Making the Most of Power Outages

Four days without power last week proved that there are plenty of homeschool lessons you can do in the dark! Of course, most homeschoolers recognize that learning is about more than the fundamental curriculum--it's about learning for life. In addition to "traditional" learning, power outages offer a plethora of opportunities in "life" learning.
Here are some ideas that can make the most of a power outage:

Emergency preparedness is the first and most emphasized lesson that can be learned during an extended power outage. After a day or two without electricity, you suddenly realize with clarity what you should have done to be more prepared. Thankfully, we had a generator, rechargeable batteries, food, bottled water and a lot of the essentials. This gave us an excellent opportunity to teach our children why we have those things--and to teach compassion for those who don't.

The older children also learned some survival skills, such as how to build a fire.

When the lights came on last night, we discussed things that we should have done to be more prepared--like having an electric griddle that we could cook on (stove/oven didn't work on the generator) and having more water (we started running out on Day 3 and had to drive into town to buy more -- we found some, but not much was available since more than 250,000 other people were also out of power).

History can come alive during power outages, too. Our children were shocked to learn that not everyone who lived had access to the television, lights, and flushing toilets that they enjoy every day. We discussed many aspects of history and looked through books to learn about how people lived before all of this technology was invented and made a mainstream part of our lives. We discussed log cabin construction as we built with Lincoln Logs. We went without the generator for long periods due to a lack of gas, which gave us the opportunity to cook on our wood stove. The kids enjoyed that, too.

Learn about electricity. Now that the power is gone, it's a great chance to learn about what power is used for. My children were surprised when the power outage meant we couldn't flush our toilets or have running water at the faucets (no pump for the well!).

Learn about power outages. Discuss what caused this specific power outage and other potential causes of power outages -- storms, falling trees, earthquakes, animals, lightning, digging, high power demand, vehicles colliding with utility poles, etc. Learn why power goes out and how we can prepare for those outages.

In addition to learning about what power is used for, you can learn about how it works. We were blessed to be able to keep our smart phones charged throughout the outage. In addition to helping us get regular updates to the status of the restoration, our local utility provided a lot of information about how the restoration process works. We were able to watch their videos about how power is restored, which helped the children understand why the company couldn't just flip a swtich and fix our power.

Learning games. We used games to pass a lot of the time. We have a very large game collection, including games that reinforce writing, math and other learning skills. I love learning through games, because the children learn without even realizing it.

Reading practice. We read a lot of books together. Our five year old practiced reading to us, and the younger children worked on recognizing letters and words.

Language skills. We played pretend games and I taught the kids how to speak different phrases in Spanish and French.

Perhaps the most important lesson my children learned through the power outage was gratitude. In an age where it is so easy to become tangled up in technology, it was a great opportunity for them to unplug and unwind. It taught them a lot about being grateful for what they have. As my five-year-old exclaimed this morning, "I love it when the power comes back on! I flushed the toilet and it actually worked!!"

School in the Snow

We are currently snowed in, but there's no reason why the school has to end. While "normal" students might get the day off, we are busy learning here at the homeschool house. Of course, that doesn't mean the children have to know that... They think it's all good fun!

Here are some ideas on snow lessons:

• Learn how snow forms. This link has a lot of good information on this subject.
• Make a snow gauge. Use a large can, bucket, or two liter soda bottle with the top cut off. Attach a ruler to one side and set it in a visible place. If you don't feel like trudging out to check it very often, you can set it near a window as long as there are no overhangs that can interfere with the snowfall. Measure the snow and create a chart from the data you gather.
• Focus on snowy areas in a geography lesson. Point out how these cultures adapt to the snowfall and go outside for a brief lesson on living in the snow.
• Make history interesting. Talk about record snowfalls and what it was like to live through. Dicuss the effects that the snowfall had on the area.
• Go outside and play! When you come back in, teach the children how to properly care for wet clothing.
• Teach them how to safely and successfully start a fire.
• Teach them to plan and serve a warm meal (such as soup).
• Identify animal tracks. We had a lot of little visitors last night, judging by the tracks outside. Find out what is visiting your house. Learn about those animals and how they survive in the snow.
• Discover how much water is inside a certain volume of snow. Fill a cup with snow and bring it inside. After it melts, measure what remains.
• Make snowshoes. Here are some simple instructions.
• Prepare for a power outage. Explain possible causes of power outages and what the family will do in the event of a power outage.

I could go on and on, but I've got four eager kids waiting to go discover the winter wonderland outside. Have a wonderful day! Happy learning!