{"id":158442,"date":"2020-04-27T15:50:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T22:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=158442"},"modified":"2020-05-07T13:43:18","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T20:43:18","slug":"family-incorporates-reis-tiniestmile-challenge-in-at-home-schooling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/family-incorporates-reis-tiniestmile-challenge-in-at-home-schooling","title":{"rendered":"Family Incorporates REI\u2019s #TiniestMile Challenge in At-Home Schooling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, Kirsten and Joel Gist rose to a\u00a0<\/span>challenge<\/span>: G<\/span>et\u00a0<\/span>their four kids<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0run\u00a0<\/span>1<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>mile within their California home as part of\u00a0<\/span>REI\u2019s #<\/span>TiniestMile<\/span>\u00a0ef<\/span>fort<\/span>, meant to encourage people to showcase the creative ways they\u2019re staying active indoors or close to home.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span>n, the<\/span>\u00a0family added their own spin<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0They turned<\/span>\u00a0it into a\u00a0<\/span>curriculum<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for their\u00a0<\/span>kids\u2019 at-home school<\/span>ing<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>The day\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>h<\/span>istory lesson\u00a0<\/span>covered\u00a0<\/span>the origin of a mile<\/span>, which\u00a0<\/span>dates back to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the Romans<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>For m<\/span>ath<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>they focused<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on measuring distance<\/span>, all 5,280 feet<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>And\u00a0<\/span>they<\/span>\u00a0had an a<\/span>ge-appropriate\u00a0<\/span>humanities\u00a0<\/span>discussion<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on the global reach of the\u00a0<\/span>COVID-19\u00a0<\/span>pandemic<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many parents,\u00a0<\/span>Kristen and Joel<\/span>, both REI\u00a0<\/span>members<\/span>, began homeschooling their kids after local schools closed in mid-March\u00a0<\/span>due to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>COVID-19<\/span>. Aside from Joel\u2019s own homeschool experience growing up, teaching is new territory for the parents.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They said the #<\/span>TiniestMile<\/span>\u00a0challenge\u00a0<\/span>offered\u00a0<\/span>a way to get creative with their at-home lessons.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun when you can take a single topic and have all these branches and go down the rabbit trail and discover things,\u201d Kirsten said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To\u00a0<\/span>create\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>1<\/span>-mile route<\/span>\u00a0at home<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>each<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>child had a task. Two-year-old\u00a0<\/span>Jane held a measuring tape as her 7-year-old brother, Judah, extended it to\u00a0<\/span>gauge\u00a0<\/span>the length of rooms and the hallway. Anna, 9, read aloud the measurements in feet. Then their eldest sibling, 10-year-old Nathan, crunched the numbers with some help from his parents. Together, they\u00a0<\/span>calculated<\/span>\u00a0how many laps they\u2019d have to run on their\u00a0<\/span>indoor\u00a0<\/span>route to\u00a0<\/span>complete\u00a0<\/span>a mile.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Anna,<\/p>\n

The verdict: It would take 71 laps through their home\u2019s hallway and 96 laps through their kitchen and living room.\u00a0<\/span>To stay on track<\/span>\u00a0and not lose count of the laps co<\/span>mpleted<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>family\u00a0<\/span>decided to use pop<\/span>sicle sticks<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Every time they finished 10\u00a0<\/span>laps,<\/span>\u00a0they\u00a0<\/span>would\u00a0<\/span>drop<\/span>\u00a0one<\/span>.<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Armed with\u00a0<\/span>a handful of st<\/span>i<\/span>cks, they started running.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI thought it was really fun,\u201d Nathan said of the activity. \u201cIt was a good idea to help stay active \u2026 just move some tables, and you can run a mile in your [home].\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>Gists<\/span>\u00a0said the\u00a0<\/span>challenge<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>provided an age-appropriate lesson for each of their kids.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[The mile demonstrates] how one project like this can involve all of our kids at their own level,\u201d Joel said. \u201cEach kid can take something from it that\u2019s appropriate for their age and\u00a0<\/span>grade.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>And<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>it gave them\u00a0<\/span>an opportunity to have fun\u2014<\/span>something <\/span>they\u2019re\u00a0prioritizing as they adapt to their new routine as a family.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, Kirsten and Joel Gist rose to a\u00a0challenge: Get\u00a0their four kids\u00a0to\u00a0run\u00a01\u00a0mile within their California home as part of\u00a0REI\u2019s #TiniestMile\u00a0effort, meant to encourage people to showcase the creative ways they\u2019re staying active indoors or close to home.\u00a0\u00a0 Then, the\u00a0family added their own spin:\u00a0They turned\u00a0it into a\u00a0curriculum\u00a0for their\u00a0kids\u2019 at-home schooling.\u00a0The day\u2019s\u00a0history lesson\u00a0covered\u00a0the origin of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14208,"featured_media":158537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[1999,727,552,2002],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-158442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-covid-19","tag-latest-posts","tag-rei-members","tag-tiniestmile"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/family-incorporates-reis-tiniestmile-challenge-in-at-home-schooling","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Family Incorporates REI\u2019s #TiniestMile Challenge in At-Home Schooling","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/family-incorporates-reis-tiniestmile-challenge-in-at-home-schooling","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/family-incorporates-reis-tiniestmile-challenge-in-at-home-schooling"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Gist-Family.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Gist-Family.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Grothjan"}],"creator":["Sarah Grothjan"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["covid-19","latest posts","rei members","tiniestmile"],"dateCreated":"2020-04-27T22:50:43Z","datePublished":"2020-04-27T22:50:43Z","dateModified":"2020-05-07T20:43:18Z"},"rendered":"