All over the world right now, parents who normally send their kids to school Monday through Friday of every week are finding themselves facing school closures for two weeks or more. It’s unsettling, especially for parents who have to work to put food on the table but equally don’t want their children to turn into video game addicts or lazy couch potatoes. And especially since we don’t know how long it will last.
How can my child’s education not suffer because of this?
How can parents be expected to work and help their children learn at home at the same time?
The good news is that no child’s education has to suffer – not even one little bit. Instead, these two weeks, or more, can turn into a huge learning experience and family togetherness opportunity if you know how to get there.
I’m going to tell you how to get there, but it may not be what you’re expecting to hear.
Thankfully, if you live in the United States, there’s an actual person in your community who can help, and if you don’t live in the U.S., you can easily find her online. In fact, she’s been longing to be your friend for years, and she has a wealth of knowledge about how to keep kids busy, engaged in learning, and creative all day long. You probably already know her, although you may have thought she had nothing to offer you in the past.
She’s the homeschooling mom down the street, and she’s been helping her kids learn at home every single day for years. In fact, more times than not, she’s also holding down some sort of job, too.
But there’s also someone else who can help, and she lives in your house –
It’s YOU.
You were your child’s first teacher. You know the most about her, and you love him more than anyone else on the planet.
You can totally do this.
In the past few weeks since we all learned that we would be staying home a lot more to flatten the curve and stop the spike of illness being caused by this virus all over the world, so many homeschooling moms have posted on social media, blogs, magazines, and newspapers offering help to their mama friends, and mom bloggers galore are stepping up to offer resource lists with quick-start homeschooling guides, learning resources, and fun activities of all kinds.
I’ve been a homeschool mom for over 11 years now, and I can tell you that we love talking about fun ways to keep kids learning at home with anyone who will listen. We also get lonely sometimes, so we’d love to hear from you.
And there are also loads of amazing teachers out there offering free resources, too. I even have a teacher friend who’s reading aloud to her students through Facebook each day.
To see a few of these resources for yourself, check out a post called Turn Stuck at Home into FUN at Home where I’m keeping a running list of resources for parents who find themselves unexpectedly home with their kids trying to make some great memories during these uncertain days. It’s been shared with thousands of people who send their kids to public schools in the United States, and just a few short hours after it was published, it was translated into German and shared with hundreds of families in Switzerland where homeschooling and learning at home aren’t quite as widespread.
But, honestly, you don’t even need all of that stuff.
You only need one thing to turn this time at home with your kids into something beautiful and educational – to be present, real, honest, and loving.
Your kids don’t need a stringent school schedule at home – they need to read a few good books with their mama, to play a few games with her, and to see her working hard while they play their own thing outside.
The books, games, toys, and outdoor fun will come – as long as you show up and lean into togetherness.
If you want a few ideas for building togetherness at home, check out this page full of 50+ ideas centered around real family connection. And as my favorite homeschool encouragers always say, “You’ve got this, sister.”
You were made for this, even if it doesn’t feel like it. Don’t be afraid to pick up your phone or hop online and get some support when you need it, but also, don’t be afraid to believe in yourself.
Celeste Orr is a full-time traveling homeschool mom to two teenage boys. She helps families build connection and go after their own big dreams at togethernessredefined.com and on Instagram @celeste__orr.