from Wendy Paterson, Buffalo State CollegeSome helpful advice for parents who are suddenly expected to become teachers, too!
Most of these ideas are aimed at younger children who are a little more challenging to keep engaged and tend to be less self-directed than teens. Older adolescents can manage their own time, but hold them to their plans.
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from Molly | Buffalo, NYWithout a doubt this is a challenging time for families, who are having to take on the role of supporting their child’s academic learning all the while cope with the stress of our current pandemic. However, in this time of social distancing and isolation, I think this is also a beautiful opportunity for self-exploration, independent learning, and personal discovery that our students do not always have the chance to experience in the classroom. Project-based and inquiry-based learning are wonderful models that allow students to explore a topic of their choosing and develop a wide range of important academic skills, such as researching, informational writing, formulating good questions, and creative thinking. Let’s be honest - motivation is at an all time low right now, especially for those who aren’t used to the level of self-motivation required in a homeschool setting. That being said, the advantage of inquiry-based learning is that it puts the student in charge of the learning process. Your child is engaged because they dive into a topic that interests them, and you sit back and act as a facilitator, coach and guide. Step 1: Explore a Passion The first step in the inquiry process is to figure out a topic that your child is interested in and would like to know more about. Perhaps they have an obsession with reptiles or wooly mammoths. Maybe they can talk for hours about how computers work, or they can’t seem to stop drawing trees whenever they are given a blank piece of paper (all examples of real students I’ve worked with!). You know your child better than anyone, so guide them in a discussion to figure out a topic they would like to learn more about. Again, what a beautiful opportunity to dive deep into something that they might never have the time to explore in school! Step 2: Aim for a Goal Once you’ve picked the topic, now it’s time to focus on one key area to explore. In the project-based learning world, this is known as an essential question. Since it can be overwhelming to research big topics like reptiles and computers, to develop the essential question, first have your child brainstorm as many questions or “wonderings” that they have about the topic. Example wonderings include:
Your child will most likely come up with a long list of wonderings, some more interesting and thought-provoking than others. Pay attention to trends in their thinking to give you hints for what to focus on. For example, if they write a bunch of questions about how different reptiles eat and live, perhaps their essential question can be, “How do different reptiles survive in their environments?” Or, you or your child can choose one question from the list that you think will be the most interesting. For example, “Are computers smarter than people?” is a great one because there is not a single correct answer, and most likely will require a lot of different resources to research. Step 3: Delve into Your Curiosities Once you’ve chosen your essential question, it’s time to start the inquiry process! If you have access to technology at home, there are many online resources you can access for free. Be sure to check out the Resources page for suggestions! Whether it be videos, books and/or articles, it’s a good idea to discuss how your child will research their essential question and come up with a plan. For younger learners or those less-experienced navigating the web, they might need your guidance to select the “right” resources. If this stage of the process sounds overwhelming, don’t worry! Another beautiful thing about inquiry is that there is flexibility for change. If your child reads a bunch of books about reptiles, and finds that they are more interested in poisonous snakes, let them explore that. If your child reads about wooly mammoths and is now obsessed with dinosaurs, that’s great! The sole purpose of inquiry is not to find the answer to one question, but rather, there is joy in the inquiry process itself. Be open to whatever direction your child leads their learning! Another important aspect to keep in mind is how your child will record their findings. They can jot down notes in a journal, draw pictures, record their voice, take a video, etc. - whatever is easiest and most enjoyable for them that they will understand and be able to reference later. Step 4: Take on a New Challenge Now that your child has delved deep into a topic that interests them, they are experts! It’s time to showcase what they learned. While I enjoy many features of inquiry-based learning, perhaps my favorite is the fact that it grants students choice and autonomy over how they present their thinking. Whether it be a slideshow, video, drawing, poster, or written piece, there are endless options for students to share what they learned in a meaningful and memorable way. Perhaps your child is a visual learner, and wants to create a large scale drawing of a forest with various reptiles and their prey. Or maybe your child thrives with hands-on learning, and would love to create a diagram of a computer out of cardboard and label all the internal parts. If your child is one of those types that can’t stop moving, they could act out a play pretending to be a wooly mammoth and act out what a day in life would be. It will amaze you how much your child is capable of when they are simply given the breathing room to express their learning in a way that is comfortable and enjoyable for them. I hope these ideas make learning at home more manageable, enjoyable and comprehensible for you and your family! Here are some resources you can use to guide your inquiry projects, including articles, graphic organizers, planning tools, picture books, and visuals: https://www.trevormackenzie.com/elevate-resource https://www.trevormackenzie.com/diveintoinquiryvideos Molly Rutter is the Buffalo State School of Education Graduate Assistant. Molly has her master’s degree in Childhood Education (Grades 1-6), and this summer will complete her NYS certification in Childhood Education and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). With a particular passion for project-based and inquiry-based learning, Molly shares some creative ways you can ignite your child’s curiosity and explore their interests across any subject area.
from Tamara | Buffalo, NY I think that one of the most important pieces for success with homeschooling - with anything - is how you start the day. Especially now, when stress levels are high and the time at home feels endless, it's really easy to sleep in late and allow more media. But this just sets up your day for frustration. Rhythm is KEY. Setting up a schedule helps kids know what to expect next and reduces arguments. Everyone likes to know what's coming next! With young kids it helps when it's not mom/dad saying what to do but the schedule says so. Older kids feel empowered to be able to take charge of their own day. The schedule should be developed to show what follows what in the morning and afternoon, and for each day of the week. Not necessarily exact times, which can just create unreasonable expectations and frustration when things don't happen at the "right" time. We first determine the big moments - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner(!) - and work everything else around these. Think FLOW. Adjust your internal clock a bit, but get up at a regular time and go through a usual routine. Even though I'm working from home now, I still help the kids get dressed and ready to meet the day. We all go downstairs for breakfast like usual and unfold into our morning routines. I even say goodbye to them (which they find hilarious) when I "leave" for work -- back upstairs to the study! A bit of a surprise to us when starting homeschooling was the realization that "lessons" don't take up the same amount of time one-on-one as they do with a group of kids in a classroom. It's basically 45 min to at most 2 hours (depending on age) of direct teacher-to-student lessons, 30-60 min of academic nourishment (experiments, board games, painting, building etc), another 30+ of reading and lots of open time for free play, exploration, nature, and just being. Another thing we realized early on is just how powerful peer-pressure and an authoritative-presence really are for holding a child's attention. I don't mean the bullying kind of peer-pressure or the abusive kind of authority. I'm referring to the kind of peer-influencing that comes from children watching their friends listening intently or following directions or working on a project...and then following suit. I'm referring to the kind of dependable and commanding leader-presence that gathers us into the circle, leaves little room for chaos, and inspires and empowers us to do better. It's good to remember that these two forces are strong in school classrooms, but are usually missing in at-home, direct-teaching spaces. Your home simply is not the same as a school and your relationship with your children is definitely not the same as what classroom teachers have with their students. So cut yourself some slack if you child "just won't pay attention" or needs lots of guiding, reminders, and re-focusing help from you. It can often seem (and is true) that you'll spend an hour prepping for an activity that is completed in 10 minutes. Expect this and you'll (hopefully) be less upset over it. The old adage of "every moment is a teaching moment" is so true. Most home school teaching isn't with desks and chalkboards, but paying attention to what's around and what your kid is curious about and building off of that with research and stories. There are a billion websites and resources being shared right now. Do a quick search and commit to just a couple resources at first...it's an unbelievably overwhelming rabbit hole and will just leave you in tears if you try to review everything, determine what's the best, and piece it all together into the "perfect" lesson. As hard as it all can feel, to be able to homeschool is also really exciting and empowering. You get the opportunity to bring to your kids the topics and adventures that are important to YOU, not just what a school or teacher has on the agenda. Even better, you get to see exactly what your kids know, how they learn, what they are interested in, what they need, and just how smart and creative they truly are. You get to see - firsthand - all those "a-ha!" and "I get it!" and "This is so neat," moments that enhance their lives and shape their interests. So cool. |
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