Lindy's Homeschool: Homeschool the COVID-19 Way

The world has turned upside down. I never thought I would write a post like this.

Many have asked how to teach their kids during quarantine. One of my friends said parents won't actually teach their kids, that they'll just stick a device in their hand and binge-watch the weeks away.

But not you. You found me, which means you want this time away from school to matter. A time for growth regardless of what's happening. I hope what I say helps you.

I've been homeschooling from the start (ten years.) I have also homeschooled on a remote island where I could not get supplies. I also have two ADHD boys, and all five of my boys have dyslexia.

SO, for what it's worth, I've learned a few things going through all that.

First, and foremost:

If you don't keep it simple, you will get burned out and be miserable. Don't complicate it.

There's really only four subjects you need to worry about.

For social studies listen to "Story of the World" or read historical fiction/nonfiction.

For math go to Math Antics or Khan Academy

For science, there's tons of youtube science channels out there.

Online fun if they can't read. Read and write about what they've read if they can read.

REALLY! THAT'S IT!

Let me explain in more detail:

For grades 1-7, I suggest Story of the world. Just listen to the MP3s. EASY!!! Normally I would say listen to it while driving, but please stay home. Have them play with legos, draw, or do a puzzle while listening. (Getting their downloadable colouring books is awesome but not necessary-I've never got them.) You'll hopefully only have time for one volume, and you don't have to start with ancient times.

For Ancient Times MP3, Click here

For it's colouring pages, Click here

For Middle Ages MP3, Click here

For it's colouring pages, Click here

For Early Modern Times MP3, Click here

For it's colouring book Click here

For Modern Age MP3, Click here

For it's colouring book Click here

For the whole thing (hopefully the virus won't last THAT long) Click here

For grades 8-12, I would suggest classics that are history based. You can get them all via audible.com or amazon's kindle. You can read kindle books on just about anything via their app. You do not need an official kindle.

But obviously you want suggestions (or you wouldn't be reading this) I would email their teachers first, who might give you some awesome suggestions, but if not, here's some books I would recommend:

The Chosen by Potok: A story about Jews in New York after WWII during the time of the Zionist conference. Really fascinating perspectives, and easy to get conversations going.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: The autobiography of a salve who escapes to freedom and becomes an abolitionist. Very intriguing.

Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang. The autobiography of a girl growing up during Mao's "Great Leap Forward." Sooooo interesting. We don't learn about this time in history enough.

I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition) by Malala Yousafzai: Autobiography of a teenage girl politically active in getting girls to be educated, and consequently gets shot by the Taliban. Obviously a captivating read.

Obviously you're not going to go through a whole math curriculum while quarantined. This is an opportunity to work where they're having trouble, or to get them soaring ahead. These sites will help you with either:

for elementary:

You'll find Math Antics at www.mathantics.com. These are fun videos that explain the "why" behind math in a visual way. They also have worksheets to backup the video's teachings. If they are too advanced for your kids, try www.starfall.com.

For higher grades:

Khan Academy. You knew I was going to mention him, didn't you. Yes, he is truly as awesome as his reputation. Find his excellent website at www.khanacademy.org.

I love having a science club where we all get together and blow things up. This is obviously not going to happen right now. First, we're not "getting all together," second, we are not going to waste mentos and Diet Coke on a science fountain in a time where any food is valued, and lastly, although the science books SAY you can find all the supplies in your house, they are lying. Nobody has all that random stuff just lying around their house.

Sooooo......hello Youtube.

There's some seriously awesome channels about science. Here's my family's favourites:

Mark Rober arguably my kid's all time favourite science related channel.

Smarter Every Day Destin is my hero

The Spangler Effect Steve was the first to show us how fun science was. I am a shameless Steve Spangler want-to-be

Life Noggin My kids LOVE life noggin and can not get enough.

A Deep Look is a cute/creepy channel about bugs.

Adam Savage's Tested former cohost of Mythbusters. Need I say more.

Kurzgesagt-In a Nutshell Cartoons and a British accent. Brilliant.

Smithsonian Channel I think the name says it all.

SZtv like blue world in little chunks.

Colinfurze insane British dude. Not actually that scientific, but definitely inspiring to your engineer minded tots.

Vertasium when you run out of Mark Rober, this is the next choice.

TheBackyardScientist do not try this in YOUR backyard.

TedEd my kids and I LOVE this channel. It is so much more than just science. If you binge watch this channel, you will get through the apocalypse a lot smarter.

This is it folks-the big one. English is arguably the most important subject. Not sure why I left it for last-actually I do.

My entire family is dyslexic. We take learning to read and write very seriously, and there is no simple solution. Certainly not one without physical curriculum.

Okay, there is hope. Online hope.

If your child is not reading yet, there are actually some fun online sites that can help.

Nessy (click here) is probably the best. It does cost a lot, but there is a free trial. Which may or may not last about as long as this quarantine may last bwahahaha.

Then there's Reading Eggs. (click here) Lots of people seem to like this one, but I've never had my kids do it. Again, there's a free trial.

And the FREE Teach Your Monster to Read (click here) super super fun. Not sure if dyslexics actually learn anything, but you know. It's all good.

Also, there is Explode the Code (click here) which is actually very systematic and good.

There's also some awesome resources from All About Reading, which is a really good curriculum for teaching kids to read. Sorry you can't get the whole thing, but these games are a start. https://resources.allaboutlearningpress.com

Also, I have a lot of free Sight Word print outs that you can use.

Click here. These actually do work. They are organized by "book" because they go with the Barton Reading system. But since you probably don't want to get that right now, don't worry about what "book" you click.

Here's a youtube video about how to use them.

If your child is actually reading, then for heaven's sake encourage them to read! That might mean you have to take away devices and hand them a book, or it might mean you have to give them devices with the kindle app on it. Which ever is the case, it helps if you read what they've read and actually talk about it and have them writing about what they've read.

And now, I hesitate to even mention this site but, in lieu of any better options:

IXL. To go to this website, click here. It is a very clean cut site that lays out all the grammar your kid should know by grade and skill.

I actually don't like this site. It's better known for it's math, but notice I didn't put it in math. Because there's better options.

I could tell you a million other language arts curriculums that would be awesome, but they are all physical curriculums. So, since we're in a pinch, just use IXL. Who knows. You might like it.

You know what? Who needs to learn Grammar during the apocalypse? Just have them read and then write about what they've read.