interview by Eshaan Mani
During the times of the coronavirus pandemic, many families have been forced to make changes to their lifestyle. One of the many shifts made was educational institutions going completely digital. Houston Family Magazine had the chance to speak with Mrs. Heather Kaiser-Hahn, a homeschooling mother, about education in a home environment, how to be successful while learning remotely, and establishing a routine, discipline, and motivation in a child learning from home.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a former practicing school psychologist. On an age-basis, my son Alex is in 8th grade, however, in homeschool, he is considered to be in the 10th grade based on high school credit hours earned thus far. I have homeschooled my son for the past seven years.
How has COVID-19 impacted homeschooling?
COVID-19 has drastically altered what homeschooling looks like for us. Despite the term homeschooling being used to describe us, we were rarely home. We often used the terms roadschooling and worldschooling because we travel and take field trips often. But due to COVID-19, we had to stop attending everything. The only advantage we had over public school students forced out of their school was that we already had our curriculum resources going. We already were connected with various online programs, had a supply of workbooks, and plenty of materials and kits on hand. We do more online programs each day and we are getting through our workbook and book piles even more than before COVID-19.
What advice do you have for parents who are forced to try homeschooling given the current situation?
My first advice to them is to take a deep breath! What they have been forced into is not homeschooling at all in the traditional sense. Traditional homeschooling is not recreating public school at home. So, do not feel the pressure to recreate everything from a public school experience because you can’t.
Second, come up with a routine and location within your house that works for your family. There is no real privacy for us anymore; so my husband is working in one room and we are homeschooling in the living room and kitchen. I know some of our friends are still setting alarm clocks to try to keep some sort of a routine similar to their school schedule.
Also, do not be surprised if your kid can finish their online curriculum and work in about four hours total. Some kids might be faster and some might be slower if the work is really hard or if they are really getting into a project.
Thirdly, there is no need for homework. I know the schools might be calling stuff homework. But there is no reason your child should be spending their nights doing tons of schoolwork.
What advice would you have for parents on how to get started on homeschooling?
Join Facebook groups and ask questions. There are tons of bloggers and websites catering to the homeschool community to help with curriculum planning and scheduling. If you don’t have a membership with your public library, get one. There are lots of free online resources such as ebooks and streaming services available from them. In addition, the Houston Public Library is open to everyone in the greater Houston area. And right now, check-in with all your favorite museums or zoos across the country as many are offering virtual tours and online events.
How do you motivate a child who is learning from home?
For most kids, their learning is driven by their interests. It is hard to get Alex to do things he is not interested in but still needs to do. So, we used to do five activities and then he would take a break, doing an activity of his choice. Some parents may need to go even in smaller chunks. We have a list of what needs to be done each day, and Alex picks the order. That also helps with motivation.
How do you inculcate discipline to study, do homework, etc?
As homeschoolers, we do not recreate public school at home. We do not have homework per se. We have great flexibility in learning materials. Our only issue has to do with stalling or arguing. If Alex stalls or argues with me, there is the use of a timer, then the loss of the iPad, and sometimes additional work. For parents forced into doing school at home, they are going to have to establish a routine in order to prevent chaos.
How do you maintain a productive study environment for your child?
For us, we homeschool in the living room. My son’s laptop can get hooked up to the TV so I can see the screen easier and help with some of the math. And he has a paper with a running list of “need to review” topics that he will add to if he is struggling in a math lesson or something pops up in a video. So the key is finding a room or space within the house that can be designated as the “school.” Having a checklist is beneficial to keeping on-task and seeing what can be accomplished.
How do you break the monotony of a study-at-home environment?
COVID-19 has definitely forced us to be completely stuck at home. And in addition to the lack of privacy, monotony is definitely an issue. Thankfully, we have a huge pile of workbooks and books so we have a variety of choices.
DVDs and science kits that we had purchased before helps us. We have a mini MakerSpace and science lab in our house, but I know many do not. However, there are lots of online resources for kitchen chemistry experiments and at-home science experiments that would not require tons of supplies.
And most importantly, taking PE breaks. Have the kids help with the cleaning, house chores, and cooking. And lastly, use technology! Video call and text friends and family whom you can’t visit.
The Top Online-Schooling Resources for Your Houston Family
Mrs. Heather Kaiser-Hahn shares the Top 5 Educational Resources that she and her son Alex love!
AmazingEducationalresources.com
There are over 300 companies/programs on this list of free resources that was put together because of COVID-19.
Khan Academy and KA Kids
Khan Academy Kids has great resources, like activities and videos, for kids in K-5. Khan Academy offers resources for middle-school students and up, with preparation for the SAT and college-level courses.
Scribd.com
A great audiobook and e-book resource, which is free for 30 days! If your child runs out of books to read while at home, try Scribd!
Adventures of Hahn Academy
Mrs. Kaiser-Hahn has a great blog (adventuresofhahnacademy.wordpress.com), which has articles about road-schooling and homeschooling her gifted plus son, Alex.
FreeCodeCamp.org
This website has tons of online courses (many teach how to code). There are also free online courses from universities, which are open to anyone and perfect for many high school students and gifted middle school students.
