Nurse and single mom of 5 encourages families to embrace homeschooling
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - With many children struggling to learn through zoom classes, more and more parents are making the leap to home school. It’s a big decision that many families never thought they’d have to make, and it’s of course a huge adjustment for the entire household
Some would say Nancy Hill does it all.
“It’s definitely not easy at times, it can definitely be a struggle, but that’s normal!”
As a single mother of five, she also cares for her elderly parents.
**As we all try to figure out getting back to school in the middle of a pandemic, we invite you to join our Facebook group Q13 News: Your Education Destination to interact with our team of journalist parents and other families in your community.**
“It's all perspective, I believe it's all about a matter of perspective, you know our house is pretty small, we're about 1400 square feet, it’s a little nest but we're making the best of it.”
To top it off, she works a nursing shift about once a week and home schools her five kids, ranging from ages 8 to 12.
“I understand how it can be very overwhelming at first but I really encourage parents to take a step back and say you know what this is our chance to shape our kid and teach them the educational things that of course are necessary but more focus should be placed on real life skills.”
And that’s what makes it all worth it, she says. The children’s days are filled with learning outside of their schoolbooks.
“You can teach things in every aspect of your day and the kids are just going to soak that up.”
She says the homeschooling curriculum allows kids them to get academic work done faster, and in a flexible manner.
“It's a basic outline and you can do it for however works best for your family, and we have so much freedom.”
Hill stresses that she knows it isn’t easy. It takes work to get into a routine that works, and a lot of sacrifice.
“Parents don’t be hard on yourselves. You'll have good days, you'll have bad days, but your kids are going to learn regardless.”
She says she’s found the benefits are endless and feels her children are learning faster - and more - than they could in a classroom.
“Every parent will say, ‘Oh it went so fast,’ and it does, so this is our time. This is our time to make a difference with our families for the future. We can’t control certain things but this is one thing that we can make a difference on.”
As a nurse, Hill has seen the devastation of these times up close, and says she feels it is more important than ever for parents to be actively involved in shaping their children. She says teaching her children to be compassionate and selfless during a pandemic is a priceless lesson she hopes will stick with them forever.