Let’s talk about Homeschool

I’m a teacher, homeschooling should be easy right? That’s what everyone says to me anyway. Let’s break this down. I became a taught High School Science – Biology and Chemistry. I taught 14-18 year old teenagers. There are challenges there for sure and it requires a very different skill set than that of my elementary teaching colleagues. I loved teaching science because I had a passion for it. It was easy to get my students interested in ecosystems and atoms because I loved talking about them and using hands on activities to help them understand big concepts. I have never been interested in teaching a classroom full of 8 year olds everything they need to know to move on to the next grade. Reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, science, social cues. Bless these teachers – their job is hard!

My plan when we left Kent Island was to teach about whatever area we were in -ecology, culture, etc – while adding in a strong math and reading curriculum. Mostly, that is what we do today – just take out that word “curriculum.” However, there were many bumps, tears and failures (or as I like to call them, “learnings”) along the way. First off – we went from a place where everyone had their own space, to sharing EVERYTHING! I’m not complaining, we made this choice, just setting the scene.

Homeschool teaching is not nearly the same thing as teaching in the classroom. I tried that. It did not work. Seriously, I made lessons tailored to my children, trying to keep them in the same arena but at different levels. The result – tears, screams, fits and “learnings.” Now let me say, I am very fortunate. Both Sloan and Jackson are bright children that learn easily and have previously done well in school. Both of their current teachers thought they could easily thrive in homeschool. They love to read, they do well in math, they are interested in learning. The difficulty isn’t their ability to learn, it is separating “teacher” from “mom”.

Home is their safe place. They could hold it together in school regardless of how hard their day was. They had some days with problems of course. Sloan has always pushed boundaries in school, but she had a great 3rd grade teacher that recognized what she was doing and pushed her in the right direction. Sloan absolutely loved her, thrived in her classroom and renewed her love of learning (thank you Mrs. Claytor). Her fifth grade teacher has high expectations of all of her students. She would have prepared her well for middle school had she stayed in the classroom. I could not have asked for a better fit for Sloan – Mrs. Burak really held students accountable which is what my little girl needs (thank you Mrs. Burak)! Jackson, on the other hand, was a rule follower. If a teacher told him expectations and regulations, he did everything he could to do them. This was not without difficulty, he has trouble sitting still and even more trouble not talking. This proved a problem during virtual learning because he had such high anxiety about the technology not working and not knowing how to manipulate it. However, he also had great teachers that helped him cope with this in the classroom and work towards success in the virtual classroom as well (thanks again Mrs. Claytor). When he would get home from school, he had a literal running monologue until bed time, I mean he literally ran around the house and talked until his head hit the pillow. During virtual learning, I saw veins popping in his forehead and tears in his eyes every morning when things just would not work.

So now these two are my students. I know them, I know what they are capable of. I know what their limitations are. Trying to get them to learn the same way they did in the classroom was nearly impossible. I tried. I have met many families that “unschool.” Basically, children play and learn through play. They decide when they are interested in learning more. The traditional teacher in me can’t quite go there. So after the lessons, I tried workbooks. They are okay, but I still have to explain concepts to them. A typical morning: I would be explaining something to Sloan and Jax would start singing loudly and she would scream at him to be quiet. I’d move to help Jackson and Sloan would start reading a problem aloud to understand it. He screams back. Sloan gets to a hard math problem and cries because she can’t do it. Jackson melts onto the floor when I tell him he has more to do. And then I lose it. Ugh, none of this was easy. My recurrent conversation with them was, “Would you act like this in the classroom with your teacher?” Obviously, the answer was no. But this isn’t a classroom and I am their mother. It had to change.

Our adventure lends easily to learning. From the science and social studies stand point, it is easy to talk about cultures, history, rock formations, ecosystems, etc. National Parks Junior Ranger Programs are fantastic with this as well. We especially had fun making and interpreting our own petroglyphs after finding them in caves. However, I know nothing about grammar and am constantly relearning math. Be honest, do you know how to divide by decimals without a calculator? Can you easily multiply mixed factions? Do you know the difference between a rhombus and a quadrilateral? Can you explain the difference between a preposition and adverb? I have always reinforced concepts during homework at home, but now it is up to me (thank goodness for Kahn academy)! I needed to make our daily life easier. IXL helped with that – I really do love it! Now, they do a few math and ELA lessons using a computer program on days we have internet and life is much easier. Don’t get me wrong, there are still tears and I still have to learn it myself, but it is still easier. I still jump from child to child and that is okay. They like earning their “awards” and “stickers” on the IXL program – it is good motivation. I have embraced play through learning – Jackson loves to build and investigate on his own, Sloan is cooking and creating – but I can’t completely let go of the traditional learning as well.

So, homeschool is working. They are doing well. They miss their friends and the classroom, but they like the freedom of finishing work early and having more time to investigate their own interests. It’s still not easy, but at least we have a rhythm. We laugh, celebrate, cry and have those “learnings.” We are all moving forward.

I really need to take a moment to thank our teachers. You are all amazing. Teaching a classroom is completely different than teaching one-on-one. You are charged with reaching multiple students and skill levels at the same time. It is a very difficult task. To all teachers, all grade levels, all teaching strategies – thank you for reaching our children in ways that are difficult for parents. THANK YOU TO ALL TEACHERS!

From our family specifically:

To all of the Matapeake Elementary School teachers that have taught my children, Thank you. Thank you Mrs. Toole, Mrs. Kline, Mrs. Hipsky, Mrs. Moore, Mr. Patterson, Mrs. Church, Mrs. Claytor, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. McNamee and Mrs. Burak. Thank you Mr. Buie, Mrs. Daily, Mrs. Clow, Mrs. Francis and Mr. Ensor. Thank you to all of the para-educators, co-teachers, school staff and everyone that helped shape them into the children they are. Thank you for making them feel special and capable.

I say thank you to all of my previous colleagues – from Kent Island High School, Anchor Points Academy and CMIT. I appreciate everything you taught me through the years. Thank you for your support, for your laughter and tears. You are amazing. You are sticking in there and it is hard. You are appreciated.