and it can feel quite overwhelming to make a plan. What I am learning is that there is no one right answer. It is a combination of what works best for you, your children, their learning styles, and your lifestyle. The good news about that is, should you choose to homeschool, New Jersey doesn’t require us to follow a certain curriculum, which means the world is your oyster. (Visit NJ.Gov for all of the guidelines)
One of the biggest factors that I am taking into consideration is making sure that my 5th grader gets everything that she needs academically to be ready for whatever comes next, whether that is public school again or not. I have spent a lot of time on k12.com, which offers individual lesson plans to add to a homeschool curriculum.
I also signed up for a homeschool co-op (homeschoolbuyersco-op.org) where curriculums, tools, resources, and more are offered for free or at a discount. These tools can be used for full homeschooling or as an addition to part-time schooling. I am sure there are countless co-ops out there but
TeachersPayTeachers.com , Education.com, and Time4Learning.com are some other valuable websites I have found.
Technology:
You may have noticed in my description about today’s homeschooling, there were several technology references. There are too many resources and too much modern technology for us to not take advantage of it.
Starfall, PBS Kids, Smithsonian Learning Lab, Highlights Kids, Fun Brain, and Nasa’s Kids Club are just a few websites that offer great learning online for the kids. I found so many resources on Pinterest for these ideas. My point in sharing technology is to remind you that the technology is available and can work in your benefit. Obviously, we all want to be hands-on with our children but let’s be realistic; it’s not an option for most of us all day. So learning what resources are available and that work for your family can benefit whatever situation your family ends up in this fall.
Communication:
I will end with the fact that the biggest thing I have learned since starting my research and experimentation is that I have to include my kids in the conversation and planning. When we decided we would be homeschooling, I sat them down and I talked about some ideas that I had. I asked them what ideas they had and I asked them to draw a perfect homeschool classroom for me. My son’s picture looked much like what I had envisioned but my daughter put in a reading corner that I hadn’t thought of. She is not an enthusiastic reader so I was excited to see that she included that in her picture. My son enjoyed the “calm down corner” that he had in his preschool class so we will be creating one in our home. I’ve been asking them for help in decorating and reorganizing our front room to turn it into a classroom, which has allowed them to take part in the process.
We came up with one rule in our classroom together, which is we don’t raise our voices. While we are in the classroom, I am their teacher and I asked that they respect me as such, while also promising them to respect them as my students. Anywhere else in the house, I’m their mommy and life can go on as usual.
Listen mommas, I do not have this “motherhood” thing figured out in any capacity. I don’t think any of us really do. I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants and pivoting where necessary for over ten years now and I don’t anticipate that changing. I am relying on the fact that I love my kids more than anything in this world and I try my best to follow my instincts and do right by them. I know you do too. So, for whatever you do this fall, I just want to encourage you to remember that – nobody loves them the way you do. Nobody believes in them the way you do. Nobody can be what you are to them. Take pride in that!
Krystle J Bailey. Multimedia journalist, Author, Poet
