It's Just for Now

 I talked to a friend today.  She was trying to find the right educational place for her crazy bright 7yo.  She and her partner each work full time at jobs they both want and need.  Oh ya, and there's a pandemic on, and wild fires, and smoke, and a heated election, and protests, and and and and....  On-line school, even at a progressive public charter school, is not working for this kid.  (the busy work alone would be enough to make the kid crazy, but sitting still in front of a computer for that long?!? nope.)  They've got an interview for an in person private school 20 minutes from their house, if their virus protocols seem safe, should they enroll their kid?

I don't know the right answer.  All I could do was ask questions.  

How does it feel right now?  If  you were to enroll at the private school how would that be?  The commute?  The cost?  If you leave the public charter school could you get back in later?  What is your child telling you about what they're experiencing and thinking about their school?  If you chose to homeschool how would that feel?  How would it work?  How could you work?  What would your child do while you're working?

In normal times I might talk about how much social interaction their child needed, but it's not normal times, and none of us are able to get "normal" social interaction.  Even if schools are in person the safety protocols mean that kids can't play together they way they use to, so any concerns about socialization will have to be set aside for now.

For now the question is - what do the parents need to be functional, sane and safe?  What does the child need to learn, be safe  and sane?  Where those things intersect, do that.

Whatever parents decide to do right now?  It's fine.  Short of beating the children, do what you need to do to get by.  Keep your kids as safe as is reasonably possible in the midst of this maddness, but do it while taking care of yourself.  You matter, your health, safety, sanity, they matter, just as much as your kids.

Whatever you do, remember - it's only for now.  It will change.  In a year things will be different, and we don't know what kind of different.  We're all going to have to be flexible and resilient, ready to try new things, and to switch and try something different when that doesn't work.

Do what works.  If it doesn't work, try something else.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

It's only for now.

learn anything, go anywhere - virtually

I am one of those awful people who leaves stuff out so I can see it and be reminded to deal with it.  It's a mess, but it mostly works for me.
I do the same thing with tabs on my browser, but when I opened my computer this morning and realized that I had 52 tabs open, I knew I needed to do something.  Even I have my limits.

Here it is, a list of some of the resources I've found in the last couple of days for keeping a kid busy at home.  I was going to sort it all out in, write several {absolutely brilliant} blog posts with specific topics and ages in mind.  But, fuck it.  I don't have time and I'm moving on.

So here's a brain dump, I hope you have some fun poking around.  Oh, and check out your local library's website.  They'll almost certainly have many resources there like Kanopy, Hoopla, Overdrive, Flipster and Mango

Remember that this is not all about your kids.  It's about you too.  You never know, you might find something of interest here for you too.


Open Culture lists free and education media on the web

PBS listed 19 museums you can visit from home
Paris Musees has thousands of images you can access for free
Broadway shows you can access from home
list of virtual field trips
Adventure Journal has a list of live feeds of animals
U.S. National Parks virtual tours via Googles Hidden Worlds of the National Parks
Geoguesser is a fun geography game G
List of other Google maps games

50 birds and the sounds they make
The NYPL is offering an app that lends e-books for free

There are many free courses on line
Crash Course has some really amazing/fun/wonderful educational classes/videos
Disney Imagineering in a Box
Ivy League Courses on line for free
Coursera also has many free on-line classes
the Khan acadamy has free on-line educational classes and videos
Doodle with Mo, lunch art for kids on the Kennedy Center's youtube channel

Giant list of ideas for being home with kids
Here's a website of Virtual School Activities, virtual tours of museums and zoos around the world.
Amazing Educational Resources is a website of crowd shared found resources
Engineering ideas for kids to try at home
another crowd sourced list of ideas

Netflix has tons of documentaries and educational videos (hint, anything w/ David Attenbough is excellent)  Also, I just learned that you can do a Netflix party!

And finally, if your school is going to make your kid to school at home, you might find this helplful -the  Parents guide to Google Classroom

Sudden Homeschooling

So, here are a few notes I made for myself when brainstorming for emergency homeschooling - no complete thoughts here, but perhaps it will spark something for you (or for me to flesh out!)

chill the f out

routine vs schedule
neighborhood community/support

chores
  you are useful you are appreciated you are notice you are an important member of the family

acting things out, making up stories
make videos?

whereto find how to pick educational videos - kanopy
david attanbough, crash course


read aloud
make stuff - art, write, comic books (both)
 exercise - dance party, hoolahoop!, juggling, poi,

audio books (librivox, library, hoopla,
hand work/ crafts - crochet, knit, art, weaving
scheduling
math (place values) real life - money, cooking,  books -beast acadamy, a o ps, math u see (videos)
legos
games
creativity
library - what do they have at your local one? free stuff, e stuff
virtual museums
google
nature watching
music - practice an instrument, chord charts, free songs
art - so many links!
google map games, geoguesser
languages duolingo, muffy,
science - how does soap work?  what is a virus?

Where to start when emergency homeschooling?

I've been postponing this post because I didn't know where to start, and then I thought, well, neither does anyone else.  This is a crazy situation, one that no one alive in this country has faced before.

So, for my friend who is stuck at home with a 6yo....
How do you get through these first few days of COVID19 social distancing/shelter in place/quarantine?

Again, ease in to this, and consider this first bit (and maybe all of this) as enrichment rather than "school".  School is boring, enrichment is fun and interesting.

Think about the difference between a routine and a schedule. 

A schedule has a specific time at with specific things need to be done.  It's great when you're trying to coordinate people who have busy lives and other things going on. It keeps you on track and helps you be accountable to other people.  It's not so great when you're in a flow, immersed in an activity and you don't have anywhere else you need to be.

A routine, on the other hand, is a series of actions that you do almost habitually.  Rise, let the dog out, eat, brush your teeth, wash your hands after the using the toilet, etc.  A routine is flexible and also easy to remember because you do what you've always done.

When homeschooling, a routine is much easier to manage than a schedule.  You need a schedule for things like lessons and appointments, stuff outside the home.  You're not going to have those right now, so think instead about how to create functional routines that will meet everyone's needs.

Exercise - build this into your routines, and do something more than once a day
When my boys were young they would often bicker, and when they made me crazy, I'd give them laps to do around the yard.  They always came back united in their resentment towards me, and a little less grumpy, so win/win!

If your child is like mine were at that age the first thing you need to do is to give their physical energy somewhere to go.  Seriously, children (and adults) are much nicer when well exercised.  Hey, and join in if you can

Some ideas:
jump rope
calisthenics
dance party!
trampoline if you have one
jumping on the bed if you don't (bail is way more than a new mattress will be when this is all over)
bike ride
hoola hoop
yoga
video workouts

Google for  indoor exercise for kids, yoga, dance, etc.. you name it, it's out there.
Get onto Facebook and look for  groups that fit your kids interest, during this crisis most gyms are shutting down and many are offering free videos and live stream workouts on their pages.
Pinterest is another place to find ideas.

Chill, it's going to be ok

Folks out there are going to be spending a lot more time with their kids than they expected in the next weeks.  Us homeschoolers (and former homeschoolers) might have a bit of an advantage.

Although, to be fair, it's not the advantage I expected to have back when I envisioned the apocalypse.  

So, I will try to share some of my thoughts and opinions.  They're worth exactly what you're paying for them.  If they don't work for you, that's fine.

There is an emotional content to learning that is more important than technique, theory, or materials

There are no educational emergencies.  No one will die if little Susie hasn't memorized her time tables or Timmy doesn't know how to read by the end of the season.

Humans learn, all the time, like it or not.  It's what we do. 

Everything is learning.

Homeschooling is really just parenting.  Sending your kid to school is just outsourcing some parts of parenting, which is fine.  (Seriously, I'd outsource pregnancy if I could. pregger => 4/10 do not recommend, but the baby is nice) 

School at home is not homeschooling, and school at home sucks for all involved, so maybe let up on that  

Try to think about this time as fun enrichment, not make or break, not high stakes.  

You're a coach, and a cheerleader, not a professor.

Follow your kids interest, strew, explore, ask your student what their goals are and what they're curious about.  Luckily, even if we can't leave our homes, with the internet and web, we have the world at our finger tips.

You matter too, so be sure to organize so that you get done what you need to and still stay sane.  More on this later, but a friend once told me "If you're not using the TV as a babysitter, you're doing it wrong.  That's what it's FOR"  There's a time and place for electronics and that time is most certainly when a parent needs a break.  Don't beat the children.

I'll try to post every couple of days to answer some questions for a friend w/ a precocious 6 1/2 year old, but until I get to all those, you could take a peak at some older stuff.
I've written a lot about homeschooling, so you can check that out.  My friend J asked about our eclectic unschooly ways several years ago and I answered her here.   You can check out the pages over there in the side bar.  They were up to date a decade ago, but if I get some motivation I might fix the broken links.