My Top 5 Tips: Homeschooling During Quarantine Does Not Have To Be A Nightmare

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced all K-12 schools and college facilities statewide will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Distance learning will continue as well as the meal programs and child care services for essential workers. The state will make a decision about summer school programming by the end of May. How bummed are you about the latest news of school closures? With everything being online, how are you coping with your new full-time role as a homeschooling parent or a virtual college student? For me, it has been a headache but also a rewarding experience at the same time. I recently had an interview on Vigilantes Radio Podcast where I was asked, how homeschooling was going and have I shared any tips on my blog. That question, led me to write this. 

The school closure announcement has hit me in 2 distressing ways. The first is the obvious, my homeschooling gig has been extended and the second is my job as a Financial Aid Advisor. We had a virtual meeting today about the closure announcement and I'm telling you after I got off the phone,
I was thinking where is my drink (not promoting stress drinking but you know what I mean).
All we can do at this point is figure out the best way to teach our kids in the most effective way.
The only problem with online learning is, most people don't know how to use a computer or don't have the luxury of having a computer. Although, I am happy that the kids are still able to learn, I'm not super thrilled about the computer rule. When I called the school, I was told, we can have one computer per child, however; upon pick up, it was one computer per household. It's not the most convenient way to have one child on the computer and the other child on my cellphone but I'm still grateful for whatever we can get. For us, it worked in the beginning because my daughter was using her homework packets and my son was on the computer. Once I received a phone call asking if my daughter was completing her assignments, I got stressed out and started sending pictures of her completed work. I was then told, the assignments needed to be completed online to show that she is actively online. I definitely expressed my concern with computer devices. We have to set a limit to how much our kids are sitting in front of the computers. So my top 5 tips definitely help me with my stress levels. 

The first thing that helped me with my stress levels with their school work was the white board. If the kids don't see the board, school does not exist. They had no real idea what was going on. I had to explain to my 1st and 2nd grader what was going on in the world and why things were going to be different for a while. They still had to do everything the same as if they were going to school. Wake up, brush your teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, get on the pretend bus and start class. On the white board, I had to write down the day, month and year so we all remembered what day it was. Ironically enough, my kids are pretty smart with the days of the week and what classes they had on what day of the week. My kids helped me with the weekly schedule. I had to combine the classes so we were all on the same page with lessons. 

For example, my son is 8 years old and this is the schedule he is familiar with.  

Monday: Math, Language Arts and Gym 

Tuesday: Math, Language Arts and Library

Wednesday: Math, Language Arts, Science and Music

Thursday: Math, Language Arts and Gym

Friday: Art and Fun Friday (Pizza and Movie)  

This is the schedule for my 6 year old. This is the schedule she is familiar with. 

Monday: Math, Spanish, Gym

Tuesday: Art and Math 

Wednesday: Library, Reading and Spanish

Thursday: Gym, Reading and Math

Friday: Music and Fun Friday (Pizza and Movie)

This is how the combined schedule looks. Not in any particular order but I try to keep it consistent.

Monday: Math, Language Arts, Reading

Tuesday: Math, Language Arts and Spanish

Wednesday:Math, Language Arts and Reading

Thursday: Math, Language Arts, Reading, Spanish and Gym

Friday: Art, Gym (Riding our bikes) and Dance Party (Pizza and Family Night)

Most of the time, we do a lot more work on Tuesday's and Thursday's because those are the days I am considered offline. Working part-time is really helpful and allows me time to help with assignments. My daughter reads her Spanish books on raz-kids.com. The website is great for the kids to get all their reading time in. We have books at home but using the online program helps the teachers review how much the kids are reading and what they are reading. The cool thing is, there is a mini quiz at the end of each book, so it's a great way to test their comprehension. Now that you are homeschooling with the rest of us, the first thing you should do is get organized. I'm pretty sure most of my readers have heard this quote, "The key to a good morning is to prepare the night before". I have to keep this in mind everyday and I hold myself accountable to make sure it gets done. 

Just keep in mind, these are your kids and this is the time you get to witness their ability to understand and grasp what they are learning. Homeschooling doesn't have to be a nightmare, it can be a fun learning experience for the entire household. I hope my top 5 tips are helpful; I can't wait to read your comments. Shout out to all the teachers out there, you are underappreciated and underpaid. 

Tip 1: Breath - wake up earlier than your kid(s) so you can have 30-40 minutes to mediate, eat, shower or whatever you need to do for yourself. If you have more than one child like I do, you are going to need to be mentally prepared for the day. The last thing you want to do is create a negative environment and create distance.  

Tip 2: Organize - if you didn't do it the night before, do it after you complete tip 1. Take a few minutes to write down what you would like to have your child(ren) accomplish for the day. Review it with them so they feel just as prepared as you are. From my own personal experience, my kids like to know what time the day starts for school and what time school is dismissed. They get excited when they see the time for lunch, recess and school dismissed (of course).    

Tip 3: Don't get lost or frustrated - your kids are not perfect. The schedule might be 10 or 15 mins off. They might get distracted or need more time completing their assignments. No worries, it happens. Remember: if everything was supposed to be perfect, erasers wouldn't exist.

Tip 4: Play Games - in the midst of learning, everyone can use a break. Make sure to schedule recess so there is some outdoor activity if you are able to take a walk outside or ride your bike up and down the street (remember to keep social distancing in mind). Take silly pictures or ask them to draw you something so you can add their Artwork to the refrigerator.    

Tip 5: Release - be proud of what you did today. You mediated, you made a schedule, you had fun, you spent some time with your kids and everything didn't go perfectly planned but you made it through. Give yourself a break.

Remember tip 1. You've held your breath for the entire week, now release it all and spend the weekend just relaxing. You can read a book, you can write a book, you can kick back with your friends on a video group chat, you can listen to NikiMarie Radio or you can spend some much needed chill time with your kids; not doing school work. What ever you choose, remember this too shall pass. 

Thank you for reading and if you have some more tips to add, please leave them in the comments.