Homeschooling: One Year Later | Stein Kids 2021
When I started writing this post, I wanted to tell you about how being a photographer’s kid means you’re constantly stuck modeling. But then, Friday rolled around and it hit me: We’ve been homeschooling for a full year. It’s been a roller coaster, but there are so many thing about it that I wouldn’t change for anything.
March 12, 2020
The pandemic had already been announced and while I wasn’t super concerned about the kids being at school, we were sticking close to home otherwise. Our former pediatrician had forced (under threat of CPS) me to take Evan to the hospital for a non-medically necessary test that he showed NO signs of needing. When I’d arrived, I Cloroxed EVERYTHING we came in contact with. The technician at the lab commented our stroller was the cleanest she’d ever seen.
Back at home, I sat down and proceeded to work like usual. It wasn’t until I opened Facebook that the messages started flooding my inbox. “Did you hear? Rumor is they’re shutting down schools…” Message after message from friends who’d already gotten notices from teachers or district staff about potential shutdowns. At 2:30 pm, Governor Inslee and OSPI hosted a press conference to announce just that. All Washington State School Districts would be closed until April 24th.
I’m pretty sure the only thing I said at that moment was a string of expletives. I packed up and headed down to the bus stop to pick up Emi. When she got off the bus, she had no idea what had gone on. We jetted back over to the school to grab her books and anything she might have needed from her desk. On the way in we passed her teacher; little did we know that would be the last time we’d ever see her in person.
The Past 12 Months
When everything first shut down, I bought some curriculum from The Good and The Beautiful. Our district pretty much waved at the kids and families saying “Have a good break”. It wasn’t until OSPI extended the closure of schools through June, that we were even given the chance to try distance learning.
Distance learning was probably the worst experience ever for us. Half the time we couldn’t get logged in, or the internet wouldn’t hold out for both kids classes. Then there were the times that Emi would need to do testing, but because we were on a personal computer, she wasn’t allowed to access the test. That, combined with the changes in attitudes from all the screen time, we gave up. I emailed her teacher who sent me a list of places to get worksheets, and we sent the completed ones back on a weekly basis. This system worked so much better for our family.
When “school” ended the distance learning for the summer, we kept going. We went on adventures, we found our grooves. We started to really have fun with homeschooling. Some of our favorite things were our Adventure days where we’d pick a state park and go exploring. We found so many cool places, and are looking forward to this summer when we can explore more!
March 2021: One year later
When the time came to choose how we’d do school for the 2020-2021 school year, it was a no brainer. We went full homeschool. Since then, Emi has excelled at math and is already working on 7th grade curriculum. Gracie is reading already, plus she finished over half of the Kindergarten math curriculum in the first 2 months of school. Both girls are doing an amazing job, and they love getting to learn at home.
We do a lot of real world studies too; like calculating taxes when you’re out shopping. It’s been a wonderful first year, even through the tough moments. The pandemic forced our hand at trying homeschooling, and I was more than frustrated when it did. Now, I’m thankful we were given the chance to choose this path. It’s exciting to see my kids excel at their studies and find their passions so early. I can’t wait to see where the next year takes us!
