School Interrupted
Homeschooling has its challenges and none are greater than homeschooling during a personal crisis. It's even more challenging when you have a child with special needs. I have only had a couple of major events that took me away from my family for a short time and it was tough. The main concern wasn't what Gess would do for school, but who would watch her while I was away and my husband was at work.
Fellow homeschoolers are often a great resource in a crisis. They know better than anyone the challenges involved and are pretty good at adapting to most circumstances. If your child stays with them they can simply join the family in their lessons. While it might not be what was listed in your lesson plan, it will be something.
When I had to leave town when my father had his stroke we turned to personal friends and church members to help with Gess. I was simply worried more about Gess' day to day care then how much book work she was doing. You can send some lessons in those instances but I really did not. Since our requirement is how many days you do school, not when you do them, I just chose to make up that time later.
I actually think there is one important lesson for the child to learn during a crisis and that is that sometimes things get put on hold, even school. Sometimes we have to leave work or other planned activities to take care of a pressing matter. It happens. Do not stress about it, just deal with it, move on and make up any work later.
There are also some lessons that books just can't teach but a crisis can. Saying what we should do for people in need is one thing, but living it out is another. Accompanying a parent to a visit at the hospital and helping a sick relative is a very powerful lesson in itself. Learning to take over of some responsibility while mom is away is important too.
The lessons kids learning during a crisis are just as important as learning math and reading. We will all probably face a crisis at some point in our life and I believe our kids are better served if we show them how to get through a crisis together. That is certainly knowledge that they can use the rest of their lives.
Head over to the Schoolhouse Review 5 Days of Teaching Creatively Blog Hop read more thoughts about Homeschooling In a Crisis.
Fellow homeschoolers are often a great resource in a crisis. They know better than anyone the challenges involved and are pretty good at adapting to most circumstances. If your child stays with them they can simply join the family in their lessons. While it might not be what was listed in your lesson plan, it will be something.
When I had to leave town when my father had his stroke we turned to personal friends and church members to help with Gess. I was simply worried more about Gess' day to day care then how much book work she was doing. You can send some lessons in those instances but I really did not. Since our requirement is how many days you do school, not when you do them, I just chose to make up that time later.
I actually think there is one important lesson for the child to learn during a crisis and that is that sometimes things get put on hold, even school. Sometimes we have to leave work or other planned activities to take care of a pressing matter. It happens. Do not stress about it, just deal with it, move on and make up any work later.
There are also some lessons that books just can't teach but a crisis can. Saying what we should do for people in need is one thing, but living it out is another. Accompanying a parent to a visit at the hospital and helping a sick relative is a very powerful lesson in itself. Learning to take over of some responsibility while mom is away is important too.
The lessons kids learning during a crisis are just as important as learning math and reading. We will all probably face a crisis at some point in our life and I believe our kids are better served if we show them how to get through a crisis together. That is certainly knowledge that they can use the rest of their lives.
Head over to the Schoolhouse Review 5 Days of Teaching Creatively Blog Hop read more thoughts about Homeschooling In a Crisis.
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