Happy Sunday!
Since so many of you asked for this last week, I come to you bringing my public-school-to-homeschool experience!
For some context, I’ve always gone to a public/private school. But three weeks ago, our school shut down and started doing “e-learning.” For us, that means that our teachers send out virtual assignments, lectures, and Zoom calls. It’s definitely been an adjustment. XD
So today, I’m going to talk about the things that are the most different in this new e-learning/homeschool system and how I’m adapting to each. I’m not saying one system is objectively better than the other, but there are certainly pros and cons to both of them. And I definitely don’t have all this figured out - I’m still learning and adapting. :)
One of the biggest differences between public school and homeschooling is my newfound lack of a schedule.
In public school, every day is scheduled down to the minute, from 7:30-3:30. Each class gets a certain allotted time, lunch is at the same time every day, and there’s a set end to the day.
But in homeschooling, there . . . basically isn’t a schedule. XD Sure, there’s a few scheduled Zoom calls, and there are some homework due dates, but in terms of a day-to-day schedule, there’s nothing. And since I have a lot more free time, it’s really easy to waste time.
I discovered really quickly in this process that if I don’t have some sort of schedule, my day ends up being an epic lesson in procrastination. XD So I’ve been experimenting in some bullet journal layouts and types of schedules. Some of them have worked. Some of them . . . haven’t. ;)
I used this post by Sarah and this post by Christine to create my current system. I’m starting each day off with tackling math homework (such a great start to the day XD), and then cramming as much homework as I can into the morning. I’ve also been picking a “special project” to focus on each day. For instance, one day I focused on my religion paper, while another day I focused on a beta-reading project.
(In case you’re wondering, yes, I did attempt to time-block my days. However, I get really stressed if I don’t go by the time blocks, and you can probably guess what happened on those days. XD Suffice it to say that I’m only doing a little bit of time-blocking every day - the necessary things.)
Another big difference in this homeschooling system has been the lack of people.
Back in school, I’d pass my friends and classmates several times in the hall every day. We had plenty of chances to talk and catch up and complain about tests and study together and do all that fun stuff. And yeah, sometimes that would mean I’d go home socially drained and would need some recuperation time.
Going by the socially draining aspect, homeschooling and e-learning has been fabulous. Since I haven’t been talking to classmates for seven hours a day, I have way more mental energy.
But I do miss my friends. And since we’re really bad at FaceTiming and Zooming when everyone’s available . . . we haven’t really talked face-to-face in weeks. Our interaction has been limited to early-morning texts. Thank goodness for technology, honestly. :D
Anyways, I’ve been meaning to start scheduling in FaceTime and Zoom calls to my friends so we can still talk. BUT we did finally get a FaceTime call with all of us present two days ago. :)
The last big change that homeschooling has brought has been a lack of face-to-face teaching.
I’m not good at teaching myself. It really helps to have someone else explain concepts and directions to me. I like to know exactly what a teacher wants to see and how we should go about doing assignments.
Let me tell you, Zoom can only do so much. XD Our teachers only have two one-hour slots to Zoom-call us each week, and most of them aren’t even using that. For the most part, we’re on our own.
Especially when it comes to math, this has been the biggest adjustment. I think I’m doing okay so far?? But without that face-to-face interaction and ability to ask questions in person, it feels totally different.
So I’ve been reading math chapters a little more than usual, and I’ve been rechecking assignment directions to make sure I don’t miss anything. :D
Since so many of you asked for this last week, I come to you bringing my public-school-to-homeschool experience!
For some context, I’ve always gone to a public/private school. But three weeks ago, our school shut down and started doing “e-learning.” For us, that means that our teachers send out virtual assignments, lectures, and Zoom calls. It’s definitely been an adjustment. XD
So today, I’m going to talk about the things that are the most different in this new e-learning/homeschool system and how I’m adapting to each. I’m not saying one system is objectively better than the other, but there are certainly pros and cons to both of them. And I definitely don’t have all this figured out - I’m still learning and adapting. :)
One of the biggest differences between public school and homeschooling is my newfound lack of a schedule.
In public school, every day is scheduled down to the minute, from 7:30-3:30. Each class gets a certain allotted time, lunch is at the same time every day, and there’s a set end to the day.
But in homeschooling, there . . . basically isn’t a schedule. XD Sure, there’s a few scheduled Zoom calls, and there are some homework due dates, but in terms of a day-to-day schedule, there’s nothing. And since I have a lot more free time, it’s really easy to waste time.
I discovered really quickly in this process that if I don’t have some sort of schedule, my day ends up being an epic lesson in procrastination. XD So I’ve been experimenting in some bullet journal layouts and types of schedules. Some of them have worked. Some of them . . . haven’t. ;)
I used this post by Sarah and this post by Christine to create my current system. I’m starting each day off with tackling math homework (such a great start to the day XD), and then cramming as much homework as I can into the morning. I’ve also been picking a “special project” to focus on each day. For instance, one day I focused on my religion paper, while another day I focused on a beta-reading project.
(In case you’re wondering, yes, I did attempt to time-block my days. However, I get really stressed if I don’t go by the time blocks, and you can probably guess what happened on those days. XD Suffice it to say that I’m only doing a little bit of time-blocking every day - the necessary things.)
 |
| yes, that is a Your Lie in April quote, and I will not apologize XD |
Another big difference in this homeschooling system has been the lack of people.
Back in school, I’d pass my friends and classmates several times in the hall every day. We had plenty of chances to talk and catch up and complain about tests and study together and do all that fun stuff. And yeah, sometimes that would mean I’d go home socially drained and would need some recuperation time.
Going by the socially draining aspect, homeschooling and e-learning has been fabulous. Since I haven’t been talking to classmates for seven hours a day, I have way more mental energy.
But I do miss my friends. And since we’re really bad at FaceTiming and Zooming when everyone’s available . . . we haven’t really talked face-to-face in weeks. Our interaction has been limited to early-morning texts. Thank goodness for technology, honestly. :D
Anyways, I’ve been meaning to start scheduling in FaceTime and Zoom calls to my friends so we can still talk. BUT we did finally get a FaceTime call with all of us present two days ago. :)
The last big change that homeschooling has brought has been a lack of face-to-face teaching.
I’m not good at teaching myself. It really helps to have someone else explain concepts and directions to me. I like to know exactly what a teacher wants to see and how we should go about doing assignments.
Let me tell you, Zoom can only do so much. XD Our teachers only have two one-hour slots to Zoom-call us each week, and most of them aren’t even using that. For the most part, we’re on our own.
Especially when it comes to math, this has been the biggest adjustment. I think I’m doing okay so far?? But without that face-to-face interaction and ability to ask questions in person, it feels totally different.
So I’ve been reading math chapters a little more than usual, and I’ve been rechecking assignment directions to make sure I don’t miss anything. :D
Some other things I’ve experienced during this time, but don’t really deserve a full paragraph, include:
- the ability to watch a TV show at 2 PM and not get in trouble by a teacher
- the ability to eat snacks while “in class” and not get in trouble by a teacher
- the urge to reorganize my entire bookshelf and half my room (which I did, instead of doing math XD)
- that one time I played my clarinet with a bandage over my left thumb. (For my non-clarinetists, the left thumb is particularly important - if it’s the slightest bit off the hole, the instrument will squeak.) I tried playing through a very high arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody, and after about fifteen minutes of constant squeaks, my brother yelled, “What is going on???”
- I can listen to even more music than before XD THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING
For all my public-school-turned-homeschoolers, my biggest pieces of advice so far would be to
- Read the two posts I linked above - they are LIFESAVERS
- Try to balance school and family (do I do this???? ummmmm, no, but I should. *looks side-eyed at my mom who is reading this post and tells me frequently to “get out of the cave”*)
- If you struggle with math, do it first and get it over with.
- Get homework done as soon as it’s assigned - that way you don’t have to worry about later on
- Do your best. Yeah, there will probably be some days when you just can’t focus. Don’t push yourself too hard on those days - get refueled and reenergized. Then, the next day, beat that homework to a pulp. ;)
And for all the homeschoolers reading this post, I hope this was interesting to read! I would imagine your schooling hasn’t changed very much through all this, but I’m not very educated on how all that works. XD
Whatever the case, good luck with your classwork! There’s definitely a lot of adjusting to be done, but school’s almost over - just two or three short months to go! :D
-Nicole <3
Are you public schooled or homeschooled? What’s your experience been with homeschooling so far, my public schoolers? Any productivity/survival tips? Let’s talk!
