If you’re not at home with the kids during the corona virus just yet you probably will be soon. I think having kids at home with us during this time will be the new normal, and how we approach it and manage it is super important. I’ve had messages from mums unsure of what to do, mums who are feeling pressured and stressed and who are also getting emails from school about completing work to deadline. Emmie and I are in quarantine in Australia right now after getting home from Japan a few days ago. We usually school remotely so we are kind of used to it…but that doesn’t mean we’re always successful with learning.
I’m not an expert at schooling – in fact I was a massive failure at teaching Emmie when we first left to travel. We had signed up for Distance Education and it was tough to get her to do the schoolwork, and it caused me a lot of anxiety and sadness.
I don’t want you to go through this unnecessary stress, so I am sharing my experience with you and I hope it helps.
Distance Ed at our hotel in the Philippines
When we travelled full time I “taught” Emmie through Distance Education
Emmie and I travelled from 2016 to the end of 2018 and we have have been traveling again since December 2019.
During the three years we were on the road I was teaching Emmie through the NSW Distance Education program. It was really tough. She wouldn’t listen to me, wouldn’t do the work, she was obstinate and stubborn. It was a nightmare. Eventually we stopped in Hoi An in Vietnam and she went to international school for a few months to give me a break and try and get her up to speed.
We then reverted to distance education again and the battles continued. But while she was resisting learning from me when we were doing “schoolwork”, when she didn’t realise she was learning she was a little sponge. Geography, maths, reading were all put into practice when we were exploring through things like reading maps, working out currency exchange and reading street signs. Plus she was learning about the word and different situations, culture and life.
Traveling together and learning on the road. You can teach through experience.
After three years of crappy schooling (from me) she returned to formal schooling and was fine.
This is the truth! We left Australia after Emmie had finished kindergarten and she returned to Year Four.
She was not at the top of the class and she did need a bit of help with maths but she could read, her language was excellent, her social skills were fine and in everything she was around the middle in her class. She was fine.
So please do not worry about your kids falling to the bottom or worse.
We need to focus on doing our best and creating a calm and supportive environment at home.
So please don’t worry
Your kids are not going to bottom out if you don’t have a rigorous schedule. In fact, they will probably learn more with you right now. If you’re struggling with the schoolwork do some other activities that will help them (and you).
Life skills – laundry, washing, mending, cooking.
Sneaky learning – maths while baking, reading while watching subtitles, spelling through pop quizzes
Online courses – learn a language, learn how to make videos, draw or dance.
Rest – nothing wrong with resting.
Plan – plan a trip or an adventure for when we can explore again.
Learn about what is happening – knowledge helps calm and understanding. Teach kids about medicine and viruses. Help them understand.
And check out the many podcasts that are around for kids. We love Squiz Kids – an eight minute news and current affairs round up for kids. It’s fun, informative and has a quiz at the end and we listen first thing in the morning. It’s a great way to ease into schoolwork.
We can do this!
Being stressed is worse than not getting schoolwork done
The time for yourself and if the schooling is proving difficult, if the kids don’t want to do it, if you find it’s stressing you out, PLEASE take a break.
Relax, reset and try again later. Play a game! Do something fun or have time on devices. Who cares. Let’s get through this!
Nothing is worth being anxious at this stage.
We will teach our kids how to manage in a crisis and how to react to change
I reckon one of the best things I ever taught Emmie was how to react in a crisis. When we were robbed of everything except the clothes we were wearing in Spain, I stayed calm. I didn’t react, I didn’t stress. I worked through what we needed to do and I solved the problem with Emmie by my side.
We talked about how we felt and what it meant to us, and how lucky we were to be okay.
This to me is what teaching our kids is all about – giving them the skills to be able to respond well to events in their lives that they will need to deal with.
Of course formal education is important. I get it. But right now, our mental health – and theirs – is what we need to focus on.
Mental health is the most important focus right now
This is an uncertain and unprecedented time for all of us. We need to kind to ourselves and our families and look after each other.
If the load of schoolwork is too much, then work to it at your own pace, take a break, do a different activity. Stay calm.
We can do this.
Look after you and your family
So, do the work at your pace.
Don’t get stressed.
Take a break when you need to.
School and the rigour and routine will always be there.
We will be together managing through this for some time, so create a safe, clam and supportive environment for our families.
And if they learn a lot then that’s an added bonus.
But they’ll be watching, and they’ll be learning from how we manage our way through.
Let’s show them how.
Emmie’s schoolwork now?
Now she is 10 it’s a lot easier…I swear the Apple Pen has helped immeasurably too. Working online and tap tap tapping and writing with her pen makes her feel independent and a little fancy. Whatever works, right!!!!
Good luck! xo