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Dear friends,
This is new and uncharted territory for all of us. Some of you are experiencing a much bigger change in your life than I am. Some of you just lost the option to send your children to school. That has to be scary. The day to day routine you have had is just gone. The comfort you had, knowing your children were being educated while you worked, gone. All in what seems like the blink of an eye. Now, we are looking at 3-4 weeks of the schools being closed, so far. That is a lot of school days lost. Should parents break out the game systems and call it good? Probably not. But how can a parent go from a homework helper to a full time educator overnight??? It is much easier than you might think.
I want to take a moment to say to each and every one of you that are missing work because the schools have closed, I am praying for you. This is not something I am taking lightly. If anyone understands financial strain and the stress that brings, it is me. I hope that you will be able to find ways to work from home. If you cannot do that, I pray that you will find peace in knowing that the Lord WILL provide for your needs. Please also follow me on social media for different helps that might be available to you in this hard time.
School is closed. Now what???
First, take a few days to “deschool.” Bake some cookies, take a hike, color, paint, build something epic together. Take a day to stay in your jammies and watch movies all day. Snuggle time is the best! Education at home looks very different from education at school so this process will help you ease into a new normal for the coming weeks. This post I wrote recently will help you find some fun indoors. Skip the library and museums for now. They are closed here, anyway. If you do follow me on social media you will find some virtual field trips that might be a lot of fun to watch!
Next, I want you to think about a routine that will fit your lifestyle. Do you and your kids stay up late? Are you early birds? We like to stay up a little later and sleep a little later so we don’t plan on starting school until 9 each day. Some days we don’t start until even later due to our therapy appointments. You can see what those look like here.
Get dressed, everyday. If it’s “activewear” or jeans and a sweater, do it. Get dressed. Have your kids get dressed daily, too. Why? It will help you and your kids be motivated to get off the couch and get busy living. Social distancing doesn’t mean we have to hide under the covers for a month.
Set up a routine for weekdays. Ours is split up into 3 parts:
What about CHORES???
When kids are home more, they are going to make more messes! There are going to be more dishes, more spills, more laundry (hello clothing changes three times a day!), and just more mess in general from living. Chores are great for kids. They build responsibility, confidence and a sense of belonging. They know they are needed around the house and that makes them feel valuable. Your family is a team and they can be the MVP! Here is a document I created for our daily chores. I went through each of these and assigned a child to each chore. I intend to switch it up after a while, but I am letting them get really good at their assigned chores before I change anything.
School Time!
Find educational activities that will work for your child. If you are just bridging the gap between now and when schools reopen I would encourage you to check out my Homeworks by Precept Consultant Facebook business page which you can find here. I am posting lots of free activities and some really cool live stream opportunities. If you are curious about continuing to homeschool I would encourage you to check out BJU Press Homeschool and their amazing curriculum. It is all written from a Biblical worldview. It is challenging and engaging. It focuses on critical thinking skills. My children have been using it for years and their standardized test scores are excellent. I teach some things myself, just because I love to teach, and other things I rely on video courses. The teachers are wonderful. They teach in a way that fuels my children’s love of learning. They have classes all the way to 12th grade which is great because there is no way I am teaching algebra or pre calc. Just saying. If you have questions or would like a discount and free shipping feel free to check out my consultant webpage and contact me.
Homeschooling is hard. I don’t have the patience to do it, much to everyone’s shock, I am sure. The thing is, God uses hard things to refine us. He will use difficult, scary situations for our good, because He loves us. Nothing has forced me to change my ways of living more than parenthood, followed closely by homeschooling. God has called me to live in this sacrificial way. Could I be working full time? Yep. Could I have time to go do something just for me, more regularly than I do now? Yep. Would my life be so much easier if I just sent my kids to school? No, I don’t think so. You moms and dads that take time out to help in the classroom, chaperone trips, lead prayer groups for parents of kids in school, drive to and from schools, concerts, practices, rehearsals, games, the list goes on. You live a challenging life. We do some of those things, too, but not as much. Our life is different and that is okay.
Homeschooling is a wonderful adventure. I am glad I am taking it with my kids. Right now, it is your adventure too, if only for a little while. Enjoy it. Make the most of it. Consider what life would look like if you kept going. There are many benefits. Many more than I can list here. If and when your kids go back to school, know that I am not looking down my nose at you. We all want what is best for our children and I respect your right to choose what is best for your family.
Welcome to the homeschool family, even if it is just for a little while
