Share the Adventure: Homeschooling Phase 1.0 - Pod schooling (Sept 2020

Summer 2020 is a blur.

-We started to walk to nearby parks, using the wagon for the little boys.

-We got outside more but always kept our distance from others and avoided playgrounds (the boys stopped asking if they could play on them because they knew we just didn't do it).

-We took a break from schooling while still reading and memorizing Scripture.

-I got my first smart phone (after being a loyal fan of the slide phone!).

As the summer drew to a close, I connected with the family of a beloved former student of mine. They were on the same page as us, regarding staying ultra-safe and ultra-distant. They were both working from home but needed some worktime, so we worked out an arrangement where their three kids (7th, 3rd, 1st) would come to our house from 8:30 - 12:30 three days a week. Since neither family really had contact with the outside world, we felt comfortable letting the kids be maskless indoors together. My husband took charge of the younger boys during this time. This arrangement was an answer to prayer, both financially and socially. Together, we chose the curriculum we'd be using, and we were all excited to begin!

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, after teaching my online English classes, we'd eagerly look out the window for them to arrive.

8:30 - 9:00ish - Morning Time. They'd start by copying their verse for the week (Monday) or a verse from their hymn of the month (Wednesday, Friday) and then head to the floor. We played a different game every week (Sleeping Queens, Pit, L.L.A.M.A., etc.). I read aloud a picture book that we'd all rate afterwards. I also read a short biographical sketch of Courageous World Changers.

9:00 - 9:30 - Bible. We'd sing our memory verse for the week (SwordGrip Old Testament Volume 2) and our hymn for the month (Holy, Holy, Holy; One Day; For the Beauty of the Earth; Hark the Herald Angels Sing). Sometimes, we'd discuss what the verses meant. On different days, we'd have a different focus -- whether reading the same psalm independently and then coming together to discuss or praying for the nation or people group from a prayer app or taking turns praying each part of an A.C.T.S. prayer.

We also had a Bible lesson but not necessarily a curriculum. For the first part of the year, we memorized a "Bible in 50 Words Poem" and then discussed more in detail one of the short sections. For example, "judges appointed" would lead to an overview of the judges. After we finished that, we started memorizing the Apostles Creed using this song and we focused on one small section every day, unpacking the theological concepts.

9:30 - 10:30 - history and science together. We stayed together for these subjects since they were easily adaptable to different grade levels. For science, we studied marine biology, botany, and energy (from The Good and the Beautiful). The kids especially loved when there were experiments. For history, I mostly read aloud excerpts from our books on Native and Black history, while the kids colored or worked on logic games. My boys were a little young to participate in discussions about the topics or journal about their insights.

10:30 - 12:00 - independent time (math and language arts). Our math curriculum (Mammoth Math) was more independent, so I'd usually just check over their work as they completed it. Also during this time, I would teach the two 1st graders and then the 3rd grader their Language Arts lessons. I had the boys do handwriting at the beginning of the year but let that fall by the wayside. If they finished their independent work early, I'd let them play a game or have free play time together.

12:00 - 12:30 - outside time. We tried to go outside on most days. At the beginning, the family would sometimes pack their own lunches to bring, but we all found that the kids valued playing together more than eating together. We played in our backyard but often made our way back into the forest.

In the afternoons after they would leave, the big boys would have self time while the little boys took naps. Ideally, I would check over their schoolwork during this time, but often I needed a break, too.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the schedule was more relaxed, especially since we had the little boys (1 and 2 years old) underfoot. I'd usually make a checklist of things to get done for the day. Often, we'd go to a park. There was never much rhyme or reason.

Some pictures of some fun days of learning:

Writing research reports

Celebrating "Dot Day" doing on all kinds of circle activities based on the book "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds

Making bar graphs based on the skittles in each pack

Making square art after reading "Perfect Square" by Michael Hall

Trying out different tools to compare to aquatic animals

Simulating "blubber" by reaching into an ice bath with a hand surrounded by vegetable shortening

Measuring how long certain whales are

Logic games! We have enough for everyone to use one and then trade out

Apple Day! Tasting and rating different kinds of apples

Making apple prints

Trying our four different apple creations

Leaf rubbings

Experimenting on which liquids will dissolve candy corn (and at what rate)

Using candy corn for greater than/less than inequalities

Making their own lemonade with lemon juice, water, sugar

Having a sniff test with different concentrations of lemon juice

Making Fry Bread after reading a book about it (reminds me of my summer on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana when we'd have Indian tacos with fry bread every Tuesday night)