A Day in the Life : Homeschooling and What I've Learned

Many of us have been forced to homeschool since Covid-19. For better or for worse, the children are with you 24/7 now. Though her teacher Cormac has been good enough to send us homework assignments (in Irish language which I am mostly useless at helping her with), it doesn't replicate the one-on-one learning environment and new concepts. I am by no means a home-schooling expert, however, I had created a curriculum and homeschooled Neva for 2 years during her pre-school years.  So I dusted off my old homeschooling methods, crossed my fingers that I can give  her what she needs academically, emotionally, and socially, and give it a go. We began lessons the first day of quarantine, Friday, 13 March. Here is what we have been doing at ours, and maybe some of the resources and ideas will be useful to you and yours when you're feeling stuck!

But which is best?! How will I know?!

My goal for our first day of homeschooling was for Neva to write a curriculum for the week of what she thought she needed and wanted to learn. She was also tasked at creating a weekly menu. I emphasized that it can be a flexible schedule. That we will have things that we want to do every day, and things that are a few times a week, and those subjects don't always have to be at the same day and time. The same goes for lunch; the menu is a guide, and she can pick what she is feels like on the day. If she wants to always have taco Tuesdays and a set menu, that's fine too, but I really wanted her to choose her preference. In my mind, this exercises her ability to feel like she is in control of her own education and success.

Neva's Menu

Neva's homework; the dog actually did chew up her homework a little!

Once Neva created her rough draft curriculum, then we discussed and organized it together to fit into the homeschool day. She had written out both vague and specific subjects, so I suggested having 'main subjects', and then 'activities' that fall within those subjects. We came up with the main subjects of English, Maths, History/Geography, Art, Science, Life/Personal Work, Exercise, and Second Language. We then organize these 'main subjects' into an order with the highest levels of critical thinking first (the frontal lobe for critical thinking works best after a good rest, for instance after a good night's sleep, and after lunch), followed by a softer critical thinking project, and ending with art and/or exercise outside; followed by lunch, high critical thinking, softer critical thinking, and ending the day with art and exercise of her choice.  We try to keep the activities to 30 minutes each, or 1 hour if she is very focused.

The final brain-stormed ideas before we transferred our work to Excel

The main subjects (Irish, English, and Maths) are sent over from her school. We then supplement these with the TG4 Irish learning channel show, reading and comprehension questions, and Kahn academy maths quizzes. For history, we are reading biography type books to give a first-hand look into the past, as well as the amazing show Horrible Histories, where Neva will say what historical event or person she would like to learn more about and we can usually find it on this fabulous kids show. Some local libraries or museums are also offering educational pamphlets online to download; one of our favorite historical museums is the Epic Emigration Museum in the city centre, and we have received history worksheets from the Epic Explorers team there, still working away to spread education.

Neva's Gaeilge assignment about how to wash your hands properly

Science is my subject, so I am excited to share my knowledge with her in practical ways.  We are lucky that it is springtime and there is so much life teeming about to observe, and we have lots of ecosystems at our disposal; from an urban garden, to the Irish sea, to a lowland forest, and a rocky cliff walk all visible from our house and just a short walk away. We also already had many science tools at the ready like dissection kits, multiple small microscopes, and chemistry molecule building sets. And my favorite, and most delicious science activity is the chemistry of baking, YUM! Planting veggies, playing in the "den" she built in the garden, and chasing the chickens around is sure building some precious memories for us!

Neva's lamb's heart dissection was a success! Perfect incisions!

Labeling the main veins, arteries, and the 2 ventricle chambers

Art is an easy one for Neva, she inspires me to stretch those artistic muscles regularly! We already had a dedicated art room for her with 2 desks, so we are able to work together on art projects. Some of the ideas she has come up with are fantastic! She has learned how to beginner crochet and crocheted a "mask", she had us sculpt little Easter figurines out of clay, she made a puppet stage out of cardboard and puppets out of socks and teddies and gave us a 'dinner and theatre' experience a few nights ago. Many art museums and artists are also offering free art access and information; specifically, Neva likes to color in our friend John Bramblitt's free coloring book pages. Since he is so far away in Texas, it's a way she can feel connected to him and his art. Coloring, chalk murals, photography, water color, weekly guitar, and whittling are some other regular activities she chooses, but her list of ideas is endless and so much fun to experience!

Exercise is another area where Neva takes the lead. She chooses what activity she wants to do, and we do it. Kids are great at making up games that involve physical activity to get their "yaya's" out. Last week Neva made a game where she ran around the house 120 times carrying a kettlebell, shouting out each time she ran by. I put my headphones on, but she really was excited at her accomplishment! She also enjoys animal-based exercise like 'doggie yoga' and 'run around the yard with a chicken in tow'; Rose is a very docile chicken, so I do not recommend trying this at home with just any chooky! In general, push ups, jump rope, soccer, cycling around the block, and skateboarding are among the games we tend to play.

Doggie yoga

Chicken run!

It's great to have the rough outline of what to do for the day, but I like to have it be a little more interconnected. For instance, Neva's first non-fiction book she picked to read was Roald Dahl's "Going Solo" which discusses his young adult life when he fought in WWII as a pilot for the RAF. So we tried to tie in aspects of Germany into her schooling for the next 2 weeks (or until she finished the book). One of Neva's good friends Maya speaks German fluently and so the two girls did a video chat where Neva taught Maya some Gaeilge, and Maya taught Neva some German. We also looked up German culture and clothing, discussed Einstein and his theories for the science side, and Neva looked up a German artist whose work she liked and did an art piece inspired by her. Neurologically, having multiple associations, helps with memory consolidation, so it's a kind of 'kill multiple birds with one stone' scenario, which works for  me!

Neva and Maya doing language learning activities with each other online

Obviously, life isn't made up of only facts and skills, so we also incorporate "Life skills" sessions and philosophy. From how to properly clean, to sewing on buttons, to how to be happy,  mental health, and managing things within and outside of your own control; these are probably the most helpful in forming a deep and meaningful relationship with your child while also setting them up to recognize how to have healthy relationships outside of the home. We are taking the Yale course on happiness and have a printed out copy of the Big Life Journal which we add to for things that we think are useful. She has added in food recipes and travel information to make it feel like a journal about her whole self, which I like. We also make sure to actually keep up those relationships by doing small kind deeds for our neighbors and community where we can, and having lots of face-time chats with friends and family. 

Neva enjoying the den she created when she regorganized her room

Random dress up times are always fun!

Reduce, reuse, recycle, but mostly, reuse. Old plastic or paper bags, cardboard, the hulls of markers gone dead, old leaves that are half rotted, these are all the fodder that are a breeding ground (sometimes literally; yes ew) for discovery and creativity. Figuring out how to repurpose things around the house and outside is a great way to foster that inventive mind in the children. Neva is a master of reusing. She has created lots of gorgeous artwork from castles to bee hotels out of stuff laying around the house, but sometimes she has gone a little too far. There have been times that we have tidied the art room and I found our dog's trimmed hair hidden away because she "wanted to spin it into yarn". She also still has pieces of seaweed that she has picked up from the sea a few weeks ago, and a tick in alcohol that we pulled off our dog last summer. The key is to turn it into a learning experience whether it's talking about hygiene, pulling out the microscope, or researching whether spinning dog hair into yarn is a thing!

Neva picking up seaweed (to take home) at Bray beach

Now that we are on our 7th week of homeschooling, is it all dew drops and rainbows? Definitely not! Both of us are continuously learning how to improve and work together so that we are both happy. I've learned the following (probably very obvious to the real, professional teachers out there!) :

1. If I am getting frustrated on a topic, I can communicate that to Neva and ask for help from Christian so I can take a few minutes to reassess my approach.

2. Ideally homeschooling will involve other children. Right now, I am both her teacher and her playmate. I need to remember that I can't do it all. I want to play with  her when I'm up for it, but when I'm not, reaching out to her friends or family to do an over-the-phone activity is a life saver for both of us.

Neva and Maya chatted on the phone for a while and made various Rube Goldberg devices out of stuff around the house

3. Get outside. It has been unusually sunny and calm for Ireland, so we have been able to take advantage. Any time there seems to be a lull, we play with our dog or the chickens, take a cycle, or take a hike (literally!). The fresh air is a good mind and body reset, as well as an opportunity to discuss local flora and fauna, and the ebb and flow of social norms.

4. Eat together. Since we are all at home as a family, lunch time has become an important family gathering. I've started making large, extravagant meals that we can share together. It's an opportunity for all of us to get together in the middle of the day and touch base on how we are feeling and thinking.

5. Don't get too discouraged with lack of focus. Children's level of focus isn't static. If something is not working after 15 minutes, take a quick break (like doing 20 push ups or running around outside) to reset and start with a different approach. Giving Neva a few options of how to proceed next gives  her a choice which makes it more personal and interesting to herself. On the flip side, anything that sparks their interest can be a learning opportunity; so may as well grab their focus if they have it and run with it!

Neva found a butterfly in the house, so we observed her, discussed her, fed her honey, then let her free in the garden. 

6. Mix it up. Related to above, attention span at the age of 10 is only about 20-30 minutes, so keep lessons or activities short and sweet. If they are deeply involved and making progress, let them continue. If no progress is being made, move on to something else.

Punching non-Newtonian fluids like cornflour slime is always a winner in this house!

7. Just being at home is a distraction. Remember that it was probably hard for yourself to acclimate to working from home because it takes dedication and effort to focus when there are lots of fun things at your disposal that you can do instead of your at-home work. Kids will be no different, so try to incorporate all of those fun things into the curriculum. Bring on making stuff out of legos and building forts; just try and give it some direction.

Neva using art as a medium to learn about tigers

8. They don't know what they don't know. Though Neva has lots of good ideas, it's good to give her a little guidance as her information is limited to her experience. Letting her choose what to do, and expanding her ideas with my knowledge has been a good balance for us.

9. Ultimately, every child and family is different. Everyone will have a different set up, a different family dynamic, and different abilities. It's important to nourish the gifts of our children and set them up to succeed. The best way I have found to do this is by having open communication and getting creative by using whatever you have laying around the house. Children are so happy to be involved in the ingenuity of creating something from everyday objects, and it helps us adults get creative as well.

I hope some of our homeschooling experiment experience can help enrich what you and your school are already doing, or at least help you know that you're not alone. We are all in a similar boat of isolation with our families and trying to find the work, school, family, and self-love balance that we need to feel happy and fulfilled. No matter what your homeschooling looks like, don't judge yourself harshly, take things one day at a time, you are doing amazing, I just know it!

So, which method is best? Whatever works to enrich you and yours is just right, no matter what that looks like for you. They're all "right".

Much love on this gorgeous Irish Bealthaine; may your fire burn as bright as the original fires at Uisneach. And remember, for protection against disease, just make sure to walk your cattle between two rows of fires before the next sunrise. See you next time!