We, the Class of 2022, ...

In 2012,

    2022 seemed far away,

    but as the calendar turned to 2022,

    I think back to my first-ever class

        where, daily, these third graders would recite together (complete with motions):

            We, the class of 2022, 

                will do our best

                    so we will get good grades

                    so we will get to college

            We will have fun

               but get the work done.

    It was their mission statement

        that we crafted together

            and it sounds good as an end-in-mind

                but our daily reality was far from it.

That first semester of teaching was the darkest season of my life.

    I was a shell of a person,

        barely putting one foot in front of the other,

        anxious when every weekend would inevitably wind down,

        dreading yet another Monday

            where I was failing as a first-year teacher

    I had zero control of my classroom,

        and there was very little learning taking place.

    In many ways,

        I failed them.

And, ten years later,

    in this, their graduation year,

    I wonder how many of them have "made it"

I wonder about Michael, Lindsey, Jamarion, Alora, Dewey, Shantel, De'Myah

    Are they still in school?

    Are they getting good grades?

    Are they persevering and rising above their challenges?

Sadly, I feel that, instead of helping them rise above,

    I gave them yet another obstacle to overcome.

(poem 1-7-22)

(This was one of my first days of teaching, back when I was hopeful and idealistic. It was the calm before the storm.)

Homeschooling Phase 0.5 - Pandemic schooling (March 2020 - Aug 2020)

March 2020 seems like eons ago. That's when we were thrust into our homeschooling journey.  I had warmed to the idea through a seminary class that spring (Discipleship in the Home), but the Covid quarantine was the "break" we needed to be able to actually step into it. 

Wednesday, March 11 - fieldtrip with my 5th grade class

Thursday, March 12 - our governor mandated that schools close for 2 weeks

Friday, March 13 - I spent the day frantically putting together packets of instruction for my students. Though I didn't know it at the time, this was our last in-person day of the school year and my last day as a teacher in a regular classroom.

2 weeks off stretched into another 2 weeks off and eventually stretched into the rest of the year.  For my Christian school, there were weekly Zooms with my class and weekly assignments on Google Classroom.  For my two oldest sons, in kindergarten and third grade at our district public school, there were mostly enrichment packets that they weren't really accountable for.  

And thus I began "pandemic schooling" where I attempted to piecemeal together lessons with online resources and workbooks I had and the packets from their school.  Those were dark days and glorious days. There was so much uncertainty and despair in those early days, but we also had lots of great family time.  I taught the boys how to play kickball.  We acted out prepositions (under the table, in the kitchen, etc.).  We put on theatrical performances. We played board games and card games every night after the little boys had gone to bed.  

Soon, I realized that although this wasn't typical homeschooling (with co-ops and fieldtrips and library days), I enjoyed it more than I expected.  I told my husband that I might want to continue doing this beyond the schoolyear, so I began to make a plan for how to replace part of the income from my teaching job.  This began my time teaching English online to kids in China through VIPKid.  I'd teach from 5:00 - 9:00 a.m. and then be freed up to teach my own kids (as well as finishing the year online with my 5th graders).

This was phase 0.5 of our homeschooling journey -- more of a homeschool feel than public school but not yet choosing our own curriculum or having much of a schedule or plan (wait -- I still don't!). 

The "formal" side of homeschooling (we moved their desks upstairs)...

Having two toddlers underfoot makes things interesting!

And then there's the informal side of homeschooling...

making up games...

...getting lots of time outside for free play...

...making the world your classroom...

...and lots of reading -- reading to self, reading to a brother, sharing a family read aloud, listening to audiobooks, etc...

The Legacy Project

John 8:32, John 8:32. Then you will know the TRUTH, and the truth will set you FREE! John 8:32, John 8:32

I still remember that first weekly Bible verse that I taught to my fourth graders at the Christian school where I taught.  I put it to a beat so that it would be memorable, and I remember telling them...

"My goal is that you would learn these verses, not just for your Bible test on Friday but for the rest of your lives."

The next week, I added motions and a beat again, this time to 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

After that, I started looking up verse songs on YouTube. I stumbled upon Mr. Pike, a fellow Christian school teacher in California who used the same curriculum and put his songs to music. We learned Deuteronomy 31:6 from JumpStart3 and Hebrews 11:1 from His Sheep Am I and Matthew 28:19 from Seeds Family Worship.  If the songs weren't in the NIV 2011 translation, I would adapt them so the songs would match the verses word-for-word. If there weren't songs, I would write them! I even had two students volunteer to write two of our verse songs.

At the end of the year, I ended up moving to fifth grade with this same class, and the process of finding/adapting/writing verse songs began all over again. At the end of that year, we "tested" ourselves by sitting down in front of a videocamera with the references to over 100 verse songs we had learned. And...together...we were able to sing them all from memory! They are well on their way to remembering these verses as adults.

The next year, I stayed in fifth grade and had originally thought that I might work on one grade level of verses every year until I had playlists of verse songs for K-8.  But then I became inspired to just do them all that year.  It felt like a "legacy project" -- something that could outlive me and go beyond the four walls of my own little classroom.  The term "legacy" didn't seem to fit very well because legacy seems to imply something that remains after you are gone, and I planned on staying at my school for years (decades, even!). It was very much a "sweet spot" position, and the school was in my neighborhood (my polling place!). I appreciated this after commuting 30 minutes both ways for four years.  What I had no way of foreseeing back at the beginning of the schoolyear when I embarked on this "legacy project" was that the year would end with a pandemic sending us virtual in March and the out-of-nowhere decision to quit my job to homeschool our boys. 

So, this project really did outlive my time at my beloved school. I finished the final songs this fall, and I hope they help many students (and adults) to hide these verses in their hearts, not just for a test, but for the rest of their lives.

I wanted to post the links to these playlists because I don't have another way of keeping them all in one place. I have many, many playlists on YouTube, and these can get lost in the shuffle. Most of the verses are in NIV 2011, but some of the younger students memorize in other translations, too. I've tried to indicate the translation in the titles. Hopefully, other teachers/parents/students who use the same curriculum will stumble upon these songs, just as I did with Mr. Pike's:

Kindergarten

1st grade

2nd grade

3rd grade

4th grade

5th grade

6th grade

7th grade

8th grade

(many Scripture songs learned in this little classroom!)

  

Homeschooling Approaches

I've always wanted to teach, but over the years, I've explored different avenues of what that might look like. My main plan through college was to teach at an international school in China. (I ended up not teaching at all when I graduated but working in education indirectly by being a program director at a Boys and Girls Club). I remember visiting a Montessori school, thinking that my education background was a good foundation to possibly teach there. I was surprised, though, when they said that they've found that a background in education can actually be a hindrance since "the Montessori way" is so different than the typical way school is done. I remember them saying there would be a lot of "unlearning" if I chose to pursue Montessori education.

And I'm beginning to think the same thing about homeschooling. Of course, it's helpful to have experience as a teacher, but in many ways, I will be doing a lot of unlearning about what school "should" look like. I grew up in traditional schools and have taught in traditional schools. Homeschooling is a whole other animal, and I'm both excited and terrified about the adventure ahead.

I'll admit this book looks a little dated. It was full of good stuff, though! One section talked about the different styles of homeschooling. I wanted to reflect here on the different approaches because I thought it would be interesting to look back and see a bit of my philosophy of homeschooling here at the beginning of this "great experiment."

Traditional School at Home - People often start here because it's the easiest way to transition to homeschooling.  It keeps family on track with grade-level content, same academic level as age peers. As a kid, I always hated workbooks, so that has translated into not liking them as an adult. My last school was very workbook-heavy, and I tried to opt out of using them whenever possible. At the same time, it does make it easier to plan, and it frees up time to plan creative enrichment.

For this first "trial year," we are starting with some traditional workbooks, even though I'm beginning to think that that won't be our best-fit homeschool style, either for me or for the boys. I did think it would be a good way to transition to homeschooling. I'm also "tutoring" another family three mornings a week, so this will make it easier to assign work to them. 

Here are the printed curriculum resources we plan on using this year:

• Bible - We're not using a specific curriculum for Bible, but for this first semester, we're learning the Bible in 50 Words poem (author unknown) and learning the story for each line. We're also memorizing SwordGrip Old Testament Volume 2, which is 1-3 verses per book of the Bible from Proverbs to Malachi.
• Math - Mammoth Math. It's an online curriculum with options to order the printed materials. I like the no-frills approach, focus on problem-solving, and value. I also like that it's directed toward the students and is often self-taught and self-directed. Carter and Calvin are both a grade ahead in math and are doing fine keeping up so far. 
• Language Arts - The Good and the Beautiful. I like that it covers reading, writing, spelling, grammar, geography, and art; I also like that it's non-denominational Christian. I will probably supplement with writing to get them writing more frequently.
• Science - We've started with the free Marine Biology unit from The Good and the Beautiful. I like that it can be used with all 5 kids (1st grade - 7th grade) and that it is one unit at a time. After this, we're doing a Botany unit, and then we'll make a decision about whether to continue with another unit or try a different curriculum.
• History - We're doing Woke Homeschooling, which is American history with a focus on indigenous peoples and Black history. We do this all together, too, but the first text on the book list is difficult to digest. The curriculum mostly consists of reading together and watching documentaries and then discussing them afterwards.

Classical Education - I have some friends who homeschool this way, often through Classical Education co-ops. It's highly structured, and I don't have much desire at this point to look into it further.

Charlotte Mason - Some key points of this approach are "living books" instead of textbooks, narrative summaries instead of written tests, and nature notebooks. I'm intrigued but haven't looked too closely at what this would actually look like. I like the idea of reading stories and nonfiction from authors passionate about the subject material than just textbooks or reading compilations.

Unit Studies - Rather than subjects being addressed individually, unit studies are theme- or topic-based (historical eras, good books, science topics, cultural exploration) and cover multiple subjects. I LOVE this idea, but it also seems like it would take a lot of work. I had the opportunity to experience this as a kid in the public school setting in 4th - 6th grade. We would spend hours a day on various themes, which would tie to all subjects. These were called INTERACT simulations and were purchased with grant money. I remember creating our own countries, gathering items for a time capsule, competing with other city-states in ancient Greece, writing a newspaper during the WWII era, and creating travel brochures as we learned about the Canadian provinces. I can definitely see myself homeschooling this way once I get some experience under my belt.

Eclectic (or relaxed) - I feel like everyone, to some degree, is an eclectic mix of various methods and curricula and ideologies. 

Interest-initiated or Unschooling - This one intrigues me, but I don't know much about it. It seems like it would be too easy, as a mom, to swing into laziness and consider everything learning! In reality, I think this would require a lot of work to be able to guide them in their own interests. It's not just letting them do whatever they want whenever they want.

School-Sponsored Homeschooling Programs - This was a rarity when the book was published in 2001, but it's actually happening all around the world right now during this COVID-19 pandemic. In Kentucky, most public school districts have begun the year with online instruction. Private schools, like the ones where I've taught for the last 7 years, are doing in-person instruction. We made our decision to homeschool this year before our school district had announced their decision, so part of me has wondered if we should have just stayed with the school district to use their curriculum and resources. It definitely would have been easier on me! However, I wanted to be my boys' teacher -- not just connect them to a Zoom call with a teacher they haven't even met yet. I wanted to make the curriculum decisions and have the flexibility with our schedule.

Independent Cooperative Learning Situations - If we continue to homeschool past this year (which, at this point, seems very probable), I anticipate that we would join some type of co-op. There are some locally that meet a couple days a week and are as expensive as the full-time private school where I had taught. I think we'd probably do something more along the lines of a once-a-week enrichment program where the boys get to be around other kids and learn other things beyond my expertise.

Online Learning - This has also become incredibly more popular, especially this year. I know a girl who did mostly online learning as a homeschooled high school student. I would probably lean into this more as the boys get older, but I don't want them sitting in front of screens for too long. I had considered an online curriculum but ended up just sticking with the more traditional printed resources. We do have a subscription to IXL this year, though, to provide individualized practice on skills and to cover any gaps. The boys are really motivated by the rewards they "unlock" as they complete more skills.

 

'Twas the Night before...

'Twas the night before the first day of school...except I'm no longer teaching at "my" school.  This time last year, I was so ready to be back into the routine of working and being out of the house and sending our oldest boys off to their school. My classroom was (mostly) set up. I was looking forward to another magical year teaching fifth grade.

And here I am. My "classroom" is no longer on display -- it's packed into loads of boxes. We're not officially starting homeschooling till after Labor Day. There have been no orientations, for me or for the boys. No back-to-school shopping with hard-to-find items on the supply lists. No teacher in-service (well, except for the "training" I'm giving myself by reading lots of books!). We're still kind of in the same stay-at-home pattern than we've been in for months on end. 

As I took an after-bedtime, before-sunset one-on-one walk with Calvin, I was struck with how much I love my life. (even all the craziness and chaos and noise and nonsense). Holding his hand until he'd get impatient and run ahead and then come back to me. Talking about all sorts of things -- how we should invent robots to do all the work for us, how we're both scared of dogs, how the sidewalk got cracked. It was nice. And this is our new reality. As my colleagues head to school tomorrow, I'll be home with my boys all day. As much as I used to want to get away, I'm becoming more content and grateful to stay.

Thinking about being in a separate reality from the frenzy of back-to-school prep reminded me of this poem I had written. I finally found it and was surprised that I wrote it exactly five years ago. My life was different then -- I was at another school I loved, teaching music and technology. Carter was 3 and coming to school with me for the 3-year-old preschool class. Calvin was 1 and home with Daddy. I was driving at least 30 minutes to and from school every day (which I considered an extension to Carter's preschool experience). 

I rarely write in rhyme -- it's hard to make it flow and sound natural. I think I just started with a rhyme and then kept going, even when it was a bit forced. Though my life was different five years ago and even one year ago, I can still relate and remember...

(poem written 8-11-15)

'Twas the night before the first day of school

        and all through my head

            are the shoulda, coulda, wouldas

                that fill me with dread

I should've packed our lunches

I could've gone to bed

    but I spent several hours

        on Facebook instead

I don't have plans for tomorrow

    but do I really need them?

Most already know me

    so it's hard to mislead them

I wish I'd printed rosters

    and made a powerpoint intro

I wish I'd decluttered

    and kept my to-do list central

It'll be hard to get to sleep

    and I'll wake up at 6

        just in time for breakfast to eat

            and lunches to fix

But I heard a voice

    as I drifted into the night

Don't worry. Be yourself.

    It will be all right.

   

Virtual School here in town

So, the superintendent of our public schools has announced that all schools will begin completely virtually this fall (until at least the end of September). This came as a bit of a surprise because the parent survey sent out a couple weeks ago did not even list this as an option. The county south of us is offering the choice of in-person instruction with masks (5 days/week for elementary and middle and 2 days/week for high school) or a virtual learning academy. My hometown in Indiana is going back like "normal" (although they probably have to wear masks, too). There was no perfect solution, but I think streamlining it to all online allows teachers and staff to focus their energies on doing that well. The superintendent said they had invested in an online curriculum that was more robust than the emergency Non-Traditional Instruction days from the spring.

Lucas' first comment was, "Homeschool is canceled! Set the kids in front of the screen!" I'll admit that I did have that thought -- it sure would be easier to just hop on to the resources provided by the school district. However, the time of homeschooling that I enjoyed the most last spring was when I was in charge of their learning those first two weeks, and I didn't have to defer to another teacher, and I was able to tailor their instruction to their needs. We skipped ahead in math, but then writing was like pulling teeth, so I simplified that.  

I view this school year as a "trial year" for homeschooling to see how it works for our family. Although it won't be a typical homeschooling year as far as being able to enjoy a co-op or take fieldtrips or go to the library, I will be in charge of when and how and what we "school."  By staying at their public school just for the formality or for the resources wouldn't allow me to teach the way I want. I ordered all our curriculum before the announcement, so we are committed!

This also shows that it would not have been possible for me to stay at my school (a private Christian school), which is planning on in-person instruction for the fall, since all four boys would have to be at home. Well, I guess Lucas could do it, but he sure wouldn't be able to get much work done while wrangling all the boys.

I'm thankful we have options. I'm thankful for a superintendent who is putting safety over people-pleasing. I'm thankful I was already on these pages of homeschooling ever since my seminary class this spring with a homeschool super fan.

This isn't easy. Lucas said that many schools all around the world will be trying out every possible scenario for what "school" will look like this fall. Only time will tell who made the right call.

School - Bizarre

This week, our county is announcing the ever-evolving plan for public schools this fall. While we haven't officially sent our homeschool letter to the superintendent, we've already notified the principal at the boys' school. It's nice to not be at the mercy of what the school board will decide. We've been super cautious and strict with social distancing (more than anyone I know!), and I'm glad that I came to the decision of homeschooling from my own desire and free will (and with the blessing of my husband) without being backed into it kicking and screaming, like many will be. The school where I've taught for 3 years is planning to go back like normal, with certain precautions in place and with a "watch live from home" option. I'm still excited about homeschooling, but there are things I will miss about teaching in a regular classroom. I have to remind myself, though, that so much of what I loved about teaching -- the interactions, the fieldtrips, the I-know-you're-fifth-graders-but-come-to-the-carpet-for-storytime gatherings -- won't look the same. I'm thankful that our family is able to homeschool, and I don't envy those in leadership right now. There are no win-win solutions. 

JESUS, You are the Source of all wisdom. I ask for Your wisdom for these superintendents and principals and school boards and teachers making incredibly difficult decisions. Give them clarity of thought. Give them great creativity to think in new and innovative ways. Give them courage to face the school year. You are present, and You want to walk with us through difficult days. May we turn to You and not away from You in this time. In Jesus' name, Amen!

This was Calvin's kindergarten teacher, the assistant, and the interpreter.

We drove through to drop off their remaining assignments and to pick up a graduation gift.

---

(poem written 5-1-20)

There is a rollout plan

    for some businesses 

        to start re-opening in May

So some have the sense of 

    "This is almost over"

        and they consider quarantine

            in the past tense:

    "What were your favorite meals you made during quarantine?"

Yet I feel this is just beginning

    Crazy to say that after 7 weeks, this could be "just beginning"

It felt long that we'd be out 2 weeks from school

    then the rest of the year,

        but I'm already looking to next year

I had wanted to do homeschooling

    because I like all the quality time with my boys

    and because we are thriving as a family

I wasn't even thinking about the risks

    of sending the boys back to school

        pre-vaccine

That seems to solidify the decision

A second wave is inevitable

How long will this thing drag out?

When will we return to "normal?"

    Or will we ever?

---

(poem written 5-26-20)

Bizarre

That's the word that keeps coming to mind

Bizarre

    to be packing up my classroom

        alone

        with my door shut

        talking to my colleagues through my mask or through my door

            instead of dropping in whenever I think of something to tell them

                or whenever I need whiteboard spray or a staple remover

Bizarre

    to be finishing the end of the school year

    without all the normal end-of-the-school-year hoopla

Bizarre

    to be wrapping up my time at Summit

    where I thought I'd be for years to come

Bizarre

    to be so conscious about germs

    after years of an it'll-build-their-immune-system way of life

Here I am

    wearing a mask

        not even touching doorknobs

        paranoid about having to go to the bathroom in public

Bizarre

    to stand so far apart when talking to someone

    to wipe down groceries before putting them away

    to shoo my children away from neighbors or walkers

but it's also bizarre

    to have some semblance of "normal"

    when the world right now is anything but normal

       

This "Exit Only" door was where I entered school every morning for 3 years. 

It's still hard to believe that it's not "my school" anymore.