Before COVID-19 closed down schools ,Alyssa Tangney from Pinckney said her family was always busy, between activities and running her business, The Motherhood Mixer, LLC.
“I do own my own business and it is an event planing business," Tangney said. "It is a terrible year for an event planning business."
Despite the challenges, she has valued having more time with her children.
“I have had lots of fun with just my family,” said Addy Tangney, her 6-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Addy loves going to school, but says she is worried about returning to school.
“We really like seeing our grandma and grandpa,” she said, explaining she doesn’t want to get them sick.
“And then with the chaos of, is it going to be virtual? Is it going to be in person? Is it going to be in person and switch to virtual? We kind of just said we don’t want to deal with this,” her mom said.
So this fall, Alyssa said she will homeschool her children.
“I am really excited doing it," Addy said. "I like my family and playing with my brothers and sisters a lot."
“We do have quite a few families who say this is their first year and they are looking for support,” said Heidi Pair, Assistant Director of the Renaissance Homeschool Group.
The Renaissance Homeschool Group in Farmington Hills offers classes and support. Pair has two warnings for parents.
- If your child is in high school and plans to return - you need to make sure your child follows a curriculum their school will offer credit for.
- Don’t try to replicate a classroom.
“In a school situation, they will be at school for six to eight hours, but they are not getting one-on-one instruction,” Pair said.
She said for some children, focused one-on-one instruction for less than two hours is enough to stay on track. The idea is to intentionally teach as you live.
“Your world is your classroom, right? So, you are learning in everything that you are doing,” Pair said.
Alyssa said she hopes it makes her family stronger.
“As much as I have such great memories from school and I love our teachers and the job our administration has done, it was really great to get my kids back,” she said.
You can learn more information about homeschooling at the Renaissance Homeschool Group website at https://renaissancehomeschool.org.
