COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Home School "Projects"

Homeschooling is going ok here. No one has been driven totally insane!

I've worked hard to set a routine, but I like the idea of "projects."

To me, a project is anything that Shane gets interested in and/or uses some problem solving skills on.

It could be fairly innocuous.

For example, it's Shane's job to crush cans. We haven't been to the recycling center, so our bins are overflowing (much like Shane's energy level). I put a box near the cans with a few in it without Shane seeing me. Then I went to his room and gave him an ultimatum to take care of them before I got back from the barn.

I hoped that Shane would figure out to use the box, but I didn't tell him to. If he complained about how rough it was to carry everything out or ferry things back and forth I would've pointed out the box.

Thankfully, he figured it out....mostly. He filled the box, but then didn't do anything about the cans that didn't fit perfectly in it!

Math and Science got blended in when Shane started making paper airplanes.

Shane was having fun making them and I took some pictures to update my Schoology page.

Shane thought the he could make a bunch of paper airplanes and sell them at school for $0.05 each. His goal was to make $20 to buy a game on Steam he played at Patrick's.

That started a math lesson. 

"How many planes would you need to sell to make a dollar?"  20.

"At that rate, how many would you need to sell to make $20 for the game?" 400.

"Who would you be selling the planes to?" 3rd graders and after school kids.

"How many kids are in your class?" 34.

"How many kids are after school?" I don't know.

"Do you think there are more or less than your class?" More.

"A lot more or a little?" A little.

"So pick a number a little more than your class..." 36.

We added the numbers together (70) and then I pointed out there were fewer kids than airplanes that needed to be sold. We did a little more math and Shane realized he had to sell at least 4 planes to every kid in his class and others had to buy 5!

That didn't seem reasonable, so we started to look at what would happen if Shane increased the price. We even ended up graphing things.

I had to give him a reality check when he got to the point he was excited by how few planes he'd need to sell once they cost multiple dollars!

The whole discussion maybe took 20 minutes with graphing and wait times. 

The planes did lead to another little experiment. 

Shane wanted to pictures of him throwing airplanes. I turned it back on him and asked, "What do you think is the best way to get good pictures of you throwing them?"

Suddenly, we had an experiment! I took burst shots, super slow mo, and videos. We did three trials for each mode and checked afterward for what would make the best footage (screen captures or gifs).

We didn't finish the experiment, but it was fun enough and I got to talk briefly about good experiments focusing on one variable at a time.

The airplanes became participants in a Rube-Goldberg machine later in the week. 

If Shane gets creative and he's not on a computer, I just let it roll! That couch has been missing cushions for almost a week now (I probably should make Shane pick it up...).

Shane started to build a train track this week.

I planted a seed by asking, "Do you think it'd fit through the cat door?"

Shane's track laying went from fun in his room to a "project."

Yes, it does fit!

"Do you think you could make it all the way to the kitchen?"

"What about into the kitchen? Could you shorten the track anywhere else to go further?"

I've been trying to encourage/trick Shane into using Legos or K'nex and a ramp of some sort to build his own track to get the train all the way to the kitchen table. So far, he hasn't bit.

Loki hasn't bit either, but he does knock the train over with his feet and fluff!

Again, my whole goal is to keep Shane and his brain active. Trying new things and problem solving are key components to all learning! I am normally nominally involved. Shane gets excited and wants praise. I give some and ask a question or two and then try to fade off into my own work. I hope it helps him learn how to work (and entertain himself) independently.

When he's older, Shane would need more focus, but at this age I'm really not worried about any sort of curriculum other than keeping him from overdosing on electronics. 

Not that 'home-schooling' is computer free. Shane does use his computer. He'd be using it in his 3rd grade classroom anyway, and I need breaks! 

Shane normally does his math online, because A) he likes it and B) I like it. Shane even put some of his Christmas/Bday money into getting a membership so he could level up faster. 

I picked up Shane's laptop from his school on Friday 3/27. There have been multiple opportunities, but we opted to pass since we already had our electronics. With the decision to do virtual schooling in the county, I spent 10 minutes picking up Shane's materials. I left everything in my car over the weekend to rest and decontaminate. 

Shane's thrilled to have access to some Minecraft now. He can earn it for his down time. I like it way more than him asking to play stupid browser games on Poki.

I've tried to work the computer in to some projects. I showed Shane this video on how Pokemon was dubbed.

Then I tried to get him to dub over Pokemon himself. 

He declined and said, "It wouldn't feel right." He didn't want to tarnish Pokemon! Ha!

I tried to get Shane to dub over a cartoon, but the closet I could get him to do was dub over a few seconds of me talking.

A cartoon would have been way easier with the mouth flapping rather than trying to match real life movements. Shane didn't seem that into it. I tried showing Shane an NFL bad lip reading video to keep his interest, but the project only lasted for him to make me say something about poop.

In another attempt to make money, Shane thought he could sell his artwork. I told him that even with talent he'd need to practice to get to that level.

So, Shane drew a picture. I suggested we scan it so that he could edit it in Paint.

I imagined Shane learning how to use Paint and edit computer artwork. Instead, he discovered 3D Paint let him click a button to add an animation and music. There was no real skill or thinking involved as he watched the animations over and over and over....

I still have hope for getting Shane to edit a picture at some point, though.

Now, keep in mind this post may seem like we're doing amazing things, but Shane's on his 3rd week of "home-school." We've had some fun blips, but it's not all the time every time. Several things I hoped would keep Shane busy for hours produced less than 10 minutes of though (or even 10 minutes of keeping him busy!). 

I've seen a lot of cool activities online that require planning, but I've "shot from the hip." There has been no planning. If Shane seemed interested in something I let it roll until it stopped rolling. He needs to learn how to focus on something to completion, so I probably should bring up some of these 'projects' again at some point. 

I plan on running my "home school" through spring break, but things should change a little bit afterward. The county is going to a "virtual school" model. They'll be coming up with some things to keep Shane busy and I'll be more active online with my own students.