Radical Homeschooling during a Pandemic
The era of COVID-19 (also known as Coronavirus) is upon us and many of us are forced to make significant changes in our lives—almost daily—as the situation continues to change, parents in particular. School shut-downs, daycare closures, and workplace quarantines are quickly forcing many of us to become full time work-from-home-ers AND educators. Who would have guessed we’d all have to become teachers during a pandemic?!
In addition to my work as a union organizer and columnist, I’ve chosen not to put my two kids into preschool so I school them myself. I’m what you’d call “an unschooler,” which means I believe children should focus on playing and joyful adventure while they are young. I realize making the conscious decision to full-time homeschool your children is very different than what’s going on now for many parents, especially working parents who have to take on the additional full time job of educator in addition to the way they make ends meet for their families. In the spirit of sharing what I’ve learned as an on-purpose homeschooler, here’s how my kids and I structure our days. Take what might work for you and discard the rest. We’re all doing the best we can.
Stick to a schedule
A schedule is still an important component to daily life. Ours always revolves around meals & snack time. I do, indeed, tell my children “no” to food and milk outside of these assigned times. They have access to a water bottle all day so I don’t have to stop what I’m doing and get them a cup of water 400 times. Creating boundaries around the pantry has helped our family avoid conflict and helps the kids break the day into distinctive chunks. Kids Eat in Color is my favorite resource for making meal plans.
When we eat
6:00/7:30 – breakfast
9:00 – snack
10:30 – snack
12:30 – lunch
2:30 – snack
3:30 – smoothie or fruit
5:30/6:00 – dinner
Getting creative about chores
When you’ve got kids playing hard all day, you’ll need to sweep twice a day, wipe down every table at least twice, and likely load your dishwasher more than once a day, too. Children of all ages can help with these tasks, and older children should also be assigned extra household responsibilities while they aren’t in school.
“Forcing” our kids to do housework builds their confidence and gives them the skills they’ll need to be a good roomie once they move-out. ASK them which tasks they’d like to take on, and then help them make a plan to accomplish it by asking: “how can I support your plan to get this done today?”
This is an excellent opportunity for us all to rethink our roles in the family and find ways to create equity and balance.
Babies can be worn while getting things done (babywearing while cooking with heat is not recommended--spills, burns, and scalds are all too-common), or placed on the floor to do tummy-time while you clean, assist older children, and cook! They might fuss and cry at first, but they’ll eventually adjust.
Everyone needs rest
If your children don’t already have a nap schedule, create a rest or nap time for 30-60 minutes a day. I take a power nap during this time because I get exactly zero breaks between about 7 AM and 9 PM. I let them sit with a book if they’d like. Sometimes they fall asleep during this half an hour, and then I have time to shower, to relax, or to get things done.
Screentime is dependent on you and your needs. Screens can be so helpful during your conference calls or longer work blocks. Many schools are switching to online learning so it may be a bit more complicated differentiating between online learning time and Netflix time, for example. After their afternoon rest (if they’re good!) I let my kids watch recreational television, and I use the time to get stuff done. Our recreational television is still pretty controlled.
What to do
As a general rule, kids are able to focus a lot better on learning in the morning. If you want quiet times to get things done, you have to invest time and energy in tiring them out early in the day.
Our daily schedule is never perfect and almost never exactly the same:
5:30 / 6AM - Mom wake-up
6:30 / 7AM - Kids wake-up (if they’ve been good at bedtime, they get educational TV until after breakfast)
7:00 - Breakfast
7:30 - Reading together or a self-directed activity
8:00 - Free-play while you take some time to get something done!
9:00 - Self-directed activity
9:30 - Snack & a Guided activity
10:00 - Go outside, avoid people/places people congregate
10:30 - On-the-go snack
11:00 - Free play, dance parties, or more reading
12:00 - Coloring, drawing, finishing a two-step craft, or something to get them at the table
12:30 - Lunch
1:00 - Rest
1:30 - Recreational TV or free play, depending on how quietly they rested
2:30 - Snack, play outside in the yard (make another pot of coffee maybe?)
3:00 - TOY PICK UP & sweep
3:30(ish) - Free play
4:00 - Recreational TV (if earned) while I clean the kitchen and start dinner
5:30/6:00 - Dinner, family time (games, puzzles, dance parties….just time together), then showers/baths. Maybe a little more TV if there’s time before bed & they earned it through good behaviors.
8:00 - Brush teeth and head to bed
9:00 - Time that you may have to yourself or to catch up on emails
Reading
Read a lot, and not just kids’ books! My children love to hear me read from my favorites, and we often browse magazines and catalogs. We read stuff from the internet together a lot. My children know all about conception, pregnancy, and childbirth because I work on my own education right alongside them.
Children love to hear about what their parents love, so if you have something worth sharing with your child, now is a great time to begin. At one point, I recorded myself reading my son his favorite book and then let him just rewatch it on my phone like 15 times in a row while I got stuff done. Digital and audio books are available for download from your local library using the Libby App. This is a good option if your local library is closed.
Outside play!
Get some fresh air. Go look for bugs. Play with sidewalk chalk. Bird-watch. Go for a walk with no destination (and no people). Let your child decide if you’ll turn left or right. Just go outside and sit. It’s amazing what kids find to do when they’re bored and outside.
Free play
Children often need encouragement to play independently. If they are used to a school or daycare setting, they will miss their friends! Remember: you’re not required to be their playmate all day.
Categorize toys, lay blankets on the floor, give them opportunities to explore each one on their own. Follow their lead, but after about 15 minutes of engaging them, they should be ready to play on their own for a while. It’s okay to say “I have things that I need to get done. You play now. I’ll be back when I’m finished.” If you need some guidance, Dr. Harvey Karp is my go-to for communicating with toddlers.
Self-directed activities
These are activities that take a little bit of help or set-up from a parent, but then can turn into self-directed learning opportunities. I get most of my ideas from Days With Grey.
My kids also love to play with Bananagrams, large beads and shoelaces, puzzles, tape measures, and magnets. We also like to play with craft supplies like pom-poms, clothespins, and pipe cleaners.
Older children can be given plenty of time to explore their own interests. Since we can’t physically go to libraries right now, the internet and their imagination will have to do. Most of my homeschooling comrades are able to get their children to complete schoolwork early in the day, so you have a unique opportunity to educate them about whatever YOU think is important! The civil rights movement, Black lives Matter, Latinx history, Indigenous resistance, Asian-American resilience, and disability justice revolutions…just imagine what school would be like if you set the curriculum! Many of these books are available for download or you can order from your local bookstore for a quick pick up or delivery.
Guided activities
Crafting, painting, baking, cleaning the house, folding laundry, and working on writing or STEM skills are great ways to build confidence. If they’re real young, practice writing first name, tracing shapes, and holding markers, pens, and pencils the correct way. See if different objects sink or float in water. If they’re older, encourage them to create stories with beginning, middle, and ends.
Mindfullness
One of the hardest parts of being at home all day with your kids is that everyone is bound to get on everyone else’s nerves eventually. It’s important to be aware of your feelings throughout the day and critical that you provide yourself the kinds of breaks you need to be present and kind while you’re at home with your kids.
After a week at home, it’s easy to see how special our daycare-workers’ skillset really is. It takes a lot of patience to be with kids all day long! Reach out to friends and other parents to vent and video chat about how hard it is. Middle of the day dance parties and long, very-hot baths are critical components to me maintaining a happy center. It’s also OK for your kids to get a little extra screen time during this global pandemic. After all, Disney+ gave us FROZEN 2 three months early!
So, when you’re ready for a break or REALLY just need to get something done (!!) without 400 interruptions, here are some of my favorite screen-time options:
Molly of Denali on PBS (there’s an app too!)
Honestly, anything on PBS
StoryBots on Netflix
Green Eggs and Ham on Netflix
The Cat in the Hat knows a Lot About That! on Netflix
Magic School Bus and Magic School Bus Rides Again on Netflix
Doc McStuffins on Hulu
Classical Baby on HBO
Electric Company on HBO
30 years’ worth of Sesame Street on HBO
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS
Yoga for kids with Maa Yoga & Cosmic Kids
Bon appetit: learn to make something new together!
Radical Cram School: yes, it’s as cool as it sounds
SciShow: last week we learned about butt-hair.
Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson has great coloring pages on their Facebook page
General Reminders
Everyone’s under a lot of stress right now, and it’s critical that we are able to be a calm center for the children in our lives.
That being said: relax with them and say “yes” to cuddles, to watching movies together, to late nights, and to a few extra cookies. We all deserve a little comfort; we all could use some rest. This includes our kids!
We have been given an opportunity to break the cycles of turn-and-burn for ourselves, and for our children. I promise you that your kids are thrilled to have you home with them. They don't care what you do today, as long as you get to do it together. If you can, make time for something like yoga for parents.
I’ve been unschooling for years, and even I’m feeling this squeeze. Our usual trips to the library, to the park, to play with friends, and to grandma’s house are cancelled. I’m yelling more than usual. We all need to help one another find self-compassion AND quality activities for our children during this pandemic, because we honestly don't know how long this will last.
If you’re on Instagram, you can follow me (@Revolutionary_Motherhood) for more activities, ideas, and daily support. You can also use Instagram to send along your own great ideas and favorite activities to share so others can benefit from your unique genius.