Most parents now appreciate the work teachers do. Teachers are no longer annoying and irritating. They are to be revered as heroes, gods and goddesses.

In many households, it has been a struggle for parents to balance being parents and educators. Here is why: COVID 19 mandatory house quarantines has messed up routines and structures. Where families spend less than seven hours before bedtime for the kids, they are now together all day. Parents who had the luxury of day homes and spaces like that to drop off their kids have been forced to look after their children all day as day homes have been closed. This can be nerve-racking.

Parents with more than one child struggle on so many fronts:  to establish control, manage sibling rivalry, work from home and then home school. It is a lot to take on. When you add to the fact that kids are consuming more food, more water and utilities, the past seven weeks has not been easy at all.  Food bought in bulk is consumed as quickly as it is purchased. Let’s not talk about dieting just yet!

LCCMedia found that resources from schools differ. With some schools giving more than enough work to occupy the kids, other schools have work which is done in less than half an hour at the most. Parents are then left to entertain their children or they let NETFLIX do it.

In some households, homeschooling and submitting school assignments is no longer the priority as nerves are stretched with parents feeling that they cannot do for their kids what their teachers do. How do you teach shapes or prisms to your third grader when your maths is at best poorly? How do you describe what noun phrases and prepositional phrases to your six graders? The problem also is that some parents do not know where to get resources from. How do you help your grade seven with his spellings and creative writing? How do you improve the reading skills of your second grader without a library to go to? It can be too much!

You do not have to suffer alone. The guilt of not measuring up should not stop you from trying. You need to understand you are not alone. Many parents are also struggling or have also struggled. Some times, it is best to choose your battle. You may have decided to calm down on the school work whilst you face the task of teaching your army how to do other home duties like laundry, cooking, cleaning, ironing and so on. That is okay! Kids need to learn to be independent as well.

These skills are also important even though they are not academic. Ultimately, your kids will not lose out of anything in life for missing school for several weeks. That’s the long view. The moments I recollect about my parents were not when they taught me anything academic, but when my mum taught me a song or when my dad told me a story about his dad. These are the memories I cherish.

With your kids, it may well be best to create memories that will last a lifetime during this pandemic. A friend has since ditched school work and she paints most evenings with her daughters. Another friend has his son learning how the painstaking skill of carving. Another friend her sons baking and icing and they are having a lot of fun at it.

When all is said and done, remember that you are not alone. As a parent, you deserve a round of applause, plus some hot chocolate or a glass of Pino Grigio – whatever works for you really- we are rooting for you all the way.

There is more to life than academia!

Cheer up!

 

ps: I should have written this article weeks ago, but I was in my little bubble. If it helps, here are some resources you can use with your kids.

Online resources:
– BrainPop
– Curiosity Stream
– Tynker
– Outschool
– Udemy
– iReady
– Beast Academy (Math)
– Khan Academy
– Creative Bug
– Discovery Education

YouTube Channels:
– Crash Course Kids
– Science Channel
– SciShow Kids
– National Geographic Kids
– Free School
– Geography Focus
– TheBrainScoop
– SciShow
– Kids Learning Tube
– Geeek Gurl Diaries
– Mike Likes Science
– Science Max
– SoulPancake

https://allinonehomeschool.com/

*List of thinking games by grade: https://allinonehomeschool.com/thinking/

*More awesome free learning websites that we like to use*

https://www.starfall.com/h/

https://www.abcya.com/

https://www.funbrain.com/

https://www.splashlearn.com/

Home

https://pbskids.org/

https://www.highlightskids.com/

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

https://www.coolmath4kids.com/

http://www.mathgametime.com/

https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/

https://www.switchzoo.com/

https://www.seussville.com/

https://www.turtlediary.com/

https://www.e-learningforkids.org/