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.

COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Homeschooling

Shane was happily playing outside when I picked him up from his last day of pre-coronavirus school.

Shane's a loud, active, and social kid. How in the world were we going to survive homeschooling him!?

I let the question simmer over the weekend. There wasn't a need to rush in without a plan (Proverbs 19:2 is spot on for this: "Desire without knowledge is not good - How much more will hasty feet miss the way?")

Three principles guided what I came up with:
1 - Routine
2 - Flexibility
3 - Activity

First, a routine was essential. It would be good for all of us. The trick would be to define it, set healthy expectations, and stick with it until it became normal. It didn't have to be perfect. There was no way I was going to get it right the first try! There would be some things set in stone like horse chores in the morning and evening, lunch at noon, but the rest would be a work in progress.

Which leads to point #2: Flexibility. One of the advantages of home-schooling is it crafted to the individual and situation. There aren't outside rules like school buses, set class times, large classes, and standardized curriculum. Whatever I come up with, I'm going to evolve from week to week (if not day to day). If things go really well, I'll pick up the pace. If things go slowly, I'll stop and think about ways to adjust. The goal is to get Shane in moments where he is actively engaged and learning.....and to keep him busy sometimes for my sanity's sake if I'm going to be honest.

I decided that I didn't need to have set times for school. Instead, I would have a set of mandatory activities that Shane could choose between so long as all were finished. Choice is a powerful tool and my hope was that by giving Shane some say in things he would be more engaged in any activity in the moment and take more personal accountability for how he did (after all, he chose it!).

It never entered my mind to keep Shane in home school for 7.5 hours a day.

As a teacher, I have to find the best way to reach the most kids with the time, materials, and energy I have. The truth is, I'll never reach every one every time. Some work faster and some work slower and how's fast and who's slow can change depending on the day, subject, mood, and even minute! I normally have students for an hour and a half and my goal is to keep everyone actively engaged for at least an hour. I know there's going to be dead time here and there. They're kids not robots. Managing the dead time, so that kids are still in the room and preferably something positive (but at least not detrimental) is the key. Kids will need time to talk, process, connect, rest, go to the bathroom, and move (Why do you think there's recess in elementary school?).

The last thing on my mind was moving. Shane is high energy. HIGH energy. He doesn't always like to run or do something athletic, but he's always making noise, twitching in place, stirring up the dog, or jumping on me. He can get lost in electronics, but if he's on them too long his little battery charges up until there's an overflow. The moment the power goes off he's ballitzoid crazy running around full speed, talking fast, loud, and clamoring for attention with the dog tearing after him.

It's enough to drive a parent crazy. I can't keep up with that!

So Shane needed ways to get his stink out every day. Some of it could be "Go outside," but he almost always wants someone to be interacting with him. He's super social! I can't goof off like a nine-year old, so there would have to be some activities that I could enjoy with him to work his stink out and keep all of us healthy.

So, what's our routine?

For the first week, I decided on 7 mandatory activities.
1 - House chores
2 - Animal care
3 - Reading
4 - Math
5 - Bible time and writing practice
6 - Lacrosse practice
7 - Clean up something
*Unspoken - Non-electronic time also known as "Learn to entertain yourself some!"

House chores - Shane already do some stuff. He helps with the horses and I expect him to put dirty clothes in a bin when asked, take out the trash, stomp on cans, etc. I decided to explicitly list it as valuable. I tell Shane all the time, "He's able to help" and I mean it.

Animal care - Shane's been feeding the cats and the dog every morning. He did it once and liked all the cats swarming him with attention. He liked it and it became his job. I expect Shane to take Loki outside from time to time and run with him and do other helpful things. I hope that it teaches him responsibility and helps him be connected to the animals. Plus, it's helpful.

Reading - Non negotiable. I'm going to need to start reading the same stuff as him so that I can converse with him about it. For this week, it's nice to just shoo Shane to his room or the couch so I can get a breather.

Math - I'm a math teacher. It's supposed to be my specialty and Shane's naturally good at it. I always say, "Math is patterns and patterns are everywhere!" Shane had some calculation worksheets he brought home I figured I'd have him do one of a day. We bought a membership to Prodigy, so that's a decent time killer that hopefully does some teaching, as well (for parental sanity).

Bible time & writing - It's exactly what it sounds like. We read a small section, Shane picks out a verse that resonated with him, and I have him write it down a couple of times. The next day, I ask him to repeat what he wrote down and we skip ahead to a new section. I decided to start in Genesis to cover some basics.

Lacrosse practice - Shane needs to move. It'd be awesome when (and if) Shane's lacrosse program meets again he's improved so much he looks like any other kid running around. I like doing something fun AND productive.

Clean up something - I feel like I'm doing the majority of the housework. Shane leaves wrappers on tables, doesn't rinse his toothpaste spit out of the sink, forgets to lift the toilet seat, and does other small annoying things kids do. May as well call him out on them in the hopes he learns!

Non-electronic time - There's going to be more electronics. There aren't any other kids or places to take Shane. I only have so much energy in the scheme of things and I didn't turn out too bad with how much electronics I had. The kid needs to learn how to entertain himself at times, though. My goal is to have less than 4 hours of electronics a day when quarantined. Preferably, 2 or less, but I'm not sure that's realistic.

Right now, the treadmill seems to be the closet thing we have to an indoor playground. Shane likes to fart around on it. He gets away with a lot more when I'm around than when Carrie is.

My biggest fear is the dog is going to bite it hard enough his teeth punctures something and it rips out a tooth.

Shane's happy to be loud and annoying in the house, but it's taken a little bit of pushing to get him to go outside. 

I'm happy I found a baseball glove! I don't have a lacrosse stick and the glove lets me jump for Shane's wild throws.

Hindsight: I think we went out 4 out of 5 'school' days the first quarantine week.

Loki watched the first time. He really wanted to join us. I don't think he even saw Bucket lurking behind the curtains.

We brought him out Tuesay. Loki loves catch.

Shane gets frustrated with how fast Loki snatches a ball he misses. I think it's hilarious. I'm trying to get Shane to recognize Loki increases the difficulty, yes, but if Shane can box out the dog? He'll be set to deal with real people, no problem!

Carrie attempted to play catch some on Tuesday! We have two balls, and we've learned to throw one for Loki to keep him out of the way. He got hit once by Shane and yelped (Lacrosse balls are really dense).

I showed Shane how to play "Wall ball" on Tuesday. I was hoping he'd be able to practice independently some!

Carrie wasn't as fond of the loud thuds on the siding. I dropped Loki in the ditch to slow him down, but he jumped out and chased after everything Shane threw!

I didn't want a dog (yet) originally, but I'm really glad we have Loki now. Shane enjoys playing with him.....even if that playing is trying to build a trap out of the treadmill.

Shows some creativity at least, right? Be smart, Loks!

My big goals of the first week were to establish a baseline and not go crazy. I plan to worry about progress later on, so we'll see how things go!

PS - Some of the jokes online have been hysterical. "Three hours into homeschooling and one kid is suspended for cutting class and the other is already expelled," made me laugh out loud. So did "Many parents are about to find out the teacher isn't the problem!"