030. Educating Your Kids at Home (Short Term): Insights from an Experienced Homeschool Mom

Schools are closed. You need help teaching our kiddos. You’re here for answers, tips, tricks, schedules, and resources. If you find yourself needing to educate your kids at home for a while unexpectedly, I get that you might be in a bit of shock. It’s overwhelming. I think a lot of that overwhelm comes from this idea that just a day ago we had a predictable schedule in place and knew what we were good at…we’re good at being a parent, we’re good at our job, we understood our current roles and then were handed another one: the role of teacher. Not knowing how to formally teach our kids can make us feel like we’re really bad at that or we’re going to fail at it. Those are very unsettling feelings. The overwhelm is so real for so many people. Please know that you’re not alone in those feelings, that they’re valid, and that there are many people out there who understand. And those of us who want to help you rise up, find your confidence, and move through this overwhelming time feeling understood, resourced, and supported. So many of us are searching for coping mechanisms among all of the heightened emotions. Humor, frustration, unhappiness, venting, even panic—these are all real emotions that real people are feeling. It’s really important to acknowledge how you’re feeling. Name the emotions without shame. Know that they are normal, acknowledge them, and then use them as information to move forward. None of us want to live in those feelings of frustration, overwhelm, and unhappiness. Please know that if the sources of your overwhelm stem from childcare, money, job, or food concerns, I wish I had the resources to immediately help you and calm your mama heart. I hope that there are friends, family, and local resources that you can reach out to now to help. I don’t think it’s too early to start accepting offers for help from school boards, food banks, churches, local organizations, and people who have been posting on social media that they want to be there for you. Believe them. Use them. Lean into your community. This truly is turning into a time of coming together even while we are apart.  Here are my top 14 tips for parents who are finding themselves doing all of life at home with their kids, including educating them.  1. Don’t Try to Recreate the Classroom in Your Home 2. Create Your Own Schedule 3. Try Time Blocking 4. Remember School is Supposed to be Do-able 5. Alternate Activities 6. Keep Records 7. Give Grace (and then more grace) 8. Go Outside (a lot) 9. Know That Resources are All Around You 10. Mindset is Everything 11. Lean Into the Process 12. Lean Into Your School’s Resources 13. Communicate with Your School Community 14. Take Care of Yourself You are strong, you are capable, this is temporary, there will be ups and downs, those are normal, we’ll get through them together. For more show notes & all links mentioned in today’s podcast, go to www.elevatingmotherhood.com