Emergency Homeschooling

At the time of this post our country is recovering from two historically destructive hurricanes. Our own children are involved in some of the recovery operations, so we feel especially close to the situation.

One dear listener told me her area will not have any regular services available. One of the concerns she has is how the children will be educated this year, since the schools are lost and the parents are concerned about their children slipping backwards as they did during the plannedemic.

She has suggested to her small community that they use the “Mom Delights” method, with loads of read alouds and simple pencil and paper (I felt greatly flattered, of course).

This got me thinking.

What would I do if I were in such a situation? How would I go about keeping my own children occupied, happy, and learning when I was fighting my own emotions and feeling as though I had nothing in my hands?

Actually, emergency situations like these are where homeschoolers have the upper hand. We don’t need buildings or paid staff to enjoy organic learning. We can teach (and learn along with our children) anytime, anywhere.

Emergencies come in many different forms. Sometimes they are caused by sudden, catastrophic illness or accidents. Other times there is a job loss that entails losing one’s home and moving into the unknown.

Still other times, as in these hurricanes, something can occur that causes us to lose our physical surroundings and material goods.

How long such an emergency lasts is an important consideration. An interruption that lasts from one week to three months should not cause significant slipping of a child’s education.

How can I make this claim?

Because we have over-exaggerated the time it takes to give children a solid education. 12 years is actually quite excessive. There are countries which score higher than we do in the basics and yet do not put their children into education slave camps for the majority of their childhood years.

John Taylor Gatto has said inculcating basic reading, writing, and arithmetic only takes about 50 contact hours. I have read stories of children who didn’t start formal academics until the age of 12, and then went on to receive a high school diploma by the age of 16.

A short interruption in formal education is not a problem, but we need to remember that children never stop learning.

While it may be impossible during an emergency to focus on bookwork, “lifework” continues.

Learning how to do helpful things, listening to stories and the talk of adults, finding out how to channel energy into positive, constructive directions; all these things are important learning experiences.

But when we lose everything due to fire, flooding, even war we might find ourselves sleeping on a cot in a gym or on the floor of a neighbor’s house, what then?

When everything has been stripped, children feel insecure. When children feel insecure, they tend to whine and act up. In this situation homeschooling is not an option, it is a NECESSITY!

Children in such circumstances need to know that everything is going to be all right. We can comfort them by:

• Being honest (without being doleful or graphic) about the situation, but with a positive outlook of hope.

• Creating and keeping a daily routine. It could start with a morning prayer, some quick clean up of whatever is at hand, etc.

• Having a list of ways to handle childhood energy:

• Chores such as moving things around, sweeping, running quick errands for the adults, watching younger children, sweeping, wiping things down, picking up trash and debris, making sandwiches, etc.

• Physical games are also a great idea, especially those which do not need any equipment, such as races, relays, Simon Says, freeze tag, hide and seek, etc.

• Mental games are also helpful. These include those that require memory, such as “I’m going on a trip and I’m going to take a ……”, stories where each person adds on a sentence, Charades, and the old math game of “Buzz.”

• Story times where adults relate past experiences or other stories they remember. You could also read accounts aloud from the Bible, practice memory verses, and sing hymns and praise choruses acapella.

After a time, when more supplies are available, books, pencil, and paper would be the essentials to procure. If there are any dice or cards, I would grab those as well. Something to present ideas on would be a boon, such as a chalk board, wipe-off board, or even a sidewalk and a piece of limestone (or a bit of dirt and a stick) would do in a pinch.

• Reading from the books (they don’t have to be textbooks, just about anything interesting or engaging will do) and having a child recall back to you what you have read is great for developing the mind and retaining information (a la Charlotte Mason’s “narration” idea).

• Writing a sentence from what you have read on the ground or the board will help you go over spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Then the children can write the sentence down as you read it aloud (a la Charlotte Mason’s “dictation” exercises).

• For math, you can use dice, dominoes, and a deck of cards to practice counting and all the basic math facts.

• For more advanced students, scratch some problems on the ground or the board and have them copy and work them–you won’t need a whole bunch, just enough to keep them practicing with a little bit of a challenge mixed in (you could make the problems up or use an old textbook–sixth grade gives a good overview of the basics).

• For science, studying the catastrophe everyone’s been through would be engaging and helpful. Learn about fires, or hurricanes, or flooding. It doesn’t have to be in a textbook, it can be from an emergency worker or other public servant.

To further help children feel comforted, start each “school” session with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance, and end it with a prayer and a song.

I would like to tell a sweet story here.

One time I was invited to meet with one of the most courageous women I have ever known. She lived on the bad side of town in a low-income, dilapidated apartment complex. It was so bad, the flooring on the balconies was falling through.

But this dear mommy had decided her children were so precious she could not trust them to the failed schools in her area. So she gathered what she could and started out. She only had a smart phone, no computer or even a printer. She found free programs online, used the library, and scraped money together to purchase some office supplies. She had found a cart to put the items she had gathered together in a little corner of the place she called home, and she put her entire heart into teaching her children. I was so proud of her.

This was the first step in getting out of an awful situation. Eventually, her husband came to Jesus, became gainfully employed, and now they are living together as a Christian family!

No matter where we find ourselves, we can look to God for His help, and have hope for the future.

As things become more “normal,” building up sequential materials is important. Where money is limited, it must be used carefully. I would invest in good books first, such as the McGuffey readers and some classic novels.

Other than pencils and notebooks, a good printer is a good tool to have.

I actually offer a free homeschool guide on this website. It may be a great help when deciding just what to purchase first.

I also have loads of freebies and instructional videos to help. I hope all these things are a blessing to anyone in need, no matter the reasons.

If you would like to hear more on this subject, please click below:

Powered by RedCircle