Curious Kids Learn

Welcome to our official Summer Break:
aka that magical two-month stretch where strangers finally stop asking my kids,
“Why aren’t you in school today?” 😅

No more grocery store interrogations.
No more side-eyes at weekday museum visits.
No more doctors asking my kids if they need a note for their “teacher.”

We’re just out here living our best self-directed learning lives—with no permission slips required. 😎✌️

"The burden and the beauty of homeschool is that you are the principal, lead teacher, and guidance counselor. YOU get to decide."

I have realized an essential distinction between Lifestyle Homeschoolers (those that choose homeschooling as a life choice) and Pandemic Homeschoolers (those that choose homeschooling as the safe choice). While it is easy for me to see the beauty and freedom in homeschooling, those that feel betrayed by their public school see this as a solution. I hope to continue to speak about its beauty, and that Pandemic Homeschoolers can find some joy in their decision to homeschool.

Thank you, Chicago Unheard

Dear Pandemic Homeschooler It is back-to-school time and there are a lot of questions surrounding what that looks like for children. Many parents, after losing faith in their school system, are eager to explore homeschooling.

Take a breath. Take a step🧎🏾‍♀️💆🏾‍♀️

Put down the curriculum and internet searches for "How to homeschool." Not forever, but I can see you getting overwhelmed. Here are 3 quick starts to Homeschool/Unschool.

🎞Pick a documentary: Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and even YouTube have all given me enough material to engage my kiddos in science exploration for weeks, off of one documentary. Disney+ Nature Penguins had my 4 and 8 year old invested and asking tons of questions that I did not know. Soooooooooo. We had some work to do (books, more documentaries, google searches). This was at the height of lockdown. So, a trip to Shedd Aquarium did not happen...but it would have if it were possible. Speaking of which-

🛤Plan a Field Trip: May it be 1 hour or 3 hours (believe me, once you start regularly taking trips you will find very few places that need more than 2 hours unless you want it to). Go to a museum, garden, find an interesting preserve. Take note ( or rather have the kiddos take note) of the questions and observations you all have. And then extend (books, documentaries, find similar locations to visit)

🧐Find something your kids are interested in...and start researching it with them to a ridiculous degree. Minecraft lover? Ask them to find out who started Mojang or to dive into the story of Steve/Herobrine. My Little Pony obsessed? Ask your kiddo to catalog their collection and find what other ones are out there (yes. I can’t believe I know this stuff)

✋🏾Let the Kids….do any and everything that helps your family operate (within reason and developmental appropriateness). Let them cook dinner, go grocery shopping, help with the budget, plan the next family vacation, schedule their own doctor appointment, bake cookies, organize a closet, change the oil on the car. If they can do it, let them, at least once.

The key to almost every activity is EXTEND. EXTEND. EXTEND. How long can a topic hold their interest and let them deep dive? How far down any given rabbit hole can you go with them. After a minute, they will catch on and do it on their own. And that is the entire goal. Creating curious kids who understand that everything can be explored to an absurd degree. Start there... and see how it goes.

I would love to hear about your homeschool adventures. Drop a comment on your favorite lesson or outing.

Homeschooling absolutely DOES NOT mean your child cannot go to college. A parent asked me this and my brain 🤯. If your child has the desire to attend college, homeschooling can actually widen the opportunities to let them shine on an application. Are the logistics a bit more tedious? Likely, but lots of aspects of homeschool are tedious.

Even as an unschooling momma, I am researching and assessing our next moves. Last year, we were looking into astronaut camp, this year we are looking into theatre programs. My son doesn't meet the reading level for some programs, and I discuss that with him. We set realistic goals and strategies accordingly. I am part teacher, part life coach, and part resource room for my kids. As they get older and goals become more high stakes, we will still have to evaluate and work together to make them happen...but NOTHING is off the table. If anything we made the table bigger to fit all the opportunities on it.

I am talking to so many families about their plans for this coming school year and my heart aches for the stress they are facing. It probably does not help that there is a ton of misinformation and stigma associated with homeschool. I am going to do my best to try to ease parents' minds here. There are laws that dictate if/how you homeschool that vary from state to state (and country to country) BUT there are some truths that hold in most situations.

You got this. If you want to homeschool there is a way and it doesn't include sacrificing your child's future...not even a little bit.

#

Had some down time. So, Adair and I went down the rabbithole of tutorials. Parenting while working is not always easy but sitting with the kiddos and learning new stuff is definitely a highlight. Adair isn't going to be graphic designing anytime soon. Good thing the benefits of exposure are not dependent on their ability to master a skill. By spending time with us while we work/learn, kids are...
..Watching us actively grow and learn new skills.
..Gaining an understanding of how things work.
..Learning about what they like/don't like.
..Setting goals for themselves and seeing the process of "figuring s**t out."
..Simply getting some quality time, engaging with you and being able to ask questions about what you are doing.