Are you homebound with your kids and wondering what in the world to do? My number one advice is this: Don’t try to turn your home into school. Seasoned homeschoolers know this, and I learned it right away when we started our home-education. It’s especially true right now . . . take a deep breath, don’t stress about academics at the moment . . . we are mentally and emotionally strained as it is. We are uneasy and uncertain as we navigate this time of confinement due to COVID-19.
What we can do is give our home the attention it may need. We can give our life a slower rhythm (that it may have needed anyway). We can focus intently on the energy we want to bring into the home.
Schoolwork is one thing, but does your child know how to prepare a homemade lunch? Do they know how to silently observe the bugs in the backyard? Now’s the perfect time to learn!
When you are educating at home, life and learning are all mixed together. Start with creating your own daily rhythm. As an example:
- Breakfast & cleanup (everyone contributes)
- Work choices (could be academic work or drawing or playing while the parent does their own work)
- Snack
- Walk outside or play in nature
- Lunch & cleanup
- Quiet time (audio books, or nap for younger children)
- Walk outside or play in nature
- Arts and crafts
- Dinner
Next, adding warmth to your home can do wonders! When the outside world is chaotic, cleaning out a drawer or a closet creates a clean mental space and can be a balm for the soul. Light some candles, put essential oils in the diffuser, bring in some cut flowers from outside. Clean a room and get a big psyche boost!
There is so much learning that happens in just doing daily life together. Focus on that, not what you think is missing. And then be sure to find support in your friends or online communities where you can vent and get ideas—because we’ll all bump into our limitations. One thing I’ve learned as a homeschooling mom: things don’t always need to happen as I think they ought to. The relationship is more important than getting an assignment done exactly when and how I think it should.
Ideas for things to do at home:
- When the kids are occupied, limit social media scrolling. Do what nurtures you (rest, meditate, enjoy free yoga on the Down Dog app, etc.)
- Take nature walks if possible
- Listen to audiobooks individually or as a family (your local library should have a platform; we use Hoopla)
- Let your younger child listen to Sparkle Stories while you do your own thing 🙂
- Kids can listen to podcasts such as Brains On!
- Bake, garden, sing, play, learn a craft, get bored (that’s when ideas can come from nothing!)
- Take up the project you’ve been meaning to do
And resources for online learning:
- Download Wild + Free’s Homebound Activity Kit
- Check out Brave Writer’s free offerings
- For live, online classes, Outschool has tons of offerings for ages 3-18
- Scholastic is currently offering free online courses for grades PreK-6th and higher
- Khan Academy is a free online learning platform PreK-High School
- Take advantage of free art lessons on YouTube or with Mo Willems