A Different Kind of School Year, A Different Kind of School

We are new to ROCS this year and it is safe to say that we approached this 2020-21 COVID year of schooling with trepidation, but also hope in a new way of learning and exploring the outdoors. My son is 10 so he spent several years in a more traditional school which had a wonderful sense of community and amazing teachers, but we needed a new plan for this unique year. I had toyed with the idea of homeschooling for many years and the pandemic gave me the push I needed to take the plunge. However, I have a part time job that I love at a social service agency, and my son was craving time with peers, so when a spot became available at Red Oak for the 2 Day/Week Program it felt like we hit the lottery. 

Like many parents, I wondered how the kids would do with all the new rules and connecting to their teachers without being able to see their smiles. So many of those nerves faded away as we rolled up the first day and my son happily exclaimed, “The teachers are wearing costumes!” They also had large buttons on their shirts showing their smiles without masks. After several months as a ROCS family, we have learned that creativity, safety and flexibility are natural parts of their school culture. I chuckled with friends about how the kids had “grassrooms” instead of classrooms, and family members marveled at the thought of the kids being able to learn division without sitting in a desk. 

I’ve discovered as a new ROCS parent that sometimes it takes some extra digging in post- school conversations to get to the heart of the learning that occurred that day. One day at pick up I asked my son what they did in math. His initial response was, “We went for a hunt.” Hmmmm. Going for a “hunt” in math challenged my traditional perceptions of academic learning. I pushed a little further and asked, “What were you hunting for?” He said, “We were hunting for angles.” I was still a bit confused and he could tell. He continued to say, “You know, Mom. We were hunting for obtuse angles, acute angles and right angles.” I was starting to get a clearer picture. I asked him if he found any and he exclaimed, “Yes, I found lots. They were in the trees, on the building and on the sidewalk.” Wow. I was so delighted! This type of learning speaks to his soul. He could walk, regulate, enjoy fresh air and still learn geometry. I am pretty sure by connecting something like an acute angle to the natural world means he will never forget it. 

A few days later he was eating a pretzel like a chipmunk, so I approached his new style of chewing with curiosity, something that I’ve gotten better at as a ROCS parent, and he informed me was trying to turn his pretzel into a perfect right angle. These are the moments that turn the hardships of parenting into pure joy, even with all the extra muddy laundry!

Sadly, I think in more traditional schools the pressures of standardized testing have taken away from time kids get to spend learning subjects like science and world cultures. One day my son jumped in the car and excitedly told me, “My egg didn’t break!” Here we go again with more digging, which led him to asking me if I knew the formula, F=MA. As someone who works in social services it is safe to say that physics was never really my thing. He also delights in sharing new words he learned in Japanese class and how they got to play with plaster in art class. 

I have also been deeply moved by some of the more simple and subtle changes I have noticed in my son, like a deeper curiosity for bugs and mud and less concern about the temperature outside. There are also changes in his mood at pick-up. I know there are lots of articles and social media posts out there about how parents shouldn’t ask their kids the traditional question of, “How was school today?” There are days I remember to switch it up but some days I fall back on old habits. A few weeks ago, I asked, “How was school today?” And he simply said, “fun.” Fun. It really struck me. I was used to words like, “good” or “fine.” But I was blown away by “fun.” He wore a mask all day, practiced distancing, washed his hands several times, and had his temperature checked. We are in the midst of a pandemic and who knows the long-term implications this will have on our kids and on us. In these crazy and stressful times, there is no greater gift than to give my kid fun. So simple yet so profound. Thank you, ROCS, for being safe, flexible, creative, and fun.

-Emily Buster, ROCS mom