Home Schooling Help during Coronavirus
How to Keep On Keeping On During Covid 19. You can do it!
Even with the promise of opening states back up slowly, there is still the uncertainty of what that new “normal” will look like. Will businesses come back? Will the virus come back with a vengeance if people are again allowed to move freely? If people go back to work and schools are still closed and summer camps are shuttered, who will stay with our kids?
There is a ton of uncertainty right now and it can affect your attitude and how you are dealing with trying to teach your child while working from home right now. Are you feeling like your get-up-and-go has gotten up and is long gone? Although simple platitudes and plucky, “hang in there” statements made famous by cat posters are not enough to deal with the reality that we find ourselves in, here are a few ideas that can at least alleviate some of the stress:
1. Stick with your routines.
For young children, routines can be comforting and signal stability. We discussed routines in week one of our series and that link can be found here. Simple routines to follow include a regular bed time/ wake-up times throughout the week, providing quiet time for your children to focus on hobbies or reading, and starting your day with stretching. These simple routines can provide a little stability during this uncertain time.
2. Check-in with everyone.
Regularly check-in with children during the day or in the evening before bed. Have honest discussions with your children. How are they feeling? Take some time to process through some of the emotions that they might be experiencing. Try to keep the tone positive and give plenty of opportunities to have your children talk with friends and family via online web conferences or video chat. Have everyone in your family focus and list the good things that happen every day. They can be small things- today I am happy for a good cup of coffee and sunshine outside. Focusing on the positive helps.
3. Give space/ extend grace.
The honeymoon is over and patience is wearing thin. Stressors like worries about money, fatigue over the never ending cooking and cleaning, fears about knowing someone who is ill or getting ill yourself, and loneliness are all setting in. There are also the disappointments of missing end-of-the-year activities and sporting events. Intense feelings are to be expected. If at all possible, when the meltdowns occur, give your child space to feel those feelings. Allow him or her to go to a quiet area to fume, breathe, and collect himself or herself. Extend grace because this time is difficult for everyone (goodness knows I need some right now as well). We are all under duress right now, and we need to exude gentleness to each other whenever possible.
4. Understand that school work is important, but so is mental health.
Our views about education in this society have become so very skewed. One only has to look at the fact that we have celebrities going to jail for cheating their children into ivy league schools and the fact that we have parents stressing about making sure that their elementary aged child is competitive enough for that future scholarship or that big name school. Perhaps it is time that we re-evaluate this idea of the cut-throat, high stakes, winner-take-all attitude about education. Boil it down to its most essential ingredients- what exactly IS important? A solid understanding of math and reading? Yes, absolutely. Although, so is mental health. If you are constantly warring with your kids about school work, perhaps we need to take a little time to take a few more walks, play a few more board games, and not add more stress to an already stressful situation.
The famous photographer Dorothea Lange once said about her daily wanderings (often resulting in skipping classes) during her formal years of schooling, “ I realize how enriched I am through having been on the loose in my formative years. I have known all my life so many people who have always done what they should do, been proper, made the grades- and lost.” Perhaps we should use this time to re-evaluate our notions about education. Is it necessary to sacrifice our children’s mental health for the sake of, “getting ahead?”
Even though I am in no way advocating for no school work at all nor am I saying that formal education is a bad thing. I am saying, however, that perhaps we need to give children time to explore talents and interests, or like Dorothea (using what she learned on those walks to influence her iconic pictures of the Great Depression), learn to see the world in a different way. Sometimes children need space to breathe a little.
Speaking of breathing, don’t forget to simply breathe and reach out to friends and family. Yes, social distance, but don’t isolate. It is at times like these that we need one another more than ever.
We are all making this up as we go along and the only way to keep going is taking it one day and one moment at a time.
We are in this together. If you are in need of help with teaching reading or writing skills, please check out our FREE education website: www.homeschoolnavigator.com. Here you will find video teaching lessons (like your own private tutor), downloadable handouts, games, and activities that spark creativity and innovation.
Try this activity for children in grades 3-5:
Go to YouTube and find a read aloud for the book, One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies. After watching the read aloud, have your child write about some of the interesting facts found in the story by using our handout, found here. Keep reading and working on language arts activities, understanding that they do not need to be stress-inducing. Find some free downloadable reading games at: www.homeschoolnavigator.com/free-downloads/.
