 Big sister Kayla Zimmerman reads to her three little sisters.(Contributed photo/Laura and Chuck Zimmerman Family) |
As another week of stay-at-home learning under Wisconsin’s “Safer at Home” directive draws to a close, some families might be feeling anxious and discouraged as they grapple with a mode of education they did not freely choose.
The word “homeschooler” technically refers to parents who choose to exercise their God-given right and responsibility to educate their children at home, a right recognized by the state of Wisconsin in Statute 118.15(4).
Parents who have been thrust into schooling at home by COVID-19 face very different challenges.
Homeschooling parent Laura Zimmerman related that, “When we decided to homeschool our building-schooled kids, it took months of being together before anyone was relaxed enough to fall into a good pattern of learning on a daily basis. Unless you’ve specifically answered the vocational call to homeschool your children, this is going to be difficult.”
“Homeschoolers learn the material along with their children,” agreed homeschooling mom Elizabeth Leone.
What parents are experiencing now “is not what homeschooling feels like: another teacher assigning work that you have to figure out how to implement. It’s going to be harder for you.”
For more informationFor families considering homeschooling as an option, there is a local support group in the Diocese of Madison — Holy Family Homeschoolers. |
Leone urged parents not to be too hard on themselves.
“No homeschooler would be prepared to step into an unfamiliar curriculum mid-semester and suddenly have to teach it all at home.”
But homeschoolers and parents teaching their children at home under the COVID-19 “Safer at Home” directive have one thing in common: the children are at home all day long as the parents try to move their formation and education forward.
Helpful tips
Here are some tips from experienced Catholic homeschoolers in the Diocese of Madison that apply to both situations:
Share the teaching load — If one spouse is working a day job in the basement, that doesn’t mean he or she can’t help with the teaching.
If grammar is not Mom’s thing, but Dad can’t imagine anything more delightful than sentence diagramming, he can teach the parts of speech after supper.
If your teenager would happily spend the rest of her life solving algebra equations, have her teach fractions to her little brother.
Maybe Grandpa loves spelling. Ask him to plug in over Google Hangout each morning to help Junior with his “i before e” rule.
Or maybe your PTA friend loves teaching science but hates poetry, whereas you spend your leisure hours listening to Patrick Stewart read Shakespeare’s sonnets. Trade those subjects over Skype.
Chores — Lucy Ruth, homeschooling mother of seven, suggested that parents simplify household tasks.
“Lower your expectations. You’ll need a lot of time just getting the kids through school.”
Or, consider raising them. Maybe you’ve always wanted to hold your children accountable for chores, but there was never time after school, sports, and homework?
Well, time is on your side now! Make a chore chart: the three-year old can dust; the 10-year old can vacuum, and the 14-year old can (with your help) whip up supper.
Teach them how to clean toilets, make bread, sew on a button, and sort toys and laundry.
Consider how routine fits into your lifestyle — In my child-rearing years, I was the Queen of Routine.
I got my kids up for daily Mass every day.
We had a morning session for skillbuilding and an afternoon session (when the baby and toddler were napping) for subjects that required more conversation.
Leone found routine worked best for her too.
“The need for structure was high for us,” she said.
But Ruth did it differently.
“When I started homeschooling,” she recounted, “I tried to duplicate a typical building-school day at home. But it didn’t work for us. I have since realized it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’ve got teenagers whose bodies can’t fall asleep at night and can’t wake up in the morning, let them adjust their schedules. The bell’s not going to ring every 45 minutes!”
Location, location, location! — We kept the school room separate from the rest of the living space, but Ruth pointed out that children can learn anywhere.
“If they can be productive on a couch or their bed or in a hammock or lawn chair outside, let them. It’s different when you’re in your own home. Be flexible, and find what works for your family!”
Focus on the most important subjects — Leone said that with her college-age kids returning home (with two friends too!) and Dad moving his law office to the dining room, their normal homeschooling routine is in an uproar.
“We are having to adjust too,” she smiled. “I’m looking at keeping necessities going: reading, writing, arithmetic.”
Ruth suggested letting the children set the pace: “If your child is booking along in history or science, just let her do science for two hours. Just be sure over the long haul that everything is moving forward.”
Baby or toddler in the home? — Teaching at home gets a little more challenging when there is a baby or toddler in the mix.
My older kids took turns playing with the baby and toddler in the family room while I taught the ones who were free in the homeschool room.
I also scheduled independent play time for all in their rooms so I had quiet for teaching and so they learned how to amuse themselves on their own.
Ruth trained her little ones “to play at Mom’s feet” quietly while she was reading aloud and teaching. The older children got used to learning with these distractions around.
Put it in God’s hands — The family that prays together stays together.
Stay close to Jesus. Start the day with a morning offering. Pray daily Mass online together. Pray a family Angelus at 12 noon and the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 p.m..
End the day with the Rosary and Night Prayer.
God knew about this coronavirus from the beginning of time, and He will use it for our greater good, as He always does, if we dispose ourselves to receive His grace.
“Grace,” Zimmerman reflected, “is really the only answer here.”
Joan Carey homeschooled her six children for 20 years and is a founder of Holy Family Homeschoolers, a local Catholic homeschooling support group.