The COVID-19 pandemic has created chaos across the globe. Business have been shuttered, jobs lost, and the fabric of our normal, social, human interactions shredded. Your child can’t play with friends. Your community can’t gather at a place of worship. You can’t smile at a stranger on the street. You can’t sit at the side of a dying loved one.
In the midst of the confusion, heartache, and fear, parents also have to navigate unprecedented changes to their children’s education. Here are just a few reasons why homeschool might be worth a second look.
What Will Pandemic School Look Like?
This fall is like no other “back to school” season in the history of public education. Instead of checking their lists of school supplies, parents are checking the lists of new social distancing requirements. Masks all day long for all but the youngest students. Six feet of distance at all times. No mixing with other classes in the cafeteria or on the playground. One way walking in the halls. Required hand washing hourly. No outsiders (including parents) in the building. No drinking fountains. Kids can’t even share a pencil with a friend.
Over all these new restrictions hangs the ultimate caveat. This is how school will look “as long as .” As long as cases go down. As long as teachers feel safe.
As long as nobody gets sick.
Your Child Needs Stability (And So Do You)
And if somebody should get sick? Maybe school will stay open. Maybe students will come in to the building a couple days a week and spend the rest of their time at home. And maybe, just maybe, they will shut the school down again and all your child’s classes will be back online.
As a parent, you have no way to prepare, and school districts have been very clear that they can change the plan at a moment’s notice. In a recent parent briefing, the principal of our local elementary was asked what model they would use if school was opening tomorrow. He admitted that he didn’t know.
How can children learn with that constant underlying uncertainty and anxiety? How can parents support them? When the schools are this unstable, what can parents possibly do?
The answer is simple: You can give your children the freedom, independence, and stability they need to thrive. You can homeschool your child.
You can give your children the freedom, independence,
and stability they need to thrive.
You Are Not Alone
Homeschooling is not a new method of education. It has a long, rich history of success. Across the United States, about four million children were in homeschool prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and parent polls across the country suggest that many, many more will be starting this fall. You can find a support group near you by searching here. You will be surprised how many options you have in your own community. The activities and resources section of this website is packed with ideas to get you rolling, and we are publishing more all the time!
For many parents, the obstacles to homeschool may seem insurmountable. Perhaps you work fulltime. Perhaps you didn’t enjoy school yourself. Maybe you didn’t even finish school. You may not want to send your children back this fall, but you feel unable or unqualified to teach them yourself. You may simply not have the time or the patience. Please believe me when I say that with the right tools, you can homeschool successfully and love doing it! To read more about the amazingly simple, self-taught curriculum that I have created courses for, check out my article: Homeschool Curriculum: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. It’s very affordable, it can be custom fit for any student (Grades 1-12), and all it requires is an internet connection.