I took my kids out of school and Nature taught them more than books

• Our four children were pulled out of school by COVID in November 2020.
• I took my kids to the woods whenever museums were too risky.
• It was difficult to travel alone with my children, but it was so rewarding that we have learned so much from each other that I’d do it again.

If you had told my four children in January 2020 that I would one year later be sitting in silence on a lake of 480 acres learning to fish, I would have laughed.

I wasn’t a homeschool mother. Public schools are one of the greatest assets in society, and I love elementary school.

As most parents, I was unable to predict the unexpected twists and turns COVID-19 would throw at me. Remote learning was a nightmare for my family — it is not designed with neurodiverse students in mind. We withdrew our children from school after we fell behind in schoolwork, while we all battled COVID infections in November 2020.

As the parent with the more flexible work schedule, I was charged with homeschooling my kids when the typical activities — museums, play centers, group classes — felt fraught with risk.

I decided to take my children into the woods. Literally. This was not something I had planned, but it was the right choice for our children. Some of our adventures together will remain in my heart forever.

I wanted my children in the city to see what nature had to offer.

My family owned a hobby farm where I was raised. I spent most of my childhood outside with my siblings. Our museum was nature, and our playground.

My children live in a city. Walking to school, the dentist and dance class is possible. They run around from one end of the street to the next. My children are absolutely adorable. “city kids,” we love it, and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

It was tempting to make the vast natural area surrounding Pittsburgh our classroom.

Over the next few months, my children and I went on nine road trips that took us to distant, remote places. We also explored many natural areas close to our home. It is a vast area. privilege In that, I am certain.

Traveling alone with children was hard at first. My children were living in a world of crisis and bedtime was filled with battles, too many pandemic emotions, and too much sleepless nights.

They did not need to look at textbooks to learn.

My husband, an essential worker at the local hospital, was my main support. I was mostly working alone. I am not skilled at teaching sight words or multiplication facts, but we looked up how to build an igloo — and then did so.

We didn’t open any geography books, but instead used a paper map to navigate through Allegheny National Forest. We were surrounded with the Brood X cicadas who only emerge once every 17 year, and we stood on the banks at the Susquehanna River.

We leapt from a platform and were then harnessed to a cable. As we raced down the zip line towards the ground, we screamed.

We took hundreds of photographs and collected bones, shells, and leaves.

We spent three days watching killdeer nests and fell in love with their fluffy chicks.

We were able to weather a severe thunderstorm. Getaway Trailer and dive into the cold Lake Erie.

A UTV is available in the Poconos. Blue Mountain ResortDropped my children and me at a tent with a view of one of the most breathtaking vistas I’ve ever seen. We had no electricity, a toilet in a bucket, or a campfire. We were To be completely alone.

My children slept in their beds that night while I sipped wine and watched the sunset from my campfire glow. This was not the year I had hoped. Everyday planned. Parts of the experience were difficult, traumatic, and even fatal. Yet there are some moments that will be solidified in my memory forever — of my city kids immersing themselves in nature as their classroom.