Adventures of Psycho Baby: COVID-19 Induced Homeschool

Before this year, I viewed people that homeschooled as other worldly. They had their lives together, their kids were really smart and conversed well with adults, and they had halos over their heads. I knew that it was something I could never do...so when Rosie's public school shifted to online learning in mid-March due to COVID-19, I felt a lot of trepidation.

I remember feeling excited the first day, like at the beginning of a race. But as time went on, my stamina bar fell to zero and never refilled. Here is how our day usually goes:

Rosie does homeschool on her tablet or on my computer.

8:00 - Wake up and eat cereal.
8:30 - Rosie logs on to a "morning meeting" video call with all her class. She uses my computer (in the master bedroom) to do this. AJ goes into Rosie's bedroom/the office and starts his work. The door closes.
9:00 - I navigate the school's online system to gather all the assignments that Rosie needs to complete.
9:30 - Rosie does an online iReady program. If I turn my back for a second, she slips into the "gaming mode" in the program that doesn't count towards her weekly progress.
10:00 - Rosie does an online math program called Reflex. She complains constantly and shouts at the computer.
10:30 - I sit down next to Rosie as she watches videos filmed by her teacher. These videos include phonics and math. Rosie races ahead and tries to answer questions her teacher hasn't even reached yet. She falls down several times from her chair and gets mad at the chair.
11:30 - I let the kids play on their tablets while I stare at the ceiling and the baby pulls my hair.
12:00 - We have lunch. Sometimes, there is something called "lunch bunch" where Rosie has lunch with her teacher and a few of her classmates in a video call. It usually coincides with when the baby is napping in the same room as the computer.
12:30 - I'm still eating lunch. As I clean up lunch, I also clean up the morning dishes. AJ comes out of the office and grabs a shake. He goes back, the door closes.
1:00 - I let the kids play toys or their tablets again while I try to do something therapeutic for me. Sometimes it is work. Sometimes it is painting. Sometimes, I clean.
3:00 - I pull Rosie back to the computer to watch the last of her school videos, filmed by her teacher. The subjects covered are reading and a mystery reader. Rosie usually writes a sentence or two about the book she listened too, and I check her work.
4:00 - We try to complete some of the extra-curricular learning that Rosie's school provides, like P.E., Art, Music, and Chinese. As I turn in assignments, I stare in disbelief at the amazing art that other kids have turned in. I'm sure their parents intervened.
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4:00 - We sometimes go outside in an attempt to ward off the vampire within. The kids ride bikes and draw with chalk while I sit just inside the garage, looking ahead with dead eyes.
5:00 - I make dinner. AJ is out now and playing with the kids.
6:00 - We have dinner. I sit slouched in my chair the same way a fire victim sits in the back of an ambulance.

So as you can see, homeschooling swallowed my life a little bit. I accepted that the two younger kids would have to be neglected a little in order to focus on Rosie. It isn't uncommon in the birding world to feed the biggest chick first because they are most likely to survive.

Simon lies face down during Rosie's homeschool - the neglected child.

All while homeschooling went on, a thought crossed my mind. "Is this what it is really like to homeschool? What about so-and-so who does homeschooling? How does she hide the dead eyes so well?" If you are in the middle of homeschooling and feel the same way, here are some things to remember:

1. You are running a marathon you didn't sign up for.
There is something to be said about the mindset you have when you volunteer for something. It is more likely to be enjoyable to you because you said you would do it. I didn't volunteer for homeschooling, but I will try my best because I volunteered for kids. And it's okay if it's not my favorite thing to do.

2. You have less "going-out" options.
Homeschooling during pre-COVID-19 could include different play-dates, subject-swaps, sports, museum and zoo trips, etc. Homeschooling after COVID-19 is confined to your house, your neighborhood, and if you are lucky, maybe a park. Your kids have less opportunity to let out steam or explore, so it's going to require creativity on the parent's side to not go stir-crazy.

3. A third thing.

The good thing is, homeschooling is coming to an end. This week is the last week. I know it is a possibility that schools will not open in the fall, but let us not speak of such things now. I feel like I have survived something.

Rosie's teacher was awesome.

To Rosie's teachers who put together an online learning system overnight, I feel a lot of respect and gratitude to them. They tried hard to connect with my 5-year-old, even as she spun around compulsively in her office chair during zoom calls, or filled their message chats with nonsense. They adjusted the amount of homework they gave as it become clear that parents were overloaded. Rosie's teacher got better at editing and put together a title sequence for a short cooking show she filmed for the children. She even came by today to hand deliver a present to a surprised Rosie.

And now, let us look forward to a good summer. In order to not be too depressed when looking into summer, my kids, AJ, and I made a list of things we want to do this summer. I was humbled by one of the things Rosie said. She wanted to have a pizza feast where we made our own pizzas. She made one shaped like a heart and she got the biggest smile as she ate it. I would suggest making your own list of things you want to do this summer to help you look forward to the future - even if it's just a reminder that the simple things of life are still here for you to enjoy.