Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Look! Five Things We Learned With Four Very Different Children Schooling at Home!

Look! Five Things We Learned With Four Very Different Children Schooling at Home!

Last updated on: March 24, 2020 at 8:42 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Look! Five Things We Learned With Four Very Different Children Schooling at Home! 2020-03-24T08:42:32-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The ranks of homeschooling parents has grown.

If this was not a voluntary choice, here are five things Hope and I learned while homeschooling four children from birth to adulthood. If we would have been able to send our children to a relaxed, excellent, jolly, classical school , then we would have. So we ventured into homeschooling, made our share of mistakes, but somehow ended up with four well balanced, academically prepared (college graduate!) adults. We do not agree on everything, but we like each other and that is (I am told) a major accomplishment.

What does it profit a parent to gain high SAT scores and lose the affection of their children?

We somehow got both, but we would have taken adult children who can still stand us over any academic success. As my dad would have put it, we would trade anything for four adults who love the Lord God.

That does not mean practicing what a dear friend calls “false charity.” We did not let our younglings do as they wished, but we did recall they were children not small adults. If you have not seen the excellent film Won’t You Be My Neighbor or the moving A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Both give us the wisdom of Pastor Fred Rogers (the second as played by national treasure Tom Hanks). The key to Fred Rogers’ success with children was that he never forgot what it was to be a child. He talked to children as children and paced his show in a similar way. He did not manipulate children by giving them a mental sugar rush, but worked to give them what they need to reach happy adulthood.

Tip One: Two Hours or so of Formal Schooling at Home is Fine

If you find yourself “homeschooling” for a brief time, recollect that reading, working at chores, creating, crafting, are all educational. Nobody should stare at a screen all day as a child. Limit that to a few hours (counting entertainment!). With seven or eight weeks left in the term, do not fill the lives of even older children with busy week. Do encourage free reading time, making things, playing an instrument, or working out in an improvised home gym.

As a single income family on a philosopher’s pay (!) for all their childhoods, we had to make due, but this can be done. Be creative together! Cook dinner with creative recipes, using what is left in the cupboard. That is a life skill that will endure.

Tip Two: Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the best you can do.

We knew some Von Trapp family homeschoolers who worked their children through Latin, violin, and charitable work in every week. We might wish that they raised horrid children, but they did what they did and all was well. Hope and I could not do what they did. We did what we could do and our (relative) shambles was good enough.

Love your kids. Do your best. If this was not a course (homeschooling) you chose, then love will cover a multitude of pedagogical errors. Do what you can while staying sane. You are not a school. Do not try to be one. Find your own way and endure until this period ends. If you can thrive, do so. Better to thrive and miss a few lesson plans sent to you by an overeager school, than to go mad and grow angry!

Tip Three: Work and Homeschooling Balance is Hard for All

All of us have jobs. A great error is to think that a house with someone dedicated to the job of homemaking has a built in homeschool teacher. The two tasks are not the same! Like many others at this time, you are being told to do your job online (too much screen time!) AND homeschool your kids. In single parent homes in particular this can be very hard.

Give yourself slack.

Nobody gets this balance right all at once. You must be able to sustain your schedule and your kids (for this time) must be safe and engaged in the best activities you can find. Hope, a very ambitious homeschool mom, sometimes had to pop in a Disney video (streaming now) to give herself some time to rest. Dad had to put off writing a book so long that When Athens Met Jerusalem contains passages written when the children where in diapers and when some were in college! If you are in a two parent household, God forbid that one of you take on all the job. This is for all the grownups!

If in a one parent household, do not fear “failure.” A schedule helps. Can you shelter in place with an extended family? Is there a single friend who can move in for the duration? Ask at church. This may help your friend and you.

If you did not ask for this gig, find a sustainable “new normal.” Do what you can. Keep the job going, best you can, keep the kinder safe and learning best you can.

This too shall pass.

Tip Four: Read. Read. Read.

If you can get your child to read, all is well. Read. Read. And again I say read.

This may not come naturally, so begin with anything. My good friend Doug Tenapel has written many graphic novels with profound themes that can while away the hours while educating the mind and heart for any teen given to the medium. Urge your child to write. Journal this plague year. If they are too young to write, have them journal through drawings and bind them together in a book.

Read. Read. Read.

Not one hour your kid is reading is wasted educationally.

Tip Five: Go outside to work and play.

The child who reads easily will bulk at this advice, just as some who will love this will resist reading. A whole life will contain both. “Shelter in place” does NOT mean stay inside. Keep the proper distance but go outside. We have no yard, but we are gardening like mad in pots and trays. We are turning our tiny brick area into a jungle, best we can. Take a walk. Run. Shoot some hoops.

Recollect that if you are working, there is nothing wrong with older children working too. Give chores. The time spend weeding the tiny garden, painting a room, or doing the dishes is more likely to form character than any given lecture you could hear online.

Social distancing means it is hard to do the normal charitable tasks, but consider what you and your child can do. Call an older relative. Give blood yourself and take your child along to see. Bring goods (even toilet paper!) to a neighbor in need. Work and pray: that slogan survived tough times five hundred years ago and is well built for today.

Laugh as much as you can. Have jollifications when you can.

Be calm, carry on.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

March 23, 2020

Making Physical Objects... This is Harder than Tweeting

Next Post

March 25, 2020 Intended versus Unintended Consequences: A Helpful Distinction

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Maranatha" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Be joyful Praise Him Come, Lord It is finished

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »