Twelve years later, and this homeschooling gig is working out.
That was when Angie Channell decided to take her son, who is now a WVU freshman, out of elementary school to see if she could provide an academic experience more suited to his learning style.
Yardwork became discourses on prairies and grasslands.
Cooking in the kitchen invariably morphed into a math lesson.
There was that, plus standard sit-down work with the other traditional, state-mandated classes of science, history and reading.
“Teachable moments,” she said Thursday, with a laugh.
Three weeks ago, she wasn’t laughing. She was too busy being speechless.
A gift of $100,000 has a way of doing that.
From those early days in her kitchen and yard, Channell went on to found Mountaineer Homeschool Hub, a learning enrichment center now housed in the old Woodburn school building. She also teaches there.
Around 30 students and their families pop in for lessons on everything from crocheting to forensic investigation.
The Hub these days is on the map, thanks to the Yass Prize, which annually awards millions of dollars to educational innovators across the country.
It earned its outlay by being one of 64 quarterfinalists, winnowed from the more than 2,500 entries nationwide.
From its 1,214 square feet in a 100-year-old building, Channell’s endeavor went up against others who charter schools and other academic networks from Alabama to Arizona for the recognition.
You can learn more about the Hub online at www.mountaineerhomeschoolhub.org.
Channell can be emailed at mountaineerhomeschoolhub@gmail.com.
Part of the prize, meanwhile, will be used to expand that learning space, she said.
It will also broaden the reach of its “Full STEAM Ahead” program, which is part of its mission to advance science, technology, engineering, the arts and math.
“It’s an honor to be in such elite company,” Channell said.
Mountaineer Homeschool Hub went to work in February 2020 – one month before the pandemic.
After the shuttering and initial quarantine, the Hub regained its heartbeat.
Learning commenced, even with the coronavirus – and the snow – swirling about. Socially distanced classes were held outside, unless the conditions were too wintry.
A lot of what the Hub did in those days and thereafter, Channell explained, from its philosophy to its delivery system, was shaped by COVID.
Teachable moments, as she said.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
