With schools closing a lot of parents are asking how to homeschool while social distancing. I’m a public school teacher and former homeschooler. It’s not as scary as you think!

Dear Sister,

I’ve been MIA on here because I was sick. Now that I’m back, the country is practicing social distancing to prevent illness. I hope you all stay safe and healthy. In my next post, I’ll address some things you can do if you find yourself with a bunch of extra time on your hands. But right now I want to give you some ideas for the littles in your life. 

A lot of schools have shut down, and people are wondering what to do with their kids. You can’t take them to the movies or public places, and you don’t want their learning and development to slow down. As a teacher and a former homeschooled kid, I’m here to tell you that a lot of learning can happen at home.

One thing homeschoolers love is that you don’t have to copy the format of a classroom for great learning to take place. Rows of desks, no talking, and four minutes between classes are all functional structures in place to avoid pandemonium in a building of 100 – 2,000 students. 

Find the silver lining. You don’t have to spend time with your kids; you get to spend time with you kids.

You and your child may discover that they learn best with limited distractions and flexibility. So don’t be hard on yourself if your home doesn’t feel like school. I encourage you to think outside of the box. What are they not learning at school? What do you wish you had more time to teach them at home?

SKILLS THEY SHOULD HAVE LEARNED IN THE EARLY YEARS

I teach high school English. Some necessary skills aren’t being passed onto this current generation of kiddos. I don’t know what the cause is, because I know those Elementary teachers are rocking it. So, regardless of their grade, check to see if your child knows the following.

  • How to read an analog clock (very few do!)
  • What side of the paper they should write on.
  • How to write their name correctly including capitalization
  • Capitalization rules in general (I is always uppercase!)
  • Common mistakes (their, there, they’re/your, you’re/its, it’s)
  • Addition and/or multiplication facts (can they answer flashcards rapidly?)
  • Comma rules (check here for help with grammar and punctuation)

WORK ON THEIR ENGLISH AND MATH SKILLS

I will always encourage kids to read. Most don’t read enough in our screen-saturated world, but what a perfect time for kids to fall in love with words. I am biased towards reading, but I haven’t forgotten the value of math. I’ve been in parent-teacher conferences where the parent was shown the kid was learning algebra, but his basic math skills were lacking. Translation, his formulas were spot on, but he was getting the problems wrong because he was making basic errors like 7-5=3. So, even if you can’t teach algebra or calculus, that’s okay. Take this time to brush up on the basics. And you can print math worksheets off the internet.

  • Read books & talk with your kids about what’s happening in them.
  • Enroll your K-6 student in Pizza Hut’s BookIt! Program. Or create your own incentive.
  • Write stories (we often don’t have time for creative writing in class)
  • Practice math facts
  • Learn cursive (Most students haven’t learned and can’t sign their name!)
  • Keep a journal or diary

TEACH THEM LIFE SKILLS

Again, homeschool doesn’t have to look like traditional school. Take the time to teach life skills. I have 150 students each year. I get groups of about thirty at a time for fifty minutes to teach grammar, vocabulary, writing, and reading. There’s no way you can expect your kid’s teacher to teach these skills. So, here’s an opportunity to get in the habit of bringing your kid alongside you and passing on your knowledge to them. Just stay patient. Kids don’t always learn things the first time.

  • Teach your children how to cook or bake. This can look different based on their ages. Littles can clean veggies for salad, set the table, or mix for you. Older kids can practice following recipes.
  • Gardening. This is a great skill to pass down! 
  • New chores. New to them, old to you. Do they know how to do their own laundry? Can they vacuum? Clean the bathroom? Load and unload the dishwasher? Iron clothes? Don’t get angry if they didn’t do it right the first time. Show them. Model for them. They’ll get there!
  • Do you maintain your car? Show them how to check tire pressure, oil levels, or detail it. Pass those money-saving skills on!
  • Teach them how to do house repairs. It could be as simple as changing lightbulbs, stopping a hinge from squeaking, or as complex as retiling the bathroom.
  • Taxes. Teens have a lot of anxiety over taxes. A question I hear again and again, “why don’t we learn how to do taxes in school?” I find this question a little humorous because people spend years in college learning about tax law. I’m not going to be able to cover that in English class. But what I usually tell them is, if they are going to do their taxes, they need to be able to read critically. So get them an empty tax form and show them how to fill it out with a fake salary answering all of the questions. Or better yet, let them watch you fill yours out.
  • Budgeting is a lost skill. Give your kids a fake salary, savings, bills, etc. Then tell them to create a budget. Don’t forget to have them consider transportation, food, medical expenses, savings, tithe, student debt, and more. I would personally include things like debt. They can see how much more they can do without it. Be real with them and let them learn from your wisdom and mistakes.
  • Manners. Sadly, parents don’t get to spend a lot of time with their kids. Use this time at home to reinforce those manners you want them to have like please and thank you, no cussing, staying at the table until they’re excused, no phones at the table, how to answer a phone, how to shake a hand, removing their earbuds while speaking with people, and looking someone in the eye. Oh, and don’t forget to teach them to walk to the right! Believe me. Kids don’t know this. They are forever walking into each other in the hallways at school. 

ENCOURAGE THEIR IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY

One thing traditional school sometimes lacks is fostering creativity and imagination. There is only so much time in a day. They are kids, after all. Let them play outside making up elaborate adventures! Let them create and dream.

  • Free play outside
  • Go for a family walk (assuming you can do this keeping with recommended guidelines)
  • Ride bikes
  • Build a fort or treehouse
  • Paint or draw
  • Play board games
  • Let them create their own board game and then play it as a family
  • Put on a family talent show
  • Write and perform a play
  • Write a book or short story
  • Learn a new craft! Knitting, crochet, scrapbooking, jewelry, origami, build models, etc. There are so many tutorials on youtube! The supplies are available for order online, so you don’t have to venture out of quarantine either!

I hope these ideas have helped you or sparked another idea to homeschool while social distancing. I hope you look back on this unique season with fond memories. I am forever thankful my mom chose to homeschool me.

Please share what you’re doing with your kids during this time below. Stay healthy!

Mallary

XOXO