Hey, everyone! Hope this post finds you surviving 2020 as best as any of us can. As I was (finally!) playing at the park with my kids last weekend, I spoke with a neighbor about the hardships of homeschooling and remote learning. Since March I’ve been asked repeatedly “How do you survive it?”
Before I begin, I wanted to give a little background as to why I am qualified to write this post. I was homeschooled beginning in fifth grade, all the way through to high-school graduation. Truly, being homeschooled was one of the greatest gifts my parents gave me. I attended UNC at Chapel Hill and graduated with a degree in English in 2010. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find me homeschooling my own children: a child with ADHD who just embarked on his final year of elementary school, a now first-grader, and two preschoolers. I have also been teaching in local co-ops for four years.I promise if you’ve screamed, cried, thought you were failing, hated it, loved it, thought it was God’s gift to humanity, wanted to forget everything else and teach your kids forever, or anything in between, I’ve been there! This post is for everyone who has been thrown into the vacuum of homeschooling in 2020, whether against their better wishes or by choice!
- Be realistic.
The truth is that kids are humans. There are days when they don’t want to do their school work. Pushing kids when they are obviously at their limit is just not going to end well. Each year, I start off with grand dreams of completing amazing educational feats with my kids and then I get hit with the reality that this one loathes science and that one cries every time he has to write more than a paragraph. If you are responsible for choosing your child’s curriculum, be realistic as you plan your year. If you aren’t able to choose and are taking part in distance learning through the pandemic, be realistic with what you can actually accomplish during your kid’s work times. You might not be accustomed to sitting still for blocks of time beside your kids and their workload, but realistically this is what most small children need. Everything else will wait! Being realistic will help you not feel so stressed and frustrated at their inability to complete something or your inability to get something else done that you want to do.
- Remember that you can do this.
Hey Mama, doubting your ability to do this great mission. Listen to me. You’ve completed some form of education. You have the internet. You have access to a library. You have teachers supporting you or a community of other moms who’ve got your back. AND you love these kids. That’s all you need. Love, confidence that you can do this, and resources for when you’re stumped. Don’t doubt it!
- Build in breaks and fun activities.
Our typical school schedule looks like this:
9-9:30: Devotionals, discussions of faith, memorization/flashcards.
9:30-10:30: MOST DIFFICULT SUBJECT FOR THE STUDENT (It has to be done first!)
10:30-11: Snacks and Chinese
11-12: Complete book work and activity pages.
We spend our afternoons doing enrichment activities, and I build field trips into the monthly calendar. My kids NEED their snack times. Breaking the school day up into manageable blocks with reasonable breaks helps us get through.
- Get help.
Are you a single parent? Do you and your kid/s butt heads? Are you uncomfortable with the requirements placed before you? Reach out to your school guidance counselor if you are a remote-learning parent. Talk to the teacher. Go back to #3 and remember that you can do this. If you’re homeschooling traditionally, see if you can get a second set of hands to help you. Meet up with another family that’s homeschooling, ask a grandparent or friend, look up the local homeschool community resources in your area. No one has to go through this alone. It is HARD! You aren’t alone if you think it’s tough! But it isn’t impossible!
Our preschool did not re-open this school year. We have a nanny because I work outside of the home as well, and as we were discussing our school schedule and her work schedule, we decided to have her here three school mornings a week to help make sure all four kiddos are getting the help they need. I’ve asked my mother in law, a (mostly) retired teacher to assist me with the kids’ reading and writing as this is her specialty. We are enrolled in a full day co-op one day a week so that I can commiserate with other parents, and so the kids get help in subjects that I don’t find particularly enjoyable to teach (hello robotics!). Where there is a will, there is a way…which leads me to the final tip.
- Don’t give up.
You know, homeschooling really isn’t for everyone. And that’s totally ok! But if you’re in a place where you have to do it, or you’ve chosen to walk this path, don’t give up. Take it task by task, day by day, week by week. Use the other tips above and the journey might have less bumps, but don’t let giving up be an option for you. Give it a full school year. If after a school year, you just can’t even with homeschooling, try something else! I think taking one full scholastic year gives you long enough to really understand what you actually need to make it work for you and your family. You have the time to try and balance your abilities with your kids’ needs, find a community/resources, and have a few victories!
I hope these five tips help you on your journey, friends! Feel free to reach out in the comments section to share what has helped you in this crazy homeschooling journey!
