Alice, 8, left, Tiffany and Amelia Venters, 11 at Angel's Landing at Zion National Park appreciating the scale of the rock formations.
Alice and Amelia Venters and mom Tiffany Venters on a road trip down through Idaho to southern Utah. "I outfit the back seat for homeschooling (back of seat organizers, console organizer, etc), printing of educational info and activities for the places we'll see, and we school on the road. We take Polaroids of interesting things along the way and journal about it," Tiffany Venters said.
Amelia, left and Alice Venters use cheese to study rocks. The cheese represented different minerals and they made different kinds of edible rocks with them.
Amelia Venters, 11, who is homeschooled, does a science experiment.
For Sandra Kimmet of Dryad, the closure of public schools throughout Washington state did not have much impact on her family since she has been homeschooling her four kids for the past five years.
But, she said, it may surprise parents of now-homebound public-school kids that COVID-19 has had an effect on how she conducts her kids’ schooling. The Kimmet family’s weeks are often filled with trips to group activities, fellow homeschool homes and other activities and locations for learning field trips. All of that is all off the table as gatherings have been canceled and the current direction is to stay home if you can.
“So, this pandemic event is also very unusual for homeschoolers,” Kimmet said.
Still, local parents who choose homeschooling like Tiffany Venters of Salkum, know the change to schooling at home is a big one for many families. Venters, who chose homeschooling when it was time to enroll her kids (now in fifth and third grades) in school, calls their school Venters L.O.V.E. Academy, short for Learning Opportunities are Virtually Everywhere. When Gov. Jay Inslee announced a statewide closure of schools until late April, Venters took to Facebook almost immediately, encouraging parents affected by the closures to use the homeschooling community as a resource as they adjust to this new reality.
“Believe in yourself. You are not alone, so just do your best,” Venters said of her advice to local parents. “Above all, enjoy the opportunity you have to get to know your kids more. They grow way too fast!”
Kimmet, a former public school teacher, and her husband made the homeschooling choice for their family because they wanted to have flexibility in their kids’ school schedule and curriculum, especially since two of her children have special needs. She said even when conducting school at home is a choice, it takes some adjustment and trial and error, especially with finding just the right curriculum. She suggested that instead of spending a lot of money on curriculum sets, that parents whose kids are home for the next few weeks take some time to think about what they feel they absolutely need before making purchases.
“My biggest advice is to give yourself some grace and time to settle into a rhythm,” Kimmet said. “If you didn’t choose this situation, there will be an adjustment period where you and your child will need to learn to work together in a way that you might not have before.”
Schooling your kids at home does not have to be complicated, said Bri Ramsey of Morton, who has been homeschooling her two children for six years now. Ramsey said she chose homeschooling because she was volunteering at her child’s public school and was frustrated with the lack of consistency and growing. Homeschooling allows the parent to focus on nurturing each student individually in a way that public school teachers cannot because of the size of their classes.
“I love the ability to work with each child to find their gifts and passions,” Ramsey said. “Helping them achieve personal goals in their own time. We approach school and life with a mindset of feeding their body, mind and spirit. Focusing on faith and old-fashioned values.”
Kimmet also suggests giving children some direction in their learning plans.
“When they pick the projects, they want to be working on, their attention and stamina to work on it lengthens and it is amazing to watch,” Kimmet said. “Some of our best learning happens through playing games.”
And don’t forget that learning does not just have to be worksheets and sitting at a desk, Venters said. Some of their weekly learning includes very traditional-looking school work such as a History Co-Op group (which is now taking place over video chat on Facebook messenger) and MEL Science experiments. But she also includes activities such as working in the yard, baking and playing cards and games into their curriculum, because these activities have educational merit as well.
“The world is our classroom and I can tailor the educational experience to my children,” Venters said. “We bring homeschool on the road, when we travel and visit points of interest, museums and parks. We also like to bring a Polaroid camera and keep a journal of weather, what we’ve seen, eaten and where we have gone.”
For Ramsey, a must in her children’s school week is music. She suggests if parents cannot teach their kids music they explore if a family member or friend might be able to help with that task.
“It is great for cognitive development and soothing to the soul,” Ramsey said of music, adding. “Get outside. Even if your kids aren’t into sports, take them on an adventure. We love to hike and travel and children learn so much from those experiences.”
And above all, Ramsey encouraged local parents to have confidence in their ability to be their childrens’ teachers.
“You are enough,” Ramsey said. “You are the right person for the job. You know your child/children better than anyone. You will learn and grown with them through the process. Trust the process. Don’t be hard on yourself or compare yourself to the Pinterest moms. Just breathe.”
Some Helpful Online Resources for Parents Suggested by our Sources:
• Printable independent Study Packets for ages K-5 www.education.com
• NASA’s media library is free to access - www.nasa.gov/
• Timberland Regional Library – access streaming movies, music, online learning and ebooks www.trl.org
• Explore famous museums and landmarks virtually - artsandculture.google.com/
• Daily learning newsletters for little ones www.pbs.org
• Lewis County Homeschoolers or Washington state homeschoolers on facebook.com
• Some free content and some paid, but printable lesson plans for pre-K through 12th grade based on specific subjects created by educators. Great for a kid who has a specific interest in a subject www.teacherspayteachers.com/
• Paid content but Netflix.com and Amazon.com have a lot of really great documentaries (commonsensemedia.org can help parents navigate which videos are appropriate). Amazon Prime includes series such as “How It’s Made” “The Reading Rainbow” “Good Eats” and “Little House on the Prairie”
• There are many free learning resources, educational videos, tutorials on YoutTube.com
• Check out geographical features in other parts of the world remotely with Google Earth Pro
• Practice typing skills after setting up a free account on typing.com
