We set our sights on her Kindergarten year being a year of family, building a passion and foundation for learning, and learning globally, literally and figuratively, through travel. We hoped to give as broad of a scope of the world and life, as possible so that when she started school, she would have a base of experiences and curiosity to plug in the knowledge available to her.
The hopes were there, but by the end of the first month of homeschooling, last September, I was already depleted, frustrated, and annoyed at myself. There were some really heart aching blowouts. It was as much, if not more, of a learning curve for us as it was for her. She would learn what we would teach. But we had to learn how to teach, how to connect on this level, and what tools to use, and how to make it fun. - and that was only Kindergarten! Shit!
Some parents say it is just better for their kids to learn from someone else; that there is a dynamic that makes it so frustrating that it is just not worth it. We felt those frustrations at the end of that September, and sometimes, frustration creeps back now and again. But, two points to that: if we can not teach our own kids in a way that they can learn, there is a bigger problem than the teachers' strike in our society. And two: the growing pains we worked through were immeasurably worth it in the end. They will be with us always through no matter what.
In our year of homeschooling, I learned about learning styles, and how my daughter best learns, (which taught me how I best learn). I learned what her best circumstances are for learning. I learned her challenges and what distracts her. I learned her passions. I even re-acquainted myself with my own, and a passion to learn all over again. We discovered together, what learning involves - just sticking with it, being open to the lessons that come up outside of a workbook, and always keeping an awareness for ways to teach what needs to be learned. We learned how to be a team.
Beyond teaching the curriculum, we have taught her what her best circumstances are for her learning and what her challenges are, and what the repercussions of those challenges are so she can hopefully manage herself, as much as a 6 year old can. We have taught that whenever she is interested in learning, we will put aside time to learn together. We have taught that consistency in the home is what builds strength in our foundations. We have taught that when it is time to just be silly, have fun, relax, back off and give ourselves, or herself a break - the rest will come.
Homeschooling is a part of our family, and always will be even though she will be in full-time school. We have continued to home-school through the summer and continue to now as the strike marches forward. And if full-time school does not meet our daughter in what we feel best suits her life, we will continue homeschooling with no doubts.
When she was confirmed to be going to the school of our choice for Grade One, we committed to giving it a chance. We think she will thrive there, beyond what we can offer through homeschooling. Through the summer, I savoured our days together, watching the months, then weeks, then days until Little M would go off to school full-time flip by with little pause. Amidst some powerful life times this summer, we squeezed in some really golden moments of summer - being together, just being present. I would really miss her when school was to start.
Now, the start of the school year has come and gone, and schools remain in strike-mode. I now hear of parents who are picking up Learning Curriculum text books at Chapters or Costco and putting their feet in to the homeschooling world, some recommending that we do so too. ha ha!
As parents, this uncertainty of how long the strike will last, will no doubt put stress on families. I have heard of teachers coming close to losing their homes, of parents who are in critical binds on how to manage kiddo care. There is no easy way out. One of the things I also learned this year is the importance of positive, passionate teachers and quality education. Do I believe they are worth more, definitely. If we do not have education for the masses, we will suffer. But beyond the logistical, political issues that swirl around any potential resolution, and all the frustrations that come with who deserves what, when I think of the kids, there is something amidst all of this for them. There is a potential for them to gain in this situation through connecting with us more. Not full-on homeschooling, but 20 minutes, 45 minutes, try for 10 minutes, or a couple pages in a curriculum-based workbook.
If you are endeavouring in to the homeschooling world, here are some tips that helped us:
- set aside time where both yourself and your kiddos do not have to rush (length of time is different to each age/kiddo/subject)
- Make a cup of tea, coffee, green smoothie etc. for yourself, and take a moment to observe, be available and have fun learning alongside your kiddo(s). Sit with them, don't hover, but be present and be available to give assistance, or encouragement, or hit em' with the cattle prod to keep at it. Create a time where you are fully present with them.
- Laugh - Make learning fun. Kids will crave and adore that time and connectedness when they can laugh, be cheered on, encouraged and reinforced that just doing and trying is great, and that celebrating those successes are fantastic when done together.
- Get the homeschooling done, and then do the fun things the rest of the day - earn it, little people!
- When the frustrations come up, BREATHE. Everyone. Stop and move. Run laps around the house, shake or dance out the frustrations - get silly. Regroup and start again, even if that means later in the day. Have a silly song where you can blow off steam.
- Acknowledge vocally when a child is doing their best. It will tell them and you, that you see they are giving their best effort. Do not push beyond that. You will crush them. Take a step backward, and reinforce what you are learning.
- Do not home-school just before dinner. HA!
- Know when to stop. If there is a whiff of emotionally reactive behaviour stop. no one can learn when emotional. If it is a battle of will, discuss what the repercussions are together so you can move on together as a team.
- Look outside the box. Use the curriculum as a base and a guide. If a kiddo is having a hard time with it, see if you can teach it through something they love. Then return to the workbook to put it back in the linear context of learning. Many kids are global learners (learn best when they see the big picture and then can learn within that context). Learning this way also helps reinforce the lesson (when they can apply it to different arenas, rather than just another page in the text book).
- See the rest of the world as a learning opportunity. Building a hunger for seeing the world is our best learning tool. The rest will fall in to place.
- Know when to school and when other things are more important. If a kiddo is in the midst of processing something in life, process it. Same goes for parents - if you are processing something, hold off until it is processed - this is when frustrations surface. School ain't everything. Our lives are bigger than that.
- Keep a journal. Depending on the age, have a journal and write one word, 5 words, one sentence, a paragraph about their day - what they enjoyed, what they disliked, what stood out, what they will dream of. It is a great way to instigate conversations and put the day to rest.
- Get outside! - we are coming in to one of the most beautiful times of year. Count leaves, learn life-cycles, see nature for science, go to the Farmer's Market and teach kids to connect. Make letters out of rocks, collect rocks, paint them and use them for math. Go to the beach and search for cool life in the water or on the beach. Take photos and make flashcards with dry-erase pens. Do scavenger hunts of things in nature for the alphabet.
- Go on field trips - dedicate trip for learning. ie. Go for lunch and watch people. See where they are from and research cultures, or talk about behaviours and why people do what they do and teach how to engage with them.
- Discover & explore more of what your kiddo loves. What excites them? Then build a lesson plan around that. Remember to have FUN with this - you don't want to annihilate what they love.
- Cook - measurements, directions, reading. Take photos and make a cookbook.
- Lap-books - make little, handmade books about things they love, wishlists, stories of their own.
- Lego - man you can learn a lot from lego!
- Have a toy swap with other kiddos - make a market of trades
- Cuddle up and READ. ahhhh... endorphins.
From our daughter:
- her hardest times were when forced
- her best times were when learning was fun
My hope is that this time is one of deeper learning, more connection, and realizing that this is a gift too. My experience has been that homeschooling has a learning curve (yikes!), and that frustration is the voice of "try another way, or another time". Maybe even more than keeping up with the curriculum, our kiddos can benefit from all of this by having more time with those in their lives. Your kid/kiddos are awesome. Discover them and help them discover themselves. That's a pretty cool silver lining to all of the strike bullshit. Happy learning and connecting!
