advice from a veteran home schooler in the time of covid-19

as a family of seven that has been home schooling for about 12 years, i wanted to share some tips that may help families with children who will be spending a lot more time together in the coming weeks.

make a fresh start. As we live through uncertain times, we can take the opportunity to reframe social distancing as a time to reconnect with our loved ones.

• set your intention to reconnect as a family
• do a mental health check-in: address concerns and worries, discuss the situation in an age-appropriate manner
• get buy-in & input from your children on how they envision the next few weeks
• set realistic expectations
• re-evaluate & reflect regularly: what is working? what needs to change? what was learned? what to do next?

 

• is there something you always wanted to do as a family? do that!
• develop a loose, general routine
• expect to exercise your patience muscle
• use short durations for activities and tasks
• use do-overs when someone makes a mistake, gets frustrated or upset
• do not try to recreate school at home or buy a bunch of “educational” stuff

 

create a new normal that works for your family’s specific situation.

• make a point to show affection and give positive affirmations
• get spouse and older children involved in leading and teaching activities
• go outside regularly
• read aloud together
• watch lectures, TED talks, movies and documentaries
• play board & car games; do sudoko, crossword and coloring books
• get crafty or journal & draw

 

• do science experiments
• teach life skills: cooking, cleaning, laundry, personal finance
• cook & eat as a family
• worship, pray and read sacred scriptures
• take naps
• learn one new thing every day
• manage screen time

 

Remember — the Force be with you, always.

 

classic egg challenge

when you come to homeschool day at the navy museum
you get access to a small collection of experiments & projects
within an area of study.

this past december,
signGirl decided to do the classic egg challenge with a twist:
design something using either
all pipe cleaners
or all paper
that will protect an egg if dropped from 50 feet (or so).

this was signGirl’s creation.

her egg ended up like humpty dumpty…

but, it’s the problem-solving design process that matters most.
i’m sure we’ll encounter this challenge again.

wonderful whoopers

all about whooping cranes at the patuxent wildlife refuge center:
their lifecycle, habitat, and migration patterns,
a bit about the PWRC whooping crane program,
how they almost became extinct,
and how we can help.

this program was a perfect mix of learning for this age group:
there was discussion, songs, a craft, and an outdoor educational game.
my 6 year-old whose favorite word is “boring” said this class wasn’t.
that’s a big win!

metalworking at brentwood arts exchange

even at 12 the montessori mantra of
“teach me to do it myself”
rings true.
yeah, you can buy the perfect pair of earrings at a local store,
but you can also take a class to learn how to make your own.
radianceGirl took a kids metalworking workshop
at brentwood arts exchange
and learned small metalworking techniques
including torch work and cold manipulation.
she came home with some new experiences
and three very unique jewelry pieces
made by her own hands and infused with her spirit.

pulleys

once a month we still head out the national museum of the US navy
for their full STEAM ahead homeschool science days.
it has a different format,
but it still works for us,
and it’s still free.
we can arrive anytime between 10AM and 2PM
and choose any or all of the ready-made science projects and experiments to do at our own pace.
this month the subject area was simple machines.
here the girls are discovering how pulleys make work easier.

a book that shaped me

the national book festival has never been this fun.
this year, mercyGirl was a maryland finalist in the library of congress
a book that shaped me summer writing contest.
in addition to dropping by the national book festival this year,
and waiting forever in line at the wells fargo booth to experience their virtual maze challenge interactive game,
we attended the contest awards ceremony
where the contest winners got to read their essays
about a book that made a difference in their lives.
we could tell why the winners won:
those avid readers were also very good writers mashaAllah.

congratulations, mercyGirl. write on!

gsk science in the summer at deanwood library

both mercyGirl and signGirl participated in the free
gsk science in the summer™ program
at deanwood neighborhood library.
they explored simple machines
and even got to take home a few different types of pulleys
along with a backpack and safety goggles.

the classes were small
and every one-hour session included a hands-on project,
often building on concepts from the previous day.
this class served as a review of science concepts
in what has been mostly a summer of art classes & camps.
good to see that they’ve still got love for science.

suffixes montessori-style

once she did it this way,
signGirl started seeing suffixes everywhere.

kid museum homeschool workshop

i kept reading about kid museum’s programs
on various homeschool email groups,
and was finally able to fit it in our schedule.
WOW! kid museum is a curious kid’s paradise.

radianceGirl built a Raspberry Pi Robot car,
signGirl created her own clay animation movie and,
mercyGirl built an instrument with Makey Makey
and programmed it with Scratch,
while the youngest two went with me upstairs to the local library
conveniently located upstairs in the same building.

every girl enjoyed her workshop,
but wanted to try another girl’s workshop.
we’ll have to go back for their open explore session
where children rotate through activities.

until then, take a peek at signGirl’s clay animation movie:

fin.

hands on creations from the national building museum homeschool day 2015

the national building museum keeps coming up with creative classes.
we went for their homeschool day in june.
we ended up staying for both the morning and afternoon sessions
so everyone could take a class.
radianceGirl took Water Works,
mercyGirl took Symbolic Architecture,
signGirl took Architecture 101, and
prayerGirl took Designing on the Wild Side.

the only girl who didn’t bring something home was radiance girl
who worked in teams to build a water sculpture;
and for that i’m grateful.

as usual we spent a good amount of time in Play, Work, Build,

but there were also some new, captivating exhibitions.
i particularly enjoyed walking around the second level,
viewing all the unique design elements
in the 60 3-D models suspended from the ceiling in the Hot to Cold exhibit.

the designing for disaster exhibition was also engaging,
examining natural disasters and our approach to building safer communities.
the girls especially like the interactive wind tunnel.

we’re all looking forward to new classes and exhibitions in the fall.