Page 28 - North Haven Magazine Issue 15 Autumn 2020

"WHEN ONE TEACHES,
TWO LEARN"

by Tahia Kamp Quoted by Robert Heinlein
“I give you a lot of credit for homeschooling, Ty, because I just can’t do it; I don’t have the
patience.”
Since the start of our family’s homes- Tip #1: Routines are liberating, The spread of work to be accomplished every morning. We
chooling journey, I have heard these words not constraining. order our books from Seton Homeschool, which has an out-
standing array of academic materials.
many times over, ironically, often from
mothers who are very dedicated, devoted, I strongly recommend starting school
and indeed patient – much more than I first thing in the day, when the children
know myself to be. My usual response is are well rested. There is a lot of joy, and Tip #5: Be creative.
to confess that I, neither, have the patience, relief, to be had when you realize that the
but I proceed anyway in the expectation lessons are complete, and the clock has not If work has been going well, reward your
that I shall gain it, just as my children will yet struck noon. My oldest finally realized child with breakfast and morning lessons
mature into the students I wish them to be. that if he started his books at 7:30 a.m., he outside on the deck or at a favorite spot
could finish by 10 a.m. and then go on to outdoors. If your routine is solid enough,
his Legos or outside adventures for the rest these departures will not be disruptive.
of the day. This is the sort of self-discipline Likewise, utilize non-traditional teaching
you want them to embrace. materials as you find them in your home.
Goldfish crackers, raisins, and miniature
Tip #2: Eliminate your distractions. marshmallows are favorite tools for practic-
ing four-function arithmetic in our home,
Wait until your children’s work is finished and science lessons on biodiversity can be
to start yours. I have found that the most memorably reinforced simply by walking
agitated I become is when I am trying to outside.
answer an e-mail or finish some task while
my children are calling for my attention. Tip #6: Introduce a substitute teacher.
This was a hard discipline to master, and
every time I try to cheat, I come to regret it. Grandparents are ready-made substitute
It is best to be fully dedicated to their work teachers, as are spouses, aunts, uncles, or
We try to start early every morning and in a fairly organized first and then to finish yours. Turn off your even older siblings. You may either select
manner. phone and your laptop to avoid unneces- certain subjects that are best taught by oth-
sary distractions. er family members regularly, or you may
choose a day when Grandma covers an
Seasoned as I am in the homeschooling Tip #3: Everyone needs a break. hour or two for you. Children, even at a
arts, I nonetheless felt the strains of that young age, will benefit from the different
anxiety and doubted my own reserve of pa- All of us, especially young children, need style and approach of another teacher.
tience when COVID-19 led to the closure ample break time. Taking short breaks of 10
of Baby’s preschool. Now home all morn- to 20 minutes works wonders with a child Tip #7: Take good care of the teacher.
ing and determined to participate in, or whose attention is starting to flag. Offer
disrupt, his older brothers’ lessons, I found him a quick run in the yard or a short play Homeschooling, whether full-time or
myself in that same space of crisis: how can episode with a favorite toy; avoid television, not, necessitates a large input of energy and
I now incorporate Baby into the mix, when as it does not invigorate the mind. I have time, and as much as your students deserve
his older brothers had finally adapted to a found that a respite after the completion of breaks, so do you. At the end of the day,
productive morning work routine? I just one subject helps a child return with more I like to turn over the reins to Papa for an
don’t have the patience, I lamented. And interest to the next one. Plus, in that time, hour or so, which is when I usually go shop-
yet, I found it, along with a hidden store of you may be able to accomplish a lesson with ping, more for the mental break it affords
energy and ingenuity that enabled us, as a another child in need of your attention. than for the groceries.
family, to finish the school year, bring our
youngest into our homeschooling routine, Remember that homeschooling is not
and still be excited about starting another simply about educating your child. You
academic year in September. cannot homeschool and fail to grow in
patience and charity, or in love and admi-
As our society begins a new school ration of your little ones. Moreover, your
year under the continuing pressures of organizational and time-management skills
COVID-19, I offer you some suggestions will increase exponentially, and no one will
that I hope may prove useful over the next be able to rival your multi-tasking abilities.
year, and perhaps far beyond that, as you Finally, and above all, appreciate that these
raise your children. are precious but finite days you have in the
company of your children. Give them your
gratitude, because they are teaching you
how to be a better parent and a better in-
Things get messier as we move along! dividual, too.

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North Haven Magazine - Autumn Issue 2020