**This article was written in April 2020, but the advice herein is still timely! 😊
The Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has forced many families, like it or not, to embrace homeschooling. And as it sounds, more and more, like many schools may not reopen for the rest of the school year, these parents who have been drafted into the homeschooling community need solutions and guidance specifically for them. If you are one of these parents, please know that there are an abundance of resources to assist you.
As I’m sure you are aware, your situation is different from families who have chosen homeschooling as a lifestyle. You may have lesson plans or instructions from your child’s school that you are trying to follow. You may be returning to a normal routine in a matter of weeks or perhaps not for the foreseeable future. You may have concerns about your child keeping pace with your child’s usual curriculum and grade level. In this article you will find guidance and suggestions specifically for your unique situation.
This article provides tips for creating your “new normal” in these challenging times. This is not about being a perfect homeschooler. It’s about giving your children what they need right now.
1. Give Yourself a Break
For many of you, this is the first week of being at home for what will potentially be a long haul. Treat it as a big snow day and give you and your child time to decompress and adjuster to the changes.
Do not feel the need to jump immediately into a new schedule, rigorous academics, or even any schooling at all. This transition time is called “deschooling.” It is an adjustment period taken by many parents and kids in between being in a traditional school setting and a homeschool setting, and it eases the shock to everyone’s system from the major life change. This is especially important at this time because we are dealing with the additional upheaval and stressors caused by a worldwide crisis.
Don’t make the mistake of trying to fill every minute with top-quality, educational projects. You will Pinterest yourself to death. Besides, there will be more empty toilet paper rolls available for crafts later if you just slow your roll now [no pun intended].
Vida at Mercer Homeschooling
Many families permanently transitioning to homeschooling take a month or more to deschool. In this situation, I suggest at least a week of sleeping in, more liberal screen time, playing games, and just relaxing. Transitions are very important for children, and this gives their brains a buffer between their old routines and way of life and the new, however temporary the new may be.
This will also help you, the parent, to avoid burnout. Beginning to do school at home, just by itself, is challenging. But, in addition to this, you might be facing financial issues, trying to juggle working from home, or just stressing about rationing toilet paper. Don’t make the mistake of trying to fill every minute with top-quality, educational projects. You will Pinterest yourself to death. Besides, there will be more empty toilet paper rolls available for crafts later if you just slow your roll now [no pun intended].
2. Create Your New Normal
After deschooling for about a week, begin to create your new normal. This is where a schedule or routine becomes important again. They are just as important for children as healthy transitions are.
It is now your job, with no outside forces to keep you accountable, to provide a framework of structure and consistency that your children can rely on to feel secure and normal. A good place to start is with our article on creating a routine that works with young children.
Most importantly, re-frame what you consider a “win” for your educational day . . . Focus on doing something each day rather than doing everything.
Vida at Mercer Homeschooling
I tend to prefer routines with general start and stop times for various portions of our day, rather than strict to-the-minute schedules. Do things in the same order each morning: breakfast, getting dressed, tidying up, and beginning lessons.
Most importantly, re-frame what you consider a “win” for your educational day. Rather than focusing on getting to every subject or every item on the checklist sent home from school, decide how much time per day works for you and your children to spend on studies. [Hint: This should be a lot less time than they actually spent at school.] Then, when you have devoted that time, check “school” off the list and move on to other things in your life—go for a walk, bake cookies, play board games, or just let them have some screen time while you get some work done. Focus on doing something each day rather than doing everything.
3. Prioritize
You will quickly find, as you dive into the world of homeschooling resources, that your choices can be very overwhelming. Just the materials and internet links provided by your child’s school can be a lot to assimilate.
If you find yourself overwhelmed, focus just on reading and math, and let the rest go.
Your child is learning valuable lessons right now about resilience, community, and the human spirit that cannot be underestimated . . . Take this moment to reflect on what is actually important and keep those things, and only those things, front and center.
Vida at Mercer Homeschooling
This is where, even if you never intended to homeschool ever in your life and you intend to go right back to traditional school the second you can, it will help you to adopt a bit of a homeschooling mentality. So here it is . . .
Living is learning. Playing in the yard is P.E. Building with Legos is S.T.E.M. Writing a letter to grandparents is grammar, and spelling, and penmanship. Talking about what is going on in the world right now is current events, not to mention actually living history.
The truth is that even if your child misses the whole rest of the school year, chances are they would have spent that time merely preparing for end-of-year standardized tests anyway.
Your child is learning valuable lessons right now about resilience, community, and the human spirit that cannot be underestimated. They will be just fine educationally in the long run. Take this moment to reflect on what is actually important and keep those things, and only those things, front and center.
